Island Unknown!

Camille Hu, Age 11
King Elementary


All Odysseus had seen for weeks was water -- miles and miles of water stretched across the world. Odysseus had grown tired of seeing water; so much water would make any man go mad. He slowly closed his eyes as drowsiness took over. “Stop,” he murmured to himself. He had to stay awake. With his eyes wide open, he dreamed of tall mountain peaks, vast forest, and smooth hills. Yet he wasn’t dreaming. He was seeing land. Odysseus blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. For the first time in weeks, Odysseus smiled.

Odysseus could see the tall peaks of the mountains rising up to the sky. The rolling hills rolled over the Earth, squeezing the ground. Yet even as Odysseus looked farther, he could see the large stretches of plains. As the anchor was let down, Odysseus walked aboard the island with nothing but his head held high and a bundle of confidence. He started walking; step after step morning came. And that’s when the first living creature came into view. Right as he saw it, he knew he was not mistaken by its beauty. Its long, auburn hair was braided in a side braid with green scales glistening in the morning sunlight. Odysseus knew this was a siren. Sirens were mermaid-like creatures that lured sailors in with their voices. Trying not to be seen, Odysseus crept along the bank of the small lake and carefully dove into the water. It was cool and squished beneath his feet. As quiet as a mouse, he dove in and swam to the island inside of the lake. Once he got there, he saw a man. A man who looked like he could age no more. “Help me get out of this island,” the man whispered. His voice cackled with age. “On one condition, you help me get out of this island.”

“I can try,” the man replied, “This prison is my home,” he whispered again. Odysseus took the man’s hand and together they crept into the lake and everything was going well, until the sirens started singing.

“You have to fight their voices!” Odysseus screamed to the man. They both dove underwater to block out the sound. Reluctantly, it worked. And as they got aboard their ship, they sailed into the unknown.

The Adventure of Awesomeness!

Maia Sears, Age 10
Fortis Academy


One day, a little boy named Odysseus wanted to go an an amazing trip to a land that had lots of cheesecake. He loved cheesecake a lot. As a kid, he always went to a restaurant called the Cheesecake Factory. Then, as he got older, in 1918, he went to a place that nobody else knew about. He and his friends all found an abandoned boat at the bottom of the sea. They all fixed and approved it. Then they all travelled to an amazing place that they found on the Internet. They thought about how amazing it would be to go on a boat trip all the way to an amazing place that no one knew about. Then, the next day, they travelled to the mysterious place. When they arrived at land, they all noticed a strange smell of cheesecake. They knew it was not normal. So, when they got out of the boat, they saw cheesecake and other people. They were very disappointed to see other humans there.