Short Story (2000 words)

Barni Nuur
6th Period English 2
Short Story
May.9.14

​Thomas sits in the diner thinking about his thirty-seven years of life. He looks at his coffee that was starting to get cold, and wonder what would have happened if he had come back earlier. “Here’s your sandwich, sir”, hesitantly said the waiter. Everyone was careful when they spoke to Thomas because after the death of his wife, he wasn’t the same again. It was especially hard on him because she passed away right before he came back from the war. He was extremely excited to tell her that he was going to retire, because she always complained to him about how much she disliked him being gone.

​Thomas grabs his sandwich, forcefully biting into it as if it had done him harm. Everyone in the diner watched his every move. They watched him blink, they watched him talk to himself, and sometimes even saw tears coming down his eyes. It was a small town they lived in, and everybody knew everybody. For some people, it was a job to gossip about everything that happened, even the tragic car accident that killed Thomas’s wife.

​Everyone loved seeing Thomas and Anna together. They were so young and vibrant, always smiling and holding hands. He always talked highly of her, though to everyone she was just a schoolteacher, and she was always boasting about how brave he was. Thomas was a real gentleman. He was always thinking about everyone else before him, especially with Anna. When they first got married, he bought her the most beautiful and expensive pearl necklace that anyone in town has ever seen. She wore it with her everywhere she went, and at the scene of the car crash, people saw beads scattered around the road near her lifeless body.
After Anna's death, Thomas was never the same. He stopped smiling, laughing, and even arguing with people about politics, which he loved to do. When Anna left, she took his heart attack with her, or at least that's how Thomas saw it. He stopped taking care of himself, and only ate unhealthy and greasy food from the local diner. It was shocking to see someone who cared so much about their appearances, become the way Thomas became.
The young waiter slowly walked towards Thomas to take his plate.
"Would you care for anything else sir?" said the waiter nicely.
Thomas just looked directly into the waiter's eyes and abruptly pushed his coffee cup right next to the waiter. Everyone looked on to see if the waiter was making a face. He only looked at his hand, where there was a few drops of coffee on his hand. He wiped it off on his apron.
"I'll get you another cup, sir." He said as he was walking away only looking directly ahead of him.
Everyone wasn't surprised with the young waiter's response. His name was Jacob, and Jacob was pushed around by people him whole life. In school when he was bullied for not being muscular or athletic, in college for being too smart and keeping to himself all the time, and at work. Old ladies would pinch his cheeks, teenagers would laugh at him talking about how they never wanted to be like him, and everyone teased him.

Thomas didn't know Jacob very well, sometimes when he would be walking down he street and they would see each other, they would just look and nod at each other. Every time Anna and Thomas would walk together, Anna would say "Hey, hun'", and wink while she smiled. Thomas wouldn't care. It's not like Jacob was better or stronger than him. He was no threat at all.

It was starting to get around dinner time at the diner and this was Thomas's least favorite time of the day. He would see happy families shares food and laughing while the parents would look into each other's eyes and if everyone in the diner looked, they could see how much they loved each other, and loved their lives together. The only person who would actually pay attention to this, would be Thomas. He saw himself and Anna in that happy couple. He saw the dream of having a beautiful family with Anna in the couples kids. Overall he saw happiness that he could never have again all because of a reckless driver.

Thomas also hated dinner time because of Daniel. Daniel was one of the only people in the town who didn't care about what anyone thought about him, and anyone could tell by his appearance. He always had the same clothing on, and everyday he wore it, it was more torn and smelly. His favorite hobby was to get drunk and high, so he always smelled of booze and was laughing out loud and running around the diner. No one ever said anything because they all knew he could be very dangerous. So when he would make a little kid cry or inappropriately touch a waitress, everyone just looked at each other and looked down afterwards.

Daniel and Thomas never spoke, mostly because Daniel would never bother Anna. She was one of the most beautiful girls in the town and every man, and most boys would look at her as she walked. Daniel, on the other hand, would never seem to care about Anna at all, she never seemed to care. And every time Thomas talked about how gross and annoying Daniel was, Anna just told him that talking about people isn't the right thing to do, and that he is just an innocent man. Thomas always shook it off. Anna's favorite thing to do was to gossip, but when Thomas said the name Daniel, she would shut him up as quickly as she could.
"Are you up for any dinner, sir?" said a waitress.

Her smile seemed to be the biggest smile Thomas ever saw, and she had pounds of make-up on. "Sir, we also have a great selection of dessert for you to choose from." she said winking.

Thomas just stared at her as she blinked. She was wearing long fake eyelashes and every time she blinked it looked like it hurt.
"At least she wasn't like you." whispered Thomas to himself.

"What was that?" she said looking confused.

"Cake." said Thomas who was looking at his hand.

