Student Tales: Journey to Success by Edward Blades

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

iii

The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize The less I know. Each step I take, Each mile I travel only means The more I have to go. What's wrong with wanting more? If you can fly, Then soar! With all there is, why settle for just a piece of sky? (Michel Legrand)

CONTENTS Acknowledgments

The Journey Begins

Pg 3

A Trip Through Rhyme

Pg 9

Journey into the Imagination

Pg 21

Express to Success

Pg 55

A Dance along the Keys

Pg 65

Going the Extra Mile

Pg 73

The First Step was the Hardest

Pg 99

Journeyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s End

Pg 111

The Story Never Ends

Pg 115

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Start Here Students would like to thank: Liz Burns Mary Burgess Edward Blades Kathryn McVicar Alan Scott in reprographics Guidance and Edit Teams Friends and Family who have supported us throughout our journey.

CHAPTER 1 WHO WE ARE THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Hi. My name is Stella Anderson, and I have lived in Fife since 1984, before that I lived in West Lothian, and I finished my schooling here in fife in 1993. In 2001 I met my now-husband, and in 2002 we were blessed with a very special daughter, who has her own difficulties. There have been quite a lot of difficulties that I have gone through, and even now and there are still very large obstacles I have to overcome. Life for me has not come easy, not by any stretch of the imagination. When I decided to come back to college I was at a loss as to what to do when my daughter was at school. I felt frustrated, bored and it was getting me down. So I decided I had to do something for myself, I had to be a little bit selfish for my own sanity. So that’s how I came to be at college. A few times over the years I have enrolled at college, but for one reason or another, with much regret, I had to withdraw. So this time I was determined to complete this course come what may, and believe me there have been many reasons to give up. I had to finish this course not just for myself, but for two other people. Firstly, I wanted my daughter to look up and say well-done mummy, I am so proud of you, that’s my mummy, and I want her to look at me and say, if my mummy can walk a treacherous road, and find that golden meadow at the end of it, then I too can accomplish anything. And if I can do that then I have succeeded, as a parent and I have done my job. After all, our children are the future generation and we must pave the way, and encourage them not to give up. If they can do that then I can walk, with my head held high, feeling proud of myself and my family, safe in the knowledge that I set out to complete this course and I did, and I didn’t give up or quit. The second person I hope I’ve made proud is my dad. Sadly he can’t be here today. He was taken from us way too soon. He may be gone but he will never be forgotten, I still miss him every day, but I know he is with me, and I know he will always be with me in spirit. I designed a tattoo for him. So when I am in need of comfort, I look at my tattoo and feel him close, and when I feel like things, are getting out of control, or I am in need of help, he is with me helping me ground myself again. He is my security; I hope that he is looking down on me and is proud of who I have become. He and my special gorgeous daughter are my rock. There have been times where I have wanted to quit, just recently in fact, but I am as stubborn as my star sign. We all have crosses to bear, we can take things lying down, or we can grasp it with both hands as I have done. And I didn’t give in. There are people that will try and discourage you: don’t allow them to dash your dreams, and believe in yourself. My education was not the best, but now I can finally put all that behind me, and look forward, to what I can accomplish in the future. And I know I will succeed, no matter what it holds. And if little old me can succeed then anyone can. And in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: I’ll be back. *

My name is Emma Brown. My life was going nowhere and all I was doing is work, work, and work. One day I just started to think why am I doing this? All this where my health is going downhill and I’m not getting any thanks for all the hard work that I was putting in at work. So over the next few weeks I kept talking to my mum about being run down and getting nowhere in life. She asked one question and then left me to think about it for a week . The question she asked was: “What do you really want to do in life?” And all I kept thinking was to work with young, troubled teenagers, or to go back to college to learn things that I never got at high school. So last term I went back to college to study biology and the human body and guess what? I passed the entire module. I just cried those few days because I was so happy that I could do it. So this term I have gone back to basics and I’m learning English, Maths and Modern Studies. I have loved every moment. It has put me up on cloud twentytwo because now I know I can put my mind to anything I want to do in life. So guess what? Next term I am doing Social Sciences, and I know that I am going to be ok doing it, due to all the great help from the people around me. *

I am Callum Burnett and I was born in 1994. My birth town is Dunfermline and I spent the first couple of years of my life living in Crossgates, Fife. Afterwards I moved to Kelty until I was seven years old. Then I moved through to Cowdenbeath and resided there until I was sixteen. From then until until now I have lived my life with no sense of direction or achievements. I have moved across the majority of Fife and struggle to maintain myself at one location. As of this moment in time I am studying qualifications at Fife College, Halbeath campus, and have almost completed the course. Afterwards I hope to return and study NC Business Level 5.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Annalise Hughes is a seventeen year old student who has never attended high school, yet surpasses all her peers in all areas and is Fife College’s only expert on Cleopatra XII. She has always intended to be a phenomenal actress since she was a toddler and was inspired by Angelina Jolie and Catherine Zeta Jones, solely because all three shared a hair colour. She is also fairly geeky and spends a good portion of her time watching TV Shows and reading. If acting doesn’t work out her second choice of career would be midwifery, which her mother has encouraged her to do since she could ask: “What should I be when I grow up?” *

My name is Linda Crammond and I am a single mother. I am very quiet when you first meet me but once I am comfortable with people I can relax and have a laugh. I am very good at listening to people and I’m easy to talk to. I have always enjoyed learning and was eager to come to college, though I was a little apprehensive about all the new people, and scared I wouldn’t be able to cope. I am glad that I kept at it, as I have met some wonderful people and though I do find some subjects hard at times, I am doing well. * * * * * My name is Louise Dignan. I am a student at Fife College. I came here to get qualifications for my next course to help me with my career choice in life. I have a big heart and believe I am a very caring person who tries to put my friends and family first. My favorite quotation is: “You become the best version of yourself when you stop caring about what others think about you.” The reason for this is because I have always cared too much about what others think about me and try my best to fit in everywhere I go. I enjoy the simple things in life and so should everybody. *

My name is Rebecca Fairlie. Coming to this course as a shy, awkward person I feel as though I quickly blossomed into a somewhat confident, albeit still awkward girl. Leaving school due to anxiety made me ashamed for two years. It made me nervous to return to education. Entering college, it took me a while to adjust but in the end, I made a number of good friends of which I never anticipated. I became more confident in my writing, and social skills. I owe my confidence to this course and the people within it. * * * * Hi my name is Tegan Harper I am sixteen years old. I keep myself fit and healthy by playing basketball. There is a good atmosphere with basketball. I see myself as a friendly person, once you get to know me. Being in high school and then here in college I have realized that I am now stepping into the big world. In the future I would like to work with children - I have had a lot of experience with kids because I have younger siblings. I live with my gran and I have been since I was first born. My gran is an amazing parent who I love with all my heart. I have amazing aunties and uncles and my next door neighbour has been there since I began living in my house. He has helped me with my reading and writing and teaching me different things. In college I have met some amazing people and really it feels like a big family. I can talk to them about anything. I really enjoy college. I have had some ups and downs but I have got through them so often. Once I leave this college I realise that am going to miss everyone in the class and how much they have helped me, and the tutors: they have boosted my confidence with my work. *

Michelle Lark is a crazy, intelligent, funny woman who always keeps the class laughing and is a beacon of wisdom when needed. She has three of the most down-to-earth teenagers ever, a testament to her parenting skills. Along with her teenagers she has a vast collection of cats, reptiles and a collie. Michelle also manages to work as well as attend Start Here. And she makes the most amazing cheesecake. 5

My name is Beth Little and I am 22 years young. My hobbies include: Watching wrestling; Watching Anime Japanese animation); Marvel movies/TV shows; Writing stories; Disney; Going online and talking to friends; YouTube; Listening to music (anime/videogame/movie soundtracks, Darren Hayes/Savage Garden, Avenged Sevenfold, Fozzy, etc) *

My name is Jacqui McCallum; I am 29 years old. I have four super children: three girls and my son. They are my whole world and the reason I get out of bed every day. I am also engaged to the most amazing man Lawrence who is my rock. I have had a very colourful life, to say the least. I was born in Blackpool, England and at the age of five my mum moved me and my siblings to Orlando, Florida, where I spent most of my life. At the age of twenty-two I moved back to Scotland with my two oldest children. Since returning to Scotland I worked in the bank as a collections advisor. After having my third child I gave up work to be a stay-at-home mum. This was not for me, so after having my son who is now two, I decided that I wanted more from life - I wanted to become a chartered accountant. So that’s what brought me here to Fife College. *

My name is Elizabeth McGuinness and I left school at sixteen with no qualifications, so I never really did anything with my life, even though I had always wanted to be a school-teacher. After a lot of years being out of school I decided to go to college and to try to accomplish my dream. I am really happy that I did come to college to gain the qualifications and to broaden my knowledge. I am hoping now to pass my exams and to keep progressing. *

Hi. I’m Kimmie Matthews. I am an eighteen-year-old girl who is very passionate about everything musical. I am also very passionate about becoming a midwife but due to complications in my education I didn’t gain enough qualifications to advance onto a nursing course. From a very young age I was introduced to accordions and everything related to accordion bands. I played the accordion for six years before I was introduced to bagpipes; I then played the bagpipes for five years before I decided I was no longer interested even though the passion was still there. My main interest for now is to gain my qualifications and get a good job and by doing so this will pave my way to secure a good future and hopefully my passion for music will still exist. * * * * * I would like to introduce myself and tell you briefly about me. My name is Catherine O’Donnell, I am twentyeight years old and I am a full time student at Fife College. I like to spend my spare time with my beloved family and also spend cozy nights in, watching movies or reading books. For people who do not know me, I am considered a quiet, reserved and shy woman but in reality I am just a nervous person and am more of a listener than a speaker. *

My name is Tony Pearce. I am a 22 year old dad to a beautiful little girl called Carly lee Pearce who is 9 months old and is teaching me something new about myself every day. I have made some mistakes in life and I’m now just trying to right my wrongs. I believe in karma and what’s meant for you won’t go by you, I believe that treating people with respect can take you far in life and I never judge a book by its cover. I’m an open honest person who feels that it is right to help people whenever or wherever you can. I have used this year at college to get my foot in the door for social work services course which I will pursue and achieve over the coming years. I am looking to work with children in care and eventually progress and work with young offenders. I want to know what makes them tick, guide them and show them the right path in life and I want to show the world that life is all about being a good person no matter who you are or what you have got to offer. I follow a set of morale standards which seem to co-exist well with my life. 6

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Pipa Craig is 24 with two amazing kids. Her daughter is a mini Pipa; her son is the cutest wee boy. She is fun loving, down to earth, good friend who is very clever the class swat in fact, everyone turns to her in maths, which is good for her wanting to be an accountant. Pole Fit is a favourite hobby, which she is very talented at. She has had hard times, and difficult situations that she has got through. And because of this, it has made her the good, thoughtful, person that she is today. *

My name is Darren Paterson, I decided to come to college to carry on my education. I was at first very shy and kept to myself but once I settled down, I talked a lot and had fun. When needed I get down to work. *

My name Samantha Stobbs. Life began when I read my very first book outside school when I was thirteen; it was the first Harry Potter book. I absolutely loved it and since then I just love to read all kinds of books. Since coming to college I have found out that I am rather good at writing short stories which took me by surprise, because I never did so in high school. College has made me a more confident person in how I think things through, when I want to write things down, and how to express more in my writing. I think, in the years to come when I have to give encouragement to my son I can look back on this year and tell him how college changed my life. *

Shannon Thomson is sixteen years old. She is very articulate. Shannon has an admiration for animals and has owned and loved a lot of pets. Later on she wants to pursue in a career with animals - maybe to work in a safari. In her spare time she spends a lot of time looking up facts about a lot of things - that can range from looking at facts about space to looking up facts about actors and movies; some may say that Shannon has an obsession with spending most of her time doing this. What Shannon also likes to do in her spare time is to read books and watch a lot of movies/television series. Her two dream careers were to either be a writer or to be an actor, because they were both so enjoyable and interesting to her. * * * * *

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

CHAPTER 2 POETRY A TRIP THROUGH RHYME

All my love by Tony Pearce All my love, I’ll give to you. I’ll fight your fears, I’ll see you through. I’ll do the best that I can do And even with a lot to prove I’m hoping I can grow into The role for me that’s set by you And even though that this is new I know what I am supposed to do as growing up’s been overdue. But as I sit and look at you, Full of smiles and eyes of blue, I think of all that I’ve been through, Been up and down Wrong Avenue, Where better days were out of view. To change my ways I had to choose But then your mum brought me the news How the birds and bees would bring me you Then nine months past I’d say they flew I brought you home I had no clue Of sleepiness nights and gifts of poo As days went by I surely grew Into a dad to fill those shoes Now four months gone, near twenty-two, You saved my life and I’m confused, As I was lost till I found you. To Carly lee Pearce Love from dad. Xx

One Last Note by Philipa Craig Slowly, slowly dim the light, It's over now, you've lost your fight; Follow Death into the night. We'll gather round, above the ground, Your soul has now become unbound. So off you soar into the sky, And we will sing our last goodbye.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Spike by Rebecca Fairlie Cacti don’t die. Unless over-fed, you’ll live forever my Spike. Even in the heat, your gruesome addiction that you couldn’t beat. Surely it must be fiction. Your spikes were poison, just as you ingested. Possibilities like the horizon. Abandoned. Emerald spinely frame, pin-prick wounds to those who dare, too young to leave, too young to care. Much better, I would say, to dry out than to fade away. Lord knows that I tried to pray, my Spike. So here we are now, with no cactus in sight. It’s not as if you chose me, so I’ll tuck myself in goodnight. When Love Ends Samantha Stobbs Love is like a leaf on a tree That floats down in the autumn breeze, It starts off fierce and bright But ends lying crumpled on the ground. Loss of love can be as hard as death, Your soul was whole and now it’s torn You may move on but never forget, That though it had to end, it was there. The pain of loss may never fade But you remain and life goes on. Just remember that feeling of love And you will always make it through. So make the most of what you have You may never know when it will pass, Family and friends get you through, Until the day that you find you. Love is like a leaf on a tree That floats down in the autumn breeze, It started off fierce and bright But ended lying crumpled on the ground. 11

Family Linda Crammond Family don’t have to be blood I start college when I had enough To meet new people To help me rise above I had enough of the ones That had the same blood Going to get new buds Friends and Family Start the same That big F I will frame Cause I’m starting all over again Old girl at college Michelle Lark (42 and loving it) Learn something new they said, A new career, they said. That’s okay, for the clever folk. They did it at the right time They are so smart, so clever, So have a career. It’s not like school, From memory severs, Maybe am just an old girl at college, With the homework, and home The kids they help make fun Or make it fun – which I don’t know. Makes me look smart to know, What I know now, the reading, Writing, counting and stuff all The stuff I know now. The poetry with stanza, metaphor Caesura, and my imagination, That runs amuck. Ups And Downs Callum Burnett Love, fiery as the blazing sun, Cold as a winter’s night Thy heart so full of light, My soul consumed by all this smite My thoughts are pouring with love and joy But thought of doubt comes pouring down So here I stand with light and dark in my heart Knowing nothing except love has left its mark Will I rise or will I fall? Inside I know it doesn’t matter which Just as long as you’re with me through it all. 12

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Little Apple Of My Eye Philipa Craig Oh little apple of my eye, I can see you looking shy, Say Hello! Don't be weary, These weird people aren't that scary. Little apple of my eye, I can see you acting sly, Don't do that and make me worry, If you do it, you'll be sorry. Little apple of my eye I can see you up so high, I have to hurry up and see, What you're doing up that tree! Oh little apple of my eye I don't want to see you cry, I love you so, with all my heart, I always have, right from the start.

MATHS Linda Crammond Maths is good to work in a bank But me my mind is a blank Algebra, Pythagoras, soh cah toa What happened to plain old adding, subtracting This putting letters into maths confuses me Why can’t they stay in English? Where in my head they belong So many X’s in maths Even the tutor uses them on my paper Well that was me at the beginning of maths And now I get more ticks then crosses At the beginning I hated maths And now well it’s alright Work hard, study hard Things will all work out Wait and see, you will be fine Maths will start to make sense

Greener Catherine O’Donnell They always say the grass Is greener on the other side It’s brighter, lighter therefore It cannot hide To even close your eyes the colour Would shine bright to me, there’s Green, emerald and so Many others to see So go on step on over And come on in This side is greener Let your future begin Look at you now Stella Anderson When I first saw you’ you were the size of a beano it was a sight to be seen. I’ve tickled your tum, I’ve wiped your bum and made you clean. I love you then, I love you now and I will love you forever. When we first met I knew we’d both grow together. Look at you now. As I watched you grow each day I didn’t know what to say. I watched you crawl and take your first steps as you started to walk you stood tall, I start to choke up and memories come flooding back. Look at you now. We’ve played pass the ball when you were small but now you stand so tall. Through the years I have wept for you and also wept with you, loved you and cherished you and still my love for you still shall ALWAYS be true. Look at you now. I remember when you were younger you really loved the moon, and if the moon was not out you gave a little pout. Look at you now. All grown up you are amazing. You light up the room with your sunbeam smile. So allow me the time to stand and gaze and thank God for you. For you are my God-sent blessing. 14

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Loving Tears Stella Anderson Loving tears A tissue caught my tears As memories of you left my mind And trickled down my face You left so quick In the blink of an eye I often ask Why, God, why? But then I hear your gentle voice: Sorry. I did not have a choice.

Maths and me Elizabeth McGuinness Good at maths I wish that was me, Even my daughter is better than me, I practise maths with my heart and soul, So I can one day achieve my goal, I feared all those numbers like the plague, But now am doing great, I now know how to subtract, Which I really dreaded that, Is it a decimal or is it a fractions, Should I divide or use subtraction, Some tutors are sweet, some are funny, But our tutor Liz helped us count money, She gave us support and helped us so much, she understands her students all so much, She is sensitive and smart, And well have to say she is awesome at maths, Like I will be one day, I once asked why do we need maths, Now I know it put us on the right path, Broken chains Stella Anderson I used to have a silver band That sat upon the finger of my left hand. A promise of unconditional everlasting love Now the years have passed so very fast And my silver band has lost its tight grip And slipped away from my hand. A void empty space is all that remainsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; No longer held in place by an unseen chain Bare and empty there is no trace Where once my lovers token was placed. I sometimes sit and look at the empty hand And wonder what went wrong and try to understand Where my once love had gone.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Hard Truth Darren Paterson Roses bloom. With their red flaming petals Their gorgeous sight leaves the soul breathless Yet they eventually wilt. The moon rises Bringing along the glimmering traits The sight, a privilege to behold. Yet they eventually set. Your eyes glimmer Two diamonds for a bonny lass. My heart overfilled with happiness. Yet they eventually dull Your smile enlightens Lips to show a beautiful, gentle being. Your smiles creates a thousand more. Yet they eventually disappear. Don’t you see I love you now Always it is eternal Yet like life your love eventually fades.

Robert Burns

Emma Brown

O my luve is like a red, red rose That’s newly sprung in June; O my luve is like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune.

Oh my love is like a red, red rose That’s newly spring in June; Oh my love is like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune.

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And l will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gand dry.

So fair are you, my beautiful lady, So deep in love am I; And l will love you still, my dear, Till all the seas went dry.

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun; I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run.

Till all the seas went dry, my dear’ And the rocks melt with the sun; I will love you still, my dear, While the sands belonging to life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve! And fare thee weel awhile! And I will come again, my luve, Though it were ten thousand mile.

And fare you well, my only love! And fare you well a while! And I will come again, my love, Though it be ten thousand miles.

Endless days by Darren Paterson Waking up to the birds chirping, Waking up to the new day. Yet something missing And leaves you empty Have to get out of the house Your personal heaven. Yes, this must be it Missing home At college where homesick is no more Laughs and giggles fills the air. Yet something missing And leaves you paranoid. That’s right you don’t fit in They laugh and giggle and your mind tracks Sad and lonely no one understands And hide it behind a fake smile. Home again end of college Happy to play your games Yet something missing And leaves you crying It is anxiety? Feeling lonely and afraid. Want to make people laugh and smile Yet something holds you back. I see what is missing It is a little of pride. A dash of courage. And humour and delight True friends by my side So it makes me feel lonely inside. I am here and there My people are all hiding Behind their fake smiles. Don’t you see? The days repeat themselves. Wanting to laugh, yet nothing to say. People think you’re stupid but it’s not that. It’s you have nothing to say. And make an ass, and they don’t see So you hide behind the smile.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Feelings by Elizabeth McGuinness People look, people glare, But me I really don’t care, I’m just a girl. I’m neither loud nor am I bright, I feel like a flower, Just want to stand tall, I look in the mirror, And hate what I see, This scared little girl Looking back at me

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

CHAPTER 3 SHORT STORIES A JOURNEY INTO THE IMAGINATION

It wasn’t my fault by Kimmie Matthews There was a disturbance in the neighbourhood, and the police were called to the scene by an anonymous caller. Two dead bodies were discovered in the home of Cindy and Peter Handley. Two devastated children were found covered in blood. These are their statements: Millie Handley, Aged 10, youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs Handley: It was around about 8:30pm and I was in my bedroom, waiting on my mum and dad coming to tuck me in. They were later than usual and their T.V was still on - it was pretty loud, too. So I shouted on my mum and dad with no response, and I started to cry. At about 8.45pm I decided to leave my room, scared in case they were going to yell at me and that’s when I discovered Blakely sitting in a dark corner of her room hysterically crying. I asked her why she was crying but she didn’t reply; she didn’t even move. I got closer to go and hug her and that’s when I realised she had blood all over her hands and clothes. I didn’t know where the blood was from or why she was covered it was all over her. I took her into the bathroom to try and clean her up. She was reluctant to come but I gave her a tug and finally she moved. We sat in the bathroom for about ten minutes, and she still didn’t say a word until she started to mumble. I couldn’t hear what she was saying at first but then it became clearer. She was saying: “I did kill them, they can’t hurt us.” It was as if she was talking to someone else that wasn’t in the room. I left her in the bathroom to go get my mum and dad. Walking down the stairs I could hear her getting angrier with whoever she was talking to. I heard smashing and screaming for about five minutes until everything went quiet. This made me even more determined to find my parents. I got to the kitchen door. I was stunned. I couldn’t move. There was blood everywhere, on the floor, the counter and even up the walls. The image was horrible. My father and my mother, lifeless bodies, were on the floor, my mother had her eye out of socket with a butter knife, and my father…*sniffle* had his fingers cut off, and multiple forks in his back. I was shocked, confused, I felt physically sick. I ran back to the bathroom to get my sister that’s when she attacked me with a toothbrush. She had sharpened the end with a blade she had hidden in her teddy bear. Luckily Sparky my dog attacked her and pinned her to the ground. I was about to grab the tooth brush and that is when the police came. Blakely Handley, Aged 14, oldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Handley: I was watching some T.V when I heard my parents arguing. There was a lot of shouting and I didn’t know what to do. I turned the T.V up to the loudest it could go so that I couldn’t hear them any more. My father and mother came marching through. My father yelled and swore at me, telling me to turn down the TV. My mother started shouting at him. So he picked up a plant pot and smashed her on the head with it. She fell to the floor - I think he knocked her out. I ran up to my room, crying. I didn’t know what to do. I considered calling the police but I knew that if I did I would get the blame for my dad going to jail. That’s when my dad came up to my room and grabbed me. He dragged me downstairs by my hair, yelling at me that’s it’s my fault that they are arguing. I didn’t know what he was talking about. He was hurting me; he took me into the kitchen and raised his hand - that’s when my mum sliced his fingers with a knife. At least three of his fingers were completely detached from his hand. She then picked up a handful of forks from the kitchen drawer while he was looking about for something to wrap his hand in, to stop the bleeding. She waited until he turned his back on her and stabbed him in the back multiple times with the forks, causing him to go into shock. She crouched into the corner with a sigh of relief as I ran over to him to make sure he was okay. He wasn’t moving or breathing. She started to scream at me to get away from him, saying that I would be told that it was my fault. That is when she stood up to pull me away from him and she slipped on some blood and fell. The butter knife hit her in the face I didn’t know the damage until she turned and the knife was sticking out from her eye. She tried to remove it but when she did her eyeball came completely out of the socket. I held her as I screamed for my sister, but she didn’t come. I didn’t want to leave my mother, so I sat with her while she wept in agony. My sister still didn’t come I don’t know what she was doing but it was obviously more important than coming to see what was going on. My mum started to breathe heavily saying she loved me and that it wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t hold back my tears. My hands and clothes were covered in the blood that was gushing from my mums eye. I told her that she couldn’t go: she hadn’t seen me or my sister grow up yet, and that we needed her now that my dad was gone. But she had already passed away.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Feeding time by Shannon Thomson 7:15pm Sean’s P.O.V. It had been hours since his mum had gone out to get the grocery shopping. He glanced down at his watch, already knowing it has only been a few minutes later than when he last checked. He sighed heavily, not knowing how much longer he could wait for his mum to bring back the food he desperately needed to replenish. He decided that he would go out to find her, knowing it may not be the best idea - they just newly moved in and he had no sense of where he was going. But all he knew was that he needed food and he needed to find his mum. 7:15pm Mother’s P.O.V. She heaved the heavy bags out of the grocery store before resting her back against the brick wall. She knew that she had been shopping for hours, but she had to buy as much stuff as possible to last for her and Sean over the next few weeks, as they would have a lot of unpacking to do. She dug inside her pocket to find her shopping list to make sure she’d bought everything before making her way back home. Going down the list, she saw that the only thing left to get was a bag of toilet paper. ‘I didn’t seem to see any toilet roll in that shop.’ she sighed to herself. ‘I will go check in a different store before it gets too dark,’ she decided, before heading off again. 7:15pm Buffy’s P.O.V. Buffy snapped open her eyes when she could no longer feel the heat of the sun beating down on her face. She rose up from her casket and swung herself out before going over to the window and ripping open the curtains. She smirked. ‘Oh goody. I’m starving.’ She whirled herself round and skipped over to her closet where she picked out the most daring and bold outfit she could find. Heavy, black platforms, Black ripped skinny jeans, low-cut top with her cloak hung around her and, to accessorize a bit, a black sunhat to hang over her face (in case she stayed out past supper.) After she was finished, she left her cold dark apartment and went out into the cold, dark world. 7:32pm Sean’s P.O.V. Sean was already close to the town where his mum had said she was going to, and he could see that most of the shops appeared to be closed for the night already. ‘I hope she’s okay’, he thought to himself. But he assured himself that she was capable of looking after herself, and that nothing could go wrong in this small town. He continued to make his way into the empty-looking town ahead of him. 7:32pm Mother’s P.O.V. After checking every shop, and not finding the rest of what was on her list, she admitted that she would have to come back for the rest of the shopping on a different day. So she turned around and started to pace her way back home. 7:32pm Buffy’s P.O.V. Buffy couldn’t seem to find any living person walking about for her to snack on, which was starting to infuriate her. Too many people knew about vampires in this town and they were cautious around these hours, so not many people were out these days - which mean that Buffy doesn’t get to hunt as often as she wishes. She was going to give up before she spotted someone. Someone with such sublime confidence and a pleasurable exhaustion coursing through her, it made Buffy shiver by how much she wanted this woman. But Buffy didn’t want to devour her, no, she wanted much more from her. 7:44pm Buffy’s P.O.V. Buffy was now stalking the woman. She didn’t want this woman to get away from her; she adored every aspect of her. She knew she had to do the process quickly but she didn’t want anyone to catch her so she was waiting for the right moment to grab her. She calculated the plan carefully through her mind before preparing herself. It was time. 7:44pm Sean’s P.O.V. There was no sign of her anywhere, as far as he could see. He checked inside the couple of shops that were still open, but she didn’t appear to be anywhere. He had no ideas as to what he was to do next. He just kept walking, hoping to find her somewhere. After taking a turn into another street he froze in his steps. His mother was right in front of him but instead of feeling happiness he felt fear. He had no awareness as to what was going on but all he knew was that his mother was bleeding while someone was eating away at her neck. To his best ability he charged at the person and tried to get them off of his mother but they swatted him away and he flew into the wall opposite them, 23

causing him to pass out from the impact. 7:50pm mothers P.O.V. Everything was a blur. She had no idea how one minute she was walking down the street, excited to get home and lie down, and the next she was being snatched by someone, and now could only feel a strong pain in her neck. She felt more exhausted even than before. She wanted to sleep so badly, and let the pain go away. But she knew that if she closed her eyes, she may never open them again. So she fought through the pain. She sat there, bleeding, wounded. She ached so badly. She didn't know how long she could take it anymore. A few more minutes went by. She suddenly started to feel energy flow through her, more than she had ever felt in her life. The change was so rapid she felt lightheaded but also a thrill from this new energy. She knew what she had now become: it all made sense to her. She wasn't frightened or stunned; instead she was excited to start this whole new life. Life as a vampire.

My first pet Shannon Thomson It is morning time, time to start another new (but ordinary) day. I end up staying in my bed for another few minutes before actually getting up to go to my parent’s room. I slowly open the bedroom door, not wanting to wake them up with unnecessary noise; I enter through their room at a slow pace, over to the bed. I can hear them snore quietly from under the covers so I end up turning back to head out the door, feeling a little disappointed that no one else, except me, is awake yet. After exiting the bedroom I decide to go downstairs to make myself some breakfast,: truth be told I’m not very good at cooking, so for today I decide on making some basic cereal. I enter the kitchen whilst deciding what kind of cereal I’m going to make. I drag my feet around to where the cereal is stored - feeling exhausted and hungry - and I pick the cereal that I have chosen to make, Cheerios. I place the box on the kitchen table next to my hamster cage. I decide to check on my hamster before making food so I pull the cage closer to me so I can look inside. I take a peek inside to see my hamster at the side of the cage, sleeping. I click the lid open on the top of the cage and reach my hands inside to pick him up. I’m suddenly bubbling with joy, I love my hamster. We always play together, I chase him around when he’s in his hamster ball and I love feeding him. He’s my best friend. I put one hand under his body with the other hand placed on top, so I don’t drop him. After lifting him out the cage I bring his body close to my face so I can wake him up with a kiss. He, weirdly, doesn’t wake up. Feeling a slight bit of anxiety now, I stroke my thumb along his body whilst whispering in his ear to ‘wake up’. A few minutes later and still no movement from my hamster. I knew my hamster had passed away but I didn’t want to believe it. Knowing my hamster was dead broke the dam that was holding my tears back. I felt so many different emotions. I was confused as to how he died; I was in a state of distress. I wanted to hold him in my hands for the rest of my life. I missed him. My best friend… gone. I must’ve woken up my parents with all my crying because the next thing I hear is them storming down the stairs. They both enter the kitchen at an alarming rate before seeing me holding my dead hamster in my hands. They give me a sympathetic look before pulling me into a hug. I sob heavily into the both of them. I try to talk to them about his death, ask them questions, but all that comes out are muffled sobs. I was too sad to speak. It felt as though my whole world came crashing down around me. Later that day we all decided to give him a funeral in the back garden. After my dad finished burying him, we all sat on the grass around him and we each said a prayer for him. Even though he’s dead, it made me feel better by saying our prayers and leaving him to rest. I will always miss my first pet. Magic.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Killer in Town Michelle Lark

CHAPTER ONE: SHERIFF Sheriff Jesse James, a tall, dark, handsome yet rugged man, pulled up to the crime scene with such a fearful feeling, knowing what he was going to see. “Another one deputy” “Yes sheriff, a local bum, max Clifford, also known as big red, found this morning by a dog walker.” The deputy could tell he had said something that hit a nerve with the sheriff, as his eyes stared at him, sending a shiver down the deputy’s spine. “Whatever he is deputy he doesn't deserve to end up like this in the woods” “Yes sir” said the deputy as he walked away, knowing he had not given a good impression. “Same thing doc?” “I would say so sheriff” said the old man that should have retired years ago. “Same MO, body has been here about six hours, I will be able to tell you more him get him back on my slab” For years, four in fact, Jesse has been trying to catch this killer, same MO always homeless men, beaten and stabbed to death, nobody would miss a homeless nobody. “Well sheriff, are we any further forward with this homeless killer. The press are screaming for answers” the mayor looked like the fat controller from Thomas the tank engine, with the red checks, that of course could have been from the bottle of whiskey he keeps in the top drawer, he even has the hat to match, it sits on the hat stand in the corner of the room. “Nothing new yet mayor Weigum, I will have to see what comes back from the coroner” “Well we need answers, the FBI are sending an agent, one of those behavioral unit guys, from DC, to help with the investigation. We have to close this case once and for all sheriff” With utter distaste the sheriff agrees and leaves, knowing that some Harvard educated know it all will come into our small town and think they can solve this crime, and use psychology on everyone. CHAPTER 2: FBI AGENT Special agent Sam smith, works with the BAU, in the FBI. She has been following this case since the press got hold of it, “homeless man killings” in this small town. That's why she picked this assignment, when the behavioral science unit, asked for an agent. A small town girl, who grew up with three brothers on a farm, no girly girl here. “Well little lady what can I do for you” Said the middle aged man behind the desk. “Special agent Sam smith, BSU am looking for Sheriff Jesse James” The agent felt good seeing the look on the old man’s face, as she showed him a badge. As the man behind the desk regained himself from the shock, that this young woman who could be a classy model was an fbi agent , and could probably tell him more about himself than his wife of forty years could tell him in the few moments he had stood there, “oh okay, I will try and find” As she stood and waited for this small town sheriff, who she pictured sitting the coffee shop eating pie, undoing his belt, with a horse buckle to the last hole just so he can breath. Already picturing a sheriff, best placed for the Simpson’s. “Agent smith” “Yes” “Jesse James, I believe you are looking for me, and here to help us” “yes hopefully” said the agent, now she knew how that man behind the desk felt, this sheriff was not what she was expecting at all. She tried to hind the pleasant surprise look in her eyes as he spoke. “Just going over to the morgue to find what the doc has for us, you coming?” “Yeah then can we go to the last crime scene, then I would love to try the coffee and pie”

Toto Shannon Thomson I never thought I would be in love again until I met the most wonderful guy in the whole world; his name was Toto. Just to be clear Toto was not a person, he was in fact a cat and he had been my friend for such a long time. However sadly he had to be put down today after fighting cancer for such a long time -my beloved partner in crime taken away from me. However, this story is not about how he was taken out of my life but how we came together and bonded and how he gladly came into my life. My day was starting really horribly. My boss was being as monstrous as usual; complaining about everything and anything. Usually I get on with it and try to ignore her but that day I was finding it very hard to cope with. After having to suffer through that all day, I went home to find my â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;lovingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; girlfriend cheating on me with my elder sister. So it was turning out to be the worst day of my life. At the time I was so furious and upset, words could not grasp how devastated I felt at that moment, so I left the house so I didn't have to deal with it. I had ended up deciding to take a stroll into town, as far away from the apartment as possible. As I was walking down the street that day a little ginger kitten cautiously approached me. I wasn't really in the mood to pet it but I noticed how filthy the kitten was and I felt a little heart-broken when I thought about leaving it, so instead I slowly began to wrap my hands around its delicate looking body and I lifted it up. Once I could see the kitten clearer I could notice that the kitten was much dirtier than I had thought at first and I could feel that the kitten was a lot thinner and had a lump on it. Believe me, cats are not in my expertise but I could tell that this kitten didn't have anyone to look after it. So instead of abandoning this stray kitten, I decided to take it to the nearest vet and get it checked out in case it had something serious. Once I got to the vet I took the kitten up to the reception and told the woman at the counter that this kitten needed checked on and that it was a stray. Because it wasn't my kitten I was not allowed to go in with it, so I ended up sitting in the waiting room. It was maybe forty-five minutes that I sat waiting on the vet; she came out with the kitten curled up in her arms. I didn't know what to expect, I was quite frightened for this creature, but she said that that the kitten was now fine. However, it would have to take some antibiotics because the vet found infected cuts under its fur. I took that as good news, meaning that the kitten would be fine sooner or later, and I started to turn away to the exit. Before I could get there the woman shouted me back, she said that the kitten had no home to go to and if I was not to take them then they would possibly have to put the kitten down as there isn't a lot of spaces left for animals. I had never even considered having a cat but I loved this kitten very much, so before I could think myself out of it I curled the kitten into my arms and signed off paperwork so this kitten would finally be in my possession. I found out the kitten was a male cat and I was also able to give the kitten a name, I always liked the name Toto so I decided on that for a name. I started off caring for him by visiting the supermarket and picking up a bowl and a few bags of food and I also bought some more water to feed Toto. I took him to my empty apartment where my girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. It seemed like ages ago that I had felt so alone and upset. Now I had this beautiful new kitten to take in and care for as my own. I already felt so much better. For ten years I lived with Toto. I grew rather fond of him and we became quite attached as the days and years grew on. He was my best friend. After every terrible day of work I always got excited to walk in my apartment and hear Toto rush towards me. I never thought that the day for Toto to leave me would be so soon. It wasn't long before Toto stopped eating and grew rather weak. I rushed Toto to the vet where they told me that Toto had a tumour and that they had to keep him in for a few days so they could find out what exactly it was and how dangerous it is. I was told to go home and wait for them to call. I was too worried to do anything: I called my work and took a few days off in advance. I couldn't possibly go into work in case Totoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tumour was critical. Two days later, the vet phoned me and told me to come in quickly. I rushed in; they gave me no information and I was petrified in case it was serious. There was my regular veterinarian waiting for me. She led me into the room where Toto was being kept and sat me down. She explained to me that Toto had cancer, which is very rare for cats, and that Toto didn't appear to have long before they would have to put him down. The news came as a big shock: I had never thought that Toto would leave so soon. I still adored Toto. I would miss so much about him; the way he looked so mesmerising as he purred, or how he gracefully walked across my bed trying to get me to focus all my attention on him. He was such an extraordinary cat and I don't know how I could last a day without him but I knew that I couldn't do anything more to keep him alive. I was allowed to stay with Toto as he got put down. It didn't seem as if Toto went through any pain which I was very pleased about but me on the other hand, I felt as if my whole world was crashing down on me. I lost my best friend and I didn't know what I would do without him by my side but I knew I would always try to strive to succeed to make him happy if he's looking over me. 26

