WA5 D2

I can’t seem to settle my stomach. I can’t count the number of times I have vomited today anymore, there is nothing at all left in my stomach. I take Pete’s hand in mine and they are soaked in sweat, he is just as nervous as I am. The guests have all filed in and are in their seats. Nothing has gone wrong yet, hopefully nothing will. Pete hugs me, its time for every one to go get in position.
Daddy and I walk to the back of the church together. Daddy squeezes my hand, I have never been this nervous. Daddy smiles at me and I know he knows how I’m feeling and he is telling me that everything will be ok, I sure hope so. I hear the organ start to play, its time. I don’t think I can breathe. It feels like my lungs are made out of lead. I don’t think I can go through with this. I need to start walking; I force one foot in front of the other. I look over and I can see Pete’s young cousin squirming in his seat, his parents scolding him and I realize why I'm doing all of this, I can’t wait to have children.
We finally finish the never ending journey down the aisle and Pete takes my hands in his as Father O’ Franklin begins talking. I don’t hear much between “Dearly beloved” and “You may now kiss the bride” but I think I remember saying an “I do” in there somewhere. I hear everyone cheering as Pete and I run from the church and I think that I saw my mother sobbing. I shake my head as I run at that woman and her ridiculous tears, its not like I’m the first one to get married, all eleven of my sisters already have.
Pete and I climb into the car waiting to take us to the farm where the tent in which the reception is taking place. We try and relax during the twenty-minute drive but we know that if we get through the speeches without something terrible happening it will be a miracle. We just try and enjoy these few moments of peace before all hell brakes loose.
We get to the farm and its beautiful. Everything is perfect; everyone sits down and is served without any serious incidents. Then the food is served, and I realize that we made a fantastic choice with the caterer. The food is delicious, it is the best lobster I have ever had. Miraculously we got through the entire night with out any problems more serious than the children eating too much of the wonderful chocolate cake and getting a bit wild. It was the best day of my life.

WA-5?

Mother’s hand squeezes mine as we walk down the aisle, finding our seats. I climb up onto the pew squeezed between Mother and Father. I’m bored and the wedding hasn’t even started.
“How long will this take?” I whine as I wiggle impatiently.
“Sit still son” my fathers growls my fathers deep baritone.
I lean back and slide my butt forward in the pew and sigh deeply.
“I’m SOOOO bored. When is this dang thing gonna start anyways?”
“Soon” My mother assured me as she tousles my hair reassuringly.
I study the ornate molding between the walls and the ceiling of the church, this has to be the most bored I have ever been in my short life. I think of all the great things I could be doing in this moment, all much more fun than this. I could be playing with trains or Legos or dinosaurs or with my puppy, Darth Vader. I am a beast of the open plains, I’m not meant to be confined like this, I need to get out of here, I just want to play!
After hours of waiting, some guy starts playing the organ and people start walking down the aisle.
“Here we go” I think to myself. “We are finally going to get some action.”
So all these people file in and stand at the front of the church and every one is happy and smiling. Then this fat old guy named The Priest starts talking, and lemme tell you, he was bor-ring. All those happy and smiling people clearly had no idea what lay in store for them. This was turning out to be the most boring day ever. Then Mr. Priest tells my cousin Petey, he is the guy getting married that he can now kiss the bride. He actually does it. I want to jump up and scream, “No Petey! Don’t do it!” It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my entire life. It shocked and horrified me. Before this I thought that Petey was pretty much the coolest guy ever, when I saw him kiss a girl I realized that he was just a big old pansy. I wanted to cry. A dreadful day got immeasurably worse.
After this moment of vileness every one gets up and, for some reason unbeknownst to me, starts cheering. There were some seriously twisted people at this wedding. Then everyone left the church and we all go to this big tent where they had all these tables set up with a little name-tag at every seat for all the different people, there is one set just for me and it was right next to my mom. Then these guys start serving food, if you can call it that. It’s some thing called lobster and it is the most disgusting smelling thing ever. Luckily they had some french frys just for me.
It was the worst day of my life, the only good part was the cake we all got to eat, which was super chocolaty and how I got to run around with some kids after we ate the cake. I guess the day wasn’t a total bust after all.

