Writers Undercover

WRITERS UNDERCOVER

a chapbook from the

volume 3 • issue 1 • fall 2013

Copyright © 2013 The Writers’ Exchange

This chapbook is a collection of writing and art created by the kids in the Writers’ Exchange after-school programs during the fall of 2013.

The Writers’ Exchange makes literacy exciting and accessible for inner-city kids through free mentoring and creative writing 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 generous donors, including Megan Abbott, Marily Mearns, the Vancouver Foundation, Nancy and Ted Maitland, Bernard MacLeod, the Central City Foundation, Claudia Casper and James Griffin, The Home Depot Canada Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, Modo The Car Co-Op and KidSafe. Thank you. And thank you to the amazing volunteer mentors who work with the kids in all Writers’ Exchange programs so that each child can succeed to the best of his or her ability.

Writers’ Exchange 881 East Hastings Vancouver, BC V6A 1R8 To read more great student writing, visit vancouverWE.com and our student blog, wewritersland.wordpress.com.

Design and layout by Claire Balderston clairebalderston.com

The Writers’ Exchange is a project of Tides Canada Initiatives Society.

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

Printing for this chapbook was generously donated by Hemlock.

Thanks to the 50 fantastic volunteer mentors who helped with Writers’ Exchange after-school programs during the fall of 2013: Alysha, Amanda G., Amanda S., Anna, Barbara, Belinda, Blaine, Brittany, Carina, Carissa, Cat, Chloe H., Chloe M., Chloe T., Connie, Courtney, Dan, Emelyn, Emily, Emma, Haley, Ivy, Janice, Jennifer, Joe, John, Kathleen, Kathryn, Kelsie, Laura, Lo, Maeve, Mel, Melissa, Michelle, Mico, Morgan, Patty, Prabhi, Rebecca, Rosa, Sam, Sarah F., Sean, Selena, Sydney, Thea, Tessy, Wendy, Yvonne

Short Short Stories 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 15

Contents

The Magical Cookies by Alyson Candy by Joey The Chicken and Lego by Cole The Lazy Cat by Clementine The Freaky Bunny by Jaykwon Lucinda Stab and the Cat by Jena Deadly the Cat by Annie Welcome to the Best Story by Aaron/AJ Super Fear/No Fear Story by Jeremy My Cat by Ella A City Called Pink Butterfly by Carys The Cat by Clara Mario and Luigi by Andrew J. Friends by Cathy Homer by Fritz A Tiny Stickman Named Moe by Legend Zoooomer by Alex M. The Treehouse by Kahlil Frog Story by Sean The Cat and the Lego by Kim The 380 Carinas that Punched the Wall by Ryan The Story About Chase McCain by Francis My Frog Story by Jacky Froggy’s Adventure by Faris Kiarra’s Story by Kiarra Magical Garden by Ashley The Mystery of the Old Man by Alex G.

Skate Club 17 18 18 19 20 21

Skateboarding School: Day One by Gyle Cats for Skateboarding (Mad Lib) by Precious Charlie’s Powers by Andrew D. The Boy Who Span (Mad Lib) by Sebastian Skate Decks by Ashley, Jason, Rochelle, Nikita and Precious Get a Better Title by Simon

Writers’ Land Blog 22 22 23 25

The Pink Dolphin by Sapphire Morris Having a Family by Katrina The Mysterious Shadow by Sophia R. Injustice by Tom Cruise

25 26 26 26 27 28 28 28

Day it Was Dark by Clyde Dragon City by The Circuit Breaker Top-Five Video Games by Steve Best Vacation Spots in Europe by Jennifer L. A Mysterious Phone Call! by Molly Garfielder Fat Balloon Animals and a Farmer by Rachell About Tōshirō and Byakuya by Nick Papa’s Cupcakery by Cat Girl

Thursday Crew: Writers’ Notebooks 29 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 34

Crazy-Foot Ant Attack by Huynh The Adventures of Mac Pirate McCreeper by Nirel Magical Hair by Brisky When Dogs Are Hungry by Kaki Mining Steve by Branky What Happened with a Talking Dog by Selena How to Train Your Minecraft Dragon by Brayden The Squirrel and the Man by Aron Ohana by Bogdan

Elephant and Piggie Conversations 35 36 37 37 38 39 40 41

Mr. P and Mr. Boygins by Azayle I’m So Hot by Michelle Party Invitation by Giao The Party by Daniella A Good Friend Named Piggie by Kurtis The Weather, with Gerald and Piggie by Farhin Piggie and Elephant by Celest Go for a Picnic by Keira

Wacky Fairy Tales 42 43 44 44 45 45

Goldilocks and the Three Angels by Renil Bunny and the Three Monsters by Hannah The Boy Who Cried Spy by Angelo Evil Cinderella by Gabby The Boy Who Cried Meatloaf Monster by Liza Three Little Bears and the Big Bad Pig by Sami

Artists’ Space 46 47 48

Marlyn the Character by James Batman vs. the Penguin by Dragon Short Comic by Bryan

Short short stories The Magical Cookies

By Alyson, age 10 One day a baker who was secretly a wizard figured out a new recipe to make you tell your worst secret. A little boy, Mark, came along and bought 21 cookies for his class for Christmas. They were shaped like butter candy canes, and the kids all started to talk about their most horrifying secrets.

Angela said, “I have a crush on Joseph!”

Joseph said, “I too have a crush!” One by one, they each told their secrets.

So Mark went back to the bakery and bought a relief cake and said to the baker, “Why did you make a recipe for people to tell their secrets?”

“To make money, of course,” he said with a chuckle. So the baker pointed out the relief cake.

Mark bought it and went back to the class and they were still telling their deepest, darkest secrets. He said, “Eat this and hurry.”

So Mark cut the cake into cubes and shoved it down everyone’s throat… and finally they stopped, but then Maria said, “I want a cookie!”

Candy

By Joey, age 6 Joey was trying to jump for the candy. But Joey couldn’t reach the candy.

