Pumpkin Carving

P unctured and sliced

U nderneath the vines

M urdered in the night

P utrid, rotting flesh. The

K nife lay on the ground, not so

I nnocently,

N estled among the gore.

C arried out of the garden

A rranged around a flame

R ipped and torn

V iciously carved

I nto

N ightmarish,

G hastly, grinning faces.

- Roberta Moore and Mary-Margaret Greene

Horror

H orrice Minkle went walking

O ne dark and murky night;

R ippling shadows crept behind

R ushing to take his life.

O ne scream rang out and died -

R igor Mortis set in the night.

- Roberta Moore and Mary-Margaret Greene

The Slasher Flick of 1862

The rising sun cast upon the trees a flickering orange light. Long shadows concealed our faces and the morning mist hid our bodies. All 2,000 of us crept down the hillside to the edge of the opposing camp. These men sleeping here, guilty of theft and manslaughter, participants in the abuse of other human beings, deserved to die. But in the silence of the early morning, these soldiers already seemed dead, still and defenseless. A snore and a sigh was heard here and there, and we were ordered into the mass of sleeping bodies. As I edged past sprawled legs and heads, my eyes fell upon a man, a child really, who couldn't have been more than 14 years old. He lay with his arm tucked under his head and his blanket snug around his chin.

"Aim." The sergeant spoke, his voice low and cracked with disuse. The boy shifted and awoke at the clicks of our rifles being cocked. His eyes widened once they focused on the barrel of my gun a his head. He started to pant and his eyes began to water. He licked his lips nervously and looked into my eyes; his face was pleading. He found his voice.

"Don't - "

"Fire."

Up All Night (song lyrics)

3 AM with the lights still burning

The thoughts in my head keep on churning

That paper is due and the dog needs out

It's past my curfew but I'm up and about

chorus:

There's no time left

Yet so much to do

My eyes are getting bleary

Just gotta get through

A couple more minutes

Into the wee hours

But there's no time left

And I've lost my willpower

Children's Book (Beck)

It was a sunny, blustery, Fall day. All the leaves were red, yellow, and orange, and the air was cool.

All the children in Ms. Beck's class couldn't sit still! They wanted to go outside and enjoy the weather.

"I want to splash in the leaves!" said Ben.

"I want to sit outside and watch the cars go by," stated Griffin.

"OK class, I'll tell you what," said Ms. Beck, "We're going to stay outside today - it's just such a pretty day!"

"YAY!" The class quickly lined up at the door.

Once they got outside, everyone ran off in different directions. There was just so much to do!

Amelia, Emily, Daniel, and Isaiah gathered together to jump into a HUGE pile of leaves. Leaves flew everywhere and they giggled as they jumped in again and again.

Kenya F. and Chelsea swung through the cool air on the swings. The wind rushed through their hair and made their noses cold!

Jacob and Ian sat down to read books. The sun warmed their backs and soon they were so comfy that they laid down and took a little nap.

Poppi and Isabella played hide and seek. They hid between thick bushes, in tall, brown grass, and behind giant trees.

Nahshon ran around, catching the leaves as they fell from the trees. He caught a lot - almost twenty!

Zoe M. and Priyanka built fairy houses in the grass. They used leaves, acorns, and twigs. Soon they had a whole village.

Ryland pretended to be a squirrel; Zoe S. pretended to be a cat; Kenya H. pretended to be a mouse; they all ran around and played tag in the leaves.

Tyler skipped along the sidewalk and through the field. He landed on big, dry, brown leaves - CRUNCH!

Phew! It had been a long day and it started getting dark, but the fun was just beginning.

"We have one more thing to do class. Line up and follow me; we're going on a walking field trip! Your parents will meet us when we get there." Ms. Beck said, waving them forward.

"Where? Where are we going?" someone asked.

"Wait and see." Ms. Beck smiled. They walked to a big stadium and went through the gates. "We're going to see a football game!" Ms. Beck announced.

"YAY!" The class was so excited. They bought popcorn and candy and drinks and sat down to watch the game.

It was so much fun - both of the teams were very good, but Decatur was the best.

"OK guys, it's getting pretty late," said Ms. Beck as Decatur scored the winning touchdown, "Let's go meet your parents."

