Orange Castles: A Short Story

I was excited to talk to Ajaz, my best friend from the age of four to thirteen again. We’d had an inconsistent friendship (though we’d never fallen out) over those nine years: from spending every class and break together for our first couple of school year together, to barely speaking to each other later in primary school. Prior my family and I moving to Canada, however, we were as close as we had been aged four. Ajaz was already sat at our pre-arranged meeting point – a small park that neighboured our primary school – when I arrived our pre-arranged meeting point. We walked through the neighbourhood, passing the house in which I grew up. The conversation was predictably awkward, nevertheless, I expected the conversation to loosen up after

I do not consider myself to be anybody’s best friend. While I do have many friends that I consider myself to be close with (and I’d like to believe they opposite is true), the school year has just started and many friendships that existed last year may or may not fade away as time passes by. This is because friendships are mainly built on conversations shared daily, whether they be in the classroom or outside on social media. Even if one person is reluctant to hold a conversation, then the bonds of friendship will slowly and steadily break apart due to the lack of sustained interaction on a daily basis. Communication is paramount to ensuring that a relationship is maintained. In my case, I do not believe I interact with anyone on a daily basis enough to be considered “best friends.” Sure, I would consider many people I’m acquainted with good friends, but that is the extent of our friendship. On the other hand, I have several good friends because we have relatively good chemistry. Successful interaction with one another has led to a mutual desire to sustain our friendships.

At 4:30 am, my alarm went off; I was more tired than ever. I rolled over stepping onto the wood floor. I walked to the bathroom feeling as if I could collapse and fall back into my deep sleep. After my shower, I went back into the snug, little room I was calling home for the time being at my grandparent’s house. I was at my grandparents house due to the fact that my dad and Stacy were already in the Dominican Republic. I packed my last few belongings and crawled back into the bed to fall asleep for a few minutes. I assumed that ten minutes had passed when I remember hearing my grandparents talking about how we had to leave soon. My grandma came in asking us what we had wanted for breakfast. Mickenzie and I told her we weren’t hungry and got out of the warm cozy bed to get in the car. After changing, we went out to the kitchen to say bye to our grandma, seeing that there wasn’t room for her in the car. She gave us a huge, tight bear hug telling us to be safe.

They wanted me to do their homework and we was only in the 2nd or 3rd grade. There was no excuses why they could not do their own. When I turned six years old, everything changed. I was called to the office and when I got there my aunt was standing beside a woman and they were looking and smiling at me. I just looked and smiled back and automatically knew it was my mom. She looked like me and I could not say anything because my heart was just pounding. I just hugged her. Ever since, I would go to my mom’s house, on the weekend, to spend time with her. When I hit 10 years old, I walked in my aunt house after school one day and a man sitting on the sofa and I automatically knew it was my dad. I knew it was him because I knew where he was. He was in jail. He wrote to me and sent pictures. It had me thinking maybe my mom was in jail also because he told me they had a big fight and she had pulled a knife out on him. I do not know why she did not send pictures or ever write

As a kid I only got to see my dad on the weekends and those were the best days I had, I never understood why I couldn't live with my father full time because my mom never lived a stable life. My mother wasn’t as bad as it seems, she always made sure we had food and somewhere to stay even if it wasn't the greatest, even living with my mom my dad still paid for almost everything I had. When I was about 8 years old I lived in Mccomb and it was my dads weekend and I was so excited to get off of school and go see him, When I got home I was shocked to find everything packed up and my mom told me to get in the car, I was so upset to find out that me, my two brother, and her and her boyfriend were off to Florida. The whole trip to Florida I balled my eyes out and all I remember was that I kept saying that I wanted to live with my dad and that I hated my mom, I wondered how she could just up and leave without telling my

I’ve never been the kid to have a lot of friends, but my all time favorite friend is Shauna Golec. Shauna is my best friend because I can talk to her about anything. Shauna and I have known each other for close to four years now, we weren't best friends until last year. Shauna tries to help me in every way possible, and every problem I have. When I was getting bullied Shauna was the one that helped me and actually the only one that helped me. Shauna’s friendship is important because with out her I don't know what I would do. My mom is always busy and my step parents don't really help me. My dad is the only family member that I can talk to, but I rarely get to see him anymore. So the only person left is Shauna. The qualities that make this friendship

I sat on my bed with my arms wrapped tightly around my pillow swaying back and forth. My mom lightly knocked on my door and asked if she could come in. I tried to wipe away the stains left by my long stream of tears, but I felt my skin sting and eyes swell instead. She asked if I wanted to talk about it, but my response got stuck in my throat, so all I could do was shake my head and shove my head deep inside my pillow. Her bare feet smacked on the concrete as she made her way over to my bed. Her weight made an indent in the corner of my mattress as she sat down and laid a hand on my back.

