The Waiter

The Waiter

The rain beat hard on the window pane. She watched, waiting. Waiting for her lover to come home. Waiting to tell him how much she loves him. Waiting for him to pick her up and say how much he loves her back. But he never came.

It’s been three days since the accident and Haley Matthews has been sitting at her window, waiting for her fiancé to come home. She couldn’t believe that he was gone. Even at the morgue she refused to believe it was Billy in the morgue freezer. When the bed rolled out of the little shelf they keep bodies in, she simply said “So where’s Billy?”

She hasn’t eaten, hasn’t answered the door to anyone, and hasn’t bathed nothing. She will not move from the window because she still believes her fiancé will come home from work on this cold rainy night like he was supposed to do 3 nights ago. They were supposed to light the fire, pour some wine, and just sit by each other’s side as she told him the news about her being pregnant. But he still hasn’t come.

She sits there crying. Thinking about her baby. Thinking about the man she is to marry. Thinking of the family they are going to have. Where is he? she thinks to herself. Does he not love me? Why isn’t he coming home? And so there she waited.

11 days have gone by and she still sit there waiting. No real meals, just water, crackers, and a bit of cheese. She’s losing weight instead of gaining it. She’s not healthy. But she sits there waiting. Waiting for a man that would never come home to her.

13 days pass, and she’s very weak. She slowly drifts to a sleep that eventually kills her. As she drifted she thought “well now I can be with my fiancé, my baby too.”

On the fourteenth day she was found, a man had gone up her driveway, unlocked the door, to her body on the couch next to the sea-view window. It was her husband. He had been away on a business trip in Kentucky. Now he had come home to his wife dead next to the window.

She was so upset to hear he was leaving for a couple of days that she actually got sad enough to think of the worst- that her husband was dead. But now that he was home, with no wife, now no baby, he sat there for days and days and slowly died along his wife’s corpse, so they could truly be united once again.

kailene

The Project

The Project

The rain beat hard on the widow pane. She watched and waited. I couldn’t tell what she was staring at. I couldn’t stop staring at her. This project was stupid, but she was interesting. I didn’t really want to get to know her, but another part of me did. We didn’t t really hang around the same group of people, at all. I should probably go and ring the doorbell now. I walked to her front door. Before I could touch the bell, Ashley came rushing through the door, pulling me to her room. “Can we get this project done already? I have places to go and people to f***.” She was very open about everything, I should write that down. I started to write, and then she pushed me down on her desk chair. She sat down on her desk and asks, “So, Ben, what’s your favorite color?” “Green, but I think where supposed to be a little more specific.” I said as she wrote it down. “I forget the directions, can you tell me again.” She got up and went to a dresser. “We’re supposed to get information on each other as far as our views on life, our way of thinking, and what makes us different to others.” As I finished my statement, she began to take off her sundress and change into a really short skirt and a belly shirt. I covered my eyes like I was a little kid. “Really? You act like you’ve never seen a girl’s body before.” She said with an attitude. ‘I’ve seen a girl’s body before.” Yeah, in biology books, I thought to myself. “I just have respect for young ladies.” I said honestly. I saw her smile in her mirror for a split second, but her face went back to the way it always is. “You talk like you’re a virgin.” She said. There was an awkward silence. “Oh my gosh, you are a virgin!” She almost shouted. “Can you not tell the whole world, thank you!” I fought. “Why did you tell me then?” She implied. “I never told, I just didn’t lie to you when asked me.” I replied. “Why didn’t you lie?” she asked. “Lying is for cowards, let’s get back to the project, okay.” I said. After we were done, I learned a lot about her. She was just an insecure little girl looking for someone to give her attention. She was really sweet and loyal. I think I made friend out of her, I hope. She walked me to her front door. “So, I guess now we just have to use the information and put it into a video montage, right?” She asked. “Yeah, I can help you with that if you need any assistance.” I replied. “Sure. Ben?” She said. “Yeah?” She started acting shy and I knew something was up. “It’s really nice, like the way you treated me you know. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime.” I liked Ashley, but she wasn’t my type. I can see why she would ask me, though. Seeing as though it was refreshing for someone, especially a guy, to treat her with the respect she needs. “I would love to hang out with you.” I said, “Great, let’s go to the movies next Friday.” She said excited. “Ashley, I want us to go as friends, because I don’t think you need a boyfriend. I think you just need a friend.” Her smile faded, but it soon came back. “I think your right.” She replied. I smiled back. As I turned to walk she said something extremely shocking. “Hey, Ben, do want to f***, as friends.” She said. Her old self had come back. I turned around, “No!” I almost yelled. She began to laugh really hard. “I was just checking!” She said, laugh in harder. I began to laugh with her. After we calmed down she said, “I’m just joking. This is what friends do, right?” I smiled at her. “Yeah, this is what friends do.”

