Thursday 5 December 2013

Jimmy Neutron: Kidnapped...

The last thing Jimmy Neutron could hear was a cry. His friend.

“Jimmy!”

Then a sudden pierce at his heart. He could feel his pulse stop. Blood drained from his body and he could feel his limbs dissolve into the air. Then, blackout.

It seemed like a long time before he heard the “beep! beep! beep!” of an ECG machine. Jimmy fluttered open his eyes only to see a blurred image of a man with a black, metallic coat and the rough shape of a man holding a popsicle stick. They were in a large, musty storage room. He had only been half conscious for a few moments before the man with black coat pierced something else into his wrist.

Surprisingly, Jimmy couldn’t sense any pain but no, he thought that too late. Suddenly he felt his nerves being twisted and again his brain with twisted, pulled, stretched, and crushed. He felt his eyes close again. Then all of a sudden, his vision cleared. He felt his muscles grow stronger, his senses becoming more alert and his heart was much stronger and surer. Strangely, he felt like he was pushed to the corner of his heart and brain and felt like someone else was taking over his body. Also, his mind was filled with thoughts – evil thoughts that he didn’t want.

“Now what do you want?” asked the man with the popsicle stick which actually turned out to be gun.

Despite himself, he could feel himself forced to reply “My so-called friend, Jonah’s life and blood”.

“Good” replied the man with the gun with an air of satisfaction and handed the other man a small bag which clinked.

“Mr. Whatsoever, you get this thing out, I’m going to turn you inside out. Clear?”
The other man nodded his head, scared out of his skin and snatched the bag and shoved into his pocket.

The gun man turned to Jimmy and handed him a knife.

“You want Jonah’s life and blood, I suppose. It’s yours. Kill him. He’s over there”, he pointed to the corner of the room where Jonah was tied up like a mummy, including his mouth.

Jimmy could feel himself getting up and saunter towards Jonah, knife in hand, much against his will. It was more like someone else was controlling him and he was this tiny creature locked up somewhere inside his own brain, unable to control it, screaming at the top of his lungs. He caught his reflection in a nearby mirror and the tiny part of his brain went into a shock. The boy in the mirror was a complete alien. He had cuts and bruises all over his body and his clothes were ragged. He looked so much like a murderer: the way he held his knife and the angry grit of his teeth and… that hungry glint in his eyes.

Jimmy continued forward again and now Jonah had somehow removed the rope which tied his mouth and was yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Jimmy!!!! It’s me, Jonah!!! No, Jimmy, they’ve altered your brain. You have lost your memories. You were drugged and injected! No! Wake up! I know this is not my friend Jimmy. You are in there somewhere, I know. Wake up! Please!”

Suddenly, Jimmy stopped. He could feel the alien controlling him flicker, like a light, like the alien is going to die out. Jimmy could feel himself surfacing. Realizing what was going on, Jimmy screamed at the top of his lungs to Jonah to continue shouting.

Probably Jonah realized that too. He continued shouting, “Jimmy, please. Remember the time when we set fire to Mrs. Burntcat’s  cat’s tail? What about the time when we poured pepper all over the pie Mrs. Whatnot gave the mayor? Remember? Remember?”

Alien Jimmy now broke into a run and reached Jonah. Jimmy could feel his hands rising and Jonah cringed. Both their eyes met.

“Please”, whispered Jonah.

Jimmy tried desperately to lower his hand. He can’t kill his own friend. He had overcome so many obstacles and why can’t he do this? No! I will not do this, he told himself. No!

Suddenly, Jimmy stopped dead in his tracks. He could feel himself surfacing and the alien dissolving. He dropped his knife and could feel his muscles withering away, his body becoming weaker and his mind returning back to him. Just to test he lifted his knee. It lifted! He quickly untied Jonah and the boys embraced each other. Suddenly again, Jimmy felt his legs wither away.

“Jimmy, you were injected. You need rest and enough of heroism. God, villains”, Jonah muttered. “Here, lie on me. Let’s get home”

“We have one more mission left, Jonah”, replied Jimmy in a determined voice.