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

The Boy from the Woods Samantha Stobbs Lissa stared out of her window at the dreary weather outside thinking about home, not this house with its plain, empty walls. The home she had just been forced to leave. All because her parents stupid divorce! Her mum had a new job which meant they’d had to up and move. She’d had to say goodbye to her two best friends, Sky and Leah, no one else seemed to get her like they did. She had to leave her room with her blue walls and her soft cream carpet where she had lay with all her cushions, reading all her favourite books or just listening to her music and running her fingers over a patch of the carpet that never lost its softness, it was like running her fingers over silk or velvet, it was sort of like her comfort thing. She looked away from the window, wiping tears away. She was done with crying, it made her feel weak and childish and it wasn’t like she had moved to a different country, she was only a three-hour drive from her old home. She was allowed to go visit at the next holidays, once they had the house sorted. Lissa put music on as it always made her feel better, it calmed her when she was feeling this way and started unpacking the last of her things. “Lissa, dinner’s ready.” Lissa looked up from her pile of clothes scattered around her on the floor, to see her mum standing in the door way. She was tall with gorgeous blonde hair down to her waist. Lissa had always been glad she got Caroline’s hair and not her dad’s thick black hair. She did have his bright green eyes and his button nose though. Her mum had pretty brown eyes that always seemed to know exactly what Lissa was thinking. “I’ll be down in a minute mum; I’m just going to put my stuff away.” “Ok sweetheart, hurry before it gets cold, though.” “Will do, it will only take me like two minutes.” “I will see you down there then.” She stood for another second looking at Lissa then turned and walked back down stairs. Dinner was quiet, Lissa played around with her food a little before eating it which annoyed her mum as she kept knocking it of her plate. “Can you please eat that properly? I think the table is getting more of it than your mouth is.” “Sorry, mum, was just thinking about home.” “I know, sweetie, but this is home now. I know you miss Sky and Leah but you will still see them and besides, you will make new friends soon enough.” “This isn’t home; this is just an empty shell you are putting our things in. Also, I don’t want new friends; I like the ones I had.” “You will get used to it eventually, Lissa, It’s a nice neighbourhood, and I’ve checked out the school - it’s really good honey, please just give it a try.” “I will mum,, I promise. I just don’t like the idea of having to start everything over.” She stood up with her empty plate. “I’m going to finish sorting the rest of my things.” “Ok, I’ll bring supper up later.” “Ok.” She started for the door and turned to look at her mother who had stayed sitting, but had her head bowed down. “Love you, mum.” She looked up with a small smile tipping the corner of her mouth “Love you too, princess” Rolling her eyes at the princess remark - her mother refused to stop calling her it - Lissa headed upstairs to finish up. Her feelings toward her mum had always been really good; they use to share everything with each other. Once a week they use to have a girls’ day but then her mum and dad started arguing and their days out stopped. Lissa started going out with her friends, just anything to stay out of the house. It was getting better now though; her mum worked a lot but they had their time together at night after everything else was over and done with. She loved her mum with all her heart and as much as it killed her that she didn’t see her dad much, she was glad her mum was finally becoming happy again. With her belongings all in their new places finally, Lissa sat at her window-seat reading her book. She glanced up and noticed it was ten past one in the morning. “WOW! I’ve been reading for hours” she said. She’s always had a habit of talking to herself. “Ok: bedtime” She yawned as she stood and stretched, then climbed into bed, turning her light off. She was asleep the second she closed her eyes. 27

She woke up the next morning and decided she was going to go for a walk. There was a large field across from her house that led to woods and she wanted to explore. Her mum was at work already but had prepared Lissa’s breakfast: pancakes and jam. Yum! She sat down and ate every last piece, it was just as good as it looked. Feeling well-fed and loved she left, locking the door behind her, then turned and looked around. There were only five houses in her street and every one of them, including hers were creepy, with old wood panelling all over the outside of them, and chipped paint and old creaky windows. She shivered and then made her way across the road. Lissa walked into the woods and the first thing she noticed was the way the sun steamed through the trees, turning the leaves that got in its way a bright, blinding green that was just so stunning they took her breath away. She stood listening to the sound of the wildlife around her going about its day. After maybe ten minutes or so she started walking further into the woods. She had been walking for a while when she got the feeling she was being watched; she stopped in the middle of the path and looked around but couldn’t see anything. “Great, now I’m a paranoid mess,” She muttered, but as she started to walk again she had the same feeling and she just couldn’t shake it. She kept walking this time but slowed down slightly and really looked around. There, in the tree over her shoulder, she was positive. “Hello, who’s there?” she said and then thought, that’s right Lissa, shout hello to the creep following you. She went to start walking back the way she had come when there was no reply when suddenly a boy jumped out of the trees in front of her. “What the….!” She started “Shhh, there’s someone following you.” The boy hissed. “Yes you!” “No, not me. Him!” A big, bulking man was heading straight for them, or at least he looked like a man. He was completely made up of muscle, but his eyes were red, and as he came closer Lissa could see his hands where large, claw-like talons curling at the end. “What IS that?” She whispered. “Just stay out of the way” The boy said and then ran towards the thing. As he neared it Lissa saw something silver flash in his hand as he brought it up then down in an arc, and suddenly the thing was gone. Lissa screamed “What the hell just happened?” “You just witnessed me killing a demon that wanted to kill you” “A what that wanted to what?” “A. Demon. That. Wanted. To. Kill. You” He said pronouncing each word slowly. “I heard what you said! But why would it want to kill me? And also, DEMONS ARE REAL?!” “Sorry to burst that bubble, but yeah they are. Also he wanted to kill you for the simple reason you’re human and he was hungry.” “I think I need to go home.” Lissa said. “I’ll walk you back” the boy replied. “But I don’t even know you” “Well my name is Dean and I just saved your life how’s that?” “Oh whatever, I can hardly think. I feel like I’m going to pass out or throw up. Oh and I’m Lissa.” “Let’s get you home then.” Dean stayed beside her as they walked back through the woods and across the field. All the while keeping his eyes roaming about, as if at any moment something else was going to attack. It made Lissa feel on edge but also weirdly safe. That was silly! She didn’t know this guy at all but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he wouldn’t hurt her. There was just something about him, he was maybe 6ft 2” with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His nose was slightly crooked like it had been broken a few times but it wasn’t his looks that had Lissa feeling safe with him but this kind of aura that seemed to surround him that made her trust him. They reached her front door and she turned around and finally spoke. “Thanks, by the way” He looked a little stunned at her response but replied easily enough. “No problem. It’s what I do.” “Maybe, but you still saved me back there. So really: thanks.” “You’re welcome,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “I better go inside. It was nice meeting you. I think.” Lissa smiled. 28

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Dean laughed “You think? Well, same to you. Let’s hope I don’t have to save you again.” “Yes let’s hope” she said and turned to open the door. “Bye, Lissa.” She turned again to say bye but he was gone. She went inside and locked the door, feeling like that wasn’t the last time she would see Dean. There was something wild and sincere about him, she could just tell. She couldn’t wait to find out more. * * * Dean stood watching Lissa’s house for a couple of minutes after she went inside. He wondered what she was doing, if she was really as calm as she seemed about the run-in with the demon. Shaking his head he started off towards the woods at the back of his home. He lived in a run-down cottage, with a leaky roof and no heating, but at least there was electricity and all the windows were intact. To everyone in town, he lived with his uncle that worked away a lot. In reality though, he had lived on his own since he was fifteen, when his parents had both died fighting a disgusting demon-nest down in a cave near his old home. He had run away after that and had been moving from place to place, training and hunting demons. He didn’t know why, but when he arrived in this new town he had the strangest feeling that he had to stay, like something big was going to happen. When he got to the cottage the first thing he did was clean his blade then hang it up on its spot on the wall next to the rest of his weapons. He went for a quick shower: it was like jumping into a pond in winter, it was so cold. It did the trick though and he was soon out and dressed, poring over his books to see why the demon that attacked Lissa had been there. He stopped after about two hours and rubbed hard at his eyes. Ok, so it was a scavenging demon that didn’t tell him much apart from that they usually work for higher-up demons. “But why would a demon want Lissa?” he said, out loud. Maybe there was something she wasn’t telling him? But then she looked so shocked at the demon coming at her, if she knew about them. No one could act that well as to pretend in front of someone. There was something about her, though, and it was frying his head, trying to figure out what it was. He lay in bed that night attempting to sleep, but he just kept thinking about Lissa, the way her blonde hair got blown about by the wind and the way her green eyes would go as bright as the sun hitting the leaves in midday when she smiled. She was a tiny-looking thing at first glance but when you really looked there was just so much confidence in her that she didn’t seem small in the slightest. She almost leaked this power that made you stand up, take notice and wonder just what she was capable of if she put her mind to it. He woke early the next morning and went for a run. It was raining slightly, good old Scottish summer. He loved how the rain fell over him as he ran flat out through the woods. It was freedom, or at least the illusion of it. Nothing beat putting in his earphones and turning the volume right up then just forgetting everything for an hour or so. He had been running back to his house when he saw something in the corner of his eye. He stopped, pulled out his earphones, looked around and listened. “Dean?” He spun around and standing in front of him was Lissa. “What are you doing back out here after what happened yesterday? It’s not safe. You should stay out of the woods,” he blurted out. What? Why was he telling her what she should be doing? He wasn’t her parent, he wasn’t her protector. “I was looking for you,” she said. “I figured you may be here.” “Well here I am,” he muttered. “What’s the matter? You seem pissed.” “I’m fine; I just don’t like people who purposely do things that they know are dangerous.” “But you do that all the time don’t’ you? I mean, you said yesterday that what you do is fight demons. Who worries about you running off into danger?” she demanded, looking him straight in the eyes. “No one. I look after myself,” he answered, looking away. “What? But what about your parents?” “They died four years ago,” he replied. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It’s fine. So what did you want?” he asked. “I wanted to find you and ask if you would help me.” “Help, with what?” he said. “With fighting. I want to be able to defend myself and I want to learn about what’s out there,” replied Lissa. “You want me to teach you how to fight?” he said, with raised eyebrows. 29

“Yes please. Yesterday freaked me out and I don’t want to feel like that again. I want to know how to kill something if it wants to kill me!” Lissa exclaimed. “You don’t want this. It would take up your life and you couldn’t tell anyone. I mean who would believe you?” Dean said, shaking his head. “Don’t tell me what I do or don’t want, I want to do this, I NEED to do this. Please Dean.” “Ok but it’s not going to be easy. You will be working out so hard your body will be trembling and sore,” he said. “I can do it. I’m stronger than I look,” she said, standing up taller. “Alright, when do you want to start?” “As soon as possible” she said, smiling. “How about now?” said Dean. Lissa looked up at him grinning and his heart skipped a beat. Lissa was also grinning like an idiot when she got home, going up and hugging her mum. “Hey mum,” she smiled. “Hey honey, you look happy.” Caroline answered. “I am, I had a nice day.” replied Lissa. “That’s good then. What did you do?” “I walked around for a little while; I even made a new friend, just like you wanted.” Lissa laughed. “Oh really, who?” Caroline asked, intrigued. “A boy; his name is Dean.” She replied, heading into the kitchen. “So what did the two of you get up to?” “Nothing much, he showed me around a little and I told him about back home,” Lissa said, distractedly. “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” She moaned. Caroline laughed “Dinner won’t be long, just another five minutes.” She smiled. “Awesome! Shout me when it’s ready, please,” she said, going to the living room. She sat down on the couch and flicked through the channels, trying to find something to watch. She gave up after a few seconds and just put the music on then sat back and thought about what happened that day. Dean was going to teach her how to fight these demons. She couldn’t believe it, she had been so positive he would refuse and tell her to piss off or something. Lissa couldn’t wait to get started and it wasn’t even the fact that she was going to be able to kick these beast asses in but more the fact that she would be able to defend herself and not need others to fight her battles. It had always been that way with her friends, people would start on her and her friends would be there before Lissa even got a word in. It was like they thought because she was short and fragile-looking that she needed protecting. Dean didn’t look at her like that; he looked at her like she could do anything she wanted. This of course was ridiculous as he didn’t know her enough to think that. She thought of the way his eyes never left her whenever she spoke or the slight up curve of his lips when he smiled. Ok yeah, he was seriously hot but that didn’t matter, she was going to him to learn, not to drool over him like some love-struck teen. She was still daydreaming when her mum shouted her through for dinner. “Dinner is ready!” she yelled to Lissa. “Awesome, I’m starving.” She shouted jumping up off the couch and through to the kitchen. Caroline remained in the kitchen, taking care of the last of dinner, thinking about how happy Lissa had looked when she came in. Hopefully, now that she had made a friend she would start to relax and settle here. She wanted so badly for her daughter to be happy here. It still killed her that she had uprooted Lissa from her home, her friends and especially her father. She had looked and looked for work near their old house but she just couldn’t find anything, so they were here, and she kept praying it would all work out. She took a deep breath and dished out dinner. They sat eating, talking about how Caroline was settling in at work. Lissa had always been interested in hearing about her mum’s work even though she clearly didn’t understand any of it. Caroline loved spending time with Lissa just talking; it felt like they hadn’t done it in forever. “I have the day off tomorrow and I thought maybe we could go out and do something?” Caroline asked. “Really? that would be great, mum!” Lissa exclaimed, grinning. “Ok then: a day out it is, just us. We could go shopping, you need new clothes anyway. Then maybe go see a movie and get something to eat,” she said, as she finished eating. “I can’t wait now; it’s going to be so much fun,” Lissa grinned, getting up to clear the plates. “I’ll do the dishes mum, you go relax and I’ll come through when I’m done,” she said. “Ok princess, thanks.” Caroline smiled and walked through to the living room. They were curled up on the couch watching Caroline’s favorite movie, Pearl Harbour. She knew Lissa hated watching it as she always cried when Danny died and she hated crying. As the scene was approaching, Caroline pulled 30

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Lissa tight, hugging her close. “We can turn it off if you want, sweetheart,” she whispered. “It’s ok mum, it’s just so sad,” said Lissa, already starting to sniffle. As the first shots rang out, hitting him, Lissa squealed and hid her face in her mum’s hair, crying. Caroline kept watching, letting her cry; her daughter didn’t like being coddled. The film ended and Lissa got up wiping her tears and smiled. “You still cry, too,” she laughed. “Yeah well, like you said, it’s a sad film,” she laughed back. “Ok bed time for me.” Lissa yawned. “Night, princess,” Caroline said, hugging her tight. “Night mum. Love you.” She headed for the door. “Love you, too.” She answered. Lissa went upstairs and Caroline tidied up then headed up herself. *** Lissa stood outside, looking up at Dean’s house a week later. “Well, here goes,” she said to herself and walked up to the door. He opened it as she was about to knock “You’re late” he muttered. “Sorry, my mum took forever to leave this morning.” Lissa replied. “Well then let’s not waste any more time, let’s get started.” He said walking back inside. She followed after him closing the door securely behind her. “So what are we doing then?” “We will be starting with this.” Dean said, as he dumped a dusty, ancient-looking book in front of her. “You’re making me read? I thought we were going to fight?” she huffed. “After this we will. You need to learn about what you are fighting first,” he replied easily. She put her hand on the old book, pulling it towards her. It was soft like velvet under her palms, even though it was partly worn through. She loved the feel of old books because that meant that they were well read. Books weren’t made to just lie about untouched. She flipped open the first page and started reading. Two hours later, after he had pottered about doing God only knew what, Dean returned to the table. “That’s enough for today,” he said closing the book. “I wasn’t done with that chapter!” Lissa exclaimed. “You can finish tomorrow.” He picked up the book and put it back on the shelf. “Exactly how long do you plan on making me read?” she asked. “Till you know what it is you’re up against.” He smiled. “Anyone ever tell you, you are annoying?” “No,” he answered. “Ahh.” She, too, smiled. Dean just laughed at her. “So, we will pick this up tomorrow?” he asked “Sure, I’ll be here after my mum leaves again,” Lissa said. “I will walk you back,” Dean offered. “Ok, thanks.” Lissa replied. She got up and started for the door. Dean stayed slightly behind Lissa, keeping an eye out as they walked. His eyes kept drifting back to her every few seconds. He was just about to speak when she tripped over a fallen branch and he leaped forward to catch her. He grabbed her hips to stop her fall and he straightened with her in his arms; she was slightly turned and was staring up at him with her evergreen eyes as if she could see everything. She cleared her throat “Thanks,” she murmured. He let her go, stepping away. “You ok?” “Yeah, fine.” She smiled. He stopped breathing for a second; she had an amazing smile with two small dimples in her cheeks. He shook his head to clear it; he had to get a grip. He started walking again. She just wanted to learn how to defend herself; she didn’t need him drooling over her. Stupid Dean, But since he’d first met her, he couldn’t get her 31

out his head! Lissa was walking slowly beside Dean. She could still feel his hands on her, still had goose bumps. She had stupidly thought he was going to kiss her and she had freaked. Stupid Lissa! The way he had stared at her though, no one had ever looked at her like that, ever. She had no idea what to say so she walked quietly through the woods, sneaking quick peeks up at him. He kept running his hands through his hair, why was that hot? They had reached the end of the woods when Dean spoke. “I have to get back now.” “Ok, thanks for walking me back.” Lissa said quietly. “No problem. I will see you tomorrow, ok?” He replied. “See you tomorrow.” He went to turn away and Lissa didn’t know what happened; one second she was watching him go and the next she had put her hand out to stop him. He turned and looked at her, his brow furrowed. “Is everything ok?” He asked She took a deep breath. “Screw it!” she said, then leaned up and kissed him. It was just a soft touch of lips but the feeling that ran through Lissa was like a live wire, lighting everything in its path to full. She slowly stepped away and gazed shakily up at Dean who looked utterly stunned. “W-what was that for?” He stuttered. She smiled and started to walk away, feeling a lot braver than she had. “I just wanted to see how it would feel.” She smiled, “See you tomorrow, Dean!” and she ran across the field to her house.

The little boy who didn’t know….. by Jacqui McCallum There once was a little boy named Harvey. Harvey was five years old and was just about to start Primary school. He was so excited, he had been out shopping for new school clothes, new shoes and a new big-boy school bag with batman on it. Harvey lived inside the army barracks in Belfast, Ireland with his mum Lynne and his dad Scott who was a General in the Army; he also had an older sister Kelly who was twelve. Kelly was starting high school and was very self-centered. Harvey was very proud of his dad - in his mind his dad was a super-hero, he was away saving the world from all the bad guys, just like Batman. As the first day of school drew closer Harvey was so excited he couldn’t contain himself. But he noticed that his mum was sad, and he would often find her crying at night when she thought Harvey was asleep; Harvey couldn’t understand why his mum was crying. The next day was the Big Day - Harvey was starting school!! He wore his new uniform and had his new bag. Kelly went away to high school on her own. (She was too cool to have her parents take her). Harvey was so excited; he had both his parents walking him to school. As they walked along the path to school he saw all his friends that lived in the barracks as well. He also saw some new faces; he was excited but scared at the same time. His dad told him that everyone felt scared at times, even the bravest soldiers.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

We know Shannon Thomson It has been four days since I ‘came out’ as gay to my parents, and let me just say that the reaction I got was not what I had expected from them at all. I have been prepared to tell them for a few years now so I have had a lot of time to practice what I would say to them and think about all the reactions they might go through (shocked, hysterical, etc.) and how I would handle them, but I was not prepared for my parents’ reaction. It was Saturday evening that I had decided to tell my parents. All week my friends had been pushing me to tell them so it would be over with. To tell you the truth, I don’t really agree with the whole ‘coming out’ thing. It seems quite unnecessary and scary. I’d much rather bring a girl home and introduce her to the family. Heterosexual people don’t have to open up about their sexuality to their parents because, unless you come out about your sexuality then everyone just assumes your heterosexual. But although I don’t agree with it all I feel like I need to tell them how I feel. I had been preparing all morning in front of my mirror on what I would say just to build some confidence but every time I would think I was ready to go downstairs to tell them, I would feel my stomach start to twist and my vision start to blur. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was. It was a simple process too, all I had to say was I preferred girls to boys. I was most afraid of was how much or little this would change my life and possibly the others around me. But I knew I had to do this. It was nearly four in this afternoon when I finally bucked up the courage to even walk down the stairs. As I made my way down the stairs I decided to slowly count backwards from ten to help with my nerves. I could feel my heartbeat pick up its pace as I made it closer to the end of the stairs; I was so scared, I could feel my face start to burn up. But none of this would stop me because I knew that I had to do this no matter how frightened I was. My foot finally reached the end of the stairs, I didn’t stop. I couldn't stop. My legs kept going as if they weren’t even under my control anymore. I made it right to the living room opening before I actually had processed what I was about to do. I felt like I was going to be sick. ‘Get a grip, you can do this,’ I said to myself under my breath. Before taking a few deep breaths I fully made my way into the living-room where my mum and dad were sitting on the couch enjoying the luxury of watching television. I had been able to walk into the middle of the room to face both of my parents, who were trying to see around me to get a view of the television. Although feeling as though I might projectile vomit on them as soon as I did so, I decided to open my mouth and start the horrible process I had been dreading so much. ‘Mum. Dad.’ That’s all I could get out so far without blacking out. They had now stopped watching the TV and gave me their full attention. ‘I need to tell you something and I’m just going to come out with it because if I take any longer I might pass out and never tell you guys so here it is.’ I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm myself down before continuing. ‘Mum, Dad… I’m Gay’ It was out. I couldn’t believe it. I finally got it all out in the open. But before I could feel relieved I had to hear what my parents had to say with this, and that got me all agitated again. ‘Honey. We know.’ My mother said to me with sympathy and tenderness in her voice. ‘We’ve always known that you have liked girls.’ My head was throbbing and I could feel my throat start to tighten. How could they have known? Did someone tell them? Why didn’t they say anything to me so I didn’t have to go through this? I was furious but at the same time I was so relieved that they had known and were okay with it. I was feeling too many different emotions it was overwhelming and I think they both realised that because they got off their seats and sat beside me to embrace me. As soon as they did I couldn’t hold in my tears any longer, so I sobbed into the both of them, feeling as happy and confused as ever.

Disgust Rebecca Fairlie The children picked up their food with sticky, selfish hands, shovelling it into their gaping mouths with a force that would frighten the most fearsome of predators. Their parents, even less observant of what was going on around them, were attached to their smart phones while putting on every social media account they could manage how much they adored their child. The sheer neglect that they used was enough to turn a child psychologically damaged. Why should that matter? A walk through the park, I thought. That’s all it is. Just to get through this, go about my business, and then back to the comfort of my own little antisocial haven The grass was emerald chaos, the sun was glorious. The smell of greasy foods added to the beauty of the day. No one looked up. Distasteful screeching children added to my churning stomach. They cried for attention. Why should anyone else care? Not their child; not their responsibility. No kind smiles of knowledge gazed down at their weeping eyes. Finally ending my sultry stroll through the park, I came out in front of a coffee shop. My next matter of business. I entered the yawning entrance of clear glass doors and the smell instantly hit. It was enough to make my caffeine crazed brain twist and turn in desire. This was a chain café, filled to breaking point with those similar to me, maybe those who had never before been hooked on this dainty drug. But they soon would be intoxicated. These chain coffee shops were all over the city, shoving their advanced types of coffee into the faces of those who were mildly curious. I was next in line. Ordering my usual, I took the time to glance around. There was a fair variety of people seated. It was a strange mixture, but perhaps that was just me. A group of girls clasping their Frappuccinos to their chests as though their lives depended on it, taking every opportunity to take pictures on their phones about ‘how much fun’ they were having at this place. Fun? It really looked quite the opposite, though maybe that was just me. Another glance to the side of them was a group of darker clothed individuals of both (or all?) genders, who looked to be showing my distain at those girls in mutters and sarcastic gestures. In my middle-aged confused mind, though, they were no better. They all thought they were better than each other, and would likely show disgust at the thought of harmony. Why? Why not live without a concern to anybody else? Why worry about what other people are doing to make them happy? Or maybe it is not true happiness. With a sigh, I picked up my order of which the man called out the wrong name. I digress. Turning out of the shop, I opted for the less favorable clothes shop (once again, a chain store) to buy a new pair of shoes. Thankfully, I knew my size, all I had to do was pick up the first pair a saw and pay. The most simple of dire tasks. I looked around. The men’s shoes were at the brink of the female dresses. There was a girl in the corner there who faces a mirror, timidly holding a dress to her body and staring intently at her figure in the mirror. I noticed she was standing in a ‘plus size’ department, but all of the clothes in the area she stood were a size fourteen. Of course, despite not having much understanding of how women’s clothing worked, I still knew that a size fourteen was the national average. The girl looked ashamed, and didn’t look up to meet anyone in the eyes. But I could still see them. My heart ached for this girl, and her sad eyes. Picking up my shoes and handing over my hard-earned money for this expensive pair, I carried onward. Now for the walk home. Such a menial journey. For what, though? Anxiety filled steps and heavy breaths. I could not hide my disdain for these people that I passed, and the many people I continued to pass. What would it take for them to look up from their phones, or their meaningless means of living, to go out and explore? To travel the world and document their lives? Perhaps that was the purpose of social media in the first place; to share with friends and family and the world alike what your journey beholds. Now though, its twisted uses and anti-social climate has left millions of people stewing about what they could be doing. Finally, unlocking the door to my humble cavern, I was safe. Though maybe that’s what made this ordeal worse; I was a hypocrite. Hiding behind closed doors, I was a renowned introvert whose only social encounters was just that; a quick trip to the shops, and then home again. I could only talk for so long about my contempt for the modern world without realising that I myself have not seen the beauties of the earth. A change in the warmth brewed now. Time for a diverse experiment.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Complications Catherine O’Donnell Part 1 I woke up to the sound of my daughter crying and screaming my name, so I jumped out of my bed and rushed to my precious daughter’s bedroom, opened her door and to my dismay she was curled up in extreme pain and being violently sick. I asked my daughter Emma what was wrong and what was hurting and then she held her stomach and told me it was that. I ran and put my arms around her and proceeded to put my hand on her forehead to check her temperature which at first touch she was burning up so I was getting even more concerned. I then got us both ready and in the car to drive to the hospital, with Emma having to lie in the back with a basin for her vomit. I drove to the hospital. I really can’t remember the drive but we got there safe and sound to the emergency room, where I got her a wheelchair. By thus time she was getting worse and could not sit up straight at all and appeared to look very yellowish in skin colour. We waited fifteen minutes before we got called by a nurse to go through; the nurse asked all the usual million questions before they could even get a doctor to come look at my poor baby. After what seemed like forever (twenty-minutes ) the doctor\ surgeon came to see us both, checked Emma over and said that they thought it was gallstones. I was so shocked by the doctor’s outcome; I mean gallstones in an eleven year-old? I have never heard of someone so young having this, so asked the doctor whose name was Dr Burt, why he came to this diagnosis. Dr Burt then carried on to say that because my beloved Emma had the ‘flu a little while ago - he thinks that this has been the cause. Of course they ran all the tests and right enough, I got told that it definitely was gall-stones!. Your daughter will need to have emergency surgery to remove them, I was told. I was horrified, I mean I thought I would just bring Emma here and they would give us some medication to take home with us and that it was a bug of some sort not to get told she would need surgery!. Still in complete shock I was asked to fill out the forms about the procedure they would carry out and the small risks it would involve, I got told not to worry that this was a common surgery and just to sign at the bottom of the three forms, which I grudgingly did. Emma then got carted off to theatre and before I knew it I was in the waiting-room, still in complete horror that this was going on. I sat not very patiently for over two hours, constantly looking through the doors I knew the surgeons would come from, and then finally Dr Burt walked towards me and asked me to sit down. I knew right then that something was not right and I could feel it in my gut, yes sure enough I got told that something went wrong and they were very sorry and that they tried everything they could do that was possible but my precious, gorgeous little baby girl has passed away. Part 2 My patient’s name was Emma Roman and yes she unfortunately through a small error by my part alone, she passed away in theatre due to complications which was out of all involved control and of course we tried everything we could and followed complete procedure. Emma had been rushed to hospital with severe stomach pains, jaundiced skin and vomiting symptoms,. We ran all the necessary tests to see what the result would be and it was presented to me that she in fact, had gallstones and would need an emergency procedure to remove them. I moved back a few of the surgeries I had booked that day to put my name down to continue with Emma’s emergency surgery, as no other surgeon was available at that moment. We got Emma into the theatre and I was to begin my surgery. I used the laparoscopic surgery, also known as minimally invasive. This means that you need to make several cuts (incisions) in the belly instead of one large incision also known as open surgery. I began by inserting the small thin, lighted tube with the camera and all other surgical instruments through these small incisions. I took my time in doing this as each bile duct is very small and began to snip the gallbladder free, I then realized that I accidentally nicked Emma’s main bile duct and noticed it was seeping all into her organs, she began to crash and we tried everything to resuscitate her but the poison had seeped too much and quick that it was far too late and a had the hard decision of calling time of death. Yes there are risks and we did tell Mr. Roman about hem and the full list of potential complications but most people just want to be better and thankfully, most do. When we give them the said list they look at us as if we are speaking an unfamiliar language I then had to go and tell my patient’s father this news and since then I have been suspended due to further enquiries into this case. I have nothing to hide in my statements I have made and I know I made an error but it was 35

just a simple mistake that now may cost me my career. I pass on my condolences to the family and will take whatever punishment I may get due to this case. Part 3 Today’s meeting for the patient Emma Roman took place with myself ( Dr Dorey ), lawyers from both the hospital and Emma’s family defense teams and Dr Burt one of my top surgeons. As whenever I see a medical or surgical complication that involves the outcome of death, we have to review this patient’s case very closely. During the gallbladder removal operation, the surgeon in question may perform a cholangiogram, which is a study of the bile ducts. This study is not always necessary, but helps the doctors make sure that the gallstones have not fallen out of the gallbladder and into the main bile duct. If the study does show gallstones in the main bile duct, the surgeon will try in they can to remove them, because the bile ducts of children are usually very small, this can be difficult to do using laparoscopic techniques. Complications specific to Emma’s case, since each person’s anatomy is different, it’s is essential for the surgeon to be careful in properly identifying the ducts they intend to cut. Laparoscopic surgery must be performed expertly, slowly and carefully, by a well-trained surgeon, but sometimes even the most trained can occur terrible consequences and in this case this is what followed. Despite the dire consequences of this error, due in large part to the very thin and small ducts involved and their proximity to each other. In this case the bile duct of the patient was mistakenly nicked during surgery; bile then seeped into Emma Romans abdominal cavity and poisoned her, which led to all her organs failing, and further led to the patient’s sudden death. My heart goes out to her family, and we want to support them at this time. This will be the first of many meetings now proceeding and I believe may take some time, and will get very messy, I am sure.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

His Return Rebecca Fairlie As Michael sat in his office chair, sipping his lukewarm coffee, he began to realise that boredom was setting in, deeply. Chair. It could barely be described as a chair. It was more of a tie-dye bean bag, with barely kept dents in the ‘arm rests’. He could remember clearly when The Boss held one enthusiastically-run meeting just after he had caught up with all of the events in the early 70s where he had forced the horrific inventions upon all the staff. It was mortifying. That was the last time he checked in, just before he left on his forty-year honeymoon with his newly-wed, Sharon. In celestial time, this didn’t seem like much. It was probably only a fortnight, if Michael could guess. With a deep sigh, he looked around, surveying his surroundings as if he hadn’t been doing that every day for God knows how long. There were no cubicles in the office; God thought that would segregate everyone, and with an ‘open plan’ office, this would create more ‘positivity in the workplace’. Michael scoffed at the thought. Contrary to the beliefs of those ‘downstairs’, there were only about 25-30 angels up here. No, there were no guardian angels. No, there was no ‘limbo’. The humans who had written the Bible stories were really far off when it came to the logistics of Heaven, God, and his teachings. Michael scanned the room once more, and seeing in return many bored faces glancing up from their old computer monitors, he couldn’t wait until God came back and did another update. They all knew about the modern technology that Earth now had, so it only made sense that the angels could perhaps move on from this embarrassing junkyard cesspit of old gadgets. He caught an old friend’s eye, and gave him a half-hearted smile. His friend returned it by pretending to hang himself in a noose, which made Michael chuckle. Lucifer was an attractive man, so to speak; curly black hair that almost reached his shoulders, complimented by a crisp cotton white shirt and a matte black tie, which made him stand out that much more. He definitely had style. Looking at him, he was reminded of the humans’ habit of exaggerating; Lucifer wasn’t ‘the devil’, nor was he banished from Heaven. One day, he had bumped into Jesus while he was visiting the office, spilling his coffee on his clean white shirt. It was a small dispute that God had always found amusing, though Jesus and Lucifer were now sworn enemies. The real ‘Devil’ was much worse. Definitely the most terrifying woman Michael had had the displeasure of meeting. Eyes so cold it’d keep your beer cool for a century. Michael shuddered. The overhead speakers suddenly blared with an ear-crunching static noise, making all the angels jump and cry out in unison. Then the voice of the receptionist, Gayle, shot through the speakers at which everyone began to show signs of clear restlessness. “Sorry about that!” Her soft voice could have fooled the most intelligent of beings into her being a child. “Just wanted to let you all know, the office cafeteria will no longer be selling chocolate due to Raphael’s lactose intolerance.” Loud groans could be heard, with someone shouting, “Thanks a lot!”. Raphael looked sheepish as he began to sink in his seat. “Also, God’s on his way back. Should be about twenty-five minutes. Have a nice day!” Dead silence. Michael looked at his watch, then at the clock, then at the other petrified faces around him. That’s when things really got into motion. Panicked shrieks, papers flying, manic typing; it was madness. When God first left on his honeymoon, everything seemed fine. None of them realised that he would be back so soon; Michael was sure that he’d take a longer break this time! Apparently not, and now realising that they didn’t do nearly as much work as was planned, they all knew (especially Michael) that they were in deep, deep trouble. Though God had always chosen Michael as his favourite, it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t absolutely destroy him and blame him for the lack of work. There was only one thing Michael could think to do now. He walked carefully through the chaos, edging his way to the door to the fields. Once out, he was momentarily calmed that the beauty of Heaven would never get tiring, living in eternal bliss, every scent the warmth and happiness of a summer day, a cool breeze blowing every once in a while and fresh flowers blooming everywhere. Dewy grass smooth enough to walk on, and though God loved all of his creations, there were no insects in these blades of freshly cut grass simply for their own safety. He could see willow trees dotted randomly through the never-ending field, leaves shivering in the breeze slightly. Under one, maybe a mile away from where he was standing, Michael knew what he could expect to see. He moved quickly, inhaling deeply. This would not be fun. The day was so sweet, yet weren’t they all up here? Full of sunshine, warmth and absolute tranquillity. With headphones fitting snugly on his ears and the breeze echoing through the rip in his skinny jeans, J.C can’t imagine another fate better than this. No sounds apart from Santana ringing through his ears, enhancing this day to the max. Of course he supported Earth’s musicians, he liked every kind of music. Apart from country. He shuddered at the 37

thought. No negativity on this sacred day. That was until he sensed someone’s presence shuffling quickly towards him. Peeking open a single lid, he saw an out-of-breath Michael looking very uncomfortable. Closing his eyelid, Jesus gave a hearty sigh. All good things could never last. He sat up whilst laying his headphones to rest on his shoulders. Michael was now crouched in front of him, hands on his knees while panting heavily. “You really need out of that office more, bud.” J.C smirked at the angel as he looked up, red faced and glaring towards the Son of God. “Whatever. Do you want the bad news first, or the worse news?” Jesus pondered for a second, stroking his ragged beard in a comic fashion. “I suppose it’ll have to be the bad news.” He began taking a drink of his bottled water. “Your dad is on his way back.” J.C spat what water was still in his mouth, it happened to land perfectly in an ‘O’ shape on Michael’s white shirt. “What’s the worse news?!” “You have around fifteen minutes ‘til he gets here.” Jesus’ jaw was still practically hitting the floor. “Thanks for that, by the way. You know the first thing he’ll want is a meeting. He knows everything that’s been going on, I’m assuming. He’ll want you there, and…her.” Without thinking, time suddenly sped up and Jesus was on his feet and running. He was in pretty good shape for a guy in his early thirties. He probably ran the distance back to the office block faster than Michael had even taken to get up from his seat. Pushing the doors open, it was chaos. No one even batted a lid when J.C ran through, towards his own office, though they probably should have as he hadn’t been spotted there in a good few number of years. J.C and his dad were the only ones to have a separate room for their office, and as he pushed through the door into it he suddenly realised how much he had missed. Dust had gathered upon his desk, and so had a vast number of files. He quickly shoved them to the floor, hoping that he could have enough time to review them once he’d finished on the phone. Or maybe he should check them out first? Oh, what the hell, he thought. Wiping a thick layer of dust from his oak desk, he picked up the top collection of stapled paper. Glancing at it, he shook his head. ‘Westboro Baptist Church’? What was this? ANOTHER lame organisation claiming to praise the work of his dad? They had these sort of people last time he had checked as well, though it seemed that these people took things a lot more seriously. Picketing funerals? Protesting outside abortion clinics? All in the name of his dad’s teachings. Absolute lunatics. Anyone with a brain knows this is a complete misinterpretation of what he said. Jesus could already feel himself getting angry about it, so he decided to store the information and bring it with him to the meeting so that it would look as if he actually had been working these past forty years. Which apparently, was a long time for Earth. Unfortunately, storing this file into his mind palace meant picking up the phone to Her. It just depends if he caught Her on a particularly stressful day. Punishing the earth’s scoundrels was a deeply unforgiving job. Though for the sadist She was, it wasn’t difficult to imagine that she enjoys herself. Okay, he thought, time to bite the bullet. Picking up the phone and dialling three sixes, after all these years he was still creeped out by the ring tone.. “Hello, the Underworld. Henry speaking, how may we help you today?” “Hello, Henry,” Jesus rarely became impatient. These demons just knew how to get on his nerves. “Can you put Her on, please?” “May I ask who is speaking, please?” The snide tone with the audible traces of a cruel smile made J.C sigh out loud. “Henry. Stop being an arse. Put her on.” “Lighten up, J.C” Henry sneered. “I’ll patch you through in a sec.” The other line clicked and a few seconds later, the waiting music came on; a country version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley. By this point, Jesus’ head was in his hands, with him continually banging his head against his palms. Almost the entire song had passed. Just to the point where he began to wonder why he hadn’t already hung up, a smooth voice appeared in his ear. No, Not Rick Astley. Another voice that chilled him to the bone. “Hello, Lucie speaking. May I ask who is calling today?” Her sarcastic tone was enough to make Jesus roll his eyes to hard they almost fell out the back of his head. “Lucie, enough. My dad is on his way back. I reckon we’ve got about ten minutes for you to get yourself up here and ready for this meeting.” For a second, he thought that she had hung up. “Why do you guys always have to ruin my fun?” She let out a 38

