I was very bored the other day so I went and had a look at www.funny.com. This picture was in the most popular pictures of all time! The picture is of a mural painted above a designated smoking area. Me not being a smoker, I found it quite funny, but I can imagine seeing someone who does smoke seeing it and feeling a bit guilty! (About what they may be doing to their body). What do you think about it? Comment please.

Some of my goals next year are…

Getting a role in the school production,
hopefully achieving class councillor, then head student (or maybe house captain),
going on the Ski Trip again,
making the school magazine twice as good as this year (if that’s possible),
being a good role model to all the new year 7’s,
continuing my music lessons with the trombone,
continuing participating in school drama,
and maybe joining another cultural option like Jump Jam or dance.

Wish me luck!

The dogs began to howl. But their mournful tones started to melt into a very strange noise. Almost like… a whining cat! Jack opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around. He seemed to be still lying in his garden. Amber was sitting next to him whining and whinging, trying to wake Jack up. Jack rubbed his head- he must have hit it on something and been knocked out. Come to think of it… there was a small tree resting right next to him. He got up and picked Amber of the ground, then began to walk back towards his house. Jack’s dream was slowly coming back to him now. He thought it had something to do with all the cats acting strangely, his neighbour Darren, and a lot of police dogs. Jack scratched Amber’s head as he opened the back door.

“Listen, do I have a story to tell you!”

THE END

What am I going to do? Jack started to worry when he realised how desperate his situation was. It was pouring with rain. He was alone with a mass murderer in the middle of some strange town, with no way to escape or get home. Except…

Maybe those animals really are police dogs! It was Jack’s only hope. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer and closer anyway. The sound of an engine revving up met Jack’s ears- Darren must have realised that Jack knew his plan. He was driving away! Jack waited for the sound of Darren’s car to fade, then leaped out from behind the bush. He then started to walk down to the other end of the street. Hopefully, if luck was on his side, there would be police officers with the dogs.

Suddenly, the growing sound of footsteps stopped, and was replaced by a police siren. It got louder and louder, until a line of police cars appeared at Jack’s end of the street, along with Darren’s green van. Jack quickly dived behind a hedge and watched. Darren seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid being caught. He swerved from side to side, and gained speed. The van got faster and faster, finally spinning out of control. It skidded through a puddle, then crashed into a huge tree.

To be continued…

“Hurry Darren, they’re coming fast!” Jack was right. The pounding of huge paws on the ground was getting louder and louder. Darren turned around. He had a sheepish look on his face.

“Uh… I don’t know how to break this to you, but I packed the wrong bag.”

“WHAT?!” Jack shrieked. “What are we going to do!?”

“Run for it!” yelled Darren. Him and Jack sprinted the long distance back to the van and dived inside. They drove in tense silence for around 5 minutes. Then, a spluttering noise met their ears, and the van slowed to a stop.

“There must be something wrong with the engine”, muttered Darren as he looked at the fuel gage- which was almost full. Darren hopped out of the van and jogged around to the bonnet. While Jack waited, a newspaper clipping met his eye. It was poking out from under the seat.

‘NOTORIOUS MASS MURDERER DARREN HENRY ESCAPES’ read the title. The article had a picture too. it was of a younger Darren holding Cupcake as a kitten. Jack froze. This couldn’t be right. Darren- a murderer? The date on the top of the page read: 12/5/06. This meant that supposedly, Darren had been on the run for over 2 years. Jack now felt even more scared than before. What if all of this was just a plan for Darren to get to Jack? His mind started to work furiously. It was all making sense to him now. Darren had moved next door two years ago. Amber acting strangely- she must have known about Darren’s plans somehow. All of the lies about dogs- Darren must have made them up in an attempt to take Jack away to a remote place. But then what could the huge animals have been? Fake…unless they were police dogs! Maybe the police had found out about Darren’s plans.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps met Jack’s ears. Darren was coming back to the van!

To be continued…

“So, where exactly are we going, Darren?” Jack asked.

Darren laughed. “Right to the edge of our town, young man!”

He revved up his engine and the van started to creep along the driveway, windows rattling. Jack breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the road, for he knew that he wouldn’t be in danger of waking up his sleeping parents anymore.

