Wings by Jill

Terrific story by Jill. My favorite line is when she says something has happened zero times and then she says, Look at the big lonely 0, all alone. Clever writing, there!

Wings
by Jill Zerkowski

Prologue           
As Alyssa and I just finished our best prank of all time, we needed to decide when and what elevator…

Hi, my name is Megan Peter, the all-time trouble maker of Brookside’s history.  I’ve pulled 632 pranks at my time at Brookside, 6 years of evil mean hurtful pranks; some of which I regretted a lot!

I could have done them without my best friend of all time Alyssa Anderson, I would have done 0. I say 0. Look at the big lonely 0, all alone.     

Chapter 2
Abigail’s meanest prank

This is why we hate Abigail Peterson.  And this is how my best prank was created…   You know how my name is Megan Peter? Everyone makes fun of me because I have two first names.  Alyssa hates it more than me when anyone teases me when she is around. She says, “If you say that again, the fist will visit you soon.” Then she walks away.  People never mess with her. 

Okay, so when our nemesis, Abigail Peterson -  I hate she almost has the same last name
as I do and then she thinks her last name is so awesome even thou they are almost identical!!  –So Abigail said it but then ran off and the principal was there!
    
Chapter 4
The Plot

This is why Alyssa wanted to do this one. Don’t ask me why but after she does something wrong, she wants to hurt the same person. Precisely, at 2:30, this prank will be pulled.  Alyssa and I were put in different classes this year, so at 2:36, we both said, “Ah, I think I might puke and bent down.”

As expected the teacher will came running over and said go down to the nurse now. Our plan worked perfectly and we met in the hall for a consult and to go down to the elevator.
Our plan worked almost perfectly.
  
Chapter 5
MRS HAGG

I was hoping to get from the spacey secretary, but as I found out, she is not spacey. Actually, she is the complete opposite as spacey. When I tried to steal the key, she said, “I knew you were planning a prank with that Alyssa Anderson!”

Then she said that she should have suspended us the last time we pranked someone.

“So tell me the truth. Were you planning a prank?? I will find out the real answer!”  While that was happening, guess what Alyssa said she needed to finish up a test!  So much for being best friends, she was the creator of this prank and if I got in trouble for it, oh I would be mad!

“The truth please!" Mrs. Hagg hollered. 

I ran and as soon as I did the principal saw me!

Ding! It was the sound of when the key hits the emergency stop, and traps whoever is in there down there! The plan sort of worked; at least he was in there.

Daisy Pearl's Poem

Note: Daisy Pearl, 13, says she's new to the Pink Locker Society blogs. Welcome! And thanks for your poem, which shows some deep thinking about what girls' lives are like.

THE GIRLS

by DAISY PEARL 

THE THINGS A GIRL NEEDS

TO CHEW A BUBBLE AND TO READ
AND TO PLANT THE SEED
TO HELP MOTHER
TO MAKE SMILE OF EVERYONE
AND TO FINISH WORK AND SAY IT'S DONE
SOME PEOPLE THINK THERE IS NOTHING TO DO FOR GIRLS
THAT'S WRONG
THE WORK OF GIRLS IS LONG
THE GIRLS ARE LIKE PEARLS
B/C THEY ARE LIKE A BIRD
THEY MAKE NEST FOR FAMILY AND THE REST
THAT'S WHY
                          

Dahhhhling, read this!

Note: This story has nothing to do with pigs, but Posey likes pigs. Hence her logo. Great story, too!

The Two Vicious "V"s

by Posey

It was two weeks before the pet contest, and Veronica and Venessa were bragging … as usual.

“Veronica, did you finish the five spelling pages?” Venessa asked.

“Of course, I did. Who do you think I am – that weird girl?” Veronica said, a little too loudly.

Emily marched right up to them and said, “That weird girl has a name, you know. Or are you two too buried in your studies?”

(V and V were mean girls, but they got all “A”s.)

“How dare you, weird girl!” Veronica shot back at Emily.

RING, RING, BANANA PHONE!