-Rohmee Mathe

Questions Answered

The rain beat hard on the window pane. She watched and waited. Christina hadn't seen her father since she was a baby, so she thought. One day he had just disappeared, well at least thats what her mother always told her. Christina was sixteen now. She had so many unanswered questions running through her mind. Her mother was locked up in her room because she didn't want to see him. She wondered why her mother hated her father so much. What could he have done? She felt pathetic for not knowing anything about her own father, but figured there was a reason no one had ever told her. She never really felt she even needed him, she had come this far without him so why should she need him now? She used to believe he was dead and well now she felt he might as well be. But she still was curious to know who he was, and why he wasn't in her life. Suddenly the doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. Christina was overcome with emotions. All the questions she had saved up to ask her father had left her mind and it was like they had never been there in the first place. She didn't know what to say anymore. She opened the door and was greeted by a tall man about 6 ft or so and a girl who looked to be about her age. "Christina..." he said, "Oh my God." Christina couldn't bring herself to say anything, she tried to speak but nothing came out. He reached out to hug her but Christina rejected him. Everything started coming out at once. "Don't touch me" she said, "Why didn't you come for me? Why didn't you want me? I hate you! " She hadn't realized it, but she had started to cry. "Christina please sit down" said the man who was supposedly her father, he didn't look very fatherlike to her, she didn't like the vibe she got from him and he didn't even resemble like her. She assumed her mother had been watching the whole time because she randomly heard her yell "Tell her everything, you disgust me, get out of my house, I don't know why I let Christina talk me into this." to be continued... -Breanne

Summer

"I never thought it would come down to this. I mean just because my mom and dad are split up now, doesn't mean that I have to go away for the summer." said Josie to her best friend Abigail. "You know its not that big of a deal really and no ones forcing you to go." said Abigail. "Ya, ya, I know but I'm still going to go. I'm just complaining thts all. And besides I haven't seen my uncle since I was like five years old. Maybe it'll be nice to visit him on his farm." said Josie. "Ya, so when you're at the farm, are you going to have to work ?" asked Abigail. "Probably, but I don't really care. Hey can you help me finish packing? I'm like already late for the train as it is" Josie said while packing up the rest of her stuff. Soon enough, Josie was on her a train headed for Maine. Wishing that the time would go by faster. As the train rolled into the station, she could she her Uncle Robert (Robbie for short). Once she got off the train, she ran over and gave him the biggest hug and said " Hey Uncle Robbie, I've missed you. I haven't been to the farm in ages, how is Aunt Mary?" asked Josie. "She's doing just fine, how's your Mother?" Uncle Robbie asked. "Oh, umm, she's doing better. I mean after everything going on with my dad..." Josie stopped herself then said " So are when are we going to the farm?". Her Uncle replied "Right now, come on, I have the car right over here." As they head to the farm in her Uncle's pick up truck, Josie dossed off into drem land. She only woke up to the sound of her Uncle closing the door. Then they headed off to the house where her Aunt was. Befor she could even open thw door her aunt came up to her and hugged her. Them said "My oh my how you've grown up. It seems as if just yesterday you were so little and sprinkling sugar everywhere pretending that it was fairy dust." Josie replied "Well I'm all grown up now". Things were quite for a moment until her Josie's uncle explained how hungry he was, so they went inside to eat. The next morning Josie went to work with her uncle on the farm. She and her uncle worked in the farm every day that summer. When it was time for Josie to go back home, she didn't want to leave. For the first time since her parents split, she finally felt part of a family and would always look forward to going back the next summer.
   --Haleigh

The Fortune Cookie

I opened my fortune. It read – your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: Say nothing to anyone. I crumbled up the small piece of paper and threw it into my bag without question. Of course that was made up, the fortunes from this restaurant never came true anyways, even the ones I hoped would, never did seem too. I continued to eat my dinner with my family, but I could only think about the fortune cookie and what it was telling me to do. What made this one different? I had received a fortune once a week for the past couple of years, ever since my family started ordering Chinese every Thursday.  I pushed the thought out of my head for the rest of dinner and decided I would distract myself with homework once finished. I unzipped my backpack and opened up my agenda book to see what I had to do, that’s when I saw the note. The note that hadn’t been there Friday afternoon when I jotted down my homework.  The note that read:

I’m not a very patient person. I don’t like to wait. You’ve taken much too long; I said you must leave immediately. Pack your bags now and head downstairs, you don’t want something bad to happen to your family.

Listening to whoever this mystery person was, I packed my bags and headed down the stairs quietly so no one would hear. And that’s when I saw him. I cringed at the sight and wanted to run back inside my house immediately but I knew if I did, he wasn’t lying, he would hurt my family. So I gathered up all the courage I had and stepped out the door whipping away my tears, as I headed toward his pick-up truck.

