Topic Proposal

Have to save this somewhere where I can access it at school.

Topic Proposal

For the research paper, I will be doing Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin has shaped not only American music, but American culture. He composed many famous and important pieces during his life that will last forever.
Irving Berlin interested me because he composed the music for one of my favorite Christmas movies, Holiday Inn. After watching the movie for several years and listening to the music over and over again, I decided I wanted to learn more about Irving Berlin and his music.

More Chapter 2

They were both in the movie industry and said they were too busy for a kid. So my parents, the Drs. Janice and Edward Wildwood, eagerly flew out to Los Angeles to adopt me. My parents both went to Yale and majored in Psychology. They are specialized in Parenting and they make millions and millions of dollars speaking around the country. They hold huge seminars and conferences on the importance of spending time with your children and making them feel loved. Which is really ironic, seeing as how they are never home. Ever. They hired my nanny, Ruth, to take care of me and clean the house. Ruth is the only person who ever treats me like a real person. At school, it's either people making fun of me or people giving me sympathetic looks. Like they feel sorry that I have no friends, or something. If they really felt sorry, they would be my friend. But no one ever talks to me except Macy-Jean, and that's only to make fun of me.
So that's why Ellen surprised me when she showed up. I'm not athletic at all. In PE, I'm the girl that gets picked last. The girl no one throws the ball too. Which, actually, is fine with me. It keeps me from making a fool of myself and then getting made fun of even more. When Ellen asked if I would play softball for her team, I said no at first. Summer is my favorite time of year because I don't have to be around people. I can stay inside and paint or listen to my music or watch soap operas with Ruth. But then Ellen said that she really wanted me to play. And I had never heard those words before. "I want you." Something kind of shifted inside of me and without thinking, I said yes.
I'm really regretting that answer now. I'm at the field in town, where Ruth dropped me off, for our first practice. My new glove feels awkward and stiff on my hand and my shorts feel weird. Ruth took me to Indianapolis and we went shopping for clothes and equipment. All I own are jeans and t-shirts, a few blouses, and a nice pair of black slacks. So we bought several pairs of athletic shorts and I hate them. Shorts make me feel so exposed. Like I am now, standing here on the diamond as Macy-Jean and Kai climb out of the Kennings' Lincoln. As soon as Macy-Jean's baby-blue eyes spot me, I'm her target. She wrinkles her nose and asks, "What are YOU doing here?" She flips one of her light auburn pigtails and puts her hand on her hip. Her hot-pink fingernails match her shorts perfectly.
　
　
　

The Team: Chapter 2

There's not a whole lot to it yet, but I figured I might as well put it up here.

The Castoff: Nora Wildwood

No one has ever wanted me. Not my real parents. Not my adoptive parents. So when Ellen Lewhurst appeared in my parlor, asking me if I wanted to join her softball team, I was shocked.
I was born in Los Angeles to my mom and dad, who, unlike most babies put up for adoption, were married. But they didn’t want me. They were both in the movie industry and said they were too busy for a kid.

New Story: The Team- Chapter 1

I started this story and have the whole first chapter done, as well as a sentence or two of the second chapter, which I will post after this one. You can also read the whole story at once (instead of sifting through posts) by going to the tab at the top that says "The Team". Enjoy!

