Writing of December:

 Seniors

    First Place:  Shana Williams

  Second Place:  Albert Lecini

Honorable Mention:    Miya Hill     Troy Jessamy    Kim Kaufman

    Navmeet Kaur   Akeele Leon   Rashaad Norfleet   Jose Nunez

Brianna Pennicott    Lauren Quinones   Anthony Valentino

First Place:  Christmas in Hawaii  by Shana Williams  (Grade 12)

Christmas in Hawaii— what a difference from New York.  In 2005, I spent my holiday living with my sister on Oahu.  We would wake up every day around eight or nine, and begin our day.  By noon, we were ready to go Christmas shopping at the Waikiki shopping center.  By four, we were done.

I would go down to the beach to be alone to wrap everyone’s presents.  Surprisingly, I wasn’t the only one doing that.  My sister was very secretive and dramatic, so she would drive up to Makaha and sit on the beach to wrap her presents.

            Most people practically live in Wal-mart during the holiday season.  Simple people, like myself,

look to purchase an artificial Christmas tree.  Snobby city people would try to have a tree from the mainland northwest sent to them.  Walking through Wal-mart feeling the air conditioning and wearing shorts with a tee shirt was different for a December 19 afternoon.  In the evening the temperature would drop into the 70’s; however, the ocean breeze made it seem cooler.  It reminded me of a slightly humid

and above-average temperature winter in New York City.

            It was a great feeling knowing I didn’t have to wear three layers of clothing to keep warm. Every other day I would speak to my mother back in New York on the phone.  She would tell me how she just got back home from shopping:  “I had to stock up, Shay.  They’re saying a big Nor’easter is coming” was the most memorable quote for me in Hawaii.

            Snow.  As much as I dislike the snow, I missed it, missed watching the snow turn the cars, roads,

and streets white while sitting in front of a fireplace drinking hot chocolate with mom.  The following morning reality would set in and I’d still be in Hawaii.  My frequent reminder was that warm breeze and bright shining sun coming into my window.  As Christmas was approaching I became nostalgic for a New York Christmas.  Driving down the Farmington Highway listening to Aaron Neville’s Christmas songs was awful.  Seeing houses, palm trees, and bushes decorated with lights was like being stuck in a movie.  I would daydream about walking down the streets with friends or family wearing a huge winter

coat with boots, and a full set of gifts in each hand. 

            Christmas dinner was depressing.  My sister had the AC on and it was 87 degrees that day.  Back home, mom was putting dinner away, getting ready for bed.  She said it was 16 degrees outside.  Christmas in New York seems much more exciting than Christmas in Hawaii.  Although it’s cold in New York, there is still that feeling of love and togetherness.  The cold actually brings more people together.  The heat and sunny days in Hawaii make everyone go out on their own and do whatever they feel like.

            After leaving Hawaii, I found it better touching down in New York.  Leaving the airport and feeling that brisk air slap my face was the best welcoming gift.

 Second Place:  Knock, Knock!    by Albert Lecini  (Grade 12)

            A knock came on the door.  I opened the door and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.  His pitch black coat was drenched in rain, with blood flowing from the bottom of his boots.  He aimed the gun toward me but quickly put it down.  I suppose he realized I was his only hope.

            The house was entirely empty as John walked in.  He sat down with his coat and boots still on, not realizing that he was wet and leaving footprints of blood all over the carpet.  John could barely speak; he was shaking and mumbling anything that came to mind.  He had placed the gun right on my living room table.  After a few minutes, I began to question him about what had happened.

            He managed to regain his composure and admitted to having shot a man at the local warehouse

right before his wife and daughter.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  As he began to describe his helpless victim, my eyes became wider and wider.  My father had left the house just an hour before John came, to visit the local warehouse.  John’s descriptions of him were so accurate, but I supposed that he didn’t want to tell me that he had shot my father.  Besides, I was the only one who could help him escape.  I couldn’t believe it!  My neighbor had shot my father in cold blood.

            I tried to stay calm, but found my hands beginning to shake.  Before John could look at my dismayed reaction, I quickly turned around and asked him if he wanted anything to drink.  Of course he did.  With every passing moment, I became more outraged and my blood began to boil.  Without John noticing, I managed to snatch his gun off the table.  I slowly walked around him.  I could hear every creak and even the slow movement of the trigger.  Bang!  John was dying right in front of my eyes.

            At the moment I felt no remorse, no sensitivity, and no regret.  Then I heard another knock on the door.  The knob began to turn gently and the door began to open.  It was my father.

