Narrative Viewpoint 6

Debra was walking a big black Labrador along the beach. The dog was unleashed, but he didn't seem to stray far from her. As Debra walked in the sand, the Labrador bounded through the waves. As the dog fell a few feet behind Debra, she called out to him, "Come on, Duke! Come here boy!" Duke barked, ran from the water, and caught Debra quickly. Duke was sopping wet. He started licking Debra and almost knocked her down. Debra laughed and tried to wipe the paw prints off her outfit.

Brandon pressed his nose against the glass case. There it was, Death Fighter 6, the latest video game. Brandon had never wanted anything more. Well, he really wanted Death Fighter 5 too, but this was different. The clerk walked over to him and said, "Is there anything that I can get for you, sir?" Brandon asked, "How much is Death Fighter 6?" The employee said, "$59.99 plus tax, like it says there on the rack, sir." Brandon sighed. This news saddened him. He only had $1.87.

As you cross the crystal bridge, you hear the sound of two voices coming from the shores of the river. One of the voices sounds distressed. The other sounds angry. At the end of the crystal bridge is a herd of wild horses. You notice that they are stamping the ground violently. If you would like to go to the shore and find out who's talking, turn to page 47. If you'd like to approach the wild horses, turn to page 58.

The trapeze artist stood high on the platform. The whole crowd was silent. He was working without a net. The trapeze artist rubbed his hands on his knees, grabbed the flying trapeze, and sprung into the air. Just as the trapeze had swung its full length, the trapeze artist released his grip and did a triple flip. He narrowly caught a second trapeze bar and swung from it by his legs. The crowd cheered. Another trapeze artist ascended the platform.

Nolan grabbed the rope. He tried to pull himself up but he knew that he lacked the upper body strength to lift his own weight. "I can't do it," he admitted as he dropped to the mat. The coach blew his whistle and screamed, "Nolan, you get up there and you try again." His face turned red as he shouted orders. Not wanting to make the coach angrier, Nolan lifted himself off the mat and grabbed the rope again. He pulled. Again, Nolan felt weak and intimidated. The coach blew his whistle again.

As the train pulled into the station, we finally met eyes. We had been avoiding this moment, but it was here now. Tears welled. Words choked. We hugged each other awkwardly before I grabbed my bags and jumped on the train. A chapter had ended. Things would never be the same between us again.

Corman hit the garage door button. There was no response. This frustrated Corman, who hit the button several more times in a fit of rage. Still, there was no response. Kathy said, "Let me try, Corman." Kathy believed that Corman was a clumsy oaf and that he was hitting the button incorrectly. She tested her suspicions by hitting the button gently. The opener whirred and pulled up the garage door. Corman felt embarrassed. Kathy was happy that they would be able to leave the garage now.

Andy walked into the antique shop and began looking at the pieces. He picked up a bronze vase and scowled at it before putting it down. He sat in a red wooden rocking chair and gave it a few rocks. Then he got up and stretched his back. He walked over to a rack of knickknacks and picked up a tiny porcelain clown. His face lit up. "How much is this one?" he asked the storeowner. "The clown's a sawbuck," replied the storeowner gruffly. Andy took ten dollars from his wallet and laid it on the counter.

Patricia was dreaming of candy when the harsh sound of Mr. Herbert's voice woke her, "No sleeping in class, Patricia!" Her heart was beating fast. She turned around saw Mr. Herbert standing right behind her. This startled her. "Oh my gosh, Mr. Herbert. You didn't have to wake me up so rudely." Mr. Herbert scowled at her and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Is my lesson disturbing your beauty sleep? Get up now or leave!" Patricia felt too groggy to fight so she just said, "Ok, I'm sorry, Mr. Herbert. I'm awake." Mr. Herbert glared at her and continued teaching his lesson.

The Land of Candy spread before me. I licked my lips as chocolate bunnies bounded through the peanut butter fields. I heard the songs of the sour gummy birds in the taffy trees. My tummy rumbled when I saw caramel cobwebs spun by sugar spiders in rock candy caves. I wanted to eat everything that I saw, but Mr. Travis had warned me against that. He said that the elders would view me as a monster if word got out that I was ravaging the Land of Candy to appease my sweet tooth.

