"A Bright New Day"

"A Bright New Day"

by

Alana Blake (age 15)

Up the dark, dirt path, light ahead,

Up to the summit, trees opened up.

A thick mist over the rock top, and in my throat.

A heavy breeze whips through my shirt.

Up the sun rises slowly.

Up in the blooming sky of colors birds soar.

A sweet clean smell from fresh rain.

A feeling of freedom consumes me.

Up my spirit fills with energy.

Up I feel like I’m touching the sky.

A sweet song being sung.

A light is becoming brighter in me.

Up the sun rises higher.

Up my spirit rises.

A sea of clouds below.

A bright new day appears.

Assignment for Poetry Lessons at www.polliwogpages.com 

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Alice with her Mischievous Cat

Alice with her Mischievous Cat 

(autobiographical fiction) 

by 

Alana Blake 

(age 14)

“Who knew today would be a good day for fishing?” Alice says, putting her fishing pole in the truck bed.

Dad puts the fish cooler in the truck bed, “Yeah, it was. We better head home, so I can take a quick shower before Mom gets home.”

In the truck Alice thinks, "I can’t wait to have the whole farm to myself while Mom and Dad are on their date.”

“Alice. Hey, Alice?” Dad taps Alice on the shoulder before putting his hat on.

“Ah, sorry. What is it?”

“Can you clean the fish, and put them in the fridge for me when we get home?”

“Yeah, of course.” Alice thinks, Ah, no, that's going to take forever, and I won’t have as much time to do whatever I want. But it will make Dad happy. Lost in thought, Alice stares out the truck window watching the animals and grass fields pass by.

Dad turns the truck down the dirt driveway. "Alice, where will you want me to put the fish?” 

Alice says, still staring out the window, "Just in the barn next to the sink, where we clean the birds, will be fine.”

“Dad says, "It sure is beautiful today. Those cherry trees are so pretty when they are in full bloom.”

“Yeah, it's so great that we have them on our land.” says Alice hopping out of the truck "I am going to go get a fish knife. Then I will meet you in the barn.”

Alice starts rummaging around the cupboards in the kitchen, Alice thinks. Where did I put the fish knife? 

“What are you looking for, Alice?” Mom was standing behind Alice, with a questioning expression on her face.

“Ahh!" Alice jumps. "Oh you're home! Hmm, I'm looking for a fish knife. Do you know where it is?”

“Sorry didn’t mean to scare you, but yes, it is on the wall over counter top above your head.”

Mom turns around, grabs her purse, and heads outside. “Are you ready to go, Honey?” Mom says to Dad.

As Dad puts the cooler of fish down on the table. “Ah! Don’t walk, so quiet like that please, but no, I need to change."

 Alice joins them and trips on nothing, but doesn't fall. 

“Oh, Alice, you can put the fish in this?" Dad pass Alice a glass container. "Are you going to be fine, Alice?”

“Yeah, I got it all handled,” Alice says with a smile. 

“Great,” says Dad before walking to the house.    

Mom looks at her watch then at Alice “If you need anything just call, okay? And don't stay up past 10:00 pm, and no fires, please, Alice.”

“Don’t worry about me, I will be fine. I won’t do anything I don’t already know how to do, so go with Dad.” 

“Oh, you are growing up so fast.” Mom pulls Alice into a hug and kisses her on the head.

 In a few minutes Dad leans up against the barn door. "I’m ready to go now. We better get going or we might miss our reservation.”      

 “All right, I'm on my way." Mom releases from the hug, and looks into Alice’s eyes." You be good, okay?” 

“I will. Bye Mom, and bye, Dad."

“Bye,  Alice,” Dad closes Mom’s door and waves at Alice.

Alice waves back at them as they leave.

“Well, there’s that. I guess it’s time to clean those fish.” Alice walks over to a cooler in the barn. “Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, y seis,” Alice takes one fish out at a time. “All right, so if I take five minutes on each fish, then that will take thirty minutes. Then I  should  have enough time so I can finally watch Percy Jackson. Then I'll take a shower before Mom and Dad get back. Yeah, that sounds right.” 

Four fish later. “Ow! No!” Alice looks at her bloody finger then runs into the house to get a band-aid.

Alice looks at her finger after washing the blood away. “Okay, it’s not that bad. I hope Mom will still let me use a knife.” Alice puts a band-aid on it and goes back to the barn to finish the last two fish. 

“Ahh, no, Cipher! That’s my fish!” Alice yells, running over and grabbing the fish filet out of the cat’s mouth. She puts the cat on the floor. “I forget you like fish. I remember now, so don’t even think about trying to take my fish again.” Alice points her fingers at her own eyes then at the cat's eyes. Still staring at the cat, Alice picks up another fish and puts it on the cutting board. The cat watches as Alice cuts the rest of the fish up. 

“Finally! I’m done. Now I can go watch  ‘Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.’  "Yay!" Alice grabs the container that the fish filets were in, and heads inside to watch Percy Jackson.       

