Sarah and Ryan were unexpectedly locked inside a secret room; thanks to the spirit of Old Joe Bush. 

They were panicking and breathing heavily; so many thoughts were running through their heads. “It’s o-okay Ryan, j-just calm d-down; we’ll find a way out”, Sarah said breathlessly with trembles in her tone. They turned on the camera again; and also the flashlight and started looking around the unknown room. They searched the anonymous area for ways to get out but they couldn’t find any. Suddenly, the camera died and the flashlight turned off; leaving them in pitch-black darkness. 

Sarah and Ryan started to scream and yell for someone to hear them but it was no use; no one would come and rescue them: they were in the Dredge after all. After all the irrelevant screaming, yelling and banging on walls, Ryan and Sarah gave up. They began to doubt the fact that they would ever get out of the Dredge alive. “Are we really going to…d-die?” Ryan asked horrified at the thought of having to rot in the locked room they were in, “I…I don’t know Ryan, I really don’t.” Sarah replied with a sense of guilt and doubt; she never wanted Ryan to be involved in this situation, he had just broken his leg. 

As Ryan let out a loud sigh, he leaned back against the wall and suddenly fell back with a sudden thud. Sarah and Ryan then heard sounds coming from the other side of the door they tried so hard to open but failed countless times. The door miraculously opened and there was complete silence between the two. “D-did we really just open the door?”, Sarah asked with disbelief, “yeah, I guess we just did.” Ryan replied. Sarah and Ryan both walked through the miraculously opened door and instantly saw a laboratory. They saw engines, machines, files, control panels, and many more. They both explored the new room they discovered and suddenly saw something that definitely caught their eye. 

It was a lifeless, deceased body; more like a skeleton, with ragid, shabby clothes on. Sarah went closer to the abandoned body; and examined it thoroughly. As she searched the body, she found an ID attached to the dusty clothing and wiped the dust off of it. The expired ID had a picture and name of the old body. “No way”, Ryan spoke with shock filled in his tone, “i-it’s him,” Sarah replied, “the body of Old Joe Bush” Ryan said coldly. “We need to learn furthermore of what really happened here in the Dredge,” Sarah said eagerly, “there’s so much we don’t know and this laboratory could give us everything we’re looking for” Sarah continued, “But how? We literally have nothing on us; the camera is dead” Ryan said, “I don’t know Ryan.” Sarah replied. 

As much as they wanted to stay behind longer and further investigate their new discovery, they wanted to get out as soon as possible. As they were searching they found an exit. They went out from an outside basement. They went outside to meet the police and rangers surrounding the Dredge. 

They wondered if they should reveal their new secret or go back and explore more…

11:31pm on a Sunday, 20 October, 2019. Typing this blog post while being in the company of my cousins and siblings. I’m at my cousins’ house. In the room, I’m surrounded by sounds coming from every corner. Fortnite, Tik Toks, singing and conversations all going at once. One of my cousins laying next to me, watching Tik Toks; on my right side. On my left side, my two brothers and other cousin are all playing Fortnite. 11:40pm right now, and everyone are still doing the same thing. 11:49pm, watching Tik Toks with my cousin while the rest are still playing Fortnite.

Hearing Indiana sing, “How far I’ll go” in Maori, Laani leaning on me, Sisilina, Tino, Bresais and Ben sitting next to us. Tino and Bresais mucking around, Sisilina saying, “Ben, Ben, Ben”.

Psalm singing Masterpiece from Jessie J; she sure can sing. She’s moving here and there with hand actions. “I’m perfectly incomplete, I’m still working on my masterpiece”, is what she sings out of her mouth.

Nandika now dances. She dances to “Let’s kill this love” from Black Pink; her dance is epic, then the song changes to “Panda” from Desiigner then “Old Town Road”.

Next is Alpha performing a cultural Samoan dance; she dances so gracefully; I can tell she’s proud to be from the Island of Samoa.

Tino and Bresais starting to get lazy; and so does Laani, she’s still leaning on me. Sisilina is in her own universe, she’s doing something on the Chromebook but I don’t know what.

Tumanako is now singing. “Down, down, do your dance, do your dance” is what I hear him repeat a few times. His song he’s singing to has a cool beat. As he moves side to side, he continues to sing.

Hola is now singing to “If I ain’t got you” from Alicia Keys. She sounds angelic. “Some people want it all, but I just, want nothing at all”, she sings. Laani is now in her feels, “Some people want diamond rings” is what I hear her sing.

I look around and see Tiani and Nane watching the performances; slouching their backs.

Alex dances to, “Man in the Mirror”. He dances like the mini Michael Jackson because he has a few of Michael Jackson’s special moves.

Quanita is now singing. She sings beautifully. “That a hero lies in you”, is her final line before she runs off the stage.

Levi now dances. His form of dance is impressive. His song he dances to has a cool beat and bass drop.

