MEETS: A middle school literary magazine

MEETS
A Middle School Literary Magazine

MEETS
is A compilation of original works of poetry, personal essay and short
story, written by 5th through 8th grade students at North Haven
Community School. During the global Covid-19 pandemic, from March 15
through May 29, 2020, writing classes met via Google Meets. Students
created a body of work reflective of the strange and unique situation
they found themselves in. They became a trusting and open critical friends
group, giving each other feedback through the drafting process.
Students had the option to submit up to three pieces to the magazine, and
to be credited as their first name, by a pseudonym, or to submit
anonymously. they also selected or created the images accompanying the
text.
Meets wouldn't have been possible without the assistance of EVa Hopkins,
and the support of the parents, all of whom were asked to suddenly
become teachers.
Some of the pieces in Meets are funny, some gory, some wistful, some
pastoral. All are true voices of North Haven. We hope you enjoy the
experience.
- Courtney Naliboff, writing teacher and editor

Poetry

The Dog Named Ben
by Emma
There once was a dog named
Ben,
He liked to chase the hens,
He would chase them in their
pens,
And he would do it again and
again.
His brother’s name was Ren,
He likes to sleep in the den,
I hope he makes it past the
age of ten,
Because he is a very good
friend.

Fall
by Maddie
The cold breeze passing by….
The trees turning colors…
The leaves crunching under every step…
And then, in a blink of an eye…
You're walking in a winter wonderland.

Murder Hornets
by Anonymous
Murder hornets
Are killing bees
Which is kewl cause bees sting
But I don't wanna get stung by a murder hornet
Because they murder.

A New Purpose
by Abby
Spots of sun strike the earth
Arms extend
Searching for warmth
A small flower
Hidden in shade
Begins to wilt, fading away
A petal falls
A seed flies
Floating in the wind
Touching the sky
Diving seeds nestle in grass
A new life begins
It will shortly pass
Small footsteps thunder near
Suddenly two eyes appear
A child takes the flower away
To serve its purpose a beautiful new way

Two Poems
by Hannah
1.Gone, back for some
Learning leaning thinking how will this be
done
My heart races thoughts go fast, why now
Remember, to better yourself
Right but how
Friends Fun I will miss a lot but a lot will be
done
I’m from a rock but the rocking isn’t done
2.Screaming voices come from inside,
darkness covers her eyes
Legs stiff body shy, lay as if she was dead
thinking
Bye
But then a knock on her door a call from
friend words spoken
She now lay opposite from how she was
Thinking as if something changed
but really it didn’t
Things are used to mask the pain
She tried and then she kept at it wanting
to be better until the feelings quieted
No more anger just searching for who she
is
Experimenting finding how I'm shy not an
extrovert nor introvert
Labels hide while I shine

Untitled
by Caden
Roses are red
violets are blue
the clouds are white
the sky is blue
The grass is green
but somewhat brown
The fish are starting to bite
all around

Untitled
by Ezra
A nice cool morning peepers peeping,
birds chirping, as the sheep run
through the pasture,
you find yourself warming up as the
sun starts to rise,
as if someone were lifting up the
sun slowly.

Sunset
by Milo
Like a match slowly burning out
Melting into the horizon
A glorious blaze
Vibrant pinks, purples, oranges
The calm of the fading of day into night
The intensity of the day is over
And now it’s time for sleep

Personal
Essays

Minnow
by Lila
I was 8 when I got my dog. It was in November and around Thanksgiving. We
had already adopted her on Petfinder. We drove to Massachusetts to get her.
On the way I got super car sick and we had to stop at 2 extra rest stops so I
could throw up. The rest of the ride was really boring and I still didn't feel well.
I remembered we had a snack bag when we were already almost done with
the drive.
When we got there we walked into this huge room with nothing in there but a
front desk, a mirror, five chairs, and a couple dog toys. We waited there for
about 15 minutes and it felt like the longest 15 minutes ever. The room also
smelled like shots or a doctors office. I had a bag of treats and a toy in one of
my hands. I was so antsy and kind of scared because I didn't know if there was
something wrong with her or she didn't want to come out. Then a lady that
worked there walked into the room with Minnow.
We decided on her name Minnow while we were on the boat because a lot of
our family thought that would be a cute name and we didn't have a lot of
ideas. They told us she was a mix but they didn't know exactly what was in
her. She was a tiny black dog. They told us she was about 2 ½ months old. She
was SO cute. She had a pink collar on and a treat in her mouth.
She walked right over to where we were sitting. She dropped her treat and
started licking our faces and wagging her tail. I was so happy. On the drive
home she fell asleep on my lap. My mom was even so distracted she missed a
turn. When we got back to rockland to get on the late boat it started to rain.
We didn't think it was that windy. We were waiting to get on the boat for a
long time but there was no boat there yet. We asked someone that worked
there why it was taking so long. He told us that the boat got cancelled.

