Inkhead - a place to loosen your pen - home

Matthew Maelo Nile Rahul

Story by Matthew Antwi Age 13

Reality Sucks

I dodged the incoming attack from the beast and countered with an attack of my own. That's me - quick and light! The beast has done the damage and sliced by finger off, but I'm sure the beast is worse. I stretched and hit it square on the head. It grunted so loudly I almost lost my concentration. One more blow, then it will be done.

"Chris - it's my turn!" I ignored the alien whine. It was from a different dimension. I didn't care.

"Chris - you've been on it for hours. It's my turn".

Finally, I turned to the alien whine.

"Shut up - you fool!" I felt a force hit me on the head. I had completely forgotten about the beast and it was crushing my insides. Then my eyes went blank.

"Good" the alien said. "Game over."

I pulled my costume off and stared my brother in the face.

"I lost because of you" I said angrily to my brother. "Chris - its my turn!" I mimicked. My brother looked at my virtual helmet 3000. I got it for Christmas from my Great Grandma. It is in the running for the best game console of the 22nd Century. Once you're in it you can't get out. It is highly addictive. I handed it to my brother and said "Make sure you don't break it". Then I walked out of the house.

When I got home I sat at my computer. A message flashed up on the screen and said "You have one new e-mail" in a strange robotic voice. So I clicked on the link and the e-mail was from Mostfungames.com. I was their No 1 fan. I went on their website 24/7 to download stuff for my virtual helmet 3000. I've always clicked on the link on the website that always says 'Virtual Helmet 4000' (VH4) for $500,000 only the people who buy it get the details on what it does and they have to sign a contract to not talk about it to anyone. No-one knows why (apart from the people who own one).

I read the e-mail. It said 'For being our No 1 fan we proudly present you with a free VH4. Click the link and fill in the requirement information and get it by tomorrow'. My heart leapt! A free VH4, a FREE VH4. "Wow" I said and clicked the link quickly.

I read the first question.

1. What do you want your free game to be - Fantasy or Reality?

My mouse hovered over Fantasy and then I thought "Wouldn't it be cool if it was based in my town?". Then I clicked Reality. This could be interesting. Then I scrolled to question two.

2. What type of game do you want it to be - tame or violent?

"Oh, please!" I said and clicked violent without a second thought. Then I looked at the next question.

3. What genre do you want your game to be?

I scrolled down and clicked on 'Action' (etc like GTA). I liked GTA. Its the best game with violence and all the blood and gore and punching and beating up people. I sent the requirements and slept today (Saturday) and waited for tomorrow to come.

"It looks so cool" I said to myself. This VH4 is like an evolution to the VH3. In the morning it was pretty light so I could see every detail of the VH4. But the best thing about it is that it has no buttons - just an electro-suit and a helmet. I put it on and a screen shone brightly in my face. It said:

"Is this your first time on a VH4?

I thought 'Yes' and was about to say it, when it clicked 'Yes' before I even said anything.

"Cool!" I thought. "It has mind recognition - cool!" Then a new screen popped up. It said "Yes - I know it is cool and, yes it is mind recognition. Now - do you want to play your game?"

I thought "Yes. I could get used to this" Then a screen popped up again. "OK - its simple. All you have to do is think what you have to do".

Suddenly the screen merged into something different. Out of nowhere I saw my home town in the third person and a man in front of me. I thought "Walk" and the man walked slowly. Then the screen intervened again.

"I will give you time to get used to the control and then I will give you something to do!"

I saw a man walking up the street. I thought "Beat him up". Then the screen sprinted with pure strength and started beating up the man. When I was finished with him the screen piped up again and said "You're liking this aren't you? Don't worry. I won't ruin your fun. I will tell you what to do tomorrow“.

So for the rest of the day I started just beating up random people who crossed my path.

"Latest News" the News Reader said. It was Monday and I got off the VH4. I didn't feel tired. "I'm just going to watch the News (its local) and then play on the VH4 again".

