Thanks, Colin by Liam Quinn

I have found my best friend. What happened that night was this, after I had come back from trick or treating I saw that my brother had a bunch of friends over. Now my brother is 3 years older than me and he was sixteen at this time and I was 12 or 13. I knew his friends because I had talked and seen them many times before before. Even though I knew them very well there was a big pack of them, so I was somewhat intimidated. What scared me about this too was that I hadn’t seen them all in a while and I did not want to embarrass Colin or get them mad at me. Also since there was a good 7 or 8 of them they could be very rambunctious and quite crazy and scary, so I took off my costume and timidly went to talk to them.

” Hi guys.”

“ Wats up lil Quinn.”

Then they were going out to play basketball and they needed another player.
“ Oh great, I thought to myself this is my time to shine.”

So they willingly said,“Yo lil Quinn you wana play.” Obviously I said “yes” when I looked at my brother he gave an assuring look (the first clue) I was over whelmed with happiness; I was so excited to impress them and I really wanted to get on their good sides. We were all having fun but when the game ended I wondered what to do next. He and his friends were going to walk around the neighborhood and he said 4 words “ do you wana come?”

So I went and had a really fun time and noticed that I had a lot in common with my brother and we were best friends. Now if you had an older brother you know that they rarely ask you to hang out with them when they had FRIENDS over(you can tell how happy I was).I was filled with joy and the emptiness was filled with him being my best friend. We get along way better than just your average siblings. My best friend is different than yours, he will stay there for me my whole life and I’ll never have to worry about not being able to keep in touch with him. We are truly best friends

OUCH! by Jack Loughnane

        "Woah, what happened to your finger?".
        " It all stared when I was 6..."
       I was driving home from the beach on a hot summer day. It was my dad, my brother and I. We just had a great time at the beach and I was very happy.
         "It must be one of the hottest days of this year." my dad said. " would you like your windows down?"
          "Yes please." I replied
        So my dad put the windows down and I instantly put my hand right out. Before the window was down it was as hot as a desert, but now it was nice and cool. We were on the highway and I was just feeling the wind hit my hand. It felt great. I liked the feeling of not being trapped, I was not like a caged monkey anymore. We were just about to my house now; I still kept my hand out the window.
       We pulled into the driveway and came to a stop. My dad said "Windows are coming up."
        I didn't listen I kept my hand outside. I just didn't know it was coming up. Then I finally saw it at the last second and tried to rush my hand out. I got all my fingers out, except one. My right pointer finger was caught in it. I screamed "Ouch!!!"
        My dad ask "What happened?!?!"
        "You shut the window on my finger!" I answered. "Can you get it out?!"
        "Yes yes calm down you're gonna be fine." He told me.
        After we got it out I said,"It really hurts. What are we going to do?"
         "We should probably go to the hospital," my dad said.
          We went off the the hospital. We went and got me an X-ray. No bones broken in my finger. I was happy as a kid on Christmas. Another thing bothered me about this happening though; the window that my finger got stuck in broke. It could not go down anymore and it was all because of the 6 year old me.
       Just a few years ago I had a similar thing happen with my little brother slamming a car door on the same finger. As you can see I really do have a messed up right finger.

The Ride of My Life by Sean Brown

​‘Everyone get on’ came out the loud speakers on the Six Flags bus. When everyone was on the bus we headed for the gates of Six Flags. The gate were covered in vines like tangled Christmas lights strewn on the floor. We finally reached the long awaited destination of the Six Flags ticket lines. I looked at my phone; the time was 10:45 am, ‘fifteen minutes’ I say to my two friends who joined me on this adventure. After the longest fifteen minutes of my life we headed to the main entrance. We had to squeeze our way through the tightly packed crowd of people; it was like a department store at midnight on Black Friday.
​Once we got through the crowd of people we headed for the ‘Flash Pass’ office. These make it so you don’t have to wait in the dreaded amusement park lines. The first ride was called Scream, this tall building like structure launched us more than a hundred feet high then dropped all the riders and stopped them inches from the ground. This was only a taste for what was to come.
​My favorite ride of all was Batman. It was a high speed shiny black coaster. It had loops, twists and turns all going at a very high speed. The main coaster at Six Flags is the famous Superman. This roller coaster has a almost ninety degree drop from two-hundred feet. I went on this coaster three times just like every other ride, thanks to the Flash Pass. After we had a filling lunch of burgers we decide to go on some more rides. After three coasters we were feeling sick. By now it is 4:00 pm. We decide to go on Superman one last time. We were all in our seats and the ride attendant was going down the cars and making sure everyone was strapped in correctly. When he got to me he tightened the lap bar too tight. When we started moving I started to forget how uncomfortable I am. We started to go down the drop and I felt fine. When the ride was done I felt like I was going to throw up from the bar pressing against my stomach. After I got off the ride I did throw up.  That’s when I really felt fine. I started to run to my friends and left the throw up for the workers. This was my favorite memory from the summer.