The Prodigy: Ellen Lewhurst

My daddy was this close to making it in the big leagues. This close. He was a hot shot young pitching prospect with the Giants, taken straight out of high school in the draft. They gave him a huge signing bonus, too. The scouts all loved his classic pitcher's frame- tall and stocky, just like me.
They gave him the call all minor leaguers want to hear. He was in San Jose, just twenty years old. They told him to go and throw his side session for the day, and then hop on a plane to San Francisco.
He never got on the plane to San Francisco, though. He blew out his arm during his side session. "Tommy John," all the coaches and scouts and trainers whispered. And he would need Tommy John. He went in the next day for the surgery and after he came out they gave him his rehab itinerary. He said that was his reality check.
My mama was pregnant with me at the time and he knew that if he rehabbed like they wanted him to, he'd miss me growing up. So he said heck with it, and moved me and my mama back to his hometown. Derryville, Indiana. Population: 1,800
I throw my glove in the wire basket of my bike and check one more time to make sure Daddy's still asleep. I bend down to tighten the laces on my cleats and then pedal away. I don't like biking in our neighborhood. It's all glass and shiny brand new houses and pavement, so I can't kick up any dust with my tires. Our neighborhood is kind of snooty, but Daddy's still living off of his signing bonus so the two of us could afford to live here instead of the other part of town. The other part of town is where everything happens, though. The baseball diamonds and the movie theater and the ice cream shop are all over there. And so are all of my friends. It's mostly girls here. And snooty girls, at that. I pedal by Macy-Jean Kennings and her "friend" (more like pet), Kai, and don't glance their way. Kai, however, waves at me anyway so I feel obligated to wave back. Macy-Jean just sticks her tongue out, though, so I stick mine out back. Macy-Jean drags Kai back into her house, probably to go do their nails or hair or whatever other girls do. Except Nora, who lives in my neighborhood, too. She's really weird. She sits up in her room all of the time, staring out her window. She won't talk to anybody at school and every time I try and say hi to her, she backs away like I've slapped her or something.
I pull out of my neighborhood and onto the dirt road that leads to the main part of town. The landscapers that built the new development keep saying they're going to pave it over, but they never have. It's fine with me though, because I can finally kick up some dust.
I'm on my way to the boys' baseball tryouts today. My Daddy taught me to be a pitcher, just like him, only a softball pitcher. He says it's better on your arm, and he doesn't want me blowing my arm out like he did. But our town doesn't have a softball team. We used to, and we used to be really good. Back when Daddy was little. But he said they eventually disbanded and the town didn't have enough funds to keep it and the baseball team going. I've spent thirteen years of my life just pitching to Daddy and never playing on a team, so when my best friend, Todd, suggested I join the baseball team, I jumped right on board. Daddy already taught me how to play every position, so I could pick wherever. We've been throwing with a baseball for the past few weeks so I could adjust to the size difference from a softball.
I pull into the park and Todd comes running up to great me. "You made it!" he exclaims. "Course I made it," I say as I climb off of my bike. I look over to the field, and see Coach Duncan talking to a few of the boys. He's not looking over here, so I'm safe for now. Todd said Coach Duncan is kind of old school, so he may not exactly warm up to the idea of having a girl on his team. "We don't need no girls here!" hollers someone, and I turn to see Coach Duncan's son, Ducky Duncan, sauntering over to me. His real name is Crandall, but we've called him Ducky since Kindergarten because his lips stick out from his mouth like a duck bill. And his voice kind of squawks. "We don't need no girls here, do we?" he says again. Before I can get a chance to pummel him, Coach Duncan blows his whistle and we all run over to where he is.
"Welcome to tryouts, boys," he begins. Todd and I have hid in the back of the huddle, but it won't be too long before he sees us. I'm taller than most of the boys. "I can see you're all eager to begin but first we need to-" he stops as his eyes fall on me. "Well, well, well," he says, grinning. But his eyes aren't smiling. "What do we have here. It wouldn't be Lewhurst's baby girl, would it?" I try taking the polite route. "Yes, sir, it is," I say, and stand up straight. I'm taller than him. The Duncans are all shrimps, and Coach is no exception. He tries his best to not look up at me when he talks. "And why are you here for the boys tryouts?" I keep my composure. "There isn't a girls team, sir," I answer. "We don't need no girls on our team," snarls Coach, while Ducky echoes with a few, "yeahs," in the background. “Why would a girl need to try out for baseball, anyway? This is a boys sport.” I’m starting to get angry. “Sir, I think it’s politically incorrect to say-” I’m still trying to be polite but Coach will have none of it. “Seems to me,” he says, narrowing his eyes. He’s not grinning anymore. “Seems to me that maybe if a girl had a mama, she’d be a little more polite. Not like those boars that are raised by their fathers, right boys? We don’t need no girls!” All of the boys shout their agreements, except for Todd and a few others that I can’t see because my eyes are starting to fill with tears. How dare he say something about my mama. Like it was my fault that she left. I won’t let myself cry, though. Instead I muster all the dignity I have left and march away to my bike. I pedal away, kicking up a satisfying cloud of dust. Who needs them? I’ll start my own team and my Daddy will be the coach. And I’ll be the ace of the team. Who needs baseball when you can play softball?