"All right now were is that DVD? I know it is around here somewhere." Alice looks at the very unorganized movie shelf  in the living room.  Alice looks in the cracks in couch, under the reclining chair, and around the TV which is over the fire place.

Alice looks at the cat staring at her, "Don't look at me like that, Cipher. I am going to find the DVD in time, even if you don't think I can. You just watch."

Alice looks back at the DVD's and spots the Percy Jackson DVD she was looking for, but it was on the top shelf, which was too high for her to reach. "You got to be kidding me! How am I supposed to get that? I am only 4’ 8." 

Five minutes later, Alice pulls over two chairs, and stacks them. "What? It's not going to fall over, see?" Alice shakes the chair, and looks at the cat watching her. "Here we go," Alice climbs up the chairs, and starts to stand up. The chairs wiggle  a little under her weight "It's ok, I am not going to fall. I just need to reach the DVD." Alice goes on to her tiptoes and grabs the DVD. "Yes!" 

A cracking noise comes from the chairs under Alice, and the next thing she knows she is falling to the  floor.  "Ow! That hurt!" Alice looks in front of her to see Cipher looking at her, dead in the eyes, as if he was saying, "I told you, so!  

Alice picks up the DVD, and puts the chairs away before watching Percy Jackson.   

 Two hours later, Alice stretched and turned off the TV. "That was great, wasn't it, Cipher?" 

Cipher walks away.

Alice hears a car coming down the drive way. "Oh no! is it that late already? I haven't even take a shower yet!"

Alice runs to the bath, takes a super fast shower,  then hears voices. So she runs to her room and jumps in bed as she hears the door open. 

"Do you think Alice went to bed?" Dad asks.  

"I think, so because I didn't see any lights on, but let's check," Mom says.

"Looks like she's asleep," Dad says quietly.  

"Yeah. Good night, Alice," Mom says before she  kisses me on the head, and Dad does the same.

The End

(Assignment for Lesson #20 - Autobiography) 

If you are between the ages of 13 -18,

(or know someone who likes to write stories)

I would like to post your story here.

Send me an email. I'd love to read your story!

The Little Blue Butterfly Fish

The Little Blue Butterfly Fish

by

Alana Blake 

(age 14)

“What a wonderful day to be alive in the coral reef! No one has tried to eat me, and it’s light out,” Blue Fish says, swimming around the reef calmly.

 “Ooh, what’s that shiny thing?” Blue Fish asks, with a glow in his eyes. He swims closer to it. “No, I shouldn't! It could be a trap, but what if it’s not?” Blue Fish stops, looks around cautiously, then back at the shiny piece of metal on the seafloor. 

Two seconds later, “Naw, no one would do that,” Blue Fish says, swimming right into a net that is in front of the shiny piece of metal. “Nooo! Please let me go, you thing! I promise I won’t try to take the shiny again, please!” Blue Fish says, struggling to get loose from the net, but it only gets tighter around him. 

“Ahhh, I can’t breathe! Where did the water go?” Blue Fish yells, being pulled out of the net. He is put in a really dark box with sea water in it. “What in the Barnacles is going on? And how is it night already?” 

A few hours later, Blue Fish feels a sound jolt, then he hears a bunch of weird noise as the water clams down. Blue Fish looks up to see a bright light, and then something big starts coming closer.  Blue Fish dashes around the small box, but it’s no use. The thing gets him! 

“This is it! I am going to die! There’s no doubt about it!” Blue Fish yells. 

Blue Fish is dropped into a different tank of water. “What? Why am I not dead?” Blue Fish swims around the new tank. He swims towards a reef, where there were a lot of other fish. “Hey, maybe there is food over there,” Blue fish says. As he gets closer, he sees one of the little fish, that wasn’t moving, get scooped up by a little shark. “Never mind,” Blue Fish says, swimming backwards as fast as he can. But then he runs into something hard, and immediately freezes in place. Nothing happens though. Blue Fish moved a little, then froze again. Again nothing happens, so Blue Fish turns around to see weird figures, that were a little bit blurry, staring at him. “What is this thing in front of me? I can not see it, but I can feel it, and why are those things staring at me?”

The water vibrates as something taps the clear thing that you can feel but not see. “WhAT iS GoINg oN? AhHh!” Blue Fish yells. Suddenly being scooped up again, but this time in a clear cylinder. Weird shapes zip by in all different colors, and sizes. “Places, let me go where you found me. I promise to never try to  take anyone's shiny thing again, just let me go!” Blue Fish baggies. 

Blue Fish is dumped into another tank but this one is different. The water was wormer, there were wired shape rocks, and more wall it looked liked. Blue Fish looks around, and all of the other fish look just like him. “Hmm, this is better, I don’t even need to find something shiny to look at myself now” Blue Fish says.   

Written for Lesson 17 at Polliwog Pages (Point of View)

(polliwogpages.com) 

If you are between the ages of 13 -18,

(or know someone who likes to write stories)

I would like to post your story here.

