Pocket Stories

This book was written by the students of Tuesday and Thursday Night Tutoring Program in Mar Vista and Echo Park.

The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of 826LA. We support student publishing and are thrilled you picked up this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Las opiniones expresadas en este libro son las de los autores y no reflejan necesariamente las de 826LA. Apoyamos la publicación de jóvenes autores y estamos felices que hayan recogido este libro.

Todos los derechos reservados. Prohibida la reproducción total o parcial de este libro sin autorización escrita del editor.

Editors:

Pedro Estrada

Julia Malinow

Mateo Acosta

Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo

Cover Artwork + Book Design:

Jane Trieu

Echo Park

1714 Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

Mar Vista

12515 Venice Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90066

Written by the Students of Tuesday and Thursday Night Tutoring Program

Introduction

This year in Tuesday and Thursday Night Tutoring— known for more than a decade as TNT— the students wrote more. More than past years, more words, more depth, and with more imagination. The 20 minutes we dedicated each session to writing sometimes stretched into forty. Our five-minute mindfulness journal—once just a single minute in past years—filled with paragraphs of stories and feelings, from volunteers and students alike. And if it weren’t for the constant hum of students talking and laughing, praising each other’s work while volunteers offered advice, you’d hear the sound of keyboards typing just as loudly.

As a writing teacher and an advocate for teenage voices, I can’t help but constantly think everywhere I go, “How can TNT students have a better program?”

I’m not kidding, and summer 2025 was no exception. I realized students needed to write more than one story per year, not to pile on work, but to match their creative speed. It was a challenge, both new and a little terrifying, but also deeply thrilling. It was a challenge to write more, with more variety of prompts, with less time to hesitate and more time to act. Schools were already teaching them how to write, I saw it in their lengthy essays and well-crafted prose. So, my role became clear: leverage those skills by adding creativity and freeing them from the pressure of a grade. We shifted from writing one story for a single book to building a full portfolio of four stories and a zine. Across four units, students brainstormed, drafted,

gave and received peer feedback, and fully revised each piece, emulating portrait poems, generating prompts with playing cards, experimenting with horror microfiction, and finally—what students had been asking for years—choosing their own prompts.

What did I see as the sessions went on? Voice. It emerged like a butterfly from its cocoon, like a student yearning to get thoughts, ideas, and feelings out, needing only a pen. The constant turnaround from one unit to the other liberated them to write whatever came to their minds, no lingering, no time to doubt.

Brandon, one of our students at the Mar Vista Writing Lab, said to me one afternoon as he walked in early, “Writing stories is boring but it’s interesting at the same time,” he paused, “And it makes me think.” If you’ve ever taught middle or high schoolers, you know this is one of the highest compliments you can get as a teacher: you made students think.

With all my heart, I hope the stories that TNT students wrote this year have a warm imprint in their future memory of this program, and forever in their voice as they navigate the world.

Julia Malinow In-Schools and Tutoring Program Coordinator

Section One

Portrait Poems

Purple

Miranda Alvarado

Edna who complains about her workload like there is no tomorrow who is nail polish and mascara who is a pair of glasses and coffee whose makeup is made of chased dreams too wild to capture and to tame who tells me in Spanish I can do it later who tells me in English I’m not THAT dramatic whose hair tells tales of adventures and risks can’t make decisions on the dot is secretly in her villain arc plotting plans and schemes look out world here she comes! is bubbly and warm is a breath of fresh air and care whose friendship started from strawberries and one called Harry Potter who talks to me even when dark surrounds is hugs like blankets and sister-like bonds who runs round and round and round is the one to shine when you’re at the low calling over the howling storm asking what the future holds I know for sure that there’s room for two

February 1, 1994

Brianna Valderamma

Treating people with kindness all around the world

Each night a different place spotted by flashy lights

Quite a place that he doesn’t know

But seems to know the way around

Pleasing blue tote bag follows him everywhere he goes

Gucci sunglasses to cover his eye thinking no one recognize him

Manchester little boy

X-factor meeting three fish-and-chips boys and one fish boy

Who knew later it became the biggest boy band out there

From selling bread to selling out arenas

Laughing from country to country

Performing day and night

Five years later one left then the next year they have all left

Hiatus??

Still waiting

Solo career started

First album

New hair

New music style

New era

From starting again from the beginning

Never knowing how big of a pop star he was going to become

Winter’s Child

Edna Garcia-Cruz

Blue skies and autumn leaves

Cute sweaters and a single pearl on a thin gold chain

In the morning she’s already sitting at our table, she smiles and points

“Late”

She who likes torturing people with dad jokes in spanish cuz its funnier

She always says no to my perfectly good ideas

Very determined, nice hair

She won’t eat papaya, Give it to me instead.

Neuf ans d’amitié

My Melody to my Kuromi

Roxana Means Sunrise and Dawn

Roxana

Garcia Cruz

Roxana is my name.

Meaning sunrise and dawn.

Every single day

When I wake up

After I sleep

I see not only myself

In the mirror, but also

I see the generations before me.

My grandparents: dedicated, hard-working, and resilient. My loving and supportive parents, who Made sacrifices for our future and happiness. My siblings and I have a great life. Care.

Unconditional Love.

Good food.

And happiness!!!

All of us together

In a family

But I am me.

A person with my own hopes and dreams

Kind, intelligent, and funny.

A person

Who enjoys listening to music, food, and reading

If you know me

My name is Roxana

Meaning sunrise and dawn.

Arturo Garcia Cruz

In school, I sit behind my friends.

I annoy my friends while I bounce my leg.

I kick the back of his chair.

I send him random stuff on his gmail.

But at home I say hi to my parents and go wash my hands.

I am a son, a brother, a free loader, a gamer.

Who loves computers, pizza, wifi, and my bed.

Who hates lag, weird white pasta with shrimp, and horror movies.

Who will probably be a millionaire, a tall person, and an F1 driver.

P.S.: I like cookies and LEGO sets, oh, and we can’t forget chocolate ice cream.

P.S.S.: Lag is when your games start acting weird and start to freeze.

Unwavering Affection

Grace

Tuxpan

when we think of unconditional love, you may think of a soulmate or your best friend this opinion may vary for everyone i believe that my Unconditional Love is my mom my Ma is Protective and Fierce my Ma is Caring and Gentle my Ma Provides for her Family my Ma Encourages me to work hard and follow my dreams her Hands show her Dedication from long hours of work who would do Anything for me to be happy When im older i’ll do anything to make her happy like how she made me happy

Mom

Marlene Tuxpan

My mom is very much a Social butterfly

She loves talking to people And has many friends

She loves many things Except for cats

Currently trying to convince her to let me get one Showing her cute cat videos Hoping it could change her mindset about cats

To her, cats are little demons Last time we had one it had babies Constantly bring dead rats into our house And poop under our bed My sister

Who owned the cat never trained it They just don’t look Or act like dogs

She’s stubborn but I think every mom is Still love her though

Even if we are polar opposites in some areas I love to stay in the comfort of my house

She likes to party And drags me to every party Against my own will

Even if she doesn’t allow me to do some things

Sleep overs at my friends?

My mom will say no

Hanging with friends?

She wants their umbilical cord atp

Nose piercing?

Not until I’m eighteen to twenty years old

Tattoo?

Absolutely not

I don’t blame her though Tattoos are permanent

Even after all that

She’s still my mom

She has done a lot for the family

She’s not perfect

But I still love her

Someone Like Home Guadalupe Vasquez

He brings me joy

Kind and joking to all––

A soul that softens every room

Home is a safe place

Where he can be himself,

With me

Or alone in his room

His days flow through School and steady work

Simple rhythms That keep him grounded

We connect with scary stories and family

With laughter over shared memories

And quiet comfort side by side

He never leaves without a hoodie

Carrying the warmth of making his family proud

An introvert––He doesn’t talk much

Unless he trusts you deeply I love

That he doesn’t care

If She Was A Sin

Fatima Garcia

What people say

Whenever I see his honey brown eyes and Caring soul,

The way his smile

Lights up my face

I think of an angel––And that is his name Mi novio, Angel

I’d never get into heaven never in a million years no not a thousand I’m talking about millions of years I would have closed the doors myself if it meant

I couldn’t be with her and I wouldn’t look back not once I’d be too busy running into her arms, No matter what.

I’d run into her I’d let her hold me even if her arms were like blades until my arms are red.

I’d still feel safe

God, why would you consider her a sin in the first place?

Oh how angelic she is to me…

Do you know how they say the angels seem scary because

when they come down from heaven to this existence people can’t comprehend their divine being?

That’s exactly how I see him not the scary part but how handsome he is that’s why I compare her to an angel.

My angel.

No Boxing, No Life

Rosaisela Lopez

The boy with the red hair became famous or how shall i put it?

He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. So i know.

When he was young he would sell ice cream. Struggling. This perhaps explains his motivation. Boxing profession. So you see discipline. Discipline. Solitary training. Unstoppable.

A family trait he traces back Con hermanos que boxean De ahí vino su amor por el boxeo. From a small boxing gym. Where he would go. Alone. Day and night.

He stayed determined. Confident. Humble.

Patient.

But one day something changed in the ring. At twenty-three years old. Outboxed.

But it didn’t define him. So the boy with the red hair took control. Dominating the ring. Dominating every punch and every movement. Winning. Thriving Inspiring the world.

A Mexican with power and speed. Unstoppable. Soon to be known. Internationally. Now he is the face of boxing.

Inspiring many just like myself.

I Who I Is a Latina

Andrea Nicolas

I who is Chicana.

Who has Mexican parents

Spanish is my first language

And part of my rich culture

I who grew up around the delicious Mexican foods, like pozole and Mole

A girl who grew up in LA surrounded by the Mexican traditions

Like Dia De Los Muertos

I who is a girl that loves drawing

Putting all her feeling in every brushstroke of her paintings

Playing soccer and watching it on TV with her parents

Someone that is full of energy

Ideas and Intelligence

Who loves her friends and family

And almost anything that surrounds her.

TTV Streamer BTW

Bernando Garcia

Dear Fortnite,

From the moment I got my PS4, downloading the only game I saw waiting for school to end and for me to play

I knew one thing.

I fell in love with you.

From a time where life was so simple hardly working, and always talking. Playing even though I didn’t know how and being the dumb kid I was.

When I was seven hoping my mom could get us Little Caesars playing an instrument I didn’t fully understand.

Spending all my free time on you day dreaming in class to go back home and play all day to when home was only a few minutes away.

I played you every chance I could get.

Playing and playing matches never really learning how to get better bragging about how many wins I had, what level I was what skins I unlocked.

Always looking at the loading screens I unlocked decrypting the hidden code and getting those famed Battle Stars.

You gave me my childhood you gave me my memories of watching Fortnite Lore Secrets and begging my mom to get home early and watch a Fortnite Live Event.

Some of my love for you has faded. Turned into nostalgia.

Even though you’re not part of my life today you were part of my childhood even though I never listen to your calls anymore there was once a time when I always picked up the phone.

The Place I Grew Up

In Aaron M.

Dear Echo Park,

For the past fifteen years I have been living here in Echo Park, Los Angeles. I really got to know the places I grew up in and the family I created here at Echo Park and with 826LA. Watching the Dodgers from afar while playing sports with friends in the park and making memories seeing the fireworks from my parents room. To know if the Dodgers won or not, but they always brought a smile to me and my place where my parents came from in Mexico. I will always be proud of where I am from and it goes threw me veins and will always be proud of my family and writers.

Lourdes

Adan Hernandez

Dear Lourdes,

From the moment you gave birth to me I knew I would be in good hands.

You took the challenge of being my mom and dad easy in life. You sacrificed everything so I have everything. You put me into sports at an early age which led me to be the athlete I am today.

I Love The Outside Amy Rico

I love the outside

The outside makes me happy.

I love being outgoing and exploring places with my friends

My friends and I love music

Music is my everything Music makes me feel better It calms me

I feel calm when my dog is with me She comforts me

My other dog he is more calm and to himself but they’re both my babies

The Wolf Howling

Maria S.

I am from America and from Mexico,

From a very fun and caring neighborhood.

I am the wind howling at night.

I am the pozole on my plate.

I am the monkey swinging from the tree,

From the wolf howling to the bright moon and the sly fox who steals from my siblings.

I am my uncle, who is very bright and my aunt, who is lively every day

I am my mother, who keeps me happy everyday

From the dance floor and the life of the party

I am “la bruja del 75” and “el hambre.”

From “el soldado del amor”

I am pozole and morisqueta

I am my mothers gold earrings, and her gold necklace

I am the wind howling at night.

Fresh Apple Juice

Emily S.

I am Los Angeles and Mexican

From Echo Park

I am the waterfall surrounded by the swan boats

I am the morning of waking up small home that feels like a hug and when the beautiful cool sun hides

I am the fresh apple juice

From the vanilla yogurt and strawberry yogurt

I am grandma and Grandma

I am my uncle, who plays volleyball

From a picture frame besides the cempasuchil and pan dulce

I am “Millie” and “changa”

From “La Bamba.”

I am the birria tacos and caldos

I am the digital camera, the first car my dad bought in the U.S.

I am Echo Park

Dogs

Ariana Rivas

I have two dogs, one brown - CHURRO! - one yellow - OSO!

Both are fat, cute and smelly too. I love them no matter what.

Churro sleeps upside down, but Oso loves to sleep upright and cuddle.

Churro is too old to fight now but once he bit my nailOUCH! A SCAR!

It’s all OK and we still got the love…forever.

Oso’s younger and plays too rough and thinks my toys are his!

He thinks my Fugglers are his, even Coconut and Patrick…and KFC too!

They mostly get along but fight sometimes too and Churro being ten years old can still match Oso at two.

For Halloween, they really do it up. Churro was the perfect hot dog and Oso the most beautiful rainbow… side by side.

My Churro and Oso, both fat, smelly and cute, no matter what, I love them so much.

About my two Dogs named Churro (brown hair) and Oso (yellow hair)

Churro (brown hair):

* Sleeps upside down

* Fat and cute

* He was a hot dog for halloween

* LIke to cuddle and sleep on the bed

* Smelly but I still love him

* He knows that my toys are not for him

* One time he bit my nail and I still have a scar

* But it’s OK

Oso

* Fat and cute

* He was a rainbow for halloween

* Likes to cuddle and sleep on the bed

* He beats me up when I take “his toy” which is really my toy

* Fugglers - he tried to take the coconut and Patrick and KFC too! I was like “these are expensive!”

* Energetic / likes to play

* Sometimes he plays too rough and bites you but he doesn’t mean to hurt you

They mostly get along, but sometimes not. Last week they were fighting - Churro is ten years old but he can still fight! He can’t even jump on the bed, but he can put Oso in a headlock.

My dogs Churro and Oso are both fat and cute. They’re smelly, but I still love them.

Garden and Flowers

Ivanna L.

I am from America and Mexico

From a loud neighborhood

I am the bed in my room

I am a candle because I’m bright

I am the Tigger sitting and my bed

From the garden and flowers in my background

I am Tio Vicente and Tio David

I am my sister Maria, who makes me laugh

From making tamales

I am “gorda” and “la mosquita muerta”

From “el soldado del amor”

I am tamales and pozole

I am my cross necklace, my mom’s panther necklace

I am the bed in the room

About Myself

Bryan Hernandez

A way I would describe myself is that I am a funny and kind person. One thing that I would like to be when I grow up is a veterinarian, and I was also thinking of becoming a doctor. Ever since I was little I always wanted to become a firefighter. But now that I am older, I want to be either a doctor or a veterinarian. One thing that is something of everyday life is waking up and going to school, and after school I rest up and go on my phone. I am a horror person and like to watch any type of horror movie.

The Key to Cesar

Cesar Solis

I like piano.

Piano is fun.

Pianos are big.

Pianos sound nice.

I like music.

Music is nice.

I am nice.

I’m happy.

I like being happy.

I’m a kid.

Weather

Daniela Aguila

Rain hit the floor, make a beat

Rain sounds like a punch

Thunder clap is loud as my friend and I

Me dancing in the rain splashes

Slipping on puddle go all over your clothes

Cloud are spread like a fierce

Rainbow feels nostalgic

Taking me back when I was three

Thunder sounds like my sister

Sun is positive as my older sister

Under the Lights

Jamileth M.

It’s a stage with slippery marley floor And those in front of me are filled with the people I love the most.

Everyone is shouting, “We got this.” We start dancing and I let myself go. But I fall, I slip on my partner’s foot and I finish the performance I worked my butt off the whole year and ended with disappointment.

