I will not let you stop my party! - By Shreyas Ashok

  Once there lived a girl named Jenny who had a birthday party coming up. She was very excited, as it was her first party where she had invited her friends. She had a lot planned - fun games, beautiful props, exciting return gifts and, to add to it, the most beautiful birthday cake of her favorite cartoon character. She also named it – ‘House Party’. 

Jenny had got the name – ‘House Party’ from her younger brother when he celebrated his birthday in a hotel and called it ‘Hotel Party’. She kept bragging to everyone regarding the name and plans in her school. But she did not know that this was making a few of the children and bullies angry though a few of them were happy too. All the bullies wanted to somehow make her stop the party. So, they started planning.

Two days later, their plan was finalized. It was that one of the bullies would find Jenny on the day before her birthday and tease her that she was smaller than her brother because she copied the party’s name from him. They also knew that if the party was canceled, everyone who had been invited to her party would get angry and start teasing her.

As days passed, Jenny kept talking about her party making more children get angry at her. More joined the team to stop her. Finally, when the day came, the bullies put the plan into action at school. They told her a copy cat. As they had wanted, Jenny started crying and saying that she did not want a birthday party. She went home crying and told her mother what happened. Her mother consoled her by saying, “We will rename the party, and when everyone comes to the party, won’t the bullies get a shock?” That day, Jenny and her mother renamed the party. They also changed some of the plans which were too childish. Soon the party plan was way better than before.

The party happened as per plan with the changes she had made. All the children who came to her party had a fun time. The next day the entire school was talking about the birthday party. The bullies were sitting and wondering why their plan did not work.

Written by:

Shreyas Ashok

Adventure in time: A chapter book by Aryaa Gupta

Adventure in time

A chapter book by Aryaa Gupta

 Table of contents

The invention of V.R. 

Through the clouds

Dino run

A pyramid of dreams

Human sacrifice

Let’s fight

To the future

The adventure begins

1

The invention of the VR 

I stared out the window; it was beautiful. Everything was covered in sparkly white snow. Unfortunately, after a while, it became boring too. I decided to go to my best friend Bree’s house. Bree was pretty much a mastermind, a child genius, the opposite of me. She was always inventing something new, but most of the time it was something that was always there but she would make it better. I pulled on my coat, shoes, and hat and hurried out the door.

I ran across the street and knocked on her door. Bree opened the door and took my hat and coat. She took me upstairs to show me her latest invention. “They are VR goggles, and they give you the feeling that you are going to different places in time. Schools could use it to have virtual field trips.” she continued, “Also these are 12D. I made a suit to go with them. Put it on. The suit has wires and devices to make you feel hot, cold, or fuzzy.”

It hadn’t been used yet so we decided to do a trial run. She had made 2 prototypes, so we each pulled one on. She said, “Ash, when you are ready, spin the gears on the side of the goggle. Also when you don’t like the reality we are in, spin the gears to move on.” We spun the gears on the side of the goggles. I saw strange images flash before my eyes. It was crazy. Strange colors, strange creatures, and strange peoples.

2

Through the clouds 

I looked around but all I could see was white, white, and white. “Ash!” I heard Bree yell. “Yes!” I replied. Around me, I could feel a strange cold mist (it was also white). I walked forward, to find Bree. My steps felt soft like I would fall through the floor, and then I did. I went down so fast, and before I knew it, I had landed on something soft. I looked at what I landed on. It was white and fluffy, like a cloud. “Ash where are you?” I could hear Bree shouting from up above. I looked up half-expecting to see Bree, but instead, I saw a cloud, a big white cloud hovering above me. I looked around me, and then I realized we were in the sky. I stared up at the huge cloud as I could hear voices from it.  I kept staring until someone else fell through. Bree landed on me. “I’m so sorry.” Bree said as she helped me back on my feet. 

When I was back on my feet I could hear shouting from above. Then, there was an extremely loud shout and with it came lightning and thunder. A tall man angrily stomped down from the cloud. “Who is he?” I asked Bree. “Probably a god” she replied. The “God” man must have heard us because he started to turn around. I yanked Bree down into the cloud so he wouldn’t see us. We stayed there for a while until we were sure that he had left. 

Slowly, I stood up, but I wasn’t careful enough so I fell through the clouds again. I screamed as I started falling. I wasn’t all that worried though. After all, it was just 12D VR. But just in case! “Switch the gears on the goggles” was what Bree had told me to do when I didn’t like the place we were in. Again I see the strange colors, strange creatures, and strange peoples.

3

Dino run

         When the colors stopped swirling this time, I saw a forest. It was beautiful. There were dozens of colorful plants and animals. “Woah” I heard a voice next to me say. I screamed and accidentally jumped into a bush. I saw Bree standing in front of me. She pulled me out of the bush and told me that when she saw me disappear into thin air she knew I had switched the gears on the side of the goggles, so she had switched her gears. The 2 of us stared at the beauty surrounding us until we heard a loud roar coming from the trees. I looked at the rustling trees, “What was that?” I asked Bree.  I looked at her. She was as pale as a ghost as she whispered, “Dinosaur.” I quickly turned around to see a huge T-Rex towering over us.

