This Wasn't meant to Be

This Wasn’t Meant to Be

My alarm goes off, and I sit up to rub my eyes. The sun was shining through my window and onto my face. I stretch for a bit then got out of bed. I grab my phone and head to the bathroom. I take a glance in the mirror before I turn the shower on. I get in, feeling the hot water run down my back.

Once I was done washing my hair and body, I turned the water off and grabbed a towel from the hook. I dry myself off and get my clothes on.  I take my tooth brush and apply toothpaste to the top of it. I put the toothpaste down and bring the toothbrush towards my teeth, and begin to scrub at my teeth. Suddenly, I hear a loud noise go off. It came from outside. I spit out what was left of the tooth paste and rush down the stairs and out the door.

I glanced around trying to notice something usual, but there was nothing. Everything was as it seemed to be every morning. The sun was shinning, the birds were chirping, and people were getting into cars. I stood there in my yard half ready for school when the bus pulled up. I facepalmed myself and ran back inside, so anyone could hardly glance at me. My face was red, and I wouldn’t have any time to finish getting ready, so I called my friend Elena.

“Hey E, can you give me a ride to school?” I asked into the phone.

“Why are you up so early?” she replied with a slow voice.

“I have a long bus ride, remember?” I asked as I rolled my eyes, knowing she couldn’t see me.

She giggled, “Oh yeah!”

I paused, “So yes?” I asked into the phone as I walked into my bedroom.

“Yes, yes of course! It’ll be fun!” She exclaimed into the phone before hanging up. I tossed my phone onto my bed and and walked over to my desk. I realized I didn’t finish writing my script for my drama class.

“Oh no!” I yelled to myself as I picked up the papers. I took a seat and grabbed a pencil out.

“What’s wrong honey?” My mother asked as she peeked her head inside my doorway.

“I um.. I missed the bus so I will have to call Elena.” I lied as I acted like I was cleaning my desk, which wasn’t much of a lie since I was picking things up and throwing them in drawers. She left without a word. I took a deep breath and began to write down lines for my script. I knew this would only be a rough draft so it didn’t really matter.

A few hours later, I was in school about to enter drama class when I was knocked over by someone. I rubbed my arm before standing up. I glanced over at the person who I had ran into. He was tall and had light brown hair. Almost as if it was blonde. I then looked down at the ground noticing my papers were everywhere.

“Oh no, no, no!” I whined, my script was out of order and it was due right when the bell rang.

“I am so sorry, how can I help?” said the boy who I ran into.

“That’s the problem, you can’t help me I can’t even help myself.” I felt a few tears run down my face. I began to pick up my papers and walk into class. As I took a seat, the bell rang. My stomach began to feel upset as the teacher began collecting our scripts. I sank down slowly into my chair.

“Ms. Crockett, I need your script.” my teacher said to me as I looked down at my desk.

“I am sorry sir, but I can’t hand in my script.” I said truthfully. He shook his head.

“That’s a shame, you are a really good writer and would have been successful. You know what happens when you don’t turn your assignments in don’t you?” he asked as he stared straight at me.

“But sir, I need to take this class. It is very important, and this is the only time I have not turned something in. I promise it will not happen again,” I cried with plead as he took a moment of silence.

“I am sorry, but your spot can be easily taken by a certain someone who is just as good as you are, and that’s we will have to do,” the teacher stated as he walked away. I was shocked to hear those words come out of his mouth. I packed my stuff up and walked out of the classroom. As I walked out, I ran into that boy again.

“Are you following me or something?” I asked as my face turned red.

“No. I am heading to a class where I was denied and re-entered,” he stated.

“So you’re my replacement, great,” I said as she rolled her eyes. I kept walking along the lockers. My parents were going to send me off to boarding school if I failed this class or got kicked out. Once I made my way to my locker, I could feel heat approaching me. Soon, I saw a fire. The sirens were going off, and I had no way out. I panicked, when suddenly parts of the school collapsed around me.

