King of the elements

• Justin Keevers, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2006

Perhaps you have heard of the four elements, water, fire, Earth and wind, but did you know about the fifth one? As it turns out, an unfortunate boy controls all of these elements but just didn’t know it until he was eleven years old. This story begins where the most horrifying place in the world is; school. “Ha, ha!” the boys in the class cheered in laughter at me, “this little four eyes looks like a buck-toothed nerd!” I hated these guys; they were probably the most popular people in the school just because they were good at sport. I ignored them and looked at the old crippled tree outside the window nearest to the boy I hated most. I closed my eyes and imagined that the tree would reach a branch through the rectangular window and swing it at the kid. When I opened my eyes all I heard were gasps from people but one person yelled, “Oooowww!” this voice came from Ben, the kid I was imagining about when the tree hit him. “What happened?” I asked while shoving my chair back so I could stand up to look at Ben. He was lying on the floor with his hands covering his ear with long hair over it. “Get a way from me, four eyes!” he yelled, “I have no clue what happened.” His mate pulled him up off the floor and told him what had happened, “It was as if the tree out there had come alive! It whacked a branch at your head.” “But… That’s impossible!” Ben said, “How could that ever happen?” No one answered and they all sat back down at their tables. “Are you sure you’re alright man?” Ben’s mate asked. “I think so,” Ben replied. My mind was spinning with craziness as my eyes were wide open with an expression of shock and confusion. ‘How did I do that?’ my mind thought, ‘was that real or not? I’ll imagine something else and maybe that will come true.’ I closed my eyes once more and imagined the teacher in his underwear. It may have been a horrible sight to see but my mum had always told me to do it when I was doing my speeches. Immediately when I opened my eyes I saw the teacher struggling to open the door and race out of the classroom. It appeared that he was in his underwear. All the children couldn’t help laughing. Then I thought of the wind picking up to so strong that the roof of the school fell off. Then I heard screaming and running as I opened my eyes. “Yes!” I ran home and didn’t tell any one my power or else I would be in trouble. From now on I would have a perfect life. But there was just one thing that wasn’t perfect yet. I imagined one more thing that day and went to school the next. One thing was different. Ben had disappeared. Forever.