The Discovery--Viewpoint's Middle School Literary Magazine

THE DISCOVERY DIGITAL 2018-2019

All contributions from Viewpoint Middle School Students

EMERGING YOUNG WRITERS

LITERARY MAGAZINE

THE DISCOVERY

CONTENTS 3 Acknowledgements

20 Avrick Altmann: Society is Crumbling

4 Jack Fasching: The Short Story of Gene

21 Violet Kaltman and Nicholas Silver: The Chronicles of Beville

5 Emma Lake: While I Wasn't Watching

25 Helen Yang: The Lonely Cat

6 Jack Fasching: C'est La Vie

26 Final Words

7 Emma Lake: Photo of a Sunset 8 Joaquin Khodaverdy: Song of Nightmares 9 Joaquin Khodaverdy: Song of Remembering 10 AJ Williams: House of Secrets 16 Annabelle Corneau: She's Not Okay 17 Music- Art by Sophia Alva and Alaysha Zhang 18 Jack Fasching: Hope Jack Fasching: Separation 19 August Yin: Artwork by August YIn Â

"The Lonely Cat" by Helen Yang

Acknowledgements Advisor: Ms. Anofienem Editors: Alivia Alva ('24) Emily Lakhani ('24) Avrick Altmann ('24) Hayden Andersson ('24) Jack Fasching ('24) Nicholas Silver ('24) Isabella Fiore ('25) Cover Photo: Emma Lake ('25) A special thanks to all the students who submitted and all the members of the Literary Magazine club!

By Jack Fasching

The Short Story of Gene (Why You Should Submit Poems)

There once was a person named Gene, Who was jealous and turned a bright green, When he gave some looks at the poems and books in the newest Viewpoint Literary Magazine.

Submitting to the Literary Magazine Want to see your creative writing in next year's literary magazine?

Be on the lookout for a submissions call on the bulletin once we're open to start accepting submissions.

We look forward to reading next year's submissions!

While I Wasn't Watching

by Emma Lake ('25) While I wasn’t watching, Time became a rushing river, Flowing by, Impossible to hold on to.

While I wasn’t watching, Music became a thread, Weaving me into who I am.

While I wasn’t watching, I became the sand, Changed each time life laps at my surface, My old characteristics slowly washed away.

While I wasn’t watching, The universe became a mystery, Waiting for me to solve it.

While I wasn’t watching, Fear became a dam, Holding me back, Introducing a new battle.

While I wasn’t watching, The night became a gift, A kind refresher before the day ahead.

While I wasn’t watching, My friends became quotes, Speaking words of wisdom, Helping me be the best person I can be.

While I wasn’t watching, Perfection became unnecessary, All I need to be…

Is me.

C'est La Vie

by Jack Fasching ('24)

The last time at our house.

The last time to look around.

It had welcomed me, sheltered me, protected me for all the years I know.

But the time has come.

My parent know it's hard to move, but sometimes you have to let go.

The last time with my friend.

The last time to talk, to give a pat on the back.

He knows it's hard too.

The last time to be at my old school.

I thank my teachers, and let them sign my yearbook, the only memory that I will have of them.

Before I get in the car, I wander though my house.

My friends my school will be different, But, they all were the same to me.

Oh well, C'est la vie.

EMMA LAKE "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it."

-Roald Dahl

Song of Nightmares

by Joaquin Khodaverdy ('24) I hear the wind rushing past my ears, and see Darkness rushing past me, and I scream I am like a bird, flying into the dark night forever The wind laughs, knowing I can’t escape it I look down and see a flat expanse, rushing at me I wish that this was over, that it would stop But nothing goes my way, that’s just life The floor like time, never stopping for anyone I close my eyes for the final moments and see I wake up in a cold sweat on the ground and look I see the girl that has kept me going this whole time

Song of Remembering

by Joaquin Khodaverdy ('24) Hair like perfect waves, and a face that’s even better Her eyes were inviting me in, but I couldn’t go Her smile lit up the sky like the sun, but it’s gone I remember her and think about our time together I can feel her head in my arms, from when she left Her eyes crying for help, but I couldn’t help her My legs felt as cold as space, and tears ran down my face I feel the carpet beneath my fingers and sit on my bed I get in my wheelchair and go to her room, and see my wife I sit next to her and put my arm around her, and we cry

House of Secrets AJ Williams ('23) My brother Lewis and I practically raised ourselves. Our mother was always at work, and we had never known our father.

