SmokeLong Quarterly

Today’s fridge flash comes from seven-year-old Amanda from New York City. If you have a budding wordsmith at home, we’d love to read their stories. Please submit them through the Fridge Flash form on Submittable.

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by Amanda Jolie-Bee

Chapter 1

There was a girl named Jolie who lived in Harlem- one of the most eccentric places in NewYork City. Jolie was as tall as a tree and as skinny as straw, she was very kind, and generous. She was a top student and loved herself for who she was.

One day Jolie was walking to the park and vividly saw a blue tunnel. At the entrance of the tunnel there was a riddle – if you go inside there  is no way out! Am I the only one who could see the tunnel so vividly? Do I have special powers? Jolie asked herself.

She decided to take a risk and walk inside. The entrance of the tunnel was dark. Jolie could barely see. “Hello, hello, hello!’’ she screamed loudly.  All of a sudden there was a small glimpse of light that beamed in the middle of the tunnel. She could see someone at the end of the tunnel …

At the end  of the tunnel Jolie saw what appeared to be a woman. The woman was dressed in red high heels, she had a long brown bob, and  she was wearing a beautiful yellow dress with picture’s of blue-jays  on it. Jolie considered turning around, but could not turn back because the tunnel started to fade away.

 

Chapter 2

Jolie quickly approaches the woman. She feels anxious because she is going to meet a stranger. She thought to herself – could this be the only way out?  “Hello! I am Petra! I am here because in Mathematics Land, where I live, students  don’t understand Math well and I need you to help the students!,” Petra said happily.  But why me?,” asked Jolie. Jolie thought to herself…is this the truth… why me? Besides, aren’t there other kids she could have asked?

“Okay I will come help you, but only if you help me get home.’’ commanded Jolie.

“Deal!’’ said Petra. ‘’Let us get on that helicopter over there, so we can go to Mathematics Land,”  Petra said.

“Can you roll down the window, I get a little car sick (even though this is a helicopter…)”, said Jolie. This ride was very noisy, so they put on headphones to avoid the noise.

“Of course!’’ yelled Petra.

In the helicopter they travel around the world before they make their final stop to Mathematics Land. Petra and Jolie see some amazing lands. They see Lemon Land, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Hoodland. They finally got to Mathematics Land! Jolie thought Mathematics Land was so beautiful. It had so much stuff like, the math playground where you can  solve math problems, patterns, place value, fact families, fractions, and even multiplication. Petra took Jolie to the kingdom. Jolie was anxious because she doesn’t know what is going to happen next.

Once she gets to the kingdom she meets the Queen of Mathematics Land. The Queen is Lissa. Lissa was dressed with one of the most charming cloaks. She had sandy brown skin, a long ponytail hanging down the middle of her back, and had a blue dress with math equations on it. Jolie thought that she looked lovely.

“Hello, Ms. Queen Lissa!’’ said Jolie excitedly.

“I have a question,’’ muttered Jolie.

“Why did you pick me?’’ asked Jolie.

“I picked you because you have special powers like nobody else in this kingdom.’’ said the Queen.

“What?! That is ridiculous! I DO NOT HAVE POWERS.’’ Jolie said laughing.

‘’You do have powers. Whenever you speak to someone about math it is put in their brain!’’ The Queen told Joie.

“What? That’s absurd!” Jolie expressed.

You can help us do math better by your powers!’’ spoke the Queen.

 

Chapter 3  

The Queen brings Jolie to the school. The school was a tall, brick building with two white doors, and pictures of the Queen’s face all over the outside walls. Jolie is feeling confident about entering the school.  Jolie is feeling brave because she knows she can teach well. Jolie’s plan is to introduce a new way of math called Bridges Math. Bridges Math  is a math curriculum that teaches different strategies. The Queen introduces Jolie to the class.

“Hi Ms. Jolie!” said the students. Jolie waves at the class. She quickly starts teaching Bridges Math.

“You learn some new strategies  like – wha” …  Jolie saw words showing up in the air  and then suddenly the student she was talking to repeated the same thing. The Queen made a face at Jolie as to say I told you so.  Jolie had to step outside to talk to herself and calm down.  The Queen followed behind.

“What just happened?”asked Jolie.

“Your powers just showed up. I tried to tell you.” the Queen said. Jolie started to believe the Queen, but she needed to learn how to control her powers first, because she knew this was not the best way to teach the students math.

“I believe you now! I will help the students do math better.” Jolie said fearlessly.

Jolie went back to the classroom to teach math. Jolie was talking again and words started showing up in the air.  Another student repeated what Jolie was teaching. Jolie screamed “STOP!”  She was so frustrated all she wanted to do was teach but this was hard. I guess having powers is not easy but she manages to solve the problem by not speaking.

“I won’t say anything. I will just give you the  written math problem and write down my thoughts” Jolie said frustratingly.  The Queen was proud of Jolie because she did a fantastic job teaching the students Math.  As such, the students thought that Jolie was a remarkable teacher.

At the end of the day Jolie could always come back to Mathematics Land. She will forever experience the best of both worlds. At the end of the school day she saw the tunnel again and walked in. She was now HOME!

The End

Dedication

I dedicated this to my Mom, Melissa D.James, who is always there for me in times when I’m sad or mad. She always pushes me to be a better writer and person. As a lawyer  I am so proud of her. Thank you so much Mom!

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Amanda Marcano-James is a 7-year-old girl who lives in New York City. She loves to write and often takes Creative Writing classes that help shape her artistic vision as a writer. Amanda uses a lot of imagery and symbolism in her stories to explore different challenges in her life. Jolie’s Adventure is a true sentiment of her vivid imagination reflecting on her relationship with Math.