Fighting for Survival by Connor S.

It was a warm Friday afternoon. Alfred was cleaning up the Epstein’s store in Harlem. He was just getting ready to close it for the day when he heard the door open. A thin, young boy walked into the store. The boy stood just inside the door and appeared very shy. “Can I help you?” said Alfred in a friendly tone. “I’m looking for Mr. Donatelli’s gym,” said the boy in a timid voice. Alfred was a regular at Donatelli’s gym. It was where the local boxers went to train and work out. Alfred figured the boy must have been meeting his older brother at the gym. Then, as he looked at the boy more closely, he noticed the cuts and bruises on the boy’s face. Could this young, frail child be a boxer, he wondered. “Donatelli’s? I go there,” said Alfred. Alfred had a hard time trying to picture...

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The Contender by Nick R

Alfred sat there on the bench in the damp locker room thinking to himself. Pondering about why it was so hard on him to win fights, why it made him so sick. The answer was probably inside him, yet he could not find it. Maybe it was the feeling of disabling another human being, feeling an opponents face on the opposite side of your glove. Although it was not clear, all he knew was, he wasn’t proud of fighting. Alfred, now stumbling to his feet, really began to realize that the mentality that a man needs to succeed in boxing needs to be violent and focused. Walking out into the dampened streets of Harlem , a slight breeze ran across his skin. The air felt nice to a guy that had previously been stuffed up in a small locker room. Starting to jog home, he remembered a conversation that he had...

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Friend From Afar by Natalie M

Daisy was a young girl living in New York City. To put it lightly she was not the biggest fan of her life! She lived with her father and her father’s girlfriend. Daisy’s mother died while giving birth to her so they never got the chance to meat. Daisy caused a lot of problems and developed an eating disorder, so her father decided to send her to live in England with her Aunt. Her visit to England started great but then the war hit and everything changed she experienced life in a whole new way in terror and fear. She experienced many hard and difficult things and has changed from it now the next step in her life will to meet hopefully a new friend David Pelzer one of the people she most admires in her life. She admires his courage, his determination and will to survive, a quality that can be...

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Ender’s New Recruit By Kyle W

The sloping hallway of the battle ship was absolutely still. Not a sound could be heard anywhere, save for Ender’s continuous footsteps as he made his way towards the bunk of the new Dragon Army of which he was the new commander. There hadn’t been any such army for several years, and if what Colonel Anderson had said was true, then there would be no army like it. Ender had been told that many of his new recruits were highly skilled veterans, a trait that could very well win them their battles. There were also supposed to be many Launchies in his group, kids new to the space station. Ender arrived at the bunk door and opened it, revealing an elongated room of bunk beds where twenty or so kids were doing various things. Some were sitting on their beds talking, while others were on their...

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Dave’s Mentor from the Closet by Nicole C

It was a quiet peaceful day in the suburbs of California, except for the Pelzer house. Poor young Dave was getting the toxic treatment his mother gave him every so often. He just got set free of the nasty smelling bathroom. Dave knew he would survive this life, he knew that his body would pull through, but sometimes he doubted if he would make the night. He hadn’t eaten in what felt like forever. In school he was learning about the Holocaust and concentration camps for the Polish, Gypsy, homosexual, and Jewish. Sometimes he thought that his home was his mother’s concentration camp for him. Dave ran down the stairs tripping over his own weak feet, to get to the one place he felt relatively safe, the basement. “Dave! Dave! Come to the Closet!” mumbled a voice. “Who is that? Who’s there?” Dave...

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Gemma's Life by Hannah R

BOOM! Rebecca was shocked to wake up and find herself in a bunkroom with other children on the planet Eros. She had the second bed next to the door. She looked up and turned around to see if there was anyone she could see that looked nice enough to help her. She did not see anyone that looked friendly. As she put her, beautiful, long red hair up in a ponytail, she pondered about what to do and where she was, one of the smallest boys in the room, also the boy in the first bed next to the door, came over to her as if right on queue to answer her questions.“You look a little lost. Don’t worry. I was petrified when I came here too. My name’s Ender.”, the boy said.“Ho, Ender. I’m Rebecca. Where am I? How did I get here?”“Well, right now, you are on the planet Eros. We are in a training school...

