Chapter 1: A Pleasant Surprise

 

I slumped down the stairs and entered the kitchen. My dad and my 3 year-old younger brother, Nick, were huddled around the table eating. A pile of eggs, beans, and toast lay in the middle. Golden light filtered in through our big window. My mother was at the counter fiddling with an egg that was on the stove.

 Nick was gobbling down an egg on toast. Egg dangled from his chin and breadcrumbs were scattered over his mouth.

“Good morning,” my dad said. He, on the other hand, was all neat and clean and ready for work.

 My dad was on the computer printing out some papers. “You know, your mother and I decided that we are going to go to California this summer.”

“We are?” I asked.

“Yup, we figured that you need a little break,” my mother exclaimed. I sat down for breakfast. Inside I was jumping with excitement and joy.   

I took two slices of toast and two omelets. I was finishing up my breakfast when the doorbell rang. My dad rushed to the door and yanked it open.

A man stood at the doorway, his shadow darkening the room. His greasy hair was cropped and his electric blue eyes were stunning. His face was gaunt but his body was unrealistically buff.

He carried a brown box in his hands. He seemed to be very stressed by the way he acted.

“Hello,” he said with a voice like booming thunder.

“Why hello Mr. Penny,” my mother said.

“Your flight to California has been delayed.”

“Oh no,” my mother replied worriedly.

“Until the day after tomorrow,” Mr. Penny informed.

“Thank you, now we must get the kids to school so if you don’t mind leaving that would be very helpful.”

 

When Mr. Penny left my mom told me to check the time.  

I rushed into the kitchen and took a brief peek at the clock: 8:26 it read. ‘Oh no,” I said. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed out the door.

 

The school halls were packed. More like stuffed. People were hanging around their lockers and exchanging jokes. I went to my locker and put my backpack inside. I took out a pencil and some paper and took off for math class. It started at 8:40.

               

 

 

“Finally 2:30, school’s almost done. I just have to get through my art class,” I thought to myself.

I got my art stuff and entered the class. I picked a seat next to my friend Dean.

    “How ya’ doing?” Dean asked.

    “Oh, fine,” I replied.

    “How ‘bout you?”

    “Oh, nothing much.”

    We hadn’t seen each other today since we were in different classes.

“Hello class, today we will be learning how to blah, blah, blah.” My teacher went on and on about our technique and how we should stroke evenly.

    It was so boring I just put my head in my arms and waited for this class to end.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!! Finally torture had ended!!!!!!! I was soooooo happy! I packed up, bid Dean and my class goodbye, got my backpack and walked out of the school.

  

 

 

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Pencil

 

I walked home to meet my brother playing with some old toys.

    “Those were in the attic, you’re not allowed up there,” I said.

    “Dad let me,” Nick said still looking down at his toys.

    “I’m going,” with that said I raced into the attic. I looked around. The air was clogged and musty. Suddenly, far off in the corner a faint light was emanating.

    I stepped toward it carefully. Under my dinosaur there lay a battered blue pencil with ancient markings all over it. “Whoa,” I muttered.

    I took it in my hand and headed downstairs to ask my mom if I could keep it.

    “Mom can I have this pencil?”

    “Sure hon,” she replied. All evening I was going to draw with this thing.

    I went to the park with a piece of paper and the mysterious pencil. 

    I drew a high-tech robot with a park background. By accident I dropped my pencil. It rolled away.

    I ran after it but stopped when I heard a strange noise. “It’s nothing,” I convinced myself. I got the pencil and went home.

    “Mom, look at what I drew.” I showed my mom the robot picture that I had drawn.

    “Nice,” she said.

    My dad was home from work. He was plopped on the sofa in front of the TV. He sat there watching the news.

    “Oh and the breaking news is: ROBOT ON THE LOOSE!!!!!” The commentator screamed.

    “That looks familiar,” I thought to myself. I looked down at my pencil. No it couldn’t be. Magic doesn’t exist, or at least I thought it didn’t.

    I wanted to have dinner. I was hungry. My mother was cooking a delicious plate. I could tell by the smell. After I drew the picture it seemed like it had taken a bit of my energy away.

     That night I had a huge dinner. I ate and ate. I decided to put my pencil on top of my TV where Nick couldn’t reach. I was pondering about the pencil glowing. I was curious about why I hadn’t seen it the other times I was up there in the attic.

    “Honey,” my mother announced.

    “Yeah mom,” I replied

    “That pencil that you have, it looks just like the one on the news.”

    “What are you talking abo… Whoa! You’re right mom it does look similar.”

    I turned my head to see a close up picture of my pencil.

    “WE ARE SEEING THIS BIG SHIP OVERHEAD! IT IS USING ITS LOUDSPEAKERS AND SHOWING US A PICTURE OF THIS PENCIL. IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT!!!”

    The news reporter could barely be heard above the noise of this flying aircraft. This aircraft wanted my pencil. Why?

    This aircraft was not from Earth but I knew that I couldn’t be so sure.

I decide to think about it tomorrow. I felt the feeling of sleepiness overwhelm me. I went upstairs and collapsed on my bed.

     

 

 

Chapter 3: The Dog

 

     I awoke to the sound of my annoying alarm. BLEEP! BLEEP!

    I sluggishly walked down the stairs. I entered the kitchen. Nick was at the table eating with my dad. He was devouring a bowl of Cheerios.

    “Hi,” I said to Nick.

    “Goooda monin” Nick replied.

    “What day is it?” I asked.

    “It’s Saturday. No school,” my mother informed.

