Make sure you read all the stories before voting. 
The voting results will be revealed on Thursday March 24thAnd as a reminder, the winner of My AIO Short Story will be titled as Best Writer of Term 18, and have the color of their name changed to purple for the week. The grand prize winner will also receive three free AIO shop items (When the shop is up and running). Second place will have their name color changed to orange and third place light blue. There will also be First, Second and Third place ribbons awarded.
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*Entry #1* "Short Story"
Entry #1 wrote:“I can’t take it anymore, Mr. Whittaker!” Camilla said, punctuating her outburst by banging her spoon in her almost-empty ice cream dish. “It’s always, ‘Do this!’ or ‘Do that!’ or ‘You’re the youngest,’ and that kind of stuff. I’m tired of being the youngest one in the family,” she wailed.
Mr. Whittaker gave a small laugh. “I understand what you mean Camilla. It’s—”
But the youngest Parker wasn’t done yet. “If I could just live without my parents or siblings, life would be so much easier!”
“Ooh, Camilla, do you really mean that?”
“Yes, I do,” she said. “Seriously, Whit. Life without them would be fun. I could eat what I wanted to. Do what I wanted to. Wash my socks when I feel like. Clean my room whe—”
“Alright, I get the picture,” Whit said. “Well, if you want to, you could experience life like that.”
“R-really? How?”
“Follow me, Camilla.”
They went upstairs, Camilla wondering what on earth Mr. Whittaker meant.
“Ahh...here you go,” Whit nodded.
“What is that? Did you change the Imagination Station?”
“No, this is called the Room of Consequences. Not too many people use it, but I think you might want to try it out. You’ll see how life is without anybody in your family but you.”
“Awesome!” she said. “Uh...how do I get in?”
“I’ll open the door.” Mr. Whittaker pushed a button on the side of the large machine. It slid open softly. “Step right in and enjoy your adventure.”
“Alright!” Camilla got inside. Mr. Whittaker pushed another button, and the door closed, leaving her in total darkness.
“I’ll start the program from out here,” Whit’s voice came over the intercom. In a few seconds, a greenish light turned on the inside.
“Who-wha” Camilla started, then let out a scream as the program kicked in. “Daddy!” was the first thing she yelled. Suddenly, she realized she was back at home. “Oh, silly me,” she laughed. “Daddy’s not here anymore. Or anyone else.” With the realization that she could do whatever she wanted to overwhelmed her. In fact, she didn’t even know what to do with it.
“Maybe I should go get something to eat. I’m kinda hungry.” In fact, it was close to dinner time when she was at Whit’s End. She shouldn’t have even been eating ice cream. Camilla went downstairs. The house was exactly how it had been when she left, except nobody was there. And that’s when she smelled it.
“Oh my goodness! There’s something burning in the oven!” It was Eva’s casserole she’d been cooking. Camilla searched frantically for an oven mitt, and when she found it, yanked open the oven. She coughed because of the smoke, and tried to take the casserole out. But it was too hot. She remembered something about throwing salt or baking powder...but wait, that was for fires. She grabbed a pitcher of water and threw it over everything.
There was a loud hiss, and Camilla turned off the oven and groaned. Quickly however, she smiled. “I’ll just have lots of chocolate for dinner,” she stated to herself. Well, not just chocolate. She had lots of that, along with most of a bottle of Sunkist, and some potato chips. Never mind the fact that she had to keep fit for soccer practice.
Several days passed like this for Camilla. School was out because it was summer vacation, so the young girl did as she pleased. Until one day right after she finished watching her 3rd movie in a row, Camilla found out that they were out of everything. Or at least everything that she liked.
“And I don’t have a lot of money to go buy food!” she groaned. And even if she did, she’d have to walk. Or use her bike. She couldn’t drive. By the time Camilla had pooled together all her money, which only equaled about a dozen dollars, and she’d gone to the mall on foot, an hour had passed. She spent a half hour trying to find what was the cheapest food. And after she finally got out, she took the long route to avoid Whit’s End.
