Creative Writing 2005-2006

Daniel was ten years old and had white skin, brown hair, and green-blue eyes. He was about five feet tall. When he had free time, Daniel liked to play baseball, basketball, football, and X box.

Daniel ran into Ben's room to wake him up and tell him that they were going to Disney World. Ben was Daniel's younger brother and was four years old. Ben had white skin, brown hair, and blue eyes. Ben was very funny, sensitive, and energetic.

"This could take a while!" thought Daniel when he heard Ben snoring. " Ben! Ben!" screamed Daniel as he climbed up Ben's bunkbed.

"What? We're going to Disney World? Yeah!" screamed Ben, as he jumped in excitement.

Daniel and Ben slipped their shoes on and went outside. Kenya was Daniel's pet oryx. Daniel got Kenya from East Africa when Daniel was on vacation with his family. When they were on tour of the African savannas, an oryx suddenly came running after Daniel and his family. Because an oryx can run really fast, the oryx caught up to them even though they were driving in a safari truck. Apparently, the oryx needed water. Daniel gave the oryx water, which he had, in his canteen around his neck. Because Daniel liked the oryx so much, he asked his parents if they could take the oryx home. His parents said yes and they all went home to Munson, Ohio. Since Daniel found the oryx in Kenya, a country in East Africa, he named the oryx Kenya.

Daniel had Kenya for one year, and Kenya was now two years old. Kenya's body was seven feet in length and four feet tall up to the shoulders. His body was white and his head was white with thick black stripes and a black nose. His horns, which were straight and curved at the end, were black and five feet tall. Kenya had two back legs, which were white, and two front legs, which were white with thick black stripes. Kenya also had a tail, which was black and two feet long.

"Hu!" sighed Daniel. "Where could Kenya be?" thought Daniel. "He's not grazing on his grass or running on his track. Oh, I know where Kenya is! He is probably still sleeping in his house."

Daniel ran into Kenya's house to tell him about the good news. Because Kenya had special needs, Daniel and his Dad made a unique house especially designed for Kenya. Kenya's house had a black roof and blue siding. It also had a high open arch that was ten feet tall so Kenya could get out. On top of the arch, was Kenya's name in green. Because Kenya used to live in East Africa and was used to hot weather and dry air, Daniel and his Dad made a temperature sensor and a humidity monitor for Kenya's house so he could adjust to the cold winters of Munson, Ohio.

When Daniel got into Kenya's house, he could feel the effect of Kenya's temperature sensor, which sensed if Kenya was too cold or too hot. Depending on Kenya's temperature, the sensor would raise or lower the temperature. Daniel could then hear Kenya's humidity monitor. If Kenya's house got too humid, the monitor would suck the humidity out of the air.

Daniel found Kenya sleeping on his hay bed in the back of his house. Since it was winter, Daniel knew that Kenya would be excited to go to Disney World where it was hot and dry. Daniel ran to Kenya.

"Kenya! Kenya! Kenya!" said Daniel as he rubbed Kenya to wake him up. Kenya stretched and woke up.

As soon as Kenya opened his eyes, Daniel said, "Guess what, we're going to Disney World!"

When Daniel told Kenya the good news, Kenya leaped up and started running around his house.

Excited that they were going on their vacation, Daniel went to get Kenya some food so Kenya would not starve on the trip. Daniel went to Kenya's pond to get him some water to drink with his breakfast. Kenya's normal breakfast was berries, leaves, fruit, grass, and a bowl of water. After Daniel got Kenya his breakfast, Daniel went inside to get ready to go to Disney World.

After Daniel and his family packed, they went to Cleveland Hopkins Airport. When they got to the airport, they boarded a Continental airplane headed for Orlando, Florida. The plane ride was about two and a half hours long. From the Orlando airport, they took a bus to Disney World.

By the time they got to Disney World, it was already dinnertime. Because they were really hungry, Daniel and Ben's parents took Daniel, Kenya, Ben, and their two brothers Patrick and John Paul to their favorite restaurant in Disney World, the Golden Corral. Since of course the restaurant did not have any leaves or grass in it, Kenya had to have fruit and a bowl of water. When they were done eating, they went back to their resort, Pop Century, and went to sleep.

"It's morning! It's morning! It's morning!" screamed Ben, because he was excited to go to Magic Kingdom.

"Because it has Pirates of the Caribbean! Arrggh!" responded Ben. Then Daniel laughed.

While Ben, Patrick, John Paul, and their mom got ready, Daniel and his Dad went down to the food court to get breakfast for all of them. After they ate breakfast, they went to Magic Kingdom. To get to Magic Kingdom they took a monorail.

