I Cannot Live Without Books

Elizabeth Orchard was an average sized girl with long, smooth, brown hair. She and her brother James both agreed on one thing: that they were the luckiest children in the world. They were lucky because they and two friends get to take a whole year off school, sports, and everything else. They were skipping these things because for a whole year they get to travel around the United States- in alphabetical order. They were doing this because both of Elizabeth’s parents were teachers, and they wanted to take the kids to some historical sites. They were renting an RV because they had James, his friend Evan, Elizabeth, her friend Yvonne, and her other friend Mackenzie. And of course they had Elizabeth and James’ parents.

 

“Hurry up!” called Yvonne. “Or else we might get behind schedule!”

“Coming!” Elizabeth and Mackenzie yelled back. They dragged their suitcases down the long driveway. As soon as Elizabeth got to the end where the RV was parked she hoisted her bag up over her head and handed it to her mother who was inside.

“Let’s go girls! Hop on and grab a seat!” Elizabeth, Mackenzie, and Yvonne hopped up into the RV and found three seats under the rack where their suitcases were. Then they buckled up and sat patiently waiting for Elizabeth’s dad to finish checking the house to see if it’s secure. Next to them the boys were noisily playing their video games.

“Could you guys keep it down? This is a very exciting moment!” said Mackenzie impatiently. Evan turned and stuck his tongue out at her. The three girls peered through the window. Elizabeth’s dad locked the door and trudged down the driveway, rolling his suitcase behind him.  He climbed in to the driver’s seat and buckled his seat belt.

“All right kiddos! Let’s hit the road!”

 

Soon, Elizabeth’s father parked the RV. “All right!” he called. “Lunch break!” The kids piled out of car and headed in to McDonalds. Elizabeth turned to Yvonne and said

“I cannot wait to get to Alabama. Home of the Montgomery Mavericks, baby!”

“The who?” Yvonne asked, bewildered.

“They’re a college basketball team.” Elizabeth replied.

Mackenzie and Yvonne giggled. The girls went to the counter and ordered their food. As soon as the group ate, they crowded back on the RV, and drove toward Alabama.

 

 

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Alabama!” The RV was filled with laughter and excited voices as they entered Alabama.

“This is so awesome! I can’t wait to see the beautiful Alabama trees!” says Mackenzie.

“You won’t have to wait!”  Yvonne says with a grin. Mackenzie, Yvonne, and Elizabeth crowded around the RV window.

“Woah. Look at that!” Elizabeth shouts. Yvonne and Mackenzie glance up ahead and see a car damaged, on the side of the road. There is a lady standing next to it talking on a cell phone.

“ There must have been an accident!” said Yvonne nervously. Elizabeth and her friends turned there gaze from the window. But before they did Elizabeth took a “picture” of the scene with her photographic memory. Yvonne pulled out a book, and Mackenzie watched the cars below pass by. But Elizabeth pondered as she thought about the car. She noticed something very peculiar. The car looked badly damaged, but the lady standing next to it was perfectly fine. And if she hadn’t been inside the car, where was the driver?

The waves of the mighty ocean wash over me. “Ramo! Ramo! Where are you?” My sister Kaya calls for me. I disappear under the icy water. Soon I see Kaya’s face above me. Her mouth forms words I do not hear, but I can read her expression with ease. Reluctantly, I rise. “You fool!” she cries. “We’ll be late for the meeting!” She pulls me to my feet. The two of us run up the hill and down the slope in to the village.

Aiden adjusted the few sheets that kept him warm at night. He was very uncomfortable because he was on the hard, wooden floor. His bed had been given to his younger sister Charlotte, and her crib was given to his 1-year-old brother, Bryce. Aiden threw the sheets off of him and stood up.  He tiptoed to the bathroom to get a drink of water. Before he had even reached to turn on the sink, a voice behind him made him jump.

“Aiden, you know you’re not supposed to drink water after dinner.” said the voice. Aiden turned around, and found himself face to face with Ryan, his older brother.

“And who’s going to turn me in? You?” Aiden snapped. Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Well, I won’t need to. Dad turns the water off before he goes to bed.” Ryan said with a sigh. Aiden turned dark red. His eyes became watery and a tear dripped down his face.

“You… you… go away!” he cried. Aiden ducked in to the shower and hid with the curtain wrapped around him, shivering. He heard the light switch click on and the harsh voice that belonged to his father spoke.

