"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Matson, Stacey"@en . "2019-08-31T00:00:00"@en . "2012"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "Arthur Unknown is a realistic middle-grade novel that explores themes of expectation and\nhonesty in the world of a smart, funny, and socially awkward student learning to navigate the\nnew, turbulent waters of junior high school. English class assignments, school newspaper\narticles, emails and reading journal responses tell the story of Arthur Bean, a grade seven kid\ndesperate to win the city-wide short story contest. The problem is, he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s kind of out of ideas\nright now. In a moment of desperation, he steals the story of his secret love, his creative\nwriting partner Kennedy Laurel. When both stories get chosen as final contest submissions,\nArthur needs to find a new story. A solution comes from an unlikely ally, Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s tutoring\npartner and bully Robbie Zack, but at a price."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/42099?expand=metadata"@en . "ARTHUR UNKNOWN by Stacey Matson B.F.A., The University of Calgary, 2000 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Children\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Literature) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2012 \u00C2\u00A9 Stacey Matson, 2012 ii Abstract Arthur Unknown is a realistic middle-grade novel that explores themes of expectation and honesty in the world of a smart, funny, and socially awkward student learning to navigate the new, turbulent waters of junior high school. English class assignments, school newspaper articles, emails and reading journal responses tell the story of Arthur Bean, a grade seven kid desperate to win the city-wide short story contest. The problem is, he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s kind of out of ideas right now. In a moment of desperation, he steals the story of his secret love, his creative writing partner Kennedy Laurel. When both stories get chosen as final contest submissions, Arthur needs to find a new story. A solution comes from an unlikely ally, Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s tutoring partner and bully Robbie Zack, but at a price. iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ................................................................................................................................ v Arthur Unknown ..................................................................................................................... 1 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 301 iv Acknowledgements There are many people to thank for their invaluable help in getting this story from a mere seed to a full manuscript. I would first like to thank Linda Svendsen for her encouraging words, her positive feedback, and her dedication to helping me make this manuscript all it can be. I would also like to thank Judy Brown for starting the process of the MA with me, and supporting me throughout on my committee with her keen eye for detail and extensive knowledge of the genre. Rhea Tregebov was extremely supportive and helped me to create fuller characters and tighten plot points along the way. A special thanks goes to Maggie de Vries, whose class proved to be the inception of Arthur Bean and his friends, and her support and feedback at the beginning of the process inspired me to continue telling this story. Thanks are due as well to those involved in the MACL program, particularly Judi Saltman and Theresa Rogers. Thank you to Benoit Morin at the Library of Parliament for allowing me the opportunity to follow my heart to the west coast. The friends I have made in the program and friends back in my other two hometowns have been incredibly inspiring and supportive while embarking into this new world, and for that I thank them. I also want to thank my family: Robert and Diane Matson, for being exceptionally supportive, encouraging me, and building a home blessed with creativity; Curtiss and Andrew Matson who made me tough enough to hang with the boys; Courtney Wilson for providing laughter, trust, honesty and the bottle of wine (when necessary.) v Dedication For my parents, Robert and Diane Matson. 1 Assignment One: Welcome to grade seven! My name is Ms. Whitehead, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m teaching Language Arts and Creative Writing this year. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m originally from Toronto, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been teaching junior high school students for three years. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a pleasure for me to have you in my class, and I hope that we will be able to explore and create some wonderful and imaginative spaces together this year. In my spare time (when I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not marking homework) I like to canoe, cross country ski, and take my dog Bruno for walks. My favourite book is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and my favourite play is A Midsummer Night\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Dream by Shakespeare. I hope that it will be your favourite play soon too, since we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be studying it this winter! For your first assignment, please write a few short paragraphs about yourself, much like I have done here. Tell me about your family, your favourite school subject, any sports or hobbies that you enjoy, and anything else you would like to share. Have fun with this assignment, and be as creative as you would like! Due Date: September 10th Hello. My name is Arthur Aaron Bean. I live with my dad. He looks like me, but he wears glasses and has less hair. I like to knit and watch movies. I like creative writing, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad that we will do that. I was probably the best writer in my elementary school, and I plan on getting rich off the next great American novel that I write. My most profound work so far is the heart-warming story called \u00E2\u0080\u009CSockland.\u00E2\u0080\u009D In this short story, a little boy climbs into the dryer during a game of hide and seek with his older brothers. He is accidentally 2 shrunk, and crawls through the dryer vent into Sockland. Sockland is a land where missing socks go to live. He enjoys it for a while, but then finds that single socks are very boring, and needs to find a way to get home. He then gets the socks to help him by promising to send their partners through the tunnel, and he crawls back up into the dryer to rejoin humanland. Mrs. Lewis said it was highly original and that I showed real promise in becoming the next JK Rowling. I thought I should let you know that you will probably find my writing to be of a higher quality than, say, Robbie Zack\u00E2\u0080\u0099s writing. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not pointing fingers, but I watched Robbie spell thoughts as \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthots\u00E2\u0080\u009D on his spelling test. Good luck with that one. Dear Arthur, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad that creative writing excites you, and it sounds like you are ready to challenge yourself in my class. I look forward to reading some of your work. I hope to learn more about your hobbies as the year progresses. One more note: please be respectful of your classmates. Remember that everyone has different strengths, and bad spelling doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean that someone is not creative. Agatha Christie was a terrible speller and look how famous her books are! Ms. Whitehead Dear Ms. Whitehead, Who is Agatha Christie? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 3 ATTENTION ALL FUTURE AUTHORS! Terry Fox Junior High is pleased to be participating in the annual, citywide Junior Authors short story contest. Winners of the contest will be published in a special \u00E2\u0080\u009CJunior Authors\u00E2\u0080\u009D issue of Writers Write Now (WWN) magazine and win $200! Watch this board for more details! 4 Assignment Two: Write a letter to your future self. The future setting is up to you: you can write to yourself at the end of this school year, when you are graduating high school, when you get married, or maybe when you are retiring! Imagine what your life will be like, and ask yourself some questions. Be sure to write about your life now too! Please ensure to use the proper letter structure we covered in class. Due Date: September 30th 5 Arthur Bean Apt 16, 155 Tormey Street Calgary, AB T3B 1A5 A.A. Bean 1 Park Avenue Penthouse New York, NY V4F 4G4 September 29 Dear Future Arthur, Hello. How are you? I am fine, thank you for asking. I am glad that you live in New York. A penthouse on Park Avenue sounds nice. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s one of the most expensive places in Monopoly, so you must be very famous and very rich. How is your wife, Kennedy? It seems so funny to me to think that it is only this year that I met this blonde goddess. Alas, she is in Ireland. Of course, you and I both know that this is an inside joke and that by Ireland, I mean she is in Mrs. Ireland\u00E2\u0080\u0099s class and so I only see her during gym class. Remember how you saw her every day and never said anything to her, but then you asked her to dance at the Halloween dance? It was so nice the way she fainted in your arms and you were so manly, picking her up and carrying her out of the dance. From then on, she called you her prince. Does she still call you Prince Arthur? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait until this actually happens, since it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s only September here. I bet the Halloween dance is the same night that Robbie Zack got rabies and died. May he rest in peace. 6 How is your most recent famous novel coming along? I only just started Part One of our autobiography, and I am still working on the next great American novel. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so glad you were able to finish it and write 45 more books. Which book did you sell to become a movie first? I hope it was a good movie. I am sure you will win an Oscar for best writing. In case you were wondering about me, things are OK. Pickles has run away again. She was a terrible cat anyway, and her hair was falling out. I think she is sad that Mom is gone. Or maybe she ran off with the tabby two doors down to start a new cat family. Either way, I kind of miss her a lot. I have started knitting my first sweater. Nicole from next door says that my stitches are very even. Do you remember when she taught us how to knit? Do you still knit, or are you too busy being famous? Anyway, I hope my sweater is finished by the time it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s cold outside, which might be tomorrow. HAHAHA. My next project will be a sweater for Pickles if she ever comes back. Please tell Kennedy that I love her, and write back soon. HAHAHA. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 7A Class 7 Arthur, Your letter is well structured with a good use of different paragraphs for different ideas. Your use of humour is great; however, please (again) refrain from killing off your classmates. Respect goes a long way. Ms. Whitehead 8 ATTENTION ALL FUTURE AUTHORS! The Junior Authors contest begins this week, and everyone is encouraged to participate! Stories must be between four and ten pages in length, double-spaced. A final copy must be handed in to your Language Arts teacher on or before February 17th. The English department will judge the entries and choose three finalists from each grade to move forward. All nine finalists\u00E2\u0080\u0099 stories will be published in a special edition of the school newspaper, The Marathon, in early March. From there, you will all have the opportunity to vote for your favourite story in a secret ballot competition and choose the winning story to represent the talented students of Terry Fox Jr. High in the WWN magazine. DEADLINE FOR STORIES: FEBRUARY 17th 9 Ongoing Reading Journal: As we move through the year, we will be reading and discussing books in class and in small groups. I would like you to keep track of your thoughts about these books and other books you read this year in an ongoing reading journal. You may want to write about how the book made you feel, what you like or do not like about the book, or what the book means to you. Feel free to write about any books you read in your journal; your mark will be a participation mark, meaning that you will not be judged on your writing style or your feelings about the books, but on how you respond to the work we do in class. Hopefully by writing down your thoughts about the books, we will elevate the in-class conversations. October 1st Dear Reading Journal, Do you mind if I call you RJ? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve always wanted to have a friend who only goes by their initials. There was a kid named PJ in my elementary school, but he wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t very nice to me. He used to hang out with Robbie Zack, and together they would pick on kids that were smaller than them. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not my fault that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m short. PJ used to laugh when Robbie Zack would put mouldy sandwiches in my gym bag every morning after the bell rang. Robbie would tell people that I smelled like farts because my last name was Bean. But I smelled like farts because he put mouldy food in my backpack. Like I try and tell my dad, it ain\u00E2\u0080\u0099t easy being Bean. So I think maybe Robbie is like the jerk kids in Word Nerd. Or maybe like the whole school in The Chocolate War. Although Robbie never beat me up, so I guess it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not as bad 10 as in the books. Speaking of books, I thought Word Nerd was good, but The Chocolate War was boring, and I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get the ending. Did the guy die? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t tell. Good night RJ. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 11 Assignment Three: Write an elegy or an ode like the ones we studied in class. Your poem must be at least three stanzas long. Perhaps you would like to write a funny elegy (maybe about the death of your favourite pair of shoes) or an inspirational ode. Have fun with it! A quick review: An ode is a poem that compliments someone or something that inspires the poet. An elegy is a mournful or sad poem, usually written as a funeral song or a lament for the dead. Due date: October 14th 12 DO YOU WANT TO WIN THE JUNIOR AUTHORS WRITING CONTEST? Terry Fox Jr. High wants you to win too! To help out our future Hemingways and Shakepeares, Ms. Whitehead will be starting a creative writing circle this Thursday at lunch. The Writers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 Circle will offer assistance and moral support throughout your writing process. We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll talk about some tips for writing the best story you can, including writing prompts, creative partners, and some mini-grammar lessons. Hope to see you there! 13 Assignment Three: Elegy for Bobby Mack, a totally made up bully who is not based on any person in my real life By Arthur Bean Your father\u00E2\u0080\u0099s football jacket That never fit you anyway Lies empty on your floor Since I doubt you put your clothes in the closet What an embarrassing thing To die like Elvis did But not to be famous So it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not even cool Your dreams of working The night shift at McDonalds Were flushed down the toilet That night I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure Trevor and Rich Will miss you on the bus But I will not, since I could smell you 14 And I sat three seats ahead of you Never again will I be forced to listen To your dumb, stupid insults About my knitting and my looks Both of which are cool, by the way Your voice, once louder and More obnoxious than 1000 screaming chimps Will yell stupidities no more The world breathes a sigh of relief. Arthur, Please see me after class. Ms. Whitehead Rewritten Assignment 3: An Ode to Knitting By Arthur Bean Oh the sound of the needles Clicking and clacking away They sound like a pair of beetles Mating on a pile of hay 15 My sweater is practically finished There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s only one arm left to do But I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve run out of wool that will match Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think that I feel diminished I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll just knit in a few rows of blue And hope that my new fad will catch Most people say that it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s geeky That a boy who makes sweaters should quit But that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s when I say something cheeky: I tell them \u00E2\u0080\u009CIt takes balls to knit!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Arthur, This is much better use of your talents! A good use of humour and rhyming; a proper ode to your unique hobby! Ms Whitehead 16 Writers Circle As promised, listed below are your Writers Circle partners; please exchange email addresses or phone numbers. I have tried to match each of you with someone who is not in your English class, so I hope you feel comfortable sharing your stories. Perhaps you will find a new friend too! Remember, you are paired up to give positive feedback and constructive criticism! A little encouragement and openness to sharing goes a long way! Oliver Keith and Gene Lepora Asira Jaffer and Sophie Larocque Kennedy Laurel and Arthur Bean Ty Jerot and Ruby Fu Amelia St.Jean and Sierra Donald Jessica James, Marie-Josee Laroque and Emma Wilson 17 October 15th Dear RJ, Today we were reading a book in class, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really remember anything about it. This is for two reasons. One reason is because the book was dumb, and seemed to involve cowboys and horses, which seems very outdated since no one is really a cowboy anymore. The second reason is because Kennedy Laurel is going to be my partner for creative writing! This will be difficult, I think, since I want to be supportive of her work, but I also want to win the competition. I bet her story is a love story. I heard from Oliver yesterday that Kennedy has a boyfriend and he is in grade nine. So I bet her story will be all kisses and true love, which is total crap. My story will be way better, but I still love her, so I hope she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not too sad when she comes in second. I think that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m supposed to say something here about the book. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s okay, because the author is pretty good about explaining how it feels when your mom is gone. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like my life is the same as the dumb cowboy in the book who is not crying. Except I am not a cowboy, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m definitely not going to be crying after I win $200. So now, all I need is the greatest idea ever for the greatest story. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 18 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: October 23rd at 9:21 Hi Arthur! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m really excited that you are my creative writing partner!!! Lol!! I LOVE writing stories, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s gonna be really fun sharing ideas with you! I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even know you liked writing! You should join the newspaper! We have a lot of fun reporting on stuff! And it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s GREAT practice for writing! So far, I think my story for the contest is going to be an alien story! It will be something about a guy who is locked in a mental institution because he sees ALIENS and keeps telling people that they are coming for him, but people think he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s crazy. Of course, the aliens will be real lol! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure how it will end yet, but probably something GORY! Do you have any ideas?! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: October 23rd at 10:04 Hi Kennedy, I love you From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: October 23rd at 10:09 Sorry Kennedy! I accidentally hit send before finishing that sentence. I meant to say I love your idea! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how your story should end, but I will think about it. I also will join the newspaper with you. That sounds good. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure how much time I will be able to spend on it, since I write a lot already. I plan on becoming a world famous author, so I need 19 to practice. I think my story will be an epic story. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been thinking that maybe it will be the story of a poor man who thinks he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a knight. He lives in a village and thinks that windmills are dragons, so he tries to kill them. It sounds funny, but it will be very sad. He will think that the peasant in the next village is a princess for him to save. At the end, he will die of heartbreak. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s sort of the main storyline so far. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: October 23rd at 20:13 Hi Arthur! You are SO funny! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad you are going to join the newspaper! That will make TWO new reporters lol! Robbie Z is also going to join! Do you know Robbie? We are next-door neighbours! Well, not quite, but he lives across the street and we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been playing baseball on the same team SINCE T-BALL! Anyways, your story sounds pretty good, but um... I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m pretty sure that there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a famous story like that already. My parents took me to a play called Don Quixote and it was kind of the same as your story! Maybe you saw the same play and forgot that you saw it LOL! That happens to me all the time too LOL! I bet you could change it though, and make it a new story! LOTS of great writers re-write other stories! Anyways, have a good weekend and I will see you at the newspaper meeting on Monday at lunch! Room 204! My boyfriend is taking me BOWLING tomorrow lol! Too funny lol! Kennedy :) 20 October 24th Dear RJ, We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re still reading the modern cowboy book in class. Why do authors write stories based in \u00E2\u0080\u009Creality\u00E2\u0080\u009D? It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s lame. First, like I said before, cowboys aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really real, not the way books describe them. And no kid would ever call himself a cowboy. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like kids who play D&D calling themselves geeks. Cowboys Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t Cry? Of course they don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t. And in Social Studies we learned that practically no one lives outside of cities in Canada anyway, so who would \u00E2\u0080\u009Cidentify\u00E2\u0080\u009D with this book? I bet Ms. Whitehead would say that it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s \u00E2\u0080\u009Csymbolic.\u00E2\u0080\u009D My mom told me that symbolism in books was all made-up, but I think that the ranch in this book symbolizes boredom for everybody who has to read it. I would rather read a story where the world isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t real, where the world is made up with ogres and knights and magic. At least then the good guys are good guys, and the princess doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a next door neighbour who is a guy who \u00E2\u0080\u009Caccidentally\u00E2\u0080\u009D hits people on the head with his backpack on his way to the back of the bus. She also doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a boyfriend in grade nine who takes her bowling. Who goes bowling anyway? In my story, I wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t kill off the parents either, because it sucks for the kid reads that book and know what it feels like when their mom dies, and it sucks for everybody else who has to be in a class with a kid whose mom has died and then they look at him to answer all the questions the teacher asks about how the character is feeling. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 21 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: October 25th at 21:10 Hi Arthur! I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see you at the newspaper meeting at lunch today! Then I thought that maybe I forgot to tell you what room it was in lol! ANYWAYS, I signed you up to do an article on the Halloween dance! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait to see your costume! Also, have you thought more about your story? I think that maybe in mine one of the nurses will be an ALIEN! Crazy twist lol! Kennedy :) 22 Assignment Four: Write an acrostic poem about a person in your life. It could be a poem about your dog, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your grandmother, or maybe even a poem about a celebrity you find inspiring. A reminder: an acrostic poem uses the first letter of a word or name at the beginning of each line. Extra points if your poem rhymes! Due date: October 28th Assignment Four: My Dad by Arthur Bean Every night, he sits in a chair Reality shows on the TV blare Not watching them really Each one looks so silly Sometimes he smiles weakly To me it looks meekly But he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s there every night Ernest Bean will be alright As long as he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not dumb, and Never forgets my mom. 23 Dear Arthur, Your acrostic is a lovely ode to your father, but it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s quite sad. Maybe next time you can try focusing on his best qualities or your favourite memories that include him. Did he teach you to ride a bicycle? Does he play catch with you in the backyard? This is a real departure from the humour in your previous work. Know that you can speak to me privately should you be encountering any problems at school or at home. Ms. Whitehead 24 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: October 26th at 17:04 Hi Arthur! Did you get my message about the newspaper and the article about the Halloween dance? I never heard back from you! The dance is on Friday night, I HOPE you can make it! I still don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a costume! My bf wants to go as Fred and Wilma from the FLINTSTONES lol! I told him that was crazy since I have BLONDE hair not red lol! Now I think we will go as a fisherman and a mermaid LOL! Anyway, Mr. Everett wants to have a first draft of your story at the newspaper meeting on MONDAY at NOON. OK, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m off to do some homework lol! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: October 26th at 17:20 Dear Kennedy, Sorry I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make it to the meeting. I wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t sure I wanted to join anymore. But since you seem so excited about it, I will be at the dance. I think I will go as a reporter. Funny huh? See you on Friday. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure it will be fun. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 25 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: October 26th at 19:06 Hooray!!! LOVE the costume idea LOLOLOL!!! Kennedy :) 26 Halloween Dance a Scream by Arthur Bean Terry Fox Junior High had a howler of a good time on Friday night at the Halloween dance. Taking first prize in the couples\u00E2\u0080\u0099 costume contest were Amanda Lawrence and Jeffrey Wong for their inspired \u00E2\u0080\u009CRomeo and Ghouliet\u00E2\u0080\u009D costumes. Placing a close second were Kennedy Laurel and Sandy Dickason as \u00E2\u0080\u009CFisherman and Mermaid\u00E2\u0080\u009D. Their second place finish is likely because Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s mermaid costume clearly outdid her boyfriend\u00E2\u0080\u0099s flannel shirt and rubber boots. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just pretending to be in costume. Everyone thought that Oliver Keith\u00E2\u0080\u0099s \u00E2\u0080\u009CQuasimodo\u00E2\u0080\u009D would win Best Individual Costume, but he lost to Peter Lee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s \u00E2\u0080\u009CCouch Potato\u00E2\u0080\u009D costume. I have a \u00E2\u0080\u009Chunch\u00E2\u0080\u009D Quasimodo will be \u00E2\u0080\u009Cback\u00E2\u0080\u009D next year. The party really started when the vampire DJ went on his coffin break, and the mummy DJ started spinning wrap music. The most shocking event of the night was when Robbie Zack, dressed as a cannibal, was suspended from school. He was found in the Home Ec room, buttering up the teacher. Hiya Arthur, A punster, like myself! What a great start on your first article. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to look it over and make some edits in time for publication on Friday. For your next article, try to focus on finding the story, and not just the puns. Very funny, though! Cheers! Mr. Everett P.S.: Why did the monster eat a light bulb? She wanted a light snack! 27 Assignment Five: Many of you have realized that your favourite poem shapes your own writing. Sometimes we can find inspiration in the words of our colleagues. I have assigned you a partner and would like you to write four to six stanzas of a \u00E2\u0080\u009Ccall and response\u00E2\u0080\u009D poem. In this poem, the first person (Person A) writes the first stanza. Then Person B will write a stanza that responds to Person A\u00E2\u0080\u0099s writing. Person A will then respond to Person B and so forth. You may find yourselves surprised at what wonders collaboration can create! Due: End of Class today! (November 1st) Assignment Five: Call and Response Poem by Arthur Bean and Robbie Zack (Robbie) Poettry is for loosers Sports are way more cool Like hockey and bassketball And even baseball is better than a pome (Arthur) Your lack of intelligence astounds me But then, your mean streak does too Sports are for idiots, jerks and bullies In short, they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re for people like you (Robbie) There not for jerks, nerdball 28 There for people with skills like stick handleing And running fast Leaving loosers in dust Where you will be (Arthur) I know you think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re cool Cuz you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re bigger than kids like me But I will be famous, and you will be dumb In the future, you just wait and see (Robert) whatever. your not worth my time i just want to rite about sports (Arthur) You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re confusing your you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re with your your Something we learned in grade three But I guess to you grammar doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t matter Cuz it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not needed when you work at McD\u00E2\u0080\u0099s 29 November 3rd Dear Ernest, Your son Arthur is in my Language Arts and Creative Writing class. He is bright, enthusiastic, and participates often in class discussions. However, I have some concerns about his behaviour, particularly concerning his interactions with one of his classmates, Robert Zack. I am worried about his aggression towards Robert, and the disdain he shows for Robert\u00E2\u0080\u0099s work. Robert is a student who struggles in the Language Arts setting, and I believe that it might be a great help to both Arthur and Robert to work together. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m proposing that Arthur become Robert\u00E2\u0080\u0099s tutor for the next few months. I feel that Robert could certainly benefit from Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s knowledge and passion for the English language, and it may help Arthur to become more understanding of the other people\u00E2\u0080\u0099s foibles and challenges. I understand that Arthur and Robert have had some confrontations in the past, and I hope that some structured time one on one will help them interact on a more positive basis. The Terry Fox Jr. High peer tutoring process takes place for one hour each week, directly after school, on an afternoon that is mutually convenient for the tutor and tutee. With your consent, I will set up a time to meet with Robert and Arthur to discuss the tutoring process. Should you have any questions, please don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Alexa Whitehead Dear Ms. Whitehead, I would like to point out that my father is very strict about people referring to him as Ernest. He won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like you being so personal by using his first name instead of Mr. Bean. 30 Secondly, I am very busy after school. I have activities on every evening, and I have writing to do for the school competition AND the newspaper. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think I could make it work with my very busy extra-curricular schedule. I think you should reconsider sending this letter to my dad at all. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a very busy man, and he is also very sad about losing his wife, so if he thinks his son is bad, it might break his heart, and leave me an orphan. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you think I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been through enough? Yours truly, Arthur Bean Arthur, Please keep this revised letter in this sealed envelope for delivery to your father. Thank you, Ms. Whitehead 31 November 4th Dear RJ, I know that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m supposed to use you for reading responses, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m responding to a letter that Ms. Whitehead wrote to my father. It sucks. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the stupidest letter I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve ever seen, and the stupidest idea ever. For one thing, I think Robbie will just use the time for tutoring to spit on my paper. He used to do that in grade five when we sat across from each other. Then I got in trouble for handing in wet math problems, and the cool girls called me Droolyface. Not only that, but Robbie is clearly stupid. My mom used to say that calling people stupid is the worst thing you can do, but I think that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s stupid. Sorry, Mom. Some people are stupid. People like Robbie Zack, and people like Ms. Whitehead for coming up with some crappy punishment for me because she knows I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m probably smarter than she is and that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to be famous and never dedicate a book to her. I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even thank her in the Thank You section. Anyway RJ, I just wanted to tell you this because no one else will listen. If ever you want to tell me something RJ, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll listen HAHAHA. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 32 November 4th Dear Mr. Everett, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been thinking a lot about my place in the newspaper club, and I would like to write a column once a month. In my article, I will comment on goings-on at school and in the world as I see them. I promise it will be funny, especially since I am practicing to be a famous author one day. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Hiya Arthur, Your suggestion for a running article is an interesting one! What enthusiasm and initiative for the newspaper! The thing is, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been talking to a few of your teachers, and we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re not certain it would be the best use of your talents for the newspaper club right now. Why don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you cover the Remembrance Day Assembly instead? We can see how that goes, along with a few other articles in the next couple of months and perhaps try a sample of a running article after a few more editions. Cheers! Mr. E 33 November 5th Dear Alexa, Please consider this letter as consent for Arthur to participate in the tutoring program. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s able to help out. Ernie B. 34 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: November 9th Worked On: Synonyms I think this is impossible. This guy is a turd. -Arthur I concur (agree)- Robbie 35 Assignment Six: Write a poem for Remembrance Day. Look at some of the poems we read and studied in class for inspiration. Perhaps your poem is inspirational, or perhaps it is anti-war. Maybe you want to consider writing the poetic story of a soldier in WWII. We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll read the works in class and choose a favourite to be read at the school Remembrance Day Assembly. Due Date: November 10th Assignment Six: War By Arthur Bean In schoolyard fields The insults are said Between the bullies Grade to grade They don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t throw bombs They throw water balloons They think they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re funny They\u00E2\u0080\u0099re just dumb baboons We are the nerds Short days ago, we knit, Felt pride, wrote songs And poems, then felt wronged And now we hide In classrooms, side by side Away from schoolyard fields 36 Take up our battle with the foe To cooler kids we throw The answers to next week\u00E2\u0080\u0099s test And maybe they won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t pick on us At least until we miss the bus And have to wait In schoolyard fields Dear Arthur, Your re-imagined poem of In Flanders Fields is very interesting. Although war can be considered bullying on a larger scale, your liberal interpretation of the assignment would be inappropriate for a school assembly marking Remembrance Day. Ms. Whitehead 37 We Shall Grow Old During the Assembly By Arthur Bean Terry Fox Jr. High celebrated another Remembrance Day with an assembly on November 11th. As expected from an assembly, there was the usual singing of the national anthem, a bad rendition of a mournful song by the choral club, and some speakers. Three poems were read, one by a student in each grade. Representing the grade nines was Mikayla Connors, reading a rhyming poem pretending she was a dead soldier from World War 1. Grade eight student Brianna Lau read her poem about being a dead soldier from World War Two, and finishing off the trio was grade seven student Paige Petrovych, who read, yes you got it, her poem about being a soldier who watches his best friend die in World War 1. Certainly there were better poems in the grade seven class than this overwrought free verse. In case you fell asleep during this part of the show, you can read all three poems on page 5 of this edition of the Terry Fox Jr High Marathon. The poems were followed by the obligatory two minutes of silence, one of which was punctuated by a teacher\u00E2\u0080\u0099s cell phone ringing. Read more about the school cell phone policy on page one. The best part of the assembly was the talk from a soldier who recently served in Afghanistan. Lt. Ducharme was funny but also serious, and told us some great and sad stories about life as a soldier and about living in a war zone. He should come to every assembly. Hiya Arthur, There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s some great work in your writing here! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve covered some of the major points of the assembly, and I like how you refer your readers to other parts of the newspaper. 38 For your next piece, focus on being more objective while you are reporting. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s awesome that you covered everything so completely, so now try and look at your subject like a scientist! You know, objectively, and not really adding your own personal commentary. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done some editing on your article to show you what I mean-check it out! Would you like to try covering a school sporting event next? The boys\u00E2\u0080\u0099 volleyball finals are next week. Should be a smashing game! Cheers! Mr. E Dear Mr. Everett, No offence, but sports don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t interest me. What I would really like is to write my own opinion pieces, since you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve said that my voice is so strong. How about I write one article for the December edition of the paper, and you can review it beforehand? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll have an article for you by the end of the week! Yours truly, Arthur Bean Hiya Arthur, I think I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d like to see more articles from you before we look into a new format. After all, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m still learning about the best format for the school paper too! The trials of being a 1st year teacher! Could you review the short film that the AV Club made this fall? They will be showing it every lunch hour the first week of December in the drama room, but are willing to do a preview for the newspaper. I bet it leaves you reeling! Cheers! Mr. E 39 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: November 16th Worked On: Homonyms Ms. W, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s problem is, but hes the worst tutor ever. Their must be another guy out there. -Robbie Ms. Whitehead, It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s my belief that if Robbie actually paid attention to what I was saying, he may actually have learnt what a homonym is, rather than using it for an hour as an insult about my \u00E2\u0080\u009Cgirly-man\u00E2\u0080\u009D nature. Arthur 40 Assignment Seven: We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re going to be starting our unit on A Midsummer Night\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Dream this week. To prepare, I would like you to write a short two paragraphs, imagining yourself as an actor or an audience member in Shakespeare\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time. What does it feel like to be onstage? What does it smell like? What are you wearing? Did you have to sneak in as a groundling to see the show, or are you rich enough to buy a seat? Please use at least seven adjectives and five adverbs in describing the scene you are creating. Due Date: November 18th Assignment Seven: My Life as Shakespeare By Arthur Bean The Globe Theatre is putting on my play again tonight. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s wonderfully exciting that they created this whole theatre just for me. I adjust my funny looking wig, and smooth out my greasy moustache. It smells in here, like it does every night. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s too bad that the audience doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t bathe ever. The stench of onions and garlic swirl around me disgustingly. It also smells strongly of rancid feet. It reminds me of my own father\u00E2\u0080\u0099s feet when he takes off his boots after spending the day doing farm work, but a hundred thousand times worse. I gag quietly, so that the actors don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hear me. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want them to think I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like their acting. The thing is, though, is that I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like their acting. The guy playing the king is okay, but the prince is really overbearing, saying all his lines too quickly and loudly. There is no emotion in his voice. But the audience doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mind. They clap loudly, and call out adjectives like \u00E2\u0080\u009CWonderful!\u00E2\u0080\u009D, \u00E2\u0080\u009CFantastic!\u00E2\u0080\u009D, \u00E2\u0080\u009CGrandly Delightful!\u00E2\u0080\u009D and \u00E2\u0080\u009CStupendous work 41 Mr. Shakespeare!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Thankfully, they can see who the really brilliant person is in this round theatre tonight. Arthur, This is some nice work in describing how Shakespeare might feel about his work. However, I was hoping that you would focus more on the atmosphere of the play, rather than on the opinions of the playwright. I also find your subtle mocking of the assignment parameters unpleasant and unnecessary. Ms. Whitehead 42 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: November 20th at 10:00 Hi Arthur! I was thinking that maybe we could swap story beginnings this week! I have part of my story, but I was hoping to get your feedback BEFORE I go too far lol! I am having trouble with my main character! Right now it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a man, but I THINK it might be more fun to have it be a woman! GRRRL POWER LOL!!! Anyway, how is your story coming? Do you have a new idea? Let me know if you want to swap soon! I think that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s how this is supposed to work with partners right LOL?! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: November 20th at 10:20 Dear Kennedy, I think that swapping stories is a great idea! I would love to read your story. Mine is still very rough, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m having a little trouble mapping out where I want it go, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure how much I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll have to share with you. But I would love to read your story and give you my thoughts. Having not read it, I know I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t say this yet, but I think a woman protagonist is a great idea. My mom read a lot of science fiction and always complained that the women in the books were only sex objects. So I say go for it! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 43 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: November 20th at 18:19 Awesome Arthur!!! I will send you something next week, and you can do the same. Maybe your mom can look over my story too, since she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a sci-fi expert lol!!! K:) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: November 20th at 18:23 Hi Kennedy, My mom can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t read your story. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s dead. Sorry about that. I guess you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll have to make do with just me. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: November 21st at 9:04 Arthur! I am soooooo sorry! I felt awful when I read your email last night!!! What a terrible friend I was, bringing up your mom like that! I cried a LOT when I read that. I had no idea! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so sorry if I made you sad by bringing it up! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so sad! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m amazed that you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t talk about it more at school and stuff! If you ever want to talk about it, or even just need a hug, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m here!! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry! Kennedy :( From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) 44 To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: November 21st at 10:35 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so sorry that I made you feel bad! I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean to! Sometimes I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how to say sad stuff. She died last year in May. It was really sad. She was the speech therapist at my school. She came in once a week and worked with different kids with lisps and who talked funny. One day, she didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t come in, because she had a brain aneurysm at home and died right then. I was really mad at her because I had to take the bus home that day, and I always looked forward to not taking the bus on Thursdays. I remember getting ready to yell at her about it, especially because it was after I did really badly on a math test. There were a couple of kids in my class who hated her because she made them do extra homework to practice speaking like everyone else. They called her Mrs. Mean. I guess she was pretty mean sometimes, but I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like that everyone knew that my mom was kind of mean sometimes. After she died, no one had to go to speech therapy class for a month while they found someone else. I think most of the kids who went were pretty glad about that. I wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t glad though. Sometimes I still get mad at her for stuff sometimes, but then I get mad about being mad. She was really nice sometimes too. My dad called her the Queen Bean, and she thought that was really funny, and made beans for dinner every second week, no matter what. Since she died, my dad and I never eat beans anymore. Isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t that weird? Anyway, it totally sucked and I try not to think about it or talk about it because it still sucks. But I still think about her everyday. My neighbour Nicole taught me to knit because 45 she said that busy hands make a quiet mind. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s true, but maybe it works. If nothing else, I can make really good hats! Anyway, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to be a famous writer and dedicate my first book to her. I think she will like that. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know why I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m writing all this to you! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry! I just thought maybe you would feel better if you knew some of the story too. Maybe it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s worse, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve never had a mom who died before. Actually, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know anyone else that has died. I guess that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a good thing. Anyway, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really know what to say about it. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait to read your story next week. I will work on having something really good too. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: November 21st at 14:05 Hi Arthur! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so glad that you did tell me! I had no idea! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really sad- I wish for your sake that you had gotten to say good-bye to her! I kind of understand how you feel. My grandpa died last year, but he had cancer so that was hard too! I hated having to visit him in the hospital when he was so sick, but then I hated MYSELF for hating visiting my grandpa! It was AWFUL! I think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really impressive how well you are doing! You DEFINITELY still have your sense of humour which is kind of AMAZING! I would probably want to drop out of school if anyone in my family died! Your email also makes me sad that sometimes I wish 46 that something BAD would happen to my mom when she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s yelling at me about doing my homework or cleaning my room! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really want that to happen, but SOMETIMES she is SO ANNOYING! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe I am admitting this! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a TERRIBLE person! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I think you are AWESOME and you can send me emails WHENEVER you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re sad if you want! And I think you should dedicate your first book to her- that would be so nice! Kennedy ;) 47 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: November 23rd Worked On: Shakespeare\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time assignment Ms. W, even tho his hair looked really dumb today, artie was kind of helpful in checking my Shakspear assinement for misstakes. - Robbie Robert spent a lot of time today either talking to his friends at other tables or insulting my new haircut and coming up with rude words that rhyme with Artie. -Arthur 48 November 24th Dear RJ, I sure have been reading a lot of terrible things recently, so I thought I would tell you about them. The first one was Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s \u00E2\u0080\u009CLife in Shakespeare\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Time\u00E2\u0080\u009D assignment. His writing is really really bad, but his ideas are kind of interesting. He wrote this whole thing about being poor and not being able to get into the show, but listening to it while begging on the street. It was kind of sad, because his character couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have what he wanted, which was actually just to watch a play. But then he makes these stupid mistakes, like saying that the beggar would go to the food bank. Everyone knows that there was no food bank in the middle ages. Like I said, stupid. But I liked his idea. He seems to have all these stories ready all the time. I guess that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s what makes him such a good liar. Maybe that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s why I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t write any stories these days. So that was the first terrible thing I had to read. The second thing was in the newspaper at school. Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s boyfriend put in this like, ad-thing, saying that he thought she was cute and nice. Those were the words he used! Cute and nice! Those are two words I use to describe Pickles. And Pickles is a nine-year-old cat. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so lame! Then in gym class, she was all giggly about it, and I saw the newspaper cut out and hanging up in her locker when I went by the other day. Although it was underneath her movie poster of District Nine, so at least it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not surrounded by hearts or anything. Then I read Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s email asking for my mom to read her story. That made me pretty sad, and then I felt bad that I made her sad too. I just don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to say about it. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not like there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a magical way to tell people. It hadn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t come up in conversation. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not 49 going to be running laps beside Kennedy, and casually say \u00E2\u0080\u009COh hi Kennedy! Did I ever mention that my mom is dead? How many laps is this for you? Oh, nine? Yeah, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m on my fourth. Well, see you around...the track.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Hahaha. That little joke was for you RJ. I know you like a good one-liner. Nicole says that joking about it makes people uncomfortable, but sometimes I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how else to talk about it. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m just glad that she didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t seem weirded out by my email. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so awesome. I kind of love that she admitted that she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not perfect. It makes her even more perfect. And the last terrible thing I read was the first act of A Midsummer Night\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Dream. Ms. Whitehead is all \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthis is the greatest\u00E2\u0080\u009D and she laughs fakely at what Shakespeare called jokes. But I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get it. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s all \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthou\u00E2\u0080\u009D and \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthee\u00E2\u0080\u009D, and I know people think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s brilliant, but I think they just want to feel smart. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe we have to study this all the way until Christmas holidays. How am I supposed to get any inspiration for my own story from crappy plays like this one? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 50 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: November 28th at 21:21 Hi Arthur!!! OK, below is the BEGINNING of my story for the competition! I changed to a girl protagonist like you suggested, and she totally kicks ass LOL! Let me know your opinions- be honest lol! I want to win lololol!!! Can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait to read your beginning too! Send it to me whenever and I will read it post-haste lol! (We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re reading Shakespeare in my English class, and they say things like post-haste lol!) OK! Be honest (but I hope you like it lol!) Kennedy :) Untitled Story! LOL The brains of the alien were lavender and grey, and splattered all over Sophie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s perfectly matched brown and pink off-the-shoulder top and skinny jeans. She flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, showing off her rosebud earrings. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell? What should we do with it now?\u00E2\u0080\u009D She asked, slinging her bazooka over her left shoulder. She wiped the gory blood from her hands on her back pockets, and looked over at her partner. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI\u00E2\u0080\u0099d say we should bury it. Deep. Real deep,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Tom replied in his sombre bass tones. He looked at his own navy coveralls, covered with a red and green flannel shirt. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell, I guess we should start digging,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie said, reaching for the shovel... 51 Sophie woke with a start. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099d had that dream again. She tried to sit up, but found that her arms were still in the restraints locked to the rails of her bed. She pulled hard, but the restraints just cut into her wrists again, leaving her writhing in pain. She yelled out \u00E2\u0080\u009CNurse!\u00E2\u0080\u009D But no one came. No one ever came during the daytime. Only if you screamed and cursed in the middle of the night would the nurses come, with their long needles, glinting off the florescent lights of the hallway like golden teeth. \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou need to keep it down over there. They\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll hear you,\u00E2\u0080\u009D whispered the scratchy voice of the old woman in the bed next to Sophie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThey\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll come, and they\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll bite off your nose and your fingernails, and they won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t stop.\u00E2\u0080\u009D The old woman cackled madly. \u00E2\u0080\u009COf course, I wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mind if they ate my fingers... I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been trying to chew them off for years!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The woman\u00E2\u0080\u0099s violet hospital gown was falling off her shoulders, and her white hair was falling out. Or maybe she had pulled it out\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 Sophie shivered. It was now fifteen days that she had been in the hospital, and the dreams were getting worse. Dreams, though? No. She knew they were more than that. The aliens were real. She had seen them. She had strangled one until its eyeballs burst out its head in a gargantuan mess of crimson and white and light blue tendons, all over her favourite teal dress, the one with the black piping and oversized buttons at the collar. She couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make that up. And she had the dry cleaning bill to prove it. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: November 29th at 8:07 Wow Kennedy! This is amazing! I think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done a great job on starting your story. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really scary. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait to see what happens next. 52 One note: I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really get why you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve described all of the outfits of the characters. It seems out of place. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think you need those parts. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 53 November 29th Dear RJ, Things just got bad RJ. I read Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story beginning, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty great. And I have nothing. Nothing. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even know where to start. I want it to be great, better than Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story. It should be everything. Funny, sad, scary, provocative. Sure, Sockland was great when I was in grade 6, but now I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m in grade seven. I have to do something amazing, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got zip. What can I send to Kennedy in return? She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s asked me for the beginning. I thought by now I would have an idea. I was going to be provocative. If I start now, I can change the world later. Too bad I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know where to start. So to get inspired, I borrowed a copy of The Shining by Stephen King from Nicole\u00E2\u0080\u0099s bookshelf yesterday. I figured it was ok because I live right next door, and I plan on returning it when I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m done, but I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t tell her that I took it. Nicole is pretty laid back about stuff like that. Whenever she has friends over she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s always like \u00E2\u0080\u009CTake it! Bring it back whenever!\u00E2\u0080\u009D And since the librarian at the public library won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t let me take out adult books after that time my mom got angry at her for allowing me to take out the movie The Exorcist, and then I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t sleep for two months, I kind of have to borrow it under the radar. I want to read it because Stephen King is, like, really famous, and has written over a hundred books. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think The Shining can be that scary though. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s got a kid in it, and they live in a hotel. That sounds pretty cool to me. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 54 November 30th To Whom it May Concern, Please excuse Arthur Bean\u00E2\u0080\u0099s absence from school the past two days. He has been having trouble sleeping, and has had migraines in the mornings. Should you have any questions, please call me. Many thanks, Ernie B. 55 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: December 1st Worked On: Shakespeare stuff Ms. W, When even Artie dosn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like Shakespear, why do we all have to suffer? We talked today about how the school board should be changing the curriculum. how we should watch more movies in class. Artie calls it \u00E2\u0080\u009Cvisual litteracy\u00E2\u0080\u009D. its pretty important to us as the leaders of tomorrow, and we think you should look into changing the curiculum for next year. - Robbie Ms. Whitehead, It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s possible that Robbie and I have a shared hatred of overwritten plot lines and fancy words used for no reason. I think that says something. - Arthur 56 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: December 1st at 19:56 Dear Kennedy, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have anything to send to you yet. I find my best method of work is to fully visualize my piece, and then I like to write it on paper first. I find the sound of the pencil on paper is very creatively stimulating. But I can tell you what my story will be about. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s about a man, who lives in a hotel. He is a writer, but the ghosts in the hotel also haunt him. Then he goes crazy, and tries to kill his family with an axe. His son is also psychic, and can call up other psychic people, but his son also plays with the ghosts and goes a little crazy. And the man\u00E2\u0080\u0099s wife doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to do, so she cries all the time. She will run around in a blizzard too, and she might die. It will likely be very frightening. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: November 30 at 20:18 Wow Arthur!! That sounds...um... complicated. But great!!! Scary though, that the man goes after his family with an axe! It sounds like one of those horror books my dad reads by Steven Something lol! I hope they all make it out of the hotel ok! Are you writing something for the last edition of the Marathon too? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t BELIEVE it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s already so close to Christmas lol!! Any suggestions of what guys like? I have to get something for my boyfriend lol! 57 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: December 1st at 21:09 Dear Kennedy, I guess it does sound a little complicated for a short story. Maybe I will look at doing something else. Back to the drawing board... Yours truly, Arthur Bean P.S: It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Stephen King. 58 A Day in the Life: An Oscar-worthy Film By Arthur Bean The AV Club at Terry Fox Jr. High is showing their first feature this week in the drama room. A Day in the Life is a poignant and gripping account of an ordinary day at Terry Fox Jr. High School. Shot as though seen through the eyes of an unnamed narrator, A Day in the Life follows an \u00E2\u0080\u009Cordinary\u00E2\u0080\u009D student through a day at school. Though the day begins normally, the heavy silence in the film clearly foreshadows the disaster that befalls at the end of the movie- a test in Science. Horrors! Our beloved narrator is clearly unprepared for such a crisis! A Day in the Life is reminiscent of the early work of Francis Ford Coppola, a surprise considering its collaborative directorial nature. A different AV Club member has directed each scene, but this pastiche of styles makes it even more interesting. For example, each director uses music to its fullest emotional range, including the unique work of AV Clubber Liam Hasser who uses Van Halen\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Jump! as the soundtrack for the basketball unit in gym. The supporting cast is equally as strong as the lyrical baritone voice of the narrator (played impeccably by Grade Nine student Alfonso Millar). Of particular note is the performance of Mr. Everett, in an understated but nuanced walk-on role as \u00E2\u0080\u009CThe Teacher.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Some viewers with weaker stomachs may find the classroom scenes too much to handle. The emotion in the film can be overwhelming, so bring your handkerchief for a heart-wrenching scene that takes place during math class. This is a scene that will clearly be discussed in film critic circles for years to come. 59 A Day in the Life plays in the drama room from 12:00-1:00 all week December 6-10. See it before someone spoils the twist ending! Hiya Arthur, Good work on covering all the elements of the film! However, I am having trouble understanding the tone of your piece- are you being sincere, or sarcastic? Maybe you thought that my performance wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t win me any Golden Globes? The shock of it! Good- bye Hollywood! Your praise is overwhelming, and some readers may read it as being insincere. If you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re available, we can meet during a lunch hour to discuss changes to your review. Cheers! Mr. E Dear Mr. Everett, You told me to be more positive in my articles. This is as positive as I can be, particularly for one of the most boring movies I have ever sat through. And my dad made me watch Citizen Kane once, so I know what boring movies look like. Perhaps my own series of articles would be a better way for me to use my editorial skills. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d love to meet with you to talk about my ideas for articles! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 60 Junior Authors Contest Just a reminder to work on your stories during the winter break! Final drafts of your stories are due February 17th, no exceptions! Nine finalists, three from each grade, will be published in the spring edition of the Marathon for school-wide voting. There hasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t been a lot of interest in the Writers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 Circle meetings, so hopefully that means you are using your creative writing partners for advice, editing, and as a sounding board for your great ideas! Should you have any questions, please see Ms. Whitehead before 4 pm on December 18th. Happy writing! 61 Assignment Eight: Choose your favourite character from A Midsummer Night\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Dream, and write a diary entry referencing a scene from the play. Your diary entry should demonstrate your understanding of the material we have covered, and show some insight into how the character may be feeling at a certain moment in the play. Due Date: December 9th 62 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: December 6th Worked On: Shakespeare Diary Assignment We edited Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s assignment today. It went alright.- Arthur here is my assinement that Artie helped me with today. He also moved around some sentences and made it sound more nice. We also worked on some better rhimes for my love pome. Here it is. -Robbie dear diary, I am in love with Hermia, but she is in love with Lysander. This is terrible. I try so hard to make her like me, but nothing works. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve known her forever. We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve played sports together since we were in Italian kindergarten. But she just thinks of me as a friend, and wants me to be in love with her friend Helena. Helena is ugly, and told me that I was stupid and the worst shortstop she had ever seen. But Hermia is still really nice to me. I just wish she wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t running away with Lysander, because I get really bad hay fever in the forest, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s even worse at night. When I catch up with her and Lysander, I am going to give her this love poem that I wrote. Hermia Hermia. You are a beaut I think you are nice. I think you are cute. I like your sweet smile. I like your round face. I think you should date me, and let me get to first base. Later Diary, Demetrius 63 December 7th Dear RJ, Today would have been my mom\u00E2\u0080\u0099s birthday. I stayed home from school and Dad stayed home from work. It was weird. Neither of us really wanted to do anything. I just wanted to stay in bed and read a book or something, and I think Dad probably wanted to just sit in his room too. But then that felt weird too, so we went and got flowers and went to the cemetery. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to say to my dad when he is so quiet, so I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t say anything. He didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t say anything either. Neither of us said anything, we just put the roses down and stood there. It was freezing outside. I really just wanted to leave because I had forgotten my mittens. It started to snow too, and normally I like snow because it makes the city quiet, but today it made the cemetery even quieter and weirder. The worst part was when I thought about how Mom was always talking a lot, and how it would have been better if she was there to make it less awkward. I hate the cemetery. When I was a kid my cousins and I used to run around and play hide and seek in the big tombstones. But now there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s no running. Now I just read all the stones and think about those people that come and put roses on the headstones and I wonder if they hate being there as much as I do. I would totally have preferred making Mom a birthday cake and sharing it with Dad and Nicole. Maybe we won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have to do anything next year. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 64 Assignment Eight: Demetrius\u00E2\u0080\u0099 Diary by Arthur Bean Dear Diary, Oh Hermia, your smile is so great And your teeth are so white and so straight You come from a country shaped like a boot And your laugh is so pretty and your face is so cute. Will you be my girlfriend and then maybe my wife? For I know I will love you the rest of my life. This is the love poem I would like to give Hermia. Alas, I cannot, for she is in love with Lysander. I think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s sad that she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s in love with him, when I have clearly loved her since I met her in Italian gym class so long ago. Hermia thinks I should be in love with Helena, but Helena looks like a horse, with giant teeth and a long nose. I love Hermia. I will have to follow her and Lysander into the forest tonight and give her my love poem. Arthur, Your assignment is remarkably similar to Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s work, using an identical style, along with the same themes and characters. Please see me after class to explain these similarities, keeping in mind that plagiarism can be of both published and unpublished works. I take this very seriously, and expect that you will too. I hope that your burst of creativity in this assignment is merely an unfortunate coincidence, and not because you helped Robbie with his assignment this week. Ms. Whitehead 65 December 11th Dear RJ, I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t win. Ms. Whitehead hates me. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s made it pretty clear. I think she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s been secretly heartbroken by a famous author when she was young. I bet she met him in college and he told her she was pretty, and then broke up with her because she told him that his work was lazy. But he was just being deep without using a lot of words. Lots of famous writers let things stay below the surface. Or maybe he thought that the assignment was stupid and not worth his time. That happens. Then, she probably got all mad at him about it, and he realized that she would always be telling him that his writing sucked and that he was being lazy. So he dumped her. And now she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s taking it out on me. I bet I remind her of him because I wear cool hats and show promise as a famous writer. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s jealous of my talent. I bet she never wrote anything good ever. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll never choose my story for the school competition, even if it is the best one, I know it. Well, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll show her. My story is going to be way better than all of them. And it won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be written in verse either, because no one understands that, and no one cares about the stupid diary entries of an old play. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 66 Assignment Nine: Happy holidays! In this assignment I want you to indulge your creative spirit! There are no boundaries, no structures, and no rules here; I would like you to write something you want to write. It can be a poem, a short story, a diary entry of a fictional character, a memoir from your childhood, anything that inspires you to write! Let your inner artist soar on the paper! Due Date: December 16th 67 December 15th Dear RJ, Here\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a thing I wrote for Ms. Whitehead\u00E2\u0080\u0099s class, but then I decided not to hand it in. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s very good, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to hand in something different. But I wanted to put this somewhere, and you seem like the kind of guy who would appreciate it. Let me know what you think\u00E2\u0080\u00A6Hahaha! A Christmas Story My father bought a Christmas tree this past weekend. He went to the lot, and picked it out while I stayed home and watched whatever movie was on the TV on Sunday afternoon. When he came home, he left it sitting on top of the car until dinner, when I saw it and said \u00E2\u0080\u009CHey Dad. There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a tree on the car.\u00E2\u0080\u009D He mumbled something about it being an impulse buy. So, I helped him pull it off the car, and we set it up in the living room, right beside the television. There were old sitcom reruns playing on the television the whole time. I made us Kraft Dinner, and my dad had a beer and watched TV. He never picked up the remote control to change the channel, he just sat there watching the television on the same channel I had been watching, and I listened to the sounds of canned laughter as I stirred in the cheese. As the tree warmed up, it dropped its branches, and began to lean to the left, and soon half of the tree was blocking the television. I noticed it during dinner, but I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t say anything. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think my dad noticed. We just sat there with our empty plates covered in drying cheese sauce on the floor beside the couch. After a couple of days, I asked my dad if we were going to decorate it, but he said that he didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know Mom had kept the decorations. So the tree sits in the living room, blocking the television. Its needles are falling off, and we haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t watered it in days. It is 68 empty of lights and balls and glittery tin soldiers and nutcrackers, but still full of the memories of Christmases past. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Assignment Nine: A Christmas Story by Arthur Bean The best day of last Christmas was the day when my dad brought home the Christmas tree. My mom had gotten out all the Christmas ornaments, and sang along loudly to the Twelve Days of Christmas while she untangled the lights. My dad showed up at home with the biggest tree I had ever seen, and together we dragged our tree off the roof of the car and into the house. The pine smell filled the room, and then my dad swore and swore while he tried to get the lights on straight. My mother would yell at him every time a bad word came out of his mouth, and I would laugh at them while I unwrapped the ornaments and lined them up on the coffee table. We got all the ornaments on the tree, and my dad drank a beer, and my mom had a wine cooler, and I had hot chocolate and we sat on the couch and stared at the Christmas tree until the sun went down and the only light in the house came from the bright red and blue lights that twisted and turned around the tree. That night, very late, there was a tinkling sound. The bells on the tree were singing wildly, and I woke up and listened to them in my bed. Then they got louder, and louder, until I heard a CRRRRACK, and then a crashing noise, full of broken glass. We ran out into the living room, and Pickles was cowering in the corner behind the couch, where she had gotten stuck after batting at the lowest ornaments on the tree until the tree fell over. My dad 69 swore a lot, and my mom laughed and laughed, and picked up the cat in one hand, and went and got the broom. She swept up all the glass and I held the dustpan while my dad propped up the tree again. We had to turn the tree around so that the back was facing the front, since it was too late to buy new Christmas lights and the branches were all broken. But I still think it was the nicest Christmas tree we ever had. Dear Arthur, Thank you for sharing a lovely Christmas memory of your mother with me. I hope you and your father have a nice holiday. See you in the New Year! Ms. Whitehead 70 December 20th Dear RJ, Dad and I went Christmas shopping today at the mall and we ran into Ms. Whitehead! It was SO awkward. We were eating lunch in the food court, and she came around with her taco combo looking for a seat. She didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even notice me at first. She just saw my dad and asked him if she could share our table. Then she was all excited that she got to meet my dad, and freaked out about what a coincidence it was that she ran into us. It was so over the top. I wonder if she planned it. Maybe she was hitting on my dad, since she knows that he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s single now. That would be so not cool. Anyway, she sat down with us and was talking all about her Christmas plans. She even asked my dad for his advice on a plaid shirt she bought for her brother. Like he knows anything about fashion! She had all kinds of bags too, including one from the lingerie store. I was embarrassed for her. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe she was buying underwear and then sitting with a student! Who does that?? She said that she was going home to Toronto for Christmas, and said that she was taking her grandmother to see the Nutcracker. She said she goes with her grandmother every year. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how she still has a grandmother who is still alive! I wonder how old she is? I thought she was forty. When we left, she gave me a hug and shook my dad\u00E2\u0080\u0099s hand. It was a total surprise, so I just hugged her back. I hope no one from school saw me hugging my teacher. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s how rumours get started. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 71 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: December 21st at 17:56 Hi Arthur :( How\u00E2\u0080\u0099s your Christmas break??? Mine is TERRIBLE. :( Sandy broke up with me!!! :( :( He said that he was too busy to have a girlfriend right now!! I guess that he is really busy with friends and stuff. And I want to understand because I love him a lot. I cried a lot when he told me, but I told him that I want to still be friends. I think that we will be friends, especially since I know he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just going through a hard time right now, and he\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll want to get back together after Christmas break when we are at school again I think! He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s even failing HEALTH class. Everyone knows that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a joke class! But he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really smart, so I think he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just being pulled in too many directions. But Arthur!!!! I love Sandy SO much!!!! I already miss him!! Normally we would talk on the phone or text all night!!! I already bought him a Christmas present too!! Can I still give it to him? It will show that I care about him still, right??? You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re a guy, so you would know better than my other friends!! ANYWAYS, I feel so sad :((( WORST CHRISTMAS EVER!!! :( Kennedy :( From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: December 21st at 18:19 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry to hear about your break-up. Boys that age can be very difficult to understand sometimes. I really feel badly for you! When you feel bad, I feel bad, so today is the worst day ever! 72 If I were there right now, I would give you a really big hug, and bring you flowers and chocolates and ice cream. I think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re supposed to eat ice cream after a break-up, aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you? I would even watch a chick flick with you. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a nice guy like that :) Just remember that you are the greatest girl ever, and you are super nice and smart and cute. Any guy in the school would love to be your boyfriend! Sandy was a total jerk anyway. If I were you, I wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t give him the present. Return it, and get something cool for yourself. He doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t deserve you! