“The weather was unusually warm for the last day of October. We didn't even need jackets. The wind was growing stronger…There was no moon… We slowed to a cautious gait, and edge feeling our way forward as not to bump into the tree. The tree was a single and ancient oak; two children could not reach around its trunk and touch hands. It was far away from teachers, their spies, and curious neighbors..." (Lee 254).

Despite waking up 30 minutes late, pouring orange juice in his cereal, missing the bus, and stepping in dog poop on the way to school, Brandon still knew it was going to be a marvelous day. He liked to look on the bright side of life! At least he had all of his homework finished!

After listening to the teacher drone on and on about the importance of turning in homework, Nathan turned to his friend and muttered, "Whatever! This class is stupid." Pushing his books away and crossing his arms, Nathan slunk back into his desk.

During the 2009 MTV Music Awards, Taylor Swift barely had a chance to accept her award for Best Female Video before Kanye West aggressively rushed the stage, ripped the microphone out of her hand, and rudely aired his objections. “I’m sorry, but ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyoncé is the best video of all time.” Clearly not thinking this stunt all the way through, Kanye continued the infamous rant for several minutes.

Living with a learning disability wasn’t easy for Avery, but it was her heart’s desire to learn new things and do well in school. Her upcoming Geometry test wasn’t going to be easy, so Avery diligently reviewed the required vocabulary terms and studied the necessary angles. When her test came back with a 92% written at the top, Avery was thrilled to see all of her hard work had paid off!

Sergio reluctantly went along with a group of friends to Six Flags. He was cranky and would not ride on any of the roller coasters. When his friends decided to ride Mr. Freeze, Sergio crossed his arms and plopped down on a bench. As his friends made their way to get in the long line, Sergio yelled in a cantankerous voice, “I hope you know, on average, five Americans die every year on roller coasters!”

“Son of Laertes, versatile Odysseus, after these years with me, you still desire your old home? Even so, I wish you well. If you could see it all, before you go– all the adversity you face at sea– you would stay here, and hard this house and be immortal− though you wanted her forever, that bride

you pine for each day. Can I be less desirable than she is? Less interesting? Less beautiful? Can mortals compare with goddesses in grace and form?” (69-79).

With his body full of adrenaline, Justin Timberlake made his way out of the arena. He cheerfully and excitedly greeted each of his adoring fans. Later that evening, Justin started taking crazy selfies with anybody that wanted to participate!

I finally arrived to class on time! I even had a pencil and it was sharpened! I was feeling pretty accomplished! Things turned south quickly when my teacher said, “Clear your desks off; it’s time for the test.” As one of my eyebrows grew taller than the other, I began trying to process this mysterious information. I couldn’t remember what I was doing last night instead of studying. Was I watching Netflix? Texting my friends? Slowly, I scratched my head, took a deep breath, and decided to accept the consequences.