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Two Adventures in Poland by Abby F

Junice shuddered. It was overcast, and chilly. She was quickly learning that this part of Poland was like that often. In the event that the sun did peak out from behind the steely gray cloud wall, it was quickly ushered back behind. She wasn’t even sure why she was here now, it definitely wasn’t a place she normally would have found herself in. a few weeks ago she hadn’t even thought much about going out of Harlem, let alone going across the sea. This was Damian’s doing. “Come on, Junice. Think of it as an adventure. You and I, on an adventure!” He seemed so excited, there was no way she could have denied him this trip. She was still reeling that Damian was even still with her. After all of the events that had just passed, she was convinced he would decide she wasn’t worth the hassle. Her...

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Cousins Reunited by Eric P

Alfred came out of his apartment and went in the park across the street. He did his jog around the park like he did when he was training to be a boxer. He filled his lungs with the cool fresh air. He passed the two cops sitting in the bushes like he does everyday. Alfred noticed a kid that was sitting under a tree. Alfred had never seen the young boy in the park before. Alfred asked the boy what is name was. The boy responded, “My name is Dave Pelzer”. Alfred was astonished.” You’re my cousin,” Alfred said.“What are you doing in Harlem?" Alfred asked."My family moved here last summer," Dave said. Alfred's mom had told him that he had a cousin named DavePelzer but Alfred had never seen him.” What is going on in your life?" David asked."I have become a boxer," Alfred said. Alfred has been working...

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Our Trip to Germany by Emily A

As she looked out the window all she could see where the clouds. The plane ride was much longer than she expected. Right when she was about to close her eyes, the pilot came over the loud speaker, “Sorry for the interruption, we will arrive in Germany in approximately 20 minutes.” Rebecca turned to the blonde haired woman next to her. “Is this your first time visiting Germany?” “Actually, it’s my second time; I went here when I was younger and loved it, I have wanted to go back ever since and here I am now.” “Oh and by the way, my name is Daisy.” “Yes I saw it on your name tag around your neck, my name is Rebecca; this is actually my first time coming here. My grandmother past away recently and she was originally from here. She used to tell me all these interesting stories about Germany; I...

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Found Friends by Chris M

Alfred is a 14 year old boy that lives in Harlem. He goes to a gym every day to work out with boxing. He has to get up early every day and run. Alfred is a colored person; he is about 5 feet 7 inches. He had a friend named James but he was being stupid one night and trying to rob a store. So he got caught and went to jail. One day when Alfred was walking down the street he saw a kid probably around the same age as himself playing basketball by himself. He thought to himself, “should I go over there to play with him and give him company?”Alfred goes over to him and says,” Hey what’s your name?”Ender, the kid says. “Want to shoot some hoops,” Ender replies?“Sure, where are you from I haven’t seen you here before,” Alfred says?“Yeah I am not from around here but you don’t need to know that though,”...

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When Two Friends Meet by Ben G

It was a quiet peaceful day. The sun was shining and Becca was walking around in the nice little town in Poland. While she was walking she encounted a friend that she has not seen in years. She walked up to him and said a friendly hello. His name was Ender. They went to school together and she sat next to him to talk. “So how have you been doing ender?” Becca asked. “I have been better but I am ok now that I have seen you.” Ender said right back at her. “Same here” she said. “I am here to find out more about my Grandmother that just died.” “Oh I am so sorry for your loss” Ender said with a tear runningdown his face. “Its ok she was really old and now she is in a better place.” She said with no sad expression on her face at all. “Well I am here for a vacation. I have been working with...

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Home Sweet Home by Abbey K

David had just got to the foster home where he found his Aunt Pearl, from Harlem, New York, waiting for him at the doors. She was his father's sister but talked mostly every day and stayed in touch. She knew what was going on between David and his mother and hoped she could help. David was all bruised and had cuts all over his body, his clothes were all ripped and torn from head to toe and as he walked you could see his big toe coming out of the top of his shoe. "David," said the police officer, "you will be living with your Aunt for the time being, unless she chooses to adopt you. David, your mother will not bother you any more, we cannot allow that, we know how bad she hurt you, and you can't live like that anymore. Perl.." A second after the police officer...

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One Saved the World, the Other is Probably Stoned: A Conversation Between Ender Wiggin and James by Peter L

Ender had been waiting for too long. Waaay too long. James was supposed to be there almost seven hours ago, and yet he had still not arrived. Ender suspected that he was probably still in Harlem, or trying to figure out how to open up Ender’s door without it biting his hand off (Ender had been told that James had a problem with narcotics) “Hey, man!! Open up!” James shouted through the door. Ender walked to the door. “James, why are you so late? I called Alfred about 12 hours ago and he said you would be here!” Whoever had told Ender about James’ problems, sadly, was correct. James simply replied that he was out doing other things. He had lost sight of what was important in life and had fallen down the slippery slope towards drug addiction. Ender, on the other hand, since destroying the bugger...