It was the first week of summer, after graduating high school. Most of my friends were gone away to college or had jobs. Parents working and older siblings have moved away. It was the beginning of adulthood. I owned nothing to my name, I had no job, no car or any motivation. The only useful thing I had was a friend. Nancy, she has been in my life since we first met in middle school. How we became friends, she gave me two dollars. Those two dollars made our friendship. Just like Esperanza gives up her three dollars for a bike and some friends, Nancy did the same. She willingly gave up her lunch money, so I wouldn't starve at school. Since that day we became best friends. We had the same struggle and we almost have everything in common, and we

7th grade was the year I woke up. My mom called me into her bedroom late one afternoon and was still sitting on her bed, wearing her pajamas. The bright and cheerful sunshine that lit up the room gave a false ambiance of the tension that clouded the air. I already knew what she was going to say, but I did not want to believe it as the truth. I had noticed that my mom and dad's relationship with one another was growing apart just by the way they acted around each other. The conversations between them became shorter and their affection for one another began to fade. My dad spent his nights falling asleep watching TV on the couch, while my mom slowly disappeared back into her bedroom, alone. This had been happening for a while now, so I do not know why I was even surprised when my mom said to me that, “Your dad and I are getting a divorce”. I should have seen it coming. The clues were all in front of me, but I was too afraid to put them together. I was scared because, for the first time in my life, the image of my "perfect" family was crumbling before me. I knew inside that my family was falling apart, but I was desperately holding onto the fibers that I thought were keeping us together. It is hard to believe that one encounter can change the course of one's life forever. In this instance, I was awoken from the dream that I had been living in for so long.

I walk in my front door, knowing my mother would be standing there all red face, arms crossed, staring at me with smoke blowing out her ears. I looked around trying to see if she was around. I noticed she was in her room, up in the attic getting boxes down. The only thing that crossed my mind was that she was going to make me and my little brother move during the middle of the school year. I had no intentions on moving this day interfered with the rest of my sophomore year of high school. This affected my learning because I was being a hard headed teen not wanting to move. I went to the new school with a negative attitude and did not care.

“If you are going to build something in the air it is always better to build castles than houses of cards.”(Lichtenberg). Castles are meant to hold up in defensive times to protect the people and country. “Why should we strive, with cynic frown, to knock their fairy castles down?” (Cook). At first, castles were built for military and government means. As centuries went on, hostilities subsided, and wealth started to flow during Renaissance, nobility and royalty started to create vanity castles that were used to be summer houses, hunting houses and royal houses. Castles are used mostly for defense, they protect the nobility from danger, and they were used as a fortress to protect the country. The castles were large enough to be seen over many

When she came up he was just sitting in the toilet, we eventually got him out. We spent a lot of our time at my grandma's pool. One day she brought glass dolls and we were playing with them in the bedroom. When we finished playing with them we went to go out and put them in the car. She said toss the doll in there, and I took it a little too literally. So I actually tossed the doll in the car, breaking its face. She didn't seem upset, and she didn't yell at me, but I knew she was upset. Her dad was in the military so they obviously did a lot of moving around. When she was around nine or ten they moved to Belgium, and I was super upset and mad. Three of my friends had moved all at the same time. I don't make friends very easy, so it was difficult for me. I didn't actually find another friend until 2014, and Emilia moved in 2012. Now Emilia is living in Ohio, and I wish to see her again soon someday, And even though she lives in Ohio she still is a best friend of mine. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better friend. We have been friends for nine years, and this is the story of my best friend, Emilia Grace

All families experience their share of good times and bad times, I can remember so many wonderful times. Obviously, there were bad times, my parents fought a lot of the time too. I can remember being snuggled in bed, dreaming of lollipops and cotton candy gum drops, only to be woken by the sound of faint arguing through the walls; I never did let them know I heard. There were several occasions I can recall being scoped into my mother’s arms and packed into the car, we were running to my grandma’s house. It always went the same way in these situations, we would arrive at my grandma’s, my father would come and speak to my mother, and then we would go home again. I never really understood it; It was my first lesson in adulthood,doing things

Imagine you are a European residing in England in the year 1066. You are terrified of the Norman invasion and are concerned of how to protect yourself. The idea of castles came after the Battle of Hastings, when the Norman-French army began conquest in England. Medieval castles were built to protect those who lived in or near them, from attackers and invaders. These castles lasted up until about the 1560’s.

Pressed by Channel winds, a fog bank mounted the hillside to grapple with dervish columns of black smoke. Tangled air surged this way and that, neither giving nor asking quarter. Then a wind gust separated the combatants and revealed contested ground—the smoldering remains of Falmouth Castle.