This article is the first of our new series called “YOUNG ACHIEVERS.” Â If you know of talented youngsters (12 years or younger) that excel in the arts (music-painting-dance-acting), creative writing, academics, and athletes please submit your nominee to the City-CountyObserver@live.com. so we can publish their achievements.
OUR FIRST “YOUNG ACHIEVER” IS WRITER HADLIE DARKE-SCHREIBER
The Mystery was written in “The First Person” by 10-year-old fifth-grade honor student-athlete Hadlie Drake-Schreiber. Hadlie is a gifted fifth-grade student who is taking accelerated academic courses.
She plays soccer, softball, and basketball and is on the traveling team for each sport. Â She is also an excellent competitive swimmer and enjoys hiking,
Harlie enjoys building legos and aspires to be either a writer or an Engineer. Â Other information about Hadie was withheld by request
THE MYSTERY
 is written by 10-year-old Hadie Darke-Schreiber
(We would like to point out that Hadie’s literary project is a work in progress)
One day my family was led to a bus that blocked up the windows and told us to be quiet. My son Henry and my husband Jeff were on one side of the bus and I, Sally, and my daughter Carolina were on the other side. We did not have any idea where we were and how we got here. My husband is an engineer and likes to build things. That is how we got into this program and we did not want to leave him alone so we went with him. We are only allowed to bring two suitcases. One was for the clothes and the other was filled with things we need or want.
The bus finally stopped and we got our suitcases and looked outside. It was so beautiful, there were birds and flowers everywhere. Crops grew throughout the place. This place was not like any other, there were no buildings in sight. No people either, just us wanting to build the city and live in this beautiful place forever. So they began to build in three days they were so bummed. Â There were piles of wood everywhere, bricks, and blueprints to build. They were assigned their pieces of wood and bricks to build with. Then the bus driver gave them their blueprints and drove off.
He left the instructor a bag. This bag had food for him and supplies for us. The instructor’s name was Bill and he was so nice. They were supposed to have him as a mayor but he got replaced by this other guy that was supposed to be better. His name is Joe. No one knew him. But Bill was popular and everyone knew him. He was the person who helped us find our way. We are pretty sure that Joe was the person who made us come here not to help us even though we are having a hard time leaving all of our family. Just a little support would be nice.
Anyway, we have to assign jobs to the family. Once the school is built the kids will go there and we will be alone. Carolina is 7Â years old and her brother is 10 years old. I have to do all the cooking, cleaning, and do the crops. Plus I can sew clothes. All he has to do is build our house and other things that do not seem fair. But he has to help three people build their houses because he is already building his. So he will be done before everyone else and his family will be safe.
Two Months Later
Jeff finished the house and went to work on some other person’s house. The school was built and Carolina and Henry finished their chores and went to school. I am cooking dinner and picking the apples at the local farm. The school is open all hours kids are allowed to go to school whenever, but they have to go to school for five hours at minimum.
When the kids came home they ate dinner, cleaned the dishes, and did their homework. Carolina had not as much homework compared to Henry. Henry had tons of homework. Carolina asks “Can I play with my friends from school’. I say ‘Yes you may and she rushes out the door’. Henry asks for a snack. I say ‘What do you want’. He says ‘ May I have some crackers’. I say ‘ For sure sweety’. And I go get some. I hand him some crackers that I have bought from the MarketPlace.
When Carolina gets home she says ‘I and my friends went to the farm with their mom and I got something for you, I picked this wonderful flower from the garden’. ‘ Smell it’, she says sweetly. It was the best smelling flower I have ever smelt. It was the best thing I have smelt since sliced bread. ‘I also have some eggs, milk, and fresh apples’ said Carolina. ‘Wow you were hard at work’, she said. ‘Yes I was.’ she says. ‘Well then, you better go get some rest’, I say.
