Seconds Ticked By
By Viviana Sanchez, TIWP Student Seconds ticked by. The smell of the coffee shop was warm and nice. A milk frother gurgled and whined. A teen girl with blonde hair and practically invisible eyebrows and several piercings shook a metal bottle vigorously. A small, curly haired child in blue overalls made circles around his tired…
The Garden
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student She had always loved the smell of soil. As a little girl, her father would take her to the nursery for hours as he planned out his garden and bought plants. There she would take in the aroma of dirt. It’s deep, earthy scent full of floral and sweet and…
The Witch Trials
By Riley Faust, TIWP StudentThe chanting outside sent chills down my spine and put fear in my heart. I could hear men, women, even little kids, all combining their voices to say a single, hate-filled word.“Witch.”I knew I should join them. I knew if I didn’t, I might be one of the many tortured souls…
Cassandra
By Sol Dente, TIWP Student “Father please!” the young maiden cried, dropping to her knees in the sand and reaching out to grab her father’s hand. “Cassandra, we’ve talked about this!” King Priam snapped. “This horse is a gift from the Greeks, nothing more. This paranoid talk has gone on for far too long,” “You…
Who Is She Really?
By Cami Lovell, TIWP StudentWhen I get in, I meet a stranger. I open up to someone new and end up acting like a more vulnerable version of myself. What is it about the safety of a car? The thrill of a stranger? The thought of them stealing you away? It makes me feel so…
I Think I’ve Lost My Laugh
By Olivia Falk, TIWP StudentI think I’ve lost my laugh. I’m not sure where it’s gone… I know that it was with me at one point. Did someone steal it? Did I leave it behind? All I know is now it’s somewhere far away and now I’m here alone. Just thinking. I am a sitting…
The Doorstep
By Annie Dashiell, TIWP StudentDeath waits for me on my doorstep. Sometimes he would appear in the form of a friend, tricking me to open the door for him. I would stop before the door was fully open. I had the twisted feeling in the bottom of my gut that if I let him in,…
The End Justifies the Means
By Sol Dente, TIWP Student“You bastard.” Crimson drops stained the floor around the boy’s shaking shoulders, blood dripping past his lips as he struggled to keep his fragile hold on consciousness. His chocolate brown hair was messy from the fight and normally bright green eyes were clouded with pain. Next to the boy’s kneeling form…
Butterfly
By Evy Anders, TIWP Student Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? If you look it up it will tell you that the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.…
Undiscovered
By Evy Anders, TIWP StudentZoe was bright. Zoe was kind. Zoe had cute short hair. Jayden loved Zoe. Jayden was an odd, quiet boy which complemented Zoe’s loud and cheery outlook on life, and ever since last month when Jayden bumped into her in their local woods, they were inseparable. In the quiet town of…
I’d Kill a Man
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP Student“What would ya’ do for a Klondike bar?”The little girl swings back and forth, back and forth. Her red pigtails move on their own tandem, like they are their own swing set, but the little care seems to care very little. A theme, you will no doubt begin to recognise. But…
Drowning
By Elise Flagg, TIWP Student The water surrounded her, silencing her once prominent voice. She tries to swim up but what looks like the surface continues to move farther and farther away. Just one breathe of air. One short breath is all she needs. No one is helping. No one will help her. The darkness…
Cake
By Patrick Dunne, TIWP StudentI turn the rusting knob to the left. opening the gate to a new world. Dust rests on countertops and lightbulbs ring. I almost gag at the sight of the kitchen. Cold pizza, bread crumbs, and crackers, all things that should be thrown away, but aren’t. Why did I come? Why…
Eternal Woman
By Caroline Hesby, TIWP Student It had been so many years. A long string stretched out, pictures hanging with paper clips, snapshots of all the big events, the adventures, the memories. Recently he had gazed at them with glossy eyes, retracing the young faces in his mind. The sun set the grass ablaze on that…
The Birth of Panic
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP StudentThe Titan Age was the birth of many terrible things, but panic was not one of them. To understand the birth of panic, we must understand the family of death first. Born from Nyx was Thanatos, god of death. Before his birth, not a thing or spirit died, not even when…
The Hatred of Loving You…a short story
By Ava Skidgel, TIWP Student“Do you really hate me?” She looked at him dead in the eyes, disdain fueling the rage inside of her. He looked back back at her with a soul full of pity and a look of regret. “Fredrick!?” she scorched, hoping he would give her the response she longed for. “God…
The Trolley Problem
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP StudentMany people are familiar with the Train Cart scenario, or the Trolley Problem. You are in a rampaging train cart, that is barreling uncontrollably down the tracks. Next to you is a lever, and if you pull that lever, the train cart will switch onto another track. Option A: Don’t pull…
