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The Sketcher
Marcus Gilmore is a ten year old, scrawny, unpopular boy who wakes up every day just to be picked on by bullies, teachers, even his family now and then. Marcus has a mother named Marissa, a father named Harold, and two older brothers named Bruce and James, who pick on him almost as frequently as his nemesis, Gabe. Gabe is Marcus’s bully in John Adams Middle School. Gabe spits, hits, and throws food at Marcus on a daily basis, just for the fun of it. Marcus does not have many friends, so he doesn't have much to do with his spare time, other than his real passion, which is his sketch book. Marcus has a real ability to sketch anything he wants just by using his imagination and his amazing drawing skills. His drawings are so beautiful, they almost look realistic. Actually, Marcus has always drawn all types of characters in his sketch book, but he mainly draws random characters that pop up in his mind. He draws happy ones, nice ones, and even evil ones, but his favorite character is a very friendly, one-eyed, majestic creature that Marcus drew one day, and kept on drawing it.
On Monday morning, Marcus did his daily routine. He ate breakfast, got dressed; his brothers picked on him a little, finished getting ready, and took the bus to school. Just as every other morning, Marcus hoped that today he wouldn't suffer as much as the day before, but that never happens, especially, not today. Marcus has a crush on this girl named Jessica, which he would hate to get embarrassed in front of, so he tries to avoid her, especially when Gabe is around. So, as Marcus sat in the bus, he noticed Gabe was in front of Jessica’s seat, which was the only seat available, so he had no choice but to sit there. Immediately as Marcus sat, Gabe poured a bucket of maple syrup on Marcus’s head. He was so embarrassed, that he went to the back of the bus and cried. He cried for the whole day until he got home. The only thing Marcus thought about when he got home was to draw his creature, and he did. He was so upset, that he simply wished to have someone in his life that cared for him at least a little. So, he woke up the next day, and there it was. The creature that Marcus created was alive! Marcus was a little scared at first, but eventually he built a secret friendship with the creature. His parents didn't really find out, since they didn't pay much attention to their lonely son. One day, Marcus was at school, thinking about his creature. Then it hit him. He thought: “if my creature came to life, then doesn't that mean…”, so he ran home as soon as school was over, and confirmed his horrific suspicion. He found the evil little creature he had sketched in his room, whose plan was to destroy the nice creature and rule the world. As soon as Marcus saw him, he panicked. The evil creature escaped Marcus’s room through the window and headed straight to the city, to announce his world domination. Marcus has no idea what to do, so he went to his one-eyed new friend, and sat down next to him. “Erase him”, said the creature. Marcus was amazed by the fact that his friend could talk, but at the same time, confused about his words. He thought about what the creature had said for a couple of days, and then he finally understood.
Just as the evil creature was about to announce to the nation his malevolent plan to rule the world, Marcus flew into his room to get the sketchbook. He went straight to his bed, and lifted the heavy mattress, where he kept the book well hidden. Shaking like a leaf, Marcus realized the sketchbook wasn't there. Terrified, Marcus started running around the house trying to find it. Suddenly, he heard laughter coming out of Bruce’s room. Both James and Bruce were throwing the book at each other while making fun of the sketches. Marcus grabbed Bruce by the ear and twisted James’s right arm until he let go of the book. Both brothers looked at each other in complete awe and started to cry. He then went back to his room, and locked the door behind. He grabbed a pencil, found the evil creature’s drawing, and started erasing fast. As he erased the drawing, the evil creature disappeared, and all deadly threats towards humanity vanished as well.
Although nobody knew Marcus was the reason the evil creature did not take over the world, he didn't mind. He knew the truth, and that was enough. Marcus remained friends with the one-eyed creature for a long time, until he made new friends in school. His new found courage also helped him gain Gabe’s respect, by standing up to him and to anyone else who treated the kids at school unjustly. Marcus didn't remain friends with the creature physically, but the majestic being always remained in Marcus’s mind and heart.
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