Invisibility Ring

Sun pours through the grey curtains that hung in front of my bedroom window. A small sliver of yellow light made it's way to my bed and onto my face, causing me to open my eyes. I blink and look around my room and then at my window. It's the middle of summer in Newfoundland and the sun was shining bright. The sky, I saw was a light shade of blue and as far as I could tell, there were no clouds. I prop myself up on my hands and blink a few times, attempting to wake myself up.

Finally feeling awake enough to try getting ready, I place my feet on the comfort of the fluffy white rug on my floor and stand. My room hadn't changed much from when I'd rearranged the furniture at Christmas. My bed sits against one of the two outside walls, the only window to it's left. In front of my bed is my dresser and closet and to the right is the door to my bedroom.

Feeling more aware of my surroundings I make my way across the room towards my dresser; looking at the floor the whole time, not wanting to get blinded again by the sun. Finally looking up I did a double-take. My mirror is perched on-top of my dresser, usually I can see my whole face perfectly, but now there is empty space. Grasping the mirror with both hands I bring it close to my face, but I still see nothing. Still in shock, I place it back on the dresser and head to the bathroom. Maybe it's just my mirror that's warped.

Flipping on the light by the bathroom door I walk in and face the mirror. Nothing. I look down at myself and then back at the mirror. I'm shocked when I see that I can see myself. I'm still wearing my pajamas; a pair of flannel pants hang loosely from my waist along with a navy blue tank top. My typical sleeping attire.

I quickly take a shower, surprisingly easy, and get ready for school. I stop when I'm face to face with my closet. What do I wear? Will everyone only see the clothes and freak out? I decide that it's better to check and see. Putting on a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt I look in the mirror. Not completely shocked but still a little surprised that you still could not see the clothes I had just put on. Almost as if I had some sort of cloak around me

"Willow!" I hear my mom say from the kitchen downstairs. Then I remembered, I have school today, its Monday and I have a test!

“Coming!” I yell back. I look back in the mirror, forgetting that I won’t see anything, then I remember that nobody can see me so it doesn’t matter how bad I look. Sighing, I run down the stairs and into the kitchen. I see my mom standing by the sink and my lunch sitting on the counter. “I’m running late mom. See you after school” I say and run out of the house carrying my brown paper bag; I know, so cliché but whatever. 

Arriving at school I go to my locker and open it. Wait, I have my test first period so I don’t need my books, plus I can definitely scare a few people with a floating pencil. Smiling, I walk to my first period class; History, Canadian History to be exact. One of my favorite subjects. Walking through the classroom door I see an empty seat right in the middle of the class, I take it. Laying my book bag down on the ground I look around to see students already looking confused at my book bag. I guess it just appeared when I took it off my back. The plan was already working. Next I took out a pencil; I knew nobody would be able to see it, since I was holding it and all. 

I watched everyone take their seats, some a little weary about sitting next to the mysteriously appearing book bag. Then the teacher walked in and passed around the tests. I guess she figured someone had put their book bag there to save their seat because she placed a test on my desk. I smile again; this was going to be fun.

Looking at the test I could see that it covered World War II, a subject we had just finished learning about. This would be no problem. As I fill in the answers I notice the teacher coming around to my seat. This is the moment I put the plan into full action. When the teacher arrives at my seat I start answering the long answer questions. I figured that since I was holding the pencil, no one could see it, so it would seem strange that words were somehow showing up on the page. 

I was right. As soon as my teacher walked past my desk she came to a stop and looked at my test. I kept answering the questions, looking up once to see if she was still there. She was. All of the color had gone out of her face but it seemed like she couldn't look away. When I looked back at my paper that's when I noticed the ring on my right hand. It was old and looked like it had gone to hell and back. I remember finding it in a box in the attic last night and then going to bed. That gave me a thought. 

