Revisiting My Past!

Today me, Julie and Ivy all looked through old pictures of me and Ivy back when we first met in kindergarten. We all talked about how we had all met our best friends back then. Mine was Ivy, of course! We were in the same kindergarten class back in the fall of 1962. I remember that year so well, it was the year our dog Skittles was born. I had bangs and wore my hair in pigtails almost every day. Every time I played on the local park playground, I always went on the circle that spins you around. Then, there was meeting Ivy. Our teacher had assigned us buddies on the first day and Ivy happened to be mine. She was shy at first, but then at recess we bonded over our love of the spinny thing on the playground. After that, we were fast friends.

Julie's was a girl named Anna Ventamiglia. She lived in the same apartment building as Julie and they met when they were about 3. She had jet-black hair that always poofed out at the ends and bright green eyes. They were also in the same kindergarten class. They stayed friends up until the end of fifth grade, just before Julie moved to Hillrise. She said Anna had accused her of stealing her favorite dress, even though she knew her mom threw it away because it had a tear in it. Sadly, they never made up. Julie doesn't seem to care, though. She has me and Ivy and she says we're much better than Anna ever was. (Apparently she had an attitude problem.) But now she has us, and I am so happy!! It was so weird seeing all of these old pictures and drawings, but isn't it nice to revisit your past sometime? You should revisit yours sometime!

-Jaycee

Campout Gone Crazy!

Last night, me, Ivy and Julie decided to camp out in the fields behind Hillrise. We had never done this before, and I was a little unsure about it all. Julie said we'd be 10 feet away from the nearest Hillrise home, so I felt better about that. But part of me was thinking this wouldn't be a great idea. So yesterday afternoon, we left for the fields and set up camp. For the next three hours, we played tag and hide and seek in the fields, and Julie and Ivy tried to ride a cow. I stayed away because I love animals and I'm just afraid of bull riding. Everything was fun and exciting, and I stopped being so unsure. Big mistake! After we watched the sunset, things got a little crazy. We went back to our tent, turned on our lantern for light, and told each other scary stories. The stories were really scary, and I was scared it might actually happen. So I checked out and tried to go to sleep. But Julie and Ivy kept telling scary stories, including one about a shadowy object that snacked on people camping-anywhere. All night, I kept seeing shadowy objects and freaking out. Then, long after Julie and Ivy had gone to bed, I kept hearing noises-like a wailing and screaming noise. I tried to stay calm because I knew that Hillrise would protect me from anything. Suddenly, I hear another wailing noise and footsteps. I scream and shake Julie and Ivy awake, trying to tell them what I heard. They get mad at me and say, "Jaycee, it's not a real story. Go to bed." But then the noise is heard again. More footsteps. The wail turns into a howl. I scream again, but Julie and Ivy don't say anything. "Jaycee! Shush! Don't let it hear us!!" Ivy shushes me. Her sea-green eyes are almost glowing. I just duck and hide under my sleeping bag. Then, all of a sudden, someone kicked the tent and we see glowing yellow eyes. I fled the tent and ran screaming back into Hillrise, with Julie and Ivy following behind me. But the wailing noise and footsteps didn't stop. They became fast. We ran as fast as we could back to my house (which was sadly 10 blocks away) and locked the door. Luckily the thing never caught up with us, but I am afraid to camp out in those fields anymore. That's for sure.

Jaycee