"Esports in Mass Media" by Marvin V

(The video that I will be mentioning will be copied and pasted to the bottom!) I'm going to be honest with you guys this post will be completely bias, i've been playing video games for most of my life and will try and defend my hobby as much as I can. While using the the computer I came across a video featuring Gordon Hayward (who plays on the NBA’s Utah Jazz) “defending” Esports. For those who don't know, Esports is simply another term for competitive gaming and spans several genres with games from Shooters to Real Time Strategy. Being a fan of Esports and being a fan of the NBA and Gordon Hayward specifically I clicked the video. I listened to a interview with Colin Cowherd a host of a sports show for Fox. I was absolutely shocked at the ignorant questions that he had asked Gordon Hayward. Many of his questions and rebuttals were not based on actual statistics but on his own observations and stereotypes that I thought were eliminated and shows the lack of respect that surrounds the Esports community. But it's wasn't so much the opinion that Esports is not necessarily a “sport” but his stereotyping and very closed minded view towards video games on a professional level. And makes me wonder if Esports will gain ever respect from the media.

     One of the things that bothered me in the video wasn't his thoughts on Esports. But his reluctance to accept the fact that Esports is growing at an alarming rate. One example is the amazing growth of the game League of Legends on the Esports scene. “Worlds” is a yearly tournament in League of Legends that pits the top teams from around the world against each other for a prize pool of over 2 million dollars. The viewership for the second annual tournament in 2012 had 8 million unique viewers and 1.1 concurrent viewers during the finals, not too bad right. But the growth after is amazing, the next year, 2013 Worlds, the finals were hosted at Staples Center and was seen by 32 million unique viewers with 8.5 million concurrent viewers. The next year the finals were held in Korea inside Sangam Stadium, which hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and had 27 million unique viewers with 11.2 concurrent viewers. 2015 Worlds is expected to have similarly amazing numbers as well. This had grown from a small community to a entertainment streamed to people all over the world.

     It's not that surprising the opinions that Cowherd had, there have been several instances that Esports in general has been criticized when put in front people who are not interested what is being shown or video games in general. An example being when ESPN aired the final series of “The International” a Dota 2 tournament held in 2014. That tournament featured the largest prize pool in Esports to date with a 10 million dollar prize pool and 5 million going to 1st place. But there was backlash from a large portion of ESPN’s viewers most of whom voiced that “this wasn't a sport”. An argument that I find funny considering they also air Poker on ESPN, but i'm not entirely sure many have accepted that either. This year the “The Invitational” shattered its previous record in August 2015 by having a 18 million dollar prize pool with 6.5 million going to the winning team a record which probably won't have any other prize pool come close, until next year's tournament of course.

     What also infuriated me is his use of stereotypes to describe what he thinks of Esports. Saying that these guys are unfit so this shouldn't count as a sport. Whether or not this counts as a sport relies on your definition of a sport so i'm not going to dive into that, but rather focus on the stereotype of the unfit gamer. Specifically he compares them to Gordon Hayward which is a very high bar, him playing basketball all year long. But Gordon brings up an excellent point, professional gamers don't need to have that body type to be successful at their craft. Gordon Hayward has that body type: 1. because of genetics not everyone can be 6’8, and 2. he needs to have that body type to be successful in the NBA. So comparing the two is having unrealistic expectations and nitpicking, some players in the PGA and Poker Tournaments are not exactly in peak physical condition themselves but because that is not needed there isn't a problem. Esports of course requires the least amount of physical fitness but that doesnt mean professional players let themselves go. They like any other professional have a daily schedule for practice time and free time which is usually used for exercise to keep in shape. Another argument I don't understand is Colin Cowherd asking why fans and commentators are so excited when watching other people play. That can be turned around on him as why do people get excited when watching NBA, NFL, MLB and other sports. Watching someone do something amazing and knowing how much skill and practice that would have taken is a perfectly fine reason to get excited and should not be allocated only to sports.

     It's a stretch but a predicament I find similar to the one Esports is in currently, was that of Soccer in the United States. Many people saw the sport as boring, slow, and full of people faking injuries or at least that's what I thought. Soccer especially in the MLS was not getting the respect from the American Sports Media. That was the case until the World Cup where the United States was able to see higher level soccer. This event was the turning point in soccer in the United States and got people interested in soccer. The Esports community is getting solid numbers but still lack the respect of mainstream media as evident by comments and criticisms made by people such as Colin Cowherd. So maybe Esports just needs that one final push to win over a little bit of respect from the media. While the day may never come that Esports is watched by everyone I at least hope that eventually a day will come where it is not attacked or belittled by people who do not enjoy this form of entertainment. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52G2aUPKi_A

"PLEASE READ" by Oge O

PLEASE READ

All the women in the world who were hoping to become the next Bill Gates or the CEO of Apple, the world has officially told you that you can not do that because you are a woman. TIME reports that “on average women around the world earn 24% less than men, the report says, and earn just half of the income of men earn over a lifetime” (TIME). This should be offensive. Feminism is not women being hateful and bashful to men, that’s misandry. A feminist is someone who promotes gender equality and since women get the short end of that stick, women seeking gender equality often seem like people who practice misandry (again prejudice). The end of this article will inform you on how to identify real-life gender stereotypes.