When I finished the test I went straight for the bathroom and locked myself into a stall. Looking at the ring I took it off. Glancing down at myself, I sighed, I was still there. But the real question was, was I still invisible? Opening the stall door I look across from myself and into the mirror. There I was, standing in my sweatpants and t-shirt with my hair in a very very messy bun. It was the ring. I had an invisibility ring! This would definitely make school more fun.

Bad People, Good Things

Some people say that you are either good or bad; that you can’t be anything else. Those people don’t believe in gray areas, they don’t like what they can’t understand or fit into a box or under a label. But others believe that people can do both good and bad things. That one person can be a shade of gray that consists of good actions/intentions as well as bad actions/intentions. Before yesterday I was the former. I only thought that I could be bad; that all changed April 3rd 1999. My friends and I had been planning a bank robbery for a couple of months and we had planned it all out.

We all needed the money for different reasons. Rick needed money for this huge bill that, if gone unpaid, the bank would take his house and everything with it. Joel needed tagged along because he was behind on his child support. Me, Aaron, I needed the money because my baby girl was about to be brought into the world and I couldn’t afford to get her anything; not even the basics like diapers. We all needed money and had certain skills that would help pull off a successful heist. Rick could handle a gun no problem so he was in charge of the hostages; Joel was an expert at lock-picking so he could get into the safe deposit boxes without a doubt; and me, you’d be looking at the bagger. Any money Joel brought out I would put in big duffel bags and put them in the truck.

To us it seemed like a flawless plan. We waited until the sky was dark and the bank employees were starting to pack up for the night; this way there would be no customers and just the employees, limiting the number of hostages to handle. Night also provided us with a cover; we were able to wear all black so it was hard to spot us, even with the street lights. We didn’t think of getting a getaway driver because it seemed to full-proof.

Rick waited until he was sure there were only a handful of people left inside and then went in as quietly as possible. He acted like a customer, begging them to help him. When they agreed, he pulled the gun on them, not giving them enough time to hit the silent alarm. I saw him nod for us to enter and I followed Joel inside the bank.

It was a pretty small bank but we knew there was a lot of money in the vault and safety boxes. I followed Rick around behind the counter and started emptying the drawers, being careful not to get the dye-pack or set off the alarm. After about five minutes I heard Rick yelling his head off at one of the hostages. I left the bag on the counter and walked up to him.

“It’s all your fault! This whole thing is your fault you son of a bitch! You think you can take my house! Hmmm? Everything I’ve worked for?” He was yelling. I looked at the bank of the room where Joel had disappeared to but there was no sign of him.

“I’m sorry sir. I don’t know what you’re talking about” The man said simply. Clearly having a raving gunman in front of him didn’t bother him, but it bothered me.

“Stop lying to me!” Rick screamed and aimed the gun right at the man’s head, that’s when I stepped in front of him. His face was red from screaming as I could see tears forming in his eyes.

“Rick, calm down” I stated gently. However, right after I said it I regretted it. You see, you never tell Rick to calm down; it just gets him more riled up.

“Calm down?” He asked rather calmly but I knew what was coming. I pushed the gun quickly to the let just as he pulled the trigger. The sound shot out loudly. It seemed to have stunned Rick a little so I took the opportunity to grab the gun from his hand and flick it across the room away from everyone. That’s when I heard a noise behind me and turned around. Joel had come out from the back and now had the gun in his hands. He looked at the group of us. Rick with his face still beet red and breathing heavily; Me with a worried looked; and the four bank employees, including the man, who just looked plain scared.

“I think it’s time we left” Was all he said. I nodded and grabbed the bag from behind the counter but not before I “accidentally” hit the silent alarm. Walking out I nodded to the man who smiled back and mouthed “thank you”. Smiling, I climbed back into the truck and we drove away.

You see, I could have let Rick shoot that man. A man who probably had nothing to do with his current situation but I could have let him shoot him; knowing that he would regret it and it would haunt him for the rest of his life. But I didn’t. I saved that man’s life when I could have simply looked the other way; something I honestly think Joel would have let happen considering his speedy entrance into the room.

