Book - A Chance to Change

Write a Book in a Day

PARAMETERS FORM TEAM DETAILS

QLD Upper School SOMERSET TRUDIE'S BEAUTIES 623

STATE:

....…………………………………………………………………………………………

DIVISION: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… SCHOOL/GROUP: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… TEAM NAME: ....………………………………………………………………………………………… TEAM ID: ....…………………………………………………………………………………………

PARAMETERS AND RANDOM WORDS Parameters

Random words ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... ………..................................................... Silver patch struggle clock prickly

Primary character 1 ………............................................ Primary character 2 ………............................................ Non-human character ………............................................ Setting ………............................................ Issue ………............................................ Charity worker Actor Ghost Beach Time travel

INSTRUCTIONS • Start at 8am • Write an original story: - based on all five parameters (above) - including all five random words (above), and in bold type - with some identifiable Australian content (in theme or setting or characters, etc) - keeping within the allowed word count • By 8pm , log on to writeabookinaday.com to: - check (and update if necessary) your team name and team members’ names - complete the declaration - submit your finished book in PDF format • Bind this parameters form into your book immediately after the front cover • Mail a hard copy of your book on the next business day to: Write a Book in a Day The Kids’ Cancer Project PO Box 6400 Alexandria NSW 2015

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Copyright

Published by The Kids’ Cancer Project, Box 6400, Alexandria, NSW 2015 Copyright © The Kids’ Cancer Project, Box 6400, Alexandria, NSW 2015

All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

Distributed in Australia and overseas by the publisher.

Copyright Published by [Trudi’s Beauties], [Somerset College], [Somerset Dr.]. [Trudi Morris, Taylor Crooks, Jack Daly, Julius Wright, Michael Savic, Amy Barry, Ashlee Park, Eliza Foiliott, Bella Harris,

Skylar Klease, Anna Boone, Lily McCoomb] Copyright © [2018], [Somerset College].

All rights reserved. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquires should be made to the publisher.

Written by:

Amy Barry Anna Boone Ashlee Park Bella Harris Eliza Folliott Jack Daly Julius Wright Lily McCoomb Michael Savic Skylar Klease Tay Crooks Trudi Morris

Message

Dear Reader,

We have written this book with lots of love and sincerely hope you enjoy reading it.

Immerse yourself in story!

CHAPTER ONE

“CUT! No! No! No! No! NO! You’re doing it all wrong! You’re supposed to kiss with passion, excitement! You’re in LOVE! I SHOULD SEE SPARKS FLYING. Sparks I say! We’re going to film more takes, until we get this perfect .” Dan the Director yelled. The sand was glistening, the wind was gently humming, and the waves softly collided onto the shore. It was a calm Summer's’ day at Bondi Beach. They were filming the blockbuster of the year - “A Surfer’s Paradise” - starring world famous actors Penelope Mullin and Jack Morris. It was going to be the Love Story of the century, that would shoot Australian filmmaking into the Hollywood Stratosphere.

“Guys. This isn’t working. Penelope take five, your focus is all over the place.” instructed Dan.

Penelope sighed, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. The call time for cast and crew had been 4am that morning, and she was already exhausted from her endless night partying. It was a struggle just to stay awake.

“It’s boiling hot and there’s sand all through my hair! Not to mention the fact that I had it curled only an hour ago! Ugh!”

Out the corner of her eye, Penelope noticed a shadow cast over her. She tried turned her head sharply to face it, but a huge gust of wind blew through her quickly-dropping- curls, covering her eyes so she couldn’t see. Penelope, furious about her hair being ruined, screamed at the top of her lungs. As she peeled the blonde curtain away from her face, a wide-eyed man stood clasping a leaf blower in front of her. Behind him was a group of people clothed in similar graphic tees picking up litter from across the shore.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” She shrieked.

“I’m so sorry ma’am. I’m Hunter, head of the Save the Turtles Foundation. Today we’re cleaning the coasts along Sydney. Did you know Plastic will last for more than 1000 years left on a beach? Pollution largely affects our beautiful marine life. Our aim is to

clean plastic from the beaches and save the turtles native to Australia’s unique environment.” He continued, “would you like one of our pamphlets?”

Before she could squeeze a word in, another volunteer whipped his head around as he piped, “Wait I recognise you... You’re...Penelope Mullin! The famous actress! We love your work! You know you are super lucky to have such a huge platform. Millions of people adore you. Perhaps you could take a look at our foundation and maybe spread awareness? You could post a picture with our poster? That would be amazing!” A stale look brushed across her face as she puffed: “Are. You. Serious?” I don’t have time for your silly little “charity” work. Big Whoop! The earth isn’t going to disappear because of a few turtles !” She continued, “besides, what’s in it for me? Unless your charity wants to hand me a paycheck, count me out!”

