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How Two Teens Overcame Difficulties To Excel

WHEN 18-YEAR-OLD EDGAR GARCIA started his senior year at Thomas Jefferson High School, the future looked great. He loved math, his teachers, drawing comics and working at the Target on Marsh Lane.

Then the Oct. 20 tornado destroyed his school and the Southwind Apartments, where he lived with his mother, stepfather, sister Binca, brother, Angel, and dog, Chato. After a few months, he grew used to his new apartment at Bayou Bend on Lombardy Lane and the 25-minute bus commute to TJ’s temporary school at Thomas A. Edison Middle Learning Center. He looked forward to prom and graduation.

Then the coronavirus hit, and Garcia found himself sheltering in place, taking virtual classes and worrying about the future.

“My senior year wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he says. “The tornado was out of nowhere, and then the coronavirus came. My senior activities are going to be extended or canceled. I’m concerned. Will we do the senior activities?”

Garcia spent the evening of Oct. 20 with his mom, Maria, visiting his aunt in Denton. His siblings were spending time with others, and Chato was home alone. Suddenly, his phone exploded with calls from school friends. “It’s raining hard over here,” Rachel said. “Are you good? What are you doing? Just letting you know there’s going to be a tornado in a couple minutes, I believe.”

Garcia responded: “You believe, or it is going to happen?”

Two more friends called. They sounded scared. “The wind is really strong here. The lights are out. We’re in the bathroom right now.”

Garcia told them he wasn’t home and to be safe. Then his friend Genn called and said she was frightened. He advised her to take shelter in the restroom and then told his mom that they needed to drive home. His siblings, including sister Frida, who lives with her boyfriend, were in the area under siege.

Garcia and his mom raced home. When they reached Walnut Hill, they saw trees down and clothes strewn on the street. Then they passed TJ and saw its destruction. “We were in shock and terrified about what we’d find at our apartment,” he says.

First, they found their red truck with shattered windows. Next, they saw the broken windows in their apartment and a missing roof above his mom’s bedroom. People were sobbing, yelling and asking for help.

“My mom was crying,” he says. “I hugged her tight and told her we needed to move on.”

The two entered the apartment in a desperate search for Chato. Inside, they discovered the refrigerator on its side, plates covering the floor and the couch and TV blown across the room. The chimney lay in pieces in the front yard. In the midst of it all, he found Chato safe.

A neighbor told Garcia that people were stealing items. He grabbed his birth certificate, social security card, clothes and his siblings’ clothes. Then the family headed for safety.

The next day, the apartment manager posted on Instagram that residents had three hours to get their belongings before the building was demolished.

For the first few weeks, he was depressed. “My school was destroyed,” he says. “I lost everything in my home and all of the memories we had there. I didn’t feel like it was my school. I didn’t feel school spirit.”

After graduation, Garcia plans to attend Brookhaven College. He dreams of becoming a graphic designer or a nurse.

“I was like, ‘OK, all this has happened. It’s my last year,’” he says. “It’s affected me, but I tell myself I have to move on in a positive way.”

Story by LISA KRESL | Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

GRACIE DIX IS A SUPERHERO. Her super powers include imagination, writing and helping animals. This 17-year-old published a book, “Welcome to Superhero School,” and is already working on the sequel.

Dix attends the Shelton School, a private academy that specializes in educating students with learning differences. How can a kid with ADHD write a 292-page book? About two years ago, she decided to write a story and found a website asking for a minimum word count of 50,000.

“I told myself, ‘Well, I better start writing,’” she says. “Once I got past 50,000 words, I was like, ‘Well, I’ve come this far, and this is pretty awesome. Why don’t I just keep going?’”

The book published April 28, which was National Superhero Day. Ten percent of the proceeds — up to $10,000 — benefit the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The plot features 12 superheroes who are trying to defeat an evil organization called Vork while attempting to make friends at a superhero school they attend. The characters’ superpowers include invisibility, flying and morphing into different animals. Then there’s “the energizer,” who can give energy to others so they can use their powers more effectively. Her dog, Snowball, also stars in the book.

“I love my friends so much,” she says. “They’re loyal, sweet and amazing. I wanted to preserve their legacy, so my characters have some of the qualities that my friends have.”

Worship

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Dix’s favorite classes include algebra II and physics. She calls herself “the grammar police,” but she prefers freestyle writing over nonfiction.

When Dix isn’t writing, she can be found in the theater, singing, creating art, volunteering or playing tennis. She loves travel and is a loyal friend.

“Hiding who you are can hurt you,” she says. “It can cut off your friendships and family relationships and lead you to a deep, dark place. People who are different from each other make us stronger. Our flaws can sometimes be our greatest qualities.”

Dix lives in Preston Hollow with her parents, Richard and Jennifer. The book’s sibling relationship between protagonists Oliver and Jessica was inspired by her brother, Nate, who is in college.

Dix’s coronavirus schedule includes taking online courses, “chilling” at home and working on the sequel to the “Vork Chronicles,” which is about twins Jason and Mason. “Superhuman abilities aren’t necessarily everything,” she says. “They are super cool, but you can’t completely rely on them to get you through life. Friendship is the most important thing that you can have. You can’t rely on a superpower to tell you, ‘It’s going to be OK. We’ll get through this together.’”

For more information about “Welcome to Superhero School,” go to graciedix.com.

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