Perfect Party

Dear Readers,

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..................

Sorry, I just had to write that.

Finally, I'm writing from my beautiful room in Dayton, Ohio, without worrying about whether I'm going to the Forbidden Land* or not!!!!! (*The Forbidden Land is what I call Alaska. Truly, Alaska's beautiful, but I really wouldn't want to leave my beautiful Dayton!!)

So, I just had to celebrate me not leaving. Noah wasn't going to hear of me NOT having it. And what is my amazing "it"?

A party!!!

Yes, a party.

A party for Middle Schoolers........ (explanation: I was going to invite my friends, but then Mom and Dad were like "are you kidding?! You have to invite everybody!" Hey, it was their idea. I just hoped that they wouldn't trash the house.) Everybody, just to let you know, also includes popular girls like Maya Henderson.

So Mom went and bought me a new dress (awesome summer dress, thanks bunches, Mom!!), got some fun drinks and food and disposable plates and such, decorated the house, and whalaa!!! You've got a house decorated by my mother ready for a party!!

This is Noah's email to me about the party:

To: Jessie Bender <dramaticcrazyjessie@gmail.com> (hey--you didn't think I was going to miss that awesome opportunity, did you??) =D
From: Noah (are you imaging what his last name's going to be??) Darcy (how Pride & Prejudicey is that??) <savethekoalabears@yahoo.com> (I believe he liked koalas as a ten year old......)
Subject: Party!

Jessie,

This is going to be so awesome!!!! OK, since you're like my best friend, do you think I look better in green or blue??? Well?? I know, I know. Asking you for fashion advise. But seriously!! This is going to be so much fun!! You didn't invite Maya, did you??

Noah

I won't put my reply here, but anyway.......

So the day of the party arrived. *excitement!* *excitement!* I just about couldn't wait. I took a shower, straightened my hair, curled it, got dressed, and screamed around the house for the rest of the day helping Mom.

Finally one o'clock came (of course we did it on a Saturday). Everybody started arriving. Of course Noah was there first. He wore a brown and blue and green checked shirt (which is why I decided that it wasn't really necessary to put my email reply because, I mean, he wore both!!!). Then arrived a few more kids. Then Michael. Then a few more kids. Then Lulu and her friends ("Jessie! I really hope we can be better friends soon....." Cool, I know!! Spaghetti fight girl?? AWESOME!! :D) arrived, and then after that.... ugh...... Maya.

"Wow, this party stinks already," she snorted.

To my surprise, she was met with a, "Shut up," by Michael. Go, Mikey!!

We played some great games, ate some great food, and then it was time for people to go. Surprisingly, everybody had given me a "welcome back, Jessie!" gift, even though I hadn't asked for any and it wasn't like I'd really left, anyway.

Noah suggested that I open Maya's first. "Might as well find out what's in it," he shrugged.

I wasn't so eager. I mean, what if it was something that was going to ruin my good looks forever? Like some kind of torch blower thingy that would burn my facial features and disfigure me horribly...?!

"Just open it," urged Noah.

I did. It was a dress. A really pretty dress.

"Wow," I said.

What about that?

Love,
Jessie
  

The Dodo Decision

Dear Readers,

It seems like forever since I picked up a pen (no, I can't stand pencils--guess I'm too impatient to sharpen, haha) and sent my letter to Storyteller for her to post on this blog for all of your interested personages.

So, where should I start? How about right before we left Dayton? Sounds good. ;)

So we packed our bags, got plane tickets, and set off on our journey for the Forbidden Land.... aka Alaska.

OK, pause it.

So I know what you guys are wanting.

How on earth did I break to to Noah?

DID I even break it to Noah?

Yes, I did.

So, *sigh*, I guess I'll tell you before I tell you the best part.

It was going to be my last day at Dayton before we shipped off to Alaska to go check it out BEFORE we moved. (hopefully we won't EVER move. Keep praying, guys.) I'd ignored the newspaper all day (most of all Michael Hall, but he wouldn't talk to me, anyway, especially after the warehouse incident), shuffled my feet through classes, and ran through hallways escaping Noah.

So, I saw what you'd said to do, Madeline. So I'd decided that maybe I wasn't going to talk to him at all. Believe me, THAT's weird for me. So, really, I was taking your advice. Truly.

But, unfortunately, as I was about to yet again escape successfully (heehee, evil chuckle, evil chuckle), Noah grabbed my arm and whirled me around, frowning and putting his hands on his hips (really. It was hysterical. He looked like a mom).

"What on earth are you doing?" he demanded. "You've been ignoring me all day. Me. Your best friend. The guy you shared your cookies with until fourth grade." His blue eyes bored into my very being. "What on earth is going on?"

"Nothing," I shrugged, shuffling my feet.

He snorted. "I know there's something."

"Look, you wouldn't want to know," I said.

"Try me," he answered.

I looked away. Madeline, your thought came to mind. Act crazy? Be normal? Act crazy? Be normal? So what my crazy would've been would've been to go and giggle and screech and then race off the hall and right before I turned the corner stick my head around it and say in an eerie voice, "Strange magic goes on in these walls", and then take off running for the doorway....!!!!!!! OK, so I wasn't going to do that. Sorry, Madeline.

"I'm moving," I blurted. "Well, I might be moving."

Noah's eyes bulged in horror. "WHERE?!"

"Alaska," I said.

"Alaska?!" he cried.

"Alaska," I agreed.