Send me an email. I'd love to read your story!

William and the Lobsters

William and the Lobsters

by 

Alana Blake (age 13) 

It is the year 1901 off the coast of Cape Neddick, a cold and breezy, but a sunny spring day. There are two are two men in a lobster boat. The first guy, John, has a big white beard, and orange overalls. The second guy named Henry has brown hair and wears a tan beret hat. They head back to the dock after a good day of catching lobsters. 

As they get closer to the dock, you can see a young boy with brown hair, and no shoes waving at them. “Is that your boy William?” John asks in a thick accent.

“Ya, he wants to come and help, but he can’t swim.”

John chuckles as they pull up to the dock.

“Dad!” William says excitedly, jumping into Henry’s arms. 

“Oh, you are getting big,” Henry says, putting his hat on William's head, but it covers his face.

“Does that mean I can go with you tomorrow, Dad?” William says, pushing the hat up, so he can see.

“How about you just help us bring the lobsters to the lobster shack, then we can go and talk to your mom about it.”

“Ok.”

“William, over here,” John says holding a bucket. William grabs the bucket which is filled with lobsters.

“Wow.”

“Here we are,” John says, putting his bucket of lobsters on the table in the lobster shack.

 “Well, I'll be going home.”

“Ya, we should be getting home too, before Mom gets worried,” Henry says, looking at William.

“Bye, John,” William says, before dashing down the dirt road.

“William, wait!” Henry yells. 

John laughs, “Haha, I will see you tomorrow. Say hi to Sarah and Violet for me,” John says,  walking away.

“I will. Be safe.” Henry walks down the dirt road up to a small yellow house.

“Boo!” William says, jumping out from behind a tree.

“Ahh! You got me. Let's go inside. It smells like Mom finished dinner.”

“Ok.”

They went inside where a woman, with long red hair and a green dress, walks in with a platter in each hand “Oh, Honey and  William, you are home. Good, I just finished dinner. William, can you get Violet? She's in her room,” Sarah says, putting fish and baked potatoes on the table.

“Come on, Violet. It’s dinner time,” William says, picking up a little girl, with red hair and a pink dress. 

“Soo, Dad, can I go tomorrow?” William asked.

“William, I know you want to go, but you can’t swim, and I don’t want you to drown,” Sarah says softly.

“But I could wear a life jacket, and it could help me not be afraid of water.” 

“Good point,” Henry says.

“So?”

“Fine, but you must wear a life jacket at all times,” Sarah says.

“Really?” Willam says excitedly.

“Yes, now go to bed,” Henry says.

Henry wakes up William as the sun slowly rises.“Wake up! It’s time to go,” Henry says.

William jump’s out of bed. “Ok, I’m up.”

“Come on,” Henry says, walking out the door with William right behind.  

Once they got to the dock, John is all ready at the boat with a life jacket in hand.

“How’d you know?” William asks, grabbing the life jacket, and getting in the boat.

“I just knew.” John drives the boat out to where the lobster traps are.

“Ok, William, I will grab the traps, and you put the lobsters in buckets,” Henry says.

“Ok.”

Two hours later, John asks, “Is that the last trap?” 

“Yes,” Henry says. 

Lighting hits the water.  Flash . . . Boom!

“What was that?” William asks.

“A lightning storm,” John says. The sun disappears into the dark thunderclouds. The wind whips Henry’s hat off. The waves are rising high and crashing down.

“The waves are getting really big, Dad!” William says with fear in his eyes. The waves push the boat around.

“It will be ok, William,” Henry says strapping the buckets down.

Hang on tight. It is going to get rough through those rocks, but once we get past the lighthouse, it will be calm.” John says. A big wave crashes over the boat.

“Dad!” William screams as the wave takes him overboard.

“William!” Henry runs to the side of the boat.

John drives the boat around the area they last saw William.

"Do you see him?” John asks, losing hope.

“No,” Henry says with tears running down his face. 

"It's getting dark. Even if he survives, we won't be able to see him. So why don't we head in? He should drift to the harbor anyway." 

Henry nods to give the ok.   

Waves slap the sides of the boat as they slowly get closer to the dock.

“Look, Henry, there’s William! He’s alive and swimming!” John says, pointing towards the dock.

“William!” Henry calls.

“Dad, I'm swimming!” William says, getting to the ladder. 

John docks the boat, Henry runs to William.  

“I thought you died,” Henry says, hugging William.

“So does this mean I can help more often?” William says, hugging his Dad back.

“Yes, just don’t scare me like that again,” Henry says. 

getting dark even if he survives we won’t be able to see him, so why don’t we had in and he should  drift into the harbor anyway.” Henry nods his head to give

Assignment for Polliwog Pages Basic Writing Lesson #8 - (Conflict) 

If you are between the ages of 13 -18,

(or know someone who likes to write stories)

I would like to post your story here.

Send me an email. I'd love to read your story!