Into the Depths: Early Words by 916InkWriters

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into the depths – early words Poetry and prose by the young writers of Mitchell Middle School in conjunction with 916 Ink

About 916 Ink 916 Ink is the only arts-based literacy nonprofit in the greater Sacramento region dedicated to providing creative writing workshops for youth, ages 5-25, to transform them into confident writers. We empower students to become the authors of their own lives, one published story at a time. Since 2011, we have served over 4,000 kids in the Sacramento Region, and published more than 200 publications. Our mission is to empower children and youth through creative writing. We envision a Sacramento region where every child and teen is given access to a creative writing program that leads them to believe in themselves and to understand the power of the written word. Learn more about us at www.916ink.org, or send an email to info@916ink.org to learn how to become involved.

DISCLAIMER

This is a work of fiction and poetry. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author and publisher hold exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Copyright 2021.

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Dear Reader, What you see is the hard work and dedication of a community of youth and adult writers working together to tell stories that inspire, entertain, and heal. At 916 Ink, we teach young people how to write, listen, and support each other in the pursuit of creating literary art. The words in these pages are carefully chosen and crafted to reflect their unique voice. This book is a celebration of “taking the yes,” which is a motto of 916 Ink students. “Taking the yes” means that students are unafraid to collaborate with each other and themselves. It might sound weird—how does one “collaborate” with his or her own self? By shutting down the inner critics in our head that tell us that we aren’t good enough, our stories don’t matter, or what we might say is stupid or unnecessary. Stories are how we create meaning and make sense of the world. What’s better than to teach young people how to tell stories, create meaning out of their lives, and understand the world? Creative writing carves a path to a better life. Writers know this, but maybe the rest of the world doesn’t. A writer is someone who truly gets to live twice—once through their senses and once through the page. Everyone needs writers. Favorite television shows? Go thank a writer. News articles? Thank a writer. Education? Writers wrote the curriculum. Business? Can’t happen without writers creating marketing tools and business plans. Writers make the world go around. By reading this book you’ve supported the growth of a writer. Thanks. Please consider making a donation to this great cause on our website at www.916ink. org if you’d like to further our mission of populating the planet with youth who can “take the yes,” and lead a happy life. Ink-tastically yours,

The 916 Ink staff, the Board of Dreamers, volunteers, and youth writers

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From the WordslingerS Dear Reader, When thinking back on Ms. Saenz’s class and what I will remember, the first thing that comes to mind is the pop culture references. This is the class that recognized pop culture figures and captured the essence of Gen Z. These were the students that knew the classics like Tupac but also knew people like Billie Eilish and Melanie Martinez. My favorite part about this class was their enthusiasm for ice breaker questions that made me wonder if what I liked was normal or not. I remember asking them about their favorite pizza toppings and making a list of things I needed to try. It turns out that pineapple on pizza is still a highly debated topic that I’m not sure about. I loved hearing about pets that they loved and the different genres that they enjoyed. They were a perfect mix of horror fiends and fantasy-loving individuals. I still have a craving for some of their favorite foods like adobo and homemade tamales. When greeting the young writers from Ms. Leeper’s class in the morning, I often considered how the group was not afforded the luxury of knowing a bell would ring at the same time every day, every day of the week. These Inkers were living through the uncertainties of distance learning and learning through a pandemic, and as if this were not enough, they were also subjected to a schedule change that coincided with the end of daylight saving time— effectively pushing the start time to our program two hours earlier than it had originally been. This schedule change included in-class time as well, which our program was included in. Given all of the rapid changes and expectations the Inkers faced this semester, the possibility of the program becoming a chore instead of a joy was very real. Despite the challenges the Inkers faced this semester, they found ways to be creative and enjoy themselves. When the prompts we presented to the Inkers didn’t work for them, they wrote what they wanted. When they didn’t want to write a story or a poem, they made use of the chat to express themselves in ways that were as creative and artistic as any of the guided writes: they drew and sketched when words weren’t the way they chose to express themselves.

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As Wordslingers, we want to thank and commend all of our Inkers for their hard work and flexibility this semester, even those Inkers who are not night owls and who didn’t have a self-proclaimed need to quench their thirst for sugary, caffeinated drinks. As you read through the stories and poems in this anthology, we hope that you enjoy it as much as the Inkers are going to enjoy sleeping in this summer. Despite a pandemic, these students were brave enough to talk about things that mattered to them and big feelings that can be hard to express, and for that we will be forever grateful.