To be continued… 

Unnamed

I opened my fortune. It read "your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: say nothing" This had to be a joke I thought as I paid the bill. How the hell could this get into my fortune cookie anyway? And why did I have to be craving Chinese food today? I thought about asking my waitress, but no, that seemed silly at the moment. As I drove off in my car I decided I was going to forget about it. I was going to just go to my apartment and everything was going to be normal again, well whatever normal was. But then it really hit me, how could someone possibly slip something inside of a fortune cookie? Whoever was behind this must know exactly what they're doing. But why me? I'm a good person, well at least I'd like to think so. This just didn't add up. I began to cry... what the hell? I was actually crying over this. I wiped my tears and continued to drive. I need to clear my head, I thought to myself. To be continued... -Breanne

The fortune

I opened the fortune. It read "Your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: Say nothing." Christie lifted her head and looked at the fortune teller. She was never one to believe in superstitions, but this time she believed it. She looked at the fortune teller, with panic written all across her face. Then she grabbed her purse and ran out the door, she crumpled up the piece of paper that had the fortune, and threw it into her purse, and headed home. The fortune worried her to no end, she wondered if it was even true, and should she believe it? What if it were true, what would she do, would she leave the city and never tell a soul like the fortune said? She tried to put the though out of her head until she reached her apartment, but it was impossible, the fortune was all she could think about. Finally when she reached her apartment, she threw her bag down and decided to lock all the locks on her door, just in case. Then she rummaged through her purse, and took the fortune out, and read it over again. It was eating at her that she couldn't tell anyone, what was she going to do? Christie started to panic, she just had to tell someone, so she called her best friend Liz. The phone was dead, and Christie was alone and scared. Then all of a sudden she heard a pounding sound at the door. As she walked toward the door the sound got louder, and louder, and louder, until she locked the door and opened it. When she opened door, no one was there, she looked all around and still no one was there. Baffled, Christie began to close the door, then the pounding started up again. Again she opened the door, then all of a sudden a blast of air came at Christie and it knocked her to the ground. Slowly Christie got up off the floor, and slammed the door closed. Just as she did that the lights started to flicker on and off vigorously. Panicked, Christie grabbed her bag and ran out the door, and never looked back, she grabbed a cab and drove out the city, never to return. She never did tell anyone, even when she tried it didn't work, she just kept quite. Christie never went back to her apartment after that, she started her life over in another town, but she would never forget her fortune, and what happened that day in her apartment.
     --Haleigh

An extremely long story

I opened my fortune. It read "Your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: say nothing." What the hell is this? This isn't even real I thought, as I threw my fortune into the trash. I continued eating my Chinese food and told my family about it as we ate. We all laughed about the rediculousness of it, and I didn't even think twice of it until the next day. I was walking down my street to meet my friend for coffee when all of a sudden a van pulled up beside me, and everything went black. I woke up immedieately realizing I had been tied up and duct tape was over my mouth. I could hear the muffled men's voices conversing in the next room, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I tried looking around to see where I was but the room was pitch black except for a dim light coming from a small window across the room. So, it was daytime? How long had I been asleep for? Where was I? Who were these people? These questions raced through my mind as tears fell from my eyes. I couldn't even wipe them away because my hands were tied. At that moment a large man dressed all in black came in, turning on the overhead light as he walked in. My eyes squinted as they adjusted to the light. He was tall, maybe 6'2", black hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck and dark brown eyes. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone" he grumbled. "Now look where you are, this is what happens when you don't follow the rules" he took a step toward me and ripped off the duct tape making me cry harder. "What are you gonna do to me?" I sobbed. "In time you'll find out" he said as he turned on his heel and back out the door from which he came. I continued crying for hours, I must have fallen asleep when I woke up to footsteps. They were different from the mans. They were softer this time. My door creaked open slowly, and so softly I couldn't even tell if I imagined the sound. The sound of soft, light footsteps came toward me. I squinted my eyes and in the darkness could just barely make out the outline of a little girl. A little girl? What the hell they really sent a little girl to do their dirty work? She knealt beside me, I couldn't hear any voices outside the door. She slowly started untying my ropes. She was helping me! Neither of us said anything as she untied the ropes. Who was this girl? Was she someone's kid? A neighbor? She led me to the window, opened it for me, and slipped a piece of paper in my hand. I slipped out the window onto a front lawn. Was this really happening? I ran as fast as I could, it was nighttime everything looked the same. I didn't stop until I reached a convenience store. I picked up a newspaper, I was in Charlestown. How long had I been gone for? Two days? I reached in my pocket reaching for my phone, it was gone. I had two dollars in my pocket, enough to take the train home. I reached in my other pocket almost forgetting the little girl had given me a slip of paper. It was an address. An address to what? Was I supposed to go here? I decided I should just head home and give the slip of paper to the police. I wasn't about to head to the address by myself, who knows, it could be a trap. I headed home on the train thinking of everything that just happened to me. It really felt like a dream. At least nothing happened to me, I thought. I finally reached home and was surrounded by hugs and kisses by my family. I told them everything that happened, as we waited for the police to come. I retold the story to the police and they took the address from me. Later I found out the address the girl had given me was the house which I was held captive. The girl was the kidnapper's child. That night my kidnapper got arrested, the little girl getting put into a foster home. I realized to myself, not only was that girl helping me, she was helping herself escape from the home which was probably hell for her. Suddenly, everything I went through was that much more worth it.


