The Lost Tribes of Masyarakat

By Claire Burbank

Sadie, Nora, and Daxton are playing hide-and-seek tag at their friend’s surprise birthday party. The three of them are hiding in some bushes in the woods when they realize everything looks different…they are lost. They walk and walk, trying to find a way home, and suddenly discover another being is in the woods with them. This being

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claire Burbank
• Release date: Sep 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781949701081

Claire Burbank

Claire Burbank is 12 years old & lives with her family in Nottingham. I always knew I had a passion for writing. In any free time I get, I think, "I want to write!" There are three reasons I do: 1. It's really fun to tell my own fictional stories with detail, drama & comedy. 2. I want to publish my books so the world can read them and enjoy them. 3. I want people to know the important issue of bullying but have a good time learning about it in a fun way It all started back in third grade when I made a little book about bullying. (Available on iTunes, just search Claire Burbank) It was about this girl named Amelda and she gets bullied. She gets teased about her appearance and how she was different from the others. I had watched many movies about bullying and had seen some people get bullied and didn't even realize it. I wanted to make up for all of those times I didn't stand up for the other person and those times I might have been apart of the teasing by writing a little book. It probably took me about ten minutes to write this little 7 paged picture book. I brought it to my classroom and showed it to my guidance counselor, who was the person it was dedicated to. She recognized my care for bullying and put it on the school website. When it was taken down for the next piece of news to be shown, I wanted people to keep viewing it. So, I decided to publish it along with the help of my dad and his many IT director friends. It was a long process, but we ended up publishing it on iTunes, and I wanted to keep writing. So, I decided to make and publish more books about bullying, realistic fiction or not so realistic fiction. I currently have published 9 books, I have worked really hard on all of these books, I appreciate it and hope it helps Stop Bullying.

Book preview

1

The Surprise Party

SURPRISE! we all screamed, but it was too late.

After all of our hard work to keep it a secret, we were still preparing the decorations for the party as Isabella walked in.

I let go of the balloon I was tying to go hug my friend.

SADIE! everyone shouted as if I did something stupid.

Oh wait. I did.

I ignored the high-pitched sound of the deflating balloon circling through the air to embrace my friend.

Oh my gosh, for me?! she exclaimed excitedly yet sarcastically. Guys this actually looks amazing.

Isabella was right, we did do a great job even making the old community center look nice.

The lights shimmered down on all of our faces, reflecting off metal bowls holding snacks. An element of fun was brought by colorful balloons loaded with confetti, along with air-filled plastic beach balls. Streamers were hung across the party, representing the effort we put into transforming a boring place into a dazzling dance party. Megan turned up the music so that it echoed against the walls, causing us to scream the lyrics to every song.

Props such as plastic glasses, cardboard signs lettered with funny messages, and glow sticks that we would use later piled up on one another on a table in the corner. Next to that table stood another, which held a beautiful cake atop of it that Ella and Amelia worked hard to make as perfect as possible. Shimmery maroon, Isabella’s favorite color, really showed through the letters piped on the treat. Beneath the frosting were several layers of vanilla cake, because when it comes to food, Bella is a plain kind of gal.

Guys, we should play hide-and-seek tag outside, but with teams, Asa suggested when the clock read 8:02.

That actually sounds fun, Charlotte agreed. What do you think, Bella?

I’m in.

Okay, let’s make teams, he instructed. Two teams of three, one team of four.

I claim Sadie and Daxton! Nora exclaimed immediately while other groups formed on their own, linking arms with Daxton and me.

Okay! I replied before Daxton repeated what I said in a mumble.

Asa formed a group with Charlotte, Jenna and Isabella, while Amelia, Megan and Ella agreed on being a team.

Usually there’s one person that’s the tagger, but in Asa’s version there’s a whole team of taggers. The teams have to stick together at all times so it’s fair. I was glad to be with Nora and Daxton since Daxton is quiet and Nora is fast.

Whose team is going to be the tagger team? Jenna asked, subtly suggesting a not-it competition. One, two, three—

Not-it! some shouted in unison while others were late to the trend.

The person who was last to kneel down with their finger on their nose while saying not-it had to sacrifice their dignity to the game…in other words, their team was the tagger team.

Amelia was the last to complete the unexpected challenge, which caused Megan and Ella to deal with blame, anger, then acceptance. Their team immediately started counting because of competitiveness, and the effect of their actions caused the other teams to RUN!

The soreness in my legs from dancing hindered my ability to run as fast as possible, but I still managed to follow Daxton and Nora.

The community center has a unique outdoor set-up. Atop a steep hill lies a small playground and the building, while a large field containing two softball and baseball sections each fenced with rusty wire take place at the bottom of the hill. Surrounding the area in the shape of a semicircle are many trees leading to a large forest, and on the other side of the area that isn’t part of the semicircle lies a parking lot leading to a road.

Nora lead Daxton and I down the hill and around the left side of the field toward the woods.

What’s our plan? Daxton asked her out of breath, feeing nervous and confused.

We’ll hide in the woods, Nora explained as she ran, not even out of breath. They’ll never find us.

Daxton did not seem so enthusiastic about this, but I was okay with it.

Since it was dark outside, everyone had to wear