The materials that are needed are:

1.     A book

2.     Eyes

3.     A brain

4.     An open mind

Step 1: Read a book. Look for clues on how woman are portrayed in books. Don’t worry! They aren’t hard to miss they are usually the evil, wicked witches that are considered prostitutes for having sex. If it’s a real good book the women will most likely be the cause of everything that went wrong in the book; many authors do this to resemble real life because that’s how it is in real life.  Also, look for the men’s roles in the book; they are the strong, heroic, handsome ones with the flock of women around them.

Step 2: After you have read a book of literary merit, you may have notice the things I previously mentioned. After reading the literary piece, you should reflect on how this makes you feel. If you’re perturbed, if you’re perplexed, if you’re pissed, it’s justified. To be completely honest, it’s even completely okay if you agree with the way feminine people are portrayed in those storylines because that’s the way society is accustomed to thinking.

Step 3: Look around. We live in a world where it is wrong for men to be feminine because it’s “gay.” Being feminine is being weak and fragile, like a woman, so therefore if those qualities are present in a man he is immediately deemed as gay. We live in a world where if a woman is assertive and strong-willed (qualities a man should have) she is automatically labeled as a meanie.

There is no overt way to expunge our society of gender stereotypes because many people value tradition and customs, which is respectable. It is understandable why people are willing to accept these gender tropes but what is not understandable is that people in our society are allowing these tropes to limit what people can or can’t do. No one can really tell you that you can’t do something. Let’s be clear you will hear those words come on of their mouths; they’ll probably give you eye contact and hand gestures but just let those words go in one ear and out the other because they don’t truly matter.

I realize that what I’ve written is completely biased but they’re my opinions. Get your own!

"The Drive" by Aubrianne M

 “Bye!!” I call out as I walk away from the house I’ve known by heart since Kindergarten, when we moved to the strange town with the quiet houses. “Finally,” I think to myself as I fall into my car, making sure all of my suitcases aren’t going to fall as I drive. College, the first taste of freedom in my adult life; four hours away: close but not too close. Perfect. Ever since I saw my acceptance letter, I’ve been counting the days until I move into my dorm, start my classes, and essentially begin the rest of my life.

After I see that my parents have waved a sufficient amount of times and my father has come and checked my luggage placement an excessive amount of times, I’m finally out and on the way to my future. My parents didn’t let me leave a second earlier than humanly possible to get there “on time” (the middle of the night) at least allowing me to go alone.

My headlights shine on the neighborhood sign with all of the trees that I’ve sat on practically since I could jump up and slide my butt onto the top of it. The tree everyone used to lay under after middle school. “I’ll really miss this,” I sigh as I turn on the radio to help me endure my coffee-powered drive ahead of me. At least at this time of night in this sleepy town, there’s nothing else out here except the diamond-filled sky.

As I’m about to enter the freeway entrance, something catches my eye. A girl, couldn’t be more than my age, ghostly skin and a huge brown ponytail with bangs engulfing her thin face. She looked up at me and started waving her arms desperately; she really needed someone. If something happened to me, I’d want someone to come help me. She’s a teenage girl, incredibly fragile-looking; she shouldn’t be out here. I pull over to her.

“OhMyGoshThankYouSoMuchMyBoyfriendLeftMeAndIHaveNoCarPleasePleaseIJustNeedARide!!” She’s practically hysterical, and she really looks like she’s been through it tonight. I let her in, meanwhile her flinging her arms around me crying “thank you!” I guess she had a way older boyfriend who left her for someone with a way larger bank account than this seemingly penniless teenager, and her parents hated him, so she was far too scared to call them. She started wandering after he dumped her at a nearby diner over to here. As fate would have it, she really needed me. She gave me an address probably an hour away from my college destination: an aunt who was always accepting of her. “Thank you so much; I needed someone.”