-Courtney

Jane Mason

Jane Mason

I opened my fortune. It read: “Your life is in danger. Say nothing. You must leave the city immediately. Repeat: say nothing.”  I looked around me. I was a bit shaken. Was this some kind of sick joke?  Was someone playing a prank on me, because this wasn’t funny? I wanted to tell someone but, it said not to say anything. I think I should follow the instructions, but I didn’t want to look like an idiot if it’s a trick. “Can I take your order?” The waitress said to me with a Chinese accent. I looked at her for a moment, debating whether I should say something or not. She started to tap her foot. “Well…” she said. I ran out of there as fast as possible. I kept running and I realized I wasn’t going anywhere and that I needed to get back to work in five minutes. Someone shouted behind me. “Chelsea!” I froze because I knew exactly who it was. “Hey baby.” He kissed me on the lips like he always did. I wanted to kiss him back but I was scared.  When he pulled back he asked, “What’s wrong you look…pale.” He touched my cheek. I was opening and closing my mouth because I wanted to say something. I was so f****** scared, and that scared the s*** out of me. “You know you can tell me anything, Chelsea. So tell me what’s wrong.” I knew I couldn’t say anything and I also knew that Andrew was a sensitive guy. If I didn’t start talking he would go all noble on me. “Chelsea, please your scaring me.” His green eyes stared deeply into my brown ones. He was making this harder than it was. I started to cry. I wanted to tell him so bad. I could write it down but I felt like I should be in a rush. I stared to run, I was running so hard that my legs and lungs where burning. It was hard to run away from him without telling him I loved him. It was also hard for a woman to run in heels. I needed to be strong. I was on my own now. When I got to my apartment building, I had to ignore all of my neighbors who were greeting me. When I got in front of my door, I saw a note on it. It was folded and said ‘Chelsea’ on the front. I grabbed the note and looked inside. It read: “You’re moving too slow, now that you have said good bye to your little boyfriend, I want you to take this ticket and go on a plane to England. The departure is at 12:00pm. If you miss this plane trust me your beau will pay for it. And don’t even think about calling the cops.” My body shuttered. I looked at the back of the note and there the ticket was tapped. This was for real. I looked at my watch it was 10:45. I ran into my apartment. I went crazy looking for everything I needed. I got all of my essentials. As if I was sleeping over a friend’s house or something. As I was rushing out I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was a curly mess. I put it in a neat bun. I swore I straightened it this morning. My eyes were dilated, and my cheeks were pink and wet from crying. I hadn’t even realized I had been crying so much. I was also still in my work clothes. I took off my pencil skirt and replaced them with jeans, as well as my heels with a pair of high tops. I looked at my watch; it was 11:03. As I was running out the door with my duffle bag and cellphone, I saw Andrew ring my apartment bell frequently. “S***!” I said under my breath. I tried to run to the back of the building unseen. Successfully I got to and through the back door the back door. The alley behind this building was creepy so I ran out. I whistled for a taxi. When I got in the cab it was 11:15. It didn’t take too long to get to the airport. When I stepped out of the cab all I heard was. “The 12:00 plane to England will be leaving in 5 minutes.” I ran to the gate, people where going on. I got on the plane and gave the lady my ticket. I thought about things for a while. Who would do this to me? Soon I fell asleep. When I got up, everyone was getting off the plane. I grabbed my purse and went to baggage claim to get my luggage. When I got to baggage claim, the man said with an accent, “Your husband came to get your bag.” “My husband? I don’t have-” I replied. “Yes, he went that way; he said he would wait for you in car.” He said pointing in the direction of where he saw him go. Why would he just give somebody my bags? The man looked as scared as I was, maybe even more. “What did he look like?” I asked, curious. “I think you should go now.” The speeded walked away. I walked towards the car. When I got closer i realized it wasn’t a car, it was limo. The back seat door opened. I very slowly got in the back seat. I saw a gorgeous man in, what looked like a very expensive suit. He was holding a cigar. I sat far away from him. “Don’t be scared.” He said. “I’m not scared of you, I just don’t know you.” I said to him. “But I know you, Chelsea Miller.” He said softly.  ”Drive!” He said in a dominant voice.  The driver started to drive. It was scary how the tone in his voice changed so fast. I didn’t like it. “What’s your name?” I questioned. “My name is Nathanial Mason.” He said with pride, too much pride. “How do you know my name?” I asked him. “I have my ways.” He stated. “But-““Where do you work Chelsea?” He asked, changing the subject. I had a feeling he already knew. “Where do you work?” I asked instead. He laughed. Was it funny or something? “Umm… I’m in the trading business.” He said, suspiciously. “What do you trade?” “I trade very valuable merchandise.” “What kind of merchandise?” I kept asked. He sighed a little frustrated. “Do you really want to know?” He asked. “Yes.” I said anxiously. “I’m only telling you this because I think you deserve the truth.” Who knew he thought I deserved anything? “I’m in human trafficking. I sell women for money.” I was so shocked. I thought maybe he was a drug dealer, but never this. I was angry. “I enjoy what I do. It gives me power and money. But I have alternatives for careers that make just as much money as I do now.” He stated. I was suddenly scared again. “You know people are looking for me.” I said scared. “Not anymore.” He replied. “I have a proposition for you.  I know you’re a feminist. So you obviously hate me for this. However, I will stop this completely, but you have to do something for me.” I kept staring at him in shock. “I’ve been observing you for a while. I realized that you are an intelligent, brave, independent, kind, and a beautiful women. I am a perfectionist, and I always get what I want. What I want is you.” He stated. I was so flabbergasted, that I wasn’t even flattered. All I could think of was that this gorgeous man was delusional. “If you take my offer, you will marry me and become my wife, you will not be Chelsea Miller anymore. You will be Jane Mason. I will change your name so that no one can find you. Or you can go back to your life with your family, friends, and boyfriend, Andrew as Chelsea Miller. Remember, that if you come with me, I will never do human trafficking again, and will have saved and freed millions of girls and women.  Otherwise, you can go back and have everything be the way it used to be.” He proposed. All I could think of was this guy was delusional. This decision was huge, colossal even. Anyone would say I want to go home, as much as I want to that, it would be the most selfish decision I would ever to make. Imagine all of those young girls and women freed. It brings such joy in my heart. I began to cry. “Yes. I will marry you.” I said with great sadness. “Don’t be so sad. I will spoil you and I will make your life with me as pleasant as possible. I promise you.” He said trying to make me feel better. The limo suddenly stopped. He grabbed my hand and I stepped out. The house I saw wasn’t even a house; it was a beautiful mansion with vines and flowers growing on the sides of it. Through the window I could see, rich people chatting and drinking expensive champagne. “Miss Jane your dress.” I turned and saw an old woman in a maids dress. I couldn’t believe people where already calling me Jane. “Jane, this is your maid Flora. She will dress you for the wedding shower. You will meet me downstairs and I will introduce you to everyone.” Nathanial said. She brought me upstairs and did my hair and makeup. She even put my dress on for me. How did they even know my size? I looked in the mirror. It was beautiful dress, but when I looked at myself I was a different person. “Miss Jane we should go downstairs now.” I followed her down the huge steps. It suddenly got quiet. Everyone started at me as I was walking down the staircase. Nathanial was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps with his hand held out. I put my hand in his like I was expected. Soon everyone started talking again. “You look beautiful Jane, exquisite.” I saw all the food on the tables and realized how hungry I was. “Go and eat whatever you like.” Nathanial offered. That was the best offer he had all day. I almost ran to the table and grabbed a plate. I started putting appetizers on it. “Hello, my name is Rose Kelly; I’m married to John Kelly.” A blond women said to me. “Hi.” I shook her hand. I couldn’t help but notice how fabulous your dress is.” She said. “Thank you.” I replied. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.” She said curiously. In that moment I thought about everything. How much I love my mother and father, my brothers and sisters, my boyfriend. Itt loved them all so much. But I wasn’t Chelsea Miller anymore. “My name is Jane, Jane Mason.” -Rohmee Mathe

