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Page 1: 101 Short Stories

101 Short Stories

Mercy College Sligo Chapel Street, Co. Sligo, Ireland

www.mercycollegesligo.ie [email protected]

071-9143476 Teacher: D. Kearins

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Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 Little things by Lana Nevin 3

Chapter 2 My Paradise by Leah Kelly 5

Chapter 3 Hallowe’en Horror by Deia Carbonell 9

Chapter 4 Modern Fairy Tale by Leanne McGoldrick 13

Chapter 5 Fishy Story by Anastasia Vakhtina 17

Chapter 6 Disaster by Aoife Kelly 21

Chapter 7 Bullies Don’t Win by Aishling Burke 23

Chapter 8 Everything Had Changed by Sarah Armstrong 27

Chapter 9 The Storm by Hannah Monaghan 31

Chapter 10 The Talking Dog by Chloe McManus 35

Chapter 11 David’s Dream by Mary Agou 37

Chapter 12 The Egg by Melissa Cox 39

Chapter 13 Carpe Diem by Calisha Devaney 43

Chapter 14 Terror by Danielle Callaghan 45

Chapter 15 Electric Chair by Grace Filan 49

Chapter 16 Night I Would Never Forget by Jade Gaffney 53

Chapter 17 Love Story! by Leah Fox 55

Chapter 18 Disaster Struck by Tammy McGynne 57

Chapter 19 Wishes by Mary Stenson 61

Chapter 20 The End by Amy Conlon 65

Epilogue 69

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Prologue

We waited for the teacher in the last classroom of the corridor. It was also

the coldest. I stared around our classroom. There were twenty of us, all

waiting for English class to begin. I sat rubbing my cold hands. The cold

draught from the window had banged the classroom door shut. I could

smell the bar of chocolate as my friend gobbled it quickly. I could almost

taste it as my stomach rumbled, pleading for food.

All of a sudden I heard the key being placed in the door. It was the teacher.

“SNAP.”

That does not sound normal.

“Damn it,” I heard the teacher say. “Girls, I will be back in a minute.”

A few minutes later the teacher came back but I could also hear the

caretaker’s worried voice.

“Girls I called a friend who can fix this but, for now, you are stuck in the

classroom.”

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As I looked around I could see scared faces, worried faces and happy ones.

Then one of the girls stood up. Her light brown hair fell softly around her

pale face. Ashling had big blue eyes and rosy cheeks.

“Let’s tell some stories to pass the time,” Ashling suggested.

"Ok I will go first," Lana replied.................

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Chapter 1

ana’s Story

Little Things

As I sat in the brightly coloured surgery, it still felt like a dark, dull

closed in room. The smell of prednisone hung in the air as the white cleaned

pressed uniform of the medical staff moved around me. With nerves, my

heart pounded out of my chest, I felt the liquid spurt into my body. It was

the prednisone. I felt myself plunging deeper into the cold surgical

bed………………..

I could see the glistening white teeth of the surgeon smile at me. I could lip

read him saying.

“It’ll be fine.”

My eye lids felt like heavy stones as they slowly closed

and I drifted into a light sleep.

I dreamt that there was someone who could save me from all this pain and

sorrow. I needed a superman, a superhuman, someone who would brighten

my day. Instead of being stuck here, alone, I wish there was someone out

there who could make me happy. Who could take all this pain away and let

me live my life instead of being stuck in here?

I awoke as I heard the crackling sound of the bin bag. I blinked my eyes a

few time to see Ben, the bin man. He’s short and stubby and I could hear his

deep jolly laugh.

“Afternoon Ashling!!”

L

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I smiled and tried not to make eye contact with his sparking blue eyes that

you could see for miles. I was so depressed; I didn’t even want to talk.

As he left the room I was aware of what was going on around me. I saw

buildings from a distance through the small window in my room. I also

spotted a bunch of needles in a cup filled with all the drugs to keep alive. A

mad notation went through my head. I could grab a needle and stick it in to

my vein. Then I could grab two more with my sweaty shaking hands and

stick them in. All of a sudden I felt weak and dreary. I was thinking of

suicide.

Suddenly I heard a jolly laugh coming from the hallway. Then I saw the

handle of the door press down as Ben walk in. He didn’t notice anything as

he continued with a joke he came in to tell me. He was laughing so much I

couldn’t understand what he was saying but all of a sudden I burst into tears

of laughter. I realised straight away as Ben left the room that he was hero.

I know it might sound silly but Ben comes into me every day and talks and

smiles and never has a sad face. Even when I ignore him, he still comes in

and empties the dirty bin and tells me a joke. I realised that I might have a

bad life but Ben has a bad job. Yet he still manages to make my day just by

having a big smile on his face and getting on with his life. Things may be

hard and things may get harder but all these little things get me through the

day. Sometimes supermen or superheroes are the people we see every day.

Lana Nevin

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Chapter 2

Leah’s Story

My Paradise

The crowd hushed. The silence was defining. I delicately placed the

ball on the penalty spot. I took exactly five steps back. Then I slowly walked

up and hit the shiny, almost spotless new Nike football. The silence was

eerie. 50,000 people stared at me but I could almost hear a seagull cawing

high in the June sky. The blinding yellow sun blazed its heat down upon my

sweating head. The Nike football seemed to move in slow motion from my

foot. It was as if time had stood still. The noise from the crowd went from

silence to an almost deafening crescendo. It was as if a God had suddenly

turned the volume for planet Earth from 0-maximum. I looked at the goal

hoping the ball would beat the keeper and put us 2:1 up.

It all started when I was ten years old and I joined Strand Celtic. I loved it

and I gradually got better and better. Then as

I got older I got to play in a more central role.

I was inspired by many people who had gone

on and played on Ireland squads and it was

always my dream. Then one day I was asked

to go to an Ireland trial and I couldn’t miss

out on an opportunity like this. The trial was

in Dublin on a lovely summer’s day. The car journey up was unpleasant at

best. I was very nervous and, when I began playing at the trial, I wasn’t

playing as I used to. However I hoped I would get better and they would pick

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me. It was a nervous wait as I waited for the call that would pronounce me

an Ireland player.

Two years later I was not only an Ireland player, I was also playing for

Liverpool (my favourite team since I was a child.) I was playing with players

who played in Champions League Finals and probably even World Cups.

It was the day before the Champions League Final. We were doing intense

training. We would be playing Man United, the hardest opposition in our

league. I didn’t know whether or not I would be playing. The wait for the

game was agonising and I found it hard to even eat.

Finally the day was here. The game would start at eight o’clock. It was all

over the news. People were coming from all over the world to see it. But I

was not thinking about the big shiny trophy you got if you won and the big

parties after the game. I was thinking about the big opportunity this was

and how, if I played well, I would become a regular starter for the team.

The game was getting closer and closer and the nerves were building. We

were in the dressing room waiting for Brendon Rodgers to come in and

announce the starting eleven. My yellow Predator boots lay on the ground

and I hoped that they would get an opportunity to play in this very famous

Aviva Stadium. Rodgers named the team but unfortunately I wasn’t starting.

