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Prompt responses due Friday

14. Procrastination. If you had more time, you’d be able to put it off longer. What do you put off to the last moment? Why? Tell a story about how you just barely got something done in time – or didn’t.
Alternate: Splat! Use that word in a story or a poem.

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Kate Raszka

Fear Awaken

Fear Awakens

By Kate Raszka
Charlotte Central School, Grade 8

It creeps at the edges of the wood
My nostrils burn from the essence of its smell
I look for an escape
And yet
I cannot find one
I am not alone
The cat cries in anguish from the loft
Its screeches awaken my own fear
And I struggle to find a way
But it has me cornered
A fly caught in a spider’s web
It threatens me from every turn
The lids of my eyes slide shut
Keep the nightmare of reality out
The moistness of my body is gone
I am nothing but a charred ember now
For one last time I struggle feebly to lift them
I just want a peek
One last
Of my own demise

Chick

Chick

By Kate Raszka
Charlotte Central School, Grade 8

It fluttered in my hands. Its feathers tickled the inside of my warm palms. A giggle rose in my throat but I choked it down, not wanting to frighten the young life that was nestled between my hands. However, it did not stay silent. It cooed and chirped in a squeaky tone. As it looked around and noticed my big blue eyes looking into its own, it quieted itself and shyly tucked its petite head under a wing. I smiled, thinking it must have been embarrassed. From beneath its hiding spot, it clucked curiously. I laughed out loud. For a moment it trembled from the vibrations of my voice but soon it was clucking openly again. I smiled, relieved it had adjusted to my human touch. But I knew I couldn’t hold on to it forever. As carefully and gently as possible, I returned it to its coop with its brothers and sisters, who scattered away from me as soon as my footsteps reached their fragile ears.

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