A Crazy Day at Sea by Basem Metri

​One day my father came to me and told me, “son we’re going to look at a boat, and if we both like it we will buy it.” I replied to my father in great excitement, I said, “finally, that just made me so happy! Then my dad and I went up to bed as it was very late almost 12 on a Friday. We went up to bed and all I could do is imagine what will happen the day we go look for the boat. Finally I closed my eyes and counted down from a hundred 100…99…98… then I was a sleep. I woke up the next day looked out of my bedside window and saw the beautiful sunrise gazing upon the horizon, I heard my dad’s voice, “Basem it is time to have some breakfast and get on our way to Hyannis, Cape Cod.” I went down very fast ate, then showered and before you knew it I was in the car, seat belt strapped and ready to go! I was so thrilled to see what lied in front of me this day. So my dad came out with a big smile on his face. I can still remember going on that huge bridge seeing huge ships in the water and other boats just skipping across the water. Then we got off the bridge and after a couple more minutes could see the water, we were not quite sure where he was as he told us to come to the central docking area, but we still had some trouble. My dad saw a man walking on a dock to his boat; it was a little awkward because it turned out to be the man selling us the boat. The boat though was in the water and we had to take a row boat from the dock to it.
 
​My dad got on first and it sort of tilted back and forth due to his weight of 300 pounds then. I got on and then the man following us named Rob got on also, he said “are you two ready for an exciting day on the water? I hope you like the boat; I am also giving you a free brand new water tube.” My dad was intrigued by this because we were going to buy one if we were going to get a boat anyways. So we got to the boat, as I got on it I realized that it was as bright as the sun. The boat was so clean I guess the man spent a lot of time on it like I did on this special narrative. So anyways we then left for the water, I really liked the captains seat it made me feel as good as I would feel if I got 100% on an assignment. I sat in it on the way out then went up to the top of the boat which had a seating area; this was because my dad and the man were going over the payment and how to control it all. I came down after that and my dad said we are buying it, we went back to the docks, then the man was going to take the boat up for us and we were going to take the row boat back so it would not be left in the water, so we did I got on then my dad looked very hesitant and shaky like an old women with no cane. Let us get to it though he got on and boom! We fell off the row boat it flipped, then my father and I got to the big boat and my dad said we are not buying it, I have a vision this will not work out to well. Now till this day he tells me one day we will by that boat. So maybe some years from now I will right one day… with another story about my adventure to buy a boat.