Obama Letter 2

Dear Mr. President Obama,
I am ecstatic that you have become our next president. I feel that there is much for you to accomplish in your term. Cleaning up the trail of wreckage that that dunce left behind him is no small task. From the deeply disturbing Patriot Act and questionable war in Iraq to attempts to drill for oil in Alaska the last eight years have been a governmental train wreck for the United States of America. There are many things which you need to take care of early in your term, but the thing that I want you to cross off your list first is The No Child Left Behind act because, as selfish as it sounds, it affects my life the most. It is essential that you either abolish or improve The No Child Left Behind act.

I am a sophomore in high school and I have two and a half more years of dealing with this abysmal piece of law. The No Child Left Behind Act focuses entirely too much on standardized testing. Everyone learns and is intelligent in a different way and many students struggle greatly with standardized testing. Because schools are evaluated by their standardized test scores, schools spend countless hours forcing all students to review for tests which are not even a quality measurement of what the student has learned. If scores aren't above a certain score than states loose their funding, than districts loose their funding and than schools loose their funding.

I am a student who is predominantly honors classes so I realize that my gauge of difficulty of tests and of school may be slightly skewed. However, I got five-hundreds or higher on all of my SOL (standards of learning) tests last year and the number of hours which i spent preparing for them last year and I spend preparing for them this year, are ridiculous. I could have been spending this time bettering my knowledge of important matters, like the way the government functions or the intricacies of the situation in the middle east rather than the useless dribble which I am spoon fed about biology.

I feel like the education system in the United States of America is greatly flawed and The No Child Left Behind Act is a big reason for that. Teachers are not given a chance to express their individuality as educators because they have to teach everything exactly by the book and by extension students aren't given the chance to express their individuality and reach their full potential. I think it is a travesty that we could be missing the young man or woman who could eventually find the cure for cancer. I am asking you to please repeal or at least edit The No Child Left Behind Act as soon as you are elected.

Your Faithful Citizen
Maxwell L. Potter

Letter to Obama

Dear Mr. President Obama,
I am ecstatic that you have become our next president. I feel that there is much for you to accomplish in your term. Cleaning up the trail of wreckage that that dunce left behind him is no small task. From the deeply disturbing Patriot Act and questionable war in Iraq to attempts to drill for oil in Alaska the last eight years have been a governmental train wreck for the United States of America. There are many things which you need to take care of early in your term, but the thing that I want you to cross off your list first is The No Child Left Behind act because, as selfish as it sounds, it affects my life the most.

I am a sophomore in high school and I have two and a half more years of dealing with this abysmal piece of law. The No Child Left Behind Act focuses entirely too much on standardized testing. Everyone learns and is intelligent in a different way and many students struggle greatly with standardized testing. Because schools are evaluated by their standardized test scores, schools spend countless hours forcing all students to review for tests which are not even a quality measurement of what the student has learned. If scores aren't above a certain score than states loose their funding, than districts loose their funding and than schools loose their funding.

I am a student who is predominantly honors classes so I realize that my gauge of difficulty of tests and of school may be slightly skewed. However, I got five-hundreds or higher on all of my SOL (standards of learning) tests last year and the number of hours which i spent preparing for them last year and I spend preparing for them this year are ridiculous. I could have been spending this time bettering my knowledge of important matters like the way the government functions or the intricacies of the situation in the middle east rather than the useless dribble which I am spoon fed about biology.

I feel like the education system in the United States of America is greatly flawed and The No Child Left Behind Act is a big reason for that. Teachers aren't given a chance to express their individuality as educators because they have to teach everything exactly by the book and by extension students aren't given the chance to express their individuality and reach their full potential. I think it is a travesty that we could be missing the young man or woman who could eventually find the cure for cancer. I am asking you to please repeal or at least edit The No Child Left Behind Act as soon as you are elected.