I go to my dressing room frustrated at the performance I danced.

After hours and days of rehearsals I failed myself, and my friends. Was it even worth it?

I hate the way you make me seek for perfection. But before we go on for the next show, We stand in a tight circle

hands linked—warm, trembling, alive. My friends, the people I love, chant softly under the lights, voices blending with the crowds behind the curtain. Our breaths rise and fall together, nervous but ready. I feel my friend’s sweaty palm, and my own shaking hand. We inhale—deep, sharp—and for a moment, it’s just us in the world. “Three, two, one—ready.”

And I get reminded that it was worth it. You are worth it, in this lifetime and all the others. I love you.

Wilted Beauty

Jaqueline Ortega

Oh, when your petals grow, Wilted my heart loves you more than ever before.

Your beauty makes my heart ache as the tip of the petals go black everyone can see you losing your beauty but not me you’re just getting even more beautiful

My heart can’t stop loving you. I try to keep you with me. I try to really do ...

No flower can bring the love I have for you. I will keep trying no matter what but one thing I realized is that even the most perfect and beautiful flowers will die.

Now I am standing next to ... wilted beauty

Eight Things About Me

Leo Martinez

1. What words describe my personality are happy, energetic, and kind.

2. What is home to me is warm and helpful. Also I come from LA.

3. What’s part of my everyday life is waking up, going to school, hanging out with my friends, getting out of school and sleeping for hours.

4. What I connect deeply to is listening to music, reading books, and watching movies with my family.

5. What I’m passionate about is singing, reading and writing fast.

6. What I carry with me is hand sanitizer and my sister’s phone and something else.

7. Some of my contradictions are that I’m sensitive.

8. What I love about myself is that my personality is funny and kind and my emotions. Also that my strengths are being nice, energetic, and hyper.

I Am Luis J.

I am California and Mexico.

From Highland Park of the most passive yet ecstatic places.

I am the assistant of the church doing what I can and help whenever it’s needed.

I am surrounded by the sight of nostalgia.

I am Tom and Jerry.

From qubo and Elmo.

I am like my brother and mother.

I am a sibling to my sibling, who depends on me often.

From pets’ birthdays to holidays.

I am “The man the myth the legend” and “_________”

From “bygones be dragons”

I am rice and beans.

I am family park photos, as well as the beach photos.

I am The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

Places

Mareli Martinez

In the house of my heart you’ll see my friends and places I like.

One place being my room, seeing clothes because I shop a lot.

The mall is my top hangout, photobooth strips show all my mall trips with my friends. We love eating food, no hangout is complete without food.

I love my friends and they make me happy, they feel like home.

Home

Meggan Martinez

Home is where my loved ones are, music and laughter never far.

I carry hope every day, with friends and dreams to light my way. music and friends by my side.

Shy but bold, tough yet kind I carry hope in my pocket, passion in every stride.

My Hollywood

Miles Green

Any Thing and Everything Through a Dream

Noe Aguiar

I am miles w green, who sees the beautiful Hollywood hills below my home

Clear beaches and the vast valleys, the beautiful city lights. Universal studios and Disney world

In a dream about me

There would be infinite mountains

You look up into the sky

Tacos are raining and Sprites everywhere

You get off the bike and You fall into a void once you fall into the void

You start falling into a blackhole

Then you start to get to burnt by the sun

After that you get run over you

Get teleported into space for all of eternity

Shy and Loud

Metzil Sanchez

I am American and Mexican

From a bummy neighborhood in Los Angeles, California

I am the food truck in front of my house

I am the sound of the ice cream truck

I am a stuffed Triceratops

From the Barbie villa and rose garden

I am Lia and Lian

I am Vicente, who died before I was born

From humorous remarks

I am “shy” and “loud”

From “comes o te quito tu telephono”

I am shrimp and tuna

I am a silver cross, and a pillow case

I am a bummy neighborhood in Los Angeles California

Burgers and Hot Dogs

Jesus De Santiago

I am Angeleno and Hispanic.

From the west lake neighborhood filled with places to eat, but the people never leave.

I am the creator of the target.

I am the crowded house of six.

I am the Nintendo DS.

From bikes and sports balls.

I am my mom and my dad.

I am my sister, who is filled with kindness. From staying up past midnight on Christmas to open presents.

I am “treat others how you would like to be” and “treated”

I am burgers and hot dogs.

My Mom

Sophia Morales

I hope you forever stay nice and funny

That you keep crocheting until the world runs out of yarn

I hope you keep baking, and cooking

That you keep on watching your favorite movies and shows.

And I always, always hope that you keep being the safest most welcoming person I will ever know The person I will always admire and love most

The Sun Rises

Miranda Alvarado

Long ago, in a kingdom where the sun never rose and the moon never set, there was once a wise Hermit who lived in solitude, writing poems and cooking up herbs and medicine. He would never find himself taking sides, always being part of the solution, not the problem. One day, he was called upon to the palace by none other than the Queen of Cups herself. The Queen was a lovely ruler, pushing the kingdom into a prosperous land, yet whenever she wanted something it was always given to her.

The Queen of Cups welcomed the wise Hermit warmly, bringing him sweets and beverages before addressing him. “Wise Hermit, I have called on you today for a request that’s been at the tip of my tongue for days now. I request to have the sun rise over the land once more for the kingdom’s 890th birthday as well as for my 30th birthday. Go, seek the sun that rests past the twin waterfalls of wishes, and if you succeed, you shall be rewarded.”

The wise Hermit, as to not upset the Queen, agreed to this journey, unaware of the treacherous journey that awaits for him. He climbed hills and ventured through forests of stars finding creatures that dance in the starlight, but eventually the glow of the silver waters peaked over the hill.

The wise Hermit was thrilled as he began ascending its hills, but rather than finding the sun fast asleep as he had initially predicted, men of golden armor and ruby decorated hilts of swords stood guard around the one thing he needed. The Sun. Was this how it ended? Coming back with no sun? Just then a white light flashed, blinding the wise Hermit just as he turned away.

The Hanging Man

Sofia Alvarado

There was a man who liked to hang upside down from a tree branch. One day he was summoned by the Queen of Swords to show up at her castle. She asked the hanging man if he could start serving as her personal messenger. The King of Cups overheard this conversation while passing by to show the queen a letter. The king disagreed with this because he saw how the Queen treated her other personal messenger, so he turned around to go back to his castle, and reported it to his servants.

He told his two most reliable servants, and ordered them to kill the hanging man and poison the Queen’s wine. He sent both of them off to the Queen’s castle and they snuck into the city dressed up as merchants selling wine. Luckily, this wasn’t a hard job since the Queen had gotten out of her castle to roam around the city. The two men offered her a wine bottle saying it was from old century Europe, and she happily accepted this wine bottle. She thanked them and went back into her castle.

As the Queen turned around the two servants spotted the hanging man and ran to him and “accidentally” bumped into him. They offered him a jewel and told him to follow them. The hanging man followed, and once they were out of sight from the rest of the people in the city they dragged him and killed him. While this was all happening the Queen had already drank the wine

and died.

The two men celebrated with the wine they found in the hanging men’s bag. They drank it, slow and steady. “Huh?” Who would have known that the wine had poison in it. I guess the hanging man knew all along.

The End of the River

Brianna Valderrama

Walking through the edge of the water hoping to find a star in the sky I wish today is not the day I die. No star yet and the boss is king is waiting for me and it’s getting dark. No star resulted in no fish resulted in me getting killed. (The fishes are gold equals money). Waiting and waiting for a star to appear, my body starts to shake and my whole skills start to curl up. Yes a star appears, I got my fishing rope as soon as possible then I launched it into the ocean yes! I think I got a fish, I’m not going to die anymore!

Wait wait I swear I had the fish hook, now it’s gone I spoke too soon and as I was lifting my head facing towards the sky I saw the star was gone no no no this can’t be happening right what am I going to do?

How did I end up in this situation? I shouldn’t have ever betted that twenty thousand dollars, now my life is at risk!

The king is going to kill me now, there is no way that I’m going to find a fish now. The sun is rising with a hint of pink blending in with the clouds. It’s too late now, I just cannot make up my mind that he will end me.

As I make it to the huge brown french doors of the castle my legs start to shake. It’s like I can’t even walk anymore. As soon as the door opens the boss is standing waiting for me with his shiny knives pointing straight to my head.

The Guardian Angel Who Murdered the Orphan

Roxana Garcia Cruz

Long ago there lived a man who had a guardian angel. Not just any angel, but the great winged angel. She was the highest ranking angel in the kingdom. Her name was Angelica. Unlike the happy demeanor she always kept, she was internally terrified that she wouldn’t be able to help this poor pathetic human. This was her last chance to stay an angel because all the other humans she tried to help ended up tragically dying. However, this new human was miraculously alive despite being an orphan, which is how he ended up with a guardian angel.

The man was a money maker who devoted himself to creating the rarest gold coins for clients in the kingdom. Although he was an amazing money maker dedicated to his craft, he always tried to find ways to sneak aluminum into the gold coin and keep more gold for himself. He used the money to ruin the lives of poor orphan children because he was bitter. He used to be a poor orphan himself and he wanted them to suffer like he did.

After scamming people, he always heard a voice in his head telling him to do the right thing but he never listened. Then, one day, a lady came into his shop

asking for five gold coins with a star printed on them, and he agreed to the request. However, just as he was about to put the aluminum in the gold coins, he saw a spark of light descending from the sky and into his shop. “My guardian angel!” he exclaimed just as he was stabbed through the heart by the angel who had grown tired of watching him repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Mirror

Marlene Tuxpan

Long ago there lived a man who had a guardian angel. Not just any angel, but the great winged angel. She was the highest ranking angel in the kingdom. Her name was Angelica. Unlike the happy demeanor she always kept, she was internally terrified that she wouldn’t be able to help this poor pathetic human. This was her last chance to stay an angel because all the other humans she tried to help ended up tragically dying. However, this new human was miraculously alive despite being an orphan, which is how he ended up with a guardian angel.

The man was a money maker who devoted himself to creating the rarest gold coins for clients in the kingdom. Although he was an amazing money maker dedicated to his craft, he always tried to find ways to sneak aluminum into the gold coin and keep more gold for himself. He used the money to ruin the lives of poor orphan children because he was bitter. He used to be a poor orphan himself and he wanted them to suffer like he did.

After scamming people, he always heard a voice in his head telling him to do the right thing but he never listened. Then, one day, a lady came into his shop asking for five gold coins with a star printed on them, and he agreed to the request. However, just as he was about to put the aluminum in the gold coins, he saw a spark of light descending from the sky and into his shop. “My guardian angel!” he exclaimed just as he was stabbed

through the heart by the angel who had grown tired of watching him repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

I must’ve not heard my front door open because I suddenly hear multiple footsteps come towards the direction of my room. My head snaps to my door as it suddenly opens to reveal Noor, my friend and “roommate”. I forgot she even had the key to my apartment.

“Aylin, What’s taking you so long? We’ve been trying to contact you.” Noor asks, closing the door behind her.

I must’ve not heard my notifications either. I look at my phone without picking it up, then back at her. She notices the state I’m in and asks,

“Are you okay?”

My First Thought

Fatima Garcia

My first thought when I saw that beautiful woman in green in the garden was “Am I dying?...” I wasn’t of course... Maybe? Nope. I was all in one piece. Doesn’t matter! Who was she? I have to know or she’ll just be a nameless face in my mind. I already knew she was going to be in my mind rent free, she might as well have had a name for that beautiful face.

But I would never dare just look at her face I want to see her soul.

Although I could go on and on about how beautiful she is, I would rather talk to her maybe forever. I feel like I could talk to her so easily, she seems like the most amazing person ever. But of course, not everything was perfect. I wasn’t good enough to talk to her, not someone like me. She was so much prettier than me… Still maybe I could talk with her, maybe she’ll take pity on me.

Her eyes, what I first thought were soft, but then I saw they carry something heavy, something that wasn’t meant for her to carry. I notice how her shoulders are tense I could only hope by talking with her I would relieve her of what she carries… So I will walk up to her “Hi…” I finally said to her.

Wood Balance of a Middle Age (And Idealism)

Antonio Mateo

Wood is common, wood is dependent. Thus did my father, Arthur prioritized his wood like it was his own philosophy. Clearly in hierarchy there’s roles, but his beliefs quoted that everyone standardized their role of occupying wood as a staple, and nonetheless, made it their foundation. Wood this, wood that, what is territorial is wooden. And did he truly make territory. Until his civilization had people who disregarded his principle, and whoever contempted, became banished, as he would outrighteously say to his civilians, “Make your own region!” as if they could improve. But oh, was it regrettingly persuaded we’ve been better during the Middle Era.

Apparently and presently the Modern Era was done periodically. Our messenger, shared an outclass of individuals, that by banishment, so bested their tribes, to indefinite success to new civilizations, and our oppositions expanded. Worst to better yet, they found materials that portrayed us as obsolete. To an extent, of one of the most outdated civilizations, my dad would be agape to what mockery redeemed to be an upside, against us, even though he’s already doing it with the help of his skull that’s just bone.

I was recommended to find new material like others, but I refused. Until a more unique mind came, he said a

tree already gave me the strength and resource. However, he told me it is contrary. In particular instances it was stratified to give me indistinguishable results of materials. But ways in which pacifying trees made a balance, meant we shall revolt with a supreme wood, guaranteed to be pristine, giving ideal power. Uncertain, but in curiosity, it went culminating. There was no negligence of my dad’s expectations, who even said he knew I could overestimate the essentials. But thanks to afterthought, he would embody the vmeaningful wood.

The Deadly Future

Omar Sanchez

It started one day when the King of Swords lived in his kingdom. He was powerful, and he ruled an island that, when it was nighttime, the moon could be seen so clear and close to the island.

One day, a wise man was hired to tell the future of the King of Swords. When he saw the future in his mind, he saw Death killing the king and taking his soul, so he went to warn him. But the wise man couldn’t see his own Death, so Death killed him, and he couldn’t warn the King of the Swords. Then after killing the wise man, Death got on the horse and started to go towards the kingdom in the nighttime.

Once he entered the kingdom, he went to the King of Swords’ castle sneakily. He hid in a chest to take the king’s soul. When the king opened the chest, Death jumped out. The King of Swords pulled out his sword and started to attack Death. Death took out his sword and started to attack the King of Swords. But Death ended up defeated and left, and the King of Swords won.

A Clash With Death

Zeke Carrillo-saar

One day on Sunday, February 14, 2029, Death was sitting with Alexandria eating Chick-Fil-A. He was pondering how to escape the Devil’s kingdom. This happened because he refused to kill Alexandria Delacruz after the devil hired him to kill her. She was the thirty-eight-year-old daughter of a woman named Jacquelyn Delacruz, who had stolen a chest of jewels that had belonged to the devil.

Death was now hiding from the devil’s skeleton army. It started on Tuesday, February 5, 2025 when Alexandria was walking her four-month-old Shiba Inu puppy on a cloudy morning. Death was stalking her. He had shapeshifted to the form of an ordinary jogger and concealed his scythe. He was jogging up to her, and he saw her face. He fell in love with her. “Hello ma’am, may I pet your dog?” he said nervously.

“Of course! Her name is Tater Tot, and he loves getting scratched behind the ears!” she replied.

“Hi Tater Tot,” Death said as he scratched her behind the ears.

“What’s your name?” Alexandria asked.

“Uuuh, Gary! Gary Spencer. Nice to meet you,” Death replied. “What’s yours?” He asked as if he didn’t know.

“Alexandria Delacruz! Nice to meet you too!” They shook hands and walked to the local Café together.

‘Gary’s’ phone rang. “Uh one sec gotta take this,” he said as they both stopped walking.

“Have you killed her yet?” The devil asked.

“Not yet,” Gary whispered into the phone, “Gotta go.” He hung up quickly. Looking back, this was his first mistake. He had forgotten the tracking device on his phone.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

The Hard Math Equation

Bryan Hernandez

Once upon a time in a far away land lived a girl named Emma. It takes place in the middle of nowhere in a lake. She was thinking about a math equation on one sunny morning. There was a mean guy named Noah who was stressing out about helping his best friend Emma solve a math equation.

While on their way back home Emma saw a guy in the middle of the street that looked like her dad, and he was holding a bat but Emma just ignored it thinking it wasn’t her dad, but it actually was.

Emma was blindfolded, and there were circling crows above her. Emma helped her friend Noah become less stressed. After helping out Noah he became nicer, and he started to help others.

