Samantha Bonasera

Have you ever wondered what you could see in the world if all the lights were turned off, if all the electricity in your house or in your city just quit its job and shut off? What you would be able to hear or what would you be able to feel? An experience most everyone want to feel, see or hear, I have. The sky lit up that one time when the big gust of snow came traveling into Chelsea, Vermont.
I was four years old when I moved from Boston to Vermont. I may not have known it at the time, but that was the biggest change in my life. I quickly made friends with all my neighbors. Since we lived walking distance away, we all would sneak out on the full moon nights, gather up the neighborhood kids and play the old game of ghost and the graveyard. When we finally realized what time it was, we scattered home and went to bed, waiting for the next day to come so we could laugh and make jokes about the night before.

The Last Snowflake

By Samantha Bonasera
Chelsea Public School, Grade 12

I was in fourth grade the day I saw a true snowflake. The white crystal was like a diamond ring. With the sparkle and shine, the beauty of its shape, it was truly breathtaking. My teacher warned us that we would only be able to see this magnificent part of nature for a quick second. She was right. Once the snowflake hit the glass rectangle plate and was placed on the light, it slowly melted away. I tried my hardest to catch as many snowflakes as possible, but the first one I caught almost managed to melt away by the time I caught my fifth one. During the whole time the other students were looking at their snowflakes I was trying to catch the biggest one. Looking at the sky, a few caught my eye, and then my nose and my lips. I soon found myself dancing in the road trying to catch as many of the snowflakes in my mouth instead of on the plate.

Tremendous Chess Player!

By Samantha Bonasera
Chelsea Public School, Grade 12

"Check-mate!" he exclaims.
Giving a little snarl and a laugh, he looks up and spots me on the corner of the street.
"Hey there Hillary!" he shouts in his smoker voice.
I trot over to him with a smile on my face.
Breathing heavily I correct him, "It's Samantha, Uncle Gary."
"Oh yeah, well there are just so many of you, I forget," he says, trying to cover up his mistake.
"Ha-ha, it's OK," I say, giving a little chuckle. There are two other men with him: his friend, Frank, who is playing chess against him, and Bill, who just sits there with a pipe in his mouth. This is the first time I have seen my Uncle Gary in a while because he had been in the hospital for his leg.
"Let's play again," Uncle Gary says to Frank.
With a cigarette in his mouth, Frank says, "Fine, but you still owe me the five bucks and a pack of cigarettes."

Cold, Crisp, Chill
By Samantha Bonasera
Chelsea Public School, Grade 12

It was a stormy night, nothing out of the ordinary. I was sleeping softly and tight in my bed, when all of a sudden my body jolts back from the strike of lightening striking my house. Everything shakes, my lamp falling to the hard wooden floor, shattering into a million pieces. My light that was on for reading shuts off, and the whole house turns pitched black. With my blankets pulled up to my shaking lips, my eyes turn facing the door. “Creek,” went the wooden floor just outside of my door.

Cold, Crisp, Chill
By Samantha Bonasera

It was a stormy night, nothing out of the ordinary. I was sleeping softly and tight in my bed, when all of a sudden my body jolts back from the strike of lightening striking my house. Everything shakes, my lamp falling to the hard wooden floor, shattering into a million pieces. My light that was on for reading shuts off, and the whole house turns pitched black. With my blankets pulled up to my shaking lips, my eyes turn facing the door. “Creek,” went the wooden floor just outside of my door.

My Fairytale

By Samantha Bonasera
Chelsea Public School, Grade 11

Schools colors, of course.
Red, white and maybe--if I am feeling kind of dark--black.
Red, rosy, roses on the side
With some innocent white roses mixed in.
Little notes with arrows pointing my way
And a pinch of my perfume
To let her know it is me.
As she gets closer, green vines and pink tulips mix together
Beneath her feet, she looks up to see balloons
And a sign that says, “Will you go to the prom with me?”
Written with my horrible, chicken scratch handwriting.
With a big smile on her face,
She says, “This is going to be the best prom ever!”

Grandparents

By Samantha Bonasera
Chelsea Public School, Grade 11

When I hear the word grandparents I think of how they are always there for me. Even though they live so far away, they will always call every day to see what is new in our lives. When we were younger, they were a big influence in our lives, taking us to different places in the state and taking us downtown for some ice cream. When I hear the word grandparents I think of who would let you sneak an extra cookie when your mom tells you no more, or take you into a candy store and buy you everything. When you’re hurt their kisses fix everything. When holidays come, even if you’re 21, they still buy you presents that are for when you’re eight. Grandparents are always there for you, when you need a giant cookie or just someone to talk to.

Fear

By Samantha Bonasera
Chelsea Public School

Hands clapping
Feet stomping
Hundreds of eyes beaming down at you
Your heart beats pumping faster and faster
Their big smiles, your big smile
It feels like you have to walk a mile, just to get a light flashing
Five more feet, splat
No more clapping, no more stomping, silence
You look up, then look down
Your knuckles start to clench together
Laughter and giggles appear in your ears
You slowly get up
Shake it off and grab the piece of paper with your name on it
Walking away quickly
You think to yourself
What a great reward

First it starts off small,
With having him hang up,
Then it builds up to screaming and crying
Over the phone when he calls back.
You wait few days to go see him.
You're both sitting there,
Thinking what's going to happen.
You decide to break the silence.
In an instant you find yourself,
Slammed into the wall.
Your breathing gets low.
His hands in a fist.
Your eyes meet as tears,