We got really stressed out because it was the last boat and we didn't know where to go. We
started to call people we know that had houses on the mainland but a lot of people were
not picking up. After calling people for about half an hour we called Hannah Pingree.
She told us that we could stay there the night and told us where the key was, how to turn
on the t.v., and where the food was. We were so relieved and thankful. We drove to her
house and went to get the key where she said there would be one.
There was no key. We called her
back and she told us that's the last
place she put it. We thought she
might have been robbed since we
couldn't see in there and there
was no key. We started to panic
again.
She called us back about an hour
later. She told us that Jason (her
husband) was there a few days ago
and he moved the key. We were so
relieved again. When we finally got
in there we sat on the couch with
minnow well my mom started to
make dinner. Right after dinner I
fell asleep on the couch with
minnow next to me. The next
morning we got on the boat and
went back home. Minnow got
comfortable at our house really
fast.

The Time I Got Teddy
by Anonymous
Our family got Teddy 3 years ago. His birthday is September 1st. My mom and I went shopping on a
warm day and my dad surprised us with the cutest chocolate lab puppy I've ever seen in my life. Me and
my mother cried at how cute he was and the way his breath smelled like a skunk. When he looked at me
in the truck I just fell apart. On the ferry ride home he looked like he was smiling and then he puked.
I remember looking at his cute little face and seeing his cute little puppy ol’ eyes looking at me. I
love my dog Teddy very much but I used to hate him because he would always bite on me and
used to steal stuff but then he was better behaved because he got more mature and calm. I love
his soft ears chubby body and big nose. Teddy yawns a lot and his breath smells terrible.
Teddy is now 3 years old. His birthday is on September 1st and he will turn 4. My mom named him
Tedrick Tangerine because he was her birthday present but I call him Teddy. He is very lazy and
calm and doesn’t run all over the house now or steal yogurt cups. He takes a lot of naps on his
footstool. Teddy’s feet smell like Frito chips and his body smells like a regular dog. Sometimes he
goes into the mud flat and has to wait in the bathroom to dry off or he would ruin our rug.
My dog Teddy is a very cute chocolate lab and even though the vet says he is overweight I love
him!

Muddy
by Anonymous
I have an extremely strong memory of the time me and my
buddy got very muddy! We left the house and went back into
the wilderness of Ellsworth. The first thing we were told was
not to get muddy. As soon as we found mud we jumped
right in and were covered in mud from head to toe. After
that was done we had a small mudslide and a mud ball fight!
We thought it was the funnest thing in the world and we
were filled with joy! When we got home my dad and uncle
John were laughing hysterically and thought it was the best
thing he'd ever seen. Aunt T on the other hand was not very
pleased with us. She made us hose eachother down with
nice cold water but we didn't care we had just had the time
of our lives!

The Battle of Okinawa
by Jack A
I'm writing about the Battle of Okinawa. I'm reading “Okinawa: The battle” in
the World War II Encyclopedia. Topics of interest in this article include the pre
landing bombardment,the American navy's fast progress and the end of
Japan's navy. This battle was important because it allowed the Allied forces to
break through to the Japanese main islands.
The pre-landing bombardment was started by vice admiral William H Blandy’s
Task Force 52 when the shelling began on March 25, 1945. in the week of the
assault the American warships pounded the Japanese defenses with 13,000
shells. This bombing allowed 1300 ships to take position. The landing went
without a hitch and The landing went without a hitch and 60,000 troops
landed on Okinawa.
Progress occurred when the marines and infantry pushed across the island
and cut it in two. Major-General Andrew D. Bruce's 77th Division was
earmarked for the capture of le Shima. The landing happened on April 16,
1945 despite vigorous resistance.
The end of Japan's Navy came after the battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.
The Japanese Navy had been destroyed and they could no longer compare to
the US naval force.It was depleted of resources such as fuel.
The battle of Okinawa was an important key to defeating the Japanese and
because American Military decimated their navy. We heavily bombarded the
island with shells and we were able to cut the island in half with American
troops. If you are interested to learn more about this, then you should look
into the World War II Encyclopedia.