“What is going on?” he hissed. “Is that Aiden?” he asked Ryan. Ryan nodded. “Aiden, come out of there right now.” he said.

“No.” Aiden replied in a shaky voice. “No, no, no, no!” he said more confidently. His father sighed, told Ryan to go to bed, and walked out. Aiden sat there, crying, wishing his father had tried harder.

The next morning, the Mcgee’s all gathered in the hallway. Aiden slumped into his chair at the small table that stood in the hallway. Charlotte, Christa, and Marie were sitting all in a row chatting to each other. His twin brothers Davis and Fred sat across from each other, arguing about who got the bigger piece of bacon. Bryce was being cradled by his mother. Alyssa and Charlie were sitting side by side, talking about the new kid on the street. Mary-Katherine, Jo, and Bella- Kate were fighting over another stupid subject. Today, it was socks.

“You get blue socks, and Jo gets pink and I’m stuck with purple!” Mary-Katherine cried to Bella- Kate.

“Pink is so girly, I’d take purple any day!” whined Jo.

“Blue is so boyish, I wish I had purple or pink!” complained Bella-Kate.

“Shut up, will you?” snapped Bobby who was right next to them. Aiden looked at Bobby from across the table. Bobby mouthed to him, “Can you believe them?” Aiden shook his head. He turned his gaze to where his older twin sisters Liani and Hannah were standing.

“Did you hear him tell Micah that he liked her?” whispered Liani.

“I know!” said Hannah in a hushed tone.  They both glanced over at Ryan, who was leaning against the banister munching on a piece of toast. Aiden stopped staring at Ryan only when his father put a piece of bacon and half a slice of toast on his plate.

“Why do I only get half a piece of toast?” he asked, curiously.  His father pretended not to hear him, and proceeded to giving Bobby breakfast. Aiden pressed on. “Are we running really low on money? Do the neighbors think we look fat? Are…” he stopped talking at the look on his father’s face. It was filled with anger.

“Eat.” he grumbled. Then he set off toward Liani and Hannah, and handed them plates with an amount of food even less then Aidens’. He was beginning to think nothing exciting was to happen that morning until he heard footsteps stomping their way up the stairs. Mrs. Howard appeared at the top of the staircase, still in her nightgown.

“Once again Joseph, your children kept me and my family up half the night! My daughter needs sleep, she is a growing girl! Your little animals are preventing her from getting any shut eye!” Mrs. Howard snarled. “Don’t forget Joseph, that I rented out this top floor out to you and I can kick you right back out!” she spat at him. Aiden’s father remained standing as stiff as a board, but spoke in a cool voice.

“Angie if you were to kick us out, you would not be able to pay the housing taxes.” he said. Mrs. Howard stood there for a second, staring at Aiden’s father. Neither of them seemed to notice that everybody had stopped talking and all eyes were watching them to see what would happen next. Then, Mrs. Howard stuck her nose in the air and said, “The mail will be here soon, and I do not want to retrieve it for you. Send one of your brats… I mean… children down to get it.” She stomped back down the stairs, in to her bedroom, and slammed the door shut behind her.  “Well, someone go wait outside for the mail!” snapped their father. Aiden jumped up and hurried down the stairs. He could have sworn Ryan shot him a dirty look.

Outside, the wind was not very strong, but the breeze was cool enough that he could lie on his stomach in the grass and would not overheat. Aiden watched a ladybug, several ants, and a beetle crawl by on the sidewalk next to him before the mail arrived. Aiden leapt to his feet when the mailman got out. “Hi Aiden!” the mailman called merrily. Aiden raced up to him.

“Hi! I need my mail!” he said in one breath. The mailman chuckled and handed Aiden a stack of mail including several newspapers, many envelopes, and one or two post cards. Aiden had to take large steps in order to keep up with the mailman, who was already almost at the door. He rang the doorbell just as Aiden reached the front step. “Come on, they know you’re here! You might as well come in!” Aiden said to the mailman. He chuckled again as Aiden opened the front door for him. Then a pretty girl with blonde hair in braids came around the corner.

“I need the mail for the Howards.” she said with a smile. “Hi Aiden!” she said cheerfully as the mailman pulled out a large stack of mail.