I pedal around my old neighborhood for a while, just stewing. And thinking about how my softball team will be so much better than the stupid baseball team. I realize that I can’t just have a team with me, so I go off to recruit some people. I pedal by my old house again, and see Mattie Dunn sitting out on her porch. She’s a little over-friendly, but she always goes along with what other people want to do, so I figure she’d be a good start.
“Hey, Mattie,” I holler, and come to a stop in front of her house. “Hey, Ellen! How are you!” She bounds off of her porch and comes running out to greet me. “Do you want to come inside and hang out? I just made a-” I cut her off. I feel bad though, because she looks so excited about whatever she made. “Sorry, Mattie, but I can’t stay for too long. I wanted to ask you something, though.” She nods. “I’m starting a softball team, and need some people to play. Do you want to be on the team?” She bounces up and down. “Of course!” she squeals, but then stops bouncing. “But I’ve never played before. I won’t be any good.” Her once glowing face falls. “Oh,don’t worry,” I assure her. “My daddy will be coaching, and he’s the best. He’ll teach you everything!” She starts bouncing again. “Okay! When do we start?” “Soon. I’ll call you as soon as I know. Could you give me your number?” She races inside to go grab a pad of paper and a pen. Her door is wide open, as are most of the other doors in the neighborhood. Most people on this side of town can’t afford to pay for air conditioning, so they just leave the windows and doors open to catch whatever breeze they can. Mattie comes tearing out of the house with a number scrawled on the back of an envelope. “Thanks!” I say. “I gotta go recruit the rest of the team,” I holler and pedal away. Mattie bounces all the way back into the house and I hear her turn on the radio and start singing along.
As I’m biking around thinking of who else to ask, I see Willow Locke and Lillian Collins out in front of Willow’s house. Lillian actually lives in my part of town, but she’s usually out at Willow’s house. Lillian is super smart and she and Willow were always building things. Once they even built a mini car, but then they drove it right into the Collin’s kitchen, so Lillian’s parents told her she couldn’t build things at their house anymore. So Lillian just started going to Willow’s to build things. The two of them are just sitting there today, so I pull over to go say hi. “Hey, guys,” I say and walk up the yard and sit down next to them. “Watcha doin?” I ask. “Just thinkin’,” answers Willow. “There’s nothing to do around here!” whines Lillian, which is odd. Usually they’re the only two people in town who are never bored. I get an idea all of a sudden. “Hey, if you two are so bored, why don’t you join my softball team?” Lillian looks skeptical, but Willow perks up a bit. “You mean like a softball team? For real?” she asks. I nod. “Wow! I’ve always wanted to be on a team!” She turns to Lillian. “Let’s do it, Lil. It’ll be an adventure. Please?” she pleads. Lillian shrugs. “Okay, sure. When do practices start?” “I’m not sure, but soon. I’ll call you as soon as I know. Can I have your numbers?” Lillian nods, and leans over to grab her backpack. Who carries a backpack in the summer? She pulls out a notebook and a fountain pen and neatly writes her and Willow’s numbers. “Just don’t let it interfere with my violin lessons,” she says as she hands me the paper. “Don’t worry,” I say. “Thanks, you guys!” “Your welcome!” Willow says, and as I ride off I can hear Lillian talking about putting grapes in the microwave to make plasma. Strange.
I’m getting to ready to turn off of Willow’s street when I hear a boy’s voice yelling at me. “Ellen! Ellen wait!” I brake and turn to see Carly Heilmman running at me. His red curls are a sweaty mess and his freckled face looks gloomy. “Hey,” he pants when he catches up to me. “Um, I kinda wanted to say sorry.” “Sorry for what?” I ask. “About the tryouts. I didn’t stand up for you.” He looks miserable. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” I tell him. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t make it," he says. “Why didn’t he take you?” I ask, confused. Carly isn’t the greatest shortstop, but he catches every pop fly and throw to second. He’s pretty consistent. “He said, ‘We don’t need no Julia Child on our team, do we boys?’ and told me I wasn’t good enough for his team. So I left.” “Coach Duncan’s a jerk,” I say, hoping to make him feel better. All of the boys, especially Ducky and his friends, make fun of Carly because he loves to cook and watches Food Network and HGTV and stuff. "Well," he says hesitantly. "I overheard you talking to Willow and Lillian about a softball team you're starting..." he trails off, but I pick up on what he's asking. "You want to play? Of course!" His fast brightens. "Really? Gee, Ellen, thanks a bunch. You're the best. When's practice start?" His whole mood has turned around. "Soon," I tell him, and climb on my bike. "I'll let you know. Gotta go find four more people!" He waves exuberantly as I pedal off and then turns around and runs into his house.
