Jaclyn Bolis
Hope
This story is about a boy named Peter and a girl named Grace. They lived in a land with many beautiful sights. This land was filled with many and different kinds of powerful magic, but only some of the people in the land were born with powers. Many did not discover their powers until they were older. Like, Arthur the first boy to discover power. Each person in the land—the land of Hope—who were born with powers, had their own different and unique powers. Arthur did have his own powers, but legend says his powers were evil. He wanted to destroy Hope and all of the people in the land. He wanted it all to himself and to whoever would follow him and become evil. He did get close to doing this: he almost fully destroyed what is called the Star of Hope. It is the most precious thing in the land of Hope because it created the land. The sword Arthur used to try and destroy the star is now kept in the building D.O.O.M. This stands for Dangerous Objects One Made. He also went to the same high school as Peter and Grace, when he was their age. Now he is held in the dungeon of the land of Hope, with all the rest of the people that used their powers for evil. Back to Peter who goes to Evergreen High. He had just finished his Freshman year and is not sure about the way Sophomore year will go, but he is hopeful.
It was the first day of Sophomore year; Peter was more nervous than he was last year. This wasn’t because of his classes or still feeling like he was a Freshman. This was because of what happened in gym class last year. Peter walked into his gym class last year, and laid eyes on the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her name was Grace. She had light brown hair, and big blue eyes, and the prettiest smile Peter had ever seen. They were running next to each other, and he was nervous, but he introduced himself. Now Peter is an awkward guy; he is smart and kind, but when it comes to women, let’s just say he doesn’t have a way with words. It was awkward and very embarrassing for Peter, but he did make Grace laugh. They would talk every once in a while after that. Grace, this is why he was nervous. He hoped to get to know her more; he was eager to find out if he had any classes with her. Peter's first day of Sophomore year was typical—a little boring, and a little bit of excitement. What made him happy was having his third and seventh hour with Grace. He didn’t have the guts to talk to her yet—and by that I mean he didn’t talk to her that whole week—but they would both smile at each other. At home, Peter usually stays in his room. He doesn’t talk to his parents often. Only because he is just always in his room reading, studying, or experimenting. What Peter doesn’t know is that he does have powers and that his parents do know about it. Some parents like Peters know about their child's powers, they just hide it from them because they are afraid, and they think hiding it can protect them from using it the wrong way. So Peter’s parents hid his powers from him by taking him to a special doctor in the land who created a way to hide a person's powers but only for a short amount of time.
About a month of school passed by. It’s Tuesday, October 22. After school Peter would find out that he has powers. He went skateboarding where the abandoned buildings of the land were. On that day for some reason, he felt really determined and strong. He wanted to have fun and feel free from everything. Mostly because he is mad at himself for still not talking to Grace yet. With this determination, he felt, heard, and saw all of his surroundings more clearly than ever before. But he didn’t think too much of it. He used that determination to try and go faster while skating, and he moved as fast as light. He was in shock and nervous but also filled with excitement. He kept skating and trying new tricks he had never done before because this power excited him. At one point he was up in the air, but he let go of his skateboard, fell, and broke his arm. He got some cuts from hitting the ground too. Seconds later the pain went away, and his arm was not broken anymore, and the cuts went away. His determination was the thing that brought his powers to light; he would never forget that. Taking the train home he sat and thought about his speed, his heightened senses, and his ability to heal. He was so confused, he asked himself why did he not know about this, aren't people in the land born with their powers—he didn’t realize that there are people like him who have their powers hidden for a short amount of time. He finally got home and he decided to talk to his parents about it.
His parents were so nervous and in shock as well. They knew now they had to reveal the truth. So to put it simply they told him that he was born with powers, but they thought it was safer to hide them for a while. His parents said they wanted to protect him. They did not want him to use his powers for evil—but now they feel like keeping this from him hurt him more than it helped. For a while, he was mad at his parents for keeping this from him, but he got over it. His parents also promised to help him control his powers, and help him use them the right way. They decided to tell him the other thing they were keeping from him.
They told him that Arthur, the first boy to discover power, was related to him. They are cousins. This frightened him a little because his cousin is the person who wants to destroy the land of Hope. He is glad his parents finally told him everything. Peter did not go into his room most of that day. He was outside with his parents learning more about his powers. In the morning, he woke up ready for school, and a little excited, because he felt more confident. He had to remind himself that with all of this power he should not change his personality (he did not want to become cocky). He was not going to let this power take control of him. Which is exactly what Arthur did.
At school, he actually talked to Grace. He was so happy because he missed hearing her voice. What he did not know is that Grace really liked him too. They found out they had a lot in common. Peter asked Grace if she wanted to go out with him one day, and she said yes. They started to talk and hang out more, but mostly at school, and in the land’s park. Peter decided to ask Grace out, but this time he wanted to make it special, so he told her they would go to the park, but he would pick her up.
They started walking, but they were going a different way than the way they take to the park. She was confused, so she asked Peter where they were going, and he smiled and said it’s a surprise. He took her to the top of the land of Hope’s famous bridge to watch the sunset. They talked and laughed for hours. At one moment it was silent. Peter was looking at Grace. It was a happy look; like he was living in a dream. Grace called it the look of love. She called it this because at that moment Peter and Grace said they loved each other at the same time. They were both nervous with butterflies in their stomach, then Peter leaned in and kissed Grace as the sun went down. It was the best but also the worst night of their lives. Walking back, they went on their phones and saw breaking news that Arthur had escaped from the dungeon. Arthur did know about Peter, and for some reason when he escaped he went looking for him. While in the dungeon Arthur stole his documents and read about his parents. He also found out about Peter. Arthur told Peter that they are actually half brothers. His parents hid this from him and from everyone they could in the land. They didn’t want anyone to know because it would make them look bad. Arthur was jealous of Peter, and his life. He grabbed Grace and flew away with her. Peter followed him using his speed. They were in the park, Arthur hid Grace up in a very tall tree. Peter and Arthur were fighting, and Peter was also looking for Grace. He finally found her and ran up the tree. Grace grabbed his hand, but Arthur grabbed Peter and pulled him down to the ground. Grace was falling to the ground. She called out Peter’s name, but he couldn’t get out of Arthurs grip. By the time he got rid of Arthur, Grace had already hit the ground. Peter held her in his arms, whispering her name, and said I love you as the tears from his face fell upon her.
After the funeral, Peter had given up on life. He wasn’t going to school. He stayed in his room lying in bed, doing nothing, but think about how sorry he was, and about how much he loved Grace. Three months later, a letter from Grace's parents was in the mail for him. It was a letter from Grace to him. She wrote it the day before they went out that night. She wrote saying how much she loved him. She knew about his powers, so she also wrote that he needed to promise to never use them for evil, and to instead use it for the good of others. He also needed to promise to never give up no matter what. The thing about Grace that Peter also knew was that she was all about hope. She even wrote about having hope and never giving up. She wrote, what better way is there to live? Now even though it was very hard for Peter to have hope, he looked at this letter every day and made that promise she wanted him to make. He promised to have hope and to live his life filled with it for her.