"…War is... a contest carried on by force of arms, as in a series of battles or campaigns… George Washington once said, 'My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.' War is in fact a plague, and only those deemed the strongest will survive. It is a mere contest to see who will come out on top. In war, there are no lives lost, just pawns that have been removed from the game. As stated by John Adams, 'Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak...' The weak, the strong… How could any human possibly label another as such? The enemy has family and friends, just like every person, just like you. Killing an enemy gives you at least five more. Now your enemy's loved ones will come after you and kill you. This hate will spread, causing your loved ones to attack back. So now, you and your enemy are dead, that's two. Your loved ones succeed in killing your enemy's, that's seven dead. Five loved ones for each of your enemies… Twenty-five attack your five, twelve dead. Twenty-five kill the other, thirty-seven dead… 125 people filled with hate now. It will never end. So what exactly does war solve? I would like to share one more quote, by Benjamin Franklin: 'I hope...that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats…' I think that speaks for itself. Thank you."
I bowed as everyone clapped. "Wonderful job as always, Ana..." Mr. Tomas replied in response to my speech. I smiled and walked up to his desk to receive my grade. I hated history class and had no interest in anything he rambled on about. I hated this city and everything it stood for: military life. He handed me a piece of paper and I examined it. 'Anastasia... Views on war assessment... 100%...' I took my seat as another student headed to the front and began their speech.
Mr. Tomas set the timer. It was a painful five minutes of watching the boy stand there stuttering. I felt embarrassed for him. It wasn't until the second minute that I gave up trying to bear it and resorted to resting my head on the desk. I lifted my head when I heard Mr. Tomas speak, "Um, yes, thank you Benson... It was a nice… attempt." The bell rang. I got up as everyone started packing their things. I don't know why but I always liked the sound of backpacks being unzipped, binder being shut and pencils sliding off the desk as people tried to hurry.
"ANA! HURRY UP! IT'S LUNCH!" I heard my friend, Andrew, shout from the door. He was always fussy about lunch time and was impatient when it came to standing in line. I don't know how he continues to remain healthy and thin with all the food he consumes.
"I'm coming." I responded to buy myself a few more seconds. I picked up my bag and we headed out, him dragging me through the halls.
I ate my food slowly as he plowed through his meal. I scowled at him and slapped the fork out of his hand, "Slow down, will you? You're going to choke one day!"
He stared at me with crumbs scattered all over his face, "Hey Ana… Did you hear about the lunar eclipse coming up?"
Every time he gets in trouble he changes the subject... I sighed, "I have. It's two days from now."
He groaned, "Why can't you just say it's Saturday?"
I picked up my tray as I stood up and he followed me to the trash can, "Why can't I say it my way? It's still true."
He shrugged his shoulders, "Ah, well… whatever. Hey Ana, you're smart… How come lunar eclipses only happen twice a year?"
It took me by surprise at first. Andrew doesn't like it when I speak with complicated words so I tried to think of a way to word it. "Well… The Moon orbits the Earth and the Earth orbits the Sun. The Moon doesn't orbit the Earth horizontally… It's more diagonal… So it only lines up perfectly with the Earth and Sun twice a year. Does that make sense?"
Andrew chewed on a stick that once held his corn dog and looked at me lazily, "Eh… A little..." I face palmed and walked away to get the rest of the school day over with.
I hated this city and everything it stood for. I especially hated the weather… I walked home bearing the heat on my skin and soon arrived to my front door.
"Hey Black, have you been a good boy?" I bent down to pet him as he let out a meow. I didn't like the idea of letting him be an outdoor cat due to the fear he'd run away but sure enough, he always came back. I opened the door and he charged inside to hide from the sun's dreadful heat. I placed my bag on the floor and removed my shoes. No one was home. I figured they were out working late. "What to do…" I thought for a moment and decided to eat something small before starting my homework.
I lived in a two-story house. It wasn't too big or too small, just three rooms. The one down stairs was the master room where my parents slept and I was upstairs. The extra room had some other of my belongings. Hobbies I should say… I had a small desk which held a scrap-book filled with photos of my life, a shelf filled with notebooks used for writing random notes about anything really. In a small drawer in the desk, I had envelopes and beautiful stationery used for letters. I only opened the drawer when it was someone's birthday or on a special day.
I headed upstairs and pulled out a photo from my jacket pocket I took in the morning with Andrew. "Maybe I should be more careful with where I leave my photos…" I stared at the torn corner. It wasn't too bad… It was right when the bell rang and as always, Andrew dragged me to class so I didn't have time to place it in my bag. I set it on my desk and headed into my room.
Around 9PM I heard the front door open. Not much happened though. It was both of my parents. I heard some noise in the kitchen and soon heard their door shut. They didn't really pay too much attention to me. I could be kidnapped, murdered and they wouldn't have the slightest clue.
