Hebron Review Fall 2019

Fall2019

Artwork by Pauline Han '20

QR code for the Hebron Review Blog

Katherine Ducharme '21 and Alice Dang '20

Letter from the Editors The Hebron Review is a student run publication overseen by co-editors Alice Dang ’20 and Katherine Ducharme ’21, along with our teacher advisors, Dr. Oakes and Mrs. Waterman. All articles are written by members of the Hebron Academy community.

Hebron Review, in our mind, is a platform where students can creatively and freely express themselves through writing and art. Aside from updating school-related events, we welcome controversial and opinionated pieces that make people think and create discussion. It is important that we, as editors of the Hebron Review, encourage everyone to expand their comfort zone and explore ideas that are unfamiliar. This edition does a really harmonic combination of everything, from fiction to students’ opinion. Our blog page has been regularly updated as well with more recent pieces about a range of topics.

Please check it out with the QR code provided below!

We are both very excited for this Hebron Review Fall magazine with fresh content from various writers and artists. Most importantly though, this year, we are thrilled to have an amazing crew of graphic designers helping us with crafting the gorgeous treasure you’re holding right now! Our team of graphic designers include: Alaina Bonis ‘21 Dazhen Chen ‘20 Dexuan Tang ‘20 Pauline Han ‘20 Youer Wu ‘21 They have worked together with the teaching of Mr. Harrington to make this magazine come true. We are incredibly grateful to have this incredibly talented and dedicated group as a part of the Hebron Review. Here’s to more exciting editions of the Hebron Review magazine! We hope you enjoy.

Love, Alice and Katherine

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Table of Contents

L

Letter from Editors

O

Opinion Pieces Climate Change: Our Actions Have Consequences Stop Ignoring the Arts Advice for College

P

Personal Narratives Tomorrow is Another Day Seasons Come and Go

H

Hebron Writing Contest The Gift of Help Overcoming Obstacles in My Community For The Last Time

F

Fiction The Two Ahuehuetes

Climate

Change

: Our Actions Have Consequences

By Nola Goodwin In this age, much of the world has heard about climate change. But despite that, many people fail to understand exactly what our planet is facing and how much it will really affect us. Everyone has heard the words of activists, choosing instead to let others do the work. But if we want to save our planet, everyone must do their part.

What is causing climate change?

Millions of people around the world have heard of climate change, but many don’t fully understand what is actually happening to our Earth. Our warm climate is attributable to the “greenhouse effect”, or a warming of the Earth through trapped greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor. While the greenhouse effect is natural and helps make the planet livable, the atmosphere is changing rapidlyand not in a good way. For the last century, humans have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas,and oil. This, as well as an increase in land usage and general consumption, has increased the amount of carbon dioxide, as well as other greenhouse gases, such as methane, in the air. As the amount of greenhouse gases increase, the atmosphere traps more and more heat.

Currently, the amount of carbon gas in the air is increasing rapidly. Our actions are having devastating consequences on the planet, and despite the fact that scientists around the world have come to a unanimous consensus, very little has been done on a

How does it affect us?

The consequences of climate change are becoming more and more visible, yet nothing has been done to prevent the increase in carbon emissions. They are ravaging the environment and ecosystems around the world. But the effects are being seen elsewhere too. Not only are they affecting the planet, but human health as well. The rising temperatures are causing heavy droughts and rain, as well as extreme weather such as hurricanes and storm surges. And these events bring with them a host of health issues. As storms become more and more intense, new algae, bacteria, and chemicals are being introduced to the water supply. People are being exposed in a variety of ways, including inhalation, ingestion, or even just through contact with skin. And although the long-term effects are not yet well-known, links have been found between algae and brain diseases that are being discovered in both animals and humans. In addition, the warming climate has influenced weather patterns, worsening air pollution and pollen concentrations. As the air quality slowly declines, people around the world are being affected. Allergies are getting worse and individuals with asthma are experiencing more episodes. And while these things may have been expected, climate change is also having a huge effect on the world’s food supply. The warmer temperatures and increasing amount of severe weather events have led to massive amounts of soil loss, desertification, and degradation of the land, meaning lower crop yields around the world. The greater amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is also lowering the nutritional value of certain foods, which may have long-term health effects. Climate change is a problem for everyone, and cannot be ignored.

Citations: “Climate Change.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/sections/ issues-depth/climate-change/.