I search the rest of my old neighborhood, but don't find anyone else to recruit. I turn to head back home and pass Ducky and his friends, who start chucking rocks at me as I ride by. I swerve and manage to dodge all of them. "You got crappy aim, Ducky!" I yell. "Who put you on that baseball team? Oh, right! That idiot dad of yours!" I pedal away furiously as Ducky runs into his house, squawking, "DAAAAAD!! DAAAAD!" I smile, and turn onto the dirt road leading back to my house.
As I bike across the smooth pavement, I ride by Macy-Jean and Kai, who are back out on the porch, painting their nails. As I approach the house, I hear Macy-Jean shriek as she knocks a bottle of nail polish off of the arm of her chair. The bottle tumbles through the air, threatening to stain the Kenning's white oak porch a shocking shade of pink. Quick as a flash, Kai dives down and grabs the bottle before it hits the deck. Not a drop was spilled. All of the sudden, I'm thinking about how skills like that could be useful for an infield, and before I know what I'm doing, I'm walking up the Kenning's drive to where Macy-Jean and Kai are sitting. Macy-Jean wrinkles her nose when I reach the deck. "What do you want?" she demands. "I wanted to ask Kai a question," I say, and turn to Kai, ignoring her. "I saw you catch that bottle. That was pretty awesome." "Uh, thanks?" she says, confused. Macy-Jean just rolls her eyes. "I was wondering," I ask Kai, "if you'd like to join my softball team. We need a few more players and I think you would be perfect." Kai blushes. She starts to answer, but Macy-Jean beats her. "She doesn't need your dumb softball team. We're too busy for that." "We're? Who said I asked you," I retort. Kai, for once, speaks for herself. "What Macy-Jean is trying to say is that we'd both love to be on the softball team." She grins and turns to Macy-Jean, giving her a look that dares her to say something different. I give Kai a smile. "Awesome! I'm not sure when we'll be starting, but I'll call you as soon as I know." Kai writes her and Macy-Jean cell phone numbers down, and hands it to me. "So who's coaching this team?" asks Macy-Jean. I might be kidding myself, but she almost seems interested. "My daddy," I say proudly. "You know he pitched for the Giants and almost-" Macy-Jean interrupts with a wave of her hand. "Yes, yes we know. Come on, Kai. Let's go inside." They gather up their nail polish and these weird-looking board things, and go inside. Kai turns to me before she goes. "Thanks so much for asking, Ellen. We've really have nothing to do, even though Macy-Jean won't admit it." She waves and heads inside, leaving me alone on the porch. It's kind of stunning that I was able to get both of them to join, even though I'm not sure I want Macy-Jean. But since they both joined, it means I only have two more people to recruit. And I have an idea of who to ask next.
I knock on the door to Nora Wildwood's house and to my shock, a maid answers. Not a parent or Nora. But a maid. I knew her parents had money, but I didn't know they had that much money. The maid gives me a strange look. "What do you need?" she asks. "Can I please speak to Nora?" "Nora?" She looks surprised, like I asked to see the president or Willie Mays or something. "Um, yes. Is she home?" I ask. "Yes, yes, she's home," the maid answers. "Come on in." She leads me into their house, and my mouth seriously drops open. It looks just like a mansion in the movies, where there's the entryway made all of marble and two staircases leading up to the second floor and this humongous chandelier hangs from the ceiling. I sit down on the edge of a couch because I'm afraid I'll get it dirty. After sitting their awkwardly for a few minutes, Nora descends down the staircase. She doesn't match the house at all. She's in jeans and an old t-shirt and she's super skinny. She's as pale as a ghost and her hair is super, super dark, which makes her look even paler. She comes down and stands in front of me. "Yes?" she asks quietly. I stand up to talk, but then decide to sit back down. She's so tiny. "I was wondering if you'd like to be on my softball team." I say. "I just need two more people to join and I was really hoping you'd do it." She starts to shake her head, but I plead some more. "Please, Nora? I really, really want you on my team." She stops shaking her head and then, barely audible, she answers. "Okay." "Great!" I exclaim, scaring her as I leap from the couch. "Practices will start soon and I'll need your number so I can call and let you know when." Without speaking, she walks into a room off of the entryway, and come back with a small piece of cardstock and hands it to me. "It's my dad's business card. If you ever need me, call the home number," she explains, turns around, and heads back upstairs. She really is a strange person.