“What?”

“Burn Mr. Allout’s mosquito net”, Jimmy replied.

“Sure!” Jonah replied.

Then, blackout.



Tuesday 26 November 2013

GLOW DRAW AGAIN!


Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Howdee, my fellow friends! This is your favorite Eagleeye back on the paper again. So, this week’s movie is going to be animated, for a change. This super-awesome- hilarious-fun-packed movie by Phil Lord and Chris Miller is going to knock your socks off! Name? Here it is: Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs (sounds crazy right?)

Flint Lockwood is a genius, a zealous scientist, or so he thought himself. Every invention he invented was completely insane even though they were useful for some petty reason. For instance, when he was in school, he invented the spray-on-shoes so that there would be no more untied laces but unfortunately, they turned as hard as diamonds and you could never take them off. Other inventions include a TV on legs (which can run away in the middle of your favorite show), rat birds, a monkey thought translator, etc. He gets laughed at often but his mother, being the only person who trusted him, stood with him by his side before she died.

The town where he lives, Swallow Falls, reaches an economic crisis one day as their only source of income, a sardine cannery, is closed down, leaving only sardines for nourishment. Flint, in order to help his town, invents the ‘Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator’ (FLDSMDFR) which can turn water into food. An unexpected accident rockets the machine into the stratosphere and destroys Sardine Land, a newly opened tourist attraction. The townsfolk begin to heat up as Sardine Land was their last source of their income. Flint, while recovering from his sadness meets Sam Sparks, a weather intern, and the second living person who understands Flint (the first being his mother who is dead). As they are talking, it suddenly starts to rain food. The mayor immediately tells Flint to make it rain more food to help the community. This continues until one day the food starts to mutate into larger sizes. The world is suddenly hit with a food storm. Noodle tornado, hotdog rain, squirts of sauce, jets of macaroni, etc. Flint, determined to save his friends, makes a flying car and together with his friends, he shoots into the stratosphere to save the day where he faces as usual, difficulties.

Ask me how this movie was like and the first word I would say is: AWESOME! I’ll have to search in the dictionary for a word apt to describe this movie. The screenplay is beautifully written and does not only tear one’s stomach with laughter but also has a deeper meaning: Believe in yourself and others. Everyone’s character is skilfully well developed, except for a few. Flint’s life is portrayed expertly; starting from his inventions to his parents. This made me grow attached to him. The plot is also quite good but not excellent, I would say; it can be boring at some places.

To begin with the demerits of the plot, it can be boring at a few places; the plot is dragged in a few places which makes it long and boring but the director tries his best to describe the story by fast forwarding the movie in a few places.

On the whole, the movie is a smashing hit and is a must-see. I guarantee you that you will be rolling on your stomachs with laughter soon.

So long from yours truly Augustus Eagleeye.



Sunday 3 November 2013

Krishna

Hey! Long time, huh guys? Anyway, I know this is incomplete but this is all I managed to do. Bye and have a nice day.

My family...


This is what you call a drawing...


Cool...





Camping out from Feb to May version 2: My Mad Day...

On the darkest night of February,
twinkling stars adorned the sky,
camping down on the lane of burie,
Munching on blueberry pie.

Morning, I went to shop,
In a mall that was totally a flop,
with people scurrying here and there,
like a crowd of big, white hares.

Evening was at the Mad Hatter's tea party,
who sold delicious, brown tea.
He served them on a silver cup,
and everyone drank it in one big gulp.

Nivetha
21-2-2012

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Death

I stuffed my hands into my pocket, feeling nostalgic about my day at my mysterious aunt’s eerie house as I strolled along the grey pavement. I was enclosed in a thick blanket of fog, only that this was an extremely cold blanket which made the world seem gloomy and frosty. There was no wind, just cold, uncomfortable, stifling, claustrophobic fog. It was extremely quiet and unnerving. Moreover, the loss of sight of the path made me feel like I was walking through endless fogs and I felt disorientated. Anyway, my thoughts kept me occupied.