However I knew that I would play for some of the match.

As the game went on you could see we were struggling in the right midfield

position but the game stood at 1:1 at half time. We listened to Brendon

Rodgers summarise the first half.

Then I heard “Leah warm up, you’ll be going on in right midfield”.

I was delighted and I ran onto the pitch with a smile that went from ear to

ear.

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The second half began and we had all the possession but we just couldn’t

seem to find the target. I feared that Man United would score a goal against

the run of play but the game stayed at 1:1 with only minor chances for each

side. Then on the ninetieth minute, I was running up the field with only the

keeper to beat. I did a step over and tried to take the ball past the keeper

but I was tripped up. I fell dramatically to the ground. I looked at the

referee hoping he would award a penalty. He pointed to the spot. I jumped

up with delight.

I know it seemed antitheses but the shiny almost spotless Nike ball flew like

a rocket in slow motion towards the top right hand corner of the net. I had

scored 2:1. The Liverpool crowd went mad. The whistle blew for full time.

We had won the Champion’s League. I was awarded “Player of the Match”.

We were treated like heroes for a long time after. It was the most nerve

racking day of my life but it was also the best day of my life so far and I’m

sure I will never forget it.

Leah Kelly

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Chapter 3

eia’s Story

Hallowe'en Horror

One Hallowe’en, Lucas and Lisa decided to throw a Halloween

party in an old haunted house. It was at the edge of the forest in their

village!

It was Hallowe’en morning. Lisa jumped out of bed, got dressed as fast as

she could and ran to Lucas’ house which was only a couple of doors down.

On her way out, Lisa heard a story on the news about an escaped killer. Lisa

ignored it. News was boring.

When Lisa arrived at the house, she knocked gently on the door. Lucas’

mum Teresa answered the door.

“Good morning Lisa,” said Teresa surprised. “You’re up bright and early.”

“Yes I am actually and I was wondering if Lucas was up yet,” exclaimed Lisa.

“No, I’m sorry he isn’t but he should be so you

can go up and wake him up if you want.”

“I will actually.”

Lisa rushed up the stairs and burst into Lucas’s

room.

“Rise and shine my little rainbow, it’s eleven o’clock and we have to discuss

our party,” exclaimed Lisa excitedly!

“Nooo, it’s too early,” muttered Lucas as he rolled over onto his side facing

the wall.

D

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“No it’s not. Now get up and get changed. We’re going to check out this

haunted place.”

“Ughh,” mumbled Lucas while dragging himself out of bed.

“Whoa, let’s go,” shouted Lisa.

As they approached the old burnt and shattered looking building, their

breathing got heavier and their footsteps got smaller. In the streets, police

lights illuminated the morning sky as road blocks for the escaped killer were

set up.

When they got to the front door, they both looked at each other and

whispered,

“You go first.”

After a long and meaningless conversation, they both agreed that Lucas was

to go to first. Lucas pushed open the door. It creaked open, its rusty hinges

protesting. They took the first tentative footstep inside the house since,

“The Accident.”

One cold, gusty evening the old lady that used to live in the house

mysteriously went missing and also the same night her house was set a fire.

Gladly the whole house wasn’t burnt, just the extension which held the

bathroom and the dining room. Apparently a candle tipped over and it went

up in flames. Rumours say it was no accident, that the lady was brutally

murdered and the murderer set fire to her body and the house. Whoever it

was, there was no hard proof that there ever was a murder.

As they walked into the house, they could still smell burnt wood and plastic.

There was an old musty scent in the house and a lot of dust. They stepped

into the sitting room only to see half a sofa and a little table in the corner of

the room. That’s all that survived the fire in that room. Next they stepped

into the kitchen where there was only a chair and a mini freezer. They

stepped out of the kitchen prepared for the next room. They realised it was

the bedroom where it was all said to have happened. They bravely walked

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up to the door and peered in. There was nothing left so that gave them an

excuse to get out of there and say they saw the whole house.

“This is it,” said Lisa excited and scared at the same time.

“It sure is,” replied Lucas.

They rushed home, spread the word about their party, got dressed for it and

raced back to the old house to set up.

They never even noticed that a pair of eyes had watched them the moment

they both stepped into the house.

Ten o’clock came and people started arriving. By eleven o’clock there were

over 100 people there. Just about 75 more than they invited! The party was

great. One of their friends knew a good bit about DJ’ing so he organised the

music and one of their other friend’s mum was a cook so she organised the

food and drink. At about 1:30 everyone started leaving and by 2:00

everyone was gone so Lucas and Lisa started cleaning and tidying.

At 2:15 Lucas looked at watch and saw the time.

“Damn it, I was meant to be home fifteen minutes ago.”

“It’s ok, you go, I’ll finish up here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes I am now, go on before I change my mind,” giggled Lisa.

“Ok, thanks a million. Bye,” shouted Lucas while grabbing his jacket and

running out the door.

When Lisa turned around to pick up the sweeping brush, all she could feel on

her right shoulder was a cold hand.........

8:00 the next morning. Lucas got a call from Lisa’s parents wondering if she

had stayed over last night because she never came home. Lucas froze for a

minute.

“Hello, hello,” shouted Lisa’s mother,“Hello?”

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Lucas dropped the phone and ran as fast as he could towards the haunted

house. The second he walked in, he could taste fear in the back of his

throat. He rushed into the bedroom to see Lisa lying face down on the floor

with a stab mark in her back and blood all over the ground. He dropped to

his knees in tears.

Suddenly he felt a presence in the room. He turned and stared into the eyes

of the escaped killer. He felt like a fawn staring into the eyes of a killer tiger.

He was paralysed.

As the man with the knife in his hand walked slowly towards Lucas, he did

the first thing that popped into his mind which was RUN. Lucas hopped up

off the floor and ran towards the door but not quick enough to escape. The

man grabbed Lucas by his neck and dragged him back. As the man stabbed

him multiple times in the back, it felt like a hundred bee-stings rushing

through his body.

The killer grabbed a can of petrol. Just like he did with the old women,

nobody would ever know for definite there had been a murder. He poured

the petrol around the room and calmly lit a match…

Deia Carbonell

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Chapter 4

eanne’s Story

Modern Red Riding Hood

It was a misty December morning. There was a cold breeze going

through Red Riding Hood’s golden hair. The birds were chirping loudly in

the forest trees, their sweet song echoing through the distance.

“I can almost taste the coldness at the back of my throat,” whispered Red

Riding Hood to herself, as the smell of frosty wood filled the forest.

She came to a pool of frozen water and stared at her reflection through her

beaming blue eyes. She could see her curly blond hair and her red cape

blowing in the wind.

“Red,” as she was nicknamed by her friends walked

further and approached a little cottage. It was white

with a thatched roof and flowers on the window sills.

She cautiously opened the door. It creaked open.

She hung up her red cape and went to the bed in

which her grandmother was lying in.

“Hello, how are you?”

“Hello dear ,I am quite alright” replied her grandmother.

