Coping with a Loss

Author's Note: This is my theme piece on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I know I write way too much about Harry Potter, but it's what I've been reading the most recently and have been able to write about it without much trouble. 

The closet doors slide violently open as you stop stomp all around, checking every corner of the house until you realize you need to give up searching. You cry from having a loved one die and have to face the fact they are gone. That’s coping with a loss. In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, there are a few of examples of this, and I think it’s a recurring theme throughout the book, and even series.

Harry had to deal with losing something very close to him near the end of the book; The headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore. Him practically being his mentor and primary source for help regarding Voldemort troubles, Harry had to deal with the hard reality that he no longer could go to him for assistance. He was gone. Harry was on his own now.

Although different, another loss dealt with in the novel would have to be security. Ever since the news was revealed that Voldemort truly had returned, countless deaths were reported all over the news. Even with a strict security system around Hogwarts, parents still didn’t feel it was safe. With the death eater attack upon the school,  no where felt safe at that point. Nearly all security was lost and everyone had to cope with the horror and dread of it being absent.

While it is from the same series, another novel with a similar theme would be Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Instead of coping with Dumbledore’s death rather, Harry deals with the loss of his god father Sirius. The book also dealt with insecurity like Half Blood Prince, however it’s not quite as literal. The ministry was coping with a lose in a sense of security in a mental state. They refused to believe Voldemort had returned. They were being very insecure and had to try to deal with it.   

In conclusion, coping with a lose is a common theme within the Harry Potter books and many others alike. Chances are, you yourself have dealt with a lose in your life, whether it be a dead pet, family member or even simply losing an object. Everyone needs to cope with a loss at some point. 

The Obvious Fall of a Villain

Author's Note: This is my prediction piece. I actually had this done for a while, I just forgot to post it.

Does the bad guy ever really win? I've been reading the Harry Potter series chronologically since 6th grade. Having read 5 of them and being on the brink of finishing the 6th, I think I've gained an understanding of the series at this point. With the 7th being the last book, there is a lot for it to wrap up. Although I'm not very informed about the book,  I practically know is going to happen. Voldemort is finally going to get defeated for good in some shape or form. 

Ever since the first book, Harry Potter has always had something to do with Voldemort revolved around the story or conflict. Whether it be the first book where Harry is just figuring out about Voldemort, or the 4th book where Harry meets him in his full, reborn form, he always seems to be relevant. With the 6th book, Harry learns the origin of Voldemort and lots of important information about him. This origin would obviously lead up to one big finale, otherwise it's placement would be practically pointless.

Furthermore, Harry has a burning hatred for Voldemort. He wants to avenge his parents and all the people he had crucially murdered.  He want's to end all the dark and depressing times in the wizarding world. Harry always get's a fierce-full heroic rage whenever he battles him.  You can tell he's not going down without a fight and isn't going to let Voldemort win.

For the most part, if you look at almost any story you'll find that the antagonists will always be defeated within the final chapter of the series especially in fantasy. A good example is the Emperor from Star Wars. Similar to Voldemort in the sense of being an evil, pale, nearly inhuman being always seeking power and death; The Emperor was eventually thrown over by the end of the trilogy. The bad guys pretty much never win in these type of situations. 

I know Voldemort is going to lose. How exactly? I'm honestly not completely sure but from what I've heard and knowing J.K. Rowling, it's going to be something I would have never predicted in a million years.  All I know is that it's going to happen. Who would blatantly have the main character die to the villain? 

Retelling of Harry Potter 4

Authors Note: This is a retelling of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.

This year at Hogwarts a dangerous competition is being held at the school with 2 other visiting schools. Students are allowed to enter the competition, but they have to be at least 17 years of age. To enter, you need to place your name in the Goblet of Fire. If anyone under the age of 17 tries to enter, it won’t work. However, mysteriously Harry’s name is drawn out of the Goblet of Fire regardless when he didn’t even try to enter nor have the appropriate age. Harry must fight in the competition, not only to win, but survive.  However, Harry will soon figure out who put his name in the Goblet, and how much more complex their plan really was. 

From Newcomer to Hero

Authors Note: This is an essay about the character development of Harry from the Harry Potter books.

Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series has gone through quite a lot. He started as a lonely, innocent orphan boy who lived with a crude Uncle and Aunt who couldn't care less about him. Harry had no friends and no one knew or cared about who he was. He was a complete nobody. His cousin got all the attention and love, and got tons of presents on his birthday. The best Harry ever got for his birthday was old, dirty socks. While Harry was treated rather poorly, he still usually did as he was told.  He rarely ever talked back or yelled.

When he found out about the Wizarding World and his fame, he couldn't believe it. "I'm not a wizard," He said. "I'm just Harry."Harry has never been used to fame or attention. He's been a no one his whole live. Everyone gapping at the mere sight of him everywhere he went, pointing at his scare amazed, it was quite an unexpected shift in gears.

Though throughout the course of the series, Harry did get used to this shift. From saving the school and people's lives a few times, he understood his fame from that point. He developed a bravery to protect his school, family, and friends. While he did get used to his attention, he still remained very modest. But his attention was not always positive. At one point, everyone but his family and friends thought Harry had gone mad. Newspapers, to quiet conversations in hallways, everyone feared he was crazy. As a result,  this caused Harry to start getting a quite an awful attitude.

He screamed at his friends for not talking to him at all during the summer after witnessing a terribly dark ending to his 4th year. He talked back to stuck up teachers and threw tantrums at those that claimed he was crazy. "I'm not lying!" he bellowed with rage, but the teachers didn't want to hear it. Of course, this caused Harry to earn many detentions. He was fed up with everything and everyone. Harry would never dare act in such a way in his first year.

If you pay attention, Harry's character is also quite reminiscent of Link from the Legend of Zelda game stories; although they are also 2 different characters at the same time. Both of them are orphans, but Link isn't exactly introduced to a fantasy land. Link already lives in that land, he is just introduced his destiny to be a hero. However the contrast still remains. Both Link and Harry start out as young, uninformed boys who only wish to make it through live. Both of them end as being brave, heroic, modest and even aggressive boys who swear to protect their family and friends. Even if it means death.

Harry isn't a young innocent child anymore. He isn't afraid to stand up for himself and his friends or get angry. While Harry still keeps himself as a modest, kind kid, one thing is still for sure. Harry sure isn't the same little boy he used to be when he first arrived at Hogwarts.

Patriot's Pen 2012

Why are rights so twisted during this time? Okay, I am from the future in 2012. The bill of rights you have been working on is very successful in the future, so I thank and congratulate you on that. However, you may notice how a lot of the actual people of your country never got much of a say in this bill. Believe it or not, in the future, everyone in America has equal rights. Yes, that includes women and other races. We should have started that way. 

Why is slavery okay? If you believe in equal rights for everyone, why does that only apply to white people? However I do understand slaves are what you rely on for work. If you were just to set them free, no work would get done. But like I said before, everyone in the future has freedom. If you don't give the slaves get freedom, then a civil war will be had over it. Now that doesn't mean you have to just let them go all at once and stop working. What I would suggest is slowly give them freedom, or in other words, get easier on them over time. Maybe even pay them eventually? You got a lot of money anyway don't you? 

Furthermore with equal rights, like I said before, let women have a say in this. Freedom isn't restricted to men. If you give women equal rights now, we won't need to go through the trouble later. Women are people too and deserve the same exact rights as you. Let them give their thoughts and ideas to the government.  

Doing this will likely fix so many issues. No civil war, little to no racial fights, and overall equality. We won't need to alter the rights that much later on, if at all. This country will start out a true free country. Not just free for rich white men. Everyone. Black, poor, female, everyone.  

The Power of Laughter

Authors Note: This is a Cause and effect of the Disney Pixar animated movie: Monsters Inc.

In Monster’s Inc, monsters rely on the power of screams of children to power everything in their world. Monsters’ jobs are to scare the children in their door. With each scare, they get screams, which work as power for the world. However, in this world, children and humans are forbidden and monsters are ironically afraid of children. One day,  the main characters, Sully and Mike, get themselves in a bit of an issue. A little girl, named Boo, follows Sully into the monster world without him knowing. Sully and Mike need to hide her or else they will get in big trouble. This caused them to change their daily lives and focus on not getting caught. By the end of the movie, the Monster World realizes they don’t need to scare the children for energy. They instead found that laughter was as strong, if not stronger that screams.

Boo following Sully effected the monster world. If Sully never got in the whole incident with Boo, he and the monster world would never find out that children are harmless.  They would continue scaring children instead of making them laugh. The monster world would never know that they don’t need to be afraid of children. They’re power wouldn’t be supplied as well as opposed to laughter.  

