-:\1\

"1"

Wattiotg"

II Collection ot W~Ltln~ 61[ the

/I1iami 12akes /I1iddle School Students

1998

Murder at Miami Middle

Christine Chang
Pride Portfolio Contest Winner
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Middle School Division - 1st Place
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
This book is dedicated to all those people in my class who think I'm going to become a psychotic killer
when I grow up, and are probably right. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll remember who you are.
You read about it in the newspapers, you hear about it on the radio, you even see it live on t.v. , but
somehow, you never think it'll happen to you. Well it has and let me tell you, it' s not a wonderful
experience. Murder. The media makes it all sound exciting and interesting and mysterious, and also
very fake. It was a scary experience and I hope dearly that I'll never have to go through it again. It was
not a stormy, lightning filled night when it happened, though I must admit it did rain later. It was a
perfectly lovely day, just the perfect day for a picnic. Unfortunately, I was unable to take advantage of
this day because of a little inconvenience called school. Walking to school, with the wind in my hair
and my Walkman blaring in my ears, I enjoyed the weather as long as I could. Cathy and Abby would
be waiting for me to join them at school. As the music filtered through the headphones of the
Walkman , it was suddenly interrupted by a news report, told by some guy with a real nasal problem. I
hated those guys and only listened a minute before flipping through the other stations and turning the
radio off. This is what I heard:
"Ahem, Ahem, please excuse the interruption of this program. The police department has sent out a
warning. Sniff. There is an escaped criminal from the mental ward of the penitentiary in the area of
Broward. Sniff. The prisoner escaped about two days ago, and the guard was found unconscious on
the stairwell. This person is wanted for the manslaughter of 8 people. Sniff. It is yet not known
whether or not--" . Wow, I thought. A real serial killer, right here in Florida. I ran off to tell my
friends. Nearing the school I saw them in a little group and pushed my way in.
"--and I said to Sam, no way , I mean, who does he think he is you know? I got my rights. And it was
only our 5th date too. He is such ajerk , I'm telling you." Cathy was saying as little murmurs of
sympathy were muttered by the listeners. "The next time I see him I'm going to tell him we're breaking
up. I mean it. No, really I'm serious this time. I mean can you believe--"
"Hey, you guys! Guess what Ijust heard!" I interrupted her, but that' s okay because if you don ' t she
doesn't stop talking. "So like I was saying, I was listening to the radio, and there's a criminal loose !"
"Is that all?" asked Danielle. "There are a lot of criminals in Florida why I heard that Shawn' s
brother's, friend ' s, cousin was a--".
"Shut up Danielle, this isn ' t just any criminal. He killed 8 people and he's insane! I put emphasis on
the last word to make sure Danielle got the importance of my message. Honestly, she can be so
annoying sometimes. Well, my remark had caused some excitement among my friends and we were all
talking.
I liked the response so I kept going, "Yeah, and he escaped two days ago from Broward"
"Broward? Dh please, that's the next county! It has absolutely nothing to do with us." That was
Danielle talking. She was obviously trying to get me back for the earlier snub. "Now if it had been in
Dade County, it might actually be a bit interesting, but since it's in Broward, I don't really care,
okay?"
"Shut up Danielle. we're trying to hear what Anna has to say." said Abby.
Turning towards me she told me, "Go on Anna, just ignore her. She's jelous because she can never
find an interesting subject to talk about."
"Well, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," I started. Unfortunately the bell rang and
everyone scurried away like ants to their lockers or homerooms. Danielle threw me a triumphant glance
and flounced away.
"Bye, Anna!" called Cathy.
"Yeah, see ya l " yelled Abby.
Luckily, I made it to class without getting a detention. In truth, I sneaked in a few seconds after the
bell when the teacher' s back was turned, just in time for roll.
Literary Magazine

Page J

1998

"Okay folks. settle down now, settle down! boomed the teacher, Mrs. Fields. This week is schedule A
week so that means you'll have periods 2. 4. and 6. Hey you back there! Yes, you sonny! Quiet
down or you'll get a hitsquad. Don't give me excuses, just keep quiet when I'm making
announcements, unless you're psychic or something, which I truly doubt, considering your test
scores. Excepting Lisa that is."
Lisa was the prize student. She got good grades, and was always getting awards for something or
another. Hmmmm, today I had 2, 4, and 6. That meant Geometry, History, and Reading. Those were
okay classes. I sighed and stared outside. Still a lovely day. It just wasn't fair to let a day like this go
to waste. To take my mind off it I looked around the room. Mrs. Fields had somehow come back to
the subject of praising his perfect student and Lisa was smiling happily. Next to me Eddie was
glowering and muttering to himself. He was the second best student with green eyes, brown hair and
hated Lisa. Then of course, there was Sunny, who ironically wasn '( very sunny at the moment. She
was the only left handed kid in our class. She did have gold hair and blue eyes but if she could have
possible looked any angrier a storm cloud would probably appear over her head or her eyes would
have turned green with envy. She hated Lisa too, but for more specific reasons. It seems kind of silly,
but in 4th grade Lisa had pushed her off the swing set in a fight and she had never really forgiven her.
Not only that, Lisa was always seen flirting with Alan, a boy Sunny had a crush on. Everyone knew
she had a crush on Alan except perhaps for Alan himself. The bell rang for 1st period and we streamed
out of the class. Walking casually 1 met up with Abby and Cathy and we chatted cheerfully until we
sat down in our 2nd period class. Time went by quickly and the next bell rang. We were watching a
film in History, all about Vikings. Everyone was leaning on the edge of their seats to get a good look
at all the gross, disgusting, but in a way cool, killing parts. It was really bloody and we weren't
disappointed. I thought I was about to throw up when lunch time came. Then my stomach quieted
down. After finally being called in line for lunch I felt like throwing up again when I saw the cafeteria
food. Somehow we got through that ordeal by ignoring the food and eating the snacks. I envied those
who had gotten the motivation to make their own lunch. After eating it was back to History. We
finished the film as the bell rang and the teacher shouted out our homework for us as we rushed out the
door. Reading. We were all utterly suprised to find that we had a subsitute teacher. She was very
skinny and probably about 28 years old. When she turned around we found that she was also Chinese
and used wellwom looking glasses. Her hair was cropped short and neat, hooked behind her ears.
"I know you ' re probably all full of questions, class, and I'm willing to explain the situation. I'm sorry
10 say that Ms. Fioran is going to be absent for quite a while. She went on vacation to visit her family
in Europe and will probably be there for the remainder of the semester, or perhaps even year. So I
guess that means you'll just have to put up with me. Any questions? Yes, you back there."
"Are we going to do what we usually doT
""Well, Ms. Fioran didn't leave me a schedule plan so I assume for the time being, no."
Yes, you up front, do you have a question?"
"Uh, yeah, what was you name again?"
"I didn't mention it?" She looked confused for a minute and then continued with a strange smile on her
face. Miss Chang. My name's Ms. Chang. All right, no more questions? I'd like to know your names
first and then we'll begin. Let's start from the ftrst row. Stand up and tell me about yourself, don't be
shy."
I turned since my row was near the end and started thinking. Why did Ms. Fioran just leave like that?
She always used to leave a schedule class plan and would tell us beforehand when she was planning a
trip. Oh well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. No one else seemed to be. Ms. Fioran did have
friends in England anyways. I looked at her desk. ]t still had all her stuff on it, except for an open box
full of new mechanical pencils. ] also saw her purse under her desk. If she left her purse she probably
had a family emergency or something. Maybe there was a death in the family. That happened to my
family once. The person in front of me stood up and said his name, and told about himself.
Reluctantly,] stood up behind him and said only my name. They all stood in silence waiting for me to
say more.
"Ahem, can you tell us about yourself, dear?"
"Not really." I replied.
"Okay, next person."
I sat down, relieved. Sometimes I hated these "explain yourself' things. They nearly never really
literary Magll1.ine

Page 2

1998

remember anyways, so what's the point? Finally it was over and we opened our books. After what
seemed like an eternity although M s. Chang was a pretty good teacher. I heard the bell ring and
practically leapt for the door. When I got on the bus I slumped down on the seat near Cathy and Abby.
We lived near each other.
"What did you think of the new teacher?" Cathy asked me.
"Okay, I guess. There's something weird about her though."
"Don't worry, there's something wrong with all of the substitute teachers. All of the teachers as a
matter of fact. What sane person would want to teach school? Not me. I thought she was pretty cool,
though", said Abby, "I mean, she didn't drone on like Mrs. Hyden .".
"Yeah, I think so too." said Cathy. "Did you see Eddie today? He is so cute. He looked like he wanted
to strangle Lisa alive'"

"Sunny too." I added.

At about that time all conversation stopped as we got off the bus at our stop .
That night at home my parents were reading the newspaper and remarked out loud about one of the
stories.
"My, my , look at this one. There's a criminal on the loose in Broward. It says here that that criminal
was from the insane ward of the prison. The person went insane when he or she was pressured by his
or her parents to make good grades in Graduate School, but Harvard was too much for them and the
criminal went crazy and killed the better student and the teacher as well. That's a shock. The things

IUds do today."
"Anyhow it says that the prisoner was transferred here so that their parents could be nearer to the
criminal. There aren't any names here . Doesn't say anything el se about it.". said my Mom.
"See?" I told her. You should stop telling me to do better at school or I might breakdown!"
It was about 2 weeks later and we had already gotten used to having Ms. Chang as our teacher. Today,
Lisa was more radiant then ever having accomplished geuing Alan red-faced with continuos flirting.
Alan was blu shi ng crazily and so was Sunny, but for a totally different reason. It was about that time
during lunch when some of the class was eating lunches that we'd brought from home. Inside the
room, our whole gang was there . Cathy, Abby, Sunny, Eddie, Lisa, Alan, me, and a few others too.
For some spontaneous reason we had all brought our lunches. As I was saying, Lisa had just flirted,
Alan was just embarrassed, and Sunny and Eddie were just mad. Looking closely at Sunny,
something was glinting in her hand. It was a pocketknife. You know, the kind that people always have
in their key rings? That kind. She was flicking the blade in and out and polishing its edge. Then she
carefully put il inside the pocket of her while windbreaker. Eddie was drinking out of a full water
boule. I saw M s. Chang in the hall and some people waved to her. She was wearing a black skirt suit
and had her usual glasses, but wired together with wire. She would probably have to get new ones
soon. She had a mechanical pencil behind her ear and stuck her head inside.
"Hey, kids. What's going on?", she asked.
"Oh nothing M s. Chang." said Lisa, irrunediately taking charge, "We're just having lunch here , don't
worry, we've got pennission."
"Okay, just keep it down. I Don't want people to think that we've got wild animals loose in the
building, wait a minute, this is a school, I guess they'll think that anyways, huh?" She laughed a bit
hysterically at her own joke but the others didn't notice since they were laughing too. I didn't think it
was that funny , but Ms. Chang had a way of making you laugh. A few minutes later the speaker said,
"Will Lisa Menamy report to the library, please." It sounded more like an order than a request. Lisa
went.
"Going to the bathroom for a sec, okay?" said, Sunny. Her hand was in her pocket.
Eddie left the room too, saying that he wanted to get a drink of water. The bottle of water on his desk
was still full. Sunny came back and silently sat down. She opened a book to read. Suddenly Eddie ran
into the room, out of breath .
..It was terrible!" he gasped. "There was so much blood and, and, and it was just awful! You've got
to come look!"
[Jrerf.lfJ Magazine

Pag~3

1998

"Wait Eddie" said Cathy "What's going on?"

"It's Lisa!" he said, and ran au( of the room.
We all followed him into the library and around a few bookshelves. We stared at the mess on the floor.
Eddie was right, there was blood everywhere and it was Lisa's. Her neck was slit and she was lying
sprawled in a crooked position on the floor. Her eyes were staring up, helplessly. There were bruises
on the left side of her neck. There was a tiny screw in her hair. We were aU speechless for a moment. I
ran to the office and the class followed me.
"There's been a murder!"
We paused long enough to see Ms. Chang coming out of the girl's bathroom and entering the office
through the teacher's lounge. She wasn't wearing her glasses.
"What's wrong?" she said, noting the look of terror on our faces.
"There's been a murder."
"What?!" bellowed the principal, "I'll punish whoever is pulling this sort of prank. We don't put up
with pranks here."
"Slow down and one person tell me what happened." said Ms. Chang.
So I did. We brought them up to the library to look and they were horrified, though I thought Ms.
Chang looked calmer than she should have been.
"Call the police immediately!" bellowed the principaL "And all of you" he said to us, "get to class,
you may be questioned later."
Mrs. Chang herded us up to class and we sat down talking in our seats in a state of confusion. I went
over to Eddie and said "How did you find her?"
"Huh?" he replied.
"How did you find Lisa? I thought you were going to get water."
"Well, I, urn, okay," he said, breaking down, "I was spying on her. I wanted to know what she was
up to this time. She cheated on the last test you know."
That explained part of the mystery, but there was still more to it. So J sat down next to Sunny and
asked if I could see her pocket knife.
"Sure" she told me, "Hey, wait a minute. How did you know I had a pocket knife? Only my dad
knew."
"I'm psychic, take a guess Sunny," I rolled my eyes, some people! "Anyways, can J see it?"
"Sure", she repeated fishing it out of her pocket and handing it over to me.
It was clean as new. I was still suspicious, but then I remembered something that made me realize my
mistake.
"Never mind," I told her. "Sorry to bother you." I said.
Then I walked over to Ms. Chang.
"Are you all right?" I asked her with a note of concern in my voice.
"Yes," she said, "it's just been a bit of a tough experience for us alJ."
"Oh," I said, "Where are your glasses?"
"My glasses? I lost them by accident. Can you believe it? I sit down to have a nice lunch in the
teacher's lounge and look what happens. What a day!"
The police did come and they searched the room and us for any other evidence.
Eddie was pulled out because he was the first witness and so was Sunny, for her pocket knife. When
they searched Ms. Chang's drawer they found a small knife there and a broken pair of glasses with
wire on them as well.
"What's this for?" asked the Police Lieutenant.
"Oh that," Ms. Chang answered. It's a pencil sharpener. A Chinese thing. Those must be my other
pair of glasses. I lost my newer ones."
That was when it all added up. I stepped forward and said in a clear, loud voice.
"I think I know who dunnit."
They looked at me for a while, taking my measure and then replied, "Go on." So I did.
"Well, it wasn't Eddie, because he didn't have anything to kill her with and besides, he came too late
after her, to actually kill, her. Lisa had a short fuse. We also know it wasn't Sunny since it would have
taken her forever to clean her knife of all the traces of blood and her windbreaker was white so blood
would have easily gotten on it. Not only that, but, she's left handed and Lisa had bruises with
fingerprints on her left side, so the person must have used their right hand to hold the knife and use it.
LiteralJ Magazine

Page 4

/998

So it couldn't be her. Ms. Chang is the one."

All the while I was talking Ms. Chang had been inching towards the door. The police saw her in time
though, and brought her back.
"Wait a minute," said the police officer, "how do you know i['s her?"
"Well," I said, "For one thing she doen't have new glasses, and for another she doesn ' t use wood
pencils. She only has mechanical ones. She also said that she was just sitting down in the teacher's
lounge to eat her lunch, but we didn't see her bring one. Not only that we saw her coming out of the
bathroom and then straight into the office through the teacher's lounge. She al so arrived in the middle
of the semester saying that she was taking Ms. Fioran 's place and that Ms. Fioran was going on
vacation to Europe. Why would Ms. Fioran go to Europe for the whole entire year and leave all her
stuff here ? Including her purse which probably has all her credit cards, money, 1.0., and driver's
license, I think she 's the psychotic killer you've been looking for."
"Good work, kid." the Lieutenant told me, with a respectful glance. "We'll make a police officer out of
you yet." He saluted me and they struggled to get Ms. Chang out of the class.
"You! I'll get all of you back for thi s, just watch! Ha, ha, ha ! I'm not crazy? See? I'm just
misunderstood sometimes. Just mi sunderstood. Besides, that little pri ssy, stuck up, know it all gi rl,
deserved what was coming to her. Someone would have done her in anyways. I jut spared them the
time to do it. I was smart too you know! Smarter than any ofyou'U ever be. Ha! " Then she broke
down in hysterics and started to giggle insanely. They escorted her out of the room. I hope they lock
her up tighter this time. Ms. Fioran was found ali ve in Ms. Chang's apartment. Since then , the school
has tried to keep it quiet about the murder. although much of the sc hool already knows. Now you
know it too, remember kids. there is a lesson to be learned from all this. Watch out for those substitute
teachers. They'll take anybody nowadays!

*************

Out of This World

By
Baronessa Bonano
GmI,6
Literary Magazine

Page 5

/998

The Battle for the Castle

David Urrutic
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
One day I was walking down the street with my glove and baseball bat, when I heard a noise in
the woods on my right side. I saw a giant time machine. When I stepped inside it, J found out it was
abandoned. After that I stepped in the cockpit and the thing staned to move and bang!
The first thing I saw was a horse and knight. At that point, I screamed for all my life! Ah! After
that I stepped outside and ran. But at that point I found myself lost. Then the sky looked as if a sea of
black water fl ew over a piece of land. Also, at that point, I saw a huge castle. As I was approaching. I
saw a moat filled with blood thirsry sharks and vicious barracudas. Then boom!
The draw bridge fell. Then two knights dragged me to their dungeon and chained me up . I saw
a whole bunch of people in there. The dungeon had dead rats and a really, really, bad odor. The floor
was very moist. The room was as dark as night.
In the morning a knight splashed a bucket of cold water on me and said get up and leave right
now, to see the king. Well , at that point, the knight took me to the king' s throne. The king said, "Who
are you and what are you doing here?" "I am David Unutic. I am trying to leave thi s time."

Then the king said, "You may leave now." Then I ran to the time machine and set the right
coordinates on the computer. Zap! I was back in my own time and loving it.
In conclusion, this was a weird adventure. But it is a little piece of the Middle Ages. To me, the
Middle Ages was a time of ruthJess killing and a fight over land. Also, a big fight over power.

Literary Magaz)ne

Page 6

/998

My World
Veronica Angulo
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

If I had to make a world of my own, it would be unique, having its own fonn and style.
The time is 3020, the year of reinvention. The people are different, much different from now.
They have only 4 fingers, big heads. and are naked. The only thing is they have no body parts. Only
on their heads, they have big heads, they have big eyes, little noses and mouths. They have no hair
and their ears are little antennas .
They are well mannered civilized people that don't steal, fight , or hate. They have work as
high-tech people in plants and laboratories all day . They do not worship anything. They live in very
complex homes with mechanical robots that do everything for them. Their transportation modes are
flying cars that move through the sky.