Short
stories

The Show Must Go On
by Jared
Have you ever tasted bitterness? I have and I am right at this moment. I hate
it. They yelled at me to “Get off the stage,”. So they shuffled me off the stage
and another girl came out. I stayed to watch her. She had such full hair and a
pretty face. Her singing was even better than her looks. I decided to leave. I
exited the room and came to turn to Chrissie, my best friend. She helps me
get parts in plays and movies. We know each other well and she can read me
like a book. She ran over and hugged me. Then she said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find
you another part,” just like the last 4 times. I wanted to say something, but I
couldn’t find the words. It was raining, just started. A light breeze flew around.
I walked with Chrissie down to our apartment. She was on her phone looking
for new parts for me. The rain was trickling down the sides of our umbrella.
Before I knew it we were home. The dusty, old and creaky, so very creaky
apartment building. “May I help you?” Said the woman at the front desk. She
had bags under her eyes. I’m exhausted as well. I ignore her and go up the
stairs. Chrissie follows. We go up the creaky wooden staircase. I began to
stumble. Then we enter room 14, our room.
Then I woke up. I was on the couch with a blanket around me and breakfast
next to me. I could hear Chrissie humming as she brushed her curly, brown
hair. I had a massive headache, my head was throbbing. I got up, ate my
breakfast of eggs with gooey cheese, and some toast with a sweet strawberry
jam. I need to go change out of these clothes. I remember yesterday, and why
I wore this. I practically run to my closet and change into some jeans and a t-
shirt. I threw what I wearing in my tiny trash can. I’m sure I’ll get them later. I
go say hi to Chrissie. “Hey, Chrissie,”. “Finally you’re up Sam!” she exclaims. “I
found another part! It’s for a horror film and you’re going to be one of the
main characters!” I fill will glee and begin to smile. I begin to do my morning
routine and head to the studio. No time for a coat! Chrissie runs after me and
grabs my wrist. Without saying a word she hands me my shoes and coat. After
that, I walk instead. Then we enter the studio and I rush toward the door. I
open it and gasp. The set is huge and everything is so realistic. I see my coactor,
Jack. I began to think that Jack is in this film too! A few others are there
as well. I say an awkward hello to everyone and go on stage. I act my heart
out. In the end, I got the part.

I turned to Jack and smiled. “You got the part?” he asked, clearly already
knowing the answer. “You already know.” I told him. We both gave a giggle and
parted ways. I had something that I needed to get off of my chest. When we
got to the apartments I told Chrissie something about my past. Something that
I held deep down. I told her about how my dad was in jail for killing someone
and I have his name. The words stung on my tongue. I’m glad it was done.
What I hadn’t told her was that my mother was dead, that’s why my dad killed
someone. It was an act of passion. I wanted to go for Starbucks to get in a
better mood. At least Starbucks is nice. I walked to the place and got some
nice warm coffee. It helped with my stinging tongue. I paid and left. By then
the sun was setting. I went to go watch. It was so colorful. All of the colors were
so vibrant. So joyful. I sat there for at least an hour. Then I went back home to
go eat then sleep.
I woke up, ate some oatmeal and went to the studio. I talked to everyone,
getting to know them all for a few hours and at lunch I saw Jack. Jack was very
clumsy, but I’ve never seen him be late. He was just one of those people. I saw
him picking up his mayo sandwich from the floor. I walked over to him and we
chatted for a while. His character was the villain of the story and wore a mask. I
woke up and brushed my hair and my teeth. I put on a long sleeve and jeans.
Then I exited the creaky apartments and went to the studio. I got to know the
director, she said that we are going to start recording tomorrow. Her name is
Brenna. She takes work very seriously. I see Jack and go say hi. “Hey, Jack,” I
say. “Hi, Samantha,” He replied. Why did he call me that? We chat for a bit and
he won’t stop calling me “Samantha” I hate it, but I won’t say anything. After
getting to know the cast even better I go home and sleep.
It’s morning and not much changes. I’m supposed to go a little later than
usual. After what feels like hours, I go to the studio. I see everyone except Jack.
To my knowledge, he’s never late. I look around. Jack was here earlier than me
because his character appeared first. I looked around and then at my watch.
12:50. We started working at 1:00. I kept looking around, and I felt like I wasn’t
going to find him. When I turned back I something caught my eye. In a dimly lit
room, I saw Jack. He was in there with what looked like a giant electric saw and
a mask in front of him. The mask was covered in something, most likely mayo.

That idiot probably tried to eat his sandwich with his mask on. After all, it was
just lunch. I walked back to the studio and play my character, Detective Rose
Profilli. Filming was so much fun! Everyone was so nice. So at the end of the
day, I exited the building and went home. I got in bed under my cozy blanket
and drifted off.
I woke up, did my morning routine, and went to the studio. All was normal
until I heard a scream come from the hallway. I ran to the hallway and there
was a deep pit between me and the door that the screams were coming from.
I took a risk and leaped, I fell. I fell deeper and deeper, I screamed but nobody
would come.
All of a sudden I woke up. A nightmare? I asked myself a few questions before
leaving the house. Who was screaming? Why did nobody come for me?
Should I tell Chrissie? I entered the studio again and went to the door that I
saw in my dream, It was the same door that I had seen the previous day. That
means that Jack is in there! The door was locked?! I began to panic. I started to
breathe much quicker and my blood pressure was through the roof. I kicked
at the door and it creaked open. I rushed in to find Jack, faceless, and bloody.
There was no mask and no mayo. I looked at Jack’s corpse and tears began to
creep down my cheeks. I was about to let out the biggest scream for help that
I could, but then the door closed behind me. Standing before me was Brenna.
She was towering above me. Rage was in her eyes. Between my sobs, I told
her to go get help. She just stood there. I began to twitch. I could hear a voice
yelling in my head. I couldn’t move my body. My own body began to move on
its own. It crept my hand toward the saw and turned it on. The buzzing of it
was horrific. My body was inching my head closer and closer to the moving
saw. Then I heard the last words I would ever hear “The show must go on.” My
cheek touched the chilling metal. Pain shot through me. I still couldn’t move.
Before I knew it I was dea...The End

