Isabella Ritona

Welcome To My Wiki Page!
Hi Everyone! This is a picture of my twin
sister Alexandra and me on the first day of
Middle School! She is on the left and I am on the right!
My favorite hobby is DANCE! I love Hip-hop, Ballet,
Lyrical, and Jazz Dance. This is my Wiki Page for
English so I will be posting stories and poems
every marking period! Check back soon for more posts!
Scroll down below to the bottom to see the current MP
- Isabella Ritona

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First Marking Period

The Autumn Falls Cook Book
Today was the first day of Fall which meant a new season in Autumn Falls. Fall is very magical here. Maybe it's because the name of our town has Autumn in it! Nobody knows for sure... Well anyway, I was so excited about Fall because that meant I could go apple picking with my best friends April and Skye. We did this every year and it was always honorable. So I decided to call Skye and ask her when we would be doing this. For some reason though, April wanted to do something else this year. She wanted to try out cool recipes from an old cookbook she had found in her Great Grandma's musty, dusty, rusty old attic. It must have been very cumbersome lugging that monstrous book down the stairs, I thought. But then I realized that I didn't want to be doing this. "We don't see how that can be any fun!" Skye and I said upset-like. "Oh c'mon it'll be fun!" April assured us. So in the end, we ended up doing that, instead of picking nice, juicy apples for our apple cider stand! So, Skye and I moaned the whole way to April's house which was on the other side of Autumn Falls. (That's the town we live in by the way.) When Skye and I arrived at April's house, she directed us to the kitchen. When she showed us the cook book it was N-O-T what we expected. All the sudden I was very peculiarly interested in this cook book. It was almost like someone had cast a spell on me! I didn't think I would even like the idea of baking but all the sudden, I was very interested. Why was I so intrigued? Well I was about to find out an hour later... April opened up the cook-book and at least a layer of thick, old dust wafted off of it. "EWWWW!!!" Skye proclaimed. She definitely didn't have the slightest bit of interest in the cookbook like I did all of the sudden. "C'mon just open it up already so we can get this over with." Skye moaned grumpily. "Don't be such a grumpy pumpkin!" April laughed. Her laugh was as bone chilling as a witch's cackle. Actually, let me correct myself, her laugh was like a witch's cackle! It always sent a chills down my spine even though I knew she wasn't a witch..... Or was she?! No, I'm only kidding! Trust me, I would know if my best friend was a witch. "Quit your dreaming day dreaming Isabella, and let's get baking!" announced April enthusiastically. So we started baking the Lavender Dog cake. We didn't pay much attention to the name, but it was very strange. First we added in flour, eggs, and sea lavender. Then they asked us to add in 1 dog hair??? "What?! How are we supposed to do that?" We all exclaimed. But, in the end we just had April decided to just add her dog's fur (GROSS!!!) into the bowl. After this, we added in someone more key ingredients and popped the cake into the oven. The smell of the cake baking was as fragrant as a acre of lavender fields! You could probably guess that since lavender is very fragrant, that a WHOLE acre of it would be very very very aromatic! We all breathed in the delectable aroma and waited about 1 hour until we heard the pleasant ding of the oven! Skye took the cake out of the oven and placed it on a lace decorated plate. "You do the honors!" Skye and I chorused to April. So April cut a delicate sliver of the cake and placed it onto the plate. She took a big bite and then... She started hiccupping like Crazy! And I mean, her hiccupping was as loud as an ear-piercing scream! She would not stop hiccupping no matter how hard we tried! But, then she.......TURNED INTO A BAT!!!!!!

