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Grade
6

                         The lost Penguins

        The Penguins lived a happy, normal life. They were very intelligent and were very organized. So organized that nothing ever fell out of schedule.

                              

        A typical day in Penguinia, the small town that the Penguins lived in, started like this:

 

        *The early risers would wake up, walk out of their small, compact cabins and would hunt for fish. They would then throw the fish onto the baker’s door.

 

        *The bakers would clean, prep, and bake the fish for breakfast. The bakers would then walk up to a sparkling bronze bell and chime the waking alarm.

 

        *Then everyone else would wake up, walk into the Feasting Room, and “feast” on a plentiful breakfast of baked fish.

 

        Of course, life in Penguinia wasn’t all sparkles and rainbows. The Penguins had to keep to a very strict rulebook and schedule; and anyone who dared to break the rules would be brutally punished with death.

 

        To ensure that all Penguins would follow the schedule, all Penguins had a tracker embedded in their flippers (arms), and all nestlings (baby Penguins) were required to go to a daily 5-hour class to learn the rules.

 

        One day though, a young nestling, named Tia, got tired from the everlasting rules.

 

        “Mother, what is the purpose of the rulebook?” Asked Tia.

 

        “Because, without the rulebook, you would have nothing to do,” Replied Tia’s Mother.

 

        “But here EVERYONE’S the SAME!!! There’s no fun to be had, and everyone lives the same boring live. We’re confined in this stupid little corner of the Earth, don’t you want to explore?!”

 

        “Tia, you are ridiculous. There is no more Earth. This is the only Earth. If everyone was different, life would be chaos. If you ever speak to me like this again, I will report you to the authorities,” Scolded Tia’s Mother.

 

“FINE. I’m leaving. Enjoy your boring life,” And with that, Tia walked into her room, slamming the door. She started to pack. She snatched a piece of paper, a feather, and ink. She began to write what she would need for her journey: toothpaste, a spare pair of clothes, a toothbrush, beef jerky, and some leftover baked fish from breakfast.

 

        Then she packed all of her necessities into her bright blue duffle bag, the one bigger than her. Then she quickly shuffled into the kitchen, put on her coat and slid out the door.

 

        It was cold outside. Heck, it’s always cold outside when you live in Antarctica. She quickly zipped her coat up and started her journey.

 

        About 16 hours later, there was only one way to describe Tia: Starched. She was so cold, hungry, and thirsty. She hadn’t thought her plan through. She’d ran out of food and had forgotten to pack water. She collapsed, exhausted. Black circles dotted the edge of her vision. She was so cold. She curled into a small ball and hoped to find some warmth…

 

            She faded into a deep coma, wishing she could be back in bed, sleeping, happy, with a mother next to her.

 

        Suddenly, a dark memory, one she never wanted to remember, washed over her like a frozen, cold wave.

 

        She was about 1 year old. At that time, Tia and Tia’s dad had a tradition: her dad woke her up very early in the morning. “Ready Tia? Ready to go fishing?” He would say.

 

        “Fissing!” Tia would cry. “Yeah, Daddy! Less go fissing!”

 

        “Ok, Bubblegum.” And he would lift her out of her bed. They would put on their coats and walk to a special “secret” fishing spot. But this time would be a time like no other. When Tia’s dad threw his rod into the cold waters, a whale bit the rod and dragged him in!

 

                “Daddy! Daddy! Dad….d….y…” Tia had fallen asleep, in this exact same spot, she noticed. Her mother’s warm smile and comfy embrace was what brought her back home.

 

        “Tia! Tia! Wake up Tia!” Tia opened up her eyes to see the big smile of her friend, Joyce. “Get up! You’ve been asleep for SOOOO long! I missed you! C’mon, let's go home! Why are you out here?! I’m FREEZING! It’s so cold! What were you thinking?! Tia, are you listening to me? I hope you are, becau-”

 

        “Oh my gosh Joyce! Why are you talking so much? How long have I been asleep?” Tia asked.

 

        “7 days! A full week! Wow! That’s a record! C’mon, let’s go home!” Joyce answered.

 

        And so the girls wadded home, leaving trails of footprints and laughter. Tia was soon reunited with her mother, who welcomed her with fresh cookies and baked fish. Joyce, Tia, and Tia’s mother enjoyed the meal, and Tia swore she would never leave her comfy igloo again as she climbed into her bed.

 

        At least, she wouldn’t leave for now….

 

        5 years later, when Tia was 13 years old, she decided to try again, to try to go on another adventure. But this time, she brought along her boyfriend Jonnie, “for moral support” she told her mother. Her mother thought the two were spending a week at a friends house, but little did she know, they weren’t.

 

        “Ok, mom, I’ll be back next week,” said Tia. “Love you!”

 

        She then called Jonnie, who picked her up and set off on their journey, hand in hand. 2 hours later, Tia became hungry. Luckily, Jonnie had packed a pack of trail mix, which she happily munched on.

 

        When night fell, Jonnie suggested setting up camp and calling it a day. “Why babe? We could go on for a few more miles. . .” started Tia. Jonnie insisted that they sleep, having a plan in his head. He would never really sleep.

 

        Just as he had planned, Tia drifted off to sleep. While she was silently snoring, Jonnie pulled out a knife. He knew he shouldn’t do it, that doing this was VERY wrong, but he couldn’t help it. He knew he WANTED to. He raised his hand above his head, knife in hand, and SLASH! In one moment, just like that, Tia was dead.

 

        The morale is, learn from your mistakes the first time, because it may be your last.

 

                                  The end