Sox Fanatic by Peter Keough

​I am really glad that I bought that Red Sox hat.  I inhaled a deep breath, and the smell of hamburgers and french fries filled my nose.  I was four years old.  My dad and I were at the Silver City Galleria Mall in Taunton. We had to make a lot of stops, and none of the stores were really entertaining to me.  “Dad,” I asked at one point, my head craned at a ninety-degree angle to see his face, “why do we have to go to all of these grown-up stores?”  The only real fun part was when we got to go to the Food Court to have lunch.  With greasy food and loud, annoying kids on the indoor playground, even this was not pleasant.  This day at the mall was not the best day for me.  
Now, around this time, I was just starting my fascination with baseball.  I was as fascinated with baseball as a scientist is with a new species.  I was beginning to understand the game by watching the Red Sox with my dad, and could not wait to play T-ball.  When my dad came up to me one day and asked “Would you want to play T-ball?” I just about shot through the roof with excitement.  Of course, my favorite team was the Red Sox, and I instantly became attached to anything that had their logo on it.  I was a starfish, stuck to this team.  I wanted a jersey, a bat, a glove-but what I wanted most was a hat.  I have loved hats since my dad got me one when I was only two weeks old, and a Red Sox one would mean the world to me.
After I chowed down on as much Burger King as my four-year-old stomach could hold, my dad and I started our way out to the car through J.C. Penney.  Feeling tired and not satisfied with the mall excursion, I could not wait to get home.  When we got about halfway through the store, I stopped dead in my tracks.  My dad noticed my feet were glued to that spot and questioned, “What are you looking at, buddy?”  Then, he followed my intense gaze and discovered what was mesmerizing me.  A rack of brand new Red Sox hats was smack in front of my round little face, and I could not look away.  “Ah, I see,” he said “you want a hat.  Go ahead, take one, we’ll buy it on the way out.”  I could not believe what he had just said, and I felt as if I had been hit with an 800-volt electric shock.  After searching frantically for the best one, I grabbed the brightest, bluest hat that I could reach and practically ran to the checkout counter.  My dad also got the same hat, and I thought that it was so cool.  When the man at the counter saw me clutching my new hat, it was as if he was reading my mind.  “First Red Sox hat, huh?”  he asked.  I nodded eagerly as he rang up the hats and asked if we wanted it in a bag.  I said no (being so excited and all), and we both wore our new hats out of the store with big smiles on our faces.
​Since then, that navy blue hat has turned gray and sweat-stained, ripped at the seams.  But no matter what happens to it, it will always be my favorite hat.

Play Ball by David Balcom

“Dad, can we please go now? I’m ready.” “No the game starts in four hours.” “But…please.” “Fine.” My seven year old body twitched in anticipation and I dashed to the car in a blur. My dad and I had stayed up all night waiting to bid on tickets online. I fell asleep long before the outcome, but woke to my dad telling me we got five tickets and I would attend my first Red Sox game that day. I got to bring my two friends, Austin and Evan, and their dad came to. So that morning I put on my Red Sox; shirt, shorts, hat, and wristband. I nagged to leave like a hungry baby for hours until my dad gave the okay. I jumped in the car and we drove to my friend’s house. We picked them up ten minutes later and started the long trip to Boston from Rhode Island. The ride seemed to take days because my excitement was building. I bounced in my seat, and chattered with my friends. I finally saw the giant multi-colored tank, with the Asian man’s face staring back at me from the blue. I knew we were close. As we approached I could smell popcorn, sausage, and hot sweaty men. The old men were like children waiting for a theme park to open. They were waiting in line, agitated by the slow turnstile. My dad found a parking spot and slid the car in with ease. We all hopped out and let the hot sun beat down on us. We walked down Lansdowne Street to buy peanuts and sausages. With my lunch in my hand, I got in the line for the turnstile right away. The line was moving, but I was backed up pretty far. I ate my sausage as the mustard was slipping down my Red Sox shirt. I listened to the people chirping around and you could sense the excitement throughout. I finally got up to the turnstile and handed the man my ticket. The turnstile grudgingly opened the park to me. As I walked in, blinded by the sights and smells, I waited for the others. I stood there waiting and an old man grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the side. My dad ran over and snatched me back from the man. My dad asked, “What are you doing?” The man was wearing a yellow shirt and my dad relaxed as he understood the man clearly worked for the park. “There isn’t anyone to say play ball before the game… Does your kid wanna do it?” I was hesitant and overwhelmed, but my dad answered without even looking at me and said “Yes.” An hour later, I met the man at a special gate and he led us onto the field. My dad and I scooped up some dirt into a bottle while waiting. I don’t know if it was allowed, but we did it anyway! The pregame rituals carried on as I stood there wiggling my fingers and kicking the perfect dirt. Then a man with a headset directed me over to a microphone at home plate. It was my chance. I shouted with my little voice into the echoing microphone, “Play Ball!” and the crowd cheered.