“Alexandria Delacruz! Nice to meet you too!” They shook hands and walked to the local Café together.

Jake’s Crazy Adventures

Cesar Solis

One rainy afternoon in the marker cap world the mountains stoop tall. There lived a horse named Jake. He was just eating grass until a crazy lady pushed him off a mountain. Jake fell 40,000,000 miles turning into a fire ball as he crashed into the ground, and a man brought Jake back to life using holy water. Jake could fly, so he wouldn’t have to worry about falling again. He was able to fly because of the holy water the man gave to him, and the man lost his power and died because of the crazy lady.

The crazy lady was a witch and did a spell because the crazy lady didn’t like the horse, Jake. The witch doesn’t like Jake because he eats the best grass that he sees, and the witch needs to use the grass for different potions. Because the man saved Jake, the lady was mad. So Jake flew over to the lady, picked up the lady, and dropped her off the same mountain she pushed him off. The lady was begging the horse to save her life, so Jake saved her life by flying down, collecting lots of grass to make a parachute. So he got all the grass he could see and crafted the parachute for the lady to use. The lady was thankful because of Jake. She said sorry and did a spell to revive the man and they all became friends after that.

They used Jake’s ability to fly out of the market cap to

a new world. They flew around, then they found a different marker cap in a giant room. They saw a little boy that looked super big, and the boy was using markers. And now, the boy closed the marker he just used. And now Jake, the man, and the lady can’t go back now!

So when the boy used a different marker, his parents called him for dinner, so he left. So Jake, the man, and the woman went inside the marker cap to explore the marker cap world. Once they reached the ground, they were hungry. So they looked for food, and luckily for Jake, he found some tall grass, for the man, some apples and for the woman, she ate raspberries. And when they were full, they explored the world.

Fast, so the boy didn’t close the marker so they would be trapped! They saw other horses and other animals called sheep, cows, chickens, monkeys, predators, and other animals they had never seen before. But then the boy finished dinner and was using the marker. So Jake had to act fast. So he quickly flew out with some extra grass he kept in his mouth. He quickly flew out of the new marker cap and then he found himself in the boy’s room again. And then also he forgot the man and the woman were still inside! So he flew back in as fast as he could while eating his grass. And yelled for the man and the woman to climb the tallest tree so they can go up as fast and efficiently as they can.

So Jake quickly told them to climb on his back. After they did that, he flew back out. The boy was closing the marker, and Jake was scared. He would never escape! But out of some luck he still had, he escaped. Then he decided not to go in any more marker caps, except where he used to live. So he flew out the open window. He saw giant buildings, he saw cars, he saw boards, he saw a huge ocean. He saw giant people! He saw people using phones. He just remembered he dropped the man and woman when he was flying out the window! He flew down and caught them mid-air.

Art

Jackelyn Arellano

It all started when Jessie left her isolated village. After walking almost 1000 miles, Jessie finally found civilization in a dry land with barely any life. Only sand and other tourists. Once Jessie settled in the town, she showed off her artwork that won many awards.

“I love this work of art!!”

“Well I hate it.”

Turns out, half of the town loved her art, while the other half hated anything creative. Eventually this cursed the town to split in half becoming two new cities.

“I like our boring city, no color, no life. And especially no creativity!” the sad lifeless city said.

“Well, I love our beautiful thriving city,” the other city said. Both the cities then continued to live peacefully separated.

The Good Friends

Jesus Aguiar

Across the street there was a boy called Jesus who was part of a magician club and could levitate stuff. Jesus went into a sunny forest with a lot of land in the forest. There was a warrior. The warrior was surprised by the magician, and he started fighting. The fight ended up being bad but eventually they made peace, and they became good friends.

Goals in Life

Leo Martinez

In a far away land lived the Ace of Cups who was in charge of helping the people in achieving their goals in life. The Ace of Cups was really nice. She helped them not do bad things.

There was another character that was called Strength. She was the master of challenging players to see their strength.

The Four of Cups is a person who doesn’t care about anyone except the evil persons.

And the Temperance is the problem because she is the one that gets into fights and the one who gets in trouble.

Snowy Day

Lyli Resendiz

One snowy day, Anabelle, who is seventeen, wanted to go outside with her bunny. Annabelle had an idea: go outside with her bunny and play in the snow together. She snuck outside without her parents knowing she was going to go outside. However, Anabelle was scared and nervous to go outside without her parents permission. She realized the moment she stepped foot outside her house, it was way too cold, and she knew it was cold and snowy, but she still went outside into the cold.

What is it that you need?

Miles Green

Prince Tomes the First won his noble “steed”, Luscious, from the kingdom of Elon, he was sent by his father King Karl the VI to seek help from an oracle from a far away land because this land was dying, and the people were starving.

Tomes crossed up on the mountains and through the evergreen grasslands then up on the valley. There was a little cottage. Tomes opened the door to the cottage where the old man was sitting with a gray wolf. He said, “Come my child I’ve seen many men come before you. I’ve seen them ask for many things. I have seen them ask for gold. I have seen them ask for power but you, young man, seem different. What is it that you need?”

Hallucinating Old Man

Noe Aguiar

Once upon a time, in a far away sea lived a very old man who was bonded to the sea and his cups. Since the cups had fish bait, and the fish go crazy for this bait because it’s exotic, the fish would kill for this bait. The fish wanted this bait so bad that they held the old man captive because he wouldn’t give more exotic bait.

The place that the fish decided on was a nest about 3 feet from sea level but the old man who was the one and only king of cups was at least 200 meters up in the sky. The fish then trapped him instead, but the old man had to get out because he was on a quest to find the Land of Cups.

He’d soon give up or so he thought he was. He realized that he was a coward for the try, and he started hallucinating on how his wife and future kids would mock him for the rest of his five years left on Aguacateco. Since he was not trying to get mocked he decided to use the rest of his four hundred and twenty brain cells to punch one of the fish, but the fish had eaten too much of the exotic bait so they were basically fish superheroes. He then broke every bone in his hand and his arm. He then started crying, but since he is sigma he ate his boogers and fell asleep for all of eternity.

Section Three

Horror

Microfiction

It’s Finally Halloween Nathalie Carpio

It’s finally Halloween in Abiete Valley. It’s 1986, school is over. Wallace and Jason are biking home together like always.

Jason is 15 and has longish brown, straight hair and green eyes. He’s wearing a checkered shirt tucked into straight, light-wash jeans with a brown belt and black converse. “It’s so foggy today, I’m so cold,” says Jason.

Wallace is 14, wearing a long sleeve blue-and-white striped shirt with straight, darker blue, wash jeans and some Adidas. He has fluffy light brown hair, dark brown eyes and freckles.

“Hey. Aren’t you even a little bit scared?” Wallace asks, looking at Jason worriedly, completely ignoring whatever Jason said prior.

“About the kidnapper? No. That’s just a myth, most of the kids that went missing most likely ran away. I mean who even wants to live here anyway?” replies Jason

Wallace shrugs “I guess I just…” he’s hesitant. “We fit the description of most of the kids that have gone missing and I just really don’t want it to be us.”

Jason doesn’t reply.

As they bike down the street of Hallow Road, the houses are tall, long, and have lots of windows. Most of them

are two stories high and they are all decorated for tonight! There are tall pine trees behind the houses. Some houses have small bushes in front of them. The weather is perfect for the day as it’s very gloomy and foggy and there is a slight breeze. The town doesn’t have anything particularly wrong; it just gets boring after a while.

Wallace is spaced out and he sees a bush rustle and almost crashes into Jason. “Dude! Watch where you are going!” yells Jason.

“I’m sorry! I was just uh… I thought I saw something. Guess I’m just paranoid,” replies Wallace.

The bushes rustle as a dark figure is shaping itself to fit behind it. “It’s okay, just be careful.”

Wallace stares at the bush one last time unbeknownst to the actual reason for its movement before he starts biking again.

They get to Jason’s house and get ready. They aren’t as excited for Halloween anymore because they are getting older. Jason and Wallace find little things from past Halloween costumes to make a random outfit.

“Should we hit up Opaltin? I hear they give big candy bars there!” suggests Jason.

“Uh.. My mom said I’m not allowed to go anywhere… and

I don’t really want to go far, you know..?” replies Wallace.

“You’re no fun! Man, I really wanted to go… Oh! What if I go and you stay?”

Wallace immediately grabs Jason’s sleeve. “No! I don’t think we should separate.”

“Let go of me! I’m going anyway.”

Wallace is terrified but doesn’t run after him because he knows that Jason will not stop.

Twenty minutes later Wallace hears a scream and everyone else seems to not hear it. It sounds a lot like Jason. He runs toward the bushes where they had biked past on their way back home and as he’s searching the area he hears an eerie whistle in front of him, as if it’s coming from behind the bush. Wallace starts to try and regulate his breaths but he can’t. The fear of not knowing where Jason is after hearing him scream and the eerie whistle is just too much. Wallace begins to cry sitting in front of the bush thinking about the murderer he thinks took Jason. What Wallace doesn’t see is the dark shadow watching him from behind the bush waiting to take him as well.

The Darkness is Your Best Friend

Sofia Alvarado

You’re in a dark room, curled on the cold hardwood floor. You’re listening to music in your headphones, staring at the blank white wall as darkness hugs you, feeling like it’s your only friend. It sinks you in.

You’re overthinking the words you said while you were with your friends. “Were they wrong or right?” You feel left out, but it’s you who is slowly fading away from them little by little. Thinking and thinking, your heart beats so fast. Tears swell up in your eye, dripping and dripping till you can’t breathe. Please help!

Suddenly, you hear a knock, ripping you out of your thoughts. You take out your headphones, hands wiping your teary eyes. You get up, pushing yourself off the floor painfully like a weight on your shoulders. Mind blank. You walk to the door before pausing. “Wait a second.” You take this second to practice your smile as you’ve done before many times. You open the door as your sibling stands before you, and you smile at them. You step aside as they get their stuff from the room. They leave, but not before they turn around and look at you. And of course, you flash them that smile you faked many times, too many times that it’s laughable. You close the door behind them, letting out a laugh and deciding to go to sleep, but you can’t. You wonder if you

will ever tell the truth. It’s morning now, but you never slept. You hear your sibling’s alarm. You get up, do your morning routine as usual and go to school, still faking that smile and wondering if your friends notice it. You start spiraling: they don’t want you. Your head starts spinning again until they tap your shoulder to ask you a question.

But all you ask yourself is will it ever end?

The Path Back Home

Grace Tuxpan

I have never liked the countryside, the never-ending stretch of field, trees, and bushes. My parents own a huge cornfield which is quite an example and reminder of this fear. I always get this eerie feeling looking into it. Maybe there’s something in there, watching me back. The days are getting shorter and the nights are longer. This is what you get in the middle of September with the time changing. I walk around the perimeter of the land my parents own, avoiding the cornfield of course.

After doing my second lap though, I start to feel an overwhelming urge that makes me come close to the field and walk into it unwillingly. Maybe this time I could fight this fear and grow from it. But a couple rows in, I realized I couldn’t fight it. I look up, hoping to find something to give me courage, only to see that the sun is starting to set, meaning it will get dark very soon. I can’t be here. I need to get out. I can’t do this on my own. Alone. I find myself looking around as if something could be in here, noticing how vulnerable I am and feeling like something can get me at any moment. My body flinches whenever a cornstalk brushes on me. When my brain can’t handle it anymore, I start running, trying so hard to not freak out. I am running as an attempt to get out of this never-ending maze. I can’t let it get to me. I can’t with this darkness around me. My whole body tries so hard even if it aches and wants to give up at this point. After what seemed like an eternity,

I feel a tug on my foot that causes me to crash into the ground.

I tripped on a pile of fallen cornstalk. In this position, I look up at the sky and see the whole world around me. I’m not squeezed between the rows of that corn maze anymore, which gives me the power to just breathe. The stars shine at me in the dark and the occasional porch lights illuminate the path back home.

Chokehold

Fatima Garcia

I see her in the mirror and what’s behind her, that’s not me. I wasn’t okay, I’m breathing heavily now. I was a monster. No I am a monster… I had a talk with the voices yesterday and I never really noted just how messed up I truly was, I would normalIy cry, feel guilt at that point I started crying. See I am normal! I can feel so maybe a bit too much SO WHY… why was I a monster?

It’s really simple actually I use people. I get what I want and then leave them like some cheap date

She’s really not a good person but the real me, she is the real me.

She’s always there she’s whispering in my ear and holding my neck but that wasn’t me, what I wanted is to seem like a normal person I painted myself out to be to other people.

I run to the bathroom and throw up and then I hear something from behind the bathroom curtain I think to myself ‘classic…’

I was still scared though I pull it back my hand shaking and I see bodies, dead ones I know them… they were my friends.

I was scared picked up my phone to call 911 but I saw her in my black screen I was all bloody.

The Cause

Aurora Lopez

You walk up to the old neighborhood you used to live in. Across seemingly deserted streets, you find the homes of your old neighbors, paint now chipped away. As you keep walking the old neighbors begin to slowly creep out their homes with blank expressions on their faces.

You remember the way your home looks, white base, navy blue roof, yellow curtains on the windows.

“I’m looking for my house, I’m sure you remember me, I used to live in the area” I said to a person outside their home.

“No I don’t know you, and I never did.”

You look confused at them just wondering what happened to this town. Soon you walk up to a pale woman standing in front of her home.

“Have you seen a white house with some navy blue painting on top?”

She stares at me blankly “I do, but…I wouldn’t know how to get there.”

It seems obvious that they are lying, but you just keep walking down the empty street. The more you walk the more it seems like the worst will happen. As the fog begins to set in you get more and more paranoid.

Running up to multiple homes yelling, “You know where I live! Just admit it!”

The same answer comes out of their mouths, “I wouldn’t know how to get there,” repeatedly playing in your head.

Running down the road it’s like the feeling of guilt is eating you alive. At the end of the road you meet a dead end, your house sitting there. Walking inside, it’s dark with minimal furniture; you aren’t able to tell but a dark liquid is smeared on the ground.

“Blood? Why would it be blood?” Roaming around your home, you walk down your old basement.

It’s almost pitch black but a small light bulb flickers.

You trip over something numb, then suddenly the light bulb turns on. A pile of the bodies you swear you just saw alive outside.

Then you? Standing there with a bloody knife in hand, the cause of this.

Forget-Me-Not

Antonio Mateo

Prelude:

The wait is now over. If your favorite seasons come afloat. You’d be ecstatic to find no monotony. And special for the occasional surprises. But you can’t be so predictable. To see the common amenity of a flower bloom. For I assume it would wait until summer. It died fast. Annually physiological.

I can be custom to be named questionable. Moreover it can’t just be me, there’s always room for new faces. And I can’t be unfazed no more, if that person just linked. Maya. Someone who just gets me. We go to a flowerbed full of scorpion grasses that we’ve divinized, and she has just put her whole ideals to it. Mentioning how the entries are for the very important goers, only unique lovers, Renaming our spot a permanent sanctuary. For she believes the weather that’s yearly and the whereabouts have been adjusted, tells me, “Issac, nothing screws up our perfect place unless it’s mother nature and that we’re endlessly happy.” and I nod. Of course this does get temporary. I really can’t yearn when the day goes by. And the clock strikes midnight. For when there’s something immaculate it must also be altered.

Tomorrow was supposedly the day before and would’ve been more reminiscent of weekend woos. The only thing is her absence unintended. And by that I was confused. I managed to stay an hour. Of how sympathetic I was, it seemed like a waste of time. I was just about to leave

the sacred recreation when I saw some silhouette in the distance. Wavy, and rigid it appeared and certainly vicious for how it managed to lurk. A cloud had managed to overpass the sun’s gleam, and as the setting was dreary, the entity then delivered a speech. “You won’t get to see-” It echoed abruptly from the clouds’ quick coverage. I didn’t think much of what it represented, until I had considered its last words, what I meant to lose by its vague message. I became paralyzed, what had me evoked to just lean forward, I especially thought outermost how I had become so fond to embark into the wilderness, there was Maya, but she’s the counterpart, and I’m just content with however I splurge my self-independence. I then walked through.

The day after, I didn’t have the motivation to look forward too, but I took more precaution, and I barely even noticed how I was disrespecting someone in front. “You look like a hysteric,” Maya said as I spun my head quickly to get my concentration back.

“Sorry, you know how badly I dose my melatonin.”

“I know your habits Issac, you take it at midnight, and you can’t even wake up before noon, and in coincidences you tell me if you have paranoia, you decide to take it indubitably and with some relief…” she replied while I was just shocked.