Yes, I may have robbed that bank but when an innocent life was in danger I tried to save it, and I succeed. So, if you’re one of those people who think that you can only be good or bad, I just want you to think about what happened to me. People can be whatever they want to be; good, bad or a shade of gray.

The Play Writer

It was 1594 London, England. It was the opening night of William Shakespeare's newest masterpiece, A Midsummer Night's Dream. From what I gathered about rumors around London was that it definitely was a comedy and that there were fairies included somewhere within it. From what my father's friends have said the writing will surely make us laugh. With this in mind I hold this play, along with any future plays written by Shakespeare to be top notch.

I have gone with my father to many of his plays and enjoyed them so I'm rather excited to get to meet him in person this time around. One of my passions is playwriting, I try to learn from his scripts to improve my ability to write comedies and tragedies. I'm mostly interested in tragedies; making people feel all of the feelings associated with a horrible and maybe try to find a way to bridge the two; to make a tragedy that is also a comedy. So far though, I have had no luck.

The play opened today and I was starting to get nervous. Not just because I was meeting SHAKESPEARE but because of the way everyone always treats me. Everyone always assumes I'm a prostitute, I guess because there aren't a lot of women in that side of the city and the few that are, well are prostitutes. I try not to judge people and their way of life but when so many people assume it about me after denying it numerous times, it gets a little annoying and offensive.

Plays in London usually happen during the evenings but this play was special, or at least that's what Shakespeare had claimed. Therefore had demanded that it be performed at night. When the only lighting is by lanterns hanging from the walls and around the stage. The way the lights shone across the theater set the mood very nicely, creating a warm and comfortable environment. All of his plays sold out and 100% of the people came; there were never any empty seats or seats that had not been sold, or so my father has told me. This night was incredibly full.

Me and my father had the luxury of sitting on one of the many balconies that surrounded the stage; we sat directly in the middle of the stage so we could see everything that happened. My father, if you don't know, owns the theater at which all of Shakespeare's plays are performed, that's how we get amazing seats.

When the plays started it was pretty dark out. The stars shone in the night sky as the actors performed their lines; they were a fabulous job. Although I always did find it strange that men were playing the women roles and not women; and it was hard to picture a beautiful women character in his place, as I often tried to do in order to get the full effect of the plot of the play.

When the play was finished I stood and clapped like everyone else in the theater; the play had been marvelous. Now I was getting anxious about meeting William Shakespeare. My palms were sweating as I walked next to my father through the crowd, trying desperately not to get lost. All the way to the back of the stage I heard men whistling and yelling at me; of course I ignored them and kept on walking.

By the time we reached backstage most of audience had left and the theater was filled with silence. I had never been here when everyone was gone, it was somehow peaceful but a little unnerving at the same time. I looked forwards when my father called my name. Then I saw him; William Shakespeare.

I walked up to him, trying to keep my composure, and shook his hand. We exchanged niceties and got to chatting about the play and playwriting in general. I remember asking him about the process he used when writing the different genres; comedy, tragedy, and historical. He answered each one of my questions about writing and descriptive writing and character development.

When it was time for me to leave I stood from the chair I had been sitting in and we said out goodbyes but not before he said that he would like to read one of my scripts. I stood there, at The Theater, standing in front of William Shakespeare who had just asked me if he could read my work. I, of course, said yes, shook his hand and left with my father.

Meeting William Shakespeare that night and listening to his advice on, well, everything to do with writing, gave me new inspiration to try again at writing a combination of comedy and tragedy.

Mean Girls Movie Review

Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Rachel McAdams join forces to create Mean Girls. This movie centers around Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), the new girl at North Shore High School, who befriends Regina George (Rachel McAdams), the “it” girl. When she falls for Adam Samuels, Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Cady teams up with her other friends, Janis Ian and Damian, to bring her down. It doesn't take long before things get off track and go horribly wrong.