Just Because

Just because I'm young
Doesn't mean I don't have feelings
Doesn't mean I don't know what's going on
And doesn't mean I don't know what love is
Just because I'm young
Doesn't mean I've never had my heart broken
Doesn't mean it's okay to leave me out of something
Doesn't mean that I have no common sense
Just because I'm young
Doesn't mean I'm reckless
Doesn't mean I don't know what I want to do with my life
Doesn't mean I have a bad attitude
Just because I'm young
What is age?
Isn't it just a number? 
Should people think I'm incapable of handling something because of a number?
Because I think that the number of of years you've lived only shows how much more you have to live for.


-Courtney

Just because

Just because I'm shortDoesn't mean that I can't stand tall
Doesn't mean I'm fragile
Just because I'm short
Doesn't mean that I can't reach high shelves
Doesn't mean that I'm weak
And it doesn't mean that I'm meak
Just because I'm short
What does it matter?
Why should I want to be a different height?
It's what makes me, me
  -Haleigh

Just Because...

Just Because

Just Because I’m smiling

 Doesn't mean I’m happy

 Doesn't mean I’m bubbly

And Doesn't mean I think I’m the best

Just Because I’m smiling

Doesn't mean I’m nice

 Doesn't mean I’m friendly

 Doesn't mean I like you

 Just Because I’m smiling

 Doesn't mean I’m approachable

Doesn't mean laughing

 Doesn't mean my life is perfect

 Just Because I’m smiling

 Why do I smile?

 Why do you smile?

Do we try hide our imperfections?

Maybe, maybe not.

By: Rohmee Mathe

Just Because...

Just because I'm a female
doesn't mean I can't be independent
doesn't mean I'll be a housewife
and doesn't mean I'll even get married
just because I'm a female
doesn't mean I won't be successful
doesn't mean I like to clean
doesn't mean I can't be tough
just because I'm a female
doesn't mean I'm emotional
doesn't mean I can't be smarter than a male
doesn't mean I need long hair
just because I'm a female
why does gender even matter?
don't we all have feelings?
aren't we all capable of the same things?
we're all humans
-Breanne

Just Because

Just because I’m smiling,

Doesn’t mean I’m happy,

Doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten,

And doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.

Just because I say I hate you,

Doesn’t mean I don’t miss you,

Doesn’t mean I don’t want you back,

Doesn’t mean I actually mean what I say.

Just because I’ve moved on,

Doesn’t mean I don’t think of what could’ve been,

Doesn’t mean I don’t think about the past,

Doesn’t mean I stopped caring.

