“There was a prisoner lying on the wet ground, covered in mud from the battlefield so that their uniform was indistinguishable from the surroundings. Standing there in my own uniform, spattered with mud myself as one of the victors preparing for the punishment, I could not even make out the telltale signs that would show that he was from the opposing side. He was a prisoner, I told myself.”
“Mom: You two are grounded. No parties, no car, no hangouts, nothing social, no boys, no phones, and no dessert for a month! Also, tomorrow you have to take care of your sisters because they have to stay home from school. Do you know why? Because they have a serious cold! Also, a little bird told me that you had forgotten to pick them up and drive them to swimming in the first place, so you guys owe me $50 for almost having them miss swimming and me having to pay for a lesson that they didn’t go to!”
“Two days after Georgie and his mother arrived was the day of the funeral. They had been the first ones there, and the bright sun and cloudless sky were starkly different to the midnight black suit that Georgie was wearing and the black lace that adorned his mother’s even darker dress. Guests had trickled in after he and his mother had arrived, their faces somber.
Then came the casket.”
“The man had seen many different worlds in his time, and knew a song from all of them. He walked across the mountain peaks singing one of them. He plucked the banjo with the edges of his koi colored hand guard. His hands were weathered, strong, and had the agility of a wild rabbit. He had bright green eyes that looked a little bloodshot. Though he may have seemed a little tired, his smile shined brighter than the light overhead.”
“H-huh? What? Has my hearing gone bad or something? I glanced to my side, only to see Karin’s eyes filled with hope and determination. Her eyes were the complete opposite of mine, filled with despair and malice. I looked forward once again, trying to find the trace of a joke on the scout’s face. All I could see was joyful seriousness.”
“Racism strikes again. Another unarmed black man, we all know as George Floyd, died because of a police officer’s racism. A good man minding his own business wiped from the earth from the say of a few men. No. Not men, monsters. Who were they to decide the fate of George Floyd?”
“I was only 3 when the virus hit so I don’t remember much from before everything changed. I don’t remember the virus too well either. The human brain doesn’t start making memories until you’re almost four so I only remembered a few moments from the end. When the vaccine was accessible to most average people all over the world, I remember sitting on the cloud with my family watching the window monitor. The people were dancing and cheering outside embracing their long-awaited freedom. They celebrated all night in the streets, rejoicing over the thought of being free. They thought it was over. They thought that was the end.”
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe we’re going here!” Danika squealed as she clutched her twin sister, Tamara’s arm. Tamara smiled and eased out of Danika’s strong grasp. “This is the place you said […]
“Ariel Phelan is a 13 year old writer and artist living in New York City. She loves to write historical fiction and realistic fiction short stories. When she is not writing, she loves drawing and reading. She goes to Rodeph Sholom school, and has been going to Writopia and Wricampia since she was little. “
“I’m now fully experiencing the meaning of the expression, ‘the grass is always greener.'”
“We are, and always will be, humanity.”
“This is going to blow over in a month, I thought, just like the flu comes around every winter.”
“‘In times like this, we will abide by our motto to function in disaster and finish in style.'”
“The more people who work to defeat this,
Then the stronger we will be”
“The first petals of Spring have arrived,
but no one dares to admire their glory”
“Governors and the President both had daily briefings about the virus and how they were working to fight it.”
“I’ve got to switch out my pillows soon though; they’re giving me neck pain. I wonder how the homeless are doing.”
“It was an emotional relief whenever I cried, but at the same time a giant tree breaking from the impact of this storm was at the brink of crushing me.”
“your ceiling
is your sky, and Now
becomes engulfing”
“After the first few days, the excitement wears off and it’s just pure boredom. No highs or lows, just a long, long straight line.”
“It matters not,
Whatever you bought,
It need not be a lot”
“And we’ll think, Why didn’t we do something? Why didn’t we stop when we knew we should’ve?”
“To kids in New York, it begins with the outdoors. To venture outdoors is sometimes a risk not worth taking.”
