Andrew Li, 11Ann Arbor, MI A Day in the Life of a Mask Andrew Li, 11 A used face mask lay in the biohazard bin, where it had been placed once the doctor had finished his workday. He remembered the days of when he had just been created and was waiting to be shipped away. He was loaded into a box with other masks, then loaded into another box, then those boxes were loaded into a large steel shipping container. The containers were put on trucks. The trucks drove to the port, and the containers were loaded onto a large cargo ship. The masks sailed for about a week and arrived in Seattle. They were unloaded from the ship and taken from the container and loaded onto trucks. They then were driven for a few days and arrived in New York City. They were unloaded from the truck and stocked into a Walmart. A few days after the masks’ arrival, before the pandemic, in the small pharmacy section of the Walmart, the surgical masks were being bullied. “You’re worthless!” sneered a bottle of Tylenol. “And useless!” agreed a box of Band-aids. They were stuck on the bottom shelf, while the bullies were on the top. The masks were at the bottom of the pharmaceutical hierarchy, and they were bullied by nearly everyone: the painkillers, bandages, vitamins, shampoo, and even the adult diapers. Most customers walked past, and barely anyone even looked at them. Those who did were mostly kids who were playing while their parents picked up a prescription. The masks endured weeks of this teasing and neglect until finally, they were bought. They sat in a garage cabinet for a few months. They were then loaded into a bag along with other masks and boxes of rubber gloves, and driven to the hospital. They were bookended on one side by boxes of pizza, and on the other by jugs of water. The trunk also smelled of wet dogs and mold. The pizzas kept singing the word “pizza” to the tune of Nessun Dorma, and the jugs kept rolling around the trunk, slamming into everyone. “Will you please stop rolling around?” the masks pleaded. “Gwe gwant gwap gwolling garound! Gwe gware gwottles, gou gnow!” (“We can’t stop rolling around! We are bottles, you know!”) the jugs responded, in a very bubbly way. Once the masks arrived at the hospital after what seemed like hours, they were dumped into a box marked “Donations.” They sat there, quite uncomfortably, for the night, then they were unceremoniously yanked out of the box at an ungodly hour, and plopped onto a table by the receptionist, then distributed to the doctors. The masks had been taken by a Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith took them back to his office and put one of the masks on. He was walking down the hall when a fellow doctor stopped him. “Hey, John, your mask isn’t tucked down right. Remember, these are dangerous times,” the doctor said. Dr. Smith fixed his mask and thanked his colleague. He then went to check on his patients. He first stopped to check on some elderly flu patients. There were flu viruses in the air, but they were blocked by the mask. Suddenly, the hospital PA system called him to the ICU ward, where the coronavirus patients were being treated. “Dr. Smith, please report to ICU ward 3. One of your patients is vomiting,” the voice said. He rushed down the hall and down a flight of stairs. The room was full of patients. Most were coughing and were running a fever, as shown on their status monitors next to the beds. One or two had bottled oxygen, and in the far corner, away from everyone else, were a few patients with ventilators. Dr. Smith leaned in to administer some anti-nausea medicine to the patient, whose name was Bill, as shown by the ID tag on his wrist. Bill coughed, and some virus particles floated onto the doctor’s mask. The mask went into action as the viruses flowed in. Some of the larger particles had too much inertia and crashed into the filter’s fibers. The smaller ones spun out of control, being buffeted by the air molecules, and they too crashed into the mask. Only a few middle-sized viruses remained. Luckily, just at that second, Dr. Smith sneezed into his mask. The viruses were repelled back out, and the doctor was not infected. The patient’s stomach had also calmed down, possibly because it had nothing left to regurgitate. The doctor finished checking on some other patients, completed some paperwork, and finally took the mask off. He then washed his hands and face and took his temperature before finally leaving. The mask lay there in the biohazard bin and was nostalgic for his old pharmacy days. He missed being able to sit around and be carefree, without the threat of a virus.