　
　
　

The Story- Beginning of Chapter 5

Word count is inching towards 8000 and the days are inching towards Christmas!!!! Whoohoo!!!!

Chapter 5
I look up to make sure Mrs. Williams isn't looking at my desk, and then hunch over the tiny piece of paper I'm writing on. Why do you think Amber quit? I can only hope it's legible. I crumple it up into a ball, and throw an eraser cap at Matt's head. His head shoots up from out of his book, and he looks around. His eyes finally rest on where my hand is outstretched, holding the balled up note. He takes it, and Mrs. Williams starts walking over to where we sit. I quickly turn my attention to my geometry homework, and Matt shoves the note under his binder. Her heels click on the ground as she walks, and then the clicking sounds stop, and hang in the air. I don't dare return the icy stare that she's giving me and Matt. We both pretend not to notice. Please don't find the note, please don't find the note. My heart throbs in time with my mental chanting. She narrows her gaze right where Matt has it hidden under his binder.
The sound of the phone ringing shatters the tension, and she clip-clops over to the phone, and takes it out into the hallway. Matt and I don't relax until the door shuts.
He slips the note out from underneath his binder, and he scrawls a quick response. I take it back, and snort. I thought I needed to worry about my handwriting being legible. I shake my head, and try my best to read what Matt wrote. Cause she's Amber. She quits everything. He is right. She never sticks with anything. She always acts like she's too busy or nobody ever told her when meetings or practices were. True, I write. But this is Amber we're talking about. Why would she walk away from millions of $$$? I toss the note onto his desk, and as he's reading it, Amber walks up and sits in the desk behind Matt, next to me. "So did you get the Spanish assignment at all? It's so dumb," she says, rolling her eyes (if you haven't figured it out yet, she does that a lot). "You just have to determine whether to use el or la in front of the noun," I explain as Matt tosses the note in the trash. Evidence destroyed. "If the noun ends in a feminine sound like puerta or casa, you add la in front. If it ends in a masculine sound like telefono or cuarto, you add el." I look at her, and can tell she doesn't get it at all. I sigh. "Let's go back into the lab and work on it some more." As she heads into the lab, I stop at Matt's desk and whisper, "We'll talk later." He nods, and Mrs. Williams comes back into the room. I hurry into the lab before she can stab me with her heels for talking.

The Rest of Chapter 4

I'm over 7000 words now, which is exciting. Not sure how the middle of this is going to go. I know what I want for the end. But not the middle. So frustrating!!!


