October 19, 2019 Breaking Curfew Later, we all retreated to the dormitory. After spending just a few days there, the hallway of beds had become somewhere of a new home to us. I had left clothes all over the floor, like Mom hated for me to do. The twins had manifested posters of their favorites bands and plastered them to the walls, much to their parents’ dismay, whom had left on another operation right after dinner. Thomas, beside me, had changed the white coloring of the old bed sheets to an evergreen, while his sister opted for a light purple color. This was all fine and dandy, as Grandma had told us, as long as we reversed them before we returned home.
October 12, 2019 Pencils, Snakes, Perdita, Oh My! Compared to our house, the Nigari house was like traveling a century into the future. All you could see when you came up to their front door was glass, covering nearly every inch of the exterior. Their walls were as plain, except for the perfectly measured picture frames that showed off their family: Kyle, Nikita, Thomas, and his older sister, Lula. Everything about their house screamed the Jetsons to me.
September 21, 2019 Work Now, Play Later As a twenty-five year old single woman living in America, I’ll admit: the struggle, unfortunately, is very real sometimes. Life gets us down and we have to get back up, but that’s how it is, isn’t it? There are challenges, ups and downs, but we prevail in the end. Something I have never understood, however, is when we make deliberate, pleasure-based decisions and purchases that keep us down when all we want to do is get out of whatever rut we got stuck in.
September 14, 2019 How to Prepare for Hurricanes Now that winter has arrived and many Floridians are putting on their sweaters, jeans, and other long articles of clothing, so, too, has hurricane season come and gone. The word “hurricane” to anyone outside of Florida or new Florida residents sparks a bit of fear and worry. People google it, see the terrifying images of storms like Katrina or Irma and they begin to assume the worst. But I’m here to tell you that despite hurricanes being incredibly terrifying, unless you have a direct hit or you are close to the center of the storm, it’s more likely that you will experience intense winds, lots of rain, and if you’re a surfer, some gnarly waves leading up to the hurricane’s arrival.
August 17, 2019 Stumbling Sophomores “Come on, I know you don’t want to, but he really wants to meet you,” Angela pleaded as we walked out of the double doors into the fading afternoon sun. Not a cloud was in the sky, but all my books were in my book bag piled high. It would be, as usual, another long day at the library for us.
July 13, 2019 Coca-Cola Commotion I used to think exams were the worst thing in this world. But have you ever had to fight someone–or something–that wanted you to die with nothing but an extra large soda from McDonald’s? Oh, never? Well, unfortunately, I have.
July 6, 2019 Shiver Me Timbers The river pulsed with more strength than I think any of us expected. The closer we came to the dark rushing water, the more deafening it became. My ears twitched as the five of us stood at the river bank, all glancing to each other. All eyes remained on Sam, the oldest of us and the most trustworthy, ironically. Leave it to my brother, the werewolf who had been here all but one time to be left to make these kind of dangerous decisions.
June 22, 2019 On the Road Again It was only two hours into the road trip and due to poor decisions, both Arie and Sam were curled up in the middle row, snoring and sound asleep. If Mom and Dad weren’t here, I’d consider drawing on their faces in permanent marker. But Mom and Dad sat in the front, talking about what music to play and what we were going to do when we got there. The only thing I cared about in their entire conversation was the topic of lunch. Breakfast had been nothing more than bagels.
June 15, 2019 Another Mortal Monday Directly to my right, an alarm clock buzzed and vibrated the night stand. I opened my eyes, but moved slowly as I waved a hand over the machine, turning it off without even putting a finger on it. The horrid noise stopped and I pulled my pillow over my face. Another glorious school day. At least it was nearly summer vacation.
May 25, 2019 The Great Divide On the curb outside of Pine Elementary School, Annabelle sat tying her shoelaces. Her hair remained in the braids her mother had put in earlier that day. Over her shoulders, her backpack carried more textbooks than the day before, but for a rather exciting reason: it was the last day of fifth grade.
