“Croak, croak, cRoAaKkKKKKKK”

-The Frog In Our Backyard, 2023

Who doesn’t love a spot of gardening? The very fresh sight of dew on flowers (which you grew) and raindrops of leaves (which you probably didn’t grow) gives you a sense of inherent pride and happiness, to see some of your creations come to life. In my situation, this happened when we moved to a new house, with our very own backyard and front yard, a black canvas to paint over and experiment on.

Another baking experience, another unexpected (but delicious) result. A week ago, I decided to try my amateur hand at making a new kind of dessert, one that differed from the cupcakes and cakes. I have a special liking for pudding, so once I saw that recipe popping up in my inbox, I knew I had to try it. Besides, I had a huge oven, and a newly minted batch of ingredients and equipment at my disposal. I was far too eager to give up the opportunity of combining two of my favorite foods, chocolate, and pudding together to resist. Thus, I rushed down instantly, badgering my startled mother to clean the oven so I could begin creating my concoction as soon as possible.

A hooded figure struts along the cobblestoned street,

A mask covers his or her face, one no one has even seen,

Embroidered with tales of reckless bloodshed, betrayals, and wars,

The impulsive reckonings of men and women long gone.

Sora is a Japanese teenager, 17 years old, who has contracted a cruel disease, which will gradually take him to his very end. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a debilitating illness, has taken away his ability to walk, eat or even go to school. He’s going to die soon, in his bedroom, on his last legs, but no one in his family is ready to accept it.

The story begins when I stepped through into the world of kindergarten,

Never did I expect that languages would be that much of a concern,

Mandarin was my starting point,

The title of “most difficult subject” I would soon anoint,

We’ve all had weird friends…but Signa Farrow seems to have one that’s stranger than most.

After Signa’s parents passed away from mysterious reasons, her mum poisoned after an esteemed party, Signa has been transported from one home to another, most relatives more interested in her soon-to-be inherited wealth than her.

I have always been, am and will be a pure Swiftie. I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO HER SINCE I WAS BORN.

No, I haven’t, I’m not that old.

TAYLOR SWIFT ISN’T OLD EITHER, THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT, I PROMISE.

I had been hoping she would somehow, miraculously perform close to where I lived since the moment I shifted to Australia, it being an influential music industry and all. And when my phone tinged with a promise of her landing on Sydney’s sunny shores in February 2024, I was ecstatic. I was bouncing off the walls, so very, very sure that we’d get tickets because I had signed up to whatever membership required to be able to access presale and general sale tickets. I even briefed my father on his mission, and he cancelled all his work calls on both days. My mum promised to log into Ticketek at her workplace, because according to the news, about a minimum of 4 million people would pounce on a ticket availability of only 450,000.

Greer McDonald has always been a loner, a geek. Getting into one of the most prestigious schools in the country should mean that you have an established social status, but she probably forgot that smart people can be snobs too.

And bullies.

As she struggles to fit in at the school, exclusively known as S.T. A.G.S, she gets a strange invitation from the “popular” group for a weekend of hunting, shooting, and fishing.

Even weirder?

The other misfits like her are also invited in.

But then, she soon realizes that nothing is what it seems, and what’s being hunted isn’t the wild game, the boars, or the stags…

It’s them. The misfits.