Welcome to Fork in Story Road!

We’ve come to a fork in story road. Which way do you go? In this class, we get to co-create a story. I will begin it, and your input will determine which way it goes. Should Kerry eat the worms? Or put them in Jenny’s lunch? Should Gracie open the secret hatch? Or walk away? The decision is in your hands. Choose wisely!

Email your story ideas to skeezell@gmail.com and tune in next Monday to see what happens next!

Week 5: Blue Sky and Great Cloud

Cannonballs rained from above. Great Cloud, the pirate of the heavens, had once again stormed the skies and hung black flags that cracked like thunder in the wind. He swung his fist of wind mightily across the land, sweeping up trees and tearing off roofs. He blinded the world, stabbing it with his sharp sword of light. He upset all that had struggled to put down roots.

Madeline sat beneath a tree, wondering when this war would end. It seemed so silly to her. Such conflict, such bellowing of bellies wreaking havoc in the stratosphere. First Great Cloud would march over the lands, casting his shadow overall. Then Blue Sky would tear down this veil, and expose the muddy earth to the sun's searing rays. Blue Sky's cruelty was more subtle than the monstrous Great Cloud, one soundlessly shriveling up the soil, the other lambasting it with his lurid lamentations.

Madeline saw no sense in it. Yet, they shaped her world. When Great Cloud threw down a barricade of water, she could not go out to play. His bloated black belly scrapped the ground and shook the world, sending deafening screech in all directions like the sound of the bare rims of a train squealing along on metal tracks. Nor could she gather her thoughts when this warlord yielded to the burning sun of Blue Sky, the fire that dried up the soil, the air, her lips, the well of her mind. The orange orb that rent open cracks in the earth as the depths struggled to breathe, opening all their pores in order to suck in every drop of moisture. Then this searing star's gaze would again be obscured by a swift sweep of cumulus clouds, and these pores would fill and overflow with muddy brown torrents of water before they had a chance to close.

Madeline could not see the sense of such extremes. One day, she decided to talk to the two sides. She stood up tall, took a big breath into her belly, and proclaimed, "Hey, Blue Sky and Great Cloud, listen up." She heard her voice echo in the great expanse of the space above her. "I don't think you should fight anymore." She continued, frowning, contracting her brows. "You, Blue Sky, only cause the earth to be thirsty and her skin to crack, and you, Great Cloud, give too much water too quickly, and so the earth drowns. I want you to get along." She paused for a moment and put her finger to her nose, a gesture of habit she has when deep in thought. "Blue Sky, be less intense and share the heavens with Great Cloud. Great Cloud, don't be so temperamental. Pour down slowly, and gently, so the earth can absorb your water without choking. OK? Do you hear me?" Madeline demanded.

Blue sky and Great Cloud struggled not to listen. But Madeline had such a powerful voice, and the wind carried it along to the ears of these two vast forces. So they came together and discussed.

Blue Sky thought that Great Cloud was the one who should be in trouble. He caused floods, mudslides, savage gales, and churned up the seas and lands. People liked Blue Sky - he was much more gentle. But Great Cloud had the opposite feeling. He gave water to the thirsty, allowed plants to grow and thrive, bolstered rivers to run strong and free. Blue Sky caused much desperation. Without Great Cloud, plants and animals withered, and the earth turned to dust without rain.

The two could not come to an agreement. They only became more infuriated with each other. Blue Sky beat his heat down upon the earth more fiercely than ever, drying up the lands, and sending critters scurrying for shade. Great Cloud bashed the air with thunder and branded it with bolts of lightning. He hurled huge balls of water down against the land, causing monumental monoliths of steam to explode upwards as his frigid rains burst on the scorched earth. They battled through the day and well into the night, burning and cooling, parching and flooding, until, after three days of wrestling through the heavens, Blue Sky gazed with all the vehemence he could muster into the heart of Great Cloud, and Great Cloud catapulted forth with all his strength a colossal column of water into the heart of the fire of Blue Sky.

Madeline, watching these two forces collide, witnessed a tremendous stream of light spring forth from the spot where they collided - a luminous rainbow radiating into the four corners of the earth. Blue Sky and Great Cloud were held captivated. For a moment, they forgot their anger, forgot their battle, forget everything as awe flooded their spirits. The world was still, struck dumb. Only the vast arch of color shone almost audibly, buzzing by everyone and everything in vibrant red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

From that day on, Blue sky and the Great Cloud promised Madeline they would fight no longer. They shared the sky, raining and shining equally. When they did quarrel, Rainbow leaped forth into the heavens and down to the earth, reminding them of their promise to Madeline.

What other adventures did Madeline have? What happened when she dug down into the earth and met Worm? Or Lava? Send your ideas to skeezell@gmail.com and I’ll add to them!

