Write a Story

Project of the Month

Write a Story.

Write a 20,000-page story. At least 5 chapters.

Winner will 10 free homework passes, and 10 dollars

Runner up will get 5 free homework passes, and 5 dollars

The runner up to the runner up will get 1 homework pass and 1 dollar.

***

Lucas

Lucas stares at the blank screen. When Ms. Corday told everyone what the project of the month was, his first thought was to get Simon, my personal butler to help him, a.k.a., do it for him.

But then when Lucas got back home a.k.a. The Mansion, Simon said:

"Your teacher called me and specifically told me that I could not help you."

So now he's here. No topic. No words. Just a little thing in the corner that says he has 20,000 words to go.

Suddenly, it hits him. He pulls up a new tab and hesitates before typing it into the search box.

Where can you hire a writer to write a book for you?

Lucas clicks on the first link.

Hiring people to write your biography

Close enough.

***

Greyson

"It was a dark, stormy night. The trees creaked in the wind as Atticus Young peered out the window."

Greyson reads the paragraph out loud to himself and makes a few changes.

"I was a dark and stormy night. The trees bent in the wind and the clouds made everything as dark as night. Except for the small, flickering candlelight that pierced the darkness. It came from the window of a small cabin, where Atticus Young had opened the drapes to his bedroom window. He peered into the darkness."

Greyson smiles. The perfect beginning to the perfect story. He was going to win.

***

Lucas

"I'm Sabrina Davis. You hired me?"

"Yes. I hired you to write a 20,000-word story. Fiction."

"What do you need it for?"

Lucas slaps a 50 dollar bill onto the table.

"No questions asked."

"What do you want the topic to be?"

"I don't matter. It just has to be good."

"Got it. Deadline?"

"The 20th. But I'll arrange more meetings so I can make corrections, edits, and revisions. We'll meet every Sunday. Same place, same time."

"Sunday is tomorrow."

"Then get something done tomorrow."

Lucas leaves.

***

Greyson

Chapter 5. 5,000 words.

Greyson stares at it until his vision goes blurry.

"I'm a fourth of the way done. I've got this." He whispers encouragement to himself.

No, you don't. Says a little nagging voice in his head. You haven't got this. You're going to fail. You're not even going to make it into the competition.

His dad comes over.

"Need some help?"

"I can't do this." Greyson blurts out. "I'm only a fourth of the way done and I'm already stuck."

"You got this." His dad says. "All writers face writer's block. But you know what? You can do this. You remember when we couldn't take the regular way we usually take to school because of construction?"

Greyson nods, tears streaming down his face.

"Remember what I did? I found a new way on google maps, and got to school anyway."

Greyson nods again. He's stopped crying.

"That's what you have to do. And, when I heard about the contest, I got a little present for you. It can be like google maps. It'll help you."

Greyson's dad hands Greyson a book.

"Brave the Page, By Jason Renolds. It'll help you a little bit."

Then Greyson's father hurries away. And as Greyson reads the book he gets an idea. . .

***

Lucas

I stare at the un-dead. Lucy taps me on the shoulder, and I jump.

"C'mon Jason," she says. "It'll be fun."

But I can see the fear in her eyes. Shoved under a mask of cheerfulness, but there, nonetheless.

This is the biggest mob we've faced yet. Bigger than the one in Talsvania, bigger than the one in Quetek, bigger than the one in Shwamon. Bigger than Talsvania, Quetek, and Shawmon all combined.

Lucas's eyes skim the page.

"It is suitable. For now. I expect 20,000 words by the 20th."

"I got it covered, sir."

Sabrina stands up and leaves.

"One more thing."

Sabrina glances back. "What?"

"What is the name?"

"The Rise and Fall of the Undead."

Then Sabrina leaves.

Lucas smiles, and sinks back into the couch. He knows for sure that he is going to win.

***

Greyson

"And with those last words, Atticus Young, and Satan Lucifer turns around and walks away, into the gloomy night. His footsteps fade away, and Hailey and Jayden watch him, as he slowly turns into a shadow.

It feels right somehow. His life started in the shadows and ended in the shadows.

"The only thing I regret is that he never saw the sun and the stars, and the moon, and the sky. He was a devil. The devil. But he was nice. Not like the other devils." Haily whispers to Jayden.

Jayden nods. He stares at where Lucifer once was.

"The only thing I regret is that he never trusted us. Not even in the end."

They stay there for a few more seconds before finally turning away.

They turn away from the gloomy shadows and walk away from the man who broke their lives, then fixed them again. The man who would never be seen again.

The end."

Greyson's sister, mom and dad clap loudly.

"That was amazing!" His mom gives him a giant hug, and his sister ruffles his hair. His dad joins the hug, and they all laugh.

Finally, they pull away and shower Greyson in praise.

"You are soooo going to win."

"You've got this!"

"It was such an amazing story!"

"Group hug!"

They hug once more.

"I don't care if I win," Greyson tells his family. "I think that just the satisfaction of finishing is equal to winning."

***

November 1st

Ms. Corday stands at the front of the classroom.

"I will now be announcing the winner of the monthly competition. The winner is. . . Greyson and Lucas! It was a tie. You will both get first place. Everybody cheers. Suddenly Ms. Corday's phone rings.

She almost sends it to voicemail, but when she sees the name, she picked it up.

"Hi! This Michelle Corday. . .What about him?. . .I see. . .Thanks for telling me, I'l let him know. . .I don't think you need to do that, but he is your responsibility. . .I see. . .Bye!

Ms. Corday hangs up, and everyone stares at her in silence. Ms. Corfay rarely ever takes calls. And now her face isn't smiling anymore. 

"Lucas, your dad just called me." Ms. Corday tells Lucas. "He told me that you have been hiring someone to do your story for you. In the rules, it clearly states that YOU have to do it. Other people can give you suggestions, but you have to make the story. You broke that rule, so you are disqualified. Greyson, you are the winner. Lucas, I'll talk to you after class."

Greyson beams and everyone cheers again. Some people boo at Lucas and Lucas flushes a deep scarlet and scrambles out of the classroom.

"Cheating never benefits anyone," Ms, Corday tells the class. "But to the next thing."

The class quiets. Ms. Corday clears her throat. "The runner up is . . .Malisa!"

The crowd cheers, then quiet down as Ms. Corday clears her throat one last time."The runner up of the runner up is. . .Roderick!"

Everyone is silent. "Who is Roderick? There's no Roderick in this class."

Larry raises his hand. "Lucas's did it. I saw him write that story. He signed it "Roderick", but I think he actually wrote it.

The class erupts like Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii.

***

After this news, there are three things that are figured out.

1. Lucas loved to write. He was embarrassed about it, so he wrote under a pen name, and entered the contest.

2. Lucas didn't hire Sabrina to do his work. He hired Sabrina to make a decoy so he wasn't suspected as Roderick.

3. After the top three were learned, the class hired Lucas to make the school newspaper, which he sold daily for a dollar a paper, and soon raised enough money to win the next project, which was a fundraiser competition.

And do you know what the first newspaper's headline was? Yup. You guessed it.

Anonymous Author Found

Written by the anonymous author himself, Roderick Quirkle.