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Elizabeth Acevedo Resources
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10th Grade Stories
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I hate that I fell for the wrong person
Yet even your locks of dusky night-Or permanent seas of Poseidon’s green-Could not stop me from Icarus’s doom
The Ballad of Scorched Skin
Polina
Datsko
Manchester
10th
Grade
As I go down the stairs to the dirty train station, I look back up at the concrete...
I soon pass a Russian man with a beer belly, who creepily stares me up and down. He reeks of pelmeni and...
Vlad, Enough Vodka!
Emily
Vayner
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
Learning and growing is a part of human life. It allows people to form into the best...
Without the determination to gain new knowledge, your life will remain at a plateau. Growing and adapting...
The Positivity Within Nagging Curiosity
Adriana
Carlucci
Brick
Brick Township High School
10th
Grade
"Urgency grows in my brain, which feels like a two-dimensional void. I kick upwards..."
"I click my teeth. I taste my own blood, but ignore the anxiety that all my teeth will fall out. I would..."
Things That Lie (abridged)
Emma
Meyers
Santa Fe
10th
Grade
Why? Why try to wake up when no one will notice you are gone? Why try to act okay when...
Mature Content
What did I do to deserve this pain that never leaves my side? Haunting me. Taunting me. I want to be okay.
15
Jadyn
Minervini
Brick
Brick Township High School
10th
Grade
"Of course All Lives Matter But until Black ones do, All lives don’t matter..."
"I have never in my life been as ashamed of who I am right now. Ashamed of the privilege I was born with..."
My Privilege
Erin
M.
Joliet
10th
Grade
"So as the caged bird sits in its cage - Waiting for its first free day - It wonders..."
"A caged bird leaps its way to freedom and success - By following the educational path - So they say..."
The Struggle of Freedom
Helenica
Harte
Forest Hills
10th
Grade
"'Long live the kings of Summer, and may we continue to prosper under their reign'..."
"'Kings of Summer! Kings of Summer!' We chant and sing, running rampant along the sandy streets, biking up..."
Kings of Summer
Sasha Leah
Dunst
New York
10th
Grade
"Blood trickling down his ebony face..."
Man Down
Ndeshimona
Kuzatjike
Windhoek, Namibia
10th
Grade
"I always feel like I have a bad corner somewhere, and I am stuck between two worlds..."
"Living on lockdown during a virus pandemic is really, I mean, extremely hard, it is so hard to keep..."
Life’s a Mess!
Kai
Omera
San Leandro
San Leandro High
10th
Grade
1 / 12
1
2
3
4
Next
Last
I hate that I fell for the wrong person
Yet even your locks of dusky night-Or permanent seas of Poseidon’s green-Could not stop me from Icarus’s doom
The Ballad of Scorched Skin
Polina
Datsko
Manchester
10th
Grade
As I go down the stairs to the dirty train station, I look back up at the concrete...
I soon pass a Russian man with a beer belly, who creepily stares me up and down. He reeks of pelmeni and...
Vlad, Enough Vodka!
Emily
Vayner
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
Learning and growing is a part of human life. It allows people to form into the best...
Without the determination to gain new knowledge, your life will remain at a plateau. Growing and adapting...
The Positivity Within Nagging Curiosity
Adriana
Carlucci
Brick
Brick Township High School
10th
Grade
"Urgency grows in my brain, which feels like a two-dimensional void. I kick upwards..."
"I click my teeth. I taste my own blood, but ignore the anxiety that all my teeth will fall out. I would..."
Things That Lie (abridged)
Emma
Meyers
Santa Fe
10th
Grade
Why? Why try to wake up when no one will notice you are gone? Why try to act okay when...
Mature Content
What did I do to deserve this pain that never leaves my side? Haunting me. Taunting me. I want to be okay.
15
Jadyn
Minervini
Brick
Brick Township High School
10th
Grade
"Of course All Lives Matter But until Black ones do, All lives don’t matter..."
"I have never in my life been as ashamed of who I am right now. Ashamed of the privilege I was born with..."
My Privilege
Erin
M.
Joliet
10th
Grade
"So as the caged bird sits in its cage - Waiting for its first free day - It wonders..."
"A caged bird leaps its way to freedom and success - By following the educational path - So they say..."
The Struggle of Freedom
Helenica
Harte
Forest Hills
10th
Grade
"'Long live the kings of Summer, and may we continue to prosper under their reign'..."
"'Kings of Summer! Kings of Summer!' We chant and sing, running rampant along the sandy streets, biking up..."
Kings of Summer
Sasha Leah
Dunst
New York
10th
Grade
"Blood trickling down his ebony face..."
Man Down
Ndeshimona
Kuzatjike
Windhoek, Namibia
10th
Grade
"I always feel like I have a bad corner somewhere, and I am stuck between two worlds..."
"Living on lockdown during a virus pandemic is really, I mean, extremely hard, it is so hard to keep..."
Life’s a Mess!
Kai
Omera
San Leandro
San Leandro High
10th
Grade
"She opens her hand, finding that the snow is no more, leaving only a stain of spilled..."
She has forgotten. Forgotten what the whispers and goosebumps of touch on skin feel like, forgotten the...
Shiver
Adelle
X
New York
10th
Grade
"Maybe she only loved me because of a broken rose, but she loved me nevertheless..."
Flowers Never Lie
Angela
Chen
Cary
10th
Grade
Maybe It’s Not So Bad After All
The teacher is droning on From the other side of the screen I took a glance outside my window The blue sky...
Maybe It’s Not So Bad After All
Nancy
Chen
Oakland Gardens
10th
Grade
"Her grave was piled high with flowers, but I wanted to give something personal to us..."
I could barely contain the sweaty mess that my nerves conjured up. It had been almost two years since I’ve...
Fallen Rose
Alaa
Al-Ramahi
Boston
10th
Grade
"I cling onto fabric I never thought I’d wear before, thick and fluffy, yet leaving..."
