King 1

Karina King
Ms. Gardner
English 10H 2*
1 Sept. 2014
My Teenage Plagues
Mom! Youre ruining my life! I shout over my shoulder as I slam the wooden front
door behind me and run down the cement driveway that leads to the sidewalk. Doesnt my mom
know how hard I try, how hard I work? No matter how much I do its never enough for her. It
doesnt matter if its my school work, my chores or my work I do with charity, I always can
improve in her eyes. I can hear my dads voice in my head, telling me that my mom just wants
me to be the best I can be. Tears stream down my face as I rush down the street, turning down
Adrian drive, the sun bouncing off the black cement and shining into my eyes. The sky above is
blue, spotted with clouds. I walk into the neighborhood park, past the playground with the
laughing kids, and past the moms talking about their kids. On the other side of the park is my
favorite place, a large boulder that rests just past a small forest of redwoods. I climb up onto the
large, rock that is hot from being in the sun all day, and lay down so I can lookup into the deep
blue sky filled with large puffy white clouds. Why is life so hard? I shout to the cloud above
that looks like a frog. Why doesnt anybody understand me? I shout. Its because they care
you know. Your mom and dad, they care about you, thats why they want you to do your
homework instead of going to the Luke Bryan concert. I sit up, startled by the unfamiliar voice.
I shield my eyes to see an older woman with long gray hair laying on the ground below me.
How do you know that? I ask, climbing down from the rock. As I get closer I realise how
much this woman looks like me. Her long straight hair, just a gray that is much different than
mine. Her dark brown eyes looking at the clouds, her thin lips dry. I know, believe me I know

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how much you wanted to go to that Luke Bryan concert. But high school paves your future, and
trust me, your work will pay off. I glance around, looking for signs of a prank. How do you
know that about me? I ask, not stepping any closer. Karina, I am you. I am here after many
long years of living, and I am here to teach you that your life isnt as horrible as you make it out
to be. You have two wonderful parents who love you very very much. You have two siblings who
look up to the caring person you are. You have the Live Oak community that are all there for
you, and who want to see you grow even more. The woman points up at the sky. Her hands are
small, and with further inspection I can see that her feet are smaller too, jusr like my ow.See
that one there? It looks like a monkey. I am not sure how this woman knows my favorite
animal, or how she seems to share my favorite pastime. You arent me. I am me, so you cant be
me. She glances at me, a familiar expression on her face. The expression looks like one of my
own, when I fight with my sister and I know Im right. She smiles the same smile that I smile.
You live on Alta Ave. where you have lived since you were born. You love reading, especially
about history. Lately you have been wondering about who you are, and why no one seems to
understand or be like you. I came to tell you that the teenage years may be hard, but that they are
like the Ten Egyptian Plagues. For you, things seem to come up one after another, piling up.
Even though the little things you deal with are nothing like real Plagues, it all seems really hard.
Right? As a teenager, these are your Plagues, but they will pass. And Karina, you know who you
are. You know that you want to make a difference in this world, and that you want to help
others.Your dream is to help children, to have a job where you are making someones life better,
at least thats what you wrote in your black notebook last year. Thats who you are, and thats
who youll always be. She takes a deep breath as my jaw drops. That reminds me, I have
something for you. The woman reaches into a bag beside her, a bag I didnt know was there,

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and pulls out a small wrapped package. She hands it to me and I thank her, opening up the string.
You are fifteen right now, so that means that you are loving the Hunger Games still, and
occasionally reading Harry Potter again, ah, I remember those good ol books. Karina says to
me, like the memory is so old, and so pleasant. Karina cant be me, because time travel isnt
possible, but she seems to know a lot about me, enough for me to question it. . When I open the
wrapper by pulling out a string, I read the title of the book. The title reads Fighting the cold and I
turn it over to read the description. The book is about a young woman who helps children escape
Russia during an American-Russian war in 2020. Futuristic, also a favorite genre of mine. I
notice that her name isnt mentioned, so I open the cover and see that the book is published in
2067. Wait- this isnt possible. It says here that this book is published in 2067, but thats in 52
years. Thats not possible, and also that means that the book wouldnt be futuristic it would be
historic. I look up but the woman is gone, and so is her bag. I look around the boulder, and on
the paths, but shes no where to be seen.
I stare at the book in my hands on my walk home, before I go into my room and do my
homework, but not before I search the book, and the author, and even the publisher several times
on the internet, and come up empty handed. I set the book on my dresser, and for several hours I
stare at the cover, the photo of a young woman with brown long hair, and brown eyes, long hair
that is brushed behind one ear and a ring on her finger that is very familiar. The sunlight that was
shining bright through my window and onto the book is dying as the sun goes down, and I pick
up the book and open to the first page.