They do not live on land. They live in the sky (a blue colored sky). The houses float and the
cars fly . They have very low gravity which enables them to stay in the air. They have no seasons. It
is always the sane not hot but breezy. also they have no time span. It never changes (time that is).
They have no clocks and can't tell time.
They have no rock fonnations but they have cloud fonnations which count the same as
mountains. They do not eat or drink food. They only take one vitamin a day which counts as their
food source. Also. they never have to put gas in their car. They run on electricity from their own sun
which is the color purple. The children go to school but only until they reach a certain level of
learning.
They do not have ages, they are all the same, but do not die. They can't have heights either.
They are all the same height 5'8". The are all the same weight, 115. If they are not this way they are
expelled or put in a laboratory as a rat. They are only allowed one child because they are allowed a
certain population. If they are overcrowded, some are chosen and sent to Nematode Island. That is
where they keep people who are not wanted.
As you can see this is a perfect society with strict rules you must abide by. If you don ' t, you
suffer the consequences. It would be nice to live in a society which has rules and boundaries, but I
guess we can't so, until science goes a liule bit further, we must live here and keep on dreaming.

Literary Magazine

Page 7

1998

The Object
Eddie Jorge
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

This object seems to have come from a jungle or a forest. It was carved by a native of the
region and was used as a weapon. Particularly an arrow. It was used for hunting. fishing. and
fighting other animals. It can be attached to a long bow made of wood. This tool can be used for
carving into wood or skinning a dead animal.
Or could it be the egg of a dinosaur over onethousand years old? It is a strange object! It is a
tan brown color that looks like brown paper. But what is it? Should we study this object?
Technology today probably can figure out just what this unusual object and the age & origin.
But do we want to find out what it is? Could this have come from another planet, shot out into
space to land on Earth by creatures beyond our comprehension? How will we be able to tell? Might
we never answer all of these questions!?
So, thi s object could be anything. But I believe that it is an ancient tool used by the natives of
the region from which it came.

Whodunit?
Betty Forte
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
It was a Saturday night and the girls and J decided to go to the movies.
We all were there but Daisy. We sat and waited for her outside. But we finally
decided she was not comi ng.
After the movies we went to her hou se to see what had happened. When
we got there, her house was dark. I thought she might have gone to her
boyfriend's house because they were having problems and she had told me the
day before yesterday she wanted to talk to him or she would end the
relationship. So we decided to go to his house.
We walked to his house which wasn' t too far from hers. When we arrived at her boyfriend's
house, we saw some light. And we knocked on the door. His friend Jamie who loves Daisy (and
would do almost anything to go out with her) opened the door and invited us in.
Everything seemed so peaceful, a little bit too peaceful. So I asked him where is Daisy and
Marcos or Marcos' parents and he just gave us a mixed expression. Which was on his face since we
got there. We all got curious and we started to roam around the house but when we got back together
Brenda looked sick.
She told us to look in the bedroom so we went upstairs and there was Daisy and Marcos dead,
Marcos holding the gun. We started to imagine what could have happened and I told Brenda that
Marcos doesn' t even know how to load a gun and he has very bad aiming.
We all looked at Jamie and asked him what had happened and Jamie told us that they started to
argue Marcos got the gun and shot her right in the forehead while she was kicking and screaming and
then he shot himself.
But Brenda frustrated answered him by telling him Marcos parents never had a gun, Marcos
didn't know how to load a gun and he was a bad aim. After what seemed like hours of nagging he
finally confessed that he could not stand the fact that he'd always wanted Daisy and that she and
Marcos had solved their problems. He also told us how he wanted Daisy for him and only him.
Lileral)' MagazJne

Page 8

1998

Non-Existing Love
Janessy Pazos
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Love has been pretty non-exi sting for the past year of my life.
Although, J did experience the pain of heartbreak a little before. 1 felt as if
nothing else in my life had any meaning. I wanted to spend all my days with
him. Nothing made me see any different. How I loved him. If only he loved
me back.
I had revealed to him that I was in love with him,only to feel stupid. He told me he didn't love
me. That he just "liked" me. I felt like my world had ended. How could he say that?
Although, he still liked me, things were different. He didn't call as much, and expected me to sacrifice
precious things for him.
Even though I would've done it, I still felt cheated.
I confronted him one day. I went to his house and I told I felt like he didn't care. We got into a
great big fight. He ran out of the house and got hit by a car and died.
There it goes .. .love hurts. Even hate. I told him how I felt. He got killed. Figures, huh? Yeah,
only to me.

The Continuation of The Birthmark

David Campos
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Alymer stood there in the illuminated room. He stared at the lifeless body of his poor wife. He
took his late wife's hand and knelt next to her. He began to feel his eyes become humid . He started to
cry on his wife's hand. He said, "My dearest Georgianna, forgive me. If you can hear me from your
heavenly home, please forgive me. 1 shouldn't have let the birthmark upon your face disturb me. My
hate towards the mark resuhed in your death. I should have looked at your inner beauty. All I can say
is I'm sorry."
He cried at her side for hours. He cou ldn't accept that his Georgianna was no longer with him.
His feelin g of sadness began to tum into rage. Hi s soul was darkened with anger. Anger that he felt
towards himself. He stood up and started destroying the laboratory. He smashed the glass tubes and
cylinders against the walls. He continued until there was no longer a piece of laboratory equipment in
his sight. He suddenly realized that he would have to face the justice of the law. He decided to tum
himself in.
Two days had passed. Those days seemed like an eternity for Alymer from the darkness of his
jail cell. Alymer waited patiently for the date of his trial. He felt he had done the right thing for turning
himself into the law. "I must be punished for the death of my late Georgianna," he said.
At last, the day of his trial had arrived. The trial lasted for two hours . At the end of the trial,
Alymer was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Alymer said, "Justice has been served."
The seasons carne and went. Time drifted away slowly. Finally, Alymer's sentence expired.
He stepped into the real world and once again felt the caressing of the wind and sound of birds
chirping. He was at last back in society.
A year passed. He met a beautiful woman named Angela. They were engaged to be married.
Coincidentally, Angela had a similar binhmark to Alymer's late Georgianna. Yet, Alymer and Angela
were engaged to be married.
The night before the wedding, A]ymer wrote in his diary:
"Tomorrow, I will marry the woman who will become my new wife. Her face holds the
resemblance of my late Georgianna. I will not let the image of her birthmark torment our marriage. I
will Jove her with all my soul. Even though she may not seem perfect to other people, she is perfect to
me."

Literary Magazine

Page 9

/998

How the Cheetah Got His Spots

Kelly Alvarez
Mrs. Perkins, Grade 7
One day the king of the jungle, the lion, told all the animals that a volcano was about to erupt.
The lion (old all the animals in his kingdom to spread the word. He told all the birds to tell each other,
the snakes to tell each other, eet. When the king told the cheetah to tell all the other cheetahs, he
decided to save himself. The cheetah decided to disobey the lion and save himself. The cheetah went
home, packed all his belongings and went as far away as possible.
The following day when the wild woke up, they found themselves in a deserted jungle. They
dido '( panic, but they were afraid. When they started for the river, the ground began to shake. The
volcano began to erupt. When the animals saw the lava, it was too late (0 run. The Java washed them
away, and killed them all.
After three days the lava was washed away by water. All the animals, including the
cheetah,came back. The king noticed that the cheetah was not in a group. The king called him up and
asked for his group. The cheetah confessed that he didn't warn the others about the eruption.
After the confession the lion thought for a while. He realized that one of his people disobeyed
his orders. The king decided that the cheetah must be punished. The king warned the cheetah to Slay in
the jungle, or he would come after him himself.
The cheetah was frightened and did as he was told. The lion thought for days. After about a
week and a half, the king finally came up with the perfect punishment. Everyone in the jungle knew
that the cheetah hated all kinds of spots. The lion decided that he was going to give the cheetah's body
spots. The cheetah received his punishment. When the cheetah saw himself he went in his house for
about two years. After about two years, he came out and asked for forgiveness.
The moral of this story is never lie because you can get caught. So try your best to help others.

The Little Gray Planet

Danny Ledo
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
The little Gray Planet is a planet in the Little Gray Galaxy . It is the home world of the Little
Gray People. The grass isn't green and the sky isn't blue. Water on this planet isn't clear and there are
no men or women, no one is black and no one is white. Their world is nothing like ours and it is much
more beautiful than earth.
I love this planet dearly with all my heart. Its grass is red and the sky is gray, the water is
purple and the people are so beautiful that they are indescribable. Their planet is bigger than ours and
their sun is a white dwarf star. These aliens don't have to mate because they live forever, and they
have gained world peace and own half of their galaxy. They learned to use 99% of their brain and that
is how they get their gray color.
The planet is surrounded by four moons that are all light blue and the moons are also inhabited
by the aliens. Animals on this planet are all different from ours and there are no endangered species.
There is one animal which is an ideal house pet. But, it is quite different from a dog: it can talk, and it
can walk on two legs, it is the most beautiful animal I have ever seen. It is called a shape-shifter
because it can change its form into any animal it wants, but its natural state is a liquid.
Aliens on the Little Gray Planet don't communicate verbally but speak telepathically, and they
have existed with this way of communication for over a billion years. The Gray people don't walk
because their gravitational pull is less than ours. They float approximately six inches above the ground.
These aliens believe that we are their brothers that were sent out into space one million years ago, and
inhabited the planet earth and evolved Earth and evolved into human form.
This is the Little Gray Planet that I visited, the Gray people are the most generous and caring
people alien or not that I have ever met. They have impressed me with their intelligence which far
surpasses that of the planet Earth. I hope that someday the planet eanh will change its actions, and
become like those little gray people. This is all I know about this little gray planet and I hope you have
learned something about it too.
Literary Magazine

Page 10

1998

Why Learning Spanish is Important to Me

1st Place Winning Entry
County-wide Hispanic Heritage Contest
Christine Chang
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

"

Language is important to every culture. We all have our own uniqueness, our own heritage,
and our own traditions and origins. Every country takes pride in all this, and we work to keep our
culture alive. Language is the heart of it. Without language, we would all be unable to communicate
and share feelings, ideas, and concepts. These are all essential reasons why we should undertake
learning other languages. By doing this we will help to enrich their culture as well as our own.
Spanish is by far one of the most prominent languages in the world.
The most obvious reason of all for learning Spanish is, of course, how widespread and
universally used it is. Many countries around the world speak Spanish as a standard language. If you
simply unroll a map you will spot numerous countries that speak Spanish as an everyday part of their
lives, just as most of us speak English here in the United States. Miami has figuratively become a
stepping-stone to South America. Many of the countries we deal with here in Miami speak Spanish and
we have become an international trade center due to our location. If you plan on entering the business
world, Spanish is practically a must and will make you a professional. If people here learn Spanish
just think of all the possibilities. We would be able to travel, experience new lands, unique new foods,
arts, crafts, knowledge, and like in depth. Also, when traveling you are making yourself aware of the
world and the great diversity of our culture.
Another favorable point in learning Spanish is the advancement of knowledge. Knowledge is
important to everyone. We all wish to know more, to be more intelligent. Learning Spanish is helpful
to you anyway, whether it is for school, a business, or just for the fun of learning and conversing with
someone in a different language. It is also easy to learn. In fact, Spanish is said to be the easiest
language to learn. Besides, no matter where we are from we all like to express ourselves in some way.
Learning a new languages, and especially Spanish, will let you express yourself better with other
people of other nations instead of trying to force them to understand your language. With another
language, you will be able to spread your feelings and ideas throughout the world, instead of just
being confined to the few countries that speak your language. By far the most important reward you'll
get is that when you accomplish speaking Spanish fluently and correctly, you'll be able to gain selfconfidence and pride in what you can learn. Also, in doing this you'll discover that to a strong, curious
mind, the stars are the limit to what you can do.
The best benefit is the pure enjoyment and the friends you will make in learning Spanish. Have
you ever secretly talked to your best friend in a secret language and found out how much fun it was
that only you two could understand each other? It is the same with Spanish, but even more amusing.
You can travel without trouble and be able to do whatever and go where ever you want without the
hassle of a tour guide. If you like you can even just go out into the streets and converse with a Spanish
neighbor. In learning Spanish you are giving yourself more opportunities and no matter what you
decide to do with your knowledge of Spanish, I'm positive it will be memorable.
For these reasons, I think that you have surmised how much of an advantage Spanish can be.
We live in Miami, Florida after all, and in Miami if you don't know how to speak at least some
Spanish, you're missing out on quite a bit. An enormous part of Miami's history has to do with the
Spanish language. Although we, in Miami, have all sorts of different race, colors, and tastes, there is a
majority of Spanish people and it is the Spanish-speaking community that has largely helped Miami
become what it is today. Learning Spanish may show our appreciation. Besides, while we are being
educated in our own heritage, why not take pleasure and delight in the diversity of others' heritage? It
can only do us good. Spanish is a great language, and many other people, if not all, relish learning and
speaking it. I have absolutely no doubt that you will enjoy it, just as millions have before.

Literar), Magazine

Page 11

1998

The Deadly Art

Jennifer Gonzalez
Mrs. Krane Grade 8
It was a bright and sunny day, not the kind of day for a murder. Paul Samson was laying face
down on the ground. Laying next to him was James Tobin with a bullet in his arm. Joan Samson
opened the door to her husband's art gallery and screamed. It was a mess and in the middle of the
ground lay her husband shot twice and bleeding to death.
Joan checked for a pulse and tried CPR. It was no use, she looked over at James who was
now regaining consciousness and trying to stand up. She began to be filled with anger an yelled at him
repeatedly "This is all your fault!" and "You killed my husband."
After the police came and took James to the hospital and the body away. Joan was questioned
by Detective Sipowtz. He had a good 21 years in the force. You could tell from the well-earned
wrinkles. As Joan walked into his office he set a tape recorder on his desk.
"I'm truly sorry about her husband's death Mrs. Samson," he said with sincerity.
"Thank you, but I don't exactly know why you want to question Ruby and me. It' s obvious James
Tobin killed my husband," she said boldly.
"Why do you say that, Mrs. Samson? Do you know something the rest of us don't?" he said, full of
curiosity.
"Yes, Detective Sipowtz. I know quite a few things." she said vigorously.
Over the next few hours she explained to him why she thought it was clear that James
murdered her husband.
Paul Samson owned an art gallery on Maple Ave. He was happily married to Joan for 11
years. James Tobin was an artist who was engaged to a woman named Ruby. James' art was on
display on Paul's gallery. They formed a partnership, a bond. Although, lately James' art wasn't
selling so good. Money was low and James was away in a bad mood. James had a horrible temper.
When he got mad he just could not control himself.
"Is that all?" he asked.
"Well, ... no, no there's nothing else." she said quietly.
"Is there something you're not telling me? " he asked slowly.
"No, okay there's nothing else!" she said sternly.
After they finished he decided to interview someone close to James. Ruby. When they started
the interview he noticed she was nervous, stalling, and covering for her fiancee. Finally she broke
down and told the truth.
"It's all my fault," she cried "If it weren't for me Paul would still be here telling some corny joke. You
see it's hard trying to make it was an artist in another artist's shadow. Paul said my art was good and I
had a chance. He was the only person who believed in me and now look what has happened." she said
trying to control herself.
"How did James find out?" Sipowtz asked.
"Paul wrote me a letter and James caught me reading it and snatched it away. The sad thing is I never
got to read the letter and Paul and I never got to talk about what happened. James has such a bad
temper. Paul was just such a great guy." she answered.
After talking more with Ruby he knew exactly what happened.
James had called a meeting with Paul to discuss their financial problems. In that meeting they
had started a heated argument with Paul to discuss their financial problems. In that meeting they started
a heated argument about everything including Ruby. When James pulled out a gun he had for
protection. He shot Paul. Then he tried to make it look like a struggle by shooting himself in the arm.

Literary Magazine

Page 12

1998

I
r

Cary's Envy
Janessy Pazos
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

Cary awoke. She was tired, yet very excited. She felt as if she was going to have a great
day."Kill!kill!kill!", is what she thought. She was hungry. She had a craving. She had an urge. The
taking of someone' s life for Cary was like opening a new gift for a child.
She put on her clothes. She kept it simple. A black tank-top and a black ankle length skirt was
what she wore. Her burning black hair, and piercing blue eyes were just some of her beautiful traits.
Cary hated her neighbor. She hated Elmer with a passion. Elmer was only 15 years old, yet he
was a smart, responsible person. Cary was not. She envied that.
It had just turned 12 o'clock in the afternoon. Cary was ready.
Elmer's parents weren't home. But Elmer was. Cary walked over to
Elmer's bathroom window and slowly crawled in. Cary walked into
Elmer's room to find him peacefully sleeping. Cary grabbed a shovel
from the utility room and carefully raised it above Elmer. Cary
smashed the shovel, into Elmer's face. Elmer crying and screaming
jumped out of bed. Cary chased Elmer into the garage, where Cary
grabbed the chain saw. Elmer was cornered. Cary was excited.
Elmer's head was not only hacked off, but it was put in the blender.
Neighbors had heard screaming so cops were on their way. Cary had
to make a run for it. Why did Cary do it? No one really found out. A
love letter written to Elmer from Cary, explaining how much she
loved him was left behind. Yet towards the end read the line: you are
my whole, and when I'm gone I will not be the only one". Cary was
found dead two days later, all because of a self-inflicted gun-shot to
the head. Or was it the little gray people from the little gray planet?
Who knows?