The slow drifting of the clouds, the sky’s reflection upon the water. These were the only things that felt...
Your Dreams Through Glass
Fay
B. Lazuli
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
"The world outside my window is much more than what I can see."
Outside my window and over a distant hill, the sun rises… a lazy, shining eye awakening to a dark world. A...
Snapshot Times, Seasonal Designs
Jenna
B
St. Louis
10th
Grade
on the other side
the bread on the street the birds on the street the blue cars lined up it’s a w e d n e s d a y it’s street...
on the other side
Afifa
Tanisa
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
"Everyone has a secret, whether it be an innocent crush or a hideous crime. But my..."
Everyone has a secret, whether it be an innocent crush or a hideous crime. But my secret is nothing like that.
A Secret
Yana
E
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
"Too many times have I felt alone in my corners of the world..."
Too many corners of my world haven’t felt like home, too many plants trying to make room for themselves in...
Homegoing
Esmee
Decola
Cambridge
10th
Grade
"The stable Don't worry it has me under wraps I'll sit right here I'll eat my grain..."
"The stable It keeps me safe The beasts out there Want to tear my mane and rip my hooves To expose..."
The Stable
Jashire
S
Louisville
Louisville Male Traditional
10th
Grade
"Frederick: I'm so sorry Susan for peeps rudeness to you. How about we switch numbers..."
"Frederick: Hi my name is Frederick and I would like you to meet my dog peeps. Susan: aww hi peeps its..."
Chaos
Germonae
B
Lexington
10th
Grade
"But I’m trapped, in a world with nothing but a window in my mind leading back to the..."
My mind races as I stare aimlessly out of my window. Windows fogged with the cold and my mind clouded with...
Outside My Window
Sophie
Ball-Dolan
Hinesburg
10th
Grade
Outside Your Window
Outside a window, I'm in a room with no lights and black walls, plus a white chair facing towards curtains...
Outside Your Window
Ava
White
Lithonia
10th
Grade
"reminding me that another undelightful day has begun."
Everyday I am awakened from my sleep to a bright ray of sunlight shining through my window, reminding me...
The View Outside My Window
Shatyma
Santiago
Kansas City
10th
Grade
"Diabetes has changed my life in more way than one; I am a lot more respectful when..."
"I've always been a bit different from other people. Not in a necessarily bad or good way, mainly just..."
A Life with Type 1 Diabetes
Ari
Stevens
Kansas City
J.C. Harmon High School
10th
Grade
"'Mommy, kitty can see her! She made me realize that we aren’t alone in the house..."
"My name is Marabeth Addington. I live in my family's house, but they’ve left me behind in this quiet..."
Unspoken
Alexis
Hamilton
Montgomery
Montgomery Area High School
10th
Grade
This Imperfect World of Ours
Outside my window I cannot see from the fog that covers, from the government that hovers. From where we are...
This Imperfect World of Ours
Kaitlyn
Miles
Heath Springs
Andrew Jackson High School
10th
Grade
"Mothers are all alone, Trying to figure out how to make it on their own"
Outside my window, The sun rises in the morning, The wind blows without warning, And the trees are...
Outside my Window
Tiana
K
Heath Springs
10th
Grade
Window of Truth
Outside my window Is the air I breathe from the man-made machines burning my lungs like a cigarette still...
Window of Truth
Clarabel
Matos
New York
10th
Grade
Window
During class, bored, while my classmates talk, I look past their heads, and there would always be a window...
Window
Nicole
T
New York City
10th
Grade
"My mother’s brown eyes and my father’s green eyes seem blank, almost possessed."
Whenever my mind is going mad I come back to this. A dream. Not the type where you fly with the birds or...
An Everlasting Dream
Karina
Bushweller
Williston
10th
Grade
"You were always there Looking back at me, Judging me I always thought of that as a..."
I grow I change I look outside I see you Do you see me?"
Changes
Eva
Tikhomirova
Brooklyn
Brooklyn Technical High School
10th
Grade
"Well I wasn't sure because his eyes weren't- there. He pointed down into what looked to b
"Fog kept covering my glasses each time I took out a breath. It was a cold afternoon..."
Chills
Sumairah
Abbasi
New York
10th
Grade
"It immediately got quiet and he was shocked to hear a monstrous shriek from all four of t
"Damon is the only friend left of his friend group. The unfortunate events started..."
The Pandemic
Salma
Jaramillo
East Elmhurst
The Renaissance Charter School
10th
Grade
"Jim dragged a few boxes up to the counter as a makeshift stool for Ava and turned on the
"Her reflection in the stained mirror looked back at her with disappointment..."
Sunoco Station
Maya
Girshin
New York
10th
Grade
"I suddenly heard a jerky grunt that made me trip backwards into the wall..."
"'You know what mom? This place doesn’t seem so bad.' Was the last thing I said to her before I looked..."
Bad Alleyways
Kefina
Wright
Folcroft
Bonner & Prendergast High School
10th
Grade
"CRACK! The loud sound as tombstones crack open with people crawling out of them..."
"In a small town called yoorana, where only small misdemeanors take place.. On this one night this town..."
Discovery
Kaliyah
Vaughn
Chicago
Kenwood Academy High School
10th
Grade
"Blood slowly crept from her lips. And her eyes were turning… wait… no! How? Rebecca..."
"Footsteps slowly creaked up the stairs, and the bedroom door handle turned with a shudder. I panicked..."
The Man in the Mirror
Anne
Ball
Tualatin
10th
Grade
"The adrenaline surged through me, but the deep snow slowed my frantic escape. Before..."
"A shrill cry echoed through the heavy mist that infected the frozen woods. My mind replayed the horrid..."
The Stranger
Sarah
Craner
Tualatin
10th
Grade
"'This can’t be! You're dead… the doctors told me that you're dead,' I muttered to..."