"WHAT! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Skye and I proclaimed. We were too surprised to even say anything. It was so creepy to see our Best Friend April be turned into a slovenly bat! It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Then, after what had felt like hours, April spoke. Her voice was almost squeakily raspy. This was definitely not the unrelenting April we knew. "Girls it's me April. Just trust me I don't know how I am a bat but I know how to turn myself back..." April saidenervatingly. "What!? How?!" Skye and I said, confused. "I am a witch....." April announced like it was no big deal, but it was a big deal. She had been keeping this from us for years. Earlier today didn't I say "I knew she wasn't a witch..... Or was she?! No, I'm only kidding! Trust me, I would know if my best friend was a witch." I guess I was wrong. Maybe I should have taken a hint when her laugh sounded like a witch's cackle, or when last Halloween she mysteriously disappeared. Well that time we found her eating a bunch of Twizzlers and Kit-Kats in her bedroom closet! Her mom hates candy and is a big on nutrition, so I guess that doesn't count. I should have paid more attention and this wouldn't have been such a surprise to me..... Why hadn't I taken the hints? Why was I so absentminded and inattentive? I wish I wouldn't have been such a fool. Yes, I know I won't stop mentioning it, but I just hope and pray she knows how to brake this bat spell or else... Their is absolutely no way I am walking to school with a bat! People will think I'm as crazy as a----- April broke my thoughts abruptly... "Guys, I'm really sorry, I should have told you a was a witch." April said wearily. "Why didn't you just tell us?" Skye and I said, in unison. "Well, I did try telling you last Halloween. I told you guys to meet me in my bedroom closet after we went Trick Or Treating. I waited and waited for a whole 45 minutes and you never came. I was trying to tell you guys I was a witch, but don't worry because I wasn't that upset! I got to eat my Halloween candy without my mother finding out!" April said. "Oh I thought you had said for me to go home and hide in my closet!!!!" I proclaimed. "Yeah same with me! I thought it was an odd request but I did it anyway." Skye said, laughing as she thought back to the goofy memory. "We should have listened and we are honestly sorry." I said truly feeling bad for poor April. "Wait why did you even turn into bat in the first place?" Skye asked curiously. "Wait... Didn't the recipe say the cake was called Lavender dog cake? not Lavender Bat cake... That' odd. I should have turned into a dog not a bat". April said. "I'm not following what your saying." Skye said. "Oh well... in the cookbook my Great Grandma Bridget (she is a witch), told me that whatever the recipe is titled, you will turn into that thing." "Oh but why did you try the cake if you knew you would turn into an animal?" I questioned." I had forgotten all about that! I am so careless." April said. "Well how do you reverse the spell?" Skye and I said. "That's easy except for the fact that my Great Grandma Bridget needs to do it. She is the oldest living witch in my family!" April said enthusiastically. "Where does your Great Grandma live?" I questioned. "Just on the other side of Autumn Falls where you live Isabella!" April said. "Oh ok! Let's go!" I said. "Well....." April said unsurely. "What?! What's wrong now?" I demanded.

"What? You have got to kidding me!" I said as annoyance filled my voice. "Yes I know it is very horrible!" April said, disappointed that she had to break this bad news. "What? What is
wrong?" Skye asked curiously. She had to use the restroom so she had missed the huge hullabaloo! "Well..." April said with uncertainty. "My mom will be home in 10 minutes! She can't catch us sneaking out of the house!" April blurted. "Why don't you just ask her to drive you to your Great Grandma's house instead?" Skye asked. "They don't exactly get along very well. It all started when my mom was little. She went to a Family Christmas party and her Grandma Bridget (My Great Grandma) said she was thirsty and asked If my mom could get her a cherry juice. My mom was only 5 years of age so she accidentally spilled the blood red cherry juice on Great Grandma Bridget's fanciest dress! Great Grandma Bridget was furious! My mom had just ignited a huge fight that would create a barrier between her and her Grandma forever." Said April. "Oh that's terrible! What do we do?" Skye said. "We do the only thing we can do." I said. "We sneak out of the house before April's mom comes home!" Skye said. "Okay, but we better be quick my mom will be home in 7 minutes." April announced. So we snuck out of the house, but what made us freeze was a car driving up the street to our house! We all dove into a bush as fast as we could (well, not all of us! April flew into the bush)! Sure enough it was April's mom. April's mom had gone shopping and decided to buy enough groceries to fill a bath tub! I'm sure the groceries were as heavy as 1 million bricks! I weren't tricked for a second though... We didn't have time to help her unpack those groceries, we needed to help April! After what felt like 20 light-years, we snuck past the rose gardens, which were neatly trimmed and colorful, and we tiptoed through some tulips (No, literally April's family also has a tulip garden!!)! After that we had to sneak past the shiny black Honda and we made our way to the black shiny gates. We then ducked down and crawled on the ground so that the hedge fence protected us from being seen on the other side. Once we came to the second house and our property ended we stood up (April flew higher up). We then walked the whole way to where Skye and I lived. We learned that April's Great Grandma lives in our neighborhood Hamorton Woods! We walked up to the address of her house and Skye knocked rapidly. After the third time, a lady opened the door. She had gray whispy hair in a messy bun, a dress with red strawberries on it with a little white bakers apron attached, and she was wearing gardening rain boots. Their was nothing peculiarly strange that gave her away. She did not seem like a witch at all. Well that is until April spoke. "Great Grandma Bridget it's me, April! I was turned into a bat and I need----" Great Grandma Bridget had already cut her off! She was laughing and laughing! Her laugh sent chills down my spine just as April's had. Yep, she was definitely a witch. "Oh dearie I'm so sorry you are a bat! I can surely help you!" Great Grandma Bridget assured us. All she did was have April say a spell and she was back to normal!

