Josephine Tucker

The 7/11

I flinch as the car door slams, leaving an echo in my mom's minivan. The sound of mom's high heels clunking on the pavement leaving only a faint whisper in the crisp, autumn breeze. It was like a ghost town in the parking lot of the 7/11. Not another living person for miles.
I slouch back down in my seat, wishing that I was at home, texting my friends. That feeling was over when I heard a slight thump in the trunk. Glancing back and realize that it was just my imagination. I almost am asleep when I heard it again. This time I know something was up.
I click off my seat belt and swing open the car door. Walking to the back of the car I notice that the trunk is open. "Hello?" I ask, shivering as I mindlessly look around. I didn’t know what to do so I wandered into the 7/11, looking for my mom.
The lights were off and no one was to be seen. "Mom? Where are you?!" You could hear the worry in my voice. *Ok, keep calm* I think as I start to head toward the restrooms. *Maybe she is going to the bathroom.* The bathroom door swings to a close and I look around. I walk to the far end and back. When I am back to the front, I notice that the mirror has a slight fog on it.
I take my sleeve and wipe it off. There, staring me right in the face of the mirror, was a man dressed in all black with a red stain smudged across his front. I could barely get out a scream before my whole world went black.

**The Oak Tree**
**The wind wisped through her hair. “Ugg,” she thought as she once again swiped her hair off of the book that she had found lying in the leaves, under a large oak. She glanced upward at a squirrel peering down at her from the tree.**
**Immediately upon glance, the squirrel scampered off. How odd, she thought as she looked at the book. It felt like it was made of velvet. For some reason the book gave the girl a slight happiness inside, as if it was Christmas. Anxious, she slowly flapped the cover open.**
**When she did, darkness swept over her and the oak tree began to shake as if it were a rattlesnake about to strike. Without thinking, she started to sprint toward the forest ahead. The farther she ran, the farther away the forest got. Just as she was about to give up, the ground beneath her cracked open as if an earthquake had just happened.**
**It sucked her in like a vacuum and all you could hear was a tiny squeak from the girl as she plummeted deep into the ground. “Once again," the grass hissed as it closed back up, leaving the one book back in the leaves as it was before.**

The Mystery in the Library

“Alright, you are all set,” says Mrs. Handle as I grab my book off of the counter.
“Thank you,” I mumble under my breathe. I walk over and sit in the comfy chairs in the corner of our school’s library. I flip to the first page of the book. The Hunger Games, I read from the cover page.
I am just about done the first chapter when a book falls from one of the shelves. How odd, I think as I tiredly stand up like a cat that got awakened from his nap. I crouch down and grab the book. There was no title nor an author.
I went to go put it back on the shelf, but I noticed that there was a dark hole where the book seemed to have fallen from. I start to pull off more and more books until one of the clicks to a stop just as it was going to fall off the shelf.
I stumble backwards and trip on a chair. I land with a thump. My head spinning, I sit back up and see that the bookcase has opened up on the sides. I stand and start to walk back towards it. Suddenly, it closes.
I grab all of my things and fumble back to my locker. When I close my locker, Katrine is there to greet me.
“Where were you?” she asks, curiously.
“Library,” I answer. I tell her about what had happened. “We should check it out tomorrow.”
The next day, Katrine and I wander to the library. I show her exactly what I did and when the door opened, we quickly scampered in. The silence is stalking me as the door closes on our backs.
The walls are lined with books with golden writing on them as if they belonged to a royal family.

