Mary looked at the menu with a puzzled expression. The letters were blurring together. She couldn't  make out the words. Her server approached the table and introduced himself, "I'm Marvin and I'll be  your server," he said before announcing the specials and soups of the day. Mary could not understand a  word that Marvin had said. She nodded her head politely as he blathered, but she had already made up  her mind to point at pictures on the menu to communicate her order.

We walked through the side door of the Happy Burger. Contrary to the name of the restaurant, many  of the employees and patrons appeared to be rather unhappy. We waited in a long line until a cashier,  who looked as though she had just been crying, took our order. Our burgers appeared to have been  flattened. I can't say that we were happy with our Happy Burger experience.

Derrick could no longer contain his curiosity. He took the mystery box off the table and shook it next  to his ear. The sound revealed nothing to him. The desire to know was burning up his insides. He  downplayed his emotions and said innocently, "I wonder what's in it?" Devin shrugged her shoulders.  She wanted to know too, but she wasn't about to disobey Sage Milquetoast's orders. After all, She was  trying to get her wizard degree. But she had no idea as to the extent that Derrick was willing to go.

Kevin stared at the spaceship like a thirsty man would look at a glass of water. He knew that if he  could just get behind the control panel, he would be home. Eleanor noticed Kevin staring at the ship.  She saw the look in his eye and inferred his thoughts. "It would be nice, wouldn't it?" Eleanor asked  

Kevin. He nodded, slightly embarrassed to be caught daydreaming. Eleanor noticed this too. "Too bad  you'd be dead before you could get within 100 feet of it," warned Eleanor.

Igor swung the scythe. Stalks of grain fell at his feet. He felt a pain in his shoulder but he continued  working. After he cleared a whole row, he walked the row length, picking up the fallen grain stalks and  throwing them in a sack. His shoulder was really bothering him. "Igor, come on in and eat!" a voice  cried. He recognized the voice as his wife. "I'll be right there, Sylvia!" he shouted back. He had no  intentions of stopping now though. He decided that he would slice and bag another row.

Alvin clutched his knee while he rocked on the field. He had never felt pain like this before. One  minute he was gliding past the twenty-yard line, now he was on his bottom and immobilized. Coach  Henley crossed the field and put his arm around Alvin's shoulder. Coach Henley recognized the injury  immediately. He knew that Alvin would be incapacitated for several months. He knew that Alvin's year  was over, possibly his career. Coach Henley sighed and rubbed Alvin's back. He said, "It's going to be  alright, Alvin. Everything is going to be alright."

The farmhand scratched his head and said, "So you haven't seen a giant chicken anywhere around  here?" I looked into his eyes to see if he was putting me on. He seemed sincere. "How big is he?" I  asked. The farmhand pointed at a large SUV and said, "Oh, he's about yea big." Now I looked at him  with disbelief and said, "You're telling me that you have a chicken as big as a truck, he's out of control,  and he's somewhere around here?" The farmhand nodded his head stupidly. And that's when I heard the  loudest clucking noise that I had ever heard.

The clock ticked slowly, as it always did at the school on Saturday. The detention room was full, but  no two students sat next to one another. The supervisor, Mr. England monitored the students closely.  Kyle Brennan felt a cough building in the back of this throat. Mr. England had already warned him  about disrupting the silence, so he did not want to cough. He attempted to stifle it, but the itch in his  throat grew and the cough became more difficult to stifle. Mr. England looked at him with contempt.  Mr. England could see Kyle squirming. He felt that Kyle was doing this for attention. Mr. England  would give him what he wanted.

The moon was full. A chill settled in the woods. I was sharpening a stake by the fire. Mario was  setting a fishing line around our camp. He strung the line with empty cans so that if anyone, or anything,  crept up on us, we'd have a chance to act. Once the line was set, Mario joined me by the fire. "It's too  short," he said. "Excuse me?" I responded. "Your stake is too short. You're not going to be able to pierce  the rib cage with such a short stake. You need more leverage."

The Moon shone darkly as Chris walked through the cemetery. "I should have never agreed to meet  her here," he muttered to himself. He was on edge. His mind started racing. He imagined forms in the  darkness. He felt afraid. Then he heard a voice behind him. "Chris !" He turned and saw Gabriella, his  best friend. She laughed and said, "You're not scared, are you?" Chris lied. "No."

Sheila rubbed her fingers through Buttercup's mane. Sheila loved Buttercup. Buttercup had been  Sheila's steed for five years now, and the two felt bonded beyond words. This was good because, as a  horse, Buttercup had no words. Buttercup neighed softly. She loved when Sheila was near her. Sheila  giggled, and then she remembered that she had a treat for Buttercup. Sheila pulled a red and yellow  apple from her backpack and gave it to Buttercup. Buttercup felt cherished.

I felt the momentum in my body slow as the helicopter stopped moving. We hovered in the air for a  moment. I looked down. We were hovering over a landing pad. The pilot gradually brought the  helicopter to a gentle landing. Andy and I prayed that the helicopter wouldn't suddenly explode. The  pilot tried to assure us that it wouldn't, but Andy and I refused to discount the possibility until after we  had safely landed.

"I don't want to go to school!" cried Kelly. It was true. She didn't want to go to school. Kelly's mom  heard the complaint, but it was moot. Kelly's mom never wanted to go to school either, but she went,  and now it was Kelly's turn. Mom felt bad so she tried to think of something encouraging to say, "Hey,  you'll get to see your friends," she mentioned. Kelly scowled. Kelly did not want to look at the bright  side. She wanted to dwell in the darkness. It felt better, so she said, "I don't care! I don't want to go!" Kelly's mom sighed.

"Scalpel," said Dr. Chang. Nurse Mead handed him the scalpel. Dr. Chang examined the  unconscious patient. Dr. Chang thought about times in the past that he had done this procedure. He  remembered performing it on an elderly woman. The operation had been a success. That made Dr.  Chang smile, but then he remembered that each time was different. They didn't all end in celebrations.  Dr. Chang tightened his focus while holding the scalpel like a pencil.