As soon as they got off the monorail, Ben asked, "Can we go on the Pirates of the Caribbean? Arrggh!"

"Don't worry. We'll go there," said their Dad. "But first we have to go to the Guest Services."

"Because we are the "Family of the Week", and we have to sign in and get our badges that show that we get every ride for free," answered their dad.

When Daniel, Kenya, Ben and his family entered Guest Services the lady at the desk asked, "What is that?"

"I don't care what it's called," said the lady, "You are not bringing that thing into this park."

"But we're the "Family of the Week," and you said that we were aloud to bring a pet," said Daniel and Ben's dad.

After a few minutes of nitpicking, the lady got the manager. When the manager heard the whole story, he told Daniel and his family, "We'll let you go this time, but I better not have any problems with you and your pet!"

When Daniel, Kenya and his family finally walked into Magic Kingdom, they saw Cinderella's Castle and lots and lots of people. The delicious smells of popcorn, cotton candy, and French fries filled the air. Daniel, Kenya, and Ben were so excited that they ran down Main Street, U.S.A. to the main circle in front of Cinderella's Castle. When they got to Cinderella's Castle, they could not decide where to go next. Magic Kingdom had six different adventurous "lands" to choose from. They could go straight to Fantasyland or go southwest into Adventureland. They could go northwest to Frontierland or Liberty Square. Also, they could go northeast to Mickey's Toontown Fair or southeast to Tomorrowland. Because it had Daniel's favorite rides, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Daniel, Kenya, and Ben decided to go to Frontierland.

Daniel and his family went on all kinds of rides. Whenever Daniel, his family, and Kenya went on a ride all the people would stare at Kenya. Some kids would shiver in fear of Kenya and other kids' jaws were dropped. Most of the parents were whispering and holding their children. Everyone was scared of Kenya even though Kenya was very nice.

When they were in the line for Splash Mountain, Daniel heard a lady say, "Hey you can't bring that animal on this ride!"

"The manager said, because we are the "Family of the Week," responded their dad.

"Well, if you don't get off this ride, I am going to complain to the manager," said the lady. Even though she never complained, Daniel was worried she would get them kicked out.

Besides Daniel being worried about getting kicked out of the park with Kenya, Daniel soon became concerned about something else. When they were in line for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, Daniel noticed a strange guy. This guy seemed to be going on every ride that they went on. Something about this guy was suspiciously familiar to Daniel. The freaky guy had short black hair, dark brown eyes, and harsh eyebrows. His skin was tan and he had big black sunglasses. He wore a baggy T-shirt and ripped up jeans.

After the Buzz Lightyear ride, Ben finally got his wish of going on Pirates of the Caribbean. While they were waiting in line, Daniel noticed that the strange guy was in the same line as them again. "Where have I seen this guy before?" thought Daniel as he stared at the strange guy. "Oh, I know where I saw that guy. He was on Channel 5 news three days ago. Ahhh! He's a robber!" said Daniel to himself in a fearful manner. "He stole 10 million dollars from the main headquarters of National City Bank. I think his name is Professor Rashburn. Oh, no! He must have escaped!"

"Mom," said Daniel in a worried voice. " I think that guy in front of us is a robber."

"That guy is a robber? He looks weird!" yelled Ben. As soon as Ben yelled, Professor Rashburn looked back at them.

"Shhh!!!" screamed Daniel. Since Daniel and Ben didn't want to be seen, they looked down.

When Daniel looked up, he thought everything was okay because he noticed that Professor Rashburn was getting on the ride. Daniel was relieved until the ride attendant shouted out, "We need three more people to share a boat with this man."

"Daniel go in that boat with Ben and Kenya. Me, daddy, Patrick, and John Paul will go in the boat behind you guys," said mom.

Reluctantly, Daniel obeyed his mom and went on the same boat as Professor Rashburn with Kenya and Ben. They sat in the row behind the Professor.

"Mom, Ben won't listen to me," said Daniel as he yelled to his parents' boat behind them.

"Sit down and be quiet both of you or this is your last ride," yelled their mom.

"Huh! You always get me in trouble," said Daniel to Ben. "I wish you weren't my brother."

When their boat ride began, Daniel could see the pirates dancing, some with swords, some without swords, and some in prison. He could also hear their song, "Yo! Ho! Yo! Ho! It's a pirate's life for me."

"Ben," said Daniel as he looked where Ben was sitting. He wasn't there any more. So Daniel looked where Professor Rashburn was sitting and he saw Ben struggling to get away from the Professor. Since the ride was finished, the Professor ran away with Ben.

