POETRY: "Ocean Eyes" By Christina Adepoju

 “Ocean Eyes” 
 By Christina Adepoju                                                            

                          

She says she doesn’t want to love anymore,

the pain is too much to bear.

I sit by her side and ask her why,

her mind drifts off, forgetting what was asked

But instead remembers the horrible memories of her past.

SHORT STORY: "Unlucky" By Christina Adepoju

  “Unlucky"

By Christina Adepoju

            At exactly 8:25am,  the school bell rang ,the sound of a death bell sounded through the hallways as the students sluggishly made their way to the auditorium to test for the next 3 ½ hours. Somewhere among the huge crowds of sophomores, Carlie and Shane managed to somehow find their way through the clump, making their way to the front of the massive group.

“Oh my gosh, how long is this going to take? Carlie exclaimed. “If people would just MOVE their feet instead of walking like penguins, then all of us would be able to get inside and take the stupid AP exam. Gosh, I can’t even breathe with all these people rubbing their skin against me.”

The shoving, the pushing and the clamoring were really irritating to Carlie and she found it annoying, but Shane found it amusing to poke fun at her claustrophobia.

“Wow, Carlie! It’s not even that bad,” he said. “Stop overacting over the slightest things, it’s not that big of a deal.”

 Carlie rolled her eyes and pretended to ignore him for the time-being. The administrators finally came around and opened the double doors, kind of like how a zoo-keeper opens a cage to capture the animals. As they walked in through the doors, the school administrators and proctors handed each of the students a chiseled, wooden # 2 pencil, a scantron, and the AP test booklet.  The fear in each and every one of those students began to arise as they received their materials, and made their way to their assigned desk, prepared to take the exam of their life. The administrators thought it would be encouraging if they posted posters with quotes like “ACE THAT EXAM” or “YOU can do it” as a way to “boost the students confidence in the exam.” It was nice of them, but it didn’t calm their nerves down.  It was funny to see how easily people got lost trying to look for the seat, because they went by alphabetical order. They were running like chickens without their heads.  Carlie was able to find her seat within no time, while Shane was walking around with a bunch of other students like little lost children, trying to find their way. Everything was awful in the auditorium; they gave the students broken chairs to sit on, where the back of it was broken into pieces, piercing through the student’s back as they sat back. Carlie was playing around, fiddling with her pencil and playing on the table while waiting for the administrators to give the instructions, when she felt something stick and gooey under her fingertips.

When she removed her fingers from under the table, she saw a huge, moldy, sticky wad of watermelon-scented gum. The contents of the gum were now stuck under her fingernails, and she could see the teeth indents in the gum from the person who chewed it, and left it so graciously under the table, as she tried to peel it off with the top of her eraser.

            Shane was able to locate his seat after wandering for about two minutes. His seat was directly across from Carlie, and started scribbling little notes on the desk as he waited.

            “Good luck, you’re going to do great,” he said in a whisper as he gave a thumbs-up.

SHORT STORY: "Dying Peace" By Christina Adepoju

"Dying Peace"

By Christina Adepoju

      It was a cool, rainy August afternoon. Valerie had nothing to do; the house was quiet and silent and peaceful. It was a dying peace. She sat on the firm, leather couch, holding the maroon pillow and looking out the window. She and her mother Victoria,  replaced it last week after their couch of twelve years finally gave out. The new one was so much nicer and much more firm, comfortable, and had a wonderful color. Just by looking at them, they looked like bars of chocolate all stacked side by side. The same ugly drapes for six years had still been hanging on the windows, shifting from side to side as it hit Valerie in the face. She hated them for as long as she could remember. She hated everything in the house. The pitter-patter of the rain struck against the window, the way a drum stick hits a drum as it drops a beat. The rainy, dreary afternoon was only part of why she hated this day. It ruined her day with her friends to go to the beach, and to go shopping as well, but also she would be receiving an unwanted visit from a familiar stranger.

POETRY: "Nightingale" By Christina Adepoju

"Nightingale"

By Christina Adepoju

The nightingale gives me peace

its songs shiver down my spine

as I listen to its melodious voice;

hearing the pitch-perfect harmonies,

is as calming as the summer sea