Hallie Pierce
North Hall Middle School
First Place
The Checker Game
October 2009. “Daddy where are we?” asked five-year-old Annie. She was riding in the front seat of her father’s grey 1998 Ford Pickup Truck. Today, her father was introducing her to a new world of poverty and sadness for the first time in her happy, innocent life.
He responded with, “Wait and see kid. We’re almost there.”
She strained to look at the abandoned buildings and the graffiti stained walls. They pulled into a gravel lot under a large bridge. She had never been in such a place before that day, and it was fascinating to her. Under the bridge, there was a small path leading to a many blocked up areas. They were living places for a homeless community. Each sleeping place was guarded with colorful blankets. She quickly clicked her seatbelt and pulled at it. Then, her father, Christopher, came around her side to open the door for her. As soon as he did, she bounded out.
She didn’t seem to notice the other cars parked around her, or the familiar faces from their church gathered around a roaring fire. But she did become quickly fascinated with a very large black man sitting alone at an ancient picnic table, eating the food provided by her father and his friends. The man seemed very hungry, almost starving. The blonde little girl peered cautiously at him from behind her father who had moved closer to the man. She wondered if she should go and talk to the big man, but it didn’t take that curly headed girl long to make up her mind. Before her dad knew what she was planning to do, the girl made her way to the worn-out picnic table. She climbed up on the bench, swung her legs over, but kept her distance.
“Hi, my name is Annie. What’s yours?” she said extending her tiny hand to him.
The big man turned his head in surprise. No one ever spoke to him, they just pretended he wasn’t there. They acted like the world would be a better place if people just forgot he exists, but he could see why. He had worn the same clothes for weeks and smelled terrible. His teeth were rotten and his face was unwashed. Annie didn’t notice all these things, she was five. All she saw was opportunity to start a new friendship.
He replied, “I’m Rickie,” and continued eating.
He didn’t know how to talk to a little girl, he hadn’t spoken to one in years. Yet Annie didn’t give up.
“What’s your favorite food? Mine is chicken nuggets,” she said with a wide smile.
Rickie noticed her two front teeth were missing and couldn’t help but showing a little grin.
He dropped his sandwich in the checkered basket, and told her, “I don’t know, but I sure am enjoying this barbeque.”
She giggled and slided closer to him.
She continued with her questions, “What do you do for fun around here?”
He chewed quietly for a minute thinking about her question. In all honesty, Rickie didn’t do anything but drink. He had have several jobs here and there, just enough to buy his next drink of alcohol. That’s all he had ever known to do for 35 years. Then, he remembered the last present he had ever received. For his 25th birthday he had received a checkers set. He still had it in his sack of scattered possessions.
He replied to her, “I play checkers.”
Later, Annie silently followed Rickie around while he talked to other people that lived under the bridge. It was so odd to her how life was here. She had never experienced such a thing before, and she remembered every tiny detail. She quickly became attached to Rickie, even though he barely said anything to her in the hours she had visited him that day. Annie did this every Sunday night for a month, and her dad noticed it.
One day, he questioned Annie, “Why do you follow that man around?
And she answered, “Because he’s my friend.”
The weekend before Thanksgiving Annie and Rickie were sitting on the metal folding chairs in front of the fire warming their freezing fingers.
“Rickie,” Annie started, “do you remember that checkerboard you were telling me about?” Rickie slowly nodded. “Do you think you can teach me how to play?”
Rickie quickly jumped up and retreated to his sleeping area. He returned a few minutes later with a beat-up box.
He said, “Come over here and we can play.”
He motioned to the picnic table where they had met and set down the box. Annie followed the man and sat down across from him. She curiously grabbed the box from its spot in the center of the table and popped the lid off. Inside there was a folded-up board and underneath it laid the treasured red and black checker pieces.
She immediately went for the red checker pieces and blabbed, “Can I be red? Please? Red is really close to pink and pink is my favorite color.
“Hush child and let me explain the game to you,” Rickie said to her.
He began to set up the board.
“The objective here is to get my checkers. My checkers are the black disks and yours are the red ones. It’s all about st---.”
Rickie’s face went completely blank before he could finish his sentence.
Annie saw the right side of his body go completely numb, and she began to cry.
Christopher noticed and ran to Rickie’s side. From years as working as a neurosurgeon Christopher had learned to remain calm in disastrous situations, and he knew exactly what to do. He reached for his phone hidden in his black sweatpants and dialed 9-1-1. When a lady picked up he didn’t wait for her to speak.
He said chopply, “A man has is having a stroke. I am under Queen City Parkway Bridge in Gainesville. Please hurry.”
For the next few minutes, Annie couldn’t see anything. Her tears made everything blurry, and she could only make up shapes. When the ambulance pulled into the gravel lot, Annie cried harder. The sound of the big red truck sounded like screaming to her. Annie was petrified. She watched with tear streaked cheeks as the paramedics put Rickie on a stretcher and lifted him into the back of the vehicle. Her father jumped in with them, picking up Annie from the ground. On the way to the hospital, the little girl fell asleep in her father's arms.
Annie woke up in a beige chair. She was in a room with white walls and checkered tiled floors. The floors reminded her of Rickie, and she began to worry again. The little girl looked around the room and saw many others sitting in chairs exactly like hers. She spotted her father across the room at a rounded desk in the front of the room.
“Please, ma’am, let me in. I’m a surgeon here,” Christopher pleaded.
The lady replied, “Fine, but show me you’re North Georgia Hospital badge.”
He reached deep into his pocket until his fingers touched the medal clip of the badge. He pulled out the laminated white slip with his name, picture, and a barcode.
“Here.” Christopher shoved it into her hands.
The lady nodded and pushed a green button behind the door.
“Room 296.”