        

         “Run!” I screamed, and so we ran. But then I thought if this was all VR, then it couldn’t actually make us feel anything, but so far I had felt myself falling through 2 clouds and getting scratched by a bush. But I didn’t really have the time to think. All I had to do was run. I knew we couldn’t keep running for too long, so we hid behind a bush. Lucky for us the T-Rex didn’t take long to leave. Now that we could calm down, I told Bree about how real it all felt and how it might not have been VR. She looked at me like I was crazy, “Ash,” she said, “this is 12D, meaning you could smell and feel things in this.” What she said made me feel a little better, but it also made me sort of more worried. 

“Maybe we should leave this place, in case the dinosaur comes back.” I said. “You’re right” she replied. She turned the gears and she disappeared, but I wasn’t ready to leave yet. What would have happened had the dinosaur caught us? What would have happened had he eaten us? Would we have died? I had to find Bree. I turned the gears as fast as lightning and got ready to see the strange things that would be around me next.

4

Pyramid of dreams

         I saw sand, I felt the heat, and I wanted ice cream. That was what I was feeling, but for now, I needed to find Bree. I looked at the endless miles of sand in front of me, then both sides of me, but no sign of Bree. I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around I saw her, hands on hips. “What took you so long to get here?” she said. I stared at her. She looked angry. What could I say? “What if we were traveling in time, the dinosaurs, the gods, ya know?” I asked. She raised an eyebrow at me. I was pretty surprised when she said, “That might actually be true. I think you're onto something.” I looked around us some more. The farthest thing from the sand was a tomb. I knew Bree saw it too because she pointed at it and said, “Let’s go.” 

         By the time we finished our hike to the tomb, we were both hot enough to cook an egg on the palm of our hands. I leaned against the pyramid but quickly leaped off. We may be hot, but that thing was practically on fire. We found a door in the back, it wasn’t that hot because it was in the shade. We pushed the door open. The room had spiderwebs in every corner. I could feel tingles in my spine. I shivered. I saw a narrow passage. I pointed it out to Bree. As I started walking, Bree tackled me. An arrow flew by where my head was 2 seconds ago. “Careful, booby traps,” Bree said to me.

And so, the rest of the way was filled with other sorts of traps that could have killed us. The final room was filled with gold and treasure. It was beautiful. I reached for some coins but Bree stopped me. “This is just VR. Nothing is real” she told me. We decided it was time to move from this reality to a new one.

5

Human sacrifices

         I looked around us. We seemed to be in a busy bazaar. There were people swarming around us everywhere. Bree looked around and then smiled, “We must be somewhere in central America, probably some famous civilization. Like the Inca, Maya, and Aztec, ya know?” I had no clue what she was talking about, but I didn’t want to look stupid, so I said, “Yeah, right!” hoping she wouldn’t notice. I walked away after telling her that I was going to figure out where we were. I walked up to a lady and I tapped her shoulder. She turned around and stares at me. I asked her, “Where are we?” She stared at me. I decided she probably didn’t know English, so this time when I said it I exaggerated my words and used hand motions. She still seemed confused, except this time she also looked a little bit frightened and worried. Then, she screamed something in a  different language and pointed at me. People started staring and pointing at us. Geez! Had these people not heard of manners?

         I turned around looking for Bree. She was in the exact same spot that I had left her in but no one had noticed her. She carefully moved through the crowd and disappeared from view. Great, now I was all alone. It felt weird. I was just standing there with people pointing and whispering about me. Finally, after what felt like forever I decided to just walk away, but about 2 seconds after I took a step, I was surrounded by tall men, and they all seemed angry and ready to attack. I looked around. Where was Bree when I needed her the most? Then I remembered this was all VR, so I ran towards one of them. I didn’t go through him like I had thought, instead, I bumped into him. That is when I remembered that this was 12D. 

         My condition was way worse now. I was lying on the ground right underneath an extremely unhappy man who totally hated me. Now I was freaking out. How was I going to live? I searched for Bree everywhere, both sides, and even the sky (I was desperate).  When I looked through his legs I saw Bree. She pointed to the gears on the side of her goggles. I reached up to the side of my goggles and switch the gears.

6

Night in Delhi

         We seemed to be in a cute little village. There were people around us but they didn’t think we were strange like people did in our last cute little village. I guess they just thought we were just kids playing around, doing stuff. But where were we? I looked at Bree, she shrugged. So apparently, she was just as clueless as I was. I told Bree I was going to figure out where we were but she told me that this time she was going to go. I agreed that that might be a better idea especially considering what happened last time. She walked over to a lady and tapped on her shoulder. The lady turned around and said something in another language. Bree replied in that language. While they were talking, I heard a cannon erupt. I screamed. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. “Canons!” I yelled. Bree said something in another language. The people's expression changed to a worried face. They started hurrying around grabbing things and hiding people they loved. Bree walked up to me and told me we were in Delhi at the time of the Islamic invasion. I had no idea what that was but I didn't ask her either.

