Each month, we feature EIGHT new pieces of student writing on the TWENTY-SIXTH of the month. (Get it?) This month, we are delighted to feature student work from our In-school Program, specifically highlighting the writing club at Adams STEM Academy in Ypsilanti.
Joel Valle, Age 10
“The Talent Show”
Talent Show Part #1
One day at gymnastics, I got a flyer. It said Talent Show: Miami, Florida. It was at the half-time finals for the Miami Heat and the president. When we got there, two thousand people were yelling. My team was last. Orlando was cooking. I did art. Reagan was the singer. We did a fantastic job and we won. Also we won a trophy and a lifetime supply of shoes. We made the world record for the coolest talents. I did graffiti art. Orlando and I were a wolf howling at the moon. We made spaghetti that made aliens come to Earth and sing. Reagan and Beyoncé sang the national anthem. After the talent show, we went to New York to get Chicago-style popcorn — two buckets each. I saved one bucket for Christmas. What would you do if you had some?
Talent Show Part #2
In New York, I just ate a huge bucket of popcorn. I was stuffed. Orlando and I were at the hotel. We went to the pool. The paparazzi and people started asking questions and taking pictures. We ran to the room and said, “We’re famous!” And Reagan said, “Wait, what!?” And we yelled, “WE’RE FAMOUS!” Her eyes showed dollar signs and she said, “Limos, money, and guest people on television shows.” Finally, we were going to be rich. So, we went to Black Stone. I had chicken tenders with fries. Then, we ate, paid the bill, and left a twenty-dollar tip. We went to the hotel and went swimming in the VIP pool. After that, we went to sleep.
Jayden Mitchell, age 10
“The Sleep Year”
One time I was so sleepy that I slept for 365 days. That means I slept for a year. When I woke up, Ypsilanti was very different. There were flying cars. There were buildings that were different, and the city was no longer called Ypsilanti. The city was called . . . No Where. I was eleven years old. When I woke up, my feet were hurting, my legs were hurting, and my eyes were hurting very badly — because of how badly and long I had slept.
Eunicia Boykin, age 8
“The Big Secret”
My cat and I have a secret no one knows. My cat goes out at night and goes to The Relax Place. When they’re all tired out, they come back all tired, like nothing happened. One night, I followed him. Then, I saw my cat get in a limousine. I hurried and grabbed my bike and followed the limousine. When I got there, I saw big bull dogs at the entrance. I walked up to them and said nothing. My cat came to the door. My cat was the boss of The Relax Place. He said, “You finally found out, kid.” I stayed for a while and then went home. We both said, “See you in the morning,” to each other. I saw my cat in the morning. We acted like nothing happened. The next night, my cat and I hopped in the limousine and drove away.
Jerez Lowery, age 9
“The Traveling Ghosthunters”
One family was about to go to Mexico. They got on a plane and the pilot was really a scary man. The family was a family that likes to travel. The father’s name was Bob, the mother’s name was Sherlet, and their kids’ names were Bob Jr. and Sharlen. Bob Jr. liked to hunt ghosts. Sharlen was a teenager that liked to stay in her room and listen to music. Bob liked to watch sports and he wanted to make his son go outside and play football. Sherlet liked to cook. But, they had one thing in common: they liked to travel. The family was about to get off the plane and go rent a house for a few days, but all the houses were rented. Luckily Bob brought four tents. Bob Jr. knew how to make a campfire. Sherlet brought sandwiches and water bottles. So they went out for a place to stay. They found a plain spot by a creepy house. They set up camp there. Bob and Bob Jr. went out for wood. Sharlen and Sherlet made sandwiches. Well, mostly Sharlen made the sandwiches. Sherlet was on her phone, but she could not find a signal. The boys came back with wood from the store. They really could not find wood in Mexico. They ate their sandwiches and went to bed.
Bob Jr. went to the creepy house. He knocked on the door. It opened by itself. Bob Jr. went in the house and never came out. Bob went looking for his son and Sharlen went with him. They looked in the house and never came out. Sherlet went in the house and never came out.