When she got home, her eyes seemed open to the mess the house was in. Her room stank and was so crammed with junk that she could hardly find her bed. The kitchen was a total mess with dirty dishes and rotting food. And there were clothes that needed to be washed and dried! Camilla set out with a sudden inspiration to do all the work, but miserably gave up halfway through.
“Too much,” she groaned. And it got even worse. Three days later, she was again out of food. No money, no food. Well, there still was all the stuff that she didn’t like. After she ate oatmeal, she pondered what to do now. Maybe she could go to the Jones. Or she could get a job. That night as Camilla slept in the couch in the back of the house, she never had missed her parents and siblings more.
Morning came, and Camilla found out that someone had come into the house when she was asleep. They had robbed a lot of what had been in the house, but for some strange reason, left her alone. The shock made Camilla just stand and stare for several minutes. She sank to the ground and began to cry. She wanted to go back, away from here, to a place where her parents were.
“Camilla?”
“Daddy?”
“Camilla!” the voice came again. She whirled around. There was nobody in sight. Was it someone outside?
“I wanna go home!”
“But you are home,” the voice said.
“I want to go back to my parents and Matthew and Olivia! I was wrong—I do need them. Please, just get me out of here.”
The person laughed. “Alright, Camilla,” Whit said. Suddenly, everything went dark and the door opened again. Camilla jumped out.
“Am I glad to see you again, Mr. Whittaker!” Camilla bubbled.
“I’ll walk you downstairs. Are you going home?”
“Yes, Mr. Whittaker. Back to my family.”
Entry #2 wrote:He reached the bridge and looked down at the water below. It rushed passed very quickly.
Glad I don't have to swim in that....
He heard the water gushing by, and the wilderness sounds and smells. He loved it all. All of a sudden, he heard a high pitched scream that made his blood curdle. Seconds later he saw something fall into the river with a huge splash. He reacted right away, took off his shoes, and dove into the rushing water below.
_________________
"Help! Help!"
Mercy shouted trying to swim to the shore but she wasn't able to fight the strong current pulling her under. Water kept making it's way into her mouth and nose and between coughing fits she knew she wouldn't be able to fight the current much longer. Just as she started to go under she heard a voice saying
"Keep your head up. I'm coming."
Mercy continued to do her best to keep her head up out of the water. Then she felt the support of strong hands.
"Stop struggling or we'll both go under."
She stopped struggling. She felt herself being guided over to the bank, and then he helped her out of the water. She lay on the ground for a moment as she watched him get out of the water himself. Dripping and soaked to the skin he walked over and asked, "Are you alright?"
Mercy coughed and spat, but once her breathing was calmer she managed to say, "Yeah. Thanks to you. You saved me."
"No broken bones?" He asked not making any response to her thanks.
"I don't think so. Who are you? "
"My names not that important. Just the fact that your ok means that I succeeded. Consider it my good turn for the day." He replied quickly.
"Sure your name's important. You saved me. I at least should know the name of my hero. Mines Mercy." She said curious about the mysteriousness of her hero.
Mercy turned her head at the sound of sirens.
"Listen there's a path over there that will get you to the main road. Those sirens are probably to make sure you're alright. Make your way up to the road and back to the bridge. They'll want to do tests to double check that you're alright." He said ignoring her question.
Mercy turned to look where he had pointed and sure enough there was a path that led towards the road.
"But what about..." Mercy turned back to the young man who had helped her and saw nothing. He was gone.
Hmmmmmm, how strange...
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"So he didn't tell you his name?" Connie asked the next day at Whits End.
"No. He simply made sure I was alright, and when he heard sirens he disappeared." Mercy replied.
"You don't think he's running from the law do you?"
"I don't think so. I think he's just the private type. He didn't want publicity."
"How did you fall of the bridge again?" asked John Whittaker, the grandfatherly owner of Whit's End.
“Well..I was hanging out with some friends on the rail of the bridge. We were laughing and talking you know, that type of thing. My parents always said to be careful on the railing. Guess that's what I get for not listening.”