Round Story
Gary Dalisay, Yurack Garcia
Tyson Rodriguez, Danny Ledo
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

As Dyan sat in her office, she was wondering about her lost glasses. Maybe she left them
hanging on her shirt and they fell off. But now as she sits in her office looking around and sees this
commercial about these special folding glasses. Like this (she thinks) I could put it on my pocket and
they won't get lost. Then she just kept on thinking about the prize, and where she could find them.
Until she finally decides to buy the glasses. The next day she finally goes to this store where these
folding glasses were. They cost $100, what a rip off. She talks to this guy about them. They're too
expensive. She pulls out her ray gun and melts the guy's liver. He decides to give her a pair. She
walks out with her new glasses feeling very proud.
After she walks out of the store with her new pair of glasses, a man comes up to her. He asks
where she got these glasses from. She says, "The planet Zargo." The guy looked at her funny, and she
melted his liver too. Now, everybody around her realize she's different and call the Ghost Busters.
All of a sudden this huge marshmallow comes running down the street! Willard!
Everyone screams. They run, panicking into each other looking for some food for him. He's going to
eat us someone screams. Soon the streets are empty and Willard begins to eat more people.
Literary Magazine

Page 13

1998

The Monsters That Science and Technology Have Created:

Genetic Engineering and Cloning
D'mita Levy

Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the infamous mutants
of movie and magic. These are what we usually think of when we hear the term
llliiiilaii;;l genetic engineering, or the manipulation of Dioxyribonucleic Acid or DNA. These
are the monsters that science and technology have created?
No its not science and technology, but rather fantasy and movie fiction. Have we as humans gone too
far? Are we playing God, and going against mother nature? There are a set of codes, blue prints, laid
down through time that prevent a peach from becoming a pear, but humans have broken that code.
They can now change it and actually create new forms of life. Are we on the verge of making the same
mistake Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll, and those mad scientists have made? We have already seen the
answer. So when will the alterations and changes end?
Genetic engineering is defined as the method of changing the inherited characteristics of an
organism in a predetermined way by altering its genetic material involving the manipulation of DNA.
When one can master the very substance that makes up life one can do anything. The Bible speaks of a
supreme being, God, who created the Earth in seven days. Scientists can create a civilization of microorganisms in little under thirty minutes. Humans have mastered many skills but we ARE pushing it!
There are some things that should not be tampered with. Many religious fanatics and scientists alike
agree that creation MUST be slowed, or it will indefinitely lead to the extinction of the human race.
How? A "point dexter" working for a government office creates a super plague that can wipe out every
living organism in the world. He or she goes to grab a coke and knocks over the petridish. Instant
extinction.
But genetic engineering is not all bad. In fact there are many branches of the science that help
humans and animals alike. Take for instance cloning. Many say that it is "unrighteous in the face of the
Lord", but I see room for improvement, as long as we do not go too far with the art. Around the world
news has traveled that Dolly, the sheep, has been cloned using science. Now this is a major breakthrough. With cloning and genetic manipulation cows are being produced that can supply ten times
more milk than before. So, for now there are only moral, and not scientific problems with this
particular branch of genetic engineering. We humans are feisty creatures and you can bet in time
something will go wrong.
DNA tells the ceUCs) that make up all living creatures when to reproduce and what
specifications to reproduce under. This is how it happens. We are made up of billions and billions of
tiny cells that all know their job thanks to DNA. When you can change the plaqs like you would to a
building or model car the end result may not be the same as was preplanned. Itkerns humans are
always trying to answer those age old questions, "Where did we come from, and why are we here?
Which usually leads to even more questions. We draw steps closer to solving the most complex
puzzle: Life. But what will happen when we solve it and nothing is left? Will we revert back to our
primitive existence and start all over again? Questions, questions, questions. Will we ever find the
answer? Maybe ........ not.
Well if horrors and problems don't scare you, how does the sound of one-hundred million of
your tax dollars flushing down the drain sound. That's right! one-hundred million of your tax money
is spent on giving spiders extra legs and two heads. So the monsters of science and technology are not
only abominations and deadly, but are also costly! If that doesn't scare you, you don't pay taxes.
Steven Spielberg's award winning motion picture "Jurassic Park" brought some interesting
questions to the minds of viewers. He based the movie on Michael Chrichton's best selling novel
about scientists that bring back sixty-five million year old dinosaurs and put them in a fantasy theme
park. Then the dinosaurs break loose and wreak havoc on the place. The point is, we are introducing
into an already unstable world things that DON'T belong. And then they end up rampaging and
destroying their habitat. How long it will be before extinction reigns. When will we stop? When will
the monsters that sciences and technology create find their place? Well th~y already have: On Earth.
They are in your homes now. You don't believe me? Take a look in the mirror.
Literary Magazine

Page 14

1998

I
i

Learning from the Holocaust

Nisha Gupta
Mrs.Krane, Grade 8

"We have to finish reading that stupid book about the Holocaust by tomorrow!" Jenny sounded
upset as she walked out of her English class with her two best friends, Sarah and Melissa.
"I know! I cant believe she's making us read that book! It's so boring!" Melissa joined in on
Jenny's frustration.
"This really stinks!" Jenny exclaimed. Sarah, however, remained quiet. She personally loved
the Holocaust unit they were doing, and enjoyed the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Of
course, She thought the Holocaust was a horrible event. She couldn't believe something so terrifying
had ever happened. But she knew it did. And that's why she swore to herself she wouldn't let
something like the Holocaust happen again while she was living. She didn't know why her two
friends didn't take the Holocaust seriously.
"So who are you inviting to your party, Jen?" The two girl's chatter had moved on to 'more
important' subjects, like the big party Jenny was throwing that weekend.
"Lisa, Kevin, Michael, Samantha ... " The list seemed endless.
"How come you're not inviting Justin or Mae?" Sarah finally said something.
"Oh come on, Sarah! You know I don't invite blacks to my house! Ugh!" Was Jenny's crude
response.
"Yeah. You know her mom would kill her!" Melissa always had to add something.
Sarah didn't understand this. Didn't you guys learn anything from the Holocaust unit?!" She
noticed the looks of bewilderment she received. "You're discriminating against blacks, like Hitler did
with the Jews! We've already put blacks through slavery and segregation--we don't need a second
Holocaust! Millions of people, people just like us-died because of discrimination! Don't you see the
lesson there is to learn from this horrible event!"
"Sarah, what's gotten into you?!" Jen was shocked.
"And what are you talking about ?!" Melissa was speaking this time.
"During the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler led a group called the Nazi Party. He believed, and got
others to believe, that Germans were the "master race". He started ruling the world, and anybody who
wasn't German was to be executed. He killed people just because of their race!" Sarah was glad that
her friends were listening to her. Maybe she would get something through their heads. "Hitler made
the Jewish wear bright yellow stars on their clothing so they distinguished from the rest. They were
segregated. They had to use different stores, schools, restaurants, and bathrooms than the Aryan
people used. Thi" Tews were treated like dirt!"
"Soon enough, Hitler said that all Jewish people should be killed. Those who were lucky went
into hiding-like Anne Frank, the girl from the book we're reading.
Others were captured, killed, or sent to concentration camps. The ones at the camps were just waiting
until the day they were to go to the gas chambers and die. The Jews' lives were made miserable, and
for no logical reason! Hitler's prejudiced acts were responsible for the death of millions of people!"
Sarah waited a moment for her 'lecture' to sink in.
"And now you're saying you're not going to invite people of others races to your party! How
would that make you feel!? It's not like they can help what race they are. And anyway, what's wrong
with blacks? They're just as good as you are--some are probably even better! I thought my friends
we're learning about the Holocaust!"
Sarah caught her breath in the awkward silence that followed .
You know, Jen; Sarah has a very good point. We shouldn't be prejudiced. Look what
happened when Hitler was like that. Jen .. Jen ... ," she paused to see Jenny hurriedly walking away.
"Jen, where are you going?"She called out
"To rewrite my invitation list!" Jenny called back.Sarah couldn't get the smile off her face. It
looked like her friends,had finally learned a lesson. One that they were going to live by.

Literary Magazine

Page 15

1998

Harriet Ross Tubman, Freedom Fighter

Jesus Lobo
Miss Pullum, Grade 7
Harriet Ross Tubman was born on 1820, in Maryland. She is an African American
underground railroad conductor who freed over 300 slaves. Two things that she did in her lifetime
were free the slaves and get respect from the people. One interesting fact about Harriet Tubman is
when she got hit over the head and until the day she died she suffered from black outs. Another
interesting fact about Harriet Tubman is she had to make 19 trips to save most of the slaves. All of
happenings, good and bad, in Harriet Tubman's life have contributed to her source of creativity and
ambition to succeed. She died on 1913, leaving behind a wonderful memory of freedom to the world.

L;

How Can Learning About Black History

Help People Of All Races Get Along
Janae Jackson
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
How can learning about Black History help people of all races get along? That is what a lot of
people ask themselves and others well, there are quite a few answers to that particular question.
One answer to that question is that, once they learn that most of the invention that are
commonly found in homes, were invented by African-Americans, maybe they will appreciate AfricanAmericans, more than they already do. Most inventions that people claim they could not do without
were invented by African-Americans. People of other races, now, do not understand that fact, once
they gain that knowledge that African-Americans invented some of the most commonly used
inventions, then maybe they will greatly appreciate the work and achievement of African-Americans.
That's how learning about black History, help people of all races get along.
Another way that learning about Black History, help people of other races get along, is that
they can learn about slavery and segregation. Then they can see the long journey we have traveled
from all of that emotional and physical pain caused by slavery and segregation.
They can also learn about the people who stood up for African-American rights. If it wasn't
for some of those great leaders such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, etc., Blacks probably
wouldn't be free today. It all started with the African-American movement. If they wouldn't have
stood up for Afro-Americans and help make them free, Hispanics, and other races wouldn't have had
the courage to stand up for themselves. They saw what we did and accomplished through our
movements that they started their own. So other races should be grateful towards African-Americans
and what their ancestors accomplished for their freedom.

Literary Magazine

Page 16

1998

!
I

rI

Indian Fairy Tale

(Round Story)
Christine Chang, D'mita Levy
Nicole Rivera, Ashley Stack
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

It was a beautiful day in India. Two sisters, Ryka and Inga, were having breakfast together.
"Oh, I just wish I had a baby!" Ryka exclaimed.
Inga looked at her with a baffled expression.
"Why? Babies are just trouble!" she said.
"Then why did you have one?" Ryka asked.
"Because, at the end, I felt just like you did." Inga explained, then added, "And I'm ready for
the adventure."
They both shared a laugh and finished their breakfast.
"Talking about adventure, where's the baby?" Ryka asked, looking around. The baby was
nowhere in sight! They searched the house ten times over and found nothing of little Yoda. They even
looked under Babar (the elephant's) feet.
"Oh, no! Where is my Yoda, Yoda!" said Inga.
"We should use the power of our shorts," said Ryka. "It will help us locate him." And so they
did.
They combined their shorts' power and called upon the spirit of the great Tommy Hilfiger and
found him in China practicing on a piece of a 2x4 plywood overhanging a cliff with Luke Skywalker.
"Oh dear Lord!" exclaimed Ala. "Do you see what he's doing? He has no bungie rope! He
could have fall and break his skull, just like Barbara Gordon in Gotham!"
"Baby Y oda is a Jedi, he must learn to control the force!" cried Luke.
"What! Let go of my baby you insane lunatic!" yelled Inga.
"With that, she pushed Luke over the side and ran to catch her baby. But, unfortunately for
her, a big airplane carrying an atomic bomb from the U.S. was flying by, and he landed in the place
because they had their window open because the air conditioning wasn't working. Clinton and Sadam
were the pilots and had just stopped by McDonald's on their way to blow up Russia.
"Needs salt," said Clinton and he went to get the salt.
"No! It needs ketchup," replied Sadam and he ran to get the ketchup. Baby Yoda levitated
himself over to the bag of McDonald's and strapped it to his parachute he would use to make his
getaway. Then he made a double-looper with the plane and jumped into the anns oflnga and (whoever
Ala is).
"Baby" exclaimed Inga, hugging the baby tight. Then she sniffed the baby. "Hmm, you smell
like McDonald's."
Ryka, who was all the way on the other side of the cliff watching Clinton and Sadam's plane
go down in smoke, got up and said, "Did somebody say McDonald's?"
"Yeah," the baby replied. "And that fool Clinton wouldn't share his salt-less fries. Let's go get
some."
"Okay," the two sisters replied in unison and they started down the path. But wait! Something
is in their way! Why, it's a great, big, cheeseburger!
"Stop!" cried the cheeseburger. "You may go no further. You humans have feasted on us for
too long. I am hungry now and it is my tum to eat you!"
"Not if 1 can help it!" cried the baby. He jumped out of Inga's anns and started doing the
Ugachaka.
"Hey!" exclaimed Ala. "1 knew that baby looked familiar."
"Hey baby!" said the giant cheeseburger. "You got some skills. How about you quit with
Blockbuster and start doing commercials for McDonald's?"
"Hey, I'd like that!" But Blockbuster gives me free movie rentals. New releases, too!" baby
Yoda exclaimed.
The cheeseburger seemed deep in thought.
"Well, you could be just like the Taco Bell Chihuahua!" said the cheeseburger with a glimmer
Literary Magazine

Page 17

1998

in his eyes.
"Then, sure, why not?" said baby Yoda. "I really admire the Taco Bell Chihuahua, and then I
could hang out with Godzilla!" baby Yoda was clearly excited.
So, as baby Yoda, the cheeseburger, Ryka, Inga, and Ala (?) walked to his new McDonald's
location, baby Yoda asked, "So, cheeseburger, what's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Francisco. And I'm not a cheeseburger, I'm a Big Mac, phenomenally. Phenomenal
Big Mac, that's me! What is it that makes people drool over me? Is it the roundness of my buns, the
size of my pickle ... "
"Okay, you can shut up now!" said baby Y oda.
He ended up working in the Gotham City McDonald's and fell in love with the ghost of Batgirl
(which is a whole other story!)

J,

Baseball

By
Frank Diaz
Grade 6

rI

Literary Magazine

Page 18

1998

,,

Diary Entry - Ancient Rome

Mayrene Micheli
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7
Dear Diary,
Before I talk to you about my life, let me introduce myself. My name is Matilus. I live in the city of
Rome, the capital of Italy. I have a dad who's a farmer, my mom who's a housewife, and my uncle
who's a merchant (store owner).

t;

First, I am going to tell you about my country, Italy. The cities in Italy usually have a forum, a
Colosseum, aqueduct and a circus maximus. The houses are somewhat different from the ones in the
country called America. Italy's houses all face inward to the courtyard and the garden. There are
small rooms on each of the entrance hall (one of those is where my uncle's store is, but that's another
story). The houses have a kitchen, bathroom, a peristylium and a dining hall. The floor is brightly
colored, and the walls have beautiful painted pictures.
Now I am going to talk to you about Rome's people. You can recognize people by the way they
dress. Women wear tunics which they sometimes cover with a stoIa a toga or belt. Rich women wear
jewelry. The men usually wear a white woolen cloth wrapped around them.

In my school the classrooms are very small. Only about eight people fit. The teacher sits in a chair in
the middle. Girls leave school as soon as they can write and count, or they stay at home and are
taught by their mother.
My mother (as I said before) is a housewife. She stays a t home and she does the cooking and
cleaning. Sometimes I help her.
My father is a farmer. His farm has a yard, kitchens, a bakery, cow sheds, baths, triclinum, and a
barn. From that you can tell that we are a wealthy family . The only reason my dad is a farmer is
because he enjoys it.
My uncle owns a food store. Everyday carts bring in vegetables, fruits, wine and meat. Since my dad
is a farmer, he gives my uncle cheese, grapes, olives and grains. The money in Rome are gold pieces.
As I've heard , in America, money is considered to be paper. Paper with faces and numbers. I really
don't have anything else to write. I hate to keep you waiting. So good night.

Love,
Matilus

Literary Magazine

Page 19

1998

What Makes Me Laugh Most

Perly Ruiz
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Everyone laughs. Some people laugh at some things more than others. What makes me laugh
the most is when I am in my fourth period geometry class with Meghan and Marissa.
Meghan, Marissa, and I sit at the same table. Don't worry, we all do our work! But we have
so much fun, especially with Meghan' s weird sense of humor. We spend our time talking, doing our
work, and acting stupid.
A lot of funny things have happened to us in that class. Such as what happened a few weeks
ago. We were doing our work and I asked out loud to myself, "What are complementary angles?"
Meghan said, "Angles that complement each other! Oh! Angle you are so skinny! Oh, no! you are
skinnier!" Then for some strange reason Marissa and I found this hysterical. For the rest of the day
we couldn't stop laughing.
Another thing that has happened is that there used to be only three people at our table. There
was an empty desk next to Marissa. Well, one day we invented Juan Carlos Diaz Sanchez The XVI
(1 6th). He is our new friend. He talks with us and does his work, too. Anyway, today Keaton was
passing out rulers and we said, "You forgot to give one to Carlos!" And he put a ruler down for
Carlos! We were cracking up.
Some other stuff has happened but I can't write about all of them. There are too many. Some
of the things you just have to be there for it to be funny, and some of the stuff is just stupid! But that
is what makes me laugh the most.

!
I ,
Li

Sayia
Cora Llera
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
I had a dream the other night, a very strange dream. Thousands of bits of information merged
into one stream and painted itself in my mind. And I saw Sayia.
Sayia is not as big as Earth, but it is ...splendid. The sky is the most delicate shade of blue,
shot through with green and lilac. Mostly, Sayia is land. The oceans are smaller, and deeper; but the
water is so clear that you can see straight to the bottom. And that is fantastic. Plants of every color of
the rainbow--and a few that got left out--grow with translucent, almost crystalline leaves, mostly
scarlet and emerald and sapphire. There are small creatures, like pearl-colored fish, and larger, gold
ones that look at you from fathoms below with intelligent eyes.
The land of Sayia is as magnificent as the sea. The water breaks on beaches of white-and-gold
sand. The dunes slope away to meet a seemingly endless field of lakes and streams of crystal-clear
water. The fields end in mountains that are covered with trees that look like willows with white bark
and dark-green leaved.
Sayia has few inhabitants. Small towns of earthen huts are scattered over the land, with white
roads that look like sand but are somehow more ... part of the land. Their hair is pearly white, with
eyes of any of the most vivid colors, and full of light. Gravity is sort of... optional for them. The sun
is pure white, and the moon silver. And there is a sort of secret signing in the wind.
Sayia seems to be beautiful. The people are the land and the water. Someday Earth will be
ready for Sayia.
Literary Magazine

Page 20

1998

l
I
r
,

,,

Diary Entry . Ancient Rome

Lisa D'Souza
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7

Dear Diary,
Wow, I like writing in this book. This diary was given to me by my parents, a week ago, on my 13th
birthday. This will be my first official diary entry. I have an older sister, and a younger brother. My
name is Leonara. It's fun being a Roman. We have many unique rituals and festivals. The only
negative part is that girls are considered less useful than boys are. Boys get to participate in many
things like the army, and have protection of many more laws than girls. Now I will tell you about my
average day as a 13 year old girl.
My siblings and I all go to school. At the crack of dawn my whole family wakes up, and we have
ientaculum, a morning meal; like what you call breakfast. We normally eat prandium (bread) and fruit.
Soon after, we get ready for the day. My mom works at home keeping things clean, and preparing the
meals. My father has a job in business, and earns a lot of money . You see, primary school is
mandatory, but after that, older girls can only get an education if their family earns the above average
income level.
Regarding our clothing: First we wear our under clothes. We wear a strophium, a breast band, like a
bra. We also wear a subligaculumar; a loin cloth. Then we wear a tunic on top. They are usually
made of wool, linen, or silk. They come in various colors including: white, black, purple, red, blue,
green, and yellow. Tunics are gathered at the waist and again below the waist., with an object similar
to a belt.
We walk to school where we learn: Greek, Latin, Literature, History, Arithmetic, Geometry, and
Astronomy. We are taught by the granmaticus; what you call a teacher or master. In school we use
wax tablets. These are edged boards with wax inside of them. We also use stylUS, a sharp point made
of metal or bone which is used to inscribe in the wax tablets. During school at 12:00, we have a light
meal called aroun. This meal consists of cold meat, fish, bread and vegetables.

After school I do about an hour of homework, and then go to the cui ina (kitchen) and help my mom
finish cooking dinner. Dinner is also known as cena. This starts at 4:00 p.m. The courses continue
into the night. The meal is divided into three main parts. The first is called gustatio, a taster. During
this part of dinner, we have a variety of dishes made from eggs, fish, and vegetables. Oysters and
Snails are also very popular. We also have muslum, a wine mixed with honey. The second part of the
meal is called primae mensae. We have roast or boiled meats and poultry, usually sausage. The third
and last part of our dinner is called secundae mensae, when we have deserts and fruits.
See you next entry!

Leonara

Literary Magazine

Page 21

1998

tf-.