A Midnight Nightmare
By Elena Tamagno, TIWP Student I can hear cracking and creaking in the floorboards at the base of my bed every night. I can hear my parents above me in their room, and I can hear my sister’s hushed snores from across the hall. I know it isn’t them. The cat is curled up next…
The Bookstore
By Elena Tamagno, TIWP Student I have a window that I sit by in the morning. I watch the rain fall in the winter, the sun come up over the valley in the summer. Something just feels special about that weather. I see people pass me by. If you look closely enough at the crowds…
Ben Frank
By Dylan Scott, TIWP student I’m Josh. There is nothing special about me, unless you think a kid who has mediocre grades, goes to an average school, and lives in an average house is special. In the small town we live in, nothing exciting ever happens. My day starts with waking up, making myself some…
Dead
By Will Leibowitz, TIWP student Five years ago today my dad died in an experiment, but today I will get revenge. He was doing an experiment with a scientist named Ven. He knew something that my dad didn’t, something that would kill my dad, but not him. So today I will kill him. I walk…
Cinderella, JD
By Kiera Roux, TIWP Student Cinderella climbed up the dusty ladder to her attic bedroom, tumbling onto her bed and kicking her shoes off with exhaustion. Pain throbbed up her back and neck from slouching over the floors to polish them. Her stepmother and sisters had gone to bed, so she could finally splay out…
The Monster
By Elle Gordon, TIWP Student Once upon a time there was a girl with a smile on her face and a monster in her heart. The monster slowly ate away at her as she waved to the struggling people in her kingdom with her perfect pink nails. She could not hear their cries for help.…
Better Places
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP studentREACTOR COMPROMISED. HULL COMPROMISED. TOP DECK COMPROMISED. SECOND DECK-“YEAH! I get it! The ship’s compromised! I didn’t need a stupid watch’s alarm system to tell me that!”I quickly go back to panting heavily as I sprint through the hallways, listening in horror to the sloshing of water that I know is…
Looking for Luck
By Audrey Kosla, TIWP studentMargaret had had enough. She lived an unlucky life, plain and simple. The day she planned to swim in the lake, the sky disappointed her with rain. When she finally put on rainboots and grabbed an umbrella, suddenly the sun decided to make an appearance. Margaret tripped over roots that appeared…
The Final Test
By Mollie Schofield, TIWP student“Today is your final test. You will be given one hour, nothing more, nothing less. It’s simple, if you pass you live, and if you dare fail,” she took a slight pause pressing her lips together, “then you will be sent to the shutter for execution.” She lifted a stack of…
Late Night Murder
By Graham Jenkins, TIWP Student Yo what popping big G? Nothing much young buck. I am just preparing for my 100th b-day. It is going to be hecka lit and I even asked Spencer X to come perform at my party. Yoooooo that is straight up gangster grandpa. You know what my favorite song is…
Uber to Death
By Dylan Scott, TIWP Student Me, I am Hunter. I have lived in many different places for… my job. My job requires me to bring certain things to certain people across the country. On my phone, I was ordering an Uber. The dark New York streets filled with little glimmers of light and the chilling…
The Box
By Audrey Kosla, TIWP Student He couldn’t remember his name. He couldn’t remember anything. Not how long he had been trapped here, in this vast, empty white space. It could have been five minutes or four years, he had no clue. It seemed more likely to be the latter, though; it felt like he had…
In The Manor
By Emma Glanville, TIWP Student A quite cold and dark night dwelled upon the Kosla Manor, a very not-humble abode that sat atop a hill that was forever blackened by the everlasting shadow from the perpetual clouds above it. Below lied a supposedly haunted forest that many people have entered but not returned from. The…
The Most Powerful Ability
By Sol Dente, TIWP Student My eyes were glued to the clock, watching the second hand tick, tick, tick by as it got closer and closer to the twelve o’ clock mark. Ten, nine, my hands fisted themselves in my navy sweatshirt in a desperate attempt to curb my anxiety. Six, five, my mouth was…
Herstory
By Erin Hambidge, TIWP Student History watched the universe long before mankind first walked the Earth. She watched galaxies unfurl, spreading starry arms across the sky. She watched the planets dance around the sun, and stars take their last breath before flickering out completely. As long as time continued to pass, she watched. She was…
Hunted
By Emma Glanville, TIWP Student As a slight wind ran through the forest, the autumn leaves broke from their branches and hit the ground, soon to be stepped on by a wandering huntsman. The crunches below his feet did not interfere with what he was doing, for he was a committed young man and a…
The House on Ape Street
