

TheJewel 2024
ArachneandAthena
ByJohannaLaurinoWhen Arachne was a child, she was told she looked like a spider.
Her parents said that’s why they named her after the mother of spiders.
Arachne was fully prepared to embrace this identity until she learned about the story of the first Arachne.
She was proud, and claimed to be better than the gods.
So she was struck down.
So Arachne, young as she was, decided to never be good enough to be noticed by the gods.
She believed in them, and she was terrified of them.
They already punished one Arachne. What would they do to another?
From then on, Arachne strove to be as unremarkable as possible.
Whenever she was given a compliment, she deflected, with a nervous glance up.
Whenever she got an A, she made sure to get a B on the next three assignments. And in school, there was someone new.
That someone’s name was Athena.
And when Arachne was first introduced to Athena, she was terrified.
She thought her reckoning had come.
She thought that this was it, that she’d gotten one too many As, or too many compliments.
She thought she’d been too prideful.
Athena didn’t understand.
When she saw Arachne staring at her like she was the end of the world, she had no idea.
Sure, she knew about the myth.
She thought it was a coincidence.
She thought it was funny.
Until she realized how scared Arachne was.
As they grew up around each other, neither of them allowed the other within arms reach, clinging to those impressions.
Arachne felt like she was withering up on the inside, like her soul was being drawn out through her eyes.
She felt like she had too many eyes.
Athena was hurt.
She felt like her soul was bleeding out through her fingertips.
She felt like her emotions were weaving a web, filling her up with cobwebs, leaving her hungry for more to feel.
If you asked, neither would be able to pinpoint when they became rivals.
Arachne managed to turn her tangle of emotions into competitiveness, into a drive to do better.
She reasoned that if Athena was already here to take her down, she might as well put up a fight.
She would be a worthy opponent.
Athena turned her pain into competitiveness.
She twisted it into a drive to be better, too.
She thought that Arachne was mocking her.
Until she realized she was doing better than her.
When she realized this, she felt a twisted joy that she tried to push down.
She thought of herself as a pleasant person.
She didn’t want to become the kind of person who felt joy at others' pain.
That wasn’t a path she wanted to go down.
As they grew and grew, and Athena began to outpace Arachne, the bitterness grew.
It twisted and writhed under each’s skin.
Arachne was tired of waiting.
If Athena was going to be the end of her, she’d rather it be sooner than later.
She didn’t think she could take more of this back and forth.
She continued to insist she was better, if only to anger Athena.
She wanted it to be over.
But Athena believed that Arachne thought she was better.
She forced herself to move faster, to be smarter, to shine brighter.
And so they were trapped in an endless cycle.
If you asked, neither would be able to pinpoint when the other became the person they couldn’t live without.
Their pain and their loop formed a warped sort of need.
They needed their rivalry, their toxic form of friendship.
They needed each other, in a twisted way.
And so Athena convinced herself that the flutter of her heart when she saw Arachne was a crush, and not anger.
Arachne convinced herself that the knot in her stomach was nerves and not fear.
They became convinced that theirs would be a story of enemies to lovers.
But some wounds can’t be ignored so easily.
Athena never figured out why the fear, palpable when she first met Arachne, cut so deep.
But it did.
It cut Athena straight to the core, and left her bleeding out on the inside, even as she grew new scar tissue over it.
And so she wasn’t surprised when the skin covering the wound turned out to be too thin.
The one unremarkable slight, the pain of knowing that she’d lost, poked a hole in the insufficient skin and let all the blood and years of anger come gushing out
Athena turned their story of love and potential into one of immense, crushing pain.
And while both of their hearts were broken, Athena was twistedly triumphant.
She’d finally come out on top.
And Arachne was strangely relieved.
She’d known it was coming.
She’d known it all along.
She was finally content with being a spider, hiding in the shadows.
Still significant, but ten times smaller.
And so Arachne slipped a note into Athena’s locker on the last day of school.
I’m sorry that it started that way.
I’m sorry that it ended this way.


...ButReallyIAm aceAnderson
Iseemtobeunknowing, butreallyIamsmart
Iseemtobeawkwardanduntalkative, butmyvoiceisalwaysabigpart
Iseemtoneverunderstand, andmaybethatistrue, butwhatdoesitmatter whenit’sjustbetweenmeandyou?
Iseemtobeadrift, onalittleboat, butItrymybesttolisten andtotalktoothers withoutgloat
Iseemtobesoquiet, likemyheadisunderwater, butreallyI’mamaniac, althoughItrynottobother
Iseemtobesohappy, butmymindisfilledwithstress Sometimeswithfriends, orthewaythatIshoulddress
Iseemallsortsofways
SomeIcan’texplain
ButIthinkthatIshouldlivelifetothefullest, insteadofcountingmydays



I’MTALKINGFAKE
By Autumn FaulknerI’m talking fake
I’m talking hoax
I’m talking news on Tik Tok
I’m talking nonsensical things on the internet
I’m not talking real or true
I’m talking the copy-and-pasters
The liar-liar-pants-on-fire people
The pretenders
The false answers
The incorrect headlines
I’m talking illusions
Like the ones in magic shows
I’m talking mis- and dis- information
I’m talking cheaters
The traitors
Betrayal
I’m talking deceptive
Dittos, Mimic, Clone, Duplicated
I’m not talking veracious or reality
I’m talking photoshopped
Bots as phony as an eclipse being canceled
Disinformation lying as deep as the oceans lowest point
I’m talking wrong and untrue
I’m talking backstabbers
I’m talking simulations and virtual reality
I’m talking false facts
I’m talking unreliable
I’m talking fiction, fables, and bedtime stories
Fraudulent, Deceiving, Counterfeit, Dishonest, Distrustful, Leary
I’m not talking accurate or correct
I’m talking Fake