         The lady whom Bree was talking to walked up to us and said, “Follow me.” I looked at Bree. She shrugged, so we followed the lady. I didn’t realize what was going on until we were in a big barrel. Bree still hadn’t said anything, so I finally asked Bree what was going on. She told me we were hiding from the Muslims who were about to attack. “Why are they attacking us?”  I asked her. Bree grumbled “We learned this in social studies. Weren’t you paying attention?” “Well, maybe it was so boring that I fell asleep. So what was it?” I asked. I heard shouting outside, I also heard different bangs and clangs and screaming. The screaming made me want to scream.

         “Because I don’t want you to fall asleep and because I don’t want them to hear us, I will keep this description as short as possible. The Muslims came to India and raided everything, took women and children back as slaves, burned houses, and killed anyone who came in their way. A few of them stayed here and settled down with Islamic traditions. The en-” I make fake snoring sounds to show her she was starting to get boring. We heard noises coming towards us, we went quietly (I don’t think either of us was breathing). Someone kicked it over the barrel and we fell out. They pointed their cannons at us. I thought they were whispering about the VR glasses. This was getting out of hand. Bree switched her gear and disappeared. They gasped. They came closer to me. I knew I had to leave too “Uh...I gotta go” I said as I reached for my gears, “Bye!”

7

Fire

         We were in a town that would have been cute had it not been on fire. People were screaming, kids and babies were crying, and everyone was running in a panic. It was a disaster. This time I thought I might know where we were, so I guessed “Great Chicago fire”. Bree shrugged, “We should help them.” We decided to try and help. We walked over to a lady who was sobbing in front of her home. A little girl and a man were standing next to her. Bree asked her what was wrong. The lady told her that her baby boy was still inside the house. Bree’s expression changed from worried to determined. Next thing I knew she was charging into the house. 

I couldn’t leave Bree alone. I ran in after her (I knew I would probably regret it). I was officially inside a burning house that would probably collapse in like 2 seconds. I ran from bedroom to bedroom grabbing everything I could (I burned my hand a few times by touching things that were too hot. Also, a few of the bedrooms had walls of fire blocking me from going inside). I heard a shout that sounded like Bree. I followed it to a room that was blocked. I had to get Bree out. I needed water. I looked around for water. As I was moving, something fell from my hand. It’s a canteen. I must have grabbed it a while ago! 

         I rushed outside the house gasping for fresh air. Bree came out right after me and she handed the baby to its mother. I dropped the things on the ground. The family was so happy that they said they would give us anything we asked for. They also had a puppy and the puppy was happy too. I laughed and picked the puppy up. They gave us the puppy because they wouldn’t be able to take care of it anymore. The puppy’s name was Princess. As we walked away from their family, we decided it would be a good idea to leave. Before we left, Bree told me we had been in the middle of WW II in Germany! 

8

To the future

         I expected to see another cute little village full of terror. Instead, I saw things I had never seen before. People were flying. Others weren't even humans; they were cyborgs. I saw restaurants with robots working there. There was even a place called robot surgery (plastic surgery with robot installations). This place was epic. The cars could drive themselves, and people just had to hop in or hop off. Bree was amazed by it as well. She was staring at a clothes store called Electric. I thought it was cool too. We went inside. It looked like a normal store on the inside except the clothes looked so bold, fierce, and electric. As we looked through the clothes, I found an amazing dress with neon lines. On my way to the dressing room, I saw the perfect pair of shoes to go with the dress.  I changed into it and hurried out to show Bree. It turned out Bree had also found a cute outfit.

         We stepped out of the store wearing the new clothes that we had just bought. Bree thought it was a good idea to leave now, but I really badly wanted to go to the restaurant across the street. When we sat down, we got our menu. As I looked through it, I noticed that there was a whole section for things with cheese in them. I ordered a cheese latte. I also ordered a cheese tart. Bree ordered an ice cream taco. I also ordered a puppy meal for Princess. After about 5 minutes, the food arrived. My cheese latte was pretty much just melted cheese with a few other ingredients (it was still delicious). My cheese tart was a mini cheese pie. I loved the cheese pie, and I couldn’t stop eating. Princess loved her puppy meal. Bree loved her ice cream taco.

         When we were done, we decided it was time to head home. Our adventure had finally come to an end. I picked up Princess and switched my gears. The strange colors, strange people, and strange animals return. It would probably be the last time I’d ever see them.

9

The adventure begins

         Finally, we were back in Bree’s room. We took off our goggles and lay down on her bed to relax after the adventure journey through virtual reality time travel. I looked at her and gasped. We were still in the outfits that we had gotten in our adventure in the future! Bree looked at my outfit as well. How did it happen? This was only supposed to be VR with 12D!  “Wait, the suit was what made the whole thing 12D, but when we changed, we took the suit off.” I said. “You’re right.” Bree said, “maybe we did travel in time”. We changed into our normal clothes and went downstairs.

         “Ah, there you are! Where were you?” Bree’s mom said to us. Bree and I looked at each other and smiled, “We were on an adventure!” Her mom smiled, “Come. I made chocolate chip cookies.” Bree and I strolled through the snow (she was walking me home after the cookies). “This is an amazing discovery we made, we traveled through time!” Bree said, “You made it. It was your discovery” I told her. “But we did it together, and that is what counts” she replied.

