Category: Writing

Invisible Monster

10/22/2020

In a small town called Connellsvlie, in my cozy little home, I was sleeping soundly when suddenly someone knocked on my front door.

Bang! Bang!

I groaned, then pulled on my glasses and checked the time. It was 1:03 a.m. in the morning. Who in their right mind would be knocking at this time? I slipped on my fuzzy white slippers and trudged to the big old red front door. I undid the deadlock and swung the door open.

  I was hit with a blast of cold air. Shivering, I looked outside. There was nobody on the porch or even on the street.

  “Hello?” I shouted.

  No reply.

  “Anyone there?” I yelled again.

  Still no reply. The shadows of the houses flickered as the streetlights waved in the wind. The eerie silence of the street made it possible for me to believe that my mind was playing with me.

Probably one of those nasty teenagers, ding dong ditching me again. Since I was awake, I decided to get a cup of water. I walked towards the kitchen in the dark, groping the walls. I found the light switch and flipped the kitchen lights on. Brightness illuminated the kitchen. I got a glass cup and filled it with clear cold water.

I let the water slowly trickle down my throat when suddenly someone knocked on the door again.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

This time I rushed towards the door to try to catch the culprit. Again, no one was there.

  “Hello?”

Still nothing.

  “Come out, I know you’re there!”

No reply. Every single house on the street was pitch blackand the trees swaying in the cold breeze.

  I was about to close the door when a sudden cold blast of air flew by me into the house. I spun around and saw the most terrifying thing I had seen in my life. The monster of your nightmares, the devil himself. I felt transfixed to the ground. Not wanting to look at it, but couldn't move away.

  I dove past whatever it was and into my room. I slammed the door and slid into the cramped closet.

  Crash! Boom!

   I could hear the steps coming close and closer. I tried to stay as still as I could but my heart was pounding so loud I thought that the monster could hear it.

  Crack! Crash!

The monster opened the door and walked in the room...

Timothy Mei is a seventh-grader at Northshore Middle School. His work has also appeared in our September series.

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Color of Nature

8/31/2020

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The trees are so green,

The sky, blue, the sun, yellow,

So many colors!

Leo Yang is a sixth-grader at Kamiakin Middle School in the Lake Washington School District. His work has also appeared in our July series.

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The Great Outdoors

8/31/2020

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The car door shut with a thump and we were off! The start of a fifteen-day road trip across western America. Our first target was the Yellowstone national park in the state of Wyoming. Our experience in the car wasn't that bad, with plenty of foot room, books, and games. After our first eight hours in the car, we had reached Missoula, Montana. We arrived at our room and relaxed on the beds after the long ride. We got the classic "American Chinese food": Panda Express.

   After the refreshing night, we got up early and drove to the West Entrance of Yellowstone, the border of Montana and Wyoming. While entering, I could see the barren desert scenery. We visited many key places like Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful, Artist Point, Steamboat Geyser, Fountain Paint Pots, Lower Geyser Basins, and much more. While we waited for Old Faithful, it rained two times. Lightning had flashed in the sky with loud booming thunder, and it had hailed. Then suddenly Old Faithful erupted over 100 feet into the air. The crowd went silent then we all started clapping! Old Faithful was twenty minutes late but was magnificent. It was worth it. Then we went to the Grand Teton in Wyoming. The large mountain was breathtaking, with the clear blue lake reflecting every detail, it was beautiful.

   Our next stop was the Badlands Canyons. The red and yellow canyons were epic, with lengthy trails all around it. Watching the sunset in the canyon was so cool! The orange fireball slowly made the horizon pink and purple. Later, we visited the famous Mt. Rushmore! The developers of our nation, Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Lincoln. Nearby Mt. Rushmore, we rode horses into the close National Forest.

   After that, we drove on into South Dakota to visit the Rocky Mountains. Since we didn't make reservations we had to wake up and get there before 6:00 A.M. to be allowed into the park. We hiked through the flourishing forest and the scenic lakes and rivers. My family and I watched the glowing sunrise each morning as well! We saw many wild animals like moose, deer, ducks, geese, squirrels, chipmunks, and more! I was fascinated by how they reacted to humans! Some animals were scared and the others were very friendly.

   The next morning we took off to Utah to see the famous Arches. We hiked for over an hour in the sweltering heat of the desert to feel the arches. The "Devil's Garden" was truly barren and nothing survived there except the yellow weeds. We also visited Black Hills National Park with large expanses of green luscious forests.

   On the way back to Washington we visited Craters of the Moon National Preservation. Everything was black and each step was a crunch. Although the gravity was still the same, it was so cool. After fifteen fun-filled days in nature, we had finally arrived home in Bothell, Washington. That experience was amazing and my family and I had had tons of excitement! We unpacked and collapsed back on our beds. Home Sweet Home.