“The Causes of Climate Change.” NASA, NASA, 30 Sept. 2019, https://climate.nasa. gov/causes/.

What can we do about it?

Hebron Academy students at the climate rally in Norway, Maine.

Although it may not seem like one person can make that big a difference, the more people that join the fight against climate change, the more we can help our planet. While some of these things may seem hard to accomplish, the more people that simply attempt them the more we can work to help the Earth. Small things like limiting your meat consumption and making an effort to recycle more can have a big impact. In addition, take a moment to think before you consume, whether it be food, clothes, or other items. Make a conscious effort to take only what you’re going to eat at meal times. Your actions have a bigger effect than you realize. You can even help the fight against climate change right here at Hebron. Joining the Sustainability Club or bringing a reusable water bottle to school everyday are easy ways to contribute. A group of students even went to a climate rally in Norway, Maine earlier this year.

There is no excuse for not doing your part.

Everyone can contribute.

Climate change is a challenge facing us all. And while the earth has been warming for decades, very little has been done to help. Despite the research of thousands of scientists demonstrating the issue exists, people continue to deny the looming threat. Our planet is being destroyed by devastating hurricanes and forest fires and eing lag ed oods, dro ghts, and heat waves of increasing severity. And while there are plenty of small things we can do in our everyday lives, very few people actually are. If everyone took up one small thing we could make so much more progress. After all, if we don't save our planet, who will?

“What Is the Greenhouse Effect?” NASA, NASA, https://climatekids.nasa.gov/ greenhouse-effect/.

Usgcrp. “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment.” The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment, 4 Apr. 2016, https://health2016.globalchange. gov/.

Americans On Climate Change.” Climate Chat, http://www.theclimatechat.org/ americans-on-climate-change.

“Harmful Algal Bloom-Associated Illnesses.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 June 2018, https://www.cdc. gov/habs/.

“What Can We Do to Help?” NASA, NASA, https://climatekids.nasa.gov/howto-help/.

“What Is Single Use Plastic?” Plastic Free Challenge, http://www.plasticfreechallenge. org/what-is-single-use-plastic.

“Climate Change in the Amazon.” WWF, https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/ where_we_work/amazon/amazon_threats/ climate_change_amazon/. staff, Science X. “The Most Effective Individual Steps to Tackle Climate Change A r e n ' t B e i n g D i s c u s s e d . ” P h y s . o rg , Phys.org, 11 July 2017, https://phys.org/ news/2017-07-effective-individual-tackleclimate-discussed.html.

“Drawdown.” Drawdown, 12 June 2019, https://www.drawdown.org/.

o t S

g n i ng or pI

ts r eh A T

uo nk Y ro a C

The typical response when I tell an adult

that I want to pursue a music related major in college is not a great response.

It is usually followed by a fake look of excitement and a comment about how that’s “cool” or “different”. The question I ask myself a lot of time, is why that happens more often than not. Why is society so against a profession in the arts? Why do we encourage children to be whatever they want, but we don’t actually support that idea fully. At the same time the arts are very important in education, but yet they continue to be pushed aside, underfunded, and treated like an afterthought. There have been so many studies on how performing arts can strengthen your academic performance, or how the visual arts can relieve stress. So why are we ignoring these potentially helpful subjects, and focussing significantl ore ti e and energ on things like sports or who can get the best grade in english class. I’d like to state that I am not saying that other subjects are less important, more so trying to stress why we should pay more attention to the arts. ersonall , the arts sic in s ecific are my way of stress relief. I eat, sleep, and breathe music. Everyday I have some sort of rehearsal, whether that be with a group or by myself. I cannot imagine a world where I didn’t have that outlet. I feel as though it makes me a more calm and organized person and being able to sit down and sing for an hour and just have fun, takes all the weight off my shoulders. It also makes me feel like I am a part of something much larger than myself. The feeling of acco lish ent, and the confidence get from a performance is amazing. I love knowing that I can make someone happy while having a good time. I feel like if I didn’t have this way to express myself I

would be a completely different person. sic in ences so ch of ho a and honestly, I would be lost without it.

For younger students, the arts can help them develop their reading, writing, and math skills as well as their language skills, social skills, and inventiveness. Not only does it help younger kids, but it is a great way to get everyone involved and having fun. If we are taking away or not allowing the children the opportunity to at least try something with the arts, then we are failing ourselves.

