(no subject)
Colin asked me to write him a flash fiction for creative writing. Here it is. Note: he has to read this aloud in class.
When I was young, my father gave me a book about sea creatures and their habits. I was most intrigued by whales. Their great size and grace was always something that fascinated me. Since then, I’ve done quite a lot of research on them (Did you know there are 11 types of baleen whales and 67 species of toothed whales?), and in my studies I’ve heard some very fun whale stories. This inspired me to write this flash fiction on my favorite (also the fastest) type of whale, the fin whale.
Skippy the fin whale was awoken one morning by a familiar buzzing sound, made by his alarm clock. Today was the big day where he would prove to everyone that he was the fastest whale of all. He had been training for this day for the past 3 months, ever since he heard about the Junior Whale Speedmaster ’09 competition was announced back in March.
Skippy knew he’d need a nice healthy breakfast to prepare for the three-mile swim race. He prepared a great meal of plankton and whatever else could sift through his yellow-ish white and blue-ish grey baleen (that’s whale for teeth). He put on his best swimming shorts, and a nice white headband to match his white belly. It was almost 8:00 AM, and he had to be at his race by 8:30. He looked for the note on his mother’s bedside rock table with the address of the race. In bright green seaweed lettering, the words “Arctic Ocean, Latitude: 80.10 N - Longitude: 68.47 W” were neatly printed.
Skippy went at a snail’s pace to his destination. Though fin whales are the fastest specie of whale, he didn’t want to waste any energy he might need for the race. His destination was finally in sight with just 5 minutes to spare. He saw a massive group of whales collected in one spot, but something seemed peculiar. They were all dressed up, and seemed like they would fit better at a nice restaurant than a race. As he got closer, Skippy saw a sign that read “Little Miss Whale ‘09”.
Skippy panicked, wondering where he had gone wrong. Had he taken a wrong turn? Did he have the wrong day? What could have possibly led him to this pageant of whale beauty? He did not have the time to swim around hoping to find the race, so he sulked back home and to look back at the rock with the address. Under “Arctic Ocean, Latitude: 80.10 N - Longitude: 68.47 W,” he saw the destination “Latitude: 77.52 N - Longitude: 73.50 W,” the actual address of Skippy’s race. Skippy’s mother had written the address for the pageant because Skippy’s sister had been thinking of competing. Skippy sighed deeply, and went back to sleep.
When I was young, my father gave me a book about sea creatures and their habits. I was most intrigued by whales. Their great size and grace was always something that fascinated me. Since then, I’ve done quite a lot of research on them (Did you know there are 11 types of baleen whales and 67 species of toothed whales?), and in my studies I’ve heard some very fun whale stories. This inspired me to write this flash fiction on my favorite (also the fastest) type of whale, the fin whale.
Skippy the fin whale was awoken one morning by a familiar buzzing sound, made by his alarm clock. Today was the big day where he would prove to everyone that he was the fastest whale of all. He had been training for this day for the past 3 months, ever since he heard about the Junior Whale Speedmaster ’09 competition was announced back in March.
Skippy knew he’d need a nice healthy breakfast to prepare for the three-mile swim race. He prepared a great meal of plankton and whatever else could sift through his yellow-ish white and blue-ish grey baleen (that’s whale for teeth). He put on his best swimming shorts, and a nice white headband to match his white belly. It was almost 8:00 AM, and he had to be at his race by 8:30. He looked for the note on his mother’s bedside rock table with the address of the race. In bright green seaweed lettering, the words “Arctic Ocean, Latitude: 80.10 N - Longitude: 68.47 W” were neatly printed.
Skippy went at a snail’s pace to his destination. Though fin whales are the fastest specie of whale, he didn’t want to waste any energy he might need for the race. His destination was finally in sight with just 5 minutes to spare. He saw a massive group of whales collected in one spot, but something seemed peculiar. They were all dressed up, and seemed like they would fit better at a nice restaurant than a race. As he got closer, Skippy saw a sign that read “Little Miss Whale ‘09”.
Skippy panicked, wondering where he had gone wrong. Had he taken a wrong turn? Did he have the wrong day? What could have possibly led him to this pageant of whale beauty? He did not have the time to swim around hoping to find the race, so he sulked back home and to look back at the rock with the address. Under “Arctic Ocean, Latitude: 80.10 N - Longitude: 68.47 W,” he saw the destination “Latitude: 77.52 N - Longitude: 73.50 W,” the actual address of Skippy’s race. Skippy’s mother had written the address for the pageant because Skippy’s sister had been thinking of competing. Skippy sighed deeply, and went back to sleep.