The Red Buoy by Anthony Salvucci

“Follow the blue markers down to the beach” the guide announced to the entire group, as we descended down towards the water. We came out of the tress and walked onto a warm, sunny, Caribbean beach. At the end of the trial there was another man from the group handing out snorkels, fins, goggles, and floating vest. My dad was helping my little sister put here vest on. My older sister had taken out her camera and was taking as much pictures as possible. My older sister was coming down the path just now. My mom was listening to the instructor “In case of any emergency…” explaining safety stuff. I wasn’t really listening but looking out at the ocean. It looks like a perfect picture, almost unreal, with crystal clear water, bright sun, and seeing small fish swimming thorough the water. “… And the red buoy is where the coral reef ends so don’t go farther than that”, the guide said as he finished his talk. Finally dyeing of the heat we ran into the water, what is in no way like Massachusetts water. When I first went underwater it was like an entire different. With so many fish, coral, and different colors everywhere. There was thousands of these little two inch fish that you could go into their school and they would just move a little from you and not even care. There was also a ton of different varieties of fish, like clownfish to purple and yellow fish, to sea enemies. We spent awhile having fun as an entire family not worrying about any schedule and finding time when we all can get together. We were swimming everywhere about and begun to go deeper out as we went along, hurrying now because big, dark clouds seem to be coming. We were coming to the red buoy and then “Ahhh was that a shark!” my sister yelled. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a giant fish. It was a slivery color that looked like foot feet long. But just as we saw it saw us and swam away. I spent a little more while looking for it but I couldn’t find it then “BOOM!” the clouds had come closer and there was thunder now. “Everyone out of the water!” the lifeguard than yelled through his loudspeaker, a second later. Our fun may have ended but the amount of time we spent as a family was the best part, and one of the best vacation I ever had happened there in the Caribbean.

What are we doing for my birthday?” by Joe Forde

It was a very special day in my life and not just because it was my birthday. It was the first time I went to New York City. I was turning six and I did not know we were going until I asked my mom, “What are we doing for my birthday? “and she called my sister in and said, “do you want to take a trip” and we said in unison, ”where” and she responded,” New York City.” We then replied “Yes.”  So to our surprise we were going that day and she had everything already packed. So we hopped in the car and set off on the long boring journey ahead. My parents wanted to get up there as soon as possible so we made few stops only stopping at a McDonald’s once to go the bathroom and get something to eat.

Once we got there we checked into our hotel and found out we still had a long day planned out for us. We started the day off with my first ever ride in a taxi. I had many questions about them, I asked my parents like “How do you get them to come over to us? What if there is someone already in there?” I was asking these questions so fast I was not giving my parents time to answer them. When my dad got a taxi to come over my mom told them where we wanted to go,” The Statue of Liberty”. We started to drive and I did not ask anything but when we arrived I got all excited because I saw the ferry and my mom told me that it is going to take us to that big green statue.

When we got there I realized it was huge and my Dad told me that when he went as a kid he was allowed to climb all the way to the top, but we were not allowed to go in and no one would tell me why and until today I am still not completely sure why. We went into the gift shop and my dad bought me a small replica so I could always remember it but as it turns out I lost it before we even got back to our hotel. When we got off the boat after visiting we got in another taxi and went to Rockefeller Center to see the biggest most beautiful Christmas tree I had ever seen in my entire life.  It was December 20th so they had ice skating open and I had never skated before but I tried and failed. I was one of the people grasping the wall like my life depended on it walking around the circle. So finally 10 hours later my mom said we could go back to the hotel and get some rest for the next day.

The next day when I woke up I zipped over to my parents’ bed as fast as a bullet and started to jump on them. They said, “Ok ok we will get up and get you ready.” When we were all dressed we went out for breakfast and then we had the worst part of the trip. We had to go to the American Girl Doll store to get my sister a doll. It actually took two hours from the time she picked one out to getting her clothes and her hair styled. Then the scariest thing happened, we went in to see the Christmas Spectacular show when in the middle of the show all the lights came on and there was an announcement to stay calm and exit out the nearest door. No one had any idea what was going on. So we all left like we were told and outside to the still told and stood outside with no information. At this point I was crying so hard because I was so scared. My parents brought us back to our hotel. We turned on the news and heard the report that there had been a small fire in a trash bin and Radio City Music Hall had been evacuated. But now the show was back on. We looked at each other and went rushing back over to the theatre. Luckily we only missed a few minutes of the show.