Just because I’m smiling,

Is everything okay?

Am I different now?

Just because you’re gone?

Just because you’re gone. 

Caitlin 

just because

Just Because..

Just because I’m a teenager,

Doesn’t mean I hate school,

Doesn’t mean I rebel against everything my elders say,

And doesn’t mean I’ll go steal from the corner store.

Just because I’m a teenager ,

Doesn’t mean I get drunk every night ,

Doesn’t mean I want to try drugs,

Doesn’t mean I disrespect old people.

Just because I’m a teenager ,

Doesn’t mean I think I know everything,

Doesn’t mean I don’t know love,

Doesn’t mean I cant wait to get out of my house,

Just because I’m a teenager.

Why do you assume?

Why do you underestimate?

Why do you think I’ll fail?

Just because I’m a teenager.

Kailene

A thousand years

I’ve been waiting a thousand years for this. At least that’s what it felt like. Everyone I know has it. Everyone is obsessed with something. I wish I had that. My brother has baseball, my mother has her bakery and my father has his coin collection. Even my friends have something special. I want to love something, obsess over something. Nothing interest me. I heard a knock on the door. I ran down the stairs to get it. “Hey!” My best friend Angie said excited. She was always happy. That made me happy. She was also the only one who knew about my secret of wanting to be obsessed. “Guess what?” "What?" I said a little anxious. "I found what you are obsessed with." "... And... What is that?!" "Your obsessed with becoming obsessed!" She laughed in my face, obviously joking. I thought about it for a while. Angie stopped laughing as she saw me become serious. " You don't actually think your obsessed with being obsessed, do you?" I gave her a meaningful look. "Your pathetic." "I'm just joking, okay."
Rohmee Mathe

Summer After High School

           Summer after high school when we first met was at the huge Thanksgiving football game. I was a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire and he was a senior at Boston College. I had heard his name before in high school but I never thought I would get involved with him. I had never been so wrong before.

I had met Luke Walker through a close friend of mine, Rose. Luke had been sitting with a bunch of kids I had grown up with and at first I didn’t notice him. Eventually, he came over in my direction and I will never forget the way he introduced himself. He stood straight, his shoulders were broad, and he stuck out his hand in my direction, “I’m Luke Walker,” he said. I’m Ella, Ella Parker,” I somehow managed to say back to him. I was at a loss for words, the way people had described him did him no justice. His eyes were a piercing blue that locked on yours, and it left me breathless. It startled me even more when he sat down next to me and we began to have a conversation, one that involved questions about what we both had planned for the rest of that night.

Together, Luke and I left the game early and decided to head down toward the water. It had been close enough that we could go down there and most likely make it back before the end of the fourth quarter, or so I thought. We ended up staying there till past 11, when I suddenly realized how long we had been gone for. I told him I should probably be going home, I had work early the next morning, but he wouldn’t let me go.

“Don’t go,” he kept saying, and I didn’t leave. I stayed right there with him. I didn’t want to move even though I knew I should. Rose would be wondering where I was, but even knowing that I still had no desire to leave Luke’s warm embrace. That’s when he kissed me, I don’t care how corny it sounds; it was perfect. There was nothing like it. I knew from then on, I wanted him. Not long after I decided it was time to go home, neither of us wanted to say good-bye but we did, and he promised he’d text me later that night. I couldn’t wait.

            I didn’t get a text that night, or the night following or the night after that. I kept wondering what had gone wrong. Had I put my number in correctly? Why didn’t he want to see me as much as I wanted to see him? What did I do wrong? Thoughts like these were what I couldn’t get out of my head. I couldn’t out why I hadn’t heard from him if he sounded as sincere as he did that night.

            The next Friday night, I was sitting at my dining room table with a friend of mine, Molly. My phone was on the other side of the table of and I didn’t feel like getting up to get it when I heard it vibrate and the screen light up. I figured it was just another friend and they could wait, it was only around 9 and I wasn’t planning to go out until later on that night. Eventually, I became thirsty and decided to head to the kitchen for a drink, grabbing my phone along the way. I touched the screen to check the message, and it had been from a number I hadn’t recognized or had saved in my phone. Immediately my heart skipped a beat. It was Luke, it had to be! His message was asking me what I was doing tonight and I couldn’t wait to reply. I told Molly and together we both jumped up and down with excitement, he finally texted. He hadn’t forgotten just like I, along with all my friends who warned me about him, had thought.

            I didn’t end up seeing Luke that night because my mother had called asking me if I could stay home and help her set up for a brunch she was having the next morning. We ended up seeing each other a couple days later though.

            Spending time with him was different than spending time with any other guys. It wasn’t just the fact that it was more exciting, it was more so that I could talk to him about anything. We talked about everything from sports to other people we’ve seen over our high school and college years. We talked about our families, our grades, our majors. We covered it all, and I felt completely comfortable opening up to him. He was different and I didn’t care about the things I had heard of him in high school, he was older now and so was I, I was sure he had changed.