***

I felt water hit my face. I shot up and looked around. It was only a dream. I still didn’t know where I was at. I got up trying to make out the faces I saw. Who were these people, and why was I here? I walked out of the room and wandered around the house. I tried to talk to the people who were there, but it was like I was invisible. Soon enough, I walked into the what looked like to be the living room and saw people crying and watching the news. The news was reporting a fire at the school I went to and how there were so many who didn’t make it out alive and haven’t been found. That’s when it hit me; I was dead.

Engaged

“YOU'RE ENGAGED, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!” Rose screeched at her twin.

“I was going to.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rose growled, “I guess I’m not an important part of your life anymore.”

 “Of course you are,” Tulip scoffed.

“Apparently not,” Rose growled. With that she turned and stormed back into the kitchen.

“Come in Alec,” Tulip told her fiance, “I’ll make her come around. Don’t worry about

it.” Alec slipped past her and walked into the house.

“Hey,” Alec said as he walked into the kitchen.

Rose just turned and glared at him and Tulip.

“Rooooooooose, I swear I was going to tell you,” Tulip sighed to her sister.

“Sure you were,”

“Come on Rose,”

Rose turned to her sister and huffed out a “Fine.”

“Are we going to eat or not?” Iris asked butting into their conversation.

“Ya ya,” Tulip waved her sister off.

They once again sat at the table, but this time with Alec on Tulip’s right side.

“So,” Rose started looking at Alec. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

“You always did like older men,” Rose teased Tulip, referring to the fact that Tulip was only nineteen.

“Tulip turned and glared at her sister. “Two years Rose, two years.” Rose just smiled at her.

“On that note,” Iris paused. “What do you do for a living?”

“I work for the ministry.”

“Look at you Tulip, you got yourself a wizard!” Rose squealed.

“What branch do you work in?”
“Care of magical creatures.”

“Sounds fun, I’m training to be an auar.”

“What wizarding school did you do to?” Alec asked Rose.

“Hogwarts. What about you?”

“I went to Hogwarts as well.”

“Wow I can’t believe I don’t know you. What house were you in?”

“Ravenclaw.”

“I was a Gryffindor.”

“I remember you now,” Alec grinned, as Tulip got up to put their plates in the sink. “You were on the quidditch team.”

“Ya, I was a chaser.”

“Come on guys let's go into the living room,” Tulip suggested, so they all got up and filed into the living room.

After talking late into the night the four went upstairs to bed.

Around seven in the morning the door rang; waking up the sleeping sisters.

Rose turned to Iris. “Who is it?”

“How am I supposed to know?” snapped Iris. She had never been a morning person.

“Well let’s go see,” Rose rolled out of bed and walked out the door without waiting for her sister.

“Jasmine,” Rose squealed running to her sister whom had just walked into the house.

“Hi Rose,” Jasmine laughed and hugged her sister. She than followed Tulip into the living room, but she stopped short when she saw Alec sitting on the couch.

“Who’s he?” She asked.

“That’s Alec,” Tulip explained.

“He’s Tulip’s fiance,” Rose cut in.

Jasmine turned to Tulip excitement seeping onto her face.

“You’re engaged! I’m so excited! I get to be a bridesmaid!” she screeched. Then she paused and looked Tulip in the eye.

“I do get to be a bridesmaid,” she paused. “Don’t I?”

“Of course you are,” Tulip scoffed, and Jasmine smiled at her.

“When are you getting married?” Jasmine asked her.

“Well that’s really why I wanted you guys to come,” Tulip paused “We’re getting married in a month.

“A month,” Rose echoed in shock.

“You could have told us sooner,” Jasmine turned to glare at her youngest sister.

“Well I was going to, but I didn’t know how you were going to react.” Tulip tried to explain herself.

“Let’s go sit in the living room,” Iris suggested.

After settling down, Tulips sisters once again turned to her.

“Are we going to be bridesmaids?” asked Iris

“Of course you are,” Tulip scoffed.

“Ooh! When are we going dress shopping?” Iris asked.

“I don’t know any time I guess.” Tulip answered.

“Where is it at?” Rose questioned.

“Grafway Park,”

“Sorry girls, but I have to go to work,” Alec excused himself and exited the house.

After discussing wedding details and having lunch the sisters decided to go dress shopping.  