Annie’s dad waved her over towards them, and she quickly got up and scurried across the room. He grabbed her hand and pushed open the doors. The two walked up a flight of stairs with chipping white paint. They walked out into a hallway with wooden doors lining both sides of the hallway. Christopher let go of his little girl’s hand and stopped in front of one of the doors. He stood there for a moment and studied the number on the wall. While waiting patiently, Annie wondered if this room was where the paramedics took Rickie. Christopher took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times.
Rickie’s quiet voice rose from beneath the door, “Come in.”
Christopher firmly grasped the door’s cold handle and opened it. Annie ran inside to hear many beeping machines places around Rickie’s bed. She saw tubes extending from them into his arms and a white monitor clipped on his finger. The little girl’s heart started racing, and she froze. Her father placed his hand on her shoulder and nudged her forward. She went up to Rickie and gingerly gave him a hug. Christopher sat down in one of the grey chairs, and Annie stood beside the bed. The doctor soon came in to give Rickie’s health report. Christopher shook hands with the doctor when she approached him. He recognized her and knew she was Dr. Cheshire.
“Annie,” Christopher said, “go wait outside.”
“But dad,” she protested.
Christopher pointed to the door and gave her a stern look. Grudgingly, Annie stomped out of the room.
Christopher turned towards Rickie and said, “Rickie, this is Dr. Cheshire. She is going to be taking care of you. Don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”
Still very weak, Rickie struggle to lift his head off the pillow.
He asked, “What’s going to happen to me doc?”
Dr. Cheshire replied, “It seems you have had a stroke caused by Atrial Fibrillation. Atrial Fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that led to blood clots in your heart. These blood clots reached your brain and caused a stroke. Atrial Fibrillation was triggered by excessive amounts of alcohol. You are very lucky, it was only a minor stroke. Next time, it could be a lot worse.”
A scared look appeared on Rickie’s face.
“Next time?” Rickie questioned.
He looked at Christopher for help.
Christopher said, “Rickie, the doctors have noticed the large amounts of alcohol in your system. If you don’t quit now, it’s going to happen again.”
Rickie looked utterly defeated.
“Mr. Christopher, I’ve been drinking for 35 years because it’s the only thing that can help me escape from my miseries. How I am supposed to stop cold turkey?” Rickie asked.
Christopher answered, “Annie and I will help you.”
Christopher discussed the possible solutions with Rickie. The most effective one being staying at a rehab center. Christopher offered to pay for it, and Rickie agreed to the terms.
Christopher found a good rehab center for Rickie to stay in. After three days in the hospital, Christopher and Annie drove him to his new living place. While in the car, Annie had a worried look on her face.
“Daddy, who’s going to go get Rickie’s checkerboard?” Annie asked.
Rickie chuckled and said, “Don’t you worry about my board child. Your daddy’s has already done enough for me.”
“But Rickie how are you gonna teach me how to play checkers?”
Rickie responded, “How are you going to have time when you start school in the fall?”
The truck was silent for a while until Annie said, “We’ll come visit you. I promise.”
The center was painted an outrageous color of pink. Christopher held Annie’s hand and followed Rickie into the building. When they walked in, Annie imagined it as a hotel. Christopher shook hands with a smiling woman with blonde hair. Annie couldn’t hear the conversation, but she did hear the lady say something about Rickie’s possessions. Then red started to trickle into his cheeks. A few minutes later, Christopher and Annie went back to the car. The two bought many things at various different places. They purchased a comforter, blankets, pillows, and they even stopped at the bank.
Annie asked her father, “Where are we going now?”
He told her, “Back to the pink building to give Rickie these things.”
“Daddy, is Rickie going to stay there?” she questioned.
“Yes baby. He’s going to stay there until he gets better,” he said.
After a week of not seeing Rickie, Annie begged her father to take her to the pink rehab center. After agreeing to take her, she also demanded that they go buy a checkerboard for Rickie to keep. She had her heart set on bringing Rickie a checkerboard and she would not have it any other way. Once she gave Rickie the checkerboard that she begged for, he taught her how to play checkers. When she started Kindergarten, Annie would go to see Rickie every day after school. Rickie never let Annie win, not even once.
He told her, “Annie this is the thing that I treasure above anything else in the world. When you love something this much, you should never let anyone take it from you.”
But checkers wasn’t really his treasure, Annie was.
Rachel Hall
DaVinci Academy
Second Place
The Letter
This was the most nervous I had been in a while. I was so nervous that my teeth were chattering and my hands were shaking. I wasn’t 100% confident that I got in. I tried my hardest and worked day and night on the application. I was afraid that other kids would be better than me and I would barely miss getting in. It was a possibility, but either way, I tried my hardest.
“It will all be okay. You know that no matter what that letter says, I will be proud of you for trying your hardest.” My mom comforted me.
I took a deep breath in. I closed my eyes and imagined what would happen when I opened the letter. The letter that would change how I spent the next three years of my life. The letter that would change what college I might go to. The letter that would tell me whether or not I got into the school that I had been working so hard for.
I had gone through an application and a three part interview to apply to this middle school. They only accepted about 80 kids a year and I was determined to be one of them. This letter contained the answer to whether or not I got in..
I had always been a few steps ahead of my class. I even got asked to skip kindergarten (even though I didn’t). In this school, everyone would be that one kid who was always ahead. They move fast, like me. I would be able to learn 7th grade material in 6th grade. This was the perfect school.
Like everyone else, there were a couple things I had trouble with, but I persevered. I thought back to the time in kindergarten when my teacher confronted me about how I held my scissors. “Rachel, turn your hand. You shouldn’t have to turn your wrist that far to cut in a straight line.” I turned my hand around and tried to cut. My teacher smiled at me. The line was as jagged as a lion’s teeth. It looked absolutely terrible. When my teacher saw it, she assigned a girl named Rowan to help me. Rowan guided my hand and helped me to cut the line straighter than I had before.