Then the News Reader said "This town has been terrorised by a mystery man. Many people were found injured on the street or in shopping centres or just in random places. The Police are searching hard to bring this man to trial".

I stared at the TV and after 10 minutes I just said "It must be a coincidence. How can a Virtual Reality suit make a real person?" and then I laughed it off. "Yeah - it can't be!"

I was running to school. I was so shocked about what happened that I’d almost forgotten to go to school. I got up the gates and looked at the clock on the wall. “Oh no,” I said out loud. “9.03. Miss is going to kill me.”

I sprinted into class and said, “Sorry I’m late Miss I…” but I couldn’t continue as it wasn’t Miss sitting at the old mahogany desk, it was a sub.

“Sit down boy,” the sub said in a tone that didn’t match the words. She sounded sad. Then I looked around the room. Almost every one of my classmates faces mirrored the sub’s facial expression.

“What’s up?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. I’m sure I would get detention for this. I signed and waited for my fate. But to my surprise the sub teachers sighed too and said, “Sit down. Then I will tell the whole class.” So I sat down and she began to talk.

“Well I’m sure you have all heard what happened on the local news.”

“Yes,” the class said as a shiver ran down my spine when I remembered.

“Well,” the sub continued. “Your teacher was one of the victims.”

“YES,” a voice shouted and then suddenly Big Joe punched the air and was doing the cha cha cha on the table.

“No teacher today,” he kept on shouting until the sub gave him a dirty look then he got off the table and sat down. Every class mate shared the same kind of happiness but hid it so they wouldn’t get into trouble.

“You got a VH4?” my best friend, John, asked for the millionth time.

“Yes, it’s amazing how I would ask you the same thing so many times,” I repl.ied.

“Okay, okay I will stop asking,” John said. “Anyway, poor Miss, I wonder what happened.”

Then I remembered the thing that was bugging me since yesterday. One of the people I beat up looked like Miss. At the time I’d just laughed, but now I was sure the VH4 had something to do with it.

“Hey what…” John started to say but I was running back to my house. vI put on the VH4 and said, “You done this, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” it replied. “I was made to crush reality to the core and you know you will now have to die.”

The screen transformed to the third person view of a man. Again the VH4 said, “Sam,” and the man turned around. “Kill the boy.” Then Sam ran at bullet speed down my road. I thought of ways to escape but m y bedroom was escape proof.

“You can not escape,” the VH4 said. “You will die today.”

Suddenly the door flung open and in stepped the man who I had been controlling on the VH4. Then a message flashed on the screen.

“Game Over.”

THE END

Story by Maelo Manning age 10

SAVING MAMA

My mother had been taken so easily, at the drop of a hat she was gone. The furry paw came in and in a split second my world was shattered. I had to catch the monster. I looked up at the wall and pinned to it were drawings and plans on how to catch the monster but, unfortunately, the plans must have failed because my relatives who did these have disappeared.

I had two options: I could either go out through an archway or I could take the secret passage. I didn't have much time and didn't know where the passage led to so I jumped through the arch.

‘Weyman, never go outside without me.’ I could hear my mother’s words echoing in my head but sometimes a mouse has got to do what a mouse has got to do. Also, since I was born three months ago I had been waiting to disobey my mother.

I landed in a room. Little wooden platforms with cheese and metal contraptions were situated everywhere and in the middle of it all stood the monster. Its huge grin like white gleaming piano keys. Its fur was spiked up like barbed wire. Its tail stood up as high as its ears did.

'Miaow', the monster boomed into my ears. I ran. Its paws thundered the ground causing tremors like an earthquake through my furry body. I scrambled up onto a shiny surface and its paws were striking at me. I squeezed through a crack in the wall and for a tiny moment I felt safe. I caught my breath. The wall pounded. Frantically I searched for a crack or something that I could squeeze into. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a tiny hole, I was so desperate I didn't care what it was or where it went to just as long as I was away from here. I ran through the hole which led to a tunnel and spotted a light at the end of it. The monster broke Into the area I had just been in. I hoped the monster had thought I was dead and would leave me alone now. As I walked through the tunnel I noticed another path joining to mine. I wondered where it led to but I had no time to find out so I ignored it.