Your Faithful Citizen
Maxwell L. Potter

WA-D3

The moon glistened through the thick foliage as Brytha bounded across the forest floor. The cold wind howled through the trees and burned his cheeks and lungs. He had to push himself to run faster, the future of the elven race depended on him and the four smooth, cold, emerald stones which he gripped tightly in his left hand. The stones possessed much power and energy and the dwarve’s army was quickly approaching Iliassa. Illiassa was the beautiful capital of the elven lands and even with the elves strength, agility and superb fighting ability there was no way that they could stand up to the massive numbers which the dwarves army possessed.
The king of the dwarves Vithgar the Magnificent was in a rage. The three stones which Brytha now carried were the heart of the dwarfish world, the Mrogar as the dwarfs called them. Rohath, a noble elf, had gone slightly mad three centuries ago and now he had stolen by the Mrogar. Vithgar either wanted them back or he wanted elf blood. He didn’t care which.
It had been Brytha’s mission to track down Rohath and steal back the Mrogar so Iliassa could be saved. It had been three days since he had stolen the Mrogar from Rohath’s pockets and his feet hurt from the constant running. He was getting close to Iliassa and he could see the end in sight. As he neared Illiassa he began to hear the sounds of a city preparing for battle, the screech of swards being sharpened, the sharp twang of bows being strung and the click of armor being donned. The beautiful city of Illiassa rose before him, the massive trees rising just as high the spires of Queen Malandi’s beautiful palace, Falariel. As Brytha approached the gates of Iliassa, the four guards bowed out of respect for him.
“My Lord! Welcome home we have been expecting your arrival” said Gaddo the largest and the leader of the four elves.
“Will you please just open the gate; we haven’t the time for pleasantries” Brytha said brusquely.
“No of course we don’t my lord” said Gaddo as he began to push open the gates
As Brytha sprinted through the city, darting through side streets and across parks, he smelled the familiar smell of the city, the smell of street vendors foods and the smell of elves, memories of his childhood came back to him he had grown up in Iliassa and he loved it dearly. As he approached the great hall of Queen Malandi, he slowed to a jog and he straightened his tunic and wiped the sweat from his brow. The guards at the door of the hall had seen him coming and had opened the door
“Enter.” they said, seemingly as one.
Brytha hurried past them, somewhere between a jog and a run, his hand still clenching the Mrogar tightly. He felt the magical warmth radiating through the soft wood beneath his feet. As he looked down at his left hand he realized that his knuckles were white from gripping the stones so tightly. He turned left into the queens throne room where he immediately fell into a deep bow. He looked up at her, perched on her throne and he immediately lost his breath. She was incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful thought Brytha. She had flowing, golden hair, which fell around perfectly rosy cheeks. She had wonderful pearl white skin and long legs which gave off a slightly Aphrodite like feel. Brytha was always rendered speechless by her presence and now even in this time of stress it was no different.
“Rise Brytha” Murmured Queen Malandi.
“My my my lady, you are more beautiful than ever” stammered Brytha.
“Enough. Do you have the Mrogar?”
“Um uh um yes my lady.”
“May I have them?” asked Malandi quite sarcastically.
“Yes of course” said Brytha as he hurried to wipe the sweat and grime off the little orbs and gently place them in Queen Malandi’s out stretched palm.
“Prepare yourself for battle Brytha; with these stones we can defeat the dwarf army.”
“But my lady they out number us five to one!” shrieked Brytha.
“Trust me Brytha the bearer of these stones has the power to defeat any army in the world.”

WA 2- D2

The moon glistened through the thick foliage as Brytha bounded across the forest floor. The cold wind howled through the trees and burned his cheeks and lungs. He had to push himself to run faster, the future of the elven race depended on him and the four smooth, cold, emerald stones which he gripped tightly in his left hand. The stones possessed much power and energy and the dwarve’s army was quickly approaching Iliassa, the capital of the elven lands and even with the elves strength, agility and superb fighting ability there was no way that they could stand up to the massive numbers which the dwarves army possessed.
The king of the dwarves Vithgar the Magnificent was in a rage. The three stones which Brytha now carried were the heart of the dwarfish world, the Mrogar as the dwarfs called them. Rohath had gone slightly mad three centuries ago and now he had stolen by the Mrogar. Vithgar either wanted them back or he wanted elf blood. He didn’t care which.
It had been Brytha’s mission to track down Rohath and steal back the Mrogar so Iliassa could be saved. It had been three days since he had stolen the Mrogar from Rohath’s pockets and his feet hurt from the constant running. He was getting close to Iliassa and he could see the end in sight. As he neared Illiassa he began to hear the sounds of a city preparing for battle, the screech of swards being sharpened, the sharp twang of bows being strung and the click of armor being donned. His stomach knotted as he thought about the deaths that were guaranteed to occur in the battle that he needed to stop. As Brytha approached the gates of Iliassa the four guards bowed out of respect for him.
“My Lord! Welcome home we have been expecting your arrival” said Gaddo the largest and the leader of the four elves.
“Will you please just open the gate; we haven’t the time for pleasantries” Brytha said brusquely.
“No of course we don’t my lord” said Gaddo as he began to push open the gates
Brytha sprinted through the city, darting through side streets and across parks with the confidence of someone who had spent the better part of his life in Iliassa. As he approached the great hall of Queen Malandi, he slowed to a jog and he straightened his tunic and wiped the sweat from his brow. The guards at the door of the hall had seen him coming and had opened the door
“Enter.” they said, seemingly as one.
Brytha hurried past them, somewhere between a jog and a run, his hand still clenching the Mrogar tightly. As he looked down at his left hand he realized that his knuckles were white from gripping the stones so tightly. He turned left into the queens throne room where he immediately fell into a deep bow. He looked up at her, perched on her throne and he immediately lost his breath. She was incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful thought Brytha. She had flowing, golden hair, which fell around perfectly rosy cheeks. She had wonderful pearl white skin and long legs which gave off a slightly Aphrodite like feel. Brytha was always rendered speechless by her presence and now even in this time of stress it was no different.
“Rise Brytha” Murmured Queen Malandi.
“My my my lady, you are more beautiful than ever” stammered Brytha.
“Enough. Do you have the Mrogar?”
“Um uh um yes my lady.”
“May I have them?” asked Malandi quite sarcastically.
“Yes of course” said Brytha as he hurried to wipe the sweat and grime off the little orbs and gently place them in Queen Malandi’s out stretched palm.
“Prepare yourself for battle Brytha; with these stones we can defeat the dwarf army.”
“But my lady they out number us five to one!” shrieked Brytha.
“Trust me Brytha the bearer of these stones has the power to defeat any army in the world.”

