Cliff Hanger...Part 1 Short Story (from 22nd Street Stories)

Part 1
by A. S. (8th grade)

We are not well known. Within every person there is a secret. It is almost impossible for us to live honest lives. Some of us are able to live honest lives, yet be ignorant of the very truth. That is why I am here to tell you a story: My Story.

1 Old Bonds and New Beginnings

It was another morning here in San Francisco. It was foggy, as usual, so I got my sky blue knitted scarf and thick grey overcoat to put atop my white turtle neck and loose navy blue skinny jeans. My thin bangs covered my eyes as I pulled back my mid-back length hair.

I left my cluttered mess known as my room and I walked down the short hall to the kitchen. Here was my mother, her long brown hair pulled into a messy bun as she read over some of the headlines of the San Francisco Chronicle on the island table, a mug of freshly brewed coffee in her hand. Hearing my gentle steps on the wood floor, my mother gazed upon me with her muddy brown eyes. A smile whipped across her face as I waved to her. “You look awfully nice today Sophia,” she replied to my arrival.

“I decided to wear this, for once, with this weather,” I shrugged with a nonchalant reply. I sauntered over to the fridge for some bread to toast. I placed the bread in the toaster and I went over to my mother.

“You know, you’re going to be late for school,” she replied.

“What are you talking about, I’m perfectly ea–” my phone suddenly vibrated to warn me that it was time to leave for school. “Oh no! I’m going to be late!” I freaked out. I ran off to my room to get my bag and my violin (yeah I play violin, real nice), and then ran back to the kitchen to get my toast as it popped out of the toaster. I ran to the door, biting into my toast, and slipping on my black Vans. I yelled goodbye to my mom as I ran down the stairs to the bottom floor of the apartment and out into the open. I looked back at our window, where my mom waved goodbye to me. She then turned around to go off and read her newspaper.

I lived here on 22^nd street, well known for its colorful Victorian houses. My apartment building also had a flair for the Victorian style, painted over with a dull green and edged with a bold red. I sighed, and continued down 22^nd street, eating my toast (I had about ten blocks to walk, what time do I have?).

About two minutes later, I reached Mr. Pizza Man and saw a boy wearing dark brown combat boots. His bright cobalt blue eyes met mine. He smiled, his raven hair bouncing along as he got up from his table. He got his dirty brown Jansport backpack and headed out of Mr. Pizza Man, waving to me a salutation. “Greetings, my good friend,” he said with the polite personality he always harbored.

I smiled back to him, clutching onto my messenger bag, “And greetings to you, Avery.”

He looked at my violin case, a sly smile awaiting to reveal a clever remark. “You haven’t been practicing your violin in a while, have you?” he said, looking into a store.

I rolled my eyes, and replied coolly, “And you forgot that we have the final today, right?”

He seemed a bit taken aback, but answered with a small chuckle, “You’ll never change, huh, So-so.”

“We’ve been friends forever. I doubt you wouldn’t be able to tell if I’ve changed, Ave,” I replied, giving him his little nickname.

He shrugged his shoulders, then came up with another idea. “Why don’t we head down to the Bakery before we get to school? My treat.”

“Sure, I’m pretty early today anyway.” We traveled further down 22^nd street until we reached Folsom and went south to La Reyna Bakery and Coffee Shop on 24^th street. We entered the shop to the aroma of freshly baked bread, donuts, and brewing coffee. Avery walked up to the front to buy us two chocolate donuts while I picked a table close to the window,which was still blocked by racks of bread.

We had about twenty minutes to spare before school started, luckily, at nine AM, so we stayed there and talked about the weekend. Avery’s been my best friend forever. We tell each other everything, but for some reason, I still have the feeling that there is something so mysterious about him. He won’t say a word whenever I try to question him.

At about ten to the bell, we decided to head to school, when suddenly there were many screams outside. I looked out the window, and saw all that all the pedestrians on the street had fallen on the ground, no signs of blood. “Hey Avery,” I said with shock, turning back to him. He was surprisingly calm, along with the other customers in the store. I clenched my fist, and got up from my chair. “I’ll be going now,” I said, but Avery got hold of my wrist.

He wore an expressionless face, looking down on his clenched hand. He looked up, now bearing a fake smile: “Let’s stay here a bit longer.”

“WHY?!” I was taken aback, “Don’t you see what’s going on outside? There’s something knocking the people out cold!?”