After that we drove in silence for probably half an hour before I ran in to a gas station store for even more coffee and sugary soda to stop my “I’ve been up for like 20 hours packing and I’m exhausted” mind daze. I handed the cash to the man at the counter and stretched my arms out as I walked back to my car. As I got closer, I saw a small, white, rectangular light illuminated from the dark car window: an iPhone. Wait, if she had a phone, why didn’t she just call someone? My phone gets service over where she was. Huh, there’s also a small, glow-in-the-dark star sticker on the back of the case I see as I get closer. “How did you get my phone?!” I say incredulously as I open the driver side door.

“I heard it ringing; it was some random number.”

“Then why are you still in it? Wait. I have a passcode.”

“I figured you were a ’97 kid too; you know, your birth year isn’t exactly a top secret code.” I grabbed the phone back. I guess she was one of those “anything I can find is mine” types of people. Oh well. Still somewhat annoyed at her lack of respect of privacy, I drove from the gas station in silence. I could feel her eyes looking over at me expectantly every ten or so minutes, as if I’d just change moods in a split seconds. After another half an hour or so, I caved. “Okay, I’m over the whole phone thing, I get you didn’t mean to upset me.”

“Thank you so much; I’m so sorry Hailee”  

“Wait, did I ever tell you my name?”

“Uh… No... Sorry, that probably seemed weird. I saw it on the text from your mom that popped up as I unlocked your phone.”

“Oh uh okay.”

The next of the drive passed in silence, as she almost seemed embarrassed on the events of the last hour, but I felt bad for her: she never meant any harm.

“Are you going to college?

“Yeah; I’m going out of state next week. All the way up to Washington.”

“That sounds great.”

I guess the phone situation had made things awkward because after that she didn’t make any attempts to talk to me. I soon pulled up to the address she gave me. This girl shared in my drive to my new home with me and I didn’t even know her name.

As if she could read my mind: “my name is April just by the way.”

I soon got to my dorm and saw a small box sitting halfway under one of the beds. I got curious so I looked inside of it. There were pictures of me with friends, my favorite tee shirt, and my diary. “Home,” I breathed. I’m so glad my mom sent these, I guess she did get ahold of my friend that’s going here. Maybe she’s my roommate. Finally, everything’s falling into place.

I heard a voice in the hallway and peered to see if the face was familiar. I saw a huge brown ponytail, a childlike voice. “Oh no.”

It turns out I’m right.

“Hi, I’m April. I just know we’re going to be great friends. I already feel like I’ve known you forever.”

'The Date" by Joseph B

Prologue

 It was a stormy night, a prison bus full of convicts was on board. One of them was Robert Zombie, a man who turned into a killer after he brutally killed someone at the age of 13. During the long drive to Illinois State Penitentiary, a mysterious person was wondering in the middle of the road. The shocked bus driver tries to avoid hitting the stranger, causing the bus to go off track and rolling into a meadow. The figure goes to the crash site and recovers Robert. However, the guard has survived the crash.