,B-

Superman

M.'?~~n::~~a~~ 8

It's a bird, no it's a plane, no it's superman. A legendary super hero who is also mildmannered news reporter, Clark Kent. Everyone knows who Superman is, but does anyone know what
makes Superman, Superman? Well in the next few paragraphs, people are going to learn his physical
description , his personality, and some personal history.
Most people think that Superman is just flying through the air in pantyhose, but he's not.
Superman has many attributes like x-ray vision. Many of people say "Is there padding in his suit?",
but there's not, superman is very muscular. What do you think lets him leap over large buildings in a
single bounce? He's very strong and fast.
Well Superman also has a very good personality. Did you really think that he got Lois Lane
because he looks good in glasses? Nope. Who doesn't like a guy who is a super hero and fights evil?
He is also very kind . That's why he hasn't killed Lex Luther yet.
In conclusion, Superman is an extraordinary individual. No one knows that Clark Kent is
Superman. Yeah right, like the glasses really make a difference. Well I hope that you enjoy my
information on Superman.

~#

Koomana
Faaiza Basit

Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

Welcome to Koomana! That's what my planet is called. It's an interesting planet. All the
people are always in good moods. Except X12Z30. She is a hermit. She lives in a crater on the
deserted and of the planet. X22Z30 and never lets anyone near her hemisphere. Oh, well.Our
hemisphere is better anyway. The people on Koomana are cheerful and never age. Everyone is hatched
at a certain age and dies in exactly 60 years. I've only been thirteen for 21 years. We subhuman-like
people can mold our bodies. That's why everyone is happy. Everyone loves their features. If they
don't change them. It's fun. We don't use currency. We just do our share of work and get our share of
food. Everyone is assigned to ajob.We do it whether we like it or not! But everyone loves their jobs.
Life on Koomana is fun and carefree. No sickness, poverty, hatred or wars. There is even a definition
of Koomana in Webster 93rd edition dictionary. Koomana- a small planet in the west 77th galaxy
where everyone is happy.

Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!

Lauren Drzewicki
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7

,I
L

Gobble! Gobble! Gobble! I hurry to try to run away from them killing me. Gobble! Oh no they
almost got me. I know I'll hide in here, I said to myself. As I hurry to catch my breath I think. This
has happened to me at least 3 years in a row, they try to chop me in half. in this essay I'm going to
explain what happened in those 3 years.
1994-It's November again, I think to myself, "This year I'm not going to be the turkey to be cut
up" I said proudly. Suddenly out of no where I see this man trying to chop my head off. I gobble
frantically. Again the man picks up his ax and tries to chop my body. Oh no, I think I'm going to be a
turkey dinner. I zigzag one way and then the other way. finally, the man gives up and kills Little Joe,
the youngest and chuckiest turkey of them all. they had a lovely feast that Thanksgiving.
1995- November rolls around. I'm eating breakfast when I remember today is Thanksgiving.
Big Bob and Little Bob are eating next to me.The man walks out with his ax. He walks over to a tree
and pretends to be cutting it down. The first time he lifts the ax, he runs! He runs right towards me but
I just slip under his legs. I look up there is the ax. Joe doesn't move. I run this way and that and the
man swings his ax at me in every direction. I jump in to the bushes i where Big Joe is hiding. Big Joe
sees the ax and tries to run away but, the man gets him thinking it's me. So, as you can see being a
turkey is not as easy as you think. It's a hard job being a turkey.
Literary Magazine

Page 22

1998

Why I Want To Be A Teacher

Jessica Contreras
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Being a teacher is very special, as well as a tough job. I want to be a teacher because I love
kids and I want to educate the future. I've wanted to be a teacher since the sixth grade, when I was
inspired by my math teacher Ms. Lipcon.
Being a teacher must be a wonderful job. You fill the
students' minds, teach them multiplication facts and
important history dates. Our world will always need
teachers, and I want to be a part of that. I want to touch a
life. I want to be a mentor, a friend. Teachers remain in a
child's life forever. They might remember you as a nice
teacher, or a tough teacher, but they know they learned
something and you, the teacher, will know that as well.
Teachers make the doctors that make you well; the
lawyers that defend your rights, as well as Superbowl
athletes. I want to be a teacher that shows kids what life is
about. Help them understand that you can do anything you
~=~~~~::;=:;======r~ set your mind to. Teachers have always been special, and
.
will continue to be.
I want to give kids the understanding of life; I want to be a part of a child's life. Kids these
days need special attention. Many parents work until very late, and the kids need someone there for
them or they may give up, and tum to trouble. Teachers need to help them, I want to help them, I
want to show them how life really is, and through classes, experiences and time, lone day hope to do
that.
It is for these reasons, I want to be a teacher. I feel that I can do this, I feel enough confidence
in myself to go through the years, of others educating me on how to educate others. I thank those who
have been in my life as teachers, and mentors, and to all those who believe I can accomplish my
dream.

Middle Ages
Sofia Barufaldi
Ms. Marquez, Grade 6

My baby sitter, as a going away present gave me a medium sized castle. When I got tired of the
castle, I put it in the attic. My baby sitter's name was Sabrina. "A magical name," she used to say. In
a couple of days it would be my birthday and a package arrived. I was turning 11. When I picked up
the package there was a another that said "not to be opened until November 7, 1997." November was
the day of my birthday, but today was the fourth of November and there were still four more days
until my birthday.
My birthday finally arrived. My best friend, Yoaritzia, was coming to my
house after school to plan our whole day and then sleep over. When we got
home, I opened all my presents. When I got to Sabrina's present, which I had
left for last, I took it to my room. When I got to my room, I opened the gift.
Inside were little people on horses and a king with a queen. I went to the attic and
I brought the castle to my room. I noticed that in the castle there were little places
where the little toys Sabrina gave me fit exactly into place. I put them where they belonged. When I
put the last toy into place, I heard horses running by. I looked up and saw a castle. My friend
Yoaritzia was next to me. It smelled like trees, because back then there was no pollution and the air
was clean. It seemed that somehow by putting the pieces together, we went back in time into the
Middle Ages.
Literary Magazine

Page 23

1998

My Dog
Christina Galindo
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
I love my dog because she's always there, I love my dog almost everywhere. I
love my dog because she has hair, I love my dog anywhere, I love her because she
always sleep I love her because sometimes she skips to eat, and that's good for me
because I won't have to feed her when asleep. I love my dog because she warms
me up in the morning, and in the night she's also snoring.
I warm her when she is very cold, that's my dog she's cute but very old.

IL
My Trip to Tennessee
Christina Galindo
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
One day a boy named Geoffrey and his parents went to the mountains in Tennessee. When
the got there it was a beautiful view, when they got off the plane they headed straight to their hotel
(Howard Jonhson). Then they went to the best attraction in Tennessee, the Smokey Mountains. It
was a very beautiful view. When Geoffrey got to the top of the Smokey Mountains, he got little cold
so he asked his mom for his Nike jacket, they started looking around. Geoff wanted too see through
the telescope, so he ran over to where the telescope was and started to look around.
"What a pretty view," he said to himself.
"Geoff, let's go," his mom said. He didn't hear her from all the noise of the waterfall beside
him. His dad and mom had left. He didn't see his parents when he got off the telescope. He screamed.
"Mom, Dad, where are you?" but no answer. So he started to walk around. He went the
opposite way his mom and dad went. Then he went back to the hotel because his mom let him hold the
room key. He was only seven years old. So he got his plane ticket and went to the airport. When he
got to the booth, he gave the ticket to the lady at the counter.
"This ticket is not for today," she said and asked him, "Where are your parents?"
"I don't know," he said. She told him to go look for his parents. So he did just that and went
to go find them. But he did not find them. They had gotten there at 4 o'clock p.m.and it was already
7:00 p.m. Geoff went looking around for his parents when suddenly a bear caught his attention. He
started running and the bear ran after him. He ran out of breath and stopped. Then the bear gave him a
hug. Geoff and the bear started walking together until Geoff slipped and fell under a waterfall. The
bear swung from a tree and into the water he went. Then he started looking for Geoff and found him
underwater. Geoff thanked him and gave him a hug. Next, the bear and Geoff started looking for his
parents again. Then Geoff stepped on a rattlesnake. So the bear, which Geoff named Ted, grabbed the
snake and threw it under the waterfall. Geoff felt really hungry. So he dressed up Ted like an old man
and they ate some dinner. After, they realized three hours passed that they were looking for Geoffs
parents. It was 10:30 pm and Geoff felt kind of tired. So they fell asleep on the Smokey Mountains.
The next morning they woke up and ate breakfast at the same resturant he and his parents had eaten the
day before. Geoff and Ted went back to the hotel where Geoffs parents had checked in. To geoffs
surprise, his parents had frantically been searching for him.
They said, "Where have you been?"
"Looking for you," Geoff said. His mom ran up to him and gave him a big hug.
"I missed you," she said. So they spent the whole vacation together with Ted.When Friday
came they took Ted back to New York with them where they lived happily ever after in their backyard.
Literary Magazine

Page 24

1998

The Case of the Deadly Crush

Ashley Stack
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Investigator Jones came onto the crime scene looking for clues about who murdered Harris
Burg at the Miami Museum of Science. He went there with the rest of the 8th grade from Miami Lakes
Middle School on a field trip, but when everyone came out, he didn't. The museum janitor came
running out shortly after screaming that he had found a bloody Harris lying in the mouth of one of the
dinosaurs in the new exhibit. The janitor is now the main suspect of Harris' murder. There are no
other suspects.
This is my first case as a new investigator in the business. I know I shouldn't draw
conclusions now, but I don't think the janitor killed Harris. There is no motive. There is no reason
why the janitor would want to kill a boy that was just passing by. It must have been someone else.
And I'm setting out to catch the killer.
The first thing I did was examine the crime scene. Harris was lying on his back. The
dinosaur's teeth were jutting out of his body. There was blood all around that area. His legs were
hanging out of its mouth. He must have been pushed off of the second floor railing onto the first floor
dinosaur exhibit.
That inspection didn't clear the janitor's name, so I decided to view the body up close. I went
to the room they were holding him in before the autopsy started. I took a look at the blood-stained
body. I was trying to see if I had missed any clues. While I was doing this I found some small red
marks on his neck. They looked like blood spots, but I took a snapshot of them anyway.
At my office I reviewed all the facts of the case. I couldn't find any clues that would show the
janitor was innocent. I was about to give up when I found the snapshot I took of the red marks on
Harris' neck. I enlarged the photo and observed it well. Those red marks weren't blood, they were
strangle marks!
That was the real break in the case! The killer had tried to strangle Harris before pushing him
off the second floor railing to his death. After observing the marks a little more, I found out they were
too small to be from the janitor's fingers! It had to be one of the kids from the field trip.
Shortly after, I announced this discovery to the media, the real killer confessed. A young girl,
Marissa Rivera, was obsessed with Harris. On the field trip, when everyone was leaving, she
confessed her love for him. He then told her that he didn't like her at all. She then decided that if she
couldn't have him, no one could. So she waited until everyone left and she surprised him and tried to
strangle him to death, but he was struggling too much, so she got him near the edge of the railing and
pushed him off.

Literary Magazine

Page 25

1998

The Case of the Missing Heiress

Gretthel Navarrete
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
I'm the newest detective in the department, I'm still waiting for my fIrst case, when all of a
sudden, the phone rings .. .it's my fIrst case. My job in the case is to fInd the heiress, Jayme Adams, I
also have to find the kidnapper or kidnappers. I arrive at the scene of the crime, the Adam's mansion.
Lots of police and detectives are already there.
So far, the facts are that there was a mysterious phone call, it was around 8 P.M ... 2 hours
before the kidnapping occured. Jayme's parents were home at the time ... they left at 9 P.M., they went
to a meeting. Two of Jayme's friends were at her house at the time of the kidnapping. They had been
watching movies with her, they say that there was a strange noise upstairs, so Jayme went to check it
out...then they heard a screm, so they ran upstairs to see what was wrong. When they got there, they
saw two men that were dragging Jayme to a truck. They said it was too dark, so they couldn't see
what the men looked like, however, they were able to tell that one of them had a slight limp, other than
that...they saw nothing else that could help.
I'm looking around Jayme's room, there is sign of a struggle, some furniture is turned over
and there are blood stains on the carpet. The window is open, there are some traces of mud there. I go
outside to check out the premises ... there are truck tracks by Jayme's window. Suddenly, I hear the
phone ring .. .it's the kidnapper, he wants a $250,000 ransom for her. The man's voice sounded
muffled as if he was holding something over his mouth to make it unrecognizable. I asked the Adams
if they recognized the voice, they said that the way the man spoke was kind of familiar, but that they
couldn't quite recognize the voice. The Adams want us to keep the ransom a secret from everyone else.
The next day, I go back to the Adamses' mansion ... there is a man there that I hadn't seen last
night, he is the groundskeeper. He still hasn't been infonned of what happened, and he's asking why
there's a whole bunch of police out there ... so, I tell him. He then goes outside to see what kind of
truck could have made the those tracks. Another guy arrives, he is a friend of the family ... he also
hasn't been infonned of what happened, I notice that the man has a sli
hmm...oh, well,
.
I can't really jump to a conclusion without
having any reason to think he might have
had something to do with the kidnapping.
However, I still decide to observe the friend
of the family. The groundskeeper tells him
what happened. The friend of the family
goes " ... so, they want a $250,00 ransom for
her.. .?" That's when I knew that the friend
was one of the kidnappers.
I asked the police to come in, arrest
him, and also to help me question him. He
then confessed that the groundskeeper
helped him in the kidnapping and that Jayme
was at the groundskeeper's house. Jayme
was found, the perpetrators were arrested,
case closed.

Tree
Scratch Art
By
Bailyn Shum

Literary Magazine

Page 26

1998

I
i

1
;
1

Childhood's End
Christine Chang
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
In the outermost regions of the galaxy, part of a tight cluster of stars, is a greenishpurple rainbow like planet, with the colors imprinted like the glassy swirls of oil on water. Most of the
planets near it look inhospitable, with little or no distinguishable life forms. There were gray planets,
blue planets, mud-brown planets, and fiery red planets planets surrounding it. As our shuttle lightsped towards the planet, we adjusted our oxygen suits, strapped on our ray-guns, and peered out the
window. We were in luck! This planet actually had life forms on it. They were scurrying around,
looking like ants, until we got closer. We saw that these beings were only slightly shorter than an
average person on our planet. As we landed, the Head Commissioner of our ship stepped out and
began to read the right's treaty, to assure the inhabitants of that planet that we meant no harm and came
merely to observe. By now, quite a crowd had gathered around and were piping to each other in highpitched voices. We had our protection shield up, for regulation policies, just in case the aliens were
hostile. Actually, they didn't really look like aliens, not the green skinned, rain drop eye type everyone
imagines they are. I described them in my mind to review the information I would write in the report to
send to the government about the "people". The ones here were friendly. Their physical appearance, I
noted, was different from ours. They had little holes all over their body, I assumed to let in some kind
of gas, or perhaps, to keep air circulating because of how hot their planet was. I later, when inquiring
to medical examiners after it, that the holes were actually used to let in more hot air, which they needed
to survive and keep their temperatures constant. They didn't seem to need water or liquid, because
their skin looked papery and dry, but surprisingly smooth. They had many legs, like a spider does, but
in more quantity and number. Those legs could probably used for digging. I saw one of them trip and
fall, and one of the delicate looking legs falloff. I was shocked and thought that it must be in great
pain, but to my surprise, another leg grew in its place, so quickly, it seemed as if the leg as never been
gone at all. The broken leg instantly disintigrated and dissolved into the sand underneath it. This
genetic advantage may prove difficult to our purpose, but no matter, we'd find a way. We always did.
When stepping on this sand, we felt ourselves sinking and hurriedly activated the anti-gravity soles of
our shoes. That was the reason for the dozens of legs, I assumed. To distribute their weight and
speed over the sand. Looking around, this planet had only a flat surface, only few dunes of sand
around and strange red palm tree leaf things that sprang instantly out of the ground. The medical
examiners later told us that their brains or central control area was where our stomachs were, in the
innermost part of their body, so that it would be protected. They thought it was ignorant for us to have
our head so high up, where it would easily break, if we were to fall. What a tough time we had,
explaining that one! Also, the hands of these aliens were wavy and long. There skin was a mellow
yellow, with tinges of orange, to match the desert. I suppose it was for camouflage. We would not
have been able to see them if not for our life-energy flare helmets that allowed us to see anything that
resembled living beings. I wonder what sort of predators they might have, or if there were any at all.
Using our speech modulator, the people of this planet told us that they had thought that they were the
only ones alive and were not even aware, could not comprehend the vastness of space and our
universe. What primitive creatures! They also showed us their simple machines, simple compared to
ours that is. To them, those machines were very advanced and technical. The way they talked of
them, the machines might as well of been gods. Such egotistic behavior. That could be changed.
They kept their own servants, animals of different breed that appear to dislike their enslavement,
although it was hard to tell since they kept their many eyes and antennas to the ground. While the
medical examiners examined a few of their kind, we were shown around with "the best service they
had to offer." Best service? Where were the floating cars? The transportational walkways, and the
robot chief? Indeed these people thought far too much about themselves. They were far behind
humans in the evolution cycle. Humans were supreme beings compared to this. These aliens used
large, animals with shaggy, furred tops and legs, rough as elephant hide. The animals had a suction
cap mouth that they used to eat micro-organisms in the sand and two feet. Very useful. Finally, they
showed us an interesting piece of information about their planet. There was uranium here. The Head
Commisioner's formerly bored face, suddenly glowed with greed. His eyes turned luminously round
as tea cups and he gulped at the sight of so much uranium, the ultimate source of fuel. The aliens,
Literal)' Magazine

Page 27

1998

~j.

sensing the difference in our attitude, told us that they all knew of this substance, which wasn't much,
according to their description. Back at the ship, the medical examiners told us that these aliens were
strong and supple, they would be able to survive hard labor. The many legs could help in digging and
their skin adaptation would allow them to work under the harsh conditions of their planets. Good, we
thought. Now, we only need ten or eleven more planets to allow humans, any humans, not only
trained ones to enjoy the universe. Tourists would flop to these planets and pay plenty to see these
strange creatures. The medical examiners assured us that we were ahead of these aliens and could
easily capture them. After all, if one species is better equipped than another to survive, then they must
make way for progress.

