Chapter
One
Joseph had never been the
same since the day he left. Whenever the
teacher called on him, he would just ignore her. He would hear people ask him, “Joseph, are
you okay?” or “Joseph, what has gotten into you?” but he would just answer with
silence because he didn’t want to talk about it with anyone; he was worried
that if he made friends, they would leave him just like his dad left him and
his mom.
“Hey Joseph, how was
school?” asked his new stepdad.
He gave him the cold
shoulder; Joseph wanted nothing to do with him.
Joseph went into his room. A picture of his mom and dad when they were
still together was hanging on the wall. He could smell his stepdad making
spaghetti for dinner, and he could faintly hear the ding of the oven timer. He ignored it and did his weekly tradition
where he tries to think of reasons about why his dad left. It always left him sadder, but he did it
anyway.
“Maybe my mom cheated on
him, or he cheated on her,” Joseph quietly said to himself. “Maybe he thought we weren’t good enough for
him, I wasn’t good enough for him…” And
with that, Joseph drifted off to sleep but with that thought in his mind.
The next day at school a
new kid arrived, and Joseph wasn’t paying attention, but he did hear that his
name was Dayton; he was a scrawny kid just like Joseph.
“Hey everyone!” said
Dayton with a big smile on his face.
Some people said hi back, and some giggled, but Joseph just watched with
a sad look on his face. Joseph soon
found out the Dayton was in all of his classes. Joseph didn’t listen that much,
but he was slightly interested.
At lunch, Joseph sat by
himself, not eating anything as usual. He could smell the lunch ladies cooking
mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets. He could hear people yelling and laughing. He was looking at a eat healthy poster on the
wall that was next to a vending machine with unhealthy food when suddenly a
hand waved across his face.
“Hey, anybody there?”
said a familiar voice. When Joseph
looked over it was Dayton. “Mind if I
sit here?” Joseph shrugged, so he did. “So,
your name’s Joseph, right?” he asked.
Joseph nodded. “I see you’re not
much of a talker,” said Dayton with a grin, “If you couldn't tell, I love
talking.”
Joseph glared at the
wall, and it read 12:30; he wanted to leave, but the school was very strict
about just up and leaving class even if that class was lunch. “You know the food here is pretty bad,” said
Dayton, and Joseph nodded because he finally said something Joseph agreed
about. “When I was living in New York
City,” said Dayton with mashed potatoes in his mouth, “there was this great
restaurant called Madam Vo; always thought that was a weird name. Anyway, my parents and I went there all the
time.” At the mention of parents,
Joseph's face went solemn. “Hey, what's
wrong?” asked Dayton, “Was it something I said?”
After a long pause,
Joseph said, “I don’t want to talk about it,” and with a depressed look he
slowly stood up and dragged himself out of the cafeteria.
The next day Joseph did
his best to ignore Dayton, but he kept trying to talk to him like a fly buzzing
around someone’s ear.
“Hey Joseph!” said Dayton
without a care in the world.
“Get away from me.”
“Is this about the
cafeteria, because whatever I said I am really sorry.”
“You’re not sorry because
you can’t be sorry without knowing what you did.” With that, Joseph ran off to
go to class.
Joseph sat at lunch with
his head down, legs crossed, trying to
do his best not to let Dayton see him; he did, and he came over to sit with
him, but he didn’t say anything. Joseph
waited for him to say something annoying or dumb, but he didn’t; he didn’t look
sad either, and it made Joseph even more confused. Joseph was sure of one thing; Dayton was
thinking about something, and he was ninety percent sure it was about why he
ran off a few hours ago. But he was
happy that Dayton was talking for once, and it surprised him that something
made him happy even if it wasn’t that great of a thing.
After Joseph arrived at
his home his stepdad was waiting for him.
“Hey, Sport, how you
doing?”
“I don’t have to tell
you. ” Joseph’s stepdad sighed.
“Here, have a seat.”
Joseph sat down.
“Look, Jo, I-”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Okay, sorry. What I was trying to say is, Joseph, I want
to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“About why you hate me,
and what I can do to change that.”
“Well,” Joseph paused,
and then he said, “I don’t.” With that,
Joseph stood up, and he stormed into his room.
He sighed. “Joseph, I’m sorry...”