On the last day, we did one more thing before we left this wonderful vacation, we went to the biggest build-a-bear workshop store in the world and I made my first birthday bear. We still had a long ride home ahead of us but this was a birthday I will never forget.

A Sticky Situation by Michael Devane

​The night was cold and dark like my sisters intentions. When I was 6 and my brother was 4 and my sister was 10 she was allowed to babysit us for the first time. My parents were only going down the street for a few hours and they decided we would be fine if Delia watched us. I thought it was going to be so much fun to have my parents gone for the night and my sister watching us because I thought we would be able to stay up all night and watch movies. But I was so wrong; the second my parents left I ran to the living room and rented a movie from on demand as soon as that movie was over at 8:30 my sister sent us to bed. So me and my brother ran and hid in the kitchen cupboard,
“If she can’t find us she can’t make us sleep” I said. “Yeah but what happens if she does find us” said Austin.
“Well I guess we’re about to find out” Delia shouted slamming open the cabinet door. We tried to run but our efforts were futile. She grabbed us and threw us onto our beds we struggled for a little while and I finally broke free from her vice grip and dashed into the cellar. She followed me and Austin was left alone he hid under his bed and remained there until Delia brought me back upstairs and taped me to my bed. Out of fear Austin remained under the bed although he wasn’t seen it was only a matter of time before he was heard. A few seconds later we heard a loud sneeze coming from under Austin’s bed he sprinted out of the room as fast as he could and was snagged by the neck of his shirt and tossed like a rag doll onto his bed where he was also taped down.  As Delia began to walk away I said, ”Hey Delia how about you take a picture of us so you can remember this.”

"Why would I need to remember this” she responded.

“Because this way  you’ll always remember how funny this was” I said. So she went and got her camera and we waited. When she got back and took a picture she was bored with our whole situation and watched television for the rest of the night. When Austin and I finally fell asleep she came back in and removed the duct tape so my parents wouldn’t know what she did. Although  the next morning we told our parents the story and they didn’t believe it so we went and got Delia’s camera and showed them the picture. They were stunned for a while but they finally bellowed in unison

“DELIA GET IN HERE RIGHT NOW”.

“Yes?” Delia said innocently.
“
"Would you mind explaining this” my mother said pointing to the picture.

"Uuummm” Delia said she was speech less. Needless to say Delia was punished and she wasn’t allowed to babysit again for another year which was not really a punishment to her but I guess it did affect is in some way.

Kiwi: The Journey by Trent Chinaswamy

I believe we were somewhere between New Jersey and Virginia when I officially lost my mind. It happened at a grocery store, while getting lunch after a long stretch of our road trip. I got a steak and cheese calzone. However, it was not enough; I had this sudden craving in line and what I said to my family was that I wanted something, “cold, juicy, and sour.” So, I picked out a kiwi. Yes, a kiwi. Immediately after leaving the grocery store, I ran to the car, and carefully put my kiwi in the cooler on the middle seat and covered it with ice.

A few hours of driving later, my mom turned around and asked me if I wanted to actually eat the kiwi, or just draw a face on it and name it. In response, I said, “Why? My kiwi’s chillin’.” After a few seconds of soaking in the ridiculousness of what I just said, the car erupted in laughter. From there on, I kept on opening the cooler every hour, just to see if my kiwi had “chilled” enough. After the fourth time, my mom told me to “leave the cooler alone if you aren’t going to take anything out of it!” So, I checked it every few hours after that, each time getting a deep sigh of helplessness from my family members. Every once in a while, someone would ask me, “No, seriously, are you actually going to eat it?” and I would just say that it was chillin’. My kiwi chilled through a total of thirteen states. It saw more than probably any other kiwi would ever see from the depths of a cooler. It went over bridges, stayed in five hotels, traveled across plains, and visited countless Chicka-fil-as. Oh, how we love our Chicka-fil-as. Every time we arrived at hotel, I would take it out, make sure the produce bag was still tied, and say how long it had until it would be ready for eating in a different voice. One night I would be a butler, “Sir, 72 hours til’ ready, sir.” The next, a little kid before Christmas, “Ohh, no, not, 4 more days? Why can’t Santa come today?” Every time, I got the same response from my sisters: “He needs help.” I ignored them as they turned their headphones up louder.