"But...but that's like in another WORLD!!" he yelled.

"Oh, really?" I snorted. "I didn't notice. Thanks, bud, for your very intelligent observation!" I was so frustrated and anger and confused and scared that I actually snapped at him.

"You can't go!" declared Noah. "I won't let you."

I snorted. "Forget it. I'm leaving tomorrow."

And then the weirdest happened. He hugged me. OK, "squished me" would be a better way to describe it.

"Umm, Noah?" I managed to gasp out. "You're killing me!"

He finally let go. "I don't believe it, Jessie."

I sighed. "Me, either."

"I could kidnap you," Noah suggested. "You could hide in our old clubhouse, and we wouldn't tell your parents. Promise."

I gave him a look. "Thanks, Noah, but I don't think that's very realistic."

And then I said goodbye and walked off.

Sometimes I feel so stupid.

What on earth are you supposed to say to your friend the last time you see them?

                              ----------------------------------------------------------

So then we took off for Alaska. The town that Dad was thinking of taking us to was called Dodo, Alaska. No joke. Dodo. As like in the bird. Wow, what a stupid name.

So we arrived at the airport. We grabbed our luggage, rented a four-wheel drive, and took off along the roads towards Dodo. If it lived up to its name, I was going to take Noah's suggestion and run off all the way back to Dayton.

We finally got into the town.

"Here's the hotel," said Dad.

The Bedbug's Den. Lovely, Dad.

We checked in. Before I went to sleep, I made sure to check for bedbugs. There weren't any, though the place was dinky enough to have had them.

The next day we went and toured the town. First of all, the place was horrible. It was junky, stinky, and couldn't have even been called "quaint". The school looked so much like a dump that before we even went in to see if they could even think of registering me Mom said, "Honey, we're not sending Jessie to this school. And I'm not living here!!"

Go, Mom!!

So, we went back to the hotel. The next day we went off to the airport, bought new tickets, and guess what now? I'm writing this letter from my desk back in good ol' Dayton, Ohio!!!

THANK GOODNESS!!!!

So, you see, I can still say that I'm crazy, dramatic Jessie.

Instead of actually-crazy, demented Jessie from Alaska.

Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =D

Love,

Jessie

My photos

Hey, guys!!

This is Storyteller again. How are you guys like Jessie Bender? Yeah, I know it's so sad that she's moving to Alaska!! But... there's still hope, right? I mean, Noah might like start a rally to convince her parents to have Jessie stay with his family.........

Anyway, so I took some pictures that I wanted to share with you guys!!! I only edited them a little bit... ;)

 This is my one of the sky. It wasn't night yet, but the moon was so visible that I wanted to get a good picture of it. Alas, I think that eyes take a lot better pictures than cameras.

 Another moon one....... I didn't edit it to look more reddish this time. This is more what it looked like. Just saying. ;)

 I LOVE this picture!!!! =D I like how it turned out so well, how the trees look black and everything against the sky.

 This reminds me of the walls of Andy's room in Toy Story. haha :)

More red skies. Wow.

And, finally, the grand-finale--a sunset!!!!!! =D

Lator, gator!!

~Storyteller

More info on my move to Alaska

Dear Readers,

Yes, it's me, Jessie. I have come to give you more details about my move to Alaska (yeek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

So, technically we're not moving yet. We're going to go to Alaska, spend a week or so in the town that offered Dad the job, and then see if we like it.

(God, please make it horrible, please make it stinky, please make everybody mean, please let there be cockroaches everywhere because Mom hates cockroaches, please let all of the housing situations be terrible, please let there be horrible weather, please let everything be horrible, and please let the public school there not accept me!!!!!!)

So we're leaving tomorrow.

I still have to break it to Noah.

I'm NOT telling anybody else. Definitely not.

Love,
Jessie

P.S. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thief's Quest

Added more on The Thief's Quest.........

Alaska?!?!

Dear Readers,

No,  I didn't not die in a car crash. No, I was not enveloped by an avalanche. Yes, I am ready to give you another letter from myself! How are you guys doing today? Good? That's good. Because I'm about to shatter your good.

I'm moving. Kidding? No. Bad? Yes.

I haven't broken it to Noah yet. He's going to have a fit.

Maya's going to triumph. She hates me.

And what about everything? It's not fair.

And the worst part? I'm moving to Alaska!! I know, like, "Mom, are you and Dad crazy?!" They must be. It's horrible. I'm never going to be the same after I leave Dayton, Ohio.

But I at least still have you guys.

You do read these letters, don't you?

Love,
Jessie

The Guitar Episode

Dear Readers,

Yes, another letter from crazy, dramatic Jessie!!! I am finally back. Sorry I haven't written in a little while...... I've been kind of busy!!! =D First of all I was working on my signature, and then there was the newspaper, and reporting on both football and cross country........

Anyway, so I was walking home from the store when I a gorgeous guitar. Now, I don't usually think of myself as musical, but if you got to play something that beautiful, I mean, really, then it might just be worth it.

I rushed home and nearly ran into Mom, who was walking out the door. 

"Oof!" I cried. "Mom! Do you have a guitar?"

"What kind of a question is THAT?" Mom snorted.

"I really need to know," I said. "It's important."

"No," she sighed, "but your Uncle Max I think still has his. You should go ask him."

Uncle Max? She had to be joking.