"The light flickered in the bathroom as I brushed my teeth. Willing my eyes not to look up at the mirror..."
The Nothing in Me
Lucy
Lindley
Bronxville
10th
Grade
"I woke up hoping that I could go back to sleep, but I’m alert when the realization..."
"'Ace, isn’t it exciting? Two dates!!' Angie smiles widely at me, clearly hoping I’ll share her enthusiasm..."
Ace is on the Case
Talitha
P
Portland
10th
Grade
"I looked back too but the dark was clouding in like it was alive. “No” I..."
"The thing is when I woke up on October 31st to be bombarded with happy birthday messages I did not think..."
Walk.
Emily
Gerrard
South Jordan
10th
Grade
"She plucked his cane from his hand, a hawk grabbing a defenceless mouse"
He gripped his cane tighter, arthritis stiff digits curled around the handle. Rhythmically, he swept it side..
Blind Man Walking (Horror Fiction Honorable Mention)
Savanna
Maki
Cedar Springs
10th
Grade
"Crying is my anthem. Ana likes it that way."
Mature Content
"I sit up in the creaky bed and stare at the bathroom door, mold on the sides, rusty handle, disgusting..."
Flavored Cigarettes
Salma
Aldibee
Islamabad
10th
Grade
"Samantha’s mom's face was filled with black veins. Her eyes were pitch black and she..."
"RING RING 'Ugh stupid alarm' Samantha said and hits the alarm so it can stop ringing. It's 6 am and..."
HIDDEN
Rosanna
Calderon
Queens
The Renaissance Charter School
10th
Grade
"Just because we can’t see Them in the light doesn’t mean they’re not there. They..."
"There’s a feeling we all experience. A sense of aching, a hitch in your breath, your heartbeat pounding..."
Better Not to Know
Margaret
Maple
McKinney
10th
Grade
"She saw eyes peering from behind the stalks of corn and there was a loud roaring in..."
"Maggie woke up on the ground, cold, wet, and groggy. She stood up in the middle of a dark wooded area..."
Night of the Zombies
Mackenzie
Mathis
Tualatin
Tualatin High School
10th
Grade
"Familiar and rather rotting fingers touched my arm once again. My heart sank to ..."
"Icy fingers gripped my arm in the darkness. I swiveled around to see a grinch standing before me."
The Grinch Who Gave Back Christmas
Cyrah
Carlson
Tigard
Tualatin High School
10th
Grade
"'Oh, Anne, so brave, yet so foolish,' the old witch sneered. I felt a sharp pain in..."
Mature Content
"'Be quiet, Anne!' Mother hissed. 'Yes, Mother,' I replied. We had spent the night sweeping the living..."
The Little Brown Broomstick
Lindey
Zifzal
Wintersville
10th
Grade
"you notice one thing about them: they all look the same. You aren't..."
Mature Content
"You wake up in a strange bed and immediately hear a voice coming from a speaker on your right..."
Project 1964
Henry
Petterson
Tualatin
Tualatin High School
10th
Grade
"'Dinner was delicious,' she said, and smiled at the empty chair on the other side of..."
Mature Content
"The fork scraped across the glass plate. The room filled with the smell of cooked meat. She dabbed her..."
Dinner’s Ready
Max
Hatcher
Los Angeles
10th
Grade
“I’ve gone out since the break up, and I felt really optimistic“
I went to drop the kids off at school and saw a man that I had never seen before looking at me. He was an...
The Stranger
Kyira
H
Chicago
Kenwood Academy High School
10th
Grade
"The boiling blood in my body melted the ice instantaneously. More than road rage took..."
"As soon as I clicked the radio on, I knew something was wrong. I had received this truck two days ago for..."
24
David
Jones
King City
10th
Grade
"She was barely a few steps from it, when suddenly there were three, slow, evenly..."
"It was a warm, blustery day in the middle of October. All the houses were adorned with purple and orange..."
Who’s There?
Adysen
Straw
Valparaiso
10th
Grade
"I can only stand and watch as the life leaves your eyes,as you slowly drift away from me"
"Dear New York, It seems to me that these days you’ve been quiet, suffocated even, as if a runaway..."
Murder On The Bowery
Grace
Zagoria
New York
10th
Grade
"Without her blindfold, she’s nothing but an icon for interested judgement."
I'm going to lose. I wish I was told this before I invested four years in university and three years of law...
For the Villians
Lee
Lin
Los Angeles, California
10th
Grade
"My throat burns with unexplainably despondent longing for removal from an otherness..."
My mother says menopause is full of pain. Hot flashes, anger, despair, insomnia, a surge of untameable emotion
16 Siroccos
Mary Lawrence
Ware
Brooklyn, New York
10th
Grade
"I have come to the realization that no one is coming to rescue me."
Inhale. Exhale. Air swifts through my lungs while I place my head on the trunk of a tree...
Deadly Militia
Emmanuella
Agyemang
Bronx, New York
10th
Grade
"Because in both our Americas, the color of your skin is the power you hold."
When I look at you I see black. I recognize we are not the same because I cannot ignore your color...
Dear Black America
Tessa
Demann
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"They were in no mood to be bothered, especially by any form of authority."
Mature Content
They shrugged. Sonny and Vito, both students in their fourth and last years of high school, stared at...
The Upshots of Indifference
Luke
Trahan
New York, New York
Collegiate School
10th
Grade
She turned toward him. “Besides, what is life without dreams?”
He was not the type to enjoy bars, or alcohol for that matter, but he felt obligated and a bit pressured...
Song of Solomon: A Prequel to Chapter One
Willem
Groot
New York, New York
Collegiate School
10th
Grade
"They are humans who took one look at the canvas, and despite its rips and tears, created a masterpiece
Imagine being a character in a book, the story is the world that you live in. You can pick and choose the character whom you desire to be. You experience the same love they express.
Anyone Can Relate To
Liz
Jung
Bayside, New York
10th
Grade
"...she worried she wouldn’t get the robin to a vet in time."