Damon Plant and Katie Tat

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Acknowledgments Damon Plant

Wordslinger

Katie Tat

Wordslinger

Anthony Ziba

Wordslinger

Jan Littman

Inspirator

Lori Hanley

Guest Editor

Patti Roberts

Guest Editor

Katie McCleary

Founding Executive Director

Michael Spurgeon

Founding Board President

DJ Waldow

Board of Dreamers, President

Dr. Beatrice Tetteh

Board of Dreamers, Vice President

Shelley Blanton-Stroud Board of Dreamers, Secretary Kathy Flynn

Board of Dreamers, Treasurer

Chris Worden

Board of Dreamers

Daniel Kaufman

Board of Dreamers

Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood

Board of Dreamers

Lynn Lizarraga

Board of Dreamers

Michelle Warshaw

Board of Dreamers

Patrick Harbison

Board of Dreamers

Tigh Rickman

Board of Dreamers

Vince Wong

Board of Dreamers

Ian Hadley

Executive Director

Angela Tannehill

Creative Director

Allison Stelly

Director of Development

Nikki Cardoza

Director of Programming

Paulette Greenhouse

Find Your Voice Program Manager

Brenda Nguyen

Program Coordinator

Jay Oatis

Program Coordinator

Nena Larieze

Program Coordinator

Emma Hoppough

Production Coordinator

Maria Gavia

Office Manager

Christina Nelson

ReadOn! Program Manager

Tory Scott

Bookslinger

Will Evans

Outreach and Development Associate, AmeriCorps VISTA

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Contents Ms. Saenz’s Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Pop

⭐ ⭐ Star

Group Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 How to Write a Horror Novel Gabriel Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Untitled Haydrien Trahan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 What I Want to Do in Sports JDD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Memories Jose Ignacio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Second Jose Ignacio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sea Glass Jose Ignacio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Me Jose Ignacio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Untitled MG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Pine Grove Flower Garden Naomi Velasco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Ms. Leeper’s Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 天から地へ - From Heaven to Earth Group Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Rude Kids Caynan Terrill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Untitled Caynan Terrill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Paintball Mania Caynan Terrill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 SPIDER FACTS Caynan Terrill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Untitled Caynan Terrill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Untitled Caynan Terrill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Untitled Julie Schleeter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Untitled Tyler Roe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Plan Tyler Roe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Plan (In Action) Tyler Roe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Inspirators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 How to Be... (The Best Student) Ms. Saenz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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Ms. Saenz’s Class

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Pop ⭐Star⭐ Group Story

Prologue Once upon a time, Billie is bullying Serena. Billie thinks Serena is annoying. Billie trash talks and tells her that she is way too annoying and her music is bad. She then punches her in the face. Serena goes and cries in the corner. After feeling weak and upset, Serena decides that she will never let herself be bullied again. As students at Crenshaw High School, Serena and Billie begin attending school. Serena wears more girly-girl clothes with acrylic nails and matching handbags while Billie prefers green and black loose jeans and loose sweaters. Billie is popular—she has a boyfriend named Blue, who is tall and muscular. He is 6’7 but shaped like a beanpole with green eyes and deep blue, almost black, hair—while her sister, Serena, is unpopular. Billie continues to torment her sister by slapping her. Serena responds by fighting back in rage. Using her powers of prediction, she fights back. She knows where Billie is going to hit next, so she defends herself by protecting the areas where Billie will hit. But before anyone can really win, unluckily for them, Ms. Saenz walks by and stops the fight. Both girls are dragged to the office and are forced to wait for their parents. Mom arrives first, and she is both angry and proud. Part of her is proud that her girls are using their powers, but the other part of her is angry that the girls are using their powers on each other. Mom is feeling annoyed because the girls have interrupted her secret plans. While the girls thought that Mom was at work, she was planning a secret plot to take over the world. When Mom had to leave to pick up the girls, she accidently left some top secret plans out that revealed her entire plan. Bored without their phones, as a punishment, they find a file called Operation Red written in red ink. Inside the file, there is information on how their dad died. The files are written in a secret language that Billie could read. You see, while the mom was off figuring out her world domination plan, Billie took the time to learn how to read and write in this secret language. Billie and Serena decide that they must save the planet together. Post-punishment, the girls decide to never do that stuff again. It’s not fun to fight with one another

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when they could just fight their evil parent. The girls decide that post-fight, they will be closer than ever. Nothing binds two children closer together than evil mom who must go down.