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

groan, “Fine. I’ll be up now. Get me coffee and every bounty bar you can find.” “Lucie, I’m not-“ The line went dead. Great. Now to the conference room, where the start of a long, long day would surely ensue. “Sharon! Where’s my tie?” God’s voice rumbled through the boot of the car to the front seat, where Sharon was re-applying her ruby red lipstick in the front mirror. She puckered her lips, making sure that she hadn’t missed any. “They’re in your travel bag, honey.” God rolled his eyes, his smile lines deepening as he knew his wife thought of everything. The Cadillac boot was pressed tightly as God straightened his tie. “Do I look professional?” Sharon looked around from the driver’s seat and smiled. “You don’t need to impress your son and…Her. You look great though, as always.” God kissed her gratefully, transferring most of her lipstick onto him, and they said their goodbyes as she drove towards their home while he walked towards the large doors. He felt good as his workers turned in their seats. He ruffled a few heads, gaining large toothy grins in return. He had tanned a lot, as he could tell from his pale strip of skin where his watch had remained despite the sun. As God looked around, he knew that the office seemed incredibly behind schedule. These out of date computers, and the bean bags? They had to go. Sharon had constantly reminded him not to take his work on the honeymoon, but of course he had; the amount that the Humans had discovered in forty years was incredible. The technology, the science, the cures. He had to be up to date, mostly, as he knew his son and the angels definitely wouldn’t be. It wasn’t as if it was their job; they dealt with the new additions, those who should be rewarded down there and up here, and they also knew what had changed. But it wasn’t their responsibility to change any of the set-up here. That was all on him. God took long apprehensive strides now, he was turning a corner towards the conference room and his office. He passed Gayle, who smiled widely and handed him a coffee. “Nice to see you again, Sir!” “Nice to be back, love.” He grinned, smile lines fading. Gayle blushed as he passed. God was in his late forties if it could be estimated in celestial terms, and had the looks of George Clooney, even the salt and pepper hair to match. It was safe to assume that every female adored him. And every male. God was just the best kind of guy to be around. Striding into the conference room, he was met with a back facing him, the person gazing out the window towards the always-sunny fields of never-ending warmth. God smiled at his son. The dreamer. Always a million miles away. Jesus turned suddenly, smiling a big toothy grin. “Hi, Dad.” God immediately went over and engulfed him in a massive bear hug. J.C tried to retreat, claiming it was ‘messing up his hair’. Though his shoulder length brown waves were still perfectly intact, there was no way of getting away from a hug from God. Once he finally let him go, J.C coughed out a “So how was the honeymoon?” “It was good,” God smiled kindly. “Sharon is more tanned than me. Been considering a lot of options for the future…” Just then, they both looked up to the sound of clipping heels and the smell of Chanel No.5 as Lucie walked into the room. “Nice to see you both again. Wow, what a dump up here.” God smiled fondly at his other prodigy. Both Jesus and Lucie were roughly the same age, and they were taught the same. The only different was that while Jesus manned the fort up here, Lucie dealt with punishing those who deserved it down there. She was dressed to kill; literally. Red Motörhead t-shirt with a black leather jacket, leather jeans garnished with a belt holding a whip and a butcher’s knife. And of course, her trademark red-soled Louboutins. “Hey, Lucie” God enveloped her in a massive bear hug, much to her dismay. “Come on, take a seat. I have a lot to discuss with you both.” This was the point where God watched both of his disciples lovingly, while they looked at him with confusion and somewhat fear. Fear of what this was about. Fear of the shouting that may come their way. Meanwhile, God remained calm, cool and collected. He had nothing to fear. Of course he didn’t; he was God. “I’ve been thinking a lot while I was away,” Both J.C and Lucie gulped. “Having this break with Sharon has meant the world to me. And I’ve realised how over-worked I’ve been. I mean, look at my hair!” he gestured at his salt and pepper locks with disbelief. Jesus and Lucie glanced at each other, waiting. “I’m retiring.” Silence. “WHAT?!” Both shouted in absolute shock, while once again, God remained smooth as ice, ignoring them both while pacing the room, gazing out the window. He continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. 39

“I’m getting too old for this. The daily stress of glorified babysitting just doesn’t have the same appeal as it used to. I want to spend every waking minute with my wife, who I realise I’ve been neglecting due to all of this work.” The fields of tranquillity held his gaze for a moment longer, before he turned his attention to both of them. His children. His muses. The only two people on God’s green earth to hold his trust completely. “I want you to take over.” Robin’s story by Jacqui McCallum Robin attempts suicide after finding out that her husband Kevin has had an affair with someone that he works with. Robin is then admitted into hospital under the mental health act, because she is thought to be a danger to herself. Robin has seen a number of doctors and nurses over the past three days and she finally has a session with the resident mental health nurse Colin. He is the best mental health nurse within fifty miles of Robin’s home and Robin’s family is hoping that he can help her get her life back on track. Robin starts telling Colin all about her marriage to Kevin and how he made her feel worthless all the time. She says that this isn’t the first time Kevin has cheated on her, that there has been about fifteen to twenty women that she knows about. She says that in comparison to the other woman she feels worthless. Kevin is always putting her down and says that she’s fat, lazy, and ugly, says that she just sits around and gossips all day. Robin tries to explain to Colin that wasn’t that case at all that she worked all day and when she wasn’t at work she was at home cooking and cleaning. Kevin just comes home late and complains about everything, robin knew the real reason he resented her and that was because she was unable to have children. For five years after they got married they tried but it never happened. The doctors never worked out why she couldn’t get pregnant. After meeting with Robin Colin decided he would need to meet with Kevin to get a better idea as to how things got so bad between them. The next day Colin had arranged to meet with Kevin to discuss how things would go forward with Robin. He asked Kevin if he could explain how he felt their relationship was going and why Robin had all these feelings. The first thing Kevin said was that she was lying, she was crazy and making the whole things up. He said that as a man he has needs and she is unable to meet them anymore, since they got married she has let herself go and he couldn’t help it if other woman found him attractive. He wouldn’t call what he did cheating, he called it more of a community service he was blessing other woman with his greatness. Colin could see this was going nowhere so he asked him what were his plans when Robin was released. Kevin advised him that Robin’s mum was coming to stay with her for a couple of months until she got herself back on her feet, because he was unable to take any time off work to be with her. After a few minutes of silence Kevin advised him that he was considering moving out and he thought that would be for the best, he wasn’t in love with her anymore. He said he would leave Robin the house and continue maintaining all the bills until she was back on her feet. He feels this is his chance to break away from the marriage and also give robin the chance to start afresh. Colin now has to decide the easiest way to tell Robin that Kevin won’t be at home when she is released. Colin is getting ready to have a final meeting, Robin will be discharged today and he still hasn’t told her that Kevin won’t be coming home with her. He also needs to discuss what will be happening when she is released and make her aware that she will have mandatory treatment that she has to follow. Colin knows that Robin’s mum is in the waiting area and that she hasn’t been able to see her yet. He is also aware that Kevin hasn’t been in to see Robin since he met with him three days ago. As Robin comes into the meeting she is aware that Kevin isn’t going back to the house when she is released, she knows that it’s over and she is feeling so low and doesn’t know how she will cope without him. Colin is trying to explain to her that this is the best thing for her, she has the chance to move on and start a new life away from him. Colin also explains to robin that Kevin is prepared to maintain the house and all the expense until she is back on her feet. So she would have time to recover without all the added stress of Kevin and worrying about what he’s doing. He explained that she would have mandatory counseling sessions that she would have to attended weekly, and that she would also have a community nurse that would come out and she her daily for a couple of weeks than it would go to weekly. She would also have to understand that her medication would take a few weeks to take full effect. And that within a few weeks she would start to feel a lot better and she would understand that Kevin leaving her was for the best, and she can start her life over.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Chosen Philipa Craig Chapter One: A Happening. Part One: Enya I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I went to visit Aengus that night. He had just come back from his fishing trip out at sea and I had always made a point of welcoming him back on land at the docks, but there was a huge storm-system due in over the next couple of day, so I had gone up to my dad's farm, Willow-Fir Farm, to help house the cows and pigs for the incoming tempest. Not that you'd have known looking at the bright blue sky and few white wispy clouds that floated by. It was only the second time I had ever missed Aengus' homecoming down at the docks. I had left his Range Rover, a message with the harbor master for him, saying that I was at the farm and hadn't forgotten about his return, and rigged the iPod to play the cheesiest song I could find. He wouldn't have worried about my no-show, we had grown up together on these fields and the woods that surrounded his cottage, and he'd have known about the incoming storm and that I would have been helping out on the farm. By the time we had finally finished at the farm, I knew Aengus would have been home. I made my way up the hill from Willow-Fir Farm, heading to his home in the Willow-Fir forest. I trekked up the hill, along the dirt road to the cross roads, where the only access to our part of the world and the rest of the world met. It wasn't a proper crossroads either, the main road curved at the farm and forest entrance, one way doubling back past the farm house and into town and the harbor, the other way heading to the next nearest town twenty miles away, hugging the border of the forest to one side and the rocky coast line on the other. The contrast between the farm and Angus' dirt roads had always amused me. Behind me the farm road was messy and chaotic, saturated with tractor, hoof, trotter, and boot tracks - completely open to the elements; and to the left, Angus' looked like a still life painting. It was a uniform straight dirt road, lined by willow trees, before meeting with the Silver Firs that made up the forest and covered with the yellow, orange and auburn fall leaves. You could just make out the tracks of the Rover, leaving the only evidence of life, save from the occasional small, twittering bird whizzing by. I made my way along the track, straight down the middle, trying to stay between the Rovers tracks, smiling away to myself at the beauty of the scenery. All had seemed just as it should have until I had entered the forest. The late evening sun disappeared completely on entering the forest, as it should, but the still autumn evening had somehow managed to feel even more still. A chill and sense of foreboding filled me. I had grown up between these trees with Aengus and not once had I ever felt unsafe there. The air was cold, sharp and unnatural, not close and comforting like it should be. I quickened my step, almost jogging, wrapping my jacket closer to me and thankful I had my fur lined boots on, as my breath became a mist in the air. So wrong, so terribly wrong. It wasn't long before I came to the clearing and the river; Aengus' cottage was on the other side. I usually crossed the river by jumping over the two humongous stones that looked like fallen tomb stones, but this time I hurried straight for the bridge. I had barely got half way across the bridge before I heard Aengus' side door slam open and Aengus and a man I had never in my life, seen before, bolted to the back of the cottage towards the forest. What the hell was going on? Part Two: Aengus As I ran, I couldn't believe how much my life had changed, in just a matter of seconds. Nothing this morning remotely hinted at what was coming. All had seemed normal as we docked for the last time this season, at the harbour. The boys and I unloaded the last of the catch, and headed in to get our last pay pack for the season. It was a good job it was a decent amount or we'd be screwed by the time spring came back around. "Here, Enya's left this, the waggon's round back." the harbour master rasped to me, as we got into the harbour house, and handed over my car keys and a note from Enya. As I had expected, with a storm coming, she was needed up at the farm and she had dropped off the Rover so I could get back up the road. Usually, she met with me here after the season was over and we'd drive up the road together, spending most of the time listening to her chatter about what she had been up to, in her quietly hyperactive way, as I drove. She was my closest friend. Her and her family were the only people I could actually stand being around on dry land. The boys were alright at sea, but as soon as we docked it was straight down the boozer to get guttered. They had stopped asking me to come along a long time ago. 41

I got my pay and went round to get my Rover. I loved that car, it was my pride and joy, Enya was only allowed to drive it whilst I was away because I couldn't see her drive it. Keys were handed straight back, no matter how much she jokingly pouted and fluttered her eyelashes. I hopped into the driver’s seat and dumped my worn out, green holdall on the passenger seat, no need for pleasantries and putting it in the boot since Enya wasn't here. It was going to be an unusually quite drive without Enya, and since I was constantly surrounded by noise at sea, I needed some music on; I'd get enough quiet at home. I put the keys in the ignition, and out blasted some cheesy 70's song; "...welcome hooome, weeelcome, come on in, and close the door..." Enya must have been so smug with herself setting that up. I switched it off, swapping it for some much less cheesy, heavy metal and backed out the small car park behind the harbour house and made my way up the five miles of road to Willow-Fir. The rest of the afternoon was its usual uneventful affair. Enya kept my wee cottage clean and tidy while I was away, so the only job left to do was chop up the fire wood. I'd need to chop more than usual with this storm coming. I had been out long enough that noon had turned to early evening. I couldn't explain what I felt or how I knew someone or something was coming. I turned but nothing was there, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I picked up the fire wood I'd need for the night and headed in. Dumping the fire wood by the hearth, a shiver crawled down my spine. I turned as fast as I could, muscles tense and ready to fight. The image that confronted me was not what I expected. The man (if you could call him that) was just as tall as myself but built bigger, like an Olympic warrior, that stood with the arrogant grace of a CEO in the city, yet giving the impression a wild animal was in the room. “Who are you?” I growled, angry that he had dared enter my home uninvited. “Family.” He announced, sounding just as arrogant and wild as he looked. Family? How could this man be family? I had never known my father’s side, but this man, thing, did not seem to be of our world. “How? You don’t even appear to be human!” I spat. “Good, you have the sight. You are the Chosen, my- ” He stopped, and seemed to stiffen. I thought I could feel what had made him alert too. There was someone out there, a presence that felt more aggressive and steadfast than the man stood before me. Now I could feel this new presence, his didn’t seem quite so menacing, just wrong in this world. “I have less time than I thought. You must come with me, now.” He declared, the last word was growled in urgency. “Where?” I asked, tense and alert. Call me crazy but I knew I had to follow him. Something about this new presence was electric and urgent in the air, gunning for both of us. “Follow and stay close, we must run.” He ordered, in a low bark. We took off out the side door and ran. Part Three: Korenen The King had escaped. As a Guard it was my job to bring back the Fae that had crossed a Gate. Since the King's imprisonment the gates between this world and ours had been closed to prevent any of our king rebelling and creating Halflings. An ancient prophecy tells of a Halfling King, a human child born of Kings blood, who would invade our kingdom and lands, bringing with him an army of halfling spawn. To prevent this from happening the Queen had the King imprisoned. For eons she had been able to keep him at peace in his designated part of the palace lands, but he had grown restless in these recent years and had escaped again. Last time he had been dragged back within a human week, but this time had been much longer, and pressure had been mounting to bring him back. If he was missing for much longer or should he have committed adultery with a human girl then the order would be to kill. I couldn't reason why my Queen would want the King back. It was treasonous for him to come to these lands. I would gladly take his head from his shoulders should he be so bold as to commit adultery with human vermin. He had a head start on me but I was fast caching up. Little traces of his Presence had been left around, some on purpose to try and evade my pursuit, others where he had lost control of his Presence and I could continue my mission to bring him back. He might have been good at evading but not as good as I was at tracking. The search for him had led to this large land almost completely covered in trees. The anger that filled me on this finding exploded from me. How Could such an abomination go undetected? I had been tracking the King for weeks, to stop him from destroying the Queendom only to find this!? 42

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Pain and feelings Michelle Lark “OMG”, this is so sore, what is it? I can’t see it, but I can feel it. I can’t even tell them, they don’t understand me I know he didn’t mean it, he would never hurt me. I know he was being nice trying to make it look better and feel better for me, but I really wish he hadn’t.” Maybe it will just go away, they might not notice how sad I look, and that I keep shaking my head, not in fear, but because I am so uncomfortable, it is so irritating, I just want to claw at it and bite it, but I just can’t seem to get at it. They will all be home soon, and hopefully one of them should notice. I didn’t know how to tell dad, what he did, he didn’t notice, I wouldn’t want to upset him, he would just panic and be so anxious that he had hurt me, because I know he didn’t mean it. I could have cried out when it happened, but I didn’t, I was being brave, so I thought. Wait, mum’s home now, she might notice, but how can I tell her, I can’t just shout out: “mum help, this is sore. I need help, please help”. But I can’t. I’m so scared. I’m stuck, I can’t tell them, I can’t show them, how can I tell them I need help. Maybe I will just have to put up with it, in fact I am sure it will be fine, I can live with it, you can’t really see it, I don’t think. The facts are he didn’t mean it, I didn’t tell him, I didn’t and don’t know how to tell or show then, so I am just going to have to live with it, I can do it. I was brave enough not to say anything when it happened. Plus I think it’s getting better, I don’t feel it so much now. Oh here comes Cammy, he always makes me feel better, sometimes he is sad or angry and I help him calm down. He can get so mad sometimes, I can tell when he starts to bang things around and he gets so strong and he wants to pull things apart with his temper. But I think that has something to do with his problem. But when I cuddle into him he calms down a little bit. Which is nice because sometimes, I’m like him, things just seen to race at 100mph, and just don’t want to stop. Just like those damn squirrels, running around all over the place, on the walls on the trees, in my back garden, that really annoys me, leaving a mess in it. I work hard to make it mine and they come in chew on the bins and pull rubbish out of the bags, and leave also responsible of smells in the garden, killing the nice smelly flowers and plants, and leaving a horrible stagnant smell, for all to inhale. Yuk. But sometimes I just like to sit, once I have run around chasing my tail all day, lying on my bed just relaxing. But I don’t know if I will be able tonight, I think it might be too uncomfortable, oh I hope they notice, it’s down to them I can’t do anything about it myself, I am totally reliant on them. Cammy hasn’t noticed, he is just too wound up today. Ally is winding him up and dad is winding Ally up, nobody is going to notice, mum she is busy, running around chasing her tail too. Just like me but when I do it its way more fun. Think I will just leave it. It’s fine it’s not as sore as it was anymore, just irritating, I can live with that. Here’s Kayleigh. I like playing games with her; but she can be so bossy sometimes, but she is getting closer, I can’t tell her but she might find it. She has, thank God; she has found it while she was sitting with me. Please don’t touch it tough, I think it might hurt. Oh I can see the hurt and fear in her eyes. I’m going to get help now. She can tell them what I need but she looks so scared. Now mum knows, please stop looking at it and don’t touch it. That burns. They look so worried, I don’t understand, they are on the phone, they keep looking at me, what’s going on. “What’s happening?”. I’m going out, oh they feel sorry for me they are taking me for a treat, that’s nice I’m happy now, looking forward to this: “whoop whoop”. Where am I going, this is not the normal places we go. “oh no I’m going to that place”, this is not good, I don’t like it there, its smells and they always hurt me. I’m walking in now, it’s quiet, thankfully mum and Kayleigh are being nice to me, cuddles and pets, happy boy, wagging my tail. But here comes the vet, “Rocco Lark please.” Here I go on the scale and sit, then into the wee room. I’m hiding behind mum and Kayleigh, the vet might not notice me and she might think I have run away. The vet is listening to mum tell her how dad cut the back of my ear while cutting my clubs of hair. He didn’t mean it, Mrs vet lady, he really didn’t. What is that thing? Why are you coming closer to me with it, mum help me, make it stop she is cutting more of my hair off. If she keeps going, am going to be as bald as a hairless cat. I really don’t like the vets, none of my friends like them either. Oh wait that feels good, it’s not so hot now, oh it’s cooling down, but it feels weird, like running water, it keeps dripping down my leg, and my fur is on the floor. But it feels much better now. That’s it; I think I’m finished I’m going home now, with my wound cleaned, pills and less hair. Maybe I can go into the park and see what those darn squirrels are doing, I will catch one, one day. But they all know about it now, and I will be spoiled, lots of treats and cuddles and pets. I’m so glad Kayleigh found me. Even being the family dog, they make me part of the family. They really do love me and care for me. As I’m being spoiled rotten at the moment. I’m such a happy and I love my family. “Woof woof”. 43

Mother and Daughter Kimmie Matthews It was a quiet Friday night and I’m just lying in my pyjamas watching movies on Netflix when I get a text from a guy at school. He texts me saying, “’sup?” I text back, “hey, who’s this?” I wait for about an hour for a reply but finally it comes saying: “it’s John Bracket from the football team”. I freak. I have had a crush on him for the past three years and every time I said Hi he just completely ignores me, but finally he said something to me. This is the best day of my life. Following the last text message he says, “do you want to hang out tonight at my house?” I definitely am not going to reject his offer. I text him back saying, “yeah where shall we meet?” He texts me back with the location. I quickly get ready and head out the door leaving no time to tell my mum where I’m going. As I walk along the street he texts me saying, “meet me at the beach.” I run to the beach and sit on the wall for about five minutes before he walks up to the side of me and says “I didn’t think you would come.” I look confused, “of course I did, didn’t you want me too?” “Of course I wanted you to come I just didn’t think you would,” he said in a confused voice. I smile as he sits on the wall beside me. We talk for about two hours before I decide I needed to text my mum and tell her that I am going to be out for a few more hours. We continue to talk and decide to take a walk along the beach. His hand slips into mine. We walk a little bit more before he stops me; he puts both hands on my hips and pulls my body against his. He gazes into my eyes for a mere second before he leans in and kisses me. I don’t know what to do or where to look, as we gaze into each other’s eyes and he whispers, “let’s got back to mine.” I choke as I say, “okay”. We walk back to his still holding hands. Once we get to his he takes off my jacket and hangs it up on the coat rack. We go into the bedroom and sit on the bed for an hour or two; he finally offers me a drink. I say, “all right “ Not knowing he was talking about alcohol so one led to two, two led to three and so on until I finally fell asleep. I wake up the next morning with only a t-shirt on with him lying beside me. He opens his eyes and smiles at me, I smile back. Then I realise that I told my mum that I was going to be home in a few hours. I phone her in a panic to explain that I didn’t go home because I stayed at a friend’s house. She told me to go home straight away because we had to go out. I give him a kiss and tell him I’ll see him later. 9 weeks later I woke up feeling so sick. My mum came into my room and asked me what was wrong I told her that I didn’t feel too good. She called the doctor and made an appointment for the next day. I lay in bed all day texting John and sleeping. The next day I got up and got ready to go and see the doctor. I saw two girls in the surgery, they were no older than fourteen one had a huge bump. She looked like she was about to pop. I whispered over to my mum, “look how young she is and she’s having a baby, that would never be me.” I heard the doctor call my name. I walk down the hall and into a little room on the left. I walked in and sat down, my mum sat down beside me as I explained to the doctor what is wrong. She looked at me as if she was confused and asked, “could you be pregnant?” I laughed at her and said “no way!” She still insisted that I take a pregnancy test. I agreed to do it even though I know it’s going to be negative. My mum looked at me in horror because she didn’t think that I would agree. I whispered and said; “don’t worry it will be negative.” As we wait for the doctor we have a few jokes about what is wrong. The doctor comes back in with a surprised look on her face and says, ‘Congratulations Natalie, you are pregnant.’ I suddenly felt like I was about to faint. How could I be pregnant? I haven’t done anything, unless something happened the night me and John got drunk. I look to my mum and she’s looking at me in disgust, I try to mutter words through the tears but she just gets up and leaves me sitting. The doctor is looking at me as if she wants to say something. I sit in silence for a minute before she says I can book you in for an appointment. I then lost it and screamed, ‘I don’t want it, I want an abortion!’ 44

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I ran out the doctor’s surgery and over to a bench that was outside of a little park, I felt like my whole life had been torn. I felt a tap on my shoulder as I turned around I saw John standing behind me. I collapsed into his arms. As I sobbed he asks me what got me into this state. I was scared to tell him in case he left me. I looked directly into his eyes and mumbled, ‘I’m pregnant.’ His first response was, ‘Wait is it mine?’ I nod; he looked so scared as he sat on the bench. He asked, ‘who knows?’ I muttered, ‘me and my mum but she doesn’t know it’s yours’ He asked if I planned to keep it. I said, ‘I don’t know yet we have to talk about it. I’m only 15 I don’t want to be stuck with a child.’ It got to about 7:30pm and I knew I needed to go home but dreaded it. I got home and decided it would be best to go straight to my room. My little sister is outside hers with a huge smile on her face. I ask her what she’s smiling at and she asked, ‘am I going to be an auntie?’ I stopped for a second; I looked at her and can see in her eyes she was genuinely happy for me. I started to feel as though this was meant to be. Was everything going to be okay? Should I go and speak to my parents? Were they ashamed of me? I was going to have to speak sooner or later! I turned sharply and head back down stairs to speak to my parents. I get to the living room door. I pop my head in to see if they are both there and they are. I started to feel sick as I mumbled, ‘can we talk?’ I felt as if they were going to say no as I sat beside them. My mum turned to me and grabbed my hand. ‘What happened Natalie?’ I didn’t know what to say. I just needed to tell the truth. ‘The night I said I was staying at a friend’s house, I was at a boy’s house. We got drunk and things must have happened.’ My mum’s eyes started to fill up with tears. ‘Why didn’t you just tell me, it would be better than unexpectedly finding out you are pregnant.’ I started to sob and muttered, ‘I’m sorry I’m a disappointment, I bring shame on this family.’ My mum grabbed me and pulled into a light hug. ‘Don’t ever feel like you are a disappointment or bringing shame on the family. We will make this work. If you want to keep the baby we will help.’

The Open Birdcage Stella Anderson Susan was a 30-something year-old woman, born in a little town in west Lothian, she had brown shoulder length hair, she looked quite young for her age, she was a quiet person and would help anyone. But Susan’s relationship with her mum was far from good. Susan was one of four siblings Daniel, the oldest Liam, the second oldest, then Susan, then Jessica, the baby of the family. Susan had a closer relationship with her dad; growing up Susan felt pushed out and rejected by her mum. After Susan’s dad passed away from cancer she was devastated, as her mum never told her, until three months after they found out about the cancer, but Susan’s other siblings got told and she felt cheated, as that was three months she had missed out on her dad’s life. Susan struggled to cope and ended up suffering severe depression. And it took her a while to get back on her feet and feel normal whatever normal feels like. She got a flat from the local council, and made her life in the world. She started going out and meeting new people. One Saturday she attended a drop-in run by the church, she made new friendships and she started to be more extraverted and she liked who she was again. Then one Saturday in February, while she was at the drop-in club, a new guy appeared a gentleman called Gareth and the two hit it off. Susan was mesmerised by his eyes. She thought to herself, “cor he’s well buff,” and he really liked her too. Shortly after that Susan and Gareth started dating. A short while after dating Gareth proposed to Susan and she said yes. Susan felt loved, wanted and cherished. Gareth swept her off her feet, they married in a quiet little church; it wasn’t a big wedding, but they didn’t mind, they were so in love and they started loving life together. Life was good, then after about a year Gareth started drinking, at first Susan thought that it was just a one off, but sadly this was not the case. Gareth drank daily and when he drank he became a monster. Gareth started calling Susan the most horrible of names, and she was devastated the man she had fallen in love with had started to disappear. Her heart sank and she felt cold inside, and Susan started to regress back to how she felt, when she was younger by how she felt her mum treated her growing up. The coldness was like no other felt before, it was as if as she described it, like having a slab of ice inserted into her chest. She hated feeling like this again, still Susan loved Gareth and he apologised and Susan accepted his heartfelt apology. She forgave him, but the next again day the same thing he had got up at 10am and started drinking, the bottle of cheap and nasty cider. Susan had to say something. Gareth looked dreadful she said; “I don’t think you need to be drinking alcohol, at this time of the morning. It’s only 10 o’clock.” Unknown to Susan, this would be the day things changed for the worst. Gareth started calling her a useless, fat, bitch. This made Susan angry, she was furious; she couldn’t believe that what she had just heard, had come from her husband’s mouth. The man she married had gone, and she no longer recognised him. Susan started shouting“how bloody dare you say that to me.” Gareth didn’t care and an argument broke out. Gareth stood up Susan was crying as the words hurt her. Gareth started screaming in her face, she felt threatened by his behaviour, as she turned to put some space between them, he grabbed her arm and he squeezed it hard, it felt like there was a vice crushing her arm. Susan shouted at Gareth to let go, as he was hurting her, he said I don’t care as she continued struggling to get him off her. Susan managed to get free and she pushed him away from her, as she turned to go to the bedroom, she felt a tug and she was pulled back. Gareth had a tight hold of her hair. Susan screamed. Gareth was enraged. He screamed in her face, snarling, “don’t you ever turn your back on me again,” then he struck her across the face. This was the first time he had ever hit her, and it was the start of years of physical and mental abuse. She felt dizzy and her face ached from where he had struck her and her ear rang. Gareth left the house, she locked the front door and went to her room. Susan lay on the top of her bed and wept. She fell asleep, and memories from her past came flooding back. She remembered once while on holiday with her mum, Susan’s mum was on the payphone and Susan pressed the follow on call button, which ended the call but Susan didn’t realise that. She was a 6-year-old girl and her mum slapped her face, and very sternly said “now Susan if you start crying we will go back home”, so Susan hid the pain and hurt she felt. Susan woke up with a fright, sweating and breathing quite fast. She got up and went into the bathroom, and splashed her face with cold water. She grabbed the soft blue hand towel and dabbed her face. Looking in the mirror she could see her cheek was swollen and had started to bruise. Her arm had bright blue bruising, where Gareth had grabbed her, blue like a summer day sky. About 3 pm Gareth returned home, and he staggered to the couch, and flopped onto it and fell asleep. While he was sleeping of the alcohol, Susan made herself a sandwich and a large mug of coffee. She sat on the chair and put the television on and 46

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settled down to watch the film. Fly away home, she kept the volume down low, to avoid another altercation with Gareth. Susan took a sip of her coffee and ate her sandwich, she started thinking about how trapped she felt and she hoped that one day her life would be perfect again, because her perfect husband was not so perfect. He had a drink problem and when he drank, the drink awakened a sleeping monster, Susan felt sick and she started to worry, about what would happen when Gareth woke up. She finished her coffee which had gone cold now. A short time later Gareth woke up, the monster inside was dormant again. He was back to the Gareth that she knew and fell in love with. Gareth asked Susan, “what happened to your face and arm?” Susan told Gareth that he did it and as she explained in detail, what he did Gareth began to weep. “I am so sorry but I have no recollection, of me doing such a thing, why would I?” Susan told Gareth that she had never seen that side of him and it terrified her. Gareth was shocked, he could not believe he had hurt the love of his life. He swore he would never drink again. So Susan forgave him, and life was good again. The next day Susan didn’t feel well, she felt sick she couldn’t even face a cup of coffee, she spent most of the day in bed. Gareth looked after Susan he made her some shoogle egg and toast. Shoogle egg was what Susan called scrambled egg, with a cup of tea and she felt a bit better. He grabbed the pillows and the duvet from the bedroom and placed, them on the couch and Susan lay down and she fell asleep, as she slept Gareth looked at her and he couldn’t imagine life without her, he vowed to stop drinking as he didn’t want to hurt her again. True to his word Gareth didn’t drink again and they moved house to a bigger one, as they were planning to expand their family. Unknown to them, this would happen sooner than expected as Susan was pregnant. And when she went to the doctors they were both shocked and excited. Nine months flew by and their little bundle of joy arrived, life was great they were the perfect family and loving every moment of life. Gareth started drinking again and Susan bore the brunt of it once again. She felt like she was trapped, in a cage with no way out, she was back to square one again, she felt so isolated and helpless. Gareth didn’t like Susan going to her mum’s, because of the way she’s treated by her and Jessica ALWAYS tried to make Susan the one everyone laughed at and constantly making her feel even more rejected and pushed out. So Susan had nowhere to go, so she stuck it out, but Gareth got worse. While their bundle of joy was sleeping Gareth started saying that Susan couldn’t do anything right and Susan sat and took it, but every nasty word spoken hurt, her more and more, till she had enough. Susan decided then and there to start to fight back, she was shaking like a leaf on a windy day. Her heart was racing but she had to stand up to him. Susan was angry and she through a glass across the room and it smashed this made Gareth furious. He got up from the chair and picked the broken glass up. Susan was standing by the door and Gareth threw the broken glass at Susan. She instantly threw her arms up to her face, to try and protect herself as she didn’t have enough time to get away and the glass hit her, and caused a laceration to her arm. Right on the elbow blood poured from the wound, Susan ran out the house and got a passer-by to help her, he called an ambulance, the police also turned up, as it was classed as a serious assault. The police wanted her to bring charges against her husband but she couldn’t. Susan decided that enough was enough and all she wanted was her baby, but Gareth refused to give her to Susan, but she did eventually get her back. Once Susan had her daughter back, she reluctantly decided, to move back to her mum’s, which would soon prove to be the wrong decision giving the pugnaciousness of their relationship. It drove her back into Gareth’s arms, as it was not much difference. Susan needed to break the vicious circle. She felt so hopeless and trapped more than ever, she had to do something and fast. In the morning she decided to get a flat. And start building her life again for her and her little girl, she was glad and at last she felt free and Susan loved life again and so she spread her wings and flew away., She felt amazing, her depression improved and with every passing day her confidence grew and so did her smile. She had finally broken free, from the cage that she had once been trapped in. Her days were filled with sunshine, and laughter gone were the darkened skies with dark grey clouds. Susan loved life again.