Luckily, since Kenya was fast, he caught Professor Rashburn and nailed him to the ground with his horns. When Daniel got to the Professor, the Professor grabbed Daniel and said, "Give me 10 million dollars and I will let your brother go."

"I, I don't have 10 million dollars," said Daniel frantically as he searched his pockets. So the Professor threw Daniel down into Kenya and both Daniel and Kenya fell down. While Daniel and Kenya were on the ground, Rashburn ran into his car with Ben. By the time Daniel got up and reached the spot where the car was parked, the car was gone.

"Hu, what will I do?" said Daniel. Then all of a sudden, Daniel heard Kenya tapping his feet. When Daniel looked at Kenya, Kenya was looking down at the ground. So Daniel looked at the ground, and he saw a badge. The badge had a picture of Professor Rashburn and words saying "Grand Canyon's Tour Guide of the Month." Right away Daniel knew what to do. He and Kenya had to go to the Grand Canyon.

To get to the Grand Canyon, Daniel and Kenya took a plane to Phoenix, Arizona and from there took a bus. When they got to the Grand Canyon, they went to the information desk at the Welcome Center.

"As a matter of fact he does, and he is out there right now with a little boy," said the man.

When Daniel and Kenya went outside, they saw the magnificent Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. They could see the Colorado River just flowing along the Grand Canyon and the rocks so high.

Daniel could not find the Professor and Ben anywhere. But Kenya sniffed out something and he kept on walking. They walked for about three minutes when all of a sudden Kenya found the Professor tying Ben up behind a huge boulder.

Daniel ran and punched Rashburn to the ground. But Professor Rashburn took out his taser and zapped Daniel. Since Kenya did not like it when someone hurt his owner, Kenya ran over to Professor Rashburn and kicked him with his back foot. When Daniel got back up and went over to untie Ben, he could hear Ben crying, "Daniel! Daniel!"

"Don't worry. I'll save you," shouted Daniel. When Daniel was about to untie Ben, the Professor punched him off the side of the Grand Canyon.

"Whoah!" screamed Daniel as he fell off the cliff. Luckily, Daniel grabbed onto the tip of the Canyon.

As Daniel waited, he looked down and could see the 9,000-foot drop. The scorpions were crawling and the snakes were slithering. The pointy rocks were facing straight up, and the cactuses looked even sharper than before. Daniel knew that if he fell and didn't die, he would be bitten by snakes and scorpions. "Kenya," screamed Daniel again. When Kenya came over to Daniel, Kenya bowed his head down and made his back feet sturdy. He reached out his horns and let Daniel grab onto them. Then Kenya lifted Daniel up to safety.

While Kenya went over to help Daniel get up, Professor Rashburn untied Ben. When Daniel got on his feet again, Professor Rashburn ran away. So Daniel jumped up onto Kenya. "Come on Kenya run as fast as you can," said Daniel. But Kenya could hardly walk because he was so tired.

"Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
If you want to find Ben,
Solve this clue!

One, two, a big horseshoe.
Three, four, it will pour.
Five, six, on the Maid of the Mist.
Seven, eight, don't be late.
Nine, ten or you'll never see Ben."

"Kenya, stop!" said Daniel. Kenya was doing his trick that he learned in Niagara Falls. It was when he stood on his horns and waved his legs in the air.

"Kenya! Stop it. I've never liked that trick. Not at Niagara Falls and not nowww. Aww, Kenya! You are a genius!" yelled Daniel as he realized that Kenya solved the clue. "Professor Rashburn took Ben to Niagara Falls. The Maid of the Mist is the boat that goes under the big Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls."

The next morning Kenya was all rested up and ready to go to Niagara Falls. To get to Niagara Falls, Daniel rode Kenya. Usually, it took three hours by plane and 33 hours by car. Since Kenya was really fast, they got there in two hours. It was the fastest that Kenya had ever run.

When Daniel and Kenya got to Niagara Falls, the Falls looked beautiful. The water was clear blue and the natural structure was amazing. The trees were green and the foam of the water was white. There were two different falls. The Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side and the American Falls on the American side.

Daniel and Kenya were looking for Ben and the Professor for about an hour and they couldn't find them. "Why is finding Ben always so hard?" asked Daniel.

"Wait a minute," said Daniel. "We forgot to look on the boat dock of Maid of the Mist." So Daniel and Kenya ran to the dock.

"What?" said Professor Rashburn as he turned his head. "Ah, man. Why do they always have to find me?" said the Professor.

Kenya almost got the Professor, but the Professor jumped into a life raft and started rowing. When Daniel caught up, he jumped into a raft with Kenya.

"Uh, oh," said Daniel in a worried voice. "We're about to fall down the Falls." The Falls looked fierce. The 158-foot drop ended with rocks and the Falls were 2,006 feet wide with water roaring everywhere.