‘Ghosts, do they exist? Witches? Dementors? Evil spirits? What about God?’ I thought

‘Who knows?’ replied the other side of my brain, ‘They might exist, and they may not’.

I strolled on thinking and thinking, racking my brain for rational answers.  Suddenly, I didn’t feel lonely anymore. I felt an eerie presence; something startling, cold and disrupting. Something cold and foreboding. I could feel a chill running down my spine as I slowly turned around, expecting to see a delinquent thief. An odd thing it was, when I turned around to see nothing. Nothing at all. Just dense fog but it was slowly moving, like it is parting for someone to come through. My heart slammed against my ribcage as I turned back slowly when a black shadow swooshed passed me. My heart stopped. My brain stopped working. My legs didn’t move. My mouth couldn’t move. The only movement made was the prickling sweat on my forehead. I felt like was frozen in time. Again, that strange, menacing, macabre creature swooshed before me. I jumped back, the hairs standing on my back, so stricken with fear that I couldn’t make a sound. I continued forward again, slowly this time, clawing the air for ‘creatures’.

 Suddenly, a hooded figure loomed from the now-grey fog. It didn’t have legs and seemed smoky like a dream. It wore a grey hood that covered the face, but I could sense the fear it was radiating, the gruesome death it would bring when met. It drifted in the air with its head slightly bent in such a way that I could see its mouth which was set in a line, grim but satisfied. The air suddenly turned unbearably chilly, like it was being refrigerated even more.

I was stupefied. Suddenly, my freeze-in-time reversed and now my body functions went on a fast-forward. Adrenaline rushed through my body rapidly, more sweat trickled down my back and forehead and my head was filled with macabre thoughts. I was still completely blank as too many thoughts filled my head about what this creature might be. I finally realized feeling dreadful that it was the most deadly creature of all time. A ghoul which can suck all happiness and life and FEEDS on happy thoughts. A creature which can suck the SOUL out of someone. A dementor. A deadly dementor. That was what it was. I knew, from the strange stories that passed around the town, that this was DEATH.

I desperately tried to throw out all the happy thoughts in my brain but in vain as the other side of my brain kept sending them in. Dementors were supposed to move by sensing happy thoughts and feelings and now, too bad I have more happy thoughts pouring in, much against my will. Suddenly it gave a blood-curdling scream. A high-pitch wail that can turn anyone’s eardrums to liquid and leak out of one’s ears. I imagined my tombstone and how I would like it engraved when I felt piercing pain in my chest. I dropped to my knees, holding my throbbing temples.

Suddenly, it disappeared. Not disappear exactly but dissolved in the fog. I didn’t understand what was going on. It was supposed to suck out my life. What happened? Something finally lit up in my brain after much thought: there was something strange about that dementor. It had been smoky and had DISSOLVED into the air. I mean, dementors had smoky feet and all but they were still solid, good, hard solid. Solid can’t disssolve. So this was not a dementor but it certainly had its features. After much thought, I concluded that this might not have been a dementor – if it was a dementor, I would probably be in heaven drinking grape juice with Dionysus or getting cooked up in hell – this was a dementor’s cadaver, in other words, Death’s soul. But how can Death DIE? I finally ended up right where I started – thinking.


Thursday 3 October 2013

GLOW in the dark...

Howdy homies! How're ya? Fine, I suppose! Well, I spent the weekend lazing about and came up with a great idea! How about glow in the dark flowers? 

Another masterpiece by the masterpiece queen NIVETHA!
Hand drawn everyone!

Saturday 21 September 2013

The Hunger Games

Another great sci-fi film by Gary Ross is brought to the big screen, starring Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss),Josh Hutcherson(Peeta), Williow shields(Primrose), Liam Hemsworth(Gale) and many more.                                                                                                                                                   
In a dystopian future, the dictatorial nation of Panem is divided between 12 districts and the Capitol. Every year, two young, teenager representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal revenge for a past rebellion, the televised games are broadcast throughout Panem. The 24 participants are forced to kill their competitors and to endure the natural and supernatural creatures and forces they are supposed to fight against, while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, 12-year-old Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives.

