Below are stories written by Parsley students as entries for the 2008-2009 North Carolina Young Author's Contest. The following 4 were selected to proceed to the county level competition.

Of these four, three were also New Hanover County and NC State Young Authors winners!

OUR INVISIBLE BRIDGE

I sat in my seat barely able to breathe, waiting for take-off. It was my first plane flight and I was ready for anything. The captain announced that it was ten minutes until we were in the air. It felt like an hour. The plane started to move onto the runway and I thought that I might suffocate. Then the plane raced down the runway and I fell back into my seat as we started to lift into the air.

The trees, houses, cars, and people started to vanish into thick clouds. The only things remaining were small shapes. When we got higher, the sky was blue with small clouds and I could see twinkling lights. Then I saw an ocean and a sunset. It was beautiful.

We started our decline. I nearly fell out of my seat. The seatbelt squeezed me tightly and my ears felt full of cotton. The flight attendants were told to take their seats. We were dropping dramatically out of the sky. The twinkling lights started to reappear. The wheels hit the ground and we gently slowed to a stop. We had crossed our invisible bridge.

Arielle Pollock
Grade 5

Takhoma Bridge: AKA 'Galloping Gertie'

Galloping Gertie,
She wasn't so sturdy,
She crashed into the bay,
On that terrible day,
One man survived,
He was still alive,
He recalls the day,
The bridge gave way,
In loops,
And turns,
And churns,
And coils,
So fast,
So loud,
It upturned soil,
And years,
And years,
And years,
After,
You can hear the ghost of the bridge,
Groan,
Creak,
Moan,
Squeak,
Through the wall of the rafters.

Stephen Reish 5th grade

THE EVERLASTING BRIDGE

I've always thought that bridging a friendship meant that you make a friend that stays with you forever, such as my best friend Via Hoke Rohde. She was, is, and always will be my best friend. Sadly I say was, because they are moving all the way across the country to California. No, not because of her dad's or mom's job; not because they have lived here too long. It is because her grandparents live there and her parents thought the family needed a change. Now, you probably think this is not that bad. But wait until you hear MY point of view.

Via.
Via was my best friend ever since I moved here three years ago. She was my friend when I had no idea who anyone was here. It was as simple as that. One day after I first moved to Wilmington, my dad and I went over to their yard and Dad said, "Do you have room for one more?" That "one more" was me. They were playing soccer, which I had never played before, ever! So with my sandals on I kicked the ball and had a sore toe for days. That day I made a friend, but not just any friend - a true friend and at that time, my ONLY friend.

To this day our friendship has been building, building a bridge that would never break. No matter when, no matter who, and no matter why or how. This bridge is and always will be stronger than any titanium or metal. Because this bridge was made of the one thing stronger than anything else in the world - friendship. Pure friendship. And even though she's moving, I will always see her on the other side of that bridge. So North Carolina, or California, our bridge will never perish. Ever.

Kendall Walker 5th grade

 

DRAGON SLAYING

There behind the castle wall
A knight there stood in his warhorse stall

There was a dragon he had to slay
His adventure begins the next great day

The next morning he woke up fast
Preparing for the battle that he might not last

He put on his armor and wielded his sword
And said goodbye to his mighty lord

Over the drawbridge and there he went
He started his journey to where he was sent

He went over mountains, across streams and lakes
He'd risk his life, but it was a danger he had to take

There were treasures of diamonds and gold
But first he had to cross a bridge that was very old

Across the bridge was a terrible sight
There was a dragon at fifty foot height

He spewed fireballs that melted the ground
There was lava and ashes all around

The knight held up his sword which was shining bright
Then he attacked the dragon to win the fight

When he was fighting he remembered what his father had said...
Its only weak point was its head

He chopped and slashed at the menacing foe
He killed the dragon with one last mighty blow

He went back home with treasures of gold
People cheered when he came down the road

He went back home safe and sound,
Knowing the dragon was dead on the ground

Yue Zhang 5th grade