Harry Potter 5 conflict

Author's Note: This is a response piece on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix about the main conflict.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the main conflict in the beginning is a Person vs. Society. In the beginning almost everyone, including the government or Ministry of Magic, is against Harry. Harry has discovered Voldemort’s return but everyone refuses to believe him. The ministry even ends up taking over Hogwarts and making the school go mad with all the uptight rules.  Harry also is in a bad mood throughout most of the book, so it also has some Person vs. Self in there too.

The conflict get’s resolved by Harry proving Voldemort had returned and from the ministry leaving the school. Dumbledore earns is rightful place as headmaster of the school and Professor Umbridge, a lady from the ministry gets fired. Harry is still not in a great mood by the end of the book, but he’s not nearly as stressed as in the beginning.   

Kidney Surgery

Author's Note: This is a short essay about the time I got my kidney removed.

When I was born, apparently something was wrong with one of my kidneys. Later when I was 4 I was told I had to have surgery for it. I was really nervous. I remember being in the hospital for probably a week. The first night I slept there, my mom slept in the same room as me on a booth chair. It was really dark. They had a lot of wires strapped on me to keep track of my health. Most of the wires were  strapped  to my arms and wrists. Slowly overtime, my arms started to itch. I scratched it seamlessly for a bit. Although by the morning, I found out apparently I did more than just scratch it. Some of wires were all messed up and I didn’t have most of them on me anymore; I think I bled a bit too! But all was well and I don’t remember getting in much trouble, I didn’t know any better anyway. I was only 4 after all.  

Within a few days of laying on a bed, it was already time for the surgery. I remember nothing of that day other than when the operation was over. I remember waking up being dizzy and finding it hard to walk. Later I recovered and was able to walk fine. When I looked at my belly I saw stitches around my belly button. I thought it made it look like a sun, with stitches being the light. Those stitches are still there to this day, and will be there forever. Later on the way home my family told me when they gave me the medicine to put me asleep, I was acting very loopy. So loopy I was talking to the little animals on my bed sheet! I remember absolutely none of this.

Having surgery was one of the biggest things to happen to me in my life. To this day, my mom doesn’t want me playing any dangerous sports to potentially break my remaining kidney. That means no football, wrestling, or hockey. That’s okay with me though, I never really cared for those sports that much anyway.  While the whole experience of surgery was very blurry, I’m going to remember it forever. It’s had a huge impact on my life. 

Harry Potter 5 Retelling

Author's Note: This is a short retelling of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for a book ad project.

The book Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is the 5th book in the series. The book starts out right after the 4th one, with Voldemort returning from a downfall. Harry claims Voldemort is back to everyone, but everyone but his family and friends thinks he's gone mad. A women from the Ministry of Magic, the main people who refuse to believe Voldemort is back. She always punishes Harry for what he claims. She eventually even gets the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the school, fired. Eventually she ends up substituting him. By the end of the book, Voldemort is finally exposed and after several months of torture, everyone believes Harry.  

I recommend this book to anyone who like fantasy and or the other Harry Potter books.

3 Truth and a lie piece

Authors Note: This could be a lie, it could be the truth. Can you tell which?


*BUCK* *BUCK* The car doors slammed shut. 8 years ago, in 2004, my dad, my brother and I were about to leave to drive to Canada. For a few years, my dad had gone to Canada yearly, sometimes bringing my brother Sam. I always asked my dad if I could come with, but he always said I was too young. While I didn’t get to go, at least he usually would bring back a souvenir for me. Finally, this was the year I got to go. We drove out of the driveway, our car packed.

The drive to Canada was long, but that was fine. My brother had a TV and Playstation 2 set in the back of the Car. I watched him play it the whole ride, occasionally getting to play if it was a 2 player game. It was really awesome. After about 2 hours we saw our car cross the borderline.
“Wow!” I thought. “I’m out of America!”

We drove for a few more hours, finally stopping at a cabin near a lake. As we stepped out of the car the sweet smell of sap from pine trees commenced. After we got all are stuff set inside the cabin, we got ready to start fishing. For the next week, all we did was sleep, eat, and fish. We caught a lot of fish and ate all our rewards for dinner every night. I hope can go to Canada again someday. It’s nice to change scenery a bit.