"Whoa," screamed Daniel as they fell down the Falls. Clunk! "Aw, that's going to leave a mark," said Daniel.

Now Professor Rashburn was right in front of them. As they rowed the raft, Professor Rashburn rowed to the side and got off with Ben and so did Daniel and Kenya. Daniel caught up to the Professor and dove for his feet. Rashburn fell down in a flash. Daniel grabbed Ben, but the Professor still held onto Ben. "Let him go," screamed Daniel. "He is my brother."

"Yeah, but you guys almost caused everyone to realize that I'm a robber," said Professor Rashburn.

The tugging went on for about a minute. Poor Ben was standing there with his arms being tugged at like crazy.

Finally, after about two minutes, Professor Rashburn made a suggestion. "How about we play in the Seventh Game of the World Series?" asked Rashburn. "If my team wins, I get Ben and 10 million dollars from the franchise. If your team wins, you get Ben and I will go to jail," said the Professor.

"Then I will play for the St. Louis Cardinals," said the Professor. "Be prepared to lose and never see Ben again. Cleveland never wins," laughed Professor Rashburn.

"See you in Cleveland," Daniel nervously said hoping he would win his brother back.

After a long trip from Niagara Falls to Cleveland, Ohio, it was 9:00 p.m., Daniel's bedtime. So Daniel tried to get a good night's sleep. But all night, he could not fall asleep.

"Oh Kenya," said Daniel sadly, "I can't get to sleep because I keep on thinking about Ben and the Big Game." "What if we lose?" asked Daniel. "I might never see Ben again." "Ohhh, it's already 6:00 a.m. I might as well get up and get some breakfast."

After Daniel and Kenya ate breakfast, they went to their hotel room to change and get ready for the game. By the time Daniel and Kenya got to Jacob's Field, it was 9:00a.m.

"The game will start in four hours," said Daniel, "We better get some practice in."

"Here we are, the Seventh Game of the World Series here at Jacob's Field in Cleveland, Ohio," said the broadcaster. "It is the Saint Louis Cardinals against the Cleveland Indians. The Cardinals are wearing their white uniforms with red numerals and trim and the Indians are wearing their blue jerseys, white pants, and red numerals," continued the broadcaster.

"Hmm, that's weird," said the announcer, "A boy named Daniel McIlroy and an oryx named Kenya will play for the Indians, and a man named Professor Rashburn will play for the St. Louis Cardinals," said the broadcaster. "I wonder who gave them permission to play in a Major League World Series Game and why would they want to play?" the announcer asked himself.

As the announcer looked through his notes he said, "Oh, here we go, the manager said that they could play for some strange reason."

When the Indians took the field, Daniel realized that everyone was looking at him and Kenya. Kids were screaming "What is that?"

Professor Rashburn was the first one up for the Cardinals. He missed his first two pitches.

"Cra-a-a-ck!" The ball went flying and hit the center field wall. As the Professor ran to third base, the center fielder threw the ball to Daniel and Daniel threw the ball to the third baseman.

The Cardinal fans went wild. After Rashburn, Albert Pujols hit a sac-fly to score Rashburn. C.C. struck out the last two batters. At the end of the top of the first inning, the score was the Cardinals 1, the Indians 0.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, it was Cleveland's turn to bat. Grady Sizemore got on base with a single. Then Coco Crisp hit into a double play. After Coco, Johnny Peralta hit a double. Then it was Daniel's turn to bat.

The ball soared into left field for a RBI double. The Indians tied the Cardinals with a score of 1 to 1. Then Matt Morris, the Cardinal's pitcher, struck out Travis Hafner for the last out.

"At the end of one, the score is the St. Louis Cardinals 1 and the Cleveland Indians 1," said the Announcer.

In the top of the ninth inning, J.D. Drew got a single and Albert Pujols got a two run homerun for the Cardinals. The score was now 3 to 1, Cardinals. After the homerun, C.C. struck out the next two batters. Then the Cardinals got two singles.

"It might be in the bag for the Cardinals," said the Announcer, "They have two men on base with Professor Rashburn, who is 3 for 4, about to bat."

"And the pitch. Wow!" screamed the Announcer. "A Home Run! Professor Rashburn hit a three run homerun. The score is now St. Louis Cardinals 6, Cleveland Indians 1."

"And the pitch. Slam! Pujols hit the ball into the gap. Kenya has a chance, anddd, yaaa," said the broadcaster. "Kenya the Oryx makes an amazing diving catch to end the top of the ninth inning." "What is even more cool," said the Announcer, "is that Kenya the Oryx caught the ball in his mouth!"