‘What, no I want to see daddy’. ‘Daddy is coming home later tonight’. ‘You can see him in the morning, now go read your book’. ‘Yes mommy’, she says. She has to finish this book this weekend because she can not read on Sunday. Sunday is the day of rest for them, all they do is go to church. Even their dad is off on Sundays.
Henry went to bed later and finished his homework. He already finished his book this week and now he has to choose a different one.
Later That Weekend
It is Saturday and today is the day we get donuts and coffee at the bakery shop. Then we go to the playground and jump on the new trampolines. Today is Henry’s birthday so we are getting him a puppy and he does not know so don’t tell him! We are going to surprise him tonight. But I told the kids not to go home and if so tell me other than that follow my directions. They think that dad is at work but he is everything ready for tonight. He got
Cake, candles, puppy, and supplies. I am in charge of keeping them away from the house. His birthday is on the 27th of October. Which is three days away from Halloween and he was so excited. He was going to be a skeleton and his sister is going to be a princess. Their parents stayed at home and passed out candy and they went with their best friend Larry and Susan. They have two kids named Nora and Charlie. Charlie is Henry’s age and Nora is Carolina’s age. They have a dog named Jack, he is a poodle. Jack loves to play fetch and eats up pillows. He is only one-year-old.
Tonight
Happy birthday, Henry! Henry has the biggest smile on his face. You are 11 now! He eats dinner from his favorite place. Pizza Palace has the best food in town. All he gets is a cheese pizza but it is still good. He loves crackers too. When they got home he ate cake, it was chocolate with sprinkles. After they ate they came to open the presents. He always saved the biggest for last. His first present was a library card now that he was 11 he could check out as many books as he wants. He was only allowed to have one book checked out at a time. Now he could do whatever he wanted with his card. He was so thankful he had always wanted his own library card, and now here it is. The next present was a new pair of shoes, his old ones have holes in them. His next present was a piece of paper. It said you ‘Will be assigned a job from the mayor tomorrow please be at the town church at 8:00 am to have a job, if no one is there, no job for you. He was in shock. All he ever wanted was a job and here it is. Lastly, he opened the last box. The biggest box. The surprise of the year. He opened the box, he really didn’t want anything else. He was happy with what he had but he was still excited. He opened the box. Inside there was his favorite thing yet.  His own puppy! The dog kissed him on the cheek and jumped on him. He asks ‘ Is it a girl or a boy’. I say it is a boy. Yeah, it sure looks like it. He says. Now you have to take care of him, he is not our responsibility anymore.  Yes, mom, He says. You have your own schedule tomorrow we most likely are not going to see you so have fun. I will, he says.
Tomorrow
Henry is already gone. It is 7:30 and he will be a little bit early. So we are making breakfast. I am having bacon and Carolina is having cereal. We are supposed to church today but today we can’t because we have two people missing today it is just me and Carolina. Jeff is at work because one of the workers passed away. Now he gets paid more but has to work more. The worker ate something that was not food. The bus driver said if there was ever someone who passed he would come every month to collect and put it somewhere else. Also, he came to stay in the city. He will pick a house that was the best-built home. We weren’t worried.
Anyway, I had planned to go shopping for food and clothes for the kids. So me and Carolina had a mommy-daughter day. First, we are going to get food for our Halloween party with Nora and Charlie. Then, we are going to the clothes shop to buy some costumes for Carolina and Henry. Next, we are going to the playground and have some fun. Then we are going to have some lunch at her favorite place to eat. I love sushi. Lastly, we are going to go home! The only reason we are going excited to go home is that we figure out Henry’s job.
Later That Evening
When we finally came home there was Henry sitting on the couch. They asked him what his job was as soon as they walked through the door. He answers in a quiet voice. I am… Then he gets louder, the mayor’s assistant. They scream for joy. Being the mayor’s assistant is the best job in town. All he gets to do is fetch the mayor his drink or ask the chief for whatever he wants. You also help him decide things. Like where to put the new hair salon. You sit in a big throne or chair and ask for a few things. Wherever the mayor goes he goes. He gets all the luxury. There is one thing he is kind of upset about is school. He absolutely loved his teachers and friends. The good thing is that he can ride in a big car wherever he wants and have as many people on it. Henry had to take many tests and here is his story.