    “By the way I’m not hungry,” I said. I sauntered to the TV and checked the top. I curled my fingers around the pencil. I brought it down. The pencil looked the same as it did before.

    I wanted to draw a dog. I entered my backyard with a paper and a pencil. Our backyard was a perfect square.

    Old Oak trees were lined up on the right side of our backyard. They were thick and were the color of hazel.

    Their green leaves transformed the sunlight into a green eerie glow.

    I sat under the trees.  I started with the tail. I made it wagging. Then I did the face, the ears, the body, and then finally the limbs.

    My hands ached and I was parched. I decided to go in to get some lemonade.

    When I came back out my jaws practically unhinged. I dropped my lemonade glass and it splattered all over me.

    There was a cute Golden Retriever pouncing around in my backyard.

    “What?!?!” I said bewildered.

    WHOOF! WHOOF! The dog barked. It took me a moment before I realized what was going on with the pencil. It couldn’t be a coincident. The robot that I drew is on the loose! This dog that I drew came to life! The markings on the pencil, the glowing symbols, it all makes sense now. The people in the aircraft are aliens wanting their magical pencil back.

    I took the dog inside. My mother asked me where I got the dog from, so off-course I had to lie.  I told my mom that I found the dog on the street and asked if we could keep it.

    My mother told me no. I went outside and put the dog in my backyard. As I was coming back inside, I heard a robotic voice saying: SOURCE DETECTED. I turned around to be blasted in my chest by an orange laser beam.

    I collided into the house with a bone snapping sound. Excruciating pain shot through my body. Shards of glass from a window cut my calf. Blood was pouring out of the wide cut on my calf.

    A charred scar ran along my chest. I wanted to scream in agony, but the problem was: I couldn’t.

 

Chapter 4: Alien Invasion

 

    I struggled to my feet. Suddenly, another orange beam came at me. This time I rolled to the side. The alien ship blasted a white beam, this time freezing me.

    With me frozen they smashed me with a cerulean beam sending me flying into my neighbor’s house. Another cut appeared this time on my cheek. The deep gash was oozing with blood.

    Suddenly, my eyes started to roll up. “No! Not now!” I screamed. I got to my feet and ran to my back yard. I picked up the pencil and drew a spaceship fully loaded with laser blasters on the nearest brick.

    It sprang to life shooting at the alien ship. I ran to my mother.

“Mother!” I yelled.

“Honey,” she yelled back.

I tracked down the sound. I drew another ship to hold off the alien ship as I helped my mother. Before I could totally get her I felt a sharp pain in my back.

I turned around and came face to face with an alien. His blade had scraped my back. I felt like I was about to die. The alien had a slimy rainbow body and face.

“Hi,” I said weakly, trying to stay positive.

“Gruu grole gry grengil,” the alien answered.

“Sorry bud, but I don’t speak Gringlish.”

He growled and swiped at me with his blade. I rolled to the side and punched him hard on his face. Purple liquid splattered all over the place.

I took out my pencil and drew a big buff monster 20 feet tall. Bam! He broke through the ceiling and stomped towards the alien.

“RAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” I yelled and charged at the alien. I body slammed him while the monster slowly raised his foot to step on the alien. I got off the alien and ran towards my mom.

I could scarcely make out her silhouette but it was enough.

DADADADAADADADADADADA! Bullets blew up the floor behind me. I ran. I jumped towards my mother. I grasped her hand and she hoisted me up onto the stranded piece of floor she was on. The alien and monster were blown up. Everything around my mother and me was blown up. There was no way that we could escape. There was a big unfathomable trench surrounding us.

“Get ready to jump,” I said.

“I’m ready,” my mother replied.

It was when I placed my pencil in my back pocket that I felt it.

 

Chapter 5: The End

 

 

An old crumpled piece of paper was in my pocket. I yanked it out.

“Mother, my receipt from when I bought the groceries,” I hollered.

“And how is that important?” she asked.

“Long story,” I yelled.

I took out my pencil and drew a bridge.

“What?!” my mother said perplexed.

After the cobblestone bridge sprang to life we headed across it. The cobblestone was a light shade of gray and it had starbursts of bricks every 10 feet or so.

Red metal railings lined either side of the bridge.

 

 

When we reached the other side we couldn’t believe it. Everything was in ruins. I created a vast warship with massive propellers. It blasted away. I sprinted towards the alien ship. It had created a portal. Other huge alien ship’s swarmed in. “Oh no,” I muttered under my breath.

    I jumped onto the ship and leaped towards the lever that was projecting the portal.

    Suddenly a furious jolt of pain rushed through my body. I collapsed on the lever snapping it. The ships all shut down and the portal was sealed shut.

    “Ugh,” I croaked.

    The pain deliberately faded. I heard my mother calling my name. My eyes rolled back and I slowly withered away.

 

 

 

 

“Jack Joseph Rubble! Wake UP!” my teacher bawled.

“Wha, what?” I groggily said.

Dean was looking over me.

“Dude, you’ve been asleep for 45 minutes. My whole art class was staring at me with dumbfounded faces.

“What in the world just happened? Can art class actually be that boring?” I said with a weak laugh. I checked my chest and my calf for the cut. All I felt was smooth skin. It had felt so, soo real.

I walked home after school to meet my mother cooking dinner.

“Hi honey. Guess what.”

“What mom?”

“You won’t believe it. I found this cool pencil in the attic. I thought you might like it.”

She showed me a blue pencil with weird markings on it.

“Oh not again.”

 

 

 

And Sadly That Is The End