“Do you want a separate dress for Rose because she’s the maid of honor or do you want it to be the same?” Jasmine questioned her sister as they looked through racks of dresses.

“I think I want it to be the same,” Tulip turned to Rose. “How’s that sound?”

“Perfect!” Rose grinned at her.

“How about blue?” Iris asked holding up a long navy dress.

“I was thinking shorter, and maybe a tangerine.”

“Ok,” Iris replied as she put the dress back on the rack.

Finally, after three hours of shopping, they found a dress that everyone loved and went back to 

Tulip’s.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift, the daughter of Andrea and Scott Kingsley Swift, was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She was raised on a Christmas Tree farm near Wyomissing. Taylor looked up to her grandmother, whom was an opera singer, and wanted to follow in her footsteps.  By the time she was ten, she had sang in a variety of local contests. For example, at county fairs or different contest. At the age of eleven, she sang the National Anthem at a Philadelphia 76ers game. Taylor soon started writing her own song lyrics.  

Taylor often visited Nashville, Tennessee, the capitol of country music, and was a co writer. While she was co writing, she was trying to get a recording contract. Taylor convinced her family to move to Tennessee in attempt to further her career. Because of her amazing performance at The Bluebird Cafe, she got a contract with Scott Borchetta. The record label was called “Big Machine Records.”

Taylor’s first single, “Tim Mcgraw”, was released in 2006. Shortly after it was the top ten country billboard.  Taylor's album sold 2.5 million copies. A couple of other songs that were in the album were “Our Song,” and “Teardrops on my Guitar.” She had other tracks that were very successful tracks.    

Taylor won the Horizon Award at the Country Music Award. The award she received was Top New Female Vocalist of 2007. Taylor released an album called The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, which consisted of “Silent Night” and “Santa Baby” which helped with her record label.  

About a year later, Taylor released an album called “Fearless.” This was a huge hit all over the world.  For about eleven weeks it was the top of the country and pop charts. At the end of the year of 2008, Taylor had the highest-selling album of the year.  In the same year Taylor was nominated the Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards.  

The album “Fearless” got Taylor many awards like Video of the Year, and Female Video of the Year in 2009.  Taylor’s song “Love Story” was a huge hit that helped over all. Taylor was handed Best Female Video at the MTV Music Awards. As she was on stage, Kanye West came up and took the microphone. He declared that Beyonce should have gotten this award. Taylor didn’t know how to react and didn’t know what to say after that. Beyonce then got Best Video of the Year and called Taylor up, she also apologized alone after the show.  

During 2009 she dated Taylor Lautner. They lasted for three months, they lost interest when Taylor Swift was less into the “Fling” then Taylor Lautner. They met on the set of Valentine's Day. They played roles as two stupidly in love teens on Valentine's day. After they ended she soon started dating John Mayer. I would tell you about that relationship, but the age difference of 19 to 31 is disgusting.

After this, Taylor became huge all over the world. Her concert tickets started selling out in no longer than two minutes.  She was on Saturday Night Live many times. In 2010, she was the youngest artist to receive a Grammy award for Album of the Year for her album “Fearless.”  Meanwhile she was writing songs for her next album.  

“Mean,” “Sparks Fly,” and “Ours” were big hits of Taylor’s next album Speak Now in 2010.  Within the first week, more than one million copies were sold. Following this album, two years later Taylor released another album called Red. A couple of huge hits on this album consist of “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and “Begin Again.”  Red also sold over a million copies within the first week. 1998, Taylor’s fifth album, was released in 2014. This makes Taylor the first woman in history to sell more than a million copies in opening week for three albums.  Over Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, Taylor was highest paid celebrity at fifty seven million dollars. A year later Taylor funded four million dollars to people in need. This money went towards classrooms, learning labs, and many more.  

Sooner than later, Taylor decided to move away from the country aspect of music. She released an album called 1998 and had many hits. “Shake it off” was proven to be the catchiest song.  “Bad Blood” was video of the year and was released at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.  Taylor’s album 1998 sold over five million copies in the United States alone.  In February 2016 Taylor opened the 58th Grammy Award with a track off of the album 1998, “Out of the Woods.”  “Out of the Woods” got awards for Best Music Video.  

