Artwork

Artwork

WRITING EXCHANGE 2006 to 2024

This blog was created to recognize some of the powerful writing being produced by incarcerated youth. Currently, writing is being shared between Shasta and Butte County Juvenile Halls.

2024 Planned Exchanges: March 11; April 10 ; May 22

This month, we are exchanging FICTION for a change.  Students participated in a Fiction 59 writing contest from the Chico News and Review (CNR).  Winning entries will be published in the CNR on March 6th: http://www.newsreview.com/chico/home 
There was an article published about the Writing Exchange in this week’s CNR as well!
Check it out:
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/voice-to-the-voiceless/content?oid=12798179

Entry # 480
Alimony
 “Goodbye Crystal” muttered Jacob, “I no longer need you.” It had been four months since their miserable divorce. It was so difficult to let her go. “I was in love, but I can’t have anything to do with you now.”
 He was really tempted to be friends with benefits but now realized meth caused him nothing but extreme chaos.

Entry # 481
Love Loss
I look down my street and watch as the breathtaking monument is torn down. Suddenly feeling like ripping out my hair, it’s impossible to live. I can’t breathe so I go inside and sit on my couch as tears pour down my cheeks. How will I survive without my deliciously tasty KFC, the best fried chicken restaurant in town?




Entry # 482
Hey Jerry
There was a boy named Jerry and he had super powers. He had the ability to fly, and every so often he would travel all across the world. No one knew that he could fly. Even his many friends didn’t know. Until one day his friend, Jim, said, “Hey Jerry, I think I saw you flying the other day.”

Entry # 483
At Worlds End
“Forward march!” We were marching when it happened, the big earthquake.  It was all bad except for one survivor, the general.  He was the best.  Suddenly, boom, boom, boom, there it was again, the aftershock. 
“Take cover!” yelled the general, talking to himself. 
Once more, shake, rattle, crack! 
His mom hollered, “Put your toys away, it’s time for dinner.”

Entry # 484
Can You Hear Me Now?
Dave came in and Desiree’s door popped open. “Why haven’t you been going to school?  You’re going to get 180 days this time.”  She started crying.  That meant spending her birthday locked up.  She was pissed.  All she wanted to do was go home. She missed the outs, but would have to stay positive.  Six months with no phone.

Entry # 485
Barely Human
The metal feels ice cold against my hand.  I fight away the fear and shiver with anticipation. My fingers tense on the metal and “BANG.”   It is gone faster than the human eye can follow. I hear a man scream, but it sounds very distant. I bolt for freedom. The crowd roars and I read the scoreboard, “Home run!” 

Entry # 486
Garden Wars
“Domination!  Our assailant will be eliminated.  Our nation will proceed to conquer other colonies. We are unstoppable.  We will rule the garden, devour whatever we find, and embezzle villages. Others will see and fear us!”
Out of nowhere a shoe steps on the leader.
“Oh, damn babe! Where’s the raid? They’re ants all over the front steps again.”  PSSHHH. 

Entry # 487
The Light
Blackness surrounds me like a void. I hear sounds off in the distance. I’m trying to figure out what they are. Next thing I know there is a light. Heading towards it, there are shadows’ moving around. Something grabs me. I start screaming. There’s a bright light and I’m kicking my feet, Terrified, someone says, “Congratulations it’s a boy.”

Entry # 488
First Kiss
     Seven years old having birthday cake fights at Sarah’s birthday party.  Later she and I stopped as we were talking she suddenly asked me to kiss her! 
     Staring at this very pretty girl, blushing, my legs turning to jelly. A piece of cake still in her curly, blond hair, softly our lips touch.  I feel like I’m flying high.

Entry # 489
Relief
As I drift from leaf to leaf my back gets warm. My spots expand and my little legs float. I hear people talk of my ruby red as I glide along. I stop on a dandelion and smell fresh air. Lifting my back leg, I fart. My stomach feels nothing but sudden glorious relief, now experiencing heaven on earth.


Entry # 490
The Coast
 The coast of the roll in the bowl was as smooth as frosting on a cake. He made it look so delicious. His “rock in rolls” on malicious pipe made him ferociously spectacular. His figure was spread like an eagle taking its first flight. He landed his drop. His wheels of fortune struck the ground like thunder and lightning.