Why I Hate Quarantine
by Quinton
Well you probably saw or read the title, yes this is a story (probably short) of
me complaining. Now we don't have much time so I’ll start now I guess.
First of all why are y'all buying these toilet paper 80 packs like it's a respiratory
virus it don't effect ya booty. Second how is your day? Good, good I cant see
daylight because I go to sleep at 5am and wake up 2 days later like jeez.
Now the part we all have been waiting for….. Wait wait no thats not ‘till later in
the story, sorry. Ok, next idea hmm.. Well…I could say...Eh, nah that would be
boring. OH OH I have an idea. So shopping, am I right? When your parents
would take you on the mainland for a shopping trip, take a detour and end up
in Boston for some reason? Yeah, that. Well, we all know that now that you
can't, all you want to do is shop. I have 4 almost 5 hundred doll hairs. Wanna
know what I was going to buy with that? A VR, 'cause I was getting prepared
unlike y'all. I know that the boys were playing video games and the girls were
getting their nails done and hair dyed. But you weren't prepared like me.
Turns out they stopped selling them so…
Well corona sucks and I wish things were normal again. Hopefully other
people are doing better than I am.
Hopefully that got a chuckle out of you. Have a great day everyone!

Fat Ralph And The Gang
by Emma
One day in this tiny house lived a cat named fat Ralph and his owner, Mary.
Fat Ralph was fat and orange with black stripes. He was a very bad cat. He
would sneak out in the middle of the night and rob Toys R Us with his two kitty
friends little Joe and big Bobby. Little Joe was a black cat with white spots and
big Bobby was a white and light brown cat. They would sneak out at exactly
11:00 PM every night.
Mary has never found out about what they were doing every night. They
would go into the store right when it closes and stay there until they lock up
the doors and no one but them was there then it is showtime. They would
always get in the play strollers and ride around and have races. Next, they
would cook some dinner in the kitchen sets. "Now it’s time to steal," said Little
Joe. So they went over to the fake cash aisle (which they thought the cash was
real) so they took some of that. They quietly tiptoed to the front door. The
floors were creaking and it was so loud. When they got to the door Fat Ralph
slid his claw through the keyhole and they walked right as nothing happened.
When they were walking home, Big Bobby asked if they could get some pizza.
So then they went to Domino's and got some pepperoni pizza. When they got
the pizza they ate all but one piece. They were really hungry. Then they walked
back home and went to bed.
The next day Mary asked Fat Ralph if he had any money for her to buy her a
new pair of slippers. Fat Ralph gave her the fake money he stole and Mary
and Fat Ralph got in the car and drove to the slipper store. When they got to
the slipper store Mary found the slippers she liked. She got to the cash
register and give the cashier the money and the cashier noticed that the cash
was fake. He knew because it was play money with Toys R Us on it and it was
bright green. So Mary did not get to buy the slippers and she was really
disappointed. So when they got back home Mary and Fat Ralph took a nap.
Then the time of the night came again and you know what they are going to
do...

Untitled
by Hunter
Jimmy was at the store and he heard a boom. It was like something fell. All of a
sudden a car went through the store's windows right into the corner of the
store and crushed someone. Oh no… John… the ambulance came and got
John. He broke his back and had cuts all over him. They went to the hospital
and he was in a coma. John was Jimmy's best friend.
Fast forward 3 months. The doctors said he might not make it. The guy that
ran him over, ran. He was never caught so we don't know who he is or why he
heard that boom. We think the car lost control and hit the store. And John was
in a coma..this was bad, really bad. He didn't want to lose him and all of a
sudden someone started yelling. He said, "Yes ,he was never a good person!"
Jimmy ran over and John was dead but where did the guy yelling go? He didn't
care. The only thing he cared about was getting at the person who hit John
and if he didn't he would be so mad at himself. Why did the guy have a
license? Or did he not?
He went back to the store. He saw a phone. He grabbed it. He looked in the
contacts and looked at the person's name. It was John's brother Joe...

Online School
by Warren
Hello everybody! It’s me, your host, Bob, and today we are talking about
ONLINE SCHOOL!
Everyone knows about online school now because of the virus but let's get
started. So you wake up. "Oh no! I forgot to read that 23 page article! What do
I do? I have 15 minutes until I log on!" Well some of you might say, “It did not
show up let me check',' (even though it did) and pretend that you just got it
and you won’t get in trouble. Or you say, “Oops I did not read” and maybe get
a warning. Also some of you might pretend to freeze up on your video chat so
you don’t have to present that day because you're not ready.
Now there are pros and cons about online school:
1. You don’t have to go to school. You can be in school while in your bed!
2. Less classes! Some of you might have less classes because it is easier for
the teachers to manage.
Anyways oh yeah I almost forgot:
3. You can eat all you want during class (unless you have to speak).
4. You can’t hangout with your friends at school, the only thing you can do is
look at a screen and say “hi”. But sometimes you watch youtube videos with
the class or play mini games.
I don’t know what kids do for fun these day but I know a lot about ONLINE
SCHOOL!!!!!!

