Roses Are Red, These Stories Are Strange...

roses are red o t t h e cl e m o c

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these stories are

Stories and Art by the Kids of the Writers’ Room Volume 7 ★ Issue 2 ★ Spring 2018

Copyright © 2018 The Writers’ Exchange This book is a collection of the kids’ favourite writing and art that they created during the winter and spring 2018 after-school programs at the Writers’ Room.

The Writers’ Exchange gets inner-city kids excited about reading, writing and their own potential through mentoring and creative projects like this chapbook. All Writers’ Exchange programs are free for the children and families we serve, so we could not exist without the support of amazing donors, including Social Venture Partners Vancouver, Marily Mearns, Linda Louis, the Waterbury Foundation, Megan Abbott, the City of Vancouver, Sasamat Foundation, TELUS, British Columbia Arts Council, Richard and Suzanne Cole, Bernard MacLeod, Nancy and Ted Maitland, BPS Wealth Management at CIBC Wood Gundy, John and Nina Cassils, Judy Gale, Lynn and Gene Gerwing, the Grayross Foundation held at the Vancouver Foundation, Lindsay Mearns, the Edith Lando Charitable Foundation, Pep and Bev Lough, Mark Tindle and Leslie Cliff, the Wolrige Foundation, the Van Tel/Safeway Credit Union Legacy Fund and CLICK (Contributing to Lives of Inner City Kids Society). Thank you.

207–877 East Hastings Vancouver, BC V6A 1R8 vancouverWE.com Please join us in acknowledging that we live, work, learn and play on the traditional lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Coast Salish people.

Design and layout: Melanie Kwan | melaniekwan.com Production coordination and editing: Melissa Edwards Program coordinator: Haley Wells These kind organizations support after-school programs at the Writers’ Room:

generously donated the printing of this chapbook.

The Writers’ Room after-school program runs in partnership with Queen Alexandra FAMILY School and the Vancouver School Board’s Van Tech Community School Team.

CONTENTS STRANGE ANIMALS Marton, by Kharizma The Girl and the Shark, by Brooklyn A Lonely Wolf, by Sophia Listen to My Trumpet, by Jessica Sawfish vs. Ninja, by K.C. The Lion-Karate-Pizza Eater, by Aiden Pigeons, by Linden Tabby the Cat, by Cami Narwhal & Jelly Jolt, by Tenaya

1 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 7

STRANGE FOOD A Free Bag of Rice, by Cathy Bob the Avocado, by Susan Found, by Hannah V. Juice Cookie Hamburger, by Wilson Jelly and Sushi, by Semira Cookies, by Joey Talking Food, by S.C. Junk Fu, by Cosmo Pineapple, by Eleazar King of the Not-so-Sweet Potatoes, by Corbin

8 9 10 10 10 11 11 12 13 14

STRANGE WORLDS The Black Mice, by Michael Dimensions, by Napaysni The Alien and the Farmer, by Manuel I Think She Just Tamed a Dragon, by Izzy The Magic World, by Alianna Candy, by Shirley Party Pokémon, by Ethan The Day Harry Went to Hogwarts, by Kasper Papertoy Monsters, by Fiona and Jordan Diragey, by S.G. The Joke, by Nancy

15 16 17 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 24

STRANGE BATTLES Fortnite, by Max and Aydin The Big Bang, by Adam Monster Attack, by Andrei B.G.’s Adventures, by B.G.

25 26 27 28

Territory, by K.T. Spider vs. Ant, by Quinlan Ready, by Levi The Spider, by Jaykwon Godzilla the Bald Man, by Patrick

29 30 31 32 33

STRANGE & SPOOKY Empty, by Hannah M. The Ghost, by Arianna Possibilities in the Darkness, by Farhin Monsters, by Tristin The Riddle, by Mako Bod, by Kaleb

34 35 36 37 38 39

SOME DAYS ARE STRANGE On Top of the Train, by Shen Zhai The Dying Pencil, by Lily The Teddy Bear, by M.C. Violet’s Toys, by Eden Emoji World, Part 2, by C.C. Traffic Jam, by Lawrence Today Was the Day, by D.M. and Tessa Marshall Makes Some Disasters, by Don Piggie Is Lost, by Jasper Farts and Slime, by Mya Jake Buys a Bugatti, by David Nin, by Leandro The Call, by Naomi I Can’t Talk, by Kesler How Burt Got Hamilton Tickets, by Danielle

40 41 42 43 44 44 45 45 46 46 47 48 49 50 51

STRANGELY WONDERFUL Flower Power, by Isabelle The Place Called Bob, by Edwin Motorcycle in the Philippines, by Elijah A Trip to Mexico, by Kyanna $100, by John The Rule Game, by Priscilla Who Is Chli?, by Jacky My Favourite Food & Rides at Playland, by Tatiana Keira + Zoe, by Keira W. Harry & Larry, by Andrew The Story of My Life (Not Really), by Ella The Last Comic, by Clara Life Is a Book, by Celest

52 53 53 54 54 55 55 56 57 58 59 60 61

STRANGE ANIMALS marton

By Kharizma, age 13 Hey, I’m Marton. I’m a zombie dog. I’m also a vegetarian. All of my friends eat people. I just go to find plants. I see people trying to destroy us, but they only destroy the ones in the front. I’m in the back, so I’m safe. I can’t talk to anyone, but it’s okay. My friends are bad. We all got separated yesterday.