So his friend helped him get the candy.

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The Chicken and Lego

By Cole, age 10 Okay, so the story began on August 13, 2012, at school. I got a lot, and I mean a lot, of homework. It asked how much Lego a chicken could hold on its back. So I went to the pet store and the guy said, “There’s only one chicken left!”

I looked at it and then I fainted.

When I woke up the guy yelled, “You want the chicken?”

I wanted to yell no, but all that came out was “Yes.” So I paid for the chicken. When I was home, after ten hours of math and other homework, I put the 1005 Lego bricks on his back.

The Lazy Cat

By Clementine, age 7 Once there was a cat and she was napping and her owner woke her up and she fell back asleep and her owner tried to wake her up but she just didn’t budge. Then the owner walked away but then she woke up and the owner caught her and then they both had a nap. The next day they went to the park and had a picnic and then went home and had a second nap. After the nap it was nighttime and they went to bed.

The Freaky Bunny

By Jaykwon, age 8 A dead man named Bunny was in Writers’ Room. He was falling out of the sky. Then he did it again.

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Lucinda Stab and the Cat

By Jena, age 11 It all started when the cat ruined her life by messing up rows and rows of books in the library. It was a dark, stormy night and Lucinda Stab the librarian was working late hours. Already sleepy, Lucinda continued placing books on shelves, cleaning rows and rows of books. Lucinda liked her job, although at times there were quirks. For example, that evil looking cat that always followed her around. The cat looked cute enough. . . or that’s what everyone thought. Nobody had ever seen the terrible side of that lousy cat—no one except the librarian, that is. Anyway, the librarian was pushing around carts, putting books in order and stamping new books that had just shipped in. As usual the cat was following Lucinda to the point where she wanted to pull all her hair out from the neat little bun she had perched on her head. And, of course, the cat was scratching her every time she stopped to do something.

Deadly the Cat

By Annie, age 12 Deadly was not always an evil ghost cat. Deadly used to be a friendly cat until her owner who was a librarian treated her horribly. It all started one day when the librarian bought a dog. As if that wasn’t enough, the librarian treated the dog with all her care but left the cat feeling lonely. The cat, Deadly, couldn’t take it anymore and got so angry that she scratched the librarian’s eye out! That made the librarian so mad that she got rid of the cat. The librarian thought she’d never see the cat again but what she didn’t know was that Deadly had turned into a ghost cat.

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Welcome to the Best Story: Sarah the Big Zombie Pizza-Eater Hater

By Aaron/AJ, age 8 Once upon a time a frog named Spy wanted a pizza. But there was a big monster named Sarah that hated pizza. If she saw pizza, she put the pizzaeater in jail forever. The frog tried to get the pizza away, but the monster was too powerful, so Spy used his special powers to beat up Sarah, the monster that hates pizza eaters. Everybody from the world carried Sarah to the top of a hill and buried her. Everybody started singing because they loved pizza. But at nighttime the big Sarah pizza-hater monster became a zombie. Spy’s friends named Ryan Rowdy and Pizza went to the sky, and one girl screamed because the monster, Sarah the pizza-eater hater, was there, and Spy, Ryan Rowdy and Pizza put power in the sky. The people who were alive went to the sky and used their special powers to make a giant electric ball to defeat Sarah the zombie pizza-eater hater, and when they defeated her, it rained pizza. Everybody got to eat pizza.

Super Fear/No Fear Story

By Jeremy, age 11 Super Fear/No Fear loves candy! Super Fear/No Fear has to go on a quest to find his favourite candy. Super Fear/No Fear goes into the ocean to find his favourite candy, No-Fear Candy. He finds the candy really fast and eats it right away. He eats so much candy. Super Fear/No Fear gets really, really full on candy, and falls and sleeps until forever!

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My Cat

By Ella, age 7 My cat has two thumbs.

“Meow.”

My cat can hold a pen.

He can write me notes.

“To Ella: buy me a goldfish.”

He broke his thumbs.

“Meow, oh no!”

He can’t write me notes.

“Meow.”

So I got him a goldfish to cheer him up.

“Okay, meow.”

A City Called Pink Butterfly

By Carys, age 9 Our story begins in a city called Pink Butterfly. People were running towards fireworks. To celebrate, they sent fireworks off along the sky, which smelled like popcorn. People were drinking juice boxes. The people gathered because they ran out of juice boxes. They got more juice boxes.

The Cat

By Clara, age 7 Once upon a time a girl got hurt and then someone helped her. A cat helped her! The girl said, “I will keep one!”

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Mario and Luigi

By Andrew J., age 7 Luigi: Woo! Mario: Jumps over the Goomba.

Luigi: One more coin.

Mario: Koopa alert!

Luigi: More coins! Wooohooo!

Mario: Walks away, leaves.

Luigi: Tries to catch up.

Luigi: ?

Mario: I get this Koopa out of the world if I shoot fire.

Luigi: Really?

Mario: Yes. Luigi: Wheeeheee!

Mario: I got him!

Luigi: Finally!

Friends

By Cathy, age 7 Once upon a time there was a girl named Alice. She needed a friend. The kids she asked said no. Her mom and dad didn’t care. She was crying in her room. Then she went to a pond. No one helped her get better. She was very sad. Then she went where nobody went. One day she went in there and nobody heard from her again. Then another girl named Anna also went in there. Then Alice saw Anna. So both of them were friends, and Alice and Anna were finding a way out. One day, they found a light and they were free!

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Homer

By Fritz, age 8 One day Homer was going to Moe’s and he got lost and he started to sleep and never woke up in 10 days. When he was sleeping a bear came and ate his arm. Then he woke up and it was 5012 and he was 1031.

A Tiny Stickman Named Moe

By Legend, age 8 Once upon a time there was a tiny stickman named Moe. The next day when Moe woke up he went to the mayor’s office and he took the mayor to Hawaii and took him in the volcano. After he got back, he went and got Homer some donuts and Kool-Aid. And then they were done.

