Student Spotlight
"Corina from Europidia” by Shreeya T.
I was just about to go to sleep when I heard a banging at the front door. My parents were already asleep due to their job interviews earlier. I knocked and opened their door.
I shook them twice and then glumly said, “Mom, Dad, someone’s at the door.”
My mom wiggled a little and stretched before she got up. I headed towards the door and she followed. Dad stayed upstairs to take care of my sister. I heard some loud sipping so I assumed she was drinking her milk along with her daily routine. We opened the door and to our shock, there were police.
One said stiffly, “Hello fine people. We are here to discuss.”
My mom and I took a quick glance at each other. We invited them in and offered them hot cocoa, but they denied.
“I am sorry to interrupt your sleep but there is a creature that is magical targeting your daughter, Amy Sine,” a different one said.
My mom complained, “Then that’s your problem and you are gonna fix it. I mean, you think we have a gun?”
Right after that I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was my dad and he said, “Actually, I do.”
“John, cou- You know what, we’ll discuss this later,” my mom muttered.
I just sat there quietly the whole time. The police showed us a picture of the monster.
They said, “It’s name is ‘Corina’. It is an alien from a planet called Europidia.”
I gasped at the picture and replied, “How can that cute thing be a monster? This is a prank. Leave the house NOW!”
“Amy, that is not nice,” my mom grunted.
“I never meant it to be!” insisted.
I’m 11 in 6th grade, still I use anger as a weapon. I heard a small cry and saw my dad running upstairs.
The next day, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for school. I got dressed and took a shower when I heard a noise from under my bed. I glanced and saw something. I recognized it as the monster the police showed us, so I quickly opened the window and gently rested it outside.
It took me some time so my mom shouted, “You okay in there?”
“Yes,” I gulped.
I couldn’t let my parents know about the monster otherwise their faces would turn red into raging parents 2.0 which never ends well. I rushed through my closet to find a blue backpack or a white one, grabbed it and took off from my room. I chugged down my milk and took a banana to eat in the car. I go by carpool. Once we got there, I went to math. I was the last one there, so I had to sit in the front. Everyone likes the back because the teacher doesn’t come near them. I couldn’t help but notice that the cute monster was about to touch me.
I shouted, “Ahh! Teacher! There is a monster! The police told us it was targeting me!”
She ran to the phone and dialed 911. The other kids were throwing chairs at it but stopped when its eyes turned bright red. The police immediately took the monster away from me and threw it into their car. They asked if I was safe and I said yes, still recovering from the fact that the monster followed me to school.
Afterwards, Mrs. Cathy called my parents and dismissed me. I hopped into the car shivering with fear. My mom didn’t say a word the whole time. But when we got out of the car she grabbed my arm and gave me a tight hug with a kiss on my forehead.
I watched TV until 12:00 when my mom asked, “Red sauce or pesto?”
I beamed, “Red please!”
After 10 minutes, I shut down the TV and washed my hands, ready for pasta. We talked about how I wouldn’t go to school because of the monster tomorrow. I played board games the rest of the day and we had salad for dinner. I went to sleep after. To my surprise in the morning, the monster was near me AGAIN! I took my phone and called the police immediately. I ran over to my parents. The police were scowling. One grabbed it and threw it on the road.
The other requested, “I will take care of it. You, inside!”
My mom said they killed it once and for all. Police left and my life went back to normal: annoyed by my sister. She was a little scared by the police. I smiled.