By Kimya Karachi, TIWP Student It was October 31st, and the three kids were bored at home after they heard Halloween was canceled. They decided to visit the haunted house on Ape Street, the house that every child dreaded walking by, the house that nobody wanted to be at on Halloween night. Around 11 p.m.…
Apple Pie
By Audrey Kosla, TIWP Student Snow drifted lazily around in the cold outside Bill’s living room window. The first snow of the year, blanketing the world in a layer of white, not that he cared. Three years prior, Bill’s wife had passed away. Not by any sort of illness, as far as he knew of,…
Dragon Hunting: Yes or No
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student, Age 9 Dragon Hunting should NOT be continued in the Kingdom of Laz! Dragon Hunting does give the Kingdom of Laz a great food source, but it also harms the environment of the Kingdom. And example of this is yesterday. The overpopulated boars in the woods took over one of…
Too Much Eggnog
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student Santa had a party. He invited all of his friends. Mrs. Claus made some eggnog. So much eggnog that Mrs. Mistletoe suddenly showed up as Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were walking home together. It was Kaia’s dream come true. So much eggnog that Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey decided…
Dino Love
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student I look at her in all of her scaly glory. Her dark black eyes shadowing the world. Her vicious sharp claws, that have claimed the lives of so many, glint in the dusty sunlight. With all of my heart, I wish for her. Then, as if my affection has touched her,…
When They Could
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student, Age 9 PrefaceI thought they could. When they could, they chose for themselves. But now they can’t. They couldn’t for a long time. But we can make it so they can. —————————————————————————————————–Working in the forest was good. I was normal. I was innocent. Nothing had it against me. I took…
How Far We’ve Fallen
By Sol Dente, TIWP Student To the ancients we were hallowed as gods. They thought that the patterns of the stars were etched between our scars, that the answers to the universe were written out on our bound chests. They thought that the heavens cradled our tear-stained faces while we slept and the patterns of…
Lost
By Audrey Tsai, TIWP Student My heart stopped. I see my friend, on the other side of an old-looking bridge. She got lost on a hike four days ago and was just recently found in the woods. My friend looks so small, as if she was an ant. Even though she’s so far away, I…
New York Witch
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student Simon and Garfunkel quietly played as the young woman pulled on her black tights under her intricately patterned skirt that hit the middle of her shins. Layering with socks and sweaters and scarves, she hurried quickly out of her apartment, only turning back at the small studio to silently flick…
Half Magic
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student Phoebe MacDougle had never lived a normal life. Seemingly always ahead of the other kids in her grade and an interest in the more, unique, areas of study, she could never hold onto a friend for more than a month or two. They all eventually went away after a playdate…
Halloween Costume Gone Wrong
By Adrian Choi, TIWP Student, Middle School Boys’ Program“Hey what are you going to be for Halloween?”“Just a daredevil,” I reply. Uhh uhh uhh. Finally I get my costume on and I am ready to go trick-or-treating. 10 p.m., the perfect time. Dang, going trick or treat with no friends cuz I have none. “Trick…
Absolutely No Negative Consequences
By Sol Dente, TIWP Student Before you ask, yes, I’m in Hel. No, don’t ask me what it looks like. It’s not like I could tell you that anyways, you know, blindness and all. When I was alive, all I could see was black, and now I’m dead and all I can see is black.…
Untamable
By Evangeline Ford, TIWP Student “With her straw blonde hair, arms hard and lean,She’s the angel of small death and the codeine scene.”— HozierDo you ever get so angry that you feel it in your lungs, above your lips, squeezing your temples, longing to be set free? All her anger is poured into the fire that…
Daughters of Mother Earth
By Erin Hambidge, TIWP Student A woman walked through the forest. Where her light footsteps touched the ground, green shoots burst through crumbling soil. Where her fingertips brushed the rough bark of trees, leaves blossomed. Flowers once wilted lifted their drooping shoulders to face her. Birds took to the sky, cawing in delight. The shyest…
Songs About Home
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student The beach back home was cold. The wind would tangle my hair and sand would stick to my clothes. When I walked barefoot along the ocean, my toes would turn purple and my fingers went numb. And most of the time, it would end up raining, soaking the little ham…
The Journey’s End
By Erin Hambidge, TIWP Student It had been days since he last saw his friends. Days since he had wandered off course in the dense forest, searching for food, any food. He was so tired. He had wandered through the endless woods looking for something familiar, anything to lead him back to his friends. But…
Self-Honesty