The cold, evening air brushed across Julie's face as her shadow lurked behind her...
George
Emilie
Su
New York, New York
The Brearley School
10th
Grade
"they remember / the languor and warmth of / dreaming in company"
[central park] / somnambulic stupors often / lead one to an oasis of sorts
Central Park
Emilie
Su
New York, New York
The Brearley School
10th
Grade
"More knocks sounded on the door, escalating in volume. They emanated from the main door, directly behind me..."
I had already read my Torah portion; now it was my dad’s turn to speak. We had rented a small, historic synagogue in Rosh Pina, Israel, for a private bat mitzvah ceremony. Well, sort of...
Early Adulthood
Ariel
K
New York
10th
Grade
"With the brushing of skirts, softness in eyes, a haunting breeze."
Music brightens the moon and the dim lights are melted, Fled to the city of heaven, where the soul is accepted.
Night-Noon
Anna
Ren
Alexandria, Washington
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"Life will return soon"
Hopefulness must stay...
A Promise – Haiku
Zoe
Smith
Houston, Texas
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"To hibernate in summer"
We shall get ready...
Haiku of a Virus
Susan
Wang
Alexandria, Virginia
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"Then God said 'Do what you want with these gifts I have given you.'"
First there was the It, an amalgamation of everything that ever will be, and everything that will never be...
An excerpt from translation of the 21st Century text, The Bible of Gygax.
Manu
Kadiyala
Alexandria, Virginia
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"Our nervous laughter increased as we passed the clouds and reached our peak height."
As I walked around the island of Fiji, with the hot sun blazing on my skin and the breeze blowing...
Diving Through Emotions
Lila
Mark
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"Yet there’s only so much that I can do to shield you from this..."
There is so much about this world that is difficult to understand...
Grow As We Go
Emilie
Su
New York, New York
The Brearley School
10th
Grade
"I sip what remains of an old iced tea, The radio blares a Steely Dan song"
It’s locked and I can’t even find the keys I could break the glass? stitches would ensue
Midnite Cruiser
Patricia
Daum
New York, New York
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"The crash opened her ears and eyes, and reminded her of the skiing accident..."
Florence swept her thick braid over her left shoulder and walked towards the edge of the bridge...
Soda for Julia
Emilie
Su
New York
The Brearley School
10th
Grade
"To find her, my angel, and where my heart belongs"
Life is like a road that goes on and on...
The Road
Charlie
Manoogian
Alexandria, Virginia
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"Her belief in me, and those seemingly annoying études..."
Mature Content
“Darling, I think I’ve heard enough,” Tatiana interrupted.
Tough Love
Diego
Barrera
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"In these special days, We no longer shake hands With fear and fever"
Started from the ancient Greek, We shock hands, With admiration and praise, For respect, for friendship, for love.
We Shake Love, Not Hands
Anna
Ren
Alexandria, United States
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"At 6:50, on the now empty, grassy knoll across the street, an area that would otherwise be filled with kids playing football, he stands alone and begins his mournful procession..."
Wearing his long-sleeved button-down and his trusty suspenders, my 80-year-old neighbor, a lone, brave bagpiper, marches out to the courtyard at 6:45 PM on a sunny Saturday evening and begins his vigil...
Bagpipe in the Bronx
Samuel
Rossberg
Bronx, New York
10th
Grade
You sat quietly, waiting for the drop. Dread rose off you and drifted into the air. It wasn't purposeful, maybe it was; But it didn't matter anyway, you had her and that's what counted. She nestled her chin into your shoulder and let it sit there, unbothered...
Bread Boy
Madeline
Whitehead
New York, New York
10th
Grade
In my story I will talk about how dangerous murder hornets are. Murder hornets' have reached the US. Native to Asia, the giant insects rip off the heads of honeybees by the thousands. Vespa mandarinia, or Asian giant hornets, as also known as "yak-killer hornets, murder hornets, and "hornets from hell...
Murder Hornets
Ulysse
Laguerre
Brooklyn, New York
Clara Barton Highschool
10th
Grade
"Kiss the air and dance in peace. Every season has its seeds"
Squirrels, sparrows, wind and bees Roam around the empty streets.
Neighborhood
Susan
Wang
Alexandria, Virginia
Episcopal High School
10th
Grade
"The shadows around me; Are like my followers, Who are “fangirling” me To build my ego."
I’m all dolled up in a royal blue dress, with streaks of bronze accents. My perfect hair, Highlights my face.
What People Like To Think
Rebecca
Max
Teaneck, New Jersey
10th
Grade
"He had saved up some money at the time and put it towards what he wanted to do after this virus ended; which was to travel the world."
It is the year 2041 and the world has safely recovered from the corona-virus for some years now which left with a huge impact on humans. People are thriving and everyone has started new hobbies and life on earth has changed for the better.
Adventure of a Lifetime
David
Ceron
Alpharetta, Georgia
Blessed Trinity Catholic Highschool
10th
Grade
“A small shell is nothing to worry about, honey. You can always use a bigger one to scoop it out.”
“First, you start with a couple cups of flour.” My mom spoke over my two wrestling brothers in the kitchen. Her hands worked expertly, grabbing a bowl here and a spatula there, sifting flour with the speed of a cheetah.
Crunch
Sofia
Kassalow
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"She was not the person who was going to have to sacrifice their summer in order to have a stranger carve into their own skin for hours. She didn’t have the right to cry. "
The day I found out that I had to have surgery was a normal day after school in 7th grade. I walked into the kitchen to find my mom on the phone with a man named Dr. Hediquist.
The Morality Behind Taking Care of Someone
Ally
H
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"In those first twenty seconds, nothing is wrong..."
For just twenty seconds when I first open my eyes...