            We ended up talking and hanging out a lot over the next couple of months despite our locations. I mostly traveled down to him on the weekends, although he’d offered to come up to UNH for the day a few times, it never seemed to happen. I figured that there was a major reason, he wouldn’t just blow me off, I knew Luke and I knew he wasn’t like that. I trusted him. Usually I’d end up doing back down to Boston the day after our plans failed.

            In my mind, things with Luke were going great but yet there hadn’t been a label put on us. I kept wondering why, I thought we acted enough like boyfriend and girlfriend that we might as well just have been. Although I thought about this, I wasn’t worried, I knew Luke cared and that’s all that mattered. Or so I thought.

            One night, I went over to Boston College to visit Luke in his dorm since I was home visiting my parents for the weekend. That night we decided to stay in and just spend the entire night with each other. I thought the night had gone good, we ordered Chinese food, watched a couple of movies and I ended up staying the night. I thought everything was perfect, boy was I wrong.

            The next day, I woke up and noticed right about Luke wasn’t beside me. I got up and threw on a pair of Luke’s sweatpants that were lying around on the floor; Luke wasn’t in the room so I figured he had an early morning class. I scribbled a messy note on a piece of scrap paper and left it in the center of his desk to make sure he saw it. I told him that I’d left to go get coffee with a friend and to have him call me later.

He never called.

           

After that night, I never heard from Luke again. I gave him all I had and I didn’t think I had many any mistakes in what I thought was our “undefined relationship.” Maybe I should’ve listened to my friends’ advice when they told me to stay away from Luke Walker, when they told me each and every girl ended up the same way and that even if he made me feel different or special, I wasn’t. Maybe I should have listened because now all I’m left with is a pair of Luke’s dirty sweats, a broken heart, and the thoughts of what could have been.                                                                                                                                                Caitlin 

Four truths, four lies.

I am Rohmee Mathe

Im in love with my dog.
I hate people sometimes.
Waffles are kinda wierd.
Negativity is my best friend.
I call my mom, mommy.
I love vegetables.
I like boys with big ears.
Music feeds my soul.

I am Rohmee Mathe

Untitled

“Untitled”

1

If you ask me how I’m doing I would say I’m doing just fine. But that’s not true at all.

My mom is a cocaine addict, my dad’s a schizophrenic, my twin sister is dead, and I had an abortion three months ago at seven weeks. Yeah my life is far from “just fine”, but I don’t want people to see what’s behind this smile.

                I’m Ronnie Miller. I’m seventeen years young. I have long, full, blond hair, green eyes, five foot six. I’m pretty popular at school but thankfully for the right reasons. I’m captain cheerleader, president of the debate team, and head of the school newspaper. I have a lot of friends but none which I tell my personal life stories to.

                The only two people who know my story are my sister, who was found dead, and my boyfriend, who’s been missing the last 4 months. I miss them a lot, I can’t talk to anyone like I talked to them.

                My sister Lydia was beautiful. We looked exactly alike except for her hair was a nice chocolate brown. She was tall like me, same features, everything. We got along like no sisters do, and it meant the world to both of us, because in our house; you need everyone that you can.

                She was found dead in the field behind our house. There is one huge oak tree that is in the middle and it’s a beautiful scene, but that day; the scene was out of a horror movie. She was hanging there from one of the ropes we kept in the shed on the other side of the house, and a daisy in her hand. I was the one who found her.

                I think she suspected that I would be the one who would find her because she had the daisy in her hand. When we were little the field would have patches of daisy flowers and we would lay there and talk like we were eachother’s imaginary friends, because whatever we would say in the daisy patches, would stay there. “Daisy” was our get-away word. In this case, she really did get-away.

                Let me back up for a second to tell you a little bit more about our family. My mom has been doing cocaine since I was born and my dad had had schizophrenia since I was 5. My mom sleeps all day and doesn’t care for us and just walks around the house like a freakin’ lost puppy. My dad is in a asylum in Connecticut. Neither of my parents miss the other, mostly because they don’t remember each other.

I used to make an effort to go to the hospital my father is at 2 or 3 times a month; take the train, eat, go there, and come back. But not anymore. Things have gotten too bad with my mother and now my sister is dead, 3 weeks tomorrow, and my boyfriend is missing, 4 months yesterday. What am I supposed to do, I can’t concentrate on schoolwork, my priorities aren’t straight anymore, and my mind is going crazy.

2

       On my way to school earlier, it felt like everyone was watching me. The bus driver, the guy at the diner, the animals walking with their owners through the park; everyone. I know they aren’t, because no one knows anything about my family, but they watch me as if they know every little detail.

                My friend Samantha, the editor of the newspaper at school, kept making sure I was okay, like yes I’m okay, stop asking. The girls in the bathroom smoking out the window standing on the sink kept asking me if I want a hit, they know I would never. The people I sit at lunch with; didn’t even eat their lunch, they just watched me eat mine.

                And then I woke up.

                My name is Julia Robertson. I’m 18 years old. I killed my sister. Put my cocaine in my mother’s coffee so she would overdose. I never met my father. I’m a schizophrenic and I’ve been in Lake Bellevue state asylum the last 6 years.

kailene 

Where are you going now?

