Courage: 2015 - Year Seven - Heaton Extension Writers Anthology

By Beaulah Pragg

Stories include:
The Mystery Of 88 Tenth Avenue - Bahar Parsaei
Paige Pancakes - Becky Bates
When Nana Died - Hanna Wikstrom
Autophobia - Holly Abell
Little Elephant - Kate Gardiner
When Everything Takes Flight - Lucy Murray
The Prison I Called Home - Marissa Gaffney
From Matamata to Rio - Matthew Brown
The Peanut Butter Sandwich - Ngaio Shaw
Above the Blue - Olivia Hawtin
But What If? - By Olivia Schupbach
Forced To Fly - Paige Bowman
The Courage To Kill - Rosa Blake
Saving Leah - Tess Nord

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beaulah Pragg
• Release date: Feb 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370725427

Beaulah Pragg

Beaulah works for Christchurch City Libraries, as well as teaching creative writing and independent publishing. She is a founding member of the Christchurch Writers' Guild, a free and accessible space for new writers to find encouragement and support. Her novel, The Silver Hawk, is the first in a science fiction / fantasy trilogy for young adults.

Book preview

Courage: 2015

Year Seven

Heaton Extension Writers Anthology

Edited by Beaulah Pragg

Smashwords Edition (2018)

Copyright © respective authors (Bahar Parsaei, Becky Bates, Hanna Wikstrom, Holly Abell, Kate Gardiner, Lucy Murray, Marissa Gaffney, Matthew Brown, Ngaio Shaw, Olivia Hawtin, Olivia Schupbach, Paige Bowman, Rosa Blake, Tess Nord) 2016

Cover image copyright © Wei Li Jiang, 2015. Used with permission.

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www.beaulahpragg.com

Table of Contents

The Mystery Of 88 Tenth Avenue - Bahar Parsaei

Paige Pancakes - Becky Bates

When Nana Died - Hanna Wikstrom

Autophobia - Holly Abell

Little Elephant - Kate Gardiner

When Everything Takes Flight - Lucy Murray

The Prison I Called Home - Marissa Gaffney

From Matamata to Rio - Matthew Brown

The Peanut Butter Sandwich - Ngaio Shaw

Above the Blue - Olivia Hawtin

But What If? - By Olivia Schupbach

Forced To Fly - Paige Bowman

The Courage To Kill - Rosa Blake

Saving Leah - Tess Nord

About the Editors

Other Titles

The Mystery Of 88 Tenth Avenue

by Bahar Parsaei

- One -

My eyes scanned the flat, closely inspecting every inch. It wasn’t the best house I’d seen, but it wasn’t the worst either. It was quite modern. Judging by the looks of it, you could see that it was built no less than two years ago. I didn’t want to stay in New York. I wanted to go back to California, but on the bright side I didn’t have to stay here for long. I just needed to live here until I turned twenty one, which would give me access to all the money my parents had left me in their will. Taking a deep and not-so-fresh breath, I picked up my luggage and confidently walked over to the door. There was a little bell ring on the door directly above the doorknob. I rang it and waited patiently. No answer.

I tried again. Once again, no one opened the door. I wrapped myself tighter in my leather jacket as my long black hair blew into my face. If the owner of the house doesn’t hurry up and open the door I will probably freeze to death out here, I thought.

Frantically, I started pressing the bell non-stop while I knocked on the door with my foot. As I was thinking about smashing open a window, the door opened and a guy looked out. What do you want? I’m busy! he asked with an annoyed expression.

I stared at him in awe. Is this really what my lawyer meant when she said that the owner of the flat was a person with great responsibility? This boy was probably no older than me! The boy stared back at me impatiently. Well? Are you just gonna stand there staring at me? he asked.

I pulled myself together and picked up the document that my lawyer had signed. I am the flatmate that you accepted. My name’s Elizabeth Hunter, I said as I handed the letter over to him.

He looked at it with clear disinterest and then tossed it behind his back. Okay, sure. Come in. He beckoned me in and went back inside.

He didn’t even offer to help me with my bags! I thought as I dragged my six overstuffed suitcases and duffel bags into the flat.

- Two -

The flat was bigger than I had expected—sort of like the TARDIS in Doctor Who, it was bigger on the inside than on the outside. It had a nice cream coloured carpet with some black leather couches and two huge sixty five inch TVs. The kitchen had three coffee makers and a shelf filled with all sorts of candy. Everything was incredibly high-class, which made me feel very odd in my leather jacket, ripped jeans and converse. The boy, whose name I didn’t even know, flopped onto one of the couches and turned on one of the TVs, which was placed straight in front of the couch.

I stared at him with a disapproving look. I’m supposed to be your flatmate and I don’t even know your name, I said, hinting that maybe he should be opening up a bit more.

The guy turned his focus away from the TV and looked at me. If you really need to know, my name is Jay and this isn’t even a flat. I just said it was a flat so that I can get some money! he said, laughing. My jaw dropped in disbelief.

Why on earth would YOU need more money? I shouted. Look at your house and the furniture. You have two sixty five inch TVs AND two leather couches!

Jay looked at me like I had just shouted the worst insult at him. Well, let’s just say that I went a little overboard with the furniture shopping and that now I don’t have enough money to pay the rent, he said with a tone that suggested I should change the subject. I was about to ask where my room was when a ten-year-old boy jumped into the room and belly-flopped onto the couch beside Jay.

Hey, Big Brother! the boy said enthusiastically. Then he turned to look at me with the same expression that Jay had greeted me with. Who’s she? he asked Jay as he pointed at me.

Jay sighed. This is Elizabeth. She is our ‘flatmate’, he explained. Then he turned to me. Elizabeth, this is the other person that lives in this house who is also unfortunately my younger brother William. He was clearly not happy that his TV time had been interrupted again.

I looked down at William. He had the same dark brown spiky hair as Jay and the same colour eyes, but apart from that, he was totally different. There was an awkward silence which was broken by the noise of some cars beeping outside. I stepped forward. So Jay, where is my room? I asked.

Jay glanced up at me. Did you say something? he asked, his attention still on the TV.

The anger rose up in me. I grabbed the TV remote and turned it off. Can you please stop watching TV and listen to me for a second? I said where is my room?

Jay looked taken aback at my actions with the remote. It’s upstairs in the left corner, he said and then held his hand out for the TV remote. I sighed and dropped the remote in his hand. I went through the corridor that led upstairs.

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, my Phantasma started. I hated the sensation so much, but it was something that couldn’t be controlled. There was something special about it, though. It only started when there was a ghost around.

- Three -

All my friends had told me that my Phantasma was special, but they had no idea how hard it was. You would see ghosts all the time, everywhere you went. I’d only found out that I had it when I was twelve, which was six years ago. Back then, I thought I was so special to have the ability to see ghosts, but all that changed. I still, to this day, feel guilty about the fact that my brother followed me on a ghost hunt under my insistence and died. I hadn’t been able to stop the ghost that attacked him. After his death, I had made a promise that I would never make contact with a ghost again, so I ignored the alarms screaming Ghost alert! Ghost alert! inside my mind and turned to the left to go and find my room.

The door was painted a light blue colour with a grey doorknob. Inside was quite plain. There was a bed and a dresser with a huge wardrobe which was situated beside the bed. I looked at myself in the mirror