Voyage of the BayBerry
By Bill McBill (psuedonym)
Jack was bored out of his mind because of quarantine. His summer friend
Aiden was coming soon but they would not be allowed to hang out because of
dumb old quarantine. This was going to be one boring summer. Jack decided
to call Aiden and chat about absolutely nothing for an hour and a half. Then
Aiden asked “Hey, have you got the BayBerry over yet?” The BayBerry was the
Beetlecat sailboat that Jack and his dad had built two winters ago in Jack’s
family's boatyard, J O Black & Son.
“No, we’ll be putting her over in about a week, we just have to fix that guard
where I ran into the dock last summer.” said Jack.
“Oh. HA! I remember you panicked and ran right INTO the dock! That was
sooo funny I was almost thrown right over the side of the boat! Ahhhhhhhhh
well I guess there won’t be any of that this year. Bye.” said Aiden.
“Bye,” said Jack. Jack was just about to hang up when…
“Wait!” yelled Aiden through the phone. “What if we take the BayBerry!”
“Huh?” asked Jack. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that we take the BayBerry and a lot of supplies and go live on an island
somewhere!”
Jack, who loved action and was really bored, immediately said “OK! Meet me a
Black’s two weeks from now at twelve PM. Don’t worry about supplies, just
bring some clothes.”
“K.” said Aiden ”Bye.”
“Bye” said Jack and hung up.

That was how it all started. It had really been kinda stupid now that Jack
thought about it. The night they had left was good with enough wind to move
them along nicely but it wasn't too windy luckily. He had stayed up till twelve
that night reading and packing. He packed flint and steel, his jackknife, a
compass, some charts of the area, three blankets, a tarp, a flashlight, a small
FM radio (to update them on the latest COVID-19 news), some granola bars,
an old coffee can (for cooking) and a book by a guy who had been the leader
of Outward Bound about foraging for food on islands on the coast of Maine.
He packed the whole thing in a huge old canvas duffel. He wrote a note to his
parents and left it on his pillow. The note read:
Dear Mum and Dad, Aiden and I are taking the BayBerry on a summer long
camping trip. We promise to be back by the 23rd of august so Aiden can go back
to New York. We are going to McGlathery island over in Merchants Row. Don’t
worry, we’ll be OK. It will be just like the trip we did last summer just a lot longer.
Love,
Jack
He had then hurried down to the boatyard. Painted dark red, the long low
building loomed up out of the darkness. There were no lights on the outside
of the building or on the dock so the whole thing was in total darkness. Aiden
was leaning on the gas pump at the end of the dock wearing a gray hoodie
and jeans with a grin on his face.
“You sure you wanna do this?” said Jack with a hint of nervousness in his
voice.
“Sure! What could go wrong!” said Aiden carelessly. A lot, Jack had thought. He
had started to worry as he packed and Aiden's carelessness about leaving
hadn't helped. They had gone down to the float and got into Jack’s rowboat,
the Mouse II, and rowed out the mooring that the Bayberry sat quietly on. Jack
had consulted his charts earlier that night and had decided that in order to
not be seen by any grown-ups they should go to McGlatherys island which
was in a group of islands called Merchants Row which was a ways off shore
from Stonetown, Deer island. Since they lived on North Fox island they had to
sail across East Penobscot Bay to get there.

They had fair winds most of the way across and by the time Jack's watch said it
was three o’clock they were abeam of Mark Island Light.
“See that?” said Jack, pointing at the black shape of an island about 100 feet of
the port bow. “That’s George Head Island. We’re almost there”
“Haaaaa. Cool,” yawned Aiden.They had beached the BayBerry on the east side
of the island on a sandbar that connected another small island at low
tide.
Of course it didn't all go entirely as planned. One major thing that Jack had
forgotten was water. Unfortunately McGlatherys had a small swamp but no
other freshwater. Or so they thought, until Aiden found a small spring hidden
in a cleft in some rocks. The spring was hardly visible unless you knew where
it was. In fact the only way Aiden found it was because he stepped right in it.
They always had to be very careful to use dry wood for their fire ,otherwise it
would smoke and they might be seen. For the same reason they had to have
very small fires and never keep them going for long. They had eaten green
crabs, beach peas, periwinkles, wild rose hips, sea urchins, cattails, burdock,
wild blueberries, mussels, dulse and more. This was how they had lived until
they sailed back on the 22nd of August 2020.

