Summer Haslam
Summer Haslam is a junior at Aragon High School. In her youth, she wrote a series of journals that were inspired by her mother and close relatives. However, it wasn’t until reading a bad piece of fan fiction that she had the sudden urge to join Creative Writing. She wrote a couple of books and short stories in her middle school year, and she hopes to write more in the future. Her favorite hobbies are playing browser games and not paying attention in class.
Seagulls
Running down the asphalt
Spray bottle in hand,
I ran up to chase the seagulls,
But then
They started flying away
away from my grasp
I stand there in silence
Looking up at the birds
Bounding towards the never ending sky.
A white balloon in the clutch of my palms
I look at the wreath of lilies
As the balloons fly over the hills
Fading from the world
It wasn’t until then
I realized they were gone
Florida Man
(inspired by real events)
The house was still. Then the notorious Florida man crashed through the window. In a haze of blurred reality the man was out of breath, sweating like a pig, but more importantly, incredibly thirsty. He sprawled out on all fours and scoured the house. His eyes darted around to find a source of water. Every pore of his body, every object in the house were his eyeballs. His body seemed to extend beyond the physical bounds of reality, becoming one with everything. His eyes were everywhere, he was one with the everywhere. For he was the Florida man.
He tore down the hall, looking through every drawer until he slammed headfirst in the door. He lay there on the ground, convulsing, until all of his eyes locked on the door. He suddenly snapped, his senses drawn together. The fear and the pain washed away. No longer was he the Florida man. He was Howard, a man that for the past 23 years, who had lived a life of scandal and crime to escape his melancholic life. Everything he did was controlled by his parents, his high school, his free time, even his relationships. However that all changed when he made the decision to never return again when he pursued the life of crime.
But that came with a cost. His third wife had left him. He remembered how he returned to his house to have nobody to greet. His life was an empty shell of what it used to be. He spiraled down into a deep pit of depression, struggling to get out. Desperate for money, he turned to the only thing he knew best: robbery.
Howard peeled his shirt off. He was slick with sweat as he kicked the door to the room down to find a small room with a moderately dressed bed. On one of the nightstands was a box of costume jewelry.
“Bingo,” he whispered. It was late afternoon.
He shuffled into the kitchen with the jewelry box in hand. On heart-racing, exhilarating days that include being chased by 24 policemen, four dogs and a helicopter, Donald Howard liked to browse around houses he robbed. He always wanted to be an architect, but dropped out of high school because the career aptitude test told him he was better off being a plumber. He didn’t like authoritarian figures after that and decided to carve his own path instead. It wasn’t very successful though as he wasted his days smoking crack. No wonder why his ex-wife left him.
He looked around the kitchen, with its clean electric stove and stainless steel dishwasher. Whilst careening through the house, Howard suddenly jerked up. He forgot this entire time that he was incredibly thirsty. His mouth drying up, he rushed towards the kitchen and came across a minibar in the island. He opened it up with a forceful grip and his eyes rested on a box of 24-count Capri Sun. He pried open the box and grabbed three before heading out on the porch. In the distance he heard the dogs and the helicopter. It was time to run.
He made a dash towards the fence and scrambled over it. He ran through many backyards, but no matter how hard or fast he ran through them, the police came closer and closer. He found himself in the woods. The sun was going down, and so was he. He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air and the police surrounded him.
It was time for an end to this melancholic life.