         When we reached my house, both Bree and I promised we’d do it again another day, and this wouldn’t be the last time we time traveled. When I walked into the kitchen my mom asked what I did at Bree’s house. I told her what Bree told her mom, “We went on an adventure.” I rushed upstairs and pulled out my notebook and pencil. I started brainstorming for our next adventures: The great wall of china, The Eiffel tower, The Frug.

The future better be ready because here I come!

 Written by: 

Aryaa Gupta

Edited By:

Aanchal Agrawal

Jenny's birthday- By Adviti

There was a little girl named Jenny. She was a beautiful and kind little girl.  She loved every one. She helped the poor and needy people. She gave respect to elders. Jenny’s mom was busy making the preparations for Jenny’s birthday as it was tomorrow.

Jenny invited many of her friends. The party was at 5:00 p.m. Her mother was doing the decorations for the party. Then, she went to get ready and told Jenny also to get ready. She was wearing her necklace, crown, and gown.

When the party started, a boy started to bully her. Jenny went under a tree crying with a balloon. Soon, she forgot about the boy and started playing with the balloon happily. After some time her mom came and saw her playing. Her mom called her inside.

When Jenny came inside the house, all her friends were there. She smiled and played with her friends. She had thought of many games. They all played those games too. They played hide and seek, catch and catch, and many other games.

After all that, the lights in the room turned off. When the lights turned on again, her friends shouted 'SURPRISE'. Jenny’s mom got her favorite cake. Jenny blew the candle, and they ate the cake and danced. They had a lot of fun.

Written by:

Adviti Garg

Twisted Little Red Riding Hood- By Aryaa Gupta

Created by:

Aryaa Gupta

Twisted Little Red Riding Hood- By Shefali Gupta

Created by:

Shefali Gupta

Useless safety posters

***********************************************************************

***********************************************************************

***********************************************************************

Traveling with Time: A chapter book by Shefali Gupta

Table of Contents

1.      The Assignment

2.      Helping the Gods

3.      Running from Dinosaurs

4.      Meeting the Egyptians

5.      Fearing the Mayans

6.      Escaping the Islamic Invasion of India

7.      Surviving World War II

8.      Going to the Future

9.      The Presentation

1) The Assignment

“Attention students! I am assigning a project for the weekend. You have to produce an idea for a new invention that will make people’s lives easier; all you have to do is write about it, but if you want to, you can create a prototype of it. If you are using an invention that has already been thought of but not created, explain how you will create it and what the point of your invention is. Any questions?” announced the Professor. Adrianna Warren raised her hand and asked, “Can we use an invention we have already been working on?” The teacher thought for a moment and responded, “Sure! Talk to me about it after this class.”

Adrianna reached her house and took out a creation. She was in the process of making a time machine but wasn’t sure if she could do it. She decided she would first write the description and then work on her machine. By the time Adrianna finished her essay, it was dinnertime. She ate dinner and came back downstairs to work on her time machine. She pulled some wires and soldered them. Then, she pressed the green button, and the machine started glowing. She quickly called her best friend, Emma, to check the time machine with her.

When Emma arrived, Adrianna quickly took her to the basement where the time machine was kept. “Here is the time machine which I have been working on.” Adrianna exclaimed. “Does it work?” questioned Emma. “That is exactly what we are going to test. I will let the machine decide the era we are going into but, to someone watching us, it would seem as if we are only gone for 30 seconds even though we would feel as if we have been gone for days. Let’s hit the road!” Adrianna answered. She turned the time machine on and set the return time. She pressed the blue button to start the machine, and a portal was created which sucked the two girls into another time period.

2) Helping the Gods

                  The girls were thrown out of the portal, and they landed in the clouds. They saw people with weapons in their hands, and they were talking amongst themselves. Adrianna and Emma inched closer to them to hear what they were saying. “Where should it be really cold and where should it be really hot?” one of them asked. “What about the mountains? Where should we put those?” another one of them questioned. “I think we have traveled back to the time where gods were creating the world.” Adrianna whispered to Emma. “We should ask the gods if we can help them, and if they say yes, then we can help them put things in the place where it is today, and if they say no, they can just figure it out like they did before.” suggested Emma. Adrianna agreed and then both girls headed towards the gods.

         They reached the gods and asked them if they could help them set up the world. “Who are you?” one of the gods asked. “I am Emma and this is Adrianna, we are humans. Adrianna was able to create a time machine that brought us here.” Emma answered. “Okay. We have a question for you. Was it a good idea to put humans on Earth?” another god asked. “It was a good idea, but then humans got too wrapped up around technology and are now destroying the Earth, but please do continue to create humans because we have people who are trying to stop the destruction of the Earth as well.” responded Adrianna.

Both the girls had unanimously decided to just let the gods do their job because if they gave suggestions, Earth wouldn’t be the same as it was today. Adrianna and Emma said goodbye and decided to just explore the clouds. “I still can’t believe that we are walking on clouds!” exclaimed Emma. “I know! it is crazy! It is like we are on fluffy pillows.” responded Adrianna, while jumping on the clouds. The two girls explored the area but couldn’t see anything interesting. A few hours later, the girls decided to go to sleep and they realized the clouds were comfy enough to sleep on without a pillow or blankets. Since they were so tired, the moment their head hit the clouds, they fell asleep. While they were sleeping, at 5:00 am, they were sucked into a portal.

