Samantha Beasley Michael saw everything that

he had learned in class a few weeks ago. All of the books that his grandfather had read to him were coming true. He saw shooting stars and meteors that glided through space. He wished he could touch them. Michael remembered the story about the boy who rode the star and he wanted to do that.

--from The Little Astronaut

Kalupe Booze One thing that most

people don’t know about me is that I am addicted to lifting weights. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no meathead or anything like that. I just love to be better and stronger than the next guy. --from Hardwood Sucks

Liz Callaway But I simply couldn’t

choose just one—in my mind, I had to have both. I envisioned the purple paint gleaming across the tops of my nails along with the beautiful rainbow ring resting on one of my fingers.

--from You Can Only Have One

Caty Cowsert

I spent most of my time driving around alone with no direction. Wherever the road led me was where I was going. One street seemed to have a gravitational pull on me. I inevitably found myself parking in the shade of one of my favorite ginkgo trees that lined Clayton Street, and scrounging around on the floorboard for spare quarters to feed the meter with.--from Static Storms

Ceci Crowe I learned to ride a bike

when I was five years old. I went to Alps Elementary with my family, my blue bike, and my bumble bee helmet. We took off the training wheels and I pedaled across the grass, ran straight into a ledge, and crashed.

--from Ride

Lauren Daniel

I am eighty three percent positive that Old Lady Elda is a witch. I believe this because for one thing, she looks just like the witches from the storybooks my mom reads me every night. You know, the ones that have long greasy hair and baggy dresses that are always purple or black. Her face is older than time, and her glasses have images of stars and the moon on them. Old Lady Elda looks like death.--from When Witches Babysit

Donta Eberhardt

Our first opponent was last year’s champion Southwest DeKalb, and they were men compared to us. With facial and body hair, they looked as if they all had their drivers’ licenses while we were only ten and eleven years old.

“How are we supposed to compete with this?” I whispered to CoachTaylor.

He looked back at me and said, “Just go out there and play.”

--from All Star Weekend

David Fitzsimmo

nsHis eyes were worse: his entire eye was glowing red and where the whites should be was only a consuming darkness. His aura seemed to darken the day, and Melanie wondered if it was any coincidence that clouds began to block the sun. He stood there, still as a statue, with his dark eyes moving between Melanie and Matt, and every time his eyes fell on her she thought she would faint.

--from A Change in Perspective

Gage Gum We all feel ourselves being

pulled into the Polaroid. The colors are lifelike. It doesn’t seem like it’s a picture anymore. Then the air becomes a lot hotter and more humid than in my basement. We’re no longer in my basement. We’re all making footsteps in the dust inside the warehouse. The sound of laughing fills my ears. --from Wish Upon a Polaroid

Hoebin Jeong Everything was so cold

and wet. I couldn’t move. While my car was spinning around and drifting on the wet concrete, all I could think about was my son and my wife. In that short and desperate moment, I could only think about them. --from Who Do I Live For?

Samantha Nickerson The day finally came that

the whole family was on the lake ready to teach me to ski. I had my own cheering section: my grandmother lounging on the dock, drinking her glass of red wine, our three dogs circling around her, and my uncle videotaping me. --from Third Time Is Not

the Charm

Sydney Platek I lifted my head and caught

a glimpse of my teammates lined up behind the fence, and my nerves vanished for a split second. I owed it to my team to give everything I had. Winning seemed so insignificant at this point. My team was all that mattered to me, and win or lose, I was so proud of how far we had come.

--from Sweet Revenge

Dy’nelle Todman

“My story is no Cinderella story,” he said, still looking at the floor.

“Come on, kid. What’s your name?” another voice said.

“Johnny,” he said. “Johnny Right.”

Johnny Right was no average Joe. He was Cinderella. He wore a ripped white t-shirt, torn jeans, and one black Converse shoe. His face was scarred with sadness and depression; his clothes were covered in dirt and his hands in blood.

--from There Will Never Be a Happy Ending

Bethany Varnado She walks this path every

morning, five days a week, and has for four years now. She could walk it backwards with her eyes closed, it is that familiar. Yet she still relishes the sweetness of the spring air and the bright green blades of grass rising from the earth in between the cracks of the heavy concrete sidewalk.

--from Insanity

Dylan Whitlow “Well, what makes life

worth living for you?”It was a question Peter

had never asked himself. He took a few moments to think.

“Eggs cooked sunny side up. The one week a year that the weather is actually nice. And the dogwood tree that I can see through the window of my calculus classroom.”

--from The Hanging Man

Kelley Williams My mom’s stomach was

starting to look like she had eaten a basketball, and my old room was now turned into a nursery with pink bunnies. There were toys everywhere. I’m pretty sure this new baby is going to have more toys than I have. This is not cool. She isn’t even born yet and she is getting more attention than I am.

--from The Bundle of Hate