Student’s Writings

The Dawn of Man by Quinn Guilfoyle

THE DAWN ON MAN…The students were shown the nine-minute clip that opens the extraordinary film, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Asked to share their reactions, many found it perplexing and overwhelming, as did QUINN. But she worked her way through it to deliver a thoughtful piece and a provocative ending.

THE DAWN OF MAN

 The beginning of “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

I honestly have never been more lost and unsettled before. It was so loud. All I could hear were the apes and the loud music. The tall black pillar is so strange, and I have no idea what to make of it. One of the apes started destroying the bones and then he came and beat the other ape with it. Somehow that’s supposed to be the Dawn of Mankind?

I mean, I kind of understand, but I don’t at the same time. All I can think about is what’s going through the other apes’ heads. They probably think Billy (that’s what I’ve named the ape with the bone) is unhinged. I mean seriously, what was wrong with him?

In a way, I guess the black pillar is sort of like the “White Box” we wrote about. The tall black pillar drew the apes in, just like the white box in my other story drew me in.

For some reason, after the appearance of the pillar, one of the apes starts thinking. He takes the bone and realizes he can use it to his advantage. After all of this time with these dried-up bones laying around, he realizes he can use them. (Just like today’s thinkers and inventors turning old stuff into new, more useful things.)

He can rise up, defend his friends, and dictate his surroundings now. This was the beginning of dynasties and amazing kingdoms that helped the world develop into what it is today. All because of this strange black pillar.

Think about the Wright Brothers for a minute. They wanted to make transportation easier, and one day they did. They made the first airplane, and they flew! One random day, they just had a thought and made it come true.

If you aren’t really into the Wright Brothers, here’s another example: The Aztecs, the Inca, the Roman Empire, the Han Dynasty, and so many other things that just started from an idea.

Don’t you ever wonder why humans are more advanced than other animals? Why are we so sentient and they aren’t? How did we go from savage cavemen into who we are  today? Everyone is so different. We speak different languages, have different religions, and invent things nobody else would ever think of.

Sometimes, I get scared of what the future holds in store for mankind but, after seeing this, I’m kind of excited. I’m starting to see how valuable everything around us is. At first, I got absolutely nothing but weird feelings from the “Dawn of Man” film, but now I see what the introduction was truly trying to communicate.

It’s so funny how a nine-minute clip from a movie and a summary from Mr. Don can change your perspective so much.

You may think the most valuable thing on Earth is the ISS, a big diamond, or some sort of yacht, but I think it’s an idea.

Quinn Guilfoyle

2/2/24

I’m Not Mexican nor a Catholic…So Why? by Fatima Chaudhry

The students were tasked to consider HALLWAYS. Fatima takes us through some that might even give the horror/fantasy writer Stephen King the chills.

My head hurts. I wake up confused. I don’t know what happened to me. My vision is blurry, and I’m blinded by these strong white lights.

I sit up and notice I’m in a hospital bed. There are so many machines connected to me. I’m confused. I can’t remember anything. I sit alone for a few minutes to see if anyone notices I’m up. But no one comes to check on me. It’s lonely in here. I try to speak but the words won’t come out. I get scared thinking I lost my voice. I try again and this time I am able to speak. I said, “Hello, is anyone here to help me?” I noticed I could see my breath. I was confused because I’m not cold, so how could I see my breath if it isn’t cold in here? There is a mirror placed right in front of me. I look at myself. I’m pale and I look like I just came from the dead. I get up and open my room door. The hallway is pitch black. I was scared to go out; it looked like the bottom of a long well. I just stuck out my head to see if I could see something. When I stick out my head, a light turns on. I realize the hallways have motion-censored lights. Every time I move under a new light it turns on and the other turns off.

I walk out of my room looking for someone to help me. I walk for a few minutes and realize this hallway never ends. In the middle of darkness, I can’t see what is in front of me nor behind me. I start running forward to see if I reach an end. I run for a while and get overwhelmed. I don’t know where I am nor who I am and why is this happening to me. I curl up on the floor and start rocking myself. One of the lights turned on. I’m confused. The lights only turn on by movement but there is no one else there. I ask if anyone is there and no response. I see a door and go inside. It’s a stairway.

