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by KAREN UMEORA (United States)

Issue 2.1    April 2020

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MORNING

It’s still dark when I wake up. Or rather when my eyes open. To “wake up,” one must actually stand up with a goal of going about their day. That’s not me right now. Maybe around 6 a.m., it will be.

 

MORNING BUS

The morning bus is this big yellow thing that parades up and down streets, picking up students whose parents don’t have the time to drop them off at school. I ride the Pig Bus. It is quite a weird name and gets crowded a lot. At least it gets me to school early.

 

SCHOOL

Most schools around the Jonesboro area start at 8 a.m. Not my school—it decided to be “different” and start at 7:45 a.m., which, if you think about it, is not a big difference. But students at my school are indignant. Why do we have a longer school day than other schools??

 

AFTERNOON BUS

The afternoon bus is this small pink thing that picks students up from school. I’m just kidding. The afternoon bus looks the same as the morning bus, big and yellow. The only difference is that it takes people home and is more crowded. And yes, I ride the Pig Bus.

 

GOLDFISH

My mom got me a goldfish yesterday. I didn’t even want it. She told me it’d teach me diligence, which, I’ll admit, I have been lacking lately. I asked her how a goldfish could teach me that. She said that I’ll have to be diligent about what and when I feed it, how much I feed it, and even the temperature of its water. So, I decided to name it Diligence. I hope it’ll at least survive the week.

 

MORNING

This morning I woke up exceptionally early to feed the goldfish. I decided I’d feed it before I get on the bus, so it wouldn’t be hungry while it waited for me to come back. Not it, but she. It’s entertaining to watch her gobble up all the fish food I toss in it. I’m tempted to pour more in just to watch this entertaining gobble.

 

MORNING BUS

I was outside before the bus got here today. I hate standing outside waiting in the cold winter air. But sometimes I have to be diligent.

 

SCHOOL

Lunch is by far the best time of the day. Despite its deceiving name, people mostly hang out and talk to their friends or finish up school work. Yes, people do eat, but it comes last. Today, my friends and I talked about how we were done with school. It’s almost Christmas break.

 

AFTERNOON BUS

Everyone tries to get to the afternoon bus as fast as they can. The faster you get there, the more chance you have at getting a good spot. I got a good spot today.

 

GOLDFISH

Diligence has been in my possession for three days now. I think I’m doing so well! I fed her again after I got home from school. I make sure to keep the routine of feeding her at 5.30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Diligence did do something weird today. She was swimming upside down. What a silly fish!

Karen Umeora, is a 14-year-old girl with a passion for writing. Karen has moved from state to state throughout her whole life and is currently residing in Arkansas. To her, writing is a breath of fresh air that takes you away from reality.

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