It was time to switch classes and that was their middle school’s very unusual bell. Some schools have a ding-a-ling-sounding bell. Other schools have an electronic sounding BEEP, like on an alarm clock. But they had something altogether different - RING, RING, BANANA PHONE!

“There’s the bell. Got to go!” the two “V”s said in unison.

And just like that, they sashayed off to home room.

“Where were you during study hall?” Emily’s best friend, Kat, asked.

“Oh, nowhere. I was just…” Emily said, her voice trailing off.

“You couldn’t be nowhere,” Kat said, “because all the time you’re somewhere. And-”

“OK, thank you, Kat,” Emily said.

“OK, claaahhhs, settle down,” their teacher, Mrs. Martin, said in her crisp British accent. “Please haaaahhnd in your book reports.”

Before anyone else could react, Veronica and Venessa rushed to the front of the room with their reports in their hands.

“Here you are Mrs. Martin,” the two girls chorused.

Then everyone else handed in their  book reports. Everyone except Emily.

“Did everyone haaaahhnd in their reports?” Mrs. Martin asked.

“Yes,” said the entire class, even Emily.

The rest of the day went by in a flash with the double “V”s taking every opportunity to tease and bully Emily. In other words, like every other day at school – except at the very end of the day. That’s when Mrs. Martin asked Emily to stay behind as everyone else ran out to the buses.

“Sh-sh sure,” Emily said.

Once the class cleared out, Mrs. Martin said, “Emily, I noticed that you didn’t hand in your book report. Do you have anything to say?”

“Mrs. Martin, I am very sorry. I just tend to fall behind and I promise it will never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, NEVER happen again.”

“Thaaahhht’s fine, but I know a couple of tutors who would be available three times a week. Whaaaahhht do you say?”

Emily said nothing.

“I’ll ask for only one day a week and I’ll let you sleep on it,” Mrs. Martin said.

“I’ll talk about it with my parents,” Emily said.

When Emily came home, her mother asked, “How was school today?”

“Good,” Emily said, a typical answer for hiding your feelings.

At dinner, Emily only poked at her food and went upstairs early before watching TV.

Emily’s mom was worried about her because earlier that day she had received a phone call from Mrs. Martin.

Emily’s mom knocked on her bedroom door.

She heard a muffled voice said “OK, come in.”

Emily’s mom saw Emily lying on her back facing the ceiling.

“Honey, I just want to talk about school.”

“I already said it was fine, OK?”

“Well, I got an phone call from Mrs. Mar-“

Emily’s tears interrupted her.

“Mom, I really don’t want to get a tutor,” Emily sobbed.

“Honey, Mrs. Martin said you admitted that you tend to fall behind. I think it might be best.”

“Maaaaahhhm,” Emily whined.

“Honey, I just want you to understand that I’ll be right down the hall if you want to talk. Now, get some sleep. See you in the morning and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Emily’s mom left and Emily fell fast asleep.

In the morning, Emily asked her mom if she was getting a tutor.

“You can tell Mrs. Martin to call us and I’ll talk to her about it, all right?” Emily’s mom said.

Emily walked to study hall that morning and found her place next to Kat.

“I called you after school and your mom said you weren’t home yet. What’s going on?” Kat said. “Be straight with me. No more “I’ll tell you laters.”

“Kat, this is really embarrassing and well-“

Kat cut her off, saying “We’re best friends, right? We’ve known each other for 12 years. I tell you everything, and you’ve told me everything, up until now. If you don’t tell me, there will be a chance of breaking up even if it’s something super, duper, luper, kuper, tuper, nuper embarrassing. Really, tell me please!”

“OK,” Emily said, “But can we go somewhere, um, you know, well … more private?”

Kat and Emily went to the girls’ restroom and Emily started, “Ever since I entered the pet contest, Veronica and Venessa have been bullying me sooooooo much. Also, since my new baby brother was born, I feel like there’s no one I can talk to at home. On top of that, I haven’t finished my book report and Mrs. Martin thinks I need a tutor but I signed up for soccer on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. So is there anything I missed … um, oh yeah, Mr. Lyn is being so mean to me in math. He said I was a slow poke. I thought teachers were supposed to help you!