            Mean girls was directed by Mark Waters at Paramount Pictures. This movie was rated PG-13, a rather kid friendly rating, and is classified as a comedy, a very fitting genre and was made in 2004. Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Chabert, Daniel Franzese, Jonathan Bennett, and Amanda Seyfried all play important role in this comedy; bringing their quirky, humorist sides into their parts to bring the whole story of Mean Girls to life.

            Although the movie has a pretty big cast the movie really focuses on three characters in particular. Cady Heron, the main protagonist of the movie, is inexperienced with the workings of public school. She soon finds herself caught in the middle of a major war between Regina George and Janis Ian. Regina George, the main antagonist of the movie, is North Shore High’s “it” girl and soon finds her status threatened by new girl Cady Heron. Finally, Janis Ian, North Shore High’s outcast, hell-bent on bringing Regina George crashing down and is okay with using Cady to do it.

            The synopsis of Mean Girls doesn't fully explain what it’s really about. Mean Girls shows the high school experience through the eyes of a new girl; a new girl who knows absolutely nothing about the inner workings of public school. Cady Heron grew up in Africa and throughout the movie she compares high school scenarios with things that she has experienced in the wild. Mean Girls also brings bullying to a new light. The main antagonist, Regina George, is truly a, to quote the clean version of the movie, “witch”. This whole movie is about Cady learning how the real world works and Regina George being brought to justice.

            I give this movie a 4.5 star rating. I would recommend it to both teenagers and adults. This movie shows how to deal with high school and life issues in a funny, comedic way. The humor and language can be a little harsh so I stick by the official rating of PG-13. The situations of bullying, trying to fit in, or just being the new person, are situations that both teenagers and adults can relate to. Overall, Mean Girls is a good, funny movie and deserves the recognition that it has received. 

Making Death's Acquaintance

He's not like I thought he would be; sinister, creepy, and way too in love with his job. Meeting Death is one of those experiences that only comes at that one certain time in your life. You never meet him before that time and once you do, you never forget it. I've met many people over my life that feared Death, they feared "oblivion" as they liked to call it. But they've never met him, there is no such thing as oblivion so they don't have anything to fear. Of course, they don't know that, if they did then they would be dead.

Death, I have found, is more scared of humans than we are of him. Although it's more likely that he hates us; not necessarily us but what we do to each other. It seems like wars are his greatest fear, it seems to me as though he hates his job. Of course these were merely questions that I thought would take a lot longer to get answered but it seems as though they came a little sooner than I'd planned. This is the story about how I died and met Death.

It was May 2nd 2014. I was home alone. My parents had gone out to see a movie and my brother was doing something with his friends, most likely at The Bagel Cafe. This was one of the rather rare occasions that I was actually home and alone for quite a long period of time. I used to treasure these moments with blasting music, dancing around, and singing at the top of my lungs. Of course, this time was no different. With my music on the highest it could go and my bedroom door closed I didn't have any chance of hearing the front door open. The first time I became aware of robbers was when one of them tripped over a set of shoes left in the hallway and cursed loudly. What went through my mind next was panic. People were in my house, strangers. What if they come upstairs? What if they find me? I decided to leave my music on; maybe they thought whoever lived here forgot to turn it off and if I turned if off they would know someone else was in the house.

I carefully walked to the top of the stairs, not very far from my room, and peaked to see who it was. Two people stood in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. I didn't see their faces because they were wearing all black. One of them was shorter and had a smaller build compared to his partner who was at least six feet tall and looked really strong. I tried to stay silent as I watched them walk into the living room and out of site. Placing my back against the railing (there was a short wall there where the railing was attached) I tried to slow my heart rate down enough to think straight. 

Phone! was the first thing that came to mind. I had to get to the phone and call 911. I remembered there was one in my parents room at the end of the upstairs hallway. Carefully, I crawled into my parents room. I was almost able to reach the phone when I heard footsteps on the stairs, Damn it! They must have heard me! fing squeaky floors, I thought and mentally smacked myself. Thinking quickly I had tried to hide underneath the bed. Unfortunately for me I no longer fit under it and they eventually found me. 

