Mark : A Tale of Modern Sorcery
Maia R ( 8th Grade )
“ I don ’ t even have any skills .” The quote circled around in Jimmathin Bradley ’ s head . It was quite the statement . Honestly , it kind of hurt . Jimmathin was a sensitive lad , and skills were a sore topic . You see , Jimmathin was born talented . He could draw , he could ride a bike , he could even sing ! Everyone in the land was jealous of the child . Unfortunately , little did he know that fourteen years ago this very day , a sorcerer named Mark would arrive in town . He moved in right next to Jimmathin ’ s house , and each day the mage struck up the strangest conversation with Jim . “ Ah , good day , Jimmathin ! How goes it ?” Mark would ask . “ Oh , hi Mark . I ’ m feeding my goat .” “ Ah , how lovely . Would you care for a fig , Miss Goat ?” The goat would baa , or the pigeon would squawk , or the frog would croak , and wizard and animal would continue this conversation for quite a while .
“ Thanks for stopping by , Mark ,” Jim would say , and Mark would tip his neon green bucket hat and skip into the sunset . One day , though , Mark did not show up . Jim went about his business , feeding a tardigrade , but was worried . He decided it couldn ’ t hurt to check on Mark , could it ? So , Jim crept over to the large house and knocked on the door .
“ Hello ? Mark ?” There was silence . The door slammed shut behind him and Jim jumped . He turned around , but no one could be seen . He shook the fear from his head and continued into the dark house . Jim had walked for ages , apprehensively glancing around corners and peeking past furniture , when he finally arrived at a room . A chorus of voices were coming from it . Jim , being the intelligent human he was , opened the door to see 26 characters in bright orange suits . They were gathered around a 10 foot long bowl of nachos . All eyes turned to look at Jim . Jim shrieked and started to run away , but before he could , Mark cursed him to not have any skills . 17 years later , Jim had not remedied it . He still had zero skills , and never would . He was standing with his acquaintance , Paloosha , when she told him how jealous she was of people with skills . Jim ’ s heart literally exploded . His guts showered Paloosha , leaving her in a state of shock . A person across the street called 911 , and an ambulance came whirring down the street . It quickly cleaned Jim ’ s remains up and drove away . Jim was contained in an urn that was thrown into the sea . Paloosha has not recovered .
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