Her curly hair was pushed back by a little black hairband and her big brown

eyes were sparkling behind her glasses. Red loved her grandmother which

was unusual, because Red was really mean and didn’t really like anybody,

especially animals.

L

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When Red left her grandmother’s house, she went hunting. She went deeper

into the forest and came upon a wolf’s den but, to her surprise, there was

nothing in there. She walked a little more. She could hear wood banging in

the distance. She thought it could have been a builder but what was he

doing in the middle of a forest? The banging now sounded like it was right

beside her but she could not see a thing. She looked up. She scratched her

eyes.

To her amazement she saw a wolf building a house, in the trees.

After Red fell out of shock, she aimed her gun at the wolf, shot once, then

shot twice, but missed the wolf completely.

“Na na na na na you will never get me,” the wolf shouted down at Red.

He disappeared into his half built house. Red could see him through the

little window at the side, but she could not get over the idea that a wolf

could build a house with a window, a door, half a roof and it was in the trees.

Red wanted that house so she thought of an idea to get it. She would

pretend to go home but she would not. Instead she would hide in a bush

and shoot him and then take his home!!! So she waited till the time was

right. She lifted her gun again but this time she shot it three times.

“Bull’s eyes” she whispered.

However the wolf shouted once again “Na na na na na”

Red was now really angry at this stage and she said she would come back

the next day.

“I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I will blow your house away” she shouted “But it will

be with a grenade”

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The next day came and Red came back to the same spot she was in

yesterday, but this time she was not alone. She put the grenade behind her

back. There were police everywhere.

“Hello,” exclaimed the police man.

“Hello sir, may I ask why you’re here?”

“You see last night we had heard five gun shots, we came straight away but

it was too dark to investigate so we came back today” replied the police man.

“I see. Has any evidence been found yet?”

“Yes, quite a bit.”

“But it could have been a hunter,” replied Red.

“But this is a non-hunting area.”

Red was nervous as she looked into the blue eyes of the policeman. His hat

was on top of his black hair and he was wearing all his little gadgets under

his black coat.

“Well I better be off,” muttered Red nervously.

“Not so fast.”

Red turned back at the policeman.

“We know you were here last night, we know it was your gun. So do not try

and play games.”

Later on that day Red was put in jail for hunting in a non-hunting area.

Wolves, after all, are an endangered species.

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Leanne McGoldrick

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Chapter 5

nastasia’s Story

Fishy Story

Once upon a time there lived three men in the small county of

Kerry. They were called Hibert, David and Jone. Hibert was a plump man

with a bald head! David was a scrawny looking shy man and Jone was the

youngest and had a strong build.

They all loved to fish and shared a small fishing boat. It was old and a dirty

white colour. It had no radio or special features but they didn’t mind.

One morning they were getting ready for a fishing trip.

“Has everyone got their fishing rod?” asked

Hibert.

“Yes” replied Jone and David.

“Great” exclaimed Hibert.

They set off to the dock which was close to where they all lived. They had

just arrived at the dock and they noticed a new boat at the dock! “WOW”

they all exclaimed gobsmacked by how clean, shiny and expensive looking

the boat was!

“But it will never be as good as our old girl!” laughed David.

“I agree” replied Jone and they all got onto the boat.

A

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They set sail. The waves were calm and soothing, the sky was a clear blue. It

was a lovely day. One hour later they stopped to see if they could catch any

fish.

“I hope we catch plenty!” sniggered Hibert.

“I’m feeling lucky today!” laughed Jone.

David just opened his mouth to say something but the boat started to rock

more and the sea started to get rougher. Waves started to get bigger and

bigger!

“Come inside!” shouted David as they all rushed down the stairs.

“Just our luck!”

At that point it started to pour rain! The raindrops were the size of golf

balls. The sea was black and rough. They were all terrified as they heard the

waves crashing against their little boat.

“How long do you think the storm would last?” whimpered Jone.

“I’m not sure! Anywhere between one to four hours! But this storm doesn’t

look too good!” whispered David.

It was as cold as an iceberg in the room, they were all quiet and the only

thing that could be heard was the wind whistling and the waves crashing

against each other.

“We’ve been in this storm for three hours!” complained Jone.

“I know but we can’t do anything about it!”

David was starting to lose his patience and got up to go outside. He walked

up the slippery steps carefully not to fall.

“Guys the storm is starting to wear off!”

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Jone and Hibert raced up the stairs to see outside! In the far distance they

could see an island!

“Look!” shouted Jone.

They all stared at the large abandoned island.

“It looks like were heading for it!”

They landed on the islands shore. The sand was soft and clean. They

jumped out of the boat and fell onto the sand.

“Land! Oh we’re on land again!” cheered Hibert.

“Just one problem! We don’t know where we are!” snapped Jone.

Then they started panicking.

“How are we going to get home?!?!” worried David.

“ I don’t know…” Jone replied. “we can’t just sail home since we don’t know

what direction to go in.”

They were stuck on the island!

Anastastia Vakhtina

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Chapter 6

oife’s Story

Disaster

I could hear the wind through the November trees, whistling to the

tune of disaster, I could feel the cold rain going through my fingers. The

drops were heavy and felt like giant ping pong balls against my hands.

Through my frightened blue eyes I could see the water getting higher and

higher. The smell of impending death hovered in the air. We were wading

through three foot high water in order to cross the flooded road.

I felt frightened for my own safety but I was

terrified for the safety of Ali and Molly my two

children. Ali’s blonde curly hair was strewn all

over her face. You could see the fear in her green

eyes. Molly didn’t know what was happening, the

tears started dripping down her face. Her light

blonde hair was all over the place.

The storm was getting worse. The wind was getting stronger the rain started

getting heavier. The place was a mess, the roofs of houses had been torn

off. My eyes stung from the water getting into my eyes.I had to let go of Ali

and Molly’s hands to wipe my face which was covered with the dirt and rain.

All of a sudden the girls were dragged away. The girls were screaming and

trying to grab onto something, but there was nothing. I tried to get help but

there was no one around because everyone had been evacuated.

I was helpless.

A

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I saw Ali and Molly float away, float away to their premature deaths. Tears

flowed from my eyes but there was nothing I could do. It was a disaster to

beat all disasters.

Aoife Kelly

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Chapter 7

shling’s Story

Bullies Don't Win

The Nationwide Study of Bullying in Irish first and second level

schools conducted by Dr Mona O'Moore in Trinity College Dublin indicates

that some 31% of Primary Students and 16% of Secondary Students have

been bullied at some time. From Ireland’s 870,000 school going population,

this means 23% or 200,000 children are at risk of suffering the ill effects

of bullying. This is the story of one…..

One stormy cold winter’s day, Lana sat happily next to one of her closest

friends Mary. The cold rain lashed against the classroom window and the

wind howled like an angry wolf. However inside was not safe for Lana.

Lana and Mary had been friends since the start of secondary school. They

looked similar. They both had blue eyes and long black hair. Both were lithe

and both were bright. But there was one big difference. One was bullied

and one was strong.

