Viscount Bennett Junior High School - Terminal Yearbook (Calgary, Alberta Canada)

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I Page.97.... ... ' ....T H E T ER MINAL . Marcel ran to each of them and kissed each still figure. Out under the apple ; tree he buried his beloved, then beside the white cross he again squeezed the trigger. A loud crack -- then silence. A few hours later the victorious army arrived. Hey, Joel yelled a soldier. Got any cigarettes? Yep, was the reply. A pack of American cigarettes was dropped beside the wheel of the United States Army truck. I Darlene Dafoe, 11-30 SECOND PRIZE TIPPY You look at the dirty carcass, dragged to the roadside. The once x arn, velvety- brown eyes stare coldly ahead an d you know he is dead. There is a lump in your throat as you try to hold back the flood of emotion, and your blurry eyes blink repeatedly. You look at what was once yours as a helpless pup, then as a full-grown dog, and you try to imagine he is sleeping as you have seen him sleep hundreds of times before. But his features are imperfect; his head is too long, his body seems pitifully small, and he .is lifeless. There is no rhythmic breathing pulsating the little cocker spaniel. He xtfas not like this when he romped with you, when he barked excitedly about you, jumping up playfully. When he shared your little adventures, your emotions, a part of your life. When he heaped affec¬ tion unselfishly upon you, when he alone trusted you. Now you remember the little things about him that made you love him, that made him different from any other dog. -Little things that seemed unimport¬ ant then; times when he would search your pockets.with that moist, friendly nose, hoping to discover a treat, or times when you shared your warmth with him on cold nights (or in the daytime), and how he would always curl himself at your feet and yours alone. You dreamily tap the little body xirith your foot to see if it s really there, and your foot tells you that it is. Your eyes travel over him now and your mind travels back to long ago, to yesterday and the days before. The satin-smooth coat of gold that you often fondly petted is dull now, covered by the dust and oil of the road. You glimpse the little stub of his tail and you try to imagine how it once wriggled in greeting when you cane home at the end of a day. As you stare down at him you see that his tongue spreads out of the open mouth and lies in the dirt. You can remember when you felt its warn caress on your cheek. His mouth is ugliest of all now, because it-is grotesquely open and a trickle | of blood has flowed out of one of its corners. His expression is the one he died with, and you can read the fear and pain in it. And you know, too, that though the most of his barking during the four years he lived was joyous, this last bit was not. You I choose not to recall his last clarion call to the world. You look helplessly at him and you seek some justification for it. You search I blindly for a reason, but it doesn ' t exist. So, you push back the thought of what a i |

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! THE TERMINAL , rr U Page. 96 6,0 SHORT FIRST PRIZE STORIES DECISION , ' - ' 7 • ' .. Footsteps echoed in the streets of .S ' 7 Toulous, France. As Marcel Lalonde hurried hone, he shudderingly thought of ' y i ' the scene at the inn a few hours ago. yy f ’ - Laughter and music filled the room until, Vr. ' •’ vO suddenly, a man staggered in. The Germans are comingl he gasped. 1 V‘ The Americans are losing the battlel 1 . v ' Thunderstruck, the people cared for I f f v i the sick man and hurried to their families : ■ i I Nothing can save us now, thought Marcel i y -— J , as he left. V ' v. x Finally, he reached home. His little ' v - ' s hoy, Guillaume and his daughter,. Antoin¬ ette, raced to meet himj his wife stood smiling at the door. Surely he could not leave them to the mercy of the Germans. Death would be better. In that moment, Marcel made a fateful decision -- he must aake sure no enemy laid hands on his family. Mariel he cried. The Germans are coming. We must prepare for them. Oh, Marcell How horrible. What shall we do? she sobbed. After putting the children to bed, he told her of his plan. First, he would burn the grain and then, he would — kill them. After a few moments of despair, Marie agreed that this method was the best idea. Together, they walked to the fields and stood looking at their crops for a last time. Realizing he had little time, Marcel started the fire. They watched it greedily, lighting the countryside with its flames. Soon, the work was done and the couple turned their backs on the smoldering ashes to face their last task. Marcel was silent on the way home. A terrible task was before him — one which would require all of his courage. The house loomed up ahead and the steps were reached. Marcell Marie grasped his arm. Good-bye, and please make it quickl Oh, my darling, he brought her close to him. I love you. Suddenly, he started. The sound of firing cannon could be heard in the distance. Grimly he ascended the stairs. —-— Daddy, daddyl What s that noise? — ——— The children ran to him. He picked yr ' - x 7 them up and hugged them tightly. y Daddy and Mummy are going to take 1 y - s-—J , y you on a long journey to a beautiful land, iy darlings. He quickly kissed them and if { j ) set them down. [ y l J I The children stared as he brought out 4 7 an old revolver. Perhaps they understood, M “ J y v for, although they were terrified, nothing s. -7 was said as the gun exploded — once — ‘ .7 twice -- three times. 7 .6 67