Avery’s smile faded; he clearly was unable to continue with the lies. “What are you talking about? I just wanted to stay a bit longer,” he said as he tightened his grasp on my hand, looking out the window and back at me.

I looked around. I couldn’t stand the fact that everyone was calm. Could they not see the problem at hand? I snatched my arm away from Avery’s grasp, fueled with fury. I grabbed my bag and violin case, and went out the door. Avery stood up from his chair and ran up to me. Once outside I looked around. “WHERE ARE YOU?!” I screamed to the fog that covered up my view, “SHOW YOURSELF!”

Avery grabbed onto my shoulder, and pulled me towards him so I would look at him. I saw the anger in his eyes, but why was there worry too? “There’s nothing here,” he ‘reassured’ in an enraged tone.

I raised my arm to get away from him, when a ferocious wind passed through the street, blowing away the fog to reveal a silhouette across the street. My eyes widened in fear as I froze up on the spot. The figure leaped across the street towards me in a great light. I shielded my face from what was to come, unable to move away. I could hear Avery calling out my name. When I closed my eyes for the impact, a voice came to me:

You are the one.

Nothing came. Where was the impact? Nothing. I couldn’t figure this out, it was all going too fast. I opened my eyes to see a small light in this thick darkness, but still heard the voices of Avery and the people on the street awakening as I seemed to have lost consciousness. I smiled at a silly thought.

I was late for school.

Cliff Hanger...Part 2 Short Story (from 22nd Street Stories)

Part 2
by A. S. (8th grade)

Ch. 2 Events Big and Small

I wasn’t very sure how long I was out. I opened my eyes to find Avery’s jacket over me; for some reason, I was lying on the ground. I brought myself up to sitting position to learn my surroundings.

I found myself inside a small…um, room. Well, I saw bars, and a person sleeping against the wall so… “OH MY GOD! WHY IN THE WORLD AM I IN JAIL?!” I suddenly screamed to the world. (Wow, I just freaked out there.) The guard woke with a fright, then I really started to panic. I got up, and started to punch the back wall, bawling my eyes out in panic. Soon I made quite a large hole in the wall, crumbs of dirt and concrete on the floor. I looked back to see the shocked guard looking back at me as I ran through the hole into a hallway. I ran through the many people (who were all wearing… uniforms?) in the hall, apologizing to the people every once in a while.

“Halt!” commanded a guard who proceeded along with several other guards. I freaked even more. I stepped back, and then when the guards came forward, I once again covered my face for impact, hearing the guards charging at me. I closed my eyes, and suddenly all the guards screamed in fear. I opened my eyes, finding all the guards about ten feet away from me, frozen on the floor. People around came to view the situation, giving me strange looks.

I couldn’t take it anymore, and pushed myself through the crowd and ran further on. I kept going, not looking back at the people surprised by my sudden appearance. Where am I? Why am I here? And, more importantly, I need to take that test!

“I found you.”

I stopped, knowing that familiar voice. There were no more people; it was just the two of us. His large footsteps echoed through the narrow hall as he walked up to me. For some reason I couldn’t move –I just froze. He grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to face him, just like last time.

I found myself once again able to move as I looked into Avery’s deep blue eyes. I couldn’t help but feel lost. I looked away, and then suddenly heard Avery speak. “Sophia.” He said my name in such an apologetic tone. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I slapped his hand away from me. “No more,” I said in a barely audible whisper.

“Huh?”

“No more, no more, no more,” I continued, my voice getting louder. I kept repeating this, starting to shake violently.

“Are you alright?” Avery was about to put his hands on me again. No more.

“NO MORE, NO MORE, NO MORE!” I bellowed at him, pulling myself away from his grasp. Avery himself pulled back, somehow hit by some unknown force. A great wind surrounded me, pushing Avery further back. This was my chance. I got back to my senses and ran off, hearing Avery’s voice call my name. No more.

I kept on running, the walls closing in. Keep going, that’s all I thought. No one was there to stop me. Tears swept down my face, No one was there to see me cry anyway. Unexpectedly, something came through me, practically freezing up my muscles and completely stopping any further movement. I heard that voice once more:

You cannot hide from your fate or your past.

I fell to my knees, my peripheral vision gradually becoming blurry. I soon heard the voices of many around me while I fell down to the floor. Darkness filled my senses, while I could yet still hear the same voice:

There is nothing to fear, there is nothing to hide.