The next morning after everything had happened I got up for school. It was a Monday and I was not willing to get out of bed! I had to get up if I wanted to ride the bus with my friends. I hopped out of bed drowsily and pondered the though of what had happened yesterday, and whether it was a dream or not. It seemed to be such a genuine "dream". But, then I realized that it had to have been real because I could smell a hint of Lavender somewhere vague. I decided it wasn't a dream and grabbed a breakfast bar. Apples and Cinnamon flavored delicious..... my favorite! As I headed out to the bus stop I saw Skye and she waved me over to come stand next to her. I strolled casually over to her but realized that it was not Skye who was waving me over. It was a girl about my age with light brown hair and brown eyes. "Hi I'm Ella" she said confidently. She continued. "I moved here yesterday with my family from Augusta Maine. I am going to going to Autumn Falls Middle School (AFMS) and I am in 6th grade. What grade are you in?" She asked genuinely asking for an answer in return. "Oh I'm Isabella Ritona and I live just a couple houses down the street. I am in 6th grade too." I said as I smiled at her. She beamed back at me. "You can sit with me and my friends at lunch if you want." I offered. "Sure thanks! I don't know anyone here." she replied, relieved. Then Skye walked up to the bus stop. She stared from me to Ella and back to me, but before I could introduce them, the bus pulled up. Looks like I would be introducing them during lunch....Once I walked into AFMS I felt exhausted. Was it just me or was this day going to be another one of those B-O-R-I-N-G Mondays? Health, Music, Literacy, and Science were in the morning and they went by as slow as a snail, until finally lunch arrived. I sat down and unscrewed my canteen of Minestrone soup. A puff of steam puffed up into the air. Just as I was thinking of getting up to go to my locker to waste lunch time away, April, Skye, and Ella arrived. I introduced Ella to everyone and what was strange was when Ella laughed. It was a Bone chilling witch's cackle ringing throughout the school, and those two days were the days I figured out that my Best friend had been keeping a big secret from me, the days I figured out that a cookbook can change your life, and the days I figured out that witches existed.... THE END!