“Well. At least you didn't get seriously hurt. That was very dangerous. “ Whit replied as he prepared a World famous chocolate soda for Mercy on the house.
“Yeah... I know. I just wish I knew his name. Or where he lives. That way I could somehow find a way to return the favor.” Mercy said.
“He didn't say anything else?” asked Connie.
“Well he did say, 'Consider it my good turn for the day'. Which I can't help thinking I've heard that before.”
“You know. In some cases, we just have to accept a good deed for what it is. We don't always get the opportunity to return the favor.” said Whit as if from his own experience.
“Good turn..daily... I got it! Do you think he was a boy scout?” said Connie.
“Boy scout? Yes, their slogan is 'Do a good turn daily'.” replied Whit.
“Maybe, but he seemed too old to still be in scouts. It was dark, but he seemed maybe in his thirties? And had the start of a beard. Dark hair.” said Mercy trying to remember all the important details about her mystery hero.
“So we still have the possibility of him being a former scout.” replied Connie trying to remember if anyone she knew were in scouts.
“Yeah...I sent the story to the paper and they talked with me a little. Maybe that will help draw him out.” replied Mercy.
“Perhaps, but then again maybe he's got the right idea.” said Whit in a mysterious manner.
“Yeah? How so?” asked Connie curiously.
“Well he saved Mercy, but he's not looking for recognition for that deed. I find a good deed is rewarding in it's self. In fact we used to have a group called the isrealites that went around town and did secret random acts of kindness for people without their knowledge. It was all about doing good deeds without wanting anything in return.” said Whit.
“I see. All I want to know is his name. Oh I wish it were as easy as him walking through the door.”
At that moment a man walked into Whits End.
“Well would you look at that. It's Jason! I didn't think I'd see you around these parts again.” said Whit.
“Yeah I was just passing through and thought...”
“It's you!” Mercy practically shouted.
“Jason?” Whit and Connie both said at the same time.
“Uh oh..I guess it's not a secret anymore.” replied Jason.
“Well thanks again for saving me Jason. You're amazing.” Said Mercy.
“Well your welcome. Anyway I just wanted to stop in and say hi. But I gotta go now. Dad I'll call you later to discuss that uh thing.”
“Ok son.” replied Whit as he watched Jason leave.
Mercy left Whits End and quickly called the newspaper. She asked them to tie into the article the importance of helping others, and that sometimes it feels just as good to do it without getting recognition for said good deed.
Entry #3 wrote:Marvin Washington had a problem. He talked to Mr. Whitaker about it.
Mr. Whitaker told Marvin a story that related to his problem.
Marvin learned a very valuable lesson from the story and went to put what he learned into practice.
Marvin’s problem was solved and he was very happy. He returned to Mr. Whitaker and thanked him.
Mr. Whitaker laughed and said “The best is yet to come.”
Then Dr. Blackgaard showed up and took over the town.
THE END
Entry #4 wrote:It was a quiet afternoon at Whit’s End once blustery March day. That is, it was quiet except for Camilla Parker’s indignant shouts.
“I am not too little and I do not play baby games!”
“Ugh, Camilla, stop being so loud all the time. Mr. Whittaker’s going to be mad when he comes back!” her big sister Olivia responded, obviously frustrated.
The two girls were sitting in one of Whit’s End’s many booths arguing—as usual. The ruckus had begun with Olivia’s “Camilla, I don’t want to play with you right now! All you play are baby games, and besides, I have things to do. Things you’re too little for.”
Camilla was about to start shouting again when the little bell above the door tinkled and a man in his 20s walked into Whit’s End. He said something to Katrina, who was behind the counter at the time, and then settled down in a nearby booth.
While this was going on, Camilla raised her voice again. “But I’m bored! None of my friends were here yet, and I want to do something with you!”
“Well too bad, because—“
“Hey, hey, what’s all the commotion?”
Olivia looked up to see the strange man grinning down at her, his dark eyes twinkling. “I’d hate to see a fistfight break out in this nice little shop!”