Writing of December:

                               Juniors

 First Place:  James Gonidakis

Second Place:  Kadeem Carty

Third Place:  Chauna-Kay Thomas

Honorable Mention: Dontreis Hill     Miguel Rodriguez

First Place:  A Knock at the Door by James Gonidakis (Grade 11)

            A knock came on the door.  I opened the door and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.  Thick drops of rain pounded against his hair and jacket.  Lightning flashed and thunder crackled in the stormy sky.

            I watched as John’s bearded face twisted into a grimace.  He raised the gun so that the barrel pointed at my forehead.  The moment seemed to go on for an eternity.  Each beat of my heart felt like a thousand pounds slamming in my chest.  Reacting on the spur of fear, I slammed the door shut.  I backed into my living room, which stood adjacent to the door.

            Boom.  A gunshot pierced my ears and I broke into a run.  I heard my door topple and crash to the ground.  A vase ahead of me shattered with the bullet that whizzed past my left ear.  I dashed upstairs, skipping steps as I went. Sprinting down the hallway brought me to my attic door.  I opened it, entered, and closed it again with a quick movement of my arm.  I escalated into the musty upper portion of my house, still lingering on the adrenaline of fear.

            I began to hear the thud of feet coming up the stairs.  I gripped a rusted golf club and ducked behind the storage crates.  If anything, I would have the advantage of cover, or so I thought.

            Sweat dripped from my brow and down my face.  My fingers trembled in anxiousness as they gripped the club.  My eyes flickered; the swish of boots filled the attic.  I peeked through an opening to see John glancing around.  He wouldn’t find me, I tried assuring myself.

            I leaned forward for a closer look but stopped abruptly.  My right foot made a slight creak on the archaic floor boards.  I shot a piercing look at my sneaker as if I were reprimanding it with my eyes.  I tried again.  This time, I was as silent as can be, and peered through the small space again.  But I did not see John.  I didn’t see anything.  It was like staring into a deep and dark abyss.  For a second I was relieved.  But a moment later my body froze with fear.  That deep abyss was the pupil of the evil eye...

he saw me.

Second Place:   A Knock at the Door  by Kadeem Carty  (Grade 11)

            A knock came on the door.  I opened the door and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.  “John, what is the problem?” I asked him.  He didn’t give me an answer.  He had a blank look on his face, started stepping closer to me, and brought the gun closer to my face.  So I stepped back and said, “John, whatever it is that you want from me, just ask and I’ll give it to you.”  Still no answer from him.

            In that moment I was thinking to myself that it was weird of John to be acting like this.  Something must be wrong with him.  Then all of a sudden I heard a boom.  John had pulled the trigger, so I flinched.  I saw my entire life flash before my eyes.  Then I started to think about the bullet that was supposed to hit me.  I looked and saw the bullet frozen in mid-air right in front of me.  That was when it hit me— I had powers.  So I quickly knocked the bullet out of the way and used my power on John.  I flicked my hands at him and John went flying through the door, hitting his head on the stairs.  I said to myself, “What a power!”  I ran over to John, asking if he was OK.

            Then something strange happened.  Out of nowhere, I saw a creepy-looking shadow crawl out of

John, and it just disappeared into thin air.  That was when I realized that the shadow was the cause of why John was acting so weird.  I had almost forgotten about John hurting his head.  When I called 911,

the ambulance came just in time to stop the bleeding from damaging his head. 

            When I went to the hospital to see John, he asked me what had happened.  I said, “You tripped on my steps.”  He thought to himself and said to me, “I don’t remember coming to your house.”  I said,

“It’s a long story and I’ll tell you later.”

Third Place:     Christmas in a Warm Climate   by Chauna-Kay Thomas  (Grade 11)

Of all the holidays in the year, Christmas is my favorite.  Christmas is the time when we celebrate Jesus’s birth and, of course, the upcoming new year.

I have never spent the Christmas holidays in a really warm climate.  However, I have spent a couple of Christmases without snow.  For one year, I spent my Christmas in Georgia, and it was—to

my surprise—freezing.  Being in the south, I thought it was supposed to be warm all year-round.

Compared to New York, I really didn’t feel the Christmas spirit in Georgia.  There weren’t many houses decorated, and there was definitely no snow.  Growing up in New York, I feel happy when it’s Christmas time.  I get to watch a lot of classic movies like A Christmas Carol, The Polar Express, or one of my favorites, A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I’ve even gotten a chance to go to the city and see the Christmas Spectacular a few times.

