Fiction 59: kid winners

First place

Free Food

Sam walked into Costco for his sixth batch of samples, trembling with his stolen Costco card. Getting strange looks, drooling for steak. I guess it’s time for Trader Joe’s, he thought. Police circling the building. Sam skipped to his borrowed car. Thinking of the food in jail, he put his hands up, into the cool night air. “I surrender!”

-Cedar Bailey

The Bailey family is all over this Fiction 59 issue—Cedar here in kids, his brother Colin in the junior high division (second place and honorable mention), and dad Scott (who is also the teacher for the Table Mountain School students who entered the contest) over in the adult honorable mentions. Cedar says he loves to play soccer and read as well as play chess with his brother. And it’s no accident that he’s taken the top two spots this year; he was so into to the contest that he wrote 16 stories, choosing the best three for submission.

Hurt Laughing

Frank had broken his funny bone, a compound fracture, doing the dishes. He walked into doctor Joe’s office, laughing even though he was hurting. Joe had a confused face.

“I think I broke my funny bone.”

Joe, still confused, said, “I’ll give you a prescription.” It read: pet 3 dogs a day, eat 7 jelly beans every two days.

-Cedar Bailey

Courage

“Run!” I thought, “They’re after me!” Who, you ask? The twelve roosters. One was yellow, spiky feathers on his back and head, another was red, staring at me first with his good eye, then his lazy eye. I put a fist to my mouth and used it as a horn. “Go!” I screamed. They left. I felt so relieved.

-Avriella Whiteley

Avriella Whiteley comes from another family of CN&R writing contest regulars. Not only have Avriella and her mom, AnnMarie, been published in previous years, this year sister Aubrey got an honorable mention in the high school division. In addition to writing, Avriella says she most enjoys climbing things and drawing.

The Mindful Sled

On cold winter nights, my sled will unthaw itself and go on a ride down the sledding hill next to my house, being a total showoff, thrusting through the flaky snow, flying off jumps, then putting on booster rockets to fire itself up the hill, then slotting back into place, ready for another day at the hill with me.

-Axel Baker

The Moon's Dreams

One starlit night the moon opened her eyes and began to think about the sun, dreaming of the gay laughing rays of light flooding from the great ball of ignited flames. Then, as if hands were pushing her down, she began to sink though the sky. Before she reached the bottom she glimpsed upon the sun’s eyes. He winked.

-Savannah Cresswell

The Wolf

Every night I look out my window and wait for a loud howl, and when I hear one I sneak outside and I go to the scary dark forest. Then, when I see the wolf that’s howling, I hide behind a stump. Then it sees an owl. The owl gets scared and flies away. The wolf chases after it.

-Nina Westerdahl

Forest

As my soft feet hit the crunchy leaves it felt like I was sinking deeper. Every muscle in my body went numb.

My bare feet against the damp dirt felt a soft iridescent cloud. As I walked though the chilly forest I see leaves softly floating to the ground. Then a raindrop tumbles off my head hitting the ground.

-Aly Steveson

The Classroom

The classroom is dark inside. “You should not go in,” said a little boy.

“Why not?” said a girl in a coral white dandelion dress.

“’Cause it’s haunted.”

“Oh, no it’s not.”

So she walked cautiously and something jumped out and she froze. It was an old surgeon. She ran out and said, “I’m never going in there again.”

-Kaiya Struyf