“Hi.” Aiden replied. Jessie Howard was Mrs. Howard’s daughter. She was the complete opposite of Mrs. Howard, but Mrs. Howard doesn’t know that. She calls her daughter Jessica, and she’s the only one in the world who does. “Thanks!” said Jessie when the mailman gave her the mail. “Oh no!” Jessie cried as she dropped the mail on the floor. Just then, Ryan came bounding down the stairs.

“Hey Jessie! You want some help with that?” he asked very quickly. Jessie smiled.

“Yeah, thanks so much Ryan.” she said. The two of them began to pick up the papers.

“Look, Jessie I was won-” Mrs. Howard who had finally emerged from her room interrupted Ryan. “Ahh, Jessica, you have the mail. Come along, we have a brunch to go to.” Mrs. Howard said. Jessie sighed and stood up. “Sorry!” she mouthed to Ryan. Then she left with her mother. For a second they just stood there. Then, little Abigail Burk from downstairs bounced in to the room. “Mail please!” she said. She received a stack of papers that was very large, then bounced back downstairs. Aiden and Ryan both returned upstairs as the mailman opened the front door to leave.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. It is the year 5000, and Earth is not the same.

Some years ago, the Earth stopped rotating. Half of the Earth was cast in to darkness, and the other half got so hot that all life on it was destroyed. No one dared to leave the dark side of the Earth even though it was bitter cold. One man snatched the opportunity to take over the world. And so, Earth was doomed for all eternity.

She woke and remembered dying. The flash of light. The instant pain. Ella Ash was dead. Ella rose. “Do dead people move?” she asked aloud. “Wait… Do dead people talk?” Ella shouted. Ella knew she was dead. She had to be. IT had come for her. She couldn’t have survived IT. She was powerless against IT. Powerless. Unless… No. It isn’t possible. Ella’s father is gone. There’s no way to get him back. He’s lost all the love he once had for his daughter.

Let us leave dear Ella for a moment, and go to another place. This place is full of misery. It is known as the center of the universe. You guessed it. We are going to Times Square.

Lightning struck. Thunder shook the Empire state building.

“I’ll never tell her!” Jonah shouted. He struggled against the arms of the guards.

“You won’t have to,” said a low voice. “Once she figures out what happened… she’ll come to you.” IT let out a cackle. IT snapped his fingers. Jonah was dragged away. As he left, Jonah looked over his shoulder. Then Jonah screamed.

“No! No!” In IT’s hands was a crystal ball, and in the ball, Jonah saw Ella. Tears came in to his eyes as IT held the ball above the ground. Jonah cried out as the ball hit the ground, shattering. One of the pieces came bouncing toward Jonah. He stared in horror at Ella’s face. Then, he was taken from the room. IT grinned.

“She doesn’t stand a chance.”

Ella heard a shatter. Then, she was knocked off her feet. Ella looked up at the sky. Images were appearing. There she was, standing with Jonah. Jonah looked at her… and knocked her out. Ella gasped. Why had her true love done such a horrible thing? Then she saw a shadowy figure. Ella stared in horror as she watched Jonah stand between her and IT. It was a long battle, and Ella wept at the sight of Jonah in pain. Then she watched as IT took Jonah, leaving her behind. The images faded as fast as they had appeared. Ella could barely breathe. They have Jonah. They have him. Ella ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Soon, she began to feel tired, and hungry. But all she could think of was her precious Jonah. She had to find him, or she would never be able to live with herself.

 

A magnet is an object that attracts certain materials. Magnets attract materials such as metal and copper. A magnet has North and South poles. A magnet is strongest at its poles. Magnets can sometimes occur in nature. The Earth itself is a magnet. Earth, like all other magnets, has North and South poles.

In order for a magnet to act, it needs to be surrounded by a magnetic field. A magnetic field is the space around a magnet that allows the magnet to act.

Another type of magnet is an electromagnet. An electromagnet is put together by curling a wire around a nail and attaching it to a battery. A scientist named Michael Faraday discovered the electromagnet.

Ben Franklin was also a scientist, but he is famous for a different reason. Ben Franklin discovered that lightning is a form of electricity. He did this by attaching a key to a kite. Then he went out in a storm and flew the kite. The key was struck by lightning, and Ben Franklin discovered lightning was a form of electricity in nature.

Magnets come in all different shapes and sizes. From bar magnets, to horseshoe magnets, to our Earth, magnets play a big role in the world we know today. Without magnets, you wouldn’t be able to do many of the things that you take for granted. We are very lucky that magnets exist in our world.