"Have you seen my blue shirt?" I shouted down the stairs.

"I think it's in the laundry," Dad shouted back. Disappointed, I dug through my drawer looking for something else to wear instead. It was the first day at a new school and I wanted to look cool, but my pathetic wardrobe was not helping.

Rascal could not believe his good luck. Jason was actually taking the leash off the hook! They were going for a walk! Oh joy! Oh happy day! A walk! Jason could feel the warmth of the sun on his face as he and Rascal headed out the door. He had a lot of homework to do, but a walk to the park would be a welcome break.

Mrs. Linn put the last item in her cart and headed for the check stand. She made polite conversation with the checkout girl. She was out the door when she heard someone calling behind her.

"Wait, you forgot your toilet paper!" called the checkout girl. Mrs. Linn suddenly felt an urge to bolt.

"And the winner is... Emily Martin!" Emily couldn't believe it. She had never in a million years expected to win. She had entered the essay contest on a whim and there were over 500 other entries. People were clapping. Her parents were hugging her. Somewhat stunned, Emily made her way to the stage to accept the award.

Laura is the smart one... she gets As on everything. Kim is the athlete of the group. She plays every sport and she's good, too. Ashely is the beauty, with that head of blonde hair and her killer smile. Zoe keeps everyone laughing -- she's our clown. And me, well, I'm not sure exactly what I am. I guess I'm like the glue that holds us all together.

"It's not fair! How come I have to mow the lawn and all Arnie has to do is pull a few weeds?"

"No one said life was going to be fair," Dad replied. "You're older. Mowing the lawn is your job now. When Arnie is old enough it will be his."

"It's still not fair," I grumbled as I pulled the mower out of the shed.

Myron hated being a knight. All that dragon slaying and questing took up so much time. Time he could be using to paint murals. And now they expected him to compete in some stupid contest to win the hand of the princess.

Princess Krista watched the knights preparing to compete. She wished she could sneak away and work on her painting.

Lila could feel the breeze and hear her friends rustling all around her, or at least the ones that were still left. Many had already gone. She could see them on the ground below in shades of yellow, orange, and red. "The life of a leaf is short," she thought, as she felt the wind grow stronger.

Carl was always getting into trouble. In the first grade he dumped paint all over the carpet intentionally. In third grade he nearly started a fire in his room with some matches he'd found. Now, in fifth grade, he's been suspended for cheating on a test. My parents want me to stop hanging out with him, but we've been best friends since kindergarten.

Veronica and Keri were lying on their backs, looking up at the fluffy, white clouds. Veronica thought one of the clouds looked like an ice cream sundae. She was going to ask Keri if she could see it too, but when she turned her head to look at her friend, she realized that there were tears running down Keri's face.

It was a bright, sunny day, a perfect day for going to the beach, or at least that is what Jayden thought... but Mom and Dad had other ideas. Mom was looking forward to spending the day in the garden. Dad wanted to start building a tool shed in the backyard.