The movie was only acceptable as it lacked in many areas. One was that a long time was taken to build the character though it wasn’t enough to make the watcher grow attached to the character. Katniss was portrayed as a tough girl from the beginning though it would’ve been better if the reason for her bravery and a little of her family’s history such as her dad were portrayed.

I also anticipated the start of the Hunger Games, expecting it to be jam-packed with action but it was quite the opposite. There was action but not as much vicious as the film said it was.

The storyline and the scenes weren’t made clear. There also wasn’t a smooth transition connecting each scene. There was this particular scene where Katniss recollects her memories about Peeta. Here particularly, the reality and the flashback scene are hard to distinguish as there is a sudden change of scenes, making it look like it’s just another scene in the movie.

One main thing that messed up the whole film was the shaky camera work. Gary Ross said that his decision to do this was because, “had a lot to do with the urgency of what's going on and to reflect Katniss' point of view”. In his point of view, he might have a done a good job but the shaky camera work made the detailing of the scene and the character’s actions very hard to perceive, making the watcher to do lots of guess work.

The movie altogether was satisfactory. I might as well have thrown my 120 rupees in the well. In my opinion, I am still in the blue about the movie. On a positive note, I liked Elizabeth Banks, playing the role of Effie Trinket. Her costume catches the eye of all and clearly tells that the movie is set in the future. On the whole, the movie is worth a watch.
















Thursday 12 September 2013

My Dream House

I sighed. Today had been the most depressing and catastrophic days of all. I had a fight with my best friend, got a ‘D’ in reading, got the lowest mark in math, was scolded by the teacher, missed the bus only to come back home to find my earrings lost. I also had homework in the subject I flunked the most: English.

I had to write a descriptive writing on the topic “My Dream House”. I had literally torn my brain, turned it inside out and rummaged around for ideas but in vain. I tried to whip up a dream house only to get a dilapidated den that looked like it belonged to a skunk.
I took a long deep breath. I lay back on my bed and took a deep breath. Maybe I should sleep on it, I thought. Soon, I had hit the sack...

The trees parted to reveal a clearing. I gasped. I took a 360turn. The scene was extremely stunning and ravishing. The whole painting in front of me was verdant, mesmeric and invigorating. It made my palms and the soles of my feet burn; I felt like prancing.

There was a statuesque, natural monument standing in front of me. The house was situated on the peak of the mountain, overlooking a large lake which mirrored the landscape. The fragrant aroma of Linden trees filled my nose. A tiny stream, the size of a bunch of threads wound itself around the house which formed a kind of natural moat, only without crocodiles and other vicious creatures. An ethereal mist lingered over the mountain. But it didn’t give a somber, poignant feeling, it gave - you could say - special effects, making the house look divine and natural. I could feel my muscles loosen.

I entered the heavenly abode. An earthy smell washed over me. The inside was as natural as the outside. It was like bamboo world. There were halves of bamboos lining the walls, bamboo chairs, bamboo tables, bamboo etc.

Suddenly, a blinding light lit the atmosphere, reflecting the dust in the room. I looked up to see sunshine streaming through the ceiling. The room was circular and there was hole, of about radius 5 feet, cut on the ceiling so that when it rained, it formed a circular waterfall at the heart of the living room, welcoming the water from the heavens.

A circular, copper vase filled with water was placed right under the center of the hole. It had beautiful, resplendent, pink lotuses floating on it.

I could basically slide on the polished wooden floor. It was extremely slippery, polished and soft.

I also noticed a primeval, black grand piano to the north-east side of the hall, with three candles sitting atop it.

One thing that seemed extremely bizarre was that the temperature in the room seemed to hover around 15 degrees always. I quickly realized that water was running through the hollows of the bamboos lining the edges of the ceiling. Natural air-conditioner huh?, I thought.

There were 3 rooms, one opposite to the entrance, one to the east side of the house and one to the west side of the house. I entered each of the rooms. All the rooms had glass ceilings to gaze out into the starry night and had natural mattresses and one of the rooms had those beds where fish swim inside the hollow space in the beds.

