CI-Kenzie

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My Name: Kenzie Cartmell My age: 13 My Hobbies: Basketball, volleyball, and dancing My Favorites: my favorite color is blue, green and purple and my favorite sport is basketball. Other things you should know about me: I am a very funny and smart person !

 1001 tales - GANG VIOLENCE *Last Cry* School violence has an effect on everyone. It effects the old, the young , the girls , and the boys and for one particular little girl it changed the world. Let me tell you! There was a little girl named Destiny in the seventh grade who was so involved in her school work, her grades, and her family. Her whole life was going great. She was staying out of trouble, gangs ,and away from drugs. She was doing everything right. Until…one crazy day her Father’s job transferred him to Washington. Destiny did not know what to do. She was going crazy! She had heard of some of the things that had happened and that kids do in Washington. She was just not interested in them. She cried and begged her Father to let her stay in Tennessee with her Aunt but he kept ignoring her concern. The day finally came for them to pack up and take off to Washington. Destiny’s mind was filled with disappointment and sadness. She knew that her whole life would change! When they got to Washington the smell of rain filled her nose. She already missed the hot air and the smell of meat at the local hot dog stands. When they left the airport she was even saddened in the cab that they received. The interior was ripped and the cab smelled of cigarettes. When she finally got out of the old rusted cab, back into the rain , and seen her new apartment complex she started to cry. It was on the Southside of Washington in the slums. Her and her father went into the complex and started to walk up the long broke down staircase. Small bugs were roaming around through the cracks of the old steps. They got up the staircase to the third floor and walked a couple feet down the dimmed hallway to apartment 219. When Destiny approached the door she took a deep breath in and tried to prepare herself for what would be on the other side of the door. Her father opened the door. A small smell of dampness filled her nose again. Someone had left the window open. Her father set down there bags and started roaming the old apartment. Destiny followed. Room by room another tear followed. It got later around eight-ish and Destiny and her father were finished unpacking. There were no groceries in the house so Destiny and her father threw on their coats and walked down the street to Washington’s Chinese. Destiny’s father was so excited to be in a new state with a new house trying new things. He was very open minded. Destiny on the other hand was so depressed. She taught as if she had an everlasting cry. After her and her father(Mike) had finished eating they started to head back home. When they got home Destiny went straight to sleep. She was to sad to even eat popcorn and watch the fuzzy television with her father. That night she cried herself to sleep. The next morning it was Destiny’s first day at Washington middle school. She walked in with her head high to show the others she was not scared or beneath them. She went to the main office and it smelled of the vanilla candle that was burning on the councilor’s desk. She started to think to herself that this might be okay. The principle finally walked out of a door from behind Destiny. “Welcome”, Mrs. Andrews(principle) said. Destiny turned and smiled but no words where said. Mrs. Andrews put her arm around Destiny and started to walk around and show her the school. After every class they passed Mrs. Andrews told her what the teacher’s name was and if she was in that class or not. Destiny had seven classes not including the extra that she could take if wanted :choir, gym, art, and music. After Destiny finished the tour of the school she had wished the school was as nice and clean as the office she began in was. The main office Destiny started in was clean and nice and smelt good. When they took the tour around the school there was a weird smell and also tagging of gang signs on the lockers. Even though Destiny went into the school with her head high to not be scared she was feeling a bit scared now after seeing the school. Mrs. Andrews walked Destiny to her first class. Destiny went in and told the teacher her name, and the teacher did the one thing Destiny wished she didn’t. The teacher announced Destiny’s name to the whole class ! The class all seemed mad and rude. They showed no emotion towards Destiny except for this new girl that had came a week earlier named Vanessa. Destiny chose to sit by Vanessa only because she seemed nicer than the others. When recess time came Vanessa and Destiny walked out together. They stood together alone in the far back corner of the court yard. All of the other kids where playing basketball. They seemed very athletic towards that sport as if it was everyone in Washington’s’ favorite. Well lunch came and everyone was in their own huge groups. Destiny and Vanessa were in their own group of two at the opposite side of the room. They felt very different and left out. During that whole lunch Vanessa was explaining the bad of Washington Middle School to Destiny. She was explaining about all of the gangs, drugs , and school violence that went on in the school. In Washington Middle School there was a numerous amount of school violence that went on. The lunch was then over and the two girls were off to their next class together. In their next class they had a sub. Destiny was almost positive that some sort of drama was going to happen with the sub there. When they walked into the class all of the kids were throwing up gang symbols and throwing paper airplanes and wet paper towels at the sub and at some of the opposite gang members. All of a sudden a gang member came up to Vanessa and Destiny and asked if they were in a gang. The girls both said, “No”. After the girls said no all of the other girls who were involved in gangs, drugs , and violence started to mock Destiny and Vanessa. They wanted to fight but the girls refused and ran straight to the main office to tell the Mrs. Andrews. Mrs. Andrews told the girls that this happens all the time. In Washington Middle School gang violence is at the highest rate. The two girls refused to stay in school the rest of the day. They both knew that the members would be furious with the two girls for telling. Destiny and Vanessa were sent home. That night both girls agreed to think of a plan to help stop all of the gang violence and trouble in the school because they could not stay with all of that going on in their school. They wanted to waste no time. So they started to think. Destiny went home and tried to take a shower but the shower faucet would not turn on hot water. So Destiny just took an old rag and soaked it in water and put it in the old run down microwave the apartment came with. She washed up with it and then put on her clothes. The whole time Destiny was washing up and putting on her clothes she was just thinking of different ways to help the school. Destiny laid down on her little bed and started to think of some ways to help. Even though the springs of n her old dusty bed were stabbing her in the side she kept thinking. The next morning Vanessa found this old clip of her brother who was too in prison and gangs to take to school. She showed both Destiny and Mrs. Andrews. They were very pleased with Vanessa bringing it in. Mrs. Andrews decided to show the school the video in the auditorium right after lunch. The principle told the children that in this video there will be violence and there will be consequences. After the children watched the real gang violence and the consequences of it, it changed their lives. They children did not know the way real gangs operated and they realized that if they stayed in these gangs that is what would happen to them in the near future. The kids where very scared of that .So from then on out Washington Middle School showed the least amount of violence in any of the schools in the world. Destiny and Vanessa ended up being best friends for the end of their lives and also ended up being very popular in school. People started to like them more and respect them more because these two little girls opened their eyes to gangs and it saved their lives ! They made a difference. Their whole point was just to stay away from the bad in life and stay tuned to the good because it helps later on in the world. Altogether they saved their last cry!
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