Chapter 4
Olivia, Andrew, and Anna come running over to help Hudson lift the tree off Matt’s leg, which they do impressively fast. Matt’s face is extremely white, but he’s calm. I, on the other hand, am hysterical. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Matt, you saved my LIFE. You could have been killed! Oh my gosh.” I sit there, chanting that over and over again, a few tears trickling down my face. Olivia comes over and wraps her arms around me comfortingly. “It’s okay,” she soothes. “It’s fine. Everybody’s alright. See, Matt’s just fine. You’re just fine.” I look up at Matt, who’s standing over me with Hudson. Both have concerned looks on their faces. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask Matt. “Positive,” he says. “I’m just gonna have a really pretty bruise on my leg.” I stand up, and throw my arms around him. “You saved my life,” I gush. “Naw,” he says. “It wouldn’t have killed you.” I playfully slap him, and then for good measure, I give Hudson a hug, too. He awkwardly hugs me back. “What was that for?” he asks. “For saving Matt.” I smile at him, and he smiles back. “So what happened?” asks Andrew. He and Anna seem to have forgotten about their argument momentarily. “The tree somehow fell down,” says Matt, who still looks a little shaky. “Well, duh,” Hudson remarks. “I think he means how.” Olivia and I both get wide-eyed. “You don’t think...” I mutter. Olivia nods, but subtly points in the direction where Anna is standing. She’s right. We can’t talk while Anna is here. “Hey, I think I need to go home and lay down for a bit, guys.” I say. Hopefully I can find a way to talk with everybody without Anna around. Matt agrees that he does too, and when Anna isn’t paying attention, I whisper to him what my plan is, and as Olivia and I start for home, Matt passes my plan onto Hudson. Matt catches up with us, and instead of going into our houses, we go to Olivia’s. She’s an only child, and her mom and dad will be at work for a while so we’ll have some privacy. We give Hudson and Andrew time to get to Andrew’s house, and then we call them. “Hey, guys!” says Andrew. “So what did you need to discuss with us?” I hear Hudson ask in the background. “Olivia and I think that the tree was knocked down deliberately.” I say. “That would make sense,” reasons Andrew. “He threatened us once, and then he took action.” “It could be a she,” argues Olivia. “I think we need to keep researching.” Hudson says, ignoring Olivia’s comment. “Whoever this person is- he or she- doesn’t want us to find it. If we give up, we’re letting them win.” Hudson has a point. “I don’t want anyone else getting hurt,” says Matt. “I’m fine, but who knows what they’ll do next?” “It’s fine,” Hudson says casually. “No one will get seriously hurt.” “Oh really?” snaps Matt. “What if I hadn’t pulled Paige away from the tree with me? What would have happened to her?” “You said it yourself,” Hudson argues. “She wouldn’t have been killed.” “You’re just a selfish jerk, Hudson, you know that? What if she had gotten hurt?” Matt’s almost screaming now. “Matt, please-” I try to reason with him, but he won’t listen. “Stay out of it, Paige,” he warns. Hudson starts talking on the other line again. “Everything was fine. No one got hurt because it was prevented. If you hadn’t grabbed her, she would have gotten away herself. She’s not helpless, know.” “I didn’t say she was,” Matt defends. “You know what, Matt-” “Can we please stop fighting?” Olivia bursts. “Really,” I say. “I was fine. I’m extremely grateful, Matt, but if you hadn’t dragged me out, I would have been fine.” I’m not sure about this, but I figure if it keeps the peace, it works. “Hudson is right in the fact that we need to keep searching,” Olivia explains, “but Matt’s right, too. Someone could get hurt, and we need to be very cautious. I propose we split up into groups. That way it’s harder to track us.” “Groups are good with me,” says Andrew, though I think he just says it to keep Hudson or Matt from saying anything else to each other. “One group will be the research group, and the other will be the group that searches around town. The research group can relay information to the search group as they discover it, and vice versa.” Olivia seems to have this all though out. She turns to Matt. “Matt, we need you to be in the search group. Partly because you’re the only one with a license and a car.” Matt shrugs. “Sure,” he answers. “Andrew, you will be with me in the research group. You have more knowledge on baseball than I do, and then Amber will be in our group as well. She’s good with computers, so she can find a way to deal with the hacker. “Wait a second,” says Matt. “That’s right, Matt. Paige and Hudson will be with you in the searching group as well.” Matt and Hudson start to protest, but Olivia cuts them off. “And I don’t want to hear it from either one of you. We’re a team, and we’re going to act like a team. Does everybody got that?” We all chorus our yes’s, some more sincere than others. “Good,” says Olivia strongly. “Let’s keep it that way.” She abruptly ends the call.
As I'm finishing up math homework that night, the phone rings. I decide to let my dad get the phone, and I slide out a picture of a signed Roberto Clemente ball that I've hidden in my math notebook. I trace the signature for the thousandth time, memorizing the squiggled R and the curved C. I want to be able to recognize the signature as soon as I see it in person. If I ever do see it in person. Someone is obviously trying to sabotage us, so it must mean they're after the balls, too.
My door flies open, revealing my dad standing there with the phone. I quickly shove the picture back into my textbook, and take the phone from him. "Who is it," I ask. I start chanting in my head, please be Hudson, please be Hudson, please be Hud- "It's Emma," my dad says. "Don't talk too long. Dinner's almost ready." I take the phone from him, and start to ask her what's up, but before I can say anything, she goes off on me. "So what's going ON with you? You haven't talked to me at school in forever, you walk home without me, you lie to me about what's going on, and then don't bother to explain what's ACTUALLY going on!" I was going to try to talk reasonably with her, but she's made me mad now. "I walk home without you? Who was it that was walking home hand in hand with Aaron today, but didn't tell me that he'd asked you to homecoming?!" The tone in my voice is much frostier than I'd anticipated. She fires back at me. “Like you would have listened to me if I had tried to tell you!” Her voice softens a bit. “Look, Emma, I was calling to try and talk to you reasonably about this-” I break in. “Reasonably?! You think starting our “reasonable” conversation by screaming at me was going to work?” “Whatever, Paige,” she says harshly, and then hangs up on me.