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*Second Marking Period*

The rain was pelt-pelt-pelting on the straw roof of our cottage in the woods. The cottage is almost 200 years old and has been around since 1816. Our cottage is the legend of the town, because of the history that happened here. Nobody knows for sure if the legend is true, because over the ages people have changed around the legend a little each time. The so called legend all started back in 1885. The story had something to do with firewood. The guy who first owned this house accidentally burned himself while trying to build a cozy fire. Legend has it that he cursed the house and that if anyone else ever used firewood in the house, they would be burned too. This Legend is N-O-T true. My grandma and I use firewood all the time for cooking and warmth. Unfortunately, the townspeople don’t believe us when we tell them that the legend is fake, so we constantly have tourists from all over visiting our cottage. Occasionally we give free tours, but most of the time they are $5.00 You can imagine how much money we make a day! We have at least five or more people tour our cottage daily. When we get free time we use it wisely not having to give out tours! It is October and this is usually our busiest month. We always decorate the cottage all spooky but this year we didn’t bother because nobody has come here this month. It’s very unusual. This doesn't bother us much though… We get to do whatever we want without a bunch of people bothering us. So Grandma Rosalind said to me “Ella come here dear.” “Yes Grandmother.” I replied. “I want you to fetch some firewood from the woods, for a fire.” She said. “Okay sure thing.” I replied. So up the creaky stairs I went… I put on my polka dot rain boots and raincoat and set off into the woods. The rain had worsened and was pelting louder than before. I quickened my pace as I walked through the pine trees behind our little cottage. I needed to find firewood fast or else the wood would be too damp to set fire. This time I decided to run for it! That way, I could get dry wood and I wouldn’t be too wet. I closed my eyes feeling the frigid air slap against my face as I ran, but then Oh No! I tripped and was tumble-tumble-tumbling down the riverbank, and I tumbled right into the stream. I felt the freezing water surge through my whole entire body, making me shiver. I knew that the minute I tumbled into the water, I would have to stay drenched for a long while. I gradually got up and used all the strength I had left. The bitterly cold water had knocked the wind out of me and was much too big of a surprise. I had wasted twenty whole minutes sitting in the stream. Now I knew for sure the wood would be too damp. I mine as well try collecting wood just in case. I climbed the tiny hill back up to the riverbank and made sure that I didn’t slip or tumble again! I can see the tippy top of our chimney through the pine trees. I slowly walk through the woods looking for wood. My boots are covered in muddy slosh in which pine tree needles have covered. My rain boots will need to be washed in the washing basin when I get home. I walk a little farther through the woods until I see a lonely birch tree. That’s odd, I think. I have only ever seen pine trees in the woods. Trust me, I know the woods inside out like the back of my hand. I have been walking in the woods since I was a young child. I walked up to the birch tree and touched it’s white, peely bark. I walked around the ring of the tree and something made me freeze. The whole world seemed to freeze. No literally, I couldn’t feel the rain pelting on my raincoat, couldn’t hear the familiar woods sounds, I could only hear my own breathing,-------I saw a small gray, crooked, gravestone with a familiar face. The face of Ernest Deadman. He was the Legend of this town back in 1885. This sent a chill down my spine. I knew that I should run. I should have, but I didn’t. A figure was off in the distance on the other side of the river. He was walking over to me. I couldn’t see his face which was very vague. I swear I saw him glide across the river, but I guess my mind was playing tricks on me. I was so intensely thinking about the man that I forgot I was drenched! As I realized I was, I felt bitterly frozen like the river water. I was frightened of this man. I had no clue as to who he was so I sprinted and sprinted until….I wound up at another birch tree. I circled the ring of the tree and saw a gravestone. It was a gray, crooked, gravestone with the a familiar face on it. The face of Ernest Deadman?! This was the same birch tree but how?! I don’t understand! I swear I walked far from the tree. I knew I should have ran, but it was too late now. The man was next to me. I didn’t dare turn around. My feet did the opposite of what I was thinking. I spun around and saw the familiar face. Ernest Deadman. “AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” I screamed! I thought he was dead? I looked at him closer. He was glimmering and slightly faded. I ran ran ran and ran until I was sure I had lost him. Looks like I wouldn’t be getting any firewood today. I trudged home thinking badly. The only good thing that has happened so far today is the fact that now the rain is lightly sprinkling the tree tops. I open up the brown door to our cottage. Grandmother greeted me at the door. “Grandmother I didn’t get any firewood.” I said wearily. “Oh that’s okay honey. We will just have to eat leftovers for dinner. I was going to make chicken stew but it looks like we don't have anything to cook it with.” I’m glad she didn’t send me to my room. Grandmother and I sat down for dinner. “Why were you out in the woods so long?” Grandmother asked. “Oh, um… well I guess I had trouble...ugh finding firewood?” I replied unsure. I decided to not tell her what happened because I decided I was just imagining it. After the dinner of rice and beans I walked up the creaky, old, winding stairwell to my bedroom. A surprise was waiting for me on the other side of the bedroom door. As I opened up the door I covered my mouth to keep from screaming. There sat Ernest Deadman on my bed. This had to have been some kind of joke. Has the legend come to life? “Little girl, little girl…” he began. “I am going to have revenge on you and your grandmother.” he said. “W-w-w-why?” I managed to sputter. “Because, you disobeyed the legend. You used firewood for years in this house when you weren’t supposed to.” He said creepily “Now I will banish you from your house.” I woke up with crook in my neck and a scream stuck in my throat. I looked over to my Grandma who was on a bed next to mine. Where were we? Oh right! I was in Grandma’s bedroom. How did I get here? I wondered. I thought I was in my bedroom? I got up and looked out the window. Crisp snowflakes were falling gently. I thought it was raining? I went downstairs and went outside. Everything was different. Instead of just pine trees there were a bunch birch trees in the woods. I looked off into the distance. Instead of the regular scenery of the mountains, I saw absolutely nothing but grassy land covered in snow. All our neighbor’s houses were gone too? Where were we? Our cottage looked the same…… Oh No! I remembered last night's talk with Ernest Deadman. Didn’t he say he would banish us from our house? Oh no! There was no turning back. We would never see our old town ever again.