I finally reached the end of the dark tunnel and stepped out. I was back in my warm comfy home. This wasn’t meant to happen. I should have ended up somewhere closer to where my mother was. Tears rolled down my fur and into my pink nose. I started to twitch badly and wanted my mother back here with me. The temptation to stay was like a black hole dragging me into its depths. The overwhelming smell of cheddar was making it much harder to leave. ‘Mama,’ I screamed and jumped out of the hole.

I scampered across the floor as fast as my little legs could carry me and reached a towering flight of stairs which seemed to go on forever like a huge diagonally shaped mountain. How was I going to get up there?

Suddenly, I heard my mother’s cries! They were coming from a room up the stairs. She is alive. I had to get up there. I scrambled up the first stair but fell back down again. Then a human being came from around the corner with a walking stick in her hand which tapped the floor like the beat of a Bass drum. I darted into a crack and watched her. She sat on a white chair which was fixed to the railings, pressed a button and rose upwards. There was my answer to how I would get up the stairs. I darted onto the metal bar underneath the chair and curled up into a white fur ball so she would not see me.

Finally we jolted to a halt and she walked off into another room. I waited to see if she would come out again but after a while I heard snoring. I ran across the floor and suddenly went up on my hind legs with my front paws up in the air. In front of me sat the Devil himself guarding a room from where my mother’s cries were coming. It was a snarling creature. No, actually, it was a dog. Spit was dripping out of its mouth. Its' eyes were as piercing as its spiky collar. I froze. If I stay I will be eaten but if I run away I will not be able to climb those stairs again to get to my mother.

‘Hello, I love your jewellery.’

I was hoping to flatter the Devil so it would like me. Instead, it looked flustered for about five seconds and then started snarling again. I thumped back down on my four paws and threw myself down the stairs. I went back into the crack and thought of a plan. It came to me. I would haul myself up the railings of the stairs and sneak past the snarling creature.

Running out I stupidly tore my right back paw on a nail. I limped back into the crack and peeped down at my throbbing foot. It was spouting blood. Of course, I started to cry. The pain felt like a knife cutting into me each time I walked. If Mama was here she would kiss it better. Suddenly, I remembered Mama wrapping her tail around a wound she had to make it better so I did the same. It stopped the bleeding for a while whilst I looked for another dressing. I needed my tail; it was like a sixth sense for detecting things around me. Then I saw a tattered piece of rope. I undid my tail and quickly wrapped the rope around my wound and ran out.

Slowly I hauled myself up each railing. When I reached the top I edged along the wall past Satan, I mean the dog, and got inside the room. There was Mama. I found my Mama. She was scratching her head and had not seen me yet. In my head fireworks exploded and rainbows appeared.

‘Mama,’ I called reaching out to her with my nose. This is how she would kiss me. We would snuffle noses and that was our way of snuggling. Before Mama could see me the human came in and sprayed me with a green cloud of gas. I could just make out the words on the bottle and it read ‘Air Freshener’.

Did she think I was smelly? How rude is that? I had to admit that I actually did smell quite nice now but I prefer my natural smell.

When the cloud lifted I looked around for my mother frantically. She was gone. What was I to do? I heard her crying in the next room. I squeezed through into a crack in the wall and listened closely. The crying stopped. If only I was big and strong I could kick the wall down. Why did I have to be a tiny scrawny mouse? Every time I seemed to find my mother she disappeared.

I pressed my ear harder against the wall. Nothing. Finally I decided to just follow my nose and see if I could smell her or hear her. I searched around before reaching a room with a distinct smell of mice and a distant sound off hundreds and hundreds of squeals. When I reached the next room I heard masses and masses of squeals, all coming from the same area.