The Skater
By Mallory Mendez
Grade 6

I
I

,
~

Literary Magazine

Page 28

1998

I Wish
Michael Rojas
Mrs. Perkins, Grade 8
I wish I were in a world of life. a world with no hunger, no disease, and universal peace. Our
planet Earth has been in a state of depression for so long, the rest of the universe is laughing at us. We
have become too smart for our time. We have advanced from machine guns and rifles to atomic
bombs, all for our defense. But is our safety worth the lives of millions of people? Or our happiness
for millions of starving children? I have read many books that contain places like what I have wished
for, and if you pisture it, you'll wish Earth was like it too.
Madeleine L'engle has written countless books with world that need no protection from
themselves. The worlds are clean and pure and have not some in contact with the "evil" fruits man has
feasted on. We have destroed lives and nature and abused our planet. But these worlds are in harmony
with the universe. We've destroyed a world (and still are) that could become the envy of the universe.
A diamond in the rough.
Another author who has intrigued me with worlds of peace and tranquility is C.S. Lewis and
his land of Narnia. The animals are in peace with the humans and the world has not been infested with
the disease known as evil. Even when some wrong is done, good comes out of it. But on our planet,
evil brings more evil. But if we could control our wickedness and not try to have everything we want,
this world would begin to be "polished" into the diamond it was meant to be. Earth has pure potential
because we are the only planet within our solar system to sustain life. We have proved we are great,
but how great is a planet where its inhabitants blow up eveything on it, chop down its trees, pollute its
waters, infest its lands, and destroy it's natural beauty?
C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L'engle obviously feels the way I do and writes to leave a world of
chaos and enter total equIlibrium. If you use your imagination, Earth can be turned into a diamond
from the lump of coal we are. We are attempting to corrrect our mistakes and we hope we will never
need to destroy what's left of Earth's beauty. Peace can be achieved, but until it is, I wish I were in a
world where no food was needed, no protection was needed, and no one had to fear anything else. A
world like Narnia. A diamond in the rough. Hopefully, in the near future, this will be planet Earth.

Literary Magazine

Page 29

1998

Jackie Robinson: Baseball Legend

Robert Morales
Ms. Pullum, Grade 7
Jackie Roosevelt Washington was born on January
31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He was an African-American
athlete who played professional baseball. Two things that he
did in his life was coach at Sam Houston College in Texas,
and played professional baseball.
One interesting fact about Jackie Robinson is that he
was the first black man ever to play on a white baseball team.
Another interesting fact about Jackie Robinson is that even
though he played baseball for a living he was very versatile in
other sports as well. When Jackie Robinson started playing
for the Brooklyn Ddgers he was harassed and tonnented by
fans and players from different teams. However, by his
actions he showed true sportsmanship.
After only two years he won the National League Batting Championship and the Most Valuable Player
award. All of the happenings good and bad in Jackie Robinson's life have contributed to is source of
creativity and ambition to succeed. He died on October 24, 1972, leaving behind a wonderful memory
of sportsmanship and success to the world.

