Storymakers: Down the Mold-Hole

Storymakers: Down the Mold-Hole

By Megan
Sixth Grade
Odle Middle School
Bellevue, WA

Calvin was walking to the local sports field after a terrible day at school. He was eager to start his first day of soccer practice. He was worried that it was going to rain; the weatherman had said there was a chance. He looked up at the sky. It was perfect weather. The sun was partly hidden behind light clouds, hardly dark enough for rain.

When Calvin reached the part he slipped into the public toilets to get into his soccer gear. The first thing Calvin noticed about the bathroom was that it smelled of sweat. He peered into all the stalls to pick the cleanest. Most of them had thick spider webs behind the toilet or in the corner of the stall. One even had a large greenish spider. In the end Calvin decided on the last stall. It was a little better than the others. He stepped in and locked the door.

Calvin was already in his sport shorts so he quickly changed into his gold shirt. He wanted to get out of the stinky bathroom ASAP. Once he was changed, he noticed how much he needed to 'go.' He looked at the toilet seat hesitantly. It was black. The toilet bowl looked like a deep, moldy hole. Calving pulled himself together and sat down on the cold seat. As he was on the toilet he remembered his other shirt lying on the toilet paper dispenser and quickly moved to pick it up.

A few seconds after Calvin had sat down again he thought he felt something move on the seat. He jumped up. As he jumped he dropped his T-shirt in the toilet. He watched in dismay as his shirt greedily sucked up the disgusting water. "Darn!" He cried out. That was his favorite shirt. Calvin decided to grab it. He would wash it a billion times when he got home.

He took a deep breath and reached in and felt his hand close around his wet shirt. Just as he was about to pull it out. He felt a cold, wet hand clamp around his wrist. Calvin cried out in alarm as he was pulled down the mold-hole. When he could see again, he saw what looked like a city of furry grayish-brown termite nests.

When he looked around he saw a wooden cave-like structure. It stood out, being the only thing that wasn't moldy. Calvin decided to stay in there until he could figure out how to get back. When he reached the wooden cave he peeked inside. The room was filled with a greenish glow coming from a single jar hanging from the roof by a thick gray rope.

Calvin took a closer look at the jar and saw a small glowing bug hovering inside. The next thing he saw scared him stiff. An old woman was sitting in the corner on a rotting tree stump glaring at him. She wore dirty, torn black robes and had thick gray hair in messy locks that tumbled halfway down her back.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded rudely.

"I...I'm s...sorry." Calvin stammered.

"Well, scram you brat!" The witchy woman growled.

Calvin did as she said rather gladly. He didn't want to be around her. As he was walking towards the exit he heard the woman muttering to herself. Calvin was too eager to get out to listen. Just as Calvin was about to step out the door the old woman cried "Wait boy!" Calvin reluctantly turned.

She's going to eat me, he thought. The woman was now pulling at one of her dirty locks.

"Come on...I won't bite." She beckoned impatiently.

Once Calvin was nearer the woman whispered to him "You're the one."

He raised his eyebrows. This woman was nuts.

"Set me free." she whispered. "Please?"

Calvin thought for awhile. This woman might be able to get him out of this disgusting place.

"Can you get me out of here?" he asked.

"Yes!"

"OK, let's make a deal." He told the woman. "If I set you free, you will get me back home in return."

"Yes, yes come on boy!" the woman cried impatiently.

Calvin grinned. He had to admit it, he was good. The only problem was how was he to set her free? She seemed to read his mind. "Read this spell." she said, handing him a grubby sheet of parchment. Calvin read at the curling, script.

It looked so ancient and serious that Calvin almost laughed out loud when he read it. It was complete nonsense. The woman made a noise in her throat. The he remembered why he had the script in the first place. He read it aloud. That was probably how the spell was supposed to be done. Once he had finished, the woman stood up. Calvin stared at her in disbelief. She probably just liked being dramatic and could have stood up at any time. Just as he was about to tell her this, the woman flashed a blinding white light.

Once Calvin could see again, the woman had transformed. She didn't look old and dirty anymore, but breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair shimmered silver and flowed down to her waist. Her robe was jet black. The young woman turned to Calvin who had frozen in wonder.

"Now it's your turn." she said in a soft voice. And in another white flash Calvin found himself in the bathroom again. Calvin thought he heard a faint "thank you" then his T-shirt flashed that same white flash and then was dry. That would save his mom a lot of washing.

Suddenly he remembered soccer practice. He was late for his first lesson! He ran outside to his team's tent and saw a sign stuck to one of the tent-supporting poles.

It said "Soccer practice cancelled due to wet weather." It was only then that Calvin realized it was raining.

Storymakers: A Creative Challenge for Young Writers, is a program inviting students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades living in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada, to submit their own original creative writing pieces.