3) Running from Dinosaurs

When Adrianna and Emma landed on the ground, they both stirred from their sleep but were too tired to open their eyes, so they fell asleep again. When both of them finally woke up for good around 10:00 am, they looked around and realized they were in a whole new environment. “Why are we in a jungle? Did we time travel while sleeping” Emma frantically asked. “Calm down, Emma. We most likely did time travel in our sleep because we can’t stay in one time period for more than 24 hours. After that time we get teleported to another time period.” Adrianna explained. "Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? We are in some unknown area. Where are we?” shouted Emma. “Lower your voice. We don’t want to attract any unwanted attention.” said Adrianna. Just then, they heard a loud, frightening roar.

         Emma and Adrianna sprinted in the opposite direction of the threatening roar. Once they thought they were quite far, they turned around to see a T-Rex chasing them. The girls decided to hide behind a huge tree. “I think we are in the Jurassic time period, the time of the dinosaurs.” whispered Adrianna. Now they could see a good deal of dinosaurs around them. “We have to find a safe area to hide out through the night. We were teleported last time around dawn, so that is when we will be teleported again. Let’s go find somewhere safe to stay.” Emma suggested. After walking tirelessly for five long hours, they found a cave but were uncertain if they should walk inside or not. Eventually, the brave girls cautiously went inside the huge cave.

When they walked inside, they decided to explore the area and looked for a hidden and safe place. Just then, they heard the roar of a dinosaur that was getting closer and closer, and then it arrived at the cave. Emma and Adrianna ran deeper into the cave and to their surprise, they saw huge eggs. “Oh my goodness! I have never seen such enormous eggs before!” exclaimed Emma. “I think we took the wrong turn. Let’s quickly hide behind the eggs.” suggested Adrianna anxiously. It was night time by now and the two girls decided they would sleep, but still be alert. The dinosaur came and saw that its eggs were safe. It sat beside them to guard them. Adrianna freaked out when she saw the dinosaur. Emma quickly reacted by putting her hand on Adrianna’s mouth. They mutually decided to stay awake for the night and keep themselves safe. A few hours later, they heard the growl of the dinosaur and looked up to see the dinosaur staring at them.

As they observed the dinosaur, they realized that it was sleeping with its eyes open. “Do you think we should exit the cave now?” Adrianna whispered. “Yes, this is the moment.” Emma replied cheerfully. As they crept away from the cave, the dinosaur felt the vibrations of their footsteps and woke up to see the two girls. It let out a roar and started crawling towards them. The girls blindly ran into the jungle when they saw the dinosaur heading towards them. They ran for their lives, in no mood to get eaten, and just then, a portal opened up, and they ran through it.

4) Meeting the Egyptians

         The portal opened in the land of the scorching sun, dry wind, and burning sand. The two girls fell out of the portal and landed on their backs. “Sand hurts! But, where are we?” Emma asked, standing up to brush the sand off of herself. “Yeah. I am so sweaty.” Adrianna exclaimed and started looking around. “Oh look. There is a huge sand pyramid in construction! Are we in Ancient Egypt?” she asked. “I think we are. I have always wanted to go to Egypt and see the pyramids! Do you think the sphinx is here, as well?” Emma questioned. “Why don’t we head towards the town and get some water. My throat is parched.” Adrianna stated. “Sure, let’s go!” Emma answered. Then, they headed towards the town, walking with difficulty in the sand.

         When they reached the town, they saw a gathering of people outside of the palace. When Adrianna and Emma got closer to the crowd, they realized that the crowd was chanting “Cleopatra VII”. “OMG! I have always wanted to see Cleopatra! This is like a dream come true!” shrieked Emma. “You’re welcome!” responded Adrianna. “For what?” questioned Emma. “For making the time machine and helping your dreams come to reality.” answered Adrianna. “Well then, thank you for making my dream come true.” said Emma. Just then, the beautiful Cleopatra came onto the balcony to respond to her supporters. “Thank you for all of the support. I will be claiming the throne along with my brother tomorrow.” shouted Cleopatra. While her supporters were cheering her on, Emma and Adrianna were having the time of their lives by cheering using their loudest voice. After this event, they went for a boat ride on the Nile river.

         After getting in the boat, they started observing the buildings which had beautiful paintings of pharaohs and Egyptian gods on it. After looking at the coastline of Alexandria, they decided to just sleep in the boat listening to the peaceful sound of the waves in the water. They peered inside of the water and saw many fish swimming around their boat. “This river is amazing!” Emma exclaimed. “I agree, I have never seen any place with so much wildlife before.” Adrianna responded sleepily. Both girls eventually fell asleep and were teleported out of that time period in their sleep.

5) Fearing the Mayans

Soon, it was morning, and the two girls woke up after a very relaxing sleep only to realize they were in a different place. They looked around and saw exotic architecture and people roaming around. “I know where we are! We are in a Mayan Civilization.” Adrianna said, excitedly. “Oh yeah. I see it now. Remember that unit we did in school on the Mayan Civilization?” Emma asked. “I do remember, they are actually known for this amazing architecture.” Adrianna replied. They looked around in awe and then decided to mingle with the townspeople.