Hunter’s face slowly melted from hope into disappointment. He pondered for a moment before saying;

“Hm, I-I thought that you were be understanding and generous to such an important issue...” But before he could continue, Penelope interrupted.

“Look, whatever-your-name-is.” She began to get flustered. “I don’t have time OR the energy to care about insignificant causes like yours. A rich, famous and beautiful woman such as myself needs to channel my focus on becoming even more successful. So, remove yourself from my sight and stop hanging around the set. GOSH!” Hunter, confused and upset, managed to reply; “There’s so much change you could make, if only you used the voice you have. An influential person like you could help us save the world! If only you could see our future if we lived without compassion.” At that very moment, the atmosphere surrounding them both froze in time. A rumbling began to grow from beneath the ground. Both Hunter and Penelope looked around, a great blurry haze surrounding them. The other volunteers, cast and crew of the film stood motionless, as the waves violently pounded into the darkening sand. A grand, silver, bullet train rose from the great ocean and cascaded over the coast. As the steel doors of the train spontaneously opened, a cloud of steam poured across their feet. Hunter, momentarily confused, soon realised his calling to show Penelope the importance of giving to others.

“What have you done!? WHY IS THERE A TRAIN?! How did this happen” Penelope yelled frantically. Her hair swirled in the mighty winds.

Over the crashing waves and howling hurricane. Hunter shouted as loud as he possibly could, “I think we should go in the train...maybe it’ll take us somewhere. It’s our safest bet.”

Without a second thought, Penelope popped her hip, raised her eyebrows and grunted: “Do you really think that I’m going to get in that, with you?!”

“It’s our only option!” He replied. But before they could move a step, all of sudden, a huge gast transported them inside the magical vehicle.

Hunter instantly noticed the clock suspended on the wall of the train, and noticed it mysteriously winding forward. Abruptly, the train took off, leaving Hunter and Penelope confused and afraid as the speeding vehicle charged into the abyss. Hunter clung to the window, witnessing the view before him. He caught a glimpse of the beach, however, instead of the glistening sand and blue waves, it was completely desolate. Not a creature was to be seen.

The landscape soon morphed into a city. A concrete jungle with toppling skyscrapers was shrouded in smog and steam.

The train halted without warning.

“I think I know what this is about.” Hunter posited. “Look at the view,” he urged. “Look at where we are; machines, factories, the polluted city and the empty beach. It’s exactly what I’ve been saying. It’s the world without giving. A world, sad and desolate.”

Penelope continued to pace up and down the train, suspended in shock. It was cold and dark, and they could hear the bustling streets and heavy machinery in the distance.

CHAPTER TWO

Penelope stood in the doorway of the train, marveling at how the dirty smog blended with the dirty yellow light of the train station.

A horn sounded over the PA and a booming voice fell over the station “This is Yarra Valley station. The next stop is Badger Street Mall.” The doors were about to close when a boy wearing a black hoodie jumped between them. “QUICK!” he shouted and his four mates followed him into the carriage. Hunter and Penelope noticed they were all wearing the same colour and style of clothes: baggy tracksuits in dull colours. They couldn’t have been over 14 years old, and all had gigantic backpacks, which made Hunter and Penelope assume they had to be up to no good. All of a sudden, the kids began to push elderly passengers out of the way to take a seat. Hunter shook his head, then looked towards Penelope expectedly. No reaction. Penelope glanced down intently at her nails as she inspected her fresh manicure. “How aren’t you seeing this?”. Hunter asked, frustrated. “What?” Penelope looked up, dumbfounded. Hunter sighed, the edges of his face curving upwards. “What are you smirking at?” Penelope asked bluntly. “Look outside.” Hunter smugly replied. Penelope reluctantly turned her head. “I don’t see any-” She stopped. The serene grass fields that were filled with farm animals and beautiful flowers were no longer there. “What is going on?” A rushing indulgence of colourful noise spread through the carriage. The young boys who were now spread throughout the carriage stood frozen. Untouched numb to the unnatural conditions. The Elderly passengers hang mid air on their way to the floor. “Hunter!” Penelope screamed. “What are we doing? What is going on? What? What……” Her voice trails off as a glimmer elixir starts flowing into the carriage. Transposing through the windows. Seeping through the cracks. It was like space itself was bleeding. The elixir starts pooling at Hunter’s and Penelope’s feet. “Hunter!!!!” The gloop starts crawling up the legs of the two. “Hunter!!!” Penelope screams at the top her lungs. The elixir is now covering both their legs constricting any movement.