The house was filled with natural sounds such as the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, the gushing sound of the stream and even the tranquility atop the mountain.

I climbed to the second floor and found balconies facing all 8 directions, each with a glass bottom. As I stood on it, the wind rustled my soft, ivory hair. I got the sensation of vertigo as I stood on the glass bottom (I’m acrophobic). Three of the 8 balconies overlooked the lake.  One overlooked the horizon where the sun rises and other the skyline where the sunsets. One overlooked the valley and one overlooked a mystifying waterfall that fell from the mountain opposite to the one I was standing on. The waterfall seemed to merge and disappear into the clouds surrounding it. The last balcony overlooked a pigeon hang-out. The grey and white birds were fervently pecking at the seeds on the open square soil.

I went back to the sweet, little porch of the house and enjoyed the fragrance of the linden trees and roses and the honeysuckles that lined the sides.

Everything was calm, quiet and peaceful. I felt like if anyone pushes me off this mountain, I would still fly and survive. I could feel my heartbeat slowing down. I took a deep breath and…

RRRIIINNNGGG! The alarm clock rang. I leaped out of bed, grabbed a pen and put my astounding dream to paper.


















Saturday 7 September 2013

My India...

Freedom Fighters...

When times were cold, they were like the fire in a hearth,
Protected India, to honour her birth.
A mother she was, all her children she cherished,
Children we were, we helped her to banish,
The cruel ones who made her culture famish.

Now she flows free,
In her robes of saffron, white and green,
She has achieved her enduring dream
And she stands on every map looking serene,
And now, the sun is shining, casting dancing beams
That through the fighter’s eyes was never seen.

                                                                       

Yabba dabba doo.........

Here's a really tough math question. Let's see who can solve it!


Cafe Milky Way logo

Hi everyone! long time, no see. At school, we were learning abt adverts and so we were told to form groups of 4 and told to shoot a real advertisement. Here's the logo:


Sunday 4 August 2013

My future plans

I always dreamed of many things when I was little and from that I hope that ALL of them come true. My first and most important aim is to become an astrophysicist and an astronaut. Before that, I want to earn degrees for  math, science, computer science in the University of Cambridge.

After earning my degrees, I will further continue my studies and will strive to achieve my ambitions in France or USA or London. I will also spend time in drawing and literature. My second ambition is to become a business woman by inventing and selling inventions that might help the earth be a special place and help kids all over the world have entertainment outdoors and indoors avoiding health problems.


But to achieve all my dreams I must work hard and give all my strength and passion for it. This is what I dreamt yesterday, and who knows what I will achieve tomorrow. My ambitions aren't stable yet but will be soon. But I should never neglect my dreams just because they are dreams and are impossible.

Beautiful Sunset

It was a boring Sunday! I had exams tomorrow and I was all stressed out. After finishing revising all the exam stuff I thought I should just relax and get those mathematics sums out of my head. So, I headed right out to the beach (Anyway I live in Horseshoe Bay, near the beach). Since it was late around 6 pm, there was no one on the beach. I sat down on the soft sand. A cluster of smooth pink seashells encircled a small rock pool not faraway. I closed my eyes, laid my head on the soft, brown sand and threw away all the things in my mind (not the sums of course. Then I’d have to study all over again)

I forgot everything. I felt the cool breeze ruffling my flowing ivy black hair and a magical moisture in the air that touched my arms and legs. I smelt dampness everywhere. I could hear the wind flying past my ears and lapping waves on the shore. I relaxed and soothed myself despite my worries, After few minutes, I slowly got up and opened my eyes…

The scene… Oh my gosh! What a masterpiece! How magnificent! The stunning panorama looked awfully incredible and charming. I opened my eyes to see a huge, fiery, orange ball of fire, far out in the distance. A land of blue was below it and the rays of the sun spread EVERYWHERE! The golden glow soothed my heart, clearing all my worries. The clouds around it had a soft touch of pick and orange and red. Each ray seemed unique in it’s own way. I slowly started to get up, and spun around. I felt the   amazing breeze. I saw the magnificent orange ball. I saw the black birds soaring above the sky. I felt the cool breeze. I smelt dampness. I felt like flying, I was so happy. I’ve found some new happiness deep in my heart. Tears welled up my eyes. 