I don’t sleep, like, ever. My zombie life is pointless. I don’t know what to do. How did I become a zombie? Is life just me? I’m in a hamster wheel running around till I fall over! When am I going to get out of this?

Today a (human) girl saved me! That’s weird. I thought humans hated us. Well, she picked me up and we’re in an apartment and she’s watching me. She probably just grabbed me so my stench will keep the walkers away. Well, maybe that's just me.

We’re on the road now in New York. We’ve been walking for hours, but that’s okay because I don’t get tired. I think she’s weird, but that’s okay because she let me get food. She put a collar on me—it says “Marton.” Was she my owner?

Cool, we’re heading to a place. The doors open and these people are taking me. That’s okay. They gave me a shot and now I can eat kibble again and run without falling apart. We have an apartment and we’re lying on a couch. Now I can sleep. ★

1

★

The Girl and the Shark

By Brooklyn, age 9

In a faraway land in 1995 a girl was cleaning a ship. A plank slipped and she fell in the ocean. She saw a big shark with 2000 teeth. She thought it would eat her! But wait! The shark smiled and said, “Jump on my fin. I will flip you on my back!” But she didn’t trust the shark.

She tried to climb back up on the ship but there were too many barnacles.

She was running out of air. So . . . she did do as the shark said and it did help her get back up to the top. At the top there was a . . .

UNICORN.

a lonely wolf

By Sophia, age 11 Once there was a mom wolf and a dad wolf. One day they left to go fighting and then they went missing. Their two cubs were in a dark forest. They were so scared. They found a very special flower, the only thing in the forest they could live on.

They each took a bite of a petal on that flower and then they were grown-ups. They fought every day. They both saw a boat and climbed on it. They got out of that dark forest. They found their parents.

2

★

ROSES ARE RED

listen to my trumpet

By Jessica, age 7

Gerald

what is that sound?

arf

wait, did piggie say do not move?

sit

do not move

somebody stole my whaaa toys! whaaa

arf

Strange Animals

★

3

sawfish vs. ninja

By K.C., age 6

A sawfish defends himself with his snout. Sawfish have a snout with about 54 spikes. They are 3 to 23 feet long (about 1 to 7 metres). Their diet is crustaceans (shrimp and crabs). If the sawfish kept chasing the ninja down to the bottom of the sea, the ninja would die. Its saw is so sharp that it could cut the ninja in half.

The Lion-Karate-Pizza Eater (and the Elephant)

By Aiden, age 8 One day in a pizza forest there was a lion named monkey! Monkey liked doing funky karate and eating cracker pizza at the same time.

And it liked spitting the crackers out! After that, Monkey the lion played with his best friend, Tiger the elephant. Monkey the lion was feeding Tiger the elephant crackers! Then Tiger the elephant was spitting out the crackers to a monkey named Gluestick. Gluestick the monkey ran away to Mexico!

The next day, funky karate was cancelled because it was pizzaraining. So that day Monkey the lion and Tiger the elephant were talking in the pizza-rain. Monkey and Tiger were talking about pizza.

Then, all of a sudden, Tiger the elephant told Monkey the lion not to eat pizza because Tiger the elephant did not like pizza anymore.

Monkey the lion ran away from Tiger the elephant and went to Mexico with Gluestick the monkey.

The day after, Monkey the lion and Gluestick the monkey stayed in a hotel!

4

★

ROSES ARE RED

pigeons

By Linden, age 7 WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PIGEON?

A WALL

...PIGEONS

NOTHING, PIGEON

NOOOO

BYE

KK

MEE OOOOO!

OUCH! POP!

Strange Animals

★

5

tabby the cat

By Cami, age 10

A Day in the life of...

Sleeping Playing with toys Sleeping in the way Staring at us Eating

7:00 a.m.  Wake up 7:30 a.m.  Breakfast 8:00 a.m.  Owner leaves 12:00 p.m.  Lunch 3:00 p.m.  OwneR IS HOME 6:00 p.m.  Dinner 9:30 p.m.  Bedtime

7:30a.m.

TOYS

CLO CK

-

DREAMROOMLAYOUT MINI FRIDGE

SCHEDULE

COUCH

LIKES:

tab b y !

BED

8:30a.m.

7a.m.

12p.m.

WHAT ARE YOU SO HAPPY ABOUT?

why aren't you eating?

REALLY? DRY FOOD AGAIN?

I'M TIRED

MEOW! YOU'RE FINALLY HOME! PET ME!

THAT FOOD WAS SO GOOD!

YOU HAVE GOT TO STOP SLEEPING IN RANDOM PLACES.

the end 6

★

ROSES ARE RED

narwhal & jelly jolt

By Tenaya, age 7

narwhal

jelly jolt

A super start!