Waiting Philipa Craig The humongous black cave with its vast long caverns and little streams, leading to places beyond, gave nothing away to what hid inside. A stray lightening bug flits and sways into the gloom. A turn to the right and again to the left, the little lightening bug joins the rest. Thousands upon thousands illuminating the huge cathedral like chasm. Below the illuminating bugs, a man rests. His arm laying over his eyes to block out the glow. A man of unnatural splendour joins him, sitting on a curiously shaped rock beside the make-shift bed. "You're angry." stated the unnatural man. The resting man stirred, "You think? We've been held up in this cave for days, unable to help out there," he grumbled, pointing towards the exit, his frustration apparent, "we escaped by the skin of our teeth, the only people I care for could be in danger and to top it off I've just found out I am a freak of nature! So yeah, you could say I'm angry." The unnatural man glared, "By calling yourself a Freak, you may as well have spat on your kin." he said in a quiet menacing tone, with emphasis on the word 'freak'. The resting man stood up, placing his hands behind his head in frustration. "How much longer must we wait?" he said exasperated. "I assure you, my lords and ladies will come for us soon. Be patient Aengus." the unnatural man replied. Aengus laughed "Patient, I'm meant to be patient while my friends are out there exposed to dangers I haven't even begun to get my head around, sitting around in this hole, unable to do anything until you command, oh King Cain." he said sarcastically, mocking a slight bow. The temperature dropped as the King seemed to lose his temper, rising from his seat. "You mock your Father? Your King? You want to run into Death's arms? Then LEAVE!" the last word rumbled through the cave, worrying the lightening bugs above. Aengus did not move, nor gave any sign that he had been affected by the King's out-burst. "Do not blame me for wanting to protect the people I actually care for. I did not ask for this. You, however, did." He replied, echoing the King's earlier quiet menace. "Nor did I, boy." King Cain growled. "How did you not ask for this? Do you not want your Queen to fall from her throne? Did you not bed my mother to have me and bring about this prophecy of a Halfling King? You probably took her by force, you sick--" Aengus stopped and tensed, bringing himself to his full height. The space around Cain turned to thick twinkling frost, his eyes livid as he stepped towards Aengus, the unnaturalness of his being in this world becoming more apparent. "I would never have taken Dawn by force. Never, and if you ever suggest such a thing again I will take your tongue from you!" Cain barked, pain and anger twisting his features. The two men stood glaring at each other, unblinking through the tense silence, judging each other on the words that had just exchanged in temper. It seemed as if neither of them was willing to ever back down from their stand off, until Aengus blinked and said in a calm even tone, "Glad to hear it." The eye contact broke, breaking with it the tension and the chill, the temperature rising as Cain's frosty Presence thawed. Aengus moved to sit his make shift bed, resting his head in his hands with a sigh. Cain remained rooted to the spot, gazing up to the lightening bugs above, the past firmly in his mind. "Resent me, hate me if you will for the things that have passed and yet to happen, but I cared for your mother more than anything in the worlds." Cain said, his normal stately but wild voice returned to him. Aengus looked up from his hands, his face pained with the internal war he was fighting. He glanced at Cain, still lamenting with the lightning bugs, and wondered who this man had been to his mother. He couldn't help the intense anger he felt for this man who had torn apart his world, but he had shown such genuine passion for her that he couldn't condemn the defences that had chipped away ever so slightly. They stayed in their thoughts, unmoving and silent, until Cain closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, in what looked like a moment of complete bliss. "They have arrived."

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Deception By Annalise Hughes Steve Rogers is perched on the iron rafters of one of the buildings covering the industrial complex. His target hasn't shown up yet, which was annoying, as he knew that Bucky knew that he was waiting for him. Bucky was taking too long, he should be here already. From Steve’s vantage point he could see the entrance into the warehouse most of ground, save for where the white and orange storage shed's were obscuring his view. Steve didn't really want to kill him, he didn't even really know why Bucky set this all up and dragged his ass down here, but if he hadn't confronted him face to face he wasn't sure his best friend was averse to stabbing him in the back. Oh yes, the man Steve is fairly certain has the intent of putting a bullet in him was also the kid he grew up with and spent nearly every day with, who beat up his bullies as a kid and was once his best friend. Bucky’s full name is James Buchanan-Barnes and they used to do everything together, they were practically brothers, so when high school ended and Steve decided to join the army Bucky followed him straight into the line of fire. When they were sent over to Iraq after their training everything went wrong. They were attacked about a mile from the village they were sent to deliver rations to; a bomb exploded behind the truck flipping it over and into a ditch, then when as everyone scrambled out from under the car; gunshots came down from a helicopter which pierced through the car causing the explosion that knocked Steve unconscious. Feeding starving villagers wasn't their only mission that day. Their troop had been sent to obtain some kind of rare metal that could be used for making new,bigger weapons. But the other guys, HYDRA, had got their first. When he’d woken up he was in a cot. He learned that out of the eleven of them out there, he was one of three to make it back. Bucky wasn't one of them. It was assumed that he was under the truck when it blew up as his body was unidentifiable. After that things were rough. Steve blamed himself, it was his fault Bucky was even there, he wouldn’t have been if Steve hadn’t dragged him into the army and got his ass blown up… He was a machine on the field after that, being smarter, faster, stronger on Bucky’s behalf, to make up for what he couldn’t do. He moved up in rank, and was soon leading the troops that were sent out. Apparently he’d impressed some higher ups and was asked if he would accept the offer to transition into SHIELD. Steve accepted. But around five years rolled past and rumours started about a HYDRA agent taking out some very important people: members of congress, other assassins and influentials are only some of the big shots he was cutting down. Senator Stern was the kind of guy that’s hard to like, so it wasn’t hard to understand why his car was rammed off the Brooklyn Bridge. But most of his kills weren’t so public, with others executions carried out discreetly, away from the public eye. It was S.H.I.E.L.D’s job to go after him, but so far he’d proved impossible to pin down. They did, however, catch his image on a security camera by sheer luck. When Steve saw him his mind short-circuited for a moment. Bucky's hair was ragged, his demeanor more tense and intimidating than he remembers it. Over all he was alive and living and there. Steve felt nauseous, as his mind thawed and began trying to put everything together. But he couldn’t fathom why he was alive or why he was doing what he was doing, this wasn't the Bucky he’d known. No, this wasn’t right, he had find answers. The next few weeks after that were quiet in terms of hearing any new information on his old friend. Then, one night Steve had come home to his apartment after taking care of an assignment in Las Vegas (something concerning an Elvis impersonator, a magician and a grudge against Obama-Care) to find a note on his coffee table. It was a very simple handwritten request to meet somewhere in two days, with a scribbled signature. Steve knew who it was, obviously, but didn’t know what to make of it. On one hand it was dangerous and probably a trap, but on the other hand might gain some insight into why Bucky was back. But the note hadn’t stated what purpose he had for getting in touch, and left no assurances it was going to be a peaceful meeting. When he’d made up his mind he decided to tell Natasha incase things went awry. Natasha Romanov was his colleague, a highly skilled and respected agent he had teamed up with on occasion and had become close with, over time. She didn’t approve of his decision. “You should inform director Fury of this development, Rogers. We can follow you and trap Barnes, if he is telling the truth about wanting to meet with you,” she advised. “No. I understand, Nat, but I want to speak to him before SHIELD gets involved.” “You are being stupid, it’s doubtful that talking is what he wants from you after all this time.” “C’mon Nat I’ve thought of that already, I understand the risks but I still want to do this, so don’t tell Fury, please? Not yet anyway. I will inform the director after, ok?” Steve pleaded. Natasha’s gaze became less harsh at her friends begging, and she considered him for a moment. “Fine, but I will go with you.” 49

Steve inwardly sighed with relief and agreed with her, if there was anyone he’d trust to watch his back, it’s Romanov. Which leads back to here, the present, with Steve both apprehensive and annoyed waiting for Bucky, and Natasha watching from a distance outside the building, ready to tell Steve if anyone approached the warehouse and step in if needed. Steve was doubting he would show up when his phone buzzed. “Someone is approaching the building – Nat.”

Refugees in the UK by Callum Burnett Hi there, my name is Sandra Stark and today I am going to be recording an interview documentary on the topic of refugees being housed here in the UK. For this I have gathered three guests to join me and express their views on the matter, joining me first is Mr Tom Brady…Hi Tom thank you for coming Tom: Hi Sandra, glad I can be here... Sandra: That’s good to hear, so Tom, tell us your view on the matter. Tom: Well Sandra, I personally believe that by allowing the refugees to be housed here in the UK is by any means the right course of action to take. Not only does it show that we are a caring country but also gives the country a high morality reputation which will remain known to the rest of Europe. When it comes down to it put yourself in their position fearing not only for their own lives but for their families as well, no child, father, mother or any individual for that matter should be living in that environment. So I say together, as a country united lets show the world what it means to be compassionate and what it feels like to actually give a damn about the soul value of a human life….Thank you. Sandra: Well Tom that was very enlightening, thank you, so for my next guest is Mr Markus Reid. Hi Markus and the same to you thank you for joining us. Markus: My pleasure Sandra. Sandra: So Markus, tell us what do you think on the refugees being practically been taken in by our country? Markus: Well like most people I think it’s an absolute disgrace that this is happening. I mean this country fails to take care of its own people never mind taking in thousands of outsiders. We literally have families either struggling to be housed or homeless, army men sent back home due to injuries and are just forgotten about and left to rot basically like they are of no further use its appalling but yet we magically seemed to have found living space for the refugees just like that, in what way is that or why we the public should tolerate the fact of this? Now to top this off, the government now have to be concerned about a public protest occurring as I feel most people won’t stand for it. The government are supposed to make the best possible decisions on our behalf and for the sake of the country and in no way that has happened here. By taking this course of action I believe half the population will be living in fear that it isn’t just civilians and innocents being brought over here, it’s like being offered a packet of sweets but being forewarned that two of them are poisonous, would you still take them? I say send them back and close the borders before this becomes a bigger problem! That’s all I have to say…. Sandra: So, you’re saying we should send them back just to be slaughtered like thousands of others before them? ….”No response.” Moving onto my last guest and for his personal request not to be named, we are welcomed here by one of the refugees that made it here safely with his family and he would like to say a few words. Anonymous: Hi there, I would just like to express how happy and grateful I am for your country showing us compassion and saving as much lives as they could, including mine and my family. Before coming here we were in constant fear all the time always on the edge that we were going to be killed along with our brothers and sisters that were tragically caught in the cross fire of this horrendous act of Inhumanity. So please to all you that oppose to our arrival we are not asking you to be happy about the situation but try to understand our pain, thank you Sandra….. Sandra: well folks there you have, now tell me before I go ask yourself this at home if you had the authority to banish them back would you do it? Send them back just to be slaughtered innocent lives ended by your own judgement of action! Or would you show your compassion?

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

The woods Annalise Hughes It was the end of the day, and James Peterson was glad to go home. James wasn’t a bad looking guy in his late twenties, he worked as a bartender of a pub in the small town of Northbay. He lived a few miles outside of town with his wife, Maggie, in a fairly big house they had inherited from Maggie’s aunt when she passed away. The house was at the other side of the green forest that hugs around quarter of the town like a wall, the one road going through it splitting it in two. The woods were rife with wildlife and James and his friends would sometimes take the dogs and go poaching in it, but he didn’t find poaching of any great interest. Sometimes the woods gave him an eerie feeling though, as if something wasn’t right about them, and he didn’t like to hang around them for long. It’s not entirely surprising that he feels this way, though, as terrible things have happened there and they left an air of something looming between the trees. But it’s easy to forget this feeling once you’ve cleared the trees and have places to go, you don’t think about the way your eyes dart around and how the hair stands up on the back of your neck and arms when you walk through the trees. James and Maggie’s house was about a quarter of a mile from the forest, amid a cluster of other cream and white houses, though there’s was certainly the largest. That morning James left for work, promising his wife he’d meet her for lunch. The day was uneventful, though, as only a few patrons visited this bar in the middle of the week and drunkards weren’t the best of conversation; Or the best tippers, for that matter. But the day dragged on and finally he and Carmen, his co-worker, were leaving for the night. They said their goodbyes and he watched as Carmen headed-off home before getting into his car. But the old ford didn't start, and it still wouldn't start after the quarter of an hour that followed with James revving the engine and poking about under the hood. Frustrated, he slammed the hood back down and stood back. He would just have to call Maggie to come pick him up, she should be home, her work ended hours ago. He reached into his jacket pockets for his cell. Then his jean pockets. He searched through the car when he had to realize that it just wasn’t there. 'Shit,' he realized, 'I’ve fucking left it inside.' Which wouldn’t really be a problem except Carmen was always the first to arrive at work and only she, besides the owner, had the keys to get inside. He was stuck with a car that wouldn’t move, with no phone and there was no one around to lend a hand. Walking home seemed cold and unappealing but it was, miserably, the only way he'd be getting there. Cursing under his breath, he retrieved his torch from the glove box before stepping out and slamming the door. Setting out through the streets he was in a black mood, not being able to believe how stupid he was just forgetting his phone like that, before he reached the winding back road that led back home. Of which, there were paths that go through the woods that led back to his house, lit one's too, but this way is more direct and faster, he told himself. Also the prospect of strolling alone through the woods gave him a bad feeling. About eight minutes along James began to hear a strange sound very faintly. It started as a rustling and he thought it was only the leaves for a while, but it grew louder as it seemed to specifically be getting closer to him, growing into a low growling. There weren't any dangerous animals in this area that he knew of, but that didn’t stop him from anxiously picking up the pace. He then felt a motion behind him, a change in the air. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he looked behind him. His heart stopped. The thing in front of him was terrifying. The beast would have been called a wolf if it didn’t stand on two legs like a human being. It bared it’s long gleaming fangs and its coal black eyes wanted blood. James couldn’t help the blood-curdling scream that tore out of him at the sight. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, couldn’t really wrap his head around this wolf, man, thing. But he didn’t think about it long, however, when it took a step towards him. He was moving, no he was running, before he could think, he couldn’t stop if he wanted to even if his heart exploded first and it might. His heart was pounding harder than he’d thought possible and his mind was a mess with panic. He could hear the fast pounding noise of its feet hitting the ground behind him and wondered how long it could keep chasing him There was a blur out the corner of his eye before the hulking thing was up ahead of him, crouching and ready to pounce. James came to a dead stop, not knowing what to do. He didn’t have to worry long, however, when it shot off to the side between the trees. He knew it was still there, he could feel it's eyes watching him and knew that it was only playing with him. He had keep running and get away before the beast caught him. It followed him, hot on his tail, until he could see the end of the road where the trees stopped, the house was only a quarter of a mile away, maybe he could get inside and lock the thing out. Motivated by this hope he ran faster yet 51

when he just reached the edge of the woods when the wolf pounced from the side knocking him to the ground. Looking into this things face inches from his own turned his stomach with fear, it was too strong, and James couldn't get it of him when he struggled as hard and wildly as he could. And then screamed when pain exploded in his shoulder. It sank its long, sharp fangs deep into him, causing him be temporarily blinded by agony. But the thing didn't tug or pull or try and tear his arm out, it had just bit down and stared into his face. And then it opened its jaw and let go of him. It was a new agony all over again and James felt his blood flowing down his arm as he watched the thing watch him as it backed away. It stopped for a moment and looked up at the moon then back at him, before turning and running back into the woods. James didn't know what was happening but the beast was really gone, he could feel it and got up and stumbled as fast as he could home... Me and my best friend Catherine O’Donnell I have a close - knit group of friends and family and combined all into one is my beloved father, and my best friend Patrick O'Donnell. I simply call my father my best friend as throughout my whole life he has been there for me (unlike anyone else), tough, good and bad memories, through thick and thin, he has been my rock and even though I would like to think I am perfect, I am not ( no one is ), But he tells me how proud he is of me on a daily basis, supports every one of my decisions ( be it good or bad ), he listens to me when I need a good moan, when I am emotional and always knows just what to say to make me feel better ( how does he do this?) No, he isn't superman but he is... my very own hero. You could say nothing ever goes smoothly when me and my dad are both together ( days out especially ), For instance, one day we planned a day out to visit my grandad’s grave in our hometown, now bear in mind we have been visiting and have been going to this cemetery so many times over the past twelve years, so we do know our whereabouts to get into said cemetery. Like a map photographed in our brains, we have never got lost there, That is until this particular day, when it was quite miserable outside. We wrapped up layer upon layer to stop us getting cold. We headed towards the graveyard with our usual bunch of blue and red flowers (which were my grandad’s favourite colours ) and bag of cleaning products to wash gravestone and around the area, We reached the front entrance, opened the tall black iron gate and to our dismay there were high, silver fences surrounding the various routes inside “How are we going to get in, dad? " I screeched out in complete shock. “Why is it all shut off? ". It was like the show on television in the nineties called Crystal Maze. “I have no idea Catherine “,said my confused and baffled father. Great, we are here but we cannot visit anybody. We stood still for roughly ten minutes and then my dad had a light bulb moment. Finally he has a plan! “Ok dad hit me, what's the plan of action? " I asked excited and eager. “We will need to climb under that fence over there ", he said, pointing to the very, tiny little space which I don't even think a cat could get under!. “Mmm yes I think he's gone mad; dad we will never fit under there," I said in horror. What my dad came out with next, still continues to make me laugh. “Well we won’t with that attitude Catherine, come on a will go first and you can hand me the flowers and bag ". Yes my father then began to lie on the ground and squeeze under the tall, silver fence and of course could not get under!. He stood back up, whole back completely covered in mud, turned to me and said go on you can try know. Nope I was not going to get my back covered in mud so plan B was very crucial at this point of time. “I know a different way to get in Catherine, a shortcut, come on follow me,” said my dad all chipper. Perfect, we finally can visit my granddad’s grave. We walked back out the iron gate and headed back the way we came until we came to a street I wasn’t all too familiar with, so was not too sure we should continue this path, but my dad was adamant this was the right way. I looked in front of me and was in disbelief that not only had my dad took us the wrong way, we had merely walked around in a circle and ended back at the black iron gate, entrance to the cemetery!, him still covered in mud and me very cold and holding flowers. " I think it’s time we called it a day and head back home. I will lead the way dad u follow me!” All our days out, may it be planned or not am afraid always seems to turn out like this comedy duo day out. Which has got me thinking a should maybe start the planning a bit more. He may get me lost 'a lot' but he doesn't half make me giggle and that is quite simply why he is and always will be my best friend. Whoever can brighten up your day when you are at your lowest should be by your side... always. 52

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Undetected Annalise Hughes My area is neat and tidy, I have strived to keep it minimalistic to suit my needs as well as an aesthetic appeal. This fuels my contempt for the uneven paper wall that clutters my desk. I’ve lived alone for the past year and have become accustomed to being in total control of my life and environment, which enables my slight O.C.D problem and had expanded into my work place. I’m relieved to break away from turning in mind-numbing reports when Jeremy walks over with my coffee. “Detective, how’s your morning going?” he asks cheerily while sipping from his own Starbucks cup. Detective Jeremy Irking is a man I am, unfortunately, friends with. I sigh, “Terribly long, and I still haven’t solved this missing persons case but, hey, maybe a latte will help.” I say indicating to the last file of the stack I have just vanquished. Irksome opens it up and looks through it, taking an irritatingly long time to give it back. “That’s such a shame,” he says when he puts it down, “She was a fairly good looking woman.” Ugh, prick. I lift my eyebrows at him, “As opposed to ugly women, then who cares?” He just laughs but at least looked abashed before striding away to his own desk. I put aside the missing persons for now in favor of reporting an arsons. I tried not to show my guilt as I thumb through Detective Victoria Brague file and look at the picture of Emily Shawl, a woman I knew briefly but will remember forever. I fumble away from her desk as Emily's last night plays out vividly in my head. The night started with a drink, we had met at the bar and got to talking. She had been a pretty girl with long blond hair and a slim figure donned in a pretty dress. She was alone, which I had thought was odd and said as much to her, but she said she’d recently broken up with her boyfriend and was just looking for a break. She seemed to enjoy my company as well as I hers so I invited her back to my place and she agreed leading me out to her car, “Come on, Jeremy!”, she’d smiled. She drove fast and we blazed through the town, the lights becoming streaks of colour against the dark. I definitely should have said something about speeding, me being police officer and all, but I really didn’t care as we laughed our heads off and got lost a few times before making it into my house. I regret everything that happened and should have known I was too intoxicated to make decisions like taking a strange woman home. And, now, it doesn’t happen often but I can be a violent drunk at times and when she suddenly changes her mind and decides she wants to leave I was expectedly upset. I’d been disappointed and pleaded with her that she should stay the night, it’s not like either of us had partners or anything, but she was determined to walk out. I didn’t mean for what happened next to happen, it was honestly such a blur, but I’d caught her by the arm and spun her round then shoved her away, a bit angry that she’d lead me on, and then she was. Horror rose in me when her life spilled from her skull and pooled out her hair to coat the floor with red. I wretched when the guilt twisted in me Before the panic did. I couldn’t let anybody find out about this and feel their judgment for what I'd done. I didn't mean to, I thought and another ocean of guilt crashed into me. But I knew had to get rid of her; so the next night I had taken the body out to a woods miles from London and buried her. She’s been ‘missing’ since. I sit at my desk and hope she stays missing. I know now that it’s not too terrible, being dead, it’s just weird, like moving into a new house and you know you will get used to it but in time. Even the air felt strange in this space that was large and full of people and things that were also dead but happy, living as living people do. I’ve gotten in touch with some family I thought I had lost and was ‘living’ with them for the moment. But I did miss what I had been forced to leave behind, even Greg who I'd dumped over the fact that he was an arsehole, and I feel guilty when I wish I could see someone again because obviously they'd have to die for that to happen first. I don’t have a clear memory of how I died, though I know I was having a laugh in some guy's flat. Obviously he must have murdered me at some point in the night, I suppose maybe it’s my own fault, it wasn’t a very clever move going to a stranger's house alone. Whatever, it seems unimportant how I came here now that I am here. Here is simply called the Afterlife, and I think it's fascinating when you can be talking with your neighbor and find out he was once a Gladiator in ancient Rome, or see friends arguing and hear the words, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you poisoned me!” followed by “Oh don’t bring that up again!”. Death is an adjustment, definitely, but I’m pretty sure I can live with it.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

CHAPTER 4 JOURNALISM AND NON-FICTION EXPRESS TO SUCCESS

Security guard from Dunfermline delivers premature baby in Primark Elizabeth McGuinness Today in Dunfermline a security guard helped a 37 year old woman give birth, after she went into labour unexpectedly at 34 weeks, while out shopping in Primark. Diane Murray decided to go into town to pick up some last minute bits and bobs she needed for the baby, not thinking for a minute that she would go into early labour or that her labour would progress as quickly as it did. Diane gave birth in the busy high street store before the paramedics could get to her. David Edward, a security guard in Primark was the only one on hand to help Mrs. Murray as she welcomed her son into the world. Mr. Edward said: "I had helped my dog give birth before but it was nothing like that! I thought I'd just need to give her some reassurance, not end up delivering the baby!" One thing is sure: it's a day he won't forget in a hurry. Mrs. Murray and her son were quickly taken to The Victoria Hospital to be checked over before both being given the all clear when asked how she felt about her experience Mrs. Murray had this to say: "I must say I'd have liked to have given birth in a better store but little Mark knew what he wanted. We decided to call him Mark after his unusual entrance into the world and well hopefully get a cheeky wee discount” for life. Drift driving Linda Cramond A Rosyth boy became the youngest drift driver to be able to stick his passenger to the window like Garfield. Yesterday at Lochgelly for the Fife championship. We asked John how his passion for cars started his reply was “I started at a very young age when my parents used to take me driving in their stockie or their trike. I love everything about cars and enjoy watching the movies Fast and Furious which was the first to show me the drifting. The internet then became my best friend. Looking up how to drift and what was needed to be done to a car to be able to drift”. Talking to the young boy you can feel his passion for cars and loves everything about them. He said “He sometimes laughs at the boy racers trying, but at the same time they take real good care of their cars”. I also asked him how he feels about his mum being protruded as Garfield the cat. His response was “She loves cats so I’m sure she is fine with it”. After talking to the mum, she worries every time he’s out in his car saying “he’s a good driver but it’s not always the good ones that cause the problems Mature students Michelle Lark Michelle Lark who is studying National four, courses at Fife College to better her qualifications, at the moment so she can have a career in counselling young children. Michelle started at Fife College last term with great apprehension as she would be a mature student, and doing something she hasn’t done in nearly twenty years, school work, sums, learning how to read and understand poems and studying modern studies. As she had had many bad experiences at school, and had left school with no qualifications, the thought of trying again at an age where most people have already got themselves a career. “ It was a scary thought” she said, as confidence in her academia was at a low. After the first term of college, Michelle has found that her self-esteem and confidence has increased ten fold, and her fears have been unfounded. She has successfully completed her course and is looking forward to another year of course work and learning new things each day. She would recommend to do a college course for anyone, wanting to better themselves either for a better career or just a night class, it gives you a great experience and makes you feel good about what you have achieved.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

The SSPCA Shannon Thomson The topic that I will be doing this presentation on is the SSPCA. The reason I chose this topic is because I am very passionate about animals and I wanted to learn more about them myself and then tell you as much as I know. This presentation will consist of; what the SSPCA is; when it was set up; explaining about how they use donations and education; what to do for your pet; how to contact the SSPCA and how it has improved. What the SSPCA is: The SSPCA is a charity. That means they do not get any of their money from the government or lottery funding. All their money comes from you (via donations). There are many ways to donate but I will talk about that later on. SSPCA stands for ‘The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ The SSPCA aim to prevent cruelty through; education in primary schools, encourage kindness to animals, investigate abuse, rescue animals in distress and find animals new homes. Even though they try hard to save/help animals, this does not mean that the SSPCA is a dumping ground for you to leave your animals when you've given up on taking care of them. The SSPCA does not put healthy animals to sleep, they try their best to save animals that were brought in in poor conditions and they rehome/rehabilitate. It was set up in Edinburgh in 1839. Its first aim was to improve the welfare of cart horses. Over the next century and a half, the charity grew and merged with other local SSPCA’s such as the Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee SSPCA. Donations: Donations are vital for the SSPCA as said before they don't get any money from the government or lottery findings so there are many ways to donate to the SSPCA and here are some examples: You can volunteer to help work at the SSPCA. You can shop online and the money you're giving in will mostly head towards animal welfare. You can donate food - which will go to the animals in need of it. There are collection boxes you can leave money in/fill up by putting in any spare change. There is also fundraising events like; 10ks and Marathons Skydives Collections days and more. This will help abused, abandoned and injured animals. If you donated £1.00, 83p would go to animals welfare, 10p would go to fundraising and promotion and 7p would go towards essential administration Improvement: In 2014 the SSPCA, Found homes for 6,719 rescued animals Helped more than 7,200 wildlife casualties Spoke to more than 317,000 children (which were aimed at primaries 4-7) Saved a record 3,533 wild birds. Answered more than 24,000 calls to the helpline. Successfully released 70% of wildlife which survive 48 hours. That included rescuing wild garden birds, water birds, birds of prey, seals, red squirrels, badgers, hedgehogs, otters, fox Cubs and many more. Most of the wild animals they rescued are cared for by their dedicated wildlife team at their National Wildlife Rescue Centre. Which has veterinary facilities, seal pools, wild Mammal enclosures, a stable block for deer casualties and can care for up to 1000 oiled birds at a time. This is in Clackmannanshire. Since 2010 there has been a 112% increase in children reporting animals in danger and 21% reduction in children reported as being involved in cruelty to animals. What to do: The SSPCA cannot always rehome pets and it isn't necessarily their duty to. If it is your pet you should take the responsibility as its owner to help find it a new home and to not abandon it or dump it at the SSPCA for them to do it. They have very limited space (only around 250-300 spaces available) so they can't take in every pet, if it gets past that space they will have to put more sicker ones to sleep while taking in another. If the animal is sick they will try their best to treat it but it is not always possible seen as a lot of the animals they take in are sick, unhealthy, uninvolved and unwanted. It is neglect and hard hearted that cause these deaths. If you no longer want to have the responsibility of having a pet then find it a new home, don't leave it out for it to get sick. 57

“The law doesn't say you've to own a pet, if you want that privilege, all we ever ask for is that you look after it.” Contact: You can only contact the SSPCA if you live in Scotland or contact the RSPCA if you live in England. 03000 999 999 is the number you contact when trying to reach the SSPCA. Their helpline is open from 7am - 11pm You are best not to contact them via email as they might not get the information immediately. If you do wish to email them then you go to their site (Which is the Scottish SPCA) and go onto ‘contact us’ and it will show you a form you will need to fill out. Also you could write to; Kingseat Road, Halbeath, Dunfermline, Fife KY11 8RY Me, my family, teachers and basketball Anonymous The relationship between me and my gran is really strong, because I tell my gran everything really. Sometimes I keep things from her that I don’t want her to know. Yeah me and my gran have had some problems but we have got through them but sometimes I just make the problems worse by making a big scene about it. Me and my gran have been through a hard time because my little brother Leon passed away on the thirteen of June 2011. It was a hard day for us because I was leaving for school that day before we got a chap at the door from one of close family member’s. She just burst out crying and I was coming down the stairs to go out the door till we heard the news that he passed away in the morning but she said that he was breathing for not that long. They tried everything to keep him alive but it just never worked. I went to school that day but my gran said I could stay home. I said it would be easier if I just went to keep my mind off it. My close friend Lauren I went to her bit to get her for school but I just burst out crying and her family all gave me a hug. I got to hold him but I never wanted to because I was so scared in the hospital room there was me, my gran , my mum , my auntie Kristy. Leon’s other side of the family was there too like his dad and aunties. It was such a sad day for our family all I could do for my family was to stay strong I held my tears in till I got home. I went to my room as I just could not keep them in. Everything kicked off with me when I went to high school. Everything from home was just making me over think. I was mucking about in classes, I was getting into trouble and I nearly got kicked out of high school. I had a really close relationship with my support worker, who was really nice and kept me calm. Lorraine was her name she helped me get through tough times and just told me that everything was going to be okay. I kept kicking off at the teachers. I was not helping me with my education for me to get my levels I need so Lorraine said that she is going to test me for dyslexia. It came back and she said I have a little bit of dyslexia. Everything got a lot better for me during that year. I was getting my head down doing my work but I still got kicked out of classes if I was talking. On my timetable there was one teacher I did not got along with was my PE teacher because she said that if I did not do PE I would turn fat. I got self-confident about myself so really when I go to basketball I really don’t like it. My boyfriend Kyle tries to make me do it so I do some of it and then sit out the rest because I feel like people are looking at me.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Sponsored walk in Cowdenbeaht for Mackenzie Samantha Stobbs

THE PEOPLE OF COWDENBEATH CAME TOGETHER YESTERDAY TO DO A SPONSORED WALK AT LOCHORE MEADOWS TO RAISE MONEY FOR A MEMORIAL FOR LITTLE BOY MCKENZIE STOBBS Two of Cowdenbeath’s locals decided to put together a sponsored walk in name of Mckenzie Stobbs who sadly passed away on Saturday April 16th. They created a page on Facebook inviting both adults and children alike to come and join in. They printed up sponsor sheets to hand out and even created a just giving page on Facebook for people who couldn’t make it. Louise Ward and Jennifer Coyle the organisers made sure everything ran smoothly on the day, making sure everyone knew where they were to go; even having a van with drinks at the half way point and goodie bags at the end for the kids. They started off on their way at 6:40pm after Mckenzie’s siblings and cousins let balloons go to start it all off. They walked around the lake at their own pace. There was around a total of seventy people who turned up, some wearing specially made T-Shirts and others wearing onsies. All participants finished the walk within an hour or two. By the end of it they ended up raising around £1471 though not all money has been collected yet.

When will David Cameron Stop Acting Like a Tween? By Rebecca Fairlie Once again, Cameron has shown his ability (or lack thereof) to act as if he is back in his younger days. Yesterday, after leaving parliament at the end of PMQT, he was thought to be wearing skinny charcoal jeans and a tucked in navy shirt with the buttons undone. Sporting a backwards snapback to match his new fashion choices, could this mean that his new youthful attitude could bring a potential change to this never-ending torture to middle / lower class families? Probably not. Nice hat though, Dave.

Sibling rivalry by Darren Paterson In the beginning of everything there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just nothing like the bible would have you believe. There was an indestroyable force called the Darkness. From her another was created the light. From birth they both have been locked in war with each other both feeling the same that one was superior then the other so they fought to find out what was stronger. Yet a twisted turn of events happened, the energy from there clash joint together to form what humans thought was and is the ultimate and most powerful being in the whole universe God. Unable to watch as his brother and sister fight, God created the first beings of light the Arch angels. Lucifer, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Knowing that neither the light nor the darkness could be destroyed so God and his angels fought back against the darkness first then the light trapping them both in what is known on earth as the mark of Cain which served as both lock and key. Which would have to be kept on the arm of someone or something so first it was passed on to Lucifer but what God did not know was that the mark was also a curse with the power of both light and dark it began to consume his soul with jealousy. So he tempted Eve with the fruit of knowledge. For this god and Lucifer started a very quick war. He begged the eldest brother Michael to stand by his side and take over heaven however Michael was so loyal to his father that he stood with god. For his arrogance got demanded Michael cast Lucifer down to hell and into a magical cage locked deep with in hell itself and could only be opened with the book of the damned or rings carried by me or my brothers famine pestilence and war and of course me death the horsemen of the apocalypse. God could not live in heaven without his four beloved arch angles and so he created normal angels and left heaven living with the burden of his family locked away in earth and is most loved son Lucifer in hell and the knowledge that one day he will die because of his actions. Billions of years passed and god was spending time on earth looking over his creations he was impressed with a few: Martian Luther king junior, mother Teresa, Gandhi they all thought for freedom and what was best for everyone. He was not on earth just to watch over them however he was just enjoying every breath he could before his very own judgement was upon him. So he took up one of humans specialties drinking. However being who he was he could never get drunk he just liked the taste as he could taste every molecule. It was just a usual day for him on the beach lying in the sun but he was always writing. He wrote everything of everyday I guess he wanted to be remembered by someone but today would be different. Today was it the day he was waiting for he would see his siblings again. The earth itself shock earthquakes were started happening. God was not startled he was just smiling. Out of no where black smoke spat out from the ground and formed out of a black smoke. A might light shined through the skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and down to god and it formed a white smoke. Finally a clear beautiful beam of light came from the groundâ&#x20AC;ŚLucifer was free. His cage came crashing out of the ground and the cage fell apart Lucifer opened his eyes and let out a might shriek and stretched his mighty wings, God smiled and closed his eyes and opened his arms. The smoke began to grow bigger and instantly covered everything in its path. God opened his eyes there was tornadoes of blackness lightning storms of pure white light and he saw a woman. Wearing a long black dress with long brown hair. She spun around and smiled saying hello to her brother. A bolt of lighting struck the ground and a male kneeling down holding a rose bud stood up and smiled at god and the darkness. God looked around for his son but could not see him. He knew what his sister had done she had constumed his soul. An angered god clenched his fist and black and white lighting shockes were surrounded his hands his siblings laughed and in a instance both the light and the dark used there energy and blasted it at god and just like that god was dead. I had to watch my friend die and I could do nothing about it he knew this day would come and told me never to interfere and out of respect for him a agreed to this and because of that he was now gone. So what does this mean? Earth, the whole galaxy was doomed in war between the darkness and the light since not one of them were stronger than the other. Heaven and hell were both wiped out and an instance earth crumbled within seconds of both there massive forces. So a long battle will know commence and me and my three brothers will have to sit this out but maybe there is still hope maybe he knew something we did not know or maybe he did not but who knows maybe they will create a new sibling and peace could be restored.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Flying by Linda Cramond It was the day of the flight to Norway, all that kept going on in my head was how much I hated flying. John on the other hand was really looking forward to it. The suitcase was packed no that I need much it was only for a couple of days for a court case. John’s size 12 shoes took up most of the space in the suitcase. John came running down the stairs shouting the taxi is here come on mum hurry up we will miss the plane. I was in no rush; I was only going because my nose was bothering me. In the taxi John wouldn’t stop talking. All you heard from me was my knees knocking. “Oh my god” I said out loud we have arrived at the airport, my whole body was shaking. I’m sure everyone could hear my body shaking. I had never seen a plane so small it only carried 84 passengers. Walking towards the plane my legs stopped moving, the feeling of fear was overwhelming, it felt like hundreds of butterflies in my belly. I had to touch the outside of the plane, it felt and looked so thin, how on earth do these ever get up in the air. I could see the pilot doing his check before we started to taxi. The pilot had a really big smile on his face. He knew it was going to be a good flight he had done it many times before. John was behind me with one hand on my back ready to push me if he had to “I’m so hyper” he said bouncing along. John said it was just like being in the car for him and when it bumps it just like hitting a pot hole. It didn’t help I am in control of a car and can see what’s coming up like pot holes and avoid them. I think that’s one reason I don’t like flying is because I am not in control. John loves the speed he likes the take off the faster the better for him. For some reason I like to be next to a window on the top of the wing. Sat down with my seat belt as tight as it could go. John looked at me and smiled and held out his hand for me to hold, saying “everything will be ok mum I promise”. Holding his hand so tight the engines started to rev really loud then suddenly I was pushed back in my seat, tears strolling down my face, knees shaking so much I’m sure I was knocking the seat in front of me. I turned to John who was looking out the window, I could tell he was enjoying it, the speed was amazing. Then up we went the front of the plane up into the air. Oh shit my stomach was left on the ground when it does that little drop as all the wheels lift off the ground. “Wow what a feeling” John said as he embraced the whole experience. The pilot turned off the seat belt sign and said "A stewardess would be coming round with food and drinks". My seat belt stayed on. John however his came right off. All the excitement got to him so off he went to the loo. The conversation we had was not for everyone’s ears. He sat back down laughing at how you had to go backwards into the toilet it was so small. He was fascinated with the blue stuff down the toilet he said it reminded him off blue loo tablets for toilets at home. The sink was so small you could only get one hand washed at a time. I can’t tell you what they are like I have never ventured out my seat. I did get one surprise one stewardess started bring the smallest cans off juice I had ever seen and a yummy biscuit. I was still shaking I couldn’t pour my coke or open my biscuit packet. I’m sure if John could he would have his feet up drinking his juice and munching his biscuit. Quietly saying “That was nice I could ask for another”. The flight to Norway wasn’t that long, so be the time we had finished are drink and biscuit they were coming round to collect the rubbish. As I looked at my watch thinking not long till we land I began to relax. John was just happy to carry on sitting he was really enjoying the flight. Pilot came over the speaker and said could everyone return to their seats, at the same time the seat belt sign came on. Then the pilot told the stewardess to prepare for landing. All off a sudden we started descending, he was doing it really fast, even John took a little breath in. Then we straighten up and the captain came over the speaker apologising. It was due to another plane in are flight path. Who we did see going the opposite way. The worry that came over my face was seen by John, he said “its ok we missed” and laughed. “It’s not a laughing matter” I said. And turned to look out the window. My ears popping we started to go down. Bit by bit we dropped out the sky, John completely unaware of what is going on. Then he said a bit too loud “we are coming in sideways”. Looking out the window and the angle off the plane I started to cry, “So we are”, I said holding onto Johns hand again. Thump down we went on the back wheels, then the front of the plane came down, as we all started to slide forward in are seat when the brakes where put on. Thank god for that it’s over. But John said “I look forward to the next flight”. How anyone can like flying is beyond me, how my son likes it I will never understand as he doesn’t get it from me.

