Game Winner

By Morgan Lyle

Dribble, dribble down the court taking my time, I look at the clock, 10 seconds left. I got to hurry, I see a defender coming at me trying to slow me down, I hit him with a big cross and behind the back, I blow by him. There are 5 seconds left, I see another defender coming at me, I hit him with an in and out between the legs, It’s a blow by, there is no help side,  so I get an easy finish at the rim for the game-winning basket. The crowd cheers louder than ever, what a way to beat our arch rivals the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Transitions are hard. I took a deep breath when my name was called. I walked across the stage and accepted my middle school graduation certificate. I sat back down and stared at the stage with sad, weary eyes. I was excited for high school, but half of these kids I would never see again. I turned my head to my best friend. She had the same look on her face. Loss. We were losing everything we currently knew but we were gaining new friends, new experiences, and a new life. When everyone started clapping we stood up and gave each other a hug. A hug I never wanted to break apart, but it had to be done. We walked under the arch together.  I hoped she would find someone new at her high school. I wished her all the best. When we got out of the auditorium we separated and went our different ways forever.

   I walk down to the ocean, the pebbles crunching underneath my weight. The blue of the sky like an artist’s blue period, gray but still blue, the sun setting. The bay is very calm with only the usual three or four fishing boats patrolling the water. I come over to my favorite spot, a cluster of rocks next to the lighthouse and sit skipping stones across the bay. I get a lucky four skip off one of my stones then pull out my sandwich from my back pocket of my jeans. Taking a bite I notice the small seagulls circling above me waiting for me to make a mistake and drop some bread. I separate a small bit of bread, about a centimeter and throw it out in front of me daring one of the gulls to come after it. One two, three dip down from their usual circling path and fight for it infront of me. I take two more pieces of my sandwich and place them for the seagulls who didn't get the first piece, they furiously peck at it and gulp it down as gulls do. I walk back over to the pier as the sun sets.

I was about to unlock my door when it swung open. My heart leaped into my throat; I couldn't breathe, did he find me?

I opened my door slowly, gripping a sharp pencil just in case.

“Hello?” Silence.

I was in my bedroom when I felt a cold hand on my back.

“Hello there, let's have some fun,” the voice whispered into my ear. I froze, my heart pounding. I couldn’t move.

“Don’t try to call for help unless you want to see your baby girl hung,” He growled.

“You wouldn't! Leave her out of this! I’ll do anything you want, don’t hurt her!” I was screaming, tears rolling down my cheeks.

“Bend over!” he yelled. I did as was told, and after everything, I was bleeding from every part of my body.

“Very good, now if you tell anybody about this, you’ll be sorry,” his voice harsh.

He finally left, I was beaten up and bloody, my body badly bruised. I told no one.

I got a call in the middle of the night. The person spoke softly.

“Hello there, you miss me?” My heart stopped. I could feel my throat closing up. What did he want this time?

His name. A simple word of two-syllables. Yet, that name held all that could have been. Tears brimmed her muddy brown eyes at the mention of his name. It made her shiver, almost as if a rush of cold air had entered her body. She fell into reverie, imagining of the time she could have spent talking to him, laughing with him, and listening to his countless stories. But, most of all, she longed for the way in which he could have stared into her plain, muddy brown eyes. His eyes, ones that transitioned from a hazel brown to an olive green every season, made her believe in her fantasy, wishing it were the truth. However, that was simply a transient moment; the mention of another name brought her back to what was real. It was the two-syllable name of the other girl with eyes of cornflower blue, the one who had made her fantasy into a reality. Yet, for the first time, she pushed away her tears and put on an over-sized sweatshirt. That boy had a hold on her, but she was finally escaping his grasp, letting go of her fantasy world.

The red leaves of autumn crumbled beneath my feet, resembling shards of glass, only gentler. Rumbling began, instilling anxiety in the ground below. One by one, logs were sliced at the instruction of the moving blade, liberating a vast array of vibrant bark beetles and decorating the earth with minuscule wood chips. With each movement of lever, I degraded the age-old lumber into kindling. The ground’s vitality grew dimmer, either from the lack of sunlight or the abundance of tree coverage. My father remained aloof to such change, blindly placing chunks of wood onto the splitter for me to break. However, my attention did not dissipate into such monotonous labor—I couldn't allow it. I watched the winter season dominate the landscape over the course of mere hours. The once beautiful ground transformed into a desolate wasteland rid of all life.

Then my father screamed. My eyes returned only to watch drops of blood slip from his hand and fall to the ground, having already enveloped the blade. I did this. I brought back the color of autumn.

The ship had been sailing for nearly an hour, and the gentle breeze carried the ship swiftly across the turquoise ocean. It had been smooth sailing until all of a sudden, the ship sailed more rapidly, and the ship’s wheel spun out of control. The ship and its crew were heading towards the edge of the world, where no one had ever returned. As the ship drifted towards the edge, the crew began to panic and shout, and not long after, half of the vessel was suspended over the never ending fall. The ship tilted forwards and began its descend to the unknown.

‘Twas dark outside, everything was quiet throughout the caverns of Jabooti’s home (antagonist of the story, and yes that is her real name). Quiet at least until the thundering sound of Karen’s shrieking laughter echoed everywhere.

“Okay, okay. How about this one: Jabooti is very perky today!”

Jabooti did not appreciate the puns, so she attempted stabbed our protagonist. Literally. But Karen the old lady continued on with her terrible puns.

“Die, die, die!” Jabooti screamed as she stabbed the old lady. Karen only laughed. She was immortal.

“You can never best me! Jabooti is too flat for my power!” screeched Karen.

“But you just freaking said it was perky today!” yelled Jabooti.

“Can a wall be perky? Because that’s how perky Jabooti is!” Karen cackled again, her hoarse voice echoing off of Jabooti’s evil lair: The Cave.

Jabooti attempted to stab the old lady, but failed, ending in Jabooti falling on her booty.

“Shhhhhhhhii-take mushrooms! That hurt!” Jabooti said right before Karen came in with swift blow to Jabooti’s booty; ending the tragedy. Jabooti’s booty was gone.

“Ja booty is dead,” Karen said smiling and walking away, leaving Jabooti to wallow in sorrow.

Don't cry,
Hold your tears,
Look at the sky,
There are no spears,
In your broken heart,
This is a sign for a new start.

Chin up,
No looking back,
Smack! Heads up!
Billie Eilish soundtrack,
Sleep forever,
Nobody cares whatsoever.

Smile,
Maybe it will stay there for a while,
Smiles and tears,
Like sunshine and rain,
Good thing rain goes away,
And a rainbow will soon come.

The night was cold and stormy. Upon the roof of the barn, the weather vane creaked in the wind, making its way into the dreams of the sleeping animals below. A crash of thunder shook the red house, waking a small mule, snuggled up against its mother. It whinnied, frightened by the commotion outside, and squeezed its eyes shut, trying to fall back asleep. Its struggles were in vain, for the wind gathered more speed and unrelentlessly hurled itself against the barn.

Understanding that it would get no more sleep that night, the mule rose to its feet and walked over to a corner of its stable. It contented itself for a while by watching its mother sleep, trying to guess her form of dreaming as her ears twitched and her teeth bared. This was entertaining for only so long, and it soon became bored. Trotting over to the the stable doors, it was about to press through when it was halted by a sharp pain in its back end. Falling to the ground, its head rolled, facing upward, and it found itself staring into the eyes of its mother, his hind leg clenched tightly in her bloody, frothy mouth.