You will be the greatest of them all.

History Mash-Up. Short Story (from 22nd Street Stories)

6/18/1862
by J. S. (8th grade)

“Attention!” The lieutenant calls his company to attention. Joby Roosevelt is part of that company. Joby stares straight ahead, seeing the close shore, the new dock, and the distant island of Belvedere. Then, all turn their heads with the arrival of the colonel. After the colonel’s daily speech briefing, Joby heads to his post at Battery Wallace. Before leaving, he waits for his best friend Robert Shaw, who, like Joby, is from the Mission District of nearby San Francisco. Being familiar with the area, Joby knows a lot of nearby sights and weather patterns. Robert asks, “So how long have you been on Angel Island? I know I should have asked you this a long time ago.”
“Oh, maybe four months,” Joby replies as they finally arrive at Battery Wallace after going up a long hill.
“All right, see ‘ya around, kid,” Robert tells Joby as he leaves for the Conference Room. Since he is higher ranking than Joby, he is allowed to listen in on the officers’ meetings in the Conference Room. Joby, being a lower-ranked soldier, must take his post in the watch turret. As the day goes on, there is almost no action. The battery receives word that the San Francisco Police have put down a Confederate rally in the city.

Back at Camp Reynolds, Joby gets a call from the colonel for him to come to his quarters. The colonel tells Joby about his plans to send his friend Robert to Massachusetts to become the leader of an African-American regiment; the Massachusetts 54th. Joby is saddened, but happy for Robert. Later on in their lengthy discussion, Joby discovers that he is to be a leader of his own; he will have his own company in Camp Reynolds. Joby then says his goodbyes and thanks as the colonel bids him a good night.

The next morning, the colonel announces Joby’s new position to the regiment, as well as Robert’s departure. All goes well, as they receive news after news of Union victory in the east. Since they realize that there is no real threat of a Confederate ship flowing through the Golden Gate anymore, all are free daily to explore the island. Joby, unlike most other soldiers, stays at Camp Reynolds working at the dock.

The next two years on Angel Island for the soldiers go by very quickly. Just before the batteries are declared obsolete and the Camp abandoned, the colonel alerts everyone to two bits of news: that General Lee has surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox, and Joby’s friend Robert has died. Sorrow-filled, Joby receives a letter from Robert’s wife, Anne, dated July 20, 1863 (two days after Robert died).
Since he has been discharged from the Union army, Joby takes the train across the United States to see Anne off to Europe. It is a very saddening experience, but Joby gets to know much more about the late Colonel Robert G. Shaw.

Over the next fifty years, Joby lives a quiet life in the same Mission District where he and Robert grew up. But, the end of his life brought reassurance. The Union had won the Civil War, the Gold Rush had brought a new economy to his native California, and San Francisco was rapidly recovering from the recent earthquake of 1906. All looked for a good future, and Joby never got to see his greatest legacy; his son Franklin and his later achievements in his lengthy life. (But that’s another story.)

On Being Chosen. Short Story (from 22nd Street Stories)

Harold the Chosen One

by M.O. (7th grade)

There once was a man named Harold. He had a very normal life with a job, friends, family, and a good home in San Francisco’s Mission District, yet he didn’t know he was the chosen one.

One day he heard something. It sounded like thunder, but it was beautiful outside! Then it started to sound more like grumbling. He followed the low pitched noises to the yard behind his front elevated stairs. He noticed that the town was dead around him--no one was there. He got pretty scared. All of a sudden, the sky opened into blackness. A goddess dressed all in white floated down and took his hand. Then she flew back into the darkness with Harold. He struggled and yelled, “Let go of me please!!” but she wouldn’t answer.

San Francisco below him was getting smaller and smaller. When they entered the hole in the sky, the city below was gobbled up, until all that surrounded Harold and the goddess was pure blackness.

Soon, the darkness was all Harold could see, and the goddess began speaking. “You have been chosen,” she said.

“Chosen for what??” Harold asked, confused.

“You have been chosen to watch over the skies, for danger is near,” she explained, darkly.

Why me??? He thought. He wished he hadn’t followed the grumbling noises.

“You have had an uninteresting life so far, so Zeus has decided to choose you to be the one to watch over the sky.” She somehow knew what he was thinking.