“I really do expose like that huh…” I mentioned. “And honestly…” she continued. “I would get it such that you look very disassociated, and..” she pauses as she lingers on my thigh as I almost woo myself to suddenly have the intimate urgency, “I think you suddenly just want to get coy.. You’re deceiving, and not that I’m afraid of it, but you want me to endeavor your rapture, by all means…”

“Wait, when did I ever-”

She then cuts me off as she is fully invested to mention, “Nothing can screw this up-” she slowly pertains those apricot-shaped lips of hers to the roof of a manic boy, and when I say manic, I had to interrupt her as I managed to see the same silhouette.

“Excuse me,” I said, as she frowned, “Should I be concerned…?” I questioned.

“No it’s fine…. just do what you think is best before even replying back to me…”

“Why didn’t you fret with her just yet?” the shadow spoke.

“I first want to get you settled…” I replied as the shadow replied.“Please, I’m not what you want to be dealt with…”

“Why? I spoke?”

“You’re not even close to what you think is helping, speaking to this entity you can’t even comprehend.”

I went silent, this thing was right, I didn’t even get to know they’re purpose, but there was yesterday, and that could’ve explained enough that I did remember going through the woods solo, wait did I ever even get past the idea I was so self-reliant…? “What even are you…” I asked the entity in my more ruminating voice. “Can I show you?” the entity asked, however it magically seemed to exactly vocalize how Maya normally talks. It gestured me to come closer as it pulled out a stick behind its back and threw it to the floor, it then started to pile one after another, seemed like a repetition so clear I was basically unfazed for the most part, until it would throw in more contemporary objects like cardboard, fabrics, and paper, after it finished she then proceeded to make small talk. “Now let me help you simplify something, what could you reoccur in steps by what you last remembered?

I then suddenly managed to gain an immediate thought than I would likely contemplate, nevertheless I spoke. “I saw a house and I managed to get inside, from my viewpoints it was all like paint thinner for the interior, mostly decrepit, and somehow it was beguiling…”

“Why?” She asked.

“Because of my mistaken habits, I was so imbecile to think I could arrive at a house while I had previously impulsively taken a sleepy melatonin that easily could turn into serotonin syndrome… I blackened out…” I was intimidated… this memory wasn’t so strong of mine now suddenly I didn’t know what to expect, but just took precaution…

“Now you say these previous events, what can you be present about…” she deeply stated as I completely pondered…

“I…” It then started to throw in mere objects that were more alarming to say cigarettes, lighters, disposables. “I don’t know…”

“Really!” the entity stated… “Don’t you have enough clues …” she then proceeded to stand nearby where the pile had started to burn… obvious to how she was getting close to becoming charred, however by the moment she had spread the fire to her body it seemed to blend with the extra smoke provided, she then grew tall, and she had a jet black stalk. The flames spoke and got to me.

I woke up as I got to see the aftermath of what was a forest, a decrepit house that’s no longer there, and my ashy body, and in front of me was Maya, first thing first

was a hug. However I didn’t even feel her. In fact she was crying, endlessly starting, then surrounding her was just the officers and the medical. I didn’t even have a moment to consider why, I just knew. All that was left was my mind. But no one could reach out to me. What I regretted most was being this placid, not a guilt trip. No remorse, and being content. Beforehand, I had a relationship with myself and the inanimate. All I knew from this point on. Maybe I wasn’t just meant to spur, I had only been myself for so long. Only others made me unhealthy. And that’s considerable. But I don’t think that being this cynical for my selfness and nature isn’t forever. She made me into a whole. But now everytime I wander off, I come back to this forsaken forest, and see her. Otherwise, I contempt the mother nature for bringing me here. I didn’t deserve an epitome for being the entire earth. Besides, she told me since I’m dead that it was her gameplan to be right next to each other, but chances are there’s Maya.

Love Makes a Bloody Mess

Rosaisela Lopez

The sun was setting on a windy and cold afternoon. In the far distance you can only hear a mouse racing past a snake. Animals crying, suddenly it’s silent. The silence is then broken from a gun shot. Echoing from one mountain peak to another. A furious woman that couldn’t control herself or think about what she had done was just standing over her husband’s bloody body. iIn that moment of seconds, the only thing in her mind was her husband being dishonest with her. She felt no remorse. She felt numb. She felt so detached. She knew there was only one way to be with him endlessly. With a last bullet. She took her life away. It was a windy and cold night, the owls howled, and the night ended in a bloody mess.

The Patient

Andrea Nicolas

It was late at night about 1:00 AM in the morning. My shift at the hospital was almost finished, and I was already worn out. I had helped many patients, seen them come and go. Many tasks were ahead of me, one of them was cleaning up and getting a hospital bed ready for a new patient. The hospital was quiet, almost seemed empty. The beeping of the monitors were the only noises heard.The hallways weren’t filled with people, just a quiet presence. As I entered the room I saw a young woman slightly bony with pale skin wearing an old fashioned nightgown. She had long dark hair let loose. Her eyes were dark as well, under them were eyebags as if she hadn’t slept in days. What caught my attention was the clear quartz bracelet she was wearing.

I was surprised to already see a patient there waiting. “I didn’t know you were already here. They should have told me as soon as the other patient had left to clean the room so it would have already been tidied up,” I said looking at her.

She didn’t say anything, she just gave me a blank stare. As I walked up to her to get her comfortable and help her get on the bed I felt an energy, an energy I had felt many times in this hospital. I just shrugged it off.

“Would you like some water or anything to eat before the doctor arrives? It’s quite late and a snack always makes me feel better.” When I had asked her she had

been staring at the floor with a kind of lifeless look. She slowly turned her head towards me and nodded. “Strange,” I thought. My gut told me to get as far away from her, but my job was helping.

I left quickly but as I walked out I felt her gaze fall on me. Goosebumps formed on my skin and a shiver ran though my spine.

As I walked to pick up the snack I was thinking of how weird that was.

When I came back there was no one in the room. The place was clean and tidy, the bed was neat and tidy as if no one was ever there. I stood there in shock and scanned the room. A small but bright bracelet on the floor caught my eye’s attention. The clear quartz bracelet the patient was wearing.

Salty Waters

Bernardo Garcia

I looked down toward my feet. The smell of chlorine and the sparkling splashes produced by the pool seemed more intense than ever before. My skin burned as I neared the edge, either from the blistering heat of the sun or from the doom I was approaching. The cheers and yells were all that I heard. “Nathan jump!” and “Go Clover go!” are chanted from the crowd, as if it were some type of ritual.

My mind screamed as I started to back up, as if my entire body was telling me to run. My mind produced grunts and noises as if I were in a primitive state. I turned around and woke up from my trance until I saw somebody standing in front of me. His palms pushed on my chest as I felt a combination of fear and anger. My friends used to call me salty about small things, but the anger I felt toward that man and the anger toward myself was nothing more than pure rage.

I splashed down in the water and felt myself burn. I looked around and saw my body just dissolve in the hot water around me. I swallowed the combination of my flesh and the water surrounding me, like a gallon of salt that came into contact with pool water. My final thought was wasted as I felt an overwhelming feeling of togetherness. Is this what friendship felt like?

Fear of the Air

Camilo Garcia

While taking a seat in 32B, squished between two drowsy individuals, I shut my eyes. All these years of being unable to process the possibility of being 35,000 feet above ground suddenly became an instant reality. It was just two hours ago when I received a call that prompted me to act fast. My uncle, who had taken care of me for 10 years of my adolescence, was terribly sick; doctors did not know how long he had left. I booked the next flight to New York, packing while trying to locate my passport. I had avoided planes my whole life after my grandfather’s flight had suddenly plummeted, killing all on board. I put all the fears past me and waited patiently to take flight.

An hour later, I woke up to the screams and cries of all passengers on board. “Prepare for impact” were the words repeated by the malfunctioning intercom. As I put on my oxygen mask, I reflected on my somewhat short, yet beautiful life. I worked at a non-profit organization, assisting unhoused kids in their path to a further education. I wished to impact as many lives as I could; I felt that I was successful in that mission.

Clenching on to the arm rest to my right, I somehow managed to put on a smile. In a time of unwavering panic, as the plane first hit the ground, I knew my life had been meaningful.

The One That Lurks In The Mall

Damian Matias

It was a sunny Saturday morning; Pedro, Irwin, and Adrian were just laying around at home doing nothing. No one knew what to do at the hangout, that was until Adrian came up with an idea. This idea was to go to the abandoned mall seven minutes away from the park they were at, as it was said there was a creature that lurked in there, a creature that had taken around 20 people never to be seen again. At first, Irwin and Pedro hesitated as it was illegal and pretty scary as the mall is big, and no one knew if there was one that lurked in the mall, like if that was true. Was that the reason the mall closed down? Pedro was convinced to go as there was nothing else to do, but Irwin begged to do something else. Pedro and Adrian were not convinced and headed to the mall leaving Irwin behind.

When they got there they started to get second thoughts like should they actually do this with their freewill? They decided that they should and go in but before heading inside they saw Irwin sprinting their way, and he ended up with them still shivering in fear of the idea. When roaming around they saw nothing but absolute dust on the things that still remain, but when searching around a little too close they found… a decomposed corpse split in half. They were all disgusted by the scene and ran to leave the mall but when they went to the direction of the exit, they saw that there was still more of the mall that they swore was never there almost like it was endless. They all started to freak out and went running towards the other exit that they remembered

existed but it was not there, there was no exit. No where.

They did not know what to do, they were all shocked by the situation. Not even a minute later a hiss sound was heard as an echo but they could not figure out where it was coming from. As if things couldn’t get worse, Irwin had to go to the restroom but the restrooms were nowhere to be seen as well. Irwin decided to go do his business in the corner and told Adrian and Pedro to wait for him. He never came back. Five minutes became 10 minutes, then 20 minutes then 30 minutes. They became worried with all that was happening and went to go look for Irwin. They shouted and shouted yet no sign. Thirty minutes felt like an eternity, but when they went to the “entrance” again after doing a whole loop they still couldn’t find him.

When they were going to call it quits they noticed a pile of blood, they knew what was coming and saw Irwin’s dead corpse. He was headless with his insides showing out it looked like something straight out of Terrifier! They all were in shock and were going to start running but then they heard that same hiss again. They both did not see where it was coming from, that was until Pedro saw something from the corner of his eye; a tall black figure on all fours, long black tentacles, a big smile with sharp teeth and no eyes.

Before Pedro could run away he got stabbed on the back by one of the tentacles right in the heart, and he died on

the spot. Adrian was running as fast as he could but the monster was chasing right behind him. Adrian did the stairmaster for 40 minutes yesterday and his legs were still tired. He tripped and fell and the monster split him in half with his long sharp hands.

The End

The Haunted House

Pedro Sanchez

On Halloween night, Damian and John were bored and their friend Jeffry had invited them to a haunted house that their school made to raise money.

They got lost on their way to the haunted house which was very old, and no one had lived there for almost 80 years. It was a crime scene for a while and supposedly already haunted. When they got there, they wondered why it was so empty and why no one was there. The friends assumed everyone was inside already so they went inside too.

Once they got inside, they decided to explore, looking to see where everyone was, but they saw no one. They got scared when they heard something fall inside a room. They opened the door and saw a shattered frame on the ground, once they turned back they saw someone in a big black coat. When they asked him where everyone was, he did not respond, and they just wondered whether or not he had heard them or if they were just playing dumb.

They did not respond, so they wanted to tap them on the shoulder he was very dark-skinned that he would almost blend in with the dark plank and brown walls and was taller than the average man or anyone they knew, then when they tried trapping him, suddenly they fell through him, then they realised he was a ghost so they took off and ran home, not looking back, and running until they all got home.

The Lonely Tombstone

Omar Sanchez

James attended his family funeral because of a devastating car accident. James is the only member of his family who is alive. Now that he’s all alone by himself he starts to miss his family, and he starts to try to remember every happy memory of his family, but it makes him more sad. He doesn’t have anyone to talk to. He has no friends because no one really pays attention to him.

James has to go to work on a night shift in a factory. He leaves at 9:00 PM and arrives at his home 30 minutes later.

James doesn’t know what to do with the money of his family inheritance. He just takes the money and puts it in his bank account to save the money he just got. He tries to find happiness again, but nothing makes him happy. He develops the fear of death because he doesn’t know what happens after you go to the afterlife, and no one else knows either. He goes to church and asks God about why He had to take away the lives of his family and why he’s alive. After he leaves the church he goes back to his house and goes to sleep terrified and sad as he cries himself to sleep.

The next day he wakes up shaking. He can’t see, he can’t hear, he can’t move. He realizes that he is in the afterlife, and his soul has left the world but his body is in a coffin buried in the ground. Then he hears a voice, “We miss you. Come here now.”

Problematic Protests

Galilea Flores

As my eyes begin to adjust to the dark room around myself, I reach for my phone and look at the black screen. Weirdly enough, my phone refuses to turn on. My Face ID is continuously declining. I stare at the alarm clock to my right and notice a throbbing headache as I grip my head. Something is off.

I peer back at my phone and snap out of my thinking trance and begin my morning. I start by turning on the lights in my room and make my way to the kitchen. I love my morning, the feeling of calm and solitude is just amazing.

Taking the first sip of my coffee I feel a small droplet on my hand. I look up believing the source is from my upstairs apartment neighbors leaking the toilet, “Again?” I think to myself. But no, the ceiling is dry and in fact completely spotless. I finally look down to take a look at my hand to take a closer look and see what I believe is blood. I curse under my breath as I realize it’s just a nosebleed, but to be fair, it’s a pretty nasty one.

As I stuff the tissue into my bleeding nostrils. I look up and realise that I still have not opened my curtains.“No wonder my apartment was so gloomy,” I think to myself. I begin to make my way to the curtains and am overcome with a huge crowd of people protesting. It’s very common for people to protest outside of these apartments. I live in a more ghetto part of the city; lots of deaths and violence usually get swept under the rug. It’s sad but what can you really do?

As I begin to close the curtains to not have to see the protest anymore, something catches my eye. A big red poster clenched my hand to my face as I realized that

MY NAME was written in big marker. What could possibly be going on?! Completely caught off guard, my knees go weak and I fall to the floor. I quickly scramble to run out of my apartment to look for my girlfriend, the halls have such a gloomy and musty feel. I feel my stomach go into knots. What could I have possibly done, WHAT COULD I HAVE DONE?! Millions of thoughts rush through my mind. Finally I see her. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying. As I swoop in to embrace her, she stops crying immediately and just stares emptily. She takes a deep breath, looks at me and screams, a scream I have never heard from anybody. A scream I did not know was humanly possible. I took that as my cue to leave.

What could I have done? What could I have possibly done to make the only woman I had ever loved, the woman I planned my future life with and could not live without, the same woman I would fall in love over and over again, to not even want anything to do with me?

I slump over, accidentally feeling myself crumple a piece of newspaper. I pick it up, “Why not,” I think to myself. It’s the news with today’s date. OH MY GOD I WAS ON THE HEADLINES! I skim everything, my name, my face, EVERYWHERE. I feel myself having another panic attack, my breathing becomes heavy. I can’t breathe, I CAN’T BREATH! NO, NO, NO, it’s something else I’M GONNA DIE, I’M GONNA DIE! I’M GONNA DIE I kept repeating to myself. I AM GOING TO DIE ALONE IN A MUSTY APARTMENT.

I pause.

Only one thought entered my mind. But how could I die if I was already murdered?

The Driver

Jadellyn Garcia

On a quiet street named Amber Street in Rhode Island on September 14 in 2008. This story starts off with teens at school.

“Hi, Anne, did you see on the news a girl was kidnapped and killed?!” Cameron says.

“Oh no, but has Rachel come?” Anne asks.

“Yea, but she’s in the bathroom. I think the news is getting her scared—you know her biggest fear is getting kidnapped right,” Cameron replies.

“Hi, Rachel, are you okay?” Anne asks.

“Yeah, I just needed to wash my hands,” Rachel says.

The bell rings and they say goodbye to each other. Then Rachel goes on her way home, but as she does a van with a red stripe pulls up.

“Hey, kid, do you need a ride?” the driver asks.

Rachel says, “No, I’im okay, but thanks”

“GET IN NOW!” the driver screams.

Rachel walks away fast but the driver gets out, and Rachel gets thrown into the van. Rachel then gets a flashback.

“NEWS! The missing girl has been found, but they found

The Nightmare Before Death

Idalia Perez

her unalived. Police tell us her wrist was slit with a shape like a star, more news to come.”

