Talula Dempsey 
11/13/14
English 7F
Historical Memoir 

I remember waking up to a cloudy, overcast, rainy friday. It was my favorite kind of day but it was quickly ruined once I found out that I had to preform my 5th grade spring musical.Our music teacher had been stressing out about the song we were going to preform because we weren't singing durning the rehearsals. Well excuse me for not not wanting to sing a beauty  and the beast song. I was 11 not 5. I quickly put on a pink blouse with white polka dots and blue jeans shorts. My mom curled my hair and right when she finished, we had to run out to her gray jeep and yell at my brothers to hurry up! By the time we were in the car driving to school it was 8:13 which would mean that unless my mother could drive a 5 minute  drive in 2 minutes we were late to school. 
" Thanks Sullivan," I said glaring at him.  He was the slower twin and almost alway would take his time.
" Anytime," he said smiling at me. I sighed and then started pressuring my mom to drive faster. Not being on time made me do weird things.
" Tee stop telling me to go faster!" My mom said with an  irritating ring in her voice. I just looked straight ahead and stared out at the rain that gently fell onto our windshield. Finally we turned onto our schools  street. I  asked my mom if she could drop  us off at the drop off area. 
"Sure," she replied,"  I will go find parking so i can watch the performance."
So right when we pulled up to the spot, my brothers and I hopped out of the car and ran up the stairs to the classrooms. At the top, I gave both my brothers a hug and ran to my class. I threw my backpack into my cubby and raced into my room. my teacher was still talking to my class mates. Right when I sat in my assigned seat my teacher, mrs.Dunn, said,"  Everyone get into your order for the musical. We are running a little bit late so hurry up!"   
Then she started ushering us to the door and before we knew it, we were walking out the door and into the auditorium . When we got inside we sat down on the ground and waited for the fourth graders to start the show.
" Hey Talula," my friend Faith said to me. "Are you nervous?"
" Yes! Are you?" I asked. 
" No, not at all," she said smiling. 
Suddenly, as if on cue, the curtains on the stage opened up revealing the fourth graders. Then they started  to  sing California  dream'n. I didn't really like the song and it made me shiver a little. I think it was because i had been sick earlier that week. As soon  they had finished their song, Mrs. Dunn immediately lead us onto the stage. Then we walked onto stage singing the beauty and the beast song. after we finished we walked back off the stage and to the classroom. for the rest of the day we played games because it  was a half day. Once the day ended I quickly walked out of school. When i saw where my mom had parked i walked down to greet her. On my way there i heard two women talking. One  women whispered  to the other, " they are going to have police here everyday now." the other women nodded. I  wondered what had happened but I quickly forgot it after that. 
" hello," I said to my mom.
" Hello," she said with a hidden emotion behind her face. 
Then I told her what the women had said. She told me about the sandy hook elementary shooting and i was  devastated to hear that such a  thing had happened.     

Talula Dempsey
English 7 F 
11/13/14 
Personal Memoir 

As she slept, her wavy auburn hair surrounded her face making it look like she had a beard. She wore an oversized orange t-shirt that had the face of a chubby pug on it and red and orange flannel pants. The Texas summer sun, that was shinning  through the windows at our lake house and had not yet awakened her . I, on the other hand, was wide awake so I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her laughing. She almost immediately cracked a grin and started laughing, too. 
" What was that for?" She asked between burst of giggles .  
" We have to make pancakes for everyone! Don't you remember? The faster we make them the sooner they will get up, and the sooner they get up the sooner we get to go tubing," I said, smiling at her. 
As soon as I said that she quickly hopped out of bed and dragged me with her. The bedroom we were sleeping in was a sun porch adjoining my  parent's bedroom. We quietly tipped-toed to where the door was and gently opened it. Then we pulled the curtains that were blocking the door way and walked into their room. We walked across the floor and opened another door that led into the kitchen. The kitchen was attached to a living room that had  a pull out bed  that my  grandmother was currently sleeping in. Her snores caught Audrey and me off track and we burst out laughing. 
"Shut the door! We are trying to sleep here," my parents said in a half asleep voice. 
Embarrassed, we shut the door and quickly walked to the pantry. There we got the Bisquick pancake mix, a bowl, and a whisk. As we walked out of the pantry, Audrey asked,"Are we making silver dollar pancakes? They wouldn't take as long as normal pancakes." 
" Yes," I said, jumping with excitement. 
We placed the pancake mix in the bowl and grabbed a banana and water. Audrey and I established the night before that I was going to  smash the banana with a fork while she was going to mix the water into the mix. So I grabbed a fork and a plate and started lightly smashing it. Then I poured it into the well mixed batter as Audrey melted some butter on a griddle. Once the butter melted, we poured 9 silver dollar pancakes and got out the plates. We flipped the pancakes and when they finished we put 3 on a plate. We had to make more because there were 7 cousins in total and 9 adults who would peck at them. So we put more on and finished in twenty minutes. We set the table and yelled, " Pancakes!"
As if on cue, all of my cousins, including my brothers,came out of the room that they were sleeping in. Audrey's brother,Ethan ,finished fist, followed by my brother Sullivan, Henry, Philip, and Darby. My aunt and uncle came a couple minutes later, followed by my grandpa, step- grandmother, other grandmother, other aunt and uncle, and my parents. 
"Can we go tubing?" Audrey and I asked. 
"After breakfast," my Uncle Doug said. 
" Sounds good," I said. 
Audrey and I ran back into our room and changed into our bathing suits .
By the time we came out, everyone had finished their breakfast and lucky for us, my mom was waiting on the dock with the tube attached to the jet ski. We ran outside,put our life jackets on  and hopped in the tube. 
"Ready?"my mom asked.
"Yes," we said, slipping our hands through the warm handles. 
 She started the engine and we flew down the lake. We flipped off a few times but it was still so much fun. When I think of my cousin Audrey, I always joyfully remember us tubing at the lake. 

