Helga Aberdeen | valleyviewvoice

Snow

A Poem By Helga Aberdeen

The snow came in great lumps and fluttered to the ground as soft as an angel dancing across a crystal floor of an elegant palace.

Soon the snow would cover the smooth hills acting as a quilt covering a sleeping giant ready to awaken when springtime rolled around again.

When night comes, it will glow in the darkness as bright as the brilliant sun.

I look out my window, hoping the small snowfall would turn to a blizzard bad enough to be named, then I could skip school.

Already I see children fleeing clumsily outside in their ice-skates with their boots half on and their coats unbuttoned to join their friends on the frozen pond.

Kids were sledding down the hills eagerly and screaming with laughter.

I thought that I would join them, after all, it was the first snowfall.

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The Washington Report

A Short Story By Helga Aberdeen

I was exhausted. I stayed up all night, working on my school project about George Washington. My head swarmed with facts of Benedict Arnold, Martha Washington, and Paul Revere. I had procrastinated all week, saying I’d do it in a minute every time my mom asked me about it. But finally at four o’clock in the morning on a Sunday night, I came out with my neat, perfect, final draft on a lined piece of paper. I started and finished the oral report in the night. I let out a sigh and signed my report. Maria Louise Bjornak. I was so glad that was over, or so I thought. Now all I needed to do was present my oral presentation in front of the class tomorrow. After all that hard work, I was sure I would get an A. I stayed up in my bed worrying about my report and I really don’t know when I fell asleep again. The horrible sound of my alarm clock woke me up at 7:00. I slammed it off and tried to remember my dream, about me flying in the clouds like a bird but it was gone. Then I remembered; today was the day of my oral report!

I raced to put my pants on and throw on a random t-shirt. I put my shoes on backwards but quickly realized I needed to change them. I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, washed my face, flossed my teeth and ran downstairs like lightning. I put some peanut butter on some bread and shoved it in my face. I put my report in my backpack and grabbed my lunch then raced out the door. I ran to my bus stop and plopped down on the curb, reluctantly sitting by Brittany and Nellie.

They were giggling their heads off. I secretly rolled my eyes. Then they turned casually and looked at me. Brittany whispered something into Nellie’s ear. Then they had a series of cackles between one another. I somehow knew they were laughing at me. Nellie said, “Look! The bus is coming!” I looked up the street, but the bus wasn’t coming. Before I could turn around and glare at Nellie, I felt myself being flung backwards onto some grass.

I was in shock, I turned around only to see Brittany and Nellie staring down evilly at me and laughing hysterically. What a dirty trick!

“I can’t believe you actually fell for that!” Brittany said.

“Yeah!” exlaimed Nellie. “You must be real dumb!” What they had done was grab me by the hook of my backpack and pull it hard, so that I fell onto the grass. Rubbing my back glared at Nellie and Brittany. The bus came around the corner and stopped right by me. Wait, where was my backpack? I turned around to see Brittany looking into my backpack taking out my report! I gasped.

“Stop! Guys, that’s mine! You have no right to read it!” They smiled slyly at me.

“Sorry, life can be hard sometimes. You just have to deal with it.” Brittany said as she shoved my paper into her pocket.

“Fine! Give me my backpack. Give it to me!” Nellie held it behind her back. “What’s the magic word?” she said to me like I was a kindergartener. I was NOT I repeat NOT going to say please to those evil little excuses for human beings. So, I grabbed my backpack out of Nellie’s grasp and walked into the bus. I sat down to my friend, Linda.

“Hey, Linda” I whispered “I’m going to get Brittany’s attention by giving her this candy cane. You grab the piece of paper out of her pocket secretly then hand it to me.” Linda looked at me.

“Why do you need the piece of paper?” She asked a little too loudly.

“Shhh, keep it down! Brittany knows I want the piece of paper. See, it’s my report. She took it from me when I was waiting for the bus. Just follow my plan and it’ll work.” We walked quietly over to Brittany. I approached her and said, “Hey, Britts! Want a candy cane??!” Brittany looked at me oddly.

“Okay… But, don’t call me ‘Britts’ got it?” she said hesitantly. She took the candy cane out of my hand very cautiously. Then I silently signaled to Linda to take the paper out of her pocket. But, when Linda made her attempt, Brittany spinned around like a rattlesnake ready to bite and grabbed Linda’s hand and took the paper out of her Linda’s grasp. Then, Brittany turned around to me. “Nice try Maria. You didn’t have me fooled for a second!” Brittany started to lick my candy cane. I stomped back to my seat with Linda at my side.