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Friends by Nina W

In Holyoke, Ma lived a woman named Rebecca. She worked for a small newspaper company. She was very good about visiting her grandmother or Gema who lived in a nursing center for the elderly. Her parents were not so good on the other hand and neither were her sisters who live in California and Houston. Today, although Rebecca wasn’t on her own it felt like it. Her sisters weren’t coming because they wanted to but because they knew it was polite. As they walked into room 310 they passed Mrs. Hartshorn who was tying knots in her long white hair, Mrs.Benton who was crying and calling out for her mother. As always her grandmother was a sleep. Rebecca called her name softly,”Gemma.” “Is that you Rebecca?” Gemma said. “I was the princess in the castle in the sleeping woods. I was the princess when...

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Returning home by Marissa K

Daisy was still getting used to life back home in New York when her cousin, Becca, called. She had heard about what had gone on with Daisy in England, and wanted to make sure she was okay. They agreed that Daisy would go down to Massachusetts so they could catch up on what had been going on with them both.Daisy and Becca were very close and got together as often as possible. Daisy knew about how Becca had gone to Poland to figure out who their grandmother had been. Their grandmother, Gemma, had insisted that she had been living in a castle in Poland and Becca had promised her that she would find the castle and find out who she was. Daisy was so excited to hear all about the trip.They met up two weeks later at Becca’s house in Massachusetts. When Daisy rang the doorbell, her Aunt Eve answered.“Oh,...

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A friend at last by Lindsay C

It was a rainy day with patches of fog in the autumn air. Dave Pelzer, a twelve year old boy, was walking to school being able to hear the grumbling of his stomach from not being allowed to eat in days. It soon became harder to walk; he got weaker and weaker from each step he took. He wished that he could have someone to talk to about all the horrible things occurring in his life. After what seemed like forever, Dave arrived at his new school in Poland. As he passed through the hallways, he received looks of disgust. He assumed this was because of the filthy white shirt his mother sent him to school with everyday. Dave had hoped that his new school would be better than the previous because other students always made fun of him. It was lunch time and Dave had just finished history class....

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Summer Reading Essay by Leona N

- A Child Called “It”-Briar Rose Rebecca sighed as she looked at the clock in the room. She didn’t get out of work until 12:00 and it was still 10:00. She would start her night shift at 8 pm, and go until midnight. It got hot in California, especially in midsummer. She checked her clipboard. Her next patient, Dave Pelzer, was a new one. She recognized the last name from somewhere. When he came in, his mother dropped him off and then went back to the waiting room to her two other sons. That’s when she realized where she knew the name from- they were neighbors.“What’s your name?” she asked, even though she knew it. “Dave,” he replied.“Where do you live?”“76 Kendall Boulevard,” “Huh…so we’re next door neighbors,” Becca thought. But she had never seen this boy playing outside...

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The layover by Katie C

When she and Stan returned from Bradley back home to Hatfield, Becca’s parents told her that her sister Sylvia had called the night before, and insisted that she come out to L.A. to spend some time with her when she got back from Poland. “And she specifically said, ‘tell her that I still think that going to some concentration camp is no way to spend a vacation, so I want her to enjoy a real vacation with me and Shana out here.’ I tried telling her that you were very persistent about this whole trip, but she just asked that you call her back when you got in,” her mother finished, looking somewhat tired from having to deal with Syl’s rants and demands. Becca sighed, and then muttered, “Well, I guess I had better call her back then, or I’ll never hear the end of it.” The next morning, Becca...

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Alison by Libby M.

She had only been about eight Was followed by an unknown fate We’d liked to play and have some fun April first two thousand and one. When it ended, I was in shock My face turned white as chalk Killed by her mother’s oldest son April first two thousand and one. I didn’t know if it was a joke My sound was reduced to a choke And her life had barely begun April first two thousand and o...

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Family Vacation by Nate J.

Traveling in the car With my family inside On the new parking lot paved with tar Near the hotel, our car’s tire is blown on the side We settle into the room Find out my pants got a rip Then we wake up to get some food Going to the restaurant is already another trip On the beach, hot and sunny Boogie board on the water, still cold I forget my money And then we go into the town where the sovereigns are sold Back in the car; my brothers making a lecture AT LEAST I GOT A GOOD FAMILY PICT...

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