Friends and School

At the beginning of the year, I was nervous. I didn’t say a thing; I stayed quiet for mostly the whole time, looking around the whole school, trying to make my place in my new school. When I got to English class, this random kid came up to me, to ask me a question that would start our friendship.

“Hi. Do you like games?”

I said yes, and we began talking about our most favorites and least favorites. He told me his name, Vigan Osmani, and the most unknown country for me at that time, Albania. We began talking for the whole school time, and we sat alone in lunch, too embarrassed to see anyone else. People began to come to our lonely table, talking to us, making us happy and confortable. A day passed, and I started to like this school, since people where being much nicer than I expected.

One tall Danish kid came up to our table and asked us to come. They were watching some videos about Halo 3, and before we knew it, we were the newest members of the table. We got some tables and joined the fun. We spent the whole time in that table, laughing, making jokes to each other, and it was the beginning of new community in our new school. Later on, I began to know about all the teachers, and to begin socializing with other people around the school, talking to other people of the school, in order to get to know more people.

Over the year, I began to realize even more about my comrades. I realized that Vigan was obsessed with games, always every month he would talk about a new game coming out and then copying parts of the game and pretending he was one of the characters, like one recent one in which he would hit people with the “ultimate spider” move from a fighting game which was coming out. Mikkel would then always make weird faces, including his strange big smile, which I would always laugh at, and would also make weird funny noises on lunch. Max, another kid from the table, was known as the funniest, also known to normally saying things like

“JK, lol”

And

“Jaye’s jealous of Natalie Portman”

He also is normally very lazy in P.E. so we always hang out with Josh Tywater, another friend I recently made, and try to play chess for the whole class. Brandon was also another one from the table, but in which I almost never talk to since I don’t have any classes with him. We mostly just talk at lunch, making jokes about Vigan and throwing things at each other. In this year I learned a lot about this school, knowing of how to deal with some people, what to do in order to make some teachers happy, and how to be organized.

Most importantly, I finally learned to like math, thanks to Mr. Borras, who actually explained to me things easier, and instead of having a C in math, in which I had in my old school, I now have the highest grade in my class, with 105% in my progress report. I have grown to like the school and I’ve started to believe I am actually better here, than in my prior one, and I am now ready to go to high school.

Jem's Journal

Maycomb County is turning into a disgrace. I used to think it was the best place in the world, but now, I don’t know what to say about it. Everyone’s been talking about Tom Robinson and the trial. I couldn’t believe it. I thought my dad was so close into winning, he was doing so good, his and Tom Robinson's story clearly made more sense than with Bob Ewell, and in the end, he got away with it! Poor Tom Robinson then had to go to jail for something he didn’t even do. That just got me blue in the face, and felt like skinning that Ewell alive.

Also, even after my dad’s speech, which really moved me, made me think that it would put some sense into the jury and actually make Tom innocent, even if he’s black, but it failed. After it had ended, my dad walked off the court and I started to cry, a grown man, crying like a runner instead of taking up with the man behind this mess.

I felt the urge to stay holed up in my room, and began to question myself why would someone do something to a man like that, just because of his color. Miss Stephaney then later told me of what that darn Ewell did to my father, going up to him, and spiting right on my dear dad’s face. I hope that Bob is fit to die, because I swear, at that moment I felt like killing him. Bob was trash to pretty much everyone, he was never clean, he hates almost everybody, and always treats my father badly.

When my dad came home, I asked him some questions about the verdict, and if Tom was able to have another trial. He tried to answer them the best he could, like he does with all my questions. My sister, Scout, then began asking if Walter could come to our house, but my father didint let her. When they were done, I asked her to come to my room. In my room, I began to explain her about how our family works, and also the reason why Aunt Alexandra was treating her this way, trying to make her into lady. Scout seemed to get the wrong idea at first, but I think, after  ten forever’s, she’ll finally get it.

Maycomb times

Maycomb times

Colored section

The after trial

By: John Marble  

a few weeks ago, the people of Maycomb met Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mr. Ewell’s daughter Mayella. Atticus, a well-known lawyer, was responsible for protecting this man, and even accused Mr. Ewell of hitting her daughter. In the end of the trial, Tom Robinson was guilty of rape and was sent to jail, like any other black man who would dare to even look at a lady. Tom Robinson, on Monday September 26^th, a few days after the trial, was killed when trying to escape Maycomb county prison. Trying to climb the wall, and almost getting to the other side, he was then penetrated with 17 bullet holes in him body, and died instantly.

“The man was strong; I even started to worry in my head that he would escape”

Says one cop who took part in the chase.

Tom Robinson dead on the ground of the prison

“If he had a good arm, he could have been able to pass us.”

Atticus, the lawyer and friend of Tom Robinson, who had been trying to get him out of jail when Tom was put in, was shocked with this idea and said.

“We had such a good chance, I told him what I thought, but I couldn’t in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own.”