Meanwhile Anne is at home. “Mom, when does dad get home? I need to ask him a question,” Anne asks.

“At 8:00 PM,” her mom replies. Anne then gets the idea of visiting Rachel. Anne walks but on her way the van pulls up.

“Get in now,” the kidnapper says.

Anne runs but then gets picked up and gets pushed into the van. Then the driver gives Rachel and Anne a drink that slowly makes them pass out. After two hours the two girls wake up all tied up and blood all over their wrist. The kidnapper then comes into the room and shows his face.

“Dad?” Anne says.

My little brother is a freak. He’s always complaining about his stupid little dreams that scare him to death and how sleeping in the dark just makes it worse.

One night, I went to sleep on an empty stomach and had a quite terrible dream. One that I never had before. I dreamt about murdering someone in a horrible, horrible way. I guess it was because of all the Stephen King I was reading, but that’s no excuse. Although this dream was very graphic and insanely detailed. I saw the blood leave this person’s body so very fast but yet slowed down after some time. The look on their face was full of horror knowing they were stuck and couldn’t even do anything. The stab opened up into a big wound as soon as I took it out. Oh how I’d hate to feel that way. Feeling the intense pain and realizing you’re going to die without confessing all the things you wanted to say, and forgiving all the people you hated before.

I didn’t like that dream at all. But then again, it was just a dream. None of it was real of course. I come to wake up the next morning to the cries of my mother and the birds chirping outside my windows. I struggle to open my eyes as I get up yet so curious to why she weeps during this sunny weather. I follow her sound and eventually end up in my little brother’s bedroom. He’s dead.

A couple days go by and the doctors say he died from a sudden seizure he had in the middle of the night caused by epilepsy. He was diagnosed with it a couple years ago, but I didn’t think it would lead to such a horrible outcome. At some point, I’m waiting outside the room where my little brother is resting, as my mother takes one good look at his face before she schedules his funeral.

She eventually comes out with her mascara all smudged and face all wet and asks me if I want to take a look at him. I accepted after some hesitation and walked in his room alone. I paused for a moment before I removed the sheet covering his body so I could view his face. He was once covered with life and fullness, now he only looked dull as if all the life got sucked out of him. I began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably. I tried to calm myself down a bit so I’m not loud to the point my mother can hear.

I continued to look at him and started to notice all the little features I hadn’t noticed before. The tiny mole on his left ear, the light freckles on his forehead, and…what is that? There seems to be some sort of wound that is in the process of healing on the side of his thigh. The light blue sheet they used to cover his body is partially to the side revealing it. I’m immediately interested and uncover more of the sheets to find scars and wounds scattered on his body in the exact same places I had killed someone in my dream. Could I have… no, there’s

no way. I mean it’s impossible. How could I even murder someone in real life from my dream?

There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about that moment. For the past couple years, I have been having horrible nightmares that feel so real. I’m scared that what happened to my brother will happen to me. And that someone that I love so much will kill me in my sleep.

Legends

Zeke Carrillo-Saar

There are legends of The Jinn, a genie who twists people’s words and dreams and makes them something else. People say after three wishes are granted it will stalk you until your death. Many stories say it will feed on your soul. Many reports were filed that there were always four deaths every time The Jinn appeared. The bodies were always mutilated as if mauled by a bear.

New York, February 2, 2028

Mateo Mar was unhoused. Everyday, he would buy a lottery ticket with the change strangers dropped into his cup as he played his guitar. Everyday, he wished to win big. But it seemed he was always one picture away from the jackpot. As he borrowed a penny from the cash register, he closed his eyes and wished.

Suddenly, he was alone in a black space. “I can help you,” a voice said behind him. The cloaked figure held out his hand. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll give you three wishes. Just shake on it.”

As Mateo shook the man’s hand, he was back in the gas station. He looked down and saw the ticket showed three cherries in a row. “No damn way!” Mateo yelled. He had finally won.

“That’s one,” said the same voice as before behind him. Mateo looked back, but no one was there.

“Thank you,” he thought. * * * * *

Two Weeks Later

Mateo was happy in his mansion, but wished he had a beautiful wife. A woman knocked on the door, and when he opened it, his childhood friend, Bea, was there saying she needed a place to stay for a little while.

“That’s two,” said the mysterious voice.

But instead of being grateful Mateo was angry. “I wish I never had to hear your voice again” he thought.

“That’s three. Your wish is my command” said the voice.

That night Bea woke up in the middle of the night to get some water and found Mateo lying on the ground unconscious, and his throat red. As Bea screamed she thought, “I wish he was still alive.”

“As you wish, that’s one,” the mysterious man said as Bea shook his hand.

Mateo shot up with his throat bandaged and recovering. “D-don’t Make a-a deal w-with him,” Mateo rasped. Bea said it was too late. Mateo hurried to try to say, “J-just don’t.” Bea wished his throat was fully healed. “Noooo!” Mateo yelled with his healed throat. S***! That’s two!” he thought.

But The Jinn was angry that one of his victims had been

restored. He set the mansion on fire and as smoke filled Bea’s lungs, she rasped “I-I wish we could be saved.”

“Too late!” The next day, the two were found dead as if a bear had mauled them.

* * * * *

The Next Day

“Man this is pretty messed up,” says officer Dave.

Cam, the rookie, gags “What the hell is this?”

“Les Jinn,” Officer Dave says grimly. “I remember from when I was a rookie like you. It steals souls after you make three wishes. Like a screwed-up genie.”

“You’re just f****** with me aren’t you?” Cam says angry.

“Nope,” Officer Dave says seriously. “Every year, four unexplained killings occur in the US alone. Do research when you get home, kid.”

“I can’t…I’m busy”

“Ooooh with what? Who’s the lucky gal?”

“Sh-shut up. For your information I’m going to a Linkin Park concert.”

“Alright see you later, rookie.”

“For the fiftieth damn time, stop calling me that!” “Sorry kid.”

Cam hucks an empty coffee cup. “I’ll write you up for littering and assaulting an officer!”

“Bulls***!”

“Treason!”

“Bye rookie.”

“See ya, old man.”

“Why you whipper snapper.”

Cam is driving to the concert. “Man I WISH I had front row seats.” His ticket in the cupholder changes without him noticing.

“Your wish is my command.”

“Who’s there?”

No Answer.

At the entrance, the person scanning tickets strikes a conversation. “Lucky guy eh!”

“Huh?”

“Front row tickets and a backstage pass.”

A voice whispers “I threw in the pass for free.”

“Weird,” Cam thinks.

In the long line, Cam wishes for the ability to teleport.

“You’re the boss!”

Cam teleports backstage, but to everyone else it just looked like he walked away.

“Thank you, Genie. I just wish you could be free”

“One, I’m no genie. Two, your wish is my command. Three, I’m already free, you silly fool.” * * * * *

The Next Day

“Damn rookie. Late to a crime scene where he was…last… night,” officer Dave realizes. “No! Nononononono!” he ducks under the yellow caution tape, runs to the backstage, and lifts the plastic tarp. Cam’s mangled body lies, eyes wide, with blood and guts everywhere.

“Wait,” officer Dave realizes, The Jinn must latch on to others close personally or physically to the previous victim. He shouts “EVERYONE EVACUATE THE PREMISES DUE TO… hmmm, RADIATION!”

Secret Lair

Aaron M.

It’s late at night in Times Square. There are a couple of people on the streets at night. Scientists are barely leaving the high-level, fogged-glass security building owned by NASA. When the last scientist leaves the building, little tiny cockroaches crawl through the vents; hundreds follow one cockroach. They are all communicating with each other about getting gadgets and taking them to a secret lair in the sewers underneath the NASA building.

Drake and Larry are best buds. Drake is a stylish guy, the owner of OWL, a fashion company. Meanwhile, Larry is a street basketball player who plays in his free time. In his day job, he is a NASA scientist.

Larry invites Drake to the NASA building to get a private tour around his lab. It’s covered in science experiments and technology. While Larry is talking, he walks into the room with Drake to find hundreds of cockroaches; they are shocked. The cockroaches drop everything and fly toward them. They run to the left, and the cockroaches stop; they run to the right, but are also stopped. Drake and Larry try bug spray on them, it doesn’t work on them. Drake looks back at Larry and sees that Larry is already a skeleton. Drake gets eaten by the cockroaches and was the last person to hear a scream at night in the building from the CCTV cameras.

The End

Contacts Santiago O.

Edward opens his eyes and looks up at the ceiling, waiting for them to adjust to the morning light. He rubs his eyes trying to adjust quicker, but his eyes never adjust.

He frantically looks around his room, everything in his vision looks blurry, and he’s unable to distinguish anything in his room. He reaches his hand over to the nightstand and feels a fleshy object. He quickly lets go and inches away from his nightstand. He feels something grab his right hand, and then his left, and then both of his legs. Edward, completely detained, tries looking around again but can’t see anything except for a blurry, shadowy figure in front of him. He closes his eyes hoping it’ll all go away.

His eyes get forcibly opened by fleshy fingers. Two shadowy limbs get closer to his eyes holding two halfcylindrical clear objects. The creature places the objects on Edwards eyes. Edward closes his eyes rapidly and breaks free from the creature’s grasp. He rubs his eyes frantically, and then opens them.

He’s able to see his room perfectly.

He hears a quiet noise under his bed. He checks it but there’s nothing under him.

He’s completely alone.

Graduation

Adan Hernandez

Adam was in his bedroom. Inside there was his bed, his drawers, his laundry, and his flat screen TV. Adam was about to graduate that same day; it’s the last day of school. He needs to get to school for his ceremony. He leaves the house and is driven there by his mom.

Before Adam graduates, he has to pull off one more awesome prank to end the year. He was going to squirt ketchup and mustard on the walls of the bathroom. He prepared his bottles in his backpack to pull off the heist before school ended and the ceremony started.

He goes into the restroom to bust a mission, he drops his backpack and reveals two extra big ketchup and mustard bottles. While raining terror, staff see him and pull him aside in the hall. He threw his bottles away and ran away from the staff, but he tripped on the bottles. He gets knocked out!

His mom wakes him up.

“Honey, get ready for your first day of freshman year,” said his mom.

The Feared Clown

Alexander De Santiago

The clown was in a cabin and locked away in the basement for safekeeping from people, but then the chains broke because they were rusting too much, and now the clown is going to do sinister acts from his past.

People are in a forest with a couple of friends going hunting and camping. The people that had planned this were Justin and Adam. They invited their good friends, Ryan and Jenny. This was in 2015 on a Wednesday in December at midnight. They are walking, wandering over the area, and then they see a cabin in the distance that they didn’t see when they first got there. So they all went over to check the cabin to see if anyone was inside.

The Haunting of the Cemetery

Bryan Hernandez

The story will take place in a cemetery. It’s pitch-black you can’t really see anything; there’s only a little bit of light. The graves are grayish. The moon is full.

Noah, who is fifteen, and Dylan, who is fourteen, are visiting their friend that just recently died. And while they are walking they see someone tall in a creepy rat costume with red eyes, in another person’s grave.

After getting closer to their friend’s grave they see the same rat costume again, but this time it was in their friend’s grave looking at them.

Then he jumps out of the grave and starts to chase the two best friends and the two best friends fall down into a trap and fall 15 feet that leads them down to a creepy basement.

Noah and Dylan soon wake up, and once they start walking, they find dead bodies everywhere. They can’t really see much because the lights are flickering and they soon find a bathroom with a sign “EXIT”, and they get excited.

Once they open the door, they find themselves in a deadly game. Noah finds out that there was a camera watching them because the camera was moving. The game is

about them finding the key to the “exit”, and they only have 15 minutes to find the key. If they don’t find the key, they have to drink a pill that will make their body weaker. They soon found the key in an old book shelf.

Once they complete the game they soon find out that there is another trap that leads them to another basement.This basement is more creepy than the first one. There are 25 spiders, 30 dead rats, and flies flying around the dead bodies.

This game has two of their friends making a tough choice because one of the friends has to make a deadly sacrifice. After making it to the other room they have 25 minutes to find the gun. Once they find the gun, Noah thinks of a smart plan that will get Dylan out alive. Noah finds a dead body and pretends that it’s his friend and shoots the dead body. The person watching them thinks he shot his friend. But he checks and finds out it isn’t Dylan so he chases them down, and once he finds them, he reveals that this whole time it was his dead friend watching them.

Halloween Spider

Daniela

Aguila

Stella and Roxy had been besties since birth. Roxy was the sarcastic one and Stella was a slow type of person. On a chilly night on October 31, 2004, Stella and Roxy went trick-or-treating. They were dressed up as pirates. As they were walking around brookwood street, they saw a friend from school named Emily. When Emily told them that on Elm Street there is a dark cave to get free buckets of candy that are king-size. Roxy and Stella looked at each other and said bye to Emily.

“What if this is a trick?” said Stella.

Roxy responded with, “I believe Emily, she doesn’t lie, ever.”

When Roxy and Stella arrived they felt unsure, but they still went inside.

Stella felt a light string touch her arm, “Do you feel that string, Roxy?”

“No, if you feel scared, turn on your flashlight,” said Roxy with annoyance.

When Stella took out her phone she turned on the light, and she looked up and saw something terrifying.

“Roxy” she said, scared with her voice shaken.

“What?” said Roxy then saw that Stella was staring up, so she looked up.

What they saw was a spider with all the baby spiders looking straight at them. They both screamed and ran so fast that they couldn’t stop. They kept screaming while running till they reached Stella’s house. Roxy felt so scared that she texted her mom that she wanted to sleep over with Stella because she felt scared.

The Lake Incident

Jacob De Santiago

It started one day when I started waking up near the lake. This started a few months ago when I saw a strange creature by the lake, and it started to eye me, not taking its gaze off me. When I headed back to the cabin I still had a strange feeling someone was watching me. When I headed back to the cabin I still had a strange feeling someone was watching me, or IT was still watching me.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I went back to the lake in the morning and all traces of the creature were gone. I still had a feeling I was being watched, but I had just ignored it that night and every night from then I started waking up closer, and closer to the lake but then one night I fell in.

I was struggling to swim up. It seemed I was being pulled down and down by the minute and then I had just kicked it and finally got loose from its grip and finally escaped the lake. The next morning I went back to the city and never went back to that cabin.

Scratching

Jamileth Mendez

There once was a time, where Sarah and her family moved into a small New Orleans house.

Sarah, “When I first stepped inside, something felt off.”

The air felt thick, almost hard to breathe in. The house has remained untouched for years. The walls were lined with tiny holes where I thought it was just nails or old picture frames. But there were too many. And at night I heard scratching. Not too hard but not too soft. Inside the walls.

“It’s probably just an insect,” my mom said. “Old houses can make lots of noise.”

But it wasn’t just a noise.

Sarah: “That night, the scratching was getting louder. It was like a pattern.”

Scratch… scratch... pause.

Then Tap. Tap.

It tapped back.

“You’re overthinking it Sarah,” my dad said. “We will check it if it gets worse.”

But it did.

Sarah said, “By the third night, I heard running in the walls. Not one thing but many. Tiny feet running above me, around me, like they were everywhere.”

So my dad cut open the wall.

Inside were tunnels. They were deep, carved paths stretching into darkness.

Then something moved. It was a rat.

But it didn’t run, it just stared blankly at me.

Then more eyes came running behind.

Dozens.

“We’re calling pest control,” my mom said.

But when they came, they said, “There’s no entry points. Nothing should and could get in.”

Sarah: “That night, the scratching wasn’t in the walls anymore. It was in my closet.”

The door slowly creaked open.

And From the darkness…

Tap. Tap

This time, I noticed that they weren’t trying to get in.

They already were.

Weird Boy Part One

Jackie Ortega

“Hey, did you see that new weird kid? He had a whole news article about him! It’s honestly crazy. How do you even manage to keep a whole teenager in your house locked away?!?!”

She began to go on a rant about how weird the whole scheme is.“What? No way that is real, poor dude imagine the first time stepping into a school is in a high school,” she said.

The girl with blonde hair, Izzy, won’t get in the way for now, she continued. “Also what kind of sick parents keep their kid for years?!?!” Izzy can’t get the weird feeling out like it’s clinging onto her when she talks about the guy. “That’s the thing, I read that the parents are on watch for cult activities! By the way I don’t know about you, but I am not trying to get involved in that!”

As soon as they were going to continue talking, the bell rang in their ears. It was annoying, but after all the years they were used to it.