Untitled
by Ezra
It was a normal night, Rico and Annette were at dinner. The other day their
friends Frank and Kate recommended this restaurant. They were having a fun
night, then all of a sudden Annette got a notification on her iPhone saying that
their security cameras caught an unidentified man walking into their backyard.
Annette was in doubt, so they decided to look for themselves through a live
feed from the cameras. They looked at camera number 1, nothing. They
looked at camera 2, nothing. They were relieved to have not seen anyone on
the camera. They hugged in relief but as Annette was putting her iPhone away
she saw a shadow walk right in the door.
“I thought we locked the doors,” said Rico.
“Then that means that it had to be someone with a key,” said Annette.
“But the only people with keys to our house are Fra-,” said Rico as he stuttered
Frank and Kate’s name out loud. Rico and Annette decided to go to the police.
They told the police where Kate and Frank lived and the cops left speeding
out of the police parking lot. When the police got to Kate and Frank's house
they knocked on the door and yelled, “It’s the police department, open up. We
just want to ask a couple of questions.” The police knocked on the door one
last time as they heard a scream of pain. One cop pulled out his gun, the
other had his hand on his, as both of the cops gave a powerful kick to the
door. They knocked the door right off its hinges.
They made their way into the living room opening every door in the house
yelling “CLEAR!” They moved to the back of the house and there on the
ground was Kate, not dead but unconscious, the window was broken as Frank
ran and jumped out the window, and disappeared. Kate was rushed to the
hospital by the police, it looked as if Kate had been struck by some sort of
metal pole or a golf club. The police car flew down the road on their way to
the emergency entrance, they both leaped out of the squad car and got Kate,
holding her up on their shoulders running in. They laid Kate down on the
hospital bed and the cops were escorted out.

Of course the police immediately notified Annette and Rico that Kate was in
the hospital. Kate and Annette have been friends for a long time and Frank
had just started dating Kate one month ago. Annette and Rico waited for
hours just to see Kate. After they had been in the waiting room for hours
finally the doctor came out and said, “Kate is awake if you wish to speak to
her, but I must say that with the hit she took to the head, her mind is a little
bit foggy but by tomorrow she should be able to go home,” said the Doctor.
Annette and Rico walked into Kate's hospital room, “Annette, Rico is that you?”
said Kate.
"Yes,” said Rico and Annette. "What happened Kate?,” said Annette.
“It was Frank, he hit me with a metal pole,” said Kate. “I know where he is
going, he is going to our beach house, in Hawaii,” said Kate.
Rico ran to the cops as he was yelling “Wait!” He got the cops attention. “Kate
said that he is going to their beach house in Hawaii,” said Rico, out of breath.
“Ok, text me the address and we will send cops straight there,” said the cop.
THE NEXT DAY
"Is the target identified, Captain?” said the cop over the intercom.
"Yes target locked GO GO GO!,” said the commander. “Hey stop right there!,”
yelled the SWAT commander. “Put your hands where I can see them right
now!,” yelled the commander. The commander walked forward towards him
as he ran and jumped off the balcony, and just when they thought he was
dead they saw a helicopter rise and fly off with Frank sitting in the back, the
target had escaped.

“You ok, Kate?” said Annette.
“Yeah I'm fine, i just hope you will catch that coward of a human being,” said
Kate aggressively.
5 HOURS LATER
"How did he get away?” yelled the head sergeant.
"I'm very sorry sir, it won’t happen again,” said Commander.
“It better not!” yelled Sargent as he hung up the phone. “We need to find this
man, he is dangerous who knows what he could do and plus he has a
helicopter! He could be anywhere!” he yelled.
"Sir I can track his helicopter because the SWAT crew that stayed behind got a
picture of the helicopter and I have its serial number that I can trace back to
whoever made it and pinpoint its tracker,” said one of the agents.
“Well, what are you waiting for?! It's not gonna track itself!” yelled the
commander.
A COUPLE HOURS LATER
“Ok I pinpointed the location of the helicopter. It is in the hangar 5 rows down
on the left,” said one of the agents who are talking through the intercom.
“MOVE MOVE MOVE!,” yelled the commander as at least 15 SWAT soldiers
descended from the helicopter on rope.
“Target locked,” said one of the soldiers. They moved up right outside of the
hangar, as they opened the hanger doors and yelled.
“Frank put your hands where I can see them, if you reach for anything you will
be shot!” yelled commander.

Commander ran up to Frank and put him in handcuffs. “All I did was steal her
purse and some loose cash,” said Frank.
Over the intercom you can hear "Target has been retrieved. He is in cuffs."
Commander smiled as he heard over the intercom cheering and yelling.
Commander gave a little chuckle, and that for sure was a first. Commander
saved many lives that day and will be remembered as the one who stopped
the criminal, Frank.