A few days later, upon arriving home, my sister explained to my dad how I got the kiwi, and after not eating it for a while, my mom asked whether I was going to, but then I cut in and exclaimed as a pirate, “Aye, it’s done cheelin’!” (I like my imitations of certain voices) Then, with a heavy heart, I drew a face on it, cut it up, and ate it. However, after eating it, I was happy because it was an extremely good kiwi, and this was where road trip ended, with cold, juicy, sourness.

The Water to Freedom by Eric Murray

​After getting scorched by the sun all day my uncle and I thought of a good way to cool off.  We had been sitting on a beach in the Cape and it was time for a change of scenery.  This beach we were on had a channel next to it, and on the far side there was a private beach that was on hotel property.  We had both looked over at it and had the same idea.  There was a dock off the beach that cuts straight into the channel.  Also, near the dock, there is a large pipe that has a walking path of sand going over it.  This pipe is like a bridge that allows people to walk over rocks that line the jetty.  Also besides creating an easy walking space, the pipe brings water into a nearby pond (that is behind the beach in its own space, kind of like a swamp) from the ocean.  We both stood up and knew what had to be done. We jumped into the pond and started swimming towards the pipe.  We swam through the large silver pipe, fighting the current of the wild ocean water that was rushing in.  It was fairly shallow water inside and we had enough room to breathe.  The hard part was keeping your feet up so the crabs didn’t bite them.  Soon after a tiresome swim we were onto the other side of the tube.  We casually floated to the dock that was calling us near. Then we pulled ourselves up onto the dock and out of the ocean water.  Once we were up, we took a minute to catch our breath and think about what we just did.  
​“Did we really just do that?” I asked while sucking in three large breaths of air.  
​“Yeah, I can’t believe it either, c’mon let’s keep goin’ while we have some energy left.”
​“Okay I’ll go first.”
​“After you.”  My uncle says while pointing to the end of the dock.  
Then I sprinted the length of the dock and jumped as far into the channel as possible.  I was a flying squirrel gliding through the air.  Splash!  I landed in the water violently.  I then turned to see my uncle right behind me also in the water.  We timed it to wait until there were no boats crossing of course, and then we rushed to swim across to the other side of the channel.  I felt like Michael Phelps swimming as hard as I could so I could get past before a boat came.  Minutes later my uncle and I dragged our exhausted bodies up onto the beach that started it all.  We were there.  This was the beach that no one dared to go to.  It was a nice beach with a playground at the entrance of the hotel.  After looking around and seeing where we were, we slowly walked to the swings at the playground.  We sat on those swings, relaxed, and enjoyed the view.  
​“We did it.” I said quietly.
​“Yep, we’re here.”
After enjoying the view for a little while we wandered around the beach looking for cool stuff to find.  We just walked around like we owned the place and no one bothered us about being there.  This was a great way to cool off on an extremely hot afternoon.  Also this was the first time my uncle and I had done something really fun and adventurous together.  I felt like I really got to know him a lot better from this once boring afternoon to one I’ll never forget.        

