The Writers Circle Student Work
Kornelia the Kangaroo Goes On Vacation
by Keyonna - age 9
I hopped out of my den. I wanted it to be a sunny day and I was happy because it was. It was a beautiful day. BOING, BOING! I bounced so high I flew over a cloud. I landed in a big city. Taxis were all around me. “I’m definitely not in Australia anymore!” I thought. I had passed over the Atlantic Ocean in my jump. A huge sign hung over my head. It read in fun letters: “FUN FESTIVAL HERE IN MANHATTAN, NEW YORK!” “Oh my gosh!” I said to myself. “I’m in America!”
I looked around. The Empire State Building seemed to stretch up to the heavens. The residents of New York were going at the speed of light. Cars, buses, and taxis were zooming past me like roller coasters. The buildings seemed to touch the clouds. I decided to hop over to Central Park. Once I saw the park, I remembered the open plains of Australia. I then thought of my friends and my family and began to miss them.
“Where am I going to find food and shelter?” I thought. I slowly hopped around the park. Some families got cameras and took photos of me. Some people ran away screaming while other people took out their cell phones to call the zoo.
Uh-oh, it was getting very cloudy. It was like huge, puffy black evil spirits floating across the sky. Now the sky was filled with them. I only had a few minutes to find shelter before a severe thunderstorm came. I didn’t hop all the way into the sky (because of the dangerous clouds) but I jumped so high that I flew to an old abandoned store next to the Empire State Building.
I pushed the door open just as it was starting to thunder lightly and drizzle. I looked at my surroundings. The door shut fast behind me and I felt safe, finally in shelter. A box was set neatly next to the door. I opened it. Inside was a banner. It read: The history of Thomas Estee’s Kangaroo Goodies. This is dedicated to anyone who wants to learn about kangaroos. The banner also stated that Thomas dies in the year 2000. Oooooh! I thought. That was creepy. There was something weird about this building. It gave me the creeps. I opened the door to the left. It was a staircase filled with pictures of kangaroo skeletons. “So many skeletons,” I said. I missed my family more than ever. I threw closed that door and opened another. I ran to a staircase in the back going up. I threw myself on a puffy mattress in the back and cried as hard and loud as a toddler who broke his leg. I felt alone and scared. The building was eerily silent except for my tears and the pattering of the rain and the distant thunder in the sky. I watched the storm through the sky window. Uh-oh. Then I felt the prescence of an evil ghost. This place is so totally haunted, I thought. KA-BOOM! FLASH! A startling bang of thunder interrupted my thoughts of the abandoned building. Lighting followed after the thunder in the stormy parade. It began to pour. It was quiet. Then I heard a noise. It sounded like footsteps. I froze. I was too terrified to run, even though I wanted to. A white figure stepped in the room. “Aaaaah!” I screamed.
“I’m the ghost of Thomas Estee. If you do not ruin my home, we’ll get along just fine.”
“O-O-kay!”, I stammered. After the ghost walked away, I watched the thunder and lightning rock and roll through the sky window until I fell asleep.
I woke up and checked the alarm clock in the room. It was 4:58PM, time for supper. My stomach was growling. Because I eat grass and leaves, it would be easy to find a meal in Central Park. My stomach was excited. I hadn’t eaten lunch and was ready to taste fresh leaves and grass again. When I reached Central Park, my golden watch said 5:26PM. The sky was beginning to turn a shade of orange as the sun started to dive behind the tall towers of New York City. I nibbled on grass and leaves, and then hopped over to the New York coast. I drank salty, bitter (but refreshing) seawater, and then hopped into the ocean. Wait, I thought, I could jump over the ocean to Australia. I hopped back to the abandoned building. It was too dark to try now, but here’s the bright side. I still had 15 hours to prepare.
The next morning, I looked through my sky window. The sun was glowing like it was just created. I hopped out of bed, used the bathroom, and returned to Central Park for a quick meal of leaves. I took a quick swim and drink, then stepped onto the sand. It felt ticklish against my fur. It felt like a floor of little crystals caving into the earth with every step, nearly causing me to slip. I stood before the massive Atlantic Ocean. The salty, turquoise water lunged at me and felt warm and moist on my feet. It created small bubbles when it ran to greet me at the shore, creating relaxing waves. I took a deep breath, then “Whoopee!!!!” I hopped over 1,000 feet in the air and flew forward. “Whoooaaaa!!! “ Ten minutes later my eyes were shut tight but I felt grass with dry land under my feet. Thud! I hit the ground on my bottom. I looked up and realized I was sitting in front of my den. I was glad to be back in the familiar environment and to return to my parents and siblings in the den. I hopped in. Daffodil, Conar, and Shon, my same-age siblings and best friends were the first to greet me. Bruce and Sky, my parents, were next, and then Donald and Zesta, my grandparents, greeted me. I might visit New York again, but if I did, I’d visit it with my entire family, and from now on, I’d be more careful about how high and far I jump.