I ran towards the noise and discovered the room where it was all coming from. On the walls were paintings of mice and there were mice everywhere on the floor. I saw my Mama squeaking away nervously with other mice.

‘Mama, Mama.’

‘Weyman, my Darling. What are you doing here?’

‘I will explain later,’ I said.

‘You shouldn’t have left the hole. You could have been hurt. There are three monsters about. How did you get here?’ she asked.

I had reached her. I did it. We kissed and hugged like we had been apart for centuries. I asked her how all the mice had got here and who had taken them. She explained that they had all come here at different times and had been captured by the same monsters. I recognised some of the mice. They were my family.

‘Look Mama, Cousin Robert and Shelly are here, ‘ I exclaimed.

My mother said that the grinning monster was a cat, the huge monster with the air freshener was a human and the snarling monster was a dog. Mama does not know how much I have grown up in the last six hours. Of course I knew what the monsters were!

I chatted away happily with my family members who had been missing. Then a piercing thought appeared in my mind. Would we ever leave? I asked my mother. She looked mournful.

‘We all would have left ages ago if we could have done so,’ she said.

‘But we all have to get back to our holes to be safe.’

Scampering up a chest of drawers I shouted for silence to the mice. ‘We can't live the rest of our lives here. We have to get back to our holes.’

A murmur spread across the crowd and one mouse shouted 'What do you suggest?'

'All of you need to find as many cracks as possible,’ I commanded.

I wondered if that path I had seen earlier when I was escaping from the cat had an entrance that came into this room. I climbed down off the chest of drawers. My mother approached me.

‘Weyman, you have become more confident and courageous in the time we have been apart,’ she said surprised.

I felt proud of this moment and would remember it forever.

After searching and searching one mouse found a passage. ‘Right’, I shouted, ‘everybody queue up.’

One after the other they walked into the passage. Some of the toddlers and babies struggled but managed just fine. I was seen as a small child too but not at this moment. They were all listening to me hurrying them on. As I was the last one to exit I peeped behind me. The human was walking in. She took one look at the floor and screamed.

‘Where are all my babies, my wonderful, wonderful babies?’

She was probably going to stew us all anyway! Nobody knew why the three monsters had captured us mice but that was my theory and with that I left the room with a satisfied smile on my face.

THE END

Story by Nile Thomas Age 11

Agent T4

CBang! All four of us sprinted off at exactly the same time. "Oooh here they come. Round the bend. Just forty metres to go!" shouts the commentator. My heart is beating like wasps wings. My chest sweating like I was just sprayed down with a fire hose. "Yyyyeah" screams the crowd. "8.72 seconds" Booms the commentator.

I can't believe my ears. I won!! And a world record! Then Mr Bolt comes up to me and says "Ingalingalingalingaling!" He pauses then fades away. "Stupid alarm clock" I yell. "Edward are you OK?" said my Mum. "Yeah. I'm fine" I yelled back.

Last year I got a really dodgy alarm clock that is driving me nuts. "Hurry up and get dressed then" said my Mum, towering over me, standing beside my bed.

"Whaat?" I said.

"Get dressed. You're gonna be late"

"For what?" I say

"For school. No come on!"

Next thing I know I'm rushing out the door only to see my school bus whizzing down the road to my school about 19 blocks away. So off I trotted. I began to feel uncomfortable, as if I was being followed as I approached the City.

"You're late!" screamed Mrs Turnwall.

"Sorry, my alarm clock has never been the same since I smashed it with a sledge hammer" I replied.

The class in front of me giggled. "Oh, just sit down Edward and shut up. In fact I'm not finished. This break you will spend in Headmaster Detention" she boomed.

Mrs T (Mrs Turnwall) is not such an angel to look at. She has a real painted nose, rusty old-fashioned glasses, hair greyer than that on a stormy day, and eyes that are like eagles ones, calling for any notes going around the class.