Dreamland

Hi! I am Nivetha from 7C and today I'm going to talk about my dream destination. I do not have a name for my land but I have some ideas of how my land should be. My place is an island which is divided into 3 lands: Technoland Adland and Chocoland.

Technoland will consist of new technologies and fancy gadgets. Everything here will look very stylish and modern. The road is made from shiny grey tar in which cars can just slide smoothly without turning their engines on. All the factories and places will not release even 0.01% smoke. Everything will produce pure, breathable oxygen. There will be shops from all over the world selling all kinds of things. There wouldn't be normal slide-out or flip-type phones. Phones will have a completely new design; a rotating one in which the covers or lids will rotate automatically when you press a button. Cars will have a completely new design. Their doors will levitate and open when told so. The car will be like your friend. He tell it to do something, it will do. It can drive, steer and brake automatically when needed. And cars will run on air. There will no longer be buses. Normal transportation is on either roller coasters or light trains which travel at lightning speed. Visiting other planets is so normal and often that it is like visiting from Coimbatore to ooty. There will be very tall skyscrapers which will have about 500 floors.

Next, Adland. Adland is an ideal place for adventures. It will have many caves, tunnels, secret passageways and many more places. There will be many places that act as passageways. There are passageways behind a waterfall, below a well, inside a tree trunk and under a slab of mud. Everyday there will be some adventure or the other. The adventure will not only include Adland. It'll include even Technoland and Chocoland. A monkey living in Adland - a real, sensible monkey which can understand human language – will tell me all the problems and adventures that I would have to do. The monkey has a GPS which can locate where am I and will call me if any adventure or problem has to be solved. And it will also send me on secret detective missions.

Then it is Chocoland. In Chocoland, everything is made of  food. There are ice cream mountains, and fizzy drink rivers with a banana boat. The ferry rides are made of oranges and the seats are made of lollipops. Hills are made of jelly which you can climb easily by jumping on each layer. Hot-air balloons are made by ice creams and the cone. Noodles and french fries grow on trees and milk comes from tree sap. Bridges are made from nice, juicy watermelon. So whenever you are hungry, you can eat anything at anytime. The best thing about my island is that it has junk food AND healthy food.

So this is how my land should be and if it truly exists I'll definitely go and live there since it has many things I like. Thank you!

Sunday 21 July 2013

Holiday from Hell: Camp in Hell

 “ Grary, have packed up your stuff yet?”,cried Mom

“Mom, I just SAID I am NOT COMING” I replied, quite agitated.

“Oh, come on Bibs. A little of nature’s touch is all you need. Squirrels, raccoons, hummingbirds, macaws and many more!” said Dad.

“Including, snakes, poison ivy, bugs, mice and no-good-dirty-rotten-food-stealing animals, too!”

“That’s it, Mr. Grary Bilbo Jones. You’re coming with us whether you like it or not” replied Mom, her tone rising. When Mom used a “Mr.” infront of my full name, it clearly means that she is fuming. “Look at your sister! Awwwww! Sweet as an angel!”

I turned around to see my sister, Maris Filbo Jones. She almost had a golden halo around her head and her eyes were growing large and her mouth curled into an ethereal smile. I always think that she does that just to make herself look all cute and innocent and very immaculate. But I could easily see out of the corner of her eyes that she was giving me a very smug and sly look. I gave a long devastated sigh. This was going to be catastrophic.

Dad had planned a camping ‘adventure’ because he thought that we weren’t spending ‘quality time together as a family’.  Dad worked as a financial manager and never had enough time to spend with his family. Mom worked as a librarian in a local library and I, aged 13 and Maris, aged 10 went to different schools. So, we weren’t exactly meeting each other until the weekends came around.

Soon, we were loading our camping tents and other camping gear into our red car. According to me, the worst part of the trip to the camping site was that Dad and Mom made me and Maris  sing along with them to (I mean SING) ‘OLD MCDONALD HAD A FARM’!  I hope it doesn’t get any worse! Unfortunately, it did get a lot worse.

