Page by Page: A Writing and Art Contest for Tweens

Vancouver by Chloe Qian

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I'll See You Tomorrow by Jennifer Xu

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” the full moon says,
slowly starting to rise.

The golden sun yawns. “Tomorrow indeed,
enjoy the night skies.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” the waning gibbous says,
awaking from its sleep.

“Likewise, my friend,” the bright sun replies,
falling fast asleep.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” the last quarter says,
climbing to where it shows.

The sun star sets. “Of course, good night!”
down and down it goes.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” the waning crescent says,
Dancing around in space.

“Tomorrow indeed,” the setting sun responds,
“But who would see a new moon, though you’re right in place?”

Bonded by Jin Sagong

Everyone held their breath with the appearance of Mrs. Brooks in the class. The principal normally doesn’t show up unless someone is in trouble or something.

“Mrs. Bailey, the first-grade teacher has suggested your class do reading buddies!” Mrs. Brooks revealed, and went on explaining about it. “Reading Buddies is a program that helps new readers improve their reading skills with paired up upper-grade students. It will give you the opportunity of learning leadership, problem-solving, and ....”

Maple couldn’t hear the last part of the speech, feeling as if she were on a roller coaster of emotions. Waves of excitement, but also storms of nervousness. She didn’t want to let the whole class know how inexperienced she was with little kids!

The rest of the class seemed unaffected. They were all giggling and laughing, talking about how excited they were, and how they couldn’t wait to meet their ‘special kid’.

 Maple could already predict many things that could go wrong. As a fast reader, she could read too fast, so the kid could not understand her or might not like her for rushing. What if her pair was a boy? A wild boy? Maple’s head throbbed just at imagining it.

            The next day at school, Lily and Rose were, again, talking about reading buddies.

            “Imagine how fun it will be.” Rose said, grinning. Lily agreed, and they both looked at Maple for an agreement.

            Maple bit her lip, and finally plucked up the courage to seek out help. “I… I don’t know,” Maple admitted, looking down.

            “Oh. Why? Do you not like little kids?” Lily asked gently. “If you don’t, that’s okay! I don’t always like my little brother.”

            “No…I just can’t handle little children. I read way too fast, and I’m very awkward near them. You guys…handle them and play with them so naturally.” A huge sigh came out of Maple.

            “That’s okay. You can read word by word slowly,” Rose said encouragingly.

            “Really? You just slow down for them?” Maple asked.

            “Yeah, that’s all you have to do.” Lily said, shrugging.

            “So, I don’t need to learn anything?” Maple asked.

            “Nope! You will be just fine,” Rose replied, smiling.

            And with that, a handful of weight on her shoulders seemed to lift off. Maple sighed with a little relief; her heart started to unclench.

            The next day, Maple came to school prepared as she had a secret weapon with her! While she was talking to her mom about it, she remembered how she got motivated as a new reader. A small prize would do! A small bag full of random stickers - from trucks, princesses, and even robots with cute hearts.

            “WOW, look who’s prepared!” Lily said, and elbowed Maple playfully.

            Later in Mrs. Bailey ‘s classroom, they were getting assigned reading buddies. “I will assign each kid now. Put your hand up when you hear your name. Maple with Ethan...” Maple’s ‘what if’ came alive. It was a boy! She looked across the room to lock eyes with a rowdy looking boy. He was the only one with a frown on his face. She gulped, her heart beating faster and louder.

            “Let’s try to read this,” Maple said, walking to his desk. He glared at her in defiance and stood up abruptly. He marched away to the carpet, and took out a few Lego robot toys and started to play with them, completely ignoring Maple.

            “Ethan, please come back here,” she called, but Ethan stubbornly didn’t move. Maple stood up and brought everything to him.

            For some time, Maple just watched him play. Then she cleared her throat, and said, “Ethan, how about I read one page and you read the next. I’ll give you some stickers after,” Maple waited for his reply as he stared at the carpet.

            “No, I don’t like reading and I don’t like that book,” he said, and kept on playing with his robots.

            “You like robots?” Maple asked. Before he could reply, Maple said, “I like them too. I build robots for competitions.” Ethan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

            “Really?!” He asked. “You win?”

            “Sometimes,” Maple said with a modest shrug. As Ethan marveled over that, Maple stood up to get some new books for him. If he liked robots, she would find a book related to robotics.

            “Mrs. Bailey? I need books related to robots. For… Ethan,” Maple requested and got a few books about robots.

            Maple walked towards Ethan, and sat down. “These are books that we both like. They are about robots!” Maple said cheerfully. As Ethan reached out curiously, Maple couldn’t help but grin.

            “I’ll read it if I can see what’s in your tiny bag. Oh, and you said you’ll read a page,” Ethan said, and Maple let out a laugh. He was bargaining with her? Over a book?!

            But she said yes, and showed him the stickers. He chose a few, and also agreed to the deal that if he finished the book, he would get some more.

            As promised, Maple read a page, as slowly as possible, with good enunciation. She didn’t miss Ethan’s sparkling eyes, and when he started to read, she felt like a proud mother.

            “Ethan, what was this page about?” Maple interrupted his reading. She had to make it interesting for him, recalling her mom asking some fun questions to her.

            He replied proudly, “It was about robots and how they could help people.”

            “Great job! Here is a sticker for your effort,” Maple said, handing him a robot sticker. He smiled warmly like the sun. Maple read in her head beside him, making sure he didn’t stumble over any words.

            After the book, he smiled and grabbed the stickers, and stuck them in his pocket.

She had bonded with Ethan! Over her passion, reading and robots!

            Mrs. Bailey called Maple next week. “Maple! What have you done with Ethan? He went from hating books to loving them!”