So here I am, sitting in Detention. I've still got hairs standing up on the back of my neck. I want to go home, but I guess that's detention for you. I don't know exactly what happened next. All I can remember is sitting down in a dim lighted dome. There was a big light overhead, but at the sides of the room there were no lights at all. Figures moved and shapes dodged. I tried to get up and get out but as soon as I moved a muscle, 3 bolts of electricity shot out and strapped me to my chair.

A strange looking woman stepped out of the door and said "Don't worry. You are with us now."

"Secure!" yelled the woman as she approached me. "Secure" said what sounded like three people, but as the lights came on, I counted about 42 men wearing black suits similar to Darth Vaders, padded up with thick armour and tinted glasses. Suddenly, a big flash of blue light came, and, don't take this wrong, but everyone changed. The woman in front of me changed from red hair to black hair, from green eyes to brown eyes, from old summer clothes to smart work clothes. The people around me had gone from all different hair colours to the same.

"Strange view, huh? So was it on everyone's first day as an agent?" she said.

Agent before - Identity not to be given to people.

New agent - Considerably disguised

"Who are you?" I said

"Louis" she replied. "Mr T A G has been watching you. You are the third key, the chosen one. Now here we are not spies. Just people who keep an eye out on others that are very trustworthy."

"Er, yeah, spies" I replied.

She sighed and said "Its not gonna be too easy, training you, Eddie, is it?"

Training

"No then. For some people it takes them a very long time to get used to their new body, but hopefully, we could get this done quickly. What's the answer to 15489775 x 99999?"

"15497395" I replied.

"Good" she said. I think you're ready to go to Norfolk for some rock hard training"

The line pulled up in front of the field, fully of rich grass and sunshine. But as I looked to my right, I saw a sign saying "Poisonous grass. Don't touch!"

"Goodbye Edward!" she said, and then pushed me onto the grass.

"Oooof" I hit the ground, somewhere else

"Boy" said General Grieve. "Name: Edward B Trench, Age 14, born 5 November 1995. Welcome to Camp 7"

"This happened so suddenly" I said. "What about my Mum, Dad, little brother? Please let me ...."

"Shut up" said Grieve. "Go and find your dorm. Smoke will take you there."

Smoke took me through about a mile walk through houses (dorms?) until we found a little shack with a smashed window and broken door.

"What kind of sick joke is this" I want to go home!" I whined.

"And you definitely will if you don't shut up" said Smoke.

Smoke was small, blonde and seemed very smart. He looked around my age (believe it or not) and dressed up like the men back at M17.

"Please don't do!" I said.

"Night T4" said Smoke. And with that, he was gone. Then everything went pitch black. On the way here Louis gave me a spy/survival kit. I had a look. There were several items - a spy night scope, assassinator gun, pocket knife, destination teleport.

I saw it coming. I day dreamed about it, night dreamed about it, and I'm sorry to say, but I night mared about it.

I woke up in Grieve's office. I looked out of the window next to where I was sitting. People were rushing and running around everywhere. And then I saw a familiar looking person walking to what looked like a bombsite back of a dorm. She was crying though.

"Mum" I screamed.

"Don't bother" said Grieve, sitting at his desk in the corner. "He's dead, gone, murdered. Why you brute?" He screamed.

"Why the second key?" He wept and wept. I turned my attention to my mother. I said "Don't bloomin' bother. She wouldn't recognise you from a mile away. Look at yourself" Sniffed Grieve as he handed me a mug.

I screamed like a girl being hung over a drop. No, honestly, I had no idea. I looked at Adam Grieve's devastated face. He looked in his mid 60's, grey hair, deep, deep, brown eyes and army clothes any disciplined General wears. I began to sense something wrong.