Zoooomer

By Alex M., age 8 A man named Zoooomer was running on the equator. Then he went on a trampoline and shot up into the sky. Then he was running on a field of meteorites. Then he met Cutie and Teddy, and fell in a thing. Then he opened a door. It had a portal on the outside, but he thought it was a normal door so he opened it. Zoooomer hit Europe. Then a gory ate him and then barfed him out. Then another gory picked the other gory up and threw him. Then the 2D apocalypse came and Homer, Bart, Maggie, Moe and What’s-Her-Face crawled in, and then baby bees came and destroyed the essence of Kingdom Scum.

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The Treehouse

By Kahlil, age 10 I woke up in a train house. Maybe I was dreaming and I’d sleepwalked there.

I saw a ladder that led up to a tree house, so I climbed up it. Inside, I saw a potato, a chicken, a robot and some fuzzy weirdo. I was shocked. The chicken screamed like insane. The robot shouted, “Intruder! Intruder!” and took out a squirt gun and shot at me, but the water only went two inches.

He got angry and frustrated and mental. The potato was taking a shower and was singing. He opened the curtain and threw a tantrum in the bathtub because he wanted some privacy in the tree house. The fuzzy weirdo just jumped out the window. He landed headfirst on a turtle’s head. And then he came back in through the front door. All of a sudden, Cole showed up at the door. He said hi to me, saw the creatures and threw a pack of glow gummies. They all dove for the candy.

Frog Story

By Sean, age 8 Once upon a time I found a frog in the river and I named him Spot. I took Spot home. He saw noodles. He went to go eat the noodles. Then my dog showed up and scared Spot. Now Spot is gone.

The Cat and the Lego

By Kim, age 7 The cat was getting Lego. Tran was borrowing the Lego but the cat took it away. The cat got the Lego.

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The 380 Carinas That Punched the Wall

By Ryan, age 6 Once one Carina swung to a wall and then fell in a cave with zombies.

They were friendly zombies. They punched walls. They were trapped and they never escaped. They dug until they got out. They had ice cream. They were allergic to pizza. They punched pizza and then threw the pizza in the garbage. They fell into the garbage.

The Story About Chase M c Cain

By Francis, age 8 Chase McCain was a police officer. But Rex Fury escaped jail. Frank Honey told Chase that Rex Fury escaped jail. Chase was a police officer, robber (fake!), miner, astronaut, farmer, fireman and a construction worker. He got a jetpack from when he was an astronaut and a colour gun from when he was a (fake) robber. Chase needed to go to the moon because Rex was on the moon.

“I’ll come back,” Chase said.

“Bye,” Frank said.

Chase went to Apollo Island. The rocket was not built! Chase built it.

Chase was in the moon. Chase saw Rex! Chase took down Rex!

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My Frog Story

By Jacky, age 7 My frog is fun but she never shares with people. But she plays with people sometimes. And sometimes she’s bored in her house. She met somebody and her name was Selena. And then Selena was bored. And then they fell asleep. And then they woke up. And then they ate breakfast and lunch at 10:30. And then they had fun playing skipping rope. And then they fell asleep again, but now they wanted a drink. And then they went swimming.

And they went home. And Selena didn’t want to go home. It was almost midnight. And then she didn’t want to share her toys. And then she said goodbye. “Goodbye Selena,” said Rebecca. “I’ve got to go home. I am tired.” And then she fell asleep.

Froggy’s Adventure

By Faris, age 8 One day Froggy wanted to go on a spaceship. And then Superman came and tried to stop him. But then Froggy’s other friend came in and licked Superman’s face with his tongue. This let Froggy get to the spaceship.

Froggy’s friend Mathew came with Froggy in the spaceship.

They flew to Neptune. It’s cold there. Frogs do not like cold, so they tried to make a campfire, but they could not because it was so cold, so instead they went to McDonald’s. The food was good, but they did not have the money to pay for drinks. They went to the bank of Neptune and got four thousand dollars. They bought four thousand drinks and shared them with everyone on Neptune, even the people at the bank. Then they got ten thousand dollars. Everyone on Neptune loved Froggy, but Froggy and his friend Mathew wanted to go back to Earth to buy a mansion. So they did.

Froggy and his friend Mathew went on to have many, many adventures together.

The end, for now.

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Kiarra’s Story

By Kiarra, age 9 In the play there are three sisters, Princesses Scarlette, Sage and Sapphire.

They were on a boat with food. There was a bear. There was one lion but it was locked up. There were a lot of buas (food) and a guy named Bob. The boat was a mix between a car, a boat and a plane. It got too deep and the boat started sinking and they tried to fly but their wings fell off.

The lions and bears survived because they had buns in their cage. Bob turned into Bob Bear Pants. The princesses went through a magical portal to an island, and they met a lion named Scary but he wasn’t scary. But the princesses freaked out because they were rarely scared. But the part that really scared them was when they met Bob Bear Pants.

They went through the jungle but they ran into a tree.

an excerpt from "Magical Garden"

By Ashley, age 12 “Are there any other vampires around? Am I the only one?” Aria asked.

“There are many others. All will be revealed to you in good time.” And with that, she started to fade off into thin air, cackling as she disappeared.

A shiver went up Aria’s spine. What did she mean and what was with that weird laugh?

Over the next few weeks, Aria used all of her new vampire powers. She met other vampires in Vancouver and spent time with them, learning her powers. Aria was having so much fun that she forgot all about her family.

She had told them that she needed a break so she was going to stay at a

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friend’s house. Aria wanted to see her family again but she didn’t want to see them while she was a vampire. So she decided to go back to the garden where it all began. She didn’t think it was a good idea, but Aria went anyway for her family. Aria said her name three times, but nothing happened.

So Aria said it again, but more furiously. The witch still didn’t come. Aria wondered why the witch wasn’t coming.

“Aria,” said the witch in fear.