HI!

HOW ARE YOU? BYE...

Strange Animals

★

7

STRANGE FOOD

a free bag of rice

By Cathy, age 11 On March 21, 2076, rice-bag prices were way too expensive for humans who lived in the middle of Asia. So one day Nevel Papperman wanted a free bag of rice. He went to 88 supermarkets and asked for free bag of rice, and without hesitation they shouted out: “No.” But Nevel Papperman didn’t give up, so he threatened to beat them up.

But they still didn’t give up the rice. So he gave up.

He went back home to come up with an elaborate plan to get the free rice. He first had to get a human to create a distraction. And so he did. He finally touched the bag of rice, but a worker caught him.

He was sent back as soon as the chaos finished.

He almost gave up, but he didn’t. He tried one more time by begging. They first declined him, then they started to get annoyed by Nevel Papperman. So then they gave up and gave Nevel Papperman his free bag of rice.

★

8

★

Bob the Avocado

By Susan, age 12 One day a random lemon moves into a random city that no one knows about. He moves in beside Bob. Bob is a cannibal and he normally eats his neighbours. His new neighbour is named Dude.

Dude is a lemon but Bob thinks he is an avocado. Dude finds a suitcase from the previous avocado and opens it. Dude finds a letter and a mouldy pack of bacon and salami. The letter says, “Bob is a cannibal! Be careful. Make sure he doesn’t eat you. Sincerely, Jeff.”

Dude knocks on Bob’s door and Bob says, “Wow, you must be the new food! Uhh . . . uhh . . . Do you want to come in?” Dude is terrified but Bob gives Dude a mini box of Cheerios. Dude asks him, “Why do you have a box of Froot Loops by your couch, and a manual that says ‘How to Be a Cannibal Without Getting Caught’? And why does the shopping list beside your uneaten bag of mini frosted donuts only have avocados on it?” Bob simply replies with, “No,” then runs to take a bite of Dude.

Dude screams as Bob takes a bite of him. Then Bob starts screaming and says, “Aaaah! You’re so sour!” Then Dude goes to the police station and Bob gets arrested. Dude lives happily ever after! (As a happy lemon.)

Drawing by Tati, Priscilla and Susan

STRANGE FOOD

★

9

Found

By Hannah V., age 7 Once upon a time an eye was on a toilet. He pooped rainbows. Then he found friends at the park and he said, “You’re my friends now.” He found food and he shared the food with his friends.

juice cookie hamburger

By Wilson, age 7

Jelly and Sushi

By Semira, age 8

Applesauce is retired. So now Jelly is Sushi’s partner. And Sushi’s favourite food is burgers. Jelly likes the swing. And she talks. And she has $50. And Sushi has $20.

10 ★

ROSES ARE RED

Cookies

By Joey, age 10 This is not how you make a cookie. Mix flour and water together, add topping, put in oven. Done.

Talking Food

By S.C., age 7 Once upon a time there was food that was talking food.

They played.

The End.

STRANGE FOOD

★ 11

junk fu

By Cosmo, age 7

pizza vs. hammy

AHH

HA HA, I'M THROWING IT AT YOU

OHNO

MWAHAHAHA! DELICIOUS YUM-NESS

12 ★

ROSES ARE RED

pineapple

By Eleazar, age 10

pineapple pineapple pineapple pineapple

pop pop pop

nom nom nom

STRANGE FOOD

★ 13

king of the not-so-sweet potatoes

By Corbin, age 9

t sweeto pota ade gren

ow ll a hm ol rs pist a m

carr lighot sabe t r HE'S BEEN WEARING THE SAME UNDERWEAR FOR

1000 YEARS!

FINALLY! THAT WORKED OUT!

14 ★

ROSES ARE RED

NOW I'M GOING TO GO TO MY CASTLE ...NOT THAT I HAVE ONE, ANYWAY.

STRANGE WORLDS

The Black Mice

By Michael, age 7 Captain Ice Cream eats a cheeseburger—crunch crunch crunch!— and then throws up—blaaaah! Suddenly, the Black Mice, who had been asleep, wake up and they all fart! Then they all meet Praetorian guards, who are men who have beards. They do not take off their helmets. As the supreme leader of the first order, Captain Phasma sends first-order stormtroopers. Captain Ice Cream is on the ship that doesn’t blow up. Then there are some other guys who are on the ship for 10 minutes.

The whole ship that blew up is gone. Then they come in and fight the Tie fighters. Their first order is for Luke Skywalker to come and stop it all. Snoke’s ship comes and shoots a lot of stuff. Kylo Ren comes and slices Luke with his lightsaber, which is red. Luke’s is blue. Snoke transfers his mind into a new body. He brings back the Praetorian guards. They are royal protectors. They are the guardians who protect Snoke.

★

15

★

DIMENSIONS

By Napaysni, age 8 THE DEATH EATERS FOLLOW HARRY INTO THE PORTAL ...

A PORTAL! PFFF!

MY WAND IS GONE!

BOIN LINK FALLS OUT OF A PORTAL...