Over all, Taylor has been a very successful young woman. She has always had a positive outlook on life and persevere through any bump in the road. “Life isn’t about how to survive the storm. It’s about how to dance in the rain.” -Taylor Swift. Taylor takes every chance she can and either learned from them or face the consequences.  

Did You Know?

In this story, I am going to be talking about useless facts that you may have never known. As I read more about some of these things, I thought it would be a perfect story to write about. These things grabbed my attention, and I am sure they will grab yours as well. Even though these things are useless, it is more knowledge that you may want to share with someone someday, or it may be good to just know some of these things. I hope these random facts grab your attention because I know they grabbed mine.

The first thing that I found interesting was that a cockroach could live a week with its head being cut off. Cockroaches don’t have the blood pressure that humans do, therefore they don’t have a huge network of blood vessels. After you cut their head off, their neck would close up by clotting, so their is no uncontrolled bleeding. Their brain doesn’t control their breathing, movements, etc., like the brain does to the human body. This proves why cockroaches could live for weeks without their heads.

The next thing that I found was interesting was that human thigh bones are stronger than concrete. The force required in order to break a human’s thigh bone is massive. It would all depend on how the force is applied and what angle it was applied at. Your femur is the strongest bone in your body. Therefore, since it is so strong, it takes a lot of force to break it, and even with a lot of force, it is more than likely that it will just be a fracture. The most common reasons thigh bones fracture are because of car accidents and falls from high places.

I also found that it is illegal to have a pet dog in Iceland. The reasons behind this are that they think it would be a dirty place if dogs were in the country, and it is too much of a hassle to take care of one. Of course there are exceptions to have dogs in Iceland, but they are very strict. Those exceptions are that the dog must not be used as a guard or attack dog. All dogs must be kept on a leash at all times, and they have to be cleaned up after they do their business. When you have a dog, the neighbors will also be in power. If they think that the dogs are disturbing, then they can make the dog get taken away from the owner.

The next thing that I found is something that everybody has different beliefs about. You will all be looking for when this date comes is that every month that starts with a Sunday, will have a Friday the 13th. Friday the 13th is really just a myth. It is not the date’s fault to determines whether your day is going to be doomed. Some people do believe that on this day you need to be extra careful. Some of you may take this to your advantage, and others may start trying to be prepared.

We all have different fears, and if your fear is either bees or snakes this is something you may want to know. On average, more people die from bees than snakes. Many people don’t know how affective bee stings could be. Bee stings are very dangerous and they can kill you. Depending on where you live, there are different snakes around you, and some snakes are not harmful at all. People eve have pet snakes. However, if you come in contact with a venomous snake that is when you should be worrying.

Some of you may have some serious allergic reactions, and some of you may not. Did you know that people are allergic to cow’s milk more than any other food? A milk allergy is most common in young children or infants. Some symptoms of this allergy is mild hives, and an effect would be to read all labels in every food or drink that you have. Allergies are something that you are more than likely going ot have to live with the rest of your life. Luckily enough, this milk allergy is easily outgrown.

Most of you are into watching NFL football, or you have at least seen NFL on T.V. before. It is stated that 78% of NFL players go bankrupt after finishing two years of finishing their career. It is typical for us to spend your money and buy more expensive things the more money you get. Most NFL players get into a bad habit of spending money like it’s never ending. They found this out the hard way.

What is your favorite pop? If it is Coke or Diet Coke, than this is something you may find interest to. If you put Diet Coke in water it will float, but if you put regular Coke in water it will sink. It all depends on how much dissolved sweeteners are in the drink. Regular coke is denser than the water due to the sweeteners in the soda, so that causes the Coke to sink and not the diet coke. A 12 ounce can contains 40 grams of sugar, so this is why some people enjoy diet coke more.

Have you ever seen someone that can wiggle their ears back and forth? I bet you wonder how they do it. It is true that everyone can wiggle their ears, but you must learn at a young age. If you don’t learn at a young age, the muscles will waste away and, it will be difficult for you to do it. The people who can raise who eyebrow are more likely to do this. All these things you may have known already, but some of you may not have known. Hopefully you all learned something out of this and found this knowledge is interesting.