The children walked out of the stadium to their parents. One by one, each parent asked their child about their day. "Did you have any fun?" they asked.

"Oh, it was the best day ever!" they replied, "You won't believe what we did!"

THE END

Children's Book (Cruz)

It was a sunny, blustery, Fall day. All the leaves were red, yellow, and orange and the air was cool.

All the children in Ms. Cruz's class couldn't sit still! They wanted to go outside and enjoy the weather.

"I want to splash in the leaves!" said Andrew.

"I want to sit outside and watch the cars go by." stated Keegen.

"OK class, I'll tell you what," said Ms. Cruz, "We're going to stay outside today - it's just such a pretty day!"

"YAY!" The class quickly lined up at the door.

Once they got outside, everyone ran off in different directions. There was just so much to do!

Guy, Celia, Eric, and Jaden rushed over to a HUGE pile of leaves and jumped in. Leaves flew everywhere and they giggled as they jumped in again and again.

Mekhi skipped around and caught leaves as they fell from the trees. He caught a lot - almost twenty!

Francesca and Juliette collected the biggest, most colorful leaves off the ground. Francesca was going to give hers to her old Pre-K teacher. Juliette thought her Mimi and Papa would like hers.

Talia and Lonnitra played hide and seek with Harrison. They hid between thick bushes, in tall, brown grass, and behind giant trees.

William played "birds" with his friends. They pretended to fly through the colorful trees and make nests out of pine straw.

Callia and Fadumo watched the leaves change colors. There were pretty golds, lively reds, and bright oranges. There were some not so pretty brown ones, but they were fun to crunch!

Nelson pretended to be a lion and played with Sophie on the field. They ran around and around and around - it seemed like they would never stop!

Kai swung on the swings so high he touched the trees with his feet. The wind rushed through his hair and the leaves tickled his toes.

Rachael and Carrie talked about the apple picking trip they were going to take with their families. They planned on bringing back a fresh apple for everybody.

Phew! It had been a long day, but the fun was just beginning.

"We have one more thing to do class. Line up and follow me; we're going on a walking field trip! Your parents will meet us when we get there." Ms. Cruz said, waving them forward.

"Where? Where are we going?" someone asked.

"Wait and see." Ms. Cruz smiled. They walked to a big stadium and went through the gates. "We're going to see a football game!" Ms. Cruz announced.

"YAY!" The class was so excited. They bought popcorn and candy and drinks and sat down to watch the game.

It was so much fun - both of the teams were very good, but Decatur was the best.

"OK guys, it's getting pretty late," said Ms. Cruz as Decatur scored the winning touchdown, "Let's go meet your parents."

The children walked out of the stadium to their parents. One by one, each parent asked their child about their day. "Did you have any fun?" they asked.

"Oh, it was the best day ever!" they replied, "You won't believe what we did!"

THE END

Her Reflective Essay

When I was younger, my youth group went up to Tennessee to work with impoverished families. We constructed homes around these families, and provided support in whatever way we could. It was very tiring work, but I gained a valuable lesson from it.

We were assigned to the Phillips family. Our job was to see if we could return running water to the one bathroom, add doors to the two bedrooms, replace warped paneling, and put flashing around the chimney on the roof (apparently, the reason the paneling was damaged was because they forgot to put the flashing on when they first built the house).

The first time I walked through the door of their shack, I thought to myself, "God, what disaster has happened here?" I wanted to just walk right back out. The entire house was packed in with useless junk that had a single trail made out so that one could walk through without tripping. This is when I truly grasped the fact that not everybody lives the same way I do, though if they did, the world would be a much better place. However, just as pity and disgust began to seep into my mind, I stepped over the threshold and smelled… fried chicken. And biscuits. Think of the best chicken biscuit you've ever had and multiply its goodness by ten. Then add three smiling, genuinely warm-hearted people into the mix and you've got contentment. Mr. Phillips, Ms. Phillips, and Patricia make up one of the happiest, most satisfied families you could ever meet.