Click on these to read some other stories I wrote!
Link To Hershey Park Journal Entries
Link To Heart Necklaces Story

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Third Marking Period

Aspen and I were practically best friends from the start. When I was only 5 years old, I knew that
a dog was truly a girl’s best friend. That was just the way things were. Aspen and I did everything together. Aspen had been with me for as long as I can remember. Then everything changed on November 27, 2015, Black Friday. I decided that it was surely the worst day of my life. I’ll tell you what happened in my crazy story, but first, let me tell you more about Aspen’s story.

Aspen is a healthy dog with white fur and calm, black eyes. He is a pretty average yellow Labrador, actually. He weighs seventy pounds, which is average for a 7 year old dog. We live in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Aspen loves where we live! He especially loves to walk on the beach with me in the snow during winter! Aspen is the kind of dog that would just lay in the driveway for the whole day while you went out to go grocery shopping, or played with some friends. He was the best friend I could ever have! We got him when he was 1 year old. I was only 5 years old at the time! I knew that the minute I met him, we would be best friends. We were like the typical dog and girl you see in movies. He went with me everywhere and everyone was just fine with it in Rhode Island. So anyway, back to Black Friday, I’m sure you are wondering what happened. What changed Aspen’s story. What changed mine. Well then.. I guess I’ll tell you what happened. It was the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. My mom had sent me out to get some food on sale at the grocery store. Everything was 50% off. My mom jumps on sales the minute she sees them! Black Friday is practically her favorite day of the year! Like always, I gathered up Aspen’s leash, money for groceries, and dog treats which I placed into a tiny backpack. Now I just had to go get Aspen! I went upstairs and found Aspen laying on my bed. He was exhausted from the fetch game I had just played with him.I clipped him into the leash and walked down stairs with him, and into the garage we went. Then I clipped his leash to my bike and placed the tiny backpack into the bike basket. I had gotten the bike for my birthday. It was turquoise and had a cute white basket! It could ride on all terrains! It was just perfect for riding on the beach or going into town with Aspen! We were ready to go! I rode my bike down Bayberry lane with Aspen in tow. He was always strutting right along side me. Rhode Island is such a quaint little state! Our street is always sooo cozy in the snow! I had really hoped it would snow this year. So far it had only drizzled this past Summer, but I guess you never know, right? So, anyways, I rode down the tiny hill into town with Aspen right along side me the whole way there. This was usually how obedient he was! Then we turned down the Main Street and rode to the Country Butcher called Sandy Lane Meat Market. This is where we did most of our shopping! The County Butcher was a small but bustling business in East Greenwich! Everyone in the town bought meats (of course! It’s a butcher shop!), bagels, pastries, and even dog kibble! The store supplied everything to the 13,146 people in our town! The owners of the Butcher Shop were Mr. and Mrs. McNeil, who were always at the cashier checking everyone out. They were both around sixty years old. They were great because they let me take Aspen inside the store. They mostly let us do this because we had been their best customers and they too understood how animals HATED being left outside while their owners shopped. They knew that they got anxious because they had a tiny Cavapoo dog named Snickerdoodle and a Lemon Beagle named Archimous. Aspen, Archimous, and Snickerdoodle get along so well! Anyways, in the Whole Foods Market in Province they don’t let us bring in Aspen because of allergies. I couldn’t EVER imagine being allergic to dogs. I’m actually not allergic to anything! We sometimes went to Providence’s Whole Foods Market to get things that the Butcher Shop doesn’t supply, like toiletries or soap. Today we were getting A LOT of meat since that was what had a 70% off sale on it! As you know, my mom attacks sales so she asked me to buy extra meat! I parked my bike outside the butchers and unclasped Aspen’s leash from the bike handle. Then I grabbed his leash and the tiny backpack in the bike basket and we walked into the store. What surprised us was the look that was on Mr. and Mrs. McNeil’s faces. They were looks of anger and fright. This is where it all began….there was a lady sneezing like crazy as Mr. and Mrs. McNeil gave her some medicine. “Why was she so sick?” I had wondered. Mrs. McNeil walked over to me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “The lady is very allergic to dogs! You can not bring Aspen into the store today! I’m soooo sorry sweetie!” She had said sadly. “Oh it’s no trouble. Really, I’ll just tie Aspen to the fire hydrant outside the store.” I said. I pulled Aspen eagerly towards the door and tied him to the hydrant. I made sure he was double knotted so he wouldn’t run away or get loose. I knew nobody would steal him anyways, so I walked into the shop. I bought everything I needed and then got in line to check out. Then I got a sickening feeling in my stomach. What was this feeling? I had never felt it before but I knew it wasn’t a good feeling. I felt the instinct to run outside and just check on Aspen and see if everything was alright, but I was next in line to get my things rung up. Mr. McNeil was there and he said to me, “I’m really sorry Aspen couldn’t come inside today! I’ll give you a 20$ gift card to make up for it!” That was very nice of him! “Oh really no need to Mr. McNeil! Honestly it was no trouble at all!” I say kindly, but took the gift card anyway. I knew it wasn’t his fault that someone was allergic to dogs, and my mom and dad would never turn down a good 20$ free! Then I walked outside and wished Mr. and Mrs. McNeil a good afternoon. I had nearly forgotten all about the sickening feeling I had in my stomach, until I stepped outside...I had nearly forgotten about poor Aspen. I ran over to the fire hydrant and…