short story
The Battle of Justice, a Captain Corona adventure story by Saanvi Garg, 8
Saanvi Garg, 8Livingston, NJ The Battle of Justice Saanvi Garg, 8 One afternoon in Ratburg, at the castle, Captain Corona, the king, was planning out his evil plan with Spiky The Sidekick, The Deadly Disguiser, and Gus The Gardener. “Ha, ha, ha!” cried Captain Corona. “We shall destroy the world !” he yelled. “Yes king, we shall,” Gus said glumly. “Do not call me king!” he screamed. “A king is a lazy person who orders people around! I am a captain who leads us to evil success!” he demanded. “Yes captain,” Gus replied. “Here is our master plan!” cackled Captain Coronoa. Step 1 – The Deadly Disguiser invites the #SUPERSONIC to dinner in his good form. Step 2 – Gus prepares a special menu. Step 3 – They eat their food and die. To make sure they are dead, Spiky will stab them with Poison Point. Step 4 – We rule the universe! “Step 4 will be extremely simple,” said Spiky. “Oh it better be,” said Captain Corona. Meanwhile… (AKA the superheroes) were exploring their new gadget. It was called a sneaky shield. It is a shield that is invisible. It protects you from anything. The Thoughtful Turtle came up with that. He was inspired by his own powers. They made it for Slithery Snake. It wasn’t because she was weak. It was because she was the captain of #SUPERSONIC. That meant she was the target for most people. “Why don’t I get any of the new gadgets?” Zelda complained. “Well that’s because you’re fast as lightning,” Turtle replied. DING DONG. “Who is it?” Snake replied. “B-B-Berry Bunny? Anyway we are here to invite you to Ratburg castle tonight for dinner.” “Why?” Zelda asked with suspicion. “Ummmm… we would like to hold a party for all the kind-hearted rescues you have accomplished. “Hmmmmm… maybe,” the Turtle said softly. When they left they got ready. Then they put on all their gadgets. They were very suspicious of the party. “We have to stay alert at all times,” Snake informed them. Soon they left for the party. Back at the Ratburg castle… “Wait I got an idea!” said Spiky. “If they find out about the food poisoning then we will need something to kill them.” “Yeah,” muttered Captain Corona, “I was just about to say that,” he said. Then they decided to make a bundle of poison plants over their seats. If they pulled a switch it will fall on their seats. Now they were ready. BING BONG. “Oh, they are here, try to look welcoming,” Captain Corona said in a surprisingly nice tone. “Hello, hello, welcome to the Ratburg castle!” Captain Corona said with a grin. “Oh, it is a pleasure to be here, as well!” Snake said cautiously. “Thank you, shall we start eating then?” Spiky said trying to use his best manners. They took their seats. The #SUPERSONICS were on one side and Captain Corona, Spiky, and Gus were on the other. Zelda carefully examined the room. She thought nothing was wrong until she looked up and took a look at the lights. Something was not right with the lights above their seats. She became a little worried. Gus told them the menu. It is: Appetizer – French Fries and Dip Main Course – Spaghetti or Salad Dessert – Pudding or Ice Cream (that is the poisonous dish but the #SUPERSONICS didn’t know) Then they started to eat. The dip was Zelda’s favorite. She loves to eat chips and guacamole. They filled up their stomachs. Then it was time for dessert. One of The Thoughtful Turtle’s superpower is an extra observant eye. Because of that she thought there was some kind of chemical their dessert. He was right. There was poison in it. But they didn’t know. Snake saw Turtle’s discomfort with the pudding. That is why she didn’t eat any. Zelda or Turtle didn’t eat any either. Soon Captain Corona noticed that they didn’t eat any pudding. He became red with anger. He tried to control himself but he didn’t have much self-control. “WHY DIDN’T YOU EAT ANY DESSERT?” he shouted with anger. By then they had already blown their cover. “Well.. BECAUSE YOU POISONED IT!” Slithery Snake exclaimed. They quickly got out of their seats, but as soon they stood up, Spiky pulled a switch and poison plants fell from the lights aiming for their seats. Turtle blocked it with his shield, Zelda speedily zipped away, and Snake used the Sneeke Shield, their new gadget. Then they all ran away. But before they were fully out of the castle Snake purposely threw a mini bomb into the castle. Then they ran back safely. Then… BOOM! The bomb exploded in the castle. But Captain Corona, Spiky, and The Deadly Disguiser ran out just in time, but the whole castle exploded into pieces. It was a truly unfortunate event for them but they deserved it. But there are many more innocent lives that they have killed. Much much more. But don’t worry, there is more that is about to happen to them by our brave #SUPERSONICS. Stay tuned for our next adventure with our heroes: Slithery Snake, The Thoughtful Turtle, and Zelda the Zapper. BYE!
Pigeon City by Charis Choy, 11
Charis Choy, 11 Cary, NC Pigeon City Charis Choy, 11 Amber rays of sunlight flooded through the city, casting long shadows behind the tall buildings. A glint of sun caught on dark grey feathers as the bird glided through the darkening sky, skimming the tops of the buildings. It landed on the roof of the tallest one. Beautiful evening, it thought to itself. And one day… this entire city will be OURS! It cackled evilly to itself for a few moments before another bird popped its head into view. “There you are, Blu. Where were you?” Blu glared at her friend. “Stu! You interrupted my evil cackling!” Stu rolled his eyes. “So that’s your new hobby, eh?” “Call it a hobby,” Blu sniffed, ruffling her feathers. “I call it practice.” “Practice,” Stu repeated dubiously. “Well, what are you practicing for? Face it, pigeons will never be as good at singing as other birds.” “I wasn’t trying to sing,” Blu squawked indignantly. “I was practicing for when pigeons will rule the city. Maybe I’ll even be invited to do the speech!” Stu blinked and cocked his head to the side. “What makes you think pigeons will ever rule the city?” “Don’t be daft!” Blu unfurled her wings, gesturing to the glorious city before them. “Look!” She bobbed her head proudly, waiting for Stu to begin nodding his head and saying, “Ohhh, I get it!” Instead, her friend blinked his black beady eyes some more and burbled, “I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” “It’s not what you see!” Blu exclaimed. “It’s what you don’t see! Look! There are so few humans out there right now. They already understand that they won’t be controlling the city for much longer.” Stu twisted his head around and began to preen his feathers. “Why would they ever understand that if it’s not true?” “But it is true!” cried Blu, spreading her wings again. “Remember all those hints that we always leave behind for them?” “Hints?” Stu paused to think about it. “Do you mean when Via left some of her droppings on the hood of that Lamborghini?” “You should’ve seen that human’s face when he saw them!” Blu smirked. “It looked likea tomato. And that time when Kek upchucked on that woman’s shoes was beautiful.” Stu nodded thoughtfully. “How about when Tud ate some of the kid’s ice cream at the park? That was quite interesting to watch.” “Now you’re getting it!” Blu hopped around with excitement. “You see, the city never truly belonged to humans—it belongs to us! And one day we’ll take it over, just you wait!” “Dream on, kid,” Stu replied. “I’m going to find a place to roost.”