One Year Later

“Its my day,” I whispered to myself as I comb my hair. I just cannot believe it happened, I’m finally dating the girl of my dreams. Her name is Charlotte. I’ve known her since eighth grade and now I’m taking her out on a date. As I leave my house and enter my car I think to myself, nothing can go wrong , but for some reason, deep down my soul is telling me that this is a mistake. Her house is only a five minutes away by car. Once I reach her house, I get out of my car and force myself to walk to her door. I knock and she answers.
“ Hey Chester” she said with her soft voice and gave me a hug.
 “Hey Charlotte, you look amazing.”
     Once we got to my car, she asked me a very strange question. “Do you still talk to Robert Z?” That’s a name I have not heard until his escape from the bus.
“I haven’t talked to him since junior high. That was like eight years ago.” I said with a slight chuckle.
“C’mon, you two were like the bestest of friends. What ever happened to that?”
“I guess we both changed. After that incident back at the shack, I just realized I was hanging out with the wrong person.” On the last day of eighth grade, Robert was sentenced to two decades in prison for killing someone.
“Did you at least visit him,” she said with an irritated voice. “He was your best friend and since you betrayed him like that, you should have at least said sorry or something to him.” “You're right maybe someday when we cross paths again I’ll apologize.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea
.” “What do you mean?”
“Well, what if he has a grudge against you now.” “I guess, I just hope not though.” We finally arrive at this fancy restaurant called La Veille de Sanctifier . The name has always freaked me out for some odd reason, which is why I’m confused on why Charlotte chose this place. Right before we walk in I spot a person in a plain mask staring at me. “Is something wrong, Chester?” Charlotte says. I turn to see a paranoid expression on Charlotte’s face. Then I look up and the figure is gone. “No, no everything's fine. Let’s go in.” I open the door for her.
“Bonjour. Do you have a reservation?” The French hostess ask with a friendly smile.
“Hello. Indeed we do. Its Chester, party of two.” “Oh yeah, right on time too. Follow me.” We followed the woman to this table with a candle already lit. “Here you are. The waiter will be with you in a second.” The hostess said while we sat. She then walked by me and whispered, “I hope your first date is extra romantic,” and walks away. We waited for the waiter for five minutes, but in the meantime we just talked about current events. Then the waiter arrives. “Bonjour mademoiselle et monsieur. My name is Éric and I will be your waiter today. Can I start you both off with our most romantic drink, la forme ?” He then gets out his pen and pad. “Uh sure why not,” I responded. “OK and I’ll be right back with your drinks.” He then put the pen and pad away and went to the kitchen. I then look toward the door trying to remember the masked man outside. “Here comes our drinks,” Charlotte points out. “Here you go monsieur. In our restaurant it is tradition for the gentleman to drink first.” “All right then, here we go.” I take a sip from the wine. “Its strong and kinda stings...in a good way though.” “I’m glad you like it.” He says. I notice that he has a mischievous grin on him. Then it hits me. I feel light headed and then everything becomes a blur. “Chester, are you alright,” Charlotte says with a worried but foolish look as if I’m faking this. I try standing up, but I fall. Then everything is black. I open my eyes to a white room, my legs are chained to the wall. Where am I, I thought. Wheres Charlotte? “Hello anyone there?” I ask, expecting an answer. Then a sliding door opens to reveal the same figure from the restaurant. He turns his head to the corner as if telling me to look in that direction. I turn to find a decomposed body wearing a guard's outfit. “Wwho are you?” I asked paranoid. At that moment another person entered the room but this one was smaller and slimmer. “Hello Chester.” I immediately recognize that voice. “Charlotte? Why are you doing to this?” I demanded. “My friend wanted to say hi.” Then the taller figure takes off the mask. My stomach grew sick I knew that at this moment, it was personal. “Robert?” “No, that man in the corner, he’s Robert. I’m Michael the only survivor of the bus crash. I’m here to avenge my brother’s death by making you suffer.” “You ... you're gonna kill me.” “No, time and isolation will. Goodbye Chester. Oh, and nice to meet you.” Then Charlotte came to me bent down and kissed me on the cheek. She then got up, left the room with Michael, and locked the door.

“The Day I Died…” By Aaron S

 Why… why did I have to just. *sighs* Let me tell you the story, from the beginning. The apparent best day to die is Friday the thirteenth, in October. This right now, what I am talking about is the 12th of October. Just a regular day at school, taking a nap after lunch break and going to 5th period. The weather could have been better, just a few clouds in the horizon. My friend Michael came back from playing his soccer game. I went and greeted him casually, same old same old. He said, “We won our game 42”. I replied, “Nice man, good job”. School then continued and we both just slacked during that day. Talking about the soccer game on tv games, stuff like that. Later on we went to our club room in J210, there we found out that the club was cancelled due to someone being sick.

     The following day, on October 13 was a very weird day. It was snowing, in California… This has never happened before with 1 exception in third grade. School was cancelled that day so I just had a relaxed day playing CS:GO and Arma with my online friends. As usual I still had my club to go to, I went to Michael’s house and got him on my bike. We went to the club leader’s house to only find no one was there, this confused Michael and I. After attempting to scout out the area, we went to the school and found the gates were opened. For some odd reason, the chains that held the gate together were slice down to bits and pieces. We look around the school campus and after that we looked inside the club room. Michael and I felt so disturbed after seeing what was in there.
   
     We started to panic. “The police should know about this” Michael exclaimed. “Use my phone then, you know their number right” I questioned. He nodded, but a noise came from the J213 building. We headed outside the clubroom and something was trying to get out of that classroom. I whispered, “Wait here, alright”. He stood there silently, I tried opening the door using my full arm’s length to stay away. I bolted back to J210 and something humongous came out of there. It came out of the dark room and started to run towards us. We couldn’t move, we were too afraid to. Michael somehow started to say something, but I just pulled him while I was starting to run. We have never ran faster ever before.

     As soon as we got to the stairs, the floor started shaking in sync with the monster’s footsteps. We got out of the J building pretty fast, but the monster caught up with us. Right as we got to the center of the campus, we tripped. We weren’t used to the snow and how our feet sank into it. The monster then looked at us in what we assumed confusion, it helped us up. We wondered why it helped us up and we attempted to communicate with the beast. Michael asked, “Do you speak English”. The monster then removed its mask, we found out it was our club leader pranking us. Michael and I were baffled with one question, Why? The club leader said while giggling, “You guys should’ve seen your faces”. He was laughing so hard that milk just came out of his nose, Michael just burst into tears, he started to snort uncontrollably. He was on the floor dying . I started to also laugh at the way Michael laughed, everyone was on the floor just dying of laughter. That was the day I died… of laughter. Later that day, Michael got our club leader back by making him wet his bed with water. He then took a picture and posted it on our school’s web page.