By Eloise Anagnost, TIWP StudentI will not be dishonest with myself,because self-dishonestly is the worst form ofbetrayal,graver thandishonesty to another.It is simpleto focus on the idea ofnot lying to someone else.But when it comes toyourself,it is a challengequite difficult tosurmount.I will not be dishonest with myself,when I believe one thing,but convince myself of anotherto appease…
Rewriting the Fairytale
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student, Age 8 Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Cindy. She lived with her mother and father but then, when Cindy was 6 years old, her mother died. It was a rough time for her and her father but then, Cindy’s dad got remarried. He married a…
Building Bridges
By Lizzie Arroyo, TIWP StudentI live on a lonely shore. The sand is white and the water is gray and stretches on forever. The only sound is the whisper of the water on the sand. This soft little island has strong bridges to other islands, where my family lives. These bridges are so strong it…
The Protests, Part 1
By Graham Clinger, TIWP Student I woke up on my bed panting. My heart was racing so fast I could barely breathe. I jumped out of bed and ran to the window and there on the street I saw it. The line of police threatening the trespassers. Life had changed overnight and I was already…
Filled to the Brim
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP Student This story is many things. It is filled with love, sadness, and possibly, confusion. To clear that confusion, I am going to tell you a secret. In the beginning of this story, you are reading from the perspective of one Chrysanthi Del Reyes. She is a black lawyer, and a…
Rainbow Rain
By Maxine Pollock, TIWP Student My sister told me she thought that the world was once black and white like the old movies. And I asked her how she thought the world got its color again. She said it was because of the rainbow rain. Red came first of course. She was hot and fiery…
Two Birds and Two Eggs
By Julia Lima, TIWP Student Outside my window there is a tall oak tree. And on the second largest branch, tucked away in the shade, there sits a little straw-and-twig nest. In the nest lay two birds and two eggs. I like to watch these birds. I see them leave early in the morning to…
Hamilton, The Revolution
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Afterschool Program, Age 9 I could see Lin-Manuel Miranda standing on the stage watching President Obama and Michelle Obama. I got there just in time for Lin’s first rap of “Alexander Hamilton.” It was cool – watching Lin and President Obama together. And then just like that, I was on stage…
Love of the Ocean
By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student I want to love someone the way I love the ocean. The way it excites me, the great big expanse of it all. The way it terrifies me with all its depths in darkness, all its undiscovered uncertainty. The way it engulfs me and stings my eyes and burns the…
Mallory
By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student When I was young, I felt like I could live through anything. A broken arm? No problem. Can’t swim? Doesn’t matter, I’ll dive in anyways. Lost a baseball in my neighbor’s yard? I’ll hop the fence; I’m fast enough their violent dogs won’t catch me. I enjoyed fear, the feeling…
A World Full of Light
By Maxine Pollock, TIWP Student I dream of a world full of light. A world where everyone smiles at each other as they pass. A world where if someone’s grocery bag breaks on the street, five people rush to help. Everyone is employed, everyone has a family, and everyone is loved. Sounds nice doesn’t it? …
Lost to the Flames
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP StudentI stand still, looking up in awe at the massive building before me, the huge ten steps to enter it, and the two pillars on either side of the open staircase. There are two stone men who sit on rock thrones in front of pillars, only to be outshined by the…
Broken Pieces
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP StudentA look of defeat takes over my face as I watch my life get played out before my eyes, and the eyes of my best friends, my team, and the eyes of my worst enemy. I can hear their silent gasps behind me, and I can only imagine the looks of…
Furtuna and Nike
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP Student“I challenge you, daughter of Fortuna, to a battle to the death.” I give her a tight lipped smile, my ever-growing ego peaking through. With a more meaningful smile and bit of a smirk, I say – “Sure thing, honey.” I see her scowl at the nickname, and it brings yet another mocking smile…
Ben & Jerry Apocalypse
By Reagan Kaelle, TIWP Student Boredom is a funny thing. Parasitical and corrupting in nature, it creeps into your life with malicious intent. It slips through daily routine and leaves insanity in its wake. It is this very insanity that has provoked my father and I to venture to Safeway.Grocery shopping in this day and…
Unwanted Visitor
By Kayli Harley, TIWP Student It calls my phone unexpectedly, like an old high school friend who just happened to be in town and somehow knew my number. It knocks on my door and I have no choice but to let it in because it has already pushed its way through the door, sat down,…