Timothy Mei is a seventh-grader at Northshore Middle School. This is his first piece in the Emerald Youth Review.

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The Dragon Boat Festival

7/25/2020

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During the Dragon Boat Festival, my parents and I made zongzi. My brother couldn’t help because his hands were too clumsy. He didn’t want to, either. His hands were meant for the keyboard; for gaming. So it was just my mom, my dad, and I, with a big bucket full of dark green bamboo leaves between the three of us, and various bowls with different fillings. The two biggest bowls contained rice that had soaked in water overnight. One had soy sauce added to it to make it savory. We made two types of zongzi; a savory and a sweet one. There was a can of dousha, a bowl containing dried dates and mizhao, and a bowl each of duck egg yolks, peanuts, and meat. My mother’s laptop is propped up because there’s a Zoom call playing; her friend is teaching us how to make the zongzi, because, as we continued further into the activity, it became quickly aware that none of us really knew how to do it correctly.

After multiple tries and several leaves sticky and unusable with rice, I make my first one while keeping an eye on the lesson; Line two leaves up. Fold up the bottom part so it creates a triangular pocket. Scoop in a spoonful of rice. Add fillings of choice. Cover with rice again. Fold the top halves of the leaves over tightly and then wrap with string.

The leaves split at the seams when you wrap them too tightly. They aren’t fresh ones, so some of them are yellow with age. My pockets are small so I have to put in the smallest amount of filling. Folding the leaves begets more splits. The string runs out. We forget to separate the sweet and savory zongzi, so we end up a pot full of shapeless green packages, each one of them unidentifiable from the outside. Still, we try our best to sort them into two containers. We set them in water and text a few friends to pick up their share.

When I take them out of the cooker, the water steams, silvery fog lifting into the air. With care I unwrap one, snipping the dead knot before unraveling the rest of the string. The leaves drip with water as I unwrap them. A haphazard triangle of white sticky rice appears.

My hands are sticky and red from the heat. I eat it anyway, blowing on the zongzi as I go. We’re happy with them. My mother complains about the shape and criticizes the amount of string we had to use, but it doesn’t stop her from taking out her phone and snapping an endless amount of pictures. My father eats some for dinner. Even my brother puts down his headphones to try a bite.

Banana leaves, rice, dried dates, string. My festival, cooped up at home. A little celebration for perseverance.

Catherine Tang is a rising freshman at the Overlake School. This is her first piece in the Emerald Youth Review.

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Tennis

7/25/2020

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I woke up to my brother calling, “Leo, wake up!”

“Why?” I asked him, sleepily. “Yesterday was my last day of first grade! School is over already so I’m not getting up. Hmph!”

“We’re doing a family activity today, Leo!”

“What activity would you like?” my mom asked.

Although I liked talking to my parents, I didn’t like it when they repeatedly asked me questions. What was my favorite thing to do that we could do as a family? I thought hard.

“I know!” I said. “We could play tennis! I heard that there is a type of tennis that takes four people to play.”

“Doubles?” my brother asked.

“Yes! That’s it!” I exclaimed.

“I love it!” my brother said.

“All right, I guess we’re playing doubles today then,” my dad said to my mom.

Tennis is my favorite sport, because it’s action-packed. I also love tennis because just like most other things, you need to practice a lot to get good at it.

Doubles is all about cooperation. There are two teams of two, and each pair has to work together and figure out who should return each incoming ball.

I teamed up with my brother, since I was only six, and he was only nine. We played against our parents, in a casual manner. My brother would encourage me and pump me up after we won the point. “Great job!” my brother said to me as we high fived. My parents would support us as well.

Another reason I love tennis is that it requires a lot of thinking. One time, we had a really long rally. This is where our strategy came in. Since my brother was taller, he went up to the net and hit the balls out of the air. If he couldn’t reach it, I would run over and hit it. This is how I learned how important teamwork is. Soon after, my brother hit a short ball and neither of my parents could get it. They laughed it off, and we went to the bench to rest. “Good job!” they complimented.

This was my first memory of our family games of doubles. There were many more amazing moments, from that day until now. Over time, my brother and I got stronger and more skilled. When I turned eight, my brother was eleven, and we were beating our mom and dad easily. We had to change up the teams. I teamed up with my dad, and my brother teamed up with my mom.

My brother used to get most of the balls when I was teamed up with him, but now that he wasn’t on my team, I had to cover most of the court. It taught me about responsibility because even though I had to cover most of the court, I knew I shouldn’t hit a ball that wasn’t on my side.

Doubles is perfect for a family of four, and I encourage everyone to try it because it can help you bond with your parents and siblings. It’s fun, action-packed, and helps you practice teamwork. It doesn’t matter who wins or who loses, because, in the end, it’s still a very fun experience for all four of us.