That went well, I think as I head down to dinner. All that the hunt for the baseballs has produced is a whole bunch of fighting, which reminds me that tomorrow I have to pile in a car with Hudson and Matt while they try to bite each other’s heads off. That’s just how I want to spend my Thursday afternoon.
　
The next morning is, once again, an early morning. This time, though, I explained to my dad that I was meeting Mr. Z to go over some math stuff I was having trouble with. I wasn't sure if my dad would buy it, since I usually get straight A's in math. He did though, and I was lucky enough to get a ride from him.
The sun hasn't even peeked out from the east horizon when my dad lets me off at the back doors. He drops me off and then heads back home to catch a little bit more sleep before he has to get ready for work.
Nobody bothered to leave the door open for us this time, so we have to stand around and wait awhile. Matt and Olivia were there before me, though, so I don't have to stand alone. I walk over to join them, and see that they are in a deep discussion. Olivia immediately fills me in. “Matt and I were thinking maybe that this morning, we should tell Mr. Z what we think about us being sabotage,” she explains. “We really don’t want anyone else getting hurt.” I nod. “That’s true, but what if he tries to stop us from searching because he thinks it’s too dangerous?” Matt just rolls his eyes. “So you think that continuing the search is more important than making sure no one gets hurt?” “That’s not what I’m saying-” I try to explain, but Andrew, who just walked up, cuts it. “Then what were you trying to say?” “I’m worried about our safety, too,” I say, and then without thinking, “ but Hudson might not want the search to be stopped.” Matt’s face clouds over. I shouldn’t have mentioned Hudson. I’ve just set him off. “Well, I don’t give a crap about what Hudson thinks. If he wants to risk his freakin’ life, then that’s his choice.” Matt must really hate Hudson. “But he can’t go around and risk other people’s lives just so he can get rich and famous.” “ But we’re all going to get rich and famous,” I say, again without thinking. “Okay then,” Matt spits out. “Go risk your life with Hudson, too. Go see how much he cares about you!” I’m about ready to lash back at him, but Mr. Z gets to the door and opens it. Matt storms past him, and up the stairs to Mr. Z’s room. Mr. Z. doesn’t even glance at him, or at us, for that matter. He silently leads us upstairs to his room, where Matt is sitting in the back corner, fuming. I sit up in the front as far away from Matt as I can get. Olivia joins me, but Andrew, not sure what to do, sits in the middle. Mr. Z says nothing about our odd choice of seating, and begins to speak.
“I presume your research is going well, and that you are all working together as a team.” I don’t dare glance back at Matt, for fear of setting him off again. “What all have you gathered so far as to where the baseballs are located?” Since Olivia is up in the front of the room, and therefore, closer to Mr. Z, she explains what we’ve found so far. She leaves out the hacker and the tree incident. Mr. Z nods. “The fact that they are right here in town will make your search much easier.” Matt stands up, and moves to the front of the room. He seats himself right in front of Mr. Z, and starts talking. “There were a few things she left out,” he says, glancing at me. “When we were researching in the library, someone knew we were there. They obviously didn’t want us to find anything, because they hacked the computer. They erased the browser history and wrote a message telling us to quite searching or we would regret it.” Mr. Z.’s eyebrows go up slightly at this. “You received a threat?” he asks. “Oh, there’s more,” Matt says. “The other day we met in the park to discuss some things about what we learned and what we should do about the hacker. As we were talking about it, a tree fell and almost crushed Paige and I.” Mr. Z’s eyebrows raise higher. “And you think someone did this deliberately?” he questions. Matt and, I notice, Olivia nod their heads. “And why did you not tell me this right away?” Mr. Z. asks. Matt, Olivia, and Andrew swivel their heads to me. I expect Matt to throw me under the bus, but for some reason he doesn’t. “We were scared,” he lies. “We were worried that they would try to harm us again if we told someone.” I look at Matt with a strange look on my face. He gives me a little smile that no one else sees, and I mouth the words thank you to him. “I understand,” says Mr. Z, “why you did not come to me right away. You were scared, and for good reasons. But you need to know that, as your group leader,
you can completely trust me with anything you need to discuss. Do you understand that?” We all nod silently. “AND feel safe about it,” he adds.
“Now,” he says. “In order to give me some more time to investigate this and make sure that it is completely safe, I don’t want you researching or searching at all for the rest of this week. You will reconvene on Saturday.” “Amber, Andrew, Matt, and I won’t be able to be there,” I inform him. “We have a youth group event that night.” “And I have a cheerleading competition,” adds Olivia. “Amber is no longer part of this group,” Mr. Z states. “She called to let me know last night that she was out.” He take a sheet of paper out of his suit pocket. It’s Amber’s contract. In one motion, he tears it to shreds. “Now,” he says with no emotion whatsoever on his face. “I’m sure Mr. Little will be available on that night to do some research. Now remember, no research until then.” The bell rings, and we file out of his room. Man, he has good timing.