Houseboat
by Bryn
June 14th, 2020
9 days out at sea
I miss my Mom. It was June 5th 2020, a full moon, when North Haven and its
people got swept away into the Atlantic Ocean. The sky was gray and gloomy. I
remember it so vividly and I could recall every detail. Mom and I had just
finished our grilled cheese sandwiches when we heard frantic screaming from
down the road. As the screaming got louder I saw the first person of many
come into my view from the window. From their quick glance my way I could
see the petrified look of fear in their eyes. Their pants were darker from the
knee down and water droplets flew in all directions onto the dry road as they
ran. Using the small tidbits of information that I gathered from the person's
legs being drenched, I concluded that the source of their fear must have
come from a water related incident.
Things escalated to a point where Mom and I counted over 100 people fleeing
from Downtown. Before I knew it my hand was twisting the doorknob to go
outside and get a first hand account of what was happening. As soon as I
opened the door my face was hit by the wind and damp moisture in the air. I
rushed down to Browns Boatyard as fast as I could but as soon as I got there I
wanted to leave. The dark, murky water started to proceed inland faster than I
could comprehend. I could hear creaking and clattering coming from the
sturdy pier that supports Brown’s Boat house and shop. They were being
ripped and splinted to pieces by the force of the Ocean. Before I knew it the
encroaching water sped up. It seemed to recede then came back with 10
times the force and at that point the water was up to my waist.
I felt like I was frozen in time. Skiffs that had broken free from the docks were
being tossed around like toys in a child's bath. I could see smoke billowing
from lobster boats but the thunder of the water pounding against Waterman’s
Community Center drowned out their motors.

Then I saw my brother Zeb’s houseboat. Feeling frantic, helpless and scared
for my life I felt that I had no choice but to swim for his houseboat. The
current was so strong my arms and legs were of no use. I was at the will of the
sea and I felt so helpless. Then I smashed into something hard and felt a crack
in my arm. I looked back to shore and the water was moving closer to
Calderwood Hall. I could feel exhaustion setting in and I started to sink, I shut
my eyes. I gave up because I was clearly no match for the Ocean.
I thought back on all the things I've done and I was unsatisfied and sad. I
needed to live a little longer! With the very tips of my toes I could reach
stones, I pushed off from what little footing I could get, kicked frantically and
flailed my good arm until I reached the surface. I was closer to my brother. I
didn't know how but it didn't matter. I screamed as loud as I could! “ZEB,
ZEB!” As the last scream exited my mouth I had lost all of my energy. This was
my last hope for safety. He saw me! With all the noise and chaos he saw me!
He tossed me a rope, I didn't know if I could hold onto it. I grabbed ahold of
the rope with my right hand and my teeth and he pulled me onto his
houseboat.
As I was gasping for air and coughing up water Zeb was shaking me to make
sure I was ok. The last thing I remember was trying to roll over but the sight of
my mangled arm caused me to pass out. The events that happened on June
5th are still very fresh in my mind.
June 15, 2020
10 days out to sea
I didn't know exactly what happened but I didn't care to know. “Any clue
where we are?” I asked Zeb.
“Somewhere on the Coast but there's no landmarks to tell us where we are.”
I looked around to see nothing but water. I realized just how isolated we were.
I tried not to think about it. We needed fresh water and food and had to get
to work.

The first thing I did was take a quick look around the Houseboat to see what
we had to work with. Some of the more important things I saw were a water
catcher, some hand reels, fishing poles and knives. I threw an unbaited hook
in the water and prayed a fish stupid enough would bite it but nothing did, so
in defeat I went to bed hungry and sour.
June 16, 2020
11 days out to sea
I woke up with Zeb telling me to get up.
“Wake up, dude, I see a boat.''
I jumped up to see a white boat not too far away from us. With my arm in the
condition it was in I didn't want to swim but I was snapped out of my thoughts
to the sound of a splash. Sure enough, Zeb was swimming out to the boat. I
sat there with thoughts running through my mind. What if there's a dead guy
on it? But sure enough I heard an engine start and he was on the way. He
looked calm enough so my thoughts went away. He pulled it up next to the
house. I jumped on, excited, to see if there was anything of interest. I looked
in the bait box to see 3 single herring. I grabbed them out of the box and
went back to the boat and put them straight on the hook. To my surprise I felt
a little pull. I pulled as hard as I could , probably harder than I should have
and the fish flew up in the sky. I spent my day catching fish and chatting with
Zeb.
June 17, 2020
12 days out at Sea
I miss it all ! The Island, my friends, my family and especially my Mom.