Mary knew nothing about Lana getting bullied by

the two girls in the class, Sarah and Ciara. They

were small bitter people. Their small dark eyes

expressed hate. Like cats, they enjoyed playing

with a terrified mouse.

Mrs. Kelly announced “Mary can you to stay back and help make a poster for

a singing competition. Sarah and Ciara too.” Lana shook with fear when she

heard her name followed by thirs.

A

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“Oh and Mary also.”

Once she heard Mary’s name, she calmed down.

Everything was going fine until Mrs. Kelly asked Mary to go with her to get

paper and paint. Once Mary and Mrs. Kelly left the room, the girls started on

Lana. Sarah pushed her into the corner while Ciara stood at the door on look

out

“Think your’re better than us do ya?” they hissed like snakes about to attack

a timed mouse.

Once Ciara shouted “Ohhh, Mrs. Kelly hi do you need any help? “Lana was

released from the corner.

“Nobody needs to know about this okay!” Sarah whispered Lana shook with

fear but she had never been so happy to see Mrs. Kelly.

As the day got wore on, Lana was terrified for lunch.

“If that’s what happened in the classroom what will happen at lunch? “she

thought.

Every lunch time, Lana would try to stay close to Mary, but the second Mary

turned her head Sarah or Ciara would pull her away. They would take her

lunch money and, some days, both. Mary always went looking for her but

could never find her. Then up and out of no where Lana turned up. Mary

asked her where she was but every day Lana came up with a different

excuse. Lana shook with fear as Sarah and Ciara gave her the eyes.

Mary suddenly announced “I just have to go to the toilet.”

Sarah and Ciara took their chance. Lana felt herself getting punched, hit and

kicked by Sarah and Ciara. Mary heard a scream and peeped her head

around the toilet corner. She saw someone lying on the floor. Once she saw

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that it was Lana she went to her aid. Lana broke down crying and told Mary

everything.

“It was time to tell Mrs. Kelly,” Mary announced….

Ashling Burke

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Chapter 8

arah’s Story

Everything Had Changed

It started as a stormy, cold, windy night on Central Street on the 5th

of December. Mary Regan was out walking her dog, kids were playing on the

streets with the leaves rustling trough the grass. It was a normal day but it

was all about to change.

All of a sudden Aishling ran up behind me. Her small manicured nails were

in her long black hair as she yelled.

“There’s a man in Tammy’s house trying to kill her and her husband Dylan”.

I heard a scream, it sounded like Tammy. I ran over to the house as a chair

flew out the window followed by Tammy. Dylan jumped through the

window.

Tammy screamed “HELP." Dylan shouted “I will not let my women be treated

like this.” So he hit the fella.

Tammy smiled and thought to herself “couldn’t

ask for anyone any better.” As I ran to Tammy,

Dylan dragged the man into the house, I asked

Tammy was she ok or was she hurt, I got no

reply. As I waved my hand in front of her face,

I heard a gunshot. I screamed. I lifted Tammy

by one arm and ran to my house.

“Was Dylan Ok?” Tammy asked me when we got to my house. I didn’t know

whether to answer that question because I didn’t know if he was or not. She

asked me the question again, I looked down. Her hands, they were shaking

S

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a lot! There was a loud knock at the door, but we didn’t know who it was so

I told her not to get it. As the tears ran down her face, she cried and said it

might be Dylan.

I got up to look out the key hole. It was Aishling. She was crying and

sobbing in my face at the door so I brought her in for a glass of water. T

there was another bang at the door and Aishling jumped to get it. By the

time I got to the door, Aishling had it open! Dylan walked in.

”Was everything ok?” I asked but he just ran to Tammy and hugged her so

tight.

“What happened Dylan?” I asked again. He paused. His soft blue eyes

looked hurt. His hands were shaking. For the first time I noticed the blood

on his new Levi top.

“When we were in the house Connor Grey came in the back door (Connor was

Tammy’s ex-boyfriend)” he started. “When he came in he saw Tammy. He

ran to her and cried to take her back. Tammy, but Tammy asked Connor to

leave. Connor wouldn’t leave. He produced a gun. When I walked in, I

grabbed the gun but it went off by accident.”

I trembled. A horrible feeling overcame me.“Dylan, whose blood is that?” I

whispered.

“Connor’s” he replied. “He’s not moving. I think he’s dead”.

The sound of ambulance and gardai sirens could be heard in the distance.

Dylan and Tammy’s lives had changed forever….

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Sarah Armstrong

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Chapter 9

annah’s Story

The Storm

It was the worst day of my life. On the 26th

October 2012 Sandy

came into my life. He was big, powerful, violent and had no regard for any

person or anything. Sandy was a category 5 hurricane, the biggest hurricane

on record.

It was a Friday afternoon in New York. I had just returned home from school.

I walked into the living where my mum and dad were glued to the TV. I knew

there was something up.

“A hurricane warning had been issued to the coastal parts of New York,” the

newscaster announced

I froze in horror when I saw the size of the

hurricane. My mum and dad immediately took

action into keeping our family and house safe. My

mum and dad started boarding up the windows

and putting the sandbags in front and behind the

doors. The atmosphere was very uneasy.

The next morning was very cold and very windy. Black clouds hung

ominously in the threatening sky. The sky was silent as all the birds sought

shelter. The taste of fear filled my mouth.

My dad and I went to the supplies shop to get gas cookers, blankets, torches

and batteries while mum went grocery shopping to the stores that were still

opened! When we were driving home we could feel the car leaning to one

side. The wind was getting stronger and stronger. We were driving past the

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sea when this gigantic wave covered the car. The waves were crashing over

the wall.

When we got home, mum had already unpacked the food and was watching

the TV to see if there was any update on the hurricane. There was only 18

hours until the storm hit landfall.

After that, we started to put up the heavy furniture onto the kitchen tables.

The sandbags were all put in front and behind the doors. The windows were

bordered up while the furniture was put on the tables. We were all prepared.

I was getting more and more scared. It was about 9:00 when the lights

started flickering and then 9:30 when the lights went out. We were

swallowed in darkness. This was when I got really scared. The air was very

humid and warm, the atmosphere was getting very tense. We assembled

upstairs and turned our torches on.

It was about 11:35 when the hurricane hit landfall. We could hear the waves

like we were right beside the sea! The alarms were going off on the cars in

the flooded street. We could feel the cold icy draught creeping up the stairs.

We knew the hurricane was here. We could hear things hitting off the house

.A big grey gate smashed the window. Tears whelled up in my big blue

frightened eyes. I was starting to cry. I thought this was the end.

The next day I woke up and my mum and dad weren’t there. I started to

panic. I ran downstairs where, to my horror, there was cold water up to my

knees. I wandered around the house until out of the corner of my eye I saw

them in the front garden (which looked like a scrap yard). I made my way to

the garden where my mum and dad were standing like statues, horrified at

what they saw. I walked over without tripping over the scrappage that was

thrown there by the hurricane.