Deadliest Catch by Ian Webb

I leapt down into the surf and grasped the squirmy beast as it tried to wriggle free. It was a billion degrees on a summer day not too long ago. I was on the beach at Cape Cod with my family and a few cousins. I was in the water snorkeling around when I saw something swim in front me like a flash of grey from the murky depths. At first I assumed it was a small fish only a few inches long, but then I realized it was the tail of a foot long baby sand shark darting past. Quickly, I surfaced and yelled,
”Dad, I just saw a shark!” I paused then added, ”a small one” 
so as not to cause alarm. He didn’t even turn. but just said, 
” That’s fantastic Ian”,
and returned to playing with my little brothers. Many people heard and it turned out one of my cousins had seen the same thing. I walked back to the to get something to eat when I saw a bunch of people gathered at the waters edge with nets. A few of my brothers, my dad, and I walked down to see the commotion. My uncle Dan, who was down there said, 
“Isn’t this strange? I’ve been here every summer since I was a kid and I’ve never seen this before.”
I looked down and saw more small sand sharks playing in the surf. The people at the waters edge were using nets but kept coming up empty. I ran down the beach to a spot where the sharks were, but far enough away from other people to try and catch one. I dove and dove but always missed them by a hair. Then there was a large commotion at the end of the beach where everyone was. They had caught one. My older brother Charles, who had caught it, was just as surprised as everyone else and, not having a good hold on it, accidently flung it back in. At that moment something touched my foot; I looked down and saw one of the sharks sitting still in the water. I dropped down on it and to my surprise felt it wiggling in my hands I brought it up and found that I had caught it.  
My little cousin Kate who was only six years old and had had multiple knee surgeries was not able to catch one so I brought it up to her and let her hold it.
” Here ya go”
“Thanks Ian!”
She said as she stared at the shark wide eyed. We held it out of the water for a while, but soon enough the time came to let him go. As I was letting him go I held onto its tail loosely and let it wriggle free realized that I had caught a shark. 

“Misery Queen” by Matt McDonnell

Our carʼs clock said 11:05. The radio was on and Ryan Seacrest was talking about something I didnʼt care about. Outside, the leaves were the color of Thanksgiving, golden, brown, red, and orange on the balding trees. We passed a sign saying “Go Cotuit Kettleers!” Cotuit is a small town in Cape Cod. I asked, “Can we stop by the candy store?” I knew that going to the candy store was going to be a long shot, but I had nothing to lose. My mom replied, “Maybe, weʼll see.” We were going to Roche Brothers in order to feed our rather large family. I started staring out the window, when the song came on. It was “Dancing Queen” sung by the cast of Mamma Mia. This song would haunt me for the next year whether it be sung by someone I knew or the catchy beat got stuck in my head like candy in your teeth, you try so hard to get it out but it will not budge. I disliked this song very much. It reminded me of a girly, annoying musical, like the one my mom took me to when I was six. My mom took me to a Disney on Ice, which was heavy on the princesses. Throughout the entire thing I complained because the princesses of every Disney movie were singing every minute throughout the two hour performance.

Trapped in the car, I changed the channel four times, and the same song was on three of the four channels. “Itʼs like the radio wants me to die!” I exclaimed after changing the channel a third time and finally a fourth time.I finally found a “Dancing Queen” free channel. I sighed in relief.

My mom said “I love that song!” and changed the channel back to the upbeat song and turned the radio up.

"Youʼre crazy!” I shouted over the radio. I turned it down and changed it to yet another channel. “How do you even like that song?” I questioned her.

“It is catchy and fun” my mom said in an annoyed voice. Before I could argue with her, she quickly said “My car, my rules” and just as her hand was about to change it back I swiftly shut the radio off.

“Now we are both happy” I said with a grin.

"Okay, fine”, she simply said, “but I get to sing it out loud.” And unfortunately for me, my mom had a recording-device like brain when it came to music and she heard enough of the chorus of “Dancing Queen” to play it back through her mouth. She sang all the way back from Roche Brothers. It annoyed me like a thousand mosquitos would, and it seemed to take forever but we finally got back to our house. I never did get to go to the candy store.

The Red Bullet by Seamus Eagan

​The icy cold of winter bites at my face. I can barely feel it from excitement. After weeks of waiting for this day, my new sled is ready for its maiden voyage. It is a red, plastic sled. It is about 4 feet long and 1 ½ feet wide, and it is shaped like a bullet. It is just the right length for me to lie down in at the age of eight. I put it into position and get ready to enter. As I climb into the sled, my older brother walks over to me.
“Hey can I ride with you”, he says.
“Um, no. It’s my sled.” I reply.
“But there’s room for two”
“Sorry it’s mine.”
And with that, I push myself of the top of the hill. I shoot off faster than a supersonic jet. As I shoot down the hill, I feel a rush of excitement. I finally reach the bottom, but I don’t stop. The bottom of the hill is unusually slippery. What I thought to be a mound of soft snow was actually a layer of ice with a thin layer of snow on top. I overshoot the landing area I was aiming for by a long shot. Instead, I go through a gap in the bushes that is only a little bit bigger than the sled itself. After about a minute, I manage to get out of these bushes and back into the clearing. I sprint up the hill as fast as I possibly can, with a big smile on my face.
“That was the best” I say to my dad.
“Can I go with you this time?” my brother asks.
“Fine” I reply unwillingly.
After many more rides down the hill like this, my father walks over to me and asks me if I am ready to go home now.
“Are you kidding?” I say, “I am just warming up!”
It was the first sled that I ever owned by myself. I have never thrown it out to this day. These memories are the reason that this sled is special to me.