If we ever asked about him, Mom would get upset and refuse to say anything, so we just left it alone. We were bullied at school, but we knew Mom wouldn’t teach us how to fight back, so we just took it. Looking back, it really was pretty miserable, being bullied every day, but we didn’t know any different.

Down the street from where we lived, there was an old abandoned house. It used to be owned by some eccentric guy nobody knew. Mother always warned us never to go near it, so, of course, that’s the first place we went the day we had off from school.

It was an old house and pretty run-down, but it wasn’t scary or haunted-looking. We were always looking for adventure. We waited about ten minutes after Mom left for work, and then we were standing on the porch. We found the door unlocked, and we went in carefully. What we saw was shocking. The entire room was filled with all the types of mechanical devices you can imagine and more. Wind up toys, small machines, strange clocks with too many hands, it was all there. We looked around in awe.

At first, all we saw was the sea of objects; then, as we looked closer, we saw that they were all hand-made, and that they all had the same strange symbol on them. Lewis picked up a six-handed clock that stopped ticking the moment it left the table.

I found a strange device that, when wound, would maneuver a few hooks and small metal levers in strange patterns. For a long time, we just wandered the floor, taking in the objects. My brother called me over.

AJ Williams

“Tom, come look at this!”

I went over to him. He was examining a solid-looking door with no handle. All it had was an intricately carved keyhole.

“Do you think the key is in here?” He asked.

“Maybe, but I have a better idea.” I went back near the entrance and picked up the device with the hooks and levers. On a hunch, I shoved it into the keyhole and wound it up. It clicked and whirred for a few seconds, and then the whole keyhole turned, and the door swung open.

“Whoa!” I said.

“Cool!”

“Awesome!”

“Where did you find that thing?”

“It was right by the door.”

“That’s cool. I want one.”

We went into the next room.

It appeared to be some sort of office, with a desk, and some bookshelves, and a cabinet, and— There was someone at the desk. We froze. Then we realized that the person was made out of metal, and that it wasn’t a person at all, but another machine. It was the most complex machine either of us had ever seen. It was frozen, pointing slightly upwards.“Do you think it works?” asked Lewis.

“It needs a key.”

“Well, it’s got to be around here somewhere.”

We started to search the office for the key. There was nothing on the desk except for a pen, and all the drawers were empty. Just when we were ready to give up, Lewis said, “Wait. The machine is pointing at this bookshelf.” He gestured to one of the shelves.

AJ Williams

“Do you think it’s in a book?”

“Maybe.”

We began scanning the shelf.

“Hey! That was the first book I ever read on my own!” said Lewis, pointing at a kids picture book. We looked, and found that it was the only kids book on the shelf. I pulled it down and sure enough, there was the key, tucked within the pages. “That’s weird. Whoever built all this somehow knew what my first book was.”

“That is strange.”

We brought the key over to the machine, and I wound it up until the key stopped turning. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, we heard a click. We saw the gears in its back turn. Then they engaged with those in its neck and head. The machine man looked down at the desk. The gears in its back turned the cogs all the way down its arm and into its fingertips. It picked up the pen and began writing on the wood: The one who learns my name is he, Who’ll leave this house, so find the key.

It was signed with the same symbol that was on all the other machines. There was a pause, then its feet, which had been floating, lowered, and the gears in their soles engaged with others in the floor, and we heard the clicking amplify. Then one of the bookshelves started to slide sideways until it revealed a door. The automaton slumped over and stopped moving.

Right at that moment, we heard a loud slam. Running into the outer room, we saw that the door had closed and been locked from the outside.

“What now?” asked Lewis. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. I guess we have to find his name.”