It was reported that Atticus went on to Helen Robinson’s house to tell her the news afterwards.

Unfair judges

On Tuesday, September 1^st , 1945, the Maycomb court was presented by Atticus Finch to Tom Robinson. I was also present in that court and I was a bit surprised by the results. Everyone in Maycomb county knows that the Ewell’s can’t be trusted, but even after Atticus great speech about how people should be treated equal, which really moved me, people still made Tom Robinson guilty and he later on causing him to die in jail.

I think that case was unfair, and even if Tom is black, that guilt shouldn’t have been his, and that nasty Ewell got away with it. Tom was convicted by rape of the daughter of Mr. Ewell, Mayella, but the way Atticus had told us about Ewell hitting his daughter, and with Tom Robinson’s side story, had more connections to each other than with Bob Ewell and Mayella’s story. Also how she took a long time to answer Atticus questions made me suspect of her.

This made me blue in the face and made me feel like taking up with John Taylor and making him re-do this case. I think that case was not properly judged, that the judge’s shouldn’t only judge someone by their color. I think that people should go by the law when they are at a case with black people, just like with whites.

           

Normal newspaper                                                  

Mysterious shadow

By: Steven Bing

It has been told that Mr. Taylor, the judge of the court of Maycomb, had spotted a shadow passing inside his house while he was working. Mr. Taylor told us that he was peacefully reading one of the writings of Bob Taylor at his house while his wife was at the church on the Sunday- night of October. He said he was as still as a mouse and was so concentrated on the book, that when he heard a small scathing noise in his room, he’d had lost where he was.

He told his dog, Ann Taylor, to be quite but the noise was still going on, until he found out that the dog was nowhere to be seen and that the mysterious noise was coming through the rear end of his house.  It was said that after he saw his dog was stuck behind the back porch and putting him down the country, he saw a mysterious shadow passing by through the corner of his house. His wife had said when she came back home, he was still reading his book, but with a shotgun across his lap. We asked a few people of who the shadow might be and this is what Mr. Atticus Finch had to say.

“I don’t know, maybe Bob Ewell cut that screen. I can guess it was him, since I only proved him a liar when he was in court with me, but John made him look like a fool.”

Bob Ewell has also been seen trying to chase Helen Robinson in her way to her new work, and had also been accusing Atticus of getting his job. The people of Maycomb still think he had also been part on this incident with John Taylor.

Bob Ewell’s orbit:

By: Luther Joe

Bob Ewell was known to be hipped on alchahol, who would pay a mint on of his remaining money on beer and to be holed up on the gabling table to feed his family. For Maycomb, the Ewell’s are known not to be trusted and are also very dirty people. He had 8 kids in his little tiny house (in which used to be a negro cabin) with his dirty greasy windshields, located next to the dump. He has to take care of all his sons, sending about one to school every week, and having the rest to work on the house. He had also joined in Mayella (one of his daughters) case with Tom Robinson, in the time when she needed him the most.

Mr. Ewell had died by getting stabbed with a honed down kitchen knife close to the Halloween pageant. Rumor has it, he was chasing two kids, Scout and Jem.  A few days before his death, he was known to lose his job because of his laziness and of blaming the lawyer, Atticus finch, for it. This is what Mayella, his oldest daughter, has to say of him.

“I didn’t mind father. The stuff Mr. Atticus was talking about him would tear me to pieces and make me blue in the face.  He also let me take up gardening and didn’t say a word, and let me plant those flowers next to our house.”

Bob Ewell’s visitation will be held on Tuesday, October 16^th, 1934 from 10p.m. to 10: 30p.m. at the Maycomb church, including a small speech from his son Burris for his dad.

 

Letter to editor:

Dear editor.

About a week ago, I was present in the Halloween pageant and I loved it! It was all great fun and I and my family had a great time, and people kept coming in droves. All the booths and prizes caused the time to be playing tricks at me, and the house of horrors walked over my little son’s grave, but it put me out like a light since it almost didn’t scare me at all.

Yet the best part of the pagent was yet to come. That little show about Maycomb that Mrs. Merriwether put on was really nice, but the part in which Jean Louise fell asleep in her costume and Mrs. Merriwether kept calling pork made me slap my knees with laughter.  Mrs. Merriwether was really mad at Jean Louise, but I couldn’t care less, since the pagent was a huge success, and all I wanted for this letter is for everyone to know about it.

Sincerely

Beatrice Lucifer

Maycomb newspaper

Maycomb newspaper

To Kill a Mockingbird Cover

My book cover consists of a mocking bird sitting on top of Boo Radly's house.

This picture demonstrates the drama and the story, and to make people who see this cover, ask questions about the book, like whose house that might be, why is it there and why would there be a mocking bird on top of it. This also represents Boo Radlys innocence in the story, and how he was first known to be a killer and feared, and later turned out to be a loving man who only tried to protect Scout and Jem. The house also represents a part of the mystery of the book in To Kill a Mockingbird.