At the end of the top half of the ninth inning, the score was St. Louis Cardinals 6, and the Cleveland Indians 1.

"Its hopeless," said Daniel to Kenya. "If we don't win we'll never see Ben again." "I miss Ben so much and I wish I never yelled at him."

"Huh, you think its not over. You're down by 5 points against the St. Louis Cardinals. You'll never win." chanted the Professor.

When it was the Indians turn to bat, the whole crowd was silent and the whole Indians' bench was mad at themselves.

"The Professor is right, it's impossible," said Daniel. "We're down by 5 runs with only a three outs left in the game."

Victor Martinez hit a leadoff triple for the Indians. Then it was Kenya's turn to bat. The whole crowd laughed because Kenya held the bat with his mouth. Some of the crowd started booing because they thought Kenya could not hit since he was an animal. Kenya placed his two front legs in the batter's box and the back two out of it. His horns were so big that they stuck through his helmet. Kenya shook in fear because he was scared to miss the ball. When the pitch came, Kenya hit a little grounder in front of home plate. Victor Martinez ran to home plate.

"Both Kenya and Victor are safe and the score is now 6 to 2, Cardinals," yelled the Announcer. "Wow," said the announcer. "How often do you see an oryx play baseball and get a hit by holding the bat in his mouth!"

"Now it is Andy Marte's turn to bat. And the pitch. Oh, the ball gets away and Kenya the Oryx steals second and third base," screamed the broadcaster.

The score was now 6 to 3. After a groundout, the Indians got three singles in a row to make the bases loaded.

And the pitch, strike one. And the pitch, strike two. It was now a 0-2 count with two outs

"Hu," sighed Daniel as he heard the crowd booing. He could see his teammates crossing their fingers and the Professor taunting.

"This is it," said Daniel. "If I get a hit we could win the World Series and if I swing and miss we lose the World Series and I will never see Ben again!"

"Oh, I should have never agreed to this deal," exclaimed Daniel. "I also should have never yelled at Ben and I shouldn't have told him that I wished he was never my brother. Jesus, please help me."

"Wow," said the announcer. "Its back, at the track, at the wall, andd, itsss OUT OF HERE! A GRAND SLAM," screamed the announcer. " The Indians win! The Indians win! The Indians Win! After 58 years, the Indians have finally won the World Series! We Finally won!"

"Thank you Jesus, thank you," said Daniel as he ran around the bases with tears of joy in his eyes-- not because he had won the World Series but because he won his brother Ben back.

As Daniel rounded third and headed for home, he could see the whole Indians' Team off the bench and in a huddle around home plate. But one person stuck out. It was Ben.

"Ben," screamed Daniel. "I missed you so much," cried Daniel as he gave Ben a hug. "I'm so glad to see you." After they hugged each other, the media crowded Daniel and Ben.

"You are the MVP of the 2006 World Series," said Tim White from Channel 3 News. "What are you going to do now? Go to Disney World?"

"Hgh," laughed Daniel. "That's the last thing I'm going to do. The only thing I want to do is go back home with my family and Kenya. Out of all the places I've been, my 'home sweet home' is the best of them all."

When the crowd died down, Daniel heard an officer say to the Professor, "You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Benjamin McIlroy and for the theft of 10 million dollars from National City Bank."

Since Daniel was next to the doors to get off the field, the officers walked with the Professor right next to Daniel.

"Hey, you just got done kidnapping my brother! Don't you think you've already made me pay enough? I mean, who do you think you are," asked Daniel, "a Disney villain?"

After the Professor got into the police car, Daniel could finally talk to Ben alone.

"I'm so sorry I wished you were never my brother," said Daniel to Ben. "I was so wrong to say that. I'd never trade you for anything. I love you so much," said Daniel from the bottom of his heart.

"And Kenya, I'm sorry for yelling at you at Niagara Falls. Thank you for all of your help," said Daniel. "If it wasn't for you, the Professor would still have Ben, and I would still be figuring out that clue.

After Daniel apologized, Kenya stood on his horns and danced because he was so happy.

"Oh Kenya," laughed Daniel as he gave him a hug. "I am so lucky to have a pet like you, Kenya, and a brother like you, Ben."

As Daniel, his family, and Kenya pulled into their driveway, Daniel's mom asked Daniel to get the mail. Daniel ran to the mailbox, took the mail out, and skimmed through it. When Daniel was skimming through the mail, he saw a flier that read: "Dear McIlroy Family, you have just won a trip to Disney World."

Daniel and Kenya's Nationwide Adventure

Kenya
the Oryx

by Daniel McIlroy