“Sorry, Maria. I have a feeling I didn’t do it right.” Linda said apologetically. I sighed.

“Well, it’s not your fault, Linda. It’s nobody’s fault.” We were quiet for a while. “All I did was lose a candy cane!” I said to Linda. We laughed a bit at that. When I got to school, I secretly followed Brittany everywhere she went. She did still have possession to my valuable report. But there one place where I couldn’t follow her. Into her bathroom stall. So, I waited outside the bathroom door for minutes, which seemed like hours. Finally, the door opened and she came out and smiled a square smile in my direction, as if she knew something important that I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know. My eyes grew wide. I rushed into the bathroom stall. No! My report was ripped in two laying in the toilet! I took it out carefully. I dried it ever so delicately. But, it was no use. My report was ruined. I sighed. I was just going to have to ad-lib it in front of my class. Hope for the best and do your best, my mother always told me.

I gulped and walked into the classroom. Ms. Langur was taking attendance. “Janelle?” she asked.

“I go by Nellie.”

“Brittany?” Ms. Langur said.

“Here.” Brittany said. As the teacher took attendance I studied the information I had in my mind about The Revolutionary War. I remembered the stories on Paul Revere vaguely, but it had been so late last night that I had been writing absentmindedly. Then the thought entered my mind that I could tell on Brittany and Nellie but they would just pretend like they didn’t do anything and I was just trying to get them in trouble.

“Maria?” I had been so deeply that I had forgot I was even in the classroom and was startled when she said my name.

“Oh uh, here.” I said.

“Alright, well it looks like we have everybody except… Krista Andrews.” Ms. Langur said. “What we will begin with today is our school assignments on U.S. presidents. Our first contestant is Hannah Davis.” I shot a glance at my best friend Hannah, wishing her good luck. She gave me an uneasy and worried look and walked towards the front of the class.

“My project is on Jimmy Carter. My sources are Wikipedia and our social studies textbook.” Hannah looked sick. “Um, I don’t feel so well. Could I go to the nurse?” Hannah said, her voice shaky.

“Yes, Hannah just go to the nurse. I’ll give you a pass online.” Hannah darted out the door as fast as she could. This did not make me feel any better about my presentation. I just hoped maybe I wasn’t next. “Our next student to present is Maria Bjornak.” My heart stopped. Was I next?! I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t! How could I face the class without a card to read off of? Oh, why did I let Nellie and Brittany take my report? I was now going to humiliate myself in front of the entire class because Nellie and Brittany just had to be mean.

“Yes, Ms. Langur.” I walked the long hallway between the desks and finally reached the front of the classroom. I turned. I faced the class. I bit my lip. What was I going to do? “Uh, my project is on the Revolutionary War. M-my my sources are Wikipedia and our social studies textbook.“ I said this awkwardly there was an uncomfortably long pause. The class was an audience and I was Taylor Swift. The class kept their eyes on me every second.

Then, I remembered something my mother had always told me. Pretend the audience is naked, then you’ll have no problems. They won’t be laughing at you, you’ll be laughing at them. Suddenly, I started to giggle, imagining Brittany and Nellie in their granny pants and Victoria’s Secret bras. I quickly stopped myself. I was the center of attention, they were counting on me to entertain them. Then, all of a sudden, words came rushing out my mouth, like a pipe sprung loose. What was I saying? I heard myself reciting a poem. And it went like this:

“George Washington was a brave, brave man. I personally am a great, great fan.

He had many different great accomplishments in life, like marrying the first lady, who turned out to be his wife.

He rode his sturdy horse through many many battles like the Boston Campaign, which caused him so very much pain.

George Washington was a great, great man and God bless his soul, for his character which lied within him was ever so whole.”

The class was confused for a moment but then started a roar of cheering and whistling. The only people who weren't pleased Brittany and Nellie. They sat in their seat with their lips set tight and their arms crossed. They were very sore at me, but I seriously couldn’t care less. My friends gathered around me.

I was overjoyed. When the class finally settled down, the teacher congratulated me.

“How ever so creative, Maria! You are a fantastic poet! Who ever would have thought of making up a poem about George Washington?! Maria, I am very pleased with your work. You have most definitely earned and deserve an A. That is the highest mark they allow me to give. But, believe me, if it were up to me I would give you much, much more than an A.”

That is the story of how I became a poet. I discovered my real dream to write and make poetry just by that one little school assignment. That was also the end of Brittany and Nellie’s teasing; in fact, now they look up to me and actually respect me. I couldn’t wait to complete another school assignment!