I would prefer chilly holidays to warm ones because I feel that our winter break from school is much longer than our spring holidays.  Since Christmas and New Year’s are back to back, we get a week and a half or two weeks away from school.  When we get to college, we will probably get a month off.

Of course, Christmas is not about the weather, or the gifts, or the time off from school.  It’s about cherishing your life, family, and friends, and giving more than receiving.

 Writing of December:

                              Sophomores

         First Place: Nikki Lopez

Second Place:   DeWitt Gilmore

       Third Place: Kejuan Dunn

Honorable Mention:      

Anthony Cueto       Manon de Fleurac       Georgia Manesis  

   Kasandra Ramirez      Elizabeth Tovar        Dinorah Woods

  First Place:      Christmas in a Warm Climate by Nikki Lopez  (Grade 10)

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays.  It’s just so joyful and happy that even if something isn’t perfect you can’t help but feel warm inside.  New York is my favorite place during the Christmas holidays.  The chilly air, snow-covered streets, and everyone trying to keep warm with hats and gloves

set the mood.  However, I have spent Christmas in a warmer climate.  Florida was my Christmas setting for about five years when I lived there.

            During the winter Florida is usually warm during the day and slightly chilly at night.  Also, it rains every once in a while, so instead of snowball fights, we played in puddles.  In New York during Christmas, there is so much to do.  You can go to Rockefeller Center and see the big Christmas tree or go see the decorated windows at Saks Fifth Avenue.  Florida doesn’t really have anything like that, unless you decide to light up a palm tree.  New York is so much more beautiful during the winter

holidays.  It makes you feel at home, because in books and movies you read and see of a white Christmas, not a wet and/or hot Christmas.

            I definitely prefer chilly holidays over warm ones.  I would rather try to keep warm than sweat and try to keep cool.  When it’s cold, you have a reason to cuddle near a warm fireplace with a special someone.  You can drink hot chocolate and go ice skating, have snowball fights and make snowmen.

When it’s cold and snowing during the holidays, it brings the whole family together.

Second Place:  A Knock at the Door  by DeWitt Gilmore    (Grade 10)

A knock came on the door.  I opened the door and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun. 

“Come in.  I have the table all set up,” I said.  “You brought the right gun, right?”

“I don’t know all your technical terms,” John replied in a smooth fashion.  “You just said to bring my revolver.”

There was silence as I guided him into the basement, deep into the basement where no one

could hear or witness events taking place.  I knew I could trust John with the gun.  We had respect for each other.  We just couldn’t trust each other with the money.

“Ready tostart?” John asked as he pulled out the gun.

“Is anyone ever ready to die?” I said with a smirk.

“I’ll go first,” he said with a weird look.  He looked as if he knew he would die.  He spun the chamber in the regular roulette fashion.  It stopped and he put it to his head.  I suddenly realized what

he was doing.

“Wait, John!” I called as I stood up.

“You’re worth the investment,” he said as he pulled the trigger.  Just like that, a bullet through the temple ended the life of my partner.  I had wanted it to be fair.  I didn’t want the money like this.

   Third Place:      Weather on a Christmas Holiday  by Kejuan Dunn  (Grade 10)

One year I did spend my Christmas in a warm climate.  When I say warm, I mean that it’s not too hot or too cold.  I spent that Christmas with my Dad and cousins in Georgia.  It was totally different from my other Christmases in New York with my Mom, my grandmother and my grandfather. 

In New York, you have to wear big coats, gloves, and boots because of the snow.  In Georgia, I

didn’t have to wear any coats, boots, hats, or gloves.  The weather felt good but the Christmas spirit was gone in Georgia.  The sun was shining, with not even a snowflake falling from the sky.  In New York

there usually is a ton of snow on the ground.  When there is snow at Christmas, it brings more of a Christmas spirit even if it is cold.  In my opinion, on Christmas there should be snow, because snow to me is a miracle, and Christmas is a day of miracles.

            There is one advantage to having Christmas in warm weather: if you get a gift that is meant to be used outside, like a bike, you would rather ride a bike in warm weather than in cold weather.  That is the only advantage of having Christmas in warm weather.

            When snow falls from the sky, it is a sign of happiness, and Christmas is also a day of happiness.

That is why I would rather have my Christmas in cold weather than in a warm climate.

