Boring Story by Ruhi Datye

  Spittle

   Two years ago a witch called Pai Ninthe Rump cast a spell on Timbuktu. Now it would never stop raining. The water was waist high and mixed with filth and muck. I got home and took off my boots and socks. My legs and feet were crusted with muck. I grabbed a sponge and rubbed down my legs.

 We had to pay extra money to have anyone come to the island for trade because the storms made it treacherous for anyone who came near the water. Every year islanders sent their children at ages around 12 to earn money for the family. This year I would be leaving to earn money, but it was unlikely I would manage.

 I had a history for messing up. Last year I accidently gave a merchant $200 of our island’s money. I’m not exactly sure how. Our leader wanted us to pay the whole sum, but his advisors convinced him to make us only pay have. Our leader and his son,Belt, have been cold to our family ever since. It also gave me a bad name most commonly used by Belt.

 When we were really little, me and Belt were best friends. Our favorite play had been ruined by a person named Schpok. He had become part of the play and kept messing up his lines. After we turned seven Belt’s dad grilled him about being my friend. He still came around sometimes, but only to act like a jerk and boss me around. He didn’t like to spend much time with father and he told me once that he would never forget the friendship we used to have.

 I heard a rap at the door. That would be Belt. He had come to pick me up. I groaned before moving toward the door. I opened it revealing Belt’s face.

 “Hey schpok,”he said grinning.

 “It’s Spittle. My name is Spittle.” I said.

 I quickly put on new socks and my shoes while he waited at the door. Once I got both my shoes on he started walking and I followed him.

 We waded through the muddy water. I was a little short for my age so sometimes it went up to my neck. A few parts near ponds were so deep that Belt had to carry me across. Usually he would insult me until I was on the brink of tears, but today he didn’t seem to mind.

 As we boarded the first ship I saw a couple of my classmates. None were friends. My one and only friend since the incident was Dee. Well, and Belt. Sort of.

 The gentle rain had grown heavier and lightning flashed in the sky as the boat started to move. For 200 miles it was just rain. Heavy thunder followed the lightning with a crash. I went below deck to sleep.

 Spittle

 It was morning and It was raining harder than ever. I could see the line between the rain and the bright clear sea. Belt looking sick and was surrounded by his friends as the ship bucked. I tipped forward and Belt through up over the side. Again the ship bucked. The captain yelled at us to start bailing water. The next thing I remember is hitting the sea with a splash and falling.

 Belt

 I swam and pushed through the water as a giant wave hit me.

 “Ughh,” I spat out sea water. I saw the clear surface of the water on the other side and started swimming. I barely made it. I grabbed a piece of driftwood and hung on. I was didn’t want to move. My legs felt like Jelly. I dove back in looking for my friends. 3 made it to the surface one after another. I didn’t see Spittle. I dove back in. I saw him. He was sicking like a rock and completely unconscious. Then, another wave hit me and Spittle and we were carried further away. I grabbed hold of spittle but I couldn’t see where the storm ended. I started to swim blindly.

 Belt’s friend

 I saw an island and pointed it out to my friends. We swam toward it and suck to the sand. Then a everything started to shake. Sand fell and trees swayed. I couldn’t think of what was happening. Everything was foggy. The next second I was asleep.

 Spittle

 I felt hands grab me. I felt water drip out of my ear. I saw a vague outline of the face. Coughing followed and everything went black.

 When I came to I saw Belt sitting next to me on an extremely large chunk of driftwood. He was watching me. He must have seen me move because he shook me really hard. We were both so exhausted….

The plank hit something hard. Belt seized my collar and dragged me onto shore. I blacked out again.

 When I gained consciousness I saw Belt’s anxious face staring at the sand in his hand. Then I heard a huge rumbling sound.

 Mindy

 My people saw some strange people on the island. There were three of them. Are men went to confront them, but they don’t speak our dialect. They were screaming and crying hysterically. It looked funny. A few hours later two more appeared. One of them looked like he’d killed the other. Our medics rushed toward the one lying on the ground. The warriors captured the other one to put him on trial with the rest of them.

 One thing I am good at is reading people. I could tell that our prisoners were friends with each other. Most of them looked mean. One looked different from the others. His eyes were filled with hurt and pain, but he didn’t look particularly mean. More than anything he looked worried.