Coming After You

Blood dripping down his face, falling down to the ground as he stood there. Staring at me. Red drops came streaming from the corners of his mouth. Fresh blood showing he had set his teeth in a living something. Something that might soon be dead.

He turned his head to the side, giving me an examination before taking one step forward. With his hands behind his back he looked at me intensely. I saw his empty eyes going from my neck to my side down to the floor. The grin appearing on the bottom half of his face changed his look. He did not only look dangerous, he looked like a disgusting creature. Except for the few drops of blood that landed on his ripped shirt, his hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks and the stench that came from his presence was like death. He was enjoying this. The anticipation felt good to him.

‘Don’t! Don’t! Don’t!’ Screaming from the corner of the room I had scrammed myself into, I was trying to get him to stop. Begging him to stop as I had been since the first minute I saw him. He took another step forward, coming closer and closer to me. Not giving me any space to move. I was stuck and he was pleased with himself. It was obvious in his eyes, now so bright it was almost like they were glowing.

An excruciating pain shot through my body and I went flying across the room. His hands had grabbed the back of my head and with ease he had thrown me against the wall on the opposite side of the huge room. My head hit the concrete wall and it created a bloodstain the shape of a cloud. More blood came rushing from my veins. If I had the time, I would be wondering about how much blood was lost by now. Liters, probably a third if not half of all my blood I had already lost to him. I was scared for my life and was not sure how much longer I could go without any help.

‘Stop running. You are not going anywhere.’ His voice was scary with an accent so thick I could barely understand what he was saying. ‘Just give up. We both know you cannot out run me.’

I don’t know how I had gotten myself in this situation but it would not be long before my body would shut down. After running for such a long time from something so strong it was bound to give up. 

My head felt as if it was bleeding like a waterfall. My thigh, where he had ripped me open before, did not stop pounding underneath my weakening grip. Not willing to give up, my mind pushed a bit more. I did not have any strength to stand up or move in any kind of way. Because of that, talking was my only option. ‘You don’t want to kill me. This is not what you want to be known for.’

He stopped in his path and clicked with his tongue before turning his head again. ‘See and this is where you are wrong. I do, very much so.’ It was like he smiled for a second but then the evil grin was back on his face. ‘I take it you haven’t seen the posters across town?’ I didn’t know what to say so I kept quiet, hoping he would go on and explain it to me himself. ‘O? You didn’t, did you? That is amazing. Teenagers are so oblivious to their surrounds…’

I tried to swallow my fear but my throat was too dry. Breathing was becoming harder. I wanted him to let me go. I didn’t know what I did, it seemed to be a mistake and now I had him coming after me. ‘What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything wrong to you.’ My eyes were filled with tears as I felt his hand go up my arm and rest on my shoulder. I started shaking heavily and within seconds I was trying to calm myself back down. I felt him rubbing the skin of my neck with his thumb. Knowing what was going to happen I forced myself not to think about it.  

‘On those posters are missing people. People that I have killed. Soon enough your face will be on one of those posters. Soon enough you will just be another one of them...'

Halloween

It was my first time celebrating Halloween. Apparently, here it is a big deal. Everyone dresses up, decorates their house, throws a party or goes trick or treating with little kids. That all, when Halloween is just not a thing back home. I mean yes it is but no. Some people have small decorations, some people go trick or treating, some people give them candy and some kids even go as far as throwing a white sheet over their heads as a costume. In the end, nobody really celebrates the death because that’s all it is right?

So here I was putting my Halloween costume on when I heard something moving in my closet. I turned around to see my friend going through my clothes. ‘What are you doing?’ Ruth looked up for a second but then went back to what she was doing. ‘Trying to find something to wear for tonight.’ I saw her pulling out different items, looking at it for a second and then dropping it. ‘Ho. Hold it right there. I don’t want a mess in here. And you are not going to find anything in there. If you recall, I told you thousands of times, we don’t ‘do’ Halloween and I had to go out and buy my costume.’ She rolled her eyes at me and shook her head. ‘No, you don’t get it. I want to look attractive, there is going to be cute guys there.’ Her ignorance made me sick. It has been like this for weeks and if we were not forced to be friends I would have lashed out on here so many times already. ‘Ruth, no I don’t want you wearing my clothes.'
 