Searching for a suitable campsite was another story. We searched for almost an hour until we finally stuck to a tiny clearing near an enormous lake. The land was grassy and it sloped towards the lake where it formed some kind of short, natural rock jetty. A large piece of solid wood that seemed old but quite steady drifted close to the jetty.

Mom suggested the tent be put up in the piece of drifting wood as she particularly disliked clammy, damp earth. The soil was damp but warm enough but Mom was dramatizing it (the Oscar award is a piece of cake for her).
Putting up the tent was a huge problem too. First, Dad forgot to bring one of the poles for the tent so we had to make do with a wooden stick. (How in the world can some wooden stick be equal to a pole and bear the weight of the tent?) Second, Maris wanted to help us badly but she doesn't know a thing about camping so she nailed the nails at the wrong place. Third, Mom forgot her tablets and she basically can’t live without her tablets so Dad had to drive all the way to the nearest store to buy one (the nearest one took around half-an-hour by car). Finally when everything was done, a fat groundhog came noiselessly and nibbled at the wooden stick and by the time we were aware of what was happening, it had chunked through the wood, and once more the tent collapsed. We had to put it up for a second time, unfortunately, with some trouble. I was wary about the whole trip after all that had happened. Dad somehow figured that out and tried to convince me by telling its all part of the adventure and is nature’s play.

Soon, twilight fell and Mom thought it would be good to light a campfire and she made Fibs (that’s Maris’s pet name) and me go into the woods and collect some firewood. She gave us two torches and when we entered the almost dark woods, we were in one piece and when we came out, we came in a couple of pieces. You see, me and Fibs don’t have brother-sister relationship. It’s more like Voldemort-Harry Potter relationship. Send us anywhere alone, and we come back scratched and wounded meaning that we had a fierce battle. That’s exactly what happened when went to collect firewood. Mom learned her lesson and so she and Fibs went into the forest to collect firewood. Upon their return, we tried to light a fire only to find the matchsticks damp. So we had to use the torches. Worse, Dad wanted to have a campfire sing-along and so we sang ‘HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON A WALL!!’ Boy, I hope this doesn't get any worse. But it did.

It was raining cats and dogs that night and some good-for-nothing animal had poked a hole on the roof of our tent and I don’t why it did it but the hole was right on top of my head so I was soaked to the skin by the time the sun woke up.
“Aieeeeeeeeee!” SPLASH! “Help, help”

Those were the words that woke me up the next day on which I was hoping the camping trip would ‘turn over a new leaf’. But it looks like it was too much to hope for. My eyes fluttered open and I was staring at the roof of the orange tent. Again, I heard that helpless shout. I threw back the extra blankets, scrambled out of my sleeping bag, crawled out of the tent and….stopped dead. I was dumbstruck. The wooden plank was surrounded by water. The grassy land and the rock jetty seemed far away and I felt like I was floating? Floating? I looked around. Oh my goodness! The wooden plank was floating. My face went slack. We were floating on the lake. Of course, we forgot to tie the wooden piece to the jetty! What about the splash? I looked around the wooden plank and saw a tiny brunette head bobbing up and down. Blood drained from me face and I stood rooted to the ground as realization dawned over me. That little brunette head was no one but my awful good-for-nothing kin. My stomach turned to ice as I quickly hurried inside the tent to find my parents only to find them gone. Oh great! I always told them that morning walks may be good for health but not for situations like these.

I ran back outside to still find her head bobbing but with less energy now. I had a quick thought. What would my mother do? She’d probably hold her dress up in her thumb and index fingers and corner up and say a high pitched ‘aaaaaaa’. What about dad? He’d say “its nature’s play. Let her learn swimming”. What about me? Well, I know swimming a little bit. Chances of surviving are like 40%. Chances of getting eaten by the fishes are like 70%.