2nd Marking Period Starts here

Christmas Lights

I open the box that were stored in my garage for what seemed like ages. A storm of dust hit me like a slap in the face. I bend over, coughing. I straighten my posture and gingerly look into the box.
The red and green lights that we hang up every year were tangled into a massive heap and just looking at it told me that this was going to take a while. I sigh and wrap my arms around the box. I shuffle out of the garage and to the front of my house. The box drops with a clunk as I study the front of the old building.
I picture in my mind what I want it to look like. I glance downward to the tangled mass of glass and wires. It took me 45 minutes to unknot everything. I was ready.
I swiftly run back inside the garage to take out the ladder. The metal was as cold as ice. I take it back out and place it at the roots of an evergreen tree that towered above. I scamper up the latter like a mouse. Starting from the top, I go all the way around the branches until I hit bottom.
I run to the electrical outlet on the side of the house and plug in the extension cord. Then, I snake the bright orange cable to the tree. My eyes filled with hope, I yank the two cords together only to find that it doesn’t reach far enough. Fury rages in my eyes.
I throw the cables on the ground and stomp like an elephant to my porch. I sit down ferociously. Just as I am about to lose it, I feel a wet lick on my calf. Confused, I glance downward staring straight into the eyes of a puppy. All of the rage immediately floods from my body, and I pet the adorable thing.
“You are as cute a million kittens in a box!” I squeal.
Then, the puppy runs over to the two cables and yanks them together with her teeth and paws. I am too shocked to move so the puppy just wandered up to me and started licking my hands.
After about ten minutes of this, I finally decide to go inside. The dog comes in with me and I kneel down to her height, my hands still as wet as the ocean. “I am going to call you Shock.”

Blue Sky

Chapter 1

I scowl as I drag my bags into our dusty new house. As I creek open the door, I storm of dust slaps me in the face. Choking, I glance up to see my aunt with her bright smile that she always has.
“It’s wonderful,” she comments. Just then, Simon (Aunt Cora’s boyfriend) shuffles in holding three large bags. Another cloud of dust forms as Simon plops down our luggage.
“I think that we can make it work,” Simon pipes up. “If we put the coaches over there and the T.V. there… it will be perfect!”
“Yep,” I mumble, unimpressed. Chloe walks in almost bumping into me as she stares mindlessly at her phone. I don’t get it. What exactly is so important on that phone? Whatever it is, it seems to be captivating her.
“Analia honey, will you please bring your bags up to your room?” Aunt Cora sings. Without answering, I grab my packed bag and begin to slowly make my way up the creaky stairs. I pick a room to the left of the stairs. It has a window that looks right out into our neighborhood. I see a girl and her mother walking a dog together. I feel a pain in chest like somebody is stabbing me with a knife.
I immediately get over it when I see Aunt Cora standing in the doorway of my room. She strides over to me and gives me a weak hug. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright,” she promises. Perhaps I should try to believe her but I just can’t. When she leaves I start to unpack my bag.
I put clothes in the dresser and blankets on the bed. When I get to the locket that my mother gave me, I stop. I cradle it in my hands for a minute before I delicately place it onto the top of my desk. I am still staring at it when I hear ruckus from the room next door to mine. Silently, I sneak over there and glance through the doorway. Chloe is unpacking her bag, her face unreadable.
I decide to leave her alone so I walk across the hall to the other room that is being occupied by my aunt and her boyfriend. Aunt Cora is making the bed while Simon puts things into drawers. Nothing very interesting so I went down the stairs to grab my coat.
“I’m going for a walk!” I shout up to my aunt. The door screams as I firmly push on it. The crisp air is there to greet me as I stumble down the brick steps. I cherish every time I am alone. Sighing, I glance upward at the blue-grey sky.
I am startled by a sudden voice. “What are you looking at?”
I whip my head down so quick that I was a little dizzy. A boy on a bicycle is staring me in the face. “Nothing,” I answer him with a shrug.
He simply says nothing as he calmly gets off his bike and walks over to me. I watch as his head tilts back making him stare at the sky.
I was surprised that he wondered what I was looking at. Instead of storming away, I continue what I was doing. It felt nice to have some company. No moping around and feeling sorry for myself. I actually thought that I had a friend.
“What’s your name?” he asks, suddenly.
“Ummmm…” I am silent for a second. “I’m Analia.”
“Aaron,” he says, obviously relaxed and not tense like me.
Minutes went by. I felt so alive just standing here. The silence is finally broken when Aunt Cora shouts out the door, “Analia, come inside!” That is when I realize that Aaron is gone.
I am confused for a moment. It must have been my imagination, I thought to myself. I shuffle into the ajar door. I guess I will have to try to forget.