Week 4: Julianne and Pumpernickle

Julianne was a mouse

who lived beneath a house

she had a friend named Pumpernickle

who was obsessed with eating Pickles

He had them with breakfast

He had them with lunch

Everywhere he went

you could hear his munch munch

Julianne and Pumpernickle did everything together

They scurried up and down the streets in any weather

They stole noodles from plates at the Ramen place

They hung on to cars as they sped on their rollerskates

But the thing they liked most

more than cheese and toast

was dueling pokemon cards from coast to coast

One day when the rain came down in buckets

when Pumpernickle had a tournament on Nantucket

He didn’t see a crack in the street

and tumbled over losing all his cards and weeped

He watched helplessly as they all blew away

and landed in puddles to his great dismay

He cried and cried and hoped it was a dream

until sweet Julianne held out a whole deck to him

His eyes grew big, he couldn’t believe the kindness

Julianne was giving him her most beloved Forretress!

He said thank you! a thousand times over

and went on to the battle and quickly took over

He was unbeatable with Julliane’s deck

and together they put everyone in check

The very next day as they boarded the bus home

Sneaking into the luggage compartment so no one would know

They both celebrated how they swept the battle

danced around and did the floss and made their champion coins rattle

Soon they fell fast asleep as the bus chugged along

They were exhausted and for their own beds they longed

After 9 hours they pulled to the stop

and Pumpernickle jumped up and gave a shout

“Julianne we’re here we made it back home!

Let’s see if our friends have built us a throne!”

But Pumpernickle heard not a word nor a sound

Julianne it seemed was nowhere to be found

He looked under all of the bags and suitcases

thinking she was hiding and waiting for a chase

Alas, no luck! where could she be?

He had to get off before the bus did leave

He stood at the station and called out her name

but then he felt his pocket get hot like a flame

He pulled out the deck and found it so glowing

The spirit of Julianne was alive and it was growing!

Whenever Pumpernickle sent thoughts over to her

The cards emanated light as he’d never seen before

She lives on in his heart, and her cards are unbeatable

and she is very, very much still reachable

whenever a friend sends some love her way

the cards dance with joy and the skies are no longer grey

How will you use these cards?

What characters are in them?

How will you over them keep guard?

How will you preserve this beautiful gem?

Week 3: A Snow Pea Runs for President

Here is our next story, A Snow Pea Runs for President. You can view it as a video below. I am also sharing three amazing endings to our week one video submitted by Milo just below the video and the text to this week’s story. Enjoy!

A Snow Pea Runs for President

The spring rain kept the Gilberts inside but did not keep Sylvie the Snow Pea in. It did very much the opposite. As soon as Sylvie heard the droplets palunk all across the cold soil, she jumped in joy.

“Oh! The spring! It is here!” After sleeping through all of winter, she was eager to escape her tiny seed pod. She shot her arms into the air and made the loudest yawn anyone has ever heard.

“Ahhhhh… I can’t wait to blow this popsicle stand! Is that what kids say? I don’t know. I’ve been asleep for about 5 months. There is probably some new thing trending these days…”

In any case, she was ready to explore the world. She looked around her tiny dark home to see if there were any weak points, and to see if she could figure out which way was up. She once heard of one snow pea that spent three weeks growing in the wrong direction, and, when they finally made it to the surface, the summer was so hot and dry by then that there was not a drop of water to drink! “I can’t risk that mistake,” Sylvie thought. So she crossed her fingers, summoned up all her strength, and began pounding against the walls of her house.

It took almost three hours before she had made enough of a crack for the water-drenched soil to start seeping in. She had done it! She reached her hand through the hole and began stretching, stretching for the surface. It would be a long climb, but Sylvie was ready and excited for the journey

In three days’ time, Sylvie had finally broken through to open air and breathed in her first breath of fresh carbon dioxide. “Wow! I never expected it to taste this good!” She exclaimed. The sun struck her tiny green hands and made them dance with joy. Her whole body shook with delight as she soaked up her first rays of light. She felt a surge of energy pour through her system.

Every day, little Sylvie the Snow Pea grew taller and bigger, and soon caught the attention of Theo, the Gilberts’ youngest child.

“Dad! Come look!” Theo shouted. “The little snow pea that we planted is growing!”

Glen, Theo’s father, came rushing out of the house to share in his son’s excitement. He had never been much of a gardener, so he was pleasantly surprised when he saw this little snow pea reaching for the skies.

“Wow Theo! We did it! We grew a little plant! I can’t wait to taste some of those snow peas.”

Sylvie was quite irked when she heard Glen’s statement. First, the rain and the sun did most of the work, and she was the one who spent three hours trying to break out of the shell, and who climbed to tirelessly toward the sky. Why was he taking credit? Second, the snow peas were hers! Not Glen’s or Theo’s!