Uncle Max and Aunt Thea were the type of people who walked the wall of China for their honeymoon and considered hockey "easy" and "fun" and "not life-dangering". They were the kind of people who rushed around and when they accidently knock down your prize vase say, "Well, you always liked me more, didn't you?"

Yeah, so you know what I'm dealing with.

Was my mother nuts?!

"Bye, Jessie!" Mom called, waving from the car.

"Wait! Mom!" I yelled. "Where are you going?"

"To the library!" the car spewed and then shot off. I wondered for the hundredth time how on earth Mom had gotten a driver's license. No doubt she'd nearly killed the driver's ED teacher.

I sighed. I'd just have to go Uncle Max's. Ugh.

Now, it wasn't hard to get to Uncle Max's house. It was actually pretty easy. Other than the fact that he lived on the other side of Dayton. Uncle Max and Aunt Thea were like billionaires, so they lived in this huge mansion that they'd painted in stripes--the colors of the rainbow, of course--and a purple barn where they kept their "farm animals"--three baby ducks, one fat donkey, and the fattest cat ever named Victor.

I set off for their house. When I finally saw it, I took a deep breath. Their van, painted in polka dots, was sitting in the driveway of crushed seashells (don't ask). I walked up to the huge wooden double doors and pushed the doorbell.

Hard rock burst off inside the house. The door quickly opened, and in front of me was the short, plump, wild red-haired, bulgy-blued eyed Aunt Thea.

"Jessie!!!!" she shrieked. Over her shoulder, "Maxie-poo, Jessie's here!"

"Jessie? What a wonderful surprise!" Tall, gangly, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Uncle Max came into the light wearing, as always his "Englishman clothes", as he called them. "And what can I do for you?"

"Um, uh, Mom said you had a guitar," I said.

"Oh, yes, of course!" He cried. "Thea, won't you show them to her? I think they're in the barn!"

"Why don't we have our surprise guest do it?" Aunt Thea winked.

"Surprise guest?" I sent hesitant glances at them.

At just that moment, Mor stepped into the light.

"Mor, would you please help Jessie find Max's guitar? I think it's in the barn," said Aunt Thea.

I was horrified--what on earth was Mor doing HERE?!

"OK." He didn't say anything about seeing me at the cross country meet and followed me out into the barnyard.

We didn't speak. We went into the barn, rummaged around in the junk in the loft, found the guitar, and then Mor shrugged and walked off for the house. The guitar in my hand, I went off running for MY house.

Weird, isn't it?

Bye!!!!!

Love,

Books.....

My eyes were glued to the page,

As the sunlight shone down on me,

As the bright light intensified,

Not the sunlight did I see.

Knights and maidens flashed before my eyes,

Tales of dragons and lore.

People with real problems cry,

For them what's in store?

You can find in the pages,

Everything you could think.

You could be flying over the clouds,

Or swimming in a sink.

You could be the queen of the world,

Or the king of the underground,

You could be safe forever,

Or travel the world around.

You can do anything you want to,

If only you look in the book,

You'll be able to find it,

If only you go and look.

Storyteller

JESS!!!!!

Well, I can't get onto Jess's blog because I'm not invited!!! :( But hopefully she'll still see this award!! YES!! JESS, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, YOU HAVE AN AWARD ON THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!! =D
Bye, ya'll. ;)
~Storyteller

Rainy Day Blog Award

And I know for sure that this is what it says: "Awarded to Bloggers who Brighten a Rainy Day." Thanks, Madeline, for the clarification on Jenny's blog!!! =D

1. Thank the person who awarded you and give her/his link:

Thanks so much, Jenny!!!! =D

2. What do you do on a rainy day?

Rainy day? Hmm....... I don't get many rainy days, but I do get some, and when I do get them, I usually end up reading a book or playing the piano. Or sometimes laboriously writing stories out in notebooks. =D

3. How often does it rain where you live?

Sometimes. Mostly in July..... ;)

4. Nominate 3 or more people this award.

So, I know that a few people who make me happy have already gotten this award (example: Madeline, Jenny, Piano Bookworm.........).

So........ the people that I think would appreciate this award and who I think that this award should go to. 

Are you guys ready?

Are you holding your breath, wondering if you got the award because you just went onto this blog without checking to see if I'd notified you?

OK, here we go!!!!

Oh, wow, this is going to be hard.....!

Otter Days. Yes, I had to immediately do Otter Days, because Otter Days is like my best friend, and I would do Piano Bookworm, but she's already gotten the award from Jenny. ;)

Jess. And, yes, of course Jess gets it (haha). =D Because her blogs are just awesome and I love them. :)

Madeline May. Yes, Maddie. Maddie's had a really special part in my blogging world by being the first person to ever have been on my blog other than my friend Otter Days. Thanks so much, Maddie!! =D

And I know that the rest of you deserve this, but I've decided just to do three. :)

5. Notify the nominees.

Will do. ;)

Bye!!!!

~Storyteller

P.S. OK, I know this is random, but I just had to say that if you haven't listened to Gold by Britt Nicole, well, you should!!!! It's awesome and I'm listening to it right now!!!!! =D 

Contest!

Hello!!!

So now guess what's caught up to cool pictures? Contests and quizzes!!!!  Yay!!!!!! =D So, guess what's going to happen? Instead of a Jessie Bender letter at right this moment (I'll probably write one later), I'm going to be doing a contest. Yes, a contest. If I start this contest, there'll be a contest going on on all of my blogs!!!!! Well, except The Story Club, but that's different..... ;) And by the way--check that blog out!! The Story Club has lots of awesome authors!! I believe that Willow just posted her awesome story there..... (and click on the link for an awesome blog!!!)