“But… but… I should have a say in this!!!” His loud voice echoed through the dark.

“Haven’t you ever heard of Zeus?? He is the most powerful of them all!” She said dramatically.

“Fine… I’ll do it… just as long as I get something in return…” He said.

“Alright. I’ll grant you one wish,” she proposed.

“Yes!! Okay… I have it. I want one million dollars, please,” he begged.

“Are you sure you’d like that? Honestly, that is quite selfish,” she warned.

Harold shifted on his feet, thinking. He knew she was right, but he was too selfish to let it go. “I still want the money. You don’t know what I’m going to do with it; I could help the homeless…” he suggested, just to make her happy.

“Okay, I shall bring you back down to Earth, and you must watch over the skies, looking for an armored man on a dragon. When you see this, let out a large, high pitched scream, and Zeus will come to fight the warrior, who is also Gremati, the god of grim. You will be the savior of wonderful San Francisco. I will bring you back now,” she explained.

“Okay. Get me out of this weird black hole,” Harold ordered.

She nodded and they both descended back to the Mission district.

“Goodbye Harold, and make sure you watch the skies until Gremati comes. Thank you for helping Zeus. Good luck!” the goddess said.

She waved as she floated into the blackness. Then with a loud, slamming noise, the sky was back to blue, and people showed up from nowhere. Harold sighed and began his duty by lying down right where he was, and looked up at the sky. As people passed, they gave Harold weird looks and smirks. He knew what they were thinking. From their faces he saw that they thought he was a homeless person with some crazy things going on in his brain. He just rolled his eyes at them and continued searching the skies. He hoped that Gremati or whatever his name was would come soon, because Harold was getting antsy. He continued to look up, even though it was getting dark. He fell asleep, and then the next morning, he kept his eyes peeled.

Suddenly, he heard a roaring sound coming from up above. He quickly got to his feet and looked at the slightly cloudy skies. Sure enough, a bright red dragon was flying around the skies, a man in armor on its back. Harold began to shake from with being afraid of such a magnificently scary sight. Suddenly his mind went blank. What was he supposed to do when he saw Gremati? He continued to try to calm himself so he could remember. Just then, a voice seemed to whisper in his ear. It was the goddess. “Harold!!! Remember?? You have to scream high pitched!!! Hurry up!!!” She shouted in his ear.

“Oh yeah!!!” Harold remembered.

He screamed at the top of his lungs. He noticed again that everyone disappeared. A huge bolt of lightning came from the sky, and mighty Zeus jumped out of a storm cloud. Harold watched in disbelief as Zeus jumped onto Gremati’s dragon’s back. Gremati was taken by surprise and lost his grip on the dragon. In a matter of seconds, Gremati was hanging from the dragon’s tail, Zeus in control of the fiery red beast. Suddenly, with brute force, Gremati flipped back onto the dragon and threw a punch at Zeus. Yet, even though Zeus was “mighty,” Gremati punched him square in the face. The two were punching each other while Harold was watching below in disbelief.

Is this really happening? Harold thought as he was watching the two gods. Then, abruptly, Gremati came swooping down. Just as he got two inches from him, Harold’s mind blacked out.

When Harold woke up, he felt like he had been asleep for a year. His eyes were droopy and his body was stiff. He was under his stairs on 22^nd street in the Mission district of San Francisco, back to normal, people walking around, minding their own business. He felt something in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was a million dollars in cash. All of a sudden Harold felt dizzy. How could I have gotten all this money, if it was all a dream? He pondered. As he looked up, he saw a thundering storm cloud in the distance. He smiled and thought of what the goddess said- “Are you sure you’d like that? Honestly, that is quite selfish.”

Then he took a stroll through town, offering hundreds of dollars to homeless people. This he did happily.

Acrostic Poems

Acrostic Poem? What's that?

A poem that
can
rhyme,
or not --
so long as
the first letters of
its lines
construct a word, vertically.

By C. Bain (Instructor)





by K. J. (7th grade)



by A. S. (8th grade)




by A. W. (7th grade)




by T. P. ? (7th grade)






By A. G. (6th grade)

Concrete Poems

Concrete poems are written in a way that visually represents what they are about. Like drawing with text.