"Invasion" By Ricky M

         As the day was ending for most people, things started to get quite at the store. Hi, my name is Thomas, and I work at the register for McDonalds. Over the years of working here, I’ve noticed that thing don’t seem as they normally do. Every day I am more convinced that there is someone else besides me, Jeff and Pete that work for the night shift. We start work at 8pm and end at 5am. As things get quite, we begin to here creaks in the floor, footsteps, and the worst one, glass shattering. It was late June 13, a Friday when it happened. Once the big hand reached for 10, that is when things started to get spooky, as normal. But this time, it wasn’t as normal. Who ever it was, if it’s a who, was much more aggressive this night. It started with loud footsteps that sounded like they were coming from the boss’s office; leading to sounds of a feint cry. “This place is clearly haunted”, said Pete. “This place ain’t haunted, pipe down will you”, said Jeff with his dialect. Jeff has always seemed to be the more aggressive one out of all of us, but not tonight. As the hours went by, things started to get a bit more crazy. At one point there was a screech that caught all of us off guard. When it got to 1am, a loud bang went off in the back where the storage is. We all shot up and went to where we heard the bang. And what we found was incredible. Whatever it was manage to break a hole through the metal cabinet and popped some of the hamburger bags. We were stunned, our hairs sticking up from our necks. We decided to leave; but after we got packed we heard as loud scream coming from the attic. I never wanted to inspect the attic before. When I got hired, I always heard stories that came from the attic. Now, I’m going to go up there to inspect. We got a ladder and pulled down the attic door. Then we were at a standoff. We never chose who was going up there first; so we did rock, paper, and scissors to battle it out. “Ready” I said. “One… two… three!” We all through our hands in together at once. Of course, with my luck I was beat and I had to lead. As I approached the attic, my hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Scared as I was, I convinced myself to face it and find out what was making the noise. And just when I poke my head in the attic….

            It’s been three months since the incident at the store. Nothing we have ever expected to be up there. The store was shut down and was put straight to investigation. I still remember what I saw. Something that no man can ever see. The evilness… start, of the invasion…

"Glow Sticks" by Ashley G

Its Halloween night Sammy, Bob, Charlie and Lilo are on their way to a Halloween party. The house they're going to is deep in the Claremont woods. They all struggle to carry their candy filled pillow cases up the steep hills. A week prior to this night they were invited by a good friend named Jeff he had said he only wanted a couple of groups to go, but they still new Jeff was known to be a big partier. Sammy and Bob where the only ones who knew how to get through the forest after all they hiked a lot together. Sammy came up with a game and said “Okay, Lilo and Charlie, Bob and I will go run up 50 feet and leave glow sticks leading to the house”. They agreed to play the game. They had about 50 green glow sticks which was way more than needed since they were only 1 mile away. They gave them a 2 minute head start. 2 minutes pass, Lilo and Charlie head off to go find the glow sticks. Halfway up they hear a scream a long distance away, but think nothing of it because it was expected that Sam would try and scare them. At this point they can't see any-more green glow sticks, but then they see a little red thing laying on the ground they then realized as they got closer that it was a red glow stick. They now can barely see the house lead by red glow sticks. They walked up to the house discussing why they think Sammy and Bob changed the glow stick color they already knew they had red ones but they said they would use the green glow sticks. Since there phones were nearly dead or dead by the end of the night they couldn't call each other if anything happened. They didn’t seem to see Sammy and Bob anywhere but thought nothing of it and thought they were out having fun as well. A couple hours later Lilo and Charlie decide to leave and head home, getting a ride down the hills and home. They get home plugged their phones in and went to sleep. The next morning they end up waking up late. They leave their phones and rush to school. All day at school there was no sign of Sam and Bob later when Lilo got home it isn’t until then she notices the hundreds of missed calls and voicemails left by Sam they are all of Sam and Bob screaming frantically for help. They give police all the information they know. The next week their schools flag is raised at half-staff. Lilo reads in the newspaper “ On 11/1/15 two students found dead in Claremont woods, bound together with glow sticks tied around there necks, hanging from a tree.” Lilo and Charlie are devastated, but time passes. Newspaper-“Two students found dead on 11/1/16. The cause is still unknown, the two college kids were found in the Claremont woods bound-together, surrounded by glow sticks.”