The Amazing Story of Andrew

 Authors Note: This is a simple story about Andrew.

One day Andrew was on an Island. Andrew saw a bunny. He followed the bunny on top of a mountain. When he got to the top, the bunny was gone. Andrew was sad. He then saw a baby. He followed the baby to the other side of the mountain near a cliff. It was crying. When he caught up to the baby, it disappeared. Andrew was frustrated. He was about to shout, but then he saw a pegasus pony flying. He stared straight up at it as it flew and flew and flew, its mane flowing the the wind. The flying pony majestically flew over a lake under the cliff. Andrew tried to follow the pony, but fell off the cliff doing so. Andrew’s heart jumped as he woke up.

Season Finales

Authors Note: This a a prargraph about season finales.

Season Finales. They are the ending of a season of a show. Sometimes finales are simple and be act like an average episode. But other times they are huge and try to make the last episode as enjoyable and epic as they can. I think that’s one of the best ways to end a season. Leave room for more, leave cliffhangers for people to think about during the wait until next season. Make people say “that was one great way to end a season” and keep them begging for more.

Authors Note: This is just a simple description of a sandwich. 

What is a sandwich? A sandwich is one of the most common foods in America. There are normal sandwiches, burgers, subs, and more! Sandwiches are probably the main trademark of food for lunch, but they can still be enjoyed for dinner. What is your favorite kind of sandwich? Meatball subs, cheese burgers, and grilled cheese are some of my favorites.

Angel the Bunny

Authors Note: This isn't anything special, this story isn't suppose to be taken seriously. Its just a stupid short story I made.

There once was a Bunny named Angel. The bunny lived in the magical land of Equestria. Angel may sound sweet and kind, but in reality, Angel is actually quite mean. Every-bunny hated Angel. One day Angel was hungry. Angel saw his neighbor Ken with a carrot. Angel stole the carrot. Ken was mad. Ken told a dragon. The dragon stomped on Angel. The end. 

Sematic Devices examples

Metaphor – Look beyond what you seek.

Simile- the door screamed at him as he opened to door

Personification- the ball punched him in the gut

Hyperbole- that was like, a million years ago

Pun – you could say he’s quite the punny  one isn’t he?

Oxymoron – They were frozen from the chilling winds.

Irony – A police officer is pulled over for going too fast.

Will you be a hero?

Authors Note: This essay is in response to the article "No Escape (hero)." I didn't have that much in response to the article other than one statement so I feel this got a litte repetitive. But I tried my best.

What if you had to risk your life for somebody else’s? Would you do it? What if you didn’t save them and you had to remember that for the rest of your life. You could have saved them, but you didn’t want to risk your own life.  This is what Hoip “Ali” Swaby had to decide in a short amount of time. When a few workers (including Ali) were working in a tunnel in Massachusetts, there was a breach of water in which filled the tunnel up quickly.

Ali was lucky that he was able to get to a man cage, which another co-worker was operating above them, before his other co-workers. He tried to get their attention but they couldn’t see him or hear him. The cage was already going up. In a situation as lethal as this, workers are supposed to evacuate as soon as possible, but Ali wasn’t going to leave them down there and let them die. He went back down and got them out just as the water was up to their necks. What if he hadn’t done that? How would he go on knowing that it was his fault they died?

This kind of situation is always risky. You can’t be selfish or else you’ll feel guilty. You could be brave, but you could end up dying and end with no one alive. The worst part is how much time you actually get to make your decision.  What if the next time you’re on a cruise the boat crashes into another ship and starts to sink? You would be lucky enough to be at the top of the ship, but your friend is stuck inside were the water is floating in! You could stay where you are home free and wait for the emergency boats to go, or you could save your friend stuck inside the flooding ship. Either way you wouldn’t have much time to think at all and you’d be under a lot of pressure.

So what will you do if you ever end up in a situation like this? Either way can end up bad but will you take the chance? Will you be a coward and feel guilty the rest of your live? Or will you be a savior of a soul. Will you be a hero?

Different Styles of Writing

Authors note:


I wrote this analysis as a response to Barn Burning by William Faulkner. I tried to understand this book, but I couldn't enough to make a good essay and know what I was talking about. So due to that, I just decided to write about how I didn't understand some other authors' writing. I wanted to actually write more about the story, but I don't know how to make a good response to something I don't understand.  