“Wow,” Kat said, “I-I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how much you were dealing with. I mean-”

“Thanks” Emily said.

“Thanks for what?” Kat asked.

“That felt really good to be able to tell all about my worries, troubles, and burdens. Just to get it out.”

RING, RING, BANANA PHONE!

“Let’s go,” Kat said, and they walked together to Mrs. Martin’s class

“Emily, did you talk about it with your parents?” Mrs. Martin asked.

“They said for you to call them and talk about it,” Emily said.

The class was abuzz. People were getting up for all different reasons: to feed the fish, to feed the hamster, to do the attendance sheet, or answer the phone.

 “Settle down, settle down, settle down,” Mrs. Martin told the noisy class.

“Let’s get started. First, get out your homework so that I can check it. This time, I’ll start with Veronica and Venessa’s table.”

CLAP!

It was the sound that no one didn’t know: the sound of the two girls’ hands high-fiveing.

DID EMILY HAVE HER HOMEWORK OR NOT – ANOTHER SIGN SHE’S FALLING BEHIND?

Next up was Math. “Good morning, slow poke,” was what she expected, but Mr. Lyn was calmly sitting on his desk with his blue folder out on his lap.

Now, everyone knows Mr. Lyn color codes his folders and everyone knows that his blue folder means test.

GULP!

“Take your seats, everyone,” Mr. Lyn said. “Quickly, quickly, I want to get started.”

Mr. Lyn started handing out papers.

“This test is a 30-minute timed test. You may write “DK” for “don’t know” if you’re not sure. Your test begins … right now!”

A couple of days later Mr. Lyn handed the tests back and Emily almost burst out crying when she saw that she got none right. Ten days before the pet contest Emily talked to Kat, “Kat I really need you help today. I want my husky to win first place in the contest. All I need you to do is bring over everything you have- wigs, dresses, ties, tuxedos- everything!”

“Kay, I’ll be right over, but when you say everything, do you mean like even my couch?”

“What do you think, Kat? Stop being a smart aleck.”

You see, Kat’s mom makes clothes for animals and she had some old husky mannequins and really good cloth.When Kat arrived they got right to work and didn’t waste a minute. Snip, snip, cut, cut, trim, trim- that’s all you could hear behind Emily’s closed bedroom door.

“Knock, Knock!”

“Come in- what is it?” Emily said with agitation in her voice.

“It’s just me,” her mom defended as she stepped into the room. “Mrs. Martin called and we just confirmed it every Thursday afternoon for one hour after school.”

“Whatevs. I don’t care,” mumbled Emily as her mom retreated.

“You’re really getting a tutor?” Kat asked.

“Yeah- it’s arranged, so there is no way I am getting out of it.”

By the end of the afternoon, Emily and Kat had made a super cute outfit that looked fabulous on Coco, Emily’s husky. But the costuming had to wait- for the rest of the week, Emily met four different tutors. On the first day, a boy came and obviously never had grammar lessons walked in and said “Okay like lets like get like to like work like do like you like know like what like two like plus like one like is like? Because like I’ve like heard like that like you like are like stupid.” On day two, it was a tall blond girl with a stack of math worksheets who strode in with a sour look on her face, she dumped the worksheets in front of Emily and said “GET TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!” Day three turned up an all-black clad kid playing a weepy violin. Finally, on the fourth day, a really nice girl arrived.

“OK, so let’s get started,” she said as she tossed an overflowing book bag onto the library table. “What do you think is the hardest subject for you?”

“Probably math,” Emily replied. 

 “Oh, I love math…”

“How can you love math when Mr. Lyn is constantly calling you a slow poke?”

“You have Mr. Lyn? He’s my favorite teacher. Plus, here’s a tip: the best way to do something is to do it when you love it.”

BUZZ!! It was the library door, and who walked in? None other than V and V. Emily ran behind a bookshelf quickly dodging the two Vs. Emily spent much of their time hiding, getting nothing done, and forcing her new tutor Jane to follow her into the fiction section.