"Look what we have hear!" Thug One yelled to Thug Two; he must be up here alone, unfortunately he was the larger of the two. I saw him smile devilishly as he reached down and pulled me up by my hair. I didn't feel the point in struggling so I stood as still as I could as he pushed me towards the bedroom door. "Go on, run b**ch!" he whispered in my ear and shoved me onto the floor in front of him. I didn't dare look backwards as I ran for the stairs, almost tripping and falling on the way down the thought of the second robber escaped my mind when I saw the front door. It was open! 

That's when it happened. My back was to the living room door so I didn't even see him coming. He quickly came up behind me, wrapped his right arm across my neck and shoved a pocket knife in my lower back. Letting me go I collapsed onto the hardwood floor in the porch. I could vaguely hear them shouting at each other; I guess the tall guy didn't agree with his partners actions.

My eyes started close as the world grew more and more fuzzy. Before my eyes closed fully I saw something at the end of the hallway. Death. He is roughly seven feet tall and completely black. As he walked towards me I noticed my eyesight improving, one thought raced through my mind. Am I going to live? I remember him looming over me; this gigantic black figure looking down at me. 

No I heard. It sounded like it came from somewhere around the black figure's head. It sound deep and rough but reassuring at the same time. I looked down at the ground in confusion and looked in horror at my bloody body lying on the ground. Then I focused more on "myself", noticing I was wearing the same clothes I died in. I remember thinking about changing my clothes or something like that and hearing his voice again. This time he gave an answer I wasn't expecting. You will. Once you get there.

"Get where? Heaven?" When he didn't answer I started to panic. "Hell?" I whimpered. That's when I felt him pick me up. His hands were rather bony and I worried if he would be able to carry me then I remembered that I probably don't weight much more than a feather. 

You will see, you will know, once you get there. Was all he said. I felt slightly comforted by Death, it was a strange feeling. Here I was, I had just died and was now being carried by Death to some unknown destination. Along the journey I would ask him many questions, not all he asked though. Some he answered in depth, while other were no more that one or two words. I found his point of view on the human world fascinating. He told me about the many different souls he had helped and some I found quite shocking. I'd kind of always wanted to meet Death and when I got the chance, he didn't disappoint.

The Marks Building One

It all started with a simple design. A simple sketch of the building that lead to a scale model and then finally to the construction. I proposed it to the local government not excepting very much to happen; maybe a head nod and a "we'll think about it" but it was accepted with open arms. Let me tell you about that day.

5 years ago
New York City

It was a sunny day in New York City that day. The sky was an electric blu with no clouds in the sky. Some would say it was a sign, that's the way I like to look at it. Traffic was hell that day, usual NYC traffic, completely blocked no matter which street you go on. This caused me to choose the latter, the subway. During that day it's a bad choice but at rush hour it's a really hectic place to be.

My appointment was at 5:30pm in primetime rush hour. It was a miricale that I managed to get on the right train at the right time without much of a delay. I arrived at City Hall at 5:15pm, giving me enough time to go over my presentation.

"Charlie Wax?" I stood from my chair and looked at the women. "They're ready to see you now" She continued, stepping aside to let me pass. "Good Luck."

"Thank you. I might need it" I replied with a smile. Walking through the glass door I saw a long hallway, The wallpaper looked brand new and was a dull red and black pattern. The carpet was a solid baige that ran from the waiting room all of the way to the end of the hall.

I reached the door with the name William Shardner on a silver plaque; opening it I was waved inside. From there I closed the door and pitched my idea. I didn't end up coming out for another hour and a half. Mr. Shardner loved the idea of a safe place for the city's poor people, as well as the homeless. He was especially essactic when I mentioned that it wouldn't cost millions of dollars to build.

