Two weeks I’ve gone without a wink of sleep. Every time I try I find that I can’t. They always send me back into the mines or out into the forests the moment daylight springs. Every night I hole up in my shack, quivering in fear of the rattling and moaning coming from right outside my door. Sometimes a tall dark man appears in my window and screams. Sometimes he rips off a chunk of my wall. Every night I hide and hope they all go away. Every night I yearn for the lemony sun to rise up above the mountains and make the demons go away. Someday soon I’ll see a flock of sheep grazing on a hill and all of my problems will be gone. Until then I will just be a shivering, scared little Steve, helpless in this world I’ve been dropped into without a choice of my own.
by Quint Gholson
Where is it From?
I don’t understand…
It’s kept me awake.
It’s the fourteenth day, I can feel my body shake.
The lack of sleep is awful
The sickness in my stomach painful
But what else can I do when this object has kept my brain full?
I just don’t understand….
My sheets should feel like heaven…
But how can I sleep...
When my shadows gave me a lemon?
Where did they get it?!
What is it’s purpose?!
Goodness I’m tired…
Oh well, I guess a lemon won’t hurt us.
by Brianna Griesenauer
It has been 14 days since I last slept.
I have surrounded myself with lemons.
Why have I done this? I have no clue.
But the circle of lemons is very important.
The lemons just combusted. What?
Oh no the lemon demon has been summoned.
What have I done?
by Olivia Gibbons
It’s day 14. We’re starving, the only food left is a lemon. My friend and I stared at each other. The fight began. I was determined to be the one to eat. She punched me as I kicked her. We yelled and screamed.
Eventually, she grabbed the fruit and plopped it in her mouth, eating it whole. The smug look she held infuriated me. Then, her face turned into one of disgust. Red blotches came across her face as she passed out. I smiled, remembering she was allergic. Now I had two things to eat, one of which was a lemon.
by Monica Turntine
The little lemon boy hasn’t slept in 14 days. He refuses the advice of his friend, Beetle Bee. Things are beginning to blur together for him. His little energy is depleting day by day. Riding his bike leads to scraped knees and walking to school leads to angry bees. Maybe things would be easier if he would sleep.
by Meghan Boozer
Going Insane
Sleep evades me
evades me
evades me.
Lemon scents encompass me
encompass me
encompass me.
Days stretch on
stretch on
stretch on.
It has been two weeks
two weeks
two weeks.
And I’m going insane.
by Megan Koch
I’ve dpne it/ I hav not slepr for 14 day now. The wrld record noe is 15. So i am almist ther, This iz the proudst achevmint of my hole life. Ha the mint in achevmint remindss me of lemon in a cak I ate once.
by Malachi Gnade
Rainbows, Caterpillars, and Lemons… Oh My
I stared up at the ceiling watching the fan spin around… and around… and around. Every time I blinked, more and more rainbow colored caterpillars appeared in my vision. The caterpillars munched on larger than life lemon slices and grinned at me with lemon peels in their mouths. Their heads grew bigger until they burst, spraying lemon candies all over my room. I opened my mouth wide and let the bitter-sweet flavor sweep over my tongue and bathe my senses. I opened my mouth to thank the beautiful rainbow caterpillars, but all that came out was an unholy screeching.
by Claire Eusterbrock
I have not slept much.
Lemons prowl in the nighttime.
I cannot sleep much.
by Caroline Cunningham
Workaholic
Jax and Will stare in shock and unsurprised exasperation respectively through the door to Damian’s room. Said room can hardly be called such at this point as papers fly around, new holes had been blasted into the walls, and the stone rubble littered the ground along with puddles of strange/sometimes glowing liquid that gives off the smell of lemons. In the middle of the chaos Damian sits on the ground practically hidden by a pile of books, notes, and miscellaneous objects. His hair is a wild mess and huge purple bruises mark the area under his eye, ,which are bloodshot and struggling to stay open. Jax curses softly under his breath, “How long has this been going on?” Will sighs and simply walks into the room “It’s been fourteen days; he gets like this sometimes.” The younger boy kneels down next to the sleep deprived red head and takes the book he was trying to read out of his hands. Damian looks up at him, blinks his eyes once, and proceeds to collapse on the ground...dead to the world as sleep finally caught up with him.
by Carly Nims
SLEEPLESS AND WIDE AWAKE
Name:
Zodia
Gender:
Female
Age:
18
Days Awake:
14
I slam my head down on my desk, drowsily lifting my eyes to my ever-bright computer screen where my notes are choppily written. I drag a hand down my lax face, forcing my eyes awake. I can’t stop now, not when I’m so close to finding out the truth. Not now. My eyes droop more, but I will not sleep. I slap myself awake and stand up, pacing and stopping to splash water on my face. Where’s Cancer when you need her? I shake my head - I don’t have the energy to summon her right now. Finally, I sit down and stare blankly at the screen. What is the point of all of this you ask? Lemon.
by Carly Jackson
Day 14
The date is 24 July. I think I have finally found a breakthrough. I used the bone marrow of some of the most powerful mages in our league and created a serum (which smells distinctly of lemons) to inject in the embryo. It’s been two weeks since I last slept, and I refuse to until I am done creating the Paragon. I am going to test it now, and for the next few weeks I will continue with a record of how she is growing. She cannot fail like all the others.
by Caitlin O'Toole
My Sleep Paralysis
I lay on my stomach on the ground of my bedroom. What if I were a dolphin? Would I sound like a dolphin to humans, or would I sound like a human to the dolphins? I start cackling uncontrollably and roll over on my back. My stomach starts to ache from laughing, and I sit up to face the empty corner in my room. But something is different. A floating lemon with the face of Charlie Sheen looks me dead in the eyes. I wonder what will happen on day fifteen.
by Olivia Gibbons
by Quint Gholson
Where is it From?