My Adventure of Awesomeness Beth Little Me and my brother got up at 3:20 on the Monday Morning and had a quick cup of coffee that we never even had time to drink because we needed to leave in time for the 747 bus to Edinburgh Airport at 4:20, when we were waiting on the bus, we started talking about what our plan was going to be, once the bus came and we had got on and paid our fare, we sat down and talked about the plans once again. We got into Edinburgh Airport just before 5 and had breakfast and a coffee that we actually had time to drink this time in the place called Wetherspoons at 5, that way we wouldn't need anything else to eat for a while since it was a big breakfast, we did go to a different place for juice though. Once we went for the plane at 7 which I was excited about due to it being my first ever flight, first time in England, it was my first time out of Scotland in general, once we landed in Stansted Airport which was really busy due to the huge amount of busy people coming and going, we walked around to find the coach area, got coach to Stratford. Once we got off the bus at Stratford, we walked around to find the Tube Station which would take us to North Greenwich, and while we were looking for it, we both thought that we had seen Kofi Kingston (Kofi Kingston is a WWE Superstar and a member of the faction New Day’ this bit of info is for the people who don’t watch WWE ) that’s why he turned to me and asked me if I still had my ticket for the tube (just to have a sneak peek to see if it really was him, which it wasn’t) Once we had found the which didn’t take that long as for us it had been the third stop, once we got off the tube , we wandered around looking for the hotel which was called the Angerstein Hotel, once we found our way to the hotel and checked in and dropped stuff off, sat on the extraordinarily comfortable beds that I wished that we could've taken home with us and watched tv for a little while (we watched Neighbours which is really popular in the family, since we never miss it) before grabbing a quick shower, once we were finished, we got changed for going out. Once we got changed, we decided to leave the hotel and go to the O2, which took 28 minutes to get to, (we had originally planned to get an Über Taxi to the arena, but we decided not to since it wasn't really that far away and the fact that the weather was absolutely beautiful) but once we got there, we had lunch which consisted of sandwiches and bottles of water, which we ate and drank outside since the weather was absolutely gorgeous, much better than what it would've been in Scotland as we had been told that it had been pelting down with rain, once we had finished our lunch, we decided to go back inside the O2 to wander around until we decided to take some pictures, random pictures of the O2, then moving to take pictures of the celebrities and WWE superstars that were interviewed for the Live Feed on the WWE Facebook page (there was this overly annoying guy who kept shouting out if he could get a selfie with the celebrities and superstars, so everyone else around him including us, dubbed him “Selfie Guy”) Once 17:30 came, we went to the Arena and went to our seats to wait for Raw to start, we once again started to take pictures and videos of things, such as taking pictures of the Ring, videos of some of the wrestlers while they're in the ring, they even filmed a couple of matches for another show called Superstars before Raw started, when Raw had started, most of us (the fans) had been chanting different things ranging from “Woo” to “New Day Rocks”, cheering the “good guys” while booing the “bad guys” once it had finished, we made our way out of the building, and when we were all leaving the O2, even when we were walking back to the hotel, there were more people who were still buzzing and started “Wooing”, doing the “New Day Rocks” Clap/Chant (there were even people doing it on their car horns as well which was quite funny) Once we got back to the hotel, we had a cup of tea before getting into bed, settling down to watch TV and falling asleep with the TV on, wondering what brilliant awesomeness we were going to witness the next day. Then came the Tuesday Morning when we ended up waking up early, grabbing a cup of coffee, getting dressed for the day that was ahead of us, then we decided to go to Asda and buy lunch (two Pot Noodles each(one for lunch, one for when we got back to the hotel later at night after SmackDown)), a bags of crisps each and a share size bottle of Sparkling Water for throughout the day which in all cost only £2.75) once we got back to the hotel, we decided that before we had lunch, one of us would grab a quick shower while the other was sorting lunch which consisted of Macaroni Cheese and Chinese Chow Mein Pot Noodles, a bag of crisps each and a glass of sparkling water. Once we had finished lunch we left the hotel, and went to the O2 where we wandered around taking pictures until 17:30 when it was time to find our seats in the Arena, we even took pictures while we were in the arena as we were a lot closer to the action than we were the previous night, as we could even see the Titantron that time, before SmackDown started, they filmed a match for another WWE program called Main Event, then when SmackDown started, we were taking more and more pictures and videos until it ended at 22:00, we then left the arena and walked back to the hotel, once we got back to the hotel, sorted dinner, we got into bed and ate our last Pot Noodle while 62

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

watching the movie Hot Fuzz, after we had finished our Bombay Bad Boy Pot Noodle and Macaroni Cheese Pot Noodle, we curled up to sleep. Then came the Wednesday Morning which would end our Adventure of Awesomeness, we both woke up, got dressed, checked out of the hotel, we went to find the tube station to take us back to Stratford, we ended up wandering around looking for the coach to take us back to the airport, once we found it we had a bacon baguette which only cost £3 each, we ate the baguettes while waiting on the coach. Once the coach came, we got on, planned on having a quick catnap which nearly ended up taking the whole journey, once we got off the coach an hour later, we wandered around Stansted Airport until it was time for us to board our plane. When we got on the plane at 17:20, the stewards and stewardesses showed us all where the exits were, and when they were done I gave my brother my earphones since he didn't have his with him, and I played some games on my phone (I could only play the ones that didn't require Internet connection, as I needed to have my phone in Airplane Mode) until the plane landed in Once we got off the plane in Edinburgh, we waited on the 747 bus back to the Halbeath Park And Ride, then we got a 19 bus to Asda St Leonards where we bought crisps for watching TV at his house, we watched Neighbours before heading to bed, I just slept on his reclining chair which was really comfortable to sleep on, Then came the Thursday morning at 5:50 when we both woke up, my brother was getting ready for work, and we both left the house for the bus at 6 as he started work at 7, when we were on the bus, he got off at the Holiday Inn Express in Halbeath where he works, so I stayed on the bus and got back to Cowdenbeath, and once I got off the bus, I made my way home, got a quick snack, then straight to bed as I felt like I was coming down from a high, I ended up sleeping til 12 in the afternoon. And so, this concludes my tale of my Adventure of Awesomeness, I hope you have had a good read………so in short, Sayonara my kind, and beautiful reader people. Scottish Election Results Are In Philipa Craig Yesterday saw the people of Scotland vote in their new Scottish parliament. Voting was open from 7am til 10pm when Ballot boxes were taken to their counting stations. Through out the night votes were counted with the first results coming in at 0048 in Orkney, where, unsurprisingly, the Liberal Democrates held their seat. Final results for the regional count come in at 0901 this morning. With final results in, the SNP came out as the biggest party, but missed out on a majority government by two seat with 63, down six seats from the 2011 election. The Conservatives came in as the second largest party with 31 seats, up 16 seats, giving them the most seats ever held by the party in Scotland. Labour came in third with 24 seats, down 13, making this the fourth consecutive election the party has lost seats, and leaving Labour with their least amount of seats in a Scottish election.. The last of the seats went to the Green Party and the Liberal Democrates as follows; the Green party gained four seats from the last vote, giving them a total of 6, and the Liberal democrate held the same amount of seats at 3. Turnout was 55.6%, up 5% from the 2011 election Department up in flames Louise Dignan On Tuesday 17th may 2016 two thirteen year old high school students went to the toilet during technology, one of the young girls who shall be unnamed brings out a lighter and starts lighting the paper towels on fire the other young girl said at first she never realized what her friend was doing but told her to stop when she clicked on. The girl who set the paper towels on fire convinced her friend that the flame would go out its self as it was just small, the gullible teen believing her left the toilet. Two minutes after they had gone back to class the fire alarms went off the whole toilet was burnt and the technical department had smoke damage , exams where interrupted due to this. The school say it wasn’t hart to find out the two responsible for the fire as they had put their names down in the book you have to sign to go to the toilet. The two girls have been dealt with the police and have both been charged with wilful fire raising, the girl who started the fire has also been giving a courts date to attend as she has been in trouble in the past lucky for the other teen it was her first offence.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

CHAPTER 5 THE PIANO A DANCE ALONG THE KEYS

The Piano Woman by Philipa Craig In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. The room was an old storage room covered in dust and full of random junk from the hotel. The janitor laboriously polished it everyday, he didn't need to and he never seemed to enjoy it but he clearly did a good job. The piano glistened in whatever ligh was available. Why he took such great care of it was as much of an enigma as the piano itself. One particular day will always stick in my mind. The day had started a normal, the janitor polished the piano and went about his duties, and I sat at my spot in reception. A little old lady shuffled in from the crisp early evening air. She looked a sweet old thing, clearly very old with her stark white hair and withered skin but she had a devilish glem in her eye and a smile that denied her years. She shuffled right on by me despite my protests, giving me a cheeky wink in the process, and right on into the storage room. The little old lady must have been confussed. By the time I got round to the storage room door the most beautiful music eminated from within. I was no longer worried about this old women and didn't have the heart to stop her. For near two hours the beautiful music was played from within the little storage room, almost continuosly. It was so peaceful and the guests were in awe, but coming on two hours seemed a bit long to be playing with out a break or atleast a cuppa. Once I had the chance I went round to the storage room. I opened the door and suddenly the music stopped. The little old lady was no longer there. The janitor scooted on by me then and for once smiled.

What the doctor said by Jacqui McCallum In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it always been there. When we moved into the house it was there and mum said that it added a certain charm to the house. I on the other hand thought she was just too lazy to move it! After a couple of years, it started playing for no reason, like someone was trying to get my attention. My mum swears she couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hear it and tried to make me feel like I was losing the plot! One night when my mum was out at work I was sitting in the kitchen doing my homework when it started playing and all the doors in the house started slamming shut, then the lights went out. I tried to ring mum but the phone line was dead. Then I felt a hand around my neck, I tried to scream but what was the point we lived in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbours within 2 miles. I thought I was a goner. My mum came home and found me lying on the floor of the kitchen, she called the doctor and he came and said I was fine there were no marks. He thinks I was making the whole thing up for attention. Then my mum asked if he knew anything about the house, it was then he told us that the last family that had the house moved out of town with no reason leaving everything behind. He said that when he was a young boy he heard a story that years before he was born, there was a family that lived in the house and the mother was an amazing piano player who went crazy one day and strangled all her children and then hung herself in the back garden.

Lydia Lee Bennett by Beth Little In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. The old piano had lived in the music room of an old lady who had died two years after buying the house. There were many tales of secrets hidden within the piano, secrets such as the young woman named Lydia Lee Bennett who lived in the house 15 years before the old lady did, the young woman who people thought had been killed by her jealous butler Gerald who had wanted her fortunes, Lydia had hidden her priceless items inside the piano is said to haunt the house and guard the resting place of her fortune, as another of the secrets is that the piano was in fact, hiding a set of stairs that led to an underground laboratory that she used to experiment on people, including herself, but whoever tried to uncover the rest of the secrets, were warned not to tempt fate more than three times, those who tempted fate more than three times met an amazingly gruesome death thanks to a creature that smelled like rotting flesh and looked like it would scare even Death himself. That creature? Lydia Lee Bennett

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Focussed Rebecca Fairlie In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. Rory Swanson had moved into his new home only a month before, but the symptoms of his madness were already inescapable. A month of growing fear and sleeping with his bedroom door barricaded. A month of waking up in cold sweat, with that incessant tune playing a carousel circuit in his mind… A month earlier, Rory had welcomed the opportunity for change. A fresh start, he had thought. Cleanly shaven and with a jump in his step, he climbed the somewhat never-ending stairs to his brand new apartment. Though it was already furnished, his own pieces brought a fresh modern light to the place. High-ceilinged and open plan, he smiled. It was perfect. Rory began to settle. He began to unbox his old horror film memorabilia from their carefully assembled packaging. The whole place soon looked like a cult cinema critic’s hidden lair. And of course, it was. Rory adored his job. He loved the madness in the mystery. He took comfort in living in these fantasy worlds, even for an hour and forty-three minutes. That was enough to make him feel involved in a way, as if he could easily fit into these fantasies of Frankenstein’s Bride or The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The piano wasn’t a big deal at first. It sat there in white oak wood, watching him as he shuffled around trying to make sense of his new home. Since the flat was furnished, there was nothing that he could do about the piano. So it sat there, watching. Waiting. For what? Rory didn’t know. The first few nights of hearing its song, Rory felt slightly chilled. Not in an over-bearing way. It’s not as if he left his room to further inspect the musical debacle, because that would be ridiculous. It was probably the neighbours who must have liked repeating the same song before they went to sleep each night. That must be it. He was sure of it. The next week was different. He couldn’t put his finger on the exact shift of tension that hung in the air each night. Once Rory came home from work each day with piles of books and sheets to work on late into the night in his office, he found that the tune became more frantic. Before, it was eerie. It didn’t seem like it was meant to mean anything, but it gave him chills nonetheless. Now though, the song cut through the walls like a knife, piercing his ears and biting into his heart. Now it was speeded up. It was surely the same overall chilling song, but it was as if it was a warning now. On a late Wednesday night, Rory had had enough. He went barging through to his neighbour’s apartment and demanded that they discontinue their little late night song. To his absolute dismay, they had no idea what he was talking about. They claimed that they had never heard any sort of song like the way that he described playing each night since he moved in. This thought terrified Rory beyond belief. It meant that either he was going mad, and was hearing a song in his head that didn’t exist, or that this chilling song was meant for him and only him. He jumped to the former conclusion, as the second seemed madder than what lay in his mind. For nights he looked up every strange part of this online, as it was the new era. He found urban legends, native rumours and cult suspicion alike. Every link that he clicked, every single post that he found gave him graver fear. The following week, once again the tune changed. Rory found it to be faster, more chaotic and with sharper high-pitched notes. This time, it definitely sounded like a warning. He was tired of sleeping without the sheets and pillows covering his ears, waking up in cold sweat the next morning. His face grew thinner, paler, and was now clouded in a constant five O’clock shadow. He had lost weight, his clothes began falling off him. It was time for this madness to be put to bed, for good. At exactly eleven o’ three that Saturday night, Rory Swanson creeped through to the living room as the song still played. He was clad with noise cancelling earphones and an axe he found beside the fire door. Of course, he first had to break the glass which wasn’t an issue. He creeped and crawled closer to the piano as the tune once again got more and more crazy, with notes jarring through his whole body like an earthquake. He didn’t see the keys moving, but he could feel the tune course through his whole body. He stood up straight, his expression puzzled. The notes got higher, making him wince and turn the other way. Just in time to see the knife clashing towards his body. Rory was so focussed on the tune itself, that he didn’t realise it was a warning.

Why? Samantha Stobbs In the middle of the room stood a grand piano, no one knew why, but it had always been there. It was this old dust covered thing with chips, scratches, peeling paint and it was iceberg cold; it really freaked me out. I hated it when my granddad asked me to go in the room for something. I had asked my mum many times why it was there but she just told me it had been there since before she was born and not to touch. One night when I stayed over at gramps' house I got very curious, I was sick of being scared of a stupid piano; so after he had gone to bed I made my way up the stair, along the hall and stood outside the room then took a deep breath and walked in. The room was dark and cold, it felt like the piano was drawing all the warmth out of the room. I began to shiver as I got closer. Positively shaking I lifted the lid and started screaming. Lining the sides - I don't know how it hadn't melted - was ice and lying in the ice was my grandma who had disappeared last year. My gramps ran in the room and stopped suddenly just staring at me with this menacing look in his eyes. I was seventeen years old and my granddad murdered me that night. I don't know why. It Tony Pearce In the middle of the room stood a grand piano, no one knew why but it had always been there. Not the piano, the room, which had been empty right up until now. Who had put this grand piano here and what was it for? Did the person who put it here not know the importance of this room being empty? Everyone knows to leave this room be, the light from the hall flooded in and drowned the piano in an ominous glow, waves of dust glistened while floating aimlessly through the air. There was an almost hypnotic atmosphere urging and tempting me to step into the room. There was just one thing putting me off. Everyone who has said to have stepped in this room has went crazy, slowly losing their minds, arguing with voices within their own heads and crazy ramblings about how they know “ it” was there . The more I looked at the piano the more I was able to justify walking into the room. Somebody must have stepped in this room to put the piano here. The more I looked at the piano the more it seemed to take on a mind of its own, glowing from the light in the hall the piano looked full of life. The hypnotic atmosphere was keeping me in a trance. Slowly the pianos keys began to play. The soft lullaby trickled through my body like flowing water, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The music flooded my head taking over my minds control and commands. The more I played the louder it got and the louder it got the less power I had to walk away. Suddenly without command my left foot lifted off the floor and proceeded to step inside the room. The door slammed on my back knocking me down hard. The music continued to play as I slowly…..fell …..Unconscious. The music playing through my whole body was acting as a relaxer, each note sending me further and further into a deep sleep. I woke up. my feet glowing in the light from the hall. My head felt dizzy and my co-ordination was still adjusting, but I could clearly make out two paramedics standing above me. They were trying to talk to me but their voices where muffled. My whole head felt like it was going to explode. I grabbed my nose and blew down hard. The force popped my ears and I was able to hear again. Blood started to fill my ear. Slowly it started dripping and streaming down my face creating a small pool on the floor. The Paramedics helped me up. The light from the hall hit my face striking my eyes like lightening creating a thunderous migraine cracking through my head. The paramedics treated my ear and checked for concussion. “What’s your name sir” he asked? No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t remember. I started racing back and forth through my mind looking for the answer but I just couldn’t find it. “What about the year, Do you know the year”? The same thing happened, my head was empty. I couldn’t answer their questions.” Is there anything you do remember”? Then... the only thought that was in my brain emerged, and slowly I began to remember the piano and how it began to play itself. The same soft lullaby began to creep up through the back of my mind. “The piano, I remember the piano “I cried. Both paramedics looked confused. What piano they asked? I turned to see the middle of the room, but it was empty. The piano was just here, someone must have moved it. The paramedics explained how I had been locked inside the room when they arrived and they had to knock the door open. So no one could have been in or out of the room. But “it” was there I know it was. Each paramedic cupped my elbows and began to lead me out of the room. A sudden high pitched buzz ripped through my ears and into the centre of my mind. I tore my arms from the hands of the paramedics. Voices started to whisper in my ears. “The piano was here 68

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you know it was doing let them make you out to be crazy”. One last time I tried. “The piano was here it was right here” I ran and pointed to the floor in the middle of the room. Softly I began to hum the lullaby that the piano had previously played to me humming louder and louder. One of the medics pulled out his phone and called the police. Falling to the ground I grabbed my ears and screamed I know it was here. Voices filled my head screaming and arguing with each other quickly sending me to despair until… I let out one last ghastly shriek and cried” I know “it” was there, “it” was right there I swear In the middle of the room stood a grand piano”. Magic Dust Tegan Harper In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. My friends and I were talking about going to Los Angeles to visit LeBron James playing his last game in NBA we were all excited to meet him and watch him play, the grand piano was sitting in reception waiting for me and my friends to come out the game, someone came across and was looking at the piano in a weird way and was looking to find a way to figure out how we got here instead of going on a plane, so shortly before we came out I felt something bad was going to happen. I went outside to check if everything was okay and everything was okay so I went back to get my friends form the hall to start heading back home, I got them and then I noticed the magic piano was out of magic dust , so we had to stay at this hotel till someone tapped on my shoulder and it was LeBron James asking me if everything was okay, I was telling him that my piano was magic he asked me if I could show him so I tried and I remember that it was out of magic dust, so I asked him if he knew any places that I could stay and he told me that he has over 100 rooms in his house so we could crash out in his house and he gave us a grand tour of his house and it was really big and his basement was a basketball court and we got to have a shot of shooting some hoops and he had his own shoe compartment it was amazing. Then I found in my pocket was some magic dust but I was not going to tell anyone about it because I liked it here with a famous basketball player, the next morning I woke up and he cooked me and friends breakfast and then we had to head home so I sprinkled the magic dust over the piano and we set off back home, my family was wondering where I was but I just said that I was on holiday with my friends. The Beauty of Life Callum Burnett In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why but it had always been there, expressing its existence throughout the broken down walls and dusted pollution that surrounds it. The house where it’s stored has stood silently and alone as no one has lived in it for years, nothing but old tales and myths are the only thing that keeps the house’s presence alive apart the piano of course. It is said that once the piano is played the beauty of life itself explodes out around you taking your mind into a deep trance of paradise were can literally feel every movement flowing within you the “vibrations, sounds, the wind gently breezing your face etc…” Well you get the idea but for me it was no more than just an old folk’s tale that had spiralled out of control growing far from its origin… In my head that’s what I kept telling myself anyway but in reality standing right in front of it, glancing to nothing else but the pianos keys. I could already feel my fingers smoothly playing their way through the notes without even having to touch the piano. Moving closer uncontrollably towards the dazzling object everything around me was already beginning to appear brighter, the broken down walls had recreated to something more mind blowing and eye blinding beauty, the dust that battled its way around me had disappeared and nothing but freshness lurked within my sense of smell. Not only that, the sweat dripping from the palm of my hands had been wiped clean, my heart was no longer pounding and the thumping knock that was battering in my head had gone, I was even beginning to see the elegance in the smallest of things flashing before my eyes and just like that with no sign of doubt to be found, I begin to embrace the life that lays in front of me just moments away and connect my finger ever so slightly with one of the keys. And suddenly…….

I wanted to play Linda Cramond There was a grand piano in the middle of the room, no one knew why it was just always there. It stood proudly shining so bright with its black top. I have always wanted to go over and touch it but scared to leave marks on it. But today the urge was too much I had to go over. Running my hands along the black top it felt so smooth like silk. Walking around to the front of the piano I could see the seat that people had sat to play this lovely instrument. Sitting down to lift the lid to show the keys of the piano wishing I could play as well as other people had played. I opened the lid and to my surprise there was no keys. Has someone took them I wondered feeling sad inside and disappointed I wanted so much to try and play. The Beam of the Sun Emma Brown In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. When you walk in to that fabulous Victorian grand ballroom, you just stand and stare at this wonderful alone rose wood grand piano. You just know that you have to go over and feel, touch and dream that your back in the that time, listening to someone playing this luscious flowing music that just fills every part of the room You can picture the entire lady’s in their elaborate flamboyant ball gowns getting whirled around the grand piano by the dashing, handsome men. You can hear their laughter and chatter as the warm evening night goes on, but as soon as you let go of the rose wood piano every dreams just faded away back to the moment you was about to touch that great big old rose wood grand piano Red Eyes Shannon Thomson In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. Rotting in the back room of the house. This was my favourite abandoned house to visit with friends or by myself. It held so much mystery to it, considering it was empty, and I haven’t even seen the entirety of the house. The house was dark and large but it didn’t have a scary or haunting aura filling throughout the house so it never really bothered me. I had never played the piano that was sitting ominously in the middle of the room. It seemed so out of place here. Why it was still here was a question and suspicion of mine that I recently found myself thinking about. But ignoring that suspicion I decided today was the day I was finally going to play it. I walked towards the piano then began to lower myself down to sit on the chair opposite, then positioning my fingers on a set of keys where I began to play. I was thrown off balance when I heard the sound. I was practically on the floor, scrambling all over the place trying to get as far away as possible, it was someone's voice. Someone's voice came out of the piano when I began to play. How though? How did this happen? Whose voice was that? I couldn’t even tell if the voice was a male or females, it sounded so full of fear. It wasn’t my imagination either because the voice went right through me. Trembling with fear I decided that I wanted no part of this house anymore. I had to get out of here. I picked myself up off the floor, still shaky from the experience, and ran as fast as I could towards the door. As I was nearing the door it instantaneously slammed shut in front of me. I fell backwards and onto the floor again. No, this can’t be happening to me. I jumped back up and tried opening the door but it appeared to be jammed shut. I tried heaving all my weight into the door but it wouldn’t budge. I could feel my stomach drop, I could feel my heart beat faster as I begun to realise that I’m not getting out of here. I began to scream, I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that someone could hear me and rescue me from this place. That’s when I noticed that my voice was missing… no not missing, stolen. I could feel my throat begin to dry up. I felt sick. What was going on? Is this a dream? I was wishing and hoping it was, but I knew this was real - and it was frightening. I slowly backed away from the door, I felt hopeless. I stood in the same spot for what seemed like an eternity before something else happened. I hadn’t noticed before but I realised that I was slowly falling closer to the ground, I felt empty somehow. I swung myself around to face the piano, but the piano was no longer there, instead in its place stood a black foggy looking demon. I couldn’t tell if I was imagining him or not, he seemed as if he was shifting in and out of different realities. Its red eyes were staring into mine and I could slowly feel the life being taken out of me. I began to understand everything; the voice(s) were the previous victims. But where were the previous victims hidden… is a question I never got to solve. 70

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Change and continuity Michelle Lark In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there; with the sun shining through the big bay windows. The family pictures take pride of place, on top of the reflective surface almost like a mirror, with an ornate centre piece of roses with the brightest reds and whites, enjoying and flourishing in the bright hot sun. As the Ivory keys seem to twinkle almost calling for a master pianist to play a romantic symphony and have the sound resound throughout the old country Lords manor. Almost like we have time travelled back to the early Victoria ages. As the piano takes its place in the large room standing proud, gleaming, and seems majestic in the old world, sun bathed room, as you look at this grand focal point, you can almost hear and feel it’s music wash over you just like the sun shining on this master piece itself. The whole house seems to grow around the piano itself; it’s an amazing sight an alluring scene. Cursed Kimmie Matthews In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. ; no one knew why but it had always been there. Everyone had a story about it- it was haunted, it was cursed; it was this, it was that. I had my own theory about it though… I had been waiting on my violin tutor, she was almost 20 minutes late and I was getting bored when I started hearing a howling noise coming from the piano I sat still and it began to get louder, all of a sudden there was an unbearable screeching noise coming from the piano. I slowly made my way over and placed my hands on the top and leaned in close and there seemed to be a scratching sound coming from within then the howling started again and I jumped back crying out. Slowly I started to lift the lid just having to know what was inside, a stench hit me it was disgusting. I lifted the lid completely to find rats and bones inside, I stepped back in disgust, shock had begun to take over my body. It finally hit me and I ran out of the room and down the corridor to the front door where my violin tutor had finally arrived I bumped into her with tears streaming down my face and gasping for breath. It was you or me Louise Dignan In the middle of the room stood a grand piano. No one knew why, but it had always been there. Since the day we moved in to the house, at night I hear the piano play its self-everyone else says am crazy but I know different , not only does the piano play its self but one night when I walked down stairs to get a drink of water I saw a man round about sixty sat playing it. I drove to my friend’s home and told her everything, she never believed a word I said, and I asked her to stay over so I could prove it. So we sat in my bedroom as I waited to hear the sounds of the piano, when all of a sudden I heard voices, voices that were telling me that I had to “do it”. I started panicking, Lucy looked at me like I was mad asking me what was wrong, she never heard the voices it was only me I began to think I was going insane but then I heard the piano again and the voice spoke to me “you have to do it before I do kill her“ I looked over at Lucy as she’s sat listening to her favourite song as the voices were getting louder and louder to the point I could no longer take it the voices are shouting, my head begins to thump, the doors fly open as the windows smash. Lucy looks up laughing, “now do it before it’s too late, before she kills you first“ I heard the voices say, I run down stairs to the kitchen and grab a knife as I turn around , she’s standing there , bang that’s the sound of the gun shot that went through my chest . After my spirit left my body I hovered over the ground looking at Lucy crying on the ground as she said “ I am sorry I had to it was the only way, it was you or me”.

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CHAPTER 6 ADDED VALUE GOING THE EXTRA MILE

PIONEER: The Norwegian oil industry by Linda Cramond On the 10th June 1981, the Norwegian parliament approved development plans for a pipeline that would take oil and gas from the cold North Sea to the mainland. Choosing to lay pipes to the mainland made Norway one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest countries. Like many stories of wealth, it has a dark side. Which is explored in an Erik Skjoldbjaegâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film Pioneer. Which was released in October 2013 it shows what the divers went through how unsafe diving at such depth was. How dark and lonely being so far down can be. The film start of in the decompression chamber four Norwegians divers sat as they started an experimental dive to five hundred metres below the sea. By the time they get to four hundred ninety-five metres, they started to hallucinate. Seeing a seagull in the decompression chamber. They reach five hundred metres and wondered how they manage to do a practice dive at such depths. They are told that is experimental and something was added to their oxygen, Diving deep turns the oxygen in their lungs poisonous so a gas had to be invented. The first water dive was done by Norway down as for as 320 metres. Going slowly down in a tiny bell 3 divers sat cramped, waiting to reach a swimming distance to the habitat. Opening the bottom off the bell all they could see was darkness. Putting their diving helmets on and checking the breathing apparatus two divers lowered into the cold dark waters off the North Sea. They went into a habitat which is a pressurized machine where the diver could enter and weld pipes with no diving suit on. Working under water can be very dangerous, anything can go wrong with the pressure not being right in the habitat which could cause water to come rushing back in while the drivers had no breathing apparatus on. In the film it shows two divers in the habitat, when something goes wrong. One man dies and the other fights to bring him back which sadly does not work. This starts the divers asking questions. After a dive the men have to go into a decompression chamber, they will slowly be changed back into normal breathing oxygen. This can take approximately two weeks. A decompression chamber is a very small room, they have to eat and sleep in this which can be very hard especially when someone has died and there is nothing they can do till they get out. When something goes wrong they try to blame the divers. And are told to keep quite. Always-human error. The divers using the experimental gas got neurologically damaged which caused seizures and black outs. If they started asking to many questions. You may have an accident! Such as a car crash. Or even paid off to keep quiet. One diver while in the diving bell managed to get a sample of gas. When he threatened to hand it over to the press they tried to push him off the road. It was found that the Americans put in an anaesthetic to overcome pressure sickness. Which could make you pass out and make mistakes. The divers believe this is what caused the accident in the Habitat. And caused divers to have brain damage. Norway has become one of the richest countries in the oil industry. Byford Dolphin One major accident that happened on a Norwegian oil rig in the North Sea happened in nineteen eighty three. This was an oil rig called the Byford Dolphin it is a semi-submersible drilling rig operated by Fred Olsen energy. The construction of the rig started on October nineteen seventy two.It was late on the fourth November nineteen eighty three while two men resting in the decompression chamber, the Norwegian oil company insisted on another dive. All men where tired and weather were bad. But they still sent down another bell with two men in it. The weather got worse the time was three am on the 5th of November 1983 so they raised the diving bell and started to clamp the bell to the decompression chamber. For some unknown reason at the time a tender on the outside opened the chamber when decompression was not finished. There was a massive explosion the divers in the decompression chamber and the bell died instantly, while the tender on the outside could not be found. After hours of searching and thinking he gone overboard they found him. But shortly after he died. At the time the Norwegian oil company blamed the tender on killing himself and four other men. Twenty five years later a group of divers called the Pioneer divers found out that this accident was due to faulty equipment and not the fault of human error. And if the equipment was fixed five divers would be alive today. The pioneer divers and families of dead divers in two thousand and four filed a law suit against the state of Norway. They demanded compensation for neurological damage connected to research and construction in the North Sea. The divers lost their case in Norwegian courts. But in two thousand and eleven they appealed to the European courts of rights in Strasbourg and WON! One of the men from the Byford Dolphin accident was my dad William Crammond. He was the tender who was blamed for killing himself and four other divers.

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Did man really go to the moon? Darren Paterson Man has always gloated about going to the moon. However did we really? How can we really know when the worlds government the ones we are asked to trust lie to us over and over again. What would be the difference in this lie? Its just history after all and history is full of lies and deceit yet we believe everything we read. In this essay I shall look at evidence wither the moon landing was staged or for real. In this essay I will use two sources one to support the moon landing was a hoax the other to support the moon landing. The least important evidence I have found that supports that the moon landing was fake is the flag waving. How could it possibly wave? There is no air for the flag to be waving about? There was a picture of the flag clearly folded and that is impossible because of no air, which means absolutely no wind in space. However source two states NASA came back by claiming that the American flag was stored in a thin tube causing it to become rippled when they spread it and flattened it. The flag could have came out like that making it look that way for effects for the camera then would explain why it look like it is not in space. A more interesting fact that supports that the mean landing was fake is something called The Van Allen Radiation Belt. It is of course a belt that is help together by Earths magnetic field and is stuck in place. So what does this have to do with it? Well for man to go to the moon they had to go through this radiation belt which would have killed the astronauts by roasting them because of the sheer amount of radiation so there would be no possible way to get to the moon with live astronauts even with the aluminium coating of the spaceship. Yet NASA has claimed that the radiation belt would not have killed them. Because the radiation belt is so small that yes the astronauts would receive radiation but just not enough to kill them. So this would mean they could send both rocket and people into space and land on the moon. Further more who filmed Neil Armstrong? There was nobody on the “moon” apart from him so how did they manage to get multiple camera angels of him so was this really shot on the moon? Or was it somewhere else perhaps in an aircraft hangar to look like inside a rocket and a studio for the moon. NASA excuse was that they had put a camera on a extended arm to take pictures of mans historic achievement. I don’t believe that he had an extended arms due to some of the pictures However I believe that it was filmed at a studio somewhere in America with props made to convince people that the space race was truly over and they had won. To pack this up in one of the pictures rock with the letter c on it. Many theorist came to the conclusion that the c rock was in-act a prop and the letter c meant crew and someone set it up the wrong way. Finally and this one I believe nails it is also source 1 supports this…where are the stars? Yes the stars that you see on earth are so much clearer in space because of no fields nor radiation none of that just good old shiny stars however in the picture that NASA took there were no stars in any of there pictures so how could they have gone to space and there cameras not caught any stars? The Reason NASA try to explain why none of their cameras caught any stars what so ever was because of the quality of their pictures washed the stars out. I cannot believe that NASA with there camera in space could not capture any stars in there pictures when someone from earth with all the clouds and radiation and pollution and everything else can take a decent pictures of stars and NASA from probably the most cleanest place in the entire galaxy could not get a picture of stars. So in conclusion through all the evidence I have brought forth In this essay my personal opinion is that the moon landing was fake. The fact that the flag waving, The Van Allen Radiation Belt, someone filming Armstrong, and the lack of stars just convey the point home that one of the greatest achievements in mans history is complete false and has fooled most of there nation with this lie I truly believed that the Americans paid off Russia so they could be in glory of there “achievement” however I do believe that we have been in space due to the international space station and the mars rover being put onto mars I just don’t believe that we have landed on the moon because of the pictures and the excuses NASA gave to fight back against the conspiracy theorists.

