In Her "Print Worthy" Words

As most of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter will know, I regularly post boastful updates regarding Aalliyahs academic achievements. Being that this is her final year in primary school , she is currently working really hard ahead of her SATs. Now obviously being her mum I have an overly bias opinion when it comes to Aalliyahs work but to say that I am pleased with her current level of work is an understatement. I am absolutely thrilled with how far she has come and when I read her homework or listen to her reading at night I am astounded and blown away by what I see and hear. It never gets tiring to hear how well she is excelling in her school work and I will continue to encourage her as best I can as I truly believe she has an amazing academic future ahead of her.

One subject which she is excelling in is English, which comes to no surprise as this is by far one of her favorite subjects. In particular her writing. Aalliyah has always been a bookworm and can always be found either reading or writing a story. She is regularly writing wonderful pieces at school and literally soaks up vocabulary like a sponge. A thesaurus is her favorite tool and she is forever researching new words and definitions. 

The class were assigned the task of coming up with a short story. The stories will then be published as a collection into a book. I had read a few sentances here and there as she was doing her planning, but finally got to see the finished draft that she brought home yesterday and I was amazed.  So amazed in fact that I felt inspired to share it with you all. 

So here goes...

Immersed in the baffling history of the ancient vase, Zachery sat down to have a well deserved rest. Just then pandemonium broke. The noisy phone rang and Zachery answered it. It was work. Zachery was an archaeologist, which meant that he was given historical objects to observe. However this particular assignment seemed especially intriguing.

Trudging moodily the slush on the cobblestone path, which was to be cautiously trod upon, Zachery thought about the historical wonders that awaited his observation. As he unlocked the door to the lab he spotted a locket with a note that read "Zach, this locket was uncovered in Pompeii: we suspect that it was involved with the volcano. Good luck, Sam" Zachery then set out for home to examine the mysterious locket with a cheesy grin of utter excitement on his face.

Gathering mountains of dust, it sat there. Still as a snowman. Slowly rotting. The complex engravings and patterns embellished this already gorgeous locket. Finally Zach uncovered his magnifying glass and began to examine the historical masterpiece. Now utterly immersed, he surveyed his back-story sheet and discovered that the design originated in Rome, which was where the incident of Pompeii happened. WOW , He thought to himself, as he read the previous owner was in fact a roman emperors daughter! He had to learn more...

Abruptly, while Zach was in the middle of a deep slumber, the phone rang. (again) The young archaeologist sleepily answered the phone. All that could be heard- Silence ."Pranksters", Zach laughed to himself. "What do they think, I was born yesterday"? Just then hunger struck and he strolled into the kitchen for a quick midnight snack... BOOM!

The fridge had exploded! Now crouching on the floor Zach squinted into the distance, which was easy as he had 20/20 vision. What was that? He spotted a light in the distance. It was a ghost! Oh no. It had come for the locket. Zachery knew this because of the extravagant purple toga that hung around her body. She was also wearing a leaf crown interwoven with minuscule strips of twine. "Who are you"? Zach stuttered. "Please leave me alone!" However the ghost was in no debating mood. "GIVE ME MY LOCKET" The ghost screamed. Oh no, where had he placed the locket? Probably burrowed deep inside the pigsty he tried so desperately to keep clean. Zachery panicked , frantically scouring his apartment, which was only four rooms. The archaeologist kept glancing behind him only to find that the ghost was getting angrier and angrier! WHERE WAS THE LOCKET? Oh no the ghostly figures eyes were as red as a fiery pit of lava. She had lost her patience..

"ENOUGH"! the awoken dead bellowed, "YOUR TIME IS UP" She impaled Zachs shoulder with the golden scepter she held with pride, "AAAARRGHHH" Zach wailed in utter pain and fear. He lifted his weary arm to his shoulder only to find that it was wet-Wet with blood. Bright red, precious blood. All of a sudden felt a surge through his veins. Blood unhurriedly trickled down his sweat coated arms and onto the oak wood floor: Now this was seriously becoming a problem.

At this point he found himself crouching on the floor and begging for mercy."Please spare me" he howled. She cackled, "Very well. Any other day you would be gutted and your insides fed to the gods! the ghost threatened. The vulnerable victim gulped. The ghost let out a sickening smile.

"THE POWER OF THE TIME LOCKET SHALL BE BROUGHT UPON YOU!"The ghostly monarch warned."YOU SHALL RELIVE THESE CRUEL MOMENTS OVER AND OVER AGAIN; RIGHT BACK FROM WHEN I RANG YOU!"

That was her Zach realized. Immediately he backed away."Please don't put me in a time loop!" Zach pleaded. "I'll find it I swear" However it was too late and before he knew it, he found himself lying on his sofa, among all the rubbish and dirt.

Abruptly while Zach was in the middle of a deep slumber, the phone rang (again). RING RING! The young archaeologist got up and moodily answered the Samsung house phone. All that could be heard- Silence...


I am really impressed with her short story and look forward to seeing the finished thing in print. I could easily see some thrilling novels in her future ;)

What do you think? She would love to hear your thoughts as much as I would.

I am linking this post up with the Prose for thought linky over at Verily,Victoria Vocalises #Prose4T

Using My Noodle Again

Some of you may know that a couple of months back I decided to enroll on an adult learning course which was being held at my daughters school. It was a functional skills course covering English and Mathematics at level one. The course went well and I passed. It was a shock to the system at first being back in that classroom environment and doing homework but I am fairly confident in my maths and english abilities and found level one to be fairly easy to complete.

Last week I started level two. My oh my what a different kettle of fish level two is. I knew it would be harder and welcome the challenge of upping my game. Level two covers a lot more varied subjects and in greater detail. Even the questions seem to be worded differently to trip you up. But regardless of how challenging this course will become I am determined to stick it out, knuckle down and get a pass. A pass in this level would be the equivalent of a GCSE A*- C. Now thats got to look more appealing on the old CV rather than a big blank space under qualifications.

Aalliyahs school work has got a lot more difficult and is even receiving extra study support in Mathematics as she is on the verge of pushing through to a level 6 which is fantastic! As you can imagine she brings home some pretty mind boggling homework. Just the other day she asked for my help with some fractions questions and I may aswell have been looking at one of those magic eye illusion pictures where you have to try and find the hidden picture. No matter how many times I read and reread the question, nothing stuck. I guess another big reason I chose to go ahead with level two was to build my confidence and knowledge so that I may be able to assist Aalliyah with her studies which is something I would normally shy away from.

My brain is totally fried today! The amount of information I took in has left my brain feeling numb I dont even want to think about numbers for the rest of the day. I want nothing more than to get in a nice hot bath and crawl into my not so comfortable bed until morning. Yes its like sleeping on a cactus and I'd give anything to be drifting off to sleep on a luxury memory foam mattress but I am so drained after this mornings lessons I could sleep on a rock.

*This post is in collaboration with Zleeps.co.uk