Rain
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student It hadn’t rained in a while here. While the sky was dark and the air was cold, the city was refreshed. Like a drunk girl having her first cup of water in twelve hours, we were on our way to recovery. Fall had been unusually warm, with thick, humid air…
Apocalypse
By Ellie Hawkins, TIWP Student With sleep comes dreams. The pain of life slips away into an imaginary world of laughter and magic. The tears of death and sorrow—bottled up like lava waiting to burst—explode into a black hole of nothing. Outside is a world where life is unbearable. Beautiful nature disappears in clouds of…
Who Needs A Prince? (Part 1)
By Zara Quiter, TIWP after school student, Redwood Heights Elementary School, age 8 FROZENThe wind blew as Elsa was out on her porch. She noticed a gleaming wisp of wind shining. “That was weird,” she said out loud to herself. It got bigger and bigger. She took a step back and then started to run…
Aquaintances
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student The church was quiet, yet I could still hear whispers echoing through the large building. I sat in a pew close to the doors. I haven’t been home in a long time. I haven’t known any of these people in a long time. At this point I only know their…
The Mask
By Reagan Kaelle, TIWP Student Everybody wears a mask. It hides your identity, face, and emotions. Masks are armor. In this society, they seem to protect us. But I don’t think that’s true. Masks prevent authenticity and genuine connection. I can stare into the faceless metal shield for as long as I want, but in…
Fight For It
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP Student I heave myself to my feet, my light blue jeans now dusted in dirt. As I now stand upright, I face my foe in my long sleeve teal shirt. Oh god, please don’t rip this shirt, it’s really soft. My short curly brown hair tickles my chin a little as…
The Unseen Event
By Maya Petzoldt, TIWP Student Waking up in the middle of the night is never fun, especially to go to the bathroom. You turn the lights on, and guess what—now your eyes hurt, too. You sit down, and then the cold seat shocks you. Now you’re slightly awake with a headache. With your senses mostly…
Angry Adolescents
By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student When I get angry, a little orb of fire begins to burn in my throat. I’ve learned to swallow it and let it scorch its way down my esophagus, extinguish itself in my stomach acid. I’ve learned to let the smoke out through my nostrils, and not billow between my…
Rain
By Alexia Tzortzis, TIWP Student There are things you knew you would miss when the end of the world came. Things like ready-made food. Electricity and Social Networking. Human interaction. You knew you would miss these things, but you underestimated just how much you would miss her. She was the girl you had been crushing on…
Orion and the Adroits
By Audrey Lambert, TIWP StudentThey isolated those that they feared—weapons in human form with abilities that surpassed imagination. If they suspected you, they branded you with a triangle on your neck and implanted a tracker in your left wrist. They told the people we were dangerous and to report all Adroit activities. Adroit, that’s what…
The Cardinal Directions
By Reagan Kaelle, TIWP Student “He was my North, my South, My East and West,My working week and my Sunday rest,My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.”— W.H. Auden North is cold: white hair and ice chips for eyes, always watching, never halting his relentless…
The Writer
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student For a long time I wondered where I would end up. I could be considered successful, with a job I was happy with and a seemingly simple and easy life. My routines were constant. Wake up, get ready, go to work, go home. My days were exhausting, the power hungry,…
Wash It Away
By Maxine Pollock, TIWP Student Someone coughs behind me and I shudder, burying my face further into my jacket. I need to get out of here, I think, and my pace quickens. My black combat boots strike the unforgiving pavement as I move away from civilization. The atmosphere wraps itself around my throat like a…
Their Gazing Eyes
By Elise Flagg, TIWP Student Part 1 A glance. Just a quick look over the shoulder. She sees him. Staring. Or gazing. She looks away. She continues to look over her shoulder throughout the night. He is always there. But then halfway through the night, his eyes are gone. Off looking at a new constellation…
Lockdown In A Home That Isn't Home
By Aly Kirke, TIWP Student When I received the news that confirmed the rumors of school canceling I felt my chest tighten, my throat narrow, my breath slow. I went to a friend’s house each day, and on the days I couldn’t I just went for a walk and didn’t come back until late. When…
The Big House
By Zoe Moga, TIWP Student I watch the road carefully before I cross. My satchel is stuffed with some food for the next week or so. Two loaves of bread and some cans of beans. I wanted to try and get some bacon or sausage but meat is rare here. The blue bloods have a…
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Pens of the Pandemic 