Jaxon this, Jaxon that, bla bla bla. Ever get so tired of hearing your parents call your name that you feel like gluing their mouths shut while they sleep? Do you think that’s a little extreme? I’m sure you don’t because even if your parents aren’t annoying like mine, they ARE annoying and sometimes you just want them to shut up.

“Jaxon!” my mom screamed again. “You need to change your baby sister’s diaper if you want to eat dinner tonight! Unless you want me to contaminate the food! Is that what you want? Baby poop in your pasta? You lazy potato of a boy!”

I walked to the living room like I was on my way to my own funeral. I didn’t hate my baby sister. She was cute. But have you ever changed a diaper? If not, you’re lucky. If you have, you know. You just know. Ugh.

So I changed the little monster, gave her a toy and started walking back up to my room.

“Jaxon! Where are you going? Set the table! And put your sister in her high chair!”

“Ughhh mom! I have homework!”

“Liar. Hurry up and do what I asked!”

At that moment my dad walked in and started talking too... like somebody invited him into the conversation.

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I had been in the school cafeteria less than ten seconds when the group of “cool kids” started on me. It was always the same, I tried to avoid them at all costs, but sometimes there was just no getting away from them.

“Oh my god, what have you got on your feet?”

“They look like you found them on a garbage site!”

“He smells like he’s been on one too!!”

“Hey, cut it out! Leave him alone!”

I was so relieved to hear Mark's voice. He was my best friend and he always defended me.

The cool kids disappeared in a flash and I turned to thank Mark. He put his arms around me and gave me a hug.

“Thanks Bro!”

“No worries! I love you man!”

“I love you too!”

Mark and I had been best friends for years, when I was a new kid at school he was the only one who was nice to me. When I first arrived I was pretty lonely, all the other kids already knew each other and weren’t keen on having a new kid hang around with them. But Mark was different.

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I followed the line of kids piling into the school hall. It was the end of year Assembly and the whole school was gathered to hear their academic achievements.

I took a seat at the back of the room, trying to look inconspicuous. There was a buzz in the room as everyone chatted away nervously.

I was also nervous, but not for the reason you might think. I was probably the only person in that room who was dreading hearing their results.

As the principal started calling out people’s names one by one, there were shouts of joy as people went up to collect their awards, trophies for the best soccer player and awards for the best drama students.

Finally it was time for the award that everyone had been waiting for, the student of the year award.

The principal picked up his microphone and started talking.

“Now it is time to give out the student of the year award, as you all know, this is a very prestigious award. It is only ever given to the most dedicated, hard working student in the school. The student who has won this year has achieved outstanding success, getting A’s in every single subject! So this year, it gives me great pleasure to announce the winner is……...Martin Anderson!!!”

The whole school broke out into applause and all eyes turned towards me. I just sat there, frozen to my seat. Suddenly I felt someone nudge me from behind.

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“Sarah farts really loudly when she sleeps. Oh my God and sometimes it smells so bad that we have to wake up and open all the windows. It’s awful.”

Those were usually the first words my mother said to any friend of mine she met for the first time. She’d never say anything good about me and at first I never really questioned it because I thought this was normal. Isn’t this how all moms acted?

Anyway...

I’m my parents' second child. I have an older brother called Gregory who already left for college. My dad was a pretty average, boring guy - he ate a lot, was gaining weight and had already started balding. He wasn’t a bad person but he was pretty ‘bleh’ if you know what I mean.

When I was about five years old, I realized I was good with my hands. I could paint beautiful sceneries and it seemed like I’d had years of training. There are people in art school right now who can’t paint that well! I also loved making things - I’d gather scraps of cardboard and create miniature houses. I’d paint them and they would look so realistic after. I never thought much of them because my mom would just roll her eyes every time she saw me doing something creative. Then one day my grandma came over and saw all my paintings and miniature buildings displayed in my room.

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I picked the remote control up and switched channels,

“Hey man! I was watching that!”

“Yes, me too, switch it back!”

It was so annoying living in an orphanage, I never had any time on my own, I was always surrounded by other kids.

“Ok, ok, calm down!”

I turned the channel back over.

“I’m going up to my room anyway!”

I stood up, but just as I was about to walk out, Mrs Parker, our warden, came walking in.

“Michael, I have some great news for you!”

“What?”

“A family wants to come to see you, they are looking for a child to adopt.”

My mouth fell open in shock, I was 15 years old, I didn’t think anyone would ever be interested in adopting someone my age.

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"Urgggghhhhhhh!" I slammed my hands onto the table frustratedly.

My boyfriend, Jelani, who was sitting on the sofa watching a movie, looked across at me, "Babe, what's wrong?"