Twenty Seconds
Lillian
Christianson
La Crosse, Wisconsin
10th
Grade
"The feeling lingered as I lurked outside the door, at a safe enough distance that I would be left unnoticed. "
Feelings travel faster than words. I have always been able to sense the energy in the room, so the minute I woke up, I could tell something just wasn't right.
Unexpected
Maddie
S
New York
10th
Grade
"I stood there. In front of a bathroom mirror. A mess. Eyes swollen. Hair messed up. I knelt down. Sobbing. My heart hurt more than ever. But this is what i want...Right? 'Who am I?' "
Mature Content
“Hi, how may i help you today?” said a beautiful woman dressed in all white. “Yes, hi. I would like to erase the memory of July 22-30 2019 please.”
Deleted
Sophie
Hsu
New York
10th
Grade
"When you turn sixteen your whole life changes, you get a car, you feel more like an adult and not a teenager, but this biggest change of all is The Color above."
I look in the mirror thinking to myself tomorrow my whole life will change. The appointment is set and Doctor Andrews called to assure the procedure.
The Color Above
Lauren
Posa
Johns Creek, Georgia
Blessed Trinity Catholic Highschool
10th
Grade
A Hero Has Fallen
She was always in a battle not just physically, but mentally. She was a tall, young woman with luminescent eyes that caught your attention when you looked at her.
A Hero Has Fallen
Macy
Fromm
Roswell, Georgia
10th
Grade
"Carrie silenced her phone and started falling asleep as the car was swerving..."
Mature Content
She wore her tightest dress and pulled her hair back, half up half down. It was curled to perfection. She wore the most beautiful pair of diamond earrings her mother owned...
A Night to Remember
Ashlee
Raghu
Queens, New York
10th
Grade
"Part of me knew to go back, but the other half couldn't resist the adventure..."
We just couldn't stay inside anymore. I had to get out, this Covid virus shutdown was driving us crazy...
Adventure
Hannah
Carlton
Roswell, Georgia
10th
Grade
"I'm the oldest, I should drive. Technically Theresa ’s had more practice but she also lacks my extra three years of crucial brain development..."
Mature Content
I bought twice as much butter as the recipe called for. Two times as much. I'm not good at math but I know that double is more than enough...
Butter
Tessa
DeMann
New York City
10th
Grade
"The card game finished. The girls put on their bathing suits. Bianca was happy to leave the stuffy cabin..."
A gaggle of girls entered the cabin. Two flustered counselors soon followed behind them. The counselors instructed the girls to sit on their beds...
Chickadee Cabin
Sarah
Schweitzer
New York City
10th
Grade
"Like the millions of viewers who watch these tantalizing teenage TV dramas, we both seek to understand the bizarre, liminal microcosm we spend 4 years in..."
Since I was 5 or maybe 6 and realized not everyone liked me, a steely ride began to poke out of my back. Its dull weight prodded me to focus on each mean word said to me, to gather them and hold them close...
High School Here
Sarah
Schweitzer
New York City
10th
Grade
"She looked at me straight on and said that she had only lashed out at my body because of how insecure she was about her own..."
The day it happened was colder than usual, which was especially odd given the stifling humidity of a Maine summer. It began as camp days usually did...
My Friend Samantha
Sarah
Schweitzer
New York City
10th
Grade
"He had seen her stealing loaves of bread and wanted to make a deal with Charlotte..."
Once upon a time there lived a young adult named Charlotte. Right before her loving mom died, Charlotte was given the family heirloom, a prized sewing machine...
Once Upon A Pre-Covd-19 Time
Sarah
Schweitzer
New York City
10th
Grade
The Journey
Ariel always questioned her purpose in life. One day she decided to find her ultimate purpose. She believed she was destined for much greater.
The Journey
Mekhi
Small-Best
Canton, Georgia
Blessed Trinity Catholic Highschool
10th
Grade
"This girl doesn’t have abs, but she’s wearing a bikini. Her legs aren’t shaved."
5’2. Ha! Too short. Eyes too spread apart. Big Nose brigde. Lets see… hmm...of course! Her teeth! Too crooked.
The Bathing Suit
Sophie
Hsu
Rego Park, New York
10th
Grade
Patience
Love is virulent, it's like a ticking time bomb ready to explode any second, I didn't have any protection, I couldn't help but be the victim. I got so close, fire consumed my system, but their impatience was my moral standard of aptitude and self restraint.
Patience
Kamlawattie
Singh
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"Love is virulent, it's like a ticking time bomb ready to explode..."
...any second, I didn't have any protection, I couldn't help but be the victim.
Patience
Kamlawattie
Singh
Queens, New York
10th
Grade
"Our apartment has one bedroom, which my mom gives to me and she sleeps on the pull out sofa in the living room. She says that works better because she sometimes works nights and gets home late."
My name is Noah. Some people at my school call me the dreamer, or “the boy with his head in the clouds''. I’m not denying it, but to be fair, it comes out of the mouths of kids with limitless opportunities
In the Mind of Noah
Maddy
Muir
Roswell, Georgia
10th
Grade
"His arms were shaking with an intense fear, but he knew now was the time to act."
Supercell Headlines of an imminent EF5 tornado flashed across screens. The people panicked, frantically gathering their belongings, their hearts racing. The pressure over this small, isolated town was odd.
Project EF5/Supercell
Lamar
Gilbert
Norcross, Georgia
10th
Grade
"He began to hear gunshots on his way home. They seemed to get louder and louder as he got closer and closer to his house..."
It had almost been a year since the death of Jayden’s mother. He now faced violence in his new home with his father in a poor area of Detroit. Jayden never knew what April 14, 1996, would bring to him.
My Life Was Flipped Upside Down and I Thank God
Cristina
Ledford
Alpharetta, Georgia
10th
Grade
"I was so tired of good people suffering from things out of their control. The stranger looked at me, winked and walked away..."
As I walked through the streets of the city last night upset and sniffling the strangest thing happened. A strange man pulled me into an alleyway and said, “make a wish.”
