Weekly Student Writing Sample

This week's sample is from Gabriella S. from the 2013 CCSWP.


Chapter 1: Taken and Placed
The streets of Seattle are covered with a thin layer of water. All the rain. On the sides of the road a small river is formed by the collection of rain and sometimes you’ll find random things like old coffee cups or newspaper floating in it. ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍I sit in the outer corner of an ally way and watch one of those small streams. The rain is soaking my mangled hair‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ and‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ glues it to my face. I heard that Seattle used to be a great city, now it is broken down and full of scum. The people here are filthy but when I think about it I’m not much better. I steal to live. I also fight for spare cash now and then. It’s what people like me need to do to survive. My life isn’t perfect, it is far from it. The chances of it getting better...scratch that, there is no chance of it getting better.
‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍
Just ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍then a bright pair of lights interrupts my thoughts. These bright lights must be from a vehicle but no one around here can afford a car. Everyone locks their doors and close their windows. This light can only mean one thing. It’s the W.W.R.S(World Wide Relocation Services)!
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Before ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍the van even parks I jump up and run into the ally way.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ I quickly jumped into a dumpster and try not to breath to hard. This dumpster reeks of dead animals and rotting food. If I leave now they'll catch me though. Looks like I'll just have to suck it up. Suddenly I hear echoing footsteps approaching. ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

“Damn! Think, Tate. Think!” I whisper angrily to myself. 

I quickly cover my mouth with filthy hands and mentally scold myself. Damn I hope they didn't catch that!‍‍ I peer out of the beaten, rusted dumpster and see the shadows of two, no three men in front of me. Luckily I have an old Swiss army knife that I pocketed from some greasy looking man.‍ I see the shadows move farther and farther away, going deeper into the ally. 

I slowly lift up the lid of the dumpster, working hard to keep it from creaking. Once it is up I step out of the dumpster, one leg at a time until I am fully out. Unfortunately I didn't think about the sound of the dumpster closing. It slams shut and the sound echos. I flinch at the deafening sound and look to see the man looking in my direction. I quickly dart away and take off down the street. 

"Get back here!" One of them yells as they chase after me. 

I'm way faster than them though by the looks of it and I've lived on these streets my whole life. Usually by my age people have been transported at least once but not me. I am a master at hiding from these guys. It's not much different from running from the cops.