"It's this stupid laptop charger," I held it up annoyed, "it's not working!"

"Well, you can either sit there and get upset with the charger or you can purchase one on Amazon."

"I hate purchasing products online. I never get what I purchase."

"Everywhere is closed, babe, what other choice do you have?"

Jelani did have a point. I needed my laptop to work so I decided to purchase the charger via Amazon. Little did I know that making that purchase was going to change my life forever!

Hi! My name is Cindy and boy do I have a story for you.

The next day, my Amazon package arrived. I took it to the table and opened it up.

"You've got to be kidding me," I groaned in despair.

Jelani's head peeked over my shoulder and he chuckled.

"This isn't funny," I protested.

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Aliens were attacking me from all sides, there were hundreds of them. I dodged their bullets as best that I could, but there were too many of them. Bombs started raining down on top of me, I moved left and right, but eventually there were too many and one hit me, blowing me into a thousand pieces.

“Aaargh!!”

I threw the video game controller at the wall in anger.

“It’s so frustrating, I was nearly at the final section of the game!”

I looked at the wall and my heart dropped when I saw the damage I had done.

“Oh no, my parents are going to kill me!”

There was a hole in the wall where the controller had hit it. I went over to the wall to survey the damage. I was standing there, wondering how I was going to explain it to my parents when I suddenly saw something that made my blood run cold.

Through the hole I could see an eyeball staring back at me!

“Aaargh!”

I let out a loud scream, and jumped back away from the wall. Ten seconds later my parents were in my room.

“What is it Tara?”

I pointed at the hole in the wall, “Over there, look!”

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I could hardly contain my excitement as I waited outside the school gates for my Mom to pick me up. My friends were all excited for me too!

“I can’t believe you’re finally going to see your Mom, I know she’s only been away a year, but it seems like forever!”

“I know right! I’m so happy, I’ve really missed her.”

“Yeah, I know you’ve spoken to her every day, but it’s not the same as having your Mom there, is it?’

“I can’t imagine how I’d feel if my Mom had to go away for a year. Anyway, she’s back now and in a few minutes you’ll get to see her!”

I looked down the road, trying to see if I could see her car coming. My stomach had butterflies and my heart was beating like mad,

“Come on, Mom, hurry up!”

Suddenly this random woman walked up to me, put her arms around me, and gave me a big hug.

“Hello darling!”

“Err… Who are you?”

“Marsha, what do you mean who am I? I’m your Mom!”

My mouth fell open in shock, it was definitely my Mom’s voice, I would recognise that anywhere. But this woman looked nothing like my Mom!

I could hear my friends sniggering and whispering to each other.

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H-hi. I'm Maria. If you're listening to this then I'm probably already dead. But I need to start from the beginning. Where it all began.

Hi! I'm Maria. I'm here about the job interview?

Hi Maria! Yes, yes, right this way. It's nice to meet you.

So, you called in about getting a job here?

Yes! I love working in grocery stores, my work ethic is really great, I just love chatting to people and--

That's fine, Maria, you don't have to try and sell yourself. You've already got the job!

I have?

Of course! I've been trying to get an employee to work here for ages. The town of Hasbury is a quiet one, I can tell you that. Actually, come to think of it, what brings you to Hasbury? If you don't mind me asking

Well.. it's a long story.

No worries! Well, if you want to start tomorrow morning, then that would be great! The pay is 15 bucks an hour. We're open from 9 to 5. You'll basically handle the customers, cashier, all that jazz. It's simple stuff. Any questions?

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When I was little, I took great pride in my family. My parents would take me to the park and I would wiggle my eyebrows mockingly at other kids as I walked with my loving mom and dad and their parents fought over stupid things, like forgetting the juice boxes or bringing the wrong blanket to sit on.

My parents and I were the perfect family. Every night we had fantastic dinners that my parents cooked together, then we would play music and dance around as we cleaned up. My parents loved being involved in my school and extracurricular activities. They drove me and my team to soccer practice every Saturday and cheered the loudest when I scored. My birthday parties were legendary, because my parents always went all out to throw me really cool themed parties. I thought my life was absolutely perfect in every single way. Little did I know, there were things brewing under the surface that I couldn’t see.

When I was 15, I woke up in the middle of the night to a door slamming shut, then I heard it creak open again and I heard crying. I froze; I had never heard anything like it. I ran out of my room and saw that my dad was crying at the bathroom door, whispering something desperately. My mom then came out of the bathroom, no expression on her face until her eyes landed on me. She got teary eyed, then she grabbed two suitcases and set them by the door. She swung our front door open, then turned to me, wiped my tears of confusion and fear and kissed my forehead. She then grabbed her suitcases and threw them in the trunk of a car that was waiting for her by the street.

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