Leo Yang is a rising sixth grader at Kamiakin Middle School in the Lake Washington School District. This is his first piece in the Emerald Youth Review.

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Flying Fantasy

6/18/2020

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Most people loathe dreaming. Some people because they fear nightmares, others because they think dreams are nonsensical. I used to have the same opinion. However, just yesterday I experienced a marvelous dream that completely turned my view on dreaming upside-down. It was a surreal, out-of-this-world adventure that I’ll never forget. Surprisingly, you can take control of your own dreams and acquire extraordinary powers!

This dream started like any other, which is to say, it made no sense. I spawned in a dank basement in the middle of pouring rain. I knew this not only because of the water dripping from the leaky floorboards above, but also from the sound of pounding rain above. A single dim lightbulb hung shakily from the fragile ceiling. I quickly escaped from that rickety room by use of a ladder that led up to a trapdoor on the wall. Shoving the trapdoor open, I breathed in the fresh air and began to take in my surroundings. It appeared that I was standing in the ceiling of an urban apartment living room. Above me was a stylish monochrome rug, a comfy cyan sofa, and a large TV, along with various other pieces of furniture. The whole thing looked like it could be on the cover of an Ikea magazine.

But the fact that gravity had reversed itself on me was a dead giveaway that I was dreaming. Now that I realized this, things were about to get interesting. I had heard from others that in lucid dreams, you can do anything. So first off, I decided that I would correct my gravity. I thought that, and, in a flash, I was teleported to the floor of the apartment, right in front of the TV. I stood there in stunned silence, shocked that it had worked. Next, I decided that I would give myself the power to fly. Closing my eyes and concentrating hard, I felt my feet lift off the floor, just a little, but it was a success! I zoomed around the living room in ecstasy. Soon, I felt like a bird trapped in its cage. I craved to soar in the blue sky! Breaking the glass windows, I flew in circles, gliding occasionally. I thought that I should increase my altitude and, like magic, I shot up another 50 feet or so in the sky. Scanning my surroundings, I saw a distant airplane and a flock of seagulls. Deciding that I should join the birds for a little evening glide, I accelerated towards them telekinetically. They were accepting of me, albeit a little surprised, when I joined their flock. The sensation and rush from flying was so real I could hardly believe it. I felt the refreshing wind on my skin, the exhilaration of speed. It’s unfair that birds can do this every day!

In that instant, I lost my focus and quickly started plummeting to the ground. It was only then that I realized how high I was in the sky. The people and buildings below looked like they were from a miniature toy set. In another instant, the vertigo from the fall started to set in. As the skyscrapers and buildings from the urban landscape below zoomed up to meet me, I knew I did not have much time left to save myself. Frantically, I tried to regain control. But to no avail. The instant I hit the hard pavement, I woke up in cold sweat.

Granted, that last moment of shock and horror was not very enjoyable, but it was worth it for the thrill of flying. It made me feel free as a bird. Even though it was only a dream, it’s still a valuable memory that will stay with me for years to come. Now I think of dreaming as an opportunity to obtain a superpower. I simply can’t wait for my next adventure!

Eason Tang is a seventh-grader at Beaver Lake Middle School. His work has also appeared in our April series on the COVID-19 pandemic.

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What is a Mother?

5/12/2020

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Mother.

A soldier, a savior
An honor, a creator
When I'm down, she fills my mind with laughter
Even in the scariest times, she makes me feel braver

When I'm confused, she gives me an answer
When I've made my mind, she makes me reconsider
When I'm weak, she makes me stronger
Even though I'm not curious, she always makes me wonder

A teacher, a leader
A joker, a dreamer
A sweeper, a cleaner
A believer, with a tough exterior

But most importantly, she is a friend.

Hannah Ren is a 4th grader at Spiritridge Elementary.

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During Coronavirus, a Change of View

4/13/2020

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The recent spread of coronavirus has affected my view of my family by basically forcing me to stay in one place with them all the time and letting me see sides of them that I might have not seen before. I can see what they usually do when I am not around, and how they will feel and act if I am with them more.

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My family and I throughout the Coronavirus

4/13/2020

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Before the Coronavirus outbreak, my family lived an ordinary life just like any other Chinese American family in communities around the US. I love my family and I always feel proud of my family since my dad is always very persistent at his work, and my mom is an awesome woman, pushing through times to suit all of our family’s needs. My little brother is very loving and adorable, and is always very helpful to me whenever I need anything, although he can be annoying at times. I feel extremely lucky to have a family like this and I would never swap lives with another kid.

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Invisible Monster

Color of Nature

The Great Outdoors

The Dragon Boat Festival

Tennis

Flying Fantasy

What is a Mother?

During Coronavirus, a Change of View

My family and I throughout the Coronavirus

Welcome to the Emerald Youth Review!

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