Entry # 491
Hired Gun
 Diana was the only one he knew who had a gun and she would do it for 20 bucks.  The problem was he had to hide it from his mom, but it was way too big to hide. 
 Diana had a light hand, so the pain was not that bad, but his skin still bled during his first ink.

Entry # 492
Hero
 Eric misses his dad, General Kirk. Only to send letters to the desert. “I miss you Dad.” the son writes, but for months no response. At this point young Eric is worried, and curiosity strikes the boy. He figures mom has the answers. Mother cried as the boy asked, “Why so sad mom?” Shaking, she holds Eric. “I’m sorry…”

Entry # 493
July
I was at home with my dad, his girlfriend, and her two kids. It was July and that meant fireworks! Us kids were messing around and Nikko started chewing on some Snap’n Pops, small teardrop shaped explosives wrapped in cigarette paper.  It was loud and dangerous, the sound piercing my ears, one second before his cries.  His mouth exploded.

Entry # 494
Uh Oh
I was on my way to Las Vegas in a private plane on a cold and windy night. Everything seemed right and we were almost to Las Vegas but all of a sudden the plane started shaking and going down. Our entire luggage started to fall. When I went to see the pilot I saw that he was dead.
Entry # 495
Sugar High
Running with the speed of light, hiking couches like mountains and jumping off them as superman, he landed head first on the ground. Without a cry or a holler Alex runs to father, slamming off his legs.
“Someone really needs to take the soda from baby.”
It was too late; bruised and busted lip, he gave a weary smile.

Entry # 496
The Kiss
 Cameron is just sitting there with Vanessa watching the sun set on the beach. He glances over and catches her eyeing him seductively. He smiles and pulls her in for a kiss. Right when he goes to kiss her his mom walks up and says, “What the hell are you doing?” He looks back, complete embarrassment on his face. BUSTED!!!

Entry # 497
The Cake Like News
 Reporting the news in San Diego is a pretty serious thing now days. But to Leon Sandcastle, it meant the world. His cake like words on the microphone sent a trail of goose bumps dripping down your skin. As he started his show on Wednesday, he sent a shock through the heart so intense it made Bon Jovi cry.

Entry # 498
The Corrupt Clown
“I hate my job,” said the clown.  Every day, all day, I blow balloons for ungrateful children.  They all scream at me, names of animals they want balloon replicas of.  Little do they know, they’ll all get snakes.  What difference does it make what I fold this rubber into?  They will end up in pieces anyways, considering cretins demolish everything.

 
Entry # 499
Grounded
There was a boy who loved watermelons. He could eat six watermelons in just one hour. One day he accidentally ate some of the watermelon seeds. He had a really bad stomach ache. He decided to take a nap to see if it would go away. He slept for two hours. When he woke up he was a watermelon.

Entry # 500
Itching
     As the vigorous blood-sucker sank his razor-edged fangs into mortal flesh, he was suddenly overcome by a sense of appeasement. The aroma seemed to embed itself into every pore and blood cell of the ravenous beasts’ physique. Routinely, he savored the vital fluid off his lips relishing contently. The victim, in vexation, effortlessly flicked the mosquito divergently.

Entry # 501
The Perfect Day
Today I don’t feel like doing anything. I’m in one of those moods where I just block out everything around me. For breakfast, I’ll have one huge mixing bowl filled to the rim with my favorite cereal, Captain Crunch. I’ll sit on my recliner, watch Comedy Central and laugh until my stomach hurts. I might do it again tomorrow.

Entry # 502
Tick Tock
When he looked at the clock it was three in the afternoon.  He sprang up and dashed out the door, leaving his house open and keys on the table.  He had to meet the man who kept him lively.  With less than two minutes, he sensed his mortality.  As he glanced at his watch and knew it was hopeless.

Entry # 503
Scrawny Shadow
     The elegant swan glided uninterrupted with her confident beak held up high in the rich pool of water. Diligently she grew aware of the scrawny shadow of an ugly duckling in her presence. Disgusted by the nerve of this grotesque creature, she instantaneously pivoted in haste to the fatal realization that the gleaming reflection staring back was indeed she.