I know it is not nice to say but it is pure honesty. Something she could learn from. She calls me rude and maybe it is but I don’t care. I don’t want anyone to ever think that we are alike. We’re not. I am honest (and rude) while she pretends to be some sort of nice person, calls everybody beautiful or gorgeous and everything looks good on everybody. She is lying. Sure everyone is beautiful to someone but not everybody is beautiful to you being the one person that you are. If someone is wearing something that makes them look hideous you don’t go ahead and tell them they look good. You tell them it does not look good and then advice them to do something else. If you don’t, you are lying. It doesn’t matter who it is or how old they are. Always tell them how it is. When they look back later and realize how stupid they actually looked, they will remember you telling them they looked beautiful when they obviously didn’t. They will remember how you told them time and time again they looked good; they will start to doubt you. Were you ever honest at all? When did they actually look good, if they did at any point?

I get that people might think I am rude by saying this. Everyone has their own taste and all but if your face looks like a canvas painting because your makeup makes you look like a deformed Barbie doll then nobody will argue with that. So don’t tell someone with a canvas painting-like face they look good. You are lying and you know it. That is not a case of difference in taste. That is case of ‘one of the two is just as stupid as the deformed Barbie doll’.

Remind yourself, there is a difference between looking beautiful and being beautiful. Chose your words wisely. I am saying you should not tell everyone they look beautiful, like Ruth does.

Like I said, everyone is beautiful to someone. That is true. Actually, in your life you will be truly beautiful to tens of people. Maybe even more than hundred, thinking you won’t end up being a polished public figure.

So don't forget: you are beautiful, you just might not look like it.

Music Lyrics

I never hit so hard in love.

In the torn up town, no postcode envy.

All I wanted was to break your walls.

In a tidal wave of mystery.

And now, you're not coming down.

I came in like a wrecking ball.

I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies.

We clawed, we chained, our hearts in vain.

Even if we're six feet underground.

I will always want you.

Music In My Ears: Ask A Teacher About Music

What music or songs reminds you of your childhood?

Miss Orman: anything from the 80's.
Me: K3, a Belgium group with three girls.


Who is your favorite singer or group or song and why?

Mr Griffin: Learning How To Fly - Tom Petty
Me: Miley Cyrus, One Direction, Little Mix, Demi Lovato.

What music reminds you of someone you love? Your child? Spouse? Parents?

Miss Orman: Lennard Cohen, jazz music and Miles Davis
Me: Annie Lennox reminds me of my mom because she loves her.




Do you go to concerts? Which concerts are memorable to you? Why?

Miss Orman: whenever she can go, she wants to go to see Bruce Springteen.
Me: Yes I love going. I loved seeing Annie Lennox in London when I was not even ten years old with my mom. One Direction was my favorite, in both London and Amsterdam!

Which music or atist was 'controversial' or 'offensive' to some when you were growing up? Is any offensive to you now?

Mr Griffin: Eminem was seen as offensive but nowadays nothing is offensive to him.
Me: Lil Wayne. Just no.

Which music or artist do you really dislike or refuse to listen to?

Mr. Griffin: Justin Bieber. Why? 'Because I am not a little teenage girl.'
Me: Lil Wayne. Your IQ goes down by listening to that guy.

Six-Word Memoirs

A foreign exchange student from Holland.

Born, lived, died. All for you.

Shoot first, think later. - Chicago, Illinois.

Trevor: pizza lover and friends maker.

Jaden: my sister and best friend.

Baby you light up my world.

It's a party in the USA.

When am I gonna marry Harry?

Through My Window

Straight ahead I see a road with trees on the other side,
To my left I see our front porch.
There are two deer there, eating grass.
I have always heard of the deer being out there, I just have never seen them before.
The leaves, just fallen off the trees, on the ground seem interesting to them.
The look like mother and child, maybe, somewhere further away, the father is looking out for them.