The Holocaust
Porfirio Bonet
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
In my opinion, the Holocaust is one of the worst events in world history. I say that because
many people died. Many people were killed because of what they were. They sometimes made the
Jewish people work really hard before the Gennans killed them. In my essay I will explain more about
my reasons for believing that the Holocaust is one of the worst events in world history.
Eleven million people died during the Holocaust. Six million Jewish
people died. Five million gentiles died during that time. People must have
been taken out by the minute. Everywhere you looked there was probably
,.
dead bodies.
All of that killing was done for no reason. Hitler had all those people
killed because they weren't perfect. His idea of being perfect was that they
had to be tall, have blond hair, and blue eyes. He had Jewish people or
anybody else who was not his ideal person killed. In my personal opinion,
~~~IlIMMIIII~~~ I think Adolf Hitler was a very stupid man.
" " '''~ ,~Sometimes, before killing the Jewish or other people Hitler would have
them sent to concentration camps. The camps were horrible. They tortured
the Jewish people there too. They tortured them by not feeding them,
beating on them, and on hot days they would make them wear sweaters and pants, and on cold days
thay would make them wear very little clothes or no clothes at all, then they would gas them so they
would die.
I hope you read my essay and understand why I believe that the Holocaust is one of the worst
events in world history. I gave you reasons about how many people died. How they killed because
they were Jewish or not perfect. Or how they sent them to concentration camps before they killed
them. That is why I think that the Holocaust is one of the worst events in world history.

-.. . . . .,... . "'l"'-.

'. ,f

Literary Magazine

Page 30

1998

I Wish
Cora L1era
Mrs. Perkins, Grade 8

I wish I were a human being. Being a hawk can be so lonely. I haven't seen any of my family
since I left the nest. Now I fly alone. But I can look down through the clouds. I can see what the
humans have done to their earth. I see them doing their human things, and they do some facinating
things! Some of the things they do are ... marvelous. Something called "music" and another thing"laughing". But some things are different. Not like music or laughing. Once I flew down and saw two
of them. They were in between two of these big stone boxes that humans go in and out of like bees in
a hive-buildings 1 guess. They used human facial expressions, but I got the feeling that they were ....1
think it's called "joking". One of them took out a silver box and opened it. Inside was something green
with little pictures on it. Suddenly the other man took out of his pocket, something black and handsized. He pointed it at the first and there was a loud noise. The first man fell and I knew he was dead.
Another time, I flew over what I heard someone call a "zoo". There were animals there, but they
were .... strange. Lions near the gazelles and dolphins next to the fish. And yet all relied on the humans
for stale-looking food. And between the predator and prey, there were .... walls .... cages.
1 just don't understand. Some of the things that humans do are fantastic. And some of the things I've
seen would make people use the emotional expression of "crying". Hawks can't cry and I'm glad.
Because some of those things would start me crying with no end. I found out the words for some of
those things: kill, greed, cage, hunger, hunt, die, war, hate. I guess, on second thought, I'd have to
say I'm glad I'm not a human. Hawks may be alone, and hawks might not have "laughing" and
"music", but they don't have words like "war" and "hate" either'! guess, now, I'd have to say I'm
sorry for humans. I guess, if I had the choice to be a human, I wouldn't take it. Rather than have
words like "greed" and "cage", welL ... I'd rather be alone.

How the Cactus Got Its Prickles

Randy PresinaJ & Cedrick Williams
Ms.Alfonso, Grade 7
One day a god called Truth sat on a rock. As he looked around he marveled at all the beautiful
things he saw. He was particularly impressed by the cactus, who stood erect and tall among the other
plants.
As the truth god admired the cactus, a porcupine passed by. The god laughed and made fun of
hte porcupine. He compared the smoothness of the cactus to the prickly skin of the porcupine, and he
laughed even louder. The porcupine took offense with the god's laughter. He became so angry that his
whole body trembled tremendously. As his body shook, his prickles flew off his body and attached
themselves to the cactus smooth skin.
When the porcupine realized what happened, he began to laugh. He laughed so hard that tears
rolled down his face. The god, Truth, looked at the cactus, and saw it full of prickles. He too began to
cry, but of sadness. The cactus was so upset, that he ran away from the woods, and decided to live in
a place where no one would ever see him. And this is how the cactus got his prickles, and is only
found in the desert.

Literary Magazine

Page 31

1998

I Wish
Alex Conroy
Mrs. Perkins, Grade 8
I wish I were never into the realm of this world. A world of hatred, death, prejudice, and
misunderstandings. Our so-called society thrives off of anger, lust, and greed. This world has gotten
so bad that I have actually regretted being born into it. I would rather be anywhere else but here. This
land of fear, death, and destruction.
I cannot stand how this world functions. A never-ending cycle of insults, emotional, and
physical violence. I cannot understand why we must be this way. We base our lives around death and
destruction. In our music, games, movies, books, and stories, almost nothing is considered
exceptional without some type of violence or evil scheme.
Not only is our entertainment negative, but many people's attitudes as well. In a world where
you step on someone's foot and they want to fight you is ludicrous. Simple misunderstandings turn
into huge ordeals. A slip of the tongue can turn a person's life inside out. People also enjoy treating
others as they do and they get the same in return except for the assorted few that aren't the same.
Many of us live in fear of what is to some. A new World War? Paranoia in another factor I do
not like about this world. It makes them grieve to see people worrying all the time, always about
something. We also live in fear because we destroy ourselves. We attack each other in full-fledged
raids on one another's countries. We build bombs and set them off in our own world. It seems to me
pathetic that we would destroy the planet we've lived on for so long. A lot of our technology is made
for destruction; guns, bombs, rockets. All of these can be useful, but are turned into weapons of war.
I doubt we will ever see world peace. Not because we can't, but because the world is too ignorant to
see there are more important things to do than to annihilate one another.

Golf Course
By Conrad Bonet
Grade 6

Literary Magazine

Page 32

J998

Cajacoh: Man or Beast?

Jose Caracacha
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7
This story begins on the day of Monday, at 1: 55 p.m. As usual Jose (me) went to face my
destiny. It was the time of day that I had to go to Mr. Cajacob's Class. He was an average sized old
timer, but his size or age was the least of my worries. His work was tiring and painful, his tortures,
near endless and terrifying. If you pit Mr. Cajacob against Hitler, Hitler would run home to his
mommy in shear terror. If you shrank him down to a microorganism, he'd make the Ebola virus look
like a skin rash. He's the face of pure evil, but something about him makes me look up to him. He
strikes fear into the hearts of men, his voice emits power and authority. When he calls my name, I
shiver, knowing one way or another that he'd call me "Dr." or some other name. I say "yeah", and he
yells at me. I'm not properly dressed, and he punishes me. I feel like an escaped convict running for
dear life. I love the moments when I can leave his class and I could say "it's over", but, at the same
time, I hate it. I have learned self-discipline and conduct in his class. I have lots of respect for him.
This man, this beast, is the one person who appreciates your talents. He terrifies me, but at the time he
inspires me. He teases me but at the same time he corrects me. So much fear, yet so much respect and
honor I have for him. Truly, this is one true educational wizard who casts spells on his students and
produces scholars from dullards.

Meet the Midgets

Adolfo Jiron
Mr. Cajacob, Grade 8
Meet the midgets, not your ordinary family. The midgets consist of Claudia, Julia, John and
their parents Mr. and Mrs. Midget. As you can read by their names the midgets are indeed actual real
midgets. They live in Tampa, Florida in a nice little house on 81 Sl place. They have a 100 pound
rottweiler, odd for such small people. The Midgets may be small, but they make up for it with big
hearts!
Meet Claudia, the youngest and probably most reasonable Midget of all! She is also the sole
owner of their rottweiler, Tiny. It's her responsibility to take care of the pet by getting up early to feed
it and walk it. Her job doesn't end till she sleeps up to the next morning, rain or shine!
Meet Julia, she is the middle one in the sandwich. Julia is about 15 years old. She loves to
spend her days at the mall, shopping for new looks. She is head of the cheerleaders, also beauty queen
of her school, Baily Senior High. She wants to become a part ofthe Women's National Basketball
Association! She has a serious illness she is a shop-o-holic. She can't resist looking and she must
purchase what she desires. She has all her credit cards maxed-out. I wonder what she would purchase
if she won the Florida Lottery? She would probably buy her own mall, and just about everything in it!
Claudia (*editor's note: Julia?*) learned her lesson, one day she couldn't buy anything for one whole
week forbidden by Mr. Midget.
Meet John Midget, most likely to become 1st round draft first pick he is currently ranked first
in the state of Florida. He and his team, the Seminoles, have won many championships for their
college's history record. John is number 7 and plays "P.E.", that means he plays everything! He
wants to be in the NFL to experience real teamwork and to be a part of the pro-level.
Meet Mr. Midget, he works as a lawyer. He has won many cases, including famous ones such
as 0.1. Simpson, he also defended Mike Tyson, even though he did lose that one, he still felt like he
won. He earns an income of about $20,000.00 dollars every six months. The midgets live in a
Mansion.
Meet Mrs. Midget, she adores all her kids. She cooks, cleans, and models the house. Mrs.
Midget makes dinner for the family everyday. She loves Mr. Midget so much that she even works with
him, as his secretary. She also takes care of Tiny, their rottwieler when Claudia is at school.
The midgets may be small but they make up for it with their big hearts. This was my family, I
hope you liked it!

Literary Magazine

Page 33

1998

I
I

I'
!

Utopia
Laila Zaidi
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
My own planet would be called "Paradisia." It would be a true Utopia, or perfect world. The
environment and life would be very similar to the one on earth. But with out all the violence, racism,
and poverty.
Every being on Paradisia would be enchantingly beautiful. By that I mean all the Angle-like
life forms would get along peacefully no matter how they were like. All the people would have an
occupation and provide food and money for their family. Through there would no poverty or hunger
on my planet, everyone would have the opportunity to work for themselves.
The appearance of Paradisia can be recognized from miles away in space. This spectacular
glow shines to every comer of the galaxy. On the surface of the planet everything is slightly afloat.
Nothing touches the group completely so the gravity level isn't to high or low. The air and water are
as clean and clear, it is like something ever before seen. The sun and sky are as clear as glass. Except
the clouds seem to have a crystal like appearance.
The religion on Parasisia is solely based on the person. The God on my planet would be the
same God that you worship now. Also on my planet animals will be free to live life the way they
choose. With endless miles of rolling land they I will not be captivated. One exception to this will be
dogs, pigs, rays, and snakes since they will not be allowed on Paraidsia.

My Scariest Moment
David Campos
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
People always experience a scary moment in their lives. I myself have experienced scary
moments. Probably the scariest moment was when I came close to dying.
It happened when I was six years old. I went out to eat with my parents and my brother one
night. I thought it was going to be another family night out. Unlikely did I know that I was going to
experience the most frightening moment of my life.
At the restaurant, I ordered a small steak. My mom cut my steak into small pieces for me. I ate
normally. Then, I swallowed a piece too big. I started to choke. I didn't want to attract attention, so I
tried to drink some soda. It didn't work. I couldn't hold it anymore. I started to run around like crazy.
My mom started screaming. I thought my life was over.
Suddenly, my stepfather got up, grabbed me by the neck, and put his finger down my throat,
pulling the piece of meat out. I went outside and gasped for air.
I've never forgotten that moment. For me, my stepfather was like a guardian angel that night.
I've thanked God for allowing me to stay alive.

Literary Magazine

Page 34

1998

The Unsinkable
Megan Repine
Mrs. A. Wilson, Grade 6
On her maiden voyage on April 1912 the Titanic left South Hampton, England carrying a total
of 2,223 people. It was the largest and most elegant ship ever. More than 1,500 of the 2,223 people
died after the ship struck an iceberg and sank on April 15. I believe that this catastrophe would have
been prevented if there were not so many mistakes that the crew of the Titanic made. I will talk about
some of the mistakes in this essay.
First of all, two of the mistakes were made by Captain Smith. He wanted for the ship to make
headlines in the news and he was on pressure to dock the ship in New York in record time, so he kept
ordering to increase speed. He also ignored warning calls about the icebergs they were in the North
Atlantic Ocean. When they were finally close enough to see the iceberg the were going too fast to stop
or tum the ship, so the iceberg slit the side of the boat where the watertight compartments were. The
Titanic was proclaimed unsinkable because it contained 16 watertight compartments. The ship could
withstand four being punctured without sinking. The problem was that the iceberg punctured five.
Within 20 minutes, the captain knew it was going to sink.
He ordered to load the lifeboats. There was a problem because there were only 20 lifeboats
that could hold less than half the passengers that were on board. The reason for this was because they
thought that the ship would be cluttered if there were more than 20 lifeboats on deck, so they decided
to used the money to make the ship even more elegant. Because of this, first class woman and
children first while the third class passengers exists were blocked with gates so they could not get on
deck. Can you believe that the first class passengers thought they were being inconvenienced because
they had to get in the lifeboats?
The last thing that I will talk about is how the crew loaded the lifeboats. When the crew was
loading the lifeboats had a capacity. The first lifeboat had a capacity of 65 people but they only loaded
28. They did this with the remanding 19 lifeboats. The rest of the people had to stayed on board the
ship and it split in half. When the ship completely sank the people had to try to to float in the freezing
water. Only one of the lifeboats returned to rescue more passengers. About 65% of the first class
passengers survived. A lot of innocent people's lives were taken that night.
In conclusion, I believe that this catastrophe could have been prevented if there were not so
many mistakes that were made. It is to be hoped that nothing like this will ever happen again.

Literary Magazine

Page 35

1998

The Mystery of the Missing Parrot

Aileen Aday
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Once upon a time a girl named Lisa came home from school to her backyard to see her parrot.
As she approached the cage all she saw a big hole on the top of the cage, and in the cage there was a
candy wrapper and a feather. At the time the three suspects she had in mind were her twin brothers,
her dad, and her mom.
She had her twin brothers in mind because they loved candy bars and torturing the bird. But,
when she approached her brothers their room was no answer. So she knocked on the door but there
was no answer. So she looked in the window from the outside to see that her brothers were not there.
At the time she knew it was not them because they had not been at home that day. They had been at
their grandmothers house all day .So then she knew it had to be her dad or her mom.
She thought it was her dad because her dad always hated her pets. She went to look for him.
She looked allover the house, but couldn't find him. Suddenly, the door bell rang and she went to
open the door to find that her dad was at the front door. She asked him were he had been and he said
he was at the library. So now she knew it had to be her mom.
When she went to talk to her mom. The door was closed. She opened the door furiosly. Her
mom asked what the big commotion was. Lisa said that her mom had stolen her parrot. Her mom
explained that she had been playing with the parrot. Lisa was relieved her mom had not stolen the
parrot.

Terrified
Rachel Caruso
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Everyone one has a frightening experience at one point
in their lives. I have had my share of those, but only one comes
to mind. Ihad no idea whether what was happening was real or
just some frightful nightmare. I was so terrified.
The story starts out like this. I was at home watching
T.V. Ijust happened to be home alone, which usually doesn't
bother me unless something happens, like what happened to me
next. I looked up from the T.V. show. I saw something move \..
from the corner of my eye. I looked into the kitchen and out the ~1111111"'.
window which views my backyard. I now knew what was
iiiii~;::==:;;jIII
moving.
As I started in total shock at the frightening sight, I froze. When I snapped out of it , I ran to
my room and immediatly called the police, because I had seen two men in my backyard, break the
window and begin to break in my house. I guess they didn't know someone was home, but I was.
After the phone call to the police, I began to calm down because I had everything under control, or so I
thought.
As I lay on my bed waiting for the police, all of a sudden, I heard my doorknob turn. I
freaked. Thank God my door was looked, but I still ran to my closet and hid in there. Even though I
was sure they would find me if they did get in. I eoudn't hear anything, but just then I heard a big
creek, and I knew they were inside.
I now was in a state of fright, I coudn't even feel my heart beating anymore. The only thing
that brought me back to life was the sweet sound of police sirens. It was about time! I guess the
robbers didn't get away in time, because when I walked outside there were the two guys in the
backseat of a police car. The police asked me a few questions, and said I did a good job, and that I
should be proud. Maybe I should be, but I still always wonder what would have happened to me if I
didn't live so close to the police station.

'1l1li

Literary Magazine

Page 36

1998

Loved Alone
Alex Conroy
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
My first true love was in another state, of course, far far away. How much I miss her, even
though I don't know if she loved me or not. A beautiful tall woman with a perfect personality and
attitude.
She was brilliant, I admired her day by day on my visit. She was never in any mischief, never
in any blame of wrongdoing. How many nights I did dream of her, just her by my side. I never knew
if she loved me. I felt as if I was loving alone, always wondering, but never asking.
We became friends in the two weeks we were there. She and I became almost inseperable.
Still I wondered, "does she.:.". Alas I continued on with the friendship in hope of something
happening or sparking between us, but all the time I loved alone.
Almost towards the end of my visit, four days left, I felt I was to dieif I did not say anything. I
wanted, needed to share my love. I could not bare loving alone. It was a hrrendous torment that I put
myself willingly through.
The third day I decided to tell her. I expected the worst, but found good news. I was not the
only one loving alone. For she felt the same way I did all along as well. We did not have much time
and decided to just spend time with one another. Holding hands I felt as if we were connected
somehow. The love moving through both of us, flowing swiftly. Then the last day, time to go. We
met outside and sadly, but slowly kissed goodbye. She turned to the car and didn't look back. The
trip home was not enjoyable, not at all.

Blanky
Rachel Caruso
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Everyone has a toy that was a childhood favorite. When I was a child I would have to say my
favorite toy was my blanket. I know a blanket isn't really a toy but I used to play with it and it made
me happy. HIs name was Blanky. blanky was my favorite toy because he made me happy, he helped
me sleep at night and it was the only memory I had of my grandmother. My favorite toy was very
special to me.
First of all, Blanky was given to me by my grandmother the day I was born. I was brought
home wrapped in Blanky. I remember his soft material in my new skin. Since blanky was the first
toy I ever had, it was my favorite. I kept it through my childhood years and he always brought me
happiness.
Next, Blanky is my favorite toy because he was a great ncessity during my childhood years. When I
was about 3 years old I became scared of the dark. I had a hard time falling asleep and the only way I
could was if I was holding Blanky. Blanky brought me protection. I do not know how the blanket
could be protecting, but the warmth of him made me feel safe. I do not know how I could have gotten
through the night without Blanky.
Finally, Blankey is my favorite toy because he was given to me by my grandmother. It was the first
and last gift my grandmother ever gave to me. Shortly after I was born my grandmother died of a
heart-attack. If I would have gotten to know my grandmother better, I know I would have loved her,
because she gave me only one thing, and that thing is my favorite possesion. That shows how perfect
my gradmother would have been for me. Blanky is my favorite and only memory of my grandmother
which is why he is so special to me.
In conclusion, Blanky is very important to me. He makes me happy, he helped me get through the
night when I was young., and he reminds me of my grandmother. Even though Blanky is not a real
toy he is still special to me and brings me the same feeling a toy WOUld, happiness. I have had Blanky
since the day I was born, and I still have and love him to this day. I know I will cherish Blanky
forever.
Literary Magazine

Page 37

1998

The Unexpected Guest

Tyson Rodriguez
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
I saw him walking into the shadow of the house. A tall, built man, and as he was walking
away he turned and said "Death has come" and vanished.

"Hey Sarah," I yelled over the noise. The beautiful blonde walked over to me and we kissed.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Chris and I go far back" I replied. "Oh" she said. We started
dancing and I noticed a couple of other people I knew.
I saw Tony and Steve. Steve, as usual, was showing off his muscles to the girls with his
sidekick Tony tagging along. Mary was admiring him and making fun of him at the same time. I also
saw Charlie dancing alone. There was about 25 people at the party. We were all having a great time.
The party went on for quite some time, until about midnight. After that, everyone had left except
Sarah, Steve, Tony, John, Chris and I. Or so we thought.
Later that night, a big storm hit and knocked out all the power. John and Chris let us stay over
night so we wouldn't have to drive home in the storm. Sarah and I slept in John's room while John
and Chris slept in Chris's room. Mary slept in their parents room and Steve and Tony in the living
room. Everybody was sleeping well until about 1:30 a.m.
"Aaaaahhhhh" was all I heard. There was mumbling but I couldn't make out what was being
said. I told Sarah to stay in bed as I went to see what happened. Tony immediately rushed over to me
and hid behind me. The living room looked like a ritual was taking place there. An undistinguishable
figure lay on the ground with candles completely surrounding it. By then, everybody was in the living
room. Somebody pointed a flashlight on the figure and the girls screamed in disgust.
A person that looked like Steve was lying dead on the floor. His face was mangled until it was
unrecognizable but his body didn't have a scratch on it. One thing that really caught my eye was a
message written in blood on the floor. It said "Death will come upon us all." Apparently, I was the
only one to notice it so I decided to keep it a secret not to frighten anybody more than they already
were.
The girls were crying and John and Chris were trying to calm them. I decided we need to get
out of here. We all went to John's room to get away from the horror that came upon Steve. We all
thought we should go to the police first. Then, I asked Tony what he thought. There was no response.
I looked all around for Tony but he was gone. I started to call for him but a shattering noise
interrupted me. Chris and the girls stiffened up and John and I went to check it out. "It came from the
kitchen" John said.
As we walked into the kitchen, we both gasped in horror. A flashlight was focused in on
Tony's body somehow hanging from the ceiling. He seemed to have been strangled to death. A candle
lit the space on the wall which had another message written in blood there. It said "Soon my friends,
soon."
We ran back into John's room and told them of what we saw. They were all astonished.
Everybody went ot their rooms quickly to get their things. As we were about to leave, Mary said she
had to use the bathroom.We were all taling about what had happened when we notice Mary had been
gone a while.
This time, Chris and I went to see what was keeping her. As we neared the bathroom, we saw
a tall man running down the hall towards Chris's room. We got to the bathroom and opened the door.
Mary's body fell on us. Chris ran down the hall in fear and into his room. Mary's head was wet so I
guessed she had been drowned. I then heard a scream coming from Chris's room.
I ran to his room knowing in my head the same fate fell upon him as the others. Well, I was
right. His throat was slit in a rush. A message scribbled on the wall in blood read "Death is near." I
rushed back to Sarah and John.
I found Sarah shaking violently and John was nowhere to be seen. Sarah said he ran away
when he heard Chris's scream. She really wanted to leave. Sarah and I ran outside and into my car. I
turned quickly and saw Steve.
I saw him walking into the shadow of the house. A tall, built man, and as he was walking
away he turned and said "Death has come" and vanished.
Literary Magazine

Page 38

1998

Epilogue
As you read, you found out Steve was the killer. You're probably wondering how he did it.
Steve was mad at his family because they had problems. He went crazy seeing everybody have fun at
the party. When the party ended, he killed Charlie and put him in the basement. Tony found Charlie's
body which looks like Steve but his face was too mangled to tell a difference. Since it looked like him,
everybody thought it was him and he had a good disguise. He then killed as many as he could. After
he vanished into the shadow, he was never seen again.

Bottles
Scratch Art
By Tatiana Cantillo

Literary Magazine

Page 39

1998

Death For Love

Jennifer Ray
Ms. Marquez, Grade 7

Once in a far off place, there lived a princess named Crystal who represented the darkness. She
had a husband named Corlius, master of all magic. Along came her secret lover named Lethal, master
of weapons. Every night the princess would sneak out and go to whare Lethal lived. One night she
made a loud sound that awoke Corlius. Corlius was furious to see her with Lethal. Smoke arose from
under Corlius.
He said, "How dare you sleep with my true love?"
Lethal responded, "She is the one I love, and no one can come between us."
Corlius said, "Then it's a fight to the finish."
The next day the sky was red as the blood of a soldier. Corlius arrived first than Lethal. He probably
got scared.
Someone screamed out, "Lethal!" Corlius turned around and saw Lethal fl
a distance. Corlius smiled, but not for long. Corlius didn't win, Lethal did.