I’m relieved to go upstairs to the second floor; the stairs would only take me up. Once I’m in the second-floor hallway, I start looking around for people. There’s no one. I start looking for an exit but these hallways all look the same. I turn to the right, it’s the same thing. I turn to the left, it’s the same thing. It’s an infinite hallway maze. I try opening the doors, but they’re locked. I start desperately trying to find an exit but can’t find one. I again get overwhelmed and lay on the floor with no hope.

Then I heard something. At first, I thought someone was here to help me. Once the figure started getting closer to me, I noticed it was her…La Santa Muerte. She has come for me.

I was so confused because I’m not Mexican nor a Catholic. Why would she be here for me? I tried to run away from her. I wasn’t ready to die. I wanted to keep living. I don’t know why, but I just ran the hallways…but she was just peacefully walking behind me until she spoke. “Stop running,” she said. “I’m here to help you. It’s time for you to let go and find your happiness.”

I was so tired from running, I gave up and dropped to the floor. She came over to me and hugged me. I asked her why she was here and where are we. She said, “I’m here because your father sent me to help you and we’re in your head right now.” I asked “My father? I’ve never met him.” She tells me since I’ve been in the hospital, he’s come to visit me and pray for me from time to time. I asked her, “What do you mean hospital? What happened to me?” She tells me I got into a bad accident and almost died, but the doctors had hoped that I could recover. But I’ve been in a coma for 6 months now and it’s time for me to let go. I ask her how. She tells me I have to forgive and let go. She grabs my hand and picks me up from the floor, taking me to the doors that wouldn’t open. She tells me to try to open it.

I open the door and it takes me back to when I was little and the last time my father was in my life. I tell her I don’t remember this, and she says it’s because you were too little, but you have to forgive him and everyone who’s ever hurt you to find your peace. I do what she says.

She tells me, “The last thing you’ll do is say your goodbyes.” I asked her how. She said, “I’ll take you to the living world; you get to see them but they won’t see you. You’ll basically be a sprite roaming around.” I do as she says and I tell her I’m ready.

We’re back on the first floor. All the lights turn on and I see infinite hallways. She holds my hand. As we walk towards the light together, a white door appears in front of us. She opens it and tells me to go in. As soon as I walked in, someone hugged me tight and fast. I couldn’t see who it was at first. It was Geovanny. I was finally reunited with him after so many years. I see everyone I have lost over the years and finally find happiness, while others remain suffering in the living world.

Fatima Chaudhry
11/10/2023

What Is This Place? by Ruth Rivas

The students were tasked to consider HALLWAYS. Ruth takes us through some that might even give the horror/fantasy writer Stephen King the chills.

I open my eyes. It’s not my room. Why am I not in my room? The room I’m in is the complete opposite of my room. The wallpaper is cream color. There’s nothing but a toilet and a bed. Not a mirror or a shower, how rude. Most importantly, my TV is not here!

I decide to get out of this uncomfortable bed and walk towards the door to open it. I assumed it would be locked, but it easily opened. I hesitated a bit before looking out of the door, but I ended up doing so a few moments later. It was a long hallway. No other doors, but mine. Both ends of the hallway were dark and really long. It seemed like there was no end to it. But I mean it’s a hallway, so it must have an end to it.

I make my way out of the room and start walking. As I take a few steps, I look back at the door I came from, but it’s gone. There is no door or room, just a wall. That’s really weird, but what other option do I have? I just have to continue walking.

After what seemed like I had been walking for an eternity, I heard something behind me. I instantly turn around and I see a ball? The ball was bouncing up and down in my direction and I looked toward the way the ball came from. The end of the hallway was pitch black and I couldn’t make anything out. The ball had stopped bouncing at this point and it was slowly rolling towards me and hit my foot.

I look down and pick it up before looking at where the ball came from. This time, there was a little girl who looked almost five, and she had no emotion in her face or eyes. She’s in a big white sleeping gown and her hair is silky and straight. She looked at me and her eyes went wide and seemed like they were about to pop out of her face. “WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING MY BALL?!” She screams in a high-pitched voice, which makes me flinch and drop the ball to the ground as I use my hands to cover my ears.