3rd Marking Period starts here

Blue Sky

Chapter 2

The next day I wake up at 9:00 am. My window is wide open allowing the crisp autumn air flow through like a river. I hear bicycle wheels, so I saunter over to the windowsill. Staring me right in the face is Aaron. I rush downstairs and out the front door, slamming it behind me.
“Follow me. I have something that I want to show you.” Aaron utters, excitedly.
I grab my bike and follow him down the windy streets that make up our neighborhood.
“Where are we going?” I shout at his back as we skid down the road.
“Just be patient,” he says, clearly annoyed. Just then Aaron makes a sharp turn to the right. The cement sidewalk turned into a dirt path and I could feel the rocks bump into my bicycle’s rubbery tires. A small stream was whistling alongside of the path and I felt the same warm feeling that I did just days ago. I cherished it.
My mind was brought back to Earth when Aaron’s tires squealed to a stop. Instead of stopping gracefully, I hit a rock and flew forward, into the mud.
“Are you alright?” Aaron asked, holding in laughter.
“I think so,” I grunt as I wipe the slimy mud off of my face.
“Here, let me help you up,” he reaches out his hand and I take it. “This is where I go to think.”
“I can see why,” I mutter. The sound of the birds make me feel relaxed and serene. Maybe this won’t be so bad. “So, what now?”
“I’ll show you.” Aaron starts to run off in the opposite direction that we came.
“Hey,” I huffed, trying to keep up. “Wait for me!” The rubber on the bottom of my sneakers thudded against the ground with every step. I come to a clearing and stopped. Aaron was gone. Again. This time I was going to find him.
I frantically search the trees for a grey sweatshirt. There was nothing. I heard a crunch of leaves coming from the woods. I sprinted as fast as I could toward the sound. I finally gave up and started walking back toward the clearing.
Suddenly, he dropped out from a tree in front of me. “AHHHH! AARON, YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH!!!!”
Aaron just fell on the floor, laughing. “You.. You should have seen your face!” He exclaimed while wiping tears of joy from his eyes.
I picked up a pine cone and chucked it at him. Unfortunately, it missed. “I’ll get you back once.”

Sherlock Life

SLAM! The door shuts loudly as the Older Girl steps out the door. Big Fluff and I stare out the window, barking our heads off as everyone gets in the Moving Thing With Wheels. As it pulls away from the house, I jump off the couch and plop myself on the fuzzy carpet.
Out of the corner of my eye I see something yellow. I rise and take cover behind the couch. It surely can’t see me back here. I get ready to attack. One… Two… Three! I pounce right on it! Shocked, it squeaks and I grab it in my mouth to silence it. When I am sure that it is dead, I put it down. For some reason, whenever it dies, it always comes back again and ready for another battle.
Exhausted, I stand up and linger toward my food dish. I stick my head into the bowl and take a bite out of my dinner. Nice and salty, just the way I like it. I hear Big Fluff come down the hallway and start into the kitchen, obviously looking for a fight.
I crouch down under the table that is as tall as a skyscraper and wait. I can just about make out Big Fluff’s feet and I don’t hesitate. I sprint out and gnaw on the leg. Big Fluff pushes back and skids out down the hall. I follow. Somehow, she loses me.
I take careful steps and finally see a shadow the size of an elephant. I run after it only to realize that it is a chair. I barely have time to turn before Big Fluff is on me. We roll around for a bit and then we both hear the garage door open.
We both rush to the sound and patiently wait until the door opens. Boy steps in and we cover him in a shower of licks. Next is Older Girl and Woman. Then, Man and Younger Girl. They are all happy, so Big Fluff and I are happy.