Entry # 504
Fried Spam
There was a day that was full of rain and became nice and sunny. In a house made of sand there was a man who had the name of Dan. Dan had a wife who’s named Jan and loved to write with crayon. They had a van that they used to recycle cans and every morning they ate fried spam.

Entry # 505
Pets?
“Old, young, him, or her. They’re all pets. Think about it. They feed us daily, take us on walks. They do slave labor. We get scrubbed, stupid cats always need to be groomed. What the hell, some humans even let us get our own room. Well, not me. I live in a house in a back yard,” said Rover.
    
Entry # 506
Probation Visits
Andreas struggled in school, so he didn’t go much.  This would lead to probation visits and meant getting locked up.  He was lonely being in a cell even though he was used to it. The staff had become family to him, but he missed his mom and sister.  He couldn’t wait to be home to take an hour shower.

Entry # 507
Frozen Battle                         
My name’s Louis Vincent.  The last battle I marched in was hungrier than my bullets.  A  French soldier whose body’s a haunting hell of unbearable housing.  I warmed my allies. To Moscow! But then my battle wounds were delivered and cold... 
The Continental system was important.  My misery grew solid in smothering weather.  Built  deceased, alive, and torn down!

Entry # 508
The Hunted
 Taken in the woods, the hunter needs his fulfillment of his appetite. Hours he desperately waited for the beastly grizzly. His sharp eye focused in the distance. Only for his rifle to help succeed. There he is. Widely broad stance, horrified eyes set on the disguised cloth the huntsman wears. 25 pounds of metal raised, and aimed. BANG!

Entry # 509
Sleep Wandering
I am a roly-poly; I dream under a tree about plentiful leaves. Dream turns to nightmare leaves turn to brown my surroundings disappear. I see gray seas replacing blue. The wind must have carried me along. The wonders of where I am; I must travel home; I can hitch a ride on a butterfly. Unfortunately I am afraid; heights.

Entry # 510
Cold Streets
The flashing and loud crashing of thunder rumbled the cold Chico streets. A dark figure roamed, black sac at hand, entering house after house thieving and creeping.  Under his mask, sadness pain and coldness surround his expression. Roaming through, destroying life after life., taking all thrashings, causing pain and sorrow. His intention’s not to hurt but to survive.

Entry # 511
Ohgosh
In a far, far, far mystical land, a land of wonderful and terrifying creatures were three outlaws. Their names were Ohgosh, Short and Sharky. They were the fiercest creatures in all the land. They would hunt for food and look for berries. The berries were called red nose berries. One day, Short, was walking and he found a whole bush.

Entry # 512
Jolly Roger
Roger thought today was his big day to win the game, little did he know today wasn’t his day. Jumping on that motorcycle, hitting those sharp corners up to 190, acting like a big psycho, flying by the other racers like .22 coming out of a rifle, and playing too much with the throttle. Ended up drinkin out’a bottle.

Entry # 513
Then, He Woke Up
Alex was always asleep instead of spending time with his family. Until one day he woke up and his family had disappeared. He looked everywhere but he was completely alone. He had no one around for what seemed like two years. He cried and prayed but they never came back. Then, he woke up and appreciated having his family.

Entry # 514
Ahhhhhhhh!
“Run, hide, it’s coming!”
“Where can we hide?”
“Under the bed?”
“No, it knows we live there.”
“In the side closet?”
“No, it knows we always play there.”
“It’s coming up the stairs, hurry!”
“What about the main bathroom?”
“No, it goes there to brush its teeth.”
“Hurry, just hide where it hides, under the blankets.”
 The girl screams!

Entry #515
Angel of Death
White washed walls, the smell of antiseptic, machines beep and buzz. Looking at her while upon the small bed, he leans over and whispers, “It’s time to go. I’m sorry to do this, but it’s your moment.” As the angel of death cast his dark shadow above her she was gone but the memories of her life still remain.

Entry #516
 Night Fall
There was this guy who they called the Dark Knight. He was a good guy who would stop people from getting robbed late at night. The Dark Knight would help out anyone who’s in need of help. But during the day he’s just an ordinary civilian walking around the streets of Help Me. But when night falls he’ll return.