Talula Dempsey 
11/13/14 
English 7f 
Nobel Peace Prize Essay                

Innocent Animals are being tested on for the protection of our health but is that really fair? i for one believe that animals going through pain and torture just to test out if a shampoo is is safe to use on us, is completely absurd.Over one million animals are being killed every year just to protect us from the effects of some cosmetics, medicines, and household cleaners . That means that about 2740 animals are being killed each day. We humans, need to stop this. If we are going to test products on living animals i do not  see why we cannot try it on humans - since were living animals. Animals are not supposed to suffer through the pain, illness, and distress. They are presumed to live an actual life that is not ruined by toxins placed in or on their body. How would you feel if someone took you away from your life, society, and started putting liquids that itched or stung in your eyes? Thats exactly how animals feel when they are put into labs to be tested on.We can stop this madness. We can help these innocent animals by boycotting products that are tested on them. We can make a difference.

Talula Dempsey 
11/13/14 
English 7F 
Holiday Memoir

The Christmas Eve party was too exciting and I could not  close my eyes for more than an hour after I went to bed.   I had never fully gone to sleep. I would try and force myself to go to sleep but nothing was working. Eventually, at three in the morning, I pulled my body out of bed and tip-toed across my wood  floor, which  would creak every time you placed your foot down. I got to my door and easily swung it open revealing the playroom. The playroom had a glass wall that overlooked the living room, the fireplace and our Christmas tree. It also had a staircase that would allow me to quickly race to the living room.  I quietly moved to the glass wall. I looked down to see the fifteen foot Christmas tree, twinkling with an obsessive amount of lights and decorations , and present upon presents.  I almost immediately smiled and ran down the stairs causing the creaking of wood to echo around our tin houses white walls. I ran up to the presents and looked at all of the tags, trying to sort out the ones that had my name written on it. When I would find one, I would shake it and try to guess what was inside. My imagination went wild as I did that. After I was positive I had found all of my presents, I quickly ran back up stairs and went, not to my room, but to my brothers'. I shook them and told them that " Santa" had come and then we all ran back down to the Christmas tree. Who cared if it was only 3:00 a.m.?  Evidently, my parents did because the next year, my parents made a rule that no one can wake them up for Santa present unwrapping until 7 a.m.!

Talula Dempsey
English poem 

I am from the ocean,
From waves and sand, 
I am from the pepper trees that lived behind my Tinhouse . 
( Big, large,
That would sway with the wind.)
I am from the chlorinated pool
The murky blue water
Whose smell is imprinted in my nose. 

I am from plaid skirts and tucked shirts,
From sue mills and lands end.  
I am from sore backs and long hours of homework,
Which left my eyes red.

I am  from thespians and artisans,
Scripts and clay.
From the texans and maniacs,
Who moved to C. A.
I am from the wisdom of my grandmother,
Who would help me everyday. 

These stories unwound at J-ville,
Down by the lake.   
I am from  the annual gatherings, 
For my family's sake. 
I am from those moments,
Of lemon cream pie and fireworks in the sky.