The Inside
Kylie
Kisz
Woodstock, Georgia
10th
Grade
"The stone gates act as a portal to another land..."
Just four hours from the bustling, busy streets of New York City disguised by grassy mountainside lies the most magical place on earth...
A Piece of My Home
Maddie
S
New York City
10th
Grade
"rosemary and sage, / we throw upon the land, / their spirit lies beneath / here..."
knotted hair, scalps / cracked open like / fresh walnuts, hidden / under a woven sun...
Calabria
Imogen
Bylinsky
Brooklyn, New York
10th
Grade
"Down the block, I would hear hip hop blasting from a car radio. A group of girls and guys would move to the music, hang on one another and smoke..."
When I think back to growing up in New York City, childhood images float into view and place themselves next to the ones all around me now. I remember running downstairs to the blue and white Good Humor truck on the corner of Central Park West and 92nd Street to buy a SpongeBob ice cream with black gumball eyes...
Cityscape
Leigh
B
New York City
10th
Grade
"Merna and I did everything together. My little legs would dance to Shakira 'Hips Don’t Lie' with her. Merna’s phone would blast 'No One' by Alicia Keys..."
Ever since my older sister was born, she was always around. She was our first and only nanny. Merna was even there when my brother and I were born. Both my parents worked for most of my life...
Merna
Gabby
Gateley
New York City
10th
Grade
"One plus to the visit: the hot pink and green (your choice) plastic giveaway sunglasses with the inscription 'Dr. Fink says Wink!'"
My glasses are different shades of brown, often described as tortoise shelled. They rest quite comfortably upon the bridge of my nose. They curl downwards to fit the curve of my ears. This pair of glasses is unique to me...
My Eye Glasses
Phoebe
Cohen
New York City
10th
Grade
"Of course my parents would tell me that I wasn’t allowed to call until 7, but I was already busy putting on my snow pants..."
When I was young, every snow day was better than the last. I would run to my parent’s room at 6am and beg them to call the Silvestris. My best friend lived less than 5 minutes away...
Snow Day
Charlotte
M
New York City
10th
Grade
"My mom wanted to surprise us with a trip to Bacalar. We have never been out of the country and my mom decides to pick a small town that's right outside of Belize..."
Standing on the beach with the sand between my toes and the warm sun on my face I realize this might be the last time I will ever see the sun.
The Sun
Lauren
H
Roswell, Georgia
10th
Grade
"I became aware of the ever-changing city, whose streets were overpopulated with businessmen and children..."
All I saw was the side of a building with a small white graffiti mark on the bottom right corner. But looking at this wall my dad was reminded of the hours, days and years he spent playing wall ball, the only passing partner he ever needed...
The Wall
Olivia
Waterman
New York City
10th
Grade
I hate that I fell for the wrong person
Yet even your locks of dusky night-Or permanent seas of Poseidon’s green-Could not stop me from Icarus’s doom
The Ballad of Scorched Skin
Polina
Datsko
Manchester
10th
Grade
As I go down the stairs to the dirty train station, I look back up at the concrete...
I soon pass a Russian man with a beer belly, who creepily stares me up and down. He reeks of pelmeni and...
Vlad, Enough Vodka!
Emily
Vayner
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
Learning and growing is a part of human life. It allows people to form into the best...
Without the determination to gain new knowledge, your life will remain at a plateau. Growing and adapting...
The Positivity Within Nagging Curiosity
Adriana
Carlucci
Brick
Brick Township High School
10th
Grade
"Urgency grows in my brain, which feels like a two-dimensional void. I kick upwards..."
"I click my teeth. I taste my own blood, but ignore the anxiety that all my teeth will fall out. I would..."
Things That Lie (abridged)
Emma
Meyers
Santa Fe
10th
Grade
Why? Why try to wake up when no one will notice you are gone? Why try to act okay when...
Mature Content
What did I do to deserve this pain that never leaves my side? Haunting me. Taunting me. I want to be okay.
15
Jadyn
Minervini
Brick
Brick Township High School
10th
Grade
"Of course All Lives Matter But until Black ones do, All lives don’t matter..."
"I have never in my life been as ashamed of who I am right now. Ashamed of the privilege I was born with..."
My Privilege
Erin
M.
Joliet
10th
Grade
"So as the caged bird sits in its cage - Waiting for its first free day - It wonders..."
"A caged bird leaps its way to freedom and success - By following the educational path - So they say..."
The Struggle of Freedom
Helenica
Harte
Forest Hills
10th
Grade
"'Long live the kings of Summer, and may we continue to prosper under their reign'..."
"'Kings of Summer! Kings of Summer!' We chant and sing, running rampant along the sandy streets, biking up..."
Kings of Summer
Sasha Leah
Dunst
New York
10th
Grade
"Blood trickling down his ebony face..."
Man Down
Ndeshimona
Kuzatjike
Windhoek, Namibia
10th
Grade
"I always feel like I have a bad corner somewhere, and I am stuck between two worlds..."
"Living on lockdown during a virus pandemic is really, I mean, extremely hard, it is so hard to keep..."
Life’s a Mess!
Kai
Omera
San Leandro
San Leandro High
10th
Grade
"She opens her hand, finding that the snow is no more, leaving only a stain of spilled..."
She has forgotten. Forgotten what the whispers and goosebumps of touch on skin feel like, forgotten the...
Shiver
Adelle
X
New York
10th
Grade
"Maybe she only loved me because of a broken rose, but she loved me nevertheless..."
Flowers Never Lie
Angela
Chen
Cary
10th
Grade
Maybe It’s Not So Bad After All
The teacher is droning on From the other side of the screen I took a glance outside my window The blue sky...
Maybe It’s Not So Bad After All
Nancy
Chen
Oakland Gardens
10th
Grade
"Her grave was piled high with flowers, but I wanted to give something personal to us..."
I could barely contain the sweaty mess that my nerves conjured up. It had been almost two years since I’ve...