OK, so what's the contest? 

You get to do just what Connie did in my story!! OK, OK, not exactly. What you're going to do is describe a beautiful place that's close to your heart, just as Connie described Grandma Beacon's place in her report. The two people with the most promising descriptions will be put up against each other in a poll for you to decide who gets the awesome award that I have yet to create!!!!

To enter: just put your story in the comments of this post. As long as it fits in the comments, then it's short enough. (note: please no like 300 page stories, please!!) The judging will be done all by Storyteller. If you have won by popular vote of the people on this blog, you may, and only then, drag off your award that I will soon post.

Bye!!!

~Storyteller

For any questions please comment.

Stinger in the Nose

Dear Readers,

The following is what happened to me yesterday.

I was sitting in the cafeteria, quietly eating my lunch, a whole bunch of thoughts whirling around my head--cross-country, Mor, the dude in the trench coat..... really, list went on and on.

And then, all of a sudden, my worst fears were revealed.

Maya had that gleam on her face. That was the first immediate notion that this was not going to be good. Especially since she was gleaming right towards me. She stood up on the table, and her friends whipped out the hair dryer again.

"Everyone!" she yelled dramatically.

Everybody turned to look at Maya. Some of them had pure fear on their faces. I wondered what on earth was going to happen.

"Jessie," she started, "is a..."

I don't know how it happened. I don't even know how it got in there! But all of a sudden a bumblebee came into the cafeteria and landed right on Maya's nose. She hadn't even noticed. Just as she said "a", it got frightened, and......

"YEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" Maya's screams will forever echo in my memory. As a good memory? I'll never tell. I wasn't too eager to hear what she was going to say I was.

The second after the sting, Maya's nose grew huge and bright red. She looked like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. After somebody suggested THAT, the idea took right off!

"Jessie!!!!" she shrieked, as if it was all my fault.

She stumbled off the tabletop and over to where I was sitting. I wouldn't have expected her to be strong, but she gripped the front of my shirt in a grip of iron and wrenched me out of my seat. I was sure I was going to get punched when all of a sudden Maya was flying off me.

There was Noah and his football buddies, coming to my rescue. Oh, great. This was going to be Michael Hall's great new story. Stink.

"Thanks, guys," I grinned.

"You'll pay for this!" screamed Maya.

Should I be scared? Probably not. ;)

Love,
Jessie

Bumblebee and Nose--got that?

I have a really good idea for the Jessie Bender story. If I totally forget it tomorrow, I'm counting on you guys! Just remember the words "bumblebee" and "nose", OK? Thanks!

~Storyteller

The Crook or the Creeper?

Dear Readers,

I was going to go and write a huge article on Michael and the Gooseberry Warehouses, but Josh said I couldn't. I'm afraid that my mom agree. Urgh. It would've been great. I was going to go and name it, "The Crook or the Creeper?". Doesn't that sound like a good title? I thought so, too.

So Mom's convinced that she's going to get me to run cross country. So the other day she went and took me to a meet. She'd gone off to talk with everybody, so I was just standing there, bored out of my brains as I waited for the races to start.

Noah wasn't there, obviously; nobody I knew was there. Of course football (Noah's sport) and cross country happen at the same time. So of course I wouldn't have seen Noah there. I just wished he'd been there, because I was seriously bored out of my brains.

I couldn't help but notice this one kid with shorter sandy blonde hair and darting eyes standing by one of the tables. I frowned. What was he so nervous about? I'd studied enough people to know that he was nervous.

Then I noticed something. He was turned inward. He kept on glancing over his shoulder, as if he expected somebody was going to grab his shoulder any second. I looked behind him. In the near distance I saw a suspicious-looking man in a gray trench coat and fedora. Out of place? You've got to be joking. This guy looked like he thought he was Sherlock Holmes-modern.

I sighed. I didn't want to get mixed up in a mystery. But then again, I was dramatic, crazy Jessie. I might as well figure out what on earth was going on! Besides, I felt bad for the kid. I knew that from his uniform he had to be from one of the teams. His colors spoke of the Treyton Knights.

"Hey, my name's Jessie Bender." I held out my hand.

The boy looked at me in surprise. "Mor Banks."

"Mor?" I repeated.

"It's for Morris," he shrugged. "But I hate that name. So my friends call me Mor."

"Are you OK?" I whispered.

He gave me a look.

"You just seem nervous," I shrugged. "Do you need any help? My mom's here. I'm sure she could help you, if you needed anything."

"I'm fine." He looked over his shoulder again.

"Sure?" I asked.

He shrugged.

I sighed. "OK. But if you need help......" I trailed off as I walked away.

For the rest of the day, I watched the weird dude in the trench coat. He kept on sending glances over at Mor. Then it was time for Mor's race. I watched them set off. The man in the trench coat did, too. I didn't like that man. He flipped a cell phone out of his pocket and spoke just a few words.

I'd taught myself lipsinking. Horror built up in my heart as I read his lips.

There were only two. "Get him." And then he flipped the phone shut.

I tried to tell myself to relax. The kids were coming back, crossing the finishing line rapidly. And then, finally, everybody had gotten back. I'd made sure to count everybody. There was only one person missing.

Mor.