“Who is it?” Aria wondered.

“It’s me, your witch, Samantha.” She had never told her name to Aria, so Aria couldn’t have known it was her.

“Why did it take so long for you to come?” Aria questioned Samantha.

“The witches have been targeted by a warlock.”

“Warlock? Can I help?” asked Aria.

“Yes, the warlock is trying to kill us. The warlock lies in the old sugar factory. Do you know where that is?” Samantha stuttered.

“I do. Stay here and I’ll be back in no time,” Aria said bravely.

What is it going to be like in there? Aria wondered. As Aria saw the sugar factory, she could hear and smell the warlock. Aria was at the door. She opened the door like she knew where she was going, but she didn’t. Aria was looking around and she saw the warlock and she didn’t know what to do. So she thought that she would try to drain him of his blood.

“Here I go,” Aria said quietly.

Aria drank and drank until there was no more blood left. She thought, Wow, that was easy. So Aria got up and wiped the blood off of her face, and as she left, she said, “Now I hope that all wasn’t for nothing.”

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The Mystery of the Old Man

By Alex G., age 9 “Mom!” I yelled. “I heard a screeching sound last night at around 3:00 a.m.”

“Then try covering your ears with a pillow.”

“But I tried that, Mom.” “Did you also try closing your eyes and taking a long, good breath?”

“That’s yoga. I am not doing yoga in the middle of the night!”

“Then I have no more solutions. Now I am going to take a nice, good shower in the bathtub, so please do not disturb me.”

At 4:00, I watched a movie. It was called Home Alone. It lasted until dinnertime. So I ate dinner. I was scared that I would hear that screeching sound that I heard last night. I went to bed. I waited until I heard the screeching sound that I heard last night.

At 9:00, I heard a knock on the door, so I opened the door, but no one was there so I went to bed. At 11:12 p.m., I heard a knock at the door again, so I opened the door, but no one was there. I was getting tired of this, so I decided to follow the guy. So I walked around the building until I noticed that the janitor’s room was open. I went inside the room. I found some candies and a piece of gum, so I decided to save it. I went to the lobby, but the tree that usually stands in the left-hand corner was not there so I decided to go to the parking lot. Then I saw a man going on a scooter with the tree, so I decided to get my scooter and chase him. I ate my candy so I had more energy, and chewed my gum and threw it on the ground so that when his scooter ran over it, it got stuck to the wheel and the ground.

His scooter stopped, so I asked him, “Why did you knock on our door?”

He said he did it because he wanted a cupcake but he was too shy to say he wanted a cupcake. I asked him about the tree. He said he would use it as a Christmas tree.

I gave him a cupcake and bought a Christmas tree for him. He was a grandpa.

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SK

C E AT

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Skateboarding School: Day One Collage and story Gyle, age 12 It was my first day at skateboarding school. I never knew anything about skateboarding, but I knew how to ride it from my best friend. I never knew any tricks for anything about skateboarding except riding it. I felt like everyone around me was better than me. I saw them doing tricks in the hallway, riding smoothly through the crowded hallway. Like, wow.

Being a new student is a pain because you need to learn all the basics and everything. I never really made a friend yet, but I’ve met this girl.

Her name’s Scarlette. She is one of the best and nicest skateboarders.

I talked to her once and she said that she’ll teach me some tricks and give me some tips and advice.

I walked into the room, looking for Scarlette, and she was with her friends. I waked up to her and said hi. She looked up at me and ignored me.

“OK,” I thought and walked away.

“Why are you talking to that lame skateboarder? She doesn’t even know anything,” her friend whispered, loud enough for me to hear.

I ignored it and continued with the lesson for today.

After school, I was walking home. Scarlette was screaming my name, “Gyle!”

I stopped and looked behind me. Scarlette was running towards me.

“I’m sorry about today,” she said.

“Oh, right! Sorry for interrupting your gossip,” I said with sarcasm.

“I really am sorry.”

“OK, fine.” I gave up. “You didn’t teach me anything so promise that you’ll teach me tomorrow.”

She nodded and said, “I promise. Have a good day.” She ran back, looking back and waving at me.

I waved back and continued to walk home, looking forward to Scarlette teaching me.

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Cats for Skateboarding (Mad Lib)

By Precious, age 12 The bell rang at the end of another good day at school and it was time to skate, so I grabbed my board and skated slowly to the house. When I got there I found a cat sneezing. This made me sad so I skated towards it. When I got close enough, I could see that it was licking its paws.

Suddenly it jumped and started running. The only thing I could think to do was a wall flip.

Far away, on the other side of the house, a group of photographers saw me do the trick and came running over. “Where did you learn that?” they asked with good looks on their faces.

“Dan taught me everything I know,” I replied.

“Well, we think you’re awesome,” they said. “We want to give you this cat to prove it.” They handed it over and I smiled. The sun was getting low, and I realized that I had to get home to help my brother with homework, so I tucked the gift into my backpack and said, “Thank you,” and then skated off towards home feeling happy.

Charlie’s Powers

By Andrew D., age 11 On the morning of November 19, 2013, Charlie found a skateboard in the park. Little did he know, it had magical powers. The magical powers gave Charlie super slowness. One day Charlie was riding his skateboard until a car driving really fast was about to run over Charlie, but the super slowness activated and Charlie was able to dodge the car. Now that Charlie realized he could slow down time, the next thing he did was become a superhero.

The first crime that he stopped was stopping a bad guy from stealing skateboards.

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The Boy Who Span (Mad Lib)

By Sebastian, age 10 The bell rang at the end of another bald day at school and it was time to skate, so I grabbed my board and skated slowly to the baby park. When I got there I found a banana running. This made me stare so I skated slowly towards it. When I got close enough, I could see that it was sleeping.

Suddenly it was running and started assassinating. The only thing I could think to do was a spin.

Far away, on the other side of the house, a group of aliens saw me do the trick and came running over. “Where did you learn that?” they asked with sharp looks on their faces.