If we remove these programs then we no longer have a future in the arts. That means that there will be less painters, less singers, less dancers, and less actors in the world.

We need these programs to give children the o ort nit to find hat the ant fro life t ill hel the find their oice in a world that feels like it is constantly trying to pull us down. It works in the same way for highschoolers. If I was never able to try to play the saxophone or try to sing, I would never have found my passion or my voice in this world.

From the academic standpoint, it is proven that the arts help improve math and reading skills. Not only does it help with those subjects, but learning how to play an instrument gives you an entirely new set of skills to use. Granted, you may not use them in everyday life, but it is an impressive and unique skill to have. Kids who participate in the arts in school are also four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievements and kids who take four or more years of art classes usually score 100 points more on the SAT than their co nter arts ith all the enefits that the arts can give us, why do we still not care.

There is so much that we can learn from the arts, whether that be who we are as a person or improving our test scores. I want the world to look differently at the arts, and see them for what they really are. Stop ignoring them. Start giving them the attention that they deserve. Support your friends who are involved in these groups and get involved yourself. Paint a picture, perform at a music monday, dance with your friends, join the play. Find a way to get involved and help the arts.

Ilustration by Yuna Wu

By Yun a.W u

I was standing in front of the mirror and didn't recognize the girl staring back at me: o igtails, and a nifor that is clearl too ig for her little sho lders s atched the girl in the irror stood r shing teeth r shing caref ll , o ter s rfaces, the inner s rfaces, and the ga et een t o front teeth, that onl lost last onth, and finall the che ing s rfaces nshine o red fro the indo s into ar cotton ilt and o e e ollo ing the s ell of fried eggs, ste ed do n the stairs, gra ing a hot n fresh fro the stea er and st ffed it into o th o e sa ce s illed o t on ne hite shirt h no said it o t lo d other t rned her od li e an acc rate ra it e , hone did o r sh o r teeth and ash o r face first f co rse did, re lied ith a o th f ll of food ears ref sing to listen to rain started to t rn red silentl ra ed to od to let o change the to ic, ith head do n li e an e erienced thief, and en o ed rea fast retending as if nothing had ha ened ns ering ra ers o said, e are going to an a eso e lace toda o ill eet a nch of fa lo s eo le and a e friends ith the o ill get sed to life there rett fast hile as sing all i agination to ild a ict re of the drea li e destination, e had alread arri ed shan nternational eri ental chool, fo r ords engra ed in red on the cold ar le all he gate ade of steel, a ing the lace see so isolated fro the orld, and as tho gh it i risoned e er one inside held o s hand tightl , leaned od on her, and al ed thro gh the cro ds he s n as sla ing face and a ing it hard for e to o en e es t see ed that e en s arro s ere or ing against e, the ere sa ing rotten things ehind e and hiding in the trees ries of children, the oices of ad lts and the ing of gs ere all aro nd e i e there is a ea ing net, as it gro s it esieges e fro ti to toe ts in the dor no ,

and I am standing in

front of the mirror and don’t recognize the girl staring back at me: floppy pigtails, and a uniform that is clearly too big for her little shoulders.

As I watch the girl in the mirror I stand brushing my teeth.

r shing caref ll , o ter s rfaces, the inner s rfaces, and the ga et een t o front teeth, that onl lost last onth, and finall the che ing s rfaces ee o , can do rett ell itho t o , r r ietl in ind t tears are s inning in e es itho t control hen a teacher co es and tries to co fort e, la e it on the int tooth aste o ore o dered il , no ore edti e stories, no ore goodnight isses lied on the er n atching the dar ness in silence hile silence is also atching e ll get sed to it

Seasons Come and Go Winner of ‘Writer of the Week”, by Katherine Ducharme

A

ll of the sweat and tears had led up to this one pivotal moment. The weather was boiling hot, but there was a brisk breeze to help cool us down. Nervously getting out of the car, I began to drag my feet on the concrete as if glue was holding me back from my fears. The sounds of other incoming “fresh eat filled the air, as e all ere tr ing to live up to a golden legacy of wins, championships, and a strong group of girls.

