In January, my Language Arts class started a sci-fi book called The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera. It’s about a girl who travels to a different planet with many other people because Haley’s was about to hit Earth and they all had to evacuate.
In March, we made what we imagined our ideal world be as “planet books”. A local artist named Peg Gignoux helped us make our books. While we made our books, we also started writing a story about our ideal world which would eventually go in our books.
Here are some photos of my Ideal World book:
Here is my story:
When I land on the planet, I look around to see that I have landed in a thick forest with thousands of plants. I notice that I can’t find any of my family members or the ship, but for some reason, I’m not scared. Something about this forest makes me feel calm, peaceful even. I walk through the forest for a bit before seeing what appears to be a sea. As I walk farther, curiosity starts pumping through my veins. When I arrive at the island’s shore, I realize it’s not a sea but a massive ocean with many islands. Suddenly, I hear something rustle behind me. I turn around to then notice a small, simple boat.
After I pace back and forth for what feels like a century, wondering what to do, I decide to hop onto it. Sadly, my little hop on the boat results in a face plant to the bottom of it. Once I stabilize myself, I give myself time to take in the view. I look down at the crystal clear water as it gently laps on the shores behind me. A warm breeze brushes against my face as I notice the white, puffy clouds in the sky. Gazing at the bright blue sky, I’m filled with wonder as to how this place could be so beautiful. As I admire the planet’s beauty, I slip and fall on my butt as an abrupt gust of wind starts to carry me toward the largest of the land masses.
I am jolted to the front of the boat as it hits the island’s shore. I look up to see many large buildings. I walk toward one of the buildings before seeing a teenager sitting on a bench. The teenager looks about 6 feet tall, 16 years old, with short hair and baggy clothes. He gets up and starts walking toward me. “Hey, Maya! I’ve been looking for you! Where have you been?” He says in a sort of low voice. I become paralyzed. Why does this weird dude know my name? Is he going to kidnap me?!
I think he notices my discomfort because his face softens, and he starts talking in a calmer voice. “Sorry, I got a little excited. Welcome to Andamaina Graham. By the way, my name is Jake, and I’m your tour guide.” Andamaina Graham. That’s pretty.
“Hi Jake,” I say. I stick out my hand for a handshake but then quickly pull away. He smiles and starts leading me to the city. I start to feel goosebumps everywhere. What is happening? Why am I acting like this? Do I have a crush on him? I just met him! I think for a second, then realize, Dang it! Now it’s like in Frozen, where I’m Anna, and he’s Hans, except he’s not evil. Why is this happening to me?!
Suddenly, my train of thought is interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing. I smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked pastries wafting from a corner shop to my left. Pastries were displayed inside the windows, and they all look so good! My stomach starts to growl and I realize I haven’t eaten since I landed. Jake follows my gaze and chuckles. “Are you hungry?” he says. “Come on, let’s go get some food.” I start to get butterflies in my stomach. No, I can not have a crush on him. It’s too early! Plus, he’s older than me! (I think)… Maybe later, I can have a crush on him, but not now. With that thought in mind, I decided to save this subject for another time and walk into the shop.
Ding-a-ling. The smell of freshly baked éclairs fills my nostrils as I walk through the door. The woman at the desk greets us and asks what we want. Jake orders one croissant while I, on the other hand order five croissants. We sat down and talked a bit while we ate our croissants. A little while later, Jake says, “A really cool history museum is nearby. Do you want to go?”
“Sure!” I say. Afterward, I scarfed down my food, eager to visit the museum.
As we near the museum, I notice all the houses lining the street. They all look the same, yet they are unique. They all have similar structures but are decorated differently. One has lots of plants, while another has lots of birdhouses. I look around to see all the other houses, only to be yanked by an arm and my nose skimmed by a tree. “Sorry, you were about to walk into the tree,” said Jake.
Walk into a tree? Are you serious?! (Faceplant) That is so embarrassing! “Oops,” I say, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” he replies. When we enter the frankly ENORMOUS museum, I notice thousands upon thousands of statues. Jake says, “These are moments in history.”