Aspen wasn’t there as I stared at the empty pole. There was no leash in sight either! I nearly had a heart attack! My heart dropped to my stomach. Did somebody steal Aspen?! I couldn’t breath properly! My heart raced. I took a deep breath and stared longingly across the Main Street…..and there was Aspen! In the middle of the road with his leash attached to him! A car was coming and I had to act fast! I needed to save him before it was too late! I lept across the crosswalk and pounced in front of Aspen, trying to save him from the red car barreling down the road. I….I…..wasn’t too late! I was about to save him, and just in time! Or so I thought...I tried pulling him with me back to the safety of the sidewalk, but he wouldn’t budge. His leash was stuck under a grate in the road! I tried pulling it free but it was no use! We were going to get run over! As the car came barreling down the road, it screeched to a loud stop! It left a bunch of skid marks! Out came a lady around 25 years old with bouncy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She offered to help me free Aspen! Wow, Such a nice lady! “Thanks so much for helping me! Is there anything we could possibly do for you?” I asked. “As a matter of fact, yes I was wondering where Sandy Lane Meat Market is located.” She asked. I knew exactly where that was! I handed her my 20$ Gift Card to the meat market and told her exactly where it was. She thanked me graciously and was on her way! Phew! That was a close one for sure! Luckily she was a cautious lady! Little did we know that this wasn’t the end to my chaotic day on Black Friday! Aspen and I rode home very fast! We didn’t want to have to tell mom and dad about what had happened, but we didn’t want to miss lunch either. I guess we would have to see if this day would take another turn....