Fallen Rose
Alaa
Al-Ramahi
Boston
10th
Grade
"I cling onto fabric I never thought I’d wear before, thick and fluffy, yet leaving..."
The slow drifting of the clouds, the sky’s reflection upon the water. These were the only things that felt...
Your Dreams Through Glass
Fay
B. Lazuli
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
"The world outside my window is much more than what I can see."
Outside my window and over a distant hill, the sun rises… a lazy, shining eye awakening to a dark world. A...
Snapshot Times, Seasonal Designs
Jenna
B
St. Louis
10th
Grade
on the other side
the bread on the street the birds on the street the blue cars lined up it’s a w e d n e s d a y it’s street...
on the other side
Afifa
Tanisa
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
"Everyone has a secret, whether it be an innocent crush or a hideous crime. But my..."
Everyone has a secret, whether it be an innocent crush or a hideous crime. But my secret is nothing like that.
A Secret
Yana
E
Brooklyn
10th
Grade
"Too many times have I felt alone in my corners of the world..."
Too many corners of my world haven’t felt like home, too many plants trying to make room for themselves in...
Homegoing
Esmee
Decola
Cambridge
10th
Grade
"The stable Don't worry it has me under wraps I'll sit right here I'll eat my grain..."
"The stable It keeps me safe The beasts out there Want to tear my mane and rip my hooves To expose..."
The Stable
Jashire
S
Louisville
Louisville Male Traditional
10th
Grade
"Frederick: I'm so sorry Susan for peeps rudeness to you. How about we switch numbers..."
"Frederick: Hi my name is Frederick and I would like you to meet my dog peeps. Susan: aww hi peeps its..."
Chaos
Germonae
B
Lexington
10th
Grade
"But I’m trapped, in a world with nothing but a window in my mind leading back to the..."
My mind races as I stare aimlessly out of my window. Windows fogged with the cold and my mind clouded with...
Outside My Window
Sophie
Ball-Dolan
Hinesburg
10th
Grade
Outside Your Window
Outside a window, I'm in a room with no lights and black walls, plus a white chair facing towards curtains...
Outside Your Window
Ava
White
Lithonia
10th
Grade
"reminding me that another undelightful day has begun."
Everyday I am awakened from my sleep to a bright ray of sunlight shining through my window, reminding me...
The View Outside My Window
Shatyma
Santiago
Kansas City
10th
Grade
"Diabetes has changed my life in more way than one; I am a lot more respectful when..."
"I've always been a bit different from other people. Not in a necessarily bad or good way, mainly just..."
A Life with Type 1 Diabetes
Ari
Stevens
Kansas City
J.C. Harmon High School
10th
Grade
"'Mommy, kitty can see her! She made me realize that we aren’t alone in the house..."
"My name is Marabeth Addington. I live in my family's house, but they’ve left me behind in this quiet..."
Unspoken
Alexis
Hamilton
Montgomery
Montgomery Area High School
10th
Grade
This Imperfect World of Ours
Outside my window I cannot see from the fog that covers, from the government that hovers. From where we are...
This Imperfect World of Ours
Kaitlyn
Miles
Heath Springs
Andrew Jackson High School
10th
Grade
"Mothers are all alone, Trying to figure out how to make it on their own"
Outside my window, The sun rises in the morning, The wind blows without warning, And the trees are...
Outside my Window
Tiana
K
Heath Springs
10th
Grade
Window of Truth
Outside my window Is the air I breathe from the man-made machines burning my lungs like a cigarette still...
Window of Truth
Clarabel
Matos
New York
10th
Grade
Window
During class, bored, while my classmates talk, I look past their heads, and there would always be a window...
Window
Nicole
T
New York City
10th
Grade
"My mother’s brown eyes and my father’s green eyes seem blank, almost possessed."
Whenever my mind is going mad I come back to this. A dream. Not the type where you fly with the birds or...
An Everlasting Dream
Karina
Bushweller
Williston
10th
Grade
"You were always there Looking back at me, Judging me I always thought of that as a..."
I grow I change I look outside I see you Do you see me?"
Changes
Eva
Tikhomirova
Brooklyn
Brooklyn Technical High School
10th
Grade
"Well I wasn't sure because his eyes weren't- there. He pointed down into what looked to b
"Fog kept covering my glasses each time I took out a breath. It was a cold afternoon..."
Chills
Sumairah
Abbasi
New York
10th
Grade
"It immediately got quiet and he was shocked to hear a monstrous shriek from all four of t
"Damon is the only friend left of his friend group. The unfortunate events started..."
The Pandemic
Salma
Jaramillo
East Elmhurst
The Renaissance Charter School
10th
Grade
"Jim dragged a few boxes up to the counter as a makeshift stool for Ava and turned on the
"Her reflection in the stained mirror looked back at her with disappointment..."
Sunoco Station
Maya
Girshin
New York
10th
Grade
"I suddenly heard a jerky grunt that made me trip backwards into the wall..."
"'You know what mom? This place doesn’t seem so bad.' Was the last thing I said to her before I looked..."
Bad Alleyways
Kefina
Wright
Folcroft
Bonner & Prendergast High School
10th
Grade
"CRACK! The loud sound as tombstones crack open with people crawling out of them..."
"In a small town called yoorana, where only small misdemeanors take place.. On this one night this town..."
Discovery
Kaliyah
Vaughn
Chicago
Kenwood Academy High School
10th
Grade
"Blood slowly crept from her lips. And her eyes were turning… wait… no! How? Rebecca..."
"Footsteps slowly creaked up the stairs, and the bedroom door handle turned with a shudder. I panicked..."
The Man in the Mirror
Anne
Ball
Tualatin
10th
Grade
"The adrenaline surged through me, but the deep snow slowed my frantic escape. Before..."
"A shrill cry echoed through the heavy mist that infected the frozen woods. My mind replayed the horrid..."