As I look up at her, she’s running towards me and her whole look has changed. Her face changed, her long straight hair was now long, messy, and curly. I instantly turn around and run in the other direction to get away from her. She’s screaming my name as she’s running and I don’t even dare to look back at her.

As I’m running, I see the end of the hallway. The door is metal, rusty, and dented. I tried looking for the doorknob, but there was no doorknob. I can only try and open it by force. I start to push and the little girl is still running towards me and getting closer and closer by the millisecond.

I try one last time to push the door open, and it works. I instantly run into a pitch-black room and look back to the little girl stopping and having no emotion in her face while holding the red ball she never picked up. The metal door slowly closes and, as it’s about to fully close, I see black.

I open my eyes and I wake up in the same exact room I was in in the beginning.

Ruth Rivas
November 10, 2023

Doppelganger by Rhys Guilfoyle

It is said that we all have a DOPPELGANGER—an exact double. Rhys, with the help of his friend, Danny, meets his, only to learn that cloning does have its downsides.

*ring ring*
(RHYS) “Hello?”(DANNY) “Rhys, I need help with a science experiment.”

(RHYS) “Yeah what are you testing?”

(DANNY) “I figured out how to clone people.”

(RHYS) “Bro why haven’t you called Nobel?”

(DANNY) “This has to be a secret. I’m gonna sell it to the military.”

(RHYS) “What do you need help with? You sound like you got it figured out.”

(DANNY) “The tests that came out aren’t perfect. They showed severe signs of devious behavior.”

(RHYS) “What have you done with specimen?”

(DANNY) “I killed them and harvested their organs.”

(RHYS) “I’ll help you if you give me some of that organ money.”

(DANNY) “Deal.”

I walked over to Danny’s house. He showed me to the cloning chambers.

(DANNY) “So, I should’ve told you, I need to test it on another person before I sell it.”

(RHYS) “You want to clone me? I didn’t sign up for this. Is this experiment even ethical?”

(DANNY) “Of course, I wouldn’t test you if it wasn’t”

I stepped into the cloning chambers and Danny closed the door. He did a countdown to three and everything went black. I woke back up dazed and confused.

(DANNY) “Rhys, you good?”

(RHYS) “I’m fine. Did the test work?”

(DANNY) “Yeah, meet your new friend X-24.”

(RHYS) “Oh my god, he’s literally me. Does he speak?”

(DANNY) “No. I haven’t taught them that yet. I ran other tests on him and he appears to be normal.”

(RHYS) “What are we gonna do with him?”

(DANNY) “Probably kill him. You don’t want another one of you around.”

(RHYS) “Nah he’s so cool. I want to keep him. I’ll name him Dmitiri.”

(DANNY) “I’ll keep him here a while to make sure he is normal.”

A few hours passed and I was fast asleep. I woke up to a distressing phone call from Danny.

(DANNY) “Dimitri escaped! Turns out he’s not normal.”

(RHYS) “What?! How did he get out?”

(DANNY) “He inherited the wrong genes. He has superhuman strength and insane intellectual capabilities.”

(RHYS) “We’re dealing with the ultimate lifeform.”

(DANNY) “He hurt me real bad. I called 911. Watch out, they might mistake you for him.”

(RHYS) “I will, I’m gonna track him down.”

I grabbed a flashlight and baseball bat. I walked down to the nearby Giant grocery store and noticed a ton of police cars. I snuck past them. He rearranged the entire store in the wrong sections, he spilt milk on the floor, and cracked all the eggs. We’re dealing with a menace. Where would he go next? I got a sudden call from Mr. Tom.

(MR. TOM) “Rhys, you’re expelled from the school! Why would you destroy Mr. Dave’s plants? Don’t ever come back to school.” Mr. Tom yelled.

(RHYS) “It wasn’t me. It was my doppelganger, Dimitri.”

(MR. TOM) “Likely story. Don’t ever come back again. I’ll send your mom the transfer papers.”

Mr. Tom hung up. Dimitri is trying to ruin my life. I look on my phone and notice on Apple News that a six foot white male is walking around naked in Baltimore. How could he ruin my life even more? I see a police car and break into it. I listen to the radio for any possible reports of myself.