For the next couple of days, Rowan helped me and eventually, I was able to hold the scissors correctly and cut in a straight line. At the beginning, I was convinced that I would keep holding the scissors the way I had been holding them, but when I tried holding them the correct way, I realized it was easier to cut. Even though I couldn’t cut in a straight line at first, I worked hard at it and by the end, I held them correctly and I could cut in a straight line.
My mom reached out the car window and opened the shiny black mailbox. She pulled out a stack of white envelopes and placed them on the console in between us. She carefully turned into the rocky driveway and drove up into the garage.
It was a bright and sunny day outside. The sun was shining and the blue sky was cloudless. It was a happy day. My step dad was out working in his office in Denver, Colorado. He wouldn’t be back until tomorrow and my dad was also at work.
I grabbed the stack of mail and looked at who each envelope was from. Bill after bill after bill. Was that all the mail we got? Finally, at the bottom of the stack, I found the one I was looking for. It was from the school.
“I found the letter! It’s right here!” I exclaimed.
”Good sweetie! Wait until we get inside and then we can sit down and open it.” She told me.
I raced up the small red brick stairs and burst through the kitchen door. Our three little dogs came running to greet me. I sat down at the table and waited for my mom to get inside. I put the envelope on the table and I was trying my hardest to resist the urge of opening it.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She said to me.
I took a deep breath and ran my finger along the envelope. I pulled out the letter and unfolded it. I started to read it outloud.
“Dear Mrs and Mr. Fortune, we are pleased to inform you….. Yes! I got in!” I flew out of the chair like a rocket and gave my mom a big hug.
“I knew you could do it!” My face was a red as a tomato and I was smiling from ear to ear. I called my dad and my step dad to let them know the good news. They both had the same reaction that my mom did.
“I’m so proud of you!” My dad told me over the phone. After I had talked to both of them, my mom and I decided to go out to dinner to celebrate.
We went to Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant. My mom even let me order dessert. Even though I wish my step dad and my dad could have been there, my mom and I had a great time celebrating my big achievement.
There were a lot of times that I cried and argued with my mom during the process. All of those moments made my application better and I worked harder to fix mistakes.
I remembered one of the worst moments in the process. I had just written about the first place that I wanted to go for my application. It was skimpy and did not go into much detail. When my mom saw it, her eyes got wide. “You really want to turn this in? If this is the kind of work you are going to do, then why are you even applying?” Tears started to stream down my face. “I worked hard on this.” I said. She gave me a look of disbelief. We started arguing to the point where I stormed off.
On this day, I learned that if I worked hard and persevered, I could do anything that I put my mind to.
Madalyn Lilly
South Hall Middle School
Third Place
My Final Days
Wow! There’s so much to see! I'm so glad I finally got adopted.I hated being stuck in that shelter there were some people who came by every once in a while, but I only got a few pets but then…… my owner came along she couldn’t take her eyes off me. Then she signed the papers and brought me out the door! I'm so excited to finally have a place to call home.
The car ride home was ok I got a little scared, so my mom held me the rest of the way home. When we got to my new house my mom opened the door, and I jumped out I was so happy! My mom made me use the bathroom first, so she said “go pee cutie” I squatted and did my business, as we were walking to the door I heard loud barking “great they have more dogs”I thought to myself, she opened the door and here comes running out two gigantic dogs I got scared so I ran after my mom she picked me up and carried me inside, thankfully she put the big dogs outside.
She let me down to explore I was so excited because there was so much to sniff and play with. I found a fluffy bed, so I snuggled up and fell asleep. I woke up after a while, and I didn't see anybody, so I was playing with my chew toys just gnawing away on them. Then my mom walked in the front door with a lot of bags in her hand. She pulled out some toys, food, bowls, collar and a leash, and a small fluffy dog bed for me. It was later in the evening, and my owners were getting ready for bed I was playing with the other too big dogs and a chew toy. I heard her yell “come here, boys!’ and both of the big dogs went running in the room and the door slowly shut.
My mom finally walked out of the room after a while, and she called me by a name “Gracie” I guess that's my name now, so I went running over to her she picked me up and carried me into the same room as the two big dogs. They were on a dog bed though; I got to sleep on the big bed. My mom said “hop up,” and I jumped up got my comfy spot snuggled up and fell asleep. The next morning when we woke up we all got to go in the backyard I walked out and stretched my legs then took off like a lightning bolt down the steps and into the backyard. There was so much to sniff and play with the other dogs were just laying there I was actually having fun! Then my mom called us all up so we all raced up the steps as fast as we could. When we got inside my mom opened a bag of dog food and split it into 3 bowls. She gave the other two dogs theirs in the kitchen she picked me up and took me in the living room put down my food and water and walked away. I sat there and stared at it for a minute but gosh it looked good, so I started chomping down on it right away! After I finished, i heard my mom say we were going somewhere, so I got ready to go.