While they were looking around, they saw a shop that was selling beautiful jewelry. They went inside and started looking around. “Look at this. It is so beautiful.” Emma said, pointing at a ring. Adrianna came over to where Emma was and saw the ring. “Oh yeah, it is amazing. We should buy 2 of this exact ring, so then it can be like a symbol of our friendship.” responded Adrianna. They were so caught up in talking about the ring that they slipped them on their fingers and left the store without realizing anything. The shopkeeper had been watching them closely and saw them walk out of the shop without paying. The shopkeeper called the guards.

Adrianna and Emma were on their way to another store, when Adrianna said, "Oh no, we forgot to pay for our rings.” They freaked out and headed back towards the original shop, but the guards were already there. “Stop right there! You are charged guilty for not paying for what you took. What do you plead?” the guard in the center proclaimed. “We plead guilty, but we were just coming back to pay for it.” Adrianna replied. “Wait, how did we just understand what they said? I am pretty sure they don’t know how to speak English.” whispered Emma. “I put a chip in the time machine that allows the people traveling through the machine to understand whatever language is being said. Our voice will also come out in the language the people around us are speaking, so they understand us.” Adrianna whispered back. There were very strict laws about civil management, and so the girls were thrown inside a dungeon and were told that their heads would be shaved the next day at dawn. While the girls were repenting about their actions,  they were also worried about their looks if they got bald. Emma was getting emotional but then Adrianna remembered that they would be teleported before the dawn. 

6) Escaping the Islamic Invasion of India

         They landed near the coast and looked around. “I think we are in India!” exclaimed Adrianna. “What time period?” wondered Emma. “I don’t know, we just have to figure it out.” shrugged Adrianna. They headed into the nearest town they could find. Just then, they heard cries and decided to head over there to see what was happening. When they arrived they saw that a group of people had broken into a house and were raiding it.

         The raiders took spices, pottery, and even the women and children who lived in the house. Raiders had already killed the man of the house and were leaving. “We have to stop them!” exclaimed Adrianna. “What can we do?” asked Emma. “I don’t know, but what I do know is that we have to do something.” said a frustrated Adrianna. The two girls headed towards the gang and helped the women and children escape. Once the raiders were far away, Adrianna asked the woman, “Why were they raiding your house?” “I don’t know. They have been raiding many houses in this area. They are Muslims and more and more of them keep coming into India.” the woman responded. “Oh, the Islamic Invasion of India.” Adrianna said to Emma. The raiders had no clue that the women and children had escaped from their clutches.

         Emma and Adrianna proceeded and saw another place getting raided. The raiders took a glance at these foreign girls and decided to imprison them. When the girls resisted, these cruel raiders tied the girls’ hands and placed them inside the hut that they had just raided. Adrianna and Emma looked around the hut and realized it was a mess. They found two beds and decided to sleep in them, so that time would pass faster. They were also aware that they would be teleported in their sleep. They fell asleep and were teleported away from the raiders.

7) Surviving World War II

BOOM! The girls woke up to the sound of grenades exploding and gunshots being fired. “I think we are in Normandy, France. My family and I came here for a vacation last summer. But, why is there a war taking place in Normandy?” Emma looked around and said. “I think it is D-Day. When the Allied forces attacked the Axis powers and it was a turning point in the war.” explained Adrianna. “What do we do now?” asked Emma. “We can learn to use a gun by practicing. Just remember if you get hurt or die, you will stay that way, so DON’T DIE!” said Adrianna. Then they went to go get ammunition.

They both held the gun and practiced shooting it at trees. After spending the whole day training, they were able to shoot the bullets where they wanted. They headed towards the battlefield and started shooting people. After a while, they were tired and both of them climbed up a tree. “That was tiring.” Adrianna said. “At least we are not hurt or dead yet.” Emma laughed. That was when they heard the gunshot.

The bullet skimmed Emma’s shoulder, and she screamed. Adrianna heard Emma’s scream and rushed towards her friend. Adrianna saw the wound and realized they needed to get out of there. She took out the time machine and with trembling hands, set the destination time and pushed the button that would make the portal for the two girls to get out of the war. The portal appeared and Adrianna and Emma were sucked into it.

8) Going to the Future

They landed on cement. Adrianna quickly rushed towards the nearest hospital she could find. Emma was taken to the surgery room where her wound was stitched. They finished the surgery within five minutes, and Emma was given back to Adrianna good as new. “Wow, that was fast!” Adrianna commented. Then, they decided to head outside. Once they were outside, they realized the layout was unfamiliar, and there was a lot more technology. When they had first arrived, they thought they were home, but now, they weren’t so sure. They decided to go back to the hospital to ask the receptionist where they were and what year it was.

“I am sorry to bother you, but can you please tell us what the year is and the place we are?” Emma asked. “You guys are in Chicago. This is 3000 AD.” the receptionist answered giving them a strange look. The two girls ran out of the hospital. “WE ARE IN THE FUTURE!” Emma yelled, getting glances from the neighboring people. “I thought I pressed the destination to be 2000 AD, I might have accidentally mixed up 2 and 3 in the rush. I wonder if I decided to share my time machine with the world. Let’s head to the library.” Adrianna stated. They headed towards the library and on a computer, Adrianna searched up if a time machine had been invented yet. The result she got was shocking.