Science Explorations

Reaching the North Pole

            Robert E. Peary was the first person to get to the North Pole. It is also said that Fredrick A. Cook was the first one. It is hard to tell for sure who was the first one because there isn’t much evidence to look at except their word. The North Pole is also a sea with a bunch of floating ice, so there isn’t really a way to mark that you’ve been there. It was so hard to get there because compasses don’t work and much of the Arctic and Antarctic weren’t even mapped. You have to use a chronometer and a sextant to tell where you are. A chronometer is an instrument used to keep time accurately, and a sextant is an instrument that is used to determine latitude and longitude by using the sun.

            Fredrick announced that him and two Inuit companions had reached the North Pole on April 21, 1908. They supposedly had a hard time coming back south because of bad weather and drifting ice, and they had to stay in an ice cave. Robert announced that he had reached the North Pole a week later with his companion Matthew Henson. Robert claimed the Fredrick was a fraud. Robert had the big sponsors New York Times and the National Geographic Society. Fredrick was ok with sharing the spotlight with Robert, but Robert wasn’t ok with it. He was a very driven man that had tried three times to get to the North Pole.

            What made it questionable about Fredrick was that he claimed to be the first one to reach the top of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. He had been called into question for it. Critics felt like if he lied about Mt. McKinley that he could lie again. Robert’s claim didn’t take long to cover up the claim of unknown Fredrick. When they both got back, they both wrote books about their journey, and they both became bestsellers. These books also fueled the debate between who got there first.

            Without modern technology explorers had to keep a well-detailed diary with navigational calculations of their travel. They had to go to the nearest town to even be able to share their discoveries since radio transmission was limited. It has been researched over 90 years and they still don’t know who actually made it. The world may never know.

http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/polar-explorers/who-got-there-first-the-north-pole-controversies

Reaching the South Pole

            Roald Engebreth Gravning Amundsen was the first to get to the South Pole. He was a powerfully built man that was born into a family of merchant sea captains in Norway. When he was young he slept with his window open so it prepared him for the Arctic air. To establish him as a sailor and an explorer he successfully led a 70-foot boat the entire way through the Northwest Passage. The Northwest Passage is a route that goes between Canada’s Arctic islands and Northern Canada’s mainland and is full of ice. It took three years for him and his crew to get all the way through because they had to wait for ice to thaw.

When he got back to Norway, he heard that Englishman Ernest Shackleton was going to try to get to the South Pole. Shackleton however didn’t make it all the way to the South Pole. He had to abandon his journey 97 miles away from making it. Amundsen studied Shackleton’s journey so he could prepare for his own journey. When he started preparing for the journey, he made sure that his crew members would be suitable.

By August 1910, he was ready to leave for the South Pole. He was keeping it a secret that he was going to the South Pole. Everyone thought that he was going to the North Pole, but he already knew that Robert Peary and Fredrick Cook had claimed to make it. He even kept it secret from the Norwegian government because he didn’t want them to make it a race against Great Britain, whom they were dependent on. When he was off the coast of Morocco, he announced that he was going to the South Pole.

Since sled dogs were a crucially part to the journey, he made sure that he got dogs that were a good fit for being in the Arctic. They even called them their children since they were the ones to determine if they got to the South Pole or not. On October 18, 1911 Amundsen and his crew set off from the Bay of Whales for the final stretch. On December 7^th Amundsen got pass the point where Shackleton had to turn back. On December 14, 1911 Amundsen put the Norwegian flag in the ground at the South Pole at 3 p.m. It took 99 days and 1,860 miles to get there after they left the bay. On January 25, 1912 they got back to their base camp.