My mom put a cute little jacket on me, but it feels kinda weird, and it's uncomfortable, but I'll get used to it. We walked out the front door burrrrrrr….. Its really cold outside maybe that's why my mom put a jacket on me. My feet were getting really cold, so my mom picked me up and carried me the rest of the way to the car. The two big dogs were also coming along too but they had to ride in the backseat I got to ride in the front seat the whole way there. When we got there my mom opened the door, and I jumped out of the car, but a leash pulled me back, so I sat like a good girl and waited. We walked into this weird place I think it was a thing called a “vet” because my mom kept saying that over and over. When we got to the room, i was first, so they picked me up and put me on this long metal table thingy and were checking my feet, mouth, eyes, ears everything! Then the doctor pants man came in and then poked me with this big pointy thing. Ouch! It hurt really bad. The other dogs got the same thing to finally we were walking out the door. When we got back in the car finally I heard my mom say “time to go home” I got so excited my whole body was shaking! I get to play with my chew toys and lay on my bed im so happy! When we got home, i jumped out of the car head high and tail wagging and ran happily inside I ran and grabbed my chew toys and layed down. I got up after a while and stretched my legs my mom was in the kitchen making something and you mmm it smelled good I sat by her feet and hoped she would drop something. She finally looked at me, and I gave her the sad “ I haven't eaten in days” look, and she dropped some. It was delicious bacon! Wow! It was really good. She gave me more bacon than she finally said “enough with the cute face you have to go outside” she gave the other two dogs a treat and she then sent us all outside. I got so excited I love going outside there's so much to explore. When I was in the shelter, i couldn't really do much but sleep eat and get pets every once in a while. I'm really glad to have a home. My mom let us in after a long time eventually though when I was outside I just laid on the deck because I realized it could be kinda boring after you sniffed everything.
My mom was sitting on the couch when I came inside, so I ran over bouncing along I kinda tripped over my ears on the way, but I jumped up on the couch and got right beside my mom and snuggled up and lay down and once again fell asleep. I woke up, and the lights were out my mom's door was shut, so I guess I was all alone in there. Then I heard a creak I had seen that the door was open so I went over to check it out. There was a strange man I had never seen before wearing all black I sniffed him i realized he was a bad man so i grabbed his leg biting him as hard as I could and did not let go my mom came out with a sharp thing in her hand and I heard her say “stay there the police are coming” then a few big men came in with a weird belt on with guns and knives I guess it was the police they grabbed the bad man and walked out with him. I was barking, but my mom was holding me back so I couldn't go anywhere.
The police guy came back to my mom and asked “how long was the man here?” she said my dog right here was barking and when I came out she had a hold of him. She wouldn't let go until I came and got her off. “Ok thank you, ma’am,” said the officer he also said “I'm gonna take this down to the station and right a report and I will call you soon,” and he walked out the door and left. My mom looked at me and started petting me, and in a high pitched voice she said “good girl!” and was petting me some more I said, “well I hope so my teeth hurt from holding on to that man.” She then got up and said good night and went into the room and shut the door. I was bored though I didn't want to go to sleep.
I went over to my toy box, and I pulled every single one of my toys out then I played with every one of them and after I finished I put them all back up in my toy box. I got really tired after I did that, so I laid on my bed for a few minutes then I got thirsty and wanted some water, I got up and walked over to my water and started slurping it up. There was a little bit of water on the floor so I licked it up so that my mom wouldn't get mad. The next morning when my mom got up she came in the living room with a sad face. I was wondering why though because my mom is never sad she's always happy and she always has a smile on her face.
I heard her talking on the phone and i heard her say “yes her last vet visit went good but then they found something when they checked her x-ray and resulted from a test they did on her they found out she had cancer but they said it was too late it had spread all over her body, and they said there was nothing that we could do. So we have to put her down in a few days because they said she most likely will suffer if we don't. It's so sad this girl didn't get to live her whole life she's only a puppy!:( I don't know what my mom's talking about but I'm gonna lay with her to make her feel better. A few hours later i started feeling really sick like not my usual self. I got up to try to walk but its like I just couldn't my mom then came over and picked me up with a tear in her eye and said: “I'm here for you” that made me feel really good. I felt really weak my mom gave me some food I just really didn't wanna eat it and I didn't feel like eating it either I guess I was just too weak :( I'm not so sure why I started feeling sick but I got really weak so fast I couldn't walk around anymore so I just layed on my bed most of the time. I just didn't feel like me. Lots of my favorite people came by to see me and they have done that a lot lately. I enjoyed getting to see everyone tho it made me feel better and even though I didn't feel my best it was still great. Later that night when my mom let us out I slowly walked outside but I couldn't go down the steps by myself so my mom came out to help me, so she picked me up and said “I’m here for you” I tried to give a sweet puppy smile as she took me down the steps. I did my business, and after that, my mom took me inside and put me on the couch next to her, and it felt good.:)
The next morning I was feeling a lot worse than I was the day before. My back legs just would not function, and I had barely slept the night before either. My mom came in the room crying and also she was talking on the phone. I don't know why she was crying she's done that a lot. I heard her say on the phone “ok 2? That sounds good” she then hung up the phone and was crying a lot more.She then came over to where I was on my bed, and she just lay down and hugged me, but she kept crying I wish I could make her stop it's sad. In a quiet voice, she whispered in my ear “ I'm here for you” I wish I could say something back because that makes me feel really good!:)
A lot later I was feeling dizzy and a lot just not myself my mom seemed a little better, but she still looked sad. All of a sudden the doorbell rang I couldn't get up to check to see who it was but I still watched the door very cautiously. My mom opened the door, and there was doctor pants man he walked over to me, and he said: “yea I think you have made the right decision she looks very pale and very weak poor thing.” He pulled out one of those big pointy things again, and he stuck it in my leg he said “there that should make her a little numb it also might make her a little woozy, but she's fine” I'm not sure what woozy means but I'm feeling that right now. My mom started crying again, and all of my favorite people started showing up they also had tears too. He then stuck another pointy thing in my leg and BOOM… it was like I felt all better! I felt great again I was so happy it was amazing! I saw someone laying on the ground that looks just like me but it was just a shell, and there were all my favorite people around me saying how I was such a good girl and is in a better place they all seemed sad but I just don't understand why because I felt a lot better and I was happy again! My shell was still laying there not moving at all. I went and sat by my mom like a good girl put my paw on her shoulder and said: “I'm here for you.”