I checked for the brunette head again. Gone! No other go, I dived in after her.  The water felt cool. If it weren’t for this situation, I would’ve loved to waddle in the shallower parts of the lake. I dismissed the idea out of my head and doggy-paddled faster to reach her. Luckily, she wasn’t too deep in the water so I took a deep breath and dipped inside the water. I couldn’t see inside the water so I tried to feel where she was and successfully, I caught her slender arms. I hauled her up and pushed her to the surface and followed after her in triumph.
I heaved her onto the wooden board and stared at her anxiously, my heart slamming against my rib cage. I wasn’t too keen on blowing air into her mouth. Fortunately, she spluttered, coughed and her eyes slowly fluttered open. She stared blankly at me.

I didn’t know what to do. I can’t or I don’t want to embrace her and I certainly can’t scold her (she’d tell mom and mom would reprimand me) so I blankly asked,

“What on earth were you doing in that lake?”

“I um… actually… I sleepwalked into the lake” she replied, a little wary of the answer.

I was flabbergasted. Sleepwalked into the lake? I mean I knew she sleepwalks but I never knew it could lead to this. I was getting a little annoyed when someone bellowed. I turned around to see Dad and Mom who were wearing huge smiles on their faces.

“Now now now. Looks like you guys have been taking a small dip in the lake”, said Dad, smiling broadly.


Dip in the lake? Me and my sister exchanged looks. Oh my god! This doesn't seem to go very good! 

A clean and green city

Just look around you. What do you see? I see rubbish, dirt and an unhygienic, odious environment. Isn’t it awful? This untidiness is one of reasons people tend to look for hygienic countries. It may sound absurd but it’s a paradox. These issues have increased lately. For example, recently, for the people who visited the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, air-conditioned temporary houses were built. This involved digging of roads and the smoke and vehicle exhaust released caused air pollution in Varanasi.                                                                                                                                                                             
A good environment results in a healthy environment, with healthy people and a health mind and a healthy nation. We can all work together to achieve this. This can be done by doing 4 things: Reusing, Reducing, Recycling, Saving water, Conserving energy and being hygienic.

First, we can carry out the 3 Rs’ technique: Reuse, reduce and recycle.
Always, reuse. Use the same product again and again until it can no longer be used. For example, you can use a plastic water bottle to carry your water. Then when you no longer want to use it, you can make a rattle out of it or cut it into half and use it as a pen stand or a pot to keep tiny plants.

Next, Reduce. Reduce the number of things you buy. Buy only what you need or buy the product in small quantities and buy some more when the first helping is over. This can also reduce the number of growing factories and the pollution they cause. It also helps you to save money. Also, reduce the use of plastic and other materials whose manufacturing or usage might be detrimental to the environment. Plastics are non-biodegradable and burning and melting them may cost a lot of money and pollution. It also saves the ozone layer.

Finally, Recycle. Recycle whatever you can. This doesn’t mean you should reuse something. This means that you have to give this away for recycling and the object will be made into a new product. For example, when you throw a piece of wood into the recycling bin, the wood will be manufactured into perhaps a small doll chair, etc. This may also cause pollution but it’s worth it.


 Next, you can save water. Water is one of the essences of life. Around 97% of the water on earth is undrinkable. The amount of water which is suitable for drinking is decreasing each day. Saving water can be done in many ways. You can turn of your tap while brushing your teeth. You can turn on the washing machine only when the machine is full with clothes. You can use a limited amount of water and not use it for unnecessary things. We shouldn't let the faucets run for washing. We can fill a container with water and then dip the needed vegetables inside for washing. Furthermore, you can also check and fix any water leaks frequently.

You might have heard that famous and talented chefs always have secret ingredient to make their dish fabulous; that it is what that makes his dish complete. Let me tell you the ingredient: it's nothing! What it takes for a wonderful dish to taste fabulous, is the chef's own heart, interest and the effort he takes to cook his dish. The same thing applies for saving the environment. You always have to take extra effort and do it from your heart. Doing it for namesake is equal to doing nothing.
So let's save the environment today, tomorrow and forever!!!!!!!










What the hell were we thinking?


Friends


Life




C.S. chart 1