“It’s fine, thanks,” Olivia said through gritted teeth. “Right, Camilla?”
“Olivia’s mean!” Camilla exclaimed. “She won’t play with me, and she said I was too little to do anything she wanted to do. I don’t think she likes me very much,” she finished sadly.
“Hmm.” Olivia squirmed under the young man’s long gaze. Finally, he said “Camilla, why don’t you go ask the nice lady at the counter for some ice cream?”
“But I don’t have any mon--”
The man pressed a $5 bill into Camilla’s little hand. “Well now you do. I’ll only be a second here. I, uh, wanted to talk to your sister for a few minutes.”
“I guess. Thanks!” Camilla skipped to the counter and plopped herself down onto one of the barstools.
The young man smiled as he watched her go. “Nice kid,” he said, sliding into the seat across from Olivia.
Olivia snorted. “Sure.”
“So, you two aren’t getting along so hot today?”
“There’s an understatement.”
“You mind telling me the problem?” he asked.
Olivia threw her hands up in the air. “Why bother? Camilla already told you everything, including what a “horrible, mean sister” I am.” The last part of her sentence was practically dripping with sarcasm. “Besides, it’s not like I never do what she wants. Last week, we pulled out all my old Barbies and had a blast with them!”
The young man glanced over at Camilla in her faded jeans and soccer cleats. “And she wanted to do that? Funny, she doesn’t strike me as the Barbie type.”
Olivia sighed. “She’s not. Okay, fine. I had a blast. Hey, you want to take her with you? You already seem to know so much about her.”
He chucked. “Oh, you don’t want me doing that. I already have one little sister of my own that I messed up with.”
“Hah. If you have a little sister, you’ve got to know how I feel! They’re just so annoying and babyish and, and--”
“Permanent.”
“What?”
Now it was the young man’s turn to sigh. “Olivia, I told you I had a little sister. What I didn’t tell you is that I haven’t seen her in 3 years or called her on the phone in over 6 months.”
“Really? That’s long?”
“Yep. And it didn’t seem like it would ever end up that way at first. It just started out so slowly.”
“Slowly?”
“Yeah, you know. We were never real close as kids. I didn’t want my little sister hanging around, and before long, she stopped trying to hang around. She had her own friends and life, and I had mine. It’s stayed that way all of our lives. Now she’s a in college in New York, and I’m here in a little town called Odyssey.” He shook his head ruefully. “Now it’s too late to begin again. Brothers and sisters are permanent, Olivia. Camilla will always be your little sister. She’ll always be there for you, and she’ll always be your friend. That is, if you let her.”
“Oh. Oh yeah. I guess I never thought about that.”
“You and Camilla have a relationship that I wish I had with my sister. I can tell just from a couple minutes of watching you. Don’t ruin your relationship like I did with my sister. I wish every day that I had the chance to go back and fix things. Don’t wish you had that chance.”
Just as he finished speaking, Camilla bounced up to the table, holding a huge chocolate ice cream cone. “Thanks, mister! Here’s your change.”
“Nah, keep it. Get your sister something too.” The young man glanced at his watch. “Oh, I didn’t notice the time. I’ve got to run. See you girls around!”
“Yeah, see you!” Camilla said cheerfully.
“See you,” Olivia echoed. “Hey Camilla? I'm sorry I didn't want to play with you before. Do you still want to play? You can pick what we do."
“Really?” Camilla asked. “Well, I’d like to make something in the Inventor’s Corner with you, if that’s okay."
“Oh, hey, Olivia?”
Olivia looked behind her to see the man still standing there.
“Could you do me a favor? When Mr. Whittaker comes back, can you tell him I stopped by?”
“Sure, what’s your name? I’ll tell him as soon as he gets here.”
“Me? I’m Richard. Richard Maxwell.”