North Hall Middle School
First Place
The Checker Game
October 2009. “Daddy where are we?” asked five-year-old Annie. She was riding in the front seat of her father’s grey 1998 Ford Pickup Truck. Today, her father was introducing her to a new world of poverty and sadness for the first time in her happy, innocent life.
He responded with, “Wait and see kid. We’re almost there.”
She strained to look at the abandoned buildings and the graffiti stained walls. They pulled into a gravel lot under a large bridge. She had never been in such a place before that day, and it was fascinating to her. Under the bridge, there was a small path leading to a many blocked up areas. They were living places for a homeless community. Each sleeping place was guarded with colorful blankets. She quickly clicked her seatbelt and pulled at it. Then, her father, Christopher, came around her side to open the door for her. As soon as he did, she bounded out.
She didn’t seem to notice the other cars parked around her, or the familiar faces from their church gathered around a roaring fire. But she did become quickly fascinated with a very large black man sitting alone at an ancient picnic table, eating the food provided by her father and his friends. The man seemed very hungry, almost starving. The blonde little girl peered cautiously at him from behind her father who had moved closer to the man. She wondered if she should go and talk to the big man, but it didn’t take that curly headed girl long to make up her mind. Before her dad knew what she was planning to do, the girl made her way to the worn-out picnic table. She climbed up on the bench, swung her legs over, but kept her distance.
“Hi, my name is Annie. What’s yours?” she said extending her tiny hand to him.
The big man turned his head in surprise. No one ever spoke to him, they just pretended he wasn’t there. They acted like the world would be a better place if people just forgot he exists, but he could see why. He had worn the same clothes for weeks and smelled terrible. His teeth were rotten and his face was unwashed. Annie didn’t notice all these things, she was five. All she saw was opportunity to start a new friendship.
He replied, “I’m Rickie,” and continued eating.
He didn’t know how to talk to a little girl, he hadn’t spoken to one in years. Yet Annie didn’t give up.
“What’s your favorite food? Mine is chicken nuggets,” she said with a wide smile.
Rickie noticed her two front teeth were missing and couldn’t help but showing a little grin.
He dropped his sandwich in the checkered basket, and told her, “I don’t know, but I sure am enjoying this barbeque.”
She giggled and slided closer to him.
She continued with her questions, “What do you do for fun around here?”
He chewed quietly for a minute thinking about her question. In all honesty, Rickie didn’t do anything but drink. He had have several jobs here and there, just enough to buy his next drink of alcohol. That’s all he had ever known to do for 35 years. Then, he remembered the last present he had ever received. For his 25th birthday he had received a checkers set. He still had it in his sack of scattered possessions.
He replied to her, “I play checkers.”
Later, Annie silently followed Rickie around while he talked to other people that lived under the bridge. It was so odd to her how life was here. She had never experienced such a thing before, and she remembered every tiny detail. She quickly became attached to Rickie, even though he barely said anything to her in the hours she had visited him that day. Annie did this every Sunday night for a month, and her dad noticed it.
One day, he questioned Annie, “Why do you follow that man around?
And she answered, “Because he’s my friend.”
The weekend before Thanksgiving Annie and Rickie were sitting on the metal folding chairs in front of the fire warming their freezing fingers.
“Rickie,” Annie started, “do you remember that checkerboard you were telling me about?” Rickie slowly nodded. “Do you think you can teach me how to play?”
Rickie quickly jumped up and retreated to his sleeping area. He returned a few minutes later with a beat-up box.
He said, “Come over here and we can play.”
He motioned to the picnic table where they had met and set down the box. Annie followed the man and sat down across from him. She curiously grabbed the box from its spot in the center of the table and popped the lid off. Inside there was a folded-up board and underneath it laid the treasured red and black checker pieces.
She immediately went for the red checker pieces and blabbed, “Can I be red? Please? Red is really close to pink and pink is my favorite color.
“Hush child and let me explain the game to you,” Rickie said to her.
He began to set up the board.
“The objective here is to get my checkers. My checkers are the black disks and yours are the red ones. It’s all about st---.”
Rickie’s face went completely blank before he could finish his sentence.
Annie saw the right side of his body go completely numb, and she began to cry.
Christopher noticed and ran to Rickie’s side. From years as working as a neurosurgeon Christopher had learned to remain calm in disastrous situations, and he knew exactly what to do. He reached for his phone hidden in his black sweatpants and dialed 9-1-1. When a lady picked up he didn’t wait for her to speak.
He said chopply, “A man has is having a stroke. I am under Queen City Parkway Bridge in Gainesville. Please hurry.”
For the next few minutes, Annie couldn’t see anything. Her tears made everything blurry, and she could only make up shapes. When the ambulance pulled into the gravel lot, Annie cried harder. The sound of the big red truck sounded like screaming to her. Annie was petrified. She watched with tear streaked cheeks as the paramedics put Rickie on a stretcher and lifted him into the back of the vehicle. Her father jumped in with them, picking up Annie from the ground. On the way to the hospital, the little girl fell asleep in her father's arms.
Annie woke up in a beige chair. She was in a room with white walls and checkered tiled floors. The floors reminded her of Rickie, and she began to worry again. The little girl looked around the room and saw many others sitting in chairs exactly like hers. She spotted her father across the room at a rounded desk in the front of the room.
“Please, ma’am, let me in. I’m a surgeon here,” Christopher pleaded.
The lady replied, “Fine, but show me you’re North Georgia Hospital badge.”
He reached deep into his pocket until his fingers touched the medal clip of the badge. He pulled out the laminated white slip with his name, picture, and a barcode.
“Here.” Christopher shoved it into her hands.
The lady nodded and pushed a green button behind the door.
“Room 296.”