HUH! WHO...

BUNNY THERE! OOF! HARRY POTTER!

SURE

G!

TEAM UP?

LINK

WABBIT

OW! PEW TO BE CONTINUED...

16 ★

ROSES ARE RED

The Alien and the Farmer

By Manuel, age 11 One day there was an alien and he got out of the UFO and took the cows. The farmer chased the UFO. He got into his helicopter. But it didn’t have gas and the UFO escaped. The alien went back home. The alien and his family cooked the cows and ate them.

I Think She Just Tamed a Dragon

By Izzy, age 12

IT'S HERE

EASY, GIRL

YOU'RE MY DRAGON NOW

strange worlds

★ 17

ONE DAY THE ROOM WENT

BOOM

BOOM! The room went to a magic world

And I flew and it was fun. And I ate the cotton candy trees

The END

ROSES ARE RED

18 ★

The Magic World

By Alianna, age 7

Turn to Read

candy

Turn to Read

I'M COMING

KABAM!

There was me

I heard a

YAY

KABAM

By Shirley, age 8

strange worlds

★ 19

Party Pokémon

By Ethan, age 7

20 ★

ROSES ARE RED

The Day Harry Went to Hogwarts

By Kasper, age 7

IT'S OKAY

BOO HOO

BL AH BL AH BL AH

YAAAY

NO

WOW

NOOOOO

HARRY MEETS RON AND HERMIONE

Dear Harry Potter, You are invited to Hogwarts.

From Dumbledore

THE END strange worlds

★ 21

Papertoy Monsters

By Fiona, age 10, and Jordan, age 10

FRIENDS

YOU GUYS ARE MEAN

BULLIES

PLEASE STOP

YEAH, YOU GUYS AND YOU GUYS ARE WEIRD ARE SO BIG

HI

22 ★

ROSES ARE RED

ARE YOU OKAY?

STOP BULLYING PEOPLE

OKAY

WE NEED YOUR HELP

WE ARE THE

PAPERTOY MONSTERS! THE END

strange worlds

★ 23

Diragey

By S.G., age 7 Once upon a time there was a unicorn and a dragon. They liked to eat pizza and strawberries. The dragon and the unicorn had a baby. The baby’s name was Diragey.

The Joke

By Nancy, age 8 Once upon a time there was a joke who fell flat on his face. “What is 1 + 1?” said the joke, weakly. “It is a window!” But no one heard him.

Then, after 100,000,000 years, he died because he was too old.

24 ★

ROSES ARE RED

STRANGE BATTLES Fortnite

By Max, age 10, and Aydin, age 9 Max and Aydin were really good at video games and they found this new game called Fortnite. And they played a lot of Fortnite and got really good at it. One morning they started to play and they got sucked into the game! They looked at their inventory and they had all the legendary tools and full health and full shield potion. They also had a lot of wood and materials. The other players online ran at them so they made a big giant wall. Then they found a port-a-fort right beside them. They got in and built a trap. It was 50 vs 50 and they were the last two people on their team.

The other team pulled out their legendary shield potion and Aydin ran toward them. He fell off a mountain and almost died from the fall. But Max revived him and Aydin used a med-kit to get back to full health. Max gave Aydin a shield potion so Aydin could get full shield. But Aydin dropped his shield potion because he was done with it. They both pulled out their legendary traps and went out the door and looked at this huge fort that was bigger than theirs and they saw a trap and stopped right in front of it. They broke the trap with their pickaxes. Then they put a launch pad down and went on the launch pad and flew to the bottom of the other team’s base to pickaxe it down.

The base fell down and their opponent lost connection. Aydin got a VICTORY ROYALE! Then they did a victory dance and returned home. ★

25

★

the big bang

By Adam, age 8

YOU'RE GOING TO GET HIT WHATEVER

OW, I GUESS YOU WERE RIGHT

Pokémon Battle

By Tyler, age 9 Inside the Poké Ball, Charizard and Sceptile are waiting for battle.

Tyler calls both Pokémon for training.

Sceptile uses leaf blade. Charizard dodges the attack and then uses flame thrower. It is a direct hit. Sceptile is knocked out.

Charizard wins.

To be continued . . .

26 ★

ROSES ARE RED

monster attack

By Andrei, age 7

r rrr r r Aaaaaaaa Gr

AW

H...H...H...

Ahhh!

YES

YES

OHYEAH AW

THE END

strange battles

★ 27

B.G.’s Adventures

By B.G., age 9

WHERE'S THIS PIG I WAS CHASING FOR HOURS?

I SENSE BACON

I SENSE CHICKEN NUGGETS

I SENSE PIGS

TWO PIGS ARE FLOSSING

PEW W PE

PIG LAND

28 ★

ROSES ARE RED

TERRITORY

By K.T., age 9

♪♫♩♪

ONE DAY

JOEY!

UM, WHAT? GO AWAY.

...

...

WHAT THE HECK?

THIS IS MY TERRITORY

WHY?

OH!