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How to Write a Horror Novel Gabriel Turner

How to write a horror novel: First, you have to have your “final person” and your killer/murderer/monster, etc. Say my murderer is Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and he chases down all the victims and you have to decide who will be the last person alive—say you have Alice, Brian, Jeffrey, and Jeremy. You have to decide who the last one alive will be; you will want to choose by seeing who is better material and who would be able to fight off the killer the best. Say Alice is injured in her foot; she’s not going to last, so she’s done for, and Brian is scared and he’s breathing super hard while the killer is looking for him and gives away his own position, so he will not last either, and Jeremy is that one jock kid from their high school, so he will try to fight him off but fail miserably, and Jeffrey is the super strong kid and will fight off the killer and beat up the killer and make an escape in a pickup truck.

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Untitled Haydrien Trahan

Adobo is food. It’s good. It’s amazing. I like it. I had it like a week ago and want some more.

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What I Want to Do in Sports JDD

There are many sports that you can play. Sports are a lot of hard work to do. Not many people make it to the professional league of sports. I prefer baseball or football. I’m a player myself, and I’m really good at it. My dad was a football player, and I would like to try it out. Sports are difficult depending on the sport.

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Memories Jose Ignacio

I close my eyes and think of tamales. I think back to the place where the tamales were made in my aunt’s house. It smelled like a food candle. It takes about a couple hours to make, which seems like forever. I hear when the spoon slides across the tamale as chili slides along. I see my family talking about tamales and how good the tamales will be. The taste is smooth, delicious, and spicy, but most of all, really good. When making a tamale, you need a masa spreader, carne, or chicken, whichever you are using. I watch my grandma, my aunt, and my mom make the tamales and talk about how good they’re going to be. When the tamales are done, we all sit around the table eating, talking, and laughing.

Second Jose Ignacio

The “hero” or the person who just likes to fight for fun. In his world, monsters and some demons roam freely. The demon king is one who fought with the monster leader. His victory was incredible. The hero, also known as Alex, was a man. When roaming the world for mighty fights, he encountered the demon king. Sadly but surely, he was not even for him, but even so, the demon king—with his powerful eye—had seen him grow way more than he ever had. So, he had spared Alex and asked for his name. Alex was human but not: he was half demon and half human. But apart from that, he’d been cursed by the gods and the first demon king. Each time he had died, he would come back at the cost of becoming a full-fledged demon.

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Sea Glass Jose Ignacio

I always see a young lad who comes over and plays with our young daughter. I, in fact, would consider him my own son. I see on some days he comes with a bruise. I had confronted him once about it, but he said it was nothing. And on one day, he came over with flowers by the window where my daughter was. As I was going to the door, he threw the flowers and ran back home crying.

Me Jose Ignacio

I’m more than just a dude. I can do what I want. Not just sleep. I’m more than I can be. I could do anything that I set my mind to. I don’t have anything to prove to you. I could do many things. I am a person that does things. What am I to you? What have I done to you? What can you say? I’m not as boring as you think, but don’t ever look down on me.

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Untitled MG

I’m more than what the world has labeled me as a female; I’m not an object, and what I wear doesn’t give anyone the right to say hurtful words. People use the fact that I’m a female to say, “You dress provocative, and you need to cover up,” or, “You’re distracting.” Why should I feel the need to cover up for your sake? It feels like deep down and within the bones, there’s a big light waiting to burst due to how people claim they want equality yet treat females so unfairly. I’m more than just a female...

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Pine Grove Flower Garden Naomi Velasco

On a beautiful, sunny day, I was walking through property that was in a forest, wind blowing through my hair and the damp grass on my feet. I found a beautiful spot full of just blank grass when an idea popped into my head. I ran home and got my grandma. “Is this area part of our property?” I asked, hoping for a yes. “I forgot this was even here!” “Yes, it is. Your grandfather and I used to have picnics there.” I asked her permission if I could try and garden. As soon as I got the yes from my grandma, I started to get to work. I planted tomatoes and sunflowers, the only seeds I had. And the word spread. People from all around Pine Grove came and planted things such as flowers and vegetables. And one even planted a blueberry bush. A few even put some investment into it, such as building a fence and a beautiful entrance with a sign that said The Pine Grove Garden.