Izzy finished the conversation with, “Ugh I hate class, I will text you after school. I can’t text you in class because Ms. Rick is going to take my flip phone!”

As the bell rang a new guy came in, he was nicely dressed like he was going to a super important meeting or even a rich guy with a blue bow tie. Honestly if you didn’t know this guy was looking into a house of supposed cult members, you would think that he owned a company. Aside from all the expensive looking clothes, he had slight purple bruises on his wrists which you can only see if you look so closely. He was looking

around like someone might come out and murder him. Students around him or in his class said he was super weird, like weird in a way that he hadn’t come in contact with any human, which was not far from the truth.

When he entered his class the teacher said to introduce himself, “My name is, um, Matthew.” He stops and looks around before continuing, “ I—I hope we can get—” He stops again before looking down at his arm which had a piece of paper of what to say.

“Did this guy really just practice just to say a few words, I mean what a weirdo.” That was probably the thinking of all the students in the classroom.

“—Along..” He quickly mumbled, the poor dude looked like he was going to break down in tears any second now. He sat down in the front, surprisingly for such a shy guy. He pulled out all his books and made sure he passed this class with only As or god-knows-what his parents would do if he didn’t. He sat down next to this guy and looked down at his wrist, nothing, not even a scratch or irritation.

“Your mom must be really nice if she doesn’t chain you down much”

Matthew’s face lit up in obsession and a tiny bit of

jealousy.

“Excuse me!?!?! What are you talking about, weirdo!?!?” The whole class went silent because what was this kid talking about!?!

“Hmm? Are you mad? It was a compliment.”

He kept a smile that seemed so fake? Like almost creepy I guess? The boy ended up moving seats quickly which was probably the greatest decision he could have made. The class ended and people were quick to spread rumors like wildfire, “Do you know the new kid? He is super weird!”

That’s what Mathew overheard because he didn’t think anything of it because mom said no one was perfect enough for her handsome boy.

“Which, What? Your son was almost a grown adult and you’re treating him like a baby, talk about a mama’s boy.”

He walked through the crowded halls that had a blue pattern on the floor, but something else caught his attention: a simple flower symbol for the gardening club, the same symbol that he had burned into his skin forever reminding him of that memory. No, it’s not a bad memory, it’s actually a great memory, the best even. Mom said so, his mom said that as long as he could accept the love from the saved group, they would accept him.

He went into the bathroom to fix up his hair, but then Matthew heard a voice call out to him, “Aren’t you that weird dude from the news?”

“Hmm? W-what news?” He turned his head to the four guys with a crooked smile which just looked so forced and creepy. The four guys were now standing there with disgusted faces.

“What are you on?” The four guys left disgusted with Matthew.

Matthew didn’t mind it since he really didn’t have any social cues. He walked out fixing his tie and he went to class. The kids around him are avoiding him like he just killed someone, which they wouldn’t be that surprised if he did. He walked to his next class, math, and he walked into the room sitting down and shaking his leg. He looked scared and just happy to be there, the math teacher reported that he was always so quiet like someone was covering his mouth with duct tape. As lunch rolled around he found a table full of kids, which obviously didn’t want him there, but yet again he couldn’t see the problem.

“Excuse me, we are sitting here, can you move?” A girl with black hair spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

“M-me? I thought we were all friends here…” After those words came out of Matthew’s mouth it almost seems like the whole lunch room looked at him and judged him. He suddenly rushed out of the lunchroom like someone was chasing him and into the halls, breathing heavily, he decided to eat in an empty classroom from now on. The room was quiet and dim, he fixed his tie and breathed in and out, a trick his parents showed him before their obsession started.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Terrifying Day

Jesus Aguiar

The day I went to Disneyland I got on all the rides in two parks. The scariest ride was Guardians of the Galaxy, it was terrifying. It was going up and down fast, your stomach felt like it was going up. I felt like I was going to pass out, and wow, the eighty-year-old woman was having the best day of her life since it was her birthday. After I got off the ride, I felt like I just woke up from bed, but after I got on a really fun ride that was named Cars and after I got some ice cream.

Missing Person

Leo Martinez

On a windy rainy day the breeze swished across Fernando with a tight breeze. Fernando was about to put his files away inside of his cabinet when he spotted something outside of his office. A missing person report: Isabella, twenty years old, born in 2000, last seen at a lake, so Fernando had a mission to go find Isabella, He got up and ran to his car and drove to the lake where Isabella was last seen. He searched and searched then finally he found a clue, a trail of blood.

He followed the trail then the trail stopped near an empty forest of darkness, so he brought out his flashlight and kept on moving and found a keychain from her backpack leading to a van. Fernando investigated the van and saw Isabella tied up inside the van, so he tried to help Isabella, but the ties were too hard to get open then Fernando pulled his scissors from his pocket and a few minutes later Iasabella was free!

Beyond the Surface

Lily Resendiz

The sound of sneakers squeaking slowly approaches, filling the atmosphere with sound, and sweat. Wack and swoosh goes the tennis ball across the court onto the other side. The whistle blows, “Score! Judas Miller wins.” Shouts and screams of both victory and defeat fill the air.

Both the players—tiredly—approach the net and shake hands. “Good game,” both players say, then walking away.

“Congrats Jude! Knew you could do it, always did,” a man with a spikey slickback roughly patted Jude’s back.

“Thanks, Xavier. Just don’t hit me on the back like that alright? You almost cracked it once.” Judas groaned in a protesting voice, putting his hand on his back to check if he had broken anything.

“Yeah yeah, sorry man, just real proud of you for winning your game. I mean, you’re moving onto the semi-finals! That’s a great accomplishment y’know?” The large fella grinned towards his best friend, handing him a bottle of water. Judas sighed, giving him a smile back while grabbing the water bottle out his hands.

The pair then exited the court, and headed toward the lounged hallway. Breaking the silence, Judas spoke after finishing up the water bottle, “So, when’s your match?” He spoke curiously.

Xavier replied, “After this next match we’re gonna watch r’now,” he yawned, stretching his arms and hands out

before placing them behind his head. “Though, I don’t think it’ll be too entertaining.”

Judas replied confusingly, “Why’s that?”

Xavier stopped his march and put his hands on his waist, making a proud stance saying, “Cause, whoever wins, I’ll just beat’em.” He grinned once again, announcing his answer to his friend.

Judas sighed once again, not too surprised by his answer he replied back, “Yeah, IF you win.” He said jokingly, “and once you win, you’ll have to go through me to win that cup.”

Misplaced

Luis Jacobo

Micheal was never one to socialize but didn’t have an option today. His cousin Jeff, the complete opposite of him, happened to go to an event and living in the same home was forced to go. They all have a new rule:; keep the distance no closer than 2 or 3 feet next to each other to prevent a swap. Micheal stared strangely at Jeff’s friends seeing as they were all older than him. He worried since they seemed to ignore the rules risking a possibly dangerous event. Once walking through the entrance Micheal knew there was no way a mass collision wouldn’t happen. His fate was set in stone, and he knew it.

The Loners Group

Lyli Resendiz

Once upon a time, a high school friend group experienced a fresh start and began the new year back at school as juniors. The year is 2009, and during the autumn season, Zailyah walks in, and her friends Ayana, Claribel, and Melina. Their group was called The Loners Group.

Melina said, with a tired face, “Hey Zailyah, wanna meet up later during fourth period?”

Zailyah answered with “Yeah, sure meet at the bathroom, since my stupid teacher only allows that.” She answered back to Melina. Meanwhile, as Ayana and Claribel were talking at their lockers, the speakers went off, and the bell rang to go to first period class.

Ayana said,” “See you guys later during the passing period,” walking off to her class. Zailyah and the rest of her group walked off to their classrooms.

The Eight Legged Insect

Mareli Martinez

One of my biggest fears has always been insects. I’m fine with animals but insects are something I could never love. Obviously butterflies and ladybugs are a different story, but spiders and beyond are just pure yuck. I haven’t had any sort of contact with any spiders in a while to the point I forgot they existed until they became a daily thing I saw…

It was November of 2025, a normal casual day until I felt something crawling on my arm. At first I tried brushing it off thinking maybe it could’ve been a strand of my hair giving that crawling sensation. I lift my arm up, as I lift my arm I let out a scream and a flinch. “EWWW A SPIDER,” getting chills all over my body. As I went on with my day I couldn’t get over the fact there was a spider not even inches away. Weeks went by, and I forgot about the incident.

It was late October, and the same incident happened again. But this time it wasn’t just that time I interacted with a spider. They began to appear in every place I went, everything I touched they were there. I felt like I was going insane, so I had to tell someone. My friend Luna goes “Maybe you’re just overthinking they can’t really be EVERYWHERE,” until they started witnessing it too. Weeks went by, spiders everywhere I felt like I was in those creepy horror movies. But as

Halloween approached they suddenly vanished for a good two weeks.

It was Friday the day before Halloween, and me and my friend were making plans.

Me: We should meet at your house to get ready because, although we haven’t seen anything at mine, I honestly don’t wanna be there.

Luna: Yeah of course my house it is, see you at 5:00 PM!

As I made my way to Luna’s I had a weird gut feeling, the type of feeling when you sense something going wrong. I didn’t want it to ruin my Halloween so I decided to push it away. Once I arrived Luna was dressed as a mouse, and I was a unicorn. As we made our way trick-or-treating, the gut feeling only worsened so I decided to tell Luna, and as a way to make me feel better, we chose to get home before 1:00 AM. We got ready for bed and I slept over at her house, we watched movies and fell asleep. As the night went on Luna was woken by a bite from a green, glowing, odd spider, something never seen before. But after that night she was never the same, and the spiders were never seen again.

The Missing Nine

Noe Aguiar

The stories of the missing nine on Rebirth Island haunted the neighborhood of Jacksonville, Mississippi. Long ago, in 1967, Benjamin Martinez snuck out through the window of his house to meet up with his cousins and his best friend. Him and his best friend, Jett Watkins, planned four weeks ago to pull a deadly prank on his cousins as revenge for breaking his arm last summer. They all planned to meet at the local park and sprint to the ghostly looking island. They stole a yacht from their uncle Ricky to make it across the ocean.

Benjamin and Jett met behind one of the buildings and grabbed the bags they had filled with snakes last week. They ran inside to meet with Benjamin’s cousins, but little did they know… Benjamin and Jett ran up on the bungalows and screamed at Benjamin’s cousins to stand directly under them. Suddenly, Jett pushed Benjamin over the railing and threw the snakes over all of them. All along, Jett wanted to get rid of them because they constantly threw pranks on the neighborhood and he had enough of it!

A Ghost Story

Sophia Morales

This story took place in a small town where kids had been disappearing for years. Even my parents were afraid of what might happen. My grandmother’s grandmother even grew up here and she was scared too. Now here I was standing in front of the most haunted house in town. It all started when my family and I moved back here, and I had a bad feeling right from the beginning. As I was unpacking, my old childhood friends came over to say hello. At first it was all fun and then Angela said “Stay away from the big haunted house at the end of 13th Street.”

Believe me I tried to listen to them, but then my nosy little brother had to disappear. I looked everywhere and the last place that I wanted to look was the haunted house on 13th Street. But as I was walking by I saw his dinosaur toy right inside the gate. I looked up to the window and I saw a ghost right behind my little brother. I quickly ran inside to snatch him before the ghost could possess him. I ran home with him in my arms and as soon as I got home I saw ten ghosts following close behind us and I knew we were in trouble.

The Hound Dog Horror

Anayze M.

Adriana, who is getting chased by Milo and his saliva poison, and every time Milo stops, you can feel vibrations. Rachel’s voice is echoing in the halls. But Milo is not alone… he’s with a baby that has long cricket legs. The cursed walls and floor begin to shake. The baby turns around and chases Amy with a sharp object in his paw, and he slices Amy and chops her up alongside him. Trevor grabs his beautiful locs and tangles Adriana and ties her up and throws her away in a big bin. And they are never seen again.

Guess What?

Miranda Alvarado

You would not believe what you just did! Oh right, introductions first. Hi, it’s me, but obviously older. Right now it’s the year 2026. Yeah I know, it feels like that year is hundreds of light-years away but you’ll be surprised at how fast time can actually fly by. Now let’s see, what’s new around here. Well for starters, you finally turned eighteen and you are now what many consider “a mature adult ready to conquer the world” blah blah blah. Yeah I know, adults, am I right? Anyway that’s not what I’m here for, well kinda, but not really.

Okay let’s start off here, you’re finishing eighth grade right? Wow, how fast did middle school fly by. Yeah I agree, let’s forget about that pandemic portion of seventh grade shall we, thank you very much. But seriously, feel proud of yourself, you made it through middle school. I know at times it felt tough and that it felt like everything was falling apart, but you did it. Now it’s time to face the dreaded monster level that is high school. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Everything is going to change! What if I don’t make new friends? What if I hate my classes? What if my friends don’t want to be friends with me anymore? What if what if?” Okay first of all we need to take a big breath in and out. Now secondly, none of these are going to happen, well maybe not all at once at least, but that’s not the point. Yes, I know that there are a bunch of worst-case scenarios.

She Loves Roses (ft. Miri and Ev)

Edna Garcia-Cruz

Miranda’s window is magical.

Miranda’s quince had amazing Sprite. Also, heels are not the best shoes for playing tag.

Cats choose you, you do not choose them.

Ice skating with friends is really fun.

Maybe accidentally getting on the wrong bus wasn’t so bad.

The happiest place on earth is also the place with the longest lines ever.

The End or whatever

Melancholy

Grace Tuxpan

The barren expanse

Imprint of what used to be

Deafening silence

And uncertainty

Tentative steps ahead now

Looking to be found

Confidence

Edna Garcia-Cruz

Confidence. Google’s definition says “a feeling of selfassurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities,” but does one really find confidence that way? Let me tell you mine, confidence was never in my vocabulary. It’s something that many people say I have or that they see in me. The truth is that confidence was never found in me, whatever they saw was an illusion.

Turning the page back to 2025, the start of junior year many people say that this may be the hardest year you lose confidence in yourself but what if you never had any? The reality for me was that I gained confidence through my boyfriend. As I watch time go by and see my friends drain themselves, I see myself getting brighter and feeling more confident in my ability to accomplish my dreams. There are little comments that are said that don’t break my confidence, but build my confidence up. My boyfriend is the one person that I say would die for me. Corny, maybe, but people who give you confidence you may say the corniest things ever. From day one, there was confidence he spotted in me, even when I denied it.

Let me break it down, Google says self-assurance; believing in yourself that the work you do is good and that the work will bring you places you never expected. What if you never got the chance to give yourself reassurance, what if the whole time people thought

you had it you were battling different battles of not believing in yourself. That was me. I never got the chance to say yes that what I did was good enough to get me places. It was always that I had to do better, I had to get a higher score or a better grade, I had to make it higher. Meeting him made me realize that I had that confidence in me all that time. It was mixed with my drive to push myself to get better. Don’t ever mix those. They cause a bigger problem than needed. He brought out the confidence I never knew I had, having someone who wasn’t my parents tell me that I am doing good, that I can accomplish things, that my work is good, that I am amazing not just in school, and that I am a caring person.

All of this together makes me understand that in this world you don’t need to follow the standards of what a word means. As a teenager living in a society of every way you turn there is a comment, an insult, a backhanded compliment. Living like this makes things harder. You don’t always find confidence in yourself but through someone else. This may be a parent, friend, or your partner. That’s how I found mine. The definition can be made to the way that you feel the word means.

Marigolds

Fatima Garcia

Not-so-happy end for you the people who liked my stories about my…

Anyway she left me she is very dear to me and still is thats why I used is and not was

She has the most beautiful soul I have ever seen…

And I will miss her dearly.

And I can only hope he’s open to talking to me again and if she isn’t I am okay with that I can only be okay with that.

I love her.

And I hate that I couldn’t bring myself to fight for her or at least to keep her a little longer but that would have just been selfish so I just let her go…

Hopefully she doesn’t think I never loved her because I did.

Maybe I love her too much.

I hate myself for being so cold to her in my last text

You didn’t deserve that whatsoever.

I kinda wish hananaki disease was real so I could die loving you.

And the flowers would be marigolds

Goodbye to the sweetest boy I knew.