David and the Dreaded Black Diamond by Will Anderson

 
​“Of course I want to go on that black diamond!” I lied, as panic and fear consumed me and begged me to answer honestly. My uncle smiled and responded “Sounds good. Let’s go!” My uncle is my role model when it comes to skiing and I was dying to impress him, even if it meant doing something that I wasn’t at all ready for. Up until this point I was what one might call an average, if not cautious, skier. Whenever we went to get new equipment for me, I would always be asked my skiing type, a one, two, or three. I would happily classify myself as a level 2 skier, not a beginner and not a diehard, fearless expert, just simply average. My uncle was new to the family having just married my aunt, and the minute I met him I knew that I would like him. He reminded me of an older version of me with the exact same interests. We watched the same shows, played the same video games, and more importantly we both loved skiing. When offered the chance to go with him on a skiing trip, I almost fell over in excitement. I spent the week before wondering what we would do and I asked almost daily if we could go any earlier. I was always met with the firm reply of “Will, you asked this yesterday and the day before. No David has not said he wants to go sooner and I doubt he will, seeing as this is a school and work week for everyone.” I, barely able to keep the excitement out of my voice, would always respond, “Okay, let me know if he says he wants to go earlier.”
 
​When the awaited day finally came I was ready for it. We drove to the mountain, talking about what games we had played recently and how we liked them the entire ride there. We got ready, put on our skis and we began the day. We got on the first chair lift, one that would take us to the top of the mountain, and I watched people skiing from above. We began playing an easy game of I Spy, looking for certain color ski jackets. We found out that many people had an interesting taste in color, the best being a magenta and pinkish mix (there may have even been a hint of sky blue). We finally made it to the end of the lift and dismounted it. The sun beat down on us, offering us no warmth, but sparkling and dancing on the snow. We looked at the trail map and decided on some easy blue squares, the second easiest trail. David was a great skier and had many helpful tips for me, all of which he was happy to share. We laughed at the prices of the ski lodge food, comparing them to that of a very high-end steak restaurant.
 
​We went back up the mountain again, and my uncle spotted a black diamond on the trail map. “Will, how would you like to try a black diamond?” He wondered. I quickly agreed, without hesitation, and panic pounced on me like a lion on a gazelle. I was terrified at the idea, I had only gone as high as a blue square and I had a deep fear of getting hurt. There was no way I can do this, I thought to myself. Yet, I still followed David to the trail. We managed to get to the start of the black diamond trail without me passing out in fear. I read the name of this black diamond, “Ripsaw”. I almost did pass out then. My uncle brought me back to reality and out of the world of my own fear. “Do you want to go first?” he asked.
​I couldn’t even open my mouth; it was clamped shut like it was filled with glue. I finally managed to choke out “Yeah, I will go first.” He smiled and gestured for me to go right ahead. I took in the staggering sight of the pure white, snow covered hill, and something inside me willed me to go on, forced me in fact. Before my brain could react my body had decided for me. I sped down the hill, going fast, yet in control. I stopped wallowing in the fear and reveled in the excitement of the wind speeding past me and the snow kicked up by my skis. All this time I had been afraid of a hill, a hill that felt like every other trail I had gone on. I reached the bottom well ahead of my uncle and looked around, I had conquered what I had previously thought unconquerable. My uncle finally made it down and stopped next to me. “What did you think?” he said. I replied, with pride in my voice and fire in my heart, “Can we try a double black diamond now?”