Writing Contest
Alice was an ordinary high-school girl who always got good grades and did her chores, but one fateful day, her whole life changed with just one little mistake.
Alice was getting ready for school. She brushed her hair and teeth, dressed herself, ate breakfast, and, whenever she had enough time, Alice read. Alice checked the time. It was almost 8, so she got her car keys and left. The drive was about 10 minutes longer because someone hit a rabbit. Alice pulled over to the side of the road. She picked up the limp, lifeless rabbit and put it in her car. Alice went to a field near her school and buried the rabbit. “You poor thing,” she said as she thought of the sound of the rabbit’s bones breaking from the impact of the car. A tear managed to escape her eye.
She stood for a few minutes more, then quickly sped off to school. She finally arrived at school with only a few minutes to spare. She walked to the cafeteria. Immediately, she heard her friends yelling. “What do you mean Gryffindor is better than Slytherin?” exclaimed Joseph. Joseph is the worst Harry Potter nerd ever. “Slytherin is LITERALLY an escalator for success. All you have to do is get in, and BOOM, you’re successful in life!” he yelled. Xander sighed, getting ready to explain his point again. “Gryffindor is the house that represents courage, chivalry, and determination. The three things in life that reign higher than success. The hard work to becoming successful is what matters.” he explained calmly for the fourth time. Alice stood amused, watching the whole scene play out. Samantha, who was standing next to her, smiled. “Who do you think will give in first?” she asked, joking. “Hmm, I don’t know. Xander is obviously annoyed, but Joseph is too much of a dunce to realize he’s fighting a losing battle.” Alice said bluntly, making both the boys stop bickering and stare at her. “Wow, so that’s how you feel about us?” Joseph said, putting a dramatic hand over his heart, mocking hurt. Alice laughed, “Nope! Just you!” she said, but she was joking. She sat down and got out her book. All her friends groaned. “Reading? Again?” Xander asked. “What? I’m so close to finishing!” Alice said, trying to defend herself. Joseph rolled his eyes, “That’s what you always say!” he said. Alice paid no mind to her friends and continued reading.
The bell rang for the first period. Alice put away her book and went to her class. She always loved her first class, which was psychology. Alice rushed to her class with excitement. She finally arrived and sat in her seat. Alice waited patiently for the teacher to arrive. The teacher entered the room about five minutes before the last bell rang. “Hello, students. Today, I will be talking about an important competition that is starting soon.” Said the teacher, practically beaming. The students looked around curiously. “The competition is going to be about poetry. Whoever can move the judges most with their poem gets a free trip to England.” the teacher said. Alice was ecstatic because she loved England. After the bell rang for the second period, she began thinking about what her poem would be about. Alice got some paper and a pencil and began to write. She began writing about her life. She wrote about how her mother left with every penny her father made and never returned. Here is what Alice wrote:
Oh Mother
Oh, Mother, how you hurt me so. You use, deceive, take, and leave.
We have nothing but what little there is. Why do you leave me in such sorrow? I love you still. No amount of pain could change,
The knowledge that somewhere deep inside, you can change yourself. Oh, Mother, how you leave me here in such pain and confusion. What have we done to deserve such cruelty? We strive for better, yet your existence still rings in the back of my mind like the bells of hell. Oh, Mother, I still love you, no matter how much you hurt me. Oh, Mother, we are here for better or worse.
She found this perfect and waited for tomorrow to arrive. Finally, the day came to turn in her poem for the contest. She entered the cafeteria beaming with excitement. Of course, Xander and Joseph were bickering again. This time, it was about who would go with Alice to England. “I deserve to go with her to England! I’m her best friend!” Joseph exclaimed. “You just want to go sightseeing. I want to go to keep her safe.” Xander continued to protest. Alice sighed. She was too happy to say anything sarcastic right now. Both Xander and Joseph turned to Alice at the same time. “Who do you want to go with you?” Joseph asked with hope in his eyes. “Uh, I don’t know. It’s too hard of a decision.” Alice said. She thought about which would help her more. Joseph was, ahem, Joseph. Xander was responsible and reliable. She ultimately chose Xander. Joseph was disappointed, but he didn’t make too much of a fuss about it.