The Stranger
Sarah
Craner
Tualatin
10th
Grade
"'This can’t be! You're dead… the doctors told me that you're dead,' I muttered to..."
"The light flickered in the bathroom as I brushed my teeth. Willing my eyes not to look up at the mirror..."
The Nothing in Me
Lucy
Lindley
Bronxville
10th
Grade
"I woke up hoping that I could go back to sleep, but I’m alert when the realization..."
"'Ace, isn’t it exciting? Two dates!!' Angie smiles widely at me, clearly hoping I’ll share her enthusiasm..."
Ace is on the Case
Talitha
P
Portland
10th
Grade
"I looked back too but the dark was clouding in like it was alive. “No” I..."
"The thing is when I woke up on October 31st to be bombarded with happy birthday messages I did not think..."
Walk.
Emily
Gerrard
South Jordan
10th
Grade
"The boiling blood in my body melted the ice instantaneously. More than road rage took..."
"As soon as I clicked the radio on, I knew something was wrong. I had received this truck two days ago for..."
24
David
Jones
King City
10th
Grade
"Samantha’s mom's face was filled with black veins. Her eyes were pitch black and she..."
"RING RING 'Ugh stupid alarm' Samantha said and hits the alarm so it can stop ringing. It's 6 am and..."
HIDDEN
Rosanna
Calderon
Queens
The Renaissance Charter School
10th
Grade
"Just because we can’t see Them in the light doesn’t mean they’re not there. They..."
"There’s a feeling we all experience. A sense of aching, a hitch in your breath, your heartbeat pounding..."
Better Not to Know
Margaret
Maple
McKinney
10th
Grade
"She was barely a few steps from it, when suddenly there were three, slow, evenly..."
"It was a warm, blustery day in the middle of October. All the houses were adorned with purple and orange..."
Who’s There?
Adysen
Straw
Valparaiso
10th
Grade
"She saw eyes peering from behind the stalks of corn and there was a loud roaring in..."
"Maggie woke up on the ground, cold, wet, and groggy. She stood up in the middle of a dark wooded area..."
Night of the Zombies
Mackenzie
Mathis
Tualatin
Tualatin High School
10th
Grade
"Familiar and rather rotting fingers touched my arm once again. My heart sank to ..."
"Icy fingers gripped my arm in the darkness. I swiveled around to see a grinch standing before me."
The Grinch Who Gave Back Christmas
Cyrah
Carlson
Tigard
Tualatin High School
10th
Grade
"'Oh, Anne, so brave, yet so foolish,' the old witch sneered. I felt a sharp pain in..."
Mature Content
"'Be quiet, Anne!' Mother hissed. 'Yes, Mother,' I replied. We had spent the night sweeping the living..."
The Little Brown Broomstick
Lindey
Zifzal
Wintersville
10th
Grade
"you notice one thing about them: they all look the same. You aren't..."
Mature Content
"You wake up in a strange bed and immediately hear a voice coming from a speaker on your right..."
Project 1964
Henry
Petterson
Tualatin
Tualatin High School
10th
Grade
"'Dinner was delicious,' she said, and smiled at the empty chair on the other side of..."
Mature Content
"The fork scraped across the glass plate. The room filled with the smell of cooked meat. She dabbed her..."
Dinner’s Ready
Max
Hatcher
Los Angeles
10th
Grade
“I’ve gone out since the break up, and I felt really optimistic“
I went to drop the kids off at school and saw a man that I had never seen before looking at me. He was an...
The Stranger
Kyira
H
Chicago
Kenwood Academy High School
10th
Grade
"She plucked his cane from his hand, a hawk grabbing a defenceless mouse"
He gripped his cane tighter, arthritis stiff digits curled around the handle. Rhythmically, he swept it side..
Blind Man Walking (Horror Fiction Honorable Mention)
Savanna
Maki
Cedar Springs
10th
Grade
"Crying is my anthem. Ana likes it that way."
Mature Content
"I sit up in the creaky bed and stare at the bathroom door, mold on the sides, rusty handle, disgusting..."
Flavored Cigarettes
Salma
Aldibee
Islamabad
10th
Grade
"I can only stand and watch as the life leaves your eyes,as you slowly drift away from me"
"Dear New York, It seems to me that these days you’ve been quiet, suffocated even, as if a runaway..."
Murder On The Bowery
Grace
Zagoria
New York
10th
Grade
"Without her blindfold, she’s nothing but an icon for interested judgement."
I'm going to lose. I wish I was told this before I invested four years in university and three years of law...
For the Villians
Lee
Lin
Los Angeles, California
10th
Grade
"I have come to the realization that no one is coming to rescue me."
Inhale. Exhale. Air swifts through my lungs while I place my head on the trunk of a tree...
Deadly Militia
Emmanuella
Agyemang
Bronx, New York
10th
Grade
She turned toward him. “Besides, what is life without dreams?”
He was not the type to enjoy bars, or alcohol for that matter, but he felt obligated and a bit pressured...
Song of Solomon: A Prequel to Chapter One
Willem
Groot
New York, New York
Collegiate School
10th
Grade
"Because in both our Americas, the color of your skin is the power you hold."
When I look at you I see black. I recognize we are not the same because I cannot ignore your color...
Dear Black America
Tessa
Demann
New York, New York
10th
Grade
"My throat burns with unexplainably despondent longing for removal from an otherness..."
My mother says menopause is full of pain. Hot flashes, anger, despair, insomnia, a surge of untameable emotion
16 Siroccos
Mary Lawrence
Ware
Brooklyn, New York
10th
Grade
"They were in no mood to be bothered, especially by any form of authority."
Mature Content
They shrugged. Sonny and Vito, both students in their fourth and last years of high school, stared at...
The Upshots of Indifference
Luke
Trahan
New York, New York
Collegiate School
10th
Grade
"Life will return soon"
Hopefulness must stay...
A Promise – Haiku
Zoe
Smith