“Obama taught me everything I know,” I replied.

“Well, we think you’re smelly,” they said. “We want to give you this banana to prove it.” They hand it over and I assassinated it. The sun was getting low and I realized that I had to get home to help my husband, so I tucked the gift into my man purse and said, “Thank you,” and then skated off towards home feeling sad.

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Skate decks

Designed by Ashley, age 12

Designed by Jason, age 10

Designed by Rochelle age 12

Designed by Nikita, age 9

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Designed by Precious, age 12

Writers Undercover

Get a Better Title A skate park designed by Simon, age 12

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Names listed here are the authors’ pen names.

To read all the entries, visit WEwritersland.wordpress.com.

The Pink Dolphin

By Sapphire Morris, age 10 The pink dolphin, also known as the Amazon river dolphin, is a truly amazing animal. Pink dolphins are pink because their blood vessels run directly under their skin, which is thinner than marine dolphins’, so they appear pink.

But it’s actually their blood! They also have some pink pigmentation so that helps too. The dolphins who live in clearer water are more grey because they lose some of their pigmentation. But the ones in muddy water are far more pink/brown because it helps them camouflage.

The pink dolphins are really amazing animals, aren’t they?

Having a Family

By Katrina, age 11 Having a family is important because they support you; they took care of you when you were a baby. They did anything to keep you safe. They risk their lives for you to be alive! So please, people who are out there, please help your family clean, wash the dishes, vacuum the floor or wipe the floor if it’s a wooden floor. So please support your family by helping. Because they need your help! They work for you, to make your food.

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The Mysterious Shadow

By Sophia R., age 10 I was walking down the street when I found something on the ground. It was a penny. I heard that if you find a penny on the street, it’s good luck.

So I was very lucky I found that penny because mysterious things have been happening lately. This morning, someone called, so I picked up the phone and someone said, “I know where you live,’’ in a deep and dark voice.

Then the person hung up. And yesterday afternoon, when I was watching TV in my bedroom, the door slammed really hard. The wind couldn’t have caused the door to slam because the windows were closed. So, I hoped that the penny was powerful enough to make me have good luck.

Sunday Remember the penny I found in the street the other day? Well guess what?

The penny did bring me luck! This morning I won a free trip to Hawaii! Well, I better pack up for my vacation. Don’t want to miss my flight.

Four days later. . .

I’m finally here! Although, Hawaii isn’t as good as you think. Everything is broken and messy. There is garbage everywhere!

A few minutes later. . .

I ran into this guy with a black hood and I asked him what happened to this place and he said that not long ago, a mysterious shadow started going around scaring people and doing bad things like robbing banks. I was a bit creeped out about that story because my friend told me the same story but instead of a mysterious shadow, it was a little girl. I wanted to go home right away after I heard that story.

The guy with the black hood took me to my house. It was all moldy and dirty. When I walked in, I knew that I had to leave. But I couldn’t afford to go 23

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home right away. The vacation was for free but you had to pay to go back. I had to get a job real quick so that I could get out of this place.

A week later. . .

I walked around the neighborhood to see if there were any jobs available.

There was only one job that was not too hard and not too easy. Plus, it paid more than the other jobs. So, I walked into the shop and it was a shop where they sell diamonds and rings and all the jewellery you can think of.

The owner of the shop hired me right away when I asked if I could have the job. He told me to just polish the jewellery and make sure no one robbed the shop. When I went to the washroom and came back out to guard the shop, everything was gone! Someone has robbed the shop. I knew right away that it was the mysterious shadow. I went to tell my boss but he didn’t seem so happy. He fired me!

So I went out to find another job. There was one job left that was available. It was in a shop where they make the newspapers and report things. When I tried out for the job, I got hired. I tried finding some juicy facts that people were interested in, so I got my camera and then I headed outside to see if there was anything interesting to write about. I started taking pictures of everything, even a bench. After I took the pictures, I went back inside the newspaper shop and started looking at the pictures. When I looked at the picture I took of the bench, I saw a dark figure. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! It was the dark shadow! I showed the picture to my boss and he was really happy, so he gave me 500 dollars! It was enough to get back home.

So I started packing my stuff. While I was packing my stuff, my boss printed the photo of the dark shadow. The newspaper spread everywhere!

After a few days, I finally got home from Hawaii. I sat on my couch and started watching TV. Then I heard someone say, ‘’I will get you,’’ in the same voice as the one on the phone. I turned around and it was the black shadow! It looked really angry. I was super scared. But I looked closely, and I saw a little girl’s face.

24

Writers Undercover

Injustice

By Tom Cruise, age 12 It’s a game where superheroes fight each other, sort of like Mortal Kombat.

It has lots of cool superheroes and villains. You can fight superhero against superhero, or villain against villain, not just superhero against villain. You can choose which character you want to play as. I like Superman and Batman.

There are different maps for fights, and you can make Superman fight in Gotham. I played this one where Superman smashed Batman into six walls.

It was cool.

Day it Was Dark

By Clyde, age 11 Once upon a time, it was a nice day in Defray City on November 12, 2007.

There was a girl named Sydney. She was 12 born on January 17 at midnight.

When she was born, something magical happened to her. She felt like a fairy or something beautiful. She had a beautiful imagination and got straight A’s at school, but no one knew—and I mean, like, no one knew—that she had powers. One day, it was a mysterious, dark day that never had sunshine. She tried to stop it but nothing worked. Then she felt weak. She fell on her knees like she was going to die. When it happened, something random came out of the sky that no one could see. It was an angel named Amy. She encouraged Sydney to stop the dark day. Amy used all her strength and powers, and Sydney tried but nothing worked still. So Amy the angel and Sydney the beautiful fairy combined both of their powers and stopped it, and it worked and light came back and more angels appeared.

They all stopped it, and the whole world that was dark turned back to normal.

25

Writers Undercover

Dragon City By the Circuit Breaker, age 9 Dragon City is a video game. It is played on Facebook or any phone such as an iPhone, Android, etc. It is super fun and you should play it!

