Cookies and Pancakes by Arushi Devgun

“Who wants cookies!” Mom yelled.

“MEEEEE!” Rose yelled back.

The double chocolate chip fudge cookies were waiting on the table. Rose greedily took the whole plate up to her room. She emptied the whole plate of cookies into her mouth. “How are the cookies?” Mom said, tilting her head. “Good.” Rose replied, mouth filled. Suddenly, Mom’s eyes flashed red, fingernails turned into claws, and fangs replaced her canines.

“Sweetie. Come here.” Mom hissed. Rose backed up.

“No.” She said.

“I’ll make you.” Mom said. Mom reached out, gripped Rose’s arm, and bit into Rose’s neck. She felt herself getting vampire features, such as fangs, claws, and red eyes.

“The vampires will thrive.” Mom whispered into her daughter’s ear.


3 years later...

Ever since Rose became a vampire, everyone is in danger of getting the vampire plague. Over half the world are vampires and word is, Rose is in town.

“Astrid! Come get breakfast!” My mom yelled.

“Okay!” I responded. I walked down the stairs and sat at the table.

“Today it’s waffles.” Mom said.

“Are you kidding? That’s Rose’s favorite food!” I said.

“How ‘bout pancakes?” Mom suggested.

“Fine.” I said. Mom took out the frozen pancakes and heated them up. I grabbed the syrup from the fridge and poured it all over the pancakes. I sat down and began to eat. Boom! The wall crumbled. I shielded my face with my hands.

“Stay calm.” Mom said, voice trembling.

“Blooooood.” Rose hissed at Mom and I. “Want blood.”

“Go to your room.” Mom whispered. I ran up to my room.

“AIYEEEE!” I heard a scream from downstairs.

“Blooooood.” Two voices said in unison. I heard the stairs creak and footsteps get louder, and louder, and louder until both Rose and Mom were standing in front of me. I could feel their breath on me as they inched closer and closer until I couldn’t stand it anymore and gave in.

Rosette by Arushi Devgun

“Ready to depart, madam?” The pilot said to me. 

“Yes.” I replied. Right now I was on a mission to retrieve a priceless artifact from the enemy kingdom, The Rosette. The Rosette is a stone which protected our kingdom from monsters, plague, and all that other bad stuff. I looked out the window, trying to forget that the kingdom’s safety all depended on me.

Minutes later, I grabbed my purse, thanked the pilot, and headed to Nifty Grits, a shop that was for agents but posed as a restaurant. I swung open the door. The clerk was eagerly waiting for me.

“And you are… Ruby Rosette Castille?” The clerk narrowed her eyes.

“Yes.” I replied cautiously.

“Perfect.” She handed me a fake ID. “You will pose as Astrid Michel, a journalist visiting from the kingdom of Pinedge.” The clerk led me to the disguise room. I put on a blonde wig, blue eyed contact lenses, a trench coat, and high-heeled boots. 

“Smile for the camera.” The clerk said. She uploaded my fake picture to the ID. “All right, you are all set to go.” She handed me a business card. “Whenever you are in need, call zis number.”

“Bye!” I yelled. I stepped out of the shop. Now I need to hail a taxi. I thought. “TAXI TAXI!” I shouted. There were lots of taxis on the road, but none of them stopped for me. After waiting for a long time, one finally pulled up. The driver opened the door.

“Take a seat.” He commanded. “Where to?”

“The castle.” I said.

“That will be 30 richa.” He extended his hand, waiting for the money. I handed him the bills. With a screech! We took off.


5 minutes later, I found myself in front of a castle with multiple windows and a clean cut lawn with fountains spewing water overhead. “Thanks for the ride.” I thanked the driver.

“You’re welcome.” He answered. Tightly clutching my purse, I walked towards the door, rehearsing what I would say to the butler.

Hi, my name is Astrid Michel, and I am a journalist visiting from Pinedge. May I see the gem room?

I looked up at the door and pressed the doorbell. “Who is zit?” The butler answered.

“My name iz Astrid Michel, and I zam a zournalist viziting from Pinedge. May I zee ze gem room?” I answered in a fake accent.

“Sure.” The butler replied. “Let me get ze door.” He opened the door for me. I stepped inside. “ Usually, I zequire people to make appointments with coming in to ze castle. But over ze last few days, nobody iz coming to vizit.” He led me up to the gem room and then unlocked the door. “Remember, if you need me, zust yell.” The butler reminded me.

“Okay.” I said with a cheery smile. What a waste of 5 minutes! I thought to myself. I scanned the room for the Rosette. “A ha!” I yelled quietly. I pulled a hammer and a laser cutter from my purse. I tapped the substance protecting the Rosette. Strong. But not weak enough for a hammer. I’ll just use the laser cutter.