   You’re at your local library, looking for something new. You see a row of books you’ve never heard of before. You decide to give them a try. For others, reading classic, old, or different books is a treat. It can be an exciting way to get entertainment and try something new. To see what other kind of books are out there. But unfortunately for me, it’s just not always as simple to pick up some book and read it. I feel like a lot of writers just have a different writing style that I can’t always understand.

   Barn Burning by William Faulkner is a good example of this. I personally didn’t really know what I was doing when I picked this book. I guess it would be good to read something different that wasn’t too big of a book to read. This story takes place near the Civil War era. I could tell it was either way since they were talking about slaves a lot. This book also is relatively old too; the copyright says 1939 and renewed in 1967. Anyway it mainly just has to do with a Father and his family moving to supposedly Mexico due to the Father being acquitted of Burning a Barn. From there I couldn’t tell much what was going on. All I could think was what was that about or who’s that or since when were they there? This sequence usually seems to happen a lot whenever I read these kinds of books. I find the writer’s style of writing to just be confusing at times.

   Although I said I didn’t know what was going on, I could uncover that they went to some place where there’s someone called “Major de Spain.” His youngest son ended up running away out of suddenly losing loyalty for his father. He ran to these hills and he walked in the woods as a cliffhanger. That’s really all I could really make out of it. I just found it very confusing.

   So in conclusion, I guess this story just isn’t really my cup of tea. If there was any purpose of this story, I’d say it’s either to show some issues that may have happened during the Civil War or just show how fast loyalty can change. But as I said before, I really just couldn’t get a good feel for this one. I just find that sometimes I don’t always like a different style of writing from different writers.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best book in the series.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the 4^th installment of the Harry Potter books. It is one of and probably the longest book in the series other than Deathly Hollows. J.K. Rowling’s writing is probably the most vivid and exciting in this book out of all the others before it. Harry’s struggle with friendship, mystery, and championship is a story like no other. With it being a long and vivid book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best book in the series that I’ve read so far.

J.K. Rowling’s writing overall in any book is quite unique. So far every book in the series has been in 3^rd person, however, they always seem like they are in Harry’s perspective; almost as if in 1^st person. Not only that, but sometimes, it seems to be going with you almost as if it is in present tense opposed to past tense. For instance; sometimes the narrator will be talking about what’s going on and then start seeming as if it’s Harry’s thoughts. Then the description is cut off by an event going off which is similar to interrupting Harry’s thought process. In this book it especially shows this a lot more than compared to the earlier installments.

There are many lessons taught in this book. One is about friendship. In the beginning Ron gets mad at Harry because he always gets all the attention. He thinks that he put name in the goblet of fire when he was too young, but Harry pledges multiple times that he did not. For a lot of chapters the fight goes on. Soon Hermione knocks some sense into them. Thus, the lesson is sometimes you need to trust your friends and not get jealous.

Another lesson taught in this book is related to trust. There are 3 schools coming together to compete in a tri-wizard tournament. Harry and Ron don’t trust the other schools because they are suspecting that one of their leaders put Harry’s name in the goblet of fire. In turns out that the players of the tournament were on his side after all, and none of the schools put his name in the fire. Hermione also went to the prom with one of the champions. She trusted him. 

In conclusion, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best book that I’ve read from the series. Although some might say Deathly Hollows is the best, I haven’t gotten that far in the series yet. None the less, Goblet of Fire is still one of the best books in the series and is my favorite right now.

Winter Coming late

While the winter snow has come a little late

It still makes up for all the wait.

The snow has come

And now it’s here

So now winter doesn’t feel as weird

Without the snow how could it be?

Winter without snow seems strange to me

So while the cold could be a bother

For me it’s something like no other.

By Simon K.

Gaming's Mascot: Mario

Mario; the mascot of Nintendo, and maybe even of video games in general, has come a long way since his debut in the eighties on the original Donkey Kong arcade machine. Mario originally started as a carpenter in Donkey Kong. He had the simple name of “Jump man” back then. His goal was to save “the lady” from the gorilla named Donkey Kong. Later on, he was named Mario in Donkey Kong Junior. After that there came a game called “Mario Brothers” in which Mario brought his brother, Luigi, to fight multiple creatures coming out of the sewers. This is the first time Mario was considered a plumber instead of a carpenter. He was also considered an Italian-American for the first time. After that on the Nintendo Entertainment System (Fami-com in Japan) Nintendo’s first home console, Mario got a port from his arcade machine game named “Super Mario Brothers” which is probably the most familiar game in the Mario series. Super Mario Brothers was also, in a way, a new genre as well. It was probably one of the first side scrolling plat formers. For a long time, Super Mario Brothers was the most selling video game of all time; later being beaten by Wii Sports at least 20 years later. Even so The Mario franchise is still the best selling video game franchise of all time.

