It was a dark starry night in Miami. Arnold was at a huge party. He sees the others playing cup pong so he goes up and asks to play. They are playing 2v2s so Arnold is now paired up with David. As the night goes on they haven’t lost a single game they are unstoppable. The next morning they wake up and start exploring Miami for more parties. They bump from party to party. As the clock struck midnight, Arnold and David stood outside a trendy club, their laughter echoing in the warm night air. The neon lights flickered casting shadows on the pavement, and the sound of music pulsed from inside.

“Dude, we should totally go in,” Arnold said to David. “I heard they have an awesome rooftop area with a view of the ocean!”

“Yeah, let’s do it!” David replied, excitedly. He loved going on adventures.

They pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside. The club was packed, and a DJ was blasting music. It felt electric. Arnold and David made their way through the crowd, weaving between people and vibrant lights. They finally reached the bar and ordered drinks.

After a quick sip, they headed up to the rooftop, where they then saw a cup pong table. They then remember that they dominated in the past so they then start playing. After hours and hours of winning in cup pong Arnold gets a text. He checks his phone and then notices the time. He tells David and they both stand there in shock wondering how they lost track of time. 

They hurry up and call an uber to drive them to a hotel. They both are hoping that this hotel is letting people in this late. They both wait outside of the club hearing the DJ music in the back while waiting for their uber. The uber then gets there and picks them both up and brings them to the hotel. 

Once they get there they walk up to the door and notice its locked shut. They then both look back and see the uber driver zoom off. They both stand helpless and sit on the bench outside talking about how good of a night they had.

The Promise

The memories flash through my head like a movie
The day we made the promise
It was so long ago, but it feels so close
Kindergarten
“We will be best friends forever”
We vowed to keep that promise
Except, she moved…
We told each other that we would stay in contact, we would call every night
Text each other about drama
But
Deep down I knew it wouldn’t happen
She would be busy, and so would I
We would find new friends, and slowly drift apart
I open Instagram after the homecoming dance and my heart sinks
A photo of her and a group of girls laughing together glows on the screen.
Suddenly,
Our promise… fades away
But we were both happy
We had new friends, and we would still send birthday texts to each other
Everything worked out in the end
Even though our promise didn’t work out
We grew, we learned that change wasn’t always bad
The small period of sadness will eventually grow into happiness

It was mid-June at the carnival.

Children and teens flocked to the scariest of rides,

proving themselves worthy to their friends,

But I was there for something else.

I had floated around from friend group to friend group, 

Never landing with quite the right crowd.

With my attempts in vain,

I walked the carnival grounds alone this year.

The mission to find myself began.

I got my face painted white and red, like a clown.

Was I a clown? A fool?

To some, probably.

But I was there to find who I was.

Who I am.

I rode the tilt-a-whirl.

Maybe if I shook up my thoughts,

The thought of myself would come to me.

My head whipped.

My body shook.

But still not the faintest idea came to mind.

With weak knees, I stumbled out of the ride.

My head ached from the shameless brutality.

How could anyone enjoy such a thing?

I ended up in a photo booth.

The lights flashed but the girl in the photo

Was not me.

Tears fell from my tired eyes,

Streaking the red paint 

Like blood down my face.

Fireworks boomed 

Scratching the sky 

Like nails clawing at a coffin,

Trying to escape.

I looked up.

My mission was almost at its end,

Yet I hadn’t found even a fragment of myself.

I ran to the bathrooms,

And wiped off the remaining, smeared face paint.

Under all of that, there I was.

The real me.

Suddenly, 

Without thinking,

My feet carried me out of the bathrooms, 

Away from the crowded carnival.

Was this my fate?

A sign?

And at that moment I realized

I didn’t belong at the carnival.

I didn’t belong with the clowns

Or the thrill seekers

Or with the crowd.

That whole night I had searched for myself,

But I was never lost to begin with.

Just different.

I didn’t need a crowd to run with.

I was my own person.

I am my own person.

”Snap! Crackle! Pop!” I heard as I whipped my head over to see the colorful show in the sky. We’ve spent a few days at the beach, and it’s finally here, the 4th

Starting the day off, waking up, running outside to feed the turtles. Stepping over this moldy porch, trying to get back to the murky water. It’s unreal, like what? Coming inside to Mimi making our beach bags and summer snacks. Out in the garage, the boys packing the truck. I go fetch the honey ham for our Hawaiian rolls, I’m so excited. I’m rushing my cousins, as if I had shit else to do.

We finally made it to the beach. Put our stuff down in chairs, then sprinted to the ocean. The sand between my toes, hot like the air around me.  Drifting closer and closer to the horizon, I become overwhelmed with a 6th sense. The sense of gratitude imbued my mind. I feel the salt remains covering my body, the burning sensation in my eyes. I hear a high pitched voice, “Look what I can do,” as I prepare to be fake impressed for the thousandth time in an hour. Being in Hilton head is weird, it’s like time just stops. Everything is always the same. We head back to the chairs, finding G-pa slumped, reminding him to drink something to stay afloat. We hopped on the dune buggy, made it back to the house. We came in earlier than usual, but after all, it was the Fourth of July.

Just one shower, one nap, one meal, and one lecture before the ”Snap! Crackle! Pop!

Think back to your special first day of school . Did you walk to school , take the bus or get dropped off ? Well here’s how my first day went. It was a sunny day, not too hot , not too cold . As I opened my front door to go to school I could feel the sun on my skin . On my way to school the sun would shine on the grass and give off an earthy smell. I walked to school and I see all the cars pass me and all the parking lot gets backed up bumper to bumper. As I was running a little late and trying to hustle, I hear the other kids behind me jogging up the steps. I open the front doors and see all these new people and get a little nervous as I try to figure out where my first period is. But my nervousness goes away as i find my first period and sit next to my friend Jonny. I go through the rest of my day slowly figuring out my classes and making new friends.

This Is What I Saw

The dawn head pushes down on my thoughts. The sun rose, cloaked behind the gray sky air out the window, and my mind is weighted, my eyes near to close. I sit in a diner, at a booth, on faded red cushioning, and the smoking air rushing up from the griddle to the ceiling brings with it the smell of steak. You sit across from me, waiting, under the harsh white light.

“Are you ready to tell me what you saw?” You ask.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–

The frigid wind runs through my skin, as I look up a hill. The sky is its gray same self, heavily weighing down the air, and the damp earth takes on a sickly, desaturated violet as it winds up around my ankles in its wiry black weeds. I am going somewhere. With people. They chatter and stomp through the growth, breaking the swift stillness of the air in wind. I look back down the hill, and wait for them to catch up before I set off again.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–

Coming to the edge of the moorland, I look again to my back, and the people are gone. The moon has risen, the stars shown poke-holes through night blanket, and the clouds deserted the sky. The grass, greener, stretches out in front of me, beyond the pale oily vines tugging me by my feet back towards the moor. Stepping out into the summercoming night air, I suddenly can see the city. And I want to be there.

Two hundred feet aloft, floating there, with empty air all below: an island, carved out of sandstone, royal blue staining the tops of regal towers, fingers grasping for the sky out of the lightened citadel, tangled of such yellow homes and buildings. And beneath, the platform’s stone underbelly stretching down in colossal stalactites, reaching for the shimmering green skin of the earth. And I want to be there. Off by the horizon.

But I am not.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–

You are still looking at me, across the table, waiting for me to respond.

“Not quite yet.”