Top-Five Video Games

By Steve, age 9 1. Call of Duty 2. Saints Row 3. Grand Theft Auto 4. Dead Island 5. Minecraft

Best Vacation Spots in Europe

By Jennifer L., age 10 1. Spain 2. Venice, Italy 3. Ireland 4. Germany 5. France 6. Greece 7. London, England 8. Poland 9. Belgium

10. Denmark 11. Lisbon, Portugal 12. Norway 13. Sweden 14. Netherlands 15. Switzerland 16. Austria 17. Monaco

26

Writers Undercover

A Mysterious Phone Call!

By Molly Garfielder, age 9 Part 1 Once upon a time there lived a girl named Bethany. She lived with her parents and her five little brothers and seven sisters. And then her parents told Bethany to take care of her siblings when they went shopping for groceries at Superstore so she said yes.

Anyway, when her parents left, someone phoned her and she picked it up. She said nervously, “Hello?”

And the person said, “Hello! You have just won 15 tickets to go to Hawaii.”

And then she was like, “Really? Thanks a lot!”

Then he said, “No problem. It’s once in a lifetime anyway.”

Her parents came back from shopping. Bethany told her parents. Then she said of course they are going to go.

P.S. Her brothers are… Oscar, Bob Ho, Charley, Manny and Joey. I don’t usually give sneak peeks but whateves.

Part 2 So Bethany and her siblings and her parents went to the airport to go to Hawaii. Then they were on the plane and her siblings were noisier than 19 lions roaring. When they got to Hawaii they went to get their suitcases and they went to their hotel and it was called the Haley Hotel and their rooms were so wrecked they were like, “Uh I hate this room,” quietly, and they got tickets back home to London and they never came back to Hawaii ever again.

P.S. sorry I didn’t talk about Bethany and her siblings a lot.

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Writers Undercover

Fat Balloon Animals and a Farmer

By Rachell, age 9 I saw a big fat cat jaguar cow and also a dog in the zoo. All the animals you can think of started floating in the air because they were big fat animals.

They looked like balloons. The farmer saw them floating in the air and he laughed. Then he got the payback.

About Tōshirō and Byakuya

By Nick, age 9 Tōshirō: This is this is Captain Hitsugaya from Bleach. His power is to control the sky and ice. He is powerful but could not control his power properly. Now that he’s older, he can control his powers properly and he is even stronger than before. His strongest attack is daiguren hyōrimaru.

Byakuya: This is Byakuya, the sixth captain from Bleach. His power is to control thousands of cherry petals. He has high speed and is very powerful but not only that—his petals can turn into very dark energy. His strongest attack is senbonzakura kageyoshi.

Papa’s Cupcakery

By Cat Girl, age 10 Papa’s Cupcakery: Play it on coolmath-games.com It is swag. I play it whenever I can! It is awesome and sweet!

28

thursday crew:

writers’ notebooks

Crazy-Foot Ant Attack

By Huynh, age 11 There were giant feet and ants attacking people’s mouths to take over the world with super shoving powers that can shove everything in humans’ mouths to control them.

There were no good guys, as you can see in the picture. The giant ants and feet took over 100 people before people invented ant spray to kill the giant ants, so the feet were left to take over the world alone, so that’s what they did.

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Writers Undercover

The Adventures of Mac Pirate M c Creeper

By Nirel, age 11 Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins I was travelling across the land, searching far and wide, and I encountered a Minecraft boat, a pirate patch, a pirate bandana and a pirate hat. Then I put on everything (except the Minecraft boat). I tossed the boat into the water and went into the boat and the adventure began.

Chapter 2: Two Pirates As I rode the lonely seas, I wondered why I went on this boat without other fellow pirates. Then suddenly I encountered pirates riding a big boat. I decided to hire them because it seemed like their ship had been raided and destroyed, and they were the only survivors. Well, at least it looked like it, so I moved my boat forward, and then two creeper pirates shot arrows with their bows at me. I have to stop writing now!

Chapter 3: The City and Salty Seas I escaped the two pirates who tried to kill me and I saw a huge island with a city on top of it, so I went to it, and once I arrived there were two creeper pirates who walked up to me and asked if they could join me, and I said yes and they gave me iron to buy a ship for three, so I also had to pay some gold so we could buy a ship for three, so I bought it and we sailed off to battle, loot and destroy ships and pirates we come across on the salty sea.

Then I asked the names of my crew of the two creeper pirates. One of them is Striker and the other one is called Lance, and I told them my name is Mac Pirate McCreeper and they both said, “Cool name.” We’re under attack. I will write down what happens in chapter 4 if I survive.

30

Writers Undercover

Magical Hair

By Brisky, age 12 “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” said the man with the yellow hat.

“Okay, but be gentle,” said the man with the long blond hair.

So the man with the yellow hat climbed up the blond hair but when the man with the yellow hat reached the top, he wasn’t expecting this.

“Umm, why are you a man?” said the man with the yellow hat.

“What? You got a problem with me?” said the man with the long blond hair.

“No, I was just hoping for a woman, because you have long hair,” said the man with the yellow hat.

“Well, too bad. I’m all you got,” said the man with the long blond hair.

When Dogs Are Hungry

By Kaki, age 12 This picture shows what happens if you don’t feed your dogs! They will look ticked off! Look at their FACES!

31

Writers Undercover

Mining Steve

By Branky, age 11 Once upon a time there was a guy named Steve. He was a real-life person like us. One day later he found a game that was really interesting, so he played day and night. That one day there was a black hole and it sucked Steve into the game, and the first thing Steve was doing was mining. It was hard and easy. Then one day he found diamonds, and then he found a way out and everything was gone! One day after, there was that same black hole. Then he went through. Then he was still a box man and he still had the stuff that he mined. Then he was sad. Then he went to the park and stayed with his diamonds.

