I stood still, tears streaming down my face. I realized now, she was gone.

It was New Years Day, it was cold but serene outside. My family, accompanied by my cousin, decided to take a walk by the creek. We bundled up in scarves and layered jackets of many Wintery colors, and had hot cocoa before we set of on our journey. My family began to walk out of the house and into the winter as I gestured for my dog to come along. My dog, named Zena was half heeler and half German shepherd. Rain began to pour lightly and her fur began to glisten as we walked to our gate. We crossed the slippery road. The rain stopped.
Finally we reached the other side of the property and began to walk along side of the creek, following ever so slowly. I looked behind me, and Zena was following at a slow pace. We kept walking and discussed our New Year Resolutions, I said “I am going to start exercising daily.” Well, that didn’t last very long.
There was a constant clatter of our mud boots hitting the hard ground near the creek. And then…it happened. There was a sudden noise, the sound of a mountain lion, catching up to it’s prey. Everyone was startled. I turned around. “Where’s Zena.” I said, choking on my own words. She wasn’t in sight.
I squinted. It started to drizzle again. I squinted harder, and I began to yell my dog’s name. She usually responds, but she didn’t this time.
We searched all around, hoping for a sign. I live on eight hundred acres, and we covered every square foot of it. We put up LOST signs, but no one ever called. We yelled and beckoned for her, but she never came. We sat and cried for hours, but no one could explain our pain. I just wanted to shut everything out, I felt horrible.This was real pain, pain and loss.
I remember her bad dog breath, and her lightly matted fur. She was always playful as a puppy, but she seemed to be loosing her energy over the years. After all, she was fourteen years old and had lived a good life.
I now realize that all things happen for a reason, which can be good or bad at the time. This was my mistake, but we all learn from things like this. At first I was sad about my dog’s passing, but I understand now it was her time to go. I am fortunate enough to have a new dog now, she is lovable and sweet, and she kind of reminds me of Zena.
When you first loose something, it’s okay to feel depressed for a while, but then you have to pick yourself back up, and discover the new pleasures in life.

(Rough draft…. Final paper is different) 🙂

I am from worn-out socks,
and Little Debbie’s and Harry Potter Legos.
I am from the 800 acres with a bright blue sky,
and the smells of fried chicken and roast.

I am from the massive oak tree,
who seems to be growing and expanding faster than I can comprehend.

I am from the walk of the lights and long legs,
and Vance and Sue Ellen’s branch.
I am from Duck Dynasty and over-decorating for holidays,
and listening to talk radio.

I am from “don’t roll your eyes” and “If you don’t believe, you won’t receive”,
and “If you can’t be good, just be yourself”.
I am from sparkling grape juice and gingerbread cookies,
and wishing for snow.

I am from Westlake and the chancellor of Germany,
and warm chili and cold minute maid.
I am from the dangling length of tied sheets,
hanging from the 2nd story window, with my uncle attached to it.

I am from the magnifying glass,
that is carefully displayed on my desk,
which is what my grandmother gave me,
before she passed.

I am from these moments…

That shape me into who I am now.

WARNING: This review contains some SPOILER ALERTS!

In the book, Allegiant, by Veronica Routh, Tris is again faced with the challenges of her world after dealing with the notorious Jeanie Matthews. This book is from the point of Tris and Tobias (Four). I was very excited to read this book because I had been waiting for it to come out for nine months. I was disappointed. This book contained low action and didn’t have very much rising action. Something I did like was how Evelyn, Tobias’s mom, accepted to stop fighting and to reunite with her son, which was a very touching part of the book. During the middle section of the book, it just drug on and on. There was no real purpose to the middle of the book, it was just a space filler. In conclusion, this was a very good series that did not end on a good note.

I recently tried out for a club volleyball team at the Marble Falls Middle School Gym. I was on a club ball team last year and played up for a 13s team, with my cousin. I was not aggressive enough to get the position I wanted, but I was one of the best hitters/setters on my team. I was put as a right side and rarely got a set to hit during any of my tournaments. This did not boost my confidence for the next season. I came back in the shiny gym for tryouts when I noticed that I had become a better player, but my teammates had gotten better too. I was a nervous wreck.

I tried my best and it turned out that I was placed on a 15 year old team! I was so relived and honored that they had chosen me, the 13 year old to compete at a higher level.