The Worst Of the Best
I’m Phoebe Creek and I live in the glorious mountains of Breckenridge Colorado! My best friend is Lila Joonbugey and she calls me Pheebs for short. Lila has a faint western hint to her accent. Anyway, back to Colorado! It sure is beautiful here in June, but we had been cooped up in Mrs. Peterson’s old classroom for the whole year and we were growing quite bored of the same old schedule. Each and every one of us were ready for the huge change rising on our horizon…..middle school! We each had been anxious for the last day of school and now I was even more anxious for the last day of summer to arrive. I know it might sound odd to you, but I was bored of sitting at home all day babysitting my 5 year old little sister Kelley. She had been such a pain but luckily my best friend Lila had helped. The only “exciting” (non-boring) part of the summer was when we received letters from (SMS) Summit County Middle School! Mine read “Welcome to SMS, Phoebe! You are on A-Team and are in Ms. Strudel’s Advisory room #132. Talk over with your parents which classes are best for you. Extended Core or Core for English and Core, Extended Core, or Pre-Algebra for math. Choose based on your Academic Abilities! You can move above or below your level at any time of the year. I hope to meet you on Monday! Signed, Dodsworth VanSnout Principal of SMS”. After receiving the letter I was hoping to see what team and advisory Lila had gotten! Lila happened to be my at my house so she dashed home which was across the street and came back with her letter. She was out of breath and she said wearily, “I’m on A team! I got Ms. Strudel’s Advisory too!” This looked like good news for us so we celebrated with crinkly chips and lime cherry fizz! This had been a great week so far….until….Lila came over on Sunday. She announced something that would always get me upset all over again..and this is what she said. “Hey Pheebs! I picked Core for English and also I picked Pre-Algebra for math! What did you choose?” Oh no! “Oh, I picked Extended Core for English and Extended Core for Math!” I said wearily. “Oh darn! Well you know how bad I am at writing Pheebs! I can barely come up with a good metaphor or simile! Don’t be mad okay?” How could I not be mad! That would mean I would have two whole classes without my best friend Lila by my side. I didn’t need her anyway I guess. She was right though, she was SO bad at writing! She wouldn’t survive in Extended Core English! I wouldn’t survive in Pre-Algebra, so that was that. The rest of the day went by in a blur and as I went to bed before the first day of Middle School. I decided that I would try to make the most of it this school year. Then someone came a-knockin at my door at 9:30pm. It was Lila! I dashed down the stairs as fast as a winning rodeo horse and decided to let her in. Although I still may have been holding a grudge, it was worth a try. I opened the creaky screen door and heard the familiar rustle of the katydids (crickets) outdoors. I knew they were nestled in the pine trees somewhere! There stood Lila as wide awake as a night owl. “Golly Jeepers” I thought! What is she doing here? I let her in and closed the screen door with a loud THUD! Lila began talking in a fast manner….”You see so I’m scared I read an article about spiders before bed and so then I decided to ya know, go to bed and then I decided to---” “SLOW DOWN!” I screeched! She was getting me anxious all of the sudden! Besides, she was a waste of my time! I had to wake up at the early hour tomorrow and I needed all the sleep I could get! “Okay fine...so I read an article about spiders online before I fell asleep.” She said. “Why were you reading an article about a spider in the first place----okay never mind whatever! Continue with the story.” I said wearily. “Okay so yeah and the spider article said that you swallow 3-5 spiders in your sleep! I can’t sleep now! Not ever again!” She said anxiously. “Oh c’mon Lila you know that isn’t true! You’ll be fine! Besides spiders don’t even come inside till Fall! Now get some sleep….” I said. “Okay thanks Phoebe! See ya tomorrow!” She announced and skipped out of the room. I wished her good night and hopped into bed, my luscious, squishy, bed. I knew that tomorrow was an important day and I didn’t want to lose even one second of precious sleep.

Isabella Ritona Isabella Ritona Isabella Ritona Isabella Ritona Isabella Ritona Isabella Ritona Isabella Ritona Isabejjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjlla
Fourth Marking Period

