It was late at night in a suburban Florida town. A 12-year old boy was sitting at his desk in one of the many houses that lined the neighborhood. His journal was illuminated by the lamp's light. There, he reached into a small bin, got out a bright yellow pencil, and began to write.
NAME: SAMUEL MILLER
AGE: 12
DATE: 11/25/17
So, I guess I should start talking about how my day's been going. I'm still getting bullied for being a "nerd". Apparently, having glasses makes you a nerd, even though I'm just an average kid. But, some people do understand the crap I'm going through. It's a pretty small friend group, but I'm part of it. Anyways, it seemed like people today were in a better mood, probably because Christmas is only a month away. I got through the day without being bullied, which is surprising. You'd think this would make it a good day, but at lunch today, one of my friends, Leah, told me something pretty scary.
Leah, like me, is also a social outcast, because she's a quiet girl. The reason I didn't know until today. Apparently, her mother left her grandma to marry her father. But when Leah was an infant, her parents died in a car crash, and custody of her was transferred over to her grandma. So her grandma abuses her and doesn't let her do anything because she thinks she has the blood of her mother and will one day abandon her.
I was shocked, to say the least. So that's why she was always quiet: both at school and at home, it was a nightmare for her. She says she's tried to call a Child Abuse hotline, but her grandma gave her extreme punishments for that. I'm planning to come over to her house and see how bad her grandma really is. Well, if I can pull off a lie to get into her house.
So, I guess that's all I need to write today. Goodbye.
Little did Samuel know that next year, his town would be shook by an epidemic.