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Ms. Leeper’s Class

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天から地へ - From Heaven to Earth Group Story

Once, there was an ordinary anime schoolboy with fire powers named Aikio. His hair was blond and floofy, and he had bangs that sometimes met in the middle but sometimes parted at the sides. During his past, he was bullied, and he had no friends. Aikio’s dad, who left him when he was born, was evil and a huge threat to the small settlement of Blurberry Town because he was constantly attacking the town, trying to steal treasure from the townspeople. His dad had been in prison but managed to escape using his world-class thief skills, which he’d honed through years of stealing magical creatures across all eight continents. At one point, Aikio was about to make a few friends before his dad again attacked the city, killing innocent folk. It’s pretty hard to make friends with dead people. Trying to distance himself from his father’s terrible shadow, Aikio wanted to prove to everyone in the town that he was a good guy. All Aikio wanted was friends. Aikio did have one friend: a phoenix named Hi. They had been friends since they were born. One evening, after a long day of senseless theft and bloodshed, Aikio’s dad, in his thirst for stealing stuff, stole Hi from Aikio without even realizing what he had done. In order to search for his father, who has mysteriously fled with the scared, reluctant phoenix stuffed inside his coat, Aikio decided to leave the village himself and chase after his father. Ice Girl and Nature Boy were out looking for food to make a fire and firewood to fill their hunger. They heard footsteps coming toward them. A floofy-haired anime boy came out from the bushes. Everyone stopped and locked eyes. Aikio got scared, reminded of his experiences of being bullied, and ran away. Nature Boy then chased after him and said, “HEY, WAIT! DON’T RUN!” Aikio stopped running after hearing Nature Boy’s calm and seemingly caring voice. Aikio turned around to him.

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Nature Boy and Ice Girl joyfully invited Aikio to their home for some food and rest. Upon arrival, Aikio laid eyes on a towering tree house reaching into the forest canopy. Aikio, Nature Boy, and Ice Girl became friends quickly, sharing their experiences of growth, joy, and loss. Aikio explained his pain, the current situation with his father, and lamented over his best friend Hi. Aikio didn’t know where to go to find the thief’s lair, but Ice Girl did her best to help, sharing her knowledge of the land. After some time, Ice Girl revealed that she saw a darkly dressed man going into the abandoned school in the forest while she was freezing the rivers for fun. Nature Boy said the same. Both liked going into the abandoned school, but they saw lights in the old science lab, like someone was in there, the last time they stopped by. They had since stayed away.. Aikio had a feeling that it was his father. Ice Girl and Nature Boy decided to go with Aikio to make sure he stayed safe and knew where to go. As they approached the school, they saw guards in strange armor out front of the school. They looked closer and noticed that the armor of the guards wasn’t armor at all but was in fact shells. “Th-th-th-they look like turtles,” Aikio stuttered. “We’ve never seen these guards before,” Ice Girl said. “They look pretty strong,” Nature Boy noted. Deciding that the guards were too strong, Ice Girl devised a distraction that was so fully distracting that the part of the author’s brain that forms memories was distracted and didn’t even make a memory to recount the event. Nevertheless, they sneaked past the guards and made it into the school. As they walked down the halls of the school, they saw old, bent lockers and flickering lights. Ice Girl led the group to the science lab. After they recharged by eating food, they found a diary in the lab as well as a mysterious chemical. They took the diary and chemical home and began to read the diary. There was information on Ice Girl and Nature Boy, as if someone had been following Continued on next page

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them continuously. There was also information about what the chemical was. Its name was the Power Compound. They all drank the chemical. Ice Girl gained the power of telekinesis, Nature Boy gained incredible raw strength, and Aikio gained the ability to levitate. While the group was having fun using their powers, Aikio decided to look at the diary again to find any information on Hi. Aikio saw information about a black market auction for phoenixes and the amount that could be made off a phoenix. He knew that was where they needed to head next.

To be continued…

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Rude Kids Caynan Terrill

I used to live in Rancho Cordova and moved near Old Sac, an amusement park that is famous for its older ways because it is what Sacramento used to look like. My neighborhood is terrible. Once they threw a firecracker at my sister and called us racist even though they were calling us Hitler kids. We barely went outside to play there because of that. My little brother always got punched in the face or got kicked in the face about twenty times every day by twenty-year-olds, and I got thrown around a lot by them. They broke my leg.

Untitled Caynan Terrill

There are some moments that everyone has had in their life that allows them to make good decisions in their life. People have certain things they like. I love games, but some people hate them; I love reading, and some people like reading a lot. The key mentors are my mom and authors that have inspired me to read, but my dad inspired me to play games like Call of Duty. The steps that I’ll be taking are going to college and getting a good job and reading a lot of books for children in the future.

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Paintball Mania Caynan Terrill

This Sunday I went paintballing, and I wanted to have fun. I was having fun until Capture the Castle, and I got hit in the stomach and the back. The next round, we played the Trenches, and I got 72 people in a row. Then the next round it said our overall score, and my score was 143 eliminations, and I was third place on the scoreboard.