"We have many---"

"Cake." Thomas said abruptly.
                                                             ……..
Its 6:00 in the evening and Jacob was taking out the trash. Even though he did that everyday, he looked differently this time. He was stepping on the ground harder, was looking on the group, and mumbling to himself. He looked really angry and nervous. Once he got to the dumpster and threw the trash in there, he stood there are waited. He was nervously looking around like a boy waiting for a girl on their first date. Finally he heard footsteps, but unlike the boy waiting for his date, he wasn’t excited. Instead, he took a deep breath and walked towards the footsteps.
“There was no reason for you to go that far.” said an enraged Jacob.
It was hard for Jacob to speak to someone that way because he was always used to people speaking to him in that way.
“You don’t know what she deserved.” said the large figure that completely stepped out of the dark. “You’re lucky that it happened quickly.”
“You’re lucky that I’m the only one who knows” said Jacob with a smirk.
The shadow stays silent for a couple seconds and then suddenly grabs Jacob from the throat and pins him against the graffiti filled wall.

Old money, New Money, and Everything Else (Blog #8)

In The Great Gatsby , the setting is split into three settings, West Egg, which is for new money, East Egg which is for old money, and basically everywhere else, is for everyone else.

West Egg, known as the home for new money which means people who actually worked for their money. If their parents have money, they choose not use it like Nick Carraway. A lot isn't known about some of them, like Jay Gatsby, but he makes up for it by throwing over the top parties, that everyone attends.

East Egg, known as the home for old money which means people who have inherited money from their family, and were born into money. People like Daisy and Tom Buchanan. People from East Egg look down upon people who live in West Egg, no matter how much money each have.

Other than the when and how they got their money, there are quite a few differences between people from West Egg and East Egg.  Jay Gatsby, who seems to be the only person in the book is truly new money, seems to feel like money is needed to be happy. He throws huge parties, hosting them with people he mostly doesn't know, buying them presents, all to impress Daisy. He goes to a lot of trouble  and uses a lot of money, to get Daisy. To him, being with Daisy again, he will finally be happy, and the can happily live together with his perfect house, and great shirts. People who live in West Egg however, have been used to a lot of money, even though they own a lot of  fancy, valuable possessions, they don't go to great lengths buying things to impress or show off to people. This is probably because everyone knows their names, and families, so they don't need to prove anything, unlike Gatsby, who has to because people assume things about him, like he killed someone, as well as other things. Also, people from West Egg are more social and outgoing because they want to meet more people, unlike East Egg residents, who are secluded, and have a few friends.

Thankful (Blog #7)

Honestly, I wasn't excepting to like this class as much as I have so far this year. I enjoy being with this group of people in my class, but there are a few people that I am thankful for so far.

First, Lillian. This is my 3rd year knowing Lillian, and I sit in front of her during class. I am thankful for her because when we work together, she helps me understands things, and shows me a whole new side of an argument, and she is really smart. She is also very nice, and even though she is pretty quiet, she really knows a lot and has really smart things to say.

Next, is Lauren. This is my 3rd year also knowing Lauren, and I have had classes with her in the past, but I have really gotten to know her this year. We eat lunch together this year, and from our conversations, I have concluded that she is really smart and funny. When it comes to English, she really helps me when I have questions or problems in my reading. I'm really thankful to have gotten to know her this year, and I'm looking forward to hear things that she has to say.

Also, there is Nat and Phoebe, I've known both of them for three years now, and I've been in English classes with them in the past. Unfortunately, other than this class, we don't see each other often, but I have really been impressed with the smart things that they both have had to say. I'm thankful to have become even better friends with them.

There are other people in the class that I have gotten to know a little and I'm thankful for. Specifically, Noemi, Ashley, Jill, and Lydia. I haven't spoken to them as much as I have with other people, but they are all really smart people, and I'm glad to have worked with them. I'm looking forward to getting to know more about them throughout the year.

Lastly, I am thankful for Mr. McCarthy. I want to thank him for making English class more enjoyable for me, (sorry Mrs. Melton and Dr. Bloland).  He has really taught me a lot about American literature and has showed me how to write proper essays. Also, he has given us these blogs to write which made me a better writer.

So those are the people that I am thankful for, and I hope that I can get to know everyone else later on this year, so I can be thankful for them too.

I Celebrate Myself (Blog #7)

I celebrate myself because I am me,
I know it might be really hard to see.

I celebrate myself because I'm a pessimistic person,
If I wasn't my grades would probably worsen.

I celebrate that I am unathletic,
Even though that might seem pathetic.

I celebrate myself because I take my time,
Doing things like trying to make this poem rhyme.

I celebrate myself for the way I write,
Even though when I do I fight,

With myself  because I'm conflicted,
Because perfection, to that I am addicted.

I celebrate myself for being good and bad,
For doing things that make me happy or sad.

I celebrate that I am writing this poem,
Because poems...yea.. I don't really know 'em.

I celebrate myself for having a big heart,
But for things like sadness and sorrow I can't take part.

I celebrate myself for the piano I play,
Making songs and melodies throughout each day.

I celebrate myself for celebrating myself.
Because this story of my life will be on my shelf.