Despite her protests, in another couple weeks, by and by, the first snow pea developed. And, before it was even fully ripe, Pluck!, Theo pulled it right off the vine.

“Well, I never!” Sylvie proclaimed. “Without even asking, stolen of my fruit! I have to put an end to this.”

Sylvie thought that there must be some laws protecting her from such thievery. She went to the library and took out all the books on law she could find, and read each of them cover to cover. But, alas, there was nothing protecting the rights of plants. So, she did what any frustrated snow pea would have done — she drafted up a petition and had all the other plants in the garden sign it:

We, as the plants that provide our fruits without proper recognition, hereby seek that there shall be no more taking of fruits of any plant without first asking, or for an exchange of something of equal or greater value.

Signed,

All the plants of the Gilberts’ garden

Once Sylvie had all the signatures, she marched up to the town hall and handed it to the mayor. The mayor chuckled. “What power do you have, little snow pea?”

Sylvie, enraged, stomped out of there, determined to show their power once and for all. She rallied up all the plants in the neighborhood and got them to agree to stop producing fruit. It didn’t take long for the mayor to realize her mistake.

“Alright, Snow Pea, what is it you want?”

Sylvie began to outline her request, for more recognition and fair trade for the plants in her town. The mayor had no choice but to agree. Sylvie walked out of the mayor’s office, swelled with pride. Victory!

But, soon, that feeling was overshadowed by a heavy doubt.

“But, this is such a small town. And, there are snow peas and plants like this all across the country. How can we get the same rights for them? This is no victory at all. This is an ant step compared to the work we need to do!”

So, on that warm bright day in mid-April, Sylvie decided to run for president…

What happens? Is she able to win? Do humans crush the plant rebellion? You decide!

…and now, another conclusion of Brian the Blowfish Goes to the Market

As soon as the light filters through Brian’s window, he throws off the covers without even thinking. The sun warmed his skin in a way it hadn’t done for months - seeped into his bones and made them soften under the gentle touch of the rays. He put on his Hootie and the Blowfish t-shirt, and jaunted outdoors, blowing an abundance of bubbles as he rejoiced in the warming of the sea.

“I must go visit my friends at the All Sea-sonings,” Brian thought, his favorite local market. They had the most flavorful coffee and delicious pastries, and “today is a day to celebrate.”

The little bells of the door twinkled as he strolled in, and he waved a grand hello to the Simon the Shark at the register and shouted “what a day!” back at Ellie the Chef.

“Why hello Brian! What a day indeed!”

Brian was beaming, and as Simon poured the coffee, the aroma hit him and he nearly fainted. “Everything smells better today!” he exclaimed.

He scooped up his coffee and chocolate croissant and bounced out the door. But, as soon as he stepped outside…

Milo (Version 1)

He saw a swarm of hungry swordfish circling around a bunch of krill…

Sad ending: He went back into the store where Simon was, but he had been turned into a BIONIC SUPER EVIL SHARK DUDE and ate Brian. WHAAA WHAAA WHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

Sam Continues

Luckily, this was not the first time he’d been eaten by a bionic super evil shark dude (BSESD), and knew that there was a secret escape hatch in its small intestines. (The sharks had this escape hatch because they were so evil and mean that they sometimes ate things without thinking first, and often ended up eating other BSESDs. So, they came up with this secret-hatch idea to make sure that any mistakenly eaten creatures could escape. But, Brian had intercepted this top-secret memo circulating among the bionic sharks and so was able to get free).

Once safetly out of harm’s way, Brian went back into the market and bought another chocolate croissant. “I deserve this. That was a close call!”

Milo (Version 2)

But as soon as he stepped outside… One word. CHAOS.

Sam Continues

Everybody turns into a bionic super evil chocolate croissant and eats all the sharks and blowfish and then explodes chocolate everywhere from eating too much and everybody is covered in shark blowfish chocolate goo.

Milo (Version 3)

He saw a swarm of hungry swordfish circling around a bunch of krill… And stood up to the swordfish, which i’m sorry to say, did not go so well.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brian woke up with a startle.I’m sorry.He woke up with a huge startle. That probably won’t happen in real life, he said. Even though he doubted himself because his dreams had been having a big effect on his real life on the ocean floor. For example, he dreamt about ice cream (I know what you’re thinking, but don’t get too excited. I meant they always had a bad effect on real life.) When he had dreamt about ice cream, he became more full of ice cream than air & spikes. (That’s really saying something.)

Week 2: Aliens Come to Earth to Experience Sushi

This week I decided to share the story with a video. Check it out! Below the video you will find the story’s text followed by the continuation of last week’s story featuring your contributions. Hope you enjoy!