For the next 25 years, Mario was featured in over 200 video games, such popular games including: Super Mario Brothers 2 & 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, and New Super Mario Brothers DS & Wii.  This list of titles is considered the original Mario series so far, and it is still being continued to this day. But what other games has Mario been in that isn’t a 3D or 2D plat former? Well his Mario Kart series is very popular as well and they have had 7 games in the series so far. Other than that, Mario has appeared in lots of genres from sports games, Role Playing Games, Party games, puzzle games, and even fighters.

Mario is the bestselling video game franchise of all time. He’s probably the most common known character in video games and will continue his legacy for a long time.

Writer's Block

Liam stared at the blinking space bar on Microsoft Word on his old, slow Windows XP computer. Writers block; his worst nightmare. If only he could think of something to write about. Liam Norris is a famous writer. He’s won many awards for his sci-fi fantasy series called The Men on Mars. He is a skinny, tall shy man in is twenties. Liam glanced at the clock sitting on the table in the corner of his bedroom.  2:38 am it read.

“Ugh I need a break,” He mumbled in a sigh as he grabbed his once warm coffee. He scratched his face which was covered in after shave. Liam was under quite a lot of stress. He just finished his Men on Mars trilogy and with all the praise the series got, everyone can’t wait for his next book. He walked out and dumped his drink in the kitchen sink. When he walked back in his room, he snatched his acoustic guitar off his bed. Not only was Liam a gifted writer, he also could play music pretty well. Sometimes playing music helped him calm down and relax. He’s found his best ideas while playing guitar. Over half of the concepts from his sci-fi books were found through music. All he does is play a simple tune and whatever it reminds him of he turns into a story. One time he played a calm tune that turned into a fast, upbeat, intense song that gave him the idea for a war on mars; the whole concept of his famous books.

But now, Liam can’t think of any song to play. He’s played so many tunes; he simply can’t think of any more right now. He decided he should just get some sleep. While his dead line is about a month away before his publisher demands a rough copy, he still needs sleep. He remembered he was going to meet up with his brother Dustin tomorrow. Liam lazily walked over to the light switch, placed his guitar in the corner of the room, shut the door, and collapsed into his bed. Not a second after he hit the bed, he was already asleep.

Liam found himself in at the studio of the publisher in a chair in front of his boss. His boss shouted at him.

“Mr. Norris! Your rough draft was due today! I told you that you need a completely new concept for me. Something that isn’t fantasy! You’re telling me you don’t have any thing for me?” He shouted.

“I-I-I had writers block!” Liam stuttered. “All I’ve ever written about is fantasy! I-I can’t think of anything else!” His boss stood up and pointed his finger at Liam.

“Well I think that you need to get out of your fantasy land!” said his boss as he hit a big red button on his desk with the side of his fist. A buzz sound alarmed as a trap door beneath his chair collapsed. Liam screamed as he fell infinitely.

Liam awoke and found himself in his bedroom once more. It was alright. He still had at least a month. He glanced at his clock. 11:29 am it read. Crap! I forgot! He thought. Dustin’s coming over for lunch! He’ll be here any minute!  Liam jumped out of bed. It’s a good thing he slept in his clothes last night, because he didn’t have to change. He quickly slid on his socks and shoes, grabbed his jacket and before he knew it, the door bell had already rang. Liam nearly tripped dashing toward the door. He pulled the door knob.

“Hey Liam!” said a skinny young man about 2 inches shorter than Liam.

“Hi Dustin…” Dustin’s mouth opened wide in a shocked kind of way. Liam glanced down and saw that his jacket was on backwards and his shoes were on the wrong feet. He quickly realized what “wowed” him.

“Oh uh…sorry I was kinda in a rush, I just woke up…” he said as they stepped back in and he fixed his jacket and shoes.

“What? You just woke up?” said Dustin. “Did you stay up all night?”