The Maze Runner Shannon Thomson It is often claimed The Maze Runner movie is different to the book. I have taken the time to find out the similarities/differences between them to see if the movie has kept the same story while also adding in people’s opinion on the book then the movie. The point of this AV Unit is to see whether or not they should have included everything from the book into the movie. To begin with, I re-read the first book of the series and re-watched the movie so I could find the differences and the similarities between them for the first text and give my opinion. Secondly, I searched up a (review) site that had differences between them in which it concludes with saying whether they liked the movie or not and how they felt about the similarities/differences, whether or not they thought if they should have included everything (more). The first thing that should be noted is that there are a lot of similarities between the book and the movie, but just like any movie being made from the book; it has also left out some scenes that are necessary to fulfil their character's personality or that are just crucial to add to make the story lead the same path as in the book. I suggest you read the book before watching the movie so it will make it easier to see the differences between them (plus the movie will make more sense if you read the book first). An example of a scene that was taken out of the movie from the book that, I found, was crucial to fulfil their characters personality and feelings was the scene where Alby sacrificed himself to save the other boys but also to save himself. After regaining his memory about outside the maze, he found out that it was hell and he was terrified to escape the maze. When the other boys started fighting the monsters, named the grievers, he sacrificed himself so the boys would be safe and could leave but also so he could be safe from the outside world. His plan hadn’t worked but his courage was admired. In the movie, this scene was very disappointing. The same thing happened at the start, he regained his memories and he was scared, but instead of being courageous and sacrificing himself - he got captured by one of the grievers and got taken away. It was a very sudden and disappointing way to get rid of his character and he deserved a better death to show how scared he was and to show how much he loved these boys. That was one of the scenes that I found very disappointing and while there are a few more, I don’t feel as if they’re so important. However, whilst searching up reviews about The Maze Runner book and movie including the similarities/differences, I found a site that shows the most important similarities/differences between them with the writers opinions on them which I will copy the link to that at the end. ‘Clearly I prefer the book to the film, but again, The Maze Runner isn’t a bad movie by any means. In fact, I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to end. But, this is definitely a situation where someone who hasn’t read the book might find it rather hollow and even a bit confusing to follow.’ This person expresses a different opinion to mine saying about how they think that including some parts from the book into the movie might make people who haven’t read the book quite confused, and also saying that some differences change a character or a story at quite a big impact. My thoughts on this is that even though they’ve made a lot of changes in the movie I feel that the changes that have been made make sense and it keeps the movie not too long and pointless but instead it keeps in the parts that are needed to make the story the same while also making sense. If you read the book then watch the movies you will notice some differences for example: there is no telepathic communication in the movie. Some people might find this to be important to include in the movie but if they did it would just be confusing and it’s really quite pointless. The reviews from other people are quite useful as it makes you think more about the differences and you might like the movie more through these differences or dislike it more. To sum up, I would say that reading the book then watching the movie is a better idea and it would be good to express your opinions about them. Because before I read any reviews from other people about how they thought about the movie and the book being really different, I hadn’t thought at all about any of the other things (not) included in the movie from the book and after reading the reviews I find that some of my opinions have changed. So overall if I had to say whether I thought the changes they made in the movie where necessary or not I’d have to say that, even though the reviews had changed my opinion about few things, I think that they are necessary and what the director put in the movie from the book I would say makes sense and makes the story fast paced. Sources: The book and movie itself, plus my opinion A website http://collider.com/the-maze-runner-movie-vs-the-book/ 76

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Guns Shannon Thomson Guns and the effects they have. Against argument On the 20th of April 1999, the people of Littleton, Colorado had no idea as to what was going to happen that day at all but they certainly wouldn't of thought to know that that day, Dylan Klehbold and Eric Harris would make history – in the wrong way. It was around about 11am that the two walked into Columbine high school -armed with guns and homemade bombs. In the next hour they both killed 13 people and they injured many more before they both committed suicide. It became the worst high school shooting in US history and the outcome of that many schools enforced a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to weapons. Fast forward 13 years later to December 2012 - Sandy Hook Elementary school, 20 kids aged 6-7 plus 6 members of staff, shot dead by 1 shooter Adam Lanza – with no motive known. There were a lot of similarities of that to the massacre of our own in the UK in Dunblane 1996 when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children and their teacher in a primary. So looking at these shootings, you can probably see that they have something in common. After each one of them we were promised tougher gun laws and zero tolerance, but it’s clear to see that the shootings aren’t stopping and more and more innocent people are getting killed by psychopaths that have access to guns. So in my opinion, I feel that guns should be banned completely to locals. No guns mean no more deaths from bullets. There are still going to be terrible things happening in the world because there are people who don’t need a gun to do something terrible, but eliminating guns means no more deaths caused by them – so no more school shootings and no need to be scared when going to school - worrying that you might not make it back out. For argument Where there is an argument against something there will most always be those who support and argue for - and when arguing about guns it is no different. Pro-gun activists will argue that more guns will end with less crime and also that the UK has the highest violent crime rate in the world despite the UK's strict gun laws. Many people believe that the right to bear arms brings the opportunity to defend themself and keep themselves safe with the use of guns. Bernie sanders - the senator of the state of Vermont says, “we have millions of people who are gun owners in this country and 99.9% of them obey the law’. He believes that the solution to gun crime is to complete strict background checks to prevent violent or mentally ill people getting a hold of a gun - but allows a safe and responsible person to have the right to bare arm. Conclusion. So I have looked at both sides of the argument, for and against guns. I have researched some of the horrors that have taken place when a gun has been in the wrong hands and used to kill innocent people. Reading the harrowing survivor stories people have told and reading about all the shootings and death caused by guns makes it very hard for me to believe that anyone could support the argument for guns - but they do. And there always will be the strong supporters for and against guns. Probably for a very long time to come but I don’t want to live in a world where people feel the need to carry a gun to feel safe/protect themselves. Gun control clearly isn’t working because around 90 Americans are killed by guns every day – that figure in the UK is far reduced. It’s a big step to eliminate guns but I believe that we can do it and I believe the outcome of doing that will be much better than doing nothing at all and ignoring the problem or making promises you can’t keep. So whatever happens in the future with gun laws, I will forever believe that the world will be a safer and happier place if we could get rid of them altogether and I don't think my opinion will ever change about this. I hope that after reading this you will appreciate and support my opinion and views alongside me. Sources: daily mail, daily record, huffington post, New York Times articles, my opinion It is hard to find out if what information you’re looking at is true, biased or exaggerated so i’m going to look at these links that I had used for this AV Unit and tell you if they were helpful and why, explaining if it was because it was a biased opinion or because it was factual for this particular Unit. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/craig-scott-columbine-mas_n_3054909.html This link leads up to a story from one of the surviving people that witnessed the shooting at the Columbine high school and he remembers and talks about his sister, one of the 12 people murdered, and he explains about how hard it was for him to get past his sister's death and get over the anger he felt towards the two gunmen. This website helped me whilst making this AV Unit because it helped me decided that I do stand by my opinion and i do want guns banned and i want no one else to go through that horrible experience. 77

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/opinion/end-the-gun-epidemic-in-america.html?smtyp=cur&_r=0 This link was very helpful in information about America's gun laws but it is expressed in a very biased presentation. ‘These spree killings are all, in their own way, acts of terrorism.’ ‘It is past time to stop talking about halting the spread of firearms, and instead to reduce their numbers drastically’ Those are some quotes from the site and while it was very helpful to me and helping add to my opinion, it wouldn’t be very useful for my argument ‘for guns’ and it is a very biased opinion so it doesn’t cover all information about America and their gun laws. http://minutemennews.com/bernie-sanders-99-9-percent-of-gun-owners-obey-the-law/ ‘Folks who do not like guns is fine, but we have millions of people who are gun owners in this country; 99.9 percent of those people obey the law’ Even though I respect his opinion and what he plans to do, I believe that 99.9 percent of people isn’t a big enough percentage. We need everyone to obey the law or to get rid of guns completely and eliminate the chance of that 1 percentage of people who don’t obey the law. But again this link was very helpful for me in my ‘against argument’ and it wasn’t truly a biased opinion/statement because he is wanting to meet in the middle of both positions.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Cleopatra by Annalise Hughes Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, usually referred to as simply Cleopatra, was the last and most famous Pharaoh to rule Egypt. The Romans viewed her as their enemy even as she allied herself with them and their emperor while also funding their armies, believing her to be seducing away The Empire. But in contrast, she was adored by her own people and was the only member of her family to learn the Egyptian language, as she had descended from Greek lineage. Cleopatra VII was a powerful leader in her own right and led a remarkable life. The Ptolemaic dynasty began in 323 B.C at the death of Alexander the Great. His generals had divided up his empire amongst themselves. One general, Ptolemy, received Egypt and became King Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. The Ptolemy dynasty ruled Egypt for over 300 years before Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C, daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, who was forced to flee Egypt’s capital Alexandria for Rome in 58 B.C when the Egyptian people rebelled against the high taxes, taking a now eleven year old Cleopatra with him. While Ptolemy was in Rome seeking help from the senate to restore him to power, his eldest daughter, Bernice IV, seized control and ruled three years with her sister (and possibly mother) Cleopatra V Tryphaena as co-regent. But Tryphaena mysteriously died a year later in 57 B.C, it is believed Bernice had her poisoned so as to become sole ruler, but this was never confirmed. Bernice was entirely set on being alone in her rule over Egypt, so when she was forced by Egyptian tradition to marry Seleucus VII Philometor she quickly had him strangled to death. Bernice’s reign was short lived however, when in 55 B.C Ptolemy XII returned with a Roman army and the help of the famous general Pompey. They defeated the frontier forces of Egypt and proceeded to attack the palace guards but they surrendered before a battle could start. Quickly upon entering the palace Ptolemy had Bernice and her supporters executed and was returned to power. Cleopatra VII became his co-regent and there were around 2000 mercenaries stationed around Alexandria to ensure Ptolemy’s authority over the throne. Ptolemy XII fell ill and died in 51 B.C. leaving the throne to the eldest in line 18 years old Cleopatra VII who then married her younger brother, not only because it was Egyptian law, but to ensure the Ptolemaic dynasty continued leadership of Egypt. Documents reveal that Cleopatra was very popular amongst her people, in a text dated 35 B.C. she is referred to as ‘Philopatris’ or she who loves her people. Cleopatra created a life of luxury and embellishment and even represented herself as the reincarnation of the goddess Isis. But cleopatra practically ignored her husband as coregent and had only her face appear on egyptian coin and Ptolemy’s name was omitted on official documents. Ptolemy was jealous and wanted to become main ruler so under the care of his advisors expelled cleopatra who fled to Syria. Meanwhile at this time, Julius Caesar was in civil war against Pompey ( the general who helped Ptolemy XII). The two Roman armies fought a famous battle in nearby Pharsales. When Caesar won, Pompey sailed to Alexandria seeking protection, but when he arrived Ptolemy had him executed in hopes of gaining Caesar's favour when advised it would be best to be on his side. A few days later Caesar arrived at the outskirts of Egypt. Ptolemy sent a messenger telling him that his rival was dead, hoping to impress the powerful Roman. However, when Caesar learned this he marched into the city and seized control of the royal palace. By this time Cleopatra was back in Egypt with an army (possibly made of Arabian tribes) to reclaim her throne. When she learned that Caesar had taken control of the palace she acted quickly to convince him to join her side of the fight against her husband. Knowing she could not slip past her brothers guards unseen she made a scheme to have herself wrapped up in a carpet and delivered to Caesar as a gift. Caesar was so impressed and charmed by her that he took her side against her husband. A substantial factor in Caesars attraction to Cleopatra was probably that she was rich, one of the richest women in the world; or at least she would be, once back in power. Caesar was chronically in debt. When Ptolemy found out that Caesar had taken his wife’s side he didn’t give up. He fought against Caesar and Cleopatra’s combined armies in battle but was defeated and drowned in the Nile as he tried to escape. Caesar reestablished Cleopatra pharaoh and had Roman soldiers stationed in Alexandria to get the point across but Cleo, again, had to marry a younger who became Ptolemy XIV, who was also made Pharaoh but was not active in ruling. On 23rd of June 47 B.C Cleopatra gave birth to Caesar’s son named Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar and was called Caesarion. A year later Caesar returned to Rome and invited Cleo to visit along with her husband and son. Cleopatra arrived in Rome fashioned as the Egyptian goddess Isis, offending conservative republicans. She insisted on the finest luxuries and Caesar even had a gold plated statue of Cleopatra, depicted as the goddess Isis, 79

placed in the temple of Venus Genetrix. In contrast, Cleopatra’s younger sister, Arsinoe IV, was being paraded through the streets in chains as a defeated enemy in Caesar’s triumphal celebration. Around this time, Caesar had a lot of power in Rome, the victor on the battlefield as well the senate and had been named dictator for life. Many people, including powerful senators, were jealous of his power and were worried for the future of the republic. Caesar did himself no favours by making it known he was going to try and have a law passed enabling him to marry Cleopatra, despite already having a wife. In 44 B.C a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar was carried out by over forty Roman senators, some of whom were his ‘friends’. He was stabbed to death outside the Theatre of Pompey on march 15th. Before quickly returning to Egypt, Cleopatra had her husband, Ptolemy, poisoned. This allowed her to rule alone, though her son. In 42 B.C Caesar’s enemies were defeated at the Battle of Phillipi where Caesar’s nephew Octavian and Marcus Antonius (MArc Antony) fought against Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus who were the leaders in the assassination of Julius Caesar. After they won the battle, Antony and Octavian became rivals for the command of the romans. Antony wanted to attack the Parthian Empire, but needed more financial and military might, so he called for Cleopatra to meet him in the city of Tarsus to ask for her support in his campaign. Cleo arrived in Tarsus on a ship with silver oars and purple sails even though Egypt was on the brink of bankruptcy. In return for her help Cleopatra sought the return of Egypt’s eastern empire. But Anthony fell in love with Cleopatra and gave up his plans for the Parthian Empire and went with her back to Alexandria. In 40 B.C. Anthony left Egypt for Italy to make a treaty with Octavian. An agreement was reached and part of the arrangement was that Antony would marry Octavian’s sister, Octavia. At the same time, in Egypt, Cleopatra bore Anthony twins, a boy and a girl, and called them Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene. But Anthony didn’t see his children for 4 years when realised that he and Octavian can never work together and decided to resume his campaign against the Parthian Empire. Antony and Cleopatra then decided to get married even though it was illegal under roman law and made war with Octavian inevitable. Antony then gave parts of Roman territory to Cleopatra which angered most Romans who then decided to back Octavian against Marc Antony. In 35 B.C. the attack on the Parthian Empire only resulted in small conquests. Cleopatra has another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, who was born in Syria. In 35 B.C. Antony and Cleopatra returned to Alexandria in a parade as Isis and Dionysus to celebrate the successful conquest of Armenia. Caesarion was named Ptolemy XV and made co-regent with his mother and was publically declared to be the son of Caesar, challenging Octavian who was only Caesar’s adoptive son. Octavian fought back by obtaining Marc Antony’s will not only had plans for handing over parts of the Roman Empire’s province over to Cleopatra it had plans to move the capital from Rome to Alexandria. The roman citizens were outraged. In 31 B.C. Octavian declared war on Antony. Antony and Cleopatra’s combined their naval forces and met him at Actium, of the coast of Greece, in a great sea battle. In the middle of it all Cleopatra became afraid that they were going to lose and so she removed her ships from battle and sailed back to Alexandria. Antony’s forces were not strong enough alone and were defeated. His army surrendered but he escaped back to Alexandria, wounded. But when he arrived he received false information that Cleopatra had committed suicide and believing it, fell on his sword. But he did not die immediately and was brought to where she was hiding in a mausoleum with her valuables before he died. After his death Cleopatra planned to set the mausoleum and herself on fire but was stopped when Octavian's soldiers broke in and took her captive. Octavian planned to parade her as a slave and fallen enemy through Alexandria. But she would never be known as a slave as to preserve her image as a great Pharaoh, had an Asp, a snake, smuggled to her and its bite killed her. But, another source has said that after Antony lost the battle against Octavian, Cleo saw him as a loser and believed he was not strong enough to lead Egypt with her. Octavian was said to have then sent a message to her stating that if she killed Marc Antony he would negotiate a truce with her. Seeing a chance to hopefully escape the situation unscathed, she had a message sent to Antony telling him she has killed herself, which prompted a heartbroken Marc Anthony to then follow suit, stabbing himself. While I had believed the first version was the true story, the second has a few points to consider: It explains why Anthony was informed she had died. Cleopatra had a track record of choosing to ally herself with winners. While under pressure, she may have risked believing Octavian if it meant a way out. Also, she had made some dubious decisions in her lifetime, and it wouldn’t be the first time she had her husband 80

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killed. But the truth might depend on whether or not she actually loved Marc Anthony, which may be the case, as she stayed with him when Rome was against him, and he was not as powerful as Caesar that it did not cost him. Whichever the case, they both committed suicide within a week of each other and their children were raised by Octavianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister, Octavia, except for Caesarion who was murdered. Egypt became a roman province. Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was the last Pharaoh of Egypt. References: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cleopatra.htm http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/cleopatra.html http://www.biography.com/people/cleopatra-vii-9250984 http://www.examiner.com/article/the-death-of-cleopatra-and-mark-anthony https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernice_IV_of_Egypt https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy_XII_Auletes https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/cleopatra

Nalini Singh by Samantha Stobbs About Nalini and her work Nalini Singh was born in Fiji in 1977 the daughter of Consumer Rights Activist H. D. Shouire. She is also the sister of Indian journalists Deepak Shourie and Arun Shourie, who has also been a union minister. Singh was brought up in New Zealand. She attended Mount Roskill Grammar school growing up. She spent three years in Japan working as an English teacher and touring other parts of Asia, she has also worked as a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a lawyer and also a bank temp. As she puts it herself in source one, not necessarily in that order. Some may call it inconsistency but she calls it grist for the writers mill. A Little About Her Books Her most commenly known books are her Psy-Changling novels which centre around a world in which there are three indvidual species of humans. The Psy: Psychically enhanced humans that have conditioned there emotions in order to stop half of there population from going insane because of certain, stronger powers. The Changlings: True shifters who are comfortable being in both skins. They love to shift but are never forced, it is always of there own free will. They are also fiercely protective of there pack which even though aren’t all blood are family, even those that are not shifters. When a changling mates it’s forever and if that mate dies they wont find another. The Humans: Ordinairy people who play a very important role in the stories as they interact with both sides of the line. In source two, Nalini said she is madly in love with her Psy-Changling world. Her second frequently read books are her Guild Hunter Series which consist of The Archangels: Angels who are thousands upon thousands of years old that have gained so many new powers as they age that they are the rulers of the lower angels. They all have there own territory and the other archangels cant just cross into another territory without seeking permission from the one in charge. The Vampires: They are created by angels. All vampires sign a contract to angels in exchange for protection or wealth etc they are then at the angels beck and call, they do jobs or whatever the angels ask until there contracts are up then they have the choice of going it alone or they may choose to stay with the angel. The Hunters: People born a lot stronger than normal humans, some even have the ability to scent the rouge vampires they are contracted to hunt. They work together with others in cases where back-up may be needed due to there being more than one runaway vamp but mostly work alone, they are called the guild. Interview With Nalini Singh I managed to contact Nalini through her personal Facebook page and she agreed to do a small interview with me via email. I was so excited and couldn’t believe she said yes! I racked my brain trying to think of what to ask her, there was just so many things I wanted to know. I compiled a list then narrowed them down to five questions: What inspires you? I know you have stories or places that do but is there something deep down that inspires you to create these beautiful characters and there worlds?. What are your feelings toward your characters and do you have any favourites and how do they affect your day to day life? Do you ever stop what you’re doing and wonder what a certain character may think? What are you biggest influences in your writing? Has something ever happened that has made you change the way you thought of a story or a character? I'm sure you have lots but do/did you have any specific book that you loved and could read over and over again that may have also influenced the way you write? What was it that made you want to be an author? What made it click into place that what you wanted to spend the rest of your life doing was writing these amazing stories? Then pressed send. I got a reply mere days later, heres what she said: I'm passionate about writing - the drive to write comes from within. It's an instinctive thing that's an integral part of me. Even when I was unpublished and no one was reading my stories, I still wrote them. It's still my hobby as well as my career. In terms of specific story ideas, I always keep an open mind. I've been inspired by things I've seen, things I've heard, things I've read in the newsletter... I believe in keeping myself open to the universe and seeing what it shows me. 82

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I don't have favourites because they're all so real to me. They live in my head as three-dimensional people, and each time I sit down to write a book, the central characters in that book become my favourites - as it should be, because this is their story, their time to shine. And yes, I do often catch glimpses of my characters even when I'm not working on their book! It's why I write the slices of life stories for my newsletter - to share those glimpses. Books and reading in general. I've been a voracious reader from childhood and all the books I read taught me to really love stories and storytelling, and that led to wanting to write my own stories. I've read too many books to choose one, or even a few! But I loved author Anne McCaffrey's books. She created worlds so real that I could imagine they truly existed. I didn't study those books in terms of structure etc. I just read them. But I think simply by reading, I began to learn what it meant to build a fictional world, how it needs to have a foundation and depth. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always written, always wanted to write. The idea of getting to do it for a living? I had the dream from a very young age. It took a lot of hard work and stubbornness to make it happen though! My Thoughts on Nalini Singh I only started reading Nalini's books at the start of last year but I fell in love with them straight away. I have read her Psy-Changeling series and am currently reading her Guild Hunter novels. I think it is amazing how she can make people fall in love with her characters in the blink of an eye and to be rooting for their happy endings. She can have me crying hysterically one minute and joyously happy the next just with one tiny little sentence. I fall instantly back into the world of these characters the minute I pick up the book wishing I could join them and be a part of this amazing world. I can be lost in these stories for hours on end and have often been shouted at or even slapped to get my attention. I wish I could write as great and creatively as Nalini Singh and hope she continues writing her stories for years to come.

Steven Avery - making a murderer Tony Pearce Steven Avery (born July 9th, 1962) is an American man from Manitowoc county Wisconsin, who served eighteen years in prison sentenced in 1985 for being wrongly accused of assault and sexual assault on a woman called Penny Beernsten. Avery was released from prison in early 2003, when improved DNA testing of evidence revealed it was not Steven Avery who had committed the attack and in fact was another man. After being released Steven Avery and lawyers filed a civil lawsuit against Manitowoc county sheriff and district lawyer, for thirty-six million dollars in damages. This was to compensate the eighteen years he spent in prison wrongly accused and convicted. Avery spoke with lawyers, TV press, newspapers and his story swept the globe. Avery was convinced he was set up and in fact this was no accident and someone from the Manitowoc city sheriff department had set him up. Not only that Avery had evidence to suggest and incriminate Manitowoc police department of a conspiracy to have put and kept Avery in prison. There is question to whether or not the evidence submitted to the case in 1985 had been set up by police? During his lawsuit in 2005 Avery was arrested, this time for the murder of Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach. Avery was convicted of first degree murder in 2007. Has Avery again been a victim of a faulty justice system? Or in fact did the eighteen years in prison turn Steven Avery into a cold hearted killer? Steven Avery Growing up, Avery lived in a house in Wisconsin Manitowoc. His family own a large car and salvage yard so big it has its own named road and postcode. Avery road, two rivers Wisconsin wi54241, U.S.A. with a large family they all lived within their own community and were almost not accepted by the rest of Manitowoc. The family seemed to be publicly known as slow and un-intelligent .During his teenage years it was reported that Avery had been arrested on multiple occasion for burglary and animal cruelty. A previous record revealed that Steven had an IQ of 70 and barely functioned in class. In 1985 Avery had been arguing with his cousin as she had been spreading rumours saying he had exposed himself to her on numerous occasions and had paraded about the street naked. The only way Avery felt like he could deal with what was going on was by running his cousin off the road and pointing a gun at her telling her to stop spreading nasty rumours about him then left. His cousin was wife of part time Manitowoc county sheriff’s deputy. Quickly Avery was arrested he was out on bail and due to be sentenced to six years in prison for endangering the safety of another person. A statement from Avery reads “the gun was not loaded and I was only trying to stop her from spreading rumours about me” Avery was released on bail and awaited sentencing. Penny Beernsten 1985 Penny Beernsten was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted in a state park in Wisconsin. Two Samaritans had found penny after the attack and quickly rushed her to hospital. In the emergency room penny gave her description of her attacker to the police. She had asked the officer if he had someone in mind and he had replied yes. Penny later found out that this person the officer had in mind was Steven Avery who was out on bail for putting g a gun in the face of a sheriff’s wife. Later penny was shown an “artists impression” of her description. This was in fact not a picture built up by penny beernstens description but a picture that had been drawn from a mug shot of Steven Avery on the grounds the police officer thought it was Avery and not through the description given ,which originally didn’t fit with Steven Avery in the first place. She was then later shown nine photographs of her possible attackers which included Steven Avery. The mug shot of Steven Avery that was shown to penny Beernsten has been said to have been the same photo that the “artist” had copied the picture from and not Penny’s description. So already police are trying to confuse and convince penny that Avery is her attacker but they needed to find a way to make penny say it without them saying it. Which brings me to the line-up penny was finally invited to the police station to view eight people one of whom may have been her attacker. Penny pointed out Steven Avery as her attacker. The defence for Avery goes on to reveal that 1 out of the 8 men in the line-up had been the same as the photos shown to penny and this person was Steven Avery the only person who was indicated my police throughout the investigation. Penny had been confused enough to believe her attacker was Steven Avery. The trial Steven Avery’s lawsuit settled at 500 000 dollars instead of the 36 million he originally claimed. Avery used this money to hire lawyers Dean Strang and Jerome Buting who went on to discover an 11yearold vial of Steven’s blood inside an unsecure area of the Manitowoc County Clerk of Courts office a building next to the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t sealed and there was a needle puncture mark in the top. Stevens’ trial began with 19 days of testimony from 59 witnesses. Stevens defence claims he’s been framed by the 84

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sheriff’s officers in retaliation for the lawsuit he had filed. Many questions were raised such as, why wasn’t Steven’s trailer covered in Teresa’s DNA. If she’d been shot in the garage, where was the evidence of blood? Had she been killed off site and disposed of at the salvage yard to frame him. Avery’s lawyers were not legally allowed to point the finger at any other potential suspects. Avery’s lawyers say this wasn’t an effort to frame an innocent man it was an intense desire to conclude that he was the guilty man. A jury of six men and six women find Steven guilty of intentional homicide and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Avery is sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Avery defence insists all the evidence was planted there is a clear motive to frame Avery. Brendan Dassey is sentenced to life in prison, with a chance of parole in 2048 after serving 41 years. All requests for a retrial for Steven and Brendan are denied. In my opinion there are too many inconsistencies with the trial and evidence , there are many more pieces of evidence that have been messed around with and if Steven Avery or Brendan Dassey did kill Teresa Halbach the trial and evidence alone should not have been enough to sentence Avery as there were too many opportunities for police to set up Avery and too many other theories that fit the scenario the professionalism of the way evidence was brought together was appalling and no one took on board the fact that police had quite clearly tampered with evidence. It seems like Avery was already deemed guilty before the trial had begun.

Post-natal depression: the shameful illness Jacqui McCallum Post-natal depression is a depressive illness which will affect 1 in every 10 new mothers. The symptoms are similar to depression at other times, those included low-mood, poor appetite, loss of libido, insomnia, low self-esteem, and other symptoms lasting longer than two weeks. It can affect woman of all ages and ethnicities, teenage mothers are particularly at risk. The causes of post-natal depression are not completely clear most experts think it’s the result of a combination of factors this may included  Depression during pregnancy  A difficult delivery  Lack of support at home  Relationship worries  Money worries  Having no close family or friends near by  Physical health problems following birth such as urinary incontinence, persistent pain from an episiotomy scar or forceps delivery. Even if you don’t have any of these symptoms and your pregnancy and delivery was straight forward, having a baby can be a stressful and life-changing event that sometimes can trigger depression. People often assume they’ll naturally adapt to parenthood overnight however it can take months before you begin to cope with the pressures of being a new parent this is true even for those who already have children. Symptoms of post-natal are similar to other types of depression, it usually develops within the first six weeks, and can start gradually or come on all of a sudden. It can range from being relatively mild to very severe. Some symptoms are:  Feeling sad and low- tearful for no apparent reason  Worthless – hopeless about the future  Tired – unable to cope  Irritable and angry – guilty  Hostile or indifferent to your husband/partner  Hostile or indifferent to your baby  low self-confidence  thoughts of suicide or self-harming  loss of interest in the world around you.  You may also find it hard to sleep  Have a reduced appetite  Lack interest in sex There are treatments available for post-natal depression that are wide ranging. You should always seek treatment; it never goes away on its own. Some of the treatments available are. Prescription medicine: Anti-depressants take time to work, if you do take them they can very effective but you should be prepared to take them for at least six months and they usually all have some side effects. Sleeping pills and tranquillizers- they can be very effective if you are having trouble sleeping but can only be used for a short period of time. Counselling and psychotherapy- counselling is also a good way to work through any issues that you may have. It’s also a good way to speak to someone about how your feeling without feeling judged. This is also known as Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy that can help you manage your problems by changing the way you think and behave. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)- this is a controversial treatment but when it works it can relieve depression quickly. The treatment is done under anesthetic and involves passing an electrical current through the brain. this treatment is only used when someone has server depression and only if all other treatments haven’t helped. Complementary therapies- these are holistic therapies treating you as a whole person to support your body and mind in healing. These include cranial osteopathy herbal remedies, homeopathy massage, reflexology and 86

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aromatherapy. Post-natal depression is a mental illness that comes with a lot of stigma, as a new mother you are expected to take to your baby right away and be a great parent, but that’s only in the movies. Being a parent is hard work, no one tells you about all the sleepless nights, about not eating a hot meal for days on end, not being able to shower, and the thing no one ever talks about is having post-natal depression, it’s like a horrible disease but in reality its very common illness and even if you have never had it yourself, almost everyone knows someone who experiences it, where you know they have or not. Having post-natal depression is like living in a nightmare. Even to this day I don’t remember much from when my son was born. He was my forth child so you would think that I would be used to being a mum by then. But I was in for a huge shock. Unlike other mothers who don’t take to their babies, I become obsessed with mine, I never let him out my sight I didn’t let anyone hold him, I didn’t sleep I would lay at night and listen to him breathing and any sudden movement I would jump up. I would go days without eating or having a shower. I was trying to pretend I was this perfect mum, but inside I felt dead. I hide it from everyone, every time someone said something to me about how I was feeling I said I was fine. I didn’t want it to appear that I couldn’t cope, that being a mum was too much for me. It wasn’t until one day I just broke down to my dad and said I don’t want to be here anymore and told him that being dead was a lot better than being trapped in my own mind. Having suffered from anxiety from a very young age I contacted the GP and got started on Anti-depressions and also got referred to see a counselor. Almost two and half years later, I am doing a lot better. But I still struggle on a daily basis, I struggle with my depression but over time I have learned to deal with the good days and the bad days, and adjust my life according to how I feel. I have recently found a youtube video called Jessica Rowe tells of post-natal depression https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glC7KcSiC5Y She is an Australian author who suffers from bi-polar, she has also struggled with post-natal depression and in the video she talks about her struggle with post-natal depression and she sums it up fantastic and how most woman with post-natal depression feel. She explains that having post-natal depression is not shameful it is a normal part of life. I have also read a book called Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields. The book talks about her journey with post-natal depression after having her daughter Rowan Francis. She talks all about the ups and downs she experiences during the pregnancy and after the birth and how she overcame it all.

Kurt Cobain: Murder or Suicde? Rebecca Fairlie Part One – Introduction Wednesday 14th May, 1997; Valentine and Aurelie, aged 12 and 13, took one of their father’s .22-caliber rifles and used it to take their own lives after writing a confession of love to their idol. Unfortunately, this is just one out of 36 copycat Suicides after the death of Kurt Cobain. The life of iconic Seattle-based Grunge star Kurt Cobain could be seen by many eyes, and many perspectives. Some saw him as a man who cared not for his fans, and could only be described as ignorant while performing. Others would disagree, viewing him as the saviour of lives, the image of the kids who didn’t know what they were yet, and most importantly; the voice of a generation. Kurt Cobain had withdrawn himself from a rehab facility on the 1st of April 1994. He was later reported missing by his ‘distraught mother’, though it turned out to be a fake call by wife, Courtney Love who didn’t want to deal with the public backlash. Seven days later, he was found dead in his Seattle-based house. The days in between are hazy, though between Courtney and Private Investigator Tom Grant, we begin to see a closely intricate timeline. This investigation will revolve around Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and some of their close friends / those who worked with them. In this essay I will dissect two contrasting sources and let the reader view my own opinion at parts. My ultimate goal is to bring any reader to see both sides of this case, as the world in those twenty-two years have heard almost nothing but Courtney Loves’. I want to eliminate everything you thought you knew about the Kurt Cobain case. These are the facts, and I hope that you take as much from this learning experience as I did. Kurt Cobain was born on February 20th, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington. His early life took a vast interest in music, having been heavily influenced by successful musicians in his family. When he was nine years old, his parents divorced. Those around him noticed a change in Kurt’s behaviour, and as did he. “ I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn't face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that.” When Courtney was younger, her parents went through a divorce when she was five years old. At nine, she was concluded to have a mild form of autism. She moved around a lot, and in her teenage years began to hang around a lot of bands, being labelled as a ‘groupie’. The difference in these personalities is incredible. Kurt was a humble introvert, and Courtney was a luxury-loving extrovert. The union of them would have seemed to all those close completely barbaric, though it was a union of one simple joint interest; heroin. The substance that brought Sid and Nancy together, brought Kurt and Courtney together is a drug fuelled haze. Whether or not they had more in common than that and each having their own successful bands, no one knows. One thing we do know for sure though, is that in the last month of Cobain’s life, Private Investigator Tom Grant was hired to document his whereabouts by Courtney Love. Here is a brief timeline of events in the last couple of months after Kurt Cobain was found dead; March 30th – Kurt Cobain and Dylan Carlson (his best friend) had purchased a shotgun which was set-up with ‘light load’; meaning that it wouldn’t penetrate walls / endanger anyone on the other side. Grant believes that after cancelling a gig at Lollapalooza he may have feared for his life, as it had cost others a lot of money. As a side note, Cobain told Carlson that he ‘feared intruders in the house’. He left it at his Seattle home so that it would be there when he got back from rehab. April 1st – Courtney Love made thirteen phone calls to Kurt’s rehab facility to the patient payphone. Love told Grant that she had only spoken to Kurt once that day (with no detail to what had been said). Later that evening, Kurt left the rehab facility and left a message to Courtney’s phone saying “Elizabeth's phone # is (213)_______”. Courtney Love did not tell the media of this, and as Grant suspects it is because this message doesn’t strike as someone who is suicidal. April 3rd – Tom Grant gets a phone call to his office from Courtney Love, claiming that someone was using Cobain’s credit card and she wanted him to find out who it was. Both Grant and a fellow detective went to meet her at a Los Angeles based hotel that she was staying at. She began to claim that she cancelled his only card, and without that he would have no access to money as he had ‘no friends that would loan him any’. Later that day while Grant was at her hotel room, she began to ramble about everything and nothing all at once. About how he had walked out on nine and a half million dollars from Lollapolooza, and that he ought to have done it ‘for Frances’ (his infant child). She also mentioned that Kurt wanted a divorce, though her prenuptial agreement left her with the house and all the 88

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assets. Though Courtney said she didn’t know where Kurt was, assuming Seattle or that he may have flown back east to see friend Michael Stipe, she failed to mention that he was spotted in his Lake Washington home the day before on April 2nd by their child’s live-in nanny, Cali. April 4th – Tom Grant met with Courtney for the second time, confessing that she filed a missing person’s report under the name of Kurt’s mother, Wendy O’Conner. Courtney told Grant that Cobain would only stay in the best hotels, which he began to track down his false names but to no avail. April 6th - Grant picked up Cobain’s best friend Dylan Carlson, and they went to a café to eat and form a plan of where their search mission would start. Grant asked Carlson if Kurt ever felt suicidal, to which Carlson replied, “No, not at all. He’s under a lot of pressure, but he’s handling things pretty good.” Once leaving the café, they began to check out a drug dealers’ apartment and a few fancy hotels that Kurt had been known to stay in sometimes. Grant mentioned what Courtney had said about how Kurt would only stay in the ‘best hotels’. Dylan looked rather shocked, while saying, “No, he doesn’t. He usually stays in some pretty ratty places.” Grant asked whether or not they should check in with Kurt’s mother in Aberdeen, to which Carlson replied, “No, Kurt wouldn’t go there. He doesn’t get along with his mom.” April 7th (2:15 am) -While Grant waited in the car, Dylan went to the front of Cobain’s Lake Washington home, as was previously agreed. Carlson came back five minutes later with nothing to report, so they drove to a payphone to call Courtney. Once she called the alarm company to turn the alarms off, they drove back to the house to gain access. When they were inside the house, Dylan commented that he had “never seen the house this clean before”. A TV was on in a bedroom upstairs, where the bed was unmade; Dylan explained that this was Cali’s room. They didn’t find Kurt. Dylan didn’t mention the room above the garage, which Grant couldn’t see as it was dark and raining. Grant dropped Carlson back at his apartment while he went back to his hotel for a few hours of sleep. Later, Tom picked up Dylan and they returned to continue their search. They went through a few of Kurt’s hangouts, and spoke to people who could have known where he was. When they got nowhere, they stopped at a payphone so Dylan could call Courtney. When he returned to the car, he said, “Courtney’s had some trouble. She got arrested and is in hospital”. Carlson eventually managed to get through to Courtney to gain further instructions. She told him that she wanted them to go back to the Lake Washington house and look for the shotgun, and that it could be in a hidden compartment in the closet. Though why hadn’t she asked Cali since he had clearly been in the house recently? (9:45pm) – Dylan and Tom returned to the Lake Washington property, where inside they found a note from Cali. It wasn’t there the previous night. Part of the note read, “I can't believe you managed to be in the house without me noticing. You're a f---ing a--hole for not calling Courtney...” Grant states that he had a feeling that the note had been left for him to find, not Kurt. He says that it felt fake, to which later, a fond friend of Cobain, Love and Cali, Rosemary Carrol agreed that it sounded fake. On Thursday afternoon (April 7th), Cali told friends that he was leaving for Los Angeles. Grant feels as though Cali was avoiding him, as he never caught a glimpse of Cali while he was in Seattle looking for Kurt. Grant’s obvious question; If Cali was in the house and Courtney had told him that Kurt might be there too, how could it be so ‘hard to believe’? April 8th (morning) – Dylan and Tom were heading to check out a property that Kurt owned in Carnation. When they stopped for gas, Dylan got out to make a phone call. When he returned, he said a friend had told him that a body had been found in the Lake Washington property. They instantly turned on the radio and heard that the person dead was Kurt Cobain. Grant claims that Dylan showed no reaction. Later on the radio it said that the body had been found in the greenhouse. Grant didn’t know the room even existed, and asked Carlson why they hadn’t checked it out before. “It’s just a dirty little room. I think they keep lumber in there or something”, Dylan had replied. Grant called his office and spoke to his colleague. Apparently, someone had been using Cobain’s credit card as early as that morning, just before Cobain’s body was found. Soon learning that Cobain’s body had been dead for two days or more, this means that someone had been attempting to use his credit card since before he left LA to when he got to Seattle. To conclude this source, I find that Tom Grant has documented his experiences with Courtney Love quite well, and to any unbiased reader his work could possibly sway them to believe (as he does) that Courtney Love may have had something to do with the death of Kurt Cobain. Montage of Heck is a documentary directed by Brett Morgan, who worked closely with Kurt Cobain’s family and friends in the first film about Cobain’s life that those close to him allowed film-makers to document. It focuses mainly on Cobain’s childhood, and features never-before-seen videos and interviews with friends, 89

family, Nirvana and Kurt himself. It speaks of his rough childhood, and how after his parent’s divorced when he was 9 his attitude changed. When he got too broody and wild for his mum to cope with, she sent him to his father’s house to live. Eventually though, Donald Cobain soon felt like Kurt was too much for him and his new wife to cope with. This fuelled a cycle of Cobain never feeling truly accepted by his family as he was carted to the next location. The documentary also seems to focus a lot of its energy on finding Kurt Cobain’s diary entries and drawings, some of which held disturbing contents. Cobain’s personality as those knew it was the shock factor; he loved to shock people, making them uncomfortable. Journal entries contained things such as suicidal thoughts, albeit some were clearly an exaggeration but also due to extreme stomach pains that he had been dealing with for most of his life. Showing an eerie side to Cobain which not much of the world knew, Brett Morgan showcased this under the supervision of Kurt’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. For Frances and Courtney, this was the first film about Kurt Cobain that they agreed to take part in, presumably because ‘Kurt and Courtney’ and ‘Soaked in Bleach’ rule out that Kurt Cobain committed suicide, in their respective research. At times this documentary could feel like an acid trip; flashes of wild and obscene drawings, thrashing and static versions of Nirvana songs with Kurt’s recorded voice speaking over. In my opinion, this was to try and get the viewer into Cobain’s mind. A hazy, hectic place where the epitome of dark thoughts came from. After a lot of talk about Cobain and Love’s shared heroin addiction, the interviewees spoke of how in the last year of his life, Kurt hadn’t been himself. Though it hadn’t mentioned how he signed himself into a rehab facility, it spoke about how much more aggressive he was, and how much more pain he seemed to be in. Also, an incident in Rome brought attention back to the film if anyone began to bore of the same things. While being interviewed, Courtney Love was speaking of how she never once had an affair while with Kurt, though one time she was very close. This was when she was in London with her band ‘Hole’. She told the interviewer that Kurt’s reaction to this was to take 27 Rohypnol tablets along with a bottle of champagne while staying in Rome. This ended in him being in a coma, and for it to be suspiciously concluded as a suicide note by those who weren’t close to him. Even those who were close to him claimed in the documentary that this was ‘a cry for help’, though before, both Courtney and Kurt dismissed this to the police and their friends and families and said that it was an accident. The thing about the Rome incident is that Courtney Love has told many people and interviewers completely different stories. In a December 1994 issue of Rolling Stone, she claimed that the only unusual thing that Kurt said was that he ‘hated everything and everyone’ over the phone. By this point, Courtney hadn’t seen him for 40 days while on tour, so this could have been due to missing his partner. Montage of Heck is a very informative film documentary if you would like to learn about Kurt Cobain’s childhood, though the facts seem hazy at times. It seems to only focus on the depressed Kurt Cobain, rather than the happier one to show a balanced, well-rounded documentary. This is presumably through Courtney Love’s involvement in the film. Now though, being in the public eye on UK Netflix, it definitely shows accessibility to the public and fans who want to get a glimpse of the mind of Kurt Cobain. Kurt Donald Cobain was a visionary to the masses, whether they be misunderstood teens, those who put meaning behind his lyrics, or to the simple underdog who related to the man himself. He inspired thousands. He was the voice of a generation. Though the events of his death may be unclear, or seem unclear, what remains is two sides; Tom Grant, who has spent a portion of his life trying to bring peace and justice to Cobain’s memory, and his fans who took their own lives in attempt to shine through their idol, and the other, which is that the Seattle Police Department do not intend to reopen the Cobain investigation, and Courtney Love, whose story may change but her dedication does not. I wish to anyone without previous views on this subject has been swayed towards either direction, and I hope that I have given my opinion in a fair way.