The entire summer was full of sweat, tears, early-morning car rides, and of course lots of laughter. Getting up at the crack of dawn before any eager roosters was a typical occurrence for me. While other girls in my grade were sleeping in until their parents hollered at them to get moving, I had already accomplished something to be proud of. The sun did not need to be up as long as my barely awake parents were. The girls I trained with all felt the same agonizing pain, yet the pain did not feel as bad because I knew others were enduring the same strife.

I introduce myself in my coy freshman tone. The girls seem so welcoming and willing to make sure everyone around them is comfortable. Getting the sense of a welcoming community, I quickly laced up my stone black cleats with a hint of bright red to show my school spirit. Stepping out onto the freshly-cut grass, cleats digging into the dirt, ready for whatever that day had to throw at me, made me eager and excited for what was to come. Anything that happened next would be a piece of cake.

After three long days of tryouts and preseason scrimmages in the grueling heat, it as finall ti e for the coaches to a e a decision. I walked through the almost empty hallways of my public high school hallway, dreading every step more than the last.

The thoughts concealed inside of my head suddenly began to leak out “What if I didn’t make the team?” “Had my entire summer been a waste?” I made it to the door and watched as the girls in my grade tried to hide their rosy cheeks and watering eyes from the rest. Finally, turning the corner, I read the list of typed-

up names that ran in alphabetical order. My fingers r sh do n the lines of te t a, ,c,d There it was. I tried to hide my excitement from the other girls, and quickly bolted out to call my parents.

Our season was a complete thrill ride. Each game held something new, and I was humbled to have the privilege of starting in almost all of them. While I had not been put in the position I expected, I toughened and ade each o ort nit on the field a chance to show my skills. The season ended with a less than excellent record, but I had made so many friends and all of the upperclassmen were so kind in the halls. Everyday was a new chance to meet someone new on the team, go to pasta dinners at their houses, or simply have a familiar face to look towards the judgemental hallways with lockers that always stared at me, as if I had done something wrong. I thought it was going to stay like that forever.

The dreaded winter came upon me as the first se ester halted and shifted all of the picturesque leaves and trees to twigs with no life. I thought that the road couldn’t end here. There was no way that after all of

those hard days and long drives the girls I had bonded with would just ignore me, right?

The spirit shifted once that last leaf fell, and there was no one there to help me pick it up.

Alone I stood without someone to call on or something to look forward to. A blank paged future lay ahead, and I had no motivation to fill it in

And the season was over.

Artwork by Thekla Jubinville '20

Hebron Writing Contest

HELP

THE GIFT OF HELP

By Brody Hathorne 21'

The basement floor felt cold as our feet slapped against the concrete and we chased each other around in darkness. Our weapons were nothing but plastic brooms we had found in the closet upstairs, yet our vivid imaginations turned them into shiney steel blades that we waved around at each other like we were knights in battle. I spun and jumped around the dark room, all well parrying her mighty blows and landing some of my own. We had been exchanging hit after hit for hours alone by ourselves well our guardians lay upstairs sleeping after working all night. I could sense she was growing tired. She sprinted around the room one more time and then slowly backed her way up the staircase well defending her body from the skilled knight that advanced on her up the staircase. With eight stairs left she was close to freedom, but I couldn’t let her get away. As we reached the fifth stair from the top I reached out to deli er final stri es of ictor , but nothing was there. All I heard was the thud of a body that hit the cold ase ent oor elo and the hollo plastic sound of a broom handle that gently rolled away from its wounded knight.

The lights turned on and I stared at my sister as she way laying motionless on the oor arents r shed o t of nowhere as if they had been watching us the whole time. They shoved me out of the way and told me to go upstairs, but I stood there and stared

at what seemed to be my lifeless sister on the floor. My mom cradled her as my dad stood in the corner on his phone.

“Is she ok?” I whimpered.

No one answered me. Neighbors of ours started rushing in behind me and I slowly made my way upstairs and planted myself in my room. From my window I watched the ambulance pull into the driveway and my sister get loaded into the back, followed by my mom, dad and the rest of our neighborhood who left me alone with my thoughts in my room. Did I hurt her? Is she going to be ok? Did I kill her? No one told me. I glared out the window at the neighbors who were still in the driveway. I could feel them staring at me, and I could almost hear them talking about me. I still didn’t know what was going on.

Two days later I arrived at the hospital and looked at me sister who was lying in her bed alive and breathing with a line of stitches that ran across the right side of her head. Never in a million years did I want to hurt my little sister like that. We were just playing.