This year I have to be more aggressive, and on top of that I need to workout way more, I’m practically a stick! 🙂

It was Halloween night, a time for goblins and ghouls to prance and witches to brew up an evil scheme. Well, that’s what it said in the stories anyway. Halloween is really a time to dress up and ring on doorbells and get free candy. I was dressed up this year as a black cat, you know the ones with the headband ears and the eyeliner whiskers and nose. Yeah, that was me.

So, the candy gathering had just begun when the sun began to set a beautiful orange-red. I had walked up the street and had got one-fourth of my bag worth of candy already. Then, I noticed this decaying house on the end of the street, I had never laid eyes on it before. Was it there all this time, I thought. Being adventurous, I began to approach it. It looked dark and dreary and it didn’t look like anyone had been in it for years. I trotted through the yard full of leaves and weeds and suddenly tripped on a stump. “Ahhhhhh!” I moaned when I fell hitting my jaw on the sidewalk leading up to the house. I laid there for a minute, my jaw and foot throbbing with pain. Then, I noticed something out of the ordinary. There was blood trailing on the sidewalk.

I jumped up, it’s probably just spray paint or fruit punch, I thought. It has to be. I started to approach the steps leading up to the front porch of the mysterious house, then I saw the sign. “KEEP OUT” read the sign posted on the rotting front door. I became frantic. My mouth became dry and it began to back away. Black widows were crawling on the exterior of the house, making it even less inviting. I stopped. A slight breeze came over me and I began to shiver.

My breathe became hard and I thought I was going to die. Just then, a group of boys, maybe a little older then me, began to walk causally up to the house. I stood frozen in my tracks and watched. They rang the doorbell, laughing and talking to each other. There was no response. Finally, one of them realized and began to beat on the front door. There was a response this time. The door creaked open making a horrid sound that got all of their attention. All you could see inside the house was nothingness. It was pitch-black in there. The boys looked confused. One of them then began to say “Trick or-” and was cut off by a nasty hand that pulled them inside the house. Everyone screamed. And everyone, including me, ran away from the property and as far away as they could from that place. I was panting when I got inside my house. I shut every window, locked all the doors, and sat in the safety of my bed, with tears streaking my face. I wondered how that poor boy was, locked inside that house. “Trick or what…” I said. “Trick or trick“…Halloween was not a treat, it would now haunt me forever.

I sat there thinking, and then finally dared to look out my window towards the house. It wasn’t there.

My hands were trembling, my teeth were chattering, and my conscience was telling me no. “All hands and feet in the ride at all times.” I heard the mean menacing announcer proclaimed as the coaster before began to take off. My heart pounded, this was it I thought, I was next in line.

BOOM! Cried the thunder. I was awoken from my deep slumber by the horrific clatter of the storm outside my window. I have never liked storms since I was a little girl. I curled up in my covers and tried to go back to sleep. All I could hear was the pouring rain, falling from the sky. Soon the pitter-patter of the rain was nice and calming. BANG! The lightning yelled as if it was in my ear. I had almost successfully fallen back to sleep, but had failed. I decided to look out my window to see the harsh winds and violent rains. I opened the dusty blinds to find a massive amount of liquid was falling from the heavens, making everything outdoors glisten in the moonlight. After observing my surroundings, I laid back down in my bed, and went fast to sleep.

These are the top 6 things I want to do or accomplish before I pass away…

1. I Want to go and travel the world and look at all the ancient civilizations of the world.

2. Make a College (or an Olympic) Volleyball team.

3. Go on a zip line.

4. Act in a movie or model in a magazine.

5. Meet the Robertson clan (Duck Dynasty).

6. To go to Alaska.

If I were an animal, I would be a dog, no beagle. Beagles are one of the cutest species of dogs to watch. They are playful and curios dogs. Playful being they love to jump and run, and curios meaning they like to find their way around barriers and go and explore the world surrounding them. My beagle, is great at doing the “puppy-dog face”. She tilts her head to the side and widens her eyes so you just can’t refuse or criticize her. Beagles are generally fairly small so they can dig out of stuff or slip away, so you have to be careful.

Dogs are a man’s best friend so you should get a dog to make you happy on your painful days or just to accompany you on your lonely days or when everyone seems to be against you. Dogs will never let you down in making your day a little bit sunnier! My dog has never let me down in making my day brighter!

By Gracen Pesl and Hannah Rose Grant

Near the sandy glistening beach,
Inside a tiny green sailboat,
Among the massive blue waves,
Beside a silent baby sea turtle,
Following a noisy family of dolphins,
During a sizzling summer day,
Beyond the distant shore,
With snorkel gear and fins,
Jump… Splash!