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Audrey Hepburn by Catherine Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell On reading through this magnificent book that Audrey Hepburns son wrote, I find myself tearing up. He speaks so highly and fondly of his mother it is highly touching. Sean Hepburn Ferrer who was born July 17, 1960 lets the readers in on many secrets about Audrey and her childhood. I will now share with you her wonderful charity backround and what kind of person she was up until the day she was taken from us. Lets go back to where it all began, Audrey was born in Brussels, Belgium, on May 4, 1929 and her mother Ella Van Heemstra who had a Victorian upbringing dictated that you must never call attention to yourself ( which I believe Audrey had some of that installed in herself ). Know you all now about how famous this Hollywood icon was and still is, however I would like to talk about her dedicated charity work and the background behind all. In her later years her dedicated charity work was for UNICEF. The reason and motivation behind Audrey being so behind UNICEF was all due to her childhood. There was a time when World war 2 was going on and the vivid memories of Hepburns brother who had to eat dog biscuits when there was nothing else, how others ate tulip bulbs, and how bread was green because the only flour available was made from peas. As to not feel the hunger she would spend the whole day in bed reading. She remembers the fear of the war and how little food there was in the city, so they had to move home in the suburbs with her Grandfather. She also re-called one of the farmers who had collected many valuable items in exchange for the products of his farm, built himself an underground storage and filled it with all the antiques. When the liberation came, he went to collect his riches, but they had all become completely waterlogged and ruined. The liberation was Audreys first contact with UNICEF. Food was scarce and whatever was left went to all the troops. Immediately after the war an organisation called the red cross ( which later would become UNICEF ) brought huge relief for the people. They brought food, clothes and medication, they also turned relief centres into local schools. So you can see why she was so passionate about this organisation because she experienced it first hand. When Audrey started with UNICEF it would come to be eighteen months after that she would stand up and people would hear her profound, commitment in her beautiful speech. She used her celebrity status to tell the world of absolute poverty, starvation, malnutrition and untreated illnesses. Children did not have a choice to have a education and go to school and the huge rising death rates too. She took a stance and dedicated her time and love to every case she backed. I really admired her strength and determination with her work with UNICEF, I myself do a lot of charity work and have my own strong feeling towards my cause which is something I believe we had in common. I would like to finish this with Audreys last bit of her amazing speech which will give you an idea of how great of a talker she was. ' The United Nations will have shown the world that only through corriders of tranquility can children be saved, that only through peace can man survive, and only through devolpment will they survive, with dignity and a future. A future in which we can say we have fulfilled our human obigation. Your 1 percent is an example of 100 percent but alltogether a beautiful example to us of love and caring. TOGETHER THERE IS NOTHING WE CANNOT DO.

The Real Macbeth Philipa Craig The name ‘Macbeth’ is the Anglo-Saxon translation of the Gaelic name: Mac Bethad, his full title Mac Bethad Mac Findlaich. He was born in 1005, possibly in the North-East of central Scotland. It is not entirely known who his mother was, but it is believed she would have been of royal blood. She may have been the daughter of Kenneth II, Donalda or Malcolm II, Doada. Macbeth's father, however, is known. He was a high steward of one of the Celtic provinces of Scotland, Mormaer of Moray, Findlaich MacRuaridh. Growing up, Macbeth would most likely have been sent away to be raised and educated by another influential family, a common custom for Royals’ sons at this time known as fosterage. In 1020, while he was in fosterage, Macbeth's father was murdered by his cousins, Gillecomgain and Malcolm. Macbeth would have been about fifteen years old. Malcolm took over as Mormaer of Moray for nine years before his death, in what is believed to have been a riding accident. Gillecomgain then took on the role as Mormaer and married a woman called Gruoch, grand-daughter of King Kenneth III. In 1031 they had a son named Lulach. A year later in 1032, Gillecomgain died in a fire with 50 of his men. It is suggested that his death was in retaliation for killing Macbeth's father, by order of King Malcolm II, but some believe his gruesome death was an act of revenge by Macbeth himself. With Gillecomgain's passing, the role of Mormaer was passed on to Macbeth and he married Gillecomgain's widow, Gruoch, and took on their son Lulach as his own. Elsewhere, Duncan MacCrinan became King after his grand-father, Malcolm II's death of natural causes in 1034. Duncan's rule lasted six years. He was a power-hungry king and constantly at war. Around 1039, Duncan mounted an attack on Northumbria. Possibly a counter-attack after the Earl of Northumbria, Ealdred, attacked southern Scotland the year before. Ultimately, he failed in his quest to attack Northumbria. Retreating back to Scotland, he mounted another attack to the north of Scotland, possibly with his eventual goal to invade Orkney. If this was his goal, he never got the chance, as he was killed in battle when his forces met with Macbeth's in Elgin. With Duncan's defeat and Macbeth's victory, Macbeth rode on to Scone to claim the throne (legitimately, through his mother’s lineage) and crowned King of Scotland. Macbeth’s rule was fair, peaceful and prosperous. He had no problem, however, killing to defend his throne: in 1045, he killed Duncan's father, Crinan, in battle, in what has been referred to as the 'only domestic disruption'. Macbeth made several new laws, many of which protecting the rights of women and children; such as allowing daughters the same rights of inheritance as sons, and enforcing that Officers of the Court defended women and children. His wife, Gruoch, even donated lands she owned to the church. His rule was so secure against enemy forces that in 1050 he made a pilgrimage to Rome for the Papal Jubilee. Such a thing was uncommon for a King of Scotland to do at the time, evidence of how secure his rule was. The pilgrimage would have taken around a year to complete, a 3000 mile round trip. A man called Marianus Scotus, an Irish monk who was a chronicler in Macbeth’s time, wrote that whilst in Rome, Macbeth 'scattered money to the poor like seed'. As was tradition for Heads of State to do. On Macbeth's arrival back in Scotland all seemed as he had left it, but to the south in Northumbria, one of Duncan's sons was convincing English Lords that he should be king of Scotland. In 1054 Siward, Earl of Northumbria challenged Macbeth to claim the throne for Malcolm. It is though this battle took place somewhere around Duninnan or Birnam Wood, although no one is really sure. Both sides suffered many losses, with Siward losing 1500 men and Macbeth losing 3000, Macbeth had lost this battle. He retreated, remaining King but losing lands in the south to Malcolm, alas his rule was to soon come to an end. In 1057 they met in battle again, this time at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire where Macbeth was slain at Malcolm's hand, thus ending his unusually long rule of seventeen years. He was buried, like all other Scottish kings before him, on the Isle of Iona.

JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

Derek Bentley Linda Cramond Derek Bentley was born 30th June 1933, when he was 8 years old in 1941 during an air raid bombing on London, Derek got trapped under rubble when he was found he had sustained bad head damage. In 1948 Derek was caught vandalising and when approached he takes a fit. He went through some tests and was found at the age of 15 his mental age was estimated to be 10 years old. He was sent to Kingswood approved school but in 1951 he was sent home cause of his fits and low intelligence. For a couple of years he tried working to make money, first for a furniture remove firm then a dustbin man. Apart from going out to work Derek would stay in his room saying people don’t want to hang around with him as he went to an approved school. At home with Derek was his mum, dad, sister Irise and a younger brother. Derek enjoyed going to his shed to play around with radios and telly’s listening to music. His favourite song was Wheel of fortune by Katie Star. His sister took Derek to their local record shop to buy the record. This is when he met Christopher for the first time. He told Derek he has a few jobs planned and asked him to join. This is when Derek started to change his appearance with new clothes and hair style. Somehow Derek managed to get his hands on the butcher shop keys and ask Chris if they should rob the shop. On arriving at the butchers they seen the shop owner still in there. Chris turns round and says let’s do this place while climbing the high fence, Derek follows but unknown to them a young girls points them out to her parents. The father decides to run to the nearest phone box to phone the police. Meanwhile Chris and Derek got to the roof of the building where Chris gives Derek a knuckle duster and says he made it for him. Derek doesn’t really want to do this job but Chris talks him around to stay. Chris decides he wants to break a window with his gun, this is when Derek sees the gun and ask why does he have that with him. At that point they hear police sirens heading towards them. Derek starts to panic saying my dad is going to kill me. The police start to make their way up the building, one police officer makes it to the top where Chris goes to shot the policeman and gets him in the arm, the police officer decides to grab Derek and put him under arrest. The police officer shouts at Chris give that thing to me. Then Derek says LET HIM HAVE IT CHRIS, Chris shots at the police man again who then calls for back up saying 2 men armed and dangerous. When back up arrives Chris panics and as a policeman comes through the door Chris shots him in the head. While Derek is arrested Chris fires all his bullets, he does not want to be arrested, so he jumped from the roof but he survives. They are both arrested and been charged with murder of a police officer. The court day arrived, although Derek did not shot the policeman he was a party to it. And the words that Derek said “let him have it Chris”. The court took them 5 small words as shot start firing. Derek’s lawyer said “at no time did Derek try to escape”, as he could off at any time but stayed beside the arresting police officer. Between the ages of 11-16 Chris had owed 40-50 guns, this was the side of Chris life Derek never knew about. And didn’t no he had a gun with him until he goes to smash the window with it. Now its Derek’s turn to be questioned where a lawyer confuses him with saying he knew Chris had a gun and that he had a knife to stab someone with and the knuckle duster to hit with. Derek’s layer said the words let him have it Chris meant Chris give the police the gun. They had agreed only to break in not shot a police man. On the words let him have it Chris, Derek was found guilty of murder with a recommendation of mercy. And because he was 19 he gets the only sentence for murder which was hanging and buried at the prison. Chris was also found guilty of murder, and although he was most guilty he would be jailed until HM feels fit, because he was only 16. Neither of the boys where given an appeal so others may be taught a lesson not to break the law Derek’s parents fight against his sentence saying he shouldn’t of been in court because he had a test done and was shown to have a mental age of 11 years old. Thousands of people signed the position to get Derek freed. While waiting t hear from the parliament there was a knock at the door, it was a man from the Daily Telegraph newspaper asking how they felt about the new from the home secretary. They had not seen the letter cause of all the mail from people showing their support. Looking through all the letters they find the one there looking for from the home secretary saying he will be hung. The dad went to the house of parliament to talk to the MP’s. He was told they will have a meeting for deprive the day before the sentence was to be carried out. The government said they cannot talk about the case until the sentence has been carried out. Which was set for 9am the following morning. 93

That morning Derek was sat in this room that looked like a cell. He was praying when all of a sudden these doors flew open, he was told to stand up and given a drink of which is to be believed as whiskey. The told to put his hands behind his back. Its 9am and while Derek is stood with his hands behind his back, he gets his tie removed. When one of the men said follow me lad it will be all right. He then has a bog out over his head, Derek was breathing so heavy with fear that you could see the bag moving in and out, he then has his feet tied together and before you had a chance to say any words Derek was hung for a murder he did not commit. The following day his parents received a letter from Derek saying the truth will come out one day and someone will get into a lot of trouble. His parents kept fighting for his innocence until they passed away in the 1970â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when Derekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister took over. Chris served 10 years in prison and was released in 1963. He has been a law abiding citizen ever since. Derek was granted a posthumous pardon in 1993 and in 1998 the murder charge was quashed. My conclusion is that I thought the death sentence should be bought back. After watching the film Let Him Have It and reading about Derek Bentley on Wikipedia, can we be 100% sure the person is guilty? How the justice system get it wrong and sent an innocent man/boy to death. Yes if they are 100% maybe the death sentence is right. But is it right to kill a person that killed another does it not make us as bad as them. A life for a life may not be the way.

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Human Psychology and Nature Callum Burnett For this assignment I have chosen my topic to be “ human psychology and nature” I have chosen this topic because I am highly fascinating with the well-known fact that even though we all breathe and function the same way “beating heart and active brain” each individual still carries their own psychology stability and works in different ways from one another. The “Culture” of the human race I have decided to add to the unit as I find it a rather interesting subject due to the many differences each culture and tradition may have. For this I will be using a “written text” and a “YouTube” clip as my two main sources. To start with I will begin writing in deeper detail on “psychology.” The structure of psychology is formed together by different aspects on each individuals self. “Personality, thinking and development, behavioural temperaments etc… Personality- as we all know each person carries their own mix of personality making them slightly different from everybody else, meaning that even in the smallest of forms we are never exactly the same as the person standing next to us. Regardless some people may impose and say you have no personality or a bad personality but most struggle to even tell the difference. In scientific perspective having no personality means that you have very little or no “social presence” whilst having a bad personality implies that you behave in such a way that the people around you see you as acting in a bad manner that reflects on having a bad outlook of yourself from everyone else or it may cause unhappy motion in your presence. In the book “Levels Of Personality” second edition by Mark Cook this would be the definition of what personality is not and it states to what a personality is “simply defining how one responds to any given situation there in. Personality is made together by different factors of one self-such as “traits of characteristics, biological account of personality, motives and instincts, aspects of aggression, sexual variation, alcohol abuse and resilience meaning “Bouncing back.” Before moving on to “Thinking and Knowing” I shall examine one of the examples listed above and go into greater detail on the subject to gain a better understanding on it. For this I have decided to go with “Biological account of personality” Biological account of personality- In “Eysenck” view each individual has their very own demon waiting at the long pathways of the central nervous system entering into the lower pathways of the brain. According to his notes the demon possesses two levers one marked “excitation” and the other named under “inhibition.” These levers are often used at one process of information at a time, but sometimes they operate at the same time. Keeping in mind that these levers operate at the same time whilst we sleep. Eysenck uses his demon as a preference and suggests that “excitation” or “inhibition” can “Determine how sociable and impulsive a person is, Shape a person’s political opinion or even turn him or her into a criminal or a good radar operator, and even make his or her sex life more active and varied.” “Temperament theories postulate a bodily base to personality. They are very ancient ; the Greek physician Galen, writing in the second century AD, distinguished melancholic, choleric, sanguine and phlegmatic temperaments, which depend on the four humours or bodily fluids” The statement above is a quoted sentence that basically implies that a person’s temperament plays a big part in one’s personality. Thinking and Knowing This subject holds many contents such as “the human computer, attention and information processing, learning by association, representing information, storing information, language processing and problem solving. Out of the contents listed here I have selected the “Problem Solving” to analyse, gather and present information I have obtained on the subject. Problem Solving This can used for numerous of situations such as “artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, mathematics, or medicine are related to mental problem solving techniques studied in psychology. The definition of problem solving states that “the term problem-solving is used in many disciplines, sometimes with different perspectives, and often with different terminologies.” For example it can be used in various instances such as mental problem solving process studied in the psychology department or for the computerized process for computer science. Problems can also be classified into two different types (ill-defined and well-defined) from which appropriate solutions are to be made. The difference from the two types are that ill-defined are for those that don’t have clear goals, solution paths, or expected solution, were as well-defined is the opposite and the problems have specific goals, 95

clearly defined solution paths, and clear expected solutions. These problems also allow for more initial planning than ill-defined problems. Being able to solve problems sometimes involves dealing with pragmatics (logic) and semantics (interpretation of the problem). The ability to understand what the goal of the problem is and what rules could be applied represents the key to solving the problem. Sometimes the problem requires some abstract thinking and coming up with a creative solution. In psychological terms problem solving relates more to a state of desire for reaching a definite 'goal' from a present condition that either is not directly moving toward the goal, is far from it, or needs more complex logic for finding a missing description of conditions or steps toward the goal. In psychology, problem solving is the concluding part of a larger process that also includes problem finding and problem shaping. While problem solving accompanies the very beginning of human evolution and especially the history of mathematics, the nature of human problem solving processes and methods has been studied by psychologists over the past hundred years. Methods of studying problem solving include introspection, behaviourism, simulation, computer modelling, and experiment. Social psychologists have recently distinguished between independent and interdependent problem-solving. Moving onto the last piece that I will gather will be centred on human culture. Human Culture The human culture comes under the definition of what culture is and has three layers afterwards that goes into greater on the matter and analyses different aspects of the meaning of culture. The first part is what is culture? The word culture has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food. For a biologist, it is likely to be a colony of bacteria or other microorganisms growing in a nutrient medium in a laboratory Petri dish. However, for anthropologists and other behavioural scientists, culture is the full range of learned human behaviour patterns. The term was first used in this way by the pioneer English Anthropologist Edward B. Tylor in his book, Primitive Culture, published in 1871. Culture is a powerful human tool for survival, but it is a fragile phenomenon. It is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason, archaeologists cannot dig up culture directly in their excavations. Layers of Culture There are very likely three layers or levels of culture that are part of your learned behaviour patterns and perceptions. Most obviously is the body of cultural traditions that distinguish your specific society. When people speak of Italian, Samoan, or Japanese culture, they are referring to the shared language, traditions, and beliefs that set each of these peoples apart from others. In most cases, those who share your culture do so because they acquired it as they were raised by parents and other family members who have it. The second layer of culture that may be part of your identity is a subculture. In complex, diverse societies in which people have come from many different parts of the world, they often retain much of their original cultural traditions. As a result, they are likely to be part of an identifiable subculture in their new society. The shared cultural traits of subcultures set them apart from the rest of their society. The third layer of culture consists of cultural universals. These are learned behaviour patterns that are shared by all of humanity collectively. No matter where people live in the world, they share these universal traits.

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Poverty in the USA Elizabeth McGuiness The purpose of my added value report is to find out more on the poverty in America and how it affects people and what the main causes of poverty are. While doing this report I have researched a lot of information on the internet and have a few sources to help and understand why and how people get into poverty and all the different reasons A child who grew up around poverty in early life is more likely to lead a life of poverty in adulthood. In the United States, the official poverty rate for 2012 stood at 15 percent based on the national poverty line which is equivalent to around $16 per person per day. Of the 46.5 million Americans living in poverty, 20.4 million live under half the poverty line. This begs the question of just how poor Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poorest people are. Which to me is a good question one I intend to try find out there are a lot of reasons for poverty here are a few

This chart shows that drug abuse and medical bills were the main cause of poverty, the shocking figures in this graph is the fact that people say a shortage of jobs was the least reason for poverty, however the graph only shows peoples options and not true facts, or figures. Therefore all these figures to me are hearsay. http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2014/08/poverty-america-global-context-chandy-smith http://www.povertyusa.org/the-state-of-poverty/poverty-facts/ https://www.healthpovertyaction.org/info-and-resources/the-cycle-of-poverty-and-poor-health/key-facts/

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CHAPTER 7 EDUCATION THE FIRST STEP WAS THE HARDEST

Education Linda Cramond My name is Linda I am going to write why education is important to me and why I returned to education after having a family. Looking back on my education in primary and high school I can say I enjoyed it but at the time it was so hard. They never tested me for dyslexia and just assumed I was stupid and could not learn. In primary I was just sat in the corner and left to do what I wanted to do. By the time I got to high school I had learned nothing and was put in what they called the remedial classes. People found out and started to bully me so to get away from school I started to misbehave so I would get sent home or I just wouldn’t go into class in the first place. After leaving school I was surprised to get a job at the local post office, which as you can presume maths was a very handy thing, lucky enough I knew the simple maths to get me by. I decided to leave and start a family, that’s when I realised I had to do something about my education. With the baby stuff out of the way me son started education and it came quick as time was fast forward they started giving him homework in which he would ask for help. Finding it hard to help my son to do his homework once again my thoughts were nagging at me to sort out my education but with being a single parent it was very hard to juggle family with education so I knew I wanted to get a better education but my son came first so I had to put that thought in the back burner. Now my family are grown up I decided to go back to education which I am finding very hard but there is so much help out there now. And with the right help and tutor’s education is fun and can be done. English I found very challenging at school because I have dyslexia. I wasn’t tested at school so the first thing to do was get a test for it. With them telling me I have this they helped me by giving me a coloured overlay which helped stop the words jumbling around. They also gave me help with my laptop in which it gave a scribe to me which red the text. It made me realise I was not stupid as people thought but it gave me confident that it’s not my own fault. Why education is important to me Elizabeth McGuinness Education is a gateway to so much more. A lot can be achieved when we have knowledge, skills and determination, starting from my past to the present and my dream for a better future. There are many reasons why having an education is important to me, in my primary years at school I never really did very well mainly due to the fact I was a very thin built girl, resulting in girls in my class teasing me. Am not using all this as an excuse for doing badly in primary but in the same way I do believe having friends and being happy in school does help. In addition to this by the time I went to high school, I had so many goals I wanted to achieve in particular I really wanted to do well in passing all my exams, which I can say now I didn’t do, resulting from me not paying attention, and playing truant from school most days. I do regret this now, was only after I left school with no grades did I realise education is the foundation for everything in life, after having children of my own I then knew It wasn’t just debilitating to myself but also to my children. I couldn’t get a good well paid job with no grades, resulting in me working as a cleaner for a number of years or other low paid jobs. I knew then I wanted better for my children, I didn’t want them to go down the same path as me. I strongly believe that going to college to get my education was the best decision I made. I now have so many opportunities and new experiences to look forward to, I can also say my positive attitude, hard work and commitment will help me achieve so much. So far after being at college only eight months, I have passed most of my exams in Maths, English, Creative writing, and also Modern studies, I now understand that the harder you work the more you will accomplish, helping me turn my life round and making me a better person during my time at college I also have made so many new friends. I just want to keep going using the skills, and confidences, I have gained to push me on to continue my pursuit to level five. My education is so important to me it will allow me to be able to provide for my family better also helping my children see that continuing your education equals success, it will also help me on the career path I want to take. I wanted to be a learning support worker allowing me to help kids who need one on one support, also allowing them to get the best out of education; I really know I could be beneficial in helping kids to do their best, after realising myself the more you put into learning the more you will get out of it. To me education is really a privilege to us all and should all treasured, we have so many different learning 100

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programmes, courses available to us which we should appreciate and be thankful for, some countries don’t have the same educational facilities as us I am so glad I decided to come to college even though I left it a bit late in my life, I still say it was better late than never. I know some people don’t cherish education I didn’t when I was in high school, all I want people to know is anyone who is striving to better themselves like I wanted to then do it. A college degree is not just a piece of paper it’s something you have to work for, but it reaps great success at the end. Why education is important to me Tegan Harper For a start in primary at was a big mess I used to muck about and not get my work done but really I think I learnt a lot when I was in the class I got help with my classes that I was in to help me like with maths, I was shy when I was in primary school I got help with communication with others in the class just trying to make my life a lot better before going to high school, I liked primary school sometimes but without a chance I used to get bullied a lot for the way I look or the way I dressed but I used to report it to the head teacher or used to tell my gran and she would go the school and ask if she could speak to someone about it. Knowing going into high school was a big step into the big world inside my wee life. The start of 1st year was okay the work was easy and the teachers where nice to start off I was behaving well I was getting help off the learning support with my reading and writing, I was paying lost off attention with my work when I had homework I done it and handed it in when it was due I was never late with doing it, then getting used to 1st year I got bullied till 2nd year and I was getting really bad, so in 2nd year of being in high school my attitude was changing really bad towards my work and to my teachers I was just answering them back and with my work it was really messy and I was getting into trouble for the slightest things I was trying my best to behave and there was these two girls that where bulling me and sending me harsh voice notes over the phone just saying nasty things and I never told anyone about it till it got really bad then I told the school about it and they dealt with it really good but the one girl came and said sorry to me about it all and the other girl never said sorry, after all that had happened one of my teachers turned round and said “ if you don’t do PE you will turn fat” and I was self-confident about my body when I was in high school, so I stopped doing PE and I used to get punished exercises for not bringing kit or just answering the teacher back so really I got picked on for the slightest things. Right heading into 3rd year it was getting harder and harder I could not get all the work completed so I was panicking about that because I had prelims coming up and never had all the work done but in some topics I was caught up with my work just when I was off so I had to get caught up in the work and it was just too much for me in one day to complete it all, I enjoyed 3rd year but I was still getting bullied and that never really stopped if I went to complain about it they would not sort it out so I would have to deal with myself so I did and just ignored it and got on with my work, I still got into trouble with the teachers and my classmates I used to skive with my classes and going to registration after lunch so then I got put on this yellow sheet which I had to attend all my classes and registration, my classes where boring so I got put on flexi there was other people in it which was a good laugh we got to go places and find out different things, I started flexi in 3rd year and it finished in the end of 4th year. So 4th year my learning was getting a bit better still struggling with things and still getting picked on buy people and I still never went to certain classes and I sometimes went to registration so yeah my life at high school was getting better my education was getting better and I was still with my friends and I was kind of getting on with some off the teachers I just to get on with the fact that they were helping me with my strengths and weaknesses I was seeing the careers adviser to help me with getting work placements which helped because I got a work placement at my local primary school which I went to and done about 3-4 days there helping out with the kids and that was really good and it was a good atmosphere so once that was done I was still seeing the careers adviser to see what I wanted to do and I told him that I had enough off school and wanted to try something new so we suggested going to college so we spoke about it a bit more and that’s what I wanted to do, so I put an application for college and once I got In I left the school and I never started college in august so that was another big leap into my life . Starting college was really scary to start I was a new environment with new faces and teacher and the first time I stepped into the class we and we had to tell each other what’s our favourite things to do and why we came to college I was too shy to talk to new people so the 2-4 week I came out my shell and started talking to new people and making friends and I had some trouble in the class and the education was different compared to primary school and high school I was enjoying my year in college getting along with people and some of the tutors, now it’s all coming to an end am going to miss everyone and the staff that have helped me but the reason am writing this is to see why education is important to me and it is important because you learn different things and you get on with people in the class and soon I will be working with other people and getting on with them. 101

What college has meant to me Jacqui McCallum At the age of 28 having four children and a failed marriage, I woke up one day and decided that I wanted more out of life for myself and my children. I have had jobs in the past, some that people would consider “good” jobs, but I wanted more. I wanted a career. I wanted to be my own boss, so I had a think and looked online and decided that I wanted to go back to school. Coming back to college at the age of 28 was scary. Especially in a country where I had never been to school. I was told I would have to start at the bottom and do an access course, which I thought would have been such a waste of time but has been the smartest thing I’ve done. This year has been challenging, not only learning to be a student again but also juggling four young children on my own. Even though it’s been difficult it has been worth it. I have learned so much not only from an educational point but I have also learned a lot about myself as a person. Coming back to college has given me an identity again, I’m not just someone’s mum now I am a college student working toward my goals. I have made lifelong friends with people I would never considered being friends with before. I have also learned that no matter how old you are it’s never too late to follow your dreams and the support that I have received from my lectures has helped me through this year and I now know that when I come back next year I will succeed because I know I can. Life in a classroom by Emma Brown When you hear people talking about their kids’ education, we close up and think about the old primary school and high school that we all went to. Think about the bad education that we got there and the how we didn’t learn anything from it But if you really think deeply about this, you will find that you did learn a lot from primary/high schools You find that you learnt to count, write, read and social with other people around you that are not your family for the future ahead of you Going back to my time in primary/high school, I got bulled and picked on which knocked my confidence for six.so I end up sitting at the back of the class to hind away from everything and only listen to the things that I liked and wanted to know and learn about At primary school I found it hard to read and write and all the teachers would tell my mum that I was just a lazy child. It turned out that since I have come to college I have dyslexia. The last 2 terms at being at college, I have found out that having more of a choice and the ability to learn and to study better for I have improved my self-confidence back up which I have found a lot of rewording to myself, now I know that yes I can do thing and learn thing in what I want to achieve without people telling me that I can’t do it because am not a thicko or a dunce ,which I have been told so many times in the past but now her and the future well all I can say it watch out people I am out to learn more and more thing from college to get to where I want to be in my life and the job I want to do in the future. What I know now and looking back to the life I had at primary /high school things have changed so much, with teaching and learning, because now teachers/tutors have learn to recognise students problems and they try and find a way to help them to learn plus I think there a lot more new technology to help student more at home, schools, colleges Last term when I first started college, the nerves got the better of me. which I found really hard to control due to being an older mature student ,thinking that I was going to in a class full of young immature kids that just out of high school, but over the next few weeks I found that the class was a mix of ages. Then over time I learnt that I wasn’t the only person who has learning problems in class or in college, which gave me more comfort over time. Last term and now I have learnt that I can listen to relaxing music for studying in class while doing work. Over time I even booked myself in to learning zone to get more help from the learning assistants, who you can book in when you have free time, The learning assistants will show you and find the best way for you to learn and to build your confidants up, so that you don’t feel like a thicko or a dunce all those years ago. This term I have manage to wean myself away from learning zone and the help of the learning assistants but still 102

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know that they are still there to help me anytime over the term which in my eye are a big plus sign The learning assistants will even help you to put in place a support plan for your next term course to make sure that you still get an better education. To sum things up in what I think about education, that l’ve had in my life, I would say now is where am at my most happiness with it. I can now say that I am not a thicko or a dunce due to what I have put myself through to get this education and this new beginning of a good life that lies ahead of me So at this point right now I would like to thank you to everyone at college, to my mum and close friends that gave me a good push to go back to college and to have a good life in the education that I’ve had so far . Writing this essay has made me a stronger person and a much happier person with in myself and I can honestly now let go off all the bad negative feeling from the people who have put me down over time, its time me (Emma) to have the life I should of had many years ago. Why Is Education Important To Me? Anonymous Why is education important to me? This is a question I have thought a have thought about many a time; not in those exact words and without really acknowledging that that is what I've thinking about. The question takes me back to primary school. Young, excited, scared. I must have been in primary three when my first awareness of the importance of education came to me. Together as a class we learned about children in Africa; their lack of water, food, things we considered normal, including an education. It amazed me how these kids had no school and even more amazed at how happy and ecstatic these boys and girls were when they finally had a school. Sure enough, the rowdier kids of the class mocked the happy smiling children on the video. "I'll never be that happy to come to school!" they laughed. But why shouldn't they be happy to go to school? We had just seen what life is like to not have a school and yet here they were scoffing at such a thing. I know now that 7-8 year olds are not usually mature and that they couldn't quite grasp the concept of how lucky we actually are, but for me, and a few others we understood. Education is a privilege. I swore to myself I would cherish my education, even more so after learning about the Suffragette women. Alas being a child I didn't hold fast to this promise, but my heart was in the right place. My views of what education should be to me were positive, but my actual life at primary? Not so much. I was late -- all the time. I was absent -- all the time. I didn't have a good peer group and my family wasn't stable. The people in and around school made it difficult get to school or to even want to go. Some of these problems were out of anyone’s control; the rest could have been sorted. And so primary school went until high school. High school started off with so much promise. In some academic areas I found I was much more capable that originally thought, I met so many new people and ended up with a very large group of friends. First and second year were, overall, a success. My downfall came in third year. My two best friends (and on hind sight my stability) moved country. I was lost and hurt, not that I ever admitted it. I started skiving school -- a lot. Gone was the promise that I would cherish my education. I'd sleep in till whenever. 10am, 12pm, sometimes even 4pm. If I did wake up at ten I would take a wonder along to the school at lunch time, just to see everyone. Eventually my mum got fed up (possibly her only lucid moment of my teenage years) and contacted social services. Now you'd think the school would have done more than just send the 'Tickyman' round to chap the door but no. It took social services to bring it to their attention. Not that much actually happened bar, "Do you want to be here? No? We'll send you to college then." This was all done in one single meeting. The rector even managed to make an appearance and demanded to know why I didn't go to school. Taken aback by his rude abruptness (he literally opened the door, asked, and left) I never answered him but my reason was this: I was tired, I was lost, I was trying to look after the house, my schizophrenic mother, and my brother with Asperger’s, I had no structure, I was getting away with sleeping all the time, I was getting away with throwing away my life. I hated myself for not going and I knew, even then, how much I would regret and miss going to high school. So, off to college I went same problems at home, nothing new there. It lasted weeks. I tried a further two times to stay at college. The second time I lasted two maybe three days, my third attempt I found out I was pregnant in the first month of starting, and quite far along too, 16 weeks. Along came my little girl and my education was put on the back burner, again. Not that I minded, here was a beautiful baby, a more stable responsibility and a fresh start. On life went, still not educated in the eyes of society, but 103

a damn good mother and gaining an experience to boot. My beliefs of education came back with this little girl. I made sure I put in more effort to educate her at home. She's never taken a day off school because I slept in or I because I was ill, I make sure she gets the chance to go. I was still left in a rut and my previous thoughts of hate at my lack of education came pelting at me full force. After having my second little baby (my little boy) I ended up post-natal. I was miserable and became very depressed. Among many things, my lack of qualifications became a vicious reasoning to hate myself and was a burden on my heart. Twelve months I went through my own personal hell before I finally sought out help. Ten months of getting better later, and after a spur of the moment application, I found myself in the Start Here for Qualifications course. I had my confidence back and was ready to finally get my qualifications. It was like starting first year again. I met new people, made friends and felt apart of society again, not just a mother or carer on benefits. I have become even more protective of my education and get extremely defensive if people scoff at being at college or education itself, either in class or out. I'm starting to come to terms with my education in the past. I won't lie, there's still resentment there with myself and the adults of my childhood. By June this year I will finally have my qualifications and I will be over the moon. I can't wait to see what the future hold and I am so glad I have finally managed to keep the promise I made to myself in primary three. What education means to me Tony Pearce Education influences different people in certain ways. Some may use education as a mandatory part of society; some enjoy achieving and look to use education as a gateway to the world of work. Others use education as way of personal development and growth. I on the other hand am using education to escape the catch twenty two I found myself in, also to prove to myself that I am capable of more than I have previously allowed myself to be. Growing up I used education as an escape from home life, school was a place where I could forget about the troubles at home. Everyone at school seemed to be doing better than me, getting on better at school and home. I have ADHD and growing up I couldn’t quite grasp what was wrong with me, school provided me with the correct support and reassured me that I am more than capable to complete the work I had been given. Throughout high school I had been completing most of my course work to a good standard and was well on way to passing through my exams. But during this time it never mattered how well school was going because at the end of the day I had to go back to a hard home life. My ADHD seemed to take over and I couldn’t keep up with how fast my brain was working. All the work and studying I had done until then went straight out the window and suddenly I found myself an angry young man who had no interest in education anymore. I ended up kicked out of mainstream school, missed my exams and found myself in and out of care. Education was the last thing on my mind I was angry with the world and I had nothing to lose. Occasionally I would apply for college but I could never stick out a full course. In fact I have never stuck out anything or achieved a grade. Somewhere inside me knew that education was the key to my happiness I just wasn’t able to see it at that moment in time. Throughout my time in care certain carers would try re introduce me to education, as they could see that I was a well able young man who actions were only holding him back and no one else. I thought that being street smart was more valuable than being educated. As the years went by after dismissing everyone’s attempts to motive me and move on in education I found myself in prison serving ten months. I can truly say at this point I thought that I would never be able to become a normal part of society again. It was during this time i thought to myself about the ways my life could have gone, if I had just stuck in at school and never gave up or if I had just stuck that college course out I wouldn’t be here now. After my first month an English teacher came to the prison and I was one of the inmates who had been put forward to work with the tutor. Michelle, the English teacher had come to talk with me and see if I was suitable to take the class. On her visit she had explained that I had come across as a well-educated young man who presents himself well, and had questioned me as to why I had found myself in prison. After that day Michelle had scheduled me in to study four times a week, we started with English and she asked me to write an essay/ short story about what I want from life. Each class went better and better Michelle was surprised to the depth of my conversations and told me that I was an intelligent young man who was capable of making himself a happy secure life, if I continued to channel my anger into productive activities such as writing. The next class I showed Michelle some poems I had been writing. Straight away she showed a deep interest in my poems and she seemed to be genuinely moved by the work I had showed her. She continued to work with me, moving me into a maths class as well. After one month of working with her I received a letter of award from the prison education congratulating me on the work I had been putting in. this might not make sense but for the first 104