That didn't make up for the hovel they called their house, but despite their not-so-perfect living condition, they had a great, organic, vegetable garden from which they got a majority of their food. Mr. Phillips, even though he was poor and dirty, gave away baskets of tomatoes and peppers to family and friends instead of selling them. As he put it, "I just feel like it's nice to do. I like giving away my tomatoes. People like them." They also had flock of chickens and kept a pig or two; not as clean and healthy, but overall they led a locally sustainable existence. I was amazed at how they could take such good care of these animals and garden, and not of their house or themselves.

What I learned is that these things are not what mattered the most. What was more important was how these people accepted what they had and didn't complain. I had expected this family to be sad and sorry for themselves. I had imagined ourselves as something like heroes coming in the nick of time to save their house and save their lives. I wasn't entirely wrong, but these people were happy, satisfied, and at peace with the world. They had their share of troubles just like anyone else and they needed help. That was our job; to fix the problems so that they could continue on with their lives. They didn't so much worry about the material things, but regarded life and love seriously and did not take them for granted. They were happy with their lives overall, just not with their house. Though their style of living was not ideal for me, there's nothing bad or wrong with the way they're living. I learned that material items do not matter as much as your life and the people close to you, but they are still important parts of our lives.

Factual Fiction

He had been gone four hours. She would be worried, or suspicious. How was she to know what he had been up to? The balloon was his only proof. He had gone with his friend, Matt to the fair because Matt wanted to visit the kissing booth, but didn't want to go alone.

"Look Matt, I have a lot to do today - "

"Come on buddy! I need you there! Gimme some support."

"Dude, it's just a kissing booth, it's not like you need a wingman. This sort of thing is for 10-year-olds and old men who can't get any action. Go to a bar and see what you find there."

"Look, it's for reminiscing, you know, looking back to the good ol' days. Just for fun, man! Come with me, you'll enjoy it."

"You mean you'll enjoy it."

"Whatever, you can feed off the glow of my experience."

So he went. The line was very long. While he waited for Matt, he bought a bright pink balloon because he thought, "She will like this." He hadn't gotten a chance to tell her that he was going out - she had been yelling at a telemarketer on the phone. She would be in a bad mood when he got home so better bring something nice back.

Matt finally got through the line and got his smooch. Now it was raining. It would take him an extra hour to get home because of the weather. It started coming down in torrents and by the time he dropped Matt off, it had already been an hour and a half. She would be extremely anxious now. He realized he had left his cell phone on the counter when he was leaving earlier that day. She would be furious - how many times had she told him to ALWAYS take his phone with him wen he left the house?

10 minutes away and the rain had stopped, but it had become quite gusty outside. He could now see the porch light shining through the mist - it was already 8:00 pm. It had been 6 hours. She would be pacing, biting her nails, debating whether or not to call the police. The balloon would cheer her up - it bobbed safely in the back seat.

He pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. He sat and took a deep breath, bracing himself. He opened the door - WHOOSH - a blast of wind swept through the car, grabbed the balloon, and breezed out again. He stood there gaping, his arms stretched out in an empty grasp - zero balloon. And he stood there with nothing to show for the day; he stood there and thought, "Oh dear."

Ominous thoughts swirled around in his head - what would she do? What would she say? How would she react when he entered the house, hours after supper, with no valid reason for being away so long. His single shred of evidence that would have proved where he had been was gone. He stood there empty-handed, his clothes sagging with the mist, watching the balloon meander through the sky, pitching back and forth in the turbulent bursts of wind.

He turned toward the house and considered it with the fear a child has before entering a haunted mansion. Gray clouds swirled and tumbled with the wind and the naked trees in the yard creaked and swayed, making the house appear more foreboding than before. The piles of leaves he'd forgotten to bag the day before now lay scattered across the lawn, occasionally being thrust into the air with a sudden poof of wind. The sharp breeze bit his cheeks so they turned red and his eyes watered with the deepening chill.

A light flickered on in the front room and his eyes shifted to that window, unwillingly attracted to the yellow gleam. He saw a divide appear in the blinds, a space that was shortly conquered by his wife's beady eyes and her shrewd glare. He quickly gathered up his coat and umbrella and hastened to the house. The door was opened before he could lay his hand on his keys and he found himself face to face with that penetrating stare.

"Where have you been?" she asked steadily, "It's ten past eight and you missed supper."

"I'm sorry, I - "

"And you left your phone on the counter, again." Her voice went up an octave.