She found out that she never shared about her time machine with the world. “I think I know why I did that. If humans are able to go back in time, they will destroy everything! Luckily, nobody has made a time machine, so the internet says time machines don’t exist. For the school project, I will say this is my prototype, but it doesn't work. I will explain how to use it, but I won’t actually do it.” Adrianna explained. “I am proud of your decision. You could have made so much money, but you chose to save the planet instead. Good Job!” Emma responded. They decided they would just explore the future world and then headed home, to their time period.

9) The Presentation

         They reached Adrianna’s home safely. Emma headed back to her own house while Adrianna put her machine in a safe place. She decided she would only use it when necessary. Adrianna went into the kitchen to grab a snack. She hadn’t eaten the whole trip and was really hungry now. She headed upstairs to her room to figure out how she was going to present her time machine.

         The next day, at school, all of the high schoolers started presenting their inventions. Emma had done a device that waters her plants without her having to. Then, it was time for Adrianna’s presentation. She stood up and headed towards the smartboard. There, she pulled up her presentation and took out her time machine from her backpack. “For my assignment, I made a time machine.” Adrianna stated.

         “Obviously it doesn't work, but I am almost there.” Adrianna explained. Then she went on saying how she made it and the pros and cons of the device. “The pro is that people can travel throughout time, but, an important con is that they might get stuck, or they will hurt the environment which they travel to. So, if a time machine is ever made, I think that there should be a rule that you can’t try to change history. Thank you.” Adrianna concluded. Her classmates clapped, and Adrianna sat down on her chair smiling, knowing that she protected history.

Written by: Shefali Gupta

Edited by: Aanchal Agrawal

Magical omelet- by Shefali Gupta

Sarah woke up and felt like eating an omelet. She headed towards the kitchen and said, "Oh kitchen, listen to my pleas to make this omelet and summon thee. Get out 1 egg, a pinch of salt, and ¼ cup of cheese.” The egg came out of the fridge and so did the cheese.

Sarah took out a bowl and cracked the egg into the bowl. Then she whisked the egg white and yolk together. Once that was done, she commanded the salt to pour a pinch of itself into the bowl. Once she mixed that in, she took out a skillet and put it on the stove. Sarah commanded the flame to be set to medium and then she poured the egg on to the skillet. Once the sides were cooked, she spread the cheese evenly over the omelet. Once it cooked a bit more, she folded the omelet in half making it look like a taco. Then she put the omelet on a plate and sprinkled it with cheese.

Sarah took the plate to the dining table and ate her delicious meal. Once she was finished, she thanked the eggs, cheese, and salt and headed towards her room.

Written by:

Shefali Gupta

Journey by mind- By Mitali Ghosh

       

Chapter 1

Last Saturday in the late morning, I was feeling bored due to home-quarantine necessitated by Coronavirus. My mind started weaving a story to refresh the monotonous mood of prisoned life. I thought of a special Mental Time Machine by which I could move back to the past by pressing the keys, that is, a journey away from the present Covid year of 2020. This idea got stuck in my brain. 

I thought of going back to the beginning of the earth. According to mythology, the earth was created by Brahma, the creator God. Earth was so green in the beginning with the presence of god felt even in ants, snakes, earthworms. Once humans evolved, we failed to visualize God in any other way than to feel Him in a harmless positive attitude. When I reached the point of creation of the earth, I met the creator God Brahma and I asked Him, “Oh  God,  you are busy with your creative capacity to make the advancement of the earth! Do you know my present era 2020 is  affected by Corona Virus?” Brahma replied, “Alarming Global Epidemic, no doubt. So, I  hope it would be better to discuss with the God of maintenance.” At that time,  God  Vishnu was sitting on a large pink lotus with his goddess Lakshmi. I told God Vishnu, “Oh God, do you have some required vaccines to prevent  Corona? Save us from the terror of the frowning Virus.” Vishnu said, “I am not the right person to solve this crisis. You please consult with God Shiva who is known for his destruction when he feels necessary.” Shiva was in Yoga-nidra. I slowly rang the large awakening bell. Shiva woke up and  said loudly, “From where have you come?” I told him about the Corona Virus killing everyone in 2020. I asked Shiva,  “Why 2020 is suffering suddenly from that type of infectious germ? Is  that condition the result of your destruction?” Shiva said, “Not so. I destruct when there is extreme torture inflicted by the sinner. But I am also the God of  Peace. In the Bengali language ‘Shanti Satya, Shiva Satya, Satya sai chirantan.’ So my  child, don’t be afraid, my blessing is for  a peace which can prevent not only corona but cancer too.” 

God  Shiva put a  touch of a smile on my gloomy face. On the other side, Ganapati was sitting on a marble throne. He gave his blessings reassuring me of the sure success of anti- Corona. Then, I requested the Trio-Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesvara, and Ganapati to be seated together, and I took a selfie with me. I presented a box of Motichur Laddu to Siddhidata Ganapati. From my bag, I took out the boxes of various types of sweets of Bengal eg. Rashgulla, Sandesh, Malai chomchom, Mihidana, and also chanar jilipi and presented to the Trio. I bowed down to them with pranam and came out from that world of Gods to go to another era.