Black Out

Because I was ill the day the class actually did the assignment, I don't have the book pages but I used an internet news article instead. In this article the reporter writes about new baby names. In here I blacked out every word that was not a name.


New Baby Names For 2013: The Newest Ideas On Nameberry

Written by Pamela Redmond Satran for Nameberry

 

Think there are no new names? Think again. Among the newest of the 50,000 baby names in Nameberry's database are ancient religious names ripe for modern revival, fresh nicknames for old favorites, and nature, word, and surnames transformed into firsts. One may be right for your 2013 baby.

Bellamy: The up-and-coming Bellamy is a surname-y riff on the trendy Bella genre of names. While the Bella connection makes Bellamy feel more popular than it really is -– there were only 53 girls named Bellamy in the most recent year counted, vs. nearly 20,000 named Isabella -– we see it rising through the ranks in the coming year.

Bizzy and Zibby: Elizabeth is a name that keeps on giving, maintaining her centuries-long usability while inspiring new nicknames for each generation. Our two newest: Bizzy and Zibby, both fresh, adorable, right for our fast-paced times.

Chrysanthemum: This rare flower name is a symbol of the sun in Japan. The heroine of a children's book called Chysanthemum by writer and illustrator, Kevin Henkes, loves her distinctive flower name until classmates tease her about it, making it an excellent storybook choices for any child with an unusual name.

Elowen: Elowen is a Cornish nature name that means "elm," a relatively new entry to the lexicon thanks to the revival of the Cornish language. Two other Cornish names new to Nameberry are the saints’ names Keverne for boys and Merrin for girls.

Eos: Eos -- pronounced with a long e at the beginning and two syllables -- is the Greek corollary of Aurora, goddess of the dawn. This ancient name with a sleek, modern feel might be an innovative way to honor grandma Dawn.

Eyre: This lovely name -- the Old Norse surname Eyre sounds just like air -- is best-known as the surname of eponymous Bronte heroine Jane, and would make an appealing and distinctive middle name for the daughter or son of fans of that book.

Hallam: British surname Hallam was used as a first by the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who named his son after his dear friend Arthur Henry Hallam. Tennyson, whose own surname was used as a first for his son by Russell Crowe, wrote one of his greatest poems for Hallam.

Kilala: Sanskrit name Kilala, which means "ambosia," comes to our attention via the princess heroine of a manga series. Kilala is a fresh way to get to the stylish double-L sound also heard in Lily, Lola and Delilah. Indian place name Kerala is another new entry on Nameberry.

Maro: Maro, an ancient saint's name as well as a Japanese name meaning myself, is given to a figure who rings the bell in the European city of Dubrovnik. The name Maro may stem from the Roman Marcellus, related to Mars, the god of war, or it may be a feminine form of Maria, connected with Mario.

Mazarine: The charming French Mazarine is a color name also used for a butterfly that bears the deep blue hue. It was originally used as a first name in honor of Cardinal Mazarin, a leader of France in the 17th century.

Senara: Senara is the name of a saint who also figures in a mermaid myth. The church of St. Senara in Cornwall houses the mermaid chair made famous in the novel by Sue Monk Kidd. The name Senara is related to the Breton name Azenor, itself a variation of Eleanor and Helen meaning “bright.”

Spartacus: Spartacus is the famous name of an ancient Roman slave -- and star of his own eponymous TV series! -- who led a slave revolt and became a renowned gladiator, only to die in the ring. Not considered baby-appropriate for centuries, Spartacus just might rise again along with the names of his fellow gladiators.

Tupelo: Author Tupelo Hassman turned this name of a Mississippi town, best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, into a contemporary first name. Tupelo might also be considered a nature name, as it’s the name of a southern tree with soft, light wood.

Whimsy: Whimsy is a, yes, whimsical word name, sibling to Pixie and Bliss. While it has an undeniable offbeat English aristocratic charm (maybe we're thinking of Dorothy Sayers' fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey, whose middle name was Death?), we see this as more fitting for a middle than a first name