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| THE TERMINAL .. ...... ...’.Page .... truck did to Tippy, how it crushed and disfigured his little body. You pick him up j and carry him home and bury him, beneath his favorite spot, where the sun beats down the warmest, and you hope he can feel the warm rays for all eternity. You are wishing one more thing as you shovel the dirt into the little grave. You are wish¬ ing, amid the blinding tears, that Tippy will forgive you for driving the truck that killed him. Ron Huck, 11-30 HONORABLE MENTION REWARD M’liss Clark lived in the small town of River Forks, Arkansaw. She was a striking girl, tall and willowy with long, black, shiny hair and wide-set brown eyes. Her family had lived in River Forks for seven years now and everyone knew and liked them, everyone that is, except the Carter family. Betty-Lou Carter, who was in M liss’s class at River Forks High School, thought that she would rather die than associate with M’liss. The Clarks, in her opinion, had no place in River Forks or any other city in America because they were Negroes. Betty-Lou had been brought up to believe that she was superior to Negroes and not to associate with them, but in a small town like River Forks they were bound to be thrown together. Such was the situation on the Saturday that the junior class decided to go on a riding party. The sun was shining brightly as the young people started on the ' ir way and before long they were racing across the countryside, their merry laughter filling the air. Suddenly Betty-Lou s horse stumbled and before the astonished eyes of her class-mates she was thrown violently to the ground, her horse on top of her. The frightened horse got up and galloped away but Betty-Lou was still. Quick , cried one of the girls, go to the nearest house and phone for the ambulance. We won’t j move her until they get here. To M’liss and her friends it seemed like an eternity before the screaming sirens of the ambulance could be heard. The car lurched to a sudden stop and the attend¬ ants got out. What happened? one of then asked, and while M ' liss explained, the other two carefully lifted the injured girl and placed her on a stretcher. The day was spoiled and- the dispondent students rode home thinking of the accident. On Monday the entire town knew that Betty-Lou Carter would be crippled for life. Betty-Lou had many visitors} some came from duty, some from curiosity and some were genuinely interested in her well-being. M’liss was one of the latter. At first Betty-Lou resented M’less visiting her - , but, as the months wore on, although most of her friends stopped coming, M’liss remained faithful. When at last Betty-Lou was able to go out, it was M’liss who wheeled her around, who helped her with her homework, who kept her posted on activities in the school. Gradually the Carter household realized how much they depended on this quiet Negro girl and as they did their prejudices began to disappear. The months sped by quickly and it was time for graduation exercises. Students were being presented with awards and M’liss was one of them. As her turn cane Mr. Brown, principal of the school said, To M ' liss Clark for her work both in the school | and community goes the citizenship award-and we have here tonight a young lady who wishes to say a few words about it. Everyone clapped as Betty-Lou was wheeled out on the stage. I have just a few words I would like to say. Last fall, at the time of my ' accident try family and I had an absurd idea that the White race was much superior to any other race. It has taken this accident-to show us that we were wrong, very wrong. I think you all know what I mean. We have found that Negroes and Whites can live