"KSAM" by Connor E

                   A puzzle without edges that will never be completed, pieces being flipped back and forth, yet never together. A shield from the world, taking blow after blow, punches, slaps, insults, cries of mockery, now shattering to the floor, an individual released from torment. It takes its shape from the reaches of the clouds in the skies to the fiery pits of hell. It resembles someone who never really was there, vanishing on the curtails of the wind. A prison with no escape, trapped in the vastness of space and time, every inch of darkness enveloping the soul. Staring into the eyes of its observer, waiting to be worn, to give its wearer new life. It sees everything, listening, interpreting the surrounding environment, yet can never make a sound, its cries as silent as the enveloping abyss of the vast universe. Shifting as a disguise, sneaking into hostile territory and becoming friends with one’s enemy.  Don’t be consumed in its darkening image, trapped within a nightmare fantasmic when wearing it. It survives the reaches of time, as old as the sand itself, forgotten, yet holding the valor of a city in its fabrics. The man notices the city, running away but never finding an escape from its reaches. A drop of water escapes the dam, tainting its surface, realizing its only fading as a relic, the city locked within its orange, radiant eyes.

A touch of exuberance, a hint of comedy, a drop of water, a sheath of stone, a wisp of air, a gauntlet of fire, the touch of life, god himself appears! Piercing the hearts of those who see it, yet still providing protection to its master. Hellfire! Hellfire! A raging inferno roaring across the vastness of the realm, the mind a blinding array of reds, oranges, and light. Chaos, fear, a destructive force that’s only limited by the boundaries of its wearer’s mind. Creation! Destruction! A culmination of life and death, a deafening rage all wisped away . . . now wisped away . . . back to its fabric, binding structure. A peace resides, cracks running its surface, a resolve weakening. It hits the ground, disintegrating into a million pieces, a soul released into the welcoming night sky. From the pages of time, memory embeds itself into the surface of this disguise, a mysterious secret to those unaware of it presence. Birthday parties, dances, robberies, a tool. From professionalism to comedy, watching someone be a fool. It can laugh and smile in exuberant joy, just like its wearer, a jubilant young boy. Different cultures, one portrait, its colors so swirled. A society that wears it throughout the world. A metaphysical idea transformed into an object by man, but when seeing its enveloping image, he ran. An object so simple, not hard to describe, yet when retelling its appearance is impossible to transcribe. A chilling experience when completing this task, to illustrate the man behind the mask.

"Kingdom of Crain" by Natalia G

      Hidden away in an unknown domain lies one of the most vast, striking realms of the universe theKingdom of Crain. Crain is mapped out to be a somewhat of an elliptically shaped land, encased in a large white dome that displays pale pink artwork on it. The right side of the kingdom contains the dark grey headquarters for the guards of the land, while the left side holds the grand, solid gold castle that houses the royal family. A pale pink carpet, which separates the right and left side of the kingdom, leads from the entrance of the golden castle down to the front, sharktoothed gates. Scattered on both sides of the carpet are drab cottages which house the commoners.

     Because the kingdom is encased in the dome, it is uncertain to anyone what surrounds its lands. The royal family claims that the gloomy outside world is run down with thorns and thick, black vegetation that could claw and grasp onto travelers and hold them captive until death by starvation and dehydration. The only look into what lays on the outside of the kingdom can be seen through the limited cracks and brief openings of the sharktoothed front gates of the dome, which only open once every year. Much to the accord of the royal family, commoners claim that they only see darkness when looking through the cracks and openings of the gates. Attempts have been made to escape Crain, but to no avail. Every failed escapee tried to flee in various ways that began and ended in the same result. On a day in which the front gates opened, the escapees would walk down from the golden castle gates, after much deliberation and failed requests from the royal family, down the pale pink carpet to the front sharktoothed gates of the dome. If the royal family's guards hadn't shot them down by the time they had reached the front gates, then they would have to sprint out of the gates before the teeth snapped down and bit them in half. If they were quick enough to escape the jaws, the gates would then be reopened and the guards would run in pursuit, where they would discover the escapee held down in the thick, black vegetation, and the guards would have beaten them, brought them back into the kingdom, and kept them in the golden castle's dungeon.