“I had writer’s block all night. I couldn’t think of anything to write. I stayed up ‘til like 2.” Dustin had a worried look on his face.

“Well maybe you just need a break, that’ll take your mind off of it” said Dustin. “Who knows maybe you’ll find some ideas or something,”

“Yeah whatever. Where are we going?”

“You wanna go to Mac’s? I heard they have some new grilled cheese.”

“Sure,” they walked outside in the chilly snowing winter weather. Dustin is Liam’s younger brother. They are only a year apart from each other. Some even mistake them as twins they look so alike.  Liam hopped in his little brother’s truck in the passenger’s seat. For the next 15 minutes, they talked about sports, news, politics and other stuff. Dustin brought up that he proposed to his girlfriend last week.

“Congrats man! When’s the wedding?” said Liam smiling.

“Oh it’s not until July. I’m not sure if I can afford the wedding yet though.”

“Ah. I haven’t seen Hannah in a while.”

“She still in college?” 

“Yeah, it’s her last year. I think she’s getting into writing”

“Cool.” Hannah was Liam girlfriend. He hasn’t seen her for a few weeks since she’s been busy finishing collage. He’s missed her a lot lately. 

“Here we are,” said Dustin as they drove up to the parking lot at Mac’s.

They walked inside in the snow and squinted their eyes so snow didn’t poke their eyes.  When they got inside they both ordered the grill cheese and sat down in a table near the window. Frost covered the window.

“So about that story of yours,” said Dustin. “You really have no ideas?”

“Nope,” Liam replied. “All I’ve ever written about is fantasy; well except for in elementary school and middle school. But all my good writing has been sci-fi or fantasy related. Last night I had a nightmare about it.”

“Well,” said Dustin as he took a bite of grilled cheese and swallowed it. “Have you ever thought of writing about your situation and turn it backwards?”

“What?”

“You know, instead of having a guy that needs to play music to write books, make it a guy that needs books to write songs or something.”

Liam felt as though a light bulb just lit above his head.

“Dustin….you’re a genius!” Liam nearly screamed and a few people in the joint glanced at him. “Come on let’s finish eating, I gotta get home and write that story!” When they both got home, they both started writing the story. The main character was Mail; which is Liam spelled backwards. It was about a song writer that has to write a story for every song he writes; because every song tells a story.

When the book was released, it was entitled Singing’s Block. It was written by Liam & Dustin Norris. The book was a hit. It was the New York Times best seller. They split  all the money. Dustin was able to afford the wedding. Later Liam got an e-mail from Hannah early in the morning. Hey Liam!. Can you help me? I’ve got writer's block.

The terrible life of an MP3 player

Author's Note: I wrote this on my MP3 player I got for Christmas

I started as a mere bit of plastic. Living a normal life as piece of plastic would. But then the machines; they kidnapped me from my family and friends. They mixed me up with lots of other plastics, metal, glass and some strange tech in some scary facility. It was a painful experience. Their claws poke at me and turned me upside down. I went through countless modifications. They then gave me a glossy look and had me play music; not that I would know. I don’t have ears or a microphone for that matter. They packed me in a plastic container and stuffed me in a box with other people that look just like me. Clones!

I stayed in the box with my clones for what felt like months; it probably was. When I finally saw the light reflect off my screen, they pulled my clones and I out of the box. I saw a bright light. Was I in heaven? Is this what life after death is? They put me on a shelf next to my clones and other similar looking devices. Surely this wasn’t heaven. I was sure I was dead though. I waited there watching humans pass an occasionally pick me up and examine me. It was a dreadful and boring life. I waited there for a very long time. I watched my clones disappear and scream for help. Soon enough, I was the last one left. My horror was coming very soon. And then a lady saw me on the shelf. She picked me up and trapped me in a plastic bag.

I fainted of shock. I awoke to darkness. I could barely tell if I was actually looking at anything. I was wrapped inside some kind of deadly paper still in my container. I again waited…and waited…when would this end? Finally weeks later I was awoke once more buy a bright light. The humans had taken me out of my prison and plugged me into a computer; then realizing I had a port on the top of my head. Being plugged in the computer felt as though I had energy going through my head. I felt numb when they did it to me. I now live a life playing music; often in a pocket. Oh well. At least I can actually hear my music I have inside me…except that’s right. I can’t hear it. I still don’t have a microphone.