That will one day be filled with poems and a book,
Filled with stories that I concoct and I cook.

Now, this is the end of my poem, farewell,
For there are always an end and there's the school bell.

Poe (Blog #6)

Starting from 3rd grade till now, I have just heard about Edgar Allan Poe. A lot of his work were in my class libraries. No one wanted to read it, because they didn't have to, and they thought it was too depressing. If we asked our teachers who he was, all they said was that he was a good writer, and that's all they would say. Now that I have read more of his work, he seems like a man with a sad life, and he poured his heart out in writing. So I did a little research, and now I'll start with a short bio.

Edgar Poe was born on January 19, 1809. By now you might be thinking, "I think she forgot to write Allan", but I didn't. Poe was born just Edgar Poe, but he was adopted (not officially) by John Allan, after his father actor David Poe Jr. abandoned his family, and his actress mother Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe died from tuberculosis. Then, he took the name Allan. After from going from school to school and moving the US to England and back to the US, and getting engaged, and going from job to job, Poe finally wasn't able to support himself and he joined the US Army, changing his name to Edgar A. Perry and lying about his age. At the same time he released his first book called Tamerlane and Other Poems. After a while, his brother died, which made Poe really serious about his writing, and was known as the first American writer to live only off writing, which as you might assume made him poor, which made him resort to begging for money. Eventually, 26 year old Poe secretly married his 13 year old cousin (well okay....) and she ended up dying from tuberculosis. After this, as you already know, Poe has become famous and successful for his poems and stories like The Raven. He later died on October 3, 1849, and until this day, the cause of his mysterious death is still unknown.

We know that Poe has been affected by the deaths of family members when he was writing his stories, and I noticed that the word "tuberculosis" came up a few times. So, I decided to look up "edgar allan poe's stories about tuberculosis" and I stumbled upon a short story called The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. After reading it, I have realized that it could be about the death of his wife Virginia. Compared to all of his stories that we have read, in this story the person who dies is male, and his death was not peaceful, but painful and hectic, which I think could have been about how Poe felt after his wife died. I think the story was really specific about how Valdemar died, that it was like how Virginia died. After researching Virginia's death, it is said that she would hid the pain to make Edgar happy, and in the story, when asked about the pain that Valdemar was feeling he said "No pain ---- I am dying", and the narrator said "M. Valdemar should be suffered to remain undisturbed in his present apparently tranquil condition, until death should supervene". Basically I think that Poe is writing about how Virginia felt through Valdemar's words.

Well, now I dont really know how to end this, so I'll just say
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream. (A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe, 1849).

What is an American? (Blog #5)

The summer of 2012, I went to Somalia to visit some of my family. I was at my aunts house, and something came on TV about America, and my aunt and I were arguing about it. Then she said to me "You are not American, Barni. Most people who live there aren't.". Obviously, me being me, i disagreed with that, saying if you were born in America you are American, but in the inside, I was actually starting to think about it, and until this post I'm writing right now, I haven't thought of it ever since. 

What is an American? My answer to this has changed, many times. At first, I said that an American is someone who is born the US. Then I said that it was anyone born in North or South America. Then I said it was anyone who lived in America for a long time and/or is a citizen. Lastly, I thought that in some ways no one is American.

There is a difference between a nationality and an ethnicity. Its easy to tell the difference until you start to think about America. No one's ethnicity is American, except Native Americans. Some people say that they want to be the perfect American, or live the American dream, which is living with American culture. But, what is American culture? USA is a country where immigrated to, bringing their own cultures, so I don't understand American culture? If a certain ethnic group started it, wouldn't it be their culture? I think that people don't call themselves American, because so many different people are American, and it doesn't show your unique qualities in which you got from your ethnic background. Now, I think I'm starting to rant, but I have thought the answer to this complicated question is quite easy.What is an American? Easy, its just someone who was born in America. 

Modern Puritans (Blog #4)

When I think of  Puritans, (since I don't know too much about them), is the community where Hester Prynne lives in the Scarlet Letter. They judge her and say hateful things to her, but I think when they realized she isn't affected and she isn't leaving, they start liking her more, and they accept her. Now, when I think of Modern Puritans, I think of basically everyone in the world. Not making sense? I think that everyone in the world has judged a group of people, or a person, because they were different. Even those people who are being judged, judge others too. Eventually, they open up because they are so used to them, but when a new group of people come, the cycle starts over.

There are many different examples of this, but I don't think anyone cares to enough to read all of it, so I just give a few examples. There is a lot of discrimination to Mexican immigrants in America, just because they are coming to America, and they weren't born here. Also, there are many countries where people who are homosexual, transgender, etc, are discriminated and hurt, because the people who did that saw them as different people, and that they were weaker too.

The Puritans in this book saw one difference between Hester and them, and they jumped on it. They were rood to her, and punished her everyday. Eventually, they backed off, and opened up to her. I personally think everyone in the world has done that to someone, or other people, and that makes us all Modern Puritans.