Chico de la Flor

It was November. Timmeh was lost. Constantly thinking about the past; thinking about how he could’ve done stuff better, done stuff differently. Thinking about life, the repetitiveness, the sameness; it was like everything was routine. Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling filled with boredom and his thoughts. He couldn’t move forward anymore. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. But some few minutes (or possibly hours) later, a glance at his vase of flores, The Garden. His Garden. His abuelitas garden. The one thing that could bring him back. After who knows how long, Timmeh got up from his warm, slightly sweaty bed, and into his garden shed. He put on his old, raggedy boots, old, dirty overalls, and his old, green hat. A step into his fresh garden was a breeze of fresh air. A cooling sensation against his hot skin. And the sensation of freeness, with a beautiful view of the orange garden. He stepped over to his garden to the flowers, 

This spot

Looking at the small field of nearly dead flowers. He reaches into his pocket, droppin seeds into the rich soil. Walking around the peaceful garden, a strange wave of euphoria sprouted from his heart. For the first time in a long time, he felt fulfilled. 

This one

Looking at the small spot in the field. Timmeh felt something special and dropped his last seed into it, watered it, and put the soil back over. 

Where this flower booms

Said Timmeh. Timmeh knew this flower would be special. In his mind he could visualize the beauty of that flower. And as he lay next to it, looking at the sunset of his field, enjoying right now, today. 

I’m Flying

Little bird was scared. It was going to be his first time flying. It was a breezy morning, perfectly lit sun, and beautiful skies. His brother and sisters behind him, cheering him on with their motivating chirps. And above him was his mother, towering over him, with a look of positivity and blissful sunshine. They were waiting for him to make the jump and finally fly. His legs felt like the twigs of the nest, his feathers were sprained up like a porcupine ready to strike, and his eyes’ vision was like a tunnel. He was scared. That’s until his mother came behind him and stretched his wings out. 

With the sudden burst of motivation, he and his mother jumped off of the tower of green. They flew. With their wings fully extended and flapping, it was like they were flying across the world. The cool breeze gliding them across the world looking over all the little cities, sailing over the big blue seas, watching dolphins jump in and out, flying up and towards the big ray of sunshine. Flying. I’m Flying.

Morning Routine

I live in a 2 story house with my family on an undisclosed street. I live on the 2nd floor. My name is AT and I’m 15 years old. I enjoy taking care of myself. To start my morning, I begin with a balanced diet with oats and a rigorous exercise morning routine. My favorite exercise is the stomach crunches; I can do 200 now. After my workout routine, I take a shower where I apply all my shampoo and exfoliate. I then apply a thin mask coating for 10 minutes while I do the rest of my routine. There is a concept of me, some kind of abstraction. But I am not really there, only a piece of life, something imagined, and although I can hide my cold gaze, and you can see me physically being there and maybe even assume that our lifestyles are comparable, I am simply not there. After peeling the thin face mask off, I get dressed and get driven to school. I get out with my headphones in, listening to the tunes coming from it. It calms me from everything happening around me. I begin to walk over to my first period classroom and acknowledge everyone I know that I pass by. I am ready for class.

Journey of a Monkey

There were once 5 monkeys sitting on a tree, sitting all in a circle. Everyday, these monkeys would eat their bananas talking about bananas. And only bananas. But if they ever ran out, they would go and scavenge around the jungle. Looking. And this day, they ran out of bananas, so they had to prepare to go looking. But this one particular monkey was bored of this routine. He began to have the desire to explore. 

He decides that while they were scavenging, the grand monkey would explore out of the jungle. So he began his expedition but while on his walk. He felt hungry. He didn’t have any bananas so he was starving. After a while he saw a Costco. He had no idea what it was but he saw people. So he skipped away from Costco. It was HUGE. A big pale building with a giant, red text illuminating on the entrance. He saw a bunch of people there too. Eating. Big and small, old and young, eating at tables. 

Salivating, the famished monkey got into the line and ordered a hotdog. After a few minutes, The hotdog came out. It was steaming hot. The buns were toasted to a perfection, looking fluffy and delectable. The hotdog itself looked cooked to perfection. Meat straight out of Japan, juicy and crisp. The monkey went over to the toppings stand and put the tangy, red, and yellow condiments onto the hotdog. The grand monkey was dying to eat this. He sat down on the slightly sticky seats, and took a bite into the sustenance. The grand monkey was floating from the explosive taste from the hotdog. The savoriness, paired with the sweetness of the condiments. It was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life. After consuming the last bits of the hotdog, including the crumbs, the grand monkey tried everything in that store. The pizza, milkshakes, the samples, and EVERYTHING! 

The monkey learned about the outside world. There was more to the world than just silly bananas and trees. There was so much to the world than he ever expected in that humid grove. That monkey. He decided to do something different than his monkey brethren. He traveled the world and explored the greatness of life; there was so much to it. The grand monkey finally felt fulfilled, and saw true happiness in the world.

Ratatouille

5 friends. 1 customer. 1 night. 1 attempt. The 5 friends were on a limited time to create this dish for their 1 customer. They had to make ratatouille. They scrambled to create the perfect savory, yet sweet, sauce, vegetables that were cut precisely, and baked to perfection. The 5 friends were split into 2 groups: the cutting team, and the sauce team. The sauce team was quick to create the sauce; grabbing the seared bell peppers and fresh tomatoes into the blender, adding garlic and seasonings to emphasize the flavor. 

It was looking great for the 5 friends, but the cutting team was struggling with time! With only about 8 minutes left to cut, the 2 groups suddenly shifted into 1, all working together on the cutting. Some of the vegetables were harder to cut into perfect circles, so they had to improvise; shot glasses. With shot glasses, they were able to create even, perfect circles for the ratatouille. 6 minutes able the team was actually able to cut the vegetables in time to prep for the oven. They quickly poured the sauce into the pan, evenly spread, and began layering the veggies down into the pan in a pattern: tomato the eggplant and then repeated. 30 seconds left they organized the pan of ratatouille and put it in the oven just in time, baking it for around 40 minutes; just enough time for the 1 customer’s patience, and enough time for the 5 friends to destress. 

After 40 minutes, they put on their mitts, and took the glorious dish out of the heating cave. It came out glistening, juicy from the vegetables, and the smell of something incredible. They quickly put the ratatouille together into a desirable presentation, and set it onto the table of the customer. The customer took one bite, and their facial expression seemed satisfied. The 5 friends were able to craft a beautiful dish for the customer just in time for a great night.