Not so Easy

“Happy birthday!” my friends chorused.

It was my birthday and we were going to watch Paranormal Activities. Nadja, Kaitlyn, Erin, Noor, Sabrina, and I were huddled in front of my T.V. After 1 and a half hour, the movie ended. We were all staring at the blank screen, hugging each other close.

The next day, on the way to school, Kaitlyn and I talked about the movie.

“Why don’t we make a parody?” I suddenly exclaimed.

Kaitlyn was in on this idea, and we both started working out a script for our parody, ‘Apple-Normal Activities’.

Arriving at school, we quickly filled out names of our friends for roles that would best fit their personality. We explained our ideas briefly to the rest of our friends. With all the excitement exploding like an eruption, they all still agreed to help, hearing only: “We are filming a movie”. There was a small discussion of the roles but as the bell rang, we were ready to practice.

“Nadj — uh — Nikki, what’s wrong?” Kaitlyn said, correcting into our stage names.

… Silence.

“Nadja! Your line!” I reminded her.

“Huh? Oh yeah! Um, uh… Nothing. Nothing’s wrong”

5th time through, they were still forgetting their lines. Recess was over, and we only practiced the first two scenes.


The next few scenes were fine, making only minor mistakes. Though when we got to the fighting scene, we were all messing up. Nadja wasn’t getting the sequence right.

“No! The first blow comes around and you’re supposed to duck! No, not yet!” I tried correcting her.

Soon, a few of the cast started wandering off to play with other people. When they were called back, none of them would be into the script or the acting. Eventually, we grew tired.


Little by little, like a creeping cat, the day of filming came. It was to be filmed at Kaitlyn’s house. When everyone arrived, I looked over at the camera, then at the tripod. Kaitlyn shrugged and so we hastily tried to piece it together. The camera wasn’t stable and there were a bunch of levers everywhere. We finally pieced it together after 10 minutes.

“Okay, guys, first scene. Sabrina, you — GUYS!” Kaitlyn yelled.

The camera started.

“Ooh. This looks cool.” Chaitri said expressionlessly.

“CUT! More expression! Restart!” I cut her off.

She sat back down and got ready to start.

“Ooh! This looks cool!” she exclaimed.

That short little scene already took away 15 more minutes from our 2-hour film time.


“Nikki, what’s wrong?” asked Kaitlyn.

“Nothing. Noth —” Nadja burst out laughing.

“NADJA!” we all yelled at her.

She apologized and Sabrina started the camera again.

“Nikki, what’s—” This time, it was Kaitlyn who started laughing.

20 minutes already passed and we were getting nowhere.


“We should do this first,—” Nadja said.

“But shouldn’t we —” Sabrina interrupted.

“Yes, but how about —” Erin tried.

“Guys, guys, stop! Let’s just stick with our plan!” I huffed.


It was the time for our fighting scene and Sabrina quickly set up the camera. Nadja and I began. First, she kicked and I dodged. Then my hand went for her head, but she wasn’t ducking.

“No, no, no!” I stopped. “You’re supposed to DUCK!”

The camera began rolling once more. This time, Nadja and I were in sync, not missing a beat. Suddenly, like waking from a dream, Sabrina’s voice cut in.

“Shirley, you’re not in the scene…”

With an exasperated sigh, I shifted the camera back a bit.

“There. Now let’s finish this scene with no more interruptions” I said.


Step by step, we finished one scene, then 2, then the whole movie.

“I am soo good” Chaitri finished off the last line and pivoted away.

“And we’re done!” we all yelled triumphantly when Sabrina stopped the camera. After a big hustle of clean up, Kaitlyn gave the memory card to Nadja for her to edit.


hey guys! i edited the movie and heres the final result!
Apple-Normal Activity – Medium_1.mp4
-nadja :)

That was the email Nadja sent us a few days later. I clicked on the link and watched our 15-minute movie unfold.


At school, we asked our teacher if we could show the class the movie. We received laughs, whispers of awe, and compliments afterwards.


That night, we all went home and slept soundly, proud of our success.

Flowerpot Island

On Thanksgiving, my family and friends went to Tobermory for our vacation where we visited Flowerpot Island

On the cruise, we spotted the 2 famous flowerpots. It was a sedimentary rock with layers and layers of stones piled on top of each other. It was perfectly, but dangerously balanced for years, wide on the top and thin at the bottom, like a flowerpot. We docked on the south side of the island and all we could see for miles were rocks. There were large flat stones closer to toe seas and smaller pebbles closer in. All the rocks were bleached white, after years of salty waves washing the stones and the relentless sun beating the rocks with heat. We threw rocks into the blue-green water and skipped stones. We built inuksuks and tanned on the large flat stones. On the island were cliffs upon cliffs. Unfaltering at the height, we climbed all the cliffs. Hearing our parents yelling for us to wait, we turned around to cry out a retort. As I opened my mouth, at the corner of my eyes, I spotted something green on the side of one of the flowerpots. I looked harder, squinting under the bright sun. It was still there. Shocked, I rubbed my eyes, wondering if they were playing tricks on me. They weren’t. On the side on the flowerpot grew a little tree.