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if I can help at all, but if you want to hang out this Christmas break, maybe we can go see a movie or something. My cousins are coming in to stay with us for a while, but I would leave them behind if you need to talk :) Yours truly, Arthur Bean 73 December 21st Dear RJ, BEST DAY EVER!!!! I think that Kennedy will realize soon that her old boyfriend was a super jerk, and we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll go out on a date. And we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll go see a scary movie, and she\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll squeal, and hide her face in my shoulder, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll hold her hand and laugh in that \u00E2\u0080\u009CI\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not laughing at you\u00E2\u0080\u009D way, and we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll hold hands all the way through the movie, and down the escalator in the mall, and to the bus stop. I bet she smells like fruity shampoo. I wonder if it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s too late to ask for cologne for Christmas. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll probably need it soon. Another thing that is pretty exciting is that my cousins are coming to visit! Luke is like, my best friend even though he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s my cousin. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really popular, and has some really great stories about stuff he does. He comes up with great things to do too. Last time they visited, we got all dressed up in costumes and went to a matinee of this terrible, really old alien movie. Then we threw popcorn at the screen, and yelled at the characters, and no one there minded! It was hilarious! Anyway, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be so great when Luke is here. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve already set up a sleeping bag on the floor of my room for him, and gave him the best pillow from my bed. One more day! Yours happily, Arthur Bean!! 74 From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: December 28th at 23:41 dude I herd that u stol my english assinement. Ur a DEADMAN when we get back to school. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: December 29th at 10:03 Dear Mr. Zack, I believe you may have the wrong email address for the person you are trying to reach. I am a very rich and powerful businessman who lives in New Mexico. I think you might be looking for a different Arthur Aaron Bean, one who lives in Canada and is a kid in a school there. However, I am sure that when you find the Arthur Bean you are looking for you will realize that he is not the type of guy who would steal a Shakespeare English assignment. He must be a good guy. I would like to meet him one day, and offer him a job making millions of dollars. I assume that he was going to write something similar to your idea anyway, but probably better, since your spelling is terrible. Good luck finding the right Arthur Bean. I am off to a business meeting with the richest and most powerful men in America. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: December 30th at 12:32 Ur so funny I forgot to laff. Maybe I will laff at u when I stick ur head in the toilet. 75 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: December 30th at 14:30 Dear Robbie, I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t steal your story. As you may have noticed, I am in the same English class as you. We read the same books. At least, I read the books. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think you do. Anyway, I helped you with your assignment, and I was already writing something too. Really, I think you stole my assignment. After all, who fixed the rhymes in your letter? I did. You said so yourself. So my assignment might be kind of like yours, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m pretty sure that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a better writer than you and have great ideas all by myself. As a side note, how did you find out that I stole your story? That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s weird. I could have explained to you what happened if your parents didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t take you out of school a week early to go to Hawaii. If you are going to stick anyone\u00E2\u0080\u0099s head in a toilet, I suggest your parents are to blame. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: December 31st at 11:55 Happy New Year Arthur! Sorry that I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t been in touch! My family went skiing for Christmas! It was good, except my older brother is in university and thinks he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s cool, so at the last minute he decided to stay at home by himself. I was so mad, and he totally got into this yelling match with my dad. Then my mom cried about it every day that we were away. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know why 76 he had to be so inconsiderate. It was CHRISTMAS. My dad and him are STILL not talking even though we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re back now. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so tense here! I ALMOST look forward to school again LOL! Anyway, the skiing was good, and it was cool to be out of the city, and then I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have to think about my boyfriend. :( Sandy and I had a long talk just before Christmas, and I just don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to THINK about him OR talk about him anymore! I gave him his Christmas present and he was SO weird about it!!! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what HIS problem is, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m moving on. At least, for now. I bet he comes back to me! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been trying to work on putting some of my sadness into my story for the contest! Speaking of the contest, did you get LOTS of writing done over the break?? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe we go back to school in THREE days!! I feel like we were just there LOL!! Are you changing options in the winter?? I am switching from band to drama! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m just not cut out to be a flute player!! Maybe I would do better as a tuba player lol!!! But I LOVED the Shakespeare unit we did in English class, and I think the drama club is doing a Shakespeare play! ANYWAY, if you want to send me your story, I would love to read the beginning! I still haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t seen anything you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve written! Are you avoiding sending it to me LOL?! What are you doing tonight for the New Year? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to a party that my friend Kayla is having! Hopefully there are cute boys there LOL!!! Kennedy :) 77 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: December 31st at 14:13 Happy New Year to you too Kennedy! Skiing sounds fun! I have never been skiing. I think I am more of a snowboard kind of guy. Tonight I am hanging out with my cousins. My cousin Luke and his brother George are visiting us. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty awesome. My cousin George is in grade ten so I think we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll go with him to a high school party. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s probably what we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll do, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know for sure. I bet my dad will let him use the car to get us there too. I think I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m also going to switch to drama this semester, so we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be in the same class! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s too bad that we only get to change our options. I would like very much to get rid of Science and Math :) I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m very excited for drama class. Maybe we can be partners! I have been writing also, but so far it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty vague. I like to start my writing at the end with the climax, and then work backwards. I find that it gives my stories a clear plot direction. So if I send it to you now, it will ruin the end! Or I would have to kill you for knowing the end...hahaha... See you in a few days! Or, as Shakespeare would say, \u00E2\u0080\u009CSee thou anon.\u00E2\u0080\u009D:) Yours truly, Arthur Bean 78 January 1st Dear RJ, It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s probably best to write down my resolutions for this year now so that I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t break any of them before noon HAHAHA. Anyway, here are my resolutions: I will not leave my dishes in the sink for longer than three days. I will tell Kennedy I love her, and make her love me back. I will write the greatest story of all time and win the short story contest. I will like Shakespeare\u00E2\u0080\u0099s plays, and not just pretend to like them. I will knit a sweater for my dad. I will visit Graceland with Luke, and we will dress like Elvis for the whole week. I will read the newspaper more often to know what is going on in the world. I will read War and Peace. I will try not to get annoyed with Robbie Zack during tutoring sessions so that I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t \u00E2\u0080\u009Caccidentally\u00E2\u0080\u009D punch him in the head. I will stop eating spicy food at school, since it gives me really bad hiccups and then kids make fun of me. I think this is enough to strive for this year. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to set my expectations too high. Happy New Year RJ! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 79 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: January 1st at 13:00 Hi Arthur!!! How was your NYE party?? Mine was pretty fun! There was a karaoke machine LOL!!! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe your cousin\u00E2\u0080\u0099s name is George! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so funny! I thought only old people were called George LOL! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so excited that you will be in drama with me! Robbie is going to be in the class too!! It took some convincing at the party last night, but he finally admitted that he loves Shakespeare too, so the three of us can be the witches in Macbeth LOL!!! Double Double toil and trouble LOL!!! Your last email was HILARIOUS! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want you to KILL me for knowing how your story ends before it begins LOL!!! Can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait to see you in THE THEATRE LOL!!! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 1st at 13:05 Hi Kennedy, I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t end up going to the party. George got food poisoning or something, so Luke and I watched movies until 3 am. It was fun anyway. They are leaving today, which is too bad because if they lived here you could meet my cousin Luke. Anyway, glad you had a nice NYE party. See you in a few days. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 80 Assignment Ten: Welcome back! I hope you all had a restful holiday, and are ready to get back to work. Our next unit is on creative writing, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s my favourite unit to teach! I hope that our assignments over the next few weeks inspire you to find new ways to tell stories. For those of you participating in the short story contest, you might find some of these exercises help strengthen your story. For others, I hope that this unit inspires you to continue writing outside of the classroom. This week, write a short few paragraphs about a person who means a lot to you. We will be using this assignment as a jumping off point for developing a character for a short story you will be writing later in this unit. What does this person wear? What do they eat for breakfast? How do they interact with other people? Focus on creating a full character sketch, looking at both their positive and negative characteristics, as well as their physical traits and personality. Due Date: January 7th 81 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: January 5th Worked On: Character Sketches Ms. W: I dont feel right about shareing my work with Arthur Bean. He may steel it and use it for his own work- Robbie I feel that Robbie is overreacting to something he knows nothing about. Perhaps his parents shouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have taken him out of school early to go to Hawaii for Christmas. I believe all the sun has gone to his head. I tried to explain to him (the same way I explained to you) that my work might seem similar on first glance, but that it is much deeper when you look at it. The symbolism is clear to very smart people. However, my explanation fell on deaf ears, and Robbie just spent the hour spitting on my paper. This is waste of time. -Arthur Bean 82 January 7th Assignment Ten: A Character Sketch of Margaret Bean Marg Bean loved the ocean. She grew up on the prairies, but she always wanted to live beside the ocean. She always wore blue and green, and she only read books with blue covers or pictures of boats on the covers. She said that she found them soothing, even if it was actually a book about pirates or something. Marg\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pants were always too short because her legs were really long. She tried to wear really big shirts to make it seem like her pants were long enough, but it actually just made her pants look even shorter. Marg Bean was prettiest when she was watching television or reading a book. This was because her face would relax, and her mouth would be closed and her hands would stop moving. Any other time her face was always really tight, like she was sewing her eyebrows together in her mind. Marg Bean got tired walking almost anywhere, and then she would breathe through her mouth. It made her seem really old, and she kind of looked like she was embarrassed because her face would be beet red. Her voice was always louder than someone would expect it to be, and she seemed to be yelling all the time, but she was actually just talking. She was the person in the public library that everyone looked at when she would ask for books at the counter. \u00E2\u0080\u009CDO YOU HAVE ISAAC ASIMOV BOOKS?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she would say, and the librarian would say in a voice even softer than the one he used with everyone else \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhy yes, they are just over in the corner over there.\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CARTHUR I WILL BE IN THE CORNER. LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR BOOKS.\u00E2\u0080\u009D And everyone would then look to see who she was talking to, and they would raise their eyebrows and judge me, like they didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like anyone who knew her. 83 Marg Bean always had porridge and coffee for breakfast. Her favourite lunch was egg salad sandwiches, as long as there were no green onions in the egg salad. Curry made her go to the bathroom a lot, and she thought pepper was too spicy. She made perfect roast beef, and always made asparagus to go with it, which is the best vegetable to eat with roast beef. She also made really good spaghetti and meatballs, but she said they were too much work to make all the time, so she only made them a couple of times. If Marg Bean were a character in my book, she would be a zombie mom who was the leader of the zombie pack. She has to be a zombie, because she isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t alive, and vampires are stupid. She would be super strong and have a zombie cat companion who would kill zombie mice. This is because Marg Bean loved cats, and she hated mice, but not as much as she hated spiders. Dear Arthur, Your character sketch is an excellent beginning to our short story unit. You have captured the essence of your mother\u00E2\u0080\u0099s personality through your choice of moments in this character sketch. However, you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need to make your mother a zombie in your book if you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to. Many great stories are reflections of the person in their prime, and don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need to be completely true to life. Ms. Whitehead 84 January 8th Dear RJ, Drama class started this week. I finally have a real class with Kennedy, not just gym! Now I can show her how charming I am in real life every day. It might even be okay that Robbie is in the class too, except that he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s always talking to Kennedy. They have this thing from when they played baseball together. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s this weird hi-five thing they do all the time, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really dumb. We also have to sing in class, which I think is stupid because it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a drama class not a choir, but Mr. Tan said that a good actor is a \u00E2\u0080\u009Ctriple threat\u00E2\u0080\u009D and can act, sing and dance. I would like to triple threat Robbie out of the class, but not with acting, singing and dancing. More like kickboxing, karate and ninja moves. I have a month to write my story. I started a dumb story in Ms. Whitehead\u00E2\u0080\u0099s class about zombie cats, but it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s definitely not going to be famous. My story for the contest will make readers laugh and cry and realize how smart I am. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to write something really deep. I think it needs to have lots of description. Ms. Whitehead is big on description. The computer sat alone on the table, in a faded grey room. The chair was brown, cracked leather digging into anyone who sat on it. The sun shone yellow through the dirty windowpanes. There was nothing more to say\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 Yours truly, Arthur Bean 85 Assignment Eleven: Interviews can be a great way to develop a character! Sometimes, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s great to sit back and actually \u00E2\u0080\u009Cinterview\u00E2\u0080\u009D your protagonist to develop a well-rounded character. To help practice this technique, I would like you to interview someone in your life. Come up with five questions that you feel will provide you with an accurate portrait of this person\u00E2\u0080\u0099s likes and dislikes, and provide some insight into their outlook on life. In your assignment, please provide both the questions you posed, and the answers from your interviewee. Due Date: January 14th 86 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: January 12th Worked On: Interviews Artie was really rude today, and I even tried to be nice to the looser. He refused to help me fix my interveiw with Kennedy to make it a better assignment. I dont know how you think this tutoring is good for ether of us can we change now? Hes in my drama class now to and hes as annoying there as every where else.- Robbie Ms Whitehead: I would like an extension on this assignment. I was going to interview Kennedy Laurel, but Robbie already interviewed her. My interview was going to be much more in depth, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want you to think that I stole his idea. If anything, I think he stole mine, because I was talking to Kennedy in drama class and it was pretty clear that I was going to ask her to be my person to interview. Now I have to think of a new person to interview, and I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if I will have time to do that by Friday. -Arthur Arthur: I will give you time to interview Robbie during class on Thursday, which should give you enough time to hand in your interview for Monday morning. -Ms. Whitehead 87 Creative Writing Circle Only three weeks left before your stories are due! Use your writing partners to give you some constructive feedback on what you have so far. They are an excellent extra \u00E2\u0080\u009Cpair of eyes\u00E2\u0080\u009D to find any plot holes or editorial mistakes while you write your story\u00E2\u0080\u0099s gripping and exciting climax! Let me know if you have any questions regarding format for submission. Happy writing! Ms. Whitehead 88 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: January 15th at 15:20 Hi Arthur! How much fun is drama class!?! Mr. Tan was saying that there are going to be auditions for Romeo and Juliet soon! How awesome will that be?! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll answer that for you: SO AWESOME LOL!!! ANYWAY, how is your story coming along? I totally realized that I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t read ANY of it yet! I think I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m almost done, but I was hoping to get your opinion on my outline and let me know if you think that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m missing anything! And you can send me your outline or your story and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll do the same for you!! Of course, only if you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve actually written something! Just kidding- I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m just making fun of you since you haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t sent me anything! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re so SECRETIVE! But maybe you are inspired by what I sent you and that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s how we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re such GREAT writing partners LOL!! JUST KIDDING! OK, enough with the jokes! Here is my story outline\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 STRANGERS AMONG US Sophie wakes up in the hospital remembering killing aliens with uncle Thomas. She is told by the nurses and doctors that her memories are actually only dreams. She goes to therapy in the hospital, and there are other girls there who have had the same experience. They are all taken back to their rooms. She breaks out of the hospital with the help of the other girls. Outside the hospital, they realize that the town has been deserted and only the hospital is left. Sophie leads the girls to her uncle\u00E2\u0080\u0099s farmhouse, where they find Thomas and he is almost dead. He tells the girls to blow up the aliens, and they find fertilizer to build a bomb to blow up the hospital. All goes to plan, but at the last minute, Sophie realizes that 89 Thomas has tried to help and is inside the hospital. She runs in to find him but the building blows up anyway. When she wakes up, she is in the hospital, and the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cnurse\u00E2\u0080\u009D tells her that she was in an accidental fertilizer explosion at the farm, but that she is in safe hands now. We never know if the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cnurse\u00E2\u0080\u009D is telling the truth. OK Arthur, what do you think?? Are you SCARED yet LOL? See you soon!! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 15th at 17:03 Wow Kennedy! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve really got a great story idea. It reminds me of that thing that Shakespeare talked about: a dream within a dream, but I think your version is way cooler. I guess my one question is: how does Thomas get in the hospital? And then how does Sophie know that he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s in there? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll figure it out though! My story outline is still pretty rough. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m just torn over what story to go forward with. I have so many stories almost done, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know which one to finish. I have so many ideas, and some of my ideas are really better for novels than for a short story contest. Anyway, maybe you could help me choose one to finish. Here is a list of my story ideas: 1) There is a boy who is the going to the be the King, but he is too small to do anything and he is really poor. He meets a wizard who is living backwards in time, and he trains the boy to become the greatest king of all time. Then the wizard ends up getting stuck in time, but the boy becomes the King anyway because he finds the sword of the \u00E2\u0080\u009CTrue 90 King\u00E2\u0080\u009D, and then leads a really great army and falls in love with a beautiful woman who becomes queen. 2) There is a boy who lives in a society that doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have any memories, but he becomes the Memory Keeper. He learns that his parents are part of the group of people that are making sure that no one has any memories, but he thinks that memories are better shared. Then he finds out terrible things about the community and has to do something to change it. 3) There is a land over the stars where everything is very magical. There is a boy who lives there and he is the leader of a group of orphan boys and he can fly. He leaves the land and comes to New York. Here he meets a girl and her brothers and they leave New York to have adventures with the boy. There they meet pirates and mermaids and pirates and lions that can talk and stuff. They love being there, but then they realize that they would rather be at home with their parents, so after fighting with the evil guys on the island they end up flying home and being happy. 4) There are these pirate aliens that take over spaceships and then make the people in them do different things. But everyone in the spaceship gets old really fast and then they die. So the alien pirates don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to do so they go to earth and they get in the bodies of the grandparents. And then there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s this change in all the old people and they become really happy and energetic all the time, and they start to play like kids. And they take over the playgrounds, and the kids get mad. So they go to the elves that live under the bridge in the city and they want to get their playground back. But the elves are fighting with the dragons outside the city, and so they need to get the giants on their side of the fight. But then the kids don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know that the dragons exist so then they decide to get the dragons to help them to fight the grandparents. But the grandparents then all disappear and get on the 91 alien spaceship, but they don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have enough oxygen to go back to their planet and so they stay floating just above the city instead of leaving. So then one boy who doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have parents realizes that the spaceship has his grandparents in it because he lives with his grandparents. Then he finds the giants and gets them to pull the spaceship down out of the sky and they fight the aliens, and they win. And the grandparents go back to being themselves, but they have to share their houses with the giants because the giants won the war. And then they all have to get used to having a giant living in their house. 5) Maybe something about racism. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d love your feedback on which one you think would be best. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: January 16th at 10:59 Hi Arthur! You have so many ideas!!! And they are all so complicated! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like you have the whole plot of The Hobbit trilogy or something! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to be super harsh, but um... they are pretty big plans! All of them sound like you could write like 100000 pages on them and still not be done! A couple of them sound like other things too. Isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t your second idea the same story we studied in grade six? And I think your first idea is the same story as King Arthur, and idea three is a lot like Peter Pan. NO OFFENCE! Maybe I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m reading something into them! And I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even know what happened in your last idea!! There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like 8000 plots in that one! 92 As your creative writing partner, I just wanted to point that out! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want you to get accused of cheating later! I may want to win, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want you to get kicked out as my competition LOL! ANYWAY, I always hear people say that we should write about stuff we know about. Maybe you should try and not focus on the fantasy stuff, but write something more realistic. PLUS, you are so funny! You could totally win with a hilarious story about your cousin George or something! Just a couple of thoughts from your FAVOURITE writing partner LOL! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 16th at 15:29 Dear Kennedy, Thanks. I will think about it. But George doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really do much. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 93 Assignment Eleven: Interview with Robbie Zack I interviewed Robert Zack for this class assignment. Here is what we talked about in my interview, and can be proven through a recording. Arthur: What is your favourite colour? Robbie: Red. Arthur: What is your favourite subject? Robbie: Drama. Arthur: What is your least favourite subject? Robbie: English. Arthur: Where do you get your ideas for your stories in English class? Robbie: Why? Do you want to steal them? Arthur: Were you born a jerk? Or is your jerk-ness just because you like being a jerk? Robbie: Were you always a copycat nerd? Or did you copy that from your Mom? Arthur: My mom\u00E2\u0080\u0099s dead. Jerk. Robbie: As if. Arthur: It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s true. She died last year. Robbie: Oh. End of interview. Arthur, Your interview with Robbie Zack leaves a lot to be desired. I would like you to redo the assignment, and think carefully about some better questions. I believe that you can find some common interests and values between you and Robbie. You two may have difficulties 94 communicating with each other, but a little understanding of someone else\u00E2\u0080\u0099s situation goes a long way. Please submit your new assignment to me on Wednesday this week. Ms. Whitehead Assignment Eleven (again): Robbie Zack\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Interview Here is the written version of my second interview with Robbie Zack. Arthur: I was told that I have to interview you again with better questions. Why is drama your favourite subject? Robbie: I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s good I guess because... I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know\u00E2\u0080\u00A6I guess there are fun people in the class. And it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not hard... It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s good because you get to do whatever and like, fool around, like when I was a kid, but for marks, and then Mr. Tan says that it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s creative. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re just pretending stuff that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not true, but it feels like more than that sometimes. Which is way better than doing real stuff, you know? Arthur: But your \u00E2\u0080\u009Creal stuff\u00E2\u0080\u009D isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hard. You just got back from Hawaii. Going to Hawaii for Christmas isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hard. What\u00E2\u0080\u0099s hard about your life? Robbie: Lots of stuff. Just because I went to Hawaii doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean that life isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hard, you know. You think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re the only one with hard stuff and that makes you think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re better than other people. Arthur: I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m special. You don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t understand. Your mom isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t dead. Robbie: No, but she might as well be. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s moving away to North Carolina without us. My dad is moving my brother and I into some ugly townhouse and we have to share a bedroom. Life sucks. Arthur: Oh. Robbie: Yeah. 95 Arthur: Um, my next question is what kind of books do you like to read? Robbie: I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like to read. Well I like comics. Do comics count? Arthur: I guess so? I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know. Maybe not. Robbie: They should. Arthur: I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think so. They\u00E2\u0080\u0099re just pictures. Robbie: No way man, they aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t. They\u00E2\u0080\u0099re way more exciting than books. The drawings add way more to the story because the artists are really good. Like this one about zombies? It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s awesome. And it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not like all zombies are bad or nothing. They have personalities that have to be drawn in and all of them look different and you can spend hours looking at all the details on one page. You should read one. I bet you that you like it. Arthur: I doubt that. Robbie: I bet you will. I am going to bring you one and then you have to read it. Arthur: Fine. I will read it, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think I will like it. Robbie: Fine. Arthur: I guess this is the last question. Um, do you like knitting? Robbie: Sweaters? Arthur: Or scarves or stuff. I mean, you can knit anything. Robbie: No! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the stupidest question I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve ever heard. End of interview. Arthur, This is much better. I am glad to see that you and Robbie were able to work together on this assignment, and I hope you learned something too! Ms. Whitehead 96 Hiya Arthur, As you know, there is an assembly next week to celebrate the football team\u00E2\u0080\u0099s league championship. How about you take a run at some event/sports writing for the newspaper? I bet you can cover the whole nine yards in one article! Cheers! Mr. E 97 ALL THE WORLD\u00E2\u0080\u0099S A STAGE... AND YOU CAN BE ON IT!! The Drama Club is holding auditions for their spring production of Romeo and Juliet. No acting experience necessary; just come and join us on January 24thafter school. Bring your flare for the dramatic, your angry soul, your romantic heart, or your funniest class clown; there are roles for everybody! Maybe you will be the next big movie star: get your start now! 98 January 20th Dear RJ, I had a dream last night that I was Romeo in the school play, and Kennedy was Juliet. It was glorious! We kissed, and held hands, and everyone that saw the play said things like \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou two have such chemistry!\u00E2\u0080\u009D and \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou two make the most adorable couple!\u00E2\u0080\u009D then Kennedy said \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwell, it wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t acting, you know\u00E2\u0080\u009D and then she kissed me again, but not on stage. It was perfect. I wish this was real, then Kennedy would become a famous actress, and we would get married. Then we would be this super famous couple, and after a while we would write a cookbook because we are secretly gourmet cooks. So now I have to practice. Only four days until the auditions! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 99 Football Celebration Kicks Off on Wrong Foot by Arthur Bean Terry Fox Jr. High\u00E2\u0080\u0099s assembly for the football team ended in tragedy yesterday when Katy Lamontagne, a popular grade nine student and girlfriend of Ryan Riker was dropped from the top of a human pyramid and rushed to the hospital. This show of carelessness and negligence is not the first for the accident-prone cheerleading squad of Terry Fox Jr. High. An unnamed source said that one cheerleader hit herself on the head with a baton during practice back in September. At the semi-final game against Lester B. Pearson Jr. High in November, another cheerleader threw up after spinning in the half-time number. To get to the bottom of these so-called \u00E2\u0080\u009Caccidents\u00E2\u0080\u009D, this reporter interviewed Mr. Fringali, gym teacher and junior team football coach. When asked about the suspicious nature of the fall, Mr. Fringali said that there is always a risk of unbalance in the human pyramid, but that the squad had practiced the move often. \u00E2\u0080\u009CIt\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not the girls\u00E2\u0080\u0099 fault,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Fringali, \u00E2\u0080\u009CThey work very hard, and are devastated by the severity of Katy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s accident.\u00E2\u0080\u009D When pressed for more details about the weight distribution of the pyramid, Fringali would not comment, stating that the question was \u00E2\u0080\u009Crude\u00E2\u0080\u009D and \u00E2\u0080\u009Cun-called for\u00E2\u0080\u009D. The only thing this reporter thinks is rude is the blatant cover-up of information from the school. Clearly there is something going on behind the scenes with this group of girls, and no one is talking about what it is. Maybe there is a broken mirror in their change room, or perhaps an unlucky rabbit\u00E2\u0080\u0099s foot being carried around. One thing is for certain: this reporter will get to the bottom of this unlucky pyramid. The people want to know! 100 Hiya Arthur, An interesting take on the football celebration assembly! You must read a lot of spy novels! The thing is, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not too comfortable focusing on conspiracy theories surrounding the cheerleading squad. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve asked Robbie to add to your article with more information surrounding the rest of the celebration, and we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll use the first part of your article in the feature. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t worry though; you and Robbie will be sharing the by-line on the article. We don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want your fans to be disappointed! Next time, your mission won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be impossible! Cheers! Mr. E 101 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: January 21st Worked On: Shakespeare Since we didnt have anything to work on, Artie and I practissed for the odditions for Romeo and Juliet.-Robbie \u00E2\u0080\u009CWisely and slow; they stumble that run fast\u00E2\u0080\u009D. In case you were wondering, that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a quote from Romeo and Juliet.- Arthur 102 Assignment Twelve: Some of the best characters can be ourselves. I would like you to interview someone that is close to you about a great subject: you! Ask them five questions about yourself. What do they feel are your best qualities? How would they describe you to a stranger? What is their favourite memory of you? As you can see, this assignment isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even that much work for you! Of course, please avoid putting your friends or family in an awkward position. Due Date: January 25th 103 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 22nd at 02:44 Dear Kennedy, I need to confess something to you. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a story. I have a lot of story beginnings. I even have a few story endings, but I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get them to make a whole story. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to do! I want to have the best story that has ever been written. I want my story to make me famous. I know I can do it. In elementary school, my teachers all said my stories were great. They said that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m super creative, and that I would definitely be a famous author one day. So by now I should be able to write the best things ever, but I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t. Teachers shouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be allowed to tell you that you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re great at something. It just makes life harder. The stupid thing is that I know I can do it, I just don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know where to start. And then something comes up in life and I get stuck thinking about that. Like today. Today would have been my parents\u00E2\u0080\u0099 anniversary, so I was thinking about how my mom always sent me to Nicole\u00E2\u0080\u0099s house, and my parents would go out somewhere fancy for dinner that I wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t like, like a seafood place or something like that. It feels like every week I think that there won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be something to be sad about, but then there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s always SOMETHING, like pizza night on Friday, or Christmas, or Pancake Tuesday. Then I get stuck and can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t write about happy things. Sometimes I take ideas and stuff from other places and try and go from there, but it never works. And your story is so good, and I want to write like you, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how. I just want to be great at something. I just want my story to be perfect. Is that asking too much? 104 What can I do? Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 22nd at 11:09 Dear Kennedy, What did you think of the beginning of my story? I accidentally sent it to you late last night. That was supposed to be part of a bigger story. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s either the end or the beginning. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure yet which one. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s starts as a story that doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have anything to say, but then it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s actually really important. Actually, it was a joke. I was practising writing some things for my cousin Luke and I accidentally sent it to you instead. It was so late at night! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s kind of part of a running joke we have about being famous authors. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not real. At all. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a joke! Other than the part about your story being great (which it is!) the rest isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t true. Sorry for being all weird. Are you going to audition for Romeo and Juliet? You have to! You would make a great Juliet! Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: January 22nd at 14:00 Hi Arthur! OMG! I got your emails! I was going to call you to see if you were okay but then I kept reading emails, and got your second email Now I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m TOTALLY confused!!! Was that a 105 story introduction? Are you kidding? I hope you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re kidding because I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if it works as a story. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t put too much pressure on yourself! I know that your mom would understand if you have trouble writing this year. Remembering someone is really hard, because then you start to forget them a little bit, and that sucks too. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s what happened when my grandpa died. He smelled like this old cologne, but now when I smell it, it just smells strong, not like my grandpa. I hate that. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just one contest, and if you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a story this year you can always drop out of the competition and enter next year! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s weird that you were emailing me in the middle of the night. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so glad you didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t call me at 2 in the morning LOL!! ANYWAY, if your first email was a story, then you and your cousin have WEIRD tastes in story writing LOL! Kennedy :) 106 Assignment Twelve: Self Interview by Arthur Bean I asked my next door neighbour Nicole to answer some questions about me for this assignment. Here is what we talked about. Arthur: When did you meet me and what was your first impression? Nicole: I met you and your parents six years ago when I moved in. You were very small for your age. I remember that you ran around the courtyard a lot while singing Frank Sinatra songs and pretending to be an airplane. That was weird. Then I started baby-sitting you, and you liked to watch cartoons right before bed, and then read a book that was almost the same as the movie and compare them. It was cute. Arthur: What are some of the things that I do best? Nicole: Well, you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re a pretty good knitter, especially since you just started learning. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re good at talking to strangers when I have people over and you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re here. You sure aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t shy! You like writing. You make a really good tomato sauce. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re pretty good about making your bed in the mornings. You always recycle. Arthur: How likely is it that I will become a famous writer like Stephen King? Nicole: Everything is possible if you work at it. But, becoming a famous writer is really hard. You have to fail a lot to get there. Lots of people want to be writers, but they never get published. I think you have to work at lots of jobs in order to become a writer. Then it gives you lots to write about! Arthur: What can I do better in life? 107 Nicole: You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re only twelve... Arthur: I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m thirteen. Nicole: Only thirteen. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got plenty of time to screw up your life in ways you can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even imagine yet. Trust me! I say keep doing what you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re doing, and everything will work out for the best. You could clean up the kitchen more often. Your dishes are always left in the sink for way longer than a day. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s gross. Arthur: Thank you Nicole. Nicole: You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re welcome Arthur. Dear Arthur, Your babysitter Nicole is very astute! I hope you found this assignment useful. Kennedy mentioned that you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re having trouble with your story for the competition. If you wish to speak with me about your progress, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d be happy to meet with you after class this week. Sometimes all we need is someone to talk through our challenges in order to get them down on paper! Ms. Whitehead Dear Ms. Whitehead, Nicole is not my babysitter. She is my next-door neighbour who I spend time with when my dad is late home from work. Sometimes I see her socially also because she is teaching me to knit. She is my friend. This is a big difference from babysitter. A babysitter is for people like Robbie who probably needs constant supervision or else he would likely burn his house down. 108 Also, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not having any trouble with my story. Kennedy made a mistake there. I was using her to figure out some plot complications. It was really just an extra writing exercise that I was doing on my own. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need any help figuring out my ideas. I have almost finished my story and I feel confident that it is great. But thank you for the offer of helping. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Arthur, Good to hear that things are going well. I look forward to reading your story in its finished form. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t forget to double-space your work! Ms. Whitehead 109 CAST LIST Romeo and Juliet Director: Mr. Tan Stage Manager: Amelia Lewis Assistant Stage Manager: Robert Zack Romeo: Arthur Bean Juliet Kennedy Laurel Nurse: Benjamin Crisp Mercutio: Curtis Westleigh Benvolio: Latha Nantikarn Tybalt: Andrew Brock Chorus and Others: Surya Hatta; Gemma Hemming; Tom McAulista; Liam Wilson; Sierra Barthes; Taylor Van Den Furthe; Mai Nguyen; Cristal-Leigh St. Jean-Adams; Markus Topor Understudy Romeo: Robert Zack Understudy Juliet: Audrey Eng 110 January 27th Dear RJ, I got it!!! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to be Romeo and Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s going to be Juliet!! We get to kiss and everything! We will be the two greatest lovers of all time. I know it! The chemistry between us is so strong. I bet that Mr. Tan could feel the chemistry between us in class, and knew that we would be perfect as R&J! It will be so easy to be Romeo. I think that I might be as good an actor as I am a writer. It will probably be pretty hard for me to choose how I want to be famous later. I bet they will turn my books into movies and famous directors will ask me to star as my characters. Of course, I will have work at memorizing the lines. I am not very good at memorizing stuff. And I still have to finish my story for the competition. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty important. I still haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really got an idea for my story, RJ. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s getting pretty close to the deadline, and now I have to rehearse for the play. I was thinking of using my story about Sockland that I wrote for class last year, but it seems so... I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know\u00E2\u0080\u00A6young, like a kid wrote it. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to hand in something that was written by someone in elementary school. There will be grade nine kids in the competition! I should probably have a lot of description and maybe some swearing? I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know. That might get me suspended. I heard that some kid in grade eight got suspended for swearing at his teacher after science last week. Famous people don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get suspended. They get awards and stuff. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 111 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 28th at 10:30 Dear Kennedy, Congratulations on your role in the play! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so happy for you, and I think we will make a great lead couple, don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you think? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait for rehearsals to start. Maybe we can meet this weekend and start practicing together. My friend Nicole says that they call it \u00E2\u0080\u009Crunning scenes\u00E2\u0080\u009D in \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthe biz\u00E2\u0080\u009D. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m pretty free since we had a substitute in math on Friday- no homework for the weekend! Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: January 28th at 12:05 Hi Arthur! Congratulations to you too!!! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m pretty excited to play Juliet! It will be my first big break in show biz LOL! Maybe my EX-boyfriend will see us kiss and get jealous LOL! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t \u00E2\u0080\u009Crun scenes\u00E2\u0080\u009D (look at us, talking like theatre pros LOL) this weekend. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got a volleyball tournament, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s my little sister\u00E2\u0080\u0099s BIRTHDAY! But once we know what Mr. Tan has in store for rehearsals, we can maybe find a noon hour or something where we can practice! That is, in the midst of writing award-winning stories, hard-hitting journalism, and all that HOMEWORK LOL! Also, have you talked to Robbie? He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty bummed about not getting the role of Romeo :( He was soooo into the drama class, and I think he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really good at acting too. 112 Anyway, if you talk to him soon, be extra nice to him. He was so sad on the way home. He came over yesterday and we made popcorn and watched Jim Carrey movies. They were so dumb, but so funny! Off to WIN a volleyball competition LOL!! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: January 21st at 12:21 Dear Kennedy, Actually, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad you can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make it. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d forgotten that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m actually really busy this weekend too. I have all kinds of activities to attend and a party as well. But we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll totally have to reschedule for a time when we are both free! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think Robbie was that interested in getting a part, he was probably just upset for a minute. I think being an understudy is a pretty big thing, and assistant stage manager is also really important. Like Mr. Tan said... no part is too small! Good luck at your volleyball tournament! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 113 Assignment Thirteen: For your final assignment in our characterization unit, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time to put together our characters! Please write a short scene for a play where two characters meet and solve a problem together. These characters can be real people from your life, based on previous assignments, or new characters that have share personality traits with people you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve met, or even yourself! Try and weave these details into the conversation seamlessly; don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t just come out and tell your reader directly. Your scene should be at least one page long, double- spaced. Due date: February 4th 114 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: February 2nd Worked On: Character Scenes Ms. W: Artie helped me with my sene. He said that it was weird. He helped me to make one of the caracters responsable for the problem. The problem is that one of them is staring in the play and the other one wants to star to. Together they kill the other star and never get caught. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty funny. I also got to use the word \u00E2\u0080\u009Ccleave\u00E2\u0080\u009D, like \u00E2\u0080\u009Cto cleave someone\u00E2\u0080\u0099s head open with an axe\u00E2\u0080\u009D. -Robbie Ms. Whitehead, I suggest that Robbie see someone for his violent tendencies in his work. Seriously, that guy has some issues that need to be worked out, and I am afraid that he might kill me the same way his \u00E2\u0080\u009Ccharacter\u00E2\u0080\u009D kills me in his scene. I doubt that I will sleep well tonight. -Arthur Bean 115 February 3rd Dear RJ, Today we had our first read-through of Romeo and Juliet. It was so great. Now Mr. Tan wants us to rehearse scene by scene. He said that it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s best if we can find the driving emotion (he called it the character\u00E2\u0080\u0099s motivation) and act that. He said that it is best if we relate that emotion to something in our own lives, and write about it in our notebooks. I drew a picture of a heart with a bloody sword sticking through it on the cover of mine, with an empty poison bottle next to the heart. I think it will remind me of the tragedy of the play each time I see it. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 116 Assignment Thirteen: Character Scene Cast List: Nancy- a girl Darian- a boy Nancy: Hey! Hey you there! Who are you? Darian: I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m Darian. I live down the street. We just moved here from Ohio. My parents are getting divorced. Nancy: Ok. Can you help me with my problem? Darian: Maybe. What is your problem? Nancy: I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m trying to get my little sister out of the sewer. Darian: How did you sister end up in the sewer? Nancy: That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a long story. Darian: I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got time. After all, my parents are divorced, and I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know anyone here yet since I just moved from Ohio. Nancy: Well, I put her in the sewer. She was annoying me. She keeps repeating everything I say. (From below the stage we hear) She keeps repeating everything I say. Nancy: SHUT UP! (From below the stage we hear) Shut up! Nancy: I MEAN IT! (From below the stage we hear): I mean it! Darian: Are you sure you want to get her out? She seems pretty happy down there. She should be fine as long as she doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see a crocodile. 117 Nancy: Do you think there are crocodiles down there? Darian: I know there are. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m super smart. I learned about crocodiles that live in the sewers. They can grow to be up to 25 feet long. Nancy: How long is that in meters? Darian: I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m from Ohio. Nancy: (yelling down the sewer): Do you hear that Franklina? There are crocs down there! You had better be quiet in case they can find you using sonar tracking like bats use! Darian: So how do you think we should get your sister out of the sewer? Nancy: Well, I knit this scarf. Darian: You can knit? That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the coolest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. You must be really cool. My friend Arthur in Ohio could knit too, and he was the greatest person to ever live. Nancy: He sounds dreamy. Maybe instead of getting my sister out of the sewer, I should move to Ohio and marry your friend Arthur. Darian: You had better move soon. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s going to be very famous soon because he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a really great writer too. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s going to write the next great American novel. Nancy: I will give him this scarf, and make him spaghetti and meatballs. This will be hard though, because I am a vegetarian. But since I love him so much, I will still make meatballs for him. Darian: I am a vegetarian too! Nancy: We have so much in common! We are both vegetarians, and we both think Arthur is the greatest! Darian: Maybe you should stay here. 118 Nancy: No. I have to go to Ohio. You could come too, and live with your mom. Darian: Ok. I like Ohio. Nancy and Darian leave. (Voice from below): Hello? We hear screaming and the sound of a girl being eaten by a crocodile. The End. Arthur, Your interpretation of the assignment is very imaginative. However, most of your character description is still being told through your characters\u00E2\u0080\u0099 exposition, and you abandon your \u00E2\u0080\u009Cproblem\u00E2\u0080\u009D of the sister in the sewer in the middle of your scene. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m also not certain what character traits you are trying to portray in your characters. Keep working on blending personality traits into your work. Remember, SHOW the reader something, don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t TELL them! Ms. Whitehead 119 February 5th Dear RJ, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t suppose you have written any stories for me HAHAHA. I know that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s asking a lot, especially since you are an inanimate object. But seriously RJ, enough with the jokes. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got twelve days to write a story. TWELVE DAYS!! Once I start I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be able to stop writing. The words will just flow from my fingers onto the page. I probably won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even have to edit it much. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just that I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get my fingers going! I tried asking Nicole for ideas and she said that I should write about a sad rabbit making friends with other animals in the forest. It was the stupidest idea ever. I told her that, and she got offended and said that a great allegory is often the simplest story. Then I had to look up allegory, and I think she was making fun of me. Whatever. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not trying to be a great writer, I am. 120 Romeo and Juliet- a Star\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Reflection Act One, Scenes One and Two By Arthur Bean In this first scene, I play a man in love. And oh! What a love it is! It is intense and passionate. I imagine myself like I am a fire, and I have been doused in gasoline. I burn and burn and burn! (Is this what you mean Mr. Tan? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure what I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m supposed to be doing in this reflection journal.) Romeo/Arthur, You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re on the right track and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d like to see more emotion. Really feel what Romeo is feeling\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 Is Romeo really in love in this scene? How does he feel about being in love? Is he happy about it? Does it make him sad? Does it make him angry? Read over your lines, and try and find something in your life that helps you connect with how Romeo is feeling. It can be a memory or present-day feelings\u00E2\u0080\u00A6don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hold back; Romeo is very dramatic, but he is also very nuanced! Mr. Tan 121 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 8th at 14:55 Hi Arthur! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve finally finished my story!! At least, I think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s done! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re CRAZY busy right now, but if you have time, can you read it before I submit it? I think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll give me good feedback on it, and that you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be honest if there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s anything I need to change! I gave it to my parents, but they just said that it was awesome LOL! Parents!! Sometimes they are really nice, but they aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t very helpful LOL! Anyway, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty long, so if you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re too busy to read it, that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s ok too! I know you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re busy getting your story ready too!! Are you going to the poetry reading this week? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to go, since my EX- boyfriend is reading a poem! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: February 8th at 15:13 Dear Kennedy, I would love to read your story! I am pretty busy putting the finishing touches on my story too, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m never too busy for you. My mom used to say that I have an eagle eye for detail, so I can give you good feedback for sure. I know what you mean about feedback from parents. My dad sometimes reads what I write and then he tells me is that it should be published. My mom was good for finding mistakes, but sometimes she was crazy about finding mistakes in my grammar. I mean, who even knows what a participle is? Who cares? 122 Anyway, send me your story today, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll read it this weekend. Also, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m writing an article for the newspaper on the poetry reading, so I will definitely be there. Perhaps we can sit next to each other, and maybe talk about Romeo and Juliet before it starts. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 8th at 20:34 Thanks Arthur! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so sweet of you to take time to do this for me! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve attached it here. I will see you at the poetry reading. I already promised my friend Nora I would sit with her, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad you will be there writing about it! Hard hitting journalism for sure LOL! Kennedy :) Attachment included: Strangers Among Us 123 STRANGERS AMONG US The brains of the alien were lavender and grey, and splattered all over Sophie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s perfectly matched brown and pink off-the-shoulder top and dark skinny jeans. She flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, showing off her rosebud earrings. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell? What should we do with it now?\u00E2\u0080\u009D She asked, slinging her bazooka over her left shoulder. She wiped the crimson blood from her hands on her back pockets, and looked over. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI\u00E2\u0080\u0099d say we should bury it. Real deep,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Tom replied. He looked at his own navy coveralls, covered with a red and green flannel shirt and also splattered with the rest of the alien\u00E2\u0080\u0099s insides. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell, I guess we should start digging,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie said, reaching for the shovel... Sophie woke with a start. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099d had that dream again. She tried to sit up, but found that her arms were still locked to the rails of her bed. She pulled hard, but the restraints just cut into her wrists again. She yelled out \u00E2\u0080\u009CNurse!\u00E2\u0080\u009D But no one came. Sophie shivered. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099d been in the hospital for fifteen days, and the dreams were getting worse. Dreams, though? No. She knew they were more than that. The aliens were real. She had seen them. She had strangled one until its eyeballs burst out its head. There was a gargantuan mess of crimson and white and light blue tendons, all over her favourite teal dress, the one with the black piping and oversized buttons at the collar. She couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make that up. She had the dry cleaning bill to prove it. She shut her eyes, and wished for the morning to come. The next day, Sophie was escorted to the group therapy room. There were three other girls there. They all looked groggy, as though they had just woken up from the strong drugs they gave everyone on the psych ward. One of the girls was still wearing her pyjamas, even 124 though it was 11 o clock in the morning. Her pink and yellow bunnies looked tired on the green flannel background. The two other girls were dressed exactly the same, both wearing black yoga pants and an over-sized grey t-shirt with Mickey Mouse on it. Sophie looked closer, and realized that the two girls were identical twins. When they saw her come in, they frowned in unison. Before she could say anything, the doctor rushed in and sat down. \u00E2\u0080\u009CCome on girls. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have all day,\u00E2\u0080\u009D he said rudely. He motioned Sophie to a chair next to her in the circle. Sophie sat down and crossed her arms. \u00E2\u0080\u009CSophie, since you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re the old hat at this, why don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you start us off. Nothing too scary though. We don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to frighten the new girls!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The doctor said in a fake singsong voice. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI dreamt about the aliens again. My Uncle Tom and I killed them with guns, but there are more coming...\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie started, but the doctor quickly cut her off. \u00E2\u0080\u009CSophie darling, enough with the silliness! Tell us about your family. Your mother said that you aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t doing very well with her getting re-married...\u00E2\u0080\u009D One of the twins stared at Sophie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CDid you bury them in your dream? Did you see them? Are they here, or just close? What do you know?!\u00E2\u0080\u009D shouted one twin. She stood up, but was quickly restrained by the bulky male nurse behind her. Sophie was shocked, but the girl in pyjamas spoke up in a dull voice. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThey\u00E2\u0080\u0099re here. They\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve landed. I watched them come down from my window, and I felt their presence. We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re doomed. The end of the world cometh.\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins screamed. Sophie flinched at the noise. The doctor motioned to the other nurses in the room, who came forward and each grabbed a girl. 125 \u00E2\u0080\u009CNOOO!!! We can stop them! We have to stop them!!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins screeched as they were dragged back through the door. Sophie could hear them down the hall shouting, \u00E2\u0080\u009CThere\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so little time!! We must go! All of us!!!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The doctor stood up and shouted at Sophie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CDO YOU SEE WHAT YOU\u00E2\u0080\u0099VE STARTED?!!!\u00E2\u0080\u009D He motioned to the nurse, who grabbed Sophie by the arm. \u00E2\u0080\u009CTake her back to her room. Give her a double dose. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve had just about enough of her for today,\u00E2\u0080\u009D the doctor followed the twins out of the room. Sophie felt the prick of a needle in the back of her neck, and the flow of the thick purple liquid seeping deep into her blood, making her sleepy... When Sophie woke up, the room was dark around her. The door was closed, the blackout blinds drawn tightly. \u00E2\u0080\u009CShhh....\u00E2\u0080\u009D she heard a voice come from the corner of the room. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI think she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s awake,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said another voice. Sophie struggled to sit up, but found her hands were in restraints again. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWho\u00E2\u0080\u0099s there?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she said loudly. \u00E2\u0080\u009CSHHHH....\u00E2\u0080\u009D said the voice. \u00E2\u0080\u009CIt\u00E2\u0080\u0099s us. The twins,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said one voice. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWe also brought the other girl.\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CMy name is Laurie,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said a sullen voice. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhatever. We don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t care. What we need to do is get out of here. Tonight. Now,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said a twin. Sophie was still trying to figure out what was going on. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhat\u00E2\u0080\u0099s going on?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CFirst we untie you. Then we jump,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said one of the twins, and Sophie suddenly felt someone pulling on her hand, and ripping the restraint from her wrist. There was another person on her other side, and Sophie rubbed her wrists. 126 \u00E2\u0080\u009CJump? From here? It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s two stories up!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Laurie sounded scared. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNo choice,\u00E2\u0080\u009D one of the twins pulled open the blinds, and waited until the searchlight that spanned the building went by. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll go first, then the other girl, then you, then my sister.\u00E2\u0080\u009D She broke the window with her fist. \u00E2\u0080\u009CDuck!\u00E2\u0080\u009D All four girls ducked as the light went by. \u00E2\u0080\u009CSee ya!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twin jumped out the window and Sophie heard a thud as the girl hit the ground. \u00E2\u0080\u009COh my God!\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Laurie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t!\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou must. Duck!\u00E2\u0080\u009D They ducked again. \u00E2\u0080\u009CGO!\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CI can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Laurie cried. \u00E2\u0080\u009CFine,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Sophie, \u00E2\u0080\u009CI will,\u00E2\u0080\u009D and she jumped. Sophie hit the ground harder and faster than she thought. She rolled off the rosebush with a groan. Just as she was going to stand up, she heard the twin. \u00E2\u0080\u009CDuck!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie instinctively lay back down. Waiting until the light went by, Sophie crawled out of the way, staying as close to the building as she could. She watched as another figure dropped out of her window and rolled off the roses. She waited until the light went by, and looked up again. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNo. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not coming. Let\u00E2\u0080\u0099s go,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said the last twin. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWe don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have any time to waste.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie looked up, and saw Laurie standing in the window, crying. Sophie motioned to her, but Laurie shook her head no. Then the light came back through, and Laurie disappeared out of sight. Sophie turned and saw the twins crouched and ready to run to the front gate. She looked back one more time, and then stood up. \u00E2\u0080\u009CLet\u00E2\u0080\u0099s run.\u00E2\u0080\u009D The threesome ran into town. It was empty. 127 \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhere is everybody?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she asked the twins. They stopped and looked around. There was no one on the street. They looked into the police station. No one. One of the twins called out loudly. \u00E2\u0080\u009CHELLO!?\u00E2\u0080\u009D Her voice echoed off all the buildings. They looked at one another in fear. There was no one left in the town. Sophie screamed. \u00E2\u0080\u009CHELLO!!!!???\u00E2\u0080\u009D There was still no answer. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThe aliens. I think they got them,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWe\u00E2\u0080\u0099re too late!\u00E2\u0080\u009D She turned to the twins. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWe have to get to my uncle\u00E2\u0080\u0099s farm. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s prepared. He knows they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re coming! We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got to help him!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie knew that her uncle had a barn full of weapons to fight with. They just had to get there before the aliens did. She looked around for the fastest way to get out of town, and spotted her favourite car, a bright red corvette convertible. She ran over to it, and looked inside. Luckily, the keys were still sitting in the ignition. \u00E2\u0080\u009CTwins! Over here! There are keys still here!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins ran over and joined her. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThe aliens must have taken everyone at the same time. Do you think they are holding them on the ship, or have they killed them already?\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins shook their heads. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve only ever seen the aliens in my dreams. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t say what they would do. Other than take over the world, of course.\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell, we don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have time to stand around looking pretty,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Sophie, tossing her long chestnut ponytail to the side, and adjusting her favourite purple hoodie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThere\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a war to fight! Does anyone know how to drive?\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins shook their heads. \u00E2\u0080\u009CAlright then. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll try,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie got in behind the wheel and the convertible roared to life. She threw it into drive, and pulled out, heading down the highway to her uncle\u00E2\u0080\u0099s farm. 128 \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhat\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the plan if the aliens are there?\u00E2\u0080\u009D asked a twin. \u00E2\u0080\u009CFight,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Sophie simply. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThere\u00E2\u0080\u0099s no other option. Fight or die.\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins nodded. They knew that they weren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t good strong enough to fight an entire army of aliens. Sophie just hoped that Uncle Thomas still had the bazooka in the barn, next to the cows. As a kid, Thomas had told her stories of aliens her whole life. She grew up learning about how the aliens had tried to take over the world and failed three times before, but each time they left a few aliens behind. Spies, Thomas called them. Hiding in disguises that made them look like very ugly humans, the aliens ran dollar stores and late-night pizza windows. If they were launching their full attack now, Sophie was sure she wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be eating pizza for a while. They quickly reached Thomas\u00E2\u0080\u0099 farm. \u00E2\u0080\u009COh no!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The house and the barn were on fire. Sophie ran over to the farmhouse, calling Thomas\u00E2\u0080\u0099 name through her tears. He had to still be alive! He just had to! Just then, she heard a muffled cry from the barn. She listened again, and heard her name carried on the wind. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThomas!\u00E2\u0080\u009D she cried, and ran into the smoking barn, where she found Thomas in a corner under some hay. He was hurt, badly, but he was alive! \u00E2\u0080\u009CThey\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve taken almost everything,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Thomas said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThey\u00E2\u0080\u0099re here, and they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re going to take over! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got to stop them!\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CBut how can we do that?\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Sophie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CBuild a bomb. They were heading to the hospital next. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s their last stop before total domination here. They are evil and sneaky aliens. Bomb the hospital, and you can take them out,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Thomas said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou must get all the fertilizer from the farm. You can build an 129 explosive big enough to take them all out. The world is counting on you. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t let them get powerful, Sophie. You must save the world,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Thomas closed his eyes and went limp. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThomas! No!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie sobbed. The twins stood by uncomfortably. Sophie cried for a while, then wiped her eyes and stood up. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNow I must save the world. For Uncle Thomas. For us,\u00E2\u0080\u009D she said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CQuick, let\u00E2\u0080\u0099s get to work!\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins and Sophie worked hard to gather all the fertilizer, and some gasoline and matches. They loaded it all into Thomas\u00E2\u0080\u0099 pick-up truck and drove back into town in silence. All of them were thinking different things about what the future would hold. They arrived at the hospital. It was eerily quiet. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThe aliens must have gotten here,\u00E2\u0080\u009D said Sophie. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWe\u00E2\u0080\u0099d better make the fertilizer bomb.\u00E2\u0080\u009D The twins nodded. They decided to put piles of fertilizer at the four corners of the hospital, watching out for any aliens or people. Sophie assumed that the aliens must already be inside. Her thoughts turned to the other girl they had left behind, and she shivered. That could have been Sophie. But instead of thinking about it too much, she continued working, and soon, they had four large piles of fertilizer. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI think the best idea would be to douse the piles in gasoline, then make four lines of gasoline to a place far away. That way we can light the gasoline on fire, and it will go to the fertilizer piles and blow up the hospital,\u00E2\u0080\u009D explained Sophie. The twins nodded in agreement, and they quickly doused the piles. The three of them stood far away. Just then, they heard a noise. It was a growling noise, and it was getting louder and louder. Sophie looked around, but she didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see anything. Then the noise was high pitched, and soon, she couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hear anything except the screeching. It sounded like a thousand nails on a chalkboard. Finally, Sophie looked up. Hovering above her was a giant 130 round disc. It was the alien ship! It was so close that she could see alien heads in the windows. Their tiny mouths were open, like they were talking, but all Sophie could hear was the screeching. Suddenly, she felt something whoosh past her, and she jumped into the car. Something exploded! She screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the horrible noises of the aliens. There was a cloud of dust, and when it cleared, she looked around for the twins. She saw them lying on the ground in front of the car. \u00E2\u0080\u009CTwins!\u00E2\u0080\u009D she screamed, and cried in relief when they both lifted their heads in response. They pulled themselves up, but a second object fell to the ground, and Sophie watched in horror as they disappeared into a cloud of debris and dirt. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNo! I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t let you do this to my world!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie cried, and ran to the gasoline cans lying in the field. She pulled the pack of matches out of her pocket. Shakily, she tried to light one. The alien ship was descending closer to her, and when she looked up, she was able to see their tiny nose holes twitching like a bunny nose. She could see past one of the aliens into the ship, and saw Laurie (the girl from the hospital) lying on a metal bed. Her body had been ripped open, and she watched with horror as an alien lowered itself into the girl\u00E2\u0080\u0099s body and then zipped it up again, like her human body was a jacket. The girl-alien stood up and twitched her nose, then stared down at Sophie. Beside her was the doctor from the therapy group. Sophie was propelled into action. She tried four more matches before one of them caught fire, and she threw it down onto the gas cans. Suddenly, there was a blast of fire, and the ship moved higher into the sky like a giant hand pushed it up. Sophie squatted down close to the ground, and watched the fire snake across the field towards the hospital. The flash was blinding when the fire hit the first fertilizer pile, and she kneeled down with her arms over her head. The sound was deafening, and Sophie felt the heat as each pile 131 exploded. She looked up, only to see a giant piece of concrete heading right for her. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNOOOO!\u00E2\u0080\u009D she screamed, but there was nowhere to go. The world went black. Sophie woke with a start. She found herself lying in a hospital bed, weak with hunger, and a giant bandage covering most of her head. She tried to sit up, but found that her arms were restrained to the rails on the bed. A nurse came into the room. \u00E2\u0080\u009COh! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re awake! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s great!\u00E2\u0080\u009D the nurse said in a chipper voice. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhat happened?\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sophie asked groggily. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell, there was a fertilizer explosion at your uncle\u00E2\u0080\u0099s farm. You got hit with concrete. You almost died. Thankfully, we are here to take care of you,\u00E2\u0080\u009D the nurse said. Then her eyes narrowed. \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou are lucky we are here. We are here to take care of everyone on earth. Forever,\u00E2\u0080\u009D the nurse said. She twitched her nose. Sophie stared at her, and she was certain she could hear the sound of someone\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nails on a chalkboard coming from the down the hall. The End. 132 February 8th Dear RJ, It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s official. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m totally screwed. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 133 A Rose By Any Other Name... Help support the drama department\u00E2\u0080\u0099s costume fund by buying a rose for your Valentine! Roses will be on sale in the cafeteria at lunch hour everyday until February 14th. Cost: $2 a rose Show someone you care! Two colours available! Red Roses: True Love Pink Roses: Secret Admirer All roses will be delivered on February 14th during sixth period. 134 Junior Authors Contest This is your final reminder that your stories are due on February 17th at the end of the day. One more week to put your final touches on your story! Good luck to everyone entering the contest; it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s been a pleasure working with all of you and seeing the creative juices flowing. Choosing the finalists will certainly be difficult! 135 Assignment Fourteen: We have studied points of view this week, and now we will put that study into practice. Write a short paragraph (no less than seven sentences) using one of the points of view we have discussed. Follow that paragraph with the same scene, but written using a different point of view. Here is a reminder of the points of view we have read: First Person: The protagonist tells the story, or a character that is closely related to the protagonist, using pronouns \u00E2\u0080\u009CI, Me, We.\u00E2\u0080\u009D As a reader, we are given insight into what the narrator thinks and feels, but not other characters. Omniscient: The narrator uses third person pronouns (he, she, they) to tell the story. The narrator can move from character to character, and can access the thoughts, feelings, actions, and motivations of all the characters in the story. Limited Omniscient: The narrator uses third person pronouns (he, she, they) to tell the story, but limits the thoughts, feelings, and movements shown to the reader to one character. Due Date: February 11th 136 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: February 9th Worked On: Point of View Ms. W: Artie tried to explane limitted omnishent by telling me a storey about rehercals for drama. It was realy boreing, and I still don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get it. -Robbie Ms. Whitehead: It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s possible I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really understand limited omniscient anymore. I mean, I used to get it, but then I tried to explain it, and it didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make any sense. Besides, how can something be \u00E2\u0080\u009Call-knowing\u00E2\u0080\u009D, but still not know everything? That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s weird.- Arthur Bean 137 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 9th at 19:08 Hi Arthur! Have you had a chance to read my story yet?? I never heard back from you! Maybe you think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s terrible, and don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how to tell me :( Do you think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s okay? Did the ending make sense? I tried to get your attention during lunch today, but you didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see me I guess! There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a rehearsal tomorrow at lunch, so maybe you can give me your feedback then! I would really really appreciate it! Normally you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re so good at getting back to me really fast! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got me worried! Kennedy :) From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 10th at 16:23 Hi Arthur! Mr. Tan said that you said you had extra work to do in math today, and couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make rehearsal! I missed you! We ended up working on the scene I have with Ben instead! He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s going to be an AWESOME nurse... so funny! I was looking forward to talking to you about my story! You must be pretty busy finishing your story! I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t heard from you at all! Maybe before the poetry reading we can chat, and you can give me some feedback! I would really like that! Hopefully see you tomorrow! Kennedy :) 138 Assignment Fourteen: Point of View by Arthur Bean First Person: I looked in the mirror and I saw a monster. The mad science teacher had burned away all the skin on my face. He was standing behind me, and grinning. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNow you will have to live underground forever!\u00E2\u0080\u009D he said. I felt terrible, like this mad man had ripped both my soul and my face to shreds. I knew that I would never look at my true love again. She was off becoming a famous writer, and I was left here forever. I knew my future. I was going to become a janitor, live in the school basement, and scare the kids away. I put my mangled head in my hands and cried. Omniscient: He looked in the mirror and cried. In his place stood a monster. Behind him stood the mad science teacher, looking very pleased with his work. He had finally succeeded in making someone as ugly on the outside as he was on the inside. This kid deserved it. He had ignored his true love, and everyone knew it. The mad scientist was only doing what he should do. But the boy didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know that. All he knew was that he was going to have to live in the school basement, work as a janitor, and scare all the girls away forever. Dear Arthur, Once again, your creativity is present and you have a good grasp of the concepts covered in this point of view exercise. However, your story is very dark. I hope that this is not how you feel about Mr. Everett in real life! Ms. Whitehead 139 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 11th at 16:51 Hi Arthur! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m starting to think you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re avoiding me! PLEASE PLEASE can you send me even a short email saying that my story is OK! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been reading it over and over to see if there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s something I should change, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what that would be! Is it full of spelling mistakes? Does it suck?? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going CRAZY over here! I just want it to be good enough to not be embarrassing! Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: February 11th at 21:09 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m really sorry I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get back to you earlier. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get a chance to read your story. I was hoping to find time to read it, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been really busy writing my own story and stuff. But don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t worry! I read the first bit and it seems really great! I like your characters, and I think you have set up the aliens really well. I am sure that your story is awesome! I think you are probably my fiercest competition! And there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s spell check on the computer to catch any spelling mistakes, so I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think you need to worry there. Anyway, I should get back to writing my own story, but good luck with your final draft! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s perfect! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 140 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 11th at 21:19 Thanks Arthur! Of course you didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a chance to read it! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re like the busiest person in the world! I should\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve thought about that more, especially knowing that you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re in the play, and writing for the newspaper, AND writing your own story for the competition! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s crazy! Can you imagine what it will be like when we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re adults with JOBS LOL! Anyway, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so RELIEVED to get your email! And you said such nice things! You are TOO sweet! See you at the poetry reading! Kennedy :) 141 JUNIOR AUTHORS CONTEST REMINDER: All entries are due for the Junior Authors contest on February 17th! Please submit your stories to your English teacher directly, or to the office. All stories must have a title page with your full name, your teacher\u00E2\u0080\u0099s name, and your class in the right-hand corner. Example: John Doe Mrs. Ireland Class 8B The first page of your story should be a short description or synopsis of your story. Good luck everyone! 142 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 14th at 22:34 Hi Arthur!! Happy Valentine\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Day!! Did you have a good day?? I had a wonderful day!! I got TWO roses at school! One was RED and the other was PINK!!! I have a secret admirer LOL!! AND the impossible happened! Sandy came to my house after school, and told me that he had sent the red rose, and asked me to be his girlfriend again!!!!!!!! OF COURSE I said YES LOL!!! It was soooo romantic! It was like a movie or something!! I was starting to think that he didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t care anymore, but then I thought maybe his poem at the poetry reading was about me but I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to seem conceited or anything but then it WAS about me!! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so awesome!!! BEST VALENTINE\u00E2\u0080\u0099S DAY EVER!!! \u00EF\u0081\u008A And then there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s still the pink rose! Kayla said that one of them HAD to be from you because you are SO into your role as Romeo LOL!!! I told her that there was NO WAY it was from you because the spelling was so bad on the card! You would never spell something wrong, even to try and trick someone LOL! ANYWAY, I wanted to make sure you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll get your story into the contest. I never got to read it! I guess I will have to wait and see what you wrote! I am sure it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s brilliant!! Good luck! Maybe there can be TWO winners LOL!!! OK, I will see you in rehearsal Monday! Oh, but I PROMISED Sandy that I wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t kiss Romeo until the real show LOL! Otherwise he would be so jealous LOL!! Kennedy :) 143 February 14th Dear RJ, I hate her! I hate Kennedy and I hate Sandy and I hate Valentine\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Day and everything! Why would she send me an email like that? What\u00E2\u0080\u0099s her problem? Does she think I want to hear about her stupid boyfriend sending her a stupid rose and showing up on her stupid doorstep? I hate him. He thinks he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so romantic but he doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see how awesome Kennedy really is. He doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t understand her. Kennedy is amazing. She is kind and smart and super talented and Sandy Dickason probably just dates her because she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get it! What does she see in him?? Doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t she realize that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m her soul mate? I do all the same things she does, and I like the same stuff, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m always there for her. Why doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t she notice that? I KNEW I should have sent her a rose for Valentine\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Day, but I thought that would be lame, and I wanted to do something more. I was going to knit her mittens, but now STUPID Sandy Dickason comes back and ruins everything! Stupid Sandy. Or should I say Stupid Arthur. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t do anything right. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll probably be alone forever. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 144 Cupid Misses Mark During Poetry Reading By Arthur Bean Mrs. Ireland\u00E2\u0080\u0099s grade nine English class performed original works they wrote for Valentine\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Day in a noon hour poetry reading February 14th. The poems ranged from mushy to heartbroken to downright depressing. No one should be forced to sit through an hour of rhyming couplets that end with the words \u00E2\u0080\u009Cheart\u00E2\u0080\u009D and \u00E2\u0080\u009Cpart\u00E2\u0080\u009D. I, for one, can think of one more word that rhymes with \u00E2\u0080\u009Cheart\u00E2\u0080\u009D, and it smells about as good as most of the poetry at the reading. School events like this are excellent reasons as to why the lunch hour should be shortened to 30 minutes. Of course, there were a few poems that stood out in the sea of banality. Daisy Yau\u00E2\u0080\u0099s poem \u00E2\u0080\u009CGrandfather Clock\u00E2\u0080\u009D was simple and moving, capturing the love between granddaughter and grandfather. Anila Hazmeet wrote and performed a ballad called \u00E2\u0080\u009CHeartbroken Annie\u00E2\u0080\u009D. Although the lyrics were forced at times, her guitar playing was good, and broke up the monotony of the poems. The worst poem award goes to Sandy Dickason for his poem titled \u00E2\u0080\u009CLove Is All Around My Heart\u00E2\u0080\u009D. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s possible that this was plagiarized, because it sure sounded like it was written by a six year old. It is expected that he will be suspended for writing terrible poems. Hiya Arthur, Ouch! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re being a little harsh on the grade nine class! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure it couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have been that bad\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 I know I find it difficult to write objectively about something when I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m stressed out or upset about something else. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got a lot on the go right now, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve asked Kennedy to write up something on the poetry reading that is more positive. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t feel 145 bad! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s possible that poetry readings are not for you. I remember writing a scathing article about the basketball team when I was on my school newspaper that didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get published. (OK, I admit it. I still hate basketball). Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t worry: we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll find you a better fit for the next edition! Cheers! Mr. E P.S: What kind of flower are the worst gifts on Valentine\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Day? Cauliflowers! 146 February 16th Dear RJ, Stories are due tomorrow. I have nothing written. Not even a word. Why did I ever think I could be a writer? I have all these ideas in my head, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know how to write them down. Or else I tell Nicole or Luke about them, and then when I try to write them down, all my ideas are gone. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like someone took them away as soon as I said them out loud. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make my brain work. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even make my fingers type. Or if I get an idea that I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t talk about, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know where to start. Then I think about the ideas, and they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re stupid. All of them are stupid. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m stupid. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m never going to be famous. Ever. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 147 February 16th Dear Ms. Whitehead, Please excuse Arthur Bean from school today. He is sick. He will need to hand in his story for the contest later. Yours truly, Ernest B. Bean 148 February 17th Dear Ms. Whitehead, Please excuse Arthur from school today. He is still sick. His story is finished. I have seen it, and I have to say it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s very good. Excellent, actually. I think he shows real promise to be a great writer. Yours truly, Ernest B. Bean 149 From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: February 17th at 18:40 Hey Artie Ms. W told me to bring ur homework 2 u 2nite. anyway we live kind of close I geuss. anyway she said that u need a doctors note if u r sick tommoro. anyway send me ur adres or come get it at my house tonite b4 10. robbie From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: February 17th at 18:45 Dear Robbie, I guess I will come by and get it. We will be there in an hour or so. Yours truly, Arthur Bean February 18th Dear Ms. Whitehead, I have been sick for the last few days, and I need two weeks to put the finishing touches on my story. Can I have an extension please? Yours truly, Arthur Bean Arthur, I am sure your story is fine, however, I did speak to your father and he mentioned that you have been working on your story every night and that you seem worried about it. Two 150 weeks is a lot of time; I will need your story by Monday, February 21st at the latest. I look forward to reading your masterpiece! Ms. Whitehead 151 Romeo and Juliet- a Star\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Reflection Act One, Scene Four In this scene I have to be devious. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s important that I get into the party at Juliet\u00E2\u0080\u0099s house, but they can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know that I am not invited. So I have come up with a plan to sneak in. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s very sneaky. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the right idea or not, but I am pretty desperate to get into the greatest party of the century. We all have to do things that aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t morally right sometimes to get ahead. I know that will all turn out right in the end though. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure of it. Because it has to, right? I am the hero, so things are going to work out for me, I think. Your reflections are getting stronger, Arthur. Next time try focusing on something specific in your life, rather than being very general. Find the poetry in the everyday emotion\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 I think you will find it easier to fully immerse yourself in Romeo that way, rather than focusing on the action of the scene. Believe! Mr. Tan 152 February 20th Dear RJ, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been thinking about it all weekend, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m still so mad about Kennedy getting back together with Sandy. I made all the right moves. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the one missing out. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m smart. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m nice. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m fun. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to be famous one day. I think she was trying to hurt me because she knows that I should win the story contest. I should win the story contest. Kennedy doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t understand what it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like to lose something really big in your life. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s one of those people where everything goes right in her life all the time. I HATE those people! And now I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to lose the contest and I guess I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll just add that to my list of lost things: my mom and my potential girlfriend and my future. I need to do something. Something BIG. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to prove to EVERYONE that I am smart and strong and I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need people. People just leave you anyway\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 Yours truly, Arthur Bean 153 February 21st Dear Ms. Whitehead, Here is my story for the competition. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve attached a description of the plot on the top like you wanted. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a pretty long story. Thank you for the extension, and I look forward to hearing the results of the competition. Attached: THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW By Arthur Bean Ms. Whitehead 7A Jane wakes up in the hospital remembering how she killed aliens. She is told by the nurses and doctors that they are only dreams. She goes to therapy in the hospital, but learns that there are other girls who have had the same experience, then they are taken back to their rooms. She breaks out of the hospital with the help of the other girls. Once she is out, they realize that the town has been deserted and only the hospital is left. Jane leads the girls to her uncle\u00E2\u0080\u0099s farmhouse, where they find John and he is almost dead. He tells the girls to blow up the aliens, and they find fertilizer to build a bomb to blow up the hospital. All goes to plan, but at the last minute, the aliens attack the girls. The building blows up anyway. When Jane wakes up, she is in the hospital, and the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cnurse\u00E2\u0080\u009D tells her that she was in an accidental fertilizer explosion at the farm, but that she is in safe hands now. We never know if the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cnurse\u00E2\u0080\u009D is telling the truth. 154 February 21st Dear RJ, What have I done? I totally handed in Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story for the contest as though I wrote it. I was so mad! Mom told me never to do things when I was mad and now I know why. I need to get it back before Ms. Whitehead notices. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even know why I did it. It was so stupid. So so stupid. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 155 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: February 22nd Worked On: neither artie or i wanted to do anything today so we didnt. then artie went home early anyway-Robbie 156 JUNIOR AUTHORS CONTEST! Terry Fox Junior High is overwhelmed by the number of entries in the Junior Authors contest! Over one hundred students have submitted a story; that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s many more than we expected. We are so pleased to have such creative minds in our school! The finalists will be announced by March 1st. Should you have any questions about the process, please speak to any member of the English department. 157 February 23rd Dear Ms. Whitehead, I realized yesterday that I need my story back for the contest. There are a few spelling errors that I have to fix for the story to make sense. Can I come by your classroom after school to get it? Yours truly, Arthur Bean Dear Arthur, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure I can see past a few spelling errors. No need to worry. Ms. Whitehead 158 February 24th Dear Ms. Whitehead, Are you reading all the entries yourself? You have three English classes! That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a lot of stories to read for one little contest. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s important that you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t shirk your other teacher duties for this contest. I know that we will be starting a new unit soon in English class. You will want to devote a lot of time to preparing the class for that. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Dear Arthur, I appreciate your concern, but I think it will be fine. Ms. Whitehead 159 February 24th Dear Ms. Whitehead, I couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t help but notice that you seemed very tired in class today. Perhaps you should take a rest from all the reading you are doing, probably late at night. If I could get my story from you, that would make it easier. Arthur Bean Arthur, I am fine. If you are worried about your story, I will be reading it tonight, and could discuss it with you tomorrow if you wish. Ms. Whitehead February 24th Dear Ms. Whitehead, Are you reading the stories in any kind of order? Have you read a lot of them so far? Arthur Bean Arthur, I am reading the stories in order alphabetically by author\u00E2\u0080\u0099s last name. Is there any reason you need to know? If there is anything you want to discuss with me, please feel free to drop by my classroom after school. Ms. Whitehead 160 February 24th Dear Ms. Whitehead, Nothing to discuss. Just asking for no reason at all! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 161 Assignment Fifteen: This week we studied Conflict in short stories. There are different kinds of conflict: 1) Person versus Person: a conflict between your characters 2) Person versus Him/Herself: Your character has an internal struggle over what is right or wrong 3) Person versus Nature: Your character struggles against natural forces, such as an animal or the weather. 5) Person versus Supernatural: Your character struggles with forces outside our earth, like ghosts, aliens, or werewolves, etc. Think of a conflict that you have dealt with in your life and describe it. If you decide to use a conflict that is ongoing, create a good ending for your story from your imagination. Please underline the climax of your story, like we did for the other short stories we read in class. Due date: March 1st 162 February 28th Dear Ms. Whitehead, Did you read the story I handed in for the contest yet? Yours truly, Arthur Bean Dear Arthur, I did read your story, and I thought it was excellent. I was very impressed by your language, your story-telling ability, and the tightly woven plotline. You should be very proud of yourself. I know you were having trouble getting through the creative process, but you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done a wonderful job on a very imaginative and well-written manuscript. Great job! Ms. Whitehead 163 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: February 20th Worked On: Conflict Artie helped me alot with my conflict assignment for next week he said that it was good he thought but hear it is anyway in case I should change it. - Robbie My mom has a job. She travels alot for work. She goes to the States alot and leaves me and my brother at home with my dad who can only cook omelets. One day my mom comes home and says that she has a trip to North Carolina for two weeks. She leaves for work but then her sister (my aunt) gets into a car accident. My dad tries to call her in North Carolina but she is not staying at the hotel. She doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t call back, and finds out about her sister (my aunt) when she comes home. My dad and her sister (my aunt) are suspicious when she has a tan. My dad and mom fight alot more. My mom\u00E2\u0080\u0099s company gets downsized and she loses her job. She cries alot but then she still goes to North Carolina, and my dad gets really mad about it. My parents take my brother and me to Hawaii to tell us that they are getting a divorce. My mom is now in love with a salesman in North Carolina and is moving away. My dad cries alot, even though my dad never cries. My dad puts the house up for sale, but no one will buy it. We still live there, but my dad gets really nervous about finances and paying for stuff alone. We eat alot of omelets. Ms. Whitehead: Robbie still doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe me that a lot is two words. You have to tell him. Other than that, you should probably give him an A on this. I think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty dramatic. \u00E2\u0080\u0093Arthur 164 Assignment Fifteen: Conflict in My Life By Arthur Bean Arthur Bean goes to junior high and is surrounded by a bunch of new people. Arthur meets a girl in his gym class. She is awesome at playing volleyball, but she is also nice to the people who can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t play volleyball. She is very competitive too, and she swears at the other team when she loses her first game. Then she gets really embarrassed and apologizes to the class. Because she is so cute and nice and earnest, the teacher doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t report her for swearing. Arthur is in love with this competitive but nice girl. Arthur is paired with the volleyball girl for a writing competition. Their love grows. The volleyball girl wants to spend more time with Arthur, but his busy schedule doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t allow him to see her very often. The volleyball girl goes away at Christmas on a ski trip, but writes Arthur long love letters. Arthur feels conflicted about entering the story contest because the volleyball girl\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story will also be in the running for the best story. The volleyball girl falls madly in love with Arthur while rehearsing Romeo and Juliet, and decides not to enter the competition so that Arthur can win the story contest. Instead, she decides to focus on becoming a famous actress and volleyball player. Arthur is touched by the volleyball girl\u00E2\u0080\u0099s generosity in stepping aside for his career. Their portrayal of Romeo and Juliet is heartfelt and passionate in the school play. They stay together forever, and after high school Arthur proposes at the top of the Empire State Building. They are happy and famous forever. Dear Arthur, You have failed to identify a real conflict between your characters. In a short story, the conflict should happen quickly to engage the reader. When we work on our short stories 165 for class, try and make the inciting action the beginning of your conflict. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m certain you have better real-life examples of conflict than this one! Ms. Whitehead 166 March 1st Dear RJ, Ms. Whitehead wrote a note on my assignment today that I have better real-life examples of conflict. Do you think she knows? What should I do? Is she playing with me, waiting for me to confess? I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t do it. I could have written Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story. In fact, maybe she will think that Kennedy stole it from me. Do you think her and Mrs. Ireland will share stories and find out? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 167 Romeo and Juliet- a Star\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Reflection Act Two, Scene Two In this scene I am considering changing my name, because then I will be happier with my true love Kennedy Juliet. This is our first meeting where I get to speak to her, and it is both exciting and terrible. It is a happy encounter because I learn that Juliet feels the same way about me as I do about her. This reminds me of a time Kennedy wrote me an email telling me she was excited to be my partner in a writing group. I knew then that the universe had linked us to be soul mates. But it is also torture, because we can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be together. This is kind of like the disappointment I feel when my cousins come to town, and we have a really fun time together, but then they leave. So I really like it when they visit, but then I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m really sad that they don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t live closer to me so that we could hang out all the time. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not romantic at all, but it definitely sucks in the same way that it sucks for Romeo that he can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be Juliet\u00E2\u0080\u0099s boyfriend because their parents hate each other. Lucky for me, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s parents have ever met my dad. Not that they would hate him. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a nice guy, but he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really quiet and doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t do much. Maybe they would hate him for that. I doubt it though. Beautiful work Arthur. Such true emotions will be a powerful beacon for dramatization as we run through the scene\u00E2\u0080\u00A6the best actors are able to direct their emotions through someone else\u00E2\u0080\u0099s words. Now that you have tapped into something tied to your soul, try and use these things as your motivation to get to the end of the scene. Mr. Tan 168 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: March 2nd Worked On: Stuff notheing to report- Robbie Ditto-Arthur Bean 169 March 2nd Dear RJ, BIG NEWS! It turns out ROBBIE ZACK was the guy who sent Kennedy the secret admirer rose! AS IF! He told me today during tutoring! He kept making comments about this girl he liked and how she totally led him on and stuff. So finally I asked him what he was talking about, and he totally spilled the beans to the Bean (hahaha, that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a little name humour for you RJ.) So then he tells me about how his dad finally sold their house and he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s moving away and Kennedy is too busy with her boyfriend to notice that he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s moving to a whole other neighbourhood. Then he told me about sending her the rose but how his romantic gesture was lost because Sandy came back. It made me so glad that I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t send her a rose too, mine would have been the same! Then he actually asked ME for advice. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have any advice. I just told him that she was really nice and didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean to ignore him or something. But no WONDER he was upset about not getting to be Romeo! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 170 Assignment Sixteen: It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time to put together all the elements that we have studied this month and exercise our creativity by writing short stories! This major project is not due until May, so feel free to talk to me throughout the process. You can use any element of a previous assignment as your jumping off point if you wish. A few reminders: Choose your protagonist and your point of view- who is telling the story? Who is the story about? Develop your characters. Make them real people with real problems. Pick a conflict- what is your character trying to achieve? What obstacles are in his or her way? Resolve your story- don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t leave your reader hanging. Choose a plotline that is short enough to fit into a short story; I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have time to mark 30 novels! The hardest part about writing is getting started. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be daunted by a blank page; you can go back and fix things after you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve started. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think; just write! Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t leave your story until the last minute! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve given you a lot of time to work on your story, but there will be other assignments during the year! I hope you will use your time wisely and write an outline and a few drafts. A piece that is thrown together the weekend before the due date is easy to spot in a sea of polished stories. Due Date: May 25th 171 MS. WHITEHEAD We are sorry to announce that Ms. Whitehead has broken her hip in a skiing accident this weekend, and will not be at school for a few weeks. She is recovering comfortably at home, and is in good spirits despite the accident. If you who would like to sign a get-well card for Ms. Whitehead, please visit the office before Thursday. 172 March 7th Dear RJ, I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe Ms. Whitehead broke her hip! I knew she older, only old people break their hips. But she can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be that old, she was skiing! She must be very fit for her age. I asked at the office about the writing contest, but they said that Ms. Whitehead has already read all the stories in her classes and put forward the selected stories for the newspaper. I hope one is mine! If I can get past this part, then I can write something really great and no one will ever know that I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t write the first one! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a good thing that she will be away when the stories are published! The fates have smiled on me! Oh, I also feel bad for Ms. Whitehead. I will write something really nice in the get- well card. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 173 JUNIOR AUTHORS CONTEST WINNERS! We wish to thank all of you for your creativity, your ideas, and your fantastic writing. You made our jobs very difficult to choose finalists for publication in the spring edition of the Marathon newspaper! Thank you again for your entries, and also for your patience while we found a solution to Ms. Whitehead\u00E2\u0080\u0099s injury and absence. Without further ado, the finalists are: Anu Anders Arthur Bean Chris Chang Ami Hooper Asira Jaffer Kennedy Laurel Danil McMurray France Thibault Xian Wei Watch for a special Junior Authors edition of the Marathon before spring break, and don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t forget to vote for your favourite story! 174 Dear Finalists, First of all, congratulations! Your stories stood out in a sea of excellent work, and you should be very proud to have been chosen as a finalist for the school-wide competition. Secondly, you may wish to edit your stories. Your teacher has provided feedback on ways to make your story stronger; take a look at their feedback and use it to strengthen your manuscript. Please submit your final stories to Mr. Everett by March 17th. As you know, all the stories will be published without the author\u00E2\u0080\u0099s name in an effort to promote fairness and discourage nepotism in the voting process. Congratulations and good luck! Mrs. Winter Principal Terry Fox Jr. High 175 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 9th at 16:39 Arthur! WE WON!!! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re both FINALISTS! This is AWESOME!! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so happy to have gotten this far! And now, I will win and get published, and then I will take over the world LOL!!! Just kidding! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so excited to be published in the newspaper! I mean, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s different than being published writing just a boring old ARTICLE LOL! And CONGRATULATIONS to you! I never read this masterful piece that you wrote, and now I will get to when it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s published LOL! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so exciting! What is your story about? Doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t it suck to be Ms. Whitehead?! Are you going to send her a card to thank her for choosing you? I think I will send one to Mrs. Ireland! Sandy is taking me out to a movie tonight to celebrate! What are you doing to celebrate? Something with your dad maybe? If you want to come with Sandy and I, you can totally tag along! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure he won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mind! Kennedy :) 176 March 9th Dear RJ, I made it. I was chosen as a finalist. Which is great, because now I can write my story, something really fantastic that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s even better than Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story. The best part is that no one will know that it isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t the same story that I originally submitted. Everything is going to work out! AND, in even better news, Kennedy invited me to a movie tonight! She said that Sandy is going, but I bet she really just wants to go with me. After all, we are both authors, and we can talk about writing and Romeo and Juliet and stuff. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure this is her subtle way to ask me on a date. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so devious, right under her boyfriend\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nose like that. But that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s ok. I can hide stuff too. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: March 9th at 17:50 Dear Kennedy, Thanks and congratulations to you also! I am not celebrating with my dad tonight, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d love to join you at the movies. Call me and let me know what movie you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re going to, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll meet you there! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 177 March 9th Dear RJ, Well that wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t a date AT ALL. I went to the stupid movie with Kennedy and Sandy, and they barely talked to me. They shared a pop and a popcorn, and giggled together all through the previews (the best part of going to the movies!) Then they whispered really loudly in the movie, and twice I had to ask them to be quiet because it was really distracting. Sandy made some stupid remark about me being annoying to go to the movies with. Overall, it was terrible. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m never going out with them AGAIN. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 178 Romeo and Juliet- a Star\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Reflection Act 2, Scene 3 In this scene, I am debating whether Juliet really wants to be with me. I mean, REALLY wants to be with me. It seems that I am making all these plans for our future together, and all she does is talk to her nurse about stuff, and occasionally say nice things about me from her balcony. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s very infuriating. So I am sitting back and taking stock of what is really important. I know I love her, but does she love me back? She seems to be really into Mercutio instead. I mean, maybe she loves me in secret and that would be okay, but at some point, she has to commit to being my girlfriend. I think you have misread this scene Arthur. This is not quite what Romeo is doing in the play, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure that he really ever questions Juliet\u00E2\u0080\u0099s love in this manner. You have any questions about the language Shakespeare uses, we can discuss it after rehearsal. I find it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s best to read it with your heart, not your head. Trust in your soul! Mr. Tan 179 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: March 10th Worked On: Short Story Assignment Artie helpd me with my storey ideas.-Robbie I did.- Arthur Gentlemen: I understand that you are working together on a weekly basis, but in my books, this is an unacceptable synopsis of your work. I am certain this would not fly with Ms. Whitehead and it certainly does not fly with me. In the future, I expect to see something concrete that you have worked on together. Mrs. Carrell 180 Assignment Seventeen: We will be continuing our active reading by discussing different techniques that can be used to keep the reader\u00E2\u0080\u0099s interest. Please read the first short story in your anthology. After you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re done, please fill in some of your own reflections on the story on the worksheet and hand them in to Mrs. Carrell by the end of the period. 181 Arthur Bean 7A \u00E2\u0080\u009CThe Lake\u00E2\u0080\u009D Worksheet 1. Who is the protagonist of the story? How do you know? The protagonist is the main character of the story. I know because he is the one the author talks about the most. 2. Where does the story take place? What is the time of year? The story takes place on a farm, because all of the most boring Canadian stories take place on farms. This one is different because it takes place in the summer and Canadians normally only write about winter. 3. What is the mood of the story? How do you know? The mood is quiet and sleepy. I know because I fell asleep reading it. 4. Describe the plot of the story in three to five sentences. The main character Johnnie goes to the lake. Johnnie drops a ball in the lake and cries about it because his father is mean. Johnnie gets the ball out after thinking about it for a long time. Johnnie decides to leave the farm and but he leaves the ball on his bed. 5. What is the theme of the story? The theme of the story is that balls prefer sleeping to swimming. 6. Many authors use symbols in their stories. What do you think the ball symbolizes? The ball symbolizes Johnnie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s love for his father. It might symbolize the world, since it is also round. It could also symbolize how the author wants to 182 drown himself because he knows that he is really boring and ruining the lives of Canadian junior high students everywhere by being in the world\u00E2\u0080\u0099s worst story. 183 Dear Ms. Whitehead, Mrs. Carrell is making me write you a letter to explain my answers on the worksheet. I explained to her that my best work is not done working within such restrictions, and that I did the best I could answering the questions. It is her fault that she reads my answers as being \u00E2\u0080\u009Cimpertinent\u00E2\u0080\u009D and \u00E2\u0080\u009Cdisrespectful to the learning process.\u00E2\u0080\u009D I think that my answers to her worksheet show my creative thinking and my attempt to go above and beyond the exercise. At least when you were here we didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t just fill in the blanks on a stupid worksheet. Get well soon. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 184 March 11th Dear RJ, How am I supposed to come up with ideas for a new story when Mrs. Carrell is ruining my life? She is making me do extra homework because she hates me. From now on, I am not answering any questions in class, even if she calls on me! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 185 March 12th Dear RJ, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been trying to think of ways to change Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story and make it different so that no one notices that it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the same story. First, I tried to change the aliens to vampires, but then I got stuck trying to find reasons that the vampires didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t just suck the blood of the girls when they were in the hospital. I tried changing the hospital to Disneyland, but I think that Mickey Mouse is copyrighted. I even tried changing the main character into a puppy, and made the aliens people, but it didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make any sense. Then I was thinking of using a story from this book I found at Nicole\u00E2\u0080\u0099s house, but I think I would get caught. I bet Mrs. Carrell would read every book ever written just to get me into trouble. I just don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to do RJ!! HELP!! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 186 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 13th at 02:04 Dear Robbie, I know you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t owe me any favours at all, but I have a big one to ask of you. I need to use the short story that you showed me the other day. I think it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really really good! There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a long explanation, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have anything to put into the school newspaper for the competition I won. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s hard to explain. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a story, and I need a new one, and you have really great ideas and the ghost story you wrote would be perfect. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll give you anything you want. I can pay you for it. I just really need it, and I would be so grateful if I could have it. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 13th at 10:42 I dont get it. why do u need my storey? why should i give it u anyway? i dont want ur money. tell me why u need it, and ill decide from there. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 13th at 11:03 Dear Robbie, I need your story because I kind of accidentally used the wrong story for the competition. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean to do it, but I ended up putting in a story that someone else helped me write. That person doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know that I did that, and I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to tell them. 187 Please don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t tell anyone. I need to put a story in tomorrow and I need your help. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 13th at 12:08 so u stole someones storey? u r a badass artie! i also think, u owe me something big. heres the deal: u tell mr. Tan that u r dropping out of the play and i get to be romeo and i will give u my storey\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 13th at 14:22 Dear Robbie, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a very good trade. I have a lot of money. I can pay you as much as you want, but I really really want to be in the play. How about $50? I can give you $50 for your story. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 8th at 14:44 i dont want your $. romeo for storey. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 13th at 16:19 Dear Robbie, 188 What about $100? I would have to give it to you in two parts though, but I can get the money. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think you want to be Romeo anyway. There are so many lines to memorize, and Mr. Tan is really strict in rehearsals. Also, the reflections are a total pain to write, and the rehearsals can be really long and boring. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure you have better stuff to do. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 13th at 19:05 Dear Robbie, Do you want more money? Write me back and we can discuss a price. Please don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make me give up the part! Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 13th at 20:00 Dear Robbie, Fine. You can be Romeo. Can you send me your story tonight? I am sure there are things I need to fix in it. Arthur From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 13th at 20:03 189 THANKS ARTIE! Heres my storey for you. im really glad to be playing romeo i think i will do a good job. anyway i am taller than kennedy so i think we will look good onstage next each other more than you guys did. this makes my year. anyway i thought this year would suck! Attachment included: Ghost Love Storey March 14th Dear Mr. Everett, Here is a copy of my story for publishing in the special edition of the Marathon. In case you were wondering, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s because I am a finalist in the writing competition, and I wrote this story myself. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Attachment included: Ghost Love Story 190 Ghost Love Story By Arthur Bean Before he died, Jack sat behind Kaylee in math class. Instead of learning about integers, he studied her back. Her brown hair often covered her neck. She rarely put her hair in a ponytail. Sometimes the tag of her shirt stuck out. She wore a medium, mostly. Her shoulders tensed whenever Mr. Briar went by during a test, like she thought he would catch her cheating. She didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t cheat. At least, Jack didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think she cheated. These are the things Jack knew about Kaylee: She wore a medium shirt. She was pretty, but didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really know it. Sometimes she did know it, and on those days, she was really annoying. She played volleyball. She was nice to everyone at school, but she wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t friends with everyone. She wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t friends with Jack. Jack was average. He didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t do very well in math, and he hated English. He was pretty good at gym, and he liked art. He had a few friends, but he could have used more. His parents worked a lot, and so Jack watched a lot of TV. His parents didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t care about where he was at any time. So he went to school and he did art and gym and then he went home and watched TV. Then June came and school ended and summer vacation began. The only reason Jack cared about summer vacation was the fact that he wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t going to see Kaylee for two months. Seeing Kaylee everyday in math class made Jack so happy. 191 Then it was summer vacation, and Jack went to camp. Jack liked camp. It was at a lake and the kids were nice and they didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have to finish everything on their plates every night like they did at environment camp. That sucked about environment camp. He preferred this art camp, where they drew pictures of nature and did rubbings on rocks and acted out funny skits at night. Art camp wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t all art either. They got to learn to sail and swim in the lake, and played capture the flag and stuff. It was like gym and art class put together. The only thing that sucked about camp was that Kaylee wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t there. It was a Saturday when it first started raining at camp. One rain day at camp is okay because the camp had a few movies and stuff that could be done in the big lodge. But then it rained on Sunday. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. All rain. By Friday everyone was so sick of the lodge that when Jack suggested a rainy swim in the lake, lots of kids agreed. The counselors were tired of coming up with indoor activities, so they agreed too. The counselors played rock paper scissors to see who had to stand on the shore in the rain. Brooke lost. It was fitting that a girl with the name of water watched the lake. The lake seemed really warm compared to the cold rain. Jack preferred to stay under the water for as long as he could. When he couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hold his breath any longer, he would burst through the surface with a big gasp of air. Jack dove under over and over. He would grab the little kids by their ankles and listen for them to shriek and kick him away. He did this for hours until he was the only kid left swimming. Brooke was cold and wet and grumpy. \u00E2\u0080\u009CJack! Are you going to be in there all day?\u00E2\u0080\u009D She called out through the rain. Jack waved to her and nodded. 192 \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou okay if I go inside?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she said, pointing to the warm lights of the lodge. Jack nodded again. Then he dove under the water, into the warmth of the reeds. When he surfaced again, he was alone. He smiled, and swam out a little farther, then ducked under the water. It was a few hours before anyone noticed that Jack hadn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t come in from the lake. The counselors were scared about getting in trouble, so instead of telling any of the adults, they set up search parties with the other campers. They pretended it was a scavenger hunt that Jack was a part of. \u00E2\u0080\u009CHe might be in the forest,\u00E2\u0080\u009D they told the campers. \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou might have to chase him.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Then the campers ran off. Jack watched them run off, and tried to yell at them, but no one saw him. He floated above the lights in the lodge, trying to get warm, but all he could feel was the wind of the door opening and closing rushing through his body. Jack knew they wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t find him in the forest. No one was going to look for him tangled in the reeds at the bottom of the lake. Later, the counselors called the police. They came in the morning with the search and rescue boat. Jack was pleased that he was so important, and he sat in the bow of the boat when they went out into the middle of the lake. The police were grumpy in the rain. They called him a \u00E2\u0080\u009Cstupid kid\u00E2\u0080\u009D for swimming out so far. He tried to punch them in the face, but his fist never hit anything. They found his body in the reeds and it looked like he was waving to them, but it was just the movement of his arm from the turbulence off the boat\u00E2\u0080\u0099s motor. The police pretended to be sad when they pulled up to the dock, and they hid his blue corpse from the other campers. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNow find me in your scavenger hunt,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Jack said with a laugh. No one heard him though. 193 Jack\u00E2\u0080\u0099s parents were sad, of course. They even took some time off work, and Jack saw his father cry for the first time ever. He tried to make him feel better by hugging him, but every time he touched his father, Dad just shivered violently. His mom spent more time at work then she ever had before. Jack was glad when school started again. Things at school weren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t any different. This was sad for Jack. He was sure that people would be wearing black armbands and maybe he would have a large photo in the trophy case like in schools do for killed students in schools in movies. But no one did anything. He thought maybe his favourite teacher would leave his desk in homeroom empty as a tribute. Instead, everyone moved up a desk to replace him. He thought that maybe there would be a moment of silence for him at the beginning of every art class, but his teacher just started teaching pastel techniques on the first day. The worst was Kaylee. Kaylee didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t notice at all. She didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t cry or even ask anyone about him. It was like he had never been alive in the first place. It sucked. Jack sat on the tip of the desk behind hers and stared at her back. She still wore a medium. Her hair was longer. She flipped her hair differently, as though she was aware that her hair was brushing his face. She stared at Olivier the French exchange student, and purred \u00E2\u0080\u009Cbonjour\u00E2\u0080\u009D at him when he looked at her. Jack thought that was really annoying. But other than that, she was still nice. She was lovely actually. She was nice to everyone still. She was good at gym. She wrote poems in the margins of her math book. Jack didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know that before. They were beautiful poems about flowers and nature and loneliness and volleyball. She didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t notice he was gone. So Jack made a vow. He would make her notice. 194 Now that he was dead, Jack spent every hour with Kaylee. He followed her home and watched TV while sitting next to her on the couch. He curled up beside her on her bed when she was reading. He went to every volleyball game, every play rehearsal, and every swimming lesson. Then Kaylee started to complain. She was always cold at night. Her mom bought her a new comforter. She flipped her hair less. She smiled less. She seemed...sad, somehow. Kaylee never seemed sad before. Jack worried about her. \u00E2\u0080\u009CMaybe she is sad about me,\u00E2\u0080\u009D he thought to himself. \u00E2\u0080\u009CMaybe she is realizing that I am gone.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Jack started to follow her more. He was getting stronger as a ghost. He found that he could move the curtains, just a whisper. He would rush back and forth through the curtains, and they would flicker, like a small breeze had run through. Doing this pleased Jack. He felt like he was getting somewhere. Each time he would blow the curtains in Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s living room, she would look up. It was like she could see him. He smiled to himself. She was starting to notice him. Jack knew then that he had to work harder than ever. The next night there was a lightning storm. Kaylee was curled up on the couch watching television, wrapped like a cocoon in a quilt. It was dark in the house, darker than normal. Jack felt so powerful. It was like the electricity in the air was fueling his ghost powers. He flew around the house, seeing what he could do. When he went in front of the television, the screen was only static. This made Kaylee swear at the TV, so Jack did it a few times. He pushed the curtains about. He flew around the cupboards and rattled the glasses. Every time he was able to do something new, he would fly back to see Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s reaction. She curled deeper into her quilt as the storm grew closer and Jack\u00E2\u0080\u0099s power grew stronger. 195 She squealed in fright when he slammed the bathroom door. Jack smiled. He was getting her attention now. She spoke to him, calling out \u00E2\u0080\u009CWho\u00E2\u0080\u0099s there?\u00E2\u0080\u009D when he rattled the doorknob on the front door. She even got up from the couch and peered out the window. Jack rustled the curtains. Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s eyes filled with tears, and she dove onto the couch, hiding under the blanket while the sky tore open with flashes of light late into the night. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI think my house is haunted,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Kaylee told her friends the next day before school. They made noises of concern. \u00E2\u0080\u009CSeriously. It was so scary last night!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Jack smiled as he perched on top of Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s locker. She had noticed him! \u00E2\u0080\u009CHow do you know?\u00E2\u0080\u009D one of the blonde girls asked. Jack didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what their names were. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWell, it was really cold in my house. Then when the storm started, the curtains started moving, but I had the windows closed. And then I heard him moving around in the kitchen. I could hear his chains rattling, and then the bathroom door slammed shut on its own AND THEN it sounded like someone was trying to open the front door. But I got up to look, and there was no one there!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Kaylee told her story with enthusiasm. Jack laughed aloud. She liked having him there! She thought it was exciting! \u00E2\u0080\u009COh My God! Do you know who the ghost is? Maybe someone was murdered in your kitchen!\u00E2\u0080\u009D said one of the shorthaired girls. \u00E2\u0080\u009CMaybe. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know though. Our house is pretty new. I think my family is the first family to have ever lived there. But still, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so WEIRD!\u00E2\u0080\u009D exclaimed Kaylee. Jack flew around the halls in glee. Tonight he would make her notice him again! 196 Everything cooperated with Jack\u00E2\u0080\u0099s plan. Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s parents went out to bowling, leaving her alone again. The rain started around 6:00, and by 7:00, the storm was in full force. Jack started off small. He swooshed the curtains around. He rattled the glasses. Kaylee was sitting at the kitchen table, and shivered when he moved around her. He slammed the bathroom door again. She screamed, and got up to lock the doors to the outside. Jack flew back and forth in front of the television and turned up the volume louder. The static was more intense. He made sure it was longer and louder than before. He jiggled the doorknobs. He pushed her pens so they would roll off the table. \u00E2\u0080\u009CGhost?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she called out to Jack. He tried to answer her, but the only thing she could hear was the wind outside. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI know you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re here!\u00E2\u0080\u009D She cried. But the only answer was the sound of her pencil clattering to the floor. \u00E2\u0080\u009CGo away!\u00E2\u0080\u009D She yelled into the air. He flew through her in response, making her shiver violently. \u00E2\u0080\u009CIt\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so cold,\u00E2\u0080\u009D she whispered to herself. Jack moved back and forth, causing Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s teeth to chatter. Finally, she stood up and went upstairs to her bedroom to get a sweater. She grabbed a hoodie off her floor and struggled to pull it on. Jack took hold of one of the sleeves and pulled as hard as he could. The sleeve twisted around to the back. Kaylee had her head in the sweater and was pulling on the sleeve, trying to unwind it from the back. She walked towards the stairs. Just then, there was an earth-shattering crash of lightning. The walls and roof shook with the power of it. Kaylee was caught off guard, and she tripped down the stairs. Jack was helpless as he watched her tumble headfirst down the stairs. She lay still at the bottom. Her hoodie still covered her face. Her neck was at a funny angle. Jack yelled, but there was no noise. He cried, but no one heard him. Finally, he curled up next to 197 Kaylee and cried. He tried to hold her hand. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI love you,\u00E2\u0080\u009D he wept. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI really really love you.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Then he felt something cold and clammy tighten around his fingers. Kaylee\u00E2\u0080\u0099s ghost blinked at him. Then she smiled. \u00E2\u0080\u009CAre you my ghost?\u00E2\u0080\u009D She said. Jack nodded. She sat up and looked down at herself. \u00E2\u0080\u009CAm I a ghost?\u00E2\u0080\u009D Jack nodded. She noticed then that they were still holding hands. \u00E2\u0080\u009CWill you show me around Ghost?\u00E2\u0080\u009D She smiled at him and flipped her ghost hair. Jack nodded. \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou\u00E2\u0080\u0099re cute Ghost. What\u00E2\u0080\u0099s your name?\u00E2\u0080\u009D she said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CJack.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Jack whispered. \u00E2\u0080\u009CJack,\u00E2\u0080\u009D she said. \u00E2\u0080\u009CDid I know you before?\u00E2\u0080\u009D Jack nodded. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve loved you forever.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Kaylee smiled shyly. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI guess I better catch up then.\u00E2\u0080\u009D She kissed his cheek. \u00E2\u0080\u009CNow, can you show me how you do that curtain thing?\u00E2\u0080\u009D And they died happily ever after. The End Hiya Arthur! Your story looks great, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll add it the to pile of finalists. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to be working on the science fair (and hey! I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get your proposal\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 ), and track and field tryouts are this week, so I might not get to read everything before printing- there are a few \u00E2\u0080\u009Churdles\u00E2\u0080\u009D for this new track coach! The newspaper will be out just before spring break, and voting will start after we get back, so watch for the ballot. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure you will want to cast a vote for yourself; you can get a leg up on the competition! Speaking of spring break, the spring fling dance is coming up. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a Sadie Hawkins theme, which means that the girls ask 198 the boys! Very old-fashioned thinking, in my opinion, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not leading the social committee, am I? Would you be able to cover the dance for the newspaper? Let me know! Cheers- Mr. E Dear Mr. Everett, I was thinking that I could write my own article for the next edition. I was thinking it could be like \u00E2\u0080\u009CAn Insider\u00E2\u0080\u0099s View On the Competition.\u00E2\u0080\u009D It would be about winning the writing competition and stuff. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure that other students would be interested in that for sure. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Hiya A, Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know that would be as widely read as a piece on the dance. The dance is on the Friday night after Spring Break, starting at 7pm. Are you ready to bust a move? Cheers- Mr. E 199 Romeo and Juliet- a Star\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Reflection Act 2, Scene 4 In this scene I am planning something with the enemy. Well, not really the enemy anymore but Juliet\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nurse. We have to be devious to get away with what I am planning, so we make secret plans that no one knows about. I feel good and bad about it. I am glad that I am getting what I want (marrying and kissing Juliet), but I have to give up something as well (my family). I feel very torn about it. It is like a time when I was seven and my cousin Luke wanted to switch Christmas presents with me. I really really liked my present, but I really really wanted his present too. But I couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have both, so I chose his present over mine. I still think about that Christmas. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if I should have switched. I miss my real present, even though it was only mine for a day or two. Arthur, you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve tapped into a strong memory to work from, and I think this will translate nicely into your acting. This week we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re heading into some of the scenes with some heavy feelings. Keep digging into your memories and building your character! Mr. Tan 200 From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 15th at 15:54 i saw u in the drama room today practising R&J. u r NOT in the play anymore anyway. u better tell mr Tan tomorrow or i will tell some one about \u00E2\u0080\u009Cur\u00E2\u0080\u009D storey. robbie From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 15th at 20:14 Dear Robbie, You hadn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t brought up the play in a few days, so I thought maybe you had decided that you didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to be in it. I figured that you would have thought about that over the weekend and realized how much work it is. But I will tell Mr. Tan this week. You do know there are rehearsals through spring break, right? If you are going away for the week, you can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be in the play. Are you going to visit your mom? I bet she misses you. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 15th at 21:13 i will be hear for spring break anyway did u want me to come with u to talk to mr Tan? Robbie 201 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 15th at 21:32 Dear Robbie, No need for you to join me. I will talk to Mr Tan tomorrow I guess. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 202 Romeo and Juliet- a Star\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Reflection Dear Mr. Tan, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve realized that I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t participate in the play anymore. My duties as a student are more important, and I need to focus on my writing. Acting is really a secondary skill for me, and since I want to be a writer and not an actor, I am hereby dropping out of the school play. Robbie Zack, my understudy, has agreed to take my part as Romeo very seriously. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Dear Arthur, PLEASE come and see me at anytime today. I would like to discuss your decision with you. This is not something I take lightly. Mr. Tan 203 Assignment Eighteen: Since today is St. Patrick\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Day, I thought we would write limericks in class. As you know, a limerick has a very specific rhyme scheme and syllable count. Marks will be awarded based on the adherence to the specifications of the limerick poem. Remember, the limerick is often a cheeky and fun poem, but this is a school classroom. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to see anyone crossing over any lines of good taste, so keep your poems clean or I will have to bring your behaviour to the attention of Ms. Whitehead for discipline upon her return. -Mrs. Carrell Due date: March 17th Assignment Eighteen: My Limerick By Arthur Bean There once was a kid who\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a nerd He never liked following the herd When a trend they would keep He would \u00E2\u0080\u009CBAA\u00E2\u0080\u009D like a sheep So they treated him like a turd Mr. Bean, The language and subject matter is clearly inappropriate, despite clear instructions in the assignment. See me after class. -Mrs. Carrell 204 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 17th at 19:39 ARTHUR!! What is up?!?!?! Mr. Tan told us today in rehearsal that you QUIT the play?!?! I thought you LOVED being in the play!! We missed you today! I mean, Robbie is really nice but we have to start rehearsing scenes ALL OVER AGAIN! What happened? Why aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you in the play anymore? I totally don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t understand! Kennedy :( 205 March 17th Dear RJ, I hate myself! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe I am stupid enough to give up my ONE chance to make Kennedy fall in love with me just so that I can be famous! Does every famous person have to make difficult decisions like this? What if she falls in love with Robbie and then they get married? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be famous and alone, and people will always look at me with pity in their eyes. It will be worse than when Mom died because they will look at me like that FOREVER. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll go on talk shows to promote my book and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll have to joke about \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthe one that got away\u00E2\u0080\u009D but it won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be a joke! Now it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s spring break and we\u00E2\u0080\u0099re not even going to visit Luke\u00E2\u0080\u0099s family. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll just be at home or sitting at Nicole\u00E2\u0080\u0099s house, thinking about how I will be alone forever. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 206 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: March 18th at 11:03 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry to quit the play like that. I did what I had to do for my art. Are you doing anything for Spring Break? Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 20th at 11:04 hey artie i heard u r in town for the break. did u want to come to a play with my brother and me. my dad was gonna come but he cant and now we have another ticket and i know u like plays and stuf. the play is on wed nite so let me kno -robbie From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 20th at 12:29 Are you serious? From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 20th at 12:36 No nerd i am writing u for fun. OF COURSE im serious -do u want to come or not. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 20th at 14:15 Dear Robbie, 207 I can go to the play on Wednesday. Thanks for the invitation. Should I meet you there, or...? Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 20th at 19:54 can ur dad drive us there? my bro and i can come to ur place b4 if thats easier. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: March 20th at 21:41 Dear Robbie, I asked my dad and he can drive us on Wednesday. We can pick you guys up at 7:00. See you then. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 208 March 23rd Dear RJ, Weirdest night ever! I went to a play with Robbie and his brother. I know what you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re thinking- and I know, It WAS weird. Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s brother is a total jerk. Robbie actually even apologized to me because his brother was so strange. I thought Robbie was bad sometimes, but his brother was yelling at people in the lobby and laughing, and he kept trying to get people to spill their drinks by bumping into them in the lobby. It was super embarrassing. I was glad to get into the play. It was pretty good. I liked the way the actors flew on harnesses, and I thought Tinkerbell was pretty hot. And Robbie totally loved the play. I think he even cried at the end. It was Peter Pan! But I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure he was wiping his eyes at the end when Wendy and the boys came home. His brother saw him crying too, and made fun of him the whole way home. I wish my dad had told his brother to stop, but Dad didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t say anything. He never says anything. Anyway, when they got out Robbie asked me if I wanted to come over and play video games this weekend. I kind of hate video games especially if you have to shoot things. I think they are super boring. But I said yes anyway. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know why he asked me. I kind of had to say yes. I mean, would he beat me up if I said no? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 209 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 28th at 15:50 Hi Arthur! Sorry I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t respond about spring break! I went to visit my grandma and she has NO INTERNET! It was TORTURE LOL!! Well, it was okay but kind of boring! My little sister was SUPER annoying too and wanted me to HANG OUT with her! So frustrating! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s way better when there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s something to keep her busy like the computer LOL! At least I had lots to time to learn all my lines for the play! Speaking of the play, I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe you aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t in it anymore! I went to rehearsal today and you weren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t there and it wasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t as fun! You always make me laugh when I see you! I mean Robbie tries really hard and he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s super sweet, but it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just different, you know? Anyway, I guess you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re really busy writing and stuff! I read your story in the newspaper over the break too! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s sooo good! I really liked it a lot! (I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m still voting for mine though LOL!) Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: March 28th at 19:22 Dear Kennedy, I had a nice break. I had some time to work on my writing. I also saw a good play with Robbie and his brother, and went to a few parties. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s too bad you weren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t here to come to the parties. They were really fun. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s too bad that I am no longer in the play, but I have told Mr. Tan that I will learn all the lines just in case Robbie gets sick or too scared to go on stage. One of the reasons I stepped aside for the play was to give Robbie a chance to play 210 Romeo. I know his mom left and I thought it would be good for him to have something good. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: March 28th at 16:23 Arthur that is so sweet! I knew there was something behind your motives to leave the play! I had no idea that you and Robbie were so close! That is just the nicest thing I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve ever heard! We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re both so lucky to have you as a friend Arthur! Kennedy :) 211 March 28th Dear RJ, The voting is over this week for the stories. Do you think I will win? If I get published, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll totally thank Robbie in the acknowledgements. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll even dedicate the story to him. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve already starting dreaming about what I will do with the $200 prize money. I think I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll give some of it to my dad or buy him something nice. Maybe we can buy a new television or something. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s starting sleeping in front of the TV all night now, he doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even go to bed. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve tried different stuff too, but he only smiles and says things like \u00E2\u0080\u009Canother time champ\u00E2\u0080\u009D when I suggest that we go to a movie or something. I think I will ask Nicole if she has any suggestions about what to do. Maybe if I win the contest and the money we can go on a trip somewhere. Something fancy, with a nice hotel and a swimming pool. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 212 Assignment Nineteen: Ms. Whitehead has asked me to start the next unit on Famous Authors. We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be studying the lives of some of the great poets and novelists of yore. I would like each of you to write two to four paragraphs about your favourite author. Please talk about his or her life and their careers. Are you inspired by their life story or something they wrote? Why is he/she your favourite author? Do you have a favourite book by them? Make sure your grammar and spelling is correct and that you use different types of sentences. Due Date: April 7th 213 Spring has Sprung, Fling is Fun by Arthur Bean Terry Fox Jr. High hosted its fourth dance of the year and finally got it right. The spring fling dance held last Friday was a Sadie Hawkins\u00E2\u0080\u0099 dance. Sadie Hawkins was a originally an character in a comic strip from the 1930s. She was the ugliest girl in the town, and then her dad had a race in her name. If Sadie Hawkins caught a man and dragged him across the finish line, he had to marry her. The comic strip was pretty popular, and soon Sadie Hawkins\u00E2\u0080\u0099 races and dances were celebrated in Canada and the United States. The highlight for most was definitely the opportunity to dance with some of the prettiest and most popular girls in school. For example, Kennedy Laurel\u00E2\u0080\u0099s invitation to dance was met with enthusiastic yeses. Those of us lucky enough to be asked by such a graceful and energetic dancer as Kennedy were clearly watched with envy by the less fortunate of our gender. There is one more dance this year for the entire school (not including the graduation class party held only for grade nines and their dates), and this reporter suggests that it also be a Sadie Hawkins\u00E2\u0080\u0099 dance. Nice work on covering the dance Arthur, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad that you had fun at the same time! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to make a few changes to your work to be less specific about who danced with whom (not to take away from your pleasure in dancing with the delightful Kennedy, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want our readers to mob you in their jealousy!) I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad to see that you researched Sadie Hawkins too! Researching your subject is the key to great journalism, so well done! Next up for you is a preview piece on the Spring Art Show. Most of the work will be up in the 214 art room in a couple of weeks. Would you be able to do an article talking about the background on a few artists and their works? Remember though, just because a picture might be worth a thousand words doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean your article needs to be too long! Cheers- Mr. E 215 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: April 2nd Worked On: Famous Authors Artie read the draft of my author piece and said it was good. he fixed alot of misstakes and showed me where I used anyway alot. he fixed it and now its better. - Robbie Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s essay on Chris Van Allsburg was interesting. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know anything about the guy at all, and now I learned something. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a pretty good illustrator, and I like that Robbie added some of his pictures into his essay. I never really read any of his stuff, but Robbie was showing me some really cool books that are cool even though they are picture books for kids. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if they really are for kids. Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s paragraph about magic in books was interesting too. \u00E2\u0080\u0093Arthur 216 Assignment Nineteen: My Favourite Author By Arthur Bean Arthur Bean (1999- ) was born in a hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His parents, Ernest and Margaret Bean, were ecstatic and proclaimed his talents early. Moving to Calgary when Arthur was only two years old, Arthur quickly became a fixture in the literary scene. He was reading chapter books before his seventh birthday, and decided to be an author quickly thereafter. His first poem, called \u00E2\u0080\u009CRain\u00E2\u0080\u009D was published in the school newsletter in grade five, setting his career into motion. After \u00E2\u0080\u009CRain\u00E2\u0080\u009D, Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s stories took on a more serious tone. The playful nature of his first poem was subtly mocked in his first short story called \u00E2\u0080\u009CLightning Storms over Disneyland\u00E2\u0080\u009D. He began developing his characters in more realistic ways in his story \u00E2\u0080\u009CSockland\u00E2\u0080\u009D, a break-through story that got highly positive reviews from his grade six teacher. Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s writing career was put on hiatus after Marg Bean died last year. She was his muse, and greatest fan. But he has come back full force this year with a strong manuscript in the citywide writing competition. He expects to win $200, his first prize in what promises to be a very long writing career. He is also an amateur actor and investigative journalist. Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s career means a lot to me because it is mine. I think that he captures what I am feeling and thinking in what he writes, and he is very clever. 217 Mr. Bean, This is an unacceptable interpretation of this assignment. This kind of snide mocking of the school system is juvenile, unoriginal and rude. I expect you to take home this letter to your parents and return it with a signature tomorrow. Mrs. Carrell 218 April 8th, Dear Ms. Whitehead, I hope your hip is healing and you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re able to move around now. When you are coming back to school? We really miss having you teach the class. I, for one, like that you are more open to a creative mind such as my own. Mrs. Carrell and I have creative differences on how English class can be interpreted, and it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s getting kind of difficult to work with her. Anyway, I hope you come back soon. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 219 April 10th Dear RJ, It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s been a while since the school finished voting for the winner of the writing competition, and still Mr. Everett hasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t published the results. I asked him in the newspaper meeting Friday if I could write an interview piece with the winner to see if I could find out who it was, but he said that the science fair had been taking up a lot of his time and he hasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t had an opportunity to count the votes yet. I offered to do it for him, but he just laughed. Doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t he realize what it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like being on the other side of the competition? We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re just sitting here, WAITING. My whole future is based on this story! Why can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t he just sit down and count the stupid ballots? No one cares about a science fair anyway!! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 220 Assignment Twenty: Many works of fiction are based on the works of others. Writers will respond to another work by writing a prequel or sequel to someone else\u00E2\u0080\u0099s work, or focusing on another character. For this assignment, choose a novel you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve enjoyed and write a short response to it. Your response can be anything you wish: a diary entry from a secondary character, a scene starring the main character before the book starts, an epilogue about what happens afterwards, etc. You will be marked on your grammar, insight, and direct connection to the original novel. Ensure to clearly indicate in your title what novel you are referencing, and who wrote the original piece. Due Date: April 15th 221 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: April 12th Worked On: Novel Response Artie helped me choose a book that I liked and we worked on an outline of a dairy response from a caracter. I am doing a dairy entry for Harris Burdick. Hes a guy who is in a book by Chris Van Allsburg but hes not really in the book he only has his name on the cover. - Robbie Robbie helped me choose a novel to use for my project. It was very collaborative. We also talked about how much better Ms. Whitehead was at understanding our creative approaches to English assignments rather than being stuck with worksheets and silent reading in class. - Arthur 222 Assignment Twenty: Diary Entry- The Grand High Witch Original Novel: The Witches by Roald Dahl Dear Very Evil Diary, I, The Grand High Witch of England, am thinking of moving. I am tired of Norway and England. After this meeting of the RSPCC, I will pack up all my wigs and fly across the ocean. I find the children in England have funny accents and weird words for things like candy and sweaters. Not only that, but all the children will be gone due to my Mouse-Maker potion! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a perfect plan! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m thinking of moving to Canada and becoming a substitute teacher. This way I can torture children before I kill them. Of course, I may bore them to death. That would be fun too! Anything to make their lives miserable! I will probably teach math. Of course, I hate math too so that will make it even worse for the children. It will be worse because I will always be in a bad mood when I am teaching. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just too bad I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t use the strap anymore in class. I miss the old days! My plan is to kill all the other witches who are so dumb that they can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t do anything themselves, and then I can be a substitute in every school across Canada. I will use my substitute teacher powers to put my Mouse-Maker potion in the cafeteria food, and BAM! Instant Mouse School! After I torture the children with my boring math classes, of course. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a perfect plan! Now, I better go to sleep. I have to run a meeting in the morning. Yours truly, The Grand High Witch 223 Mr. Bean, I am very tired of your overt displays of rebellion in your assignments. I expect that Ms. Whitehead will be discussing your recent behaviour with you upon her return next week. Your lack of decorum and respect towards your superiors will not be tolerated. Principal Winter is expecting you in her office after school today. Mrs. Carrell 224 April 16th Dear Mrs. Carrell, I, Arthur Aaron Bean, am very sorry for being disrespectful to you in class. I realize that even though my assignments still followed all the rules you set out, they weren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t written \u00E2\u0080\u009Cproperly\u00E2\u0080\u009D. I now understand that I should have written my assignments in the same way that everyone else wrote them and that creativity can be very subjective. I also understand that my assignments showed disrespect to you, and were also disrespectful of all my classmates. I am told that by writing differently, I somehow annoyed my classmates too, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry. I also understand that you felt that I was persecuting you specifically in my last assignment. I want to assure you that I was not talking about you. I think this is clear since the high witch becomes a substitute math teacher, and you are a substitute English teacher. Please take this letter as my apology and that I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t do anything at all to upset you until you leave and move on to teach other students in another school far away. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 225 The \u00E2\u0080\u009CI\u00E2\u0080\u009D of the Beholder: The Art Show Preview By Arthur Bean Next week the Terry Fox Jr. High cafeteria will be turned into an art gallery of the highest degree. Students from all three grades have submitted their best artwork for this public showing. The art will be up all week, with a special Art Opening for family and friends on Monday night from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Artists will be in attendance Monday night to answer any questions about their work and inspiration, but I had the opportunity to interview a few students about their work ahead of time. Grade Seven student Parvis Ahluwahlia has been a fan of comic books his whole life. He has drawn a series of comic strips that make humourous observations on school life. He has adeptly captured the horrors of eating the same food every day of the week at the cafeteria in one. In another, he uses humour to show the viewer the social divide between comic book nerds and jocks. His drawing style is simple and cartoonish, and his main character looks a lot like the famous Garfield the cat. When asked about his work, Parvis said that he just draws all the time, and especially likes doodling in textbooks. He is very excited to have the chance to show off his comics in frames like real art, and is hoping that his comics will be effective in sharing their message of anti-bullying. Grade eight student Kristina Perkins prefers watercolours. Her landscapes are predominantly blue, and are very peaceful. Kristina said that she has been painting in every spare moment she has ever since she was a kid, and she likes painting pictures of her family\u00E2\u0080\u0099s cottage on a lake. She says that she hopes other students find looking at her work relaxing and that her watercolours remind them of a perfect summer day. 226 Finally, I spoke with grade nine student Sandra Chu. Sandra says that she prefers to work with \u00E2\u0080\u009Cfound objects\u00E2\u0080\u009D and work them into her avant-garde sculptures. To the untrained eye, it might look like she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s gluing garbage together, but she assures me that her work is very post-modern. \u00E2\u0080\u009CI am trying to show how material goods are just being thrown away, but that we can recycle them into something meaningful for someone else,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sandra told me in her interview. \u00E2\u0080\u009CMy sculptures are an attack on current government environment policies as well as a comment on how commercialized Christmas has become.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Sandra\u00E2\u0080\u0099s main goal is to make people think differently about what is art. These are just three of the artists that will be in attendance of what promises to be an interesting art show in the cafeteria. Come and see the rest for yourself. You won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be disappointed! Hiya Arthur, Excellent work buddy! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a word that needs to be changed! You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve captured the spirit of the art show along with pertinent facts about the show and some of the artists. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve piqued the interest of the reader with your insightful interviews, and chosen three very different artists to highlight. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done some fantastic work here and you should be very proud of your article! Cheers! Mr. E 227 JUNIOR AUTHOR WINNER! Terry Fox Jr. High would like to congratulate Arthur Bean on receiving the highest number of votes for his story \u00E2\u0080\u009CGhost Love Story\u00E2\u0080\u009D! The results were extremely close, and we would like to thank all the finalists for sharing their excellent stories with us. Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s story will be published in the annual junior edition of Writers\u00E2\u0080\u0099 Write Now magazine in June alongside the works of other winners across the city. Please take a minute to congratulate Arthur on his success when you see him! 228 April 19th Dear RJ, I won the contest. I know that I should be more excited, but I feel so weird. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like I ate too many chocolates and instead of being happy, I feel gross. I mean, I did do a lot of work on that story. There were parts of it where it didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make any sense, so I changed it around, so it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s practically like I wrote it, right? It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s almost like it was Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s idea, but I wrote it. But then I should be more excited. Maybe it just doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t feel real yet. I should probably tell my dad, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even feel like it. Do you think I will feel better when I see my name in the magazine and get the money? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 229 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: April 19th at 20:03 Hi Arthur, Congratulations on winning the competition. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s great for you. There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s always next year for me I guess. Kennedy From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: April 19th at 20:05 Thanks Kennedy! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s pretty exciting! I thought your story was really great. I wish we could have both won! Yours truly, Arthur :) From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: April 19th at 20:37 dude did u win the contest? is that the 1 where u used my storey? what did we win? From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: April 19th at 22:28 Dear Robbie, I did win! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so exciting! And I won some money too, so we could maybe go to the movies together sometime. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll pay. We can even get popcorn! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 230 Assignment Twenty-one: First of all, I would like to thank you all for your kind words and good wishes for my recovery. Your get-well cards kept me in good spirits while I recuperated, and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m very glad to be back at school! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure Mr. Fringali will be happy too, especially since he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s been walking Bruno for me while I was cooped up! All that time watching movies and bad daytime television gave me lots of time to think of new writing exercises for you too. I can hear you groaning! I promise it will be fun! I thought we would have some fun now that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m back! Comic books and graphic novels are often overlooked as \u00E2\u0080\u009Cliterature\u00E2\u0080\u009D. Write a short comic strip about a recent event in your life. It doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need to be funny or long. Try and use both words and pictures to convey the emotion of your characters. Don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t worry; I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be marking you on the quality of your artwork, just how you choose to blend the two together! There will be copies of several different types of comics and graphic novels on the \u00E2\u0080\u009CGreat Reads\u00E2\u0080\u009D table if you are looking for examples or inspiration. Due Date: May 2nd 231 April 22nd Dear RJ, Kennedy seemed so sad in school today. I tried to talk to her during gym but she is being really weird. For one, she normally looks right at me when we talk, but today she kept looking around at everything else. I think she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s upset about losing the writing contest. But like she said, there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s always next year, and I told her that her story was really good. She told me that she just kind of wanted to forget about it. I tried to tell her that she had other stuff going for her too, like being Juliet in the play, but the more I talked to her, the more upset she seemed, and finally she told me she had to go and ran away into the girls\u00E2\u0080\u0099 change room. Her friends told me I was being a jerk and rubbing it in, but I told them they were wrong. I was just trying to be nice and make her feel better about losing. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s what I would want. Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s being weird too. He talks about being in rehearsals all the time. He said that him and Kennedy were getting together almost every day after school to rehearse. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know why Kennedy has time to run lines with him, because she never had time to rehearse with me. Maybe she feels sorry for him because he needs more rehearsal time. I bet that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s it. I hope so. With everyone being so weird I sure don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t feel any better about winning. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been thinking of ways to celebrate, but I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think of anything. I still haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t said anything to Dad or Nicole or Luke. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even want to think about it, but then I have nights like tonight when I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t sleep and my mind won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t stop thinking and I have this knot in my stomach that won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t go away. Any ideas on how to get rid of it? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 232 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: April 25th at 11:16 Dear Kennedy, I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t seen you around school much lately, and I just wanted to say hello! I know you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been really busy with the play and homework and stuff, but I miss hearing from you. How are you doing? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been pretty busy. I am working on a new story for class and I am hoping that Ms. Whitehead likes it. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s back. I hated our substitute! Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and make sure you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re doing all right. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 233 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: April 27th Worked On: Comic Strips artie found a graphic novel version of R&J for me to look at. twas awesome, dost thou know it?-robbie We mostly read comic books. It was a research session. - Arthur 234 Assignment Twenty-one: A Day in the Life Comic Strip By Arthur Bean Dear Arthur, You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done a nice job using different sizes for emotional effect, although this is a sadder version of your contest win than I expected from you. I hope that you had some real celebrations for your success, and perhaps learned a lesson about the power of humility? Ms. Whitehead 235 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: April 29th at 22:43 Dear Arthur, I know I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t written much lately. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have too mush that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s good to talk about! For one thing, Sandy broke up with me. Again. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s such a jerk! I hate him sooo much! He said that I was \u00E2\u0080\u009Ctoo busy being Kennedy that I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have time to be Kennedy AND Sandy\u00E2\u0080\u009D. Is that not the STUPIDEST thing you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve ever heard?? It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not MY fault that he just wants to sit around the house watching TV and playing VIDEO GAMES! I actually want to DO something with my life! Can you believe him??? To think that I was in LOVE with him! MEN SUCK! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m done being sad about him! Then, to top it off, my DAD spent like an HOUR telling me that I have to do better in science! He can be such a jerk! Not EVERYONE wants to be a doctor or something! I just want to punch something! This year sucks! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe how much it sucks! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait until this school year is OVER and I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have to deal with anyone for TWO months! K From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: April 30th at 10:20 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry that life sucks! I hate Sandy too! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not surprised he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s being a jerk. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think he understands what people like you and I want in life. We are dedicated to being better people and being famous. You don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need him. Your boyfriend should be someone who understands that you like to be busy and that you are talented and fun. Your 236 talents are wasted sitting on the couch! I mean, any guy in the school would be so lucky to have you as his girlfriend. I promise that we don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t all suck- I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a pretty good guy \u00EF\u0081\u008A ... If you want someone to talk to, I am here always for you. Maybe we can go to a movie or the mall this weekend, and we can talk about it. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: April 30th at 14:30 Thanks Artie. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m totally just going to stay in my pyjamas all weekend and waste my talents on the couch LOL! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t care! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m taking time to be KENNEDY! Screw you Sandy LOL! Kennedy :) From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: April 30th at 13:22 artie did u here that kennedy broke up with sandy? how awesome is that?? i m totally going to make my move in rehersal monday. any smooth moves u can pass on lolol? 237 April 30th Dear RJ, I need to move in on Kennedy FAST! Robbie is going to tell her he likes her and I need to beat him there. I KNEW I shouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t give up being Romeo. That was so stupid RJ! What can I do? I tried asking her out this weekend and she said no. So now what? I want it to be romantic and special and show that I understand how great she is. Any great ideas RJ? Anything at all? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 238 May 1st Dear RJ, OK, I talked to my dad and to Nicole about what I should do. Nicole said that I should write her a poem. Dad said that he didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know but he thought the poem was a good idea. So I made a list of words that could rhyme with Kennedy: kennedy remedy lemony secondly tremendously extremity melody As you can see, I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get very far. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 239 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: May 3rd at 17:24 ARTHUR BEAN!!!!! How could you CHEAT like that?? Are you so low that you STEAL from your friend? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe I thought you were a good guy!!! What the HELL is going on? YOU SUCK!!! ALL MEN SUCK!! From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: May 3rd at 17:24 artie i need to talk to u cuz i might have told kennedy today about my storey. can u call me? kennedy was really really mad. From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: May 3rd at 17:26 YOU TOLD HER???? WHY WOULD YOU TELL HER??? From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: May 4th at 18:03 AND ANOTHER THING... I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to tell Mr. Everett and Ms. Whitehead what you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe you would do this!!! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m just sitting here and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so mad I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even know where to start! I wish you were right here- I would punch you in the face! In fact, I still might PUNCH you! Maybe I will come to your house! Robbie seemed SOOO upset that he told me but he should be mad AT YOU! What were you thinking?? He said you NEEDED it! I thought YOU WROTE YOUR story! You said that everything was perfect! You LIED to me and you STOLE from Robbie and you CHEATED!!! YOU ARE A TERRIBLE FRIEND!!! 240 From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: May 3rd at 18:19 artie u need to answer ur phone. i need to tell u what happenned cuz it just slipped out. r u mad at me? u gotta call me. u gotta hear what happened. She cornered me! I got all nervous and we were talking and i wanted to tell her that i like her and i told her that my storey was about her. and she was all like \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwhat storey\u00E2\u0080\u009D and i said \u00E2\u0080\u009Cthe one in the newspaper\u00E2\u0080\u009D. and she said \u00E2\u0080\u009Cartie rote that storey\u00E2\u0080\u009D and i said \u00E2\u0080\u009Cno i did but i gave it to artie 4 ur contest to win\u00E2\u0080\u009D and she didnt kno that. then she got all mad and stormed off and i still didnt tell her i like her. it was a disaster man! call me! From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 3rd at 10:08 Dear Kennedy, I wish you would answer your phone, or text me back! But whatever you do, please don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t tell Mr. Everett and Ms. Whitehead! I can explain everything! I would rather explain it in person though. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s very complicated, but there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a good reason for it, I promise. Believe me! I never meant to cheat! I had no other choice! I feel so terrible! Please let me explain! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 241 May 3rd Dear RJ, This has been the worst birthday EVER. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 242 Assignment Twenty-two: We all have a tendency to think about the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwhat ifs\u00E2\u0080\u009D in our life. I would like you to focus on one moment in your life, and think about the \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwhat if\u00E2\u0080\u009D. Your moment can be as big as \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhat if my family had moved to France?\u00E2\u0080\u009D or as small as \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhat if I had been given a hamster when I was six?\u00E2\u0080\u009D Write three paragraphs as though your \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwhat if\u00E2\u0080\u009D had come true. How is your life different? Has it changed for better or for worse? Due date: May 12th 243 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 5th at 01:24 Dear Kennedy, I looked for you at school today but I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see you. Well, that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not true. I did see you, but you seemed really into the conversation you were having over lunch. Then I looked for you after school, but Mr. Tan said that you were in the theatre setting light cues and couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be disturbed. I waited for you after rehearsal, but I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t see you leave with everyone. I want to explain what happened with my story and the contest. I really wanted to win. I feel like my life has sucked since Mom died and I wanted something to go right. Then the story contest came along, and I thought that I could win it and win the money and be happy! I knew your story was really great and I wanted to write a story that was as good as yours. I thought you would want to hang out with me if I was more talented. I just couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t write anything good. I tried. I really tried, and then one day when I was tutoring Robbie I read his story and it was everything I wanted to write! So we made a deal. I used his story in exchange for my part in Romeo and Juliet. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really important to me to win the contest and be in print. I always told my mom that I would be famous. Now that she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s gone, I have to be famous so that my dad and I can live in a big house and have stuff and my dad will be happier and we won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even miss my mom at all! I just can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t write a story as good as your story right now. I loved your story. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re an amazing writer and actress and person and I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t keep up. I just wanted you to like me. Anyway, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m really sorry. I never meant for you to find out. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 244 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: May 6th Worked On: What Ifs What if we quit these stupid tutoring sessions? They\u00E2\u0080\u0099re a waste of time for both of us, and Robbie doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need me around. All he needs is spell-check on his computer and maybe a thesaurus. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not making things any better for Robbie, just more complicated. Arthur don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mind artie today. hes in a bad mood- Robbie 245 May 6th Dear RJ, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t understand how this could have gone so wrong! I have no idea what Kennedy has done or if she told anyone! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t sleep. I should be mad at Robbie, but he feels so bad that I couldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even stay mad at him. I guess one good thing about it is that Kennedy isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really talking to him either. He said that in rehearsal yesterday she just said her lines and talked only to Mr. Tan. I just don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what I should do. What if I get suspended? Famous writers don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get suspended from school! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 246 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 6th at 02:42 Dear Kennedy, Did you get my email? Or any of my texts? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m not sure if you told anybody about my mistake with the story. No one\u00E2\u0080\u0099s said anything to me, so I hope you decided not to tell. I would be so happy if you could just keep it a secret. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t mean to make you mad at me, and Robbie is so happy to be in the play with you! Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 8th at 19:33 Dear Kennedy, I hope you had a nice weekend! You must be very busy getting ready for the play. I will be there on opening night to see you! Maybe if you get a chance you could call to let me know that you got my last email? Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 9th at 19:33 Dear Kennedy, I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t heard back from you. Did you get my last email? I really want to talk to you! Arthur Bean 247 Assignment Twenty-two: What If I Didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t Win the Writing Contest By Arthur Bean I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t put in a story for the writing contest, because I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a story to tell this year. So instead of writing a story, I tried out for the badminton team. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make it onto the badminton team. I tried to start a movie club, but there weren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t any teachers who wanted to give up their lunch hours to watch movies. Luckily, I got to be in Romeo and Juliet anyway. My performance was very moving and almost everyone in the audience was very sad when Romeo died. On stage I could hear them sniffling and blowing their noses. It was like being at a real funeral. Then after the play, the girl playing Juliet would be so overwhelmed by my performance that she would ask me out and we would become boyfriend-girlfriend. The saddest thing about not winning the contest is that it was my only chance to be famous really soon. I will always wonder, \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwhat if I won\u00E2\u0080\u009D, and I will be sad about it. I will feel like I have lost all my writing talent and I will end up working as a used car salesman or something terrible like teaching math. Arthur, This is a thoughtful reflection on a recent event. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve done a nice job looking at both the positives and negatives that could happen if you did not win. Your verb tenses, however, are muddled. It would be best for you to choose a time frame (past, present, conditional past) and stick with it throughout. Ms. Whitehead 248 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 10th at 16:15 Dear Kennedy, How are you? Robbie said that the play is almost ready and that you look beautiful in your costume. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wait to see it! He also said that you are really good at playing dead. I would love to hear about the play from your point of view. Maybe we could do an interview for the newspaper! I could interview you! Let me know- I promise I will do a really great job! Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: May 12th at 20:04 Dear Kennedy, Please talk to me! I know you \u00E2\u0080\u0098re mad at me, but I really miss you as my friend. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what else to do! Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: May 13th at 21:56 Arthur. STOP WRITING ME. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need cheaters and losers in my life. Yours ANGRILY, Kennedy Laurel 249 Arthur Bean Apt 16, 155 Tormey Street Calgary, AB T3B 1A5 Writers Write Now Magazine PO Box 134 Stn M Calgary, AB T2P 4F0 May 14th To whom it may concern, There has been a mistake in the authorship of the winning entry for Terry Fox Jr High for the Junior Authors contest. My name, Arthur Aaron Bean, has been attached to the story \u00E2\u0080\u009CGhost Love Story\u00E2\u0080\u009D. The real author is actually Robert Zack, although I helped him a lot with it so my name should probably be mentioned too. The author should probably read \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwritten by Robert Zack with help from Arthur Bean.\u00E2\u0080\u009D Yours truly, Arthur Bean 250 Assignment Twenty-three: Spring is around the corner! With spring come all kinds of changes in the world. I love planting my garden, and seeing the lilacs come into bloom! Write a descriptive paragraph about spring. Look around you on your walk home after school or around your house or the school. What are some of the things that you observe with the coming of spring? Due date: May 18th 251 Assignment Twenty-three: Spring By Arthur Bean When spring comes, the windows get opened at home. The air is crisp and seeps into the couch and chair, and even though it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s still too cold to open the windows, we do it anyway. My dad and I have to have blankets up to our chins to watch television, but neither of us will be the one to suggest closing the window. The living room feels brighter somehow. Maybe it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s because the laundry gets put out on the balcony rather than blocking the fireplace and the dining room. Spring smells. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s like the whole city has turned into a farm. My dad says it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s the wind coming off the farms outside the city, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m pretty sure it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just all the dog turds that people didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t pick up over the winter thawing out and getting stepped in. This spring there is a change happening. Nicole convinced my dad to sign up for some kind of yoga class, even though he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s never done yoga before. Nicole got a boyfriend and she says she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s in love. Pickles has disappeared again, but you can still see some of her paw prints in the leftover snow outside the apartment building, so I know she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s close by. I only have one sleeve left to finish on my sweater. I wish my mom were here to see me wear it. Dear Arthur, I enjoyed how you focused on the changes that happen in your apartment and not just on the natural changes happening outside. I appreciated your honest and straightforward description. I hope you finish your sweater soon; I would love to see it! Ms. Whitehead 252 REMINDER: Your short stories (assignment sixteen that we began back in February) are due May 25th; that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just a week away. Feel free to speak to me if you have any questions. Please make sure to spell check and proofread your story before handing it in! Ms. Whitehead 253 Writers Write Now Magazine PO Box 134 Stn M Calgary, AB T2P 4F0 Arthur Bean Apt 16, 155 Tormey Street Calgary, AB T3B 1A5 May 20th Dear Mr. Bean, We have received your letter regarding the authorial change on the Terry Fox Jr High submission for the \u00E2\u0080\u009CJunior Authors\u00E2\u0080\u009D edition of WWN magazine. In order to make such a change, we need a letter from the school, as well as a letter of affirmation from Robert Zack that he wrote \u00E2\u0080\u009CGhost Love Story\u00E2\u0080\u009D. These letters may be emailed as attachments, and must be received before June 1st for the change to be made before the magazine goes to print. Should you have any questions, please don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hesitate to contact me during business hours. My contact information is below. Sincerely, Erin Kennedy Editor, WWN Magazine Ph: (403) 274-8909 Email: erin.kennedy@wwn.ca 254 May 20th Dear RJ, Why is nothing easy? I try and do the right thing, and now it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s even harder. I just want to disappear. It wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be hard. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have anything left. I gave Robbie credit for his story AND my role as Romeo. Kennedy won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t talk to me. Ms. Whitehead expects a story for class. Mr. Everett won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t let me write my own article. I did notice that a girl who has Kennedy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s name manages the magazine. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a sign that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m doing the right thing, isn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t it? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 255 May 21st To Whom it May Concern, Please excuse Arthur Bean from school today. Thank you, Ernie Bean 256 May 21st Dear RJ, Today is the anniversary of the day that Mom died. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t go to school today. I thought Dad would want to go to the cemetery again, but he didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t. He hasn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really talked to me at all, he just went to some meditation class. He just left me here in the apartment alone. I thought dads were supposed to pay attention to their kids, not just do whatever they wanted. Why should I have to stay here by myself, totally alone?? What am I supposed to do today?? Why should I have to be by myself on the worst day of the year??? I hate him!!! I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t even want to be a person today. I would rather be a bug or something with no memory or even consciousness. Is it tomorrow yet? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 257 May 22nd Dear RJ, I thought today would be a little better, but it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not. And now my dad is creeping around the house really quietly because I yelled at him yesterday and he doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know what to do either. So even though I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know it was possible, I feel even worse for making him feel bad. I know he is sad too. I think our sadnesses are too different from each other to really be sad together. Is that possible? Can two people miss the same person in different ways? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 258 May 25th Dear Ms. Whitehead, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have a story for our short story assignment. I have the beginnings of a lot of stories, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have any endings. I think they all suck. I tried to write something, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have any stories left in me. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry to let you down. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Dear Arthur, I wish you had spoken to me sooner about your short story assignment rather than waiting until the due date. In the future, please come see me sooner when you have difficulties with the assignment. That being said, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry to hear that you feel that way about your stories. I think you show real promise in being a writer, and it can be very difficult to get started (or, in this case, get finished). Even famous writers often get bogged down in their own ideas, or question their work. Arthur, you are an excellent writer. Your poems are well crafted, you think creatively, and you have a razor-sharp wit. Your story for the writing contest was one of the few that I read, but it was very well written. I can accept that story for your assignment. Keep your chin up Arthur! I know that writing can be very daunting, but keep moving forward! Ms. Whitehead Dear Ms. Whitehead, 259 I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to use that story for my assignment. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think it shows off my best qualities. I would rather take a zero. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Arthur, I will give you an extension on your assignment until June 5th. Your story does not have to be long; a few pages are plenty! Why don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you make a list of your story ideas, and we can discuss fleshing out one of your ideas out into something more. Sometimes it helps to talk something through with another person to know what you want to say or where you want your story to go. Ms. Whitehead Story Ideas By Arthur Bean See Ms. Whitehead? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve got nothing. 260 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: May 27th Worked On: Story Ideas i helped artie come up with some ideas for his storey for class. tables have turned haha- robbie I concur. -Arthur Bean 261 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Erin Kennedy (erin.kennedy@wwn.ca) Date: May 29th at 18:26 Dear Ms. Kennedy, Here are the two letters that you need to change my name on Ghost Love Story to Robbie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s name. One is an email, and the other is a real letter on real school letterhead. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Attachments included: email; letter From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: May 28th at 19:11 artie -Here is ur email saying that I wrote Ghost Love Story. I wrote it and u edited it and stuff. Is that what u need? what do u need it 4? Do u want a sequel lolol? Also, r u going to the dance next friday? can ur dad give me a ride home? My dad said that he has a date that nite. Can you believe that guy, having a girlfriend after my mom left already??? He must be really good-looking. I must get my charm from him lolol! robbie 262 Terry Fox Junior High 103 Berkley Drive, Calgary AB. T2K 4F4 Ph: (403) 274-7547 \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhere perseverance meets excellence\u00E2\u0080\u009D Writers Write Now Magazine PO Box 134 Stn M Calgary, AB T2P 4F0 Dear Erin Kennedy, Please accept this letter as evidence that Terry Fox Junior High, \u00E2\u0080\u009Cwhere perseverance meets excellence\u00E2\u0080\u009D is aware of the authorial change on our submission for the Junior Authors edition of Writers Write Now magazine. The author of Ghost Love Story is Robert Zack, with help from Arthur Bean. Thank you for making this change last minute. Yours truly, Alexa Whitehead English Teacher 263 May 29th Dear RJ, I asked Mr. Everett if I could review Romeo and Juliet this week. This is my chance to apologize and show Kennedy how much she means to me. I hope she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s good, because I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m really tired of lying. I also sent stuff to the magazine. I guess it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s ok. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m kind of glad that my first story with my name on it will be my real story, not someone else\u00E2\u0080\u0099s. I actually feel a little better, even better than when I won. I wonder if Kennedy will like me again when she sees that I fixed it. I hope so. I mean, I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really have to fix it. Robbie said that I should send her a bouquet too. I asked him if I could use some of the prize money to buy them, and he said it would be ok as long as I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t ask her out at the same time. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 264 A Standing Ovation for Romeo and Juliet By Arthur Bean Terry Fox Jr. High was treated to the saddest version of Romeo and Juliet ever performed this past weekend. The Drama Club has been working on the production for most of the winter, and their hard work has definitely paid off. First off, the set was cool. Mr. Tan decided to set the play like it was today, and so the set looked like two colourful apartment buildings, complete with the balconies needed for a proper version of Romeo and Juliet. The chorus changed the scenes efficiently, using black cloth to create the tomb and the scenes with the Friars. The contrast of colours to black also set the mood of the scenes very well. Also, the acting was very realistic. Mr. Tan had a small cast who split many of the smaller roles. Through costume changes and a change in the way they walked, each character was very clear, even for those audience members who have never read the play like my dad. Benjamin Crisp was hilarious as the nurse, especially when there was a costume problem and his skirt fell off. His quick wit and improv skills really came in handy then. But no one could steal the show from the very talented Kennedy Laurel who played Juliet. She spoke her lines as though they were written today, and made the audience truly believe that she loved Romeo. It was hard to believe that the girl in the ball gown is the same athlete who is so competitive on the volleyball court. Robbie Zack (Romeo) was easy to understand, and he was really good in his role, especially since he didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t start rehearsals until April. Their scenes together were very strong and believable, and the audience was very sad when they both died at the end. Even my dad cried a little bit, although he said it was just hay 265 fever. It was a five-star performance from the drama club, and for those of us lucky enough to have seen one (or all) of the three sold-out performances, it was a play to be remembered. Excellent review Arthur! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad to see that you were able to be so objective about the play. With one issue of the Marathon left, would you like to write an article on your experiences this year? I was thinking a kind of quirky \u00E2\u0080\u009Cyear in review\u00E2\u0080\u009D opinion piece. Why don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t we call it \u00E2\u0080\u009CArthur Unknown\u00E2\u0080\u009D? Cheers! Mr. Everett 266 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: June 2nd at 18:05 Dear Arthur, Thanks for your glowing review of Romeo and Juliet. You wrote really kind things and it was nice to read it. Also thank you for the bouquet. The roses were quite a surprise on my dressing room table, and your card was sweet. I still think what you did was really wrong. Robbie told me that you fixed it in the magazine, which was the only right thing to do. Still, I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t believe you would do that in the first place! Next year you HAVE to be my partner in the competition so that I KNOW that you aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t cheating! Anyway, thanks for the review and the flowers. I really liked both of them, and I accept your apology on the card. Kennedy :) From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) Date: June 2nd at 18:26 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m so glad you liked the flowers! My dad said that roses were my mom\u00E2\u0080\u0099s favourite flower and he helped me find the perfect ones! I really meant everything on the card. I think you are amazing and I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sorry to have let you down. You were great as Juliet, and I really believed that you and Robbie were in love. So you must be a great actress, right? Hahaha. You aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t dating Robbie though, are you? I mean, you guys are still just friends right? 267 Maybe you and me and Robbie can go to a movie or something together as friends? I think that could be really fun. My dad can probably drive us there. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s been going to yoga almost every night and his studio is right by the movie theatre. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 268 June 3rd Dear Ms. Whitehead, Here is my short story. Thank you for the extension. I hope you like it. Yours truly, Arthur Bean Assignment Sixteen: The Ballad of the Cat Thief By Arthur Bean Romeo Bean is the name of our man He is smart, he is handsome, he is really tanned He cares about movies and reading and pets If he could he would grow up to be a cinema vet. His mother is dead, his father aloof Most of his classmates think he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a goof But he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really really great at thinking and sitting But also reading and writing and most of all knitting! Our story begins in the spring at his home Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s hanging out, reading a tome His dearest cat Pickles asleep in the sun 269 How could this Sunday be any more fun? But Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s day is interrupted rudely By Evil Frank Dack, a jock who is broody Pay attention now! This is our tale\u00E2\u0080\u0099s genesis You must understand: Frank is Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nemesis. Frank\u00E2\u0080\u0099s jealous and rude, and also quite lonely He always wanted a pet, especially a pony. He spies on our hero, and espies his cute kitten. And Frank is in love! He is instantly smitten! Frank wants Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s cat, he wants her so badly It reminds him of his own past with his now dead cat Bradley And cuz Frank is evil, he does some quick plotting To steal away Pickles without anyone spotting! So when Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s asleep, Frank sneaks in at night And steals away Pickles who shows scaredy-cat fright! Frank hides away Pickles in his attic at home His behaviour is terrible! Like a troll or a gnome! The next morning Romeo awakens with the sun on his face 270 But there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s something missing. The day begins in disgrace! He asks all his neighbours, but not one has a lead To help Romeo figure out who did this nefarious deed Meanwhile Frank really loves spending time with his cat He dresses her up in sweaters and hats He shows Pickles off to Sophie, the girl of his dreams Whose love of cute kittens makes her coo, squeal and scream! The weekend goes by and Romeo sinks into despair His cat has gone missing. The universe ain\u00E2\u0080\u0099t fair! Romeo, oh Romeo, wherefore art thou kitty? If she can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be found, that sure would be a pity... But come Monday morning while walking to school Romeo hears a faint mewing from the house by the pool He stops for a minute and listens intently It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s definitely Pickles! So relieved he weeps, gently He looks at the mailbox... Frank Dack lives inside! Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s so fired up his insides feel fried! That guy, his own nemesis, has stolen his friend! And now this whole subterfuge must come to an end! 271 Romeo must go to school but thinks of Pickles all day (Then he trips Frank in gym class as his payback to pay) Romeo must find a way to get Pickles back! He thinks and he thinks and he plans his attack! First he needs a disguise, something Frank won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t expect It cannot be messy; it must be perfect So later that evening, Romeo paints himself green With his mask and disguise, he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a sight to be seen! He sneaks over three blocks where the lights are still on And espies his Pickles in evil Frank\u00E2\u0080\u0099s arms And Sophie is over! Romeo takes a step back Now he must wait till Frank\u00E2\u0080\u0099s alone for the smack! She heads for her home around eight-fifteen She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s smiling and humming and giggling and skipping It looks to our hero like Sophie\u00E2\u0080\u0099s in love Could she have fallen for Frank? Is her hand in his glove? The thought of it all makes Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s blood boil It was supposed to be him that made Sophie so loyal! 272 His envy of Frank set his jaw resolute Knowing that Sophie and Frank are now in cahoots! Romeo sneaks in the back door, and flickers the lights He hopes that Frank is afraid of the nights He creeps up the stairs to find Frank is his room It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time to get Pickles and seal Frank\u00E2\u0080\u0099s doom... \u00E2\u0080\u009CFrank Dack,\u00E2\u0080\u009D Romeo said, \u00E2\u0080\u009CI am from outer space I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m an alien man with particular tastes I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve come for your kitten or your right frontal lobe Hand over the cat or I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll use my alien probe!\u00E2\u0080\u009D And was Frankie scared? No! He laughed at the stranger! \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou think masks and make-up make you look like you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re danger?\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll have to do better to get to my cat!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Frank kicked Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s shins, and he pulled off his hat Our hero had no choice but run back downstairs Back at home he tears off his mask and he swears His plan didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t work! It was a crappy crap bust! But he must get Pickles back! He must! He just must! 273 Romeo stays up all night to plan a new plan And by the time the day breaks he knows that he can He\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll need to be spooky, he\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll need to be quiet But he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s sure to succeed as long as he tries it On his way home from school he gets all supplies For evil Frank Dack is in for a surprise! He waits outside Frank\u00E2\u0080\u0099s house until Sophie leaves (The fact that she\u00E2\u0080\u0099s there is one that makes him quite peeved.) Then Romeo sneaks back up the stairs and again, flickers the lights Then he turns them right off and throws on his whites... He stands in the hallway and wails and moans He jiggles door handles and wavers his tones He plays with the curtains and he throws stuff around But Frank is unwavered by the spookiest sounds \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou\u00E2\u0080\u0099re not really a ghost\u00E2\u0080\u009D he calls out to the hall \u00E2\u0080\u009CI know you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re a person who\u00E2\u0080\u0099s stupid and small\u00E2\u0080\u009D Romeo takes his attack up one more level He tries to seem like he is the devil! But Frank is not frightened, not like the cat 274 Who is so scared by the noises she hides in a hat \u00E2\u0080\u009CTo whoever you who is under that sheet It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time for your break-in to turn and retreat. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll call the police if you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t leave right now So thanks for the laughs but it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time to say \u00E2\u0080\u0098ciao\u00E2\u0080\u0099\u00E2\u0080\u009D Romeo takes his exit. He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s foiled once more He runs down the stairs and then slams the door. Clearly Frank can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be frightened into submission but our hero must fix his own lonely condition. He stays up all night fretting and thinking It seems as those all of his options are shrinking He slips into a dream as the sun starts its rising And then WHAMMO! It hits him so hard it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s very surprising. His new plan is brilliant! His approach is secure His methods are shady but his motives are pure! He\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll need to get cat food and yarn, maybe three skeins Romeo knows this plan\u00E2\u0080\u0099s perfect, if not slightly insane He runs home after school and gather supplies 275 It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s gotta be spot-on, there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s only one try He heads over to Frank\u00E2\u0080\u0099s house, right around dinner Hoping that today Frank doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t choose to be thinner... He sneaks round the house and in the dining room peers And there is Frank and family, eating asparagus spears There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s chicken and noodles; Frank gnaws on a bone But Pickles is missing, he must be alone! Armed with some cat food, Pickles\u00E2\u0080\u0099 fave brand And a net Romeo knitted for the occasion by hand Romeo whistles for Pickles, his old \u00E2\u0080\u009Cc\u00E2\u0080\u0099mon Cat\u00E2\u0080\u009D song And Pickles comes to the window of the attic before long! Romeo whistles again, and Pickles looks down He sees his old owner and responds with a \u00E2\u0080\u009Cmeown\u00E2\u0080\u009D Romeo opens the cat food so the smell can waft up And Pickles soon smells the delights of his old favourite sup He then spreads open his knitting to create a safe drop Even with nine cat lives, the ground\u00E2\u0080\u0099s a hard a place to stop He motions to Pickles to trust him and jump And then the cat\u00E2\u0080\u0099s flying! He lands with a \u00E2\u0080\u009CWhump!\u00E2\u0080\u009D 276 It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Pickles and Romeo! United once more! With a rescue so bold it will be repeated in lore It was Romeo\u00E2\u0080\u0099s talents to knit up some wool that tugs on the heartstrings that are already pulled And not only that, but the rescue is seen By Sophie, the cat lover and beauty teen queen She watches as Pickles flies like a dove And then she sees Romeo and falls madly in love For who wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t love a man who can knit? A man who\u00E2\u0080\u0099s well rounded with resource and wit And So Sophie and Romeo, and of course Pickles Ride off in the sunset to make millions of nickels They patent their net, the cat-saving sweater And then after that, life can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get any better! (And as for that Frank guy, he learned his lesson And works in a dead-end job at a delicatessan.) The End 277 Dear Arthur, You\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve written a charming story poem! Your sense of humour shines through, and your rhymes are nicely varied. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad you found a way to \u00E2\u0080\u009Cknit\u00E2\u0080\u009D together some elements of your own life into your plotline. Well done! Ms. Whitehead 278 June 6th Dear RJ, I have come to a very important conclusion. I, Arthur Aaron Bean, am a man of few words. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need long, drawn-out sentences to adequately describe a scene or a character or a plot. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need paragraphs to pull my readers in. I am a poet. My stories can be told in short bursts. In fact, my stories are stronger that way. I might be the next great American poet, like Alfred Tennyson and William Blake. My work will be read in classrooms for years to come I bet. They\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll say things about how my work centres on real world problems and how I came from a difficult background but overcame everything for my art I bet. Do you think poets make a lot of money? Yours truly, Arthur Bean 279 From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) cc: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: June 6th at 15:50 Dear Kennedy, I never heard back from you about maybe going to the movies with Robbie and I. I asked Robbie about it and he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s really excited about going, you know, as friends. Anyway, let us know! We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll even treat you! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 280 Ongoing Reading Journals: Remember your reading journals you began in September? It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s time to polish them up and get ready to hand them in. Since this assignment has been ongoing, it shouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t take you too long to prepare your journal! I understand that there may be some entries that you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t wish to share with me; there are times that your response to a book can be a deeply personal reaction that you aren\u00E2\u0080\u0099t comfortable sharing with your English teacher! I will remind you that you won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t be judged on your reactions, and anything I read in your journals will remain confidential. However, you may prefer to mark some of your entries as \u00E2\u0080\u009Cprivate\u00E2\u0080\u009D entries, entries I will then skip over. Due Date: June 17th 281 June 8th Dear RJ, Ms. Whitehead wants us to hand in our reading journals! I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t hand you in! What would you do without me? I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t think I should hand you in. You and I, we\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been through a lot together this year. Plus, even though Ms. Whitehead says she won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t read the private stuff, I think she will. She\u00E2\u0080\u0099s nosy like that. As if she wouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to know the private thoughts of her students. If I were a teacher, I would totally read the whole thing! But don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t worry RJ, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll figure out a way to keep you around! Yours truly, Arthur Bean PS: I forgot to tell you RJ! I saw Ms. Whitehead with Mr. Fringali at the mall today after school! They were going into the bookstore together! Do you think they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re dating? Are teachers even allowed to date each other? 282 Assignment Twenty-four: After reading your short story assignments it became clear to me that we never covered the writing of a strong ending. The conclusion of any great story doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need to say it all, but it does need to tie up most of your loose ends. You don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need to state your theme blatantly in your final paragraphs; your reader has read your whole story already so there\u00E2\u0080\u0099s no need to recap what has happened or have your character spell out what they learned. Leaving the reader pondering a mystery can work, but you shouldn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t end too abruptly; this often reads as though the author didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know where he or she was heading with the story so they ended it. The same can be true of ending your story by saying that the whole thing was a dream. In this assignment I would like you to take a well-known fairy tale and re-write the ending. As you know, all fairy tales end with a \u00E2\u0080\u009Chappily ever after\u00E2\u0080\u009D. Maybe Cinderella doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get to try on the shoe; then what would happen? Maybe the woodsman doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t save Red Riding Hood, or perhaps the Gingerbread Man breaks a leg. Can you find a new and creative ending to a well-known story? Due Date: June 14th 283 Peer Tutoring Program-Progress Report Session: June 9th Worked On: Endings artie and i killed off every prince charming ever created today. it was awsome! Robbie Robbie and I both felt that the most effective endings are when the bad guys die. In this end, we felt that by killing off all the Prince Charmings would be better for all girls out there waiting for their prince. Robbie and I are both happy to jump into that role for any young beautiful princesses who are rich and have their own cars. -Arthur Bean 284 It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Arthur Unknown! By Arthur Bean Hello Devout Readers! Welcome to my new column, an extremely entertaining observation of the world at Terry Fox Jr. High! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been asked to write a reflective \u00E2\u0080\u009Cyear in review\u00E2\u0080\u009D article of my opinion of starting in junior high. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d like to start with the grade nines. Why do they not know who any of the grade seveners are? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m certain that I recognize the whole graduating class, but when I say hi to the them in the grocery store or wherever I might be, they look at me like I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a total stranger. That\u00E2\u0080\u0099s weird. Maybe I should follow them around and find out what they are buying. Next time I can tell you who buys laxatives or zit cream! Watch out grade nines! I also think that our uniforms are really ugly. Blue and gold? Did they buy them at Ikea? At least our track and field team placed last in our division this year. If they had been actually fast, they would look like someone was sick after drinking kool-aid and eating lemon birthday cake! Maybe next year there will be real runners on the team! There are a few things lacking as well from our school. I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t expect to have to put up with the horrible smells coming from the grade eight home-economics unit on Polish cooking! Pee-yoo-rogies I say! I have so many more observations, but I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d rather save some of them for next school year. Keep your eyes on this space for the next Arthur Unknown! 285 Hiya Arthur, Yowza! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m going to hold this article back from printing; it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s not exactly what I had in mind. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a bit worried that you could get beat up if we publish these observations! The biggest thing to remember: you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t need to try to be funny! Your wit comes across in your regular articles, and I know what you were trying to do here, but it doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really work. What I think you meant to be witticisms read more to an outsider as insults. It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s just kind of mean instead of funny. I was hoping you would share your fears and worries with your readers; you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re a good guy, so I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m sure they would delight in your triumphs and feel bad for your failures. We can talk more about this in the new school year (I hope you stay part of the newspaper club in September!) Have a great summer Arthur! Cheers! Mr. E 286 From: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) cc: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: June 14th at 21:12 Dear Arthur AND Robbie! Sorry I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get back to you about the movie! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been CRAZY busy studying for exams and stuff! AND my family is going away for the summer- We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re going to Malaysia for my dad\u00E2\u0080\u0099s work. DON\u00E2\u0080\u009DT ASK WHY! Normally we have a pretty good time when we go away, but this year it seems to be TERRIBLE! My brother doesn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want to come at all, and my dad is forcing him to come on a family vacation! I think it might be the WORST idea ever! Also, did I tell you that I have a new boyfriend! He\u00E2\u0080\u0099s my next-door neighbour\u00E2\u0080\u0099s babysitter\u00E2\u0080\u0099s brother...so complicated I know LOL! ANYWAY, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been seeing him lots! I asked him if he wanted to go to the movies with us and he thought that sounded fun! Plus he wants to meet Robbie... the boy who kissed me in front of the WHOLE school LOL! He says that he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s jealous of him! Watch out Robbie... he plays football LOL!!! Maybe we can go on the last day of school, like an end of the year celebration! Let me know! Kennedy :) From: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) To: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) Date: June 14th at 22:35 did u get k\u00E2\u0080\u0099s response? i hate that guy all ready. i worked all year 4 her to like me. screw him From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) 287 To: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: June 14th at 22:37 Dear Robbie, Totally. Yours truly, Arthur Bean From: Arthur Bean (arthuraaronbean@gmail.com) To: Kennedy Laurel (imsocutekl@hotmail.com) cc: Robbie Zack (robbiethegreat2000@hotmail.com) Date: June 14th at 22:42 Dear Kennedy, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m glad that you are able to celebrate the end of school with us. I guess since your boyfriend is coming he can pay for you! That means Robbie and I can get popcorn! Let\u00E2\u0080\u0099s talk at school about what movie to see tomorrow. See you in gym. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 288 Assignment Twenty-four: The Princess and the Frog- Alternate Ending By Arthur Bean \u00E2\u0080\u009CNo, you must kiss me!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Pleaded the frog with the frightened princess. \u00E2\u0080\u009CEw! No!\u00E2\u0080\u009D She squealed and threw the frog against the wall of her bedroom. He hit the pink painted wall with a loud thud, and slid to the ground. Then the most magical thing happened. The frog began to grow and transform, until he was the size of a real human man. The princess was shocked. The prince though, looked a bit... funny. His cape was not in the princely colour of purple, but was solid black with red underneath. His hair was not tousled and curly, but slicked back against his head and very oily. He was unnaturally pale too, and his teeth were sharp and coming out of his mouth. \u00E2\u0080\u009CYou\u00E2\u0080\u0099re...you\u00E2\u0080\u0099re... a...\u00E2\u0080\u009D the princess whispered. \u00E2\u0080\u009CA vampire,\u00E2\u0080\u009D the prince finished grandly. \u00E2\u0080\u009CThe Prince of Darkness, at your service.\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CBut you said that you were a prince under an evil spell!\u00E2\u0080\u009D \u00E2\u0080\u009CDid I? I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m a little dyslexic. I meant that I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m evil, under a prince\u00E2\u0080\u0099s spell.\u00E2\u0080\u009D The prince smiled. The princess thought back to the pond where they had met. She gasped. \u00E2\u0080\u009CAll those dead frogs and fish were you??\u00E2\u0080\u009D The prince nodded. \u00E2\u0080\u009CAnd you thought they were an environment thing like acid rain or whatever,\u00E2\u0080\u009D he chuckled. \u00E2\u0080\u009COh girls. You can be so stupid!\u00E2\u0080\u009D Then in a flash he had her by the throat. \u00E2\u0080\u009CBut you know darling... princesses taste the sweetest...\u00E2\u0080\u009D and he bit into her neck with a hungry sigh. 289 The End Arthur, I was definitely surprised by your ending choice for this classic tale. Do you think that it matches with the style of the rest of the tale? Ms. Whitehead 290 Ongoing Reading Journal By Arthur Bean October 1st Dear Reading Journal, I read Word Nerd. It was funny. There were bullies in it, like the whole school in The Chocolate War. These are both books I read over the summer. I thought Word Nerd was good, but The Chocolate War was boring, and I didn\u00E2\u0080\u0099t get the ending. Did the guy die? I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t tell. Good night. Yours truly, Arthur Bean November 1st Dear Reading Journal, I read lots of poems for school. Some of them rhymed. A lot of them did not. I prefer poems that rhyme. They\u00E2\u0080\u0099re mostly funny, and I like funny poems. Some of them are just descriptive, and then I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really know what makes them poems. Sometimes they just seem like a bunch of words strung together. I wrote a poem about the poems. Poems! Poems! Why don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t you all rhyme? When you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t make any sense it feels like a crime! To try and interpret some dead white guy\u00E2\u0080\u0099s meaning I\u00E2\u0080\u0099d rather go to the dentist for a painful teeth cleaning! Yours truly, 291 Arthur Bean December 1st Dear Reading Journal, We\u00E2\u0080\u0099re reading Shakespeare in class. It sucks! Yours truly, Arthur Bean December 15th Dear Reading Journal, It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s almost the holidays, and I will be reading over Christmas. I asked for some different books for Christmas, and then I will write about those books. Of course I have been very busy with the writing competition so I haven\u00E2\u0080\u0099t written a lot. Yours truly, Arthur Bean January 2nd Dear Reading Journal, I read a lot of books over the holidays. The worst book was \u00E2\u0080\u009CChicken Soup for the Teenage Soul\u00E2\u0080\u009D. My aunt gave it to me because she thought it would be soothing or something. I\u00E2\u0080\u0099m fully aware that other people\u00E2\u0080\u0099s mothers have died in this world. Thanks Chicken Soup. You\u00E2\u0080\u0099re dumb. Yours truly, Arthur Bean February 1st Dear Reading Journal, 292 I think I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been doing very well by writing in you every month. I would write more often, but I am very busy writing my own stories. Plus I work at the newspaper. Luckily I do read too. This month I read a book about winter. It made me feel cold inside. Brrrr... Yours truly, Arthur Bean March 1st Dear Reading Journal, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been reading a lot of books on acting since I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll be starring in the play. Some of them have really good tips on acting. For one thing, I learned a tip on seeming really drunk. To act drunk you just pretend that you have a ball on the top of your head and that you have to keep it there no matter where you walk. This makes you move your head more and take funny steps. I am going to try acting drunk today in rehearsal, which will work for the scene since I will have been at a ball so probably had a beer. Yours truly, Arthur Bean April 1st Dear Reading Journal, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve given up reading forever! April Fools! I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve just been really busy writing stuff! Yours truly, Arthur Bean May 1st Dear Reading Journal, 293 I read a few novels this month that Luke sent me. Luke is my cousin who reads a lot. They were all science fiction novels. I thought most of them were okay, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t really like books that take place in outer space. I know that must be weird since all nerds like Star Trek. It must prove my utter coolness...HA! Anyway, once I got over the space parts, the stories were pretty good. There was a lot of fighting, and then there was a bunch of weird alien sex scenes. I mostly skipped those parts. In the end Captain Mark Freeloader won the freedom of the universe. I bet they make movies out of the books. I would watch the movies probably. As long as they don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t have Richard Gere in them. My mom loved his movies, but I think he\u00E2\u0080\u0099s boring. Yours truly, Arthur Bean June 1st Dear Reading Journal, I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve been reading graphic novels because Robbie likes them. I used to think they were for kids, but they\u00E2\u0080\u0099re really cool. Robbie even thought maybe we would write one together. I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if I could write a graphic novel. I can\u00E2\u0080\u0099t draw. I guess Robbie could draw and I could write. Or at least I could check his grammar...HA! Yours truly, Arthur Bean The End Dear Arthur, I am glad to see that you wrote every month in your journal, but I expected more from you! It\u00E2\u0080\u0099s also a bit odd that you wrote the first day of every month\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 294 I see you reading a new novel every week, and I was looking forward to your opinions on what you\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve read. Keeping track of what you read and your thoughts on it could be an excellent start to being a professional book reviewer! Ms. Whitehead 295 June 23rd Dear Real RJ, Last day of school tomorrow! My dad told me that he signed me up for arts camp this summer. There goes my dream trip to Australia. I guess it would be winter there anyway. Arts camp might be okay. There\u00E2\u0080\u0099s writing and painting and they even have video cameras. I actually think I would make a really great film director. I could be the next Steven Spielberg or Ed Wood! Plus, Robbie is going to the same camp, so that might be okay. I wish Kennedy was going to be there, but she is leaving this weekend for Malaysia. At least, I think that\u00E2\u0080\u0099s what she said. She was crying a lot. I think she also mentioned that she was going to miss her boyfriend. It was kind of lame. Girls are so weird sometimes. My dad is going to camp too. He signed up for this wilderness yoga retreat. It sounded terrible to me. He has to do yoga three or four times a day and all this meditation in between. Not only that, but all the food is vegetarian. I hope arts camp has hamburgers. Artists eat burgers right? I want to take you with me Real RJ, but I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t know if I\u00E2\u0080\u0099ll have room in my backpack. Plus, I don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t want Robbie getting his hands on you. So I might start a new RJ. I won\u00E2\u0080\u0099t call him RJ though, I promise. Maybe AJ, for Arthur\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Journal. I think you guys will get along, as much as journals can talk HA! Yours truly, Arthur Bean 296 Dear Arthur, We\u00E2\u0080\u0099ve come to the end of our year together and I must say, it\u00E2\u0080\u0099s been a pleasure teaching you and watching you grow. I hear that I will have you in my class next year. I expect that grade eight will hold more creative challenges for both of us! Have a great summer! Read lots of books, and write your heart out! Sincerely, Ms. Whitehead Dear Ms. Whitehead, As long as you don\u00E2\u0080\u0099t break anything, and allow my creative spirit to shine, I think it might be okay. Yours truly, Arthur Bean 297 Arthur Bean English 7A- Ms. Whitehead Year Summary My Introduction 82% Letter to My Future Self 80% Elegies and Odes 64% Acrostics 79% Call and Response Poem 76% Remembrance Day Poem 73% Me in Shakespeare\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Time 81% Midsummer Night\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Dream Diary Entry 62% Winter Free Writing Exercise 89% A Person in My Life 87% Interview 65% In Another\u00E2\u0080\u0099s Eyes: An Interview about Me 81% Character Scenes 77% Points of View 77% Conflicts 73% Short Story Worksheet 42% Limericks 49% My Favourite Author 51% My Favourite Book: A Character View 53% Comic Strips 79% What If\u00E2\u0080\u00A6 72% 298 Spring Free Writing Exercise 87% Alternate Endings 85% Final Short Story Assignment 88% Ongoing Reading Journal 76% Arthur was a pleasure to have in class. He participated actively in discussions and showed a keen interest in the materials studied. Arthur needs to work on meeting deadlines, respecting teacher authority, and allowing others the opportunity to share their opinions in class. I look forward to teaching him next year. Have a great summer! 299 Bibliography Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. 1599. New York; Signet Classics, 1998. Print. "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "2012-05"@en . "10.14288/1.0105165"@en . "eng"@en . "Children's Literature"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International"@en . "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"@en . "Graduate"@en . "Arthur Unknown"@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/42099"@en .