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SPIDER FACTS Caynan Terrill

Did you know that all 40,000 species of spiders all spin silk? And as spiders have evolved, so has their ability to work with silk. One spider can produce up to seven different types, each used for a different purpose such as spinning webs or capturing prey. Did you know that female spiders produce about 2,000 to 3,000 baby spider eggs at once? Also, did you know that when hunting or trying to escape a predator, jumping spiders are able to make very agile movements and jump multiple times their body length? This is possible due to an internal hydraulic system. Jumping spiders can alter the pressure of fluids in their legs, resulting in a springing motion that propels them forward.

Untitled Caynan Terrill

I went disc golfing with my dad on Monday and Saturday, and when we were playing, I wasn’t as good as him because he plays disc golf almost every day. I don’t know if I popped a muscle or if I pulled it, but I also sprained my arm a little. It hurts but not as bad as it did yesterday. My dad said my throws got farther and farther every time, and eventually I threw farther than him, but that is when I hit my arm on a metal pole on a hole. My dad’s friend is really good at disc golf, and he can throw farther than me and my dad. He was fun competition in disc golf, but he got an ace on the last hole.

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Untitled Caynan Terrill

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have, and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

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Untitled Julie Schleeter

When the sun rises, I wake from my slumber, slumped for all the sadness the day brings. As Mom and Brother bicker, I must get ready for the dreadful hours of the day. Trying my best to be helpful, I sit and wait to be instructed.

I N T O T H E D E P T H S — E A R LY W O R D S

Untitled Tyler Roe

I live in a small town outside of Michigan with my mom, dad, and sister. Nothing really ever happens, but one day a military squad came rolling up into town and announced that a bomb had been dropped in Detroit. We immediately went into the nuclear bunkers around town, but my mother couldn’t make it. About three months passed, and we came out of the bunker. Everything was destroyed, and there were these weird creatures roaming around. They became hostile and attacked. About four more months passed, and it was just me and my dad. My sister got attacked by what we call ghoulies. There were four different types of ghoulies: hounds, sneakers, brutes, and croakers. Hounds are just normal ghouls; sneakers are silent and very deadly; brutes are giant, ugly ghouls; and croakers rely on sound to get around, and they make a croaking noise as they walk. We were heading across town over to Detroit, and eventually we found a working car and headed off to our destination. When we got there, it was supposed to be a kind of safe zone, but there was no one. As we progressed deeper into town, we heard strange noises, and then about seven people rose up from the ground holding rifles. They were scouts. They walked up to us, and we told them about the safe zone we were trying to reach. They imminently started walking away, so we followed them. We went into this weird building, and they opened some sort of hatch. We climbed into it, and at the bottom there was a humongous underground city. It was beautiful. There were so many markets and houses and normal people. About a year passed, and we settled down; everything was perfect. We have lived in this wasteland for years, scavenging, killing, and looting, but we have never tried to even think about making a cure or figuring out where this virus came from. Maybe it is because all the scientists are dead or because we are too lazy. Since all this time has passed and none of us tried to do anything, I’m going to find where this virus came from and cure it, even if it kills me.

I N T O T H E D E P T H S — E A R LY W O R D S

The Plan Tyler Roe

Step One: go to the place everyone suspected this was from Step Two: loot the place for information Step Three: idk yet

The Plan (In Action) Tyler Roe

We had to go to Washington, D.C, but first we needed a car that was actually running instead of crashed or exploded. So we headed to the dealerships around town, and we found a working car! But it was a minivan. We got in and headed toward Washington. We were about 30 miles into the ride when we saw a broken SWAT truck on the side of the road. We got out to look at it and opened up the back door. It was amazing. There were rifles, shotguns, handguns, hand grenades, and a flamethrower. We loaded it all back up and headed on our way again.

I N T O T H E D E P T H S — E A R LY W O R D S

Inspirators

I N T O T H E D E P T H S — E A R LY W O R D S

How to Be... (The Best Student) Ms. Saenz

Open those eyes and get up Eat that breakfast and say, “Wassup?” Make your way to school Yes, you, to be cool Log into that class on time Answer those questions in class with a rhyme Listen and talk with all your might Open those eyes and look with all your sight Try your best and do not quit Come to class ready to learn as you sit Think about your future and what you want for yourself Don’t just let it fly by and put your education on the shelf The time is now and won’t be long I know you can do it because you are super strong!

I N T O T H E D E P T H S — E A R LY W O R D S

THIS BOOK WAS PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

WITH MAJOR SUPPORT FROM

AND FUNDED IN PART BY

The Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation

The Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture, with support from the City of Sacramento.

Into the Depths: Early Words

Articles inside

Naomi Velasco

Group Story

Gabriel Turner

Haydrien Trahan

JDD