As a seed, it was separated from its family, snatched up by the unforgiving wind, along with a few of its siblings. It screamed and hollered, the howling of the wind drowned the sounds. As it flew past a flowerpot, it quickly grabbed the grainy rocks and found a tiny crevice where it was sheltered. It mourned for many days, there was no rain or soil; how was it going to survive? The little seed already knew the answer though. It patiently waited for a rainfall, just a drop of water. And then it came. In a flash of lightning, the rain poured out of the sky. Using the few grains of sand for nutrients, the little seed produced roots, clutching the rocks and reaching for the sky. Rain after rain, storm after storm, the little seed began to grow.

The tree, now a sapling, still grips onto the flowerpot. The other trees, just meters away in the safety of the healthy soil mock it day and night for its stupidity of growing in such a spot. The sapling is smaller than its siblings and growing sideways. Its branches were tangled and its trunk peeling. Its kin are all tall and straight, with leaves like emeralds; mesmerizing patterns adorning each one. Their branches all point upwards, reaching for the sky, their trunks flawlessly smooth. Alone on the flowerpot, the sapling looks down at the rocky floor. It could fall, loosen its roots a bit and drop. But it didn’t instead, it grabbed the rocks tighter and looked towards the light.

The tree grown up still ignores the ongoing comments. The wind comes every few minutes, pestering the sideways tree, trying to force it to let go. The wind becomes stronger and stronger, more ferocious each time, using all its force to blow the tree down. A few times it almost did, the tree barely hanging on with its last strand of root. Each time, the tree adjusted itself, holding the rock even tighter and eventually gripping it so tight that they seemed to be one. The rocky floor seems to be the only escape from the yelling voices of the other trees and wind. But nothing faltered the sideways tree. Every day, it faced the sun.

I stared at the tree, its healthy green leaves filtering light. It stood proud and strong. It may not be as tall as a pine, majestic as an oak or as serene as a willow, but it has its inner fire, allowing it to go on, even through the darkest of days. No matter how despairing, the sideways tree could always find a light, making it the most admired tree.

Dr. Haltrecht's Clinic

I was born with a set of bunny teeth. My 2 incisors protruded unevenly. My parents searched for a teeth blacksmith who would forge my teeth into a set of straight teeth.


The orthodontist that they found was Dr. Earl Haltrecht, his clinic situated near Fairview Mall. He is a man that would smile, flashing a set of perfect teeth. If only I had those…

Surprisingly, he gave us a discount! Since I was the second child, he set the price lower.

When talking with my dad, his light creases around his eyes intensified.

“Come, sit down,” he invited us.


When I was actually settled, I noticed how big his nose was. It was shaped like a parrot’s. Big and arched with a pair of glasses that rested on top of it. He had a head of grey hair with white streaks running through it.

Every time he leaned in to begin an operation, I’d always catch the scent of coffee.


Whenever I first enter the clinic, Anna is the first to meet me. She has glossy black hair, big eyes that twinkle and shine, and a smile as big as the moon. She also has a set of beautiful teeth.

She answers all the phone calls with a light, upbeat tone, ending each call with a slight laughter.

Afterwards, she'll look up at the waiting patients and check them in with a warm smile.

In the waiting room, they have a screen that plays a slideshow of pictures and a few jokes. One picture showed them all dressed up for Halloween. The next slide showed:

Why did the vampire visit the orthodontist?

Because he wanted to improve his BITE!

And the next…

What did the orthodontist do on the roller coaster?
He BRACED himself!

Overhead, they projected a radio station that plays the most popular songs of the month. The volume is turned down low so it wouldn’t bother the people who do not wish to listen.

Lisa, Dr. Haltrecht assistant, would be the one who does most of the operation work. Even though, it is Dr. Haltrect who she would turn to for help.

Coming from another patient, his blue latex glove would slip off and a new one slides back on. He changes them as he walks, like magic.

He’d reach over and probe my mouth for a minute, and then everything would be done.

“Is everything all right?” we’d ask.

“Oh, ya ya”

“So we’ll just come again in 2 weeks?”

“Oh, ya ya” he’d repeat.

It’s been a year now and many different appliances have been inserted into my mouth. Now, with a prettier set of bunny teeth, Dr. Haltrecht put in braces. How much longer until my teeth look like his? Who knows? Going to his clinic has been incorporated into my daily life. The final result? I’m still waiting.