500 Word Competition

Mrs MacIntyre's S1 English class held a mini 500 word story competition and these are the winners; Arabella Manchester 1st with "The Pain That's Never Left Me, Brooke MacDonald 2nd with The Secret Agent and Seonag MacGillivray 3rd with The Past, Present and Future.

The Pain That’s Never Left Me

Looking back at it now, it’s a vague image but I will never be able to forget the trauma, how I felt. Every day when I look down at my leg, a piece of me shatters. The fact that I let myself be so judgemental - I was rude, selfish, and it’s left me distraught every night; when I’m lying in my bed, no one else is there; all I have is myself and my thoughts. You’re probably wondering what I’m on about and don’t worry, you’re about to realise. I’m Jack Manchester and this is the pain that’s never left me.

It was the year 1914; I had just turned 17 and was preparing myself to go to war. I remember my mother in tears watching me walk out the door; my father on the other hand had always believed in men fighting for their country. He simply gave me a pat on the back; nodded his head at me as if to say, “Go on Son; It’s time to leave but go fight for our country and make us proud.”

When I say that it was almost like I woke up with a gun in my hand and an army of German Soldiers shooting at me, I mean it. I don’t think I can remember ever preparing myself. Every single one of us men still had our lives ahead of us although some didn’t get to live for those remaining years. One thing I remember is the commander saying to us, “This may be the last time you get to breathe in fresh air, so don’t spend those last few minutes standing in the battlefield like a chicken; lie in your grave knowing you tried.” And that was it, that’s the sort of mind-set you had to have. I was different, I thought this was wrong, cruel. Just imagine waking up every day and you know there’s a chance you’re not going to be able to open your eyes for the next. I turned round to this commander and said, “Sir, I think you’re cruel you couldn’t care less.” He simply turned around to me and replied, “Really, that’s what you think, well I don’t care about your opinion; now grab your gun and fight for your country!”

This comment is the reason I’m no longer standing with my own two legs. I was so infuriated and filled with anger that I didn’t care about the guns firing at me. I only cared about the men that die and don’t even get to say goodbye. And that’s how it happened; two shots into my leg. I fell down to the ground, screaming, "I don’t want to go now, not today!" Then I felt two hands grab my arms and drag me across the floor. It was the commander. I remember looking at him and saying, "Get off me; people like you are disgusting.” He replied, “I thought I saw something in you son, I really did." That was it. That commander got shot in the back trying to save me and he never got to say goodbye.

Arabella Manchester

The Secret Agent

I woke up in a cold damp room; as I looked around I just had no idea where I was. ‘’She’s awake.’’ Then the door opened. I was terrified; my eyes filled with tears that I had to fight back. ‘’Don’t be scared, we need your help,’’ the lady said. Why would anyone need my help? I thought to myself. I’m just a schoolgirl. The lady was very tall and she had short blond hair; she looked like she was in her early twenties. ‘’I am agent Lingard; we need you to spy on this subject,’’ she said as she pulled out what looks like a school record. I read through it. No way! I thought to myself, it can’t be! It’s my best friend Clover!

‘’That’s my best friend! Is she a criminal?’’ I asked.

Agent Lingard looked at me then sighed… ‘’It’s a little more complicated than that; we think her father is.’’ I looked at her in shock but Clover’s father was one of the nicest people I know!

‘’This can’t be true!’’ I said, still stunned.

‘’Listen, we don’t have much time; we think he’s going to do something criminal at the next school event!’’ agent Lingard said, so I listened to what she was saying; the only thing is the agency have no idea what they’re going to do. I haven’t told agent Lingard but I have a feeling Clover will be in on it also as she is quite mischievous.

Agent Lingard took me to the equipment room; my jaw dropped! I had never seen so much spy gear in my life! She kitted me up with gadgets and all sorts. I didn’t even know what the stuff did; I was wanting to ask, but she seemed very focused. I had a quick training session but I only learned the bare basics. I was as scared as a young child in a haunted house, as I just knew I was going to fail.

I went back to school the next day as if everything was fine but what no-one knew is that agent Lingard had given me an ear piece for her to listen in. At break, I walked over to Clover and asked if I could go to school award show with her. Of course she said yes which means the plan is working perfectly. We live very close so I walk home from school with her every day. I knew I couldn’t just ask her; I had to be sneaky…

I’m going to fail my first ever mission! Agent Lingard won’t be happy. I’m sitting next to Clover and her father right now they don’t seem suspicious at all! Suddenly, out of nowhere! Everyone went... SURPRISE!! The award show was fake! It was a surprise party for my birthday! I couldn’t believe it; this whole time ‘Agent Lingard’ was just my cousin Jess! What a nice surprise.

Brooke MacDonald

The Past, Present and Future

As I walked past all the shops in the street I wished I could buy anything that I wanted, but I was under strict orders, only to buy naan bread and anyway I only had three tomans. I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home the twins came rushing to me to tell me about the game they invented. Mum wasn’t home, like usual, but that very moment she walked in the door with donuts in her hands……

One year ago

It was a mid-summer day in the streets of Tehran and we had been siting there since at least eight in the morning. The streets were busier than usual, but still no one paid any attention to us. I’m Samira and I have two sisters (they’re twins) and three brothers. Every morning we wake up in our one bedroom house; then mum, the twins and I go and sell tissues on the street and the boys go looking for jobs they can do for people. We would be lucky to come home with ten tomans.

When I saw mum with donuts in her hands I thought she had gone mad. I told her that we barely have any money as it is, and that she shouldn’t go and spend it on sweets. But then a huge smile appeared on her face; she hadn’t smiled that much in ages.

By the end of the day we had sold three packets of tissues and we didn’t have enough money for dinner. I was used to it but the twins were getting thinner by the day. But life carried on and every day was just the same. It was midnight when I heard the big knock on the door. I jumped awake, and rushed to the door. Behind the door was a young boy about the age of seven. He grabbed my arm and said that there was a deadly illness going around and that our dad had caught it and we couldn’t see him and that he was going to die. I rushed to wake up mum.

Mum ran up to me and gave me a huge hug; by that time I was in tears. She smiled at me and said she got a job and then she burst into happy tears. I pulled her close and told her how proud I was of her. This whole time she was looking for a job!

Three days had passed, dad had died and so had one of my brothers from this deadly illness. We didn’t have enough money to have a funeral and half the time mum wasn’t home. She was visiting dad’s favourite place: the mountain range. We hadn’t eaten in three days and I thought we would all die.

The next day we went out to the mountain range with a picnic. Mum told us stories about when she and dad were young. Life is much better now.

Seonag MacGillivray