Point of View

Violet pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She was stressed. For the third time this week a teacher was going to call her home and she knew that she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of this one. She thought that she would try anyway. "Come on, Mr. Jones," she pleaded. "I didn't mean to do it. I just held out my hand and he ran into it." Mr. Jones smirked and replied, "Yeah, nice try, Violet, but here's the deal. When one of my students gets hurt, we call homes and that's it." Violet buried her face in her palms.

• First-person

• Second Person

• Third Person

Daily Grind by Aria Bono

The sun was beginning to set. Light rays pierced through the hills and I could see the stars awakening on the other side of the sky, but I did not want to go home. "Give me one more try. I'll get it this time," I pleaded with Jake. He tilted his head to the side, crinkled his face, and said, "Look, if you couldn't do it the last thousand times, you're probably not going to get it right now. Why don't you get your own skateboard, then you can work on your tricks all day and night?" He was right. I needed to get my own skateboard.

• First-person

• Second-Person

• Third-person

H-O-R-S-E by Gallagher Packer

"You can't do it. You'll never do it," said my cousin Victor as I stood at the free-throw line. I turned around so that my back was to the hoop and began bending backwards. I could now see the hoop, but it was upside down. I held the ball against my inverted chest. "Come on, you know you can't do it. Just take the letter," Victor continued goading me but I wasn't trying to hear that nonsense. I wound back and released the ball. It flew from my hands in a perfect arc and soared directly over the backboard. "I told you so," Victor said smugly.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person

Small Round Table Assembly by Furnitron Inc.

Find table leg A and affix it to the table top with one E sized screw. Make sure that you hold the leg straight as you tighten the screws. Do not tighten the screws all of the way until assembly is complete. Locate the cross bar and connect it to the side of table leg A using an F sized screw. Now you have completed section one.

• First-person

• Second -person

• Third person

Gold Miners by Brittney Rosen

Hank brushed the sweat and dirt from his brow. He looked carefully at the crystal mass. These rocks had formed over millions of years. They were beautiful, but they were in the way of the gold. Hank spooled the wire out about twenty feet from the crystal mass. He took cover behind a cave wall and ordered the men to move back before he hit the switch. Boom! Crystal fragments exploded outward and settled on the cave floor. "All clear!" Hank shouted.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person

The Mismatched Switchback by Theodore Paulsen

"She doesn't want to go with you," I told Randy. Randy started sobbing. "I'm sorry, Randy." I really was sorry too. She and Randy would have made a good couple, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I patted Randy on the back and encouraged him some more. "Don't worry, Randy. There are a lot of girls who would be happy to be with you." I couldn't think of any of the top of my head, but that doesn't mean it wasn't true. Randy was crushed.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person

Delta Code by Aaron Hall

Vivica spun the knob on the safe. Moving her stethoscope a fraction of an inch, she turned the dial slowly and listened. Tick-tick-tick-tick-thick. The sound wasn't different than the preceding sound to the average person, but Vivica had a trained ear. She began turning the dial in the opposite direction. Ch-chch-ch-ch-ch-th. She stopped turning and went back the other direction once again. Tick-tick-tick-ticktlick. She stopped turning the knob and tested the handle. Clunk. The safe popped open with a heavy thud.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person

For All the Marbles by Brian Sandburg

The crowd cheered and the clocked ticked. We knew that it would all come down to this play. The coach nodded and I called for the snap. Reggie fired it at me and I ducked back into the pocket. The defense blitzed immediately but our linemen held firm. I thought that I saw A.J. open down field so I drew back at looked up just in time to see the nose guard come flying at me like Superman.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person

The Curse of the Pirate Captain by Hazel Berry

You walked into the pirate captain's cabin. It was not as big as you had imagined it. There were scrolls on the walls showing various coastlines and island chains and the room was crowded with furniture. Walking cautiously over ropes and flasks, you head behind the captain's desk and sit in his chair. That's when you see it, a large chest, hinged and locked. If you want to attempt to pick the lock, turn to page 19. If you want to look through the desk drawers for a key, turn to page 115.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person

Uh Oh, Here Comes Trouble by Carter Nevins

"There's no way you'll hit it from here!" Tommy told me, gesturing toward the warehouse. I disagreed. "Yeah? Just watch me," I said as I picked up a rock. I took a few steps backwards and sized up my target. It was a sixty yards away and down a slight hill. It was pretty far, but it was also really big. I took a few steps forward and launched the rock at a forty-five degree angle. We watched as the rock flew in a perfect arc directly into a glass window.

• First-person

• Second-person

• Third-person