Present Day
That day was when my dream of helping people took a step further. Mr. Shardner has asked me to come back in a month with a revised plan and a scale model of the building. He also said to bring a list of material suppliers and a cost estimate.

When I had gone to see him to present a finalized plan, along with the scale model, that same women had been there. We smiled at each other as I had walked past her and through the door. Mr. Shardner has been even more excited at my plans for the building and had said and I quote, "Go home, sleep and wait for my call." I'd figured at that point that it was going smoothly. The call, I thought, would be a confirmation of approval from the council about construction.

Four Years Ago
July 24 2021
New York City

This day was a little more cloudy than the first day. Not too cloudy as to block out the sun but enough that it looked on the verge of raining. Cars still blocked the streets and horns honked in annoyance as I sat at my kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.

My heart was racing as I waited for the call. The call that would determine the future of my dream.

I took a sip of coffee and jumped when my phone rang. I answered and smiled at the news. The entire council had accepted my proposal and ordered that construction begin ASAP.

Present Day
Today was the day, The MARKS Building One was about to open for business. Months before opening we had held a registration for people living on the street. Making arrangements for different people, depending on their working condition.

I, myself have not seen the finished building yet but everyone outside the car was screaming loudly. I prepared myself and existed the limo. Turning around I felt tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

My dream had come true, I was going to help so many people with this one building. 35 stories high with 118 floors and 10 apartments on each floor, That meant 1,180 apartments in total, which meant 1,180 homeless and poor with a safe place to live. My work though, had only just begun.

When I Grow Up

The sun was still asleep when my alarm clock blared on my bedside table. When I opened my eyes I saw a white ceiling. Turning to my left I looked at my alarm clock; it read 5:30am. Time to get up; lucky me, getting stuck with the early shift this week, like all of the rookies.

Standing, my feet are forced onto the cold hardwood floor as I made m way towards the bathroom. Opening the door a small gush of cold winter air smacked my face, causing my eyes to open wide. Shivering, I showered and changed.

The sun was just starting to shine threw the kitchen window illuminating the flowers on the counter and blinding me as I walked into the room. Open books lay on the living room table from my late night studying; I had an exam on phobias in a few days so I had been studying hard.

With the sound of the coffee brewing I decided to make sure I had everything' all of my after-work clothes and workout clothes. Checking my bag I found all of my things in their places. Grabbing and pouring the coffee into a mug I brought the adieus bag's strap over my left shoulder and headed for the door.

I arrived at the station a little before seven; I was early. When I went into the locker room everyone was already there. I nodded at them and started to change. Not too long after I arrived out captain called the routine briefing meeting in the main conference room. Mostly it's just to give everyone their riding partners and assignments. The rookies are always with the same officer until they become full officers. These people are called training officers, they teach us the rules and test our abilities in the field.

My training officer had been on the force for almost 30 years, he's one of the most experience officers in the precinct. His car was usually fairly clean, no food wrappers or garbage. He was really helpful in showing me around and making sure that I knew what I was doing and confident in what I was doing. He also made sure that I was covered when I needed to go to class or take a test.

For the exam on Wednesday he promised to back me up and make sure everyone thought I took a sick day. Of course I called in sick that day but just in case everyone asked he promised to confirm the story.

Usually we just talked about work, he would teach me something new about the job and I would ask a million questions. We would respond to a few calls a day, mostly domestic calls, or hand out speeding tickets. That day was slow, not many calls and by the end of shift we hadn't arrested anyone, just given out a few tickets.

When I'd finished changing I headed home. No sense in going to the local bar plus I did not have anyone special to meet up with so I had taken the opportunity to study. Phobias, if you think about it, is actually quite an interesting topic to learn about. It makes you understand what people are afraid of and that allows you to try and help them. I headed over to the fridge where I pulled out left-over chili in a container. Placing it in the microwave I gathered my books from the living room table and brought them into the dining room. Getting the chili into a bowl and a glass of water from the refrigerator I sat down in front of my books for another long night of studying.