Bob was munching on some gulblutz, an alien delicacy that tastes something like salted caramel sweet potato ice cream, when an idea struck him. I heard there are creatures that live under the sea. They must taste so very salty, and I do love salt. So, without finishing the desert, he pushed himself away from the table, zapped himself up to his room, and put on his adventure clothes. He pulled on his purple pants, his furry jacket, and, after making sure it was all properly fitted, he reached for his fluffy rainbow hat. As soon as he did, wings sprouted from his back, the lights on his shoes flickered on, and a hatch in the roof slid open. The floor began to shake as flames began to shoot out of the souls, and Bob rose slowly out of his spaceship house, and into the vast darkness of his galaxy.

Only in school when he was growing up had he heard about this place called Earth, consisting of 96% saltwater. He had heard his friends make the occasional trip, only to return telling how disappointing those human creatures were. Nobody bothered going there anymore. But, something about that saltwater called to Bob in a way that he could not resist. After all, he could not even finish his favorite gulblutz — he just had to go! So, as he looked back and saw his home swallowed by the immense emptiness, he faced forward, turned on his navigation and settled in for the 3-year long ride.

When he woke, he was covered in sand, shriveling by the second as the sun-soaked up all his moisture. But there, at his feet, reaching for him like the eager tongue of dog, was the ocean, its waves lapping at the shore. His three eyes popped open like popcorn,

“It’s the OCEAN!” he cried. He had never seen anything like it. He reached his hands down and took a scoop and opened his mouth. As soon as the cold salty water slid into his mouth, he gaged and coughed and spat it all out.

“Ew! Guess I should have expected that. Drinking super salty water is usually not a pleasant experience.” But, he had not forgotten his mission. He was to find fish. He flipped his hat on backward and immediately sprouted fins. In doing so, he flopped back onto the beach and immediately realized his mistake. He should have waded out into the water first…

After 20 minutes and wigglings and shimmying, he finally made it into the water and took off. He did barrel rolls and somersaults and with such glee laughed out loud at this joy of being in the ocean. Before long, he encountered a whole school of Bluefish, and they too began to do backflips and all sorts of incredible stunts. Before he knew it, Bob was involved in an elaborate choreographed dance with Bluefish and Flounder and Sea Turtle and 7 dolphins. How could he eat these fish now? They were his friends!

As he stepped back, and watched the grand finale of this astounding dance performance of all these sea creatures, he realized something...

…and now, the conclusion of Brian the Blowfish Goes to the Market

Special thanks to Violet and Ray Ray!

“I must go visit my friends at the All Sea-sonings,” Brian thought, his favorite local market. They had the most flavorful coffee and delicious pastries, and “today is a day to celebrate.”

The little bells of the door twinkled as he strolled in, and he waved a grand hello to the Simon the Shark at the register and shouted “what a day!” back at Ellie the Chef.

“Why hello Brian! What a day indeed!”

Brian was beaming, and as Simon poured the coffee, the aroma hit him and he nearly fainted. “Everything smells better today!” he exclaimed.

He scooped up his coffee and chocolate croissant and bounced out the door. But, as soon as he stepped outside…

Violet

...a giant sea monster ate him! luckily, right when he was in the sea monster's mouth, he blew up. unfortunately, he didn't poison the sea monster, but the sea monster spat Brian out and said "ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Sam continued

The sea monster decided never to eat people name Brian again. He had made that mistake before. As he was swimming back him, he thought back to that first time of eating a Brian, and shuttered. That was truly a terrible experience. As he was reminiscing, a swarm of sea horses came and pecked off his nose. “Ahhhh!! Help me!!!” But, there was no defense against sea horse swarms. They were notorious and unstoppable. Before Brian could say another word, they were gone with his nose. He stopped, and started crying, crying so hard that the whole ocean rose by 2 inches. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped. “Ah! But, with no nose, that means Brians won’t taste so bad. I can eat all the Brians I want! Yippeeee!!” THE END

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————--

“I must go visit my friends at the All Sea-sonings,” Brian thought, his favorite local market. They had the most flavorful coffee and delicious pastries, and “today is a day to celebrate.”

The little bells of the door twinkled as he strolled in, and he waved a grand hello to the Simon the Shark at the register and shouted “what a day!” back at Ellie the Chef.

“Why hello Brian! What a day indeed!”

Brian was beaming, and as Simon poured the coffee, the aroma hit him and he nearly fainted. “Everything smells better today!” he exclaimed.

He scooped up his coffee and chocolate croissant and bounced out the door. But, as soon as he stepped outside…

Ray-Ray

...his sensitivity to the water around him began to feel more like a portal--that each smell could open another universe--he trusted sound the most so he brought his attention to the muted sounds of the undercurrent of the coral reef and seaweed interplay. WAH WAH SWISH WAH WAH SWISH--DUM-DUM-DUM, could he still smell?