Everybody waited uneasily. He didn't come back.

I sighed. Oh, bother!

And so I ran. Up the hill. And beyond. And I couldn't find him.

So after I'd told Mom and she told the sheriff who'd started a search for him, we set off home.

Was that guy in the trench coat a crook?

Or was Mor a creeper?

Love,
Jessie

Warehouse Mishap

Dear Readers,

OK, so I admit it--right now I'm writing this in my closet. Why? Simple. Listen to what just happened to me.

So I come to school and stop over by the newspaper. I was just finishing up my article--Bio-Chaotic Brawl!!--and was about to get off to class when I hear somebody walking up behind me. Using my peripherals, I saw that it was Josh. I wasn't sure what to make of his expression.

"I'm giving you a new partner in the newspaper," he announced.

I turned around and gave him my The Look. "Josh, I've never even had a partner in this newspaper. How can I have a new one?"

"That's not the point," he said. "I'm sorry." He paused, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "I'm going to have to pair you with Michael."

Pause. Then, "WHAT?!"

"Look, Jessie, just listen to me!" Josh urged. "It's not my fault. He specifically asked for you over having to be paired with Maya."

"Maya's joined, too?!" Why was everything bad happening to me? And how come I wasn't being told of all the bad stuff?!

"Yes, I'm afraid so!" Josh snapped. He leaned forward, hissing, "And I'd suggest that you hurry up and compose yourself because here comes Mr. Hall himself at this very moment!" And with that Josh turned on his heel and headed for the door.

As the bell jingled on the newspaper's door, I quickly hid behind my laptop's screen. Maybe we could convince him that somebody else had the name Jessie Bender. Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Great idea, in fact.

"Hey, Jessie." I heard the thump of a laptop being placed on the table. The kid obviously had a lot of money, because otherwise he wouldn't have been plunking the ultra-awesome laptop so carelessly on the table. Seriously, rich kids don't know what they have.

"Hey," I muttered.

Anyway, I won't record all of the small talk that Michael managed to force out of me (that was "managed"). Finally, he took in a deep breath and said, "Jessie, I have something that I need some help with."

"What?"  I queried suspiciously.

"I think that there could be a big story--a REALLY big story--that's just waiting to be uncovered," Michael admitted. "Over by the warehouses. I've been staking out there on my own, and things aren't as they should be."

"You've been TRESPASSING!?" I burst. Seriously, I couldn't help it. "That's like...like...like trespassing!!!"

"Yeah, well...." he shrugged it off. "Anyway, we've seriously got to find it out!"

"It's school," I pointed out. "Let's just go to our classes."

All through school, though, he kept on sending me looks. We were in the middle of English class when the kid that I sat next to, a kid named Toby Ryan, tried to shove a note underneath my arm. I simply took it from him and handed it to the next kid--a girl by the name of Matilda Swanson who's been in love with Michael ever since like forever.

The look on her face alerted the teacher who promptly came up to her desk and snatched the note.

"And what's this?" she asked accusingly, glaring at Matilda. Our teacher strode to the front of the room and then opened the note, reading the following, "'We need to meet tonight. It could be our only chance.'" Her eyebrow lifted in horror, and then she looked towards Michael. "It's says it's signed by you, Michael. Please tell me I'm wrong."

She wasn't. And so he had to stay late after school.

My house is just on the outskirts of Dayton, a pretty place with a rundown old barn that I suppose used to have horses with a field fenced in by wooden fencing. The field is of all tall, green grass. It's my favorite place in the world, especially with all of the trees bordering the fence. Sometimes I wonder what's in that forest.

Anyway, so I was in that field, doing some homework--it's one of my favorite spots--when all of a sudden I feel myself getting hit in the forehead by an acorn. (I found the acorn in my lap, which was why I knew what I'd been hit by). I glanced around suspiciously, and then saw a telltale bike parked by the road.

There was no mistaking it. It was Michael Hall's.

"Michael, you'd better leave!" I yelled.

No answer. Then.....

"We have to check out the warehouse."

"NO!" I answered firmly.

"Fine!" he yelled back from the trees. "Then I'll do it on my own." I watched him run out of the forest, grab his bike, and go pedaling off down the road.

So, what did I do? Well, I think it's rather obvious. I went back to the house and told my mom. She quickly phoned Michael's parents, who agreed that we'd all meet each other at the warehouse to pick up and, if necessary, look for him.

"That kid's trouble," Mom muttered to herself as we buckled up our seatbelts and revved off down the road.

We arrived at the warehouses--Gooseberry Warehouses--that bordered the Dayton River. Really, when I think of rivers, I think of something pretty. Dayton river is so full of pollution that parents are horrified to catch their kids swimming in it.

We met up with Michael's parents--the dad looking like a football player the mom being able to convince people she was a super model--and we both came up with the same conclusion--he was no where in sight.

"We'd better go and talk to the manager," sighed Mrs. Hall.

"But that's the point!" pointed out Mr. Hall. "This place is closed. It's been closed for over forty years. There isn't a manager."

This wasn't going well.

"Come on," I urged. "Let's just call the police, get a search warrant, and go and look for Michael."

"But isn't it public property?" wondered Mom. "Can't we just go in? Do we really have to involve the police? I think we have enough people here already."

"I'll check into it," suggested Mr. Hall.

He was only his cell phone for about a half an hour and then he turned to us. "Anybody's allowed on the property. It's just locked so that there won't be any vandalism."