By A. G. (6th grade)





By A. A. (7th grade)




By J. D. (6th grade)






By M. O. (7th grade)



By J. A. (7th grade)

Illustrated Poem

By N. R. (6th grade)

Story Diagram

By A. S. (8th grade)

Cats in the Hood (from 22nd Street Stories)

The Mural Cat
By A. A. (6th grade)

One day, a girl named Jasie was wandering around the Mission District with her mom, Catrina. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the tip of a tail go down an alleyway. She dragged her mom over and saw a pretty cat. It was a mix of chocolate brown, light brown, and black. It also had pretty hazel eyes. She walked slowly over to it, holding out her hand. The cat came up to her and rubbed its face against her hand. She started petting it, and realized it was a stray cat. She also noticed it had a spot that looked like dried blue paint on the end of its tail. She picked up the cat and went over to her mom.
“Please, can we keep it, Mom? It is a poor stray cat, and it could die!”
Catrina replied, “Okay, we can keep the cat.”
The mom and her girl put the cat in their car, drove to the pet store, and got supplies. Then they made a stop at the veterinarian, and got the cat its shots. They named the cat Sophia.
About a week later, Jasie was bored and decided to paint. She got out green, pink, yellow, and purple paint. The cat stood on the table next to her and watched as she poured green paint into a shallow cup. Sophia came over a dipped her tail in the paint and panted a slightly curved line on the paper. Jasie looked up at the cat in surprise, and it painted stems and leaves. Sophia walked over to the sink and flicked up the lever with her paw, turning on the water. She cleaned her tail and repeated this after she used each color. When the cat was done, she had painted a painting that had amazing details of flowers. Jasie went to the Mayor and asked him to let them paint a mural. He agreed, and the cat and the human got to work.
A month later, the mural was done. It was an Earth, with humans and cats encircling it, inscribed with the words "If animals and humans are friends, humans can bring peace." The cat was then loved by all of the Mission District.

The End

Inside the mind of a cat named Dixie...

Where Randomness Guides You

Found Poems, Stories, and …etc.
The students were given a sheet out of the yellow pages; they closed their eyes and randomly pointed to a spot on the page. They were instructed to write a poem or story about the name or business they pointed to. They responded by creating vignettes, drawings, and even an advertisement. It was the last day of class, and the mood was reflected in the work…
Note: Business names and addresses have been changed in certain cases.


Pier 39
By N. R. (6th grade)

When I went to Pier 39 it was nothing like I expected it to be. I thought it would be a big, long piece of wood with a gift shop or two. But when I got there and went through the doorway, there was an explosion of noises and colors. There were many stores, people shopping, street acts, smoothie shops, and much more. On one side there were sea lions; on the other, a candy store. A brisk with sea smell mixed with other The air was brisk with a mix of the sea and other smells. There was a brisk sea smell with others mixed in. When we left that evening I was still thinking about it. I will never forget my day at Pier 39.



Design Studio
By A. S. (8th grade)

Here we have some… interesting moments. So the first day on the job, I came in to find the place filled with chocolate sculptures in one corner, and a string quartet in the other. I stood there, mouth open, until a British butler walked up to me.
“We’ve been expecting you, Miss,” he said, then pulled on the light to reveal a young girl wearing a panda hat.
“Welcome to the studio!” she said in a high-pitched tone. “Now you’re the intruder!” She pushed me out the door, and several minutes later, I found myself getting the coffee.
What a weird place.



M-C-M Appraisals
By S.C. (8th grade)

Mxxx Cxxx Mxxx Appraisals? What’s that? Is it a store where you can see how much something costs? I don’t know…I wonder if you can buy stuff there? Is it like a pawn shop? Aw, that would be cool! Especially the guns! The blunderbust was awesome, but that modified shotgun with the bayonet topped it off!





Skyline Heights Apartments
By ?

Skyline Heights Apartments
Just look up, there it is
On the clouds, in a line
Don’t jump down or you’ll fall to the ground
Splat!
…too late…



Herb and Acupuncture Center
By M. O. (7th grade)

Come to the Herb and Acupuncture Center to get the natural, organic medicine that is vital for all humans. Based on Chinese and Indian custom medicine, this medical pharmacy is solely old time medicine. It is on 123 Cxxx Avenue in Daly City, zip code is 94444. Questions? Call us at 415-123-4567!



Okamoto Sajio Architecture
By A. G. (6th grade)

Okamoto Sajio is a cool name. It’s like a Samurai name.

Ads, Acrostic and Concrete Poems, and More!