“Desperate for restful sleep
Beyond these walls, disconnect so deep”
“The world is just like a sun
That will not set
When will the world
Ever rest?”
“I would’ve told her that I was proud of her”
“I broke up with my girlfriend over the phone. I cried for the first time since my basketball season ended.”
“The situation provides a chance for more challenge, creativity, and strength for more targeted interests.”
“Uncertainty aside, we all know what we want to happen. Undeniably, we all want life to go back to what it was before.”
“You wonder if a small part of someone dies when they lose a loved one.”
“How do I comprehend this chaos?”
“Separation becomes isolation
The few feet of space now a void of unknown”
“For the overworked, recognition
For the jobless, hope”
“Write. Make your voice be heard.”
“Spending this past month with my sisters has made me realize how lucky I am to have them.”
“Science will pull through, vaccines and hydroxychloroquine and whatnot. Still, our vulnerability began to frighten me; who is really in charge?”
“we shared an ice cream, by the shore
and then i found that i much preferred
your presence only in pictures”
“2020 was supposed to be our year – how could it have gotten so bad so soon?”
“to be deprived of emotion or the lack of sensation”
“There is an opportunity before us,
and we can use this time to change.”
“Tests are on the computer. Work is on the computer. Everything, it seems, is on the computer.”
“My community is located about an hour’s train ride from New York City, the current epicenter of the nation’s panic.”
“Hushed, they wait in silence
Waiting for the sun”
“Many people around the world are working collectively as a whole to find a vaccine to this terrible virus.”
“It seemed as if everyone in her class at college knew what they wanted to do in the future, and she just felt stuck. Stuck in a routine, stuck in her tiny house, stuck in every aspect of her life. She felt as though she worked hard for everything, and somehow it still was never enough.”
“Today is the first day of high school and I am COMPLETELY TERRIFIED. Not only because I am scared about high school, because I am sure most people are, but I am scared that this year is going to be the same as every other year. And I am going to be looked at the same as I was looked at for the past eight years. A ghost.”
“What makes it special is that when the cards are put in the correct order, it opens a door to a world of unimaginable magic. A world where you can do whatever you want just by thinking of it. It’s a world where your wildest fantasies can come true. A world where creatures beyond the human scope are everywhere. It is the Land of Cards.”
“When I started playing with kids who actually cared about the sport, I found that having a life outside of activities might be moderately important. That’s saying a lot. I even had to force myself to stop mentioning football as soccer, because no one here ever says that. It’s only when you watch American commentary day in and day out that the word becomes ingrained in your head, just as tourists can get into some embarrassing situations by referring to pants when clothes shopping.”
“Your electric toothbrush
vanished from Mom’s medicine cabinet.
My kitsch cast was claustrophobic with sharpie.
The maple trees out my window turned red.
How did the Continental soldiers survive
six months of wind whipped backs?”
“‘What are you watching? Are you watching Shrek?’ I asked.
‘No. We’re watching this thing about zombies,’ Nat said.
‘What’s zombies?’ I asked.
‘It’s like when somebody dies, but then they come back to life. And they’re all bloody and gross and have arms falling off of them and want to eat your brains!’ Talia said, trying to scare me.
I snuck a peek at the screen. There was scary music and a hand coming out of the ground.”
“Members would be challenged to bring this imbecile of a man on an important journey. Rumor has it that multiple career-making discoveries had been foiled by the sheer stupidity of this man. Francis, however, was the best of the best, and he thought he could handle him. Now he was unsure, having actually spent time with the man.”
“The faint rumbling in the distance brings my hope up for a second, when I realize it is the R. The one positive thing about missing the train to the biggest job interview of your life so far in 97 degree weather is the gratifying gust of warm air from the wrong train. I fan myself with my hands, like that’s going to do anything. In that moment I make a decision. I’m taking a cab.”
““Oh, I got it, sweety,” he says and takes it from her small hand. He tries to grab mine but I quickly clench my fist around it. His eyes meet mine and they are black, and scary.”