Now that I am seventeen, I look back at this event and wonder what I would have done if my parents were not there. I would of been helpless.

I was six years old and I probably would have watched my sister die at the age of fi e as conf sed at the time why our neighbors were there, but now I realize how lucky we were

to have neighbors who were nurses and neighbors who wanted to help.

Everyone was calm well I, at the time, was tearing myself apart on the inside thinking that I had done something really bad to hurt my little sister. I now know to be calm no matter what the situation is. I watched my small neighborhood come together to help when trouble occurred, even if it wasn’t there duty to take care of it.

I now know that help in the time of need is one of the best gifts you can give someone. It is also something that will never be forgotten by the ones who it is given to.

Hebron Writing Contest

Overcoming Overcoming There is a quote that was said

by Thomas Jefferson, that says “Never spend your money beforeyou have earned it”, and the problem that not just me, my Jewish community overcame was not just about the money, but about the people, and the thing that I realized this last summer was that not everybody have the money that they need to pay for his son or daughter trip to other part of the world, also I realize that not just because I have money for doing more than others it means that I can’t help others to have the money and the exact same rights as I have.

In the Jewish schools in Mexico there’s a lan, that hen o finish o r fresh an year you go to a trip of one month to Israel to meet and to learn, but the trip isn’t paid by the school, every parent need to pay their son’s trip, and like in every school, there are kids that don’t need help paying their own trip, but also there are kids that have struggles paying and they need help because they don’t want to be left behind, so what we did as a group, not only the children but also the parents, we organized something called “Rascale”, that is that I have a sheet of paper and you choose a number and the number that you chose, is the amount of Mexican pesos that you pay, every student had one with a total s of a ro i atel , at the end we had raised enough money for maybe two trips, but we were twenty fi e children hich ore than ten needed help.

Along the year we made a lot of projects to recollect money, for example, in Judaism we have a feast that is called Hanukkah, and for last year Hanukkah, our school organized a bingo, and we needed to be the waiters, so we served the people, and as you might think, we were not allowed to play or to eat, but the no eating part was not accomplished because at one point, seeing lots of food makes you hungry, but for us to eat, we needed to a no disco nt for aiters , so it as a win-win situation.We as a group made lots

by Nathan Coello

Obstacl Obstaclee ininMyMy

Community Community of projects, some of those were successful, and some were a total mess, because we are children under the age of eighteen, so we don’t know how to organize ourselves, and as always, we started some projects, and we left them fast, for example, we had a project of selling junk food in our school, like coke and chips, and we had a complete day of planation and we decided that we were going to sell them every Monday or Wednesday, I don’t remember well, and when that Monday arrived, the ones that were supposed to bring the chips didn’t brought them so it was a mess, and, as you can imagine, we left that project.

But between all the mess of unfinished projects, we had one, that involved all the class, that every Thursday we needed to buy some doughnuts and sell them at the school for a ro i atel , li e that, twenty five persons intercalating every week were at the school selling doughnuts to the children, also doing this had some advantages, because if you were the one that was selling the doughnuts, you can skip some classes (especially the Hebrew class, that was one of the orse classes to go and sell to the little children of primary school, and it was an awesome feeling, going to primary school and see all the children with the money in his hand going directly to you to buy one or more doughnuts.

At the end of the school year, we had achieved our goal of raising enough money for everyone to go to the trip, our group had one slogan that was

“Nadie se queda”, “Nadie se queda”, that in Spanish means

“Nobody is left behind”, “Nobody is left behind”, and with this end in mind we gave all of our effort to raise the money, and at the end we overcame the obstacle of the lack of money, and all of the t ent fi e children that ere supposed to go, went.

Now I can say that the problem isn’t the lack of money, it is how much effort you put in the work to earn that money.

N

“ o, put the green parrot on the palm tree and the red arrot ing a o e the island Anna Mae scolded Will as he placed the felt parrots incorrectly on the bright blue sky.

“It’s a macaw, not a red parrot.” Mathew chimed in. We all rolled our eyes. e ere a gro of fi e fifth graders and t o fourth graders competing in a tournament called d sse of the ind , here our creativity was put to test. All of us were also in ar ifted alented athe and Dylan were the two fourth graders, and Amelia, Ayanthi, Will, Anna Mae, and I were the fifth graders as ade of t o sections on co etition da ong er and Spontaneous.