Henry’s Story
It is 7:00 and I just woke up. I made some waffles and ate it on the way. It only takes 10 minutes to get to the mayor’s office. I will arrive at 7:20 because I have to take a shower. When I get there the guards welcome me. As soon as I walk in they ask for my address, name, and picture of me. Then they lead me to a little private room.
In the room, there were 2 guards and the mayor. In that room, they showed him the mayor and where he would sit and a lot of other stuff. Then a guard took him to another room. Next, he handed him special clothes. Then they tested him. One was a checklist about his health and another one was about how long he has lived here, and questions about the streets and how to get around.  The last test was about school and your certificate that you graduated. When they were waiting for the results he knew he was going to make it because it was so easy, he decided to make the guards his friends because if you get on their bad they have too much power. One guy’s name was Mason and he was so nice. He has been my neighbor for 7 years. We would go out to eat sometimes he would play with them because he is only 3 years older. Now he sees someone familiar. Someone from the bus ride. I think that he was in front of me on the bus. He did not talk at all, nobody did. Hmm… Ohh he knows now he was in his class in third grade. He was nice but he definitely was not the nieces. He would be a kid that did not turn in his homework or was doing something wrong and got in trouble but he tried to be a showoff and show everyone how he is the best. Then everything changed when he met his girlfriend. She is so nice and pretty. Nobody knows how they met or if he bribed her to make him look good. The next thing we know is his grades are up and he is being nice to people so we are all happy. The other guard I don’t know, I have never seen him. Anyhow the mayor just walked into the room. Here we go. One of the guards said the rules. Like ‘ You have to be silent whenever someone is talking’. ‘For example, when the mayor is talking your lips are zipped, understood.’ ‘Yes sir’ Henry says. ‘ Also if we are having an agreement on something you don’t know about, agree and we will tell you later, understood.’  ‘Yes sir’ I respond. Now you have passed the tests so you are officially the mayor’s assistant. Now report back here tomorrow at 9:00. Your time working will be for six hours, from 9 to 2 pm. ‘Thank you, for all of your time today,’ says a guard. The mayor stands. I am so happy you are my assistant. Nobody could be smarter or more intelligent. On the way home he sees Carolina and mom walking home. He knew they wanted to see him and ask what his job was. So he tells the driver to hurry so they did not get any clues of what his job is. So he got home about 10 minutes before they did and that was about when my story ends.
So I was so impressed with all of this Henry did a great job and he will be on his own soon. Anyway, Halloween is tomorrow! Everyone was decorating their house and laughing with happiness. We decorated our house with a big skeleton in front of the house, lots of lights around the top, and lastly a lot of blow-ups like Jack from the Nightmare Before Christmas and Zeros’ grave.
Halloween
Tonight they went to put their costumes on and Carolina was going to be Sally from the ‘ Nightmare Before Christmas’ and Henry was going to be Jack. Their friends Nora and Charlie were going too. Nora was going to be Zero the dog and Charlie was going to be the mayor from the movie. That was their favorite movie for the season.I stayed home and Jeff and passed out some candy to the kids that came by.  The kids went to their friend’s house and played with them till 7:00. Then they went trick or treating. The party had food and dessert. It was delicious and the treats were even better. When we went trick or treating we were so tired. There were 200 houses in the neighborhood and we knew we could not get them all. We got 106 houses in counting. When we went home mom and dad were waiting for us. We hugged them and then we went to bed.
Today is Monday and today Carolina is going to school. She was so excited because today is November 1, 2020. She got to get one donut on the days that were the first, but only if she worked hard at school.
FOOTNOTE: We would like to point out that Hadie’s literary project is a work in progress. Â We hope by publishing her work it will be an encouragement for her to continue her passion for creative writing,
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