TOGAzine
Welcome to the online home page of TOGAzine, Gleason Public Library's literary magazine for teens, by teens!
Under the leadership of editor and former Carlisle School and CCHS student Carrie Abend, the TOGAzine project launched in June 2008. A print copy of the zine, which contains the submissions found on this webpage as well as information about teen services at Gleason, can be found (for free!) in the library. Pick up your copy today!
All fifth through eighth grade students are strongly encouraged to submit their creative, original works of fiction, poetry, art, and photography for inclusion on this page.
All entries can be submitted to the teen librarian at cmalik@mvlc.org.
Latest Submission:
The Beach
By Anagha Chandra
The salty breeze makes my hair go flying,
seagulls soaring above,
fighting for food.
Splashes of water dampen my clothes,
while the tide of the water
drenches my feet.
Sandcastles being made,
people relaxing,
knowing that the beach is the perfect place
to spend a day like today.
Writing
House of an Unknown Mystery, by Anagha Chandra
Getting Luna!, by Connor Melvin
House of an Unknown Mystery
By Anagha Chandra
The stars in front of me twinkled in the moonlight, like little fireflies calling for each other. The owls hooted, as the wind whispered in my ear. I gazed at the vast land that my father owned. The valleys and the hills were spread out, as if they had their own personal bubbles. This was my life. This was my home. Not literally though; my family and I – which consisted of my two brothers, mother, father and me – had a nice little home made of wood. But there was something about this perfect place, that wasn't so perfect. That something was a ghost. You might be thinking that I, a 10-year old girl, was telling lies. That's what my family thought when I said that. My brothers had teased me about it many times. They would come into my room with blankets on, in the middle of the night, and say "ooooooohhhhhhh!" My dad had acted the weirdest though. He kept trying to tell me to get that thought out of my head right that instant. And he kept having this frantic look on his face. I wasn't going to give up on finding a ghost because of my family. I had to stay head strong, in order to prove that there was a ghost.
I knew the past of my house. Before we lived here a lady named Mary Reed lived here. She was an old widow. But one day she had been in the attic and something happened. She never came out. People had searched the attic and the house top to bottom, but they found nothing. Not even a clue to where she went. To this day know one knows where she went. Sounds like those scary stories you read in books, right? But it's all true. You must be wondering why our family ever moved into this scary house. Well, anyway, there was only one way to find this ghost: go to the attic. I was scared out of my wits, but I also was really excited. The only person in my family that had been in the attic was my dad. He only went up there to put boxes away, but he usually took a really long time. Tomorrow my parents had to go somewhere together, so my brothers had to take care of me. What could be worse than two fifteen year old twins taking care of me? But I didn't care because they would probably be playing their X-box. I couldn't wait.
I spent so long waiting and waiting. Finally my parents went away and I got to work. I grabbed a flashlight and stuffed a donut in my mouth. Then I grabbed some Hershey kisses and packed them in my pocket. I was ready. I pulled down the ladder to the attic and slowly climbed up. I set on foot on the ground, then another. I peered around the room. Then something caught my eye. It was a picture. I studied it. It looked like a girl. I had the weirdest feeling it was a painting of Mary Reed. I lifted it up to put near the stairs but then I saw something. It was a lever. I placed the painting on a stack of dusty boxes. I cautiously placed my hand on the lever and pulled back. I heard a creaking noise and stepped back. Then something in the floor gave a little pop, and a trap door burst open. I stared at it. Then I noticed a piece of paper stuck to the door. It said one word, the kind of scary word that can influence a person in a blink of an eye. Beware. That didn't scare me though. I walked down the flight of stairs until I reached the end. I looked around. There were cobwebs and dust covering everything in the room. There was a couch and a reading lamp next to it. Then in front of it was a TV. There was a bed. Also stove and cabinets full of stale food. It was as if someone had been here before, but a long time ago. Then I spotted a dairy on the bedside table. I opened it. The last entry was in 1986. It said:
Dear Diary,
I don't feel so secure about this house. It gives me the creeps. I think it's haunted. So I guess that's why I decided to stay in this secret place I found in the attic. I hope to stay here as long as I can, because I'm pretty sure a ghost can't find me here.
Bye for now,
Mary Reed
Upstairs I heard someone call my name. I walked upstairs. All along I had thought Mary was the ghost. Maybe there were two ghosts. I would find out someday. When I walked up to the attic I tripped on something. It was a bell. I rang it. Just then I saw a ghostly figure, and I heard a voice.
"Hello Samantha" the voice said. "I believe you've been looking for me."
Getting Luna!
By Connor Melvin
"A dog? We're getting a dog? Really?"
That's how it all started. It all began on July 16th, 2007. My mom, my sister McKenzie and I drove to Duxbury to get my dog, Luna. Luna is a Labradoodle. We had been to visit her a couple of times before. When we got there we saw her parents, Pearl and Sully, and her brothers and sisters. While my mom talked with the breeder, my sister and I played with the puppies. Then it was time to get back in the car for an exciting first trip home for Luna. As you may have guessed, dogs get very excited, very easily. So that's why the car ride home would be very exciting. As we learned later, some dogs can't "hold in" their excitement, but I'm not about to talk about that! When we got home, thankfully she hadn't gotten too excited throughout the car ride.
At that time, Luna had a lot of fur that made her look cute to my mom and my sisters. Later, she got shaved because she got knots in her fur. After that, mom made her wear a coat that she didn't like and we thought made her look ugly and a little like a Grandma! But if she didn't, she would get a cold and that could be bad for a puppy like her. Now she has a little more fur, but not a lot.
We have realized over the last few months that she has an obsession for peanut butter, so when my mom uses peanut butter she always gives Luna a lick off the knife when she is done with it. Luna has been taken to a lot of places, like Vermont, Maine and Nantucket, and she has met dogs like the neighbor's dog, my cousin's dog and many more. She no longer gets nervous but she still gets excited very easily. She just turned 1 year old because she was born around Mothers Day in May. Luna has changed my life a lot. She needs to be taken care of. She's funny, even when she's kind of bad. But mostly it's just nice to just sit down with her at the end of the day. She's always happy to see me no matter what.
This story is dedicated to Luna.
|