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time in a very long time I felt a sense pride I knew that I had been working hard and the work I had done made me feel happy, the phone calls to my family where much better, everyone seemed to be proud of me for trying to better myself and strangely enough I managed to build back some relationships from inside prison due to the fact I had been studying maths and English. I had finally found something that made me feel happy and even within the gates fences and walls I started to feel “normal”. I continued my work with Michelle and she continued to boost my confidence and remind me that I am in control of what’s happening in my life. Over the months I built myself up into a confident well-mannered young man who was empathetic not sympathetic. I had a lot of time to think that year and I had a lot of time to learn. I realise I had lost myself during school and funnily enough I found myself again through education., On my release I was scared I would fall back into the same crowd or will I go back to being angry and stuck on the streets it was up to me now to find my own education if I wanted, it was up to me to change my life and it was on my head if it went wrong. Two years later I am nearing the end of my first college course, and have been accepted for next year’s class. I have a baby girl and a home of our own. I am a happy confident young man and it’s all thanks to education. Education means different things to different people. Education helped me find the good within me and showed me that I am capable of doing right; education helped me re-build relationships and teaches me more about myself every day. One day what I have learned from education will help me towards getting a good job and a settled easy life, but just now education is still helping me build myself into the man I aim to be. Importance of Education in the Modern World Beth Little Education is an important tool that is needed in the contemporary world to succeed, as it mitigates the challenges which are faced in life. The knowledge gained through education enables individuals’ potential to be utilized, since they're putting their minds to the test and pushing themselves to the next level. This opens doors of opportunities, and enables every individual to achieve better prospects in career growth. Education has played a paramount role in the modern industrial world. This is attributed to the fact that prospective employees must be qualified adequately to perform various tasks effectively. Industries need resources and people that are sufficiently equipped with the modern technology to suit the needs and wants of the society. This means that education is the norm for services in all industrial sectors, schools, colleges and universities. The primary skills and the ability to apply the skills is the basis for evaluating the market. The foundation of the society is based on education since it brings economic and social prosperity. Gaining education enhances an individual to live a respectful life in the society. This is because education offers a setting in which culture and values of a society are developed. In this respect, education in modern society provides a forum where the society examines its issues and identifies solutions. The advancement of a society both economically and socially is by gaining education which consequently enables them to run a modern society. This makes Education doubly important to me as because throughout my Primary School and High School life I was bullied constantly and I saw my education slipping because of me being bullied, which I was ashamed of, as I used to like going to school and I thought that I was weak for starting to hate school. The bullying made me not want to wake up for school as I didn't want to go anymore, especially when my substitute Home Economics teacher told me that I was useless and not going to amount to anything, (she said this to people that she thought were slow in class and were always behind everyone else) but one meeting with my guidance teacher made me see that education would give me a power over the bullies, because she told me that the bullies would more than likely not finish school with the grades that they would've got if they had pushed themselves harder. What I learned from learning: I learned that I could do anything that I wanted to if I knuckled down and studied hard and believed that I could do it especially when other people (students and teachers) told me that I couldn't. What I learned from Thinking: I learned that instead of letting people think for me (such as teachers telling me a specific way to do something for example: if my old art teacher told me to use a specific pencil, I would end up experimenting with different pencils to see what different looks I can create) I would think for myself “right, what can I do to make this art piece better?”. What I learned from Problem Solving: I learned that if I took my time with a problem, I would be able to see the bigger picture through the smaller pieces of the puzzle. What I learned from Reading: 105

I learned that reading can help boost my confidence so much that I thought that reading a book was like travelling to another world with each word and every image that gets thrown into your head. What I learned from Writing: I learned from my English classes when I was at High School and college that I seem to write from the heart and soul. When it is difficult to get the story into words I listen to music to help get the creative juices flowing and whatever music is playing is what ties into the story. For example if I am listening to a song that has death and destruction in it, my mind seems to make the story take on a dark personality of its own and all the twists and turns in the story seem to end up turning into a bloodbath of chaos. Therefore the conclusion to this essay is that no matter what you think of school be it that you hate it or not that you will always try hard, knuckle down and succeed in life, reach the goals that you are after and climb the ladder of success and grab that brass ring that you've been reaching for your whole life, and when you grab it, don't let go, keep a firm grip on your dreams and your beliefs as they'll guide you on your path toward your future and remember to always keep smiling as you go on your path and never let anyone or anything decide YOUR future for you, as Fate is up to you, and Destiny is what YOU make of it. Why education is important to me Jacqui McCallum Education is something that I think everyone takes for granted when they are younger, when I was younger for whatever reason I thought that it would all just come to me. Now that I’m older and have children of my own I know how important it is to learn basic educational skills. With even just a basic level of education life can be so much simpler. Being able to read to my children at night and help them with homework is something I now know I learned from my early years in life and from my own mother. All of my education was done in America and I attended public school in what was considered the “ghetto” I can always remember being the only white student in all my classes. I have never been very good at socializing with people, so I never had a lot of friends at school. In elementary school girls where always pulling my hair and didn’t want to play with me. So I used to read to escape and to go to place where I wasn’t the odd ball. I told myself from a very young age that I would get a good education so that I wouldn’t have to live in the “ghetto” my whole life. At home I would read all the time, and I soon learned that I was good at math. School work was never pushed on me by my parents, my mum would ask if I had completed my homework but never checked it. I soon realized that I would just have do it the best I could and usually it was ok. As I got older I was an average student, I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself so I just did what I needed to do to get by. Looking back on my early years at school I wish I had done better, paid better attention. As I got into middle and high school I hated school, I hated going, I hated the fact that I was different from everyone else. Instead of paying attention to what I was being taught I was more worried about girls who wanted to fight me because I had straight hair. When you become a young adult and start working you soon understand the importance of being able to read, and write, and do basic math skills. I was lucky I had done enough in school to master the basic skills required to get by, but I wanted so much more. I want to go to university and become something in life, it was then I understood how important education is in life. As a parent now I try and teach my children that no matter how hard they find school it’s a lot easier to get an education the first time than to have to learn it all later in life and that with a good education they can go so far in life. Without an education you are unlikely to get a job, or a good paying job. Without a good job you end up living in poverty and live a lower quality of life. With an education the possibilities are endless. The older you get the more you understand why education is so important. Education is something that I believe should be made available to everyone, it’s something that if more people had the chance to become educated the world would be a better place. Having the chance to get an education has given me so many opportunities that without having basic educational skills I wouldn’t have had. Having an education has given me the chance to have a many different types of jobs, it has given me the skills to help my children with their homework, read them bedtime stories, have a conversation with their teachers about their education, speak to doctors about concerns that I have for them. All things that if I had not had an education I would not be able to do. I wish I had gotten a better education and taken my education further when I was younger but I now know how important an education is and how less difficult it can make your whole life not just your life in school.

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My education Stella Anderson When I was growing up I moved schools quite a lot and by high school I hated it, ok I will start at the beginning I as about 5 years old and I attended Kirkford primary school in west Lothian, but it’s no longer there now in Broxburn Edinburgh. And I remember putting on a show for my mum and dad, I was made as a chatter- box, everyone thought it was funny, but it upset me and even to this day it upsets me. Then we moved to wester hails and I enrolled at the local school there it was called Clovenstone primary, where I was a pupil until p4 but due to the head teacher who threatened to use the belt on me, because I was blamed for puncturing the library bus by kicking the tires, which was impossible because I was wearing a pair of plimsoll’s. Then I attended a special needs school in Edinburgh Kaime’s school, while I was at Kaime’s we had a swimming gala and I took part, but sadly things took a serious turn, because I took a seizure while in the pool and almost drowned. I was terrified and I attended Kaime’s until we moved to fife. When I was enrolled at broad street primary school which is now called Cowdenbeath primary, but I was removed from that school and placed in lochgelly high school special needs block. Where I was picked up and dropped off by bus accompanied by an escort, I was excluded from school for 1 week because I told the driver to shut his puss, because I felt like everyone was picking on me at the same time. But where I was brought up puss was not deemed as swearing. There was this one time when I was in the playground this one girl, dragged me to the ground and repeatedly banged my head off the ground. I was treated for the cuts and the bang on my head, they kept me at school but while the auxiliary was in the toilet cleaning me up, she was laughing like it was a big joke and nothing to worry about. I really hated it I was bullied not just by other children but also some staff. I was singled out by teachers I never really had any friends, I use to walk from one end of the playground to the other twice a day, both morning break and lunch break back and forth until the end of the breaks. Other children whose parents worked got to go on holiday and every year, when it came round I was wishing and hoping that once just once they would say my name but sadly no such luck. I remember there was this one girl who bullied me for months, she started on me this one day and something inside me snapped. I was not going to take her insults, her hits or the name calling anymore I started to fight back only problem was I didn’t stop, in the end it took a few teachers to pull me off her, and actually I think that was the last time she was in school. When I was in 1st and 2nd year I had a fantastic teacher, her name was Mrs Glover. and while in her class I was entered into the (I can paint a Christmas card competition run by GMTV). I came first in Scotland and second in Britton, I received a silver platter with an inscription on it, a certificate and I was in the Dunfermline press paper, plus my painting was showed on GMTV I felt so proud. But as I moved further up the school the bullying got worse and I really hated school and I couldn’t wait to leave. In the last 2 years of my schooling I really hated it, my teacher Mrs Tierney made them hell, I hated school I can remember this one day, she asked the whole class a question, so I put my hand up and answered and it was the correct answer and she retorted by saying in a bitchy tone, “excuse me Stella did I ask you to answer the question.” I felt so upset I was embarrassed as well, talk about getting made to feel humiliated. I didn’t want to go back after I turned 16, I refused to go back but they sent a truancy officer out, so I had to go back for the last 2 months and left in the July. Since leaving school I have felt cheated and that my schooling is incomplete, as a result I lacked confidence I didn’t speak up and looking back I should have. When I started college I was encouraged by one of my peers (Kimmy Matthews) to speak up and I did because the issue made her feel awkward. And she said to me that it must have been worse for me and that it wasn’t right, how I was being treated and upon reporting it the issue was resolved. She has this uncanny knack of bringing people out of their shell. I am very grateful to her kindness and friendship that she has extended to me, because had it not been for her, I probably would have kept quiet and lacked the confidence to do anything about it. Since then I have been so much more confident. I have learnt so much in this last year and I now feel like I have opened many doors to my future. I feel that I have a greater knowledge about things that I once didn’t know, I have made many good friends by socialising throughout the course. I now feel confident I can better assist my daughter and others, should they need any help from me. I am a much better person and I look forward safe in the knowledge that I am able to achieve anything that I put my mind too.

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Why Education? Michelle Lark Why education is important to me: now it is important to me; before when I didn't care it was not. When I was actually supposed to learn, when I was actually supposed to get an education, I didn't find it that important. When I was just a child, the teacher would put the slow people in a group, single us out trying to embarrass us into understanding nouns verbs and spelling. Which ultimately didn't work. It just made me less interested in learning; the teachers knew best, they had all the so called right qualifications. A good illustration of this is the following; while in primary school we teamed up and made posters. My job was to write the words. I was so impressed with my work, the lines were straight and the colouring in was my best work ever. All different shades, so bright everyone would see it. most importantly though, they would ultimately end up noticing the massive spelling mistake, the fact that people was spelled ‘poeple’ instead of ‘people’ was seen by everybody, teachers, other pupils, parents coming into class, even cleaners and janitors would now follow my teachers plan and I would be ridiculed. I was so embarrassed, so shocked I was not allowed to change it. Then after that, I always check my spelling of the word ‘people’. In consequence of this humiliating educational experience, I never spell it incorrectly as I picture that poster every time I write the word. As primary school I had not done much for me, apart from earmark me out and make me think I was different and unteachable and slow. Hopefully high school would be my salvation, my utopia. On the contrary, I kind of went through high school unnoticed, a tiny fish in a big pond with fish much bigger and better than me. High school was a laugh, made friends and just had a good time. I found myself making more of an effort in people and appearance than I did in my education. Consequently because of my actions, I left school with not much more than fond memories and some regrets. Ultimately, after years of working whatever jobs I could get and not having a career, profession or more importantly any qualifications. I came to the conclusion that the only person that could change my circumstances was me. My family supported the decision to better myself and work towards a better career and profession doing something I would like and be interested in. equally the thought of going back into education after so many tyears and being a mature student was very daunting. Although it was all new and exciting you still wonder if you have made the right choice. Never the less, my inhibitions were unfounded as the whole experience has been extraordinary. The classmates and tutors have made the whole thing an adventure. My knowledge and understanding had expanded to a great extent. The self-gratification has been overwhelming I relish the praise I get from my family for my accomplishments. Furthermore it has been less stressful then I first imagined. In conclusion, I would highly recommend college for a mature student wanting to better themselves, to give themselves a profession or qualifications. I feel better about my abilities in English, short stories, essays and poems but most importantly the understanding has increased immensely. I understand close reading, the concept of grammar, how to annotate a poem. Fo the first time in my life I now enjoy reading books and do not mock the idea of reading shake spears ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘Macbeth’. I now read between the lines in novels or poems by Norman McCaig like ‘Aunt Julia’. Why Education Is Important To Me Samantha Stobbs In my essay about why education is important to me I am going to write about my past and present education and how both experiences are vastly different and the effects they have had on me, both in the bad ways and the good. I am going to write about my attitude in both environments. About my feelings in high school and then a few years later in college. The contrast between me as a person when I was younger and now that I am older. I remember when I first started high school, how excited and nervous I was. I was looking forward to all the new experiences, meeting new people and getting into the classroom. In contrast to my other two and a bit years there I loved my first year, everything was new. I couldn’t wait to get into my classes, the teachers acknowledged everyone’s different ways of learning and took the time to make sure everyone got it. I was determined that I was going to stick with my education as it had always been important to me. I had seen my other siblings drop out and having no qualifications. I told myself every day that I had to stick at it that it would be worth it at the end of the day. Then as the next year went by and the next everything seemed to change – or maybe it was me, I don’t know – the teachers always seemed to pay more attention to the kids causing trouble and messing about in class and just kind of ignored the rest of us. As this continued I started not being able to concentrate in class and then everything just really annoyed 108

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me, the drama queens that always had to have their business known and the teachers who never really seemed to care anyway. I stopped listening in class, never seemed to learn anything new. I literally stopped caring about my education, I didn’t want to learn, didn’t want to do my work; I just started saying to myself that It didn’t matter anymore, that it wouldn’t help that much in life. I ended up leaving at the start of fourth year, meaning like my siblings I had no qualifications, no nothing and I just went on with what I wanted to do. As the years went by I started to really regret leaving school, even if I hated it. I decided I wanted to go to college to gain the qualifications I would have got if I hadn’t left school. To begin with I wasn’t sure I could do it. I kept picturing it in my head but all I kept seeing was high school. I was dreading it being the same. It had been eight years since I left high school and I finally knew what I wanted to do but I needed the right qualifications first. I also wanted to show my son that no matter what happens in life your education is vital as you grow up. I didn’t want him to go down the same road as me. My first day came and I was practically shaking as I sat down but then the tutor came in and got straight to work and I just kind of forgot to be nervous anymore. Furthermore I realised I actually got most of what was being said, I didn’t feel as stupid anymore and I relaxed. Continuing on and I still enjoy learning and in the end I am going to have the education I desperately want. I can’t believe how different this time around is, if school had been more like college I think I may have stayed. In conclusion, though my education wavered when I was young it is very important to me now. I realise now that no matter what you do in life you can do anything if you work Hard and have a good education behind you, even after you leave school/college you learn new things every day. I am determined now to make sure my son has the education he deserves and hope that by seeing me get mines now, he won’t ever give up like I did.

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CHAPTER 8 MURDER JOURNEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S END

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Mr Trigg Annalise Hughes Mr Trigg was cheerfully striding through the halls of Fife College, mentally preparing for the maths test he’d set up for his students on the day of his late murder. The class was empty when he arrived, mainly because all the students wanted to avoid him for as long as possible and the five minutes to spare were precious. He had come across some unexpected old faces and friends that morning and was still feeling a bit bewildered as to why they were here. As he placed paperwork on desks around the room and handed out calculators he noticed there was something wrong with the way the calculators were working. He had just finished writing an urgent email, when a young man from one of his classes knocked on the door, to say that they needed rulers, and Mr Trigg was happy to oblige. So he skipped down the corridor to the supply cupboard to retrieve said objects when he heard a racket from behind him. No longer alone Elizabeth McGuinness Trig got up from his desk to go collect the calculators from the supply cupboard, just as he was reaching the cupboard he heard a faint bang coming from behind him, trig turned around but there was no one there. He continued to go to the cupboard, again there was a bang behind him but louder this time; now trig was starting to worry "is anyone there?” he shouted but no one answered him, he then moved towards the cupboard quicker. Trig opened the door and reached up to switch the light on, as he switched it on it flickered a few times then nothing. It wasn’t working so he decided to leave the door opened enough so he could see where the calculators were, just at that moment the cupboard door slammed shut with him inside, he tried to open the door but it wouldn’t budge it was locked, trig couldn’t see a thing it was so dark. Just at that moment he heard a noise coming from inside the cupboard at this point trig knew he wasn’t alone. In which a body is found Rebecca Fairlie The cleaner winced as he turned the lights of the college on, wondering if he’d ever get used to the brightness. He did the same with every hallway light, opening every door to make sure that nothing had changed since the night before. The cleaner wiped a bead of sweat from his brow; surely he was getting too old for this, he thought with a frown. Finally, he had reached the last door of the last building, and with a sigh of relief, he pushed it open. It appeared that something was blocking it, though it couldn’t have been. It was an old maths supply room, and everyone knew how organised they were. Turning the lights on from the outside, they flickered and revealed a sight that made the cleaner fall backwards in shock and cry out in fear. A body, face down in a box of spare calculators. The panic didn’t set in at first, as the cleaner thought that the middle aged balding man may have just been injured. The cleaner crawled closer towards the man, using all his strength to turn his weighty body over. There lay Mr Trig, with a protractor embedded between his eyes. Reasons for Murder Catherine O’Donnell He had it coming. My dislike and pure hatred towards mathematics and its equipment was clear. It sends my blood boiling and I get this huge red mist of rage and feel this great power. To anyone else, I suppose they would panic , But no, I love this feeling of anger and the thought of harming anyone around me ( especially math's geniuses) makes me come alive. He did have it coming, to see him holding a box full of calculators and protractors and a huge smile sent me to disgust. These tools are useless " I mean calculators and protractors are evil and I will destroy anyone and everything that owns such useless stuff!. A secret is revealed Philipa Craig Mrs Trig was beside herself with grief. The cleaner had let her go into Mr Trigs office, she shouldn't have been there, but she wanted the old pocket watch he kept in the top drawer of his desk. She sat on his large, black swivel 112

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chair weeping quietly to herself staring at the little old pocket watch in her hand. It was gold with a silver protractor emblazoned on the cover and a small blue sapphire on the 90* angle. She leant forward on the desk, accidentally knocking the computer mouse as she did so. The movement lit up the computer screen and Mrs Trig looked up. Mr Trig had left his email open and had been in the middle of sending one. She never meant to read the contents of said email but the word 'protractor' jumped out at her from the screen. Despite herself, she read on and her heart dropped. The protractors for the exams were wrong. There wasn't enough measurements for the degrees and it looked like sabotage. The role of the protractor Michelle Lark “The printing was off on the protractors’, so all the students have failed the maths exam” Was the message on the notice board at college, as all students stood reading with there mouths a gasp, in utter shock that they had all failed, how could this happen. Months of studying and anxiety, to fail because of a printing error. As they demand to find out how the protractors had been handed out, when they were incorrect. They hear the disturbing news that the same tutor that they had seen days before had been found dead, with his head in amongst the calculators. But more importantly a protractor was found on the body. Even more gruesomely the protractor was found in his head, a protractor that had been printed incorrectly. Inspector Pothesis Calls Samantha Stobbs In walked inspector Pothesis after keeping everyone waiting almost three hours. He had a pinched severe looking face, almost as if his undergarments where too tight with thinning black hair and foggy blue eyes that never seemed to settle on one thing for more than a few seconds at a time. He hastily checked out the crime scene, looming over the body of Mr Trig looking for any and all information he could find. Everyone thought he was rather silly, opening boxes and shuffling through their contents and mumbling to himself but he knew that evidence could be found in the smallest of spaces; from under a table to the top corner of a cupboard. He spent maybe two hours scouring every square inch of the room, finding many things out of place. After finding a crumpled up note from a disgruntled student threatening to expose Mr Trig for the creep he was, Pothesis decided he needed to speak with all students to find out who would write such a letter and why. Having got all of Mr Trig’s students together he started taking one at a time into the tutors lounge, offering them a seat and asking if they wanted a drink or something to eat. He had to continue the questioning through to the next day he ran out of daylight and not all students could be located. After a very long day that wasn’t going to be over anytime soon he came across a student named April who seemed very closed off and who didn’t want to talk. She kept sweeping his questions aside like they were nothing more than dirt on a floor. Finally after an hour or so she broke down and told Pothesis that she had in fact slept with Mr Trig in order to pass an exam that he still failed her on. After April left Pothesis sat back in his chair thinking about what he had heard and if this would be motive enough to kill? Motives Unveiled Linda Crammond After reading the reports again he discovered a very interesting clue. After questioning the students it was found that Mr Trigs had slept with a number of students. One student when getting questioned she started to cry saying “all I wanted to do was pass my maths exam”. Waiting for her to calm down to asks more questions we asked “what did you mean by you only wanted to pass”. Still sobbing into her tissue she drank some more water looked up with her blood red eyes and said “I had sex with him, I thought he loved me and promised me to pass my maths exam” Asking “how did the test go”. She replied “he still failed me”. Could this be a reason for Mr Trigs death, she could not handle the fact that she had giving him her most precious possession, her virginity. This would make sense blinded by anger she stormed to his maths classroom and without hesitation lunged at him biting his neck. That would explain the marks on Mr Trig’s neck. April will have to interviewed again, there are more questions to be answered. 113

Rounding up Beth Little Inspector Pothesis starts to round the suspects up and waits until everyone is in the room, and as everyone is eventually gathered into room, including Inspector Pothesis, all that is heard from room 106 is the loud slamming of the doors as they close and he starts pacing around the room, looking rather red in the face……… Unlucky for one Kimberley Matthews Posthesis paces the floor from left to right eyeing up each and every person stood before him. He stops and stares at Samantha for a good few seconds to see if she would break before he says “ it might have been you, but I know it wasn’t because you were at costa at the time of the incident. ”He then walks over to Callum stares him in the eye and says “it could have been you but you were out the front of the college pretending to be an aeroplane trying to impress Louise. Which brings me to Louise, it could have been you but you were with Callum acting like you were amused with his aeroplane impression but were actually doing your make up whilst eating a box of chicken”. He then walks over and looks down at Beth he then mumbles “it could have been you but u were on your phone on Facebook looking at pictures of Arrow” He stops and stands in the centre of the room before shouting “in fact it was none of you” all the students and teachers looked around themselves all looking rather confused. He snarls at each and every one of them before says “well who does that leave…” He stared round the room and slowly unbuttoned his trench coat to reveal a bikini. Everyone gasped in shock. That’s when he brought his hand to his face and pulled of mask to reveal a woman everyone was confused for a moment before they realise it was actually Liz Burns.

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CHAPTER 9 START AND FINISH THE STORY NEVER ENDS

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He looked… there was no going back Tegan Harper He looked longingly through the window at this strange woman sitting in the chair. She was sitting there for ages and would not move from that spot. The only time she moved was to go to the toilet and back again. There was something that was strange about her just sitting there with no one else in the house. It was just the old women. And then suddenly something happened to her so the boy stayed at the window to see if anything else happened to her and he got a phone call from his mum saying he needs to come home for his dinner so he left the house for tonight. The next day he went back to the house with his friend and they stood outside the house till the front door started to open. But the old lady was still sitting in the chair and not moving so he went into the house to have a look about. There were no other people in the house apart from her and suddenly the boy was getting dragged towards the old lady. By then he could not move. She had these evil powers that could make things come towards her. She never moved and the boy was getting scared. He was trying to get out of the house but the powers were too strong for him. He got to the old women and she said: “you have been looking in my window for two days. What do you want?” “I was wondering why you never moved from that chair,” he spluttered. She threw him into a glass cabinet and then she turned him into stone. His phone stared to go off and it was his dad phoning him. But he could not answer because the evil old women turned him into stone. Then he realised there was no going back. He realised… though he wasn’t sure Jacqui McCallum He realised there was no going back. She had lied to him about the thing he wanted the most. A baby. He couldn’t understand why; she knew how much it meant to him. It was all he wanted from life was a family of his own. He knew he could never trust her again; he kept replaying the last three years of his life and thinking what else had she lied about. He knew he just needed to get his life together and move on. He knew he would need to ask his parents if he could move back in. His dad wouldn’t be pleased but he had nowhere else to turn. Since he met Kim his life was consumed by her. He had lost contact with all his friends. When he got to his parents’ house, his dad was still at work and when he sat with his mum she handed him a big bundle of money and a small box and told him to go and never come back. She told him to hide it, though he wasn’t sure from whom. She told him… the fear was never far away. Anonymous She told him to hide it, though he wasn’t sure from whom. Everyone, it turned out. This is our secret but there’s nothing wrong in having a secret and anyway no one else would understand would they? Though he was never able to be with them when she was around, he made some new friends, though the fear was never far away. He made some… never to tell Shannon Thomson He made some new friends, though the fear was never far away. He had to take his pills to make sure it would never happen again. Moving schools doesn’t make you forget your fears and problems… the screams. He shudders at the memories that have suddenly come rushing back. No, not today. He squeezes the sides of his head with his hands, trying to control the memories. Making them go away. He 116

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stays frozen on the spot for a few more minutes before the memories leave. Trembling with fear still, he removes his hands from his head and begins to walk into school. He found his friends in the cafeteria laughing loudly and full of joy. It made him sad. Sad that he’ll never truly be happy. Sad that he’ll never be able to become best friends with anyone if they found out what he did. His friends noticed him standing by the door and waved him over to sit with them; he smiled at them and began to walk over to the table they were eating at. His friends were nice people and he never wanted to hurt them, but he didn’t know if he could trust himself. And that’s what scared him. Later, the bell rang a piercing noise to indicate it was the end of school time. He said goodbye to his friends and headed on home. He always dreaded going back. Things were never the same after the incident, no matter how much he wished things would go back to the way they were; sleepovers, laughing around the dinner table, talking about how school was… It would never be that way again. And he wass to blame. He took in a deep breath before entering his house. He knew his mother would be in; she hadn’t really been out a lot since then. In fact, he didn’t really get to see her at all. She wouldn’t look at him in the eyes anymore. He put his school bag and coat away in the cupboard before going upstairs to his room and sitting at his desk. It was only a few months ago when the incident had happened, his last friends were staying at his house when it happened. They were having such a good time together that night. It's a shame he had to ruin it. If only he'd taken his pills he wouldn't have hallucinated and killed them all. Killed his best friends. He didn't want any of them to get hurt. He never even knew his hallucinations were that dangerous, now his mum has to get him his pills and had to look after him to make sure none of this gets traced back to him… to them. He wished she wasn't there that night, he wished she wasn't dragged into this mess but he was glad he had someone to supervise him. She was part of this now; she was guilty as he was so she couldn’t betray him now. She couldn’t leave him now. It started that day, but she was told never to tell. It started… to justify the indefensible Philipa Craig It started that day, but she was told never to tell. What possessed her to go to him she would never know but always regret. They had grown up in the same old town, they never really spoke but knew of each other. She had grown up in a fairly good family, her father was strict but never mean. He had grown up a wee bit rougher than most though and she had always felt sorry for him, growing up the way he did. By high school their social groups had crossed a few times. He had always been up to something and getting into trouble; drinking, fighting, generally being an ass, but he always seemed able to wriggle out of whatever trouble he had found. Although he seemed to have calmed his ways by the time high school ended, or so she thought. Out of nowhere, a few years after high school, she received a call from him. He sounded urgent and insisted she come to him, giving her no clue as to what he wanted but that he was at the old factory and he needed her. She was apprehensive and wasn't sure she should go, but for some reason she remembered the little boy who looked so lost and alone in primary school and reluctantly went. She approached the old factory with trepidation, her heart pounding but curiosity was getting the better of her. He had told her he was in the office room near the front. She made her way up the steps listening for any sign for what she was getting herself into, but there was none. As she opened the door she could not possibly have prepared herself for what was inside. He was standing the middle of the room; topless, hands wrapped round his head, dirty and tear tracks ran the length of his face. On the floor lay a young woman, not much older than herself. She was covered in sick as was his tshirt that he had used to try and clean it up. "What the hell have you done?" she heard herself cry. He just looked at the girl’s body lying there, hopelessness covering his face. "She took too much, she took too much," was all that he managed to whimper out. "Where's the ambulance? Tell me you phoned one?" He turned to her and came at her, grabbing her hands that were searching for her phone. "No! You can't, you don't know what they will do to me, it was an accident. She took too much of the stuff! Just help me get her away from here, please! I just want to get her out of this place, I promise it's okay. We'll just drop her off at the hospital. No one needs to know and her family don't need to find out this is where she died, here, with me 117

like this. It's for the best you must know it is too." She looked at him, at the fear and pain in his eyes and hated him, and remembered how, even as a young boy, he was always able to justify the indefensible. He was always… taken over Michelle Lark He was always able to justify the indefensible; each time the torment of the beatings began he would have a reason for it. It wasn’t him, he doesn’t know what’s happening, a rage comes over him like flood gates opening over a cliff face. He would call it another person, a dark creature, evil and demonic man, with no feeling or emotion a compulsion to inflict pain and suffering, onto whomever is in his way. Yet when he was himself he was the man she once loved and cared for, her rock, her best friend. It was only them, taking on the world together. It was love, togetherness beyond compare, which they thought would never end. But as each time grew longer and more intense she saw less and less of the man she once would have died for. His eyes were dark, cold and soulless. When she returned from a hard day’s work of looking after the sick and infirm, the thought of a hot bubble bath, candles and a nice glass of wine was ripped out of her mind as she saw the dark soulless figure standing there. Then one day she became aware that he had taken over. One day… of course Anonymous One day she became aware that he had taken over. She had let him in when he had nowhere else to go and she had understood he was going through a really tough time in his life but he had taken over her entire house, he had his things lying everywhere, he moved her belongings where she couldn't reach them and he was constantly lazing about doing nothing but arguing with her other two house mates. After putting up with this for almost a month. She sat him down and told him he had to sort himself out, clean up after himself and apologize to her friends. " I will, when I'm ready" he replied. "No, you have to do it now or I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She sighed. "Why?" He said, glancing up from the TV. "Because," she sighed again. "no one likes you here. Except me of course." No one… but it wasn’t Linda Cramond No one likes you here. Except me of course. I think it is because you are very quiet and don’t let people in. But once you do people will like you. You are a very caring person. When people start to like you they will understand that you will do anything for the people you care for. Your confidence has started to come out your life is going great, you passed your driving test and you have started going out more. Your confidence is growing more and more each day. You struggled at school because they never helped you with your dyslexia but now you’re at college and getting all the help you can get. Its turning out really well. I hope you take the advice I have given you, because you are a wonderful person. She listened. It was time to move on. She felt it was her choice, but it wasn’t. It was… far from the solution Anonymous It was time to move on. She felt it was her choice, but it wasn’t. It looked like her choice, but that was the clever thing about it. He pulled the strings. She did the deeds. She got the blame. Drugs were the obvious escape, though far from the solution. 118

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Drugs… where he parked the van Louise Dignan Drugs were the obvious escape, though far from the solution and I knew that yet I kept going back for more and more. They had a hold of me, even though they destroyed my career, family and my life. I lost everything but you see I got to the point where I no longer cared. I will do anything I can to get my hands on them. Two weeks ago I stole two hundred pounds from my own mum. How could I do something like that? Well I suppose when you want something that can take the pain away so bad you will do just about anything to get it, your mind becomes numb and you start to feel hollow inside. I have got myself in so much debt because of it, it’s unreal. I now have people after me ,trying to kill me. Right now I am waiting on my dealer to come with my weekly supply of drugs which costs about four hundred pounds. I can see him in the car park where he parked the van. He parked… through the window Callum Burnett He parked the van, slamming his foot down on the brakes as he did; the screeching roar from its engine was loud enough to be heard from miles away. Reaching down to his left hand side trouser pocket he pulled out his old looking phone to acknowledge the time. after doing so he leans over to the glove box compartment and drags out a packet of fags and pulls one out, the motion expressed on his face looked like he was pulling out a winning number from a raffle ticket. The sound of clicking lighter in hands was silenced due to the heavy rain and raging winds hovering from outside of the van. The smoke began to lure into every inch of the vehicle giving of a false looking alarm of a fire if anyone were to walk past. As the man sat there in silence smoking away on his cancer stick he glanced into the front mirror and saw his reflection. Short gelled hair, bright blue eyes, bright enough to shine through the darkness that was set outside, nice jaw structure and little sideburns. He seemed pleased with himself whilst making face poses. Suddenly the passenger door swung open and a gust of strong wind hammered into his face causing his fag to fly solo, leaving his body shivering. In his presence a good looking woman placed herself on the seat and gave off a sneaky smile at him. The man enquired if if she was ready to leave. Answering with no vocal words she gave a naughty laugh for her indication and with no questions asked he started the van once more and made his way to the hotel that he had booked for that night. Looking at each other non-stop giving of the expression of love, holding hands whilst controlling the van’s gear stick. To the naked eye it would give off the image that they were dating or a happily married couple. Unexpectedly a vibration movement began to shake from his leg and as he went to answer it. The name that popped up put him in a stage of panic and sudden shock… his wife was calling. With so many thoughts running out and in of his mind he declined the call and placed his phone back in his pocket. Reaching their destination the man and his secret affair made their way to book into the hotel locking the van door. As they approached the entrance, the man heard his name being screamed outside echoing through the hotel walls. Not quite certain if it wasn’t just his imagination he had to be sure and so he looked longingly through the window.

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