"So if we can find a way in, then we're all right?" I questioned in surprise.

Mr. Hall shrugged. "I guess so."

That would be easy.

A few minutes later, I'd found the way that Michael had found in. There was a broken part in the wall that was covered by bushes. But if you pushed the bushes back, the opening was quite obvious. Mom, the Halls, and I all crouched on our knees and went through.

"We should split up," suggested Mr. Hall. "Myself and Marie could take this way, and you two can go that way." He pointed opposite ways.

"OK," Mom consented.

The Halls took off and Mom and I started towards a door in the side of one of the warehouses. The faded words announcing the name of the warehouses stood on the side. I guessed this must've been one of the main warehouses.

"Just in case something happens," started Mom, "here's your dad's phone. I snatched it just before we left." She entrusted the sleek device to the mercy of my pockets.

We found that the door was open and went inside. The room was far from empty, as I'd supposed it would be. Inside were thousands of crates. Just looking at it I felt lost.

"And, no, we're not going to separate," Mom snorted, as if reading my scared thoughts. "We're going to stay together. This isn't some kind of weird mystery novel. This is real life and we're going to be smart." Her eyes surveyed the jungle of crates. "Let's try this way, first."

All of a sudden we heard voices. Both of us froze, and Mom beckoned silently for me to come behind a pile of crates. I followed her lead, wondering why were hiding. I guess she knew better, though. And my first instinct was to hide.

The murmuring became louder and then suddenly they were voices, speaking, and I could hear footsteps as the people came closer.

"The shipment should arrive tonight," one of them said. "Remember, nobody's to know about it."

"Right," nodded the other.

There were only two, I could see that now.

They continued to go about this weird shipment. And then walked off. Mom sent me a look, and then she just stood up. It was the most stupid thing I would've ever thought to do.

"Sirs!" she called after them.

They turned suddenly. I was sure that they'd have  machine guns in their hands that they'd shoot her down. Thankfully, I didn't hear anything like that.

"Ma'am, what are you doing here?" one of them asked.

"We're looking for a missing child," she admitted. "Have you seen him? He's about five feet seven inches, dark blonde hair, pretty short, I guess, with darker eyes, pretty good looking, I'd say. Anyway, he's thirteen. Have you seen him?"

"No," they admitted.

"Excuse me," Mom continued. "What is this shipment that you're talking about?"

Oh dear, Mom. I hope you know what you're doing!

As it turns out--and we did check this out--one of the men was the son of the original owner of the warehouses. He was going to take possession of the property again and make it into a public rollerblade rink. How bizarre is that?

The men even wanted us to check them out just to make sure. James Gooseberry and his friend Terrance Mornly walked us back to the front, where the Halls were waiting, having already found Michael.

Still, the idea chills me. What if they hadn't been bad? That's why I'm in my closet. The idea that the guys could've been terrorists or something...... I shiver to think of it!!

Bye!!!! Maybe I won't have such a crazy story next time. ;) Tell me what you guys think!!

Love,
Jessie

Bio-Chaotic Brawl!!

Dear Readers,

Yes. It is I. Jessie Bender. I'm back!! I hope you guys aren't like "oh, man, her again??". =D I've decided to share a newspaper article of mine that I wrote for our school newspaper. Of course there'll be more, but this is how I've decided to start my letter. :)

Bio-Chaotic Brawl!
There has always been a sense of humanity and personal space between the children of Dayton Middle School. But this week that has crashed down to the ground with a violent spaghetti fight in the cafeteria, which was quickly taken care of our by our esteemed principal, Mr. Watson. What will happen next? Are we even safe in the hallways of our own beloved school? Will Dayton ever be the same?

So, what do you guys think? I thought it was pretty good. The leader of our newspaper, an eighth grader named Josh, thought it was pretty much hilarious (I'm not sure why. It's a very serious subject). 

That's when Josh revealed a very disturbing thing.

Michael Hall, the most popular kid in the seventh grade, is joining the newspaper. Problem? I say yes! He's a jerk! OK, OK--I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called him a jerk. But, really.... What am I going to do?

Bye!!

Love,
Jessie

P.S. Do you guys have any suggestions about what I should do with Michael joining the newspaper?

Charming, Friendly, Funny, and Spunky

Note: if you get one of the following awards, drag only YOUR award off.
Note: You will only have one award to award other people by.
Note: only award one person, and award the person who you thinks fits most with the description.
Note: you do not have to answer the questions if you feel they are going into your privacy zone and you don't want to reveal that thing about yourself.

Yes. I have, yet again, created more blog awards!! But what is different about these awards? I shall award four people--four people only--and they shall each get a different, all-their-own award. And what are these awards, their rules, and their meanings? Look below!

Charming. The Charming Person is a person whose charm is evident in everywhere they go—in their blog posts, their replies, and their comments. They are always gracious and thinking of others.

Charming person rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and leave a link to all of their blogs.

2. What about yourself do you think is charming?

3. What is your favorite thing about the person who gave you the award?

4. Nominate 1 person for this award. No tag backs. I.E=one person gives this to, say, somebody named Sally. Sally cannot retag the person, but the person who Sally gives the award to and reaward the person who gave it to Sally.

5. Make up five questions for your people to answer. 

M y questions:

1) What is your favorite activity?

2) What do you think of when you think of yourself?

3) What is your favorite season?

4) How old do you think I am?

5) In what kind of a house do you think I live?