Ten minutes later, the roads started to turn more dusty. Jack poked his head out the open window and could smell the scent of dryed up shrubs. The dark landscape in front of them displayed a desert-like scene. Jack’s thoughts were suddenly halted- he could actually hear the chirping sound of cicadas! Up until now, the harsh rain had blocked out any noise except raindrops clashing with materials. But the rain had stopped, and Jack could even detect a flowery scent among the smell of dryed shrubs.

The old green van slowed to a stop, and Darren jumped out the door, beckoning Jack to follow him.

“Grab the bags on your way out!” he called, and Jack obeyed. Jack and Darren started to trek across the desert. They stopped walking around fifteen minutes later.

“Here we are!” said Darren. Suddenly, a mournful howl consumed their ears. All too quickly, silhouettes of large animals appeared on the horizon.

“Darren! What do we do?!” Jack shrieked.

To be continued…

“Darren? How do we get out?” he inquired.

“Ah.” said Darren. “I forgot to mention that. There’s a staircase over there.” He pointed to the far corner of the room. Jack couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before! Jack thanked and told Darren that he would see him later, and climbed up the staircase. He heaved open the trapdoor that appeared above him, and poked his head out. He seemed to be on the edge of Darren’s garden. He scrambled up and out, while closing the trapdoor behind him. The garden was a beautiful sight, even in the, still wet, darkness. Jack could tell that it looked spectacular during Spring. He ran across the garden and jumped the fence into his backyard.

As he was about to take a step forward his foot connected with something squishy- and soft. Amber! She screeched and ran towards the back door. Jack followed her, opened the door and she dashed inside. Jack glanced at the clock- 11:00pm. He set his watch to go off at 5:15am. Then he threw on some pyjamas and settled in for the night.

* * *

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep! Jack’s watch woke him a with a fright. It was still dark and rainy outside. He rolled out of his bed and toppled onto the floor. He knew he wouldn’t have any time for breakfast, so instead just quietly put some clothes on, being wary of the fact that his parents were still sound asleep.

I suppose I’d better get ready. Jack thought, and spotted his backpack by the door. He threw in some food from the fridge and his drink bottle. He also included his pocket knife set. The door loomed appealingly at him, so he gave up on doing anything else and exited the house.

Back in his study, Darren was waiting excitedly for Jack. As soon as he arrived, Darren lept out of his chair.

“Okay mate, let’s go!”

Darren sighed. “I knew this day would come. My hideout is too obvious for the adventurous types.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, I might as well start from the beginning. Take a seat.”

Jack sat.

Darren continued to stroke Cupcake. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a sixth sense. The ability to predict the future and the present. Normally it works in favour of me- such as this time. I built this study to give myself a place to think and research my abilities.

“About 3 weeks ago, a strong feeling of anxiety began to creep into my system. I had dreams and visions of a gang of vicous dogs coming for our town. I know it sounds strange, but it’s true. I researched it, and found out that these dogs are known all over the world as a myth, and that they cause cats to become out of character. Hence Cupcake venturing out of the house.”

“And Amber hating warm milk” said Jack quietly.

Darren continued. “I even managed to find the exact time and date that these canines would arrive. Tomorrow at 6:00am. But now, since I have told you everything, the offer becomes more apparent. Would you come with me to help ward the dogs off?”

Jack sat up. “Are you mad?! Of course I will! Anything to get Amber back to normal!”

“Great then!” Darren clapped his hands together. “I knew, as soon I saw you come through that bookcase, that you were the perfect helper. Only a true adventurer could figure out how to get down here. Shall I meet you back here then, at say, 5:00am?”

“Sure!” said Jack.

To be continued…

He got up and paced back and forth in front of the bookcase. Maybe it was blocking something- the exit could be behind it. Jack walked over to a side and pulled. Nothing happened. It wouldn’t even budge!  

Suddenly, Jack’s eyes caught sight of something. It was a book called ‘Handles’. The author was ‘Ima Doorknob’.

That’s ironic, thought Jack. Too ironic. He walked over to it and tried to pull it off the shelf. A faint ‘click’ was heard, and the entire bookcase swung towards him. Jack was hit and flew back towards the beanbag. He wasn’t put off, however, and jumped up straight away -but somewhat cautiously- to meet the sight before him.

His eyes slowly took in what he was seeing. It was Cupcake, proudly purring, and sitting in the lap of Jack’s 50- something year old neighbor, Darren. One hand being used to stroke Cupcake, Darren leered at Jack from a rickety old rocking chair.

‘I see you’ve found my study.’

To be continued…