     No one has escaped Crain yet, anyways. I, however, may be the first to do so. My family has locked me away in the castle my whole life, claiming that they were "doing what was best for me" and that "I am too young to know what I want" and that "I am just confused about things". So, I have seventeen years of plotting, studying, and determination that have been building up. The only day of the year that I am allowed to explore the kingdom is the day in which the gates are opened. On this day, the castle's door is unlocked and I am permitted to travel throughout the kingdom, so long as I do not interact with others. Because I am granted this one day at an attempt to attain my freedom, I have been mapping out my escape plan. When I am trapped inside the golden castle, I try to go into the security quarters and study various ways to bypass the systems. I have even figured out how to turn off the sharktoothed gates' system, thus I will be able to keep the front gates from closing on me. The two things holding me back from attaining my freedom and serenity are my family and fear. This is so, for, my family members are not commoners, nor guards they are the royal family. They claim they mean well and they believe that they are sheltering me from harm, but they just do not understand that I want to be free, that I want to be happy. By them limiting my freedom, I am incapable of living my life to the fullest. Thus, I have become numb to various feelings, such as love, joy, and serenity. Instead, I only feel anger, depression, betrayal, and bitter dislike. However, on the one day where I am able to leave the confines of the golden castle, I sense a renewed feeling of fear. For, on those days of partial freedom, adrenaline rushes through my veins as I come face to face with the entrance of Crain's front, open gates. In those moments, I tell myself that I could just go out and be free, but it is the sense of renewed fear that holds me back. This fear has a few components. The fear of pain, both physical and psychological. The fear of failure, both incapability to go through with it and incapability to achieve it. And, the component of fear in which dominated the other two, the fear of the unknown. What happens after I come out and achieve freedom? What lies on the other side of the thick vegetation? Will I be alone? Will it even be worth it?

     Even these two factors cannot forever hold me back from my freedom and serenity. Soon, I will escape. And, when I do, I hope I discover that, by taking the chance, it was worth it in the end, for I hope there are infinite opportunities in the life of the rest of the universe.

"Besieged" by Jakari T

      Black hung heavy in the atmosphere. My throat raw and salt streaming down the curves of my face, I stared at the set of eyes glaring back from the depths. They looked hungry, empty, searching for something to fill its hollow. I retreated behind my ramparts, and when I focused my eyes on the spot of the hollow one's dwelling, he had disappeared, moving through the shadows to reach my side without incident and rend the flesh from my bones. My lip began to quiver, and I looked to the cave off in the eastern lands for a more secure shelter. A being of many shapes, curves and angles stood upright at the height of giants, swaying in the murky air. Its face, lacking any definite or natural features, snapped back and forth at random intervals, searching for the next victim to add to its indecisive form. It creaked its head in a disjointed manner in my general direction, and tilted its head in acknowledgement. A slight whooshing sound enveloped the bubble I considered my safe haven, and an unnatural movement of a chilling breeze brushed against the cragged surface of my skin, elevating the peaks to absurd heights. And from underneath my bastion, ghastly wails mixed in with the sinister whispers of fiendish animations congealed into a mass of lost and vengeful souls, carrying off my own in the monsoon.

     I finally broke;”MOOOMMMY!!” After a period of silence, my desperate cry was answered with a radiant light and a pleasant and familiar countenance. “Why are you crying son?” “The monsters, there out to get me,” I whimpered. “Sweetie, this is why I tell you to close the door before bed. You know the answering machine has two flashing lights.” “That’s not all! I saw a big monster who kept changing in the cave.” “That's just your favorite Winnie the Poo doll. That thing is motion activated, so you have to turn it off before bed.” “ But what about the loud whooshing sounds and the cold air?” “That's just the cars passing by. We live on a busy street. And on these hot summer nights, we need to blast the A/C to survive,” she answered, in a drowsy but patient voice.”It's time you go back to bed, honey. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. It's your first day of kindergarten and you're probably just really excited. Sweet dreams.”

     The dimensions were severed, and I sat in the bleak dark once again. Everything was at peace, and I let down my ramparts. I could finally rest after such a long struggle for survival...but, the voices from down under refused to cease. Why didn't they stop? What was calling for me, beckoning for me to meet them in the underground...

“How to make Deep Fried Oreos” by Jessie S

                                                                                         

These decadent treats have been famous and present in numerous amounts of county fairs. They have been favorites in the hearts of many people.  Although, this dessert is a bit on the unhealthy side, it is still delicious. These treats have been a thing I can rely on when there is nothing else sweet to eat as dessert. When I first made them, I messed up on the Oreos by some having too much batter coating and by some having too little batter coating. At times, the deep fried Oreos would be in the form of irregular shapes. After a couple of Oreos, I mastered them perfectly. Now, I make them quite often and have loved them from the start. There are many reasons why I keep making them frequently. There are little ingredients needed to make these. And, it takes little time prepare and cook them. Also, it takes little skill because it isn’t hard to make.

Ingredients needed:

- Oreo sandwich cookies (Any type of flavor)

- 1 cup of pancake mix

- 1 egg

- 2/3 cup of milk

- Vegetable oil

- Powdered sugar, ice cream, toppings, sauces (Optional)

Equipment that will be used:

- Large Bowl

- Whisk

- A pot or a deep fryer

- Spatula or cooking tongs

- Mesh colander or strainer (Optional)

Steps:

1) To start off, get your large bowl and pour the cup of pancake mix in it.