The moral of the story is love is a dangerous game.

My Feelings About .. LOVE

Ashley Stack
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Date: 1/21198
Dear Journal,
Love is a word used all over the world, in many languages and many places. Some people
think that love is the greatest thing in the world, while others think it just sucks. Many people can't
even decide if they love love or if they just hate it. That is the way I feel. Sometimes I hate it and
sometimes I love it. What do I think of it now? You're about to fmd out!
Love is not such a great friend of mine right now. All I think it is now is a curse. It raises
people's hopes about true love and has them wishing on shooting stars and singing love ballads. At the
end of this daydream, all hopes are diminished and everyone goes back to his or her depression.
That's how I feel right now. I was disillusioned by love and now I can see clearly. I see that
love was just a big waste of time. I hope everyone can see through this charade like I can. Of course,
I'll probably change my mind in just a matter of time, but for now I'm holding my ground on how I
feel about love.

Literary Magazine

Page 40

1998

The Mystery and Wonder of Words

From Grandfather to Grandpa
Bryan Lemus
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7
The year was 1825, London. In the middle of a vast plain of grass there was a beautiful farm
owned by a rich and illustrious family- the Spensors. The family consisted of mother and father, four
children, and an antediluvian male which was the father of the mother.The daily life of the Spensors
was not a very exciting one, but today things were different. Sir William n,the father of Mrs. Spensor,
was celebrating his 95th birthday by inviting half the town to his idea of a party.
As soon as
it was dusk people began to arrive at the Spensors. The party was not as bad as I thought it would be.
The music was very nice, the food was wonderful, and the service great. As the night progressed more
and more people began to dance. Everybody was happy, especially Sir William n. As for myself, I
met two new friends which I played with all night long. The hours flew by, and when I noticed it was
already 11:00 0' clock.
At that time, my mother, Mrs. Spensor came up with the worst idea she could have thought ofshe wanted me to go up in front of everybody, and say a few nice words to Sir William II. I totally
disagreed, knowing I would be too nervous to talk in front of what must have been at least 200 people,
but no matter what I said my mother was completely determined to make me do it. She said it would be
a very nice way to show Sir William II how much I loved him-not that I did at all. I finally gave up and
told her I would.
It was hard at first, but I drew up all my courage, patted Sir William n on his shoulder, and
asked him, "Dear Sir William, if you would please come with me to the front of the ballroom." He said
yes, and began to follow me. When we got there I tapped on a wine glass with a fork. The piercing,
sharp sound traveled through the ballroom announcing my toast.
With the thought that 200 people were staring at me, my legs quivered as if they were made of
pudding, my heart pounded rapidly, but finally, I said, "On behalf of all my brothers I, Bryan Spensor
would like to say that Sir William II has been a great and positive influence toward us. He's a great
man thaL .... " I continued on for about another two minutes. A perpetual voice talking about his great
sense of humor, excellent personality, and a bunch of other lies. But now I had come to the end and I
needed just one more word. One word to sum it all up, but the only words coming to my mind were
not nice, words such as knave, futile, and decrepit. Finally, the word came to me and I began the last
line. "So, I'd just like to thank you for being the wonderful, grandfather you are," for the word
person, due to my nervousness, had been interchanged with father forming a new word that
everybody thought I had made up-grandfather.
From that day on, it became popular to refer to the father of either your mom or dad as your
grandfather. And from this word, in the many years to come, there would evolve other words such as
grandmother, grand dad, grandpa, and grandma.

Literary Magazine

Page 41

1998

The Steal
The Silver Eyes
Judith Rodriguez
Mr. Cajacob, Grade 8
It had been exactly one year since the Roberts did their steal and now it was the time to make
the next one. They still hadn't gotten over what that man at customs had told them about their Turkish
rug. Now they were in their room discussing where to go next.
"I think we should go the Spain" said Mrs. Roberts. "I think its time we got a sword for our
room. One of those with silver and gold on the handle. You know there are some that even seem to
have an eye" she concluded.
"You know, sweetheart, I believe you're right, but we need to be very careful, swords are
dangerous. Fine we'll go to Spain."
During the next week the Roberts took all of their money out of their account and got caught up
in some reading about swords and their meanings. They booked a flight to Toledo, Spain. Once there
they went to their hotel. The hotel was beautiful, filled with exotic flowers and it had pointed arcs
everywhere they went. It was almost like a castle from a story. Its rooms were exquisite in detail and
encompassed all of their thoughts. It felt like they were bewitched.
"This is incredible, we'll never want to leave this room least of all the hotel. You know I think
we should just sit back and enjoy life's simple pleasures," said Mrs. Roberts.
"I think so too, but I still think we should look for a sword," replied Mr. Roberts.
Mrs. Roberts nodded her head in agreement. The next week was bliss for them. The sky was
gray and full of torment it was symbolic of lay ahead. The Roberts walked out of their hotel that same
morning of disaster. They made their way through the busy streets of Toledo towards towards the
museum. When they reached the outside of the museum they stood there gaping at the magnificent
way the museum was decorated. They walked hand in hand, this was one of those moments that they
had to hold on to, to cherish forever. Ans so the tour began, with the guide and a group of people
behind hem. When they reached a large crystal box supported by a short, snake-like columns. The
group noticed the box contained two swords. Then everything seemed to happen at once. Two men
took out guns and fired a shot into the air and told everyone to get down. The two security guards
came running toward the men. It was a horrible confrontation. Then Mr. Roberts scooted over to the
box, but before his attempt one of the armed robbers shot the box making glass shatter everywhere.
One of the swords fell to the floor and Mr. Roberts grabbed for it without being seen. He struck one
of the men with the sword. The man cried out in pain grabbing his partner's attention. His partner
only saw blood when he went to shoot at Mr. Roberts. He was thrown to the ground by a police
official, thus Mr. Roberts was saved and also foiled the robbery. In recognition of his bravery the
museum manager honored Mr. Roberts by giving him the weapon with which he saved the day, the
sword with a silver eye in the middle. On their way back home Mr. and Mrs. Roberts couldn't contain
their happiness over their new steal.

Literary Magazine

Page 42

1998

I!,

Mr. Wiggle
Adolfo Jiron
Mr. Cajacob, Grade 8
The last time I checked toy manufacturers aren't producing Mr. Wiggle, but I can still capture
the moments we shared. I can still remember him like the back of my hand. It all began in the
Christmas of 1984. My parents were decorating the Christmas tree, when, suddenly, my Grandma
bursted. She was the one that really kept the holiday spirit within her. My Grandma would bring me,
my brothers, and my sisters exciting presents that seemed like they never lost their value. But this
Christmas she gave me the best present any boy could ever have. She gave me Mr. Wiggle. Many of
you don't even know who or what Mr. Wiggle was. That didn't matter he was close to three inches,
had light skin, and a banana for a nose. He dressed in a pair of overalls. He was also my best friend.
Mr. Wiggles helped me in everything, he was my arm when I couldn't reach the cookie jar. He was
my shield in the pouring rain, he was also my comforter in times of trouble. Mr. Wiggles wasn't
perfect, he liked mischief, but who doesn't. I still remember the day my butt was red hot all because of
Mr. Wiggle's desire to go outside ...
It all started on a rainy April day, my mom and dad were sounds a sleep in their room. I was
watching television, I think it was the ever popular Sesame Street. Mr. Wiggles was besides me all of
a sudden with great force he blurted out "lets go out and play I agreed that it was extremely boring. I
went to my room and reached out for my Mac and my umbrella. I then hurried down the stairs and
opened the door. I jogged to the sandbox, I held up my umbrella so Mr. Wiggles wouldn't get soaked.
Thunder crashed and there, by the door was my father, he held a belt. He told me- to get n fast. After
my punishment, my mom came in and interrupted timeout by saying: "Honey, don't ever go out
again!" "I know that mom." Mr. Wiggles was of course sitting besides me in a smaller chair. I wish he
could have taken the spanking for me.
Later that year something very disturbing happened. Mr. Wiggles was no where to be found!
We searched every inch of the house, we even drove around in the car looking for him. I was very sad
and those weeks were very lonely and tiresome.
One morning at around sunrise I heard very faint sounds. I followed the trail it lead me too, my
very own closet. I heard the distress call coming from under a pile of clothes. There he was, Mr.
Wiggles, he was saying, "What took you kid, I've been here for weeks, ain't there something to eat?"
I gave him a glass of milk and some homemade cookies, he gobbled them up. he didn't even leave a
crumb.
But what interested me the most about Mr. Wiggles is that he can be bad at times, but he was
good at others, like when I had the chicken pox. He was the one that took care of me, after my mom of
course. He would scratch me in any itchy area. He would bring me chicken soup and orange juice. He
is my best friend.
I still have Mr. Wiggles, but he's not all there. He's missing his big banana nose. I hope
everybody has a best friend like Mr. Wiggles. He is the best toy ever made, at least to my standards.

Literary Magazine

Page 43

1998

The Oak Chair

Christina Monroe
Mr. Cajacob, Grade 7
My name is Woody. I am a dark oak chair. I surround the dinner table with other friends like
me. All day, everyday I'm being sat in or stepped on. And from my experience, let me tell you, people
should use stronger toilet paper or change their underwear more often. I used to be handsome once,
almost sparkling when I was taken away from my mother. Here children put crayon on me, stain me,
and scratch me up. Sometimes I'm never even used, so I just rot away collecting dust, which I'm
allergic to. In fact, the people who own me are thinking of painting me a pepto bismol pink, Ewww.to
cover up my ugliness, if you ask me, that's just making me uglier.
I've seen woven chairs who always say, "I wish we were as strong as you," it's the female
chairs who do that. They probably won't say that anymore though, they might think I'm one of them,
painted in pink. Haa. Pink is not a manly color, unless your a woven male chair. Their kind of
sensitive like our women oak. I don't mess with them, they might cry. Hard oak wood color is for me.
Just a few days ago, my father, the strongest yet oldest chair I knew past on. He broke his leg.
You'd think in the nineties, you'd have the technology to fix a broken chair leg. I mean, these humans
gloat about being able to clone people and animals, but they can't put a chair leg back on. Are we not
important? How much technology would be in that? I can still remember it in the back end of my
chair. My father was standing on his four legs across from me, beaming. Then, all of the sudden, a
very large man came to sit on my father. I yelled, "Dad, watch out," as the bottom of my feet screeched
because I was next to be sat in. But it was to late. Dad's leg had made a "snapping" noise and broke
off.
The large man fumbled and hit his chin on the table with a loud "thud." He started bleeding and
ran out of the room to the hospital to be fixed. Dad on the other hand did not. He said, "Son, I love
you and ... Good-bye," before I could say good-bye. He was off on his long journey to chair Heaven
which is better known as the dump. I was very gloomy until the next day. A new chair, a woman oak,
had taken dad's place. They called her Frenchie, because she was made in France. She's very cute and
delicate, I liked her. Us chairs only talk when we're being moved to a different place or being used
when humans make our feet screech as they pull us back.
There's one chair in the house that I dislike. The computer desk chair. She thinks she's all hot
and great, but some of her is made of plastic, which us chairs know is from"plastic surgery," so I try
to stay clear of that area, so I don't have to exchange words with her. I never was from America. I
remember I was carved by a very strong man in Europe. Then I was shipped on an airplane to
America, Florida really. Where I was put in a very chilly store with chairs of all kinds waiting to be
chosen and start my job. Finally, a couple with three children bought me. At first I loved being used in
all ways. When people sat on me it felt wann and cushiony except for a lingering stench that roamed
each person in a different way.
Now I really don't like it. But, hey you got to do something with your life. I'd hate to be the
only chair to go into the unemployment office and say I don't have a job, because us chairs all have the
same job, to be used, like the Americans are being used by the Government with all this tax business. I
mean, have you ever wondered why all government people get the high life and don't pay for a thing.
Well it's because tax money pays for it. I saw that on C.N.N. once while being sat on in the living
room.
I love Frenchie and she loves me, despite what the computer desk chair has told her about me
being pink or old and ugly. We're thinking of having children of our own one day, if it's okay with
our owners. You never know when your going to break, so to all people out there, help live our lives
to the fullest and sit on us, but not to hard, because we might break!

Literary Magazine

Page 44

1998

~..

1997 - 1991
'-Z)ade e~

1f/~&~

-~ ~.,."...,., &~

2?tad 'ri'~
&
~'

~ ~-~

On the Road to Success

Lisa D'Souza
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7
With the hardships that African Americans face, few become very successful in the world of
business. They have had very few opportunities because of racial discrimination. Because many
African Americans were so industrious, and have changed the world, it is our duty to acknowledge
them this month. We owe it to African Americans for many things including the invention of ice
cream, guitars, stop lights, etc. Some of the well - known African Americans who are popular and are
successful in business include Michael Jordan, and Puff Daddy. Today however, I will tell you about
someone very successful, who we don't hear about everyday. Her name was Sarah Breedlove, also
known as Madame C. J. Walker. Her biggest role in business and success, was that she was the first
woman of any race to earn a million dollars.
Sarah Breedlove was born on July IS, 1867. Her life would soon become very tough only
because of the pigment in her skin. She became an orphan at the age of seven. Three years later, she
started to work as a laundress does. By the age of fourteen she had a daughter, and her first marriage
ended. After her daughter Lelia finished college, she started working for a hair product company.
In 1904 she found out how to make hair products that would correct hair loss caused by stress.
This was a common problem amongst African American women. You see, one evening, she noticed
that her hair was falling out in great amounts. That night, she had a dream that some man was mixing
some substances. The following morning, she concocted the same mixture and placed it on her scalp.
She realized that this mixture resulted in longer and thicker hair.
After this discovery, she decided to move. With only $1.50 in her pocket, she moved to
Denver. Here she married Charles J. Walker, a newspaperman. This is how she got her official
business name Madame C. J. Walker. She would go door - to - door, trying to sell her hair products.
With the help of her husband, they developed new marketing, and advertising tactics. They also
opened several outlets, and a beauty college.
In 1908, Mr. & Mrs. Walker moved to Indianapolis, because of the access to rail lines in the
metropolitan area. Here is where they established a factory and lab to make their beauty devices. In
1913 she got divorced again, and soon after she moved to Harlem in New York City. She became
active in political and cultural issues. Not to mention, she joined the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
During her childhood, like many other young African Americans, she faced racial
discrimination. Although she struggled, and had an exceptionally hard life, she has proved that
anyone can succeed. No matter what dismal things happened, she didn't let anything get in her way.
She is someone to be proud of, and is a role model for everyone.

Literary Magazine

Page 45

1998

Narcisse Noukafou
Lawrenice Miller
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
When asked to write on the theme of Black-Americans in business, many people probably
wrote their reports about celebrities, such as: Bill Cosby, Barry Gorden, Quincy Jones, or Tracy
Edmonds. They all should be commended for this. However, many non-famous people who are our
neighbors, have worked hard, and have struggled to be who they are today, and have become great
business individuals. Those individuals don't get the proper credit they really deserve. That is why my
report is on Narcisse Noukafou.
You may be asking yourself, "Narcisse Noukafou, who is he ?" He is one of the most hardest
working businessmen of today. He was born in Keve Togo, West Africa, to Kodjo and Odette
Noukafou. As a child Narcisse always had a thirst for education. Because of not having many
educational opportunities in his country at the time, Narcisse took off for France. He went there as a
student to attend a college in Bordeaux, France. Finally, his dream came true, he came to the United
States in 1970. In New York he attended college, majoring in advertisement and journalism. He soon
married in 1974 to Janice Washington of Valdosta, Georgia.
He then moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he sold adds for "Pocket Yellow Pages".
This inspired him to start his own business. Therefore, he started his own business by publishing
magazines called, "The French Pages". This magazine was designed for French-speaking people.
After he shut down that publication he found that people had an interest in Africa. Therefore, he
transferred the advertisers to "African-USA". Each month there is a different country in Africa and the
West Indies featured in the magazine.
Narcisse has kept this magazine publication going for over 7 years. His magazine has grown to
be one of the oldest black magazines in the area. African-USA is designed specifically for AfricanAmerican and Caribbean consumers. Also this magazine is educational for other ethnic groups because
they may acquaint themselves with Caribbean and African culture. This is how Narcisse planned it. He
wanted others to know about his country, his continent and the continent where blacks come from.
Narcisse has taken a wide step in his life, from being a young lad in Africa, to being an owner
of "African-USA" magazines in the United States. He has maintained an average of distributing 5,000
copies of each publication, free of charge! And is still working hard to accomplish more of his goals.
He believes that anyone can accomplish the tasks he has done if you work hard, and do the best in
school. That is why he attends different schools today, lecturing and informing children about his
country and how children can work hard in order to attain their goals in life. Narcisse Noukafou is one
of the hardest working businessmen known of today. Not only is he an entrepreneur, he is also
modest and balances his life, by devoting time to his family and his religion. He truly fits this year's
Black History theme: "African-Americans and Business: The Path Toward Empowerment."

Literary Magazine

Page 46

1998

Madame C.J. Walker

Jennifer Hernandez
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7
The person I chose was an African American woman, who, in spite of racial and ethnic
discrimination, succeeded in the world of business. In response to this years theme, African
Americans on the business path to empowerment, I chose to spotlight Madame C.J. Walker.
Madam C. lWalker was the fIrst African American to earn a million dollars. Other women had
been millionaires before her but they inherited it, she was the fIrst to really earn it. She made money by
selling hair products. Her company is still in business today.
When she was born, her mom named her Sarah Breedlove. Her parents were slaves. Everyday she
worked from sunset to sundown in cotton fIelds. Later on, she changed her name to Madame C.J.
Walker. After she was born, Lincoln passed a law freeing slaves. Even though they were free, they
weren't given any money to start with.
When she was small, she didn't go to school much. She got married when she was fourteen.
Her husband's name was Mr.McWilliams. They had a daughter named Lelia. When Lelia was two,
her father was murdered by a lynch mob. Afterwards, they moved to St.Louis, where she made
meager earnings.
In St.Louis, Madame C.J. Walker, noticed that her Hair was falling out. That night she had a
dream, that this guy was mixing this concoction. She woke up and tried the concoction. It made her
hair glow longer and thicker.

She then started to sell her hair concoction through newspapers. Over some years, her and
Mary McLeod Bethune became friends. They became such good friends, that she gave money to Mary
McLeod Bethune and charities. In Madame C.J. Walkers will, she asked that-her company be kept
alive, but run only by women.
In conclusion, business people such as Madame C.J. Walker, proves that determination can
overcome racism and discrimination. That one should keep their eye on the path of empowerment and
fInish the race.

Literary Magazine

Page 47

1998

Christopher Wallace
a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.
Raul Campos
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Music is used to express feelings and sometimes beliefs each person has. One popular form of
music is rap. Rap is said to be bad music with offensive language and explicit content. To many people
it is just a way to tell everybody how you feel. One great example of these people was the great
Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G., who is a great rap artist. He is also an example of a
black American, who has made achievements in the world of business yet, his path to empowerment
was not an easy one.
Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G. was born and raised in the Brooklyn
neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant in New York. He was the son of a preschool teacher. In high
school, young Wallace was an honor student but this did not last long. He dropped out of school at the
age of seventeen to sell crack. Although he did not need to sell crack for money, he still insisted. One
reason Wallace says is that crack dealers were his role models and dealing was a way for a young
black man to make a living in the ghetto.
Dealing drugs would later cost him a trip to jail in North Carolina for nine months. Wallace had
lots of time to think during his time in prison. Becoming a millionaire musician was not even in his
mind. After his release, he borrowed a friend's four-track tape recorder and created basic rap tracks in
his basement. These tapes were Wallace's chance to be a musician and leave his drug dealing ways
behind. The tapes landed in the hands of Andre Harrell, president of Uptown records, who was
impressed with what he heard. This would begin Wallace's career in music.
Christopher Wallace's career would not last in Uptown records. He met Uptown's National
director and together with Wallace, they established Bad Boy Records. Here Wallace would begin his
empire and become one of the most popular rap artists in the world. He would soon create two
albums, which would push him to the front of the rap business. These albums would also gain in
popularity and B.I.G. would win many awards. He would now be at the peak of his success and be
idolized forever.
Tragedy would strike the rap business. Christopher Wallace would be gunned down in Los
Angeles. This would stir up rumors about the East coast - West coast war. This would also be the end
of the great Notorious B.I.O. and his music. He now serves as a reminder of what anybody could do
if they work hard for it. Christopher Wallace went from the bottom of society to a multi-millionaire rap
artist who is looked upon as a great businessperson.

Literary Magazine

Page 48

1998

Kenneth I. Chenault
African-American Businessman
Christine Chang
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Kenneth 1. Chenault is one of the most highly respected entrepreneurs in the field of business
today. He was recently promoted to president and chief operating officer of American Express
Company, a credit card company which Fortune Magazine ranks as the 65th largest company in the
country, based on annual revenues. This promotion is clearly a great step for African-Americans
everywhere, as Chenault's achievement "marks the first public anointment of a black executive to run
one of the country's biggest companies", as stated in an article from the Detroit News.
Chenault did not attain his high position overnight, he worked hard to get so far. He started at
the bottom, and worked his way up. In 1987, at age 35, he was names the head of the company's
Platinum and Cold Card division. He had tripled the merchandise division's profits in three years. Not
only that, but Kenneth Chenault was also a lawyer and graduated from Harvard University, one of the
most prominent colleges in the nation.
Chenault has been praised by many magazines and newspapers, the Black Enterprise magazine
being one of them. His achievement is helping to encourage diversity in executive business divisions.
Chenault has been nominated to sit on the board of director and is in charge of all American Express's
business except for the Financial Advisors and the American Express Bank.
When Chenault arranged a multi year, multi million dollar deal with the golf superstar Tiger
Woods, he said that "discipline, hard works and preparation are the pillars of American Express'
business". Chenault has definitely shown all these qualities with all his efforts and time he has put into
the company American Express and is an excellent example for all of us. Kenneth I. Chenault is
unmistakably the top African-American business leader.

Literary Magazine

Page 49

1998

Oprah Winfrey's Path Toward Business Empowerment

Chelsea Owens
Ms. Alfonso, Grade 7
There are many African Americans in business today, yet they have gone through all kinds of
sacrifices to become successful business persons. As a reward, they have gained power over the
business world. One person who falls under this category is Oprah Winfrey. Today, Oprah is
considered one of the world's greatest business persons, in spite of the trials and tribulations that she
has had to go through in her personal life, as well as her life! in show business, and certainly her
rocky path toward empowerment in the business world.
Oprah Winfrey has had a turbulent life. She has had to cope with the mother who abandoned
her when she was just a baby (whom she has since reconciled with). She had an impoverished
childhood on her grandmother's family the rural south. She has had to deal with the cousin, uncle, and
boyfriend of another relative who molested her. She was introduced to cocaine by her boyfriend in her
early twenties. After all these sacrifices, she has turned it all around, found strength and meaning in
adversity and used it to become who she is today.
At the age of 44, Oprah has her own book, her own TV show, and a $20 million film and
television production complex in downtown Chicago. Most of Oprah's programs are inspirational and
uplifting. Her focus has been on the celebration, rather than the degradation, of the human spirit.
One of Oprah's toughest moments came when Oprah was to greet celebrities at the Academy
Awards. She had never done this before, and she wanted to make her good friend, executive producer
of the Oscar show, Quincy Jones, proud. Jesse Jackson asked African Americans to boycott the event
and that's when all the complications began. Although Oprah basically agreed with Jackson that blacks
were not properly recognized by the Academy, she believed that the ceremony (with Quincy Jones