“I love you so much that my heart stop beating when you’re leaving

And I’m grieving and my heart starts bleeding Life without you has no goddamn meaning”

- Tyler, The Creator

Disappearing

Aurora Lopez

In my high school, everyone arrives early in the morning, me and my best friends, Jazleen, and Jemelyn always get there first early in the morning. We wait outside on the curb every morning since the gates to the school open at 7:15 AM. Once the gates open we walk to a big tree on the field of the school. Around 7:40 AM that’s when more teachers and students start to walk on campus. A whistle blows at 8:00 AM and every grade gets in their separate lines. My trio has the same classes every day and our schedules switch every trimester yet we are still kept together. But only one morning was different, nothing was that off at first. We all got dropped off at the same time waiting outside as usual.

As we all talked and waited the cars got quieter and soon we realized no teachers were parked in the lot. I looked at my phone to see it was already 7:20 AM. “No one is here” I said when I came to that realization.

I walked to the corner of the street to see if there were any cars. No one was on the road and it was dead quiet. I ran back to the school bringing my friends with me to see what’s going on.

“This shouldn’t even be possible,” Jemelyn said.

“Should we look for someone?” Jazleen asked

“Let’s just see if the gates are open.” I hesitated

Walking back the gates were wide open like someone opened them yet still no cars were to be seen anywhere.

Shivers went down my spine like someone was watching us. “The gates weren’t open when we left.” I spoke stunned

I hesitated to walk in but I was still trying to figure out what was happening. The tree in the field had no leaves at all, but no leaf litter was left on the ground.

“This isn’t normal at all, should we just leave and look at the rest of the town?” Asked Jazleen

“Let me just check the classrooms,” I said.

As I began to check the first floor everything was unlocked yet all the classrooms were empty. No desks or anything like a blank canvas in every room. Even the restrooms were empty, the only funny thing was that there was just one random toilet in the corner. I walked back outside to the yard with constant chills down my spine. I walked up to Jazleen and Jemelyn.

“The whole place is abandoned; it looks as if the whole interior of the building was deleted.” I explained.

The grass slowly began to dry and shovel up to dust, leaving just plain dirt on the ground.

“We should head back to the street.” Jemelyn said concerned.

Walking back to the street in the corner of my eye I saw the rest of the tree sinking into the ground. In my mind

this had to just be my paranoia making up lies in my mind. The street lights were off and the windows on buildings were gone.

“Should we just keep walking?” suggested Jazleen.

“I suppose I don’t think there’s much to see over here,” I responded.

We began to walk down the street. Somehow, there was a dead end that met at an asphalt wall. The buildings just looked like big blocks, no doors, no roof.

“Are we in some sort of simulation?” I asked, concerned.

We all sat, our backs against the wall, all tired.

“Would it be risky to close our eyes for a bit? I’m getting tired,” Jazleen said in a dreadful voice.

“Possibly, all this walking and thinking gets me sleepy,” Jemelyn said.

Just as I was about to say my own opinion, both fell asleep on the ground. I thought to myself, maybe I should get some sleep myself. Then looking off into the distance I could see the street disappearing. It was getting closer and closer. Was I losing my mind?!

As my heart began to panic my body was still. I couldn’t even bother to tell my friends to wake up. Where could we go?

Then there was blank. I could hear my thoughts, yet I

could see nothing. Not nothing as in seeing black or white, but nothing as in there was no such thing as a description.

George Washington Island

Carlos Curiel

I was at the lowest point in my life. I lived in a small cardboard box that was wet from all the rain in New York. I begged on the streets for money. The highest I ever made was ten dollars from a nice lady.

I spent that ten dollars on scratch tickets. I brought three of them. I scratched the first ticket, it was nothing then the other nothing as well. When I did the last one I saw I won one dollar. I was so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sad.

When I went to my house (my box), I saw my wife had died because the dogs ate her. The dogs smelled my orange juice and killed my wife because they thought she was the orange juice. So I cried myself to sleep.

When I woke up I saw my cousin with a nerf gun in his hand in a van, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Abraham Lincoln was in the van tied up to the back of it. My cousin is…George Washington. “Yo Lester wanna come to my crib? Gonna have a party over there.”

“Yeah, is Barack Obama gonna be there?”.

“Yeah he’s gonna give you money for a new hamster.”

So my cousin took me to his crib and then people with masks took me and put me on a boat…When I woke up I was in a big room with one thousand people. The room was all white. After a little while from waking up people

came out and said that all one thousand people will compete in a game of laser tag. If the team loses, they have to gamble all their money on red.If they lose, they die. If they hit, they get put in a room that has Taylor Swift on loop. The winning team will double their money and move on.

A couple of people and I were put in a group. Their names were Frank, Chris, Isaiah, Leo, Roman, and Angel. We got put in a room with a timer and the games started. We all wanted to get out but we couldn’t. We waited for 20 minutes, and after that we all got into the area with exactly two hundred people. There are four areas with two hundred people, and only one hundred get to pass. So the group and I went to the middle of the area to get the best view of everyone.

After doing the rounds, we were in the final round. It was me and the boys and the other team had Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Lebron James. When the final round began everyone went to the middle. All the walls felt like they were moving as if everyone was seeing things like cars that weren’t there. In the middle of all of us, was where Abraham Lincoln shot Angel.

“Guys Angel is gone we can’t lose anyone else,” Chris said. So all of us teamed together and tried to leave the laser tag arena at one of the corners of the arena. We found a door but it was locked. Chris used all his

power to break the door but failed so everyone used all their power at once, and the door broke so we all went in there to escape. The room was dark and we couldn’t see anything. Me and the boys went in the dark. We walked till we saw light and went in. We saw another door and it was the George Washington room.

The Shadow

Andrea Nicolas

Olivia was home alone. It was raining and it was late at night about midnight when she looked at the clock. She couldn’t sleep. Something was keeping her awake. Olivia tossed and turned. As much as she tried she couldn’t doze off. Something was keeping her awake and she felt as if she was being watched. For a moment Olivia felt the room was darker than before with an eerie vibe. She sat up in her bed and her room looked normal, almost peaceful but there was something bugging her. Olivia stepped out of her bed and walked around, the house quiet. The hallway she was in seemed dark and filled with darkness in every part. She heard footsteps behind her. She whipped around and saw nothing. Fear started to take over. Oliva heard a voice in her head

“I’m here.”

“Whose voice is that?” she thought confused and frightened. She started to fidget with her fingers, “I should get back to bed. Yes, that will help.” Olivia slowly walked toward her room when she heard a scratching sound at the end of the hallway. She stood very still and slowly turned. A shadow was standing where she heard the noise. Tall and dark with a very evil, strong energy. Its skinny and sharp fingers just hanging there. Olivia was stuck to the floor, she wanted to scream, yell help, let the world know what was happening but she couldn’t. It was as if she had no mouth. She snapped out of it and started running to her room but ended up

on the floor. The shadow loomed over her and almost immediately she felt a burning pain in her back. Getting up wasn’t a choice. She tried, but was paralyzed.

“Is this a dream? It must be, IT HAS TO BE!” Her eyes filled with tears. For her the only solution was to pray. She prayed while the pain kept on going on her back. Olivia eventually fell asleep.

She woke up with the sun hitting her face. It felt warm and comforting. The event from the night before vanished as it had never happened. As she stood up from her bed, she saw dried blood on her bed sheets. “Where did this come from?” She walked over to her mirror and turned to see her back, what she saw was blood all over her pajamas in the back. She lifted her pajama up and saw scratch marks making her remember about the night before.

Letter To Myself in the Years to Come

Camilo Garcia

Today’s date is March 5, 2025. In three days, I will be running the Los Angeles Marathon for the very first time. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous; however, I would also be lying if I said that I wasn’t excited as well. This will be the first of many to come; I am excited to see where the rest of my running journey will take me.

In six months or so, I will be living in Madison, Wisconsin, starting a new chapter of my life. I am excited about meeting my future dormmate, officially being a Badger, and just having fun in a new environment. In a little over four years from now, I hope to receive my bachelor’s degree in economics. I wonder when I read this if that is still the path I will be taking. I also am very passionate about receiving my master’s, just like my dad did.

Past that, it is my dream to work a job in the sports industry. By now, I would have also liked to come back to Los Angeles as to be honest, I can’t see myself living anywhere else. Before all this though, I would like to speak at graduation whether that is me being a recipient of New West Charter’s shining light scholarship, or even being something like a salutatorian.

Lastly Camilo, I would like to still keep in touch with my closest friends while thousands of miles away from one another. I will never forget all the valuable memories we created during high school.

The Worried

Damian Matias

The TV was on really loud in the living room

I was trying to sleep; it’s seven in the morning on a Saturday

I could hear my parents gasp and chat from what was happening on the news

I somehow got myself up and to the living room

I saw my parents dressed up, ready for work

They showed me what was on the news

All I saw was people getting detained when trying to live their normal lives

How unfair is that? They’re just trying to get the same opportunities as other people do

My parents say they are heading to work

I fear for their safety, but who’s going to keep us alive if we all stay home

I turn off the TV and get ready to go outside to rest from all this stress

I like to go on walks especially in Palms as it keeps me calm

I decided to go to a coffee shop and chat with some of the workers as I know them well

After hours that I couldn’t keep track of I decided to go to the bank real quick

As I was walking I saw a lot of police activity Siren after siren after siren

I tried not to think much of it

But the more I heard it the more I felt anxious

It brought me thoughts of ICE as I was in that state of mind

Then I thought of my parents, they get home early today

Are they back home safely?

Its only the police it’s not ICE what if they aren’t near today

I decided to call them just to make sure

I called my mom, no response. I called her again

No response.

I called my dad hurriedly

“Your call has been forwarded to a voicemail please leave your mess—” I ended the call.

Continued in Pedro’s story

Worried Still

Pedro Sanchez

I tried to hope for the best and just tried to convince myself that their phone had just died or they put their phone on silent mode. I tried to distract myself even more by running to the park and trying to play a pickup game of basketball, but yet all I could think about was about my parents. Only thinking about the worst, but still I tried to keep a little bit of hope. Finally I could not take it anymore. I called them one last time and yet nothing. I did not know what to do. I checked the time it was about the time both of my parents would be home for dinner so I decided to run all the way back home and just hope that they were there. I wondered if I would ever see them again. I ran all the way back home just with the thought in my mind that I would get home. When I opened the door I was greeted by the smell of chorizo and I saw my mom and dad at the table.

Letter

Rubi Garcia Dear, Mandy

Hi, Mandy, the question you asked me in the last letter you sent was very interesting. I have been thinking about what I should respond with. “What do you appreciate?” that stumped me. I was thinking how I appreciate many things like family, friends, books, music, and pets. I could have just said I appreciate my family, but it feels like I am writing for school for one of those questions they give on the first day of school as prompts “to get to know you”.So I decided to say I appreciate movies. Those types of movies are romance and drama. Why do I like movies? It can be so simple. I love watching movies to feel calm and be with myself for one hour or so. I also love to see how actors can make the movie feel so real as if it was real life. A movie I have in mind for that is About Time. They didn’t make the family seem too organized, instead they made the characters real with their own traits. The main character is Tim. He and all the men in his family had this power that they were able to go back in time. They just couldn’t tell people that they could go back. I also love movies because of the actors. They are a big part of the movie obviously. So many actors are able to grow on screen and I appreciate the talent. Being able to understand how the actors feel about their work and how much effort they add can make a movie go from 1 to 10. One thing I love to do is if I loved the movie I go on Google and see what actors were in and try to watch many more of their movies. Okay I have been writing too much but I think it shows how much I appreciate movies LOL

What Defines Someone?

Jadellyn Garcia

In my opinion people are defined by the things they love or what they value. Why, well personally I think people are defined by the things they love because I would want to be defined by the things I value or love, and not the things I hate. For example, I love swimming. I enjoy watching them but also binge-watching them.

But there are many different opinions on what defines a person. People could say someone can be defined by the things that they have overcome. For example, my mom.

Other people may say that someone could be defined by their achievements. As well as their personalities or how they act for example if someone was mean they would be defined as an apathetic person.

Every Voice Counts

Brandon Hernandez

I am smart and confident

I hear the people asking for equal rights

I see my friends and family around me

I say that we are all equal no matter the looks

I am someone that believes in everyone

I think that everyone can be who they want to be

I believe that no one is illegal on stolen land

I know love is stronger than hatred

I try to be positive no matter the situation

I respect others for who they are

I feel the strength of people standing together

I will not judge others for who they are

I believe that every one deserves another chance

I am Brandon Hernandez

A Banana

Atlas Ivins

In the kitchen, the banana is a very cool banana. He’s a banana because he wants to be a banana. The banana is also very cool because he is a banana. If he wasn’t a cool banana he would be thrown away. Every day he sits in fear because his mom was turned into a smoothie. The banana tries to move every day but in the end he is just a banana.

Time passes quickly, a day, a week and then finally he gets picked up and then… he gets put back in the fruit basket. The banana thinks to himself, in his head, which he does not have because he’s a banana. He just sighs and lays in the basket for a long time until he is very NOT cool and he does NOT want to be a cool banana anymore. He lays there for four months before getting super moldy.

The banana does not feel like he’s gonna get eaten anymore and he becomes isolated from the fruit bowl, making the fruit bowl not so appealing. The family that lives in that house comes back from a vacation and the banana gets thrown away inside of a trash can. Another week goes by and he’s in a landfill. He was there for a day until rats found him and started eating him. Then he’s gone and is turned into a new banana.

The End.

Life of a Soldier

Miles Green

November 1942. It was the opening hours of Operation Torch. As a boy I thought that being a Soldier would be cool, but now that I am one now I can see the grim future that I have openly brought upon myself. The mission of the 3rd and 9th Infantry Divisions was to capture the Port Lyautey airfield in Morocco. As we got closer to Morocco I could hear the sounds of bombs bursting in the air as the air grew cold and thick from my nerves, or maybe it was from the deepening doom that I pound myself upon. As we got closer and closer my dread got bigger and bigger even more than I ever would have imagined. My commanding officer was giving us a pep talk, but his voice just drowned out the sorrow that I felt and once my landing craft hit the sand I knew that I was going to be walking through hell. I tried to focus on my tasks in front of me instead of the chaos and blood that was going around me as the water turned red in the sand and turned brown. We continued up to the next checkpoint. I’ve never killed a man, not even during this beachfront, but I would soon learn that being a good soldier meant that you will have to pull the trigger.

When we capture the airport we will be able to get a foot hold on France. The first platoon is supposed to advance on the village tomorrow morning. Some of the boys that I met in the barracks: Doug, a man around his twenties, from Omaha, Nebraska. He has two kids named Tommy and Alice Watson. He was a very gregarious individual unlike me who is more of an antisocial guy.

The Battle of Casablanca was a relative success even

though we had heavy losses. I could not sleep that night, playing the battle over and over again seeing the eyes of the dead and lifeless as their blood soaked in the sand. Their scared expressions just before death seemed to haunt me. If there was anything that makes going from this hell worth it would be my love Sophia. She is my fiancé and the love of my life. She is pregnant with two boulders of joy. I have to live for her and for them.

Author Bios

Miranda Alvarado

Miranda is a senior at Venice High School. Miranda, along with her sidekick Edna, conquer the obstacles of high school life, fight the monsters of senioritis, and enjoy pastries at the end of the day. Forever stuck in the chaos of that child.

Sofia Alvarado

Sofia is an eighth grader who loves to listen to music during her free time. She sometimes likes to read books when she doesn’t have homework. Currently her favorite genre is romance with a little bit of mystery-thriller. Her favorite hobbies are bothering her sister and learning how to bake.

Brianna Valderrama

Brianna is a senior in high school, and part of the STEM Magnet Program at her school. She loves her engineering classes with a passion. In her free time she loves to play Bloxburg on Roblox. It’s the game that helped her find what she wants to do in college.

Edna Garcia Cruz

Edna is a senior in high school. She is that child. She likes shiny objects and spending time with her bestie, Miranda. One day she will conquer the world.

Roxana Garcia Cruz

Roxana is a perfect, amazing, kind hearted, creativeperson. She has big dreams. She likes to sleep-in, read and eat sour candy. She lives in LA and is probably at home reading or trying to catch up on sleep.

Arturo Garcia Cruz

Arturo is an eleven-year-old boy who goes to middleschool. He was born in LA and he likes cookies and playing games.

Grace Tuxpan

Grace is a ninth grader who likes music, writing, math, and things similar to that. She likes the music artists Arctic Monkeys and Cavetown. She likes the films Frankenstein by Guillermo Del Toro, and The Hunger Games series. She has a pet dog and a turtle. Grace loves the arts.

Marline Tuxpan

Marlene is a junior in high school. Huge procrastinator in literally everything. She enjoys a lot of things like Transformers, Sonic, and more that she can’t remember on the spot. She likes to express those interests but only in the most subtle way possible in hopes to get the attention of someone who may also like said subjects.