WHAT?

strange battles

★ 29

Spider vs. Ant

By Quinlan, age 7 Spider attacks ant and hurts ant. And jumps on spider's heart.

Spider grabs ant and flips ant. Ant and spider are battling.

“Burp,”says ant.

Spider gets distracted FROM the smell.

Spider says,“Stinky.”

Ant suplexes spider.

Spider drinks a ginormous potion.

Spider gets bit by a poisonous spider, the most poisonous one.

Spider gets poisoned.

Ant charges so hard that he launches spider into space.

Then spider gets burnt by the sun. ant wins. ant gets the trophy.

Spider was burnt to a crisp.

But then spider comes back and he is last in the fight.

And ant is #1. Bug is #3.

And bacteria was second.

Bacteria, you can't even see.

See the next story to see how mosquito wins.

30 ★

ROSES ARE RED

ready

By Levi, age 11

READY TO VARK!

BRONCO DONCO

XX-FIGHTER-XX

LONCO

SONCO

DIN

HELLO, WOULD YOU MIND HEALING?

DEFEAT

DEFEAT

DEFEAT

DEFEAT

strange battles

★ 31

The Spider

By Jaykwon, age 12

THE SPIDER IS EATING PEOPLE

THERE'S NO ONE TO EAT

HAHAHA

BOOM HE CAME TO SAVE THE DAY COME HERE!

HYPNO DUDE IS EVIL HE IS CHASING HIM

32 ★

ROSES ARE RED

AAHH!

Godzilla the Bald Man

By Patrick, age 9 this is godzilla . . . the bald man. he's a super hero. his super power is . . .

i'm dumb

being dumb!

p! he destroyed a person gas by being dumb!

p! he's about to destroy gas a ghost! he uses

oogaloogpoopoop!

his most powerful move

Yay! He defeated the ghost!

Part 2 is coming soon. strange battles

★ 33

STRANGE & SPOOKY Empty

By Hannah M., age 13 The busy city passes by my eyes in a blur as the bus bumps over rocks and puddles on the road. The bus is empty except for me and the driver, who looks at me every few seconds. I mean, I can’t blame him—a lone girl travelling to the outskirts of town is pretty unusual.

I set my gaze to the full moon above, though I can hardly see it due to the droplets of rain on the window. The bus soon comes to a halt, making me lurch a bit to the front. A tall figure wearing a black sweater with a hood emerges from the entrance. He looks at the bus driver and nods, then lays his eyes on me. His eyes are piercing red, and he sends a small smirk my way. Chills run down my spine. He slowly walks up to me and stops right at my seat. I try not to squirm under his gaze.

“Is this seat taken?” His deep voice startles me, breaking the silence and quickening the pace of my heartbeat. I shake my head in response and he sits himself beside me. All of a sudden he snaps his fingers, and the next thing I know I’m in a room with plain grey walls.

The room is empty, except for the chair . . . that I am tied to. I try to wriggle free, but the rope is tied too tight, squeezing me. From my peripheral view I spot a shadow moving. I quickly look up to see who’s there. A pair of red eyes are staring back at me. ★

34

★

“Boo . . .” he whispers.

I jolt awake, beads of perspiration on my forehead. I observe my surroundings to find myself still on the bus. I look at the bus driver, who is now wearing a black sweater with a hood. “Do you know how much longer it’ll take to get there?” I ask. He looks at me through the rearview mirror, and that’s when I see two pairs of red eyes staring straight at me. I stare in horror, not knowing what to do. He laughs mysteriously.

“Boo.”

The Ghost

By Arianna, age 10

There is a ghost. He lives under people’s beds. He only comes out when the room is completely dark. He looks at people when they are asleep. He watches TV while they are asleep. He goes to the kitchen and breaks stuff. Then the people wake up. They go to the kitchen, but the ghost is gone and they go back upstairs.

But here is the ghost! In the bedroom! They see the ghost.

strange & spooky

★ 35

Possibilities in the Darkness

By Farhin, age 13 I quicken my pace, not taking a single glance behind me. I run as fast as I possibly can, not having a single clue where I’m going or where I’ll end up. Because, eventually, I’ll run out of breath, out of energy . . . out of strength. Well, whatever strength remains.

The footsteps behind me seem to slowly fade away as I run farther and farther. For a little while, I know I am safe. As close as safe, for me. I spot a tree, not too far from where I’m standing. I run another couple of metres in the dark, the only illumination coming from the several stars in the sky and the crescent moon up above, covered in a swarm of grey clouds. I glance down at my hands and then at my clothes. Everything is splattered in a red substance. I inwardly groan, not wanting to cause any attention to myself in case they’re nearby.

How could I have been so careless? I’ve always been like this.

Nothing’s changed, to be honest. In the distance I suddenly hear loud, deep voices shouting. A glimpse of light behind the brick wall shows, and my eyes widen. I jump to my feet; I’m back at stage one. I run away from the abandoned building, away from the scene that took place because of me. But then I bump into something. I wish I could say it was a tree, but trees don’t have arms that grab you and take you away to a place that might as well be hell on earth.