English Paper: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet Comparison Paper

William Shakespeare is undeniably one of the world's most revered authors and his work has survived the many changes that our culture and society have undergone. This, however, does not mean that Shakespeare's works should be marred and scarred by these changes that have occurred. This is exactly what has happened with the making of the 2000 movie version of Romeo+Juliet. The producers and screenplay writers have taken Shakespeare's work and changed it from his original desires. The movie claims to have taken Shakespeare’s characters and created them into more "modern" versions of themselves. In actuality, they have warped them into people that Shakespeare would not recognize as characters penned from his own hand. William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is dissimilar to the movie version Romeo+Juliet due to vast differences in the character portrayals.
            One thing that the movie changes are portrayals of minor characters, primarily the Nurse and Lady Capulet. In the play, Lady Capulet, as well as her husband, is seen as a distinguished figure of high wealth and social rank. This is shown through the way her family members, servants, and people associated with her family stay fiercely loyal to the Capulet name. Her two servants, Sampson and Gregory, are so loyal to her family that they go as far as starting a street brawl with servants of the Montague family to show their allegiance. To uphold this view that others have of her, Lady Capulet maintains a dignified persona. In the movie, however, she does not act in a dignified manner. At the Capulet ball, she is seen dressed in a very skimpy costume. While at the ball, she also drinks a great amount and acts in a very wild, undignified manner. People of that social rank would not act that way in public and still maintain their dignity and their position in the social hierarchy. While the Lady Capulet in the play displayed proper etiquette for a lady of her class, the Lady Capulet in the movie did not.
            Another minor character that was changed was the Nurse. In the play, she is constantly making crude jokes to and about Juliet, which makes her seem like a rather disgusting old lady. In the movie, though, she doesn’t make jokes of that sort and is very loving towards Juliet. She portrays almost a grandmother-like character with her sweetness and kindness.
            One main character difference was the portrayal of County Paris. The contrasts between the two versions of Paris provide differing views on which man Juliet should marry. The Paris in the play seems very pushy and arrogant. When talking with Lord Capulet he is always digressing to the topic of winning Juliet’s hand in marriage. Even after the death of Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, Paris is only worried about receiving Lord Capulet’s permission to marry Juliet. This comes across as extremely pushy because the Capulet’s (save Juliet) are still in very deep mourning of the loss of their cousin. Paris gives himself a rude, selfish personality in the play. In the movie, Paris’s demeanor changes entirely. He has a much softer, gentler approach to gaining Lord Capulet’s approval. He is more patient in waiting for that approval as well. Paris is also shown as being very well dressed and groomed. He displays impeccable manners and does not engage in risky behaviors that harm his or others’ health. This leads people to infer that he would take better care of Juliet, should he receive her hand in marriage.

The biggest and most glaring difference in character portrayals is in the main character, Romeo Montague. The Romeo in the play seems more innocent and well-intentioned in his pursuit and eventual winning of Juliet’s love. He comes across as a “good kid” who is just trying to find someone that he loves that will reciprocate those feelings. In the play, Romeo is a likable character that wants Juliet’s love so much that a reader hopes that Juliet marries Romeo and turns down Paris’s proposal. Alternately, in the movie the feelings of the reader (or viewer) are interchanged. In the play, Romeo is a very unlikable character. His love for Juliet seems to be more about making him feel happy and satisfied than it is a true relationship where both partners show compassion to one another. Romeo also frequently smokes, and he and his best friends take drugs before illegitimately entering the Capulet ball. Romeo does not take very good care of himself, which shows no reason that he would take care of Juliet.
            These differences in character portrayal ultimately make the tone of the movie different from that of the play. In the play, Shakespeare is telling the tale of two innocent lovers whose story reaches a tragic end due to fate. In the movie, the feeling changes dramatically. Juliet falls in love with Romeo, a boy that has many problems. This makes Paris the favorite in winning Juliet’s love because Romeo gives the impression that he could not adequately care for Juliet. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths come as a result of Romeo’s carelessness, not fate, as Shakespeare intended it to be. If Shakespeare were still alive today to see this movie, he would be distraught over how his work of art has been mutated.