Short Story Entry for the Story Writing Contest for Kids aged 13-16 years old on ChampChild.com

1. “Marcy, hurry up! We’re gonna be late!”
Mom called to me after I had just stepped out of
a steaming hot shower.
“Coming!” I yelled and rung my hair out onto
the bath mat. I scurried down the wooden
staircase that lead to the second floor of my
house.
“Yes?” I answered politely, a white towel
wrapped around my body.
“Oh, for pete’s sake, Marcy! Go and put some
clothes on. You have five minutes or you’re
going to school in a towel.” mom hassled.
“Crap, sorry. I forgot. Be right back!” I said as I
sprinted up the stairs and ran into my bedroom. I
put on the usual; my undergarments, a pair of
dark skinny jeans, a girly baseball top with a
decal, and my dark grey, high-top Converse. My
mirror seemed to gag at the sight of the tangled
mess on my head, so I grabbed a brush and ran

2. it through my wavy, sandy-blond hair, pulling it
into a messy bun after the tangles had come out.
“Come on!” I heard Axel, my older brother,
shout from downstairs.
“Gimme a minute, mister early-bird!” I teased,
sticking my tongue out to the mirror. My
backpack clung onto my right shoulder as I left
the room and scurried down to the kitchen
where I grabbed a strawberry Pop-Tart and
raced out of the garage just to jump into the
backseat of a rushed, black minivan.
“Ready?” mom asked, starting the car.
“Yep!” I replied as I caught my breath.
“Goo-in?” Maddox, my younger brother,
sounded out.
“Going, yes! We’re going to school!” Mom
responded cheerfully.
“AKA hell. We’re going to hell.” I heard Axel
say under his breath.

3. “Shut up, Axel.” I smiled sarcastically. Mom
must have heard Axel’s dumb remark because as
soon as I finished my sentence, she poked the
button for the radio and changed it to the
country station; the station Axel and I hated
most, and drove off down the street.
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*********************
Axel and I jumped out of the minivan as
mom approached the school. Axel took off for
the entrance as soon as we came to a stop, but I
stuck around; my backpack still clinging onto
my shoulder as I gave mom a quick peck on the
lips through the rolled-down driver's side
window.
"Have a nice day!" She called after me. I
smiled, "you too!" Kids swarmed through the

4. hallway like they were bees and someone had
just shaken their hive.
"Hey, M!" A voice jumped out at me. I snapped
my head around and saw Demitri, my best
friend. We met each other in 2nd grade and
instantly became best friends after noticing we'd
both worn the same shirt to school. We're
unrelated twins, as I like to say. Same interests,
hobbies, and styles. Demi has always been a
slimmer girl, but she had some muscle where it
needed to be. Her straight, shiny brown hair
crept its way down to her lower back, but today
she had it pulled up into a fishtail braid.
"Hey, Demi!" I smiled and chewed on my lip for
a moment. We were hustling down the hallway
towards our lockers which, conveniently, were
right next to each other.

5. "Ready for fourth period?" Demi asked
anxiously. Fourth period? What was happening
in fourth period?
"Uh, I guess. What about you?" I hesitated.
"I'm prepared, but kinda nervous. I really wish
this test could be open-book." Oh, yeah. A test.
A math test. Demi and I shoved our backpacks
in our lockers in unison and grabbed our history
textbooks before sluggishly making our way to
Mr. Holland's history class.
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*********************
“The year 1607, which marks the
settlement of Jamestown, the first permanent
English colony in North America, is certainly
one of the more significant dates in early
American history. It would be wrong, however,
to think that American history started there—

6. after all, many peoples were here before the
English. Spaniards roamed parts of North
America 100 years before the English arrived,
and as is well known, Native Americans were
here tens of thousands of years before that.
As we have already noted, the origins of
American history go back in other directions
besides those that lead to what actually
happened on this continent. The explorations of
Christopher Columbus began an earlier phase of
the story of the settlement of the New World,
but that story also had roots that go even further
back in time. The scientific discoveries of the
Renaissance that made oceanic travel possible
are part of the background of the discovery
story. The Crusades generated interest among
the the European powers in trading with the Far
East, which in turn led to the desire for better
communication between Europe and Asia. Any

7. questions?” Mr. Holland mumbled on. Judging
by his tone and facial expressions, he wasn’t
interested either.
“Is this what we’re going to be learning about
for the next quarter?” Someone in the back of
the class shouted out. Mr. Holland rearranged
his circular glasses onto the bridge of his
oversized nose and nodded.
“Yes. American history is our new focus.” He
stated. Grunts and groans erupted from the class
and many heads were slammed onto desks.
“Can’t we do something cool for once!? Like
reenact the Civil War or something?” Another
kid shouted out.
“Yeah!!” The class agreed loudly.
“No. No we cannot.” Mr. Holland was getting
low on patience. Thankfully the loudspeaker
quieted the class down with its announcement
for classes to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

8. “Marcy, please lead.” Mr. Holland stumbled. I
rolled my eyes and sighed, my desk squeaking
as I sat up.
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United
States of America, and to the Republic for
which it stands one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I
recited before plopping back down in my seat.
“Nailed it!” Demi whispered over my shoulder.
This was going to be a long day.