“And finished!” I exclaim, happy with what I had completed. As short as the story is, it definitely has suspense and I’m happy with what I’ve written. I print it out and place it neatly inside a folder. I change out of my pajamas and into a T-shirt and jeans before walking out of my room. I’m about to head out when suddenly I hear the sound of metal falling, coming from direction of the kitchen. “That’s weird,” I think. I live alone.

I slowly walk toward the kitchen, my hands curled and clenched

36 ★

ROSES ARE RED

into tight fists. “Who’s there?!” My feet land on the metal part where the carpet and white tiles meet. I look at the small kitchen and see nothing except a couple of spoons on the ground. They must’ve fallen from the counter. I let go of the breath I had held in and pick up the silver utensils. I turn to leave to submit my story, but then a hand clamps over my mouth and darkness arrives.

MONSTERS

By Tristin, age 7

Ahhhhhh . . .

A ghost can possess you. They leave a trail of smoke.

They can turn into a bat.

To be continued . . .

strange & spooky

★ 37

The Riddle

By Mako, age 8

WHERE ARE MY SHOES?

LOOK

HEY, LOOK

ORANGE, WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR ORANGE

LET'S FOLLOW HIM

LOOK, A PAPER

LOOK, A RIDDLE

THE END

38 ★

ROSES ARE RED

BOD

By Kaleb, age 11, and Sara, a volunteer mentor

What scares you most, Bod? Aaaahhh!

Who did you see in the cave?

I saw a monster.

Can you show me the monster?

No! Psych. Yes. He went inside a scary cave.

I understand you are the monster.

Finally revealed! Hi. My name is scary. My name is Bod. Scariest monster ever! Monster, can you scare Haley?

Yes, yes, yes!

Tell me how you can scare Haley.

I popped out and scared her using the black spider!

Are you really so brave, Bod? Yes, yes, yes!

Where is the spider?

The spider is dead. He went out the window. RIP black spider.

Poor black spider.

Yes!

strange & spooky

★ 39

SOME DAYS ARE STRANGE On Top of the Train

By Shen Zhai, age 7

★

40

★

The Dying Pencil

By Lily, age 11

THIS PENCIL IS ANNOYING

Ahh, another day of being used

Ahh!

I'M GONNA BREAK THIS

DID YOU JUST...

...TALK...

NO! Please don't

AHH! ...Yes...

This is the end

LITERALLY

some days are strange

★ 41

The Teddy Bear

By M.C., age 9 Once upon a time DanDanDan, a girl, lost a teddy bear! “Waa waa, I losst m-my ttteddy b-b-bear. Waa waa waa. I I I am s-s-sad. Mmmom!

I looosst m-my t-teddy b-bear,” she cried. Her mom said, “I don’t know where it is!”

She asked her sister and brother and they said, “Wait—” A half hour later they said, “What?”

“I lost my teddy bear. Have you seen my teddy bear?” Her brother and sister said, “I don’t know.” She asked her dad. “Have you seen my teddy bear?”

“I have not seen your teddy bear,” he said.

So . . . the search started. She went to her bedroom and looked everywhere. But her teddy bear could not be found. She went to the living room and the kitchen and looked there but could not find her teddy bear. Then she remembered she had played with it in her mom and dad’s bedroom. She looked and found her teddy bear’s accessories in the laundry basket. Then she found her rabbit stuffie.

Her mom called her for dinnertime. She ate, then got ready for bed that evening. She hugged her brother and sister and said goodnight to them. And then she went to her parents’ room and went to sleep in there. And then . . . something was tickling her foot. She crawled under the sheets and she grabbed the thing that was tickling her. Then she crawled out of the sheets and went to wake everyone up. “Please meet me in the living room for a surprise!” she said.

She waited on the couch. They walked in the living room with sleepy faces. “Drum roll please,” she said. She turned on the lamp. “I found the teddy bear in mom and dad’s room.”

“Good job,” her parents said. Then they tucked in each of them in their own rooms and hugged them goodnight.

That night she dreamed she and her teddy bear were having

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ROSES ARE RED

a picnic lunch with her family. She woke up with a smile on her face and said, “Good morning.” That day she took her teddy bear everywhere and skipped and skipped. “I am so happy because my teddy bear is with me,” she said. Then she accidentally dropped it. She took it home and cleaned it in the tub. She did the whole thing over and over again in the years to come, but she lived happily ever after!

Violet’s Toys

By Eden, age 9

One day there was a girl named Violet. She had lots of toys. She had a robot. She had a teddy bear and three dolls. But the one thing she didn’t know was that her toys were alive. Meanwhile, her toys were having a blast upstairs. Her toys were jumping on the bed. But every time she went upstairs they would freeze! But they wouldn’t be in their spots so she would say, “Hey, you are not in your spots!”

She was secretly watching them. She saw them move. But she just thought she was seeing things. So then she went downstairs and saw her sister. She was staring at the ground. Violet said, “What are you staring at?” but she didn’t say anything. So Violet went back upstairs. Her toys were just sitting down. And smiling.

some days are strange

★ 43

Emoji World, Part 2

By C.C., age 7

Gerald was in Grade 1 and Shirley and Santina were in kindergarten.