In Spontaneous, all seven members of your group were sent into a room with curtains on the door window, so no one could see what o ere doing nl fi e tea e ers of your team could participate in a verbal or hands on problem. Because you didn’t know what it would be, your team would be dis alified if o s o e to another erson a o t it after ards ong er as s lit into fi e sections, each ith different criteria he sections were plays that your group would make, with no adult assistance. Your group had to compose a play no longer than eight minutes, including humor, sets, and cost es et e stress the no gro n s art of that. Adults were allowed to buy stuff for you, but you had to make all of the sets from the stuff they bought yourself. All in all, there was a lot of work and not enough time to do it. Especially when the judges changed the n er of s ecial effects er fight o t of the blue from one to two.

Our group chose the section Opposites Distract, where you had to have a group split in half and turned against each other by a sneaky character, who was Anna Mae. My best friend Ayanthi and I were captains leading enemy crews, and on my team was

Amelia, and on hers, Mathew. Dylan was stage manager, and Will was Ayanthi’s dead dad, who guarded a magical ship that he had died on. The ship was invincible, and could shrink and grow at will, ideal for a group of irates e had three fights co rised of opera, dance, and poetry.

Our set folded in half, and opened up to form a tropical island that we had been shipwrecked on for a very long time. We had a cave with disco lights and a mini magical ship, a very tropical umbrella taller than me, a gant magical ship that the small ship grew into, a grayish bush (the paint bottle was misleading , and an acti e olcano er rida , we stayed after school to practice, and we practiced for many possible Spontaneous. We often yelled at each other tamely, but it was mostly Anna Mae and Will, the most opinionated ones in o r gro he first co etition was in March, and it was currently February.

Near the end of the month of February.

“Do you want to put the parrots down, Anna Mae?” Will asked snootily.

“I never said I did.” Anna Mae turned and walked away, to help us paint the large ship toffee brown.

“How’s it going with the sail?” Ayanthi asked Amelia, who was drawing a large phoenix on the rectangular, stiff paper.

“Good.” Amelia said quietly. She was the shyest in the group, and only spoke above a murmur when she was very, very angry.

She swiped her curly brown hair out of her face and continued sketching the ends of the phoenix’s tail. I glanced over and forced a large smile. t loo s great said enth siasticall he s iled ac he hoeni loo ed li e a fire chic en tr ing to , t as fine ith that Everything else looked so wonderful, I was sure we wouldn’t lose too many points for a wonky phoenix. I stood. “Guys, I’m going to

u o L

a s i

g n o r St

take a break and work on the script, okay?”

They nodded. Our whole play was in rhymes, though that wasn’t required, we thought it would gain us extra points on competition day. I liked to say everyone wrote it together, but really, I wrote the entire script. The plot had been Anna Mae’s idea, but all of the rhymes were mine. After a couple weeks, we had edited the script a lot, memorized each version, and had a full set that we all pitched into. Ayanthi was obsessed with cutting felt she clai ed it as cal ing , so a lot of the backdrop was comprised a felt. The best part was that we were all getting along much better and were used to Mathew’s obscene taco jokes. Another thing that had brought us together was the fact that four of us had parents who worked at a college near our school. n arch th, e finall erfor ed o r play, and everyone screamed when my balloon parrot companion was popped by the sneaky character. All of the audience laughed and cheered when me and Amelia sang opera, and giggled when Will shouted about his death while pointing to the fake blood on his head. The space we used was way too small for all of our sets and the audience chairs, because it was only slightly bigger than your classroom. Spontaneous was a Hands On, and e roc ed it e left ontaneo s to recei e the good ne s e had gotten the highest score the judges had ever seen in their lives: 199.97 out of 200. Only .03 taken off for not

making the lesson clear, but it was pretty clear, or else we would have gotten a score in the lo s e got first lace and o ed onto competing against the highest scoring teams in the State in our category and age group. The age group part didn’t matter too much, because we got a higher score than all of the teams in everything both in Regionals and States.

In the States, though, our Spontaneous brought us down. We got third place, not high enough to move to Worlds, and Will swore that he would throw his trophy away.

Our coach, Mr. Belleau, loud and lovable, had tears in his eyes. Amelia broke down into very wet, quiet sobbing. The rest of us remained stony faced.

