Tick. The arms slugged themselves around the clock face. Only five minutes had passed, but it felt like a life to Li Ming. Her class began settling for the final period of the day. Today was the day she was dreading the most. The ceiling fans spun erratically, squealing as though they were in pain. Heat licked at their sunburned faces and coiled around their limbs like a great hot-blooded serpent. The muggy heatwave pressed in on them, even sweating was no good. It trickled down their necks and backs like warm soup. Hair clung to their heads like thermal blankets, locking in the heat, frying the students’ brains.
“Quiet class!” Ms. Cost’s voice resonated throughout the entire English block.
She clutched a gigantic stack of papers in her arm, slowly handing them out across the room. Ms. Cost eventually reached Li Ming. Li Ming felt as though she was only a tiny particle in this moment. The teacher towered above her, a condescending smirk of superiority on her face as she dropped the crinkled
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When Li Ming spots the mark she becomes ashen, lips almost blue in this crazy summer heat. Her heart shattered and her stomach dropped, almost hard enough to hear a thump. She couldn’t believe it. All noise began to blur in to a vague sound in the background. Panic begun to set in, and little did she know; it was not going away. She knew exactly what she was in for.
The school bell pounded in her ears. The class roared a hooray for home time and the commotion of hurried students, racing to escape the classroom, sent her world into a spin. Li Ming made her way through the blurred classroom door, stumbling into the bag racks, knocked over by some kids playing 44 Home. She forced her feet to take her towards her bus. Her heart pounded in her ears, drowning out her chance of hearing anything other fumbling noises. The ground smouldered and sent up a disorientating haze. Her small brown eyes went glossy with tears, almost as to signal the darkening clouds blowing
While walking downtown with her girlfriend, the author describes as, “[her] heart began to skip every other beat, pounding, pounding, pounding … [as she stood] paralyzed like a frightened, little jackrabbit.” Repetition of the word “pounding” in the text develops a fast pace, indicating the urgency and panic felt by the author; terms such as paralyzed are utilized to emphasize the urgent, panicked mood. However, sanguine moods still persist throughout the narrative. For example, in the opening paragraph the author describes how she, “watch[ed] the golden dots of morning light glide across [her] ceiling, [and she] melted into a feeling of peace specific to the freedom of early summer.” Terms such as “golden,” “glide,” “peace,” and “early summer” help the reader detect a placid mood in the text, directing the reader towards the state of contentment the author feels surrounding her relationship. Mood differentiations in the text, from the urgency of the narrator’s walk downtown to the tranquil peace of the narrator’s relationship, indicate the contrasting aspects of the LGBT+ community, both in terms of the impending fear of violence, and the love that is the
Thru-out the centuries, regardless of race or age, there has been dilemmas that identify a family’s thru union. In “Hangzhou” (1925), author Lang Samantha Chang illustrates the story of a Japanese family whose mother is trapped in her believes. While Alice Walker in her story of “Everyday Use” (1944) presents the readers with an African American family whose dilemma is mainly rotating around Dee’s ego, the narrator’s daughter. Although differing ethnicity, both families commonly share the attachment of a legacy, a tradition and the adaptation to a new generation. In desperation of surviving as a united family there are changes that they must submit to.
It was a sunny day with a sweet aroma of blooming tulips. The sunlight glittered on their faces as the breeze rattled the chestnut tree above. There was an occasional giggle as they talked, but there was also a hint of discomfort and awkwardness between them as they peeked at each other’s face and recoiled when the other looked up. When the bell rang twice, I saw them say goodbye and walk away from each other. In the darkness of the crowd, a glimmer flashed into my eyes from Hannah’s cheeks.
cold, harsh, wintry days, when my brothers and sister and I trudged home from school burdened down by the silence and frigidity of our long trek from the main road, down the hill to our shabby-looking house. More rundown than any of our classmates’ houses. In winter my mother’s riotous flowers would be absent, and the shack stood revealed for what it was. A gray, decaying...