Orlando Matthew Powers, age 10
“The Talent Show”
One day, my mom got a flyer out of the mail. It was about a talent show and the grand prize was one million dollars and a trip to Italy. I asked my mom, “Can we go?” But, the only problem is that we have to drive all the way from LA to Miami and my mom didn’t have any money for the hotel. We found a small letter on the flyer that said it would cover everything. Once we found that out, my mom said, “Come on, pack up and we can sign up there.” So I went upstairs and got three pairs of clothes. My mom and I drove off to the talent show. While we were driving, our car broke down. Then a hobo yelled, “Hey, hey! Come over here!” My mom yelled back, “No!” But I ran to him anyway. When I got to him, I said, “Mmm . . . that smells good. What are you cooking?” Then he said, “Hi, my name is Bob and I’m cooking sock soup.”
“Can I taste it?”
“Sure.”
“Mmm . . . it tastes like BBQ chicken. Hey, can you come with us for a sec?” “Okay,” said Bob. Bob and I ran to my mom and I said, “Can Bob come with us to the talent show?”
“NO!”
“At least try his cooking!”
“Okay . . . mmm . . . it tastes amazing! Sure, you can come!”
“Yes!” The next thing we knew, Bob, Mom, and I are in a crazy van with games on one side, a forest on the other, and a fire in the middle. There was a man with a mustache. Just out of the oven, there were burritos and a slice of pizza. All of the sudden, a talking pizza came out of the forest saying, “You are going to eat that right in front of my face? NO! I have a better idea — throw it out the door.”
“Why should I?” I said.
“Because, I am a pizza and that might be my relative or something,” Pizza Steve said.
“Well, I don’t care!” I said. Pizza Steve jumped on to me saying, “I know Italian Karate!” Then, the man with the mustache said, “Hey, hey, hey, break it up. I’m sorry I made a slice of pizza, Pizza Steve.”
“It’s okay,” Pizza Steve said. That is out of the way now, may we taste the burritos?”
“Oh yeah, here you go!”
“Mmm . . . this is good, do you want to come to a talent show with us?”
“Yeah, we’re heading there now!”
“Come with us on the time machine!”
“Yeah, sure!”
“We can skip time to the talent show!” We all jumped through and when we came out we were at the talent show getting our trophies . . .
“Wait, we went too far!” Mom said. “Just enjoy the moment,” I said. Then, we all jumped in the air and got stuck. Even the weird guy named Joel.
Mackenzie Booker, age 8
“The Tooth Fairy”
Chapter 1
Once upon a time, there was a tooth fairy who had sparkle wings and a pink dress. Every night she went looking for teeth, but one night she found out that her best friend, Sandman, was stealing all of the teeth for money, so the Tooth Fairy Angel told Santa and the Easter Bunny. That night they went looking for Sandman because that night was a night of dark and if you weren’t eighteen or older, you would get a bad dream when you went to bed, and the Sandman was already giving all of the teenagers and kids bad dreams. They found Sandman, and they got a pop that had a red piece of candy that would make Sandman fall into a deep sleep and if he woke up he would be a different person.
Chapter 2
When Sandman woke up, he was on the moon, so he flew back to the world globe. Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny all stopped what they were doing and all looked at him. The Tooth Fairy said, “Do you feel different?” and the Sandman said, “No.” They all sighed, and then the Sandman said, “Of course I feel different, I’ve never felt better.” That night was the night where Santa, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Easter Bunny all went out the same night, and it was every May 1.
Khalil Fly, age 7
“The Special Fish”
There was a special fish in the ocean. He was fast. He was little, though, and the other fish were bigger than him. He was little, but special. He swam to Atlanta. In Atlanta, there was a swimming contest. And he had fun.
Bilal Ibrahim, age 10
“Going to College”
I want to go to Georgia Tech College. On my first day of college, I am going to meet all of the people and teachers. But most important of all, I am going to meet my roommate! For my first day of college, I went to sleep. When it is the next day, my roommate, Mike, slaps me to wake me up for my second day of school! I wake up and start studying for a test. The grand prize is $100,000! So I am working and working until I fall asleep. The next day, I take the big test. I win first place so I have $100,000 dollars of cash money. The next day, I go to a car dealer and I buy a $25,000 Mercedes Benz and a $35,000 Cadillac. They were both made in 2014. The next day, I go to college and I have to do work, work, work, and I finish college in 2017 on June 14. I get a degree. I go home and we have a party. After college, I get a job in Chicago!