That wasn’t Amundsen’s only Arctic journey. In 1926 he flew over the North Pole in a dirigible. The Arctic also claimed his life too. He went on a rescue mission in 1928, and Amundsen’s plane went down into the Arctic Ocean killing him. That same year Amundsen talked to a journalist about his love for the Arctic. He said, “If only you knew how splendid it is up there, that’s where I want to die.”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ice/peopleevents/pandeAMEX87.html

Sports

Sports

Baseball

I am going to tell you all my baseball excipients in my life. Baseball the definition in my words is a game in which you get pitch the ball by the defence then hit the ball to score. The is a catcher to catch the ball if the batter doesn’t swing. Then there is a umpire behind the catcher decide if the pitch was a ball or a strike. A strike is a pitch that is in between your knees and your belly botton.

I have played baseball since I was 5. It is my favorite sport of all time. My favorite team is the Cubs. My coach for 1-3rd grade was Allen Cordes, Nick's dad. Then when one of my best friends Joel Sampson came to Avoca. Then his dad became our coach. Rob Sampson He coached us till 8th grade. He was the greatest coach of all time. He was a fun coach and a serious coach. He is my favorite coach.

The Cubs are doing great this season so far. In little league T-Ball I played for the Angels. That's really the only reason I like them. T- Ball is baseball but when you set the ball on a stand called a tee and hit the ball. The pitcher is still there but doesn’t pitch. Then it goes coach pitch where the coach pitches it to the kids and the pitcher on the team stands next to the coach. Then it goes good old fashioned baseball.

I am now in high school baseball and I play first base. Real practices haven’t started yet. All we have right now is open gym. It’s optional so you go whenever you can or want too. I like to go whenever I can so I can get ready and more practice for the season. I pitch just not a lot. All of our pitchers are Lucas, Joey, Clayton, Joel, And I.

Wrestling

I just started wrestling last season and it was great I went 15-7. Coach Sampson is the one that kept trying to get me out for like 2-3 years. Then I finally just said “SKO”. I went out and loved it. My wrestling buddy/ partner was mostly leland. My other partner was Brady. He has been wrestling for 10 years. Rob Sampson is also my wrestling coach.

My first match I won against a pud. My second match I faced an experienced wrestler that Brady lost to every year until last year. I ended up loosing. I felt good that meet. I was 1-1 my first ever meet. I was proud and it gave me a big confidence boost. Every Time somebody got pinned we had to run one hallway sprint there and back at the old Walnut school. Also if someone got a detention it would be 10 for every 1 after school detention. We ran a lot because of these rules but it brought us as a team.

After that meet we went to Pizza Hut and I got the Spicy Asian wings. Which are the best wings i've ever had. That is my second favorite place to eat pizza. The first place is the harlan Bowling Alley. I go there for my birthday with my family. This and last year. My brother birthday is tomorrow April 14, 2016. We will probably go there for his birthday.

Football

My football career was great. My first year was with Jean Pauley. He was a hard but good coach. He lead us to the bowl game. Then we got there and got slayed by some Omaha team. We lost but still got trophies it was a good season. We had a football party. It was at the Avoca Bowling Alley. It was fun we bowled raced in the arcade. After we got done inside we went outside and played a game of football. It was fun the team consists of the freshman this year 2016 Also us 8th graders.

Then the next year I didn’t go out for football. The reason is because the practices took up a lot of time away from my mom and dad. The games were on the weekends so my dad barely got to see me. I definitely missed it.

Then junior high came and we played 7th grade football. I played linebacker. I also played Defensive end. It was a good year. We had to adapt to a new offence and defence. We didn’t do to good. Ethan was our QB. Jackson was our running QB; he was a man. Ethan was our passing QB. We went about 4-7 I can't fully remember because it was a year ago. I had a good year that year.

Then 8th grade came and it was go time. We were the bigger kids. Mr. Maze became the head coach. The 7th graders were stupid and made us run. A LOT!! Especially Jacob Roush. He got detentions and that made us run all the time. For every 1 detention was like 5 gassers. It kept the team in a line. Everyone hated Roush though. He was the one that always got us in trouble.

Mr. Maze was a good coach. He was especially good at defence. He made our defence good. The offencive coach was Mr. Mosher or coach moasher. He was the fun coach. They had like a little good cop bad cop thing going. I liked Coach Mosher. He is jacked out of his mind his calves are the size of my head.