Annie’s dad waved her over towards them, and she quickly got up and scurried across the room. He grabbed her hand and pushed open the doors. The two walked up a flight of stairs with chipping white paint. They walked out into a hallway with wooden doors lining both sides of the hallway. Christopher let go of his little girl’s hand and stopped in front of one of the doors. He stood there for a moment and studied the number on the wall. While waiting patiently, Annie wondered if this room was where the paramedics took Rickie. Christopher took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times.
Rickie’s quiet voice rose from beneath the door, “Come in.”
Christopher firmly grasped the door’s cold handle and opened it. Annie ran inside to hear many beeping machines places around Rickie’s bed. She saw tubes extending from them into his arms and a white monitor clipped on his finger. The little girl’s heart started racing, and she froze. Her father placed his hand on her shoulder and nudged her forward. She went up to Rickie and gingerly gave him a hug. Christopher sat down in one of the grey chairs, and Annie stood beside the bed. The doctor soon came in to give Rickie’s health report. Christopher shook hands with the doctor when she approached him. He recognized her and knew she was Dr. Cheshire.
“Annie,” Christopher said, “go wait outside.”
“But dad,” she protested.
Christopher pointed to the door and gave her a stern look. Grudgingly, Annie stomped out of the room.
Christopher turned towards Rickie and said, “Rickie, this is Dr. Cheshire. She is going to be taking care of you. Don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”
Still very weak, Rickie struggle to lift his head off the pillow.
He asked, “What’s going to happen to me doc?”
Dr. Cheshire replied, “It seems you have had a stroke caused by Atrial Fibrillation. Atrial Fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that led to blood clots in your heart. These blood clots reached your brain and caused a stroke. Atrial Fibrillation was triggered by excessive amounts of alcohol. You are very lucky, it was only a minor stroke. Next time, it could be a lot worse.”
A scared look appeared on Rickie’s face.
“Next time?” Rickie questioned.
He looked at Christopher for help.
Christopher said, “Rickie, the doctors have noticed the large amounts of alcohol in your system. If you don’t quit now, it’s going to happen again.”
Rickie looked utterly defeated.
“Mr. Christopher, I’ve been drinking for 35 years because it’s the only thing that can help me escape from my miseries. How I am supposed to stop cold turkey?” Rickie asked.
Christopher answered, “Annie and I will help you.”
Christopher discussed the possible solutions with Rickie. The most effective one being staying at a rehab center. Christopher offered to pay for it, and Rickie agreed to the terms.
Christopher found a good rehab center for Rickie to stay in. After three days in the hospital, Christopher and Annie drove him to his new living place. While in the car, Annie had a worried look on her face.
“Daddy, who’s going to go get Rickie’s checkerboard?” Annie asked.
Rickie chuckled and said, “Don’t you worry about my board child. Your daddy’s has already done enough for me.”
“But Rickie how are you gonna teach me how to play checkers?”
Rickie responded, “How are you going to have time when you start school in the fall?”
The truck was silent for a while until Annie said, “We’ll come visit you. I promise.”
The center was painted an outrageous color of pink. Christopher held Annie’s hand and followed Rickie into the building. When they walked in, Annie imagined it as a hotel. Christopher shook hands with a smiling woman with blonde hair. Annie couldn’t hear the conversation, but she did hear the lady say something about Rickie’s possessions. Then red started to trickle into his cheeks. A few minutes later, Christopher and Annie went back to the car. The two bought many things at various different places. They purchased a comforter, blankets, pillows, and they even stopped at the bank.
Annie asked her father, “Where are we going now?”
He told her, “Back to the pink building to give Rickie these things.”
“Daddy, is Rickie going to stay there?” she questioned.
“Yes baby. He’s going to stay there until he gets better,” he said.
After a week of not seeing Rickie, Annie begged her father to take her to the pink rehab center. After agreeing to take her, she also demanded that they go buy a checkerboard for Rickie to keep. She had her heart set on bringing Rickie a checkerboard and she would not have it any other way. Once she gave Rickie the checkerboard that she begged for, he taught her how to play checkers. When she started Kindergarten, Annie would go to see Rickie every day after school. Rickie never let Annie win, not even once.
He told her, “Annie this is the thing that I treasure above anything else in the world. When you love something this much, you should never let anyone take it from you.”
But checkers wasn’t really his treasure, Annie was.
Rachel Hall
DaVinci Academy
Second Place
The Letter
This was the most nervous I had been in a while. I was so nervous that my teeth were chattering and my hands were shaking. I wasn’t 100% confident that I got in. I tried my hardest and worked day and night on the application. I was afraid that other kids would be better than me and I would barely miss getting in. It was a possibility, but either way, I tried my hardest.
“It will all be okay. You know that no matter what that letter says, I will be proud of you for trying your hardest.” My mom comforted me.
I took a deep breath in. I closed my eyes and imagined what would happen when I opened the letter. The letter that would change how I spent the next three years of my life. The letter that would change what college I might go to. The letter that would tell me whether or not I got into the school that I had been working so hard for.
I had gone through an application and a three part interview to apply to this middle school. They only accepted about 80 kids a year and I was determined to be one of them. This letter contained the answer to whether or not I got in..
I had always been a few steps ahead of my class. I even got asked to skip kindergarten (even though I didn’t). In this school, everyone would be that one kid who was always ahead. They move fast, like me. I would be able to learn 7th grade material in 6th grade. This was the perfect school.
Like everyone else, there were a couple things I had trouble with, but I persevered. I thought back to the time in kindergarten when my teacher confronted me about how I held my scissors. “Rachel, turn your hand. You shouldn’t have to turn your wrist that far to cut in a straight line.” I turned my hand around and tried to cut. My teacher smiled at me. The line was as jagged as a lion’s teeth. It looked absolutely terrible. When my teacher saw it, she assigned a girl named Rowan to help me. Rowan guided my hand and helped me to cut the line straighter than I had before.
