The Case of Big Hex

Our brother Yonas dictated this to me and I typed it. It is a piece of Nate the Great fan fiction.

By Yonas Romberg



    Once there was a boy. His name was Nate. He was sleeping on his bed. Suddenly somebody called him. It was Rosamond. One of her cats was lost. It was Big Hex. He said, "Which cat?"

"Big Hex," Rosamond said.

"Should I come to your house?"

"Yes. Yes you should."

So Nate came to Rosamond's house. He saw that one of Rosamond's cats was missing.

"Where did you see him the last time you saw him?"

"On my bed."

"Where should I look?"

"Just call Annie."

"Are you sure that you saw him in your bed?"

"I'm sure I'm sure. Well, I think I'm sure."

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

"No you can't. We're in the middle of a case, Nate."

"Well, when will the case be over, Rosamond?" Nate said.

"It will be over in the morning."

"When is the morning?" Nate said.

"Soon."

"When is soon?"

"We're trying to find Big Hex."

"Where does Big Hex like to go?"

"Under the chair."

"What chair?"

"The chair that you're staring at."

"Oh. That chair. Then let's look under the chair."

"Oh. That's a great idea. I never knew I'd think of that."

Nate and Rosamond looked under the chair. They didn't find Big Hex there.

"Now can I go to sleep?"

"You're great, Nate. But no."

"I just want to say this. Fang ate him."

He had kept it a secret because it would freak her out and she would cry and he didn't want to see Rosamond cry.

Nate said, "Let's look for Plain Hex, even though we're staring at him. But, if you want to see him, that would be really weird, because he's still alive, but it doesn't show his fur, just his bones."

Rosamond begged her cats to find another Big Hex. The cats went to the pet shop. They just walked in. They didn't see the No Cats Allowed sign. When they walked in, they didn't notice there was a big fat man chasing them. Until they looked behind them. They just started chasing the fat man until Rosamond saw it. She screamed. Rosamond just grabbed part of a shelf and banged it on the fat man. The fat man fell down on his big fat butt. But thankfully the cats were still alive. The man just flopped down dead.

And then Rosamond took her cats back home. Then Rosamond told Nate that he could go home and go back to sleep. So Nate went to bed. He was dreaming about the fat man, dead. He was dreaming about the fat man being his father.

                  The end

Swift Wind's Escape Part 1

 

BY EDEN ROMBERG

 

 

SWIFT WIND sneaked toward the exit “Another successful trip!”  She headed to door, but a noise stopped her. “Where are you going?”  Ever Green stepped into her way “Sister”  “Get out of my way, you trader!”  A wave of guarded sadness washed over him. “Swift Wind, I needed to!”  “For what? To kill your own mother? And you didn’t think for a second that she was my mother to!”   “It’s my duty!”  He grabbed her arm, and tried shoved her in the prison, and he did, with much trouble.  He ran out, slamming the door behind him, and broke down in tears.

                    *                        *                    *

It was cold, dark, and terrible. She had never been caught before, and it was a humbling experience. As a spy, she was very well taught, and she did not panic. She remembered Coach Jagged Bird’s words. “Panicking is worse than giving yourself away by going out and screaming at the top of your lungs” So she carefully looked at her surroundings. It was a huge place, with walls that must have been fifty feet high. Dead bugs littered the ground, and an assortment of Elf bones. Those made even Swift Wind shudder.  “You cannot be scared, you must not panic” she told herself, but she still felt herself shiver and begin to fret. “Stop it!” she repeated again and again. She studied the room once more, and saw some old boxes and rope. She started to calm down. I can get out easily with those, wait, too easily.  She began to hyperventilate. They must be watching me!  Swift Wind cried. She had never done that before, and in the past, she had many reasons to. Like the time her mother died because of her brother, when, at eight years old, she had been shot by an arrow, that’s how she lost her right hand, and her baby sister was kidnaped, and never seen again. So, at first she didn’t know what was happing. When she realized, she slapped herself. Never cry, it makes breathing harder, she scolded, then, what will I do? If only Ever Green just let me go, I would be at camp right now, probably having dinner, telling everyone what I learned!  What did I learn? Other than how much food they have in stock, not much. She walked around her prison, to the boxes and ropes were sitting. As she examined them, a hissing sound came from one of the crates. A snake’s head poked through it. “Argg!” she screeched, and jumped back, hitting her head on something, and the world went black.

 

It was Sweet Leaf! Her little sister! But she was tied to a tree, like the ones they lived in. “Moo-Maa!” she called, that was her name for Swift Wind. She raced toward her, but was stopped by Ever Green. “Don’t touch her!”  She raced past him and stopped by the tree.  Sweet Leaf was laughing, holding out her chubby little arms in happiness. “Moo-Maa!”  She said again, but she was fading. Swift Wind tried to grasp her, but no luck, Sweet Leaf was gone. 

