Young Readers League\u00a02016\u00a0Writing Contest<\/p>\n
Category 1 (Age 8-11)<\/p>\n
3rd place<\/p>\n
by Veronica Mason
\n11 years old (Grade 6)
\nImmaculate Heart School<\/p>\n
The last act of the night, me. Someone in black with a microphone rushed me onstage. Even though I have been on that stage so many times, the hundreds of rows of seats and the almost blinding spotlights that follow me wherever I go, still startle me. Here I go.<\/p>\n
My tail is swishing behind me, and my whiskers are itchy. Then, I hear my announcement on the loudspeaker. \u201c Leo the Lion!\u201d That’s me by the way, Leo the Lion. As I walk onto the stage, I hear the deafening applause.<\/p>\n
I start with one of my more simple tricks, bending a metal bar in half with my tail. Next, I stand up, and a seal with a ball spinning on his nose jumps onto me as I walk around the stage (one of my personal favorites).<\/p>\n
By now the crowd is roaring with pleasure, chanting Super Cat! Super Cat! Even though I don’t exactly have superpowers, I am super strong. If it makes them happy, they can believe what they want.<\/p>\n
I go onto my next act, a tightrope walk carrying a thousand pound weight. I love the adoring audience. Then, without warning, my ears pop up and my tail goes straight. I see a darkly dressed man pull out an \u201cL\u201d shaped black metal device. I don’t know what this is, but my senses tell me it’s dangerous.<\/p>\n
I hop down from the tightrope. The music stops. All eyes are on the darkly dressed man. He is pointing his object at the woman next to him. I spring into action and claw the device out of his hand. I am not completely sure what I did, but the crowd knows. They let out the loudest applause I have ever heard!<\/p>\n
Contest info:<\/p>\n
Tell us something about a new character joining a magical circus. What is their special ability? How did they come to join the circus?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Special thanks to our judges: \u00a0Allison Hill (Vromans), Nick Smith (Pasadena Library), Shauna Redmond\u00a0(Pasadena Library), Tiffany Duenas (Pasadena Library), Jean Penn (Pasadena Library)<\/p>\n
Sponsored by the\u00a0Friends of the Pasadena Public Library<\/p>\n
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