Art By Anika Shet

Art by Anika Shet 8S

WHERE IS THE END? By Sophie Angell 9T

Six months we were trapped, We binged and snacked, We laughed and lost But kept our fingers crossed.

We turned on our TV To see when we could be free, The rules were changing And plans were arranging.

The shops were open once more And we could meet those we adore. The summer sun shone And it seemed our problems were gone.

Autumn falls and darkness is in the air, Hospital numbers growing in intensive care. As we are locked inside once more, Schools still wave an open door.

A month has passed and Christmas is here, Each city is divided into a different tier. Only one question that's still to be asked: Can we celebrate unmasked? Christmas bubbles are allowed, Each street has a massive crowd .With three days to go Everything seems to be set in snow.

We turn on our TVs As we beg for good news, please. Joy and smiles are wiped from faces, Christmas is cancelled in some places.

Families' eyes are filled with tears As people shrink inside with fears: This Christmas might be the last for some; They can’t look at the years to come.

Vaccines are on their way But they can’t always save the day. Covid is growing, The rate is not slowing.

The cases are rising once more But yet you still walk out that door How is this going to end? When you meet up with your friend.

APRIL GLOOM

By Liliana Benoliel 9S

In keeping with tradition of previous nights, Cameron Thompson was not asleep and instead staring out of her bedroom window. Once again, she sighed melodramatically. She slightly wished that there had been someone there to see how aesthetically melodramatic she looked, what with her trailing pyjama sleeves, and tilted head looking out onto the twinkling lights of the lamp posts below. She sighed again, for real this time. No one was coming: no Peter Pan would fly through the window; no Hagrid would come to take her to magic school; and no troupe of dwarves would knock on her door to take her on an adventure. She was just plain old Cameron Thompson living in a world without magic. The next day, Monday, was slushy and cold. It had snowed two days before and the last remnants of snow were finally melting. Cameron tugged at her gloves halfheartedly as she entered through the school gates. Suddenly, Cameron found herself losing traction on the floor, her feet flying out from underneath her. Her arms pinwheeled desperately until someone stopped her from falling back to earth by catching her around the waist. “It’s icy. Be careful, ” Alice Mizawaya said, helping Cameron back up again. Cameron felt her cheeks heat up. “Thanks. ” she muttered.

“Here, let me help you out!” Alice offered to carry Cameron’s bag. “I’m alright, thanks. “Well… ok.

The next day, Alice said "hi" to Cameron three times. The day after that Cameron said "hi" first.

Hey, wanna get bubble tea and walk around a bit on Saturday?' Alice asked one day. “Oh, uh, yeah, that sounds nice. ” Cameron found herself smiling. “Nice, meet in front of the bubble tea place at 1:30?”

“Yeah, sounds great!” “Hey mum. ” Cameron called out when she got home. “Cam?” her mum responded. “How was your day?” “Good, I was actually wondering if I could meet up with a friend over the weekend?” Cameron bit her lip. You ’re going to meet up with a friend?” her mum looked up from her computer that she had set up on the dining room table. “Uh, yeah. ” Was Alice a friend? Cameron thought. “Of course baby, ” her mum kissed her on the forehead. “Just make sure you get your homework done.

“Ok mum, I might get a head start on it now?” “Sure honey, dinner will be in a bit. On Saturday, Cameron worried that she had misread the time until Alice came running around the corner, long hair in a braid. “Hey!” she said smiling. “Hey yourself, ” Cameron smiled back. Maybe there was a bit of magic in this world.

After they got boba tea and were walking down the street, Alice asked a question. “Why did you never talk at school? You ’re nice. “Ah, thank you, ” Cameron said. “I guess, I mean, I guess I just didn’t want to be there. “You mean school or in general?” Cameron took a contemplative sip of her boba. “I guess both. You know, we grow up with stories of children being thrust into fantastical worlds and we’re told to dream about them and so we do. And then all of a sudden, that’s discouraged. We’re supposed to just carry on in this mundane world, this story. When, who knows, there could be so much more out there. So yeah, I guess I didn’t want to be there. Alice nodded, “I get that.

“Thanks.

They carried on walking.

“So which books have you read?” “Well, you know the classics in the fantasy genre…, ” Cameron started.