"I know, I feel - "

"And you didn't leave a note or anything, you had me so worried," the words began flowing out quicker and closer together, "I didn't know what to do, whether I should call the police or wait it out or what. I was going to call the police in ten minutes if you hadn't gotten back, " a whine had evolved out of her voice as they entered the house and walked down the hall, "What a mess that would have been, I mean, you're obviously OK, you finally made it home, but if I had called and you had arrived two seconds later, we would have had to waste hours explaining the situation to the police and no doubt they would have fined us for a prank call or something, like we can really afford that right now, especially with all these bills we have to pay because of the new furniture, and with your job, it's not like we're getting anywhere fast. Why couldn't you have just taken the accounting job? You'd make so much more money and we wouldn't have to buy wholesale all the time. What if we're still buying things from Wal-Mart when we have kids? Babies need good, organic foods! And so do I! I can't get fat and bloated by eating chemicals all day, do you know what that would do to my figure? How can I pay for - "

"Why do you worry so much?" Oops, he grimaced just as the last words fell out of his mouth. That wasn't exactly what he had meant to say and clearly the grimace was taken as a look of disgust.

"Why do I worry so much?!" Her pitch rose and the whine transformed into a snarl, "I worry so much because you do stupid things like take off in the middle of the day, without warning, and don't return until hours later, with no explanation of where you've been and why! I have to worry for the both of us because clearly you don't care enough to stay home and take on your share of responsibility, worrying included!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but you didn't even give me a chance to explain."

"Well do so then!" She had started using wild hand gestures and drops of perspiration had appeared just above her eyebrows - he knew she was on the brink of erupting.

"Well, OK, Matt wanted to go to the fair - "

"You put me through all of this just for a stupid kiddie fair?!"

"Let me finish! He didn't want to go by himself so I went with him to the kissing booth - "

"WHAT??"

"But I didn't - "

"You went to a kissing booth?! What do you think I am? A piece of lawn furniture? I am your wife!" Her cheeks were turning red and he felt spittle hitting his face, "Am I only good enough to cook your food and wash your clothes and you can't even come to me for a kiss?!" He figured it was time to start fighting back. This was ridiculous, he hadn't even gotten in line, much less kissed another woman.

"Look, I didn't even get in line - "

"But you were there!"

"Yeah but I didn't kiss anybody!"

"But you could have! Why can't I trust you?"

"Good question, why?!" They glowered at each other for a minute before she stalked off into the kitchen. He felt the heat of her anger dissipate as she left, but his cheeks were still warm from the fight. He watched her grab a knife out of the knife block and proceed to mutilate a green pepper. Her knuckles were white with the force of which she clung to the knife; the muscles in her arms rippled with a purpose under her skin as she violently sliced through the vegetable. Her face was hidden under her thin, brown hair, straight and plain, the only thing that seemed lifeless and indifferent in this moment of livid hatred. He saw her bangs fly up in a huff of frustration, and he could see a single tear clinging to the gentle curve of her cheek, but her eyes still glowed red hot, and they flashed in the reflected light of the knife. Her jaw was set, solid, and clamped shut in fierce determination to keep silent. He followed her, not finished with his argument.

"I promise you, I have never kissed another women since we got married. I simply was doing Matt a favor by going with him. I just stood by, watched, and then we left. I'm mostly late because of the storm. I bought a balloon while I was there because I wanted to bring something nice back to you, but the wind caught it and it blew away. You should only be mad at me because I got home late and didn't let you know where I was and I'm sorry for that, OK? Just give me a break."

"That's all you did?"

"Yes, and it was really boring."

"And you bought me a balloon?" She peeked at him through her bangs.

"Yeah, I though it would be nice and I thought you'd like it."

"What color was it?"

"Pink, your - "

"Favorite." A small smile appeared on her face and she carefully set down the knife. She looked up. "I love you."

"Wait, you're not mad anymore?"

She circled her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. Then she looked into his eyes and whispered, "Why would I be? You're so sweet."

"God, you go through emotions like a chain smoker," he said, a little annoyed, "Why do I put up with you?"

"Let me see if I can remind you..." she pressed her lips to his and they were locked in a passionate kiss. As she pulled away, he understood.