Smoke knocked on the door. In the next three weeks of training with Smoke, I learned a lot from him. He started training at 8 years old but two missions and he's only 17. He's just spending some time back in camp, like Bruce did, that's why he's afraid. Me and Smoke (his real name is Clarence) became like brothers over the time. Now you may be wondering about the keys, like first, second and third. Well keys are special missionaries chosen to gather a smart bunch of kids (spy kids) and create something to destroy, er, you know, something. So that's where Bruce the second key came in, made a great success and, aged 22, came to have a look back at the camp, where he meets his death. Being a spy is dangerous. So death comes the first key, comes the second, where death approaches him, comes me. Luckily I was chosen early and my first Mission to gather a group of whatever from wherever.

Leaving Smoke was the hardest. I felt like I had known him all my life. So here I am on my way back to MI7, getting ready for my first mission. Agent T4's first mission.

THE END

Story Rahul Brahmbatt age 12

Giles And Pharaoh Rameses

In 2000 BC a man wanted to rule the British Empire. Even though England did not exist in that time, he still wanted to rule. His name was Giles from East London, Stratford. But he took the wrong turning when he was going to visit the Queen who was in Turkey enjoying a lovely tea with some digestives. He went South and found himself in Egypt.

At this time Pharaoh Rameses was on his throne enjoying a lovely slice of pizza from Rome. When Giles arrived in the City of Cairo he searched day and night for the High Priest and found him in a place where priests would not be. He was in the pub. In the pub was a snake charmer who was choking on a shish kebab and suddenly passed out. Giles ran up to the Priest and said "Hey I'm from the FBI". The Priest replied "I haven't got the foggiest idea what you're talking about." Giles looked at his face in shock and fell into a deep sleep. His final words of the day were "Awright Mate, the snake charmer's cobra bit me!"

The High Priest saw what happened to the drunk Englishman and left him there to die. He was a High Priest. Why would he help a man. The High Priest took some paracetamol and ran to see the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was not amused and sent a formal letter to the Queen insisting she took Giles away, but the thing was that the Queen was nearby at the English Isles drinking tea with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Pharaoh was quite jolly though and called for a banquet. The High Priest had taken an overdose of paracetamol and was not feeling too good when he saw the Pharaoh's younger son munching on a spicy chicken. The High Priest ran up to him and said "Ra you need to tell your father I cannot see orange".

Ra was shocked. He then blurted out "What the Hell - you're colour blind!" Ra ran up to his father followed by the High Priest and whispered in his ear. The Pharaoh looked at him, not amused and said "Awright, Mate. Take good care of yourself!"

Suddenly the Pharaoh's I-phone rang. It was the Queen. Pharaoh picked up the phone and said "Hello". The Queen replied "How dare you say hello to a Queen. What kind of Pharaoh are you?" The Pharaoh raged in anger and said "Listen Missy. This guy called Giles is ruining the country. He just opened up a new pub called Hail Britannia. Britannia Rules the World". The Queen replied "Well, of course he would, he's a drunk Royal family member from London!" The Pharaoh put down the telephone and standing there was Giles. He turned around and said "Awright, Mate. I heard you are Royal".

So the High Priest went off sick for a couple of days but still talked to the Pharaoh, who was still not amused about the foreigner coming to his country and acting like some royal person.

Giles, on the other hand, was having a great time as he taught the Egyptian brothers how to make tea. The Pharaoh heard about this and was not amused at all. He ordered Giles to come and make his tea.

Giles made some tea and the Pharaoh tried it. The King was amused to see what the English man had made and gave him a little something to eat. But Giles was not sure what he was up to. A green moon-shaped vegetable turned up. The Pharaoh insisted that he should eat it. Giles was one tough man and ate it whole. He burst into tears. This thing had burnt his tongue and he had to drink water and milk for two weeks.

The High Priest heard this and went to see the Pharaoh just after he had finished his Lemsip. The Pharaoh was watching on his screen TV one gadget show and told all of his royal subjects to buy everything they liked. Beside him was Ra watching Spongebob Square Pants. Ra turned around and said "Awright, Mate, feeling better?"

THE END

Sydenham High Junior School Stories>>

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless” – Rousseau