Rudy took a bite of the sandwich. Even though he did not like eggs, he knew that eating it would make Marissa happy. It did. Marissa was pleased as punch to see Rudy enjoying the sandwich that she had made for him. "Do you like it?" Marissa asked excitedly. Rudy lied with a big fake smile, "Yup! Eggs are my favorite. This is so good." Nothing could have made Marissa happier.

Toby the Clown had a happy face painted over his frown. When he had first joined the circus, he loved the thrill of performing, but now his heart wasn't in it. That made him sad. He went to see Zobar the Mighty, who always cheered him up. Zobar was tearing up phone books. Toby the Clown told him how he felt. Zobar shrugged and said, "The thing about a job is that you don't have to like it. You just have to do it." This response did not improve Toby's mood.

The cafeteria is large but it is crowded. Students sit at every table and there are but a few empty seats. You don't have very many choices, yet the choices you have are important. As a new student at this school, you are being watched by many of the others. Whom you associate with early will affect how the other students will perceive you. The wrong choice could make your life much harder for the next few years. So, what do you do? Here you stand, where do you sit?

An old man was throwing breadcrumbs at a group of pigeons. No matter where the breadcrumbs landed, a big grey pigeon with a white spot on his head seemed to get the largest portion. The old man threw a large crust morsel away from the big grey pigeon and toward a smaller white pigeon. As soon as the white pigeon got a bite of the bread crust, the big grey pigeon snatched it and began eating it. Then the old man tore up the remaining bread crusts and threw them all at once. The pigeons flocked around the feast.

Chef Blanka marveled at the length of the lunch line. She knew that there was no way that they could feed all of these students. "There might be enough food for a quarter of 'em," she thought to herself. Chef Blanka exchanged looks with Sous Chef Tamika. Sous Chef Tamika was thinking the same thing. Sous Chef Tamika wanted to run home and come back tomorrow, but she didn't want to let these kids down. Her daughter was in that line. She felt like she had to do something.

"You need to try harder, Kyle, if you want to graduate," Mr. Jenkins intoned. Kyle nodded his head, but he wasn't really listening. He was picturing himself snowboarding down a mountain while Mr. Jenkins lectured him. Somehow, Kyle knew exactly where to put the "uh-huhs" even though he wasn't listening to a word that Mr. Jenkins was saying. "Do you want to graduate, Kyle?" Mr. Jenkins asked. "Uh-huh," replied Kyle.

Time travel is exhausting. It took me 200 million years to realize that. Well, actually it only took me a few seconds, but I first realized it about 200 million years ago. That was the first time that I travelled through time. "Try it!" said the mad scientist. "History needs you," he told me. Little did I know how right he was.

Rock music was playing through the speakers at the gas station. John jumped out the window of his yellow Jeep without opening the door. As he pumped gas into the Jeep, he danced to the rock music. A girl with blonde hair was walking past. She said, "Wow, partner, you can really move." John tipped his hat to her and winked, and then he continued his performance. Now John climbed onto the hood of his Jeep and began stomping, shaking his hips, and clapping. Gas overflowed from the tank of the Jeep and spilled onto the ground. John continued to strut his stuff.

Brandon stepped to the pitcher's mound. He held the ball in his mitt and adjusted his fingers on the seams. He could feel the pressure of the moment. It was the ninth inning. His team was up by one. The bases were loaded. "You can do it," Brandon thought to himself, but he felt hesitation in his heart. He stared at the batter. His name was Jimmy. Jimmy could sense Brandon's hesitation. He was going to capitalize on it. Jimmy knew that Brandon was going to throw it down the middle. He couldn't wait to take a swing. This was Jimmy's chance to be a hero and he had no intentions of blowing it.

The waves slapped the rocks. The sound calmed me. That sounds always calmed me. Something about the violence of the sea made my own emotions seems petty. The Sun laid down on the horizon. The air was still. But the sea, the sea, the sea. I took a deep breath and adjusted my position on the sharp rocks.