DarkenedBallerina
ByKatieSmithMy heart sank as she called out the names I listened carefully as she called them twice, to make sure I made no mistake I’m not in any dances She chose Maeve over me “If you have any questions please see me after class, we have no time now, ” called out Ms Raya
After 2 hours of nothing but twirls, jumps, and splits, I walked over to my teacher “Excuse me, Since I wasn’t a part of any dances, what should I be practicing?”
Ms Raya looked over at me with a disgusted face, one that screamed out loud, have you lost your mind? “You, child, will be a backup dancer, you have been in this company long enough to know not to ask stupid questions,” she took a breath, “If a girl gets hurt, it is your responsibility to replace them, nothing more nothing less Now go off and sit with the others ”
I walked over and saw the pitiful looks from the other girls I had always been in the dances, no matter if I was too sick to perform, I was still in the dance Their eyes felt like needles in my skin and I wanted to cry Tiny pricks started in my eyes but I was able to keep it together until I saw her Maeve’s eyes were different, they weren’t pity, they were pure joy She looked over mockingly and giggled with Maribel and Sara She was laughing at me
I turned around and sprinted out the door, the water spilling out of my eyes faster than I could wipe I stood outside and did nothing but cry I wailed and sobbed hoping that they would forget what they just saw I used to make fun of the girls who couldn’t hold it in, the girls who ran outside as if the cold fall air would save them, the girls who didn’t make it into dances. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, just enough to realize the slight solution I had found. I smiled and wondered if I stayed outside longer, would they come out to find me?
Before I knew what I was doing my hands started moving, placing the stone over the edge of the dirt, hoping to catch a girl off the side. The stones started as a way to not ruin our shoes and every girl knew where the stones were. You stepped right then left then left again and had a clear, dry concrete flooring. I watched in slow motion as the door swung open, with laughter, giggles, and shouts. Her foot came out, over to the right, but not far enough. Maeve flung herself out of the studio and placed her foot where the stone should have been. Her face dropped as her foot hit the bottom of the hole, nothing but a loud crack was heard for several more seconds. It took a three-month period for her ankle to heal, but only a 3-minute dance for me to win 1st place. It took several more months for her mother to even want her to come back to dance, saying it was dangerous, but once she did, we never had a problem again.


IUsedtoButNowI
By Autumn FaulknerI used to believe everything I saw on social media
But now I realize most of the internet is a lie in a picture frame
I used to want to paint the perfect picture of myself as a person
But now I realize that not even a canvas can hold perfection when it’s not a real thing
I used to believe in myths that I’d hear by word of mouth
But now I find that those lies come from two sources: the brain and the mouth
I used to have to try to fight my way into the puzzle
But now I see more than half of the puzzle’s pieces fitting together
I used to think that life was simple
But now I know life is complicated
I used to think life has no point
But now I feel that I have to find that point and mark it
I used to think I’d have to struggle to reach the finish

But now I know you have to pace yourself in races.

ThroughTheirEyes
ByLilyLubiskiWarm, nutrient rich happiness
My roots reach deep into the soil
I talk with fungi, exchanging everyday banter and talk.
My branches reach to the warmth in the Infinite abyss.
Water falls onto my lush foliage
Drip drop drip drop
An ax hits my body
Thrick thrick
My nutrients are disconnected
My friends are gone

Lush sun removed from my branches, I topple over hitting my crown to the ground with a sickening thud
Withering away.
Fungi take over my trunk, my body, returning me to become food for my family.
Screeeee
I am a part of the soil, back with my friends
But the sun is sooo far awaaaaayyy
Slowly my new leaves swirl up to the sky
But the competition is fierce


Ode to my Trees
By Lily LubiskiOutside my door I glimpse the sea of foliage
Glowing green through the sunlight little glimmers projected on the ground dotting it with sun spots.
The largest tree, the oak, Shakes in the cool breeze I sit beneath the giant reading from its deceased relative Oh how wonderful it is in all forms

I’mtalkingENERGETIC!
ByJonasHernandezI’m talking ENERGETIC!
I’m talking dynamic, lively, vital
I’m talking dashing, brisk, sprightly, or husky
I’m not talking weak, sluggish, or lazy
I’m talking burly, powerful, or refreshed
I’m talking as energetic as a lightning bolt
Or busy as a bee
I’m talking active
Like a ball of fire
I’m talking peppy, sturdy, and kinetic
I’m talking speedy, fast, punchy
I’m talking robust
Like I’m the life of the party
I’m not talking torpid, soft, or lazy
I’m not talking like I’m lazy as the toad at the bottom of the well
I’m talking firm and gingery
I’m talking ENERGETIC!


TheJewel2024
VolumeII
BlackRockMiddleSchool,Villanova,PA
Editors:
Katie Smith
Lily Lubiski
Johanna Laurino
Adriana Figueroa Gonzalez
Adam Kendis
Connor Simpson
Rama Sinha
Anthony Sheppard

Advisor: Dr. Rachel E. Nichols
We are grateful to Black Rock students for sharing their talent and to BRMS staff for their support, especially our ELA teachers and art teachers Ms. Cassidy, Mrs. Fazzini, and Mrs. Messick.
Background photo: Sachin Shah Front Cover Art: Endza Buckley Back Cover Art: Grace Anderson