For the next couple of days, Rowan helped me and eventually, I was able to hold the scissors correctly and cut in a straight line. At the beginning, I was convinced that I would keep holding the scissors the way I had been holding them, but when I tried holding them the correct way, I realized it was easier to cut. Even though I couldn’t cut in a straight line at first, I worked hard at it and by the end, I held them correctly and I could cut in a straight line.
My mom reached out the car window and opened the shiny black mailbox. She pulled out a stack of white envelopes and placed them on the console in between us. She carefully turned into the rocky driveway and drove up into the garage.
It was a bright and sunny day outside. The sun was shining and the blue sky was cloudless. It was a happy day. My step dad was out working in his office in Denver, Colorado. He wouldn’t be back until tomorrow and my dad was also at work.
I grabbed the stack of mail and looked at who each envelope was from. Bill after bill after bill. Was that all the mail we got? Finally, at the bottom of the stack, I found the one I was looking for. It was from the school.
“I found the letter! It’s right here!” I exclaimed.
”Good sweetie! Wait until we get inside and then we can sit down and open it.” She told me.
I raced up the small red brick stairs and burst through the kitchen door. Our three little dogs came running to greet me. I sat down at the table and waited for my mom to get inside. I put the envelope on the table and I was trying my hardest to resist the urge of opening it.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She said to me.
I took a deep breath and ran my finger along the envelope. I pulled out the letter and unfolded it. I started to read it outloud.
“Dear Mrs and Mr. Fortune, we are pleased to inform you….. Yes! I got in!” I flew out of the chair like a rocket and gave my mom a big hug.
“I knew you could do it!” My face was a red as a tomato and I was smiling from ear to ear. I called my dad and my step dad to let them know the good news. They both had the same reaction that my mom did.
“I’m so proud of you!” My dad told me over the phone. After I had talked to both of them, my mom and I decided to go out to dinner to celebrate.
We went to Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant. My mom even let me order dessert. Even though I wish my step dad and my dad could have been there, my mom and I had a great time celebrating my big achievement.
There were a lot of times that I cried and argued with my mom during the process. All of those moments made my application better and I worked harder to fix mistakes.
I remembered one of the worst moments in the process. I had just written about the first place that I wanted to go for my application. It was skimpy and did not go into much detail. When my mom saw it, her eyes got wide. “You really want to turn this in? If this is the kind of work you are going to do, then why are you even applying?” Tears started to stream down my face. “I worked hard on this.” I said. She gave me a look of disbelief. We started arguing to the point where I stormed off.
On this day, I learned that if I worked hard and persevered, I could do anything that I put my mind to.
Madalyn Lilly
South Hall Middle School
Third Place
My Final Days
Wow! There’s so much to see! I'm so glad I finally got adopted.I hated being stuck in that shelter there were some people who came by every once in a while, but I only got a few pets but then…… my owner came along she couldn’t take her eyes off me. Then she signed the papers and brought me out the door! I'm so excited to finally have a place to call home.
The car ride home was ok I got a little scared, so my mom held me the rest of the way home. When we got to my new house my mom opened the door, and I jumped out I was so happy! My mom made me use the bathroom first, so she said “go pee cutie” I squatted and did my business, as we were walking to the door I heard loud barking “great they have more dogs”I thought to myself, she opened the door and here comes running out two gigantic dogs I got scared so I ran after my mom she picked me up and carried me inside, thankfully she put the big dogs outside.
She let me down to explore I was so excited because there was so much to sniff and play with. I found a fluffy bed, so I snuggled up and fell asleep. I woke up after a while, and I didn't see anybody, so I was playing with my chew toys just gnawing away on them. Then my mom walked in the front door with a lot of bags in her hand. She pulled out some toys, food, bowls, collar and a leash, and a small fluffy dog bed for me. It was later in the evening, and my owners were getting ready for bed I was playing with the other too big dogs and a chew toy. I heard her yell “come here, boys!’ and both of the big dogs went running in the room and the door slowly shut.
My mom finally walked out of the room after a while, and she called me by a name “Gracie” I guess that's my name now, so I went running over to her she picked me up and carried me into the same room as the two big dogs. They were on a dog bed though; I got to sleep on the big bed. My mom said “hop up,” and I jumped up got my comfy spot snuggled up and fell asleep. The next morning when we woke up we all got to go in the backyard I walked out and stretched my legs then took off like a lightning bolt down the steps and into the backyard. There was so much to sniff and play with the other dogs were just laying there I was actually having fun! Then my mom called us all up so we all raced up the steps as fast as we could. When we got inside my mom opened a bag of dog food and split it into 3 bowls. She gave the other two dogs theirs in the kitchen she picked me up and took me in the living room put down my food and water and walked away. I sat there and stared at it for a minute but gosh it looked good, so I started chomping down on it right away! After I finished, i heard my mom say we were going somewhere, so I got ready to go.
