The Boerne Bulletin
A Boerne Middle School South Publication
Short Stories
Shadow of the Forest
I awoke from a sense of drifting in nothingness. My cold body barely managed to raise itself to a standing position. The chilled air caused a freezing sensation that blanketed my skin and forced me to tremble.
Hesitantly, I pried open my shut eyes to the world around me. Terror and confusion encumbered my soul as a daunted stare filled my gaze. The only light was a faint shine from the sun’s illumination going through the thick branches and leaves above me.
The lack of understanding where I was and why I was here fogged my mind and left me striving for the hope of feeling comfort. For moments that lasted hours, I stood still, wrapping my bare hands around my shoulders. I yearned for the ability to shed tears, but my body refused to grant me my request as if I didn’t deserve the emotion of sadness.
Conflicting needs of curiosity and safety ultimately lead me to put one foot in front of the other, but I did so very slowly as I wanted to make sure the ground would not collapse beneath me for simply pressing my soles across it; it had that intimidating look of failing at any second.
Receiving reassurance that the floor was normal persuaded me to trudge forward even farther. No path was laid before me as I trudged through the dense bushes and misty air. Leaves conquered the ground beneath me and shouted a loud crunch every time the pressure of my foot was forced upon them.
Adrenaline rapidly coursed through my muscles, but my walking pace remained slow. An unsettling sense of dread burdened me every time I passed one of the numerous trees. Suddenly, my footsteps revealed to me that I was going down a hill. Being caught off guard, I clumsily tumbled straight in the direction of a massive clump of huge tree trunks and branches. I prepared my body for the upcoming agony of colliding with the hard base of the trees.
When my unharmed body’s momentum finally stopped, I confusedly, frantically turned my head all around to behold that I had just flew through the trees; the trunks seems as though they had been untouched for centuries.
I put my hand through one of the trunks to discover that I actually fazed through it. An uninviting idea formed in my head that tempted me to try and run through the trees to cover more ground, and I accepted the offering, hoping it would lead me to sweet warmth much earlier than I expected. My legs started to ache, and the burdening weight of fatigue slowly eased atop of my body more and more after every step. Soon, excitement twinkled in my eyes as the beautiful sight of no trees was placed before me. A dark, foggy sky was raised above the seemingly endless grass field that ran in front of me. Desperately craving a scenery that lacked forest, I mustered up the strength to continue forward into the mist-covered plains. The lifeless earth and grass welcomed me by pouring a spiteful sadness within my heart, but I heaved my legs in front of each other continuously despite my inescapable depression with the idea of being able to be granted the sight of my home again. A burst of fear bounced through my chest when the ground suddenly broke beneath me. The air swiftly rushed across my face, and the cruel truth that I was going to have to accept my demise in just a couple of moments dawned upon me. Then, I felt the comfortable sensation of my house’s carpet. I shakily picked myself up and tried to get my bearings. I was now in my room, but a grand mirror facing the exit door was in place of all of my furniture. My body was still trembling at astounding speeds when I got up and examined the mirror. I expected to see myself, but nothing revealed itself to me. I gave a demanding stare for my reflection, but my face refused to appear. I frustratingly rested my forehead upon the screen of the mirror, but then I felt a slight warmth from behind me. I speedily turned around to witness that the exit door had opened, and a graceful, bright light shined from it.I didn’t think I would need to face my fears this early, but I forced myself through the doorway. Before the light consumed my body, I redirected my vision to the grand mirror. A tear gently streamed down my cheek when the vision of me appeared in the mirror. I turned forward again and walked briskly down the sidewalk out of my poor-conditioned house. I set my sights on finally experiencing something other than fear and worry before it was too late. Hopefully, I would never see the shadow of my mind again…
By: Matthew V.
Jake Lity, the Guy Who Takes Everything Literally
By: Matthew V.
“Jake,” Principal Realest called, “get your face in here!”
Jake stuck his face through the door, but the rest of his body remained outside of Principal Realist's office. “Yessir?” Jake questioned innocently.
“I meant all of your body!” Principal Reallest clarified impatiently. Jake dragged the rest of his tiny body into the circular office on command. “Now,” Mr. Reallest continued, “I called you in here for the events that occurred last week.”
“I was just following orders, sir.” Jake explained, his unblinking eyes widening.
“Jake, how many times have we been through this? Look, when the teacher says that you’re having a ‘pop-quiz’, she doesn’t mean to explode all of the quizzes and cause collateral damage to the school, and that you don’t order more snack machines when our snack machine has the sign ‘out of order’ on it!”
“But sir, I didn’t want our snack machines to go out of stock, and the pop-quizzes had the word ‘pop’ on them, so it practically begged me to send them to a fiery oblivion!” Jake pleaded.
The principal let out a frustrated sigh. “Jake, it’s not meant to be taken literally! A pop-quiz is supposed to be a surprise quiz!”
“Jake,” Principal Realest called, “get your face in here!”
Jake stuck his face through the door, but the rest of his body remained outside of Principal Realist's office. “Yessir?” Jake questioned innocently.
“I meant all of your body!” Principal Reallest clarified impatiently. Jake dragged the rest of his tiny body into the circular office on command. “Now,” Mr. Reallest continued, “I called you in here for the events that occurred last week.”
“I was just following orders, sir.” Jake explained, his unblinking eyes widening.
“Jake, how many times have we been through this? Look, when the teacher says that you’re having a ‘pop-quiz’, she doesn’t mean to explode all of the quizzes and cause collateral damage to the school, and that you don’t order more snack machines when our snack machine has the sign ‘out of order’ on it!” “But sir, I didn’t want our snack machines to go out of stock, and the pop-quizzes had the word ‘pop’ on
them, so it practically begged me to send them to a fiery oblivion!” Jake pleaded.
The principal let out a frustrated sigh. “Jake, it’s not meant to be taken literally! A pop-quiz is supposed to be a surprise quiz!”
“Why don’t they call it a surprise quiz then? A pop quiz implies it’ll explode and possibly destroy everything!” Jake explained.
“Ugh, this isn’t working…” Mr. Reallest growled.
“If I was working, wouldn’t I be wearing a tie or something?” Jake inquired curiously.
Mr. Reallest slapped his forehead. “Jake, your failure of understanding the English language is astounding.”
“Understanding? What do you mean? I’m standing ‘above’ ground!” Jake pleaded.
The principal let out a sigh. “Okay Jake, I realize I’ve been a bit too angry. That’s probably not helped you in accomplishing your goal of grasping the amazing language of English. How about you take some time off of school…”
“But I was never ‘on’ school!” Jake argued.
Jake sprayed his face with a red spray can he pulled out of his pocket. “Now you are!” Jake let out an innocent smile. The principal’s rage swirled into a storming tempest until a sort of epiphany popped into his mind. His lips curved and a chuckle danced out of his teeth. “Oh Jake, you’re such a rascal, I mean... a good boy! I forgot you were simply a naive child. Here, I’ll have you take some remedial English lessons, and I’m sure that one day, you’ll be an amazing master of our favorite language!”
“Gee wilickers, Mr. Reallest, thanks!”
“Now go out there and break a leg in English!”
“Is that a threat, sir?” Jake demanded.
“What? Oh…” the principal groaned.
“I’m calling nine-one-one! You’re gonna hear from my lawyers!” Jake shouted as he ran out of the room. “Nine, one, one!” Jake called.
“Nine, one, one!”
“Jake… I’m gonna… gonna send an angry letter to the school board and request to expel you!”
“I didn’t know that letters could experience anger… Maybe if you complimented it, it would feel better!”