The house beside us completely torn apart. The roof was all gone. I wasn’t

surprised as the roof was really old. I stood beside my mum and she

squeezed me really tightly. I glared down at the street. The cars were all

piled up on each other. I looked back at our house and my heart sunk as

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fast as a pebble in a pool. Our beautiful home had not been spared. The

chimney had collapsed and the place was a mess.

But chimneys can be fixed, a mess tided up. People can’t. I held my mum’s

hand tighter. At that moment I knew what was priceless in life.

Hannah Monaghan

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Chapter 10

hloe's Story

The Talking Dog

The sun was shining high in the blue cloudless sky as the

birds chirped happily in their morning song. The scent of the freshly

cut grass filled my nostrils. Jack my golden Labrador, scratched happily in

the grass.

"Morning Chloe" Jack whispered.

"Morning Jack” I replied. Whoa!! Has my dog just talked to me? I was

incredulous. “How do you think I feel when ye talk? Jack muttered. "And I

don’t mock you? “I know but it’s weird to hear a dog talk I replied.

“I know,” Jack said I called my dad and told him. But he said Chloe he can’t

talk.

“Yes I can talk” said Jack.

“Oh my god you can talk,” cried Jack before he fainted.

I ran upstairs and told my mum to check dad. She

came down stairs “Chloe I always knew he could

talk but didn’t tell you. My dad and I brought Jack

for a walk. It was great that he could understand

us and could tell us where he was going. To be

honest Jack was more intelligent than your dad. All

your dad talks about is Sligo Rovers.” The next day my brother and I

brought him up the woods. A lovely white and brown small dog came over

to us.

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“Hi Lilly,” Jack said.

“Hey Jack follow me," Lilly replied.

So Jack and Lilly went running of in the lovely warm woods. Jack and Lilly

were best friends. Lilly came over to our house most days.

Yesterday me, Jack, dad, mum, Lilly and Lilly’s owner Paula went to the park.

It was a lovely summer’s day. The smell of the freshly cut grass was in the

air. There were lots of birds flying around the place but there was this one

bird that kept landing beside the dogs.

“Let’s get it.”

Jack and Lilly chased the birds. There were loads of children running around

place having fun. Their happy screams filled the air. I smiled happily too.

“It’s funny how life can change,” I whispered to myself.

Chole McManus

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Chapter 11

ary’s Story

David's Dream

It was a cold, rainy, winter’s day as David was practicing for his

school talent show. He finally had the courage to perform in front of people

for the first time since his traumatic incident while saying his line in a school

play when he was six years old. It was horrifying. He remembered when his

turn came to say his line.

He felt the warm spotlight on his face as he stared at the audience staring at

him. He was like a rabbit paralysed in a car leadlight.

“Em, em, em “, he stuttered. His mind was blank.

He could hear a pin drop. Somebody laughed, then another. Soon the whole

crowd sniggered in unison. He would never forget it.

As he practiced playing the guitar, his two annoying

curly haired brothers Jimmie and John walked in the

door screaming

“You’re no good, you’re no good”.

“What are you doing here?” David replied.

“Mum just wanted you to come down for dinner”, Jimmie started.

“Well tell her I’m busy “, David shouted.

“What are you busy doing? You know you’re no good”, interrupted John.

“Get out you two annoying weirdoes “screamed David.

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A tear drop ran down David’s fairly soft, pale skin, they dripped onto his

Gibson guitar. He caught his reflection in the mirror. He had blue eyes and

fair brown hair. And tonight, for the first time since he was six, he would

perform in public. His fingers were sore from practicing. His voice was

finally tuned, he was ready. But would he bury the ghost of past failures?

It was 8 o’clock. David watched from the stage wings. The stench of sweat

filled the stage as he stared at the intimidating audience who sang and

laughed at, or with, the performers. A cold shiver of fear ran down his

spine.

“Next we have David Jenson “

As he walked down the stage, the smell of fear was in the air. He was about

to sing. He closed his eyes and remembered the time when he was six. He

was on the very same stage. Then he remembered the time when he was

alone in his bedroom, playing guitar and singing songs. He opened and let

his entire fears slide away. The next thing you know, David started singing.

When he was finished the crowd applauded and chanted “More, more, more

“Relief swept over David. He had buried his ghost and could now move on.

Mary Agou

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Chapter 12

elissa’s Story

The Egg

It was a warm summer’s day and Thomas was bored. Birds sang

happily in the June sun as a warm breeze tip toed through the air. He could

smell the temptation of escaping from his bedroom window. The room was

humid and stuffy. It was the antithesis of life outside. Life was boring and

he needed money. FAST. He yearned for the taste of adventure. As he

heard the forest calling, he mustered up the courage to go.

He was ten feet into the forest when he found an old newspaper, dating back

two days. Thomas kept walking until he found somewhere comfortable to sit

and read the newspaper. The top headline in big bold writing read

“Ostrich on the loose!”

He opened the page and read on.

“An ostrich belonging to a white witch escaped”

“The woman must have been mad. She said it was a talking ostrich.

“What a nutter,” Thomas thought to himself.

When he was finished reading, he explored deeper

into the forest. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a

large nest type pile and in it an egg. Thomas had

never seen an egg like this before. It was peach in

color and smooth in touch. However what shocked

him the most was the size. It was twenty times the

size of a normal chicken’s egg.

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Suddenly, “crack” a tiny splinter appeared in the egg. “Crack” another larger

splinter appeared. Like ice slowly cracking, little lines ran all over the egg.

The shell broke and a little head appeared. It was a small feathered bird that

looked as if it was swimming because all his feathers were stuck to his body.

Thomas wrapped it up in a hanky and brought him home. He ran quickly up

the stairs and into his bedroom. He locked the door and took the bird out of

the hanky.

“Hello” the said “Are you my mummy?”

Thomas fell back onto his bed with dis-belief.

“Oh my God, you can talk?” Thomas asked.

“Of course I can I’m a duck, all ducks can talk.”

“You’re not a duck!”

“Of course I ‘m a duck what else would I be?” giggled the new arrival.

It took Thomas two days to get used to a talking bird in his bedroom. He

had grown six inches so he decided to give it a name. Alex. Alex started to

demand foods like carrot snacks and coconut milk. Where did Alex expect

Thomas to get coconut milk? So he got normal milk and insects. Alex was

growing rapidly and eating like a horse. The growth spurts made him think.

“What type of bird is Alex?”

It took four months for Thomas to figure out Alex was an ostrich. Alex was

now fully grown and hard to hide. Alex was black and white with yellow

eyes. He was over six feet in height and knew all the words in the dictionary.

One weekend there was a music concert on Labyrinth beach. Thomas really

wanted to go but what would he do with Alex? He had an idea but wasn’t

sure it was going to work.

It was early Saturday morning, time to put Thomas’ plan into action. He ran

down the stairs and got Alex some breakfast and left for town on the bus.

He walked briskly to the music shop to buy a double bass case. He got back

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on the bus and arrived home five minutes later. He rushed up the drive way

to Alex. Alex met Thomas at the door.