AJ Williams

“Maybe that door leads to where we can find it.” We went back to the room with the automaton and looked at the keyhole on the hidden door. It looked like a plus sign with circles at the ends of the cross. “Do you think the key is here?”

“I hope so!”

We started to dig through the piles of tools and pieces in the main room. With every passing second, we became more frantic.

After a while with no success, I stopped.

“What?” asked Lewis.

“This can’t just be random. Everything we found here has been purposeful. The door-unlocker was right there when we came in, and the key was in your first book. There has to be some clue. We just have to think.” I sat on the floor and leaned back in thought, and then I saw them. Hanging from strings on what looked like large ceiling fans, were thousands of keys, all different types, colors, shapes, and sizes. I pointed, and Lewis looked up.

“We’ll never be able to get them down, much less find the right one,” complained Lewis.

“We could try those,” I responded, noticing for the first time the wall of levers on one side of the room.

We went over to them. Each one had a small pictorial drawing on the handle. I scanned the symbols until I saw the one that stood out. It was the Sagittarius zodiac symbol. I was a Sagittarius, and so was my brother. We checked, and there weren’t any other zodiac signs. I pulled the lever. A key fell right next to me. I looked down. It was shaped like a plus sign with circles at the ends. I grabbed it and ran to the hidden door. In seconds, we were in the next room.

AJ Williams

Inside were only two chairs, a white screen, and an oldfashioned movie projector with some type of device attached to it.

Lewis wound up the device and sat down next to me, facing the screen. It flickered to life, and words appeared, moving from the bottom to the top of the screen: Dear Tom and Lewis, First of all, I want to apologize for putting you through all of this. I had to be sure you were the only ones who would see this message. My name is Jonathan, and I am your grandfather. Your father, who you don’t remember, was my son.

After what happened, your mother and I disagreed on whether you should know how he died. She was afraid you might follow in his footsteps. I believed that you had the right to know why you grew up without a father. The argument escalated, and she sent me away and never let me see you. She told you not to come here, so naturally I knew you would, which is why I left all this. I feel you need to know, though it might be difficult.

There used to be a man in this town, who, for one reason or another, nobody living here liked. It might have been the way he looked, or the way he dressed, or the way he kept his garden.

Every time anyone saw him, they would glare, scoff, and express their general disapproval of his existence. But not your father. He treated the man with civility, just like any other because that’s the kind of person he was. He didn’t care what others thought; he just did what he thought was right.

AJ Williams

One day, your father saw a few people from the town attacking this man, and he immediately ran over to stop the fight.

The attackers turned on him, and he was killed standing up for what he believed in. He was a good man, and I couldn’t be prouder to call him my son.

I want to leave you something, something more than words, to remember your dad by. Next to you are two small charms, into which I carved his unique signature. I also engraved it onto everything I made, so I could remember him through the things I built. Remember who he was, and what he did. He was the best man I ever knew.

---Your Grandfather We sat very quiet for a long time. Then, slowly, without conversation, we took the charms that were next to us, and exited through the door that had opened after the end of the message.

We were both quiet and thoughtful on the way home. I thought about how my father had stood up for what he believed in, no matter the cost. I thought about the bullies at school.

Fingering the charm in my pocket, I knew Monday would be different.

End

SHE'S NOT OKAY

by Annabelle Corneau ('23)

She may produce a tough exterior, But inside, she cries and you can’t hear her.

She’s completely normal, but welcomes fear as her friend.

School breaks her. She prays for the weekend.

Just a regular teenage socialite, Until she goes home and prepares for the fight.

A battle between her mind and real life, Resisting the temptation of the knife.

If only someone were to reach out to her, To let her know it’ll be okay and reassure.

Even if you tried, she’s hard to get to Because every time you get close, she leaves you without a clue.

I’m here when you need me, us, the most, Before it’s too late, and I talk to your ghost.

Music

Piano by Alaysha Zhang

Brendon Urie by Alaysha Zhang ('24)

Violin by Sophia Alva ('24)

Hope

By Jack Fasching A sparrow settles Upon the nearest tree branch.