Writing of December:

 Freshmen

         First Place: Jahnine Wolinsky

Second Place:   Sarah Aufiero

Honorable Mention:   Angela Acocella      Ayanna Behagen

                            Trudy-Ann Evans      Joel Oteng

First Place:  A Knock at the Door  by Jahnine Wolinsky  (Grade 9)

.       A knock came at the door.  I opened the door and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.  He stormed into my house and in his eyes I saw great anger.  I began to scream frantically.  He yelled, “Show me to the basement!”  In fear, I did.  The next thing he said shocked me.  He asked where my dictionary was.  I thought to myself how ironic—a man bursts into my house and he’s looking for a book?  You would think he would want money or something of that sort.  What also surprised me was that once we got to the basement, he was angry that the dictionary wasn’t where it was usually kept.  I had moved it earlier so that I could clean off the shelves.  I found it and he snatched it and ran.  I never saw him again.  Neither did the police.  I was puzzled at the time, but

I was soon to find out what the importance of that book was.

        There was a woman missing in the neighborhood whose name was Sarah.  She had gone out to

a party one night and never came home.  All that was found of her was her shoe.  Everyone was a suspect.  John’s house was searched first but they found nothing, no trace of blood, no footprints, nothing at all, and the same with all the other houses.  My house was searched last but they also found nothing.  Later that week my friend Martha and I went fishing.  We didn’t have much luck.  As we were about to leave, Martha spotted something in the water.  It was my dictionary.  She took it out of the water and said, “Let’s hand this in to the police.”  I said, “No! I mean, John’s gone now so let’s just leave it alone, okay?”  She replied, “But with so much going on, don’t you think it would be the right thing to do?  I mean, with Sarah being missing and all.”

        I answered her very firmly, “No.  Now just drop it.”  It was now 9 p.m. and I went home.  Later there was a knock at my door.  It was the police.  They said they had gotten an anonymous tip about some book in a lake.  When I gave it to them, they opened it and found blood on the pages, Sarah’s blood.  They took me to the police station and began questioning me.  John knew all along.  He must have seen me and Sarah arguing at the party.  He must have seen me kill her and get the blood on the book.  Now I’m done, caught.

        The next day, I was pleased to find out that John’s fingerprints had been found all over the book.

This was my way out of it.  I began to lie, blaming everything on John, and I was sent home, able to walk free.  They now had a warrant out for John’s arrest.  I felt a bit bad because all he wanted to do was help me.

        Later that night, I received a phone call, but when I answered, no one responded.  Whoever it was called back.  Once again I got no reply.  The phone rang a third time, and this time he said in a whisper, “You put it all on me.”    Then there was a knock on the door.  I opened the door and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.

 Second Place:  A Knock at the Door  by Sarah Aufiero    (Grade 9)

It was a warm summer day.  I was with my friends just hanging out, enjoying the nice weather.

We were all playing basketball and eating ice cream.  Around 5:30 or 6, they all left.  I was home by myself, just sitting back watching TV and eating popcorn.  Then all of a sudden, a knock came on the door.  I got up and went to open the door, and there stood my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.

            I just stood there.  I asked him to put the gun down, but he just kept holding it.  I tried to shut the door so I could call for help, but John pushed the door open and I fell.  He came in and slammed the door shut.  I crawled back trying to get to the phone.  But John got the gun and shot the phone and I screamed and got up and ran.

            John followed me with the gun, running up the stairs.  I ran into my room, locked the door, and

moved the desk in front of the door.  John started to shoot the door to open it.  I was trying to get the window open. 

I got a sheet and tied it to the bed so I could climb out the window.  John was breaking down the door. As I was climbing out the window, he grabbed my jacket and pulled me back.  I wiggled, trying

to get free.  I ripped my jacket and I fell.  I got up and started to run up the street yelling for help.  John started to shoot from the window.  I kept screaming, yelling for someone to hear me but no one would answer me.  So I kept running and running.  Out of nowhere, John grabbed me.  I screamed for him to let me go.

            Then all of a sudden, I woke up and I was in my bed.  I looked at the time and I saw it was only 12:30 p.m.  It was a dream, it was all a dream.  I got on my bathrobe and went downstairs.  I called for my Mom and she said, “Good morning, sleepy head.”  I said “Good morning.”  Then I said, “I had the weirdest, scariest dream.”  All of a sudden there was a knock at the door.  It was my neighbor John.  He was holding a gun.  I screamed and ran out the door.  John looked at my Mom, saying, “Hasn’t she ever seen a fake gun before?”