West Virginia Young Writers 2012 Anthology - Marshall University

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The sound her heavy, expensive, fuzzy Australian boots made in the hallway. She smileda fake smile to her friend, one that didn’t spread to her eyes. That’s when the final bell rang, andshe was able to go home. A lonely bus ride, and few words muttered to her parents, and she wasoff again. Tweet, tweet, tweet. She glanced in the mirror, and thought she looked pretty good.She pulled out her phone, and snapped a few pictures. After editing it, she added it to Facebook,wondering how many likes she would get this time. Suddenly, she was filled with an anger andbitterness she had never felt before.“I don’t need them to like me,” she said to herself. “I don’t need their approval. Will ahundred likes on my picture make me a better person? Will I find what I need in life? No.”Resolutely, she signed into her twitter. Her fingers hovered over the track pad, ready to do it. Itwas so easy. A click of a button, and her life was hers once again. Still, doubts ran through hermind. “This is what I want,” she told herself like a mother scolding a child. “I can’t keep livingmy life through a screen. Does it matter how many Friends I have on Facebook, or how manypeople are following me on twitter? This isn’t going to make me more successful in life. Thisisn’t helping me get to where I want to go.” With the click of that button, it was all gone.Quickly, she signed into Facebook, pressed by a force deep inside her mind. One more click ofthe button, and she was free. She sat down on her bed, and smiled. This was it. This was her onlylife, finally.20 20
DarknessGrace WardJohn Adams Middle School, Kanawha County3 rd Place Winner (Grades 7-8)At first I felt powerful. The rush was so exhilarating, so freeing – I felt on top of theworld. Then it started spiraling out of control. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t socialize, couldn’t doanything as well as I used to. A fog started clouding my mind that could only be removed by therush. But it became harder and harder to clear. I became depressed and awkward. My friendsavoided me; my A’s slipped into F’s. I still kept on doing it though – I needed the rush. I wasaddicted to shoplifting, and I didn’t stop until it was too late.Cecelia and I were strolling into a department store– who knew walking into a storecould be so life changing – when we saw it. A beautiful, elegant scarf. It was white silk with blueroses on it, and the roses were tangled and intertwined, a wild garden in full bloom. Cecelia and Iboth sprinted to it and tried it on, acting like supermodels walking down the runway. Then realitysunk in and we stared at it, hardly breathing, both of us unwilling to check the price tag. Finally,I mustered up the courage and turned the white tag over. My heart sank as I examined it, hopingdesperately that my eyes were tricking me, that there was no way this scarf cost a hundreddollars. Disappointed, I turned to go, but Cecelia stopped me. A wicked gleam in her eyes, shewinked at me, then stealthily pulled out a pair of scissors and snipped the price and security tagoff. She grabbed the scarf and handed it to me, motioning for me to put it in my bag.If you freeze the scene there, you can see the doubt and fear in my eyes. But then greedstrangled doubt and vanity stabbed fear, and I took the scarf and stuffed it in my bag. We strolledout of the store like nothing was amiss. It was then that I got my first rush. Power joined theparty in my head and whispered sweet nothings in my ear. I was hooked.I became an expert on shoplifting. The items I lifted became bigger and bigger. Littlethings only gave me power in the beginning, and the devils in my head wanted more. Clothes,jewelry, and food – if it was in a store, I took it. That was when the darkness first started growinginside my head, a sticky web only stealing could clear. It was extremely difficult to stay normal,and finally I cracked.Eventually, I was caught. The bright lights of the police sirens penetrated my mind, butthe inky blackness swallowed it up. I was shoved into the police car. The cop in the front seatturned around and took a long look at me. I could see my reflection in the car window – a thin,sallow girl, with stringy hair and dull eyes. I was but a ghost of my old self. The web in my headgrew tighter and more tangled every second I was trapped in that car. I drew into myself, andstared into nothing.21 21
Page 3 and 4: 2012 West VirginiaYoung Writers Con
Page 14: We stepped in a tidy little room wh
Page 17 and 18: My Night at SearsAlli SuterPaden Ci
Page 21: One Bird with Two StonesPaige Conra
Page 25 and 26: A Life Well DoneEmily HoughUniversi
Page 27 and 28: The SunriseMadalynn PayneEast Hardy
Page 29 and 30: on the world begin to darken and cl
Page 31 and 32: oversized helium balloons in his ha
Page 33 and 34: Around nine o’clock on that first
Page 35 and 36: abbling creek, calling me to its ba
Page 37: man stepped out of the vehicle, her

West Virginia Young Writers 2012 Anthology - Marshall University

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