Throughout the novel, the author illuminates the larger meaning of the work by connecting all of the events that occur to the characters to her whole life. This novel, in a sense, is a memoir of Tan’s life, because she connects all of the personal details to herself. Tan herself shows that in her own life, the themes of familial relationships and lack of communication have consistently shown up, from Precious Auntie’s own suicidal thoughts, to the difficulty of settling in a country you know a meager amount about. While in China, superstition, tragedy, traditional values, and “the old,” are the eccentric to America's “new beginning,” modern, and voicelessness. Whether the instances are flashbacks or mere foreshadowing, Amy Tan is able to aid the reader in unraveling the “secrets” of the novel. LuLing is Tan’s orchid: “delicate, but thrived on
The rain cried as if the heavens had torn apart and came down to Earth to show its sorrow, beating a gentle yet violent tattoo on the roof. The cool breeze blew fiercely through the shelter sending a shiver down Liesel’s spine, awakening her from her slumber. She peered through the rotten sheet of linen that barely covered her shrivelled, thin body as the sound of little feet and nibbling rustled through her ears. Not of the children, but of mice, eating their way through her pillow; an empty potato bag. She heaved herself up, and staggered off the cement floor, wondering if it was wet or stone cold. Her head spun as she stood for a minute leaning against the mouldy walls to get her orientation back.
“Ding dong”. Anna stares at her computer and ignores the doorbell that just rang. The summer night breezes briskly whorls through the neighborhood of Mount Laurel. She was too obsessed with her coding homework and her computer coding class project. “Ding dong”. Anna rushes over to the door in hopes of it being her babysitter, Jamie. She opens the door and a low and behold, it’s Jamie. As soon as Jamie walked inside, Anna’s parents remind them to be safe and don’t answer the front door. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were going out into the city for the night and left Anna alone with her babysitter, Jamie. Once the parents left, Jamie called her boyfriend, Chris, to come and pick them up. While they waited for Chris to come, Anna and Jamie blasted music and jammed out to their favorite songs in Anna’s bedroom. They shouted out of her window and laughed so hard. Chris called Jamie on his phone to come down. They hopped in his navy blue Honda and drove off without a care in the world.
The students' chatter was almost deafening in the crowded hallways. Bea and I could barely walk side by side, or rather me walking awfully slow and Bea limping and hobbling next to me. As I moved sluggishly, I took a glance at Bea's deformed body from the car crash that happened a few months ago. I winced thinking at the agony she must've had to endure and also for the torment that the police hadn't "found anything" to who the culprit was.
Cora was relieved to have finally reached her rented house. She turned off the ignition and hauled her luggage out the boot. The two story house loomed over her. Cobwebs clung to every corner of the porch. A fine layer of dust was on the balcony. It looked nothing alike the photo the real estate agent had shown her. An owl suddenly hooted and broke the silent night sky. Her heart was thumping out of her chest. She slid the key in the lock and the door slowly creaked open. The sound was a pain to her ears but she continued. Cora was so sleep deprived she instantly dozed off as her head touched the pillow on the
A few kids were scattering around the hallway, cheering for the weekend. Few other kids entered Melody’s classroom, to talk to their friends,” Hey! You kids go back to your classroom!” Garrett scolded. Melody laughed,” Calm down, Garrett. You know how desperately kids want to escape from their ‘prison’. At least they’re not burning down the building,” She said. Garret crossed his arms,” Don’t call this school a ‘prison’! Golden Rich is one of the best private schools!” He scoffed, turning his head. The chubby girl just shrugged,” YOO, MELOOODYYY!!” A voice called, breaking Melody’s peace and quiet. As Melody turned around, she saw her junior friend, Samantha Bocks, who was a delinquent who would skip her classes, and litter, and anything else that would infuriate the Hall Monitor. Though, she was a troublemaker, she secretly cares about her friends,” H-Hey, Samantha,” Melody waved, nervously. Every time, Samantha was around, Melody always felt anxious and cautious. Samantha sat on top of the desk, with her backpack beside her,” Just came here to say hi! What you doing over the weekend? Going to the fair or something?” She asked,
“You are worrying about that bag of make-up? Wow, I thought you knew she was jealous,” I said. With that the bell rang but Ashrell seemed more confident. 5th period came and went without a hitch but when I walked into creative arts everything was different. A soft, deep string instrument was humming, a pine tree forest in wax was on the center table, a cool breeze blew into the hallway. It felt like home to me, I looked around the classroom and found Ashrell being cornered by Cathey. I blew my top, I could hear their conversation and I should have known she would try to get back at Ashrell for being better than her.