“Come on; I promise there is nothing to be afraid of.” But just as she uttered these reassuring words to Emily, the two Vs rounded the corner into their aisle.

“OMG! Venessa, come over here! It’s book buddy time. Or even better,” she went on, “it’s tutor time!”

“HA HA HA. Very funny. Be mean and sassy again, and I’ll report you and you’ll get into big trouble!” Jane was a small girl, but at that moment she sounded big.

“You’re too little to report us.” Veronica tried to sound like she wasn’t worried, but there was doubt in her voice.

“Oh yeah? Well guess what: I’m in eighth grade. You are only in sixth - there’s a big difference.”

The two girls backed up slowly and ran out of the library. “See, I told you there was nothing to be afraid of.”

After long days of people picking on her, Emily was so glad when the day of the pet contest finally arrived.

She wore a new outfit that matched Coco’s: a neon green dress and a neon blue shrug and platform heels. Kat wore a blue dress, a green shrug, and green platform heels. Her outfit matched her Doberman Marshmallow’s costume.

The auditorium was packed. Every group did their dance and everyone did a great job.

“Now for the prizes!” One judge boomed out after everyone had performed. He handed out prizes one by one: cutest, smallest, biggest, craziest and on and on until he was ready to announce the grand prize.

“And Top Dog goes to… no one!” the shocked audience listened as he went on to explain, “no one really knocked our socks off, but to make up for that, we’ve come up with a new prize: The Best Loved Animal! And this goes to Emily and Kat with their loving animals Coco and Marshmallow.” One lone sound echoed through the auditorium: CLAP it was the sound that no one didn’t know: the sound of two girl’s hands high-fiving. And at that very moment, in a land far away, some high-tech technology made a pig fly. (And that’s the truth.)

EPILOGUE

Everyone lived beter than ever . Emily mastered math, Kat turned out to be a great violinist, and Veronica and Vanessa never bullied again!

Sorry to say but it’s …

THE END

Hope you enjoyed the story

Sarah's beautiful story!

Note: Wow-this story is not only well written. It comes at the perfect moment. Thousands of people this week pledged to end use of the "r" word. More info HERE: R Word

“Where are we going to sit for lunch, Ellie?” Heather’s shoulder bumped mine as we entered the overwhelmingly crowded cafeteria.

“I don’t know yet, just give me a second. I’ll figure something out,” I sighed. Another new school, the second time in three years. My twin sister and I stood at the entrance to the cafeteria and looked for empty seats. I spotted a table that looked like it had all the popular girls sitting at it, and there were two empty seats. This was our chance to actually make some friends, unlike at all the other schools. I started walking up to the table before I freaked and changed my mind. I recognized a girl at the end from my English class. She had on a green skirt and a tank top, and her sleek black hair was perfectly straightened. “Hey,” I started. She turned around.
 “Aren’t you the new girl?”

“Um, yeah. And you’re Jennifer, right?” I asked, while I twirled the bottom of my shirt around my thumb. “Hey, can we sit here with you guys?”

“You can... but not her!” She pointed distastefully at Heather who was half hidden behind me, clutching her lunch bag. This was just like last year. I had to choose. I glanced back and forth between Jennifer, who was looking at me with her startling green eyes, and Heather, who was staring at the ground. I took a deep breath and twisted my blond hair around my finger.
“Heather, can I talk to you for a sec?” I pulled her over, just out of earshot of Jennifer and her posse. “Do you remember Amanda? And how she didn’t want to be friends with you?” I winced. That didn’t come out right.

“Yes,” Heather looked at me with expectant blue eyes.

“Well, Jennifer is like that too. She doesn’t want to sit with you.”

“So are we going to sit somewhere else today?”

“Um, well, I am going to sit with Jennifer, but you can go sit at that table over there.” I pointed to the table in the corner where a few other girls I didn’t know sat.

“But why? We always sit together. And Jennifer is mean!” Heather’s eyes filled with tears, and my heart filled with guilt.