4th Marking Period Starts Here

Death By Cupcake

Katie stands sheepishly outside her front door. Once again, she had forgotten to put her key in her bag. She pokes the doorbell and waits for an answer. Nothing. Katie picks up her lunchbox and shuffles over to her garage door. She slides the cover off of the number pad and types in the code. The clash of chains from inside the garage comforts her.
Katie walks up to the door and twists the handle. The door squeaks open and she stumbles in. The lights are off and nobody is to be seen. “Hello?” Katie asks, nervously. No answer. That’s weird. They should be home. She thought. Maybe they are downstairs.
The stairs creak under Katie’s weight. She tries the light switch, but nothing happened. She started walking but froze. There, staring her right in the face, was her family’s (including her dog) cold, dead eyes. In their hands, were cupcakes with a bite taken out of each.
“AHHHHHHHHH!” Katie screams as she sits up in her bed. It takes five seconds for her to realize that it was a dream. Katie walks outside of her room and goes to the basement for a drink. The lights didn’t work. The air smelled of cupcakes.
And her family is on the ground, dead making Katie vow to never eat a cupcake ever again.

Five Months Later…

Katie returns the costumer's change with a weak smile. “Have a nice day, sir.”

“You, too.” He replies and stumbles away with the enormous box of donuts.

Katie shuffles back to the kitchen and finishes up the ordered batch of donuts with sparkling sprinkles. “These sprinkles remind me of…” She sighs with sadness as she remembers the day her family was poisoned with cupcakes. Katie finishes up and carefully places each and every cupcake into the box. She labels the box with the address of the customer and heads out the door.

Her bike is sitting in the bike rack, waiting to be driven. Katie warily sets the box on in the basket of her bike and straddles herself onto it.

With one last glance at the address, Katie is gone, in search of the location of the buyer. She makes eight left turns and seven right ones. She passes over a bridge and through a back alley way. The setting sun reflects off of the windows of apartments and blinds Katie. The bird calls present themselves as background music and the crickets are just starting to strum up for their nightly concert. No clouds gather in the clear dusk sky and the sound of planes crawls through Katie’s ears like someone walking in an echoing cave.

Katie finally comes to a stop at the foot of a driveway. The address is correct except it is not what she imagined. The property looks poorly maintained and the house itself is a creepy manor. Katie places her bike next to a trashcan and cautiously walks up the old wooden stairs. She plunged her figure into the doorbell socket and waits for an answer.

Katie’s heart thumps in her chest and she tries to stand straight with the box of donuts in her hands. Suddenly, a cat pounces at the window just above the door frame like a bird looking for prey. Surprised, Katie stumbles back a few steps. The door started to creak open and an old lady’s face peeks out.

“Oh deary me. I am so very sorry! He doesn’t usually act up like that. Oh! You must be the donut girl! Why don’t you come in for a drink?” The old women says.

“Ok…?” Katie manages out as she hands over the box. She follows the women inside and glares at the cat.

“Oh, don’t mind Mr. Puffles. He is just trying to say hi. In his...own way.” The old women sighs. “By the way, I’m Mrs. Camberley”

“Nice to meet you,” Katie says. “I’m Katie.”

Together they traverse to the kitchen where Mrs. Camberley pours a cup of lemonade.

“Here you go. Why don’t you take a donut as well.” She says.

“I can’t. It’s against the rules.” Katie answers.

“Well I guess it will just have to be our own little secret,” she said with a wink. With that, Katie opens the case and takes out a sparkling donut that looks like a star, lonely in the night sky.

Where I'm From

I am from pets,
from long drives to the beaches
I am from Cinnamon french toast,
with sugar like sand
I am from snow sparkling winters,
and clear sky summers
with birthdays dotted throughout.

I am from silly games at recess,
From mulch scraping my bare feet
I’m from yelling and screaming,
sadness and dreaming
I’m from mud on my Adidas,
tearing up the fields.

I’m from breaking my limbs,
From slipping and falling,
then getting back up
I’m from samples from Whole Foods,
melting on my tongue,
biting my taste buds.

I am from these moments-
stolen from the past-
kept in my heart-
trying to last