At the end of the year, when we did Spark Show, presenting on ancient cultures, we performed again, for the last time. None of us had forgotten a word of the script, or a single dance move. We weren’t sad when we put the sets away for the last time. We had accomplished the important things: teamwork, laughter, and creativity. And even better, the judges accidentally gave us a much deserved first lace tro h

Artwork by Ozan Yildiz '20

The Two Ahuehuetes

BY NICANDRO DÍAZ BUTRÓN

A

long, long, time ago, I can still remember the most delightful couple that has ever existed in the valley. It consisted of a brave warrior, Quedantzintlin, the most loyal to the king, whose fate was marrying the beautiful princess, Xóchitl. All the people were sweet for the next rulers. In fact, the crops had been incredibly successful during the past few years and diseases were almost completely eradicated. The wedding was arranged to take place at the exact spot they met, in the royal gardens, next to a beautiful Ahuehuete. Since Xóchitl was little, she was captivated by its immense trunk and radiant leaves. Every time she woke up, she looked through her window and meditated about the day that was just starting. Except one day, war arose and Quedantzintlin had to protect the empire’s borders from the infamous invaders. So he said goodbye to his treasured Xóchitl, and departed with the hope that one day he shall return and marry the love of his life.

huitlacoche in your honor when you come back. Sleep tight, I’m counting the moons missing to seeing you and hold you in my arms for the rest of my life.

Your eternal flame, Xóchitl.

But the war kept going. No matter how many prayers were made or altars built, the Gods didn't want to end this war. So the day that the messenger was supposed to deliver updated news and letters from the frontline, Xóchitl

War persisted for almost 2 years, far longer than it was expected to be. However, Quedantzintlin and Xóchitl kept contact through letters and missives. He once wrote: Dear Xóchitl, We finally broke the Tacuba’s defensive front.

We are planning to march into Tacubaya early tomorrow morning to be closer to finally end this war. We will take over the temple and return promptly with Huitzilopochtli. Our king will be so pleased when we enter through the Calzada. I can't wait to kiss your face once again.

Your beloved warrior, Quedantzintlin.

To which she later answered, My dearest Quedantzintlin, My dad couldn't be more pleased with your decisive tactics that will bring us all to victory. Personally, I can't wait to marry you at the temple in presence of the Gods and all of our people. I'll make sure you'll have a feast with

at the sight of her father and the messenger in the middle of the room. While the king was crying by his daughter’s spiritless body, the royal guards arrived with the spy who burned the h eh ete do n ater that night, he confessed that everything, from the burnt tree to the news that Quedanztlin had died, was part of a plan organized by Tacuba to hurt and weaken the king as a desperate move.

Even though the operation was a temporary success, Tacuba lost the war 2 months after the princess’s death. Quedantzintlin, who thought the princess was on a retreat, discovered upon his arrival that his adored princess wasn't in his world anymore. He ran desperately to where her body was resting, by the burned tree. He cried so violently and restless that he died of dehydration. The king, deranged after losing his only daughter and best soldier, decided to bury them in the place their love would have been embodied for the rest of their lives. The whole kingdom came together to the vast, but saddened gardens to contemplate how both corpses descended to what had become their new fate. Today, you can still visit both Ahuehuetes hugging each other just like they used to do, and maybe you’ll see a couple or two falling deeply in love. …

looked through her window just to discover that her favorite tree had been burnt down.

She ran to tell her father the terrible news.

The king, in order to calm his daughter, sent the royal guard to search and capture those responsible.

As the guards abandoned the courtroom, the messenger entered. He looked agitated and troubled. The king asked what the matter was to which he responded: “Quedantzintlin has died, may Mictlantecuhtli guard his soul”.

Xóchitl felt like if two obsidian knives had sta ed her instantaneo sl she fell, lifeless,

I decided to write a fairy tale based on ancient tec legends ore s ecificall , the legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, two volcanoes that overlook the Valley of Mexico, where Mexico City is located. Additionally, my story is full of Mexican symbolisms that most wouldn't recognize. For example, “huitlacoche” is a fungus that grows on corn which was a complete feast for the Aztecs, or “Huitzilopochtli” who was the most important god for the Aztecs. However, I use terms such as “King” to respect the tradition of original fairy tales. I really enjoyed writing this story, which I think it achieved a high standard. I hope people are able to enjoy it as I did.

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