My mom put a cute little jacket on me, but it feels kinda weird, and it's uncomfortable, but I'll get used to it. We walked out the front door burrrrrrr….. Its really cold outside maybe that's why my mom put a jacket on me. My feet were getting really cold, so my mom picked me up and carried me the rest of the way to the car. The two big dogs were also coming along too but they had to ride in the backseat I got to ride in the front seat the whole way there. When we got there my mom opened the door, and I jumped out of the car, but a leash pulled me back, so I sat like a good girl and waited. We walked into this weird place I think it was a thing called a “vet” because my mom kept saying that over and over. When we got to the room, i was first, so they picked me up and put me on this long metal table thingy and were checking my feet, mouth, eyes, ears everything! Then the doctor pants man came in and then poked me with this big pointy thing. Ouch! It hurt really bad. The other dogs got the same thing to finally we were walking out the door. When we got back in the car finally I heard my mom say “time to go home” I got so excited my whole body was shaking! I get to play with my chew toys and lay on my bed im so happy! When we got home, i jumped out of the car head high and tail wagging and ran happily inside I ran and grabbed my chew toys and layed down. I got up after a while and stretched my legs my mom was in the kitchen making something and you mmm it smelled good I sat by her feet and hoped she would drop something. She finally looked at me, and I gave her the sad “ I haven't eaten in days” look, and she dropped some. It was delicious bacon! Wow! It was really good. She gave me more bacon than she finally said “enough with the cute face you have to go outside” she gave the other two dogs a treat and she then sent us all outside. I got so excited I love going outside there's so much to explore. When I was in the shelter, i couldn't really do much but sleep eat and get pets every once in a while. I'm really glad to have a home. My mom let us in after a long time eventually though when I was outside I just laid on the deck because I realized it could be kinda boring after you sniffed everything.
My mom was sitting on the couch when I came inside, so I ran over bouncing along I kinda tripped over my ears on the way, but I jumped up on the couch and got right beside my mom and snuggled up and lay down and once again fell asleep. I woke up, and the lights were out my mom's door was shut, so I guess I was all alone in there. Then I heard a creak I had seen that the door was open so I went over to check it out. There was a strange man I had never seen before wearing all black I sniffed him i realized he was a bad man so i grabbed his leg biting him as hard as I could and did not let go my mom came out with a sharp thing in her hand and I heard her say “stay there the police are coming” then a few big men came in with a weird belt on with guns and knives I guess it was the police they grabbed the bad man and walked out with him. I was barking, but my mom was holding me back so I couldn't go anywhere.
The police guy came back to my mom and asked “how long was the man here?” she said my dog right here was barking and when I came out she had a hold of him. She wouldn't let go until I came and got her off. “Ok thank you, ma’am,” said the officer he also said “I'm gonna take this down to the station and right a report and I will call you soon,” and he walked out the door and left. My mom looked at me and started petting me, and in a high pitched voice she said “good girl!” and was petting me some more I said, “well I hope so my teeth hurt from holding on to that man.” She then got up and said good night and went into the room and shut the door. I was bored though I didn't want to go to sleep.
I went over to my toy box, and I pulled every single one of my toys out then I played with every one of them and after I finished I put them all back up in my toy box. I got really tired after I did that, so I laid on my bed for a few minutes then I got thirsty and wanted some water, I got up and walked over to my water and started slurping it up. There was a little bit of water on the floor so I licked it up so that my mom wouldn't get mad. The next morning when my mom got up she came in the living room with a sad face. I was wondering why though because my mom is never sad she's always happy and she always has a smile on her face.
I heard her talking on the phone and i heard her say “yes her last vet visit went good but then they found something when they checked her x-ray and resulted from a test they did on her they found out she had cancer but they said it was too late it had spread all over her body, and they said there was nothing that we could do. So we have to put her down in a few days because they said she most likely will suffer if we don't. It's so sad this girl didn't get to live her whole life she's only a puppy!:( I don't know what my mom's talking about but I'm gonna lay with her to make her feel better. A few hours later i started feeling really sick like not my usual self. I got up to try to walk but its like I just couldn't my mom then came over and picked me up with a tear in her eye and said: “I'm here for you” that made me feel really good. I felt really weak my mom gave me some food I just really didn't wanna eat it and I didn't feel like eating it either I guess I was just too weak :( I'm not so sure why I started feeling sick but I got really weak so fast I couldn't walk around anymore so I just layed on my bed most of the time. I just didn't feel like me. Lots of my favorite people came by to see me and they have done that a lot lately. I enjoyed getting to see everyone tho it made me feel better and even though I didn't feel my best it was still great. Later that night when my mom let us out I slowly walked outside but I couldn't go down the steps by myself so my mom came out to help me, so she picked me up and said “I’m here for you” I tried to give a sweet puppy smile as she took me down the steps. I did my business, and after that, my mom took me inside and put me on the couch next to her, and it felt good.:)
The next morning I was feeling a lot worse than I was the day before. My back legs just would not function, and I had barely slept the night before either. My mom came in the room crying and also she was talking on the phone. I don't know why she was crying she's done that a lot. I heard her say on the phone “ok 2? That sounds good” she then hung up the phone and was crying a lot more.She then came over to where I was on my bed, and she just lay down and hugged me, but she kept crying I wish I could make her stop it's sad. In a quiet voice, she whispered in my ear “ I'm here for you” I wish I could say something back because that makes me feel really good!:)
A lot later I was feeling dizzy and a lot just not myself my mom seemed a little better, but she still looked sad. All of a sudden the doorbell rang I couldn't get up to check to see who it was but I still watched the door very cautiously. My mom opened the door, and there was doctor pants man he walked over to me, and he said: “yea I think you have made the right decision she looks very pale and very weak poor thing.” He pulled out one of those big pointy things again, and he stuck it in my leg he said “there that should make her a little numb it also might make her a little woozy, but she's fine” I'm not sure what woozy means but I'm feeling that right now. My mom started crying again, and all of my favorite people started showing up they also had tears too. He then stuck another pointy thing in my leg and BOOM… it was like I felt all better! I felt great again I was so happy it was amazing! I saw someone laying on the ground that looks just like me but it was just a shell, and there were all my favorite people around me saying how I was such a good girl and is in a better place they all seemed sad but I just don't understand why because I felt a lot better and I was happy again! My shell was still laying there not moving at all. I went and sat by my mom like a good girl put my paw on her shoulder and said: “I'm here for you.”