What Happened with a Talking Dog

By Selena, age 11 One day Selena Gomez was walking her pet dog and then it said, “Isn’t it a great day for a walk?”

Selena said, “Yeah, it is.”

When they came back to their hotel, they were practising their singing.

But this time Selena’s dog’s singing was being heard by an admirer. A boy dog was listening and immediately had a crush on her. So when she saw him peeking and looking at her singing, she knew right away that it was an admirer, and this was the one she thought looked the cutest. So five months later, they soon had three cute puppies. Then Selena knew that her dog was finally growing up.

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Writers Undercover

How to Train Your Minecraft Dragon

By Brayden, age 11 Once upon a time there was a world in a Minecraft world and there was a dragon that could breathe fire and water. The next day, the dragon went on a rampage and started terrorizing people of Mineville, but there was a warrior who wouldn’t let the dragon attack his people, so he gathered all his soldiers and went to get rid of the dragon. The next day, many soldiers were hurt but the dragon was almost gone. Five minutes later, “The dragon is gone!” said the soldiers. “We won! Yea!”

The Squirrel and the Man

By Aron, age 12 One hour of sleep. Two hours of sleep. Three hours of sleep. The next day happened all quiet. Then, bang! A squirrel kicked the door.

“Ahh. What a nice day it is today,” said the squirrel with happiness.

The man woke up being cranky, hoping to hurt somebody. The squirrel got mad and threw a rock at the man’s window.

“What was that?!”

33

Writers Undercover

ohana

By Bogdan, age 12

34

elephant & Piggie

conversations

Mr. P and Mr. Boygins

By Azayle, age 7 Mr. P

Mr. Boygins

My bathsuit is awesome!

Piggie I found my toothbrush. I’m so happy!

I love this!

I hate this!

This is boring.

Oh! Hello!

Pigeon

I’m happy!

It’s fabulous!

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Writers Undercover

I’m So Hot

By Michelle, age 8 Piggie

Gerald Hi, Piggie.

Oh, hi, Gerald. So, I was driving my piggie van and all of a sudden, I saw my Mama Piggie and she. . .

It’s so hot!

It’s so hot!

I told you!

Yes, finally a pool!

It finally happened: I was wishing for a pool and it came at the right time.

I told you I bought a pool just in time for summer, and you said you did but did you? No. See, I told you I was prepared.

Oh, Piggie.

That was too fun, that we went crazy.

That didn’t go well at all. There was too much splashing, too much jumping and being too crazy in the water. We were playing with water guns and had a water war and so much fun stuff, but then it went too crazy. Now, we’re really, really cold.

Let’s go home. It’s more fun than being so hot, right, Gerald?

I hope we don’t drive the car. It is not going to be fun when we see her mom walking by, and Piggie goes crazy for her mom.

36

Writers Undercover

Party Invitation

By Giao, age 7 Piggie

Gerald

I am invited to a party.

You really are, Piggie!

I dreamed about parties too.

I love parties.

I am bored and hot too.

I agree with you Piggie. OK Piggy.

But, Piggy, I am tired. Piggy, OK. But I still love parties, Gerald.

THE PARTY

By Daniella, age 6 Stampy

Piggie

Hey, Piggie.

I am invited to a party.

What about you?

Aw. I am not invited.

Nooo.

I am invited now.

Yay. Yay. 37

Writers Undercover

A Good Friend Named Piggie

By Kurtis, age 8 Piggie

Elephant Hello, Pig. How are you today?

I am good, Gerald.

I feel kind of sad. Please help me cheer up.

How about a party, Elephant?

I’m so thirsty p-please give me water. Also I’m hot. N-need water. Please help me!

Sigh.

I’m hot too.

What if we go to watch a movie and watch Marvel Agents of SHIED with popcorn?

That’s awesome, dude!

38

Writers Undercover

The Weather, With Gerald and Piggie

By Farhin, age 8 Gerald

Piggie Hi, Gerald!

Hi, Piggie!

Why isn’t it raining?

It is so hot. Hot, so HOT! Huh. I’m getting wet.

Me too.

Let’s go home.

Okay!

It is sweaty in the house.

I know!

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Writers Undercover

Piggie and elephant

By Celest, age 7 Piggie

Gerald Hey, Piggie, do you want to play a game?

Yes, I do want to play a game.

What are you doing?

Let’s play stage. Gerald, you could be the kid and I could be the actor. I will be the one who acts on the stage and pretend to be lost in a forest.

No I do not want to play stage. I know a game. We could play house. You could be the kid. I could be the dad.

Okay. I will be the kid. Okay let’s play the game house!

I think Piggie will be a better kid than the other kids.

40

Writers Undercover

Go For a Picnic

By Keira, age 6 The elephant said yes to going to the picnic. Then the elephant didn’t like the picnic because there were ants on the floor that were stealing the food and eating it. The pig and the elephant were scared and screamed, “Ahhh!”

Then they ran away. They ran home. Then they went back to the picnic and there were worms in the tree. The bird ate the worms. Then the pig and the elephant walked slowly because there were 15 birds eating them! Then they got to the hospital. Then they went home and got a wheelchair. They then said, “Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch,” as they were walking to the stairs. Then they brushed their teeth and their teeth came out! And they said, “It hurts!”

Then they went to bed and they got in the wheelchair again. Then they walked to the picnic again.

41

Wacky Fairy Tales Goldilocks and the Three Angels

By Renil, age 8 There was once a family of angels, a big angel, a medium angel and a little angel.

They were having breakfast one morning, but the big angel said his porridge was too undercooked, and the medium angel said her porridge was too burned, but the little angel said her porridge was just right!

They decided to go out for a walk and left their door unlocked.

A little girl named Goldilocks came upon the family of angels’ house and invited herself in. She saw the bowls of porridge and when she tried the big angel’s porridge, she said it was too undercooked. When she tried the medium angel’s porridge, she said it was too burned. And then she tried the little angel’s porridge and said it was just right!

