Moments of Magic

Perusing in Philly

"Morning, Mia!" Coach Eddy greeted when he saw me one Thursday morning. It was still dark out, and we were standing in front of the Metro station.

"Hey, Coach!" I said. "So, where are the others?"

"They should be coming any minute now. Oh, look, there's Brittany." Eddy pointed at Brittany, who was saying goodbye to her family.

"Hey, Mia! You excited for the field trip?" Brittany asked.

"Totally!" I replied. Ms. Grace and Coach Eddy were taking the seventh graders to Philadelphia and staying overnight. Seven months had passed since the overnight camping trip. Yeah, the one with the shaving cream vandalism.

Soon, the others arrived. We took the Metro to our train station and boarded at around 7:20 in the morning. I killed time by playing Pokemon Alpha Sapphire on my Nintendo 2DS. Three hours later, we arrived at Philly. Ms. Grace took us to places I could not remember, but I do vividly remember visiting the Lego Museum. The Lego Museum showcased works of art from this one guy who created pretty cool artwork out of Legos. I was so enchanted by his work that I didn't pay attention to where the rest of the group was going. I found myself weaving in and out of rooms until I met up with Coach Eddy.

"Oh, thank God you're here." I said.

"Did you wanna stay behind and check out his artwork?" Eddy asked.

"Nah, gotta find the rest of the gang." I hurried along in order to catch up with Ms. Grace. She then took us to an interactive science museum. The exhibits there were very interesting, but one caught my attention. That one exhibit looked like it could've been a circus stunt. There was something that looked like a bike situated on a wire going from the front of the line to the far end of the museum. Underneath it was a wide net.

"Wow, looks like fun!" Mikayla crooned. I waited in line with her and Brittany. When it was my turn, the person in charge of the exhibit fastened me to the bike-thingy and ordered me to pedal. Okay, I'll admit it, this exhibit was pretty weird, but what was even weirder was the fact that it was going backwards! I pedaled slowly, for fear of crashing into the wall. Of course, someone would warn me when I was getting too close, if I even got that close to the wall.

After leaving the science museum, Ms. Grace and Coach Eddy took us out to dinner. Dinner was really fun, as I could interact with the others without worrying about school, but it would've been loads better if there wasn't a protest going on. Because of that, we couldn't go bowling. Instead, Ms. Grace and Coach Eddy took us back to the hotel we were staying at and ordered us to stay inside. I was to be rooming with Brittany and Kirsten. We even invited Kate and Mikayla to our room and played Truth or Dare. When Kate and Mikayla retreated to their rooms, Kirsten thought it to be a good idea to Facetime Edward, a chubby eighth grader and play Truth or Dare with him. I went all wacko and Brittany and Kirsten were constantly laughing their heads out. We eventually gave up when Edward was getting tired.

The next day, we went on a tour of the town, which was sort of boring, except for the fact that we got to see the Liberty Bell. For lunch, Ms. Grace let us out on our own in a nearby mall. Mikayla suggested that we do our souvenir shopping before we grab lunch. While souvenir shopping, I saw a blinking name tag with John's name on it. I had some money I could spare, so I bought it for him. I eventually bought blinking name tags for my mom, Theodore, and a zipper tag for my other brother, Ethan.

After souvenir shopping, the girls and I bought ourselves lunch. Afterwards, we went to the train station and set out for home. I was really sad that the field trip was ending, but really happy...because I had gotten to know my peers on a deeper level. I also felt closer to Brittany and Kirsten than ever before, which was good, because we were stuck with each other for our eighth grade year. Kate and Mikayla did not return the follwing year. But it was okay, because Brittany, Kirsten, and I were quirky in our own ways. And if they like me for who I am, then they're worth keeping.

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Author's Note: Wow. Almost done documenting my seventh grade year. Guess I'm a writing machine, lol. If you like this autobiography so far, please vote and comment! And check out my other story too! Mind you, it's Star Wars.

Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Clone Wars and powerful Jedi Knight, becomes conflicted when his friend, Chancellor Palpatine, is exposed as a Sith Lord and escapes right under his nose. While on a mission given to him by Obi Wan and Yoda, Anakin begins to have nightmares of his friends in danger. He then submits himself to Palpatine, hoping he will learn the power to save those he loves from certain death. Soon enough, Palpatine becomes all-powerful and abolishes the Galactic Republic and all traces of it. If Anakin is to save the galaxy, he must look past his own desires and become a symbol of hope for the civilians, the Jedi, and even his friends.

Excerpts from the book:

  "Help me, Anakin!" Palpatine begged. For a second, I was tempted to stab Windu with my lightsaber. I mean, he was threatening my friend, Palpatine! How could I let him get away with that?! I also could end it all by killing Palpatine right then and there. He was my friend, but I would be doing the galaxy a huge favor if I killed him. But if I did, I would be saying goodbye to the only hope of saving my pregnant wife from certain death.

  "Are you crazy, Anakin?! What if Palpatine does something very atrocious? What if he orders to have all the Jedi killed?" Ahsoka interrupted.  

  "He's obviously up to something. Anakin, you're going to have to spy on Palpatine. You never know when he's going to strike. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must let Mace Windu know about this." Obi Wan and Yoda got up and left the room. Right after, my beeper buzzed. I checked the message. 

 "The audio chips we've been looking for! Now, give them to us or we will open fire." the second Mandalorian ordered and put a gun near Kihara's forehead. With a trembling hand, Kihara reached into her pocket and gave the Mandalorians a silk bag.

  "Oh, Anakin. Don't you understand? The Jedi were planning to take over. During the war, the Jedi have resorted to violence in order to keep the peace and protect the Republic. Sometimes, they violate their own Code to do what needs to be done. Look at Windu, for example. He threatened to kill me right on the spot, and the Jedi don't believe in killing their prisoners. That is why I took over."  

  "Yeesh! How many Star Destroyers are at their freaking disposal?!" Clay cried. Despite the fact that Petro found the weak spot of the Star Destroyers, Clay, Ganodi, and I, along with our fleet, had a hard time destroying them. Every time one of their own was destroyed, the Star Destroyers would shoot without mercy. We've lost many fighters that way. 

If there's one thing right about me, it's the fact that I exhibited qualities of both Jedi and Sith. I had married Padme in secret at the beginning of the Clone Wars, which was totally against the Code. On the other hand, sometimes, I was driven by anger and hate, like that time I killed a whole village of Tusken Raiders right after my mom died.