Lisa sings to “Here to stay” from General Fiyah and Three Houses Down. She’s grooving side to side as she sings the song. The Clendon finalists clapping as Lisa sings.

Isaiah, Kail, Leo, Fakasi’i and Tule is now performing. They perform a play. Tule is the narrator, Kail is Red Riding Hood, Fakasi’i is the Big bad Wolf, Isaiah is the grandmother, Taufa is the Huntsman and Leo is the Mother(I think). In the end, Isaiah gives Fakasi’i a hiding with his Scuff.

Looking around the Hall again, I see Nane, Latai, Anita and Tiani in the front slouching back.

It’s already lunchtime, time really went by fast.

As a few of you know, my dream career is Travel Agency.

Some people may think, “What is Travel Agency?.” Travel Agency is when you make arrangements for others to go places; such as Italy, France, United Kingdom and maybe even Paris or London.

That’s not the only thing they do, they get to travel all over the world without having to pay a big amount of money.

The company you work for organises your plane ticket, your hotel room, things you can eat & also activities you can do there but I guess all you have to do is just be on time for your flight. It’s pretty similar to tourism but its not.

There’s different types of travel agencies, for example there’s a travel agency company where they do advertisements; or travel agencies that sell things from their company and other things.

The one I’m currently aiming to do is Travel Agency for tourists. Like I said in the beginning, I get to travel all over the world like a tourist.

Why I want to be Travel Agent is because I want to explore the world and see so many things I’ve never seen before. I want to go to every country and try their foods, cultural activities and many more. I want to see the world in a different perspective; and if I don’t become a Travel Agent it would be so dreadful.

My Mum used to be a Travel Agent and she said she loved every single bit of it but she just missed me, my two Brothers and my Dad. It kind of feels like I’m her mini duplicate but there’s a slight difference.

I don’t want to be a Travel Agent just because my Mum was one, I want to be one because my heart desires Travel Agency. It would definitely be egregious if my dream career won’t be a part of my future.

There’s many things I want to accomplish before I leave 8th grade. But there’s this one thing I want to accomplish most and that’s trying my best in everything I do or participate in. Yes I haven’t been to every trial or sign ups this year, and it does matter a whole lot; but to me what counts the most is trying your best no matter the circumstance. Why I want to accomplish that certain thing is because when this year ends, and if I don’t achieve much, I want to have that feeling knowing I gave it my all in everything I took part in during the year; even though I don’t like doing a few things but sadly have to(etc. Cross Country).

BANG!, BANG!, BANG! Once again, another squad win in PUBG, “Was I ever going to lose?”, I thought to myself. I played a little more & got another win. I got bored playing PUBG, so to waste time during the day I went into the Kitchen and had a snack.

After eating, I went back to play PUBG. Suddenly, the phone started to vibrate and my skin felt a slight tingle. Shockingly, my body started to form into dust and I started to go into the phone. 

The sky turned pitch black; which meant I couldn’t see a thing; and then abruptly, I fell onto the ground from the sky. I got up with pain because it felt like I had bungee jumped off the Sky Tower; & dusted all the dirt off myself. I looked around to see where I had stranded, to soon realise I was sucked into the game. 

I knew in order to go back home, I had to survive & win the game to get out of this life or death situation. As I was walking, I saw 3 other figures from a far distance and realised that the 3 figures were my squad members. Their names were John, Jake, & Julius. We walked & walked past forests and trees until we reached a place with a lot of houses; I realised we were at Pochinki; a place on the map in the game. 

We split up and invaded the abandoned houses & found supplies & weapons at each house we invaded; we were loaded & ready to win the whole game.

Swiftly, 2 of our players were shot in the head by another team squad; and were killed in an second. We immediately laid down & hid in the bushes right next to Jake & Julius, who are rapidly bleeding even after they died. Me and John were the only people in our team that were still alive & we still had to terminate the others in order for me to go home. As we were running cautiously, a bullet was coming straight for us; like an asteroid; but miraculously missed; we instantly laid in the tall, dry grass; trying to be in sync. 

We immediately got our guns out and scoped where the bullet descended from & realised it was the same team squad that killed Jake & Julius. They shot back again, & this time they didn’t miss; they shot me in the arm. Rashly, I was in pain & agony; I tried my best to hold in the screams because I didn’t want them to hear us; and soon after that a gush of blood started to run down my injured arm. Instantly, we scoped carefully at our target and fired rapidly; without hesitation; and killed their entire team within seconds. We didn’t realise they were the last squad and we instantly won. 

I had a choice to stay in the game or go home & as much as I wanted to stay in the game; & dominate all the other players, I really missed my family & friends. So I chose to go back home; and there I was, lying on my bed, holding my phone & in the lobby in PUBG; with a new level up and dozens of achievements & medals.

That was how my holiday went, “But was it going to happen again?” I thought to myself.