“B-because I wanted to tell Jennifer that she should let you sit with us. Plus, there isn’t enough room for me at the other table,” I Iied. Heather started walking over to the table after I reassured her that I would sit with her tomorrow. Another lie. I watched her sit down at the other table, until I was interrupted.

“Hey, are you gonna just stand there? Or are you gonna actually sit down?” Jennifer asked, with a hint of annoyance. I sat down.

“Who was that girl? She’s so weird! Is she new too?”

“You mean Heather?” I couldn’t believe how rude they were being.

“Is that her name? How do you know her, anyway?” I stared at her, confused. Then I realized that she didn’t know we were sisters.

“She’s my sister,” I muttered quietly, sure they would kick me out of the group now.

“So you two are like, twins?” I nodded in response.

“What’s wrong with her? She looks so weird. And I heard she’s retarded.” My face flushed with anger, but I quickly regained composure. I wasn’t going to blow it this time. I was going to make friends.

“She has Down’s Syndrome. But it’s not a big deal. Compared to other people, her’s is actually pretty mild. And she isn’t retarded, she just learns differently.” I repeated what had been drilled into my head since the moment I could understand what it meant. I could hear my mother saying, Stand up for your sister, She just learns differently, blah, blah, blah. Even though I loved Heather, I’ve started to get sick of always making sure she’s comfortable, making sure everyone was nice to her. I was basically her stand-in mother whenever we left the house. I always sacrificed my social life for her. This time, that wasn’t going to happen.
I was jerked from my thoughts by Jennifer’s laughter. The girl to my left said, “She certainly seems retarded.”

“Well she’s not!” I snapped.

“Woah, calm down, we were just joking. Geez, don’t be so sensitive.” She rolled her eyes. I needed to stop jumping to her every defense.

“Let’s just drop it, okay?”

 “Whatever,” Jennifer changed the subject to the new magnetic nail polish she got.

The rest of the day, I pretended not to see Heather whenever we passed in the hallways. This wasn’t difficult, considering how crowded the hallways were between classes.

I threw my math binder into my already full backpack, when I looked up and saw Jennifer leaning against my locker. “I’m having a party on Friday. Wanna come?”
I couldn’t believe my luck! Friday was just two days away! “Sure,” I replied, trying to sound indifferent.

“Here’s my number. I’ll text you more info later. Oh, and don’t bring Heather.” I didn’t respond, and she walked away.

 I always do my best thinking while I lay in bed, so thats exactly what I did. I tried to sort out my feelings, but to no avail. I couldn’t decide whether I should stay true to my sister, or to go to Jennifer’s party. I really, really wanted friends, and I really, really wanted to act like a normal thirteen year old girl. Heather always stopped me from this. I remembered last time, when I stood up for Heather and basically ended up with no friends. That would mean that Heather owes me one... but is that really fair? I flipped my pillow over to the cold side and rolled over. My tired eyes told me that I should just go to sleep and figure things out in the morning.  “Ellie?” Heather called out from the bottom bunk in our shared room.

“Yeah?”

“Can I sit with Jennifer now?”

“I didn’t ask yet,” I replied, knowing that it would never ever happen, even if I asked a million times.

“But you said you were going to!”

“I know, I just didn’t get to it. Go to sleep now.”
I woke up at five thirty the next morning, even though I didn’t need to get up for another hour. I needed to have a talk with Mom.

I found her getting her papers ready for work on the kitchen counter. Everyone else in the house was still asleep.

“Hey, kiddo. Why are you up so early? Is everything okay?

“Yeah, everythings okay,” I decided that maybe I shouldn’t tell her what’s going on. She’d probably be disappointed. “I got up because it’s so hot in my room.”

“We need to finish unpacking and find your air conditioner. Sorry I couldn’t get it out sooner. There’s a lot going on. Hey, how’s Heather adjusting? Are people being nice to her? Is she making friends?”
I sighed. Its always about Heather. My whole life revolves around Heather. What about me?

Does anyone care if I’m making friends? Just because I don’t have Down’s syndrome doesn’t make my life automatically perfect. It doesn’t mean people flock to me, wanting to be friends.