producing, Whoopi Goldberg hosting, and other black actors presenting awards) was not a place for
such a protest. " At one point, torn between the protest and her duties, Oprah just slipped away saying
she needed to meditate," recalls an observer, "when she came back, she was completely at peace; a
changed woman."
Oprah has been able to forgive relatives who've gone to the press to settle old scores. Over the
years her mother, father, sister, and brother have all given hurtful interviews to the tabloids. But Oprah
always takes the high road. Her colleague explains it, "Her shows are about forgiveness, and her life
is about forgiveness."
Oprah is only one of the many African-Americans in business. I hope you have learned that
Oprah is a very successful business woman and a role model for many people. She overcame many
sacrifices to get where she is today. She has accomplished many goals such as her own book, her own
TV show, and a $ 20 million film and television production complex. Her mirror reflects honesty,
stamina, and certainly hard work.

Literary Magazine

Page 50

1998

Jose Marti
Helen Fleitas
Miami-Dade County
Hispanic Heritage Month Winner
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
A writer, a poet, a patriot that is what most of us think of when we hear someone mention Jose
Marti but the truth is that he was all this and much more. His full name is Jose Julian Marti and he was
born on January 28, 1853 in Havana, Cuba. Marti grew up with his parents Don Mariano Marti y
Navarro who was born in Valencia and his mother Dona Leonor Perez y Cabrera who was born in
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands). He also had two smaller sisters Antonia and
Amelia. Marti said that he looked and found love, refuge and comfort in his mother and little sisters
that he could not find in his father due to his father's strict and strong character.
Marti obtained his primary education in Havana until he reached the age of sixteen. He was
imprisoned as a revolutionary then banished to Spain. While in Spain he wrote pamphlets influencing
the Independence of Cuba (from Spain). He attended the University of Zarragoza and in 1874 he
eamed his degree in law.
In 1878 he returned to Cuba after going to France, Mexico and Guatemala. Again,in 1879, he
was banished from Cuba. He went to live in the United States from the year 1881 to the year 1895. In
1892 he was active in the Cuban Revolutionary Party and founded its journal known as Patria.
In 1894 Jose Marti planned to invade Cuba. He got together with a group of fellow
revolutionaries. The group was intercepted in Florida and decided or had no choice but to tum back. A
year later, in 1895, Marti reached Cuba with the independence hero, General Maximo Gomez y Baez
and his army.
A month after the revolution began, on May 19, 1895, Marti went into battle at Dos Rios.
Unfortunately Jose Marti died in the battle while searching for the independence and freedom of his
beloved country and homeland.
Marti was not only a revolutionary, he was a writer and poet. His writing includes poetry,
essays and a novel. He is mostly given credit for his vivid descriptions, unique, fluent and simple
style. Many books have been published after Marti's death. One of the most known being La Edad de
Oro which was especially written for children. Jose Marti dedicated most of his work and writings to
the children. His stories had very important morals behind them that taught children to be kind, willing
to share, and most importantly to be grateful with what they have and to pursue their dreams. Obras
Completas or Complete Works as it is called in English was published from 1936 and 1953 and
contains all of his work in 73 volumes. That's a lot!
Although Marti has dedicated most of his writings to the children he also had strong views on
other subjects. Subjects like liberty, government, politics, morality, human behavior and many others.
Marti had many things to say on the subject of liberty but one of my favorite thought of his was when
he said how terrible it was to live without liberty. He also compares what it feels like to be without her
(liberty) to other things "One's spirit writhes inside the body, like a man who has been poisoned". He
then goes on to say how those that have liberty do not appreciate it and that it is worth. On morality
and human behavior Marti said things like "We light the oven so that everyone may bake in it. If I
survive, I will spend my whole life at the oven door seeing that no one is denied bread and, so as to
give a lesson of charity, especially those who did not bring flour." And "Like stones rolling down
hills, fair ideas reach their objectives despite all obstacles and barriers. It may be possible to speed or
hinder them, but impossible to stop them."
Jose Julian Marti a respected, honest man who gave his life for his country. He will always be
remembered in Cuba and shall remain in our hearts forever. What he has taught our children can never
be replaced or forgotten. His hard work will never be overlooked and will always be appreciated. A
writer, a poet, a patriot that is what most think of when the words Jose Marti are spoken or overheard
but as I said before the truth is that he was all of this and so much more. He has left behind many
heartfelt thoughts that shall not be lost from memory as time and life goes on and has taught us that
liberty is essential in life. "Like bones to the human body, the axle to the wheel, the wing to the bird,
and the air to the wing, so is liberty the essence of life. Whatever is done without it is imperfect." And
with these words given to us by the great man that was once Jose Marti, I depart.
Literary Magazine

Page 51

1998

l
I

I
!

~.;

Miami Lal<es

Middle School

Cats,Cats
Daisy Sanchez
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
Cats sleep anywhere
On a table, or on a chair
They sleep on a piano,
Windo-Iedge, in the middle,
Or on the edge, open
Drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody's lap
Will always do, in a cupboard,
In a card box, even
With your frocks
Anywhere! They
Don't care they'll
Sleep anywhere

Odysseus
Jacqueline Gonzalez
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
Greek commander of the Trojan War ...
Not only a soldier he was more ...
Battled for pride and also peace ...
Coming from his homeland known as Greece ...
The goddess Athena put him in a mess ...
As he treated very harsh the Trojan Princess ...
All these problems brought him stress .. .
But nevertheless, he used his cleverness ...
Also put to the test by the mighty sorceress ...
All this underwent the great Odysseus ...

Cinquain
Yvonne Lopez
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
Sunflower & Bottle
Scratch Art
By
Bailyn Shum

Mystery
Secret, Unexplained
Predict, Solve, Tell
Difficult to be solved
Puzzling

Literary Magazine

Page 52

1998

Cinquain
Jamie Gurliaccio
Mrs. Green, Grade 6

Aliens
Flying, Killing
Softcore, Spontaneous, Gentle
No one knows truly
Martians

Cinquain
Shreya Agrawal
Mrs. Green, Grade 6

Mystery
Scary, Adventurous
Capturing, Solving, Fighting
Something you cannot understand
Secret
Shreya
Intelligent, Kind
Playing, Helping, Studying
Girl who likes learning
Wealth
Rowers Artwork
By
Shirley Lu
Grade 6

Beach
(Haiku Poem)
Sherry CuItera
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7

The beach smells the same

Its drifting waves fonn ripples,
that make it seemed filled with life

Air Balloons
Asif Haiderali
Mrs. Kemp-Green, Grade 6

There's the man who sells balloons!

With golden suns and white full moons,
Pale green grapes and purple plums
On his shoulder, here he comes!
Literary Magazine

Page 53

1998

Peace
Sherry Cultera
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
My people treat you right
We give you no harm,
Our fear of you is greater.
For the peace between us, you treat wrong.
We have something of beauty
and offer for you to share,
the greatest treasure of nature
the peace and friendship we spare.

Wind Song
Asif Haiderali
Mrs. Kemp-Green, Grade 6
When the wind blows
The quiet things speak.
Some whisper, some clang,
Some creak.
Grasses swish.
Treetops sigh.
Flags slap
And snap at the sky.

Literary Magazine

Page 54

1998

Epic-Poem
Yvonne Lopez
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
Robin Hood
Strong, Brave, Bold
Resident of Sherwood Forest
Killing the King's Forester
Brave, Angry, Regretful
He killed a Forester
He became an Outlaw

Crossing the Narrow Bridge

Tricky, Slippery, Wet
Robin challenged Little John
Robin stumbles into Head First into the Water
Robin's sweetheart, Maid Marian
Noble, kindhearted, Romantic
Robin and Maid Marian are disguised and did
not Recognize one Another.
Robin asked her to be in his band and
that is when she recognized his voice.
Robin Hood's Death
mournful, Heroic, tearful
Got an uncured fever after the war
Robin Hood died.
For helping the poor
and people in danger he
is a HERO!

Some of Us
Kristina Diaz
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
Some of us are kind
Some of us don't mind
Some of us are shallow
And some of us are hollow
Some of us are greedy
Some of us are needy
Some of us are cruel
And others think they rule
For in which were all the same
We all grow up to love
We all grow up to learn
We all grow up the same
We all have goals
In which we often hold.
Literal)' Magazine

Page 55

1998

The Sinking
Kristina Diaz
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
There once was a huge ship.
It's name was Titanic.
There were poor people and rich,
small people and large people on this huge ship.
"It was the ship of dreams!" people would say.
But for all
It was the ship of death.
No one would think
that this ship would sink.
"Unsinkable!" the whole world said.
But they were proved wrong.
On April 14, 1912, this ship would sink.
No one could believe it.
Titanic
on the ocean floor?
"Oh No!"
Men, women, and children fell asleep in this terrible of graves.
Titanic would sail no more.

First Day of School

Asif Haiderali
Mrs. Kemp-Green, Grade 6

~.

,-

. fit
'

~.

...

'- .

'.

~-- -"
".,

.1

.i

I'~I
U I

I wonder
If my drawing
Will be as good as theirs.
I wonder
If they' 11 like me
Or just be full of stares
I wonder
If my teacher
Will look like my mom or Gram.
I wonder
If my puppy
will wonder where I am.

Literary Magazine

Page 56

1998

Attention Jews
Vickiana Lopez
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
Terror, Horror and annihilation are near,
ATTENTION JEWS: please fear.
One night a message came to the community,
Jews were not to have equal opportunity.
The next morning they were taken away,
To a far place to slave day-after-day.
This is what more than 6 million Jews faced ,
In that horrible terrible place.
From old men to young babies were being killed,
Believe me, none of them were thrilled.
They saw friends, relatives and strangers fight each other,
When at one point they were all to be considered brothers.
For them it was survival at the best,
Not remembering or thinking of the rest.
Every man on his own it was said to be,
Due to the circumstances, they were "blinded" and couldn ' t see.
Hitler brought forth so much misery,
Any conscientious person would agree.
And though they physically suffered a lot,
The Jews were emotionally distraught.
Having lost family and friends in this terrible nightmare,
Not many express their story to share.
Over 6 million Jews died,
And we all want the perpetrators to be justified.
Injustice, discrimination and prejudice took place,
All because of the one man who wanted to become the ACE.

Literary Magazine

Page 57

1998

Scruffy
Lauren Drzewicki
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
Two years ago
in a fine morning
a tiny visitor came to my door
Big back spots covered his body
a long wagging tail, said hello!
I begged my mother
Please can I keep him!
She said yes, and I called him Scruffy.
He was neither obedient or kind
He snarled and bit at every chance
But he was my dog and I loved him so
And I didn't care if he bit or not
This morning a careless man
Opened the gate and let him out
We screamed and shouted
But he ran out
After him we ran
But it was no use
His instinct called him to be free
Now, I don't see him jump on the door
Now, I don't hear hi chains on the floor
His food bowl hasn't been touched
and now my heart feels so alone
His wagging tail greets no more
my empty arms feel so sore
and as I lay myself to sleep
I discovered something deep
Life will give you, then will take
so of each day be sure you make
a special memory for you to keep
You never know what each day will bring
or the changes in your life
so treat each friend with special kindness
in case today is your last chance.

Literary Magazine

Page 58

1998

Everyday Occurrences
Nicholas Waters
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
I hear about guns and drugs every day
I bet it's not even safe to go out and play
Children crying and fearing for their lives
Husbands mad, and shooting their wives
Desperate women selling their bodies for money
Men who are drunk and trying to be funny
People on the comer with needles in their arm
Very confused thinking it does no harm
Well known role models telling us no pain, no gain
Then 4 hours later they get busted with crack cocaine
So as this poem comes to close
Always remember to stay on your toes
Don't be a dummy, don't be a fool
always remember to stay in school.
Friend Who
Katherine Izaguirre
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
Friend who laughs like an explosion
and asks can you keep a secret
Who is kind and caring
Who is a pearl shining brightly
Whose hair is made of strings
Is too sad to come and play
Who tells me in slang you are my sister
Who tells me in sign you are my friend
Whose eyes are watery
can't seem to tell me why
Sleeps in her room all night and day
Who used to laugh when you said "hi"
is sick
I hear your mom calling you
It's just the wind and shut the door
Doesn't share her secrets anymore
Can it be cause I told her secret????
Who talks to me inside my head
Her stories and thoughts and big laughs
Who laughs with hiccups: hiccup, hiccup.
Is the secret I told
Asking you to cry
Who keeps a secret, who?
Literary Magazine

Page 59

I
j

!
1998

Motivation
Why Do We Strive?
Sasha Muradali
Mrs. Perkins, Grade 7
A goal is a goal, as we are told
We write, we run and we have fun
We work, we shout, we play
for we never waste our day
For us time is an essence, or so it seems
We shan't give up our dreams
To the end of time, to the break of day
our dreams will be there or so they say
Our hearts are full, our brains are big
and so on we start this Dino Dig
Motivation we need, Motivation we have
and so it comes to when time comes pass
We are the future, the wind and the rain
and through it all we cease all pain
Forward on to the future now,
No awaiting, and no Conciliating.
To win over trust, this is our time, our world, our day, our night
and this is out fight
We may win some and we may lose some
but this is the time when all corne undone
For the future is near and all becomes clear
Forward on now, forward on
to the world we can make
to the world that we cannot ever forsake
This is our time,
This is our day, time comes to us now and will do away,
My time and yours, all into one
Dream on now, for the fight has just begun
This is the moment, This is the time
Be forth, Be blunt, be everything and anything you want to be
Our time is now,
A goal is a goal, as we are told ...

\'-\ ""m'"

i
i
il

.- ~"
-. . -(\:\.')".' ..
........ . :.;..lI ....._.J~
.\J.
. '~
. ~/<' "".
'. "'.
ebt<. ~.;!:< \ _.. .-;< ~_ .~ '-' ~~.'
, -.'.
--.,...'
'x:-'
' ,r:. .

. -~ ~

)~~r

. '

.~ ( "
. ..

~ _k'---~

. : ~'?' .. \ '\~., _./

... . ~"'~j;
: ,..:; . ,;x '\...., oJ- ::::>f.~'{i'.

;- .,' :': .. :.- r.f{,."\~ ~il. l):-::;i.( ::,

,'\ '1'1"?{:P1 \o.~( . ,<i"by
::k'\V
.
\ . < " ' .~

~~'

:-- ',' ,--' .r. ~

Literary Magazine

.. \.

<'.

Page 60

<1:"

~-

~,p

Crayola Artwork

By
Natalie Angulo
Grade 6

1998

Rudolfa the Empowered Nose Reindeer

Viviana Velandia
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Rudolfa the empowered nose reindeer,
fought for all the humanitarian rights
As well as elves!
Rudolfa the empowered nose reindeer,
An angry pre-adult reindeer in a fight
For rights!
All of her fellow reindeers
bothered her in unfriendly ways
But hey, guess what?!
Rudolf never wanted to play those games!-like monopoly
Monopoly- which creates greed in children's fragile minds
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa the enslaved came to beg and bragg
but nothing worked cause Rudolfa knew,
she had to stand for her deer rights.
Yeah!!! (Cheer)
Finally an hour later,
Rudolfa accomplished her goals
She won stuff like: free holidays named after her, salaries, payment
for medical bills and HMO plans.
She also got to lead in flight
Whooosh!
Unfortunately for Rudolfa,
her plans seemed to have gone away,
her friends became ignorant, selfish, and fat!
they cried
"You'll go down in history"altough in a fractured and fragmented way

Literary Magazine

Page 61

1998

My Life
Michael Rodriguez
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
Yesterday seems so far away
ridiculous to think ahead
At my age remembering your thoughts
everything is different
wanting to be somebody.
Could it be a lawyer
too young to tell
Could it be a doctor?
too young to care
So much responsibility
So many thoughts
For now I just want to
live and when I die know
that I have accomplished something in life.

Loving You Always

Marcelo Garcia
Ms. Rodriguez, Grade 7

I love your smile

I love your hair
That's why I stare
I would like to have you
As my girlfriend
But as you have chosen
Just to be friends,
I wonder if
You'd ever say yes,
But I will always love you
Nevertheless.
(Dedicated to Nicasia)

Literary Magazine

Page 62

1998

Perseus on Performance
Jamie Gurliaccio
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
Perseus was a brave, brave man
Always taking the weak in mind
Fought five tasks with just one hand
And won them all in time
His first task was the challenge
By King Polydectes himself
To bring back Medusa's head off her neck
And that took the courage of a man not an elf
But before off on his quest he must find
The Graeae and take their eye
Persuade them to tell him where
If he should and why
They told him where, grudgingly, in mind
Then he was off to the islands where the gorgons stood
He went looking through the caves
Sword, shield, and wings on foot
Battle won, he went galumphing back to his hood
On his way back he saw a beautiful girl
He fought with all his might
Thrash, thrash the blood was shed
Then Medusa's head was unfurled
And the monster was dead
"You are brave my son," Zeus said
There are many more quests
that he went on
But this is THE END

Literary Magazine

Page 63

1998

A True Tall Tale

Kateland Bell
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
A son was born to Danae
From her father she hid away
The great fisherman, Dictys
Found a chest from the sea.
He took the chest, lay it rest
On the beautiful sugary sand
It made a sound: he opened, and found
Perseus in his mother's hands.
Danae married a king
And with her brings
Perseus a young man.
But the king hated him
He wanted him to end
The death of him would be grand!

,'"

Polydectes said
"Bring Medusa's head
She you must slain
She is terrible vain
You will possess winged shoes & cap
And fear you will lack
You will be bombarded
For her skin has hardened."
So off he went
Perseus was sent
"Medusa will die." He said.
For his stepson
Was the only one
To bring back Medusa's head.
Medusa was a beautiful woman
But now she is an ugly gorgon.
Perseus can not win
She knew that when it all began.
So he stopped up on the mountainous range
And saw a shadow of something strange.
So as she slept on the rock
Perseus came to her in shock.
"You will die," Perseus said
Later had Medusa's head.
But soon he had another task
Will these adventures always last?
Now off away he went
To save Andromeda from the serpent.

Literary Magazine

Page 64

1998

Andromeda cried "Look what's in the sea!

The ugliest serpent; I've ever seen.
Kill the serpent, kill this thing.
And happiness to you. I will bring."
"I will kill it," Perseus said
And drove his sword into its head
Blood had splattered, It smelled really bad
But at the death of it, no one was sad.
The marriage feast of the beast
Was very happy to hear.
For Andromeda felt good, that she should
Have a hero near.
Phineas was serious
He also wanted Perseus dead
And told his mama, he'd marry Andromeda
And their happiness would never end.
Perseus heard Phineas
But instead, he was a genius.
Since he had heard, he said no word
And took Medusa's head
He raised it high, heard a cry
But Phineas was now dead.
He took his wife
From pain and strife
He took her home
With Medusa's head shown
Perseus said, taking out Medusa's head
"What I say is true, Polydectes is cruel.
Cover your eyes, my friends!"
And then Polydectes was dead
Yes, Perseus, Medusa's head shown
Polydectes was dead, yup, turned to stone
With the joy of his death, there was laughter
And then they lived happily ever after!

Literary Magazine

Page 65

1998

What I Like
Saddie Dones
Mrs. Green, Grade 6

Perseus' Courageous Acts

Christina Martinez
Mrs. Green, Grade 6
Perseus
Strong, courageous, and smart
Son of Danae and Zeus
Resident of Greece
Kills Medusa
Snake head,ugly, and hard to beat
Perseus kills Medusa, without turning to stone
Medusa gets her head chopped off
Saves Andromeda
)aughter of Cepheus, and Cassiopia, and very beautiful
Perseus saves her from the Sea god
He gets married with Andomeda
Riot of killing Phineas
Shouting, screaming, and weapons were hurled
Perseus got a spear and fought Phineus
Phineus died
Kills Acisius
King, Granfather, and very strong
Prophecy says no one will be born, but will have a grandson that will kill him
Acrisius died
Perseus was a very courageous God

Literary Magazine

Page 66

1998

His Kiss
Nicasia Carmenatty
Ms. Rodriguez, Grade 7
His first kiss was just a gentle brush of my lips.
He bent his head and kissed me.
It was so tender, yet gentle.
As he took my breath away
My heart pounded for more.
I felt electric.
He put his arms around my neck
And pressed my body next to his.
We stopped for a second,
His eyes held mine for a heartbeat.
I saw a secret hidden in their depths.
Could he be cheating on me?
Is this kiss a goodbye?
What does it mean?
My heart bums for his love
But his burns for desire.
What's going on?
Is it just my imagination?
Or is it just his kiss?

An African-American Dream
Nicasia Carmenatty
Ms. Rodriguez, Grade 7
They were beaten,
They were threatened,
They were put as slaves.
Why they went through so much trouble,
Was because no one cared for
A different race.
Until one day a man rose high.
And stood up for what he believed in.
And he had a dream,
He had a dream,
that one day this nation
Would rise up to the true meaning of its creed
That all men are equal.
All they wanted was to be free.
Why did everyone have to be so mean?
They all gathered in Washinton D.C.
To see Dr. Martin Luther King
Demand them to be free.
"Free at last, free at last
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

Literary Magazine

Page 67

//
/

'"

1998

Perfect
Helen Fleitas
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8
She has no-one to talk too
There's no-one she can trust
And things have happened in her life
that she can never tell
She comes around and brightens
your day
When hers is falling down,
She's never really happy
but she never shows a frown
She's never been proud
but yet she holds her head high
She smiles through a thousand tears
and keeps inside a million fears,
She dreams of all that she can
never be.
She has no one to love her
There's no one who cares,
She has not a single friend just
a million pretenders.
There's no one to help her,
or hold her
or tell her they care
Yet she seems to be the
Perfect girl in the
Perfect world.

Original Myth Urn

By
Jeannie Prieto &
Jennifer Mendez
Grade 7

Literary Magazine

Page 68

1998

Soon It Will End

Viviana Velandia
Mrs. Krane, Grade 8

I am writing this poem to teach the world

Of the pain I suffer and will suffer,
And to let them know
About the many lives murdered,
By no reason at all.
My long lustrous hair had flown free,
Now is short and caged.
At nights I hear screams,
Belonging to the old and young.
The days are always cold
And I can't feel my hands,
I've been working all day
All I see are the malnourished looks
Of my race and kind.
Sometimes I wish I could run,
But wishes are impossible
They are only dreams.
This frightens me
Because I am being forced to grow up
Faster than the speed of light.
For every second an innocent person dies,
And every minute many are forced to starve.
Why?
How come?
I see no reason
Why this should be happening to me
or to any other soul!
I've attended church,
Prayed, and respected God.
I know this is too much,
I need some strength to keep me attenttive
Of my life ... for once which I can't own
I wish I could rest in peace.
But I just can't take upon oneself anymore ...
The hard times my community is going by,
My only hope is for tomorrow
That the sun would shine.
And my shadow would keep me company,
For the new day is full of darkness,
And the hope that this would end
Keeps the flame of my heart active
Deep ... deep down inside
And illuminates.
Literary Magazine

Page 69

1998

lAm
Corylie Suarez
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
I am unique and cheerful
I wonder if I have a twin in the world
I hear the waves of the ocean murmur to me
I see myself graduating from high school with a scholarship
I want a B.M.W when I graduate
I am unique and cheerful
I pretend I am old enough to drive
I feel that all my dreams come true
I worry about my grades and my homework
I cry when I remember Selena
I am unique and cheerful
I understand I have to work hard to achieve my goals
I say, "I know" a lot
I dream of being a famous singer
I try to be all that I can be
I hope for a special call
I am unique and cheerful

Me
By Henry Avendano
Grade 6

Literary Magazine

Page 70

1998

Sea of Fire
Judith Rodriguez
Mr. Cajacob, Grade 8
From Within Your Soul
Heat Burns Through,
Becoming Tears of fire
Surrounding Your Wrath
Gliding Slowly Down

It Mingles with your skin,

A drink of fire
Full of ecstasy.
Red flames afflict
The tormenting waves from the sea,
Groaning in a blinding fury
Waiting to be freed.
Deep within in your soul
Lives a fountain of water,
Bitter and sweet
The sea of fire.

Far Beyond the Moonlight

Judith Rodriguez
Mr. Cajacob, Grade 8
Far beyond the moonlight
Shimmering silver crystals are seen
Becoming fresh teardrops
Across an abysmal horizon.
Far beyond the moonlight
Mystical chants are written
Dreaming for reality
To prevail above all else.
Far beyond the moonlight
Rainy nights last forever
Leaving a sea of tears
Behind in a fever pitch darkness.
Far Beyond the moonlight
Forbidden castles lie atop
Everlasting pyramids leading
To the road of your dreams.

Literary Magazine

Page 71

1998

beach
Gustavo Bolanos
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
The beach is a place
to relax and have fun
where you swim in the ocean
and get tans in the sun.
The beach is a place
where the seashells collide
and the crabs run away
and wait for the tide.
When the sun fades away
and the moon starts to rise
the beach is a spectacle of lights in your eyes ...
As you watch the moonlight
reflect in the water
as you feel the weather change
when it's no longer hotter.
The beach is a place
to relax and have fun
but it still isn't boring
when there is no sun.

Literary Magazine

Page 72

1998

Violence
Vickiana Lopez
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
We were at a party
Happy and having a good time
When all of a sudden
We heard the doorbell chime.
It was a man in a mask
All dressed in black
It was a murderer with a gun
About ready to attack.
He told us to lay down
To not make a sound
For he will pull the trigger
And put us away, so we can't be found.
My friend tried to get away
But he tripped and fell
The man heard
And out burst hell.
My friend got shot
The man took the life of an innocent boy
For he only was sixteen
And his life was full of so much joy.
Violence
What a dreadful thing
It's like a boxer.
Confessing 2 You
Michael Guanache
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
Girl,
can you see that without you there is no me.
My love for you will always be.
From the start to the end.
My love for you will never part .
My arms are opened wide,
you can't imagine how I feel inside.
You fulfill my inner desire,
you filled the empty hole in my heart .
You are my everything and I love you.
without you I will be so lonely.
I thank God that I have school
Seeing you is a blessing
so I'm confessing my love for you
because it's true.

Literary Magazine

Page 73

1998

The Right Way

Cory lie Suarez
Mrs. Quinones, Grade 7
Violence is terrible
Violence is harsh
There will never be love when violence takes part

Oliiiiiiiiliii..II_Mr

Love is the key to all mankind

Keep it clean and keep it conserved
Don't let violence get in the way
Unless you want the love taken away
Love is the one who opens the door
While violence keeps it locked
With nothing to store
We all want love
We don't want hate
Now we know which road to take
The one of love and not of hate

II

~
1

Literary Magazine

Page 74

1998