“Get upstairs now or you’ll be seen!” Thomas told him to

“OK! OK!” Alex replied irritated

Thomas chased Alex up the stairs and told him the plan. He didn’t know

how to answer so he didn’t.

They reached the music concert. The smell of sweaty concert goers hung in

the air. The sound of electric guitars tickled their eardrums. They barged

through the crowd. Thomas opened up the case and out popped Alex. Alex

was on a lead so he couldn’t run away. They reached the stage. At that

point, everyone stared in amazement.

One little girl came up to Thomas and asked to rub his parrot.

Thomas told her “It’s an ostrich!”

The little girl argued that it was a parrot for ten minutes. Thomas pointed

beside him and said “OSTRICH!” but when he looked around Alex was gone.

Thomas took a quick look around but Alex was nowhere to be seen. Thomas

looked at the stage and there he was. All he heard was “Next to sing a song

is Alex,” Thomas laughed. Alex was obviously enjoying himself. The crowd

were in awe.

“OH MY GOD A SINGING OSTRICH!”

“He’s gonna be famous!” Thomas sighed happily, “Everyone will want to see a

singing ostrich and he’s mine! I am going to be rich!!!”

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Melissa Cox

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Chapter 13

alisha’s Story

Carpe Diem (Seize The Day)

George walked along Strandhill beach trying to clear his head. The

windy ocean breeze blew softly through his short curly brown hair. The

scent of seaweed filled his nose and seagulls played happily in the bright

blue sky. Bathers screamed happily in the cool Atlantic waves.

The serene atmosphere did not match George’s mood. Every day he saw her,

everyday he kept on walking. He walked by the words “Carpe Diem (Seize

the Day),” painted onto the grey wall, every day.

There she was again. He stared at her through his love sick eyes. Her silky

brown hair flowing in the summer breeze air, eyes sparkling in the sun.

Today would be different, today he would speak to her. He made his way

slowly towards her.

“Hello,” he said softly.

“Hi,”she smiled.

“Would ,would, you like to go out sometime,” he

stuttered.

“Sure”, she replied.

George was delighted. He had met the woman of his dreams. Better still I

had made a date with her. He had made a choice to take a risk and seize the

day.

“Carpe Diem”, he smiled to himself.

C

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Calisha Devaney

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Chapter 14

anielle’s Story

Terror

Once upon a time there was a girl named Lily. Lily was sitting in

her house one day and her mother called her into the kitchen. Lily

walked into the kitchen to see her tall, blond haired mother

standing over a basket full of food such as apples, bananas pears etc.

“Go to your grandmother’s house and give her this basket full of food,” said

Lily’s mother

“Ok,” said Lily.

“Don’t talk to any strangers on the way,” announced Lily’s mother.

Lily walked outside and felt the cold breeze on her face. The forest was

dark. There was an eerie silence. Not a bird could be heard. It was as if

they were hiding from someone….. or something.

Suddenly she tripped over a branch in the woods. She heard branches

moving back and forth. Tension hung in the air. Cold sweat ran down her

spine. Fear filled her.

“Is anyone there,” shouted Lily.

There was no reply. Lily began to get worried but kept on walking.

As she got closer to her grandmother’s house she

heard it again. Branches moving and rustling but this

time she saw a man walking behind her. He was a tall

man, you could not see his face because he had a scarf

covering it. He started to run after her. Lily started to

run and saw a large tree which she hid behind.

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She stayed there for a few minutes. When she came out she did not see the

man so she continued walking.

When she reached the house she knocked on the door and there was no

reply.

“Grandmother, granddad are you in there?” shouted Lily.

Her grandmother did not answer so Lily entered the house. When she went

into the sitting room she saw the man sitting in her grandmother’s chair.

“Who are you?” whispered Lily.

“Hi I’m Freddy, nice to meet you,” announced the man.

“What do you want this is my grandmother’s house?”

The man jumped off the chair grabbed Lily and tied her arms and legs to a

chair. She was terrified.

“Help!” she screamed.

Her grandfather was in the forest chopping wood when he heard Lily’s

scream for help. He came running in with axe in hand and saw the man

putting all his belongings into a bag.

“What do you think you’re doing?” screamed Lily’s grandfather.

He threw the axe at the man. The axe narrowly missed the man but chipped

the man’s shoulder.

“Aghhh,” screamed the man in pain. He raced out the door, blood dripping

from his wound.

Lily’s grandfather released her.

“You’re okay now,” he reassured her. “We’ll find him,”

But they never did. Now whenever Lily walks outside and feels the cold

breeze on her face in the dark forest, she sometimes thinks there are is pair

of eyes staring at her in the forest. And sometimes there really is……..

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Danielle Callaghan

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Chapter 15

race’s Story

Electric Chair

Rian sat in his cold damp cell in the feared Lakefield Prison. The

grey stone walls matched his sombre mood as he stared at his prison cell

through sad tired blue eye. The repetitive tick tock of the clock was driving

him insane. “Tick, tock, tick, tock. “He had thought of smashing it but it

was important he knew how much time was left. He paced his lithe body

around his almost bare tiny room once again. Five steps forward and five

steps back in a by now rhythmic mode towards the old wooden chair in the

corner of the room. He endured a restless night. A young hysterical man

that had been brought in in the late hours of the day cried and screamed

non-stop until he passed out. The smell of impending death hung in the air.

“But I’m innocent,” exclaimed Rian yet again to another prisoner awaiting

execution.

“Aren’t we all,” was the standard reply.

“You’re another dead man walking, just like the rest of us,” a prisoner

interjected.

The problem was he was innocent, well kind of…..

It all began the week he had been discharged from

rehab. He had gone to an anger management meeting

and was on his way home. It was a cold, dark night.

He was wrapped up in a black ski jacket, a size too big

(it once had belonged to his brother). Rian was going as fast as he could

because this particular part of town was known for being very rough.

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All of a sudden he heard a cry for help. Every instinct told him to turn and

run, this is a trap! He’ll go to help and end up being mugged. Then there

was a shrill scream that bounced round his head. Rian was startled by how

feminine and strangled this other voice was. He knew what he had to do.

Rian located where the disturbing noise was coming from, a creepy dark

alley. He hurried towards the alley. Then he cautiously took out his phone to

weakly illuminate the dark alley. He saw a heap stir by the dustbins but

thought now was not the time to deal with that.

He saw the source of the feminine cries. It was a woman in her late twenties.

She had matted dull hair which stuck out all over the place and overly large

grey eyes that had a look of what Rian thought to be desperation about

them. Even in this alley it was clear to see this woman was very unhealthy,

probably a drug addict.

Rian didn’t know what to do. He felt ashamed to admit it but the overall

image of her was so revolting he didn’t want to go near her let alone help

her up.

Rian knew a second too late that the heap from beside the bins was on his

feet. To his shock, there was a steady stream of blood flowing from his

temple that the man wasn’t trying to stem. There was something very

familiar about this man but Rian couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

It all happened so fast. Rian stumbled back towards the girl on the ground

who thrust a knife, already wet with blood, into his hands. The other man

stumbled forward in a somewhat threatening way and Rian found himself

putting the knife in the man’s stomach.