It chirps with such joy, For spring will arrive quite soon.

Not far, a flower stirs up.

Separation

By Jack Fasching There once were two men named Harry and Sherman.

They excelled in life, I know that is certain.

They were the best of friends, but once, on one day, Their compatibility just went away.

That day, they were talking, and Harry then said, “Winter is now coming, and I’m filled with dread.

It’s cold, unforgiving, I can’t bear it now, Unlike the summer.” But Sherman said, “How? The winter is best, in my chair I can sit, And breathe the cold air, which can help get me fit.”

There was a pause. Then Harry replied, “I just disagree. You’re not on my side.”

They bickered and quarreled, and now to this day, They’re fiends, not friends. Oh, and by the way, Folks followed Sherman if summer felt scary, Others disliked winter, so they stuck with Harry.

If one person told another their side, They’d forever part, without a reply.

So listen, my children, don’t be enemies With someone whose preference you just cannot please.

Let’s forget this nonsense, so every boy and girl Can bring peace and love, for a better world.

Art by:

August Yin

('24)

SOCIETY IS CRUMBLING Avrick Altmann ('24)

Society is crumbling, beneath the mask of perfection.

As people strive for utopia, all they get is destruction.

The wars are still raging, despite the signing of a treaty.

No matter what they say, the people are still fighting.

You could say the glass is empty, not half full or half gone.

The pessimistic outlook on all things that be.

You could say the world is changing, but its changing way too slow.

You could say, It will never be in time to solve it all.

But most prefer to see things in a different light.

They say that everything can be solved.

While others tear down their ideas, Like they want to live in a world that's dark.

The truth is that you can change the world for the better.

If you try.

The Chronicles of Neville

by Violet Kaltman and Nicholas Silver ('24)

It was a day like any other for Mr. Beville. The sun was shining, and the birds were chirping. Little did he know that his whole life was about to change. Unlike many, Mr. Beville was an extraordinarily lucky guy. After all, he was a proud survivor of the unforgiving pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis disease. It was truly a tragic story how he was cursed with the disease.

It was a beautiful day, three days into a special trip to Hawaii. Mr. Beville and his dog decided to go sightseeing. They decided that it would be fun and certainly interesting if they both hiked up to Mt. Kilauea, a gigantic active volcano located on the big island of Hawaii.

The two started the long trek up the mountain. All seemed fine at first. The two even got to the top and saw the volcano erupt.

Fast forward a week later, Mr. Beville and his dog were home safely from their truly amazing and beautiful trip. All of a sudden, there was a sharp pain in Mr. Beville’s chest, near his lungs. He started gasping for air and quickly ran into his car. He rushed to the hospital as fast as he could. Once he got there, a nurse quickly tested Mr. Beville’s blood. A few hours later, after many X-rays and confusion, the doctors concluded that Mr. Beville had the rare pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis disease, a disease in the lungs caused by the inhalation of very fine silica volcano ash from a volcano. And that’s how it happened.

Now Mr. Beville has a phobia of volcanoes and won’t step foot on any of the Hawaiian islands. It is a miracle he survived. However Mr. Beville had to get his lungs replaced, and he is now bionic and can breath fire. Lucky guy.

The Chronicles of Neville (cont'd.)

Anyways, Mr. Beville was home, on the sometimes sunny, very swampy shore of the Florida everglades. Did I mention Mr. Beville was a pro alligator wrestler? Mr. Beville loves his job, he is even famous for it. Tourists from around the world come to see the amazing “Beville the devil, alligator wrestling champion of the world” in action. It is effortless for Mr. Beville because he just burns the gators with his bionic breath.

The tourists sit in a large arena and munch on gator jerky while Beville the devil fights his heart out. The crowd screams and shouts every time. But, an alligator fight is a very unpredictable and dangerous game. One time, a huge alligator was successful in biting off one of Mr. Beville’s legs. Now, he has a peg leg. He almost looks like a pirate.

