Zoe Leung • Jacob Luckenbaugh • Isabel Goshi • Emmanuella Chung • Samuel Ng • Elizabeth Lei • Sarah Weindelmayer • Jericho Church • Hope Hoskins • Anise Kim • Emma Daigle • Mercy Wideman • Christi Liu • Lily Tang • Sydney Gesler
Pushing her cart down the narrow aisle at Goodwill, Ava’s eyes landed on a smooth silver cube that didn’t blend in with the battered knick-knacks around it. She picked it up and rubbed the shiny surface with her sleeve (C. Pisani). It didn’t seem particularly useful—though it carried a mirror-like sheen—but it cost only seventy-seven cents, so how could Ava resist? (Z. Leung) With a shrug, she dropped it in her cart already full of random things and continued down the aisle in search of treasure. (H. Hoskins) As quickly as possible, she collected everything remaining on her list and proceeded to the checkout to pay. (S. Gesler) While Ava wouldn’t call herself the superstitious sort, it was the Ides of March, and her cat’s name was Bruce. (E. Chung) The woman at the checkout counter gave Ava a quizzical look and glanced, snickering slightly, at a fellow cashier when she saw Ava’s strange items (J. Church).
As Ava shoved the silver cube deeper into her shopping bag, cheeks flushed, she felt sand coat her fingers, and she staggered backwards at the sudden sound of crowds chanting in a foreign language (Z. Leung). Confused, she spun around, trying to pinpoint the sound. As the cheering grew to a crescendo, she knelt, shutting her eyes and covering her ears in vain (I. Goshi). She felt someone or something jostling her on all sides, and she began to panic and tripped (H. Hoskins). Her heart pounding in her chest, she dug through her shopping bag to find the once silver cube had completely disintegrated into a pile of sand (S. Gesler). Ava racked her brain, trying to remember the words of the odd stranger she had met the day before, who had warned her of an ominous event to come (J. Church). Had the stranger warned her about the dangers of communism or daggers in the colosseum? The latter seemed more likely, as the scenery around her changed to a large, crowded arena (I. Goshi). Amidst the roar of the crowd, Ava realized with a sinking feeling of dread that she lay in the center of the ring, the ground beneath her coated with sand. But wait–this was no ordinary arena (E. Lei).
The crowd suddenly quieted, and she craned her neck along with them to find a small man with a bullhorn in the top box of the stadium. He pointed straight to her and gave a frightening command: “Perform!” (C. Pisani) The last time Ava had performed anything was her middle school cover of Let It Go, and that had been for an audience of doting parents and encouraging teachers–which the bloodthirsty onlookers here were decidedly not (A. Kim). However, her brain short-circuited, causing her to begin a very off-key rendition of the Disney song, much to the dismay of the gladiator who had just entered the arena(I. Goshi). Yet something…magical began to happen, as the crowd’s cheers for her gruesome death turned into hushed murmurs of admiration–could this be the unifying power of song (A. Kim)? Slightly encouraged, Ava jumped into the second verse, backing away from the man as she tried to convince herself that distance really did make everything small.
Then the gladiator lunged (Z. Leung). Ava’s voice throttled into a scream, the lines “No rules for me, I’m free!” coming out as more of a hysterical shriek than intelligible words (S. Weindelmayer). She started to run in the opposite direction as she made an escape plan, utilizing the remaining energy she had left (S. Gesler). As she sprinted toward the tunnel exit, the crowd’s cheers of support grew louder– that was, until her foot slipped on the sandy floor (E. Lei). Ava’s head crashed onto the ground, and she held out her hands to defend herself from the blow– only for a gray blur to knock the gladiator’s blade away. Could that be Bruce? (E. Chung).
As the gray blur defended her, Ava came to the conclusion that indeed, it was Bruce. However, his shape was significantly distorted and barely recognizable, with the silver cube stuck to his collar. What could the cube possibly have done to her beloved cat? (L. Tang) Feeling quite overwhelmed, Ava managed to ask between her blubbering, “Bruce, what happened to you? Why are you so…blobby? And h-how do we get back home? I just wasn’t born to be a performer or a gladiator!” (A. Kim). Bruce, who had shifted into a fully developed and muscled man, Ava realized, ran toward her, knelt, and held her face in his hands. Staring deep enough into her eyes that Ava felt as though he could glimpse her soul, Bruce responded in a deep, sonorous voice, “Meow.” (I. Goshi).
this is super funny! good job guys! 🙂
This story is hilarious! gj!
I love that our story is simply titled bruce. because, at the end of the day, it’s really all just bruce. live laugh love bruce.
May Bruce live on forevermore
Bruce fan club
I LOVE THIS HAHAHAH
super funny
That last line tho 🤣
It was sooo funny love the last line! 😹😹
Nice Job!
Awesome!