Friendly. The Friendly Person is always out there, have a general feeling of happiness about them wherever they add things in. They like to make sure that everybody they follow gets to have comments from them, and tries to include everyone.

Friendly person rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and leave a link to all of their blogs.

2. What do you think is friendly about yourself?

3. What do you think of the person who gave you this award?

4. Nominate 1 person. Charming tag-back rule applys.

5. Make up five questions for the next person to answer.

My questions:

1) Where is your favorite place?

2) What is your favorite food?

3) What is your favorite thing to do on blogger?

4) Why did you get a blog?

5) What do you think I look like? (hair, eyes, etc.)

Funny. The Funny Person is always making witty comments and saying things that make others laugh. They are there to make sure that everybody else is having a good time in general.

Funny person rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and leave links to all of their blogs.

2. What about yourself do you think is funny?

3. What do you think of the person who gave you this award?

4. Nominate 1 person. Rules apply.

5. Make up five questions for the next person to answer.

My questions:

1) What is your favorite flower?

2) What is your favorite breakfast item?

3) What is/was your favorite subject in school?

4) What is/was your favorite age?

5) If you could go back in time, what time period would you go back to?

Spunky. The Spunky Person is always out there, going out into new, unknown blogs, and leaving comments wherever they go. They are bold and courageous and love meeting new people.

Spunky person rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and leave links to all of their blogs.

2. What about yourself do you think is spunky?

3. What do you think of the person who gave you this award?

4. Nominate 1 person. Retag rules apply. (as this continues on, just copy and paste the rules from the Charming Person)

5. Make up five questions for the next person to answer.

My questions:

1) If you could have a super-hero ability, what would it be?

2) If you could go into a magical world, what world would you go into?

3) If you could do something great or live normally, what would you choose?

4) What is your favorite personality type?

5) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

And now the question comes down to this--who are you?? OK, here are who I award for this award............

Charming--Piano Bookworm

Friendly--Jess

Funny--Madeline May

Spunky--Otter Days

If you do not display your award on your blog after the next two days, your award will be given to someone else. :( 

Bye!!

~Storyteller

Spaghetti Fight!

Dear Readers,

Hello! It's Jessie again. Yes, the crazy girl who's already sent you a letter. =D Here are some very important things that I forgot to tell you about myself last time I wrote a letter--they're so important that I feel stupid not remember them!

So here they are: I'm a Christian through and through (I know, right?! How could I forget that?!?!). I'm known almost everywhere as "dramatic, crazy Jessie". It's a fun nickname!! I try to live up to it, lol. =D

OK, so I just had to tell you about this, because it was pretty much hilarious.

So yesterday in school, there was this new girl named Lulu Harper (being crazy also means that you walk up to everybody new and make sure you get their names, ages, and grades). The cafeteria was full as we all crowded around to get lunch which--to my excitement!!--was spaghetti.

"I love this stuff!" I announced to Noah as I watched the cook lady shovel it onto my plate. I frowned. "Could you put a little more on?"

"Jessie," he laughed, "you're crazy."

I grinned. "I'm dramatic, crazy Jessie. Remember?"

He only rolled his eyes. Of course. He hates spaghetti.

Anyways, so Noah and I had just sat down when all of a sudden, the most popular, snobby girl in the entire school, a girl by the name of Maya Henderson, stood up on one of the tables, blonde hair billowing dramatically (I mean, seriously--the blow dryer handled by her best friend Savannah was a little over-the-top).

"Lulu Harper is....." she paused dramatically. "A FREAK!"

Everybody laughed their heads off. She continued. It was so mean that I've decided not to record it in this letter to you guys.

Lulu, I could tell, was furious. Since school had started a few days back, she'd already made a few friends--mostly Maya's most hated enemies, Sara, Josephine, and Addy. They were all whispering to each other, their brows in frown lines. Finally, Lulu stood up on the table, a big glop of spaghetti in her hands. Sara, Josephine, and Addy flanked her.

"Spaghetti fightttttttttt!" Lulu yelled, throwing it smack-dab into Maya's face.

So that's how the biggest fight of Dayton Middle School started. Thankfully, I had my newspaper camera there, and I was getting some great pics when all of a sudden a felt myself getting whapped right in the stomach. I nearly dropped the camera but managed to maintain hold. I turned, glaring, and saw that it was Noah.

"That's it!" I declared.

I entrusted my trusty camera to some girls hiding underneath the tables, rolled up my sleeves, grabbed a big glop of spaghetti and sent it flying right towards Noah's face. You would've thought I'd played baseball or softball or something, because it hit him dead-on. I was going to send another down his shirt when I saw him coming for me.

I shrieked, grabbed my camera, and high-tailed out of there. Not to soon, either. Right after that Principal Watson had everybody else still in there with spaghetti all over themselves (except for the crying girls) clean up the whole place.

So, yeah, that was my day. ;)

Bye!!

Love,
Jessie

Hello! My name is Jessie Bender.

Dear Readers,

Hello!! My name is Jessie Bender, and I am a girl living in a little town called Dayton, Ohio. I enjoy doing lots of fun things!!! Like: soccer, volleyball, my school's newspaper, reading, [sometimes] writing, blogging, and lots of other cool stuff!!! I am twelve years old and going into the seventh grade. Yes, I have an early birthday. =D My birthday is on February 28th. It was on a leap year, so I was really close to being on a changing birth date!!! 