Chapter-2

I went to the Islamic period when Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan was ruling his reign (1632-1654) with grandeur. Upon reaching Agra, I went to meet the emperor in Agra fort where he was seated on his famous Peacock Throne. I took a selfie with him and told him, “ Hello, king! From the pages of history, you are now in front of me! Your empire is adorned with pearls, gold, silver ornaments, and showpieces. Taj Mahal, the priceless memorial, echoes your priceless love for your begum, Mumtaz. The world has counted your memorial as one of the seven wonders.” A nostalgic moment of my first glance at Taj Mahal on Kojagari Lakshmi Puja on a full-moon night flashed my mind. I remembered how in the serene glimpse of a moonlit night, the Taj Mahal was overflowed with the flood of white heavenly light.

I snapped out of my beautiful nostalgic trip and said to the emperor, “But I also look at you, Samrat, with hatred for your cruel act of cutting the thumbs of the artists, architects of this sublime monument. What brutality! It contrasts with your image of eternal pride to be the builder of that special love-memorial which has no parallel. Actually, the Taj Mahal is a black history of Emperor of Grandeur, Shah Jahan. So, Raja, always keep in mind, architecture is unparalleled when it bears no cruel blood. We are facing such a tragic global pandemic in 2020. I just want to request you not to kill people. Some endemic might do that anyway.”

At the end of the conversation, I presented a parcel box of mutton biriyani with Shammi Kabab. The emperor was very glad. Keeping aside the lunchbox, he embraced me with delighted mood and assured me of his good wishes for my diseased present era.

Chapter-3

Then, I went to the British era during 1857 where I noticed the agitation of the Sepoys, The Sepoy  Mutiny. British rulers noticed me with a frowning face. But I did not care for them. I became friends with revolutionary sepoys by giving them sweets from my bag. They said, “Are you an Indian? From when you have come?” I  told them, “I have come from Independent India.  Why are you sitting in this relaxed way? You should be furious that someone is killing the culture of our country by forcing you to eat beef and pork. Any kind of attack on our beliefs won’t be tolerated. Our country will face the terror of thousands of deaths in 2020. So, fight against this degradation to our nation. Let’s kick these Britishers out.”

The sepoys looked motivated. I took a selfie with the sepoys. Before departure, I presented them a box of  Rajkachuri with chutney and a box of a special sweet malai chop to cheer them up. Then, I got out of that area with a warming farewell.

Chapter-4

I landed in Rabindra-Yug. I was always interested in Bengali Literature. I had contacted Rabindra Nath Tagore on my way to Shantiniketan. I went to Uttaryan, his residence at Shantiniketan, where Rabindra Nath was sitting in an easy-chair. 

I took a photo of him first and then a selfie with him. I  said, “I’ve come from 2020 to meet you. Bengal, as well as the entire country, is benefitted from your literature, songs, dramas. The cultural world of India was also rewarded by  Nobel Prize for your literature, Gitanjali. You are the best poet worldwide. In mental healing, your songs bring eternal relief and are used as preventive healers of serious diseases. You are poet by nature with poetic voice, no doubt. Your writings have also protested against Jalianwala Bagh. You refused the knighthood given by Britishers as a protest against the cruel torture of native Indians. Your literature always sympathizes eternally with the poverty-stricken people. Your composed songs are the eternal resort of human feeling. We are suffering from a pandemic in my current world. I hope your songs bring us the much-needed strength to fight the coronavirus.” 

He felt sad to know that such an epidemic would occur in 2020. I presented the ice-cool scented Rabri and rasgulla, from famous old shop K.C. Das, to make our Gurudev cheerful. I took his blessings for an epidemic-free and pollution-free world. Bidding him goodbye, I stepped into another era.         

Chapter - 5

I wanted to meet the dictator, Adolf  Hitler. He thought of himself as the supreme god of Germany. I wanted to talk with him about a peaceful world against war, bloodshed. I stepped into the year 1935. At that time, the world was tensed with World-War between Germany, Italy, and Japan on one side and France, Britain, the US, USSR, and China on the other. 

I saw Hitler seated in his confidential room. I told Hitler to have mercy on the Jews. I had read that he had animosity towards the Jews. Jews had always been neglected by boastful Christians. So I told him to think about the world- peace. I told him my current era was free of such massive bloodshed. I presented Hitler a box of chicken burgers and a bottle of expensive scotch. I took a selfie with him, shook his hands, and said, “Hail Hilter! I am going. Please consider my request for world peace. Different countries have different cultures and values, and hence, different troubles. Still, troubles should be discussed peacefully without bloodshed. Epidemics would wipe out millions at any time. At least, humans shouldn't be against humans.”

On the way back to my current era, I thought of our duties to cover values of humanity, safety, hygiene, and compassion an integral part of our education system. I realized besides the corona problem, my era was more peaceful than other eras of the past. I would like to live with health and peace in my current dwelling.

 Written by:

Mitali Ghosh

Edited by:

Aanchal Agrawal

About the author:

Mitali Ghosh is a grandmom in her 60s. She is an avid reader. She is a Bangla literate devout. She loves to write. She's always been writing in Bangla. This was her first story in English.