The sun rose, bouncing into the sky like a great fiery yo-yo over the city of Orleans sending the moon packing. Inside the compound the sound coming from Monk Parakeet chirping away in their cage began to stir the female awake. With a soft groan she rolled onto her back, and Angelina tossed an arm over her eyes to block out the dots of sunshine that danced across her bedroom as it came through the lace curtains that hung just above Angelina's bedroom windows. The aroma of New Orleans slowly wafted its way through the open window. The female's mind was still fuzzy, maybe even disoriented with the last remnants of a dream that was being chased away with the realization that she was now awake and a new day had started. Gee what a day she had planned for herself, it was hard work being a prisoner. Although it had been a nice dream too, something about sitting under a big oak tree in a meadow full of flowers, there was something else, but the details were fading fast
Her little heart was pounding, racing as if it couldn’t beat any faster. Her knees were shaking and she was breathing heavily. She knew that what she had done was a bad thing. It was the first feeling of trouble she ever felt. As if things couldn’t get any worse, she had the urge to pee. These were her thoughts one day in second grade. She remembers it as it were yesterday, the classroom had one teacher with many children. The smell of Chinese cuisine was all that she could smell. It was Chinese New Year and they were having a party. The teacher asked for their presentations. This was the geography portion, and she hated geography. She didn’t know where china was. She didn’t want to know where china was. As she got up to the podium, my quivering self felt nauseous. She was never a good public speaker. She began her presentation on the note of useless stuttering. She should have just went and sat back down and saved me the embarrassment. However, she continued to stutter away. A couple giggles from the corner, she heard. Soon, the teacher asked what her project was on, and she couldn’t even reply to that. She then asked me her name, and she stuttered at her own name. That was the final crack, when the entire class burst out in laughter. She felt as if she had wanted to be thrown down a well, it was the lowest of lows. The teacher had told her to sit down, for she wasn’t prepared. Next up was a beautiful girl, who was loved by all. Her presentation made the other girl’s look extremely insignificant. As she spoke, the girl wished those words would have came out of her mouth. The eloquence in her speech made her want to cry. The worst part of the day came up next when she went back to the room. It was socializing time, and everyone co...
There we all stand waiting in expectation and just being. My thoughts are changing from one moment to the next. We may be standing in the classroom concentrating on the camera, but so much more is going on inside our heads. I know that we are all wondering exactly what the weather will be like outside. The stupid weather is like a child and can’t make up its mind to be good or bad. Secretly we all pray for the best and anticipating what the shouts from our section of the bleachers will sound like. Amber knows who’s going to be sitting in her section. The smart girl, Ann, thinks her family will be there and is excited to...
It was the middle of autumn, the period right before the world would be concealed in a white blanket of snow. It was the time where the colorful leaves had released from their humble perch upon the trees and now lie sprinkled across the land. A chilly wind brushed through the area picking up the leaves from the pavement, I viewed in awe as they twisted and twirled in the air as if they were dancing. Autumn was undeniably one of the most beautiful seasons; even the naked trees were striking as they stood tall and proud extending out toward the heavens. I smiled tenderly as I turned and watched a group of high school students make their way up the winding road toward the MayHaven Prep Schools that stood at the edge of a hill. MayHaven was known to be one of the most prestigious of schools, people from all over the world tried to get into one of their great academies. There were a few adults that were scattered amongst the crowd, they either worked for the schools themselves or were heading toward the nearby town that was located right next to the schools. They walked vigorously, scarcely looking at those around them. Their eyes glued to what was right in front of them or at their phone to check the time, to make sure they weren’t running late. They didn’t stop to stare at the magnificence of the world around them, not even too peek at it, didn’t seem to care at all, they were all too captivated in their own world.