My job on the newspaper: When I do the newspaper, I do lots of fun stuff--either writing up stories, doing reporting, or taking pictures!! Since Dayton's such a small town, we don't have a huge newspaper, but we keep it going!!

My part in [sometimes] writing: I love to write movie scripts that my friends and I can act out!!! We've recorded all of our movies, and they're so funny!! Maybe sometime I'll post one of the scripts on here. I hope you guys would like that!!!

Something that lots of people think is rather cool about me: Before my dad quit his old job and became a writer, we traveled all around the world, mostly centered in Europe. I've lived in lots of cool places, including England, Paris, and Berlin. Danka (thank you, in German) for reading this!!! =D

Random things about me: OK, so ya ready? I can't stand leftovers, I'm left-handed, I start on my left foot when I run, my little sister died before she left my mother's womb, I wear contacts, I did gymnastics and diving for four years, I love throwing football with my best friend, Noah, who's on our school's football team, I LOVE spaghetti, anything beef, onions (yum!!), only original Lays chips (my friends think I'm crazy), hate chocolate (my friends REALLY think I'm crazy about this one), am allergic to strawberries and poison ivy and yellow jackets, and I have an older brother in college by the name of Jake (so if I mention him in my letters you won't be totally confused).

What I look like: Ooh, goody!! =D OK, so I'm about five foot (my friends call me shorty), petite, pale skin that burns horribly and then darkens into a light tan, pointy, pixie-like features, dark brown hair that everybody's always confusing with black, and big bluish greenish brownish violetish hazlish eyes. (if you can understand any of that gibberish)

I hope to get to know you all better!!! Please comment for any questions!!!!

Bye!!!

Love,
Jessie

Note: all of this is fictional, and Jessie is a character of Storyteller's own design.

Please welcome Jessie!

Hey, guys!! I've got an AWESOME announcement to make!!! We're going to be having some letters from Jessie, a girl who's life is more interesting than it might seem, displayed on this blog!! They will not take up all of the time, I assure you. ;) There'll still be awesome pictures (haha), awesomer posts (hahahaha), and other cool stuff!! =D

If you're reading this and you're new and you comment, thanks so much!! If you're reading this and you're new and you comment and follow, YOU ROCK!! Thanks!!

Bye!!

~Storyteller

AWESOME pictures!!

This is just a real quick post, but these pictures are AWESOME!!!!! I just had to share them with you guys. :)

Bye!!

~Storyteller

Changin' the Normal

Hello, hello, hello!!! =D

And how are you all this lovely day? I am doing very well! I have a question that I hope to be worthy of your esteemed attention--how do you like my new blog template? I have seen some other blogs, and I wanted to see if my theory worked. It did!!! :)

Do you wake up early today, or late? Did you regret it, or rejoice in it?

(Note: if you can't read the words, please click on the picture to make it bigger)

Are you spreading the light?

Do you wish that you could go back?

That's all for now, folks!!

~Storyteller

'Ello!

'Ello, ducky!

'Ow are yew? I be a'doin' quite well, thankee!! Me little black kitty was hard to find yesterday morning, that she was, and my library thought that I 'ad book I didn't (in fact, it was on the shelf at the library) and I do me job today, but otherwise, I be a'doin' quite well, thankee!! =D

If yore new, then 'ere's some blogs that you should follow right off!!

Otter Days
Piano's Stories
In The Words of Willow
*My Collection of Stories*
Artsy Peacock

Go check 'em out.

Now, I 'ave a question for yew. Do yew guys think that long blog posts or short blog posts are more interestin'?

Thankee kindly if yew read this!!

Signed,
The Storyteller

Award?!

I just got awarded by Jenny of Artsy Peacock!!!! Thanks so much, Jenny!!!!!!!! =D

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and leave a link

Thanks bunches, Jenny!

2. Why did you get a blog?

To share my stories, though this one was for random. =D

3. What is your favorite animal?

I like dogs, cats, and I think horses are so beautiful!!!!

4. What inspired your blog template?

Man, I can't believe I made up this question!! haha ;D OK, so I guess I got inspired by other peoples' templates, and then I just got the background from Cutest Blog on the Block, which I love. :)

5. What is/are your favorite color(s)?

Purple and sunlight yellow.

6. What is your favorite thing about your blog?

I LOVE hearing from people!! It's so much fun. But the favorite thing about my BLOG. Hmm.... probably my header!!!! =D

7. What's your favorite blog?

I love every single blog that I follow because who would follow a blog they hated? (Jenny's answer, which I agree with). =D

8. Award 5 people this award: 

Beautiful in God's Eyes, by Alexandra Marie

100% Bookworm, by Madeline May

Otter Days, by Otter Days

The True Confessions of Kailey Hopkins, by Jess

In the Words of Willow, by Willow

9. Notify the nominees.

Will do!!

Bye!!!!

....Of God's design, to castles, to a little old boat. ;)

*beauty!*

I could see this one being the cover of a book. =D

Ahhh......

Isn't it gorgeous?

Path of Life.......

Can you imagine living there? "In the land of Floren, where the rocks glow green...." ;D

This reminds of LOTR!!

Peaceful land.....

Somebody should write a book about this place. :)

*to tune of Rohan music* "Lord of the Rings!"

I could see the dwarves of LOTR living there. ;)

Just love this one. =D

And this one. :)

It's kind of small, but still cool!

The colors are so vibrant!

Bye!!!

~Storyteller