My Dream

By Ava Romberg

This is based off a dream I had.



It is late at night in the small town. It is dark everywhere, except for one little shop, where the lights are still shining. Inside, half a dozen adults are finishing up their meal, while a young girl gets her hair cut. There is very little room in this town, and you can often find two businesses in the same building.

Then, when no one expects it, the door opens. In walks a woman. She is tall, and wearing a long black dress that no one had ever seen the likes of around here. Walking to the front, she reaches out her hand and speaks two words.

"The usual." Her voice is tired and lonely.

And although no one here knows who she is, much less her usual late night meal, the man behind the counter reaches down, and when he comes up, he has in his hands a salad and a small box. He sets them on the counter. Then he removes his uniform. Everyone watches as he walks out the door. Then he is gone. Taking them from the counter, the stranger sits down. As if something about her were repelling, all other customers hurriedly gulp down their food and leave. Now it is only the barber, the stranger, and the little girl. When she is done, the woman stands up. She tucks the empty salad bowl and the box into her dress, and steps through the door, just like the cook before her.

"And without even paying," mutters the barber. The girl just looks at him. She is still too young to understand. There are no visitors here. No one sets foot here unless it is their home. The barber continues to trim the little girl's hair, and her dark waves fall to the floor like autumn leaves in the wind.

Exactly one minute passes. Then an eerie noise rises up from the night. A terrible, frightened scream. Then the lights go out in the shop. The girl looks up, her eyes wide. She starts to cry. The barber tries to calm her, but he is shaking too. Eventually, someone calls the ambulance. The scream has stopped now, and the barber hears the sirens in the darkness outside their small refuge.

Outside, along the road out of town, the ambulance drivers find the body. They load it into the back of the car, even though they know there is no hope. Whatever had happened, it was fatal. Paying no attention to the intricately carved wooden box or shards of a ceramic salad bowl, they drive away. The next day, the hospital closed down and no living soul ever saw those ambulance drivers again.

Every year after that, for decades, the scream echoed again, just as the barber and the little girl had first heard it. It became a local holiday, and young boys and girls would stay up late into the night with their parents and join the circle of citizens holding hands around the spot where the scream had first been made, listening as it wailed. At first, locals thought it was a ghost. Then they figured it was naughty boys playing a joke. But, as the story spread, everyone came to believe what had really happened that night, long ago. For the first eight years or so, it scared them. They would form a hand holding circle only out of respect, and fear of what might happen if they didn't. But then the locals began bringing food and desert and music, and they started to enjoy and look forward to it. And then, one year, the scream never came.

      

Good Inside

By Ava Romberg



It wasn't supposed to turn out this way. I ended up losing three best friends who I had known since fourth grade, but in the end I made another. And she was a true friend. Unlike me. It all started on the playground last fall…

We were sitting under the slide, (or the hideout, as it was affectionately called by the rest of our school,) picking out our new target. Then we saw her. Laurie. She was so perfect, nothing could overstate it. Small and skinny, no sense of fashion, shy, and just plain… what's the word, well, Laurie was pick-on-able. Yeah, I know, not a word. Josie made it up. It means just what it sounds like. But it described her perfectly. Mill was the first to spot her.

"Oh my G-O-S-H!" She whispered. That was like her catchphrase, 'oh my g-o-s-h'. I even heard a couple of boys playing a 'guess who I am' game during recess. One says "Okay, my turn!" Then he starts smacking his lips like he's chewing gum, puts his hands on his hips, and says "Oh my G-O-S-H!" His friend immediately yells "MILL THE PILL!!" That's what they call her. Her real name is Millicent, but if you call her that, you're really in for it. Like when people call me Maxine instead of Max. Anyway, back to Laurie. We all turned our heads around and look at her. An unspoken agreement takes place, and we all put our hands in and say "YES!" Then we high-five each other and smile. Just when we're about to put our plan into action, the bell rings.

"Saved by the bell, Laurie." Said Josie ominously. I can't count how many times I've thought this, but I thought it again just then. I'm so glad I'm one of them.

Recess the next day we're ready to start. Mill, Josie, and Lu look at me.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

I scan the playground for Laurie. Locating her by the monkey bars, I head that way. When they see me, kids scatter. Lu always says that doing this will bring us respect. I think it's more like fear, but I learned the hard way that I should keep my mouth shut. That was a long time ago. We're all equals now. Within our group, at least.

When I reach the monkey bars, I smile and say, "Hey! Laurie right? Cool! Do you want to come to my house after school?" She's new in town, and I guess no one has told her about us yet. That made me kind of mad for some reason, that no one cared to warn her, but I snuffed it out. That would just makes her all the more perfect.