Untitled
by Thomas
The boy saw a door down the long
narrow hallway. He slowly stepped
closer with his baseball bat while
shaking at the knees. He’s never
been down this hall even though it's
his families mansion. The old
wooden floor creaked as he walked
forward. He trembled. He was
scared because he had heard the
rumors of the boogie man his
friends at school had told him
about. The boogie man his friends
had told him about was that he
stalks you in your sleep. He waits
until you're home alone and lives in
your basement. Also he might just
eat you.
The boy was going to the basement
'cause he heard a loud bang and he
wanted to see if he was the boogie
man. By this time he has made it to
the door knob. He turned it slowly as
sweat was pouring down his face. As
the door slowly creaked open he
stared at the steps down to the
basement and heard a laugh as he
ran down, swinging his bat rapidly,
hitting nothing. Then he stopped and
took a deep breath so he would calm
down, then took a closer look at his
surroundings, then felt a weird slime
substance going down his neck. He
slowly and fearfully looked up and
then he was the boogie man.
The End

Fun Day
by Jack B
OK, so me and Quinton were just sitting outside. Quinton
made a little bridge for the dogs for when they’re out in
the field and they want to come up onto our deck and
Quinton was walking on it and he fell. He fell right in front
of a big snake and it was like, four or six inches long, only
a gardener snake though.
Quinton got scared of it but it got away. Me and Quinton
wanted to get it and we pulled, it was in these tarps and I
picked it up and when my dad got home I had already
released it. He goes to pick it up and then he waits for Jen
to come home and then goes for the snake and she
starts freaking out.
Fun day!

Untitled
by Adam
It was a dark and stormy night and I was walking home from detention and I
heard a strange noise in the woods. I didn't know what it was so I tried to stay
away from it. As I started walking away I couldn't help but feel a sensation like
someone was following me but I just said don't look back and kept on walking.
After about three minutes I was feeling the same cold sensation I was feeling
near the trees and bush. I was so scared I felt a hand on my shoulder and I
fainted, when I woke up I didn't know what to think but then I saw him, he was
roasting a piece of my flesh over the fire and all I could do was scream!

Untitled
by Kassyde
The sun peeked through the holes of the tattered, yellowed curtains on the
window next to my bed. There was a wool blanket and a quilt covering me but
I was still cold. I sat up on the old bed that I had slept on for years. My bones
cracked when I stood up and looked around my bedroom, the floorboards
were dirty and some nails were sticking out and I almost stepped on them
every morning. I looked down at the clothes I had been wearing for years now,
I was dressed in a long, white night dress with blood stains on my side.
I walked to the bathroom down the hallway filled with framed pictures of
people I barely knew anymore. Once I reached the bathroom I pushed the
door gently and it creaked as it opened. I stepped inside of the cold, tiled
bathroom and looked in the mirror. My face was pale and there was dried
blood and a scar on my arm where I was bit.

The Man In The Dark
by Deegan
Once there was a kid. His name was Ryan. He was an only child. Ryan lived in a
beautiful house at the moment. His family was rich. They moved a lot,
because Ryan’s parents were scientists. The house was white, with a red roof
and brown door. There were also Juliet roses all around theirhouse.
They were done with their work at this house, so they were called to do a 3
month job at Spooksville, to study a new bacteria they called chmit. Ryan was
a very social person, so when he found out that the house was on a very small
island and had no neighbors he was very upset. They had to take a very small
row boat to get to the house. The whole boat ride Ryan’s father was
complaining about how they could have just rented a yacht and gotten there
2 hours earlier. Ryan’s mother said that they had already left the dock so they
couldn’t go back.
The house was really big, it was really old, made of rotting ebony (a type of
wood), and had ripped american flags. That night Ryan heard a noise from his
closet. At first he thought it was one of the boxes full of his stuff, falling from
the shelf. But then he heard it again. This time it scared him, his legs were
trembling, his hands were shaking, but he didn’t want to show that he was
scared so he went to go look, and then something jumped out at him,
something scary.
SPLAT.
The next morning his parents knocked on his door saying “it’s time to eat,” but
no answer so they thought he was still sleeping. So they went in to wake him
up but when they opened the door they saw blood splattered around the
room. Before the mother could finish screaming a hand went through both
hers and Ryan’s dad's stomach.

Ten years later, a kid named Tom and his parents, Terry and Travis, moved to
the same house. Tom was 16 and wasn't scared of anything. But little did he
know, that was going to change. That night when he went to bed, Tom heard
screaming from his mom’s room. He rushed to her room and saw that she
was being stabbed by a monster with a bag on his head. So he rushed to his
dad’s room for help but he was being eaten by a rotting human type thing he
called a zombie.
He rushed outside and got into the boat and rowed to the mainland. When he
was about halfway he found a book under the seat, in the book he found
pictures of the people who live in the house. Then he realized the zombie was
the dead father of a kid named Ryan. Then he finally got to the mainland. But
when he got to the dock he realized what happened to the mother. Just as he
finished that thought, another zombie appeared from under the boat, it
looked just like Ryan’s mom. She jumped onto him and he got so scared he
kicked her off of him, and she flew onto the deck and he jumped off the boat
and ran to the police station and told them everything. They thought he was
crazy, but they gave him a room to sleep in anyways. Right when he got in
there they locked him in. At first he was screaming to get out but then he gave
up and fell asleep. When he woke up the door was still locked, so he climbed
out the window. But when he went around the corner, they were
everywhere…
ZOMBIES.

MEETS
Spring 2020