{"id":3488,"date":"2016-11-19T14:01:58","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T22:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/?p=3488"},"modified":"2016-11-18T16:15:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T00:15:33","slug":"elliott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2016\/elliott\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Gift of Poise” — story by Elliott Negrin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young Readers League\u00a02016\u00a0Writing Contest<\/p>\n

Category 2 (Age 12-14)<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention<\/p>\n

\n

The Gift of Poise<\/h3>\n

by\u00a0Elliot Negrin
\n14\u00a0years old (Grade 8)
\nLa Canada High School<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It wasn\u2019t the vibrant colors or musical sounds that first caught my attention, but the sense of whimsy, that brought my attention to Dame Bellefontaine\u2019s Midnight Circus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I first visited at age six. My brother stood next to me, both of us paralyzed in wonder at the display before us. Hanging precariously, trapeze artists flourished across the bars, almost flying. The lion arched its back and released an earth-shattering roar, as a tamer stuck her head into his gaping maw. Elephants in well-adorned saddle tiptoed around the arena, and spun on their heads with effortless grace.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Completely enamoured by the magic of it all, I fell in love. From then on, I trained and trained as hard as I could, determined to someday join their ranks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But Dame Bellefontaine\u2019s Midnight Circus disappeared for the next seven years without a single trace. I scoured newspapers and websites desperate for any proof of its existence. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Until one late night jog brought me to the circus, hidden deep in the forest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I sprinted into the largest tent of all, finding it mysteriously empty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I minced my way to the centremost circle and began ascending. At the top of the tower, I immediately felt vertigo. I\u2019d never attempted tight-roping this high, but I knew I was capable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>One foot, the other, soon I was in the center. I didn\u2019t look down, only sprang forward, launching myself into a complex routine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I have never fallen in my entire life. I have the gift of balance. Just before the end, I made the mistake of looking down.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I saw the entire congregation of the circus convened beneath my feet, all of them applauding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>I promptly fell off the rope and into the waiting net below.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWelcome to the circus, gifted child.\u201d Dame Bellefontaine said with a wink.<\/span><\/p>\n

\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

\n

To view more\u00a0stories from the contest, view the list: \u00a0http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/kids\/2016\/yrlcontest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Young Readers League\u00a02016\u00a0Writing Contest Category 2 (Age 12-14) Honorable Mention The Gift of Poise by\u00a0Elliot Negrin 14\u00a0years old (Grade 8) La Canada High School \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the vibrant colors or musical sounds that first caught my attention, but the sense of whimsy, that brought my attention to Dame Bellefontaine\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[92,93],"class_list":["post-3488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-contest","tag-young-readers-league"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s5ZwbD-elliott","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2497,"url":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2015\/what-my-name-means-to-me-by-maren-arther\/","url_meta":{"origin":3488,"position":0},"title":"“What My Name Means to Me” by Maren Arther","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"December 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Young Readers League \"What's in a Name\" Writing Contest Category 2 (Age 12-14) 1st place What My Name Means to Me by Maren Arther 12 years old (Grade 7) Polytechnic School My name was the first word whispered about me. 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