Charlie Tate! That’s who this man was, the barman who hadn’t served him

and had given evidence that had put Rian in rehab for a gruelling 6 months.

He watched this man’s life come to the end. Rian fell to the ground in horror.

He had killed this man.

The next few days went by in a blur. The cops arrived. Rian was carted away.

He had many sleepless nights. There had been a trial in which Rian had been

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found guilty. The police never found any trace of the woman in the alley. All

they had was the knife that had killed the man and Rian’s fingerprints on it.

He had few visits. All went the same way, the look of disgust turning to

disappointment then to despair again, and now here he was waiting.

Rian felt a shiver down his spine.

“Someone must be walking across my grave” chuckled Rian.

“Tick tock, tick tock.” Rian wondered exactly how many tick tocks he had

left. He had a strange thought as if the clock was counting down the

seconds. The clock seemed to tick away all the time he had left because in

what felt like a few minutes he was sitting on the last chair he would ever sit

on.

He looked at the captive audience there to see the execution. Some seemed

as if they felt sorry for him, most looked on him with disgust. He was a killer

after all. And he knew he hated himself too. He was the one that had killed

Charlie not that woman. That woman! How he longed to know who she was!

Her grey eyes were all he had thought about these last few days.

The second before the executioner flipped the switch, memories flooded

back. His first bike, first date, Lilly in her wedding dress, the twins, that

woman’s grey eyes.

Then his clock stopped tick tocking.....

Grace Filan

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Chapter 16

ade’s Story

A Night I Would Never Forget

It was a cold, dark night outside as I lay inside my warm, snug bed. I

could hear the rain tapping against the window gently, like a baby tapping

its mum. Suddenly the night silence was interrupted.

“Help!”

A woman was screaming outside so I raced outside.

“The house, the house is on fire down the road”, she shouted.

I stared down the street. Flames illuminated the night sky. I raced to the

house. I could see the smoke filling the air. I saw a tall, skinny man wearing

a black mask race from the burning house to a long white van. He stopped

and stared as if remembering my face.

I quickly pulled out my phone and nervously called

911.

They replied "Hi how can we help you?"

“There’s a fire on 18 O Connell Street.”

“Yes ma'am, we will send help, don’t panic.”

My heart was beating very fast. Soon I could hear the loud alarms and I could

see the bright blue flashes. The firemen pulled out the large hoses and

eventually put out the big burning house. They found two adult bodies and

two children around 6 years old, a boy and a girl. It was terrible.

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Worse was to follow. Investigators found the fire was deliberate. Arson! I

explained to the police that I saw the man running from the house. They

took me down to the station, and took my statement. They got all the details

off me and they sent out a search party to find the man.

They never found him.

It was a night I would never forget. I am the only one who can identify him.

And he knows what I look like. Will I be next……

Jade Gaffney

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Chapter 17

Leah’s Story

Love Story!

Church bells rang as the newly married couple left the church.

People cheered and confetti rained down upon the smiling young couple.

Ella smiled when she remembered the day she met Franko.

She recalled the warm soft sand touching her feet as she walked along

Melbourne beach. Birds chirped happily in the trees as the smell of seaweed

filled the air. The sweet taste of ice cream was lovely. Then she saw him. It

was his blue innocent eyes that first attracted her. He was with a bunch of

his friends but she had eyes only for him.

“Hello” she said.

“Hi” he replied “I’m Franko”.

Ella smiled when she remembered their

engagement. After five years dating they were in a

restaurant Franko looked very nervous with his blue

eyes watering and his tanned hands shaking as he

whispered

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said in a loud cheerful voice as people began to clap and cheer.

It was two years after they were married. Ella smiled when she looked in the

mirror. Through her brown eyes she saw herself as an eight month pregnant

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woman whose small hands gently held her pregnant stomach. Life was

about to change for the better. They had come a long way since that day on

the beach.

Leah Fox

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Chapter 18

ammy’s Story

Disaster Struck

At 1:30 on November 14, 2012 Sky viewers worldwide heard the

shocking news story.

Newsflash!!!

“Reports are coming in that an aircraft from Dublin to Pretoria has crashed

in the Sahara. It has been reported that only one out of the 56 passengers on

board has survived. The plane was carrying mostly Irish passengers

including an under 14 girls soccer team. We will update you with any further

developments”

Thousands of miles away, I lay on the warm Sahara sand. Pain shot through

my body like a thousand bee stings. My short brown hair was caked in blood.

I could feel sand in my ears and up my nose. Through my tear filled eyes, I

stared at the burning plane. It looked like a jigsaw that had been one giant

piece but was now a thousand fragments. Thick black smoke was

everywhere. The smell of death hung in the air. The head of my football

manager lay close by. His body lay 50 metres to my left, his legs 50 metres

to my right. Never liked him anyways.

A rescue crew was tending to my needs.

"What happened?" they asked.

"Was it a terrorist?" another interjected.

"Yes.”

T

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I lied. How could I tell the truth?" I fourteen years old Tammy McGwynne had

just caused a plane crash. The memories came flooding back…

I was just sitting down in my seat beside the window quietly talking to the

girls about how excited we were to have a football final in South Africa.

Usually the girls did not talk to me because of my short temper.

All was fine until I heard the manager talking.

“McGwynne won’t get a game, she’s useless,” he laughed.

I had to defend myself. I felt my infamous temper rising. My blood was

boiling. I started to argue with my manager.

“Calm down,” he asked.

“No!” I screamed. I quickly jumped up of the seat firing glasses at anyone

that was close to me. I walked away in a huff looking for a something sharp.

I finally found a glass bottle near the pilot’s cabin.

“What is going on?” asked the pilot. “I have no co-pilot and now you start

causing trouble.”

“What’s it to you!!” I shouted.

I slowly crept up behind the pilot and stuck him on the back of the head with

the bottle. Big mistake. He slumped forward, out cold.

I nervously walked back to my seat as fast as possible. When I got back

everyone was asking me to calm down.

"Look I’m sorry" the manager said.

"No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to and it’s going to be ok."

The manager looked confused. Little did he know. That’s when I felt the

plane going side words. I can’t remember anymore until I woke up here like

this and no one around me and everyone just lying there. Dead.

"Yes, it was a terrorist,” I lied.

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No one could ever discover the ugly truth.

Tammy McGynne

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Chapter 19

ary’s Story

Wishes

“Be careful what you wish for in case it comes true.”-Proverb

As I feel my cold and battered head, I suddenly see bright red blood oozing

from a gaping, open wound on my head. I run my dirty fingers through my

brown hair, now tangled with warm, sticky blood. I am lying on the wet,

mucky floor of the dark forest floor. As I stare up at the dark grey clouds, I

realise the tremendous damage the storm has caused. The wind howls like a

banshee. A banshee prophesises death. So too will this storm. I put my weak

hands on the ground and, with a lot of pain, I try to sit up. I glare around at

the run down village. I am shocked! The village looks as if a giant has just

smashed his way through it. People are running frantically around. The

sound of desperate crying fills my ears. The smell of death hangs in the air.