Goldilocks then went and explored their happy room. When she tried the big angel’s chair, she said it was too lumpy. When she tried the medium angel’s chair, she said it was too bumpy. And then she tried the little angel’s chair and said it was just right!

Just then she heard footsteps—it was the three devils! They had a war but the little devil and angel were friends, so they didn’t fight, and they danced happily ever after.

42

Writers Undercover

Bunny and the Three Monsters

By Hannah, age 8 There was once a family of monsters, a big monster, a medium monster and a little monster.

They were having breakfast one morning, but the big monster said his porridge was too dry and the medium monster said her porridge was too smelly, but the little monster said her porridge was just right!

They decided to go out for a walk and left their door unlocked.

A little girl named Bunny came upon the family of monsters’ house and invited herself in. She saw the bowls of porridge and when she tried the big monster’s porridge, she said it was too dry. When she tried the medium monster’s porridge, she said it was too smelly. And then she tried the little monster’s porridge and said it was just right!

Bunny then went and explored their scary room. When she tried the big monster’s bed she said it was too bumpy, when she tried the medium monster’s bed she said it was too stinky and then she tried the little monster’s bed and said it was just right!

Just then she heard footsteps. It was the three monsters! The three monsters chased her. She stopped and said, “I was lost in the woods. Please let me stay here with you.” The three monsters agreed. They lived happily ever after.

43

Writers Undercover

The Boy Who Cried Spy

By Angelo, age 8 There was once a boy herder who was sitting on top of a hill. He was bored and he decided to have some fun by yelling, “Spy, spy, come and get me!”

The entire village heard what he yelled and quickly went to see if the boy herder was okay. They found out that he was telling a lie and told him not to do that again or they wouldn’t come to help if there was real trouble.

Later, the boy herder again cried, “Spy, spy, come and get me!” And the villagers ran up again to find that it was another lie.

They were angry and walked away.

After the villagers left, the boy herder saw a real spy and again cried, “Spy, spy, come and get me!" But this time no one came. . .

Evil Cinderella

By Gabby, age 7 Evil Cinderella made evil rain potions and wanted to rule the world. Evil Cinderella was ugly because she didn’t take a bath and she made an evil unicorn. But she was too hairy. The evil unicorn ran away and Cinderella was really sad. She started to melt and did not rule the world.

44

Writers Undercover

The Boy Who Cried Meatloaf Monster

By Liza, age 8 There was once a kitten herder who was sitting on top of a hill. She was bored and so she decided to have some fun by yelling, “Meatloaf monster!”

The entire village heard what she yelled and quickly went to see if the kitten herder was okay. They found out that she was telling a lie and told her not to do that again or they wouldn’t help if there was real trouble.

Later, the kitten herder again cried, “Meatloaf monster” and the villagers ran up again to find that it was another lie.

They were angry and walked away.

After the villagers left, the kitten herder saw a real meatloaf monster, but this time no one came. . .

So they had a fight. “Boss Battle!” The meatloaf monster attacked the kittens with meatloaf. So the kitten herder let go of the kittens and they ate the meatloaf monster.

Kitten herder: 2. Meatloaf monster: 1.

Three Little Bears and the Big Bad Pig

By Sami, age 6 Once upon a time there were three bears, Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Little Bear. They found a house. Inside the house was the big bad grownup Pig. The house was so cold! They went to bed. The next morning they ate porridge and they swept the floor. They drank juice and a wolf came in.

Then he brought all of them on a jet ride around the canyon.

45

Artists’ Space Marlyn the Character

By James, age 11 What are your abilities?

Climbing, scaling walls, persistence, ancient languages (self-taught) How did you get your abilities?

Books, medical knowledge Do you have any weaknesses?

Starvation, bullets, pretty much any weakness a normal human being would have Do you have a super-awesome catchphrase or saying?

“See ya” and “Oh, no, no, no” Who are your friends?

Penni Who are your villains?

Charlemagne

46

Writers Undercover

Batman vs. the Penguin

By Dragon, age 9

47

Writers Undercover

Short Comic

By Bryan, age 11

48

Rotate to read!

Copyright © 2013 The Writers’ Exchange

This chapbook is a collection of writing and art created by the kids in the Writers’ Exchange after-school programs during the fall of 2013.

The Writers’ Exchange makes literacy exciting and accessible for inner-city kids through free mentoring and creative writing 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 generous donors, including Megan Abbott, Marily Mearns, the Vancouver Foundation, Nancy and Ted Maitland, Bernard MacLeod, the Central City Foundation, Claudia Casper and James Griffin, The Home Depot Canada Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, Modo The Car Co-Op and KidSafe. Thank you. And thank you to the amazing volunteer mentors who work with the kids in all Writers’ Exchange programs so that each child can succeed to the best of his or her ability.

Writers’ Exchange 881 East Hastings Vancouver, BC V6A 1R8 To read more great student writing, visit vancouverWE.com and our student blog, wewritersland.wordpress.com.

Design and layout by Claire Balderston clairebalderston.com

The Writers’ Exchange is a project of Tides Canada Initiatives Society.

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

Printing for this chapbook was generously donated by Hemlock.

Thanks to the 50 fantastic volunteer mentors who helped with Writers’ Exchange after-school programs during the fall of 2013: Alysha, Amanda G., Amanda S., Anna, Barbara, Belinda, Blaine, Brittany, Carina, Carissa, Cat, Chloe H., Chloe M., Chloe T., Connie, Courtney, Dan, Emelyn, Emily, Emma, Haley, Ivy, Janice, Jennifer, Joe, John, Kathleen, Kathryn, Kelsie, Laura, Lo, Maeve, Mel, Melissa, Michelle, Mico, Morgan, Patty, Prabhi, Rebecca, Rosa, Sam, Sarah F., Sean, Selena, Sydney, Thea, Tessy, Wendy, Yvonne

WRITERS UNDERCOVER

a chapbook from the

volume 3 • issue 1 • fall 2013