*The music pumped throughout the whole studio as we were waiting for our cue. Our choreographer and dance*
*teacher Miss Bailey was the best at coming up with an upbeat while graceful performance for the annual recital.*
*It was a huge show put on at the High School and it was a huge deal for us dancers at our dance studio!*
*(aka LPA). The scholarship was also a big deal. If you were awarded one, your name was announced during the*
*annual recital and you also got all free dance classes next season. Dance classes got A LOT of money so that would*
*be majorly important to set off your dancing career and to also become a more serious dancer. Well anyway, we*
*were all fighting to get one, nearly doing every arabesque in ballet class pristine and every pirouette with pointed*
*toes. We did everything perfectly and we all were positive we were going to win a scholarship. Heading into ballet class*
*was a big deal today because it was only 5 classes away until the recital! Eeek! Today Miss Bailey worked us extra*
*hard! We had to do twenty Assemblés which nearly knocked us over! Then we had to do a few Pliés and Arabesques*
*and then we started working on our routine. After class I was so relived that I didn't have to go to another dance class.*
*This happened to be the only day of the week (Thursday) that I didn't have to go to two classes. Relief washed over me*
*as I realized I could just relax once I got home. Nothing could go wrong---or could it? I placed two silver dollar coins into*
*the "healthy" vending machine and buy some "healthy" Doritos, and apparently they are "low fat" and "Whole grain" oh*
*really? So now Doritos are healthy! What next, strawberries will be considered mammals? Okay, so maybe that was just*
*a little far fetched, but anything is possible right? Miss Bailey always tells us we can always learn something new if we*
*understand that anything is possible. Maybe she only means that in dancer terms!*

Vacation Thief
**Prolouge:**
I am feeling quite perplexed right now. A robber broke in last night! He stole the precious family
jewels and everything. They had been passed down from generation to generation and now….
they’re------- gone….so now, I’ll tell you this crazy story and how it all started. If you want to read more...
Click Here!

Poems

I am from Wilbur,
The beloved stuffed pig,
Who is my favorite character
In the movie Charlotte’s Web,
I am from learning to ski,
And falling many times,
With no rhyme and
learning how to ski a black diamond

I am from road trips,
With many souvenirs,
Washington D.C. aquariums,
And fun trips to Breckenridge,
With skiing in snow, blizzards, or flurries,
With little worries,
I am from trips to Baltimore,
With many aquariums,
And Bop Pizza,
And I am from Jim Thorpe,
Taking hikes up the mountains,
And eating gorp at the top

I am from Longwood Gardens
Walks throughout,
I am from Easter dinners,
With perogies and sauerkraut,
And I am from beach trips,
And sandy toes
And Nicola’s pizza
With the train above,
I’m from twin sister,
Staying up late chatting,
Till our parents yelled
And we talked and talked some more

I am from Food Network,
And delicious home cooked meals,
I’m from apple cake,
And homemade pizza,
Fresh from the oven made by my dad,
I’m from writing little stories,
While trying to illustrate them with flair,
but most of all,
I'm from a family with lots more memories to share

Sunset Fades
The sun seeps down low
As the vibrant colors intersperse
we say goodbye to the sun
And it’s finale is beautiful
With it’s pink blush, and orange
And watch in awe as it extraordinarily fade-fade-fades
And the light overcomes us with darkness
Although darkness surrounds
We only see the dim of the moon
As we say farewell to the day,
and welcome a new rise of the sun

Prank Me Once!
Prank me once
Prank me twice
then I'll prank you
you'll pay the price
I'll make you spew,
You'll turn blue
I'll steal your phone
and watch you groan,
You better not prank me
or you'll be sure to flee

so prank me once
prank me twice
then I'll prank you
with all my might
yes, that's right
It'll be quite a sight!
So don't you dare!
For I swear,
I won't prank you
if you don't prank me!
I suppose that's fair...

Can't Sleep
*Tick-tock*
*Tick-tock*
*I can’t sleep,*
*I toss and turn,*
*Moan and groan,*
*But sleep*
*won’t*
*come*

*Tick-tock*
*Tick-tock*
*I lay on one side,*
*I can’t*
*Get*
*Comfortable*
*I lay on another,*
*But sleep won’t*
*come*

*Tick-tock*
*Tick-tock*
*The clock*
*Strikes*
*Eleven*
*I count sheep*
*And think of dreams*
*But sleep*
*Won’t come*

*Tick-tock*
*Tick-tock*
*The clock*
*Reads*
*Seven,*
*I finally*
*was feeling*
*Tired*
*Why*
*Did*
*I stay*
*Awake*
*again?*