Alanis McClary, a second grade student of Deborah W. Johnson at Ronceverte Elementary School, received Honorable Mention in the Greenbrier County, West Virginia Young Writers Contest held recently throughout the county’s schools. Alanis’s story is titled “Rose is Lost.”
The contest is conducted annually to encourage students throughout the Mountain State to write creatively and for various audiences. Judges in each county evaluated entries in various grades, categories, and the winning entries are sent to the state competition, where state-level winners are selected.
Alanis, 8, is the daughter of Robert and Robin McClary of Caldwell. Below is her story.
Rose Is Lost
When I was eight years old I found an orange, striped kitten outside. I asked my mom if I could keep her. “Only if you promise to be a good girl and do all your chores each day,” said Mom. I went back outside and picked up the kitten. I named her Rose. I took her inside and fed her kitten food. She looked happy after she ate.
Rose and I went to play in my room with a ball of yarn. It was fun to watch Rose roll around with the yarn. Mom called me to come eat lunch. I said goodbye to Rose and went to the kitchen to eat. When I returned, Rose was gone! I had left the door to my room open and Rose snuck out through the cat door.
I looked and looked for Rose all afternoon and until it was too dark to see. My mom said I had to come inside and get ready for bed. I cried so hard. I only had Rose for a few hours and now she was gone. It was hard to get to sleep that night. I had been looking forward to cuddling with Rose in bed.
When I woke up in the morning I was still thinking about Rose. I looked down and there was Rose in the middle of my bedroom floor playing with the ball of yarn. I guess she decided this was her home after all.