-Sai Settipalli
i like the use of verbs in this story, especially the part where it says "Joseph glared at the wall, and it read 12:30". there were other good moments too, like "He gave him the cold shoulder" or "And with that, Joseph drifted off to sleep but with that thought in his mind.". the amount of verbs allows for the story to be more descriptive.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Sai used figurative language. The line that supports this is, " he was a scrawny kid just like Joseph." He described what Dayton looked like with the use of a simile. Another supporting evidence would be, "...but he kept trying to talk to him like a fly buzzing around someone’s ear." Once again, a simile.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, you used good figurative language. A line that proves that is "And with that, Joseph drifted off to sleep but with that thought in his mind." I could really imagine Joseph laying down and imagining that, while he is falling asleep.
ReplyDeleteIn your piece you used great figurative language that brought the story to life. The quote, "Joseph sat at lunch with his head down, legs crossed, trying to do his best not to let Dayton see him." helped me better imagine what he was doing, and it also showed some emotion of the character.
ReplyDeleteNice! I liked this excerpt from your novel. Your metaphors were fantastic. "The next day Joseph did his best to ignore Dayton, but he kept trying to talk to him like a fly buzzing around someone’s ear." They really show what the characters are doing/feeling during the story.
ReplyDeleteI think that this chapter is trying to say that sometimes people don't want to be talked to. The line I got this from was, "The next day Joseph did his best to ignore Dayton, but he kept trying to talk to him like a fly buzzing around someone’s ear." I have had this been in this situation before, and you just need to know when to stop.
ReplyDeleteWhen people go through hard times some people just hate to talks about it because it remembers them about what they lost and makes them mad. But people still try and it just hurt them more or make them feel better. I can related because when I go through hard times I hate to talk about. Anyway, my parents and I went there all the time.” At the mention of parents, Joseph's face went solemn. “Hey, what's wrong?” asked Dayton, “Was it something I said?” After a long pause, Joseph said, “I don’t want to talk about it,” and with a depressed look he slowly stood up and dragged himself out of the cafeteria. Good story
ReplyDeleteI liked it when you said "He ignored it and did his weekly tradition where he tries to think of reasons about why his dad left." I really helped my to be able to visualize how he never got over his parents divorce. Also you said "“About why you hate me, and what I can do to change that.”
ReplyDelete“Well,” Joseph paused, and then he said, “I don’t.” With that, Joseph stood up, and he stormed into his room." This helped me see how joseph didn't care that people wanted to help he was just upset, and if someone tried to talk to him it wouldn't help. I really liked this writing piece.
Great piece Sai! I think you did a great puting me inside Joseph's head, everything was easy to comprehend because I always knew what the main character was thinking. For example "Joseph wanted nothing to do with him," and "Joseph nodded because he finally said something Joseph agreed about."
ReplyDeleteThis is a great piece! One thing that made it great was your use of similes. These really helped describe what the character was like. "but he kept trying to talk to him like a fly buzzing around someone’s ear."
ReplyDelete"He was worried that if he made friends, they would leave him just like his dad left him and his mom."
ReplyDelete"'Anyway, my parents and I went there all the time.' At the mention of parents, Joseph's face went solemn."
I think the central idea is that you should be careful about what you say, because it could affect someone else's feelings. The lesson based off the central idea is that if you say something that affects the other person's feelings, they may not want to talk to you at all. I can apply this to my own life because it can help me think deeply about something before I say it.
I think the point of this chapter is that people may not ignore you for the reason that they don't like you. But the reason can sometimes be that they have other stuff going on in their life. That's the lesson that I learned. If someone ignores me that necessarily doesn't mean that they have an issue and I can use that. The quote I used is... "After Joseph arrived at his home his stepdad was waiting for him.
ReplyDelete“Hey, Sport, how you doing?”
“I don’t have to tell you. ” Joseph’s stepdad sighed.
“Here, have a seat.” Joseph sat down.
“Look, Jo, I-”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Okay, sorry. What I was trying to say is, Joseph, I want to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“About why you hate me, and what I can do to change that.”
“Well,” Joseph paused, and then he said, “I don’t.” With that, Joseph stood up, and he stormed into his room.
He sighed. “Joseph, I’m sorry...” " This proves my point when he say "I don't" to "Why do you hate me"