2) Next, pour the milk in and crack the egg into the large bowl.

3) Then, pour 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil into the mix. Once all of the ingredients are incorporated all together, mix them with a whisk until it is smooth and has no lumps. The consistency of the batter should be thick, but a bit watery at the same time.

	Here’s a picture of how the batter mix should look like after you combine all the ingredients and mix.

 

4) In the pot or deep fryer, add enough vegetable oil for it to submerge the deep fried Oreos entirely. Also, turn on the stove range or deep fryer on medium heat. 

5) While the stove range or deep fryer is preheating, place your desired choice of Oreo cookies in the mix you created and toss them around. Make sure they are completely coated with the batter.

6) Grab the Oreos and gently place it into the oil using a spatula or cooking tongs. Also, remember to occasionally flip it with the spatula or cooking tongs so it doesn’t get over cooked or burned. The deep fried Oreos are fully done when the batter on it “puffs” up and turn to the color of golden brown. A perfect outcome is when the outside crust is crunchy, but the inside is soft.

7) Add any toppings, chocolate sauce, etc. (Only if you want too). The most popular topping used on deep fried Oreos is powdered sugar. I highly recommend using a mesh colander or strainer when sifting powdered sugar on it. This way your hands will be less sticky and it will be less messy. Also, something that really compliments the deep fried Oreos is eating it with ice cream.

8) Enjoy this delectable and scrumptious dessert! Hope you enjoy!

Here are some pictures of the deep fried Oreos I made:

 

"A Girl in My Class" by Savannah G

A girl in my class named April gets bullied a lot because people call her ugly, stupid, and weird. April is one of my good friends, one day April was at school and at lunch time. As usual people are making fun of her face and being mean, then Sandra McDonald pushes April on the floor and called her terrible things, Sandra McDonald was the meanest person in the school. No one has ever fought or talked back to her until April. April suddenly got up and said “it’s not a mask, it’s my face”, also, “ I’m tired of people calling me names, so please stop”. The next week everyone said hello to Apriland didn’t call her names anymore. Then Sandra, said sorry to April and to all the people she was mean to. April and Sandra became the best of friends.

"On a Halloween Night" by Julianna A.

“On a Halloween night, there was this girl who loved to trick or treat” is the classic sentence to put in quite a few Halloween stories which takes away that little pizzazz effect. A bit of an overused sentence to start off stories but if you tried something else, it may not work. Anyways, i'm getting off task here. I have a story to share about this girl who loved Halloween. She was quite the adventurous type and always dressed up. One day, she decided to get a lot of candy this year for Halloween which sounds like a total snore fest but wait until the story unravels. So while out trick or treating this girl who by the way is named Alice at age 12 with dark chocolate brown hair and bright blue eyes, she came upon a certain house that stood out to her. Maybe she liked it for its creepy features, or the way it looked just standing there in the depth of night. She thought it was a haunted house and went up to the door to claim her candy. She knocked and the door swung open in a flash and out came a lovely looking woman. She wasn’t dressed up but in a dress as if she had come from a party.

          “Trick-or-treat!” she yelled with glee. The kind woman smiled and said with a gleam in her lovely brown eyes and said “What a cute little girl! My name is Regina. What might you be?” she smiled widely.

        “I’m a princess!” she said with such happiness. Which is a popular costume in Halloween stories but anyways the woman invited her inside for some snacks and told her how no one had visited her house in years so for coming, she had a little gift for the child. The woman stepped into another room to fetch the gift and returned with a little black box in her hand. She went up to the child and sat beside her.

       She opened the box and said: “This is very special. And me giving it to you means you must take care of it no matter what. Promise?" Alice promised and opened the box to find a ring. It was a very pretty ring that changed colors. She put it on only to find it was too big until the woman said it would fit once she reached the age of 15. Once Alice reached 15, she was able to wear the ring. She put it on but couldn’t take it off later that day. She went back to the house one night on Halloween and explained her problem. The woman told her it was to stay on until death did her part which would come once the ring turned black. Alice ran home and was scared to find the ring turning grey so she told her mother the story. The parents called the police to arrest the woman but it did no good. Later that night as Alice was sleeping; she was awoken by a loud noise. She sat up and met face to face with a black figure and looked down at her hand to find the ring had turned black. She looked back up and gasped for air while staring at the horrid creature until she collapsed to the bed. In her jail cell Regina smiled grimly. Her work had been completed. She got rid of the child and had been freed from her cursed immortality. This child was special because that young girl was the witch who cursed Regina. She went back in time to search for the one who cursed her for acting so high above the others and being selfish. But now Alice was gone so there was no one left to stop the new coming evil witch.