I don’t understand…
It’s kept me awake.
It’s the fourteenth day, I can feel my body shake.
The lack of sleep is awful
The sickness in my stomach painful
But what else can I do when this object has kept my brain full?
I just don’t understand….
My sheets should feel like heaven…
But how can I sleep...
When my shadows gave me a lemon?
Where did they get it?!
What is it’s purpose?!
Goodness I’m tired…
Oh well, I guess a lemon won’t hurt us.
by Brianna Griesenauer
It has been 14 days since I last slept.
I have surrounded myself with lemons.
Why have I done this? I have no clue.
But the circle of lemons is very important.
The lemons just combusted. What?
Oh no the lemon demon has been summoned.
What have I done?
by Olivia Gibbons
It’s day 14. We’re starving, the only food left is a lemon. My friend and I stared at each other. The fight began. I was determined to be the one to eat. She punched me as I kicked her. We yelled and screamed.
Eventually, she grabbed the fruit and plopped it in her mouth, eating it whole. The smug look she held infuriated me. Then, her face turned into one of disgust. Red blotches came across her face as she passed out. I smiled, remembering she was allergic. Now I had two things to eat, one of which was a lemon.
by Monica Turntine
The little lemon boy hasn’t slept in 14 days. He refuses the advice of his friend, Beetle Bee. Things are beginning to blur together for him. His little energy is depleting day by day. Riding his bike leads to scraped knees and walking to school leads to angry bees. Maybe things would be easier if he would sleep.
by Meghan Boozer
Going Insane
Sleep evades me
evades me
evades me.
Lemon scents encompass me
encompass me
encompass me.
Days stretch on
stretch on
stretch on.
It has been two weeks
two weeks
two weeks.
And I’m going insane.
by Megan Koch
I’ve dpne it/ I hav not slepr for 14 day now. The wrld record noe is 15. So i am almist ther, This iz the proudst achevmint of my hole life. Ha the mint in achevmint remindss me of lemon in a cak I ate once.
by Malachi Gnade
Rainbows, Caterpillars, and Lemons… Oh My
I stared up at the ceiling watching the fan spin around… and around… and around. Every time I blinked, more and more rainbow colored caterpillars appeared in my vision. The caterpillars munched on larger than life lemon slices and grinned at me with lemon peels in their mouths. Their heads grew bigger until they burst, spraying lemon candies all over my room. I opened my mouth wide and let the bitter-sweet flavor sweep over my tongue and bathe my senses. I opened my mouth to thank the beautiful rainbow caterpillars, but all that came out was an unholy screeching.
by Claire Eusterbrock
I have not slept much.
Lemons prowl in the nighttime.
I cannot sleep much.
by Caroline Cunningham
Workaholic
Jax and Will stare in shock and unsurprised exasperation respectively through the door to Damian’s room. Said room can hardly be called such at this point as papers fly around, new holes had been blasted into the walls, and the stone rubble littered the ground along with puddles of strange/sometimes glowing liquid that gives off the smell of lemons. In the middle of the chaos Damian sits on the ground practically hidden by a pile of books, notes, and miscellaneous objects. His hair is a wild mess and huge purple bruises mark the area under his eye, ,which are bloodshot and struggling to stay open. Jax curses softly under his breath, “How long has this been going on?” Will sighs and simply walks into the room “It’s been fourteen days; he gets like this sometimes.” The younger boy kneels down next to the sleep deprived red head and takes the book he was trying to read out of his hands. Damian looks up at him, blinks his eyes once, and proceeds to collapse on the ground...dead to the world as sleep finally caught up with him.
by Carly Nims
SLEEPLESS AND WIDE AWAKE
Name:
Zodia
Gender:
Female
Age:
18
Days Awake:
14
I slam my head down on my desk, drowsily lifting my eyes to my ever-bright computer screen where my notes are choppily written. I drag a hand down my lax face, forcing my eyes awake. I can’t stop now, not when I’m so close to finding out the truth. Not now. My eyes droop more, but I will not sleep. I slap myself awake and stand up, pacing and stopping to splash water on my face. Where’s Cancer when you need her? I shake my head - I don’t have the energy to summon her right now. Finally, I sit down and stare blankly at the screen. What is the point of all of this you ask? Lemon.
by Carly Jackson
Day 14
The date is 24 July. I think I have finally found a breakthrough. I used the bone marrow of some of the most powerful mages in our league and created a serum (which smells distinctly of lemons) to inject in the embryo. It’s been two weeks since I last slept, and I refuse to until I am done creating the Paragon. I am going to test it now, and for the next few weeks I will continue with a record of how she is growing. She cannot fail like all the others.
by Caitlin O'Toole
My Sleep Paralysis
I lay on my stomach on the ground of my bedroom. What if I were a dolphin? Would I sound like a dolphin to humans, or would I sound like a human to the dolphins? I start cackling uncontrollably and roll over on my back. My stomach starts to ache from laughing, and I sit up to face the empty corner in my room. But something is different. A floating lemon with the face of Charlie Sheen looks me dead in the eyes. I wonder what will happen on day fifteen.
by Olivia Gibbons