A tree is on fire beside me and, as once

as I inhale the pungent smoke, I fall

straight to the ground again. I see a

shoe, a shoe I recognise as my mother’s.

And nearby a man’s shoe. My father’s.

How did this happen? I had caused this

storm and orphaned myself with a wish.

My mind flashed back to the beginning of the week. It was my birthday, I was

thirteen. The happy cries of my family filled the room. I was the centre of

attention. I saw a picture that someone had taken on their iPhone. I smiled.

The picture showed me that I had long brown hair, eyes as green as freshly

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cutgrass and perfectly white teeth.

My aunt Hilda took in the cake. My dad was afraid of her. He said she was a

white witch. And he was not joking. She had snow white hair while her eyes

were as big as golf balls. She wore a long black dress and a cat called

Gasper.

‘Make your wishes. But be careful what you wish for in case it comes true,

“she whispered to me out of earshot.

“Okay so.”

I made three amazing wishes. (Well that’s what I thought at the time). How I

wish I could turn back the clock.

I was an only child. For my whole thirteen years I was on this planet all alone.

For every Christmas holiday and party it would just be my mum, dad and I.

My first wish was that I could have a brother. I wasn’t picky, any age or any

size. I didn’t care! As long as I wasn’t alone anymore.

A week later my brother arrived and he was fifteen years old. He had jet

black hair and his eyes were as blue as the crystal clear ocean. I didn’t know

how my parents had never noticed him; it was as if their minds had been

tampered with. He acted as if he was their son. It was amazing. Those weeks

were unbelievable. We got on so well.

However it took a turn for the worse, Matthew started arguing with me. I was

used to being the centre of attention and now I had to share it. We couldn’t

agree on anything. I started to regret my first wish. I wasn’t going to waste

my second wish on fixing my first wish so I just left it.

My second wish was for me to be smart. I knew that my wish had come true

because, when I got my test results back, they were all A+. It was amazing.

However one day at school someone shouted out ‘nerd’ as I walked into the

classroom. I was horrified at this and couldn’t believe that I, one of the

popular girls in school, was being called a nerd. I knew now that something

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was wrong with my wishes. In each case, a couple of days after I’d made the

wish, it would turn bad.

I thought for ages about my third wish. I needed something that couldn’t

turn bad.

“Tidy up your room,” my mum shouted.

“No,” I replied.

“Now,” dad chirped in.

I stormed up to my room. Out of full frustration, my third wish was that my

parents wouldn’t boss me around. I knew straight away this was a mistake.

The next morning I woke up and my parents were not there. I got scared and

worried. I decided to go to the forest and look for them. It was lashing rain

outside so I grabbed my rain jacket and wellies. There had been reports of a

storm heading this way but I took no heed. Dark clouds scurried across the

sky.

As I was searching in the forest, I could hear thunder and lightning. I longed

for my parents. As I was running along, I slipped in muck and hit my head of

a branch. Darkness. I was knocked unconscious.

The next thing I remember was me staring around at the damages of the

storm in the village. I thought it was a sign from my aunt Hilda, trying to

show me what would happen if I was selfish. It taught me a valuable lesson

but at a very high cost. Everything that I had taken for granted was gone. I

had learned a horrible lesson.

“Be careful what you wish for because it will come true.”- My Proverb

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Mary Stenson

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Chapter 20

my’s Story

The End

It seemed like an ordinary night in Gaza. Crickets chirped

peacefully and the sound of a dog barking filled the night air. The smell of

tranquillity hung in the night. The talk of a war seemed to be just that, talk.

I caught my reflection in the mirror. I saw my dark brown curly hair fall

softly on my pale soft skin, I stared at my blue eyes.

“BANG”

Suddenly I heard explosions, people screaming, guns firing, cars crashing

and beeping. I had no idea what was going on, I pulled off the covers and

got out of bed. As I began to walk, there was another

bang and I fell to the floor.

“What is going on?” I said to myself.

As I reached the window, I looked out. I became

terrified of my vision. I saw wild fires everywhere and

people running around avoiding the large craters in

the roads. It looked like an earthquake hit our town

but I knew that was not the reason. So what?

“Are you crazy Ofira?”

I jumped with fright. I turned to see my sister. She looked terrible; her eyes

were swollen and red. I could clearly tell see was crying. Her hair did not

have its usual curl and shine it was actually very dull and knotted. I knew

something bad had happened.

A

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“What has happened?” I asked her.

“We are at war! Our town is being attacked by Israel”.

“WHAT!” I screamed. “Where is mum and dad?”

My sister began to cry.

“I don’t know”.

My sister is two years older than me and I have never seen her cry. Seeing

her cry made me very worried. What does she mean she does not know

where mum and dad is?

“So what are we going to do?”

“We need to get underground, we will go to the shelter”

“The shelter?”

“Yes everyone is gone there, mum and dad might be there!”

“Why would they be?”

“Well they did not come home from the dinner party yet”.

“But the shelter is at the bottom of the street”.

“Well if we stay here we will die!”

We left my bedroom. As we got to the front door my sister stopped,

hesitated and then opened the door. It was scarier than looking out my

bedroom window. The noises were much louder.

“BANG”

The floor began to shake and my sister and I fell.

“What was that?” I asked in a frightened tone.

“A bomb.”

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I looked up to see aeroplanes with weird looking signs at the side. They

looked like stars of David.

“Come on,” my sister screamed

We began to run we were almost there when, “BANG!” we both fell again.

This time I hurt my leg. When I looked down, the cut was bleeding but I

didn’t care because I could see the stairs leading down to the shelter just

within sight. When it was clear we began to run again. We made it. As we

reached the stairs two Hamas soldiers came up and took us down into the

shelter.

As we got to the bottom step I could see the shelter, it was crowded.

Everyone was lying on the hard cold ground; the walls had cracks from the

bombs hitting the streets above. Suddenly the shelter shook as if a giant

picked us up, to shake us to get us out. I had never been so scared. I

covered my ears with my hands because the explosions were so loud. As I

did this I fell to the ground. I looked around to see the walls of the shelter

collapse. Everyone started to scream, I felt my sister’s cold hands wrap

around me. I could smell her lovely perfume the one she always wears.

Another big explosion went off.

It was a direct hit.

I looked at my sister for the last time. I saw the tears in her eyes. Everything

went dark. I knew my time was up. Eternal silence awaited me…….took over

and I drifted from this life.

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!

Amy Conlon

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Epilogue

As my story finished, I heard a key carefully being placed in the lock. The

door slowly creaked open. The teacher walked in as if nothing had

happened. The cool breeze from the corridor hit our red faces in the stuffy

room. It was a relief! As the teacher placed her book on the table, she

turned to the white board and wrote.' Today’s lesson will be on essay

writing.' I looked around the room, everyone had a smirk on their face. The

teacher stared at us all in bemusement.

'What are you all smirking at?'

We continued to smile. Little did she know......


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