Mr. Beville was walking his dog before work as he always does, but something was different. All of a sudden, Mr. Beville's dog, Croc, short for crocodile, started barking. Croc was barking very loudly at a thing in the middle of the road. It was invisible to Mr. Beville, but Croc could see and smell it quite clearly. Croc was a very strong dog that just like her father, loved wrestling and chasing alligators. If you saw her at a certain angle, she looked like a dog body builder because of all of her muscles and veins popping out of her skin. She could easily take down Mr. Beville, but she never did. She was only his family.

His 2 parents, 5 wives and all 28 of his children sadly passed away in a level 8 hurricane while Mr. Beville was visiting a few friends in Newfoundland, but that was ten years prior to today.

Eventually, Mr. Beville tried to tug Croc's leash to force her to continue on their walk, but Croc wouldn’t budge. Out of nowhere, Croc darted straight into the street towards where she was barking, dragging Mr. Beville along the street with her. Croc stopped abruptly in her track. Whatever she was barking at was gone.

Mr. Beville just thought Croc was chasing a squirrel and didn't think much of it.

The Chronicles of Neville (cont'd.)

Two weeks later, two tall men wearing a black suit drove up to Mr. Beville’s house in a black Bugatti Veyron and a lime green Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. Mr. Beville was confused, but Croc knew something bad was happening. The two men walked onto Mr. Beville’s porch and sat down. They were waiting for something for sure, but what? Mr. Beville could hear something happening outside but didn't want to look. Instead, he locked all of his doors and grabbed Croc. Mr. Beville was sure he was overreacting. Maybe the two mysterious guys just wanted an autograph or a photo with me.

But that didn’t seem right. The two guys were still out on Mr. Beville’s porch. Just to be safe, Mr. Beville started thinking of an escape plan.

But it was too late. He heard the explosion. Luckily, Croc could fly.

The two soared into the sky safely away from the explosion. In the air, the two observed that down below there was a crowd of 96 strange alien creatures. When he looked to the east, he saw 8 mysterious saucer shaped UFOs. It appeared that anything the creatures looked at turned into water.

Lucky again, Mr. Beville and Croc were behind a big fluffy cloud.

That's when they started thinking of another plan. They decided to fly to Gander, a small town in Newfoundland where Mr. Beville had friends. A few hours later, after a long flight across the country (Croc was super fast), the two were hovering just over Newfoundland. But, they couldn’t see anything. The town appeared as water below them.

Mr. Beville wondered if they were in the wrong place, but he knew that this was were they were supposed to be.

Did I mention that when Mr. Beville’s lungs were replaced, the surgeon engineered the new lungs to have GPS so, Mr. Beville always knew where he was. This was were Newfoundland was supposed to be, but it was just ocean. Then it dawned on Mr. Beville. If whatever the creatures looked at turned to water, maybe the aliens had already gotten to the island before the two could. Mr. Beville felt sick inside.

The Chronicles of Neville (cont'd.)

Since they had limited options, the two decided to go to London.

Once they got there, they landed in a little village where they bumped into a sketchy guy. Somehow, Mr. Beville’s memory of the creatures was wiped with a quick hypnosis trick. At this point, Mr. Beville thought that he was simply visiting England on vacation. The sketchy guy quickly told Mr. Beville about the London circus and how Mr. Beville and Croc should totally check it out. The two were both quickly intrigued and decided to give it a look. The guy gave directions and waved bye.

Once the two were at the location that the man said to go to, they saw a frightening sight. Just a big puddle of water the size of a large pond. Looking at the water, he remembered everything. Seconds later, Mr. Beville looked beyond the pond and saw a surprising sight: water appeared to be formed into a great building that stood up over 100 feet tall. Then, he saw them, the aliens. They saw him at the same time. A splash of water was the only sound Croc heard.

The Lonely Cat

By Helen Yang ('24)

The Literary Magazine Team Didi Anofienem Advisor

Alivia Alva

Emily Lakhani

Avrick Altmann Jack Fasching

Hayden Andersson Nicholas Silver

Isabella Fiore

Thank you to everyone who submitted!

This magazine wouldn't be possible without you!

Thanks for Reading!