Please take the time to admire the fine work completed by Central's 9th grade students. The following are excerpts from a select group of memoirs. They are published anonymously and with the aythor's permission. Enjoy!
Seized By The “F” Word
I remember this nightmare as if it just happened. It’s one that I can never forget. In this dream, I was walking down a rocky path behind my old elementary school. The sky was pitch black with very dim stars shining, the clouds forming a face, which smiled darkly at me. There were lampposts hanging over me, each one turning black as I walked under them. On my right were many trees and bushes and on my left was a dark, depressing version of my school. I heard movement on my right. I turned, my heart beating extremely quick. I called out for my brother and got no reply. The scene melted away and then I found myself sitting at the family table, at breakfast time, with my sister, Anne Marie, and my brother, Kibbs. My sister stared at me and asked what was wrong. I immediately said that I saw Kibbs at midnight, lurking around. Then Kibbs rose, his face twisted with anger and shock. I froze as soon as he rose. A very hideous, green creature emerged from the door. My brother yelled “Finish him off. He knows!” The creature ran at me, and lunged, its mouth widening, barring its fangs. I then woke up, drenched in cold sweat. I was shivering, not from the cold, but from something else. That was the first time I felt that feeling and it sure wasn’t the last, but it was definitely one of the worst.
My brothers would make up scary stories that I once believed and now find extremely foolish. One of the scary stories I remember was an old hobo with cats. It doesn’t sound scary but I was around seven years old and was very gullible, so anything that sounded real, hit me as the truth. The story went, if I remember correctly, that an old man lived alone in his old house down my street (another thing that made this tale believable is the fact that I never left my home much, so I never actually knew my neighbors or actually even seen them) who lived with his cats. He would wander the streets in sometimes dark clothes at night in search of other people and new pets. If he found a child alone, he would “liberate” them from life and feed them to his cats. And if you were to look at him through a window or glass, he’d stare back at you, through the piercing gaze emitting from his dark gold eyes. He’d remember your face and stalk you, day after day and night after night, wait for you to be alone at night, and then attack you. At the time, I knew they were joking around but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it may really be a true story. That night I could not sleep at all. I was scared to look out my window, in case there really was a demented, evil man standing there. About 11 past 10, I heard a couple of laughs and chuckles. I thought this was just my older brothers staying up late, watching late night shows. Then my room door flew open and the hideous people ran in at me, screaming. I yelled and throw the covers over my face, scared what these beasts might do to me. But then the screaming turned into familiar laughter. I threw the covers and found the “beasts” were just my brothers, wearing ugly masks.
Broken
“Have you ever run away?” He asked.
“Yes I did, twice, but I didn’t get very far though” I answered feeling embarrassed of all that I had done. The doctor kept asking me multiple questions, most were hard to answer. The nurses led me to my room. The room was small with green carpets, plastic green shelves and a small bed in the middle with a sheet and a pillow. The nurses asked me if I wanted anything to eat, since I arrived in the middle of the night, they figured I was hungry, so I said yes and they gave me cookies. After eating my lemon cookies, I laid in bed thinking where I was and who I was with. How could my mom just send me to a hospital? I was so lost but knew it was my fault. The next morning I woke up and there was about twenty other teens that were admitted prior to me, some had been here for months some for weeks and others for days. I was wondering how long I was going to stay here. A girl named Sydney came up to me and asked me what my name was.
I answered wondering who she was and why she was talking to me.
“Oh well I’m Sydney, your room is right next to mine, what you here for?” She asked freely.
“I guess I was being bad” I looked at my feet, the other kids were looking at me up and down, trying to figure out my story.
“Alright, well you need to go to the nurse and get your blood drawn, they do that to anyone new here and a few times after that... Hurts like hell” She said pointing to the nurse with a crooked smile. I walked to the nurse, my stomach felt tight. The nurse drew my blood. I was unaware of anything around me, little did I know, these teens going through same thing would become a part of my life forever.
Seized By The “F” Word
I remember this nightmare as if it just happened. It’s one that I can never forget. In this dream, I was walking down a rocky path behind my old elementary school. The sky was pitch black with very dim stars shining, the clouds forming a face, which smiled darkly at me. There were lampposts hanging over me, each one turning black as I walked under them. On my right were many trees and bushes and on my left was a dark, depressing version of my school. I heard movement on my right. I turned, my heart beating extremely quick. I called out for my brother and got no reply. The scene melted away and then I found myself sitting at the family table, at breakfast time, with my sister, Anne Marie, and my brother, Kibbs. My sister stared at me and asked what was wrong. I immediately said that I saw Kibbs at midnight, lurking around. Then Kibbs rose, his face twisted with anger and shock. I froze as soon as he rose. A very hideous, green creature emerged from the door. My brother yelled “Finish him off. He knows!” The creature ran at me, and lunged, its mouth widening, barring its fangs. I then woke up, drenched in cold sweat. I was shivering, not from the cold, but from something else. That was the first time I felt that feeling and it sure wasn’t the last, but it was definitely one of the worst.
My brothers would make up scary stories that I once believed and now find extremely foolish. One of the scary stories I remember was an old hobo with cats. It doesn’t sound scary but I was around seven years old and was very gullible, so anything that sounded real, hit me as the truth. The story went, if I remember correctly, that an old man lived alone in his old house down my street (another thing that made this tale believable is the fact that I never left my home much, so I never actually knew my neighbors or actually even seen them) who lived with his cats. He would wander the streets in sometimes dark clothes at night in search of other people and new pets. If he found a child alone, he would “liberate” them from life and feed them to his cats. And if you were to look at him through a window or glass, he’d stare back at you, through the piercing gaze emitting from his dark gold eyes. He’d remember your face and stalk you, day after day and night after night, wait for you to be alone at night, and then attack you. At the time, I knew they were joking around but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it may really be a true story. That night I could not sleep at all. I was scared to look out my window, in case there really was a demented, evil man standing there. About 11 past 10, I heard a couple of laughs and chuckles. I thought this was just my older brothers staying up late, watching late night shows. Then my room door flew open and the hideous people ran in at me, screaming. I yelled and throw the covers over my face, scared what these beasts might do to me. But then the screaming turned into familiar laughter. I threw the covers and found the “beasts” were just my brothers, wearing ugly masks.
Broken
“Have you ever run away?” He asked.
“Yes I did, twice, but I didn’t get very far though” I answered feeling embarrassed of all that I had done. The doctor kept asking me multiple questions, most were hard to answer. The nurses led me to my room. The room was small with green carpets, plastic green shelves and a small bed in the middle with a sheet and a pillow. The nurses asked me if I wanted anything to eat, since I arrived in the middle of the night, they figured I was hungry, so I said yes and they gave me cookies. After eating my lemon cookies, I laid in bed thinking where I was and who I was with. How could my mom just send me to a hospital? I was so lost but knew it was my fault. The next morning I woke up and there was about twenty other teens that were admitted prior to me, some had been here for months some for weeks and others for days. I was wondering how long I was going to stay here. A girl named Sydney came up to me and asked me what my name was.
I answered wondering who she was and why she was talking to me.
“Oh well I’m Sydney, your room is right next to mine, what you here for?” She asked freely.
“I guess I was being bad” I looked at my feet, the other kids were looking at me up and down, trying to figure out my story.
“Alright, well you need to go to the nurse and get your blood drawn, they do that to anyone new here and a few times after that... Hurts like hell” She said pointing to the nurse with a crooked smile. I walked to the nurse, my stomach felt tight. The nurse drew my blood. I was unaware of anything around me, little did I know, these teens going through same thing would become a part of my life forever.