Alice and Xander spoke about where they would stay. The bell rang a few moments later. She stood up and left. She read through the poem. A great sense of pride washed over her. She entered her classroom and waited by the teacher’s table to turn in her writing. The other students flooded in a minute before the tardy bell rang. The teacher walked in just as the tardy bell rang, and he immediately knew why Alice was standing by his desk. “Morning, Alice. Ready to turn in your paper?” the teacher asked. Alice nodded and gave him the paper. She walked back to her seat at the back of the class. All she has to do now is wait.
A few days went by, and Alice was growing impatient. She drove to school, eager to see if her teacher had anything to say about the competition. She finally got to school and entered the cafeteria. Joseph and Xander, however, were not fighting. “Wow, a peaceful morning?” Alice said sarcastically. Xander sighed, “We were fighting, but we both got sick of fighting, so we’re not going to talk for the rest of the day.” he said. Alice sighed, “Oh well, I guess I’m just going to be bored the whole time.” she said. Alice sat down and got out her book. They all sighed. “Seriously? Again? What are you even reading?” Xander asked. Alice looked at the cover of the book. The title was “Don’t Close Your Eyes”. Xander laughed, “You didn’t even know the title of the book?” he exclaimed. Alice kept on reading until the bell rang. She quickly sat up and put her book away. Alice ran to class and got there before anyone else. She impatiently stood by the teacher’s desk, waiting for him to arrive. All the students flooded in about two minutes before the tardy bell rang. The bell finally rang, and like clockwork, the teacher came one minute later. He had a paper in hand and a big grin on his face. Alice can already guess she’s going to England. He walked up to her and gave her the paper. On the page, it said who got which place. Alejandra Alverez got third place, Liam Hughes got second place, and in the first place slot was Alice P. Liddell. She screamed with excitement. Alice couldn’t wait to tell her friends.
Lunch finally came around, and she rushed into the cafeteria and looked around for her friends. Alice found them and ran over at the speed of light. She arrived at the table and screamed. “I’m going to England!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Alice sat down and showed them the paper. Xander celebrated by running over and hugging Alice. Joseph did the same. Samantha looked at the page and congratulated Alice. Alice told them they should all go out for ice cream as a celebration.
They went to a Baskin Robbins and got not one, not two, but three scoops of ice cream on a cone. Alice got Snickers, Reeses, and Rocky Road scoops. Joseph got whatever his finger landed on. Xander chose Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry. Samantha got three scoops of the same flavor, which was Snickers. They ate and made jokes about how she would return with a full British accent.
Just as soon as Alice got home, Alice started packing. Her father came into her room and could already guess she won. “Guess you’re going to England?” he asked. She nodded excitedly. Her father sighed and hugged her. “If anything goes wrong, call me. I’ll be there in a heartbeat.” her father said. They both stood there hugging for a few minutes before letting go of his most prized possession and decided to help her pack her pack. They finished packing, and Alice’s father decided to make her last day in America a fun one.
Alice’s father decided to take her to the mall and get her anything she wanted. Alice, of course, was ecstatic. She could get almost anything. She ran around so much her father couldn’t keep up. They eventually stopped at Hot Topic and got a Five Nights At Freddy’s three springtrap shirt. Her father rolled his eyes as he paid for the shirt. As they left the shop, they realized they felt really hungry. They made their way to the food court. They looked around for anything that they could both agree on. They ultimately chose a Subway. Alice’s father stared at Alice, thinking about her leaving for a year. “You will call me every night, right?” he asked. “Of course! What do you think I am? A monster?” Alice joked. Her father’s gaze softened with reassurance. They both sat, talking about their plans for contact. They decided that Fridays would be best for video calls, every other day would be regular voice calls. They finished their food and continued looking around the mall. They stopped at a candy store, a toy store for some stuffed animals, and went back to Hot Topic for a cute white Hello Kitty hoodie. She also got mushroom bracelets, Hello Kitty earrings, and a Golden Freddy plushie. They left the mall and went home. They decided to watch a movie. Alice fell asleep watching Coraline. Her father looked at her, thinking about how he wouldn’t see his daughter for a year. That thought destroyed him.