"Where are you going now?" Becca couldn't help but ask, although she knew the answer.
"I'm going out, don't worry about me" her mother replied as if she were annoyed.
Becca had been neglected by her mother for as long as she could remember. She had gotten used to it but longed for a real relationship with her. Becca remembered the day she realized her mother was strung out on drugs. Although her mother had never admitted it, she put the pieces together. Her mother often came off as cold even before she started using. But then, she started to leave the house at night and would stay out until God knows when. When she couldn't leave the house she would go into her room and stay there for hours. If Becca asked what she was doing, she would tell her to mind her business. The thought of her mother doing any sort of drugs made her sick to her stomach. She was scared to face the facts so she never bothered to confront her. Deep down she was empty, alone, and hurt. It had been this way ever since her father had passed nine years ago. Becca was fifteen now. Her hunger soon interrupted her thoughts. She had taught herself to cook since her mother almost never did it. She could only think of a few occasions in which her mother cooked, when her grandmother came to town and on Thanksgiving when her father was still alive. Becca headed to the kitchen, it was small but it served the purpose. She knew she wouldn't have much to work with but she could make any little thing into something big and it would always taste good. She remembered there was leftover pasta she had made the night before. She heated it up and headed to her room for the rest of the night. Becca's room was neat. She didn't have much furniture, in fact she hardly had any. Her bed lay against one wall and her dresser lay against the other. The other walls were covered in mostly pictures of her father she had put up to help her remember. As she ate her mind filled with more thoughts of her mother. She knew she wouldn't get much sleep that night. She hated the fact that she cared so much because she felt like no one including her mother cared much about her. She came to the conclusion that she would confront her mother about her addiction. --Breanne

A Gentle Whisper and a Promise

“I whisper goodbye, I swear it’s not for the last time.” Bill said to Adeline. Adeline was trying to hold back her tears, she didn’t want to let him go. The two were inseparable, from the day they met they were each other’s world, and know that very thing is separating them. “I don’t want you to go, it’s not far” Adeline said to Bill. “I know, I don’t want to leave you either, but my country needs me. When I’m fighting over seas, I’ll always be protecting you, even from miles away keeping you safe.” Bill explained to her. “Promise me that you’ll write me every day, and remember to stay safe and, and…” before Adeline could finish, she was consumed by tears. Bill gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek and then whispered in her ear “I love you.” Then as he pulled away, he said again “No matter what happens to me, I’ll always love you…always.” Adeline looked at him with her teary glistening eyes, then down at her feet, then back up at him in the eyes again and said, “I love you too, and I’ll always love you too, no matter what happens.”  The hugged once more, until they heard the train rolling into the station. As rolled in, they both let go of each other, and said their goodbyes, and right as Bill was heading toward the steps of the train, he turned back to Adeline, grabbed her hand and said “I’m going to make you a promise to you… when I get back from this war, we’re going to be married, and we’ll be married for as long as we both live.” Adeline without any hesitation, ran up to Bill and kissed him, then before anything she nodded her head and said “Yes” to his promise, a promise that she had always hoped for. They finally said their last goodbyes, and then Bill was off.                                                                                                                                           

 Almost a year had gone by since Bill left for war. He and Adeline wrote each other almost every day. For a while the letters were coming less, and less, Adeline wondered what was going on. “Did something happen to my precious Bill?” she asked herself. On one shining and beautiful Sunday, Adeline happened to be gardening outside when, she say this man in a uniform walking towards her. She couldn’t quite she him clearly because the sun was in her eyes, then as he came closer, she realized that the man in the uniform was her Bill. Her bill had come back for her, and before she could say anything, Bill knelt to the ground and grabbed Adeline’s hand and said “I told you I’d come back for you, I kept my promise to you, and I never for a single second forgot about you. So… Adeline, will you do me the honor and marry me?” Within a split second Adeline said yes, and in less than a month or two, they were married. They were going to be together forever, or so they thought. Soon after their wedding, Bill was drafted again and was sent back to war. Just like the first time he went away, they wrote letters to each other almost every day. But this time was different, Bill was gone much longer this time, and the letters didn’t come as often as before. Then one day Adeline was outside gardening again, when a black car pulled up to her house. And instead of Bill coming out of the car, there were two men instead. These two men were dressed in formal army clothes. As they came up to Adeline to talk to her, she new in the back of her mind that something wasn’t right. The first began to say “Mrs. Andrews, we regret to inform you, but you’re husband Bill…” and before he could finish, Adeline dropped to the ground and started sobbing. All she could manage to say was “He’s dead...he’s dead isn’t he?! My Bill is dead”, one of the officers crouched down and tried to console her. The other officer gave her an envelope, and said “Yes, ma’am, unfortunately, yes. I very sorry for your loss.” Then, just as fast as they had come they had left, but before they reached the car, the officer that tried to console Adeline ran back to her and said “I’m sorry but I almost forgot, before your husband died he told one of the other men to tell his wife this ‘I whisper goodbye, I swear it’s not for the last time’”.  Adeline thanked the officer for telling her that. As the years went on, and when time was at its end for Adeline, she knew that she would be with her beloved Bill once again.                                                                                 By Haleigh