I cut through the glass like a knife through butter. “Ouch!” I winced in pain. I forgot that when someone laser cuts something and then touches it, the object is really hot. I wrapped my pointer finger and thumb in a bandage. I took out the Rosette. It was smooth and preserved very nicely. I replaced the stone with a fake one and replaced the hole with transparent glue. “This was really easy.” I muttered. I found my way down into the main area of the castle. “Thank you for letting me visit.” I said sweetly to the butler.

“You’re welcome.” He replied. Just then when I thought nothing could get better than this, I tripped over a lump in the velvet carpet and the Rosette tumbled out of my purse. The butler raised an eyebrow. I smiled sheepishly at him. “Guards!” He yelled, the butler’s face as purple as a juicy plum. “Get her!” In a split second, guards in full armor appeared. Their eyes locked on me.

I snatched up the Rosette and busted through the door as I ran for my life. My blond wig fell off, revealing luscious auburn hair. Great. Just great. I thought. I spotted a hiding spot while angry guards chased after me. I escaped the castle premises, turned a corner, and turned a corner again. The infuriated guards ran right past me. “Whew.” I sighed with exasperation. But what I didn’t notice is that one of the guards lagged behind.

He looked at me and yelled, “HEY GUYS, I FOUND HER!! His guards friends showed up. They raised spears and backed me up into the wall. “Shoot.” I whispered. When I thought I was going to die, I had a bright idea. I fished through my purse and took out the business card the clerk had given me. “Guys, I need to take a call.” I said to the guards. They stepped back. Ha! These guards have no common sense whatsoever. I laughed quietly. I dialed the number. The line picked up immediately.

“Hello?” The clerk answered.

“Can you pick me up? I’m kind of in a situation here.” I said, motioning to the guards. “I’m two streets away from the castle.”

“Sure.”

The line beeped.

“Trying to plan your getaway, are ya?” The guards said with hostility. Ignoring their hostility, a car pulled up. I stabbed the guard standing closest to me with their own spear in the hand. “Owwwwww!” He whined. I ran towards the car. “Took ya long enough.” The clerk said with disdain.

“Before you drop me off to my helicopter, what’s your name?” I asked the clerk, who is now my friend.

“Parisa.”

To be continued…..

Stolen by Arushi Devgun

“We’re here!” My sister yelled as she pushed me out of the car. First day, new school, best day ever. I thought to myself.

“Move.” A girl shoved past me. Without thinking, I kicked her down the hill we were standing on. “I’m sorrryyyy!!!” She yelled as she rolled down the hill.

“You should be.” I replied. I turned away with a huff and walked towards the main entrance. “Hi, my name is Sophia, wanna be friends?” The girl I kicked down the hill said.

“Uhhhh…” I answered, noticing Sophia’s makeup was smudged and she looked like a zombie. How did she get up so fast? I thought in awe.

“You seriously kicked Sophia Hastings down the hill?” A random freshman appeared out of nowhere.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you do that?” A clique of girls chorused.

“Cause she’s a spoiled brat.”

“Woooww.” The freshman and the girls ogled at me.

“What’s with this school?” I muttered to myself. “Shoot, I’m almost late for class.” I looked at my Apple Watch, checking the time. I pushed the door open. Everyone stared me.

“You must be Olivia Caito-Pierce. I’m Ms. Lavigne.” I stared at Ms. Lavigne. She was about 26, was wearing a white lace dress, spiky leather jacket, and tall cowboy boots, she was probably one of those teachers who rode a motorcycle to school every day and was liked among students. “Take a seat.” She said, pointing a french manicured finger towards the back of the class. I reluctantly sat down in my seat. The kids next to me both wore a plaid shirt, jeans, and the same leather boots as Ms. Lavigne. “Today we are going to tell Ms. Pierce why we are all here .” My teacher lectured. With a snap of her fingers, we were all outside of the door. “Now, Olivia, why are you here?”

“Because my sister wanted me to go to a better school.”

Ms. Lavigne shook her head. “No, you are here to learn the art of being evil. How to steal, pickpocket, lie, and cheat. How to harm the good, which thankfully, you did, by kicking that Sophia Hastings girl down the hill, she was a real pain.” RING RING!!!!! The bell rang.

“School’s out!!” Everyone yelled. Everyone rushed out the door and outside before I could even put on my backpack. I trudged outside 10 minutes later, my feet squelching in the mud.

“How was your day, sis?” My older sister, Avril yawned.

“Good.” I replied. We drove back to the apartment Avril, her husband, her five year old daughter, Charlotte, and I lived. We got out of the car and rode the elevator in silence. I unlocked the apartment.

“Hey, Olivia, do you think you can babysit Charlotte today? I have to judge at the court.”

"Sure.” I answered. I have nothing else to do. I thought. “Oh, and your teacher is coming to teach you guys how to make someone go unconscious.” Avril gathered her papers and briefcase and closed the door behind her.