THE END
Entry #5 wrote:“Whoa”! Matthew screamed, “Look out theirs one behind you”! Nelson yelled, “If you are going to get worked up so much playing Verminoids, Then you are going to have to leave my shop”! Mr. Finneman grumbled. “Yes Sir Mr. Finneman! Nelson stammered. “Well don’t let it happen again”, Mr. Finneman grumbled. “Yes Sir” Matthew said. “By the way Matthew your mother called”. She said that you have to be home by 7 to study. Ok Mr. Finneman! Matthew called. “Gee Matthew you’d better get home, Nelson warned, Its already 6:45”. “Oh another few minutes won’t hurt. It doesn’t matter if I get home a LITTLE late”. “But Matthew-“its ok Nelson”! Matthew interrupted. “You don’t need to make such a big fuss over it”! “Ok Matthew, goodbye”, Nelson called. “Bye Nelson” Matthew said.
* * *
Matthew walked through the kitchen door. “Mom I’m home! Sorry I’m a little late I”- Suddenly Matthew looked at the clock. 7:15! Phew! Matthew thought as he walked into the kitchen. Matthew?? David Parker called. Yeah dad?? Matthew asked nervously. What time did we tell you to get home? Mr. Parker asked? It was ONLY 15 minutes! Matthew complained. I- No no complaining! Mr. Parker interjected. You have to be faithful in the small things before we can trust you with the big things! Understand? Yes sir. Matthew groaned. Don’t let it happen again. David said. Now go study! Yes sir. Matthew said.
• * *
Matthew looked down at his test nervously. If the house is in Florida and it measures 50 mm long how many ML would it measure? “Great, who needs this stuff?” Matthew grumbled. “Guessing time here we come”!
Matthew looked at his friend’s test with quite a dilemma on his hand. Should I cheat? Matthew thought worryingly. He didn’t want to but if he god anything lower then a B he couldn’t meet at the club! Man today was when we were going to figure out that Mac computer! Matthew looked nervously. Uhhh. I guess ONE problem won’t hurt.
Matthew what’s wrong honey? Eva Parker asked. Um nothing! Uh- Matthew stammered. Why? Because this is the first time I’ve seen you try to put your shoes on your hands and your gloves on your feet. Sorry mom! Got to go to the square one club! Ok, Eva said. But Matthew I got a call from your principal today. My principal? Matthew asked, what did he say? He said that you were a little late for school today, Eva said. Phew! Nothing’s wrong mom! Matthew said. What? Eva asked puzzled. Nothing! Bye! Matthew ran off leaving Eva looking very puzzled on the porch.
Matthew looked at his watch quickly. Oh man! 8:20! I have to go guys! But were almost done with the Mac! Ryan complained. Matthew you GOT to help us finish. Can you imagine if we get this Mac to work?!? Yeah- Matthew said. Ok.
Matthew raced home. Almost there! He yelled how much time left? He looked at his watch and felt his heart drop. 8:55?!? I had to be home by 8:45! I’m dead!
Matthew woke up. Saturday! The big meeting to see if the Mac will work! Matthew jumped out of bed and started to get his shoes on. Wait just a minute young man. David said. Yeah dad? Matthew asked. Is it true that Wally Haggler and Jay are out of town? Yeah dad, Why? Matthew asked. I’m afraid that we can’t let you go Matthew. WHAT? WHY!? Matthew asked. Because nobody there is there to watch you. But dad I- Matthew, the principal called and said that you cheated on your Math this morning. But how did he find- More importantly Matthew, You got home late yesterday AND the day before that. But it was only a few minutes! – And I only cheated on one Math problem! No matter how much of something you do it’s still a sin Matthew! If we can’t trust you with the smaller things then we can’t trust you with the bigger things. I’m sorry but you are banned from the club for two weeks. Yes sir Matthew said. I’m- dad? Dad where are you?!? Ouch! My eyes! Why did the lights get so bright! I- Matthew the adventures done when the lights are on Mr. Whittaker said. Oh thanks Mr. Whittaker. I think I understand why I need to be trusted with even little things now. Good, Mr. Whittaker said. Now you’d better get to school! It starts in 10 minutes. Yes Sir Matthew said. He smiled. No way I’ll be late this time!
THE END
They were all very good!