The Ice Queen quietly whispered a chant as we took a step into her disastrous kingdom; suddenly we felt the ground shake beneath our feet; & unexpectedly saw an avalanche appear and it was coming towards us, like an asteroid. We immediately began to sprint away from the avalanche but it was as if nothing seemed to change; it was coming in faster; like a swinging wrecking ball ready to cause destruction to everything in its way. Horrifically, one of our warriors tripped over a lizard’s enormous skeleton and we all believed that it was over, but then miraculously we…

BOOM!, CLASH!, BANG!, KAPOW!, “This is the second time you guys attempted to rob the bank; when are you guys ever going to stop?”, I asked, demandingly, “WE NEED THE MONEY! BUT YOUR ALWAYS IN THE WAY!”, they shouted back, “that’s because what you are doing isn’t right”, I replied. I tied the robbers to a tree and flew away before the police came along. No one really knows who I am as a hero because I think it’d be best if I kept my identity a secret.

I started saving the city when I was 19. I was driving back home one day from Netball training one night & suddenly saw something glow brightly in the dark as I drove. I stopped the car and pulled over to the side of the road & went to explore the gleaming light. I went closer & closer to the light & as soon as I touched the mysterious radiance I got electrocuted & was completely knocked out. That’s how I got these superior powers. I could fly, and control elemental sources; for example, Water, Fire, Air, & Earth.

I’ve never really went up against anyone or anything challenging, until one day I met someone named Megan; but is known as the ‘Dark Phoenix’. She used to be a superhero but turned into a villain because of a woman influencing her to the dark side; along with her powers.

One day she and her crew went to space to retrieve something and suddenly she got stuck in a wrecked ship and a wave of something dangerous; that can kill anyone or anything; came and shook her. She was supposed to die but instead she absorbed all of the heat-wave and became invincible. Nobody today can stop her, but I intend to beat her.

The city was being torn to pieces, thanks to the Dark Phoenix; and I flew down from the sky; like a bullet; and hit her with all my might but nothing seemed to stop her; it was as if she was unstoppable. Someone then said her weakness was snakes; so I flew to the Zoo to retrieve her true weakness and went to find her.

As soon as I found the Dark Phoenix I held up the slithery, scaly snake and she fainted in an instant second. When she fainted she shattered into dust; I was shocked that she died just like that but I was glad she was gone.

The police came and further investigated the scene and sooner saw that the ashes of the Dark Phoenix was forming into…

There is a teacher who teaches in Sydney, Australia; and is Islamic.

Just last week his car was trashed with loads of rubbish. The car owner & the community was deeply grieved that someone would do such a thing like this.

People knew instantly that the culprit who trashed the Islamic teacher’s car was a person who despised Muslims. Not only did the culprit trash the teacher’s car, but they also wrapped used sanitary pads around the door handles; like isn’t that disgusting?.

People thought that it was very hurtful that a person who was Islamic; had gotten discriminated, simply because of their cultural beliefs.

The police also had a say but they weren’t pressing any charges. This went online and loads of people commented on what recently happened; one after the other.

My thoughts on this article is that it’s really upsetting that something like this happened to someone; especially our Muslim brothers and sisters. We just recently had a mosque shooting in Christchurch; just because they were worshiping their own religion; and that’s simply being racist and I have no other way of putting it. If people keep giving hate to other cultures in the world, and judge them because of their backgrounds, or where they come from, or even their religions; then I don’t really think our world would be a safe place anymore. I mean, even though we all have different cultures and backgrounds; even traditions, or a way of doing things; we all still live in the same world right?

We really need to change how people look at others; overall our society.

Pacing around the room over & over, trying to remember if I had forgotten anything; I immediately rushed out of my front door & into the car, eagerly stimulated to occupy the next few days at my friends residence.

It has been a few weeks since I last saw her, waving goodbye as she drove away to her camping trip. Few weeks went by in a flash & I heard my phone irritatedly ring, it was her; she finally called me.

We finally arrived to her house & it looked the same ever since we were little. I unexpectedly saw her run out of the house, I was immediately filled with joy & happiness when I saw her come to towards me. After quickly being reunited, we went into her house & began the sleepover.

Later on in the evening, I was thirsty so I slowly walked into the kitchen. Finishing a glass of water, I heard a sudden noise coming from the hallway, out of curiosity I went to explore the unilluminated, soundless hallway.

Suddenly as I walked through the daunting hallway; I heard the same noise; this time coming from a room. Swiftly, I realised all those times I’ve visited my best friend’s house; she never had an old rusty door with the sign “ DO NOT ENTER!”.

I couldn’t resist the urge to explore what was awaiting on the other side of the red door because ‘I hadn’t seen the door before. It wasn’t there last night. Cautiously, I turned the handle’. I didn’t realise turning a handle would sooner lead to my demise. As I turned the door knob & took a step inside; I fell into a dark & empty space; that fit my size just right. As I was shouting for help, dirt & soil was rapidly flying on top of me. I sooner realised I was getting buried alive…