I would never dare say these things out loud, though. “She’s doing great. I think she’s made a few friends.”
“That’s good. Make sure you keep an eye out for her, okay?” I nodded, and went to get a bowl of Rice Krispies.
After my mom left, but before the rest of my family woke up, I snuck into the bathroom. I wanted to try straightening my hair, like Jennifer.
The next day was pretty tough. Again, I avoided Heather and hung out with Jennifer and her friends. They liked my hair. It was nice to be part of a group.

At lunch, they talked about Heather. The more they made fun of her, the more I realized that she was  kind of weird. I was even a little embarrassed to be related to her. The way Jennifer and her friends talked about Heather changed my whole view of Heather. I knew that I couldn’t be seen with her at the party, or anywhere else. My decision was made. I would go to the party- without her.
Another school day of looking away whenever I passed my sister came and went. All the talk at lunch was about the party. What were we going to wear, who was going, and other stuff. I was getting excited, but a little nervous at the same time. I hadn’t told my mom yet. Would she let me go?
As soon as Mom walked through the door, I asked.
“Of course! I’m glad you two are making friends. What time do I need to drive you and

Heather?”
“Mom, Heather isn’t going.”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“Well, she wasn’t invited. See, the girl who invited me is in my English class, and Heather isn’t in the same class. She and Heather haven’t really met.”
“Are you sure? Why doesn’t Heather go anyway? You can introduce her!”
I twisted my shirt.
“What’s wrong?” My mom knew that was my nervous habit.
“Uh, it doesn’t really work like that. I just don’t think Heather should go. She might feel uncomfortable.” It wasn’t a total lie. If Heather came, Jennifer would probably do her best to make her feel more than uncomfortable.
“Okay, if thats what you really think would be best for Heather. I’m so proud of you for looking out for her all the time. I don’t know what she would do without you.” A knot formed in my stomach. My mom’s answer had made me question my decision. I pushed the thought aside.
My phone buzzed against my thigh. I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a text from Jennifer:
Hey, R u cuming?
I glanced at the clock. 6:00. I was late!
On my way. B there in 5 min
I explained to my mom that we had to go, and she put her shoes back on. I did the same.

Heather watched us from the top of the stairs. “Where are you going?” she asked.
“To a party.” I saw the hurt in her eyes. Now or never, I thought. “You wanna come?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Go get ready.” What was I thinking? Jennifer would kill me! It doesn’t matter. A voice in my head whispered. Heather is family. I can’t avoid her forever. Jennifer was just an annoying girl. When I grew up, she wouldn’t be in my life anymore. Heather would. That is, if I didn’t let her slip through my grasp.
We pulled up in front of Jennifer’s house, and walked up towards the door. Heather tried to rush up the steps, but I held her back. We went up the steps together, out shoulders bumping just like on the first day of school. Heather rang the doorbell. Jennifer opened the door, and stared at Heather in shock. “I thought I told you not to bring her!”
“She’s my sister, and my best friend. I wouldn’t go without her.”
“But she’ll totally ruin my party!” She complained, hands on her hips.
“Heather is standing right next to me. Don’t talk like she isn’t. She can understand you too, even though you might think otherwise. Heather will not ruin the party, she’ll do the exact opposite. I’ve done some of my most memorable things with her!” I shouted, my face red with anger. Who did she think she was, talking about my sister like that? “I’m sick of you being a total jerk and making fun of Heather. She’s a real person, just like you. She might even be more real than you. You try to fit in, hide behind make-up and pretty clothes. It doesn’t work. Anyone can see that behind your mask, you aren’t so perfect. Heather is herself, and I like her better that way!”
Jennifer turned red, then pale, then muttered, “Fine, j-just go away.” She seemed ashamed.

Serves her right.
Right then and there, Heather, who at been stand silently, turned and hugged me. I would have been embarrassed a few days earlier, but now I didn’t care. All I cared about was that Heather and I were together, without anybody standing between us.

Art by geekchic!

Our first work of art - from Kenna!