They were all in the same class. They were all sitting in their desks.

“Hi class.” The pigeon was the teacher. They were going to do a test the next day.

The next day . . .

Gerald and Santina passed the test. They got an A. But Shirley got an F+ because she was being silly.

Traffic Jam

By Lawrence, age 10, and Barb, a volunteer mentor

One miserable sunny day I went off to play ultimate. But I never got to Robson Park. There was a traffic jam in the middle of the road.

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ROSES ARE RED

Today Was the Day

By D.M., age 11, and Tessa, age 12 Today was the day.

Today.

Today was the day BTS came to my town for a concert.

Today was the day my parents didn’t have money for tickets.

Today was the day I knew I couldn’t see them.

Today was the day I wanted to hear their voice.

Today was the day I snuck out of my house.

Today was the day I went to the arena.

Today was the day I sat outside, hearing the familiar voices singing, “Nah, nah, today.”

Today was the day I heard the fans’ screams and cries.

Today was the day I cried and slept until half of the concert was over.

Suddenly, I heard a door swing open from the back of the arena.

I didn’t care, though, if he caught me. I was too upset.

Today was the day I heard a familiar husky voice.

I looked up at the man and my mouth dropped.

“Hey, what are you doing here in the cold?” said RM, a member of BTS “Oh . . . umm, to hear your voices,” I said with flushed cheeks.

“So did I,” said RM.

Marshall Makes Some Disasters

By Don, age 7 Marshall is trying to help someone. He is making a disaster for someone. He runs to the lookout and the pups are playing football.

Marshall wants to play, too. And he makes a disaster for the pups.

some days are strange

★ 45

Piggie Is Lost

By Jasper, age 8 Once upon a time there was just Gerald. Piggie was lost.

A few years later . . . Gerald got more sad. But then . . .

Farts and Slime

By Mya, age 7

Here is Slime and Fart. They are farting. Slime is playing with her slime.

Fart is farting and Elephant doesn’t like it! Piggy feels bad for Elephant.

Jess comes and says, “Let’s party!” Then they have a sleepover.

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ROSES ARE RED

Jake Buys a Bugatti

By David, age 7

OOH

I’d like to buy a Bugatti

LET'S GO HOME AND DRIVE

OK

BEEP AND COOL AND TRAFFIC IT'S SO FAST

let's go home

AND COOk

some days are strange

★ 47

Nin

By Leandro, age 7

NOW I'M GOING IN THIS WINDOW

HELLO, MY NAME IS NIN

NIN IS SNEAKING INTO THE SCHOOL WHAT?

WHAT WAS THAT?

AFTER SCHOOL

OOF!

AAA

WEE

WOO

HE'S IN THE CAMERA ROOM WHILE THEY'RE DOWNSTAIRS THE EN D

ARE YOU OK?

THUD

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ROSES ARE RED

the call

By Naomi, age 11

A stormy night

10:01pm in the house WHAT'S UP

HIGH OF SHOWERS TONIGHT

WATCHING THE NEWS CAN I COME OVER? SURE

CK KNO K C KNO

HI

HI. IS YOUR SISTER HOME, UPSTAIRS ALEX?

RUBY!

HI, RUBY

HI, LIZY WHO COULD

G R IN THAT BE? G R IN

Dog

To be continued...

some days are strange

★ 49

I Can’t Talk

By Kesler, age 7

I'M GOING HOME

THERE ARE 25 PEOPLE IN THE TOWN

HE HE KESLER

HE HE

HE HE

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ROSES ARE RED

HI, MOM

How Burt Got Hamilton Tickets

By Danielle, age 11

GIMME I WANT HAMILTON TICKETS

RANDOM PEOPLE SHOOT A VID

I ONLY HAVE 3

BURT This is Burt. He just got Hamilton tickets.

Burt spent three months trying to get Hamilton tickets. So today he’s going to show you how he got them.

WHERE DO I GO NOW?

#1: ASK YOUR FRIEND 2 hours later

let's be friends

no, creep

gimme tickets

ok

#2: GO ON THE ROOF OF THE STUDIO THEN CLIMB IN 1 hour later

#3: become friends with person in the cast

3 days later I GOT OUT!

#4: STEAL A TICKET FROM A DUDE As you can see he is still unsuccessful.

But somehow he still got them. Please do not do the same thing Burt did.

some days are strange

★ 51

STRANGELY WONDERFUL

Flower Power

By Isabelle, age 7

Once upon a time there was a little girl and a big flower. She wanted to climb the big flower but it had spikes on it. So instead she went to the park to climb on the monkey bars. After that she went home to sleep. The next day, she woke up and saw her mom outside her door with the big flower she saw the day before.

She opened the door and said, “What are you doing?”

“I just wanted to give this to you,” said her mom.

★

52

★

The Place Called Bob

By Edwin, age 11

One day there was a boy who had something wrong with his face. He was sad and mad because everyone always ran when they saw him.