Laurie smiles nervously and says, "Uh, hi. I-I would love to come to your house, if that's okay with you."

Oh, I think, you don't know how okay it is! But I don't say that. Instead I tell her that it's fine, and I'll see her then.

My crew is overjoyed. They grin and high-five me and tell me that I'm a genius. Their praise feels so good, I'm almost willing to do anything for it. Almost.

And so for the next year, all the joys of friendship were ours. I lost contact with the group at school and only met them other places. That way Laurie wouldn't get suspicious. We had sleepovers and went to movies, had parties and pizza. I was invited to her birthday celebration, and she came to mine. Lazy afternoons in the park after school, and visits to each other's houses to do homework. It was great. I' d never had a real friend like Laurie. Every day I would have to scold myself and drill it into my head that Laurie was not my friend. It was just pretend. At school we sat and ate lunch together. Kids looked at us like we were alien invaders or zombies from some horror movie. We told each other secrets, and even though I wasn't supposed to, I found myself actually enjoying her company. I did keep a journal of everything she said that I could share with Mill, Josie and Lu when the year was up.

But it wasn't all fun and games. At night I would toss and turn, dreading the day that I would have to betray someone. That's what it was now, someone. More and more I was considering leaving my friends. Because I was starting to realize something. They were bullies. I was a bully. And I didn't like that. It wasn't who I wanted to be, not how I wanted to live. I knew that either way, my choice would bring me grief. It would be hard. I wished that the last day of school would never come.

As I learned, time stops for no one, and it most certainly did not stop for me. I had cried myself to sleep the night before. It felt strange. I did not cry very often. When I woke up my face was red and blotchy. I kept my head down as I gulped down my pancakes. Every time Mom asked how I was feeling, I just grunted. I still hadn't decided what to do. I yearned to tell her, but I couldn't do that without revealing what I had done. Or could I?

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes, Maxie?" That was her pet name for me.

"I was wanting to ask you something. In this book I was reading, a girl, well, she was with this group of … mean kids and she was pretending to be another kid's friend. But now she really likes this kid and wants to keep being her friend, but if she does the mean kids will kick her out and bully her. But the if she tells the other kid what was really going on, then the kid will be sad and the girl doesn't want that to happen and she doesn't know what to do. So, I was just wondering what you think the girl should do."

My mom looked at me. "I think that the girl should follow what her heart says to do."

"Yeah, thanks, Mom. Gotta go."

I picked up my backpack and went to school. I was pondering my mom's advice the whole way. Follow what her heart says to do. What her heart says to do.

Realizing that I was almost there, I slowed my footsteps. It was too late. I saw them, waiting, beckoning me. With a heavy heart, I walked toward them.

"Hey!" They greeted me with smiles. "Today's the big day! You were SO great!"

"Thanks," I mumbled, not meaning it.

"Oh my G-O-S-H!!!! Here she comes!"

Mill was right. As I turned I saw Laurie skipping over to us.

"Hi, Max!"

"Hey," I said.

Josie shoved me from behind. "Go on!" she whispered.

I took a deep breath. "Laurie, I have something to tell you. This whole time…" I trailed off, not able to form the words. I could sense Mill, Lu, and Josie behind me, excitement in the air around them.

"Yeah? What is it?" Laurie asked.

"I made a mistake!" I blurted out. "I was pretending to be your friend this whole time. Just for this moment! To see how sad it made you." I hated the look on her face. It was the look of someone who had been betrayed. Tears were forming in my eyes. "I was wrong! You were…are, a better friend than these-these bullies!"

I felt a shove from behind. I fell into the dirt.

Lu kicked me. "You double-crossing fool!" She stuck out her tongue at me.

"Yeah!" said Mill. "Don't worry, this isn't the end! We'll be back!" Together they ran away, back to the hideout and started whispering amongst themselves. That left me and the person who I most and least wanted to see right now. Laurie leaned over and pulled me to my feet.

"Is it true?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Were you really just pretending to be my friend?"

"At first. But after a while I realized that I really did like you. I'm so, so, so, so, sorry. Can you ever forgive me? We don't even have to be friends any more. Just tell me that you believe me when I say I'm sorry. Please."

Laurie stared at me. "Really? That's all you want? For me to believe you?"

"Yes. That's all I need."

"Need and want are different," she said. "What do you want? The truth."

"For us to be friends." I made a promise to myself that if she would at least forgive me I would burn the notebook full of her embarrassing moments and secret thoughts.

"I'll forgive you if you promise never to do that again."

I smiled and hugged her. "I do." Then I stepped away to look at her. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

I wasn't even worried about Mill and the rest of them. Because I knew that after this, I would have the strength to stand up to them, and anyone else who tried to get in the way of two best friends. And I don't know, but I think there's still hope for Josie, Mill, and Lu. I think they're still good inside.