Then, Ms. Lavigne came in. “Is your sister gone yet?” She peered through the window.”

"Yep. Let’s get started.” Ms. Lavigne moved her hand as if she was controlling someone. Suddenly, a swirling circle appeared sucking the three of us in it. “WHAT’S HAPPENING MS. LAVIGNE?” I shouted over the deafening noise as I gripped Charlotte’s hand.

“We are going to steal something priceless.” She said quietly.

“WHAT?” Charlotte yelled.

“I SAID, WE ARE GOING TO STEAL SOMETHING VALUABLE!” Ms. Lavigne yelled. “LET GO WHATEVER YOU’RE HOLDING ONTO, AND GRAB MY HAND!” I let go of the granite counter and gripped Ms. Lavigne’s hand quickly. She let go.

“AAAAAHHH!!!” We all screamed. We tumbled past monkeys, trumpets, carriages, and portraits of rich people. We landed in a moat with a splash.

“Ewwww.” Charlotte complained.

“Get out.” Ms. Lavigne commanded. I pulled Charlotte and I out of the moat. Ms. Lavigne clapped her hands and we were dressed in multiple petticoats, high heels, lots of makeup, and hair tied into a tight bun.

“What exactly are we trying to steal?” I asked Ms. Lavigne after a long period of silence.

“The king’s crown.” Ms. Lavigne said ominously.

Soon we entered the castle. Ms. Lavigne set our fake identities. She was a duchess and Charlotte and I were her daughters.

“Can I see ze crown exzebit?” My teacher said in a fake French accent.

“Sure.” The king’s guards said. They led us up a spiraling staircase which was 843 steps tall and unlocked a door with a golden key.

“Perfect. Thank you zery much.” Charlotte thanked the guards. The guards locked the door behind them. Ms. Lavigne looked through the keyhole. “These guards are really stupid. They have absolutely no idea if thieves will be wanting to steal the king’s crown.”

"Hey, Olivia, I found the crown!” Charlotte called from the other side of the exhibit. Ms. Lavigne rushed over. “This is really bad security.” She noted. “Hey guys.” A familiar voice said. “Sophia?” I said, awestruck.

“Yeah, it’s like, me. Welcome to your doom.” Quickly, Ms. Lavigne punched the glass and broke it. “A ha!” Ms. Lavigne screamed in glory.

“Guards!!!!” Sophia yelled.

“Yes, Princess Sophia Marie Elizabeth Paige Castlington?” The guards said, panting.

“Kill that middle-aged woman!” “Princess” Sophia yelled.

“Yes, your Majesty.” They obeyed. One guard fired the arrow. Before it could kill Ms. Lavigne, I jumped and caught the arrow.

“Do you want to kill the guards, Charlotte?”

I handed Charlotte the arrow. “Yay, a toy!” Charlotte clapped her hands with glee. “Heee yah!” She threw the arrow and left 3 guards dead, 5 badly wounded, and 1 unconscious.

“Good job Charlotte!” Ms. Lavigne gave Charlotte gummy worms, her favorite.

Charlotte greedily took the worms and ate them all in a bite.

“You will die.” Sophia said, arrow ready. Sophia fired the arrow. The world seemed to go in slow motion.

“Nooooooooooo!!” Ms. Lavigne yelled, jumping in front of Charlotte. As arrow and teacher collided, the world seemed to stop. Ms. Lavigne went down.

“Isla!” Charlotte screamed as her tears dripped onto the marble floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia smirk. “How can you be mean at a time like this?” I sobbed.

Suddenly, I realized why we had to steal the crown. It was all in order to kill Sophia, she was the fake princess of the kingdom because she killed the real princess and the king would do anything for Sophia. So, the king made her princess. I ran up to Sophia, slapped the arrow and quiver out of her hands, and held her wrists behind her back.

“Charlotte! Wipe your tears and pick up the crown! Aim it at Sophia!” I shouted hoarsely.

“Okay!” She sniffled, leaving Ms. Lavigne’s cold body. She picked up the crown and aimed it at Sophia.

”NOOOOOO!!!!” She screamed. I could see her essence being sucked out of her body and transferred to the crown. Sophia’s body dropped to the floor.

Giant Tarantula Invades Boston, Massachusetts by Arushi Devgun

A giant tarantula as big as a 26-story skyscraper has been spotted in Boston, Massachusetts. Scientists think the giant tarantula may have evolved from oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. “It just trampled the Boston Light with its hairy leg.” A witness said.” It stole my candy!” A five-year old complained. Currently, the giant tarantula is being kept in contamination in a steel terrarium where it is being highly studied by professional scientists. One of the professional scientists, found a device that can talk to any species of spider. He put the device into the terrarium, but it backfired. The tarantula broke out but it got captured before it wrecked havoc on the city once again. Shortly, after the incident with the tarantula, 300 people were reported dead, and 745 people were badly injured...