“Waaaaait a minute, you’re saying this economy has existed for thousands of years?” I say, utterly baffled. Jake laughs aloud at my reaction.
“You got it!” “
What?! But…but I thought we were among the first generations to live here!” “Nope!”
“Wow, I had no idea!”
“Yeah, and you know what’s really cool?” Jake says.
“What?”
“The names on the statues are actually buttons, and if you press one, a room opens in the pillar that the statue is on.” He pauses, “Annnd then, inside the pillar, there is a room full of pictures, objects, articles, and stories about who that person was, what they did, and what they used or invented, if anything.” At this point, my mouth is ajar.
“What?! Really?!?!”
“Yep!” Jake replies, “That’s also the reason why this museum is so big!” “Wowwww,” I say with my mouth so wide open I bet I could swallow a school bus whole. (Not really, but it was really big.) By the end of the afternoon, I learned almost everything about 45 different important people. Needless to say, I am proud of myself because I was never a history person, but now I am.
Jake and I went for dinner at Papa’s Pizzeria, a local restaurant. I was completely shocked when I heard that they had pizzas here on Andamaina Graham. “Can we go, please?” was my first reaction. “Sorry, I’m just hungry. Five croissants only lasts so long.” I let out a little laugh.
“Sure!” Jake replies.
“Yay!” I say. “Pizza, here we come!”
We arrive at the Pizzeria, and it is surprisingly quiet. There are only about three other people besides Jake and me. We walk up to the counter and start to order our pizza. Jake orders a margarita pizza, while I order a cheese and pesto pizza. We walk outside to find a place to sit when Jake gets a good idea.
“Do you want to eat our pizzas at a nearby lake?” he asks. “There are plenty of tables and benches there.”
“Why not?” I say cheerfully.
“Great!” he says. “Let’s go!”
We get to the lake’s shore about 20 minutes later, and I’m already more than halfway through my pizza. We sit on a bench and watch the water ripple beneath the sunset. For a while, we didn’t say a single word. We just enjoyed the planet’s beauty in silence. After enjoying the view for a bit after we finished our meal, Jake got up. “It’s getting kind of late.” he shows me his watch.
“Oh my gosh, 10:30 pm already?!” I say.
“Yep. Do you want me to show you where you will be sleeping?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“No problem.”
We walk for about half a mile before stopping at a navy blue house with a gray roof, dark brown door, green grass, and two trees on the front lawn.
“Is this my house?”
“Yep. Here are the keys,” Jake says. “Your family should be in there, though I bet they’re asleep.”
“Wow! This house is so pretty!” I pause. “Wait, where do you live?” I ask.
“Oh! Yeah! I live a few houses down with my dad, mom, brother, and sister.”
“That’s cool!” I say before I add, “And thanks for showing me around today!” You’re welcome!” he says. There’s still more that I can show you. I’ll pick you up to go to one of the largest gardens here at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, see you then! Good night, Jake!”
“Sweet dreams, Maya!” With that, he slowly started walking off into the distance.
I unlock the door with the keys and quietly walk into the house. My mom is on the couch doing work stuff.
“Hi, Mom!” I whisper.
“Hi, sweetie!” She whispers back. “How was your day?”
“It was great!” I said. I looked at her computer screen and noticed the time: 11:45 p.m. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning because I need to get to bed.”
“Can’t wait!” she says. “Good night, sweetie! Love you!”
“Love you too, Mom!” I say.
I walk up the stairs to see a long hallway with doors on the side. Thankfully, my Mom labeled each room saying “guest room” or “Meena’s room.” As I walk down the hallway, my dad and sister’s heavy breathing fills every corner. At the end of the hallway is a room labeled “Maya’s room.” I open the door to see a simple, comfy-looking bed with boxes, suitcases of clothes, and other belongings on the side. After some “digging,” I finally found my pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, and face wash. I walk across the hall to the room labeled “bathroom” and start to get ready for bed. The entire time I was getting ready, I thought about everything I had learned and enjoyed the day. I was so grateful for this beautiful planet and excited to discover more about it. At 12:00 am, I crawled into my soft bed and drifted off to sleep, exhausted but excited for what tomorrow may have to bring.