WA 2

The moon glistened through the thick foliage as Brytha bounded across the forest floor. The cold wind howled through the trees and burned his cheeks and lungs. He had to push himself to run faster, the future of the elven race depended on him and the four smooth, cold, emerald stones which he gripped tightly in his left hand. For the stones possessed much power and energy and the dwarves army was quickly approaching Iliassa, the capital of the elven lands and even with the elves strength, agility and superb fighting ability there was no way that they could stand up to the massive numbers which the dwarves army possessed.

The king of the dwarves Vithgar the Magnificent was in a rage because the three stones which Brytha now carried had been stolen by the elf Rohath. Rohath had gone slightly mad three centuries ago and now he had stolen the heart of the dwarfish world, the Mrogar as the dwarfs called them, and Vithgar either wanted them back or he wanted elf . He didn’t care which.

It had been Brytha’s mission to track down Rohath and steal back the Mrogar so Iliassa could be saved. It had been three days since he had stolen the Mrogar from Rohaths pockets and his feet hurt from the constant running. He was getting close to Iliassa and he could see the end in sight. As he neared Illiassa he began to hear the sounds of a city preparing for battle, the screech of swards being sharpened, the sharp twang of bows being strung and the click of armor being donned. As Brytha approached the gates of Iliassa the four guards bowed out of respect for him.

“My Lord! Welcome home we have been expecting your arrival” said Gaddo the largest and the leader of the four elves.

“Will you please just open the gate; we haven’t the time for pleasantries” Brytha said brusquely.

“No of course we don’t my lord” said Gaddo as he began to push open the gates

Brytha sprinted through the city, darting through side streets and across parks with the confidence of someone who had spent the better part of his life in Iliassa. As he approached the great hall of Queen Malandi, he slowed to a jog and he straightened his tunic and wiped the sweat from his brow. The guards at the door of the hall had seen him coming and had opened the door

“Enter.” they said, seemingly as one.

Brytha hurried past them, somewhere between a jog and a run, his hand still clenching the Mrogar tightly. As he looked down at his left hand he realized that his knuckles were white from gripping the stones so tightly. He turned left into the queens throne room where he immediately fell into a kneel. He looked up at her, perched on her throne and he immediately lost his breath. She was incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful thought Brytha. She had flowing, golden hair, which fell around perfectly rosy cheeks. She had wonderful pearl white skin and long legs which gave off a slightly Aphrodite like feel. Brytha was always rendered speechless by her presence and now even in this time of stress it was no different.

“Rise Brytha” Murmured Queen Malandi.

“My my my lady, you are more beautiful than ever” stammered Brytha.

“Enough. Do you have the Mrogar?”

“Um uh um yes my lady.”

“May I have them?” asked Malandi quite sarcastically.

“Yes of course” said Brytha as he hurried to wipe the sweat and grime off the little orbs and gently place them in Queen Malandi’s out stretched palm.

“Prepare yourself for battle Brytha; with these stones we can defeat the dwarf army.”

“But my lady they out number us five to one!” shrieked Brytha.

“Trust me Brytha the bearer of these stones has the power to defeat any army in the world.”