Then one day he was eating an apple and when he was done he was so happy because the apple was bad. Everyone was so mad, but then the boy just came out of his house and went to a place called Bob, and all the things at Bob really liked him. This made the boy happy. At Bob he made friends with the trees and everything on earth that can’t talk. The boy lived happily in Bob for the rest of his life.

Motorcycle in the Philippines

By Elijah, age 10 I was in the Philippines for 21 days. I ate lunch on the beach and there was a motorcycle there. There was ice cream.

Strangely wonderful

★ 53

A Trip to Mexico

By Kyanna, age 9

One day I went to Mexico. Scaredy Squirrel was flying on the plane with me. It took four hours to get there. I packed cat ears, Jojo bows, colouring book, crayons, a hat, sunscreen, a blanket, a pillow, toothpaste, toothbrush, flip flops, shirts, my heart sunglasses, dresses, my swim suit and shorts. My mom and grandma came with me. We went for two weeks. When we got to the hotel we went swimming at the beach, and we went to look at the shops. Then we had to go home.

So we went to the airport, got on the plane and went home. It was a fun trip.

$100

By John, age 7 I am happy. I have one hundred dollars.

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The Rule Game

By Priscilla, age 12 1. Don’t talk about the rules.

2. Try to get rid of your cards.

3. The winner gets to make up a rule about anything.

4. Every time you put down a six you have to draw the best eye ever.

5. You do nothing if you have hearts of any kind.

6. When you put down a club, you have to tap the other person.

7. I f you put down a spade, you have to write a boring sentence. And also that boring sentence has to be in handwriting.

Who Is Chli?

By Jacky, age 12 There once was a man named Chli Boi. He was very hot tempered and always hungry and sleepy. If you don’t know, he is a drama king, and also kind of a bully to other chili peppers. Why? Didn’t I tell you that he is hot tempered? My gosh, pay attention more. Oh, and he is happy sometimes, but he also wants food right now so . . . ummm.

What does he like to do in his spare time? Oh yeah, he likes to watch Seventeen Crack in his spare time. What is Seventeen Crack you may ask? Well they are K-pop artists. They are awesome people. I wish I could date Kim MinGyu . . . he is so [starts to cry tears of joy] he— omg Jacky you are so crazy—he is super lazy and super sleepy, so he is going to sleep now. So, bye.

“Hey, you, why are talking about yourself?”

Whatever, crazyhead, like you said, I will go to bed forever and go eat rice and go to the mall. There is nothing to do here anyways.

strangely wonderful

★ 55

my fa vo u r i t e f o o d & r i d es at playl

an d

By Tatiana, age 11 FOOD

RIDES

Mini donuts

Yoyo

Cotton candy

Hellovator

Popcorn

Pirate ship

Fries

Musical ride

Chicken strips

Atmosfear

Soft drinks

Log ride

Burgers

Slide

Hot dogs

Hot air balloon

Sno cones

Teacup ride

Cat and Flower

By Lorinda, age 8

CAT 56 ★

ROSES ARE RED

FLOWER

Keira + Zoe

By Keira W., age 10

BRAIDEN 9 YEARS OLD

I'M TALKING ABOUT MY FAMILY

MY BROTHER: HE'S SCARED OF GETTING IN TROUBLE

KEIRA

10 YEARS OLD

MY DAD: HE LIKES PLAYING VIDEO GAMES

HELLO MOM:

ME(KEIRA): I LOVE READING

SHE LOVES THE HOUSE TO BE CLEAN

ZOE: I LIKE HIKING

FOOD, PLEASE

strangely wonderful

★ 57

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ROSES ARE RED

The Story of My Life (Not Really)

By Ella, age 11

This story is about a girl named Kate. Kate is 22 and in college. This one special day she meets a boy named

That was the first time they met, but not the last

KATE

ALEX

ALEX KATE FELL ASLEEP THINKING ABOUT ALEX

ALEX FELL ASLEEP THINKING ABOUT KATE

This is the story of love

Eventually, everybody LOVES

The next day, they went on a date

Three years later, they were married

LOVE

LOVE LOVE

LOVE LOVE

strangely wonderful

★ 59

The Last Comic

By Clara, age 12

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ROSES ARE RED

Life Is a Book

By Celest, age 12

strangely wonderful

★ 61

AUTOGRAPHS

These 50 wonderful volunteer mentors worked with the kids during the winter and spring 2018 after-school programs at the Writers’ Room.

A big thank you to all!

Abbie

Eva

Michaela

Amandine

Evelin

Mika

Amelia

Hannah

Mikayla

Arielle

Irene

Penny

Barbara

Jasmine

Rebekah

Brad

Jennifer

Riley

Carla

Jess

Samantha

Chin

Jill

Sara

Chris

Judy C.

Sarah

Christian

Judy W.

Simran

Claire

Kathryn

Sonya

Cristina

Keagan

Stacey

Danauca

Kelsey

Veronica

Desiree

Maria

Vy

Elise

Maureen

Wendy

Emma

Max

Zoe

Esther

Melanie

64 ★