“All units report to WBAL News station. We have reports of a naked man holding the employees hostage. Dispatch the SWAT team.” the dispatcher said.

I hurried over there and grabbed a gun. I walked up the stairs and saw Dimitri setting up to broadcast internationally. He was gonna air himself speaking fake news.

“Dimitri stop!” I yelled.

Dimitri didn’t respond but he started running towards me. I shot him. It was over. Officers asked me to put the gun down. I was arrested. A few weeks have passed and I was released from jail. Danny helped me win the case by selling the technology to the U.S government and showing them the side effects. I used the organs from the other tests to pay for plastic surgery and a name change.

Rhys Guilfoyle
11/3/23

Courage by Madison Hansel

The assignment: COURAGE.

Madison reminds us that courage is not just about heroic events but also everyday life challenges.

Courage is needed to conquer challenges big and small. When I first came to TCS, I was nervous and fearful of the unknown. I was scared to be in a new environment and exposed to things I wasn’t used to. I needed help to overcome my anxiety and fear of the unknown, and especially to present in Creative Writing class.

I don’t know why but just the thought of going up in front of the class made my heart beat 10 times faster. I needed courage and a lot of help from Mr. Tom and Mr. Don. I remember crying the first time I had to present. I didn’t cry when I presented, but a few minutes before my eyes got a little wet.

When I got up there my whole body felt hot. My hands were sweaty and my voice was shaky. That first time was a rough one. After that though, it became easier and easier for me to go up and present. Also, when I first did TCS News and had to sit in front of that ipad recording me, I was super nervous. I was scared of messing up or it not turning out good. It was fine though.

I tend to make a big deal out of small things. I still get anxiety speaking sometimes, but other times I am very courageous and can’t shut up. It depends on my environment, my mood, and energy that day.

Sometimes I even get nervous at little things like ordering food myself. But then there are times where I can do anything, and no one can tell me otherwise. I could talk to a group of strangers and be completely fine.

I believe that fear triggers courage. Standing up for yourself can come from fear. Fear of the hurtful or untrue things being said can give you the courage to speak up for yourself and others.

Trying new things is also scary but it can be fun. You are scared of the unknown but excited for the experience. People who don’t have a lot of courage can have less different experiences because they are too afraid of putting themselves out there, trying new things, or pushing themselves.

Courage involves your attitude and your spirit. If you are always negative and look at the worst side of things, then you need some courage. Courage doesn’t always just come from within you. It can come from others around you, like Mr. Tom and Mr. Don giving me the push I needed to go up and present my writing. For News, having a good partner the first time who wasn’t judgmental and had done multiple broadcasts made me a little less scared of messing up.

It takes courage to not give up, which is one of the most important things. Don’t give up. Once you have started something, finish it fully.

Madison Hansel

October 13, 2023

Alice in Wonderland by Kennedy Lewis

The assignment: FAIRY TALES RECONSIDERED.

Kennedy’s back story for Alice suggests a less-than-wonderful Wonderland.

My name is Rita. I’m a 32-year-old woman.

We’ve all watched “Alice in Wonderland” at one point in life, right? What am I saying. Of course, we have! Everyone remembers the inquisitive little girl, with golden blonde hair, bright blue eyes and that damn blue dress.

Although it may be hard to believe, I was once that little girl. I once wore that blue dress, my messy hair was all gold and pretty then, too. Nobody could  take their eyes off me for even a second. I was the talk of the town, or I guess the movie set.

I remember so clearly the day I was picked for the role. I was 7 years old. The exact day it happened, November of 1958, my mother basically sold me off for Hollywood money.

I had just woken up on the same bug infested mattress I slept on for most of my life, when my mother suddenly burst into my room. She packed all my clothes into a tiny K-mart bag and told me to get my nice clothes on, which could be compared to a yellow shower curtain.

I asked ‘why?’ She snapped at me “Get your damn clothes on and keep that mouth shut.” I didn’t ask any more questions and slipped into my dress. If you knew one thing about my mother, it was that she had a bad temper.

Kennedy Lewis

October 12, 2023