Guadalupe Vasquez

Guadalupe is a high school junior at Animo Venice. Her hobbies include making eternal flowers for her business. She enjoys going places and spending time with her friends.

Fatima Garcia

Fatima loves seals, and yay! She loves writing about love, it’s super cool. Her favorite flowers are marigolds.

Aurora Lopez

Aurora is in middle school, she’s a crafty person with passing grades. Aurora plays Minecraft and is lowkey geeked. She finds simple tasks hard because she is also lowkey lazy. Her favorite drink is Vitamin Water and ella siempre quire tacos de pastor.

Antonio Mateo

Antonio is an artist, writer, runner, and a sophomore at Venice High School. He is currently enrolled in programs like 826LA, Upward Bound, UCLA EAOP, and Ryman Arts, so he’s occupied at the moment. If he had an endless habit it would be recreating album covers.

Rosaiela Lopez

Rosaisela is a high school student from Los Angeles. Her favorite hobbies are playing the accordion and boxing. She likes to visit Mexico, where her family is from. She likes it because she gets to visit where her parents grew up. She is a person who is calm and quiet. She can’t live without her airpods. She likes going out to many different places with family and friends.

Carlos Curiel

Carlos is from LA.

Andrea Nichola

Andrea is nice and has a lot of energy. She is an Mexican-American eighth grader who is nervous to become a ninth grader. She currently attends Culver City Middle School and will go to the nearby high school. Activities she enjoys doing are reading, drawing, painting, talking with her friends (chisme) and being with her cat and family. Her goal is to pass all the grades and be a vet.

Bernardo Garcia

Bernardo G. is a freshman from Los Angeles. His favorite hobbies are being a transient wordsmith and creating the best nicknames of all time. He cares not for the brothers of society, but his own existence in the universe. He is also the best videogamer ever.

Camilo Garcia

Camilo is currently a high school senior who loves sports, especially basketball. In this upcoming fall, he

will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he plans to study economics. He has been attending 826LA for as long as he can remember.

Damian Matias

Damian is fifteen years old and lives in Los Angeles. He likes to go on runs and likes to hang out with friends. His favorite soccer teams are FC Barcelona, Club America, and The Mexican National Team.

Pedro Sanchez

Pedro is a fifteen-year-old boy who has many hobbies which are soccer, basketball, boxing, ect. He is friendly.

Omar Sanchez

Omar is smart. His favorite hobbies are basketball, soccer, swimming, playing guitar and piano. He likes to take breaks and rest and also to have fun doing the things he likes the most. He doesn’t like to read and write because it makes him too tired and it just hurts his brain.

Galilea Flores

Galilea Flores is Mexican American. She has two siblings, one female and one male. From a young age she has had a passion for art and music. Will she pursue her dream career as an animator? You’ll have to wait to find out!

Rubi Garcia

Rubi is a sophomore born and raised in Mar Vista. She is fifteen years old. She is also a daughter and a sister. Rubi has a dog named Simba who she loves very much. She loves anything joyful and movies.

Jadellyn Garcia

Jadellyn is an eighth grader who was raised in Mar Vista. Jadellyn is fourteen years old and she is the youngest daughter. She enjoys hanging out with her friends and has a dog named Simba.

Idalia Perez

Idalia Perez is a soon to be freshman enjoying her last moments in middle school. She likes listening to music on her record player and finds entertainment in little things. Idalia loves learning more about her culture where she is from Oaxaca, Mexico, and wants to visit her family living there very soon.

Brandon Hernandez

Brandon is a nice, smart person. He goes to Culver City Middle School and he likes to cook and bake. He likes to listen to Kali Uchis and likes to go out with friends.

Atlas Ivins

Atlas is a good swimmer. He likes to mess around with his friends. He also likes to play video games in his free time.

Adan Hernandez

Adan H. is a senior and lives in Echo Park. Adan loves to make films and loves to lift heavy. He is funny and chill to talk to. When he grows up, he wants to make high budget films.

Aaron M.

Aaron M. is fifteen and lives in an apartment in Los Angeles. His talent is driving at a young age, and he is good at games. He lives with three older sisters and a baby nephew. Their names are Dayanara, Yamillisa, and Matios. Everyone in the family wants Aaron to make good money and get a good job in the future.

Alexander De Santiago

Alexander lives in an apartment in LA. His talent is that he can play multiple instruments. He lives with two sisters, an older brother, his twin, and his dog.

Anayze M.

Analyze Millan is a fun, kind, seventeen-year-old girl who likes the colors orange and teal. She loves avocado on everything, and her favorite snack is pickle-flavored chips.

Ariana R.

Ariana is eleven years old and she is in sixth grade. She loves her dog Oso. Ariana lives in LA. She loves food and her favorite color is black. Ariana is silly and goofy. Ariana loves to laugh at everything. Ariana’s nickname is Ari on Air. Ariana loves her friends, especially Sofia, Yari, Trinity, and Kayla.

Bryan Hernandez

Bryan likes to sleep a lot and eat, but he also helps his mom clean the house. He likes hanging out with friends after school or spending time with his mom. When he grows up he wants to be a veterinarian.

Cesar Solis

Cesar is eleven years old. He likes to play piano and chess. He has a brother that is seven years old who is sneaky because he eats all his food.

Daniela Aguila

Dani lives in Los Angeles with her two turtles and four dogs. She loves hanging out with her friends. Dani loves playing volleyball at the beach with her friends. When Daniela grows up she wants to study criminology.

Jackelyn Arellano

Jackelyn is a fourteen-year-old in eighth grade. She enjoys listening to music and playing sports, especially volleyball. One of her many hobbies is filming/ photography. Jackelyn hopes that one day she can work at NASA and learn more about the universe and its mysteries. She also loves animals.

Jacob De Santiago

Jacob D. is fourteen in the ninth grade. He lives in Los Angeles, California. He enjoys playing video games in his free time, mostly alone. Some other activities he enjoys a lot are skateboarding with his friends and playing baseball is one of his favorite sports; his favorite player is Mookie Betts on the Dodgers number 50. He has multiple siblings, in total five, he has a twin brother named Alexander, another brother he has is named Jesus, and he also has two sisters Nicole, and Samantha.

Jamileth M.

Jamileth M. is sixteen and lives in Chinatown in the city of Los Angeles. She likes to dance different styles like ballet, modern hip hop, jazz, and contemporary. She aspires to become a successful dancer as it is her passion. She loves her family so much and thanks them for always supporting her. She is in the tenth grade.

Jaqueline Ortega

Jauqeline O. is eleven years old living in Los Angeles, and a sixth grader. She loves to play volleyball with her friends but as much as she loves her dog Roxy. Her biggest wish is to become a lawyer and just maybe a writer. She loves to eat tacos and thai food, those being her favorite to eat.

Jesus Aguilar

Jesus is twelve years old and in the seventh grade. He lives in Echo Park. His favorite sport is soccer, he can do a bicycle kick. His favorite color is sky blue. He loves to ride his bicycle with his brother and cousin in his free time - he’s actually saving up to buy a Yazma electric bike.

Jesus D.

Jesus is seventeen years old and is in the eleventh grade.

He lives in LA around the Echo Park area. He likes to go out with his friends, and when he goes out he likes to bike around LA. He has two brothers and two sisters.

Leo Martinez

Leo is twelve years old. He lives in a house in Echo Park. His favorite sports are baseball, basketball, and volleyball. He has an older sister and a younger brother. He has three dogs called Zoe, Bear, and Teddy.

Lily Resendez

Lily Resendiz is fifteen years old and lives in California with three crazy cats, a younger sister, and a big family. She aspires to learn how to draw, and create many visual novels! Lily is a freshman in high school currently, and his favorite subject is Art.

Lyli Resendez

Lyli Resendiz likes the color purple and black. Also, Lyli likes to read and go out. Lyli’s favorite sports are boxing and flag football. Lyli also has two older siblings.

Mareli M.

Mareli M. is seventeen years old, she is currently a senior in high school. Her birthday is in May, she plays on her school’s softball team. She can speak two languages which are English and Spanish, Spanish being her first. She has two dogs and one cat. As well as a younger brother. When she is older she hopes to become a vet and have the privilege to travel around the world to help many animals.

Metzli S.

Metzli S. is a sixteen-year-old who is very loud with friends, but quiet without. She has five siblings who drive her crazy but still care for them. She is the oldest who always has to act right. She enjoys being in her room, eating, and cutting her hair. She is in the eleventh grade.

Miles Green

Miles William Green is a very creative individual who has always loved drawing and storytelling. His story is filled with storytelling and captivating moments! He also wants to make you feel part of the worlds he’s created when you read his stories.

Noe A.

Noe A. is twelve years old and is in the seventh grade. One of his favorite hobbies is playing soccer with his friends. His favorite color is royal blue. He is also saving up for a mini bike so he can ride with his cousins and friends during the summer.

Maria Guadalupe Sanchez

Maria is thirteen and she is from America. She loves to play soccer. She also loves to listen to music. Maria loves animals too but she can’t pick just one animal. Maria loves animals too but she can’t pick one animal since she loves most. She has a trio who includes her in everything they do. She has a loving family and a dog named Oso. She has a goal to move to a quiet and peaceful place and live a good life. When Maria grows up she wants to work in the music industry or just get a good paying job.

Sophia Morales

Sophia M. is fourteen years old and in eighth grade. She enjoys playing the piano. She also likes to help her mom cook food. She lives in Los Angeles and loves taking walks outside to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Santiago Orellana

Santiago is an eighteen-year-old kid born and raised in LA. He’s really into movies and Garage punk music. He spends most of his time thinking about movie ideas and watching tech videos. As of 2026, he’s graduating high school and starting his new adult life.

Acknowledgements

826LA would like to thank to following for their support in making this chapbook possible:

Trevor W.

Richie H.

Michael F.

Kristina G.

Jillian M.

Ever M.

David B.

Paul D.

Jenica F.

Matt C.

Meredith G.M.

David M.

Aidan M.

Talia K.

Eric B.

Alex P.

Julianne H.

Ruth B.

Catalina A.A.

Benjamin S.

Isaac K.

Chase H.

Amarachi O.

John G.

Ashley G.

About 826LA

Vision: 826LA envisions a Los Angeles where every child has access to quality writing education and is empowered to express themselves creatively through writing. We envision a Los Angeles where every teacher is supported in their writing-based educational objectives.

Mission: 826LA is dedicated to unlocking and cultivating the creative power of writing for students ages 6 to 18, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

How we advance our mission: A nonprofit organization, our services are structured around our understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with oneon-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

With this in mind, we provide after-school tutoring in all subjects, evening and weekend workshops, inschool programs, field trips, college access, help for English language learners, and assistance with student publications.

All of our programs are challenging and enjoyable, and ultimately strengthen each student’s ability to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in their own voice.

Core Values: 826LA values joy in the service of achieving educational goals. Our community norms value diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. We therefore prioritize partnerships with Title 1 Schools, engagement with historically marginalized populations, and training and deploying community-based volunteers in support of our mission. As a teaching approach, we value creativity, authenticity, empathy, and lively, rigorous, and student-centered writing education. As an educational enrichment organization, we value supporting teachers, principals, and other school staff in the pursuit of excellence.

Programs

After-School Writing Programs

Mondays through Thursdays, students attend 826LA for after-school writing programs. Students participate in community building activities, work on homework or reading with trained tutors, and of course, write! Students submit their writing for inclusion in chapbooks, which 826LA publishes twice a year. To celebrate students’ hard work, 826LA unveils these chapbooks at book release parties, where students read their work to thunderous applause from their volunteers, families, and peers.

Field Trips

During the week, 826LA invites teachers and their students to our writing labs to participate in a morning of collaboration, creativity, and writing. Whether Storytelling & Bookmaking, Well-Wishing & Poetry, Choose Your Own Adventure, or Memoir, field trips at 826LA support teacher curriculum and student learning by offering a safe space for students to be their most imaginative and to work on their writing skills. In a few short hours, students brainstorm, write, edit their work, and leave with something tangible—a bound book—as well as a renewed confidence in their ability to tell their stories.

In-Schools Programs & Writers' Rooms

Because not all students can come to us, 826LA brings specially trained volunteer tutors into classrooms throughout Los Angeles. There, volunteers provide oneon-one or small group assistance with writing projects. 826LA works with teachers to craft all projects, which are designed to engage students while targeting curricular needs. In addition to visiting twenty schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District each year, 826LA has additional sites within Manual Arts High School, Roosevelt High School, and Venice High School called The 826LA Writers’ Rooms.

Workshops

826LA’s workshops bring students together with artists, writers, and professionals for creative collaboration. Whether the subject is journalism or preparing for the zombie apocalypse, our workshops foster student creativity while strengthening writing skills. This program includes two long-running

Staff

Jaime Balboa Executive Director

Diego Quevedo Chief of Staff

Shani Foster Director of Education

Christie Thomas Director of Development

Mateo Acosta Associate Director of Community Engagement

Pedro Estrada Programs & Operations Manager, Echo Park

Christie Thomas Director of Development

Mike Dunbar Programs & Operations Manager, Mar Vista

Carinne Kemp Store and General Operations Manager Time Travel Marts in Echo Park & Mar Vista

Alma Carrillo Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships and Communications

Trevor Crown

Senior Manager of Volunteer Innovation and Assessment

Cole Montgomery Development Manager

Katie Feige Institutional Giving Manager

Wendy Beltran

Senior Writers’ Room Program Coordinator Roosevelt High School

Marco Beltran Writers’ Room Program Coordinator

Manual Arts High School

Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo Senior Community Relations Coordinator

Arisdeysi Cruz Tutoring Program Coordinator

Ariana Ponce Olivares Senior Civic Engagement Coordinator

Wilson Swain Creative Engagement Specialist

Julia Malinow In-Schools and Tutoring Program Coordinator

Caz Shen Store Associate

Gabriela Romero Field Trips and Operations Coordinator

Board of Directors

Karen Van Kirk Board President Customer Experience & Operations

Sarah Rosewald Varet Board Vice President Governance Committee Chair Attorney

David Ullendorff Board Treasurer Finance Committee Chair Co-Founder, Mathnasium

Ben Au Litigation Partner, Orrick

Scott Boxenbaum Comedian & Real Estate

Cisca Brouwer Attorney/Writer

Joe Ferencz CEO/Founder, GameFam

Scott A. Ginsburg Real Estate, Boulevard Partners

Jaya Hathaway Recruiter, CPI

Susan Ko Clinical Psychology & Executive Leadership

Stacey Han Williams

Senior Product Marketing Manager, Google

Matt Conway

Senior Engineering Specialist, The Aerospace Corporation

Mack Jenkins Litigation Partner, Hecker Fink

Liane Katzenstein Ly Partner, Liane Ly Law

Dave Eggers Emeritus and 826 Founder

Holly Thomas Emeritus Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit

Advisory Board

J.J. Abrams

Judd Apatow

Miguel Arteta

Mac Barnett

Steve Barr

Joshuah Bearman

Father Gregory Boyle, S.J.

Amy Brooks

Stefan Bucher

Kathleen Caliento

Monique Demery

Mark Flanagan

Ben Goldhirsh

Rebecca Goldman

Ellen Goldsmith-Vein

DeAnna Gravillis

Terri Hernandez Rosales

Christine Jaroush

Spike Jonze

Miranda July

Catherine Keener

Keith Knight

Al Madrigal

R. Scott Mitchell

Lani Monos

B.J. Novak

Miwa Okumura

Amber Paasch

Jane Patterson

Keri Putnam

Sylvie Rabineau

Sonja Rasula

Will Reiser

Luis Rodriguez

Tara Roth

Brad Simpson

J. Ryan Stradal

Natalie Tran

Sarah Vowell

Sally Willcox

Julie Wiskirchen

Sign up to make a monthly donation to 826LA and you’ll join our Future Bestsellers Club. For as little as ten dollars each month, we’ll deliver writing from our brilliant, emerging authors right to you!

Go to 826LA.org/donate and click on Future Bestsellers Club to join.

Shop the Time Travel Mart!

Visit our Time Travel Mart storefronts in Echo Park and Mar Vista where you can shop for all your time traveling gears and gadgets. From Mammoth Chunks to Robot Milk to original student-authored books, we pride ourselves on being the only Los Angeles purveyor of quality goods from the past, present, and future. The proceeds from the store help to keep all programs free for our students. You can also visit the stores online at timetravelmart.com.