“You have to understand Penelope. It’s not about you. It’s about everyone else” Soon there is a silver shade over everything in the carriage. “I'm going to show you what could happen. How this world relies on the kindness of its people.” Soon the carriage was pitch black. A void. Penelope tried to move, make a sound, create any kind of disturbance, but nothing could shatter the silent darkness. Then came the electrical zapping. Bright light filled the carriage. Fluorescent, radiant light. “Come on,” Hunter looks down at Penelope who is huddled on the floor. “We’ve got to go! Places to be, people to see.” Penelope is slow to get up. Her muscles burned with fatigue, ears ringing. She slowly took one step at a time. One, two, three, four and into the light.

CHAPTER THREE

Penelope squinted at the bright light that seeped through the opening door.

“Where are we?” She asked as they disembarked the train.

As she looked around the train station, it dawned upon her that this station was just like the one at her own home. However, something was different; all of the people were shouting; either on the phone, or at each other. She had barely stepped out of the train when someone barged into her and yelled, “Move, move, I’ve got money to make!” Flustered, Penelope jumped out of the way. Hunter returned her angry look with a shrug, and told her to come with him.

Running to catch up with him, Penelope asked what this was all about. His simple reply was to explain that this place was her home city, but with no compassion at all.

Across the street she could see the same teenage kids who were on the train earlier. She was shocked by the hatred and anger displayed by everyone in that city. Penelope looked across the wide city and saw people with desolate faces limping on paths and begging for money. She noticed how the bustling city goers treated the people in need with disregard and disgust. The future was so different to the world she knew. It made her afraid. “We’re here!” exclaimed Hunter, breaking Penelope out of her thoughts. She slowly gazed around the clinical office she has mindlessly wandered into. She figured that the office clearly belonged to the intimidating man who sat in the crocodile skin chair. There were the heads of exotic animals like tigers and polar bears hung up on the wall and even a whole stuffed platypus displayed in a glass case. She glanced down, and saw a whole cow skin with the head on the floor. While Penelope was no environmentalist, she was still shocked by the amount of decorative animals that were present in the one room. “Well, what do you want? I’m a busy man. I’ve got things to destroy, money to make.” “We want to know what your company plans are,” inquired Hunter. “Well, you know, I’m going to be knocking down a whole retirement village, to make space for another high-rise that will make me lots of money.” “But what about all of the old people?” Penelope asks. “Who really cares about them? They’re old and are useless to me” “That’s true” Hunter looked deep into Penelope’s eyes and saw that she was not yet able to see the impact that charity and kindness has on the world. He sighed and took her back on to the train.

CHAPTER FOUR

Penelope stood to the side, thinking about what she had seen. Suddenly, a slightly grumpy ghost popped into the space next to them. Both Hunter and Penelope jumped.

“I thought I sensed some time travelers. You'd better be careful, it can be dangerous,” he warned. “I'm Elias, by the way. Do you mind if I come with you?”

Hunter nodded, and started to tell Elias why they were time travelling and what they had already seen. “I'm worried that seeing the city like that has only made her a bit nicer. She is still a bit selfish, and doesn’t seem to want to help people that much either.” Just in that moment, Penelope pushed an elderly woman out of the way to take a seat. “Ah, just as I had thought” Hunter said, rolling his eyes. “What?” Penelope replied, “My feet are sore!” Penelope seemed unfazed by what she had seen in the city. Hunter began to think that she would never change. “Don’t worry,” Elias whispered into Hunters' ear, “I have another idea that might help to change her ways.” “What have you got planned?” Hunter asked as he eyed Penelope, who was now

snoring obliviously as she lay across a row of seats. “You will have to wait and see,” Elias replied, smirking. “Well whatever it is I hope it works!”

At that moment, the train came to a screeching halt, waking Penelope by launching her off her seat and onto the floor. She yelped as her head collided with the seat in front of her, and glared up at Elias and Hunter. “Why didn’t you warn me!” Penelope growled. Elias and Hunter ignored her and as the train doors slid open, they stepped out.

Penelope followed them, still rubbing her head from her incident with the train seat. The light was so blinding, Penelope couldn’t make out the scene before her. However,

as her eyes adjusted she could barely recognize the familiar place. It was the beach where she had met Hunter, except this time it was very different.

The sky was filled with clouds, the air smelled of rotting fish and the once clear ocean was covered in a blanket made from plastic bottles, bags, dirty, prickly wrappers and old torn clothes. The sand on the other hand, was much worse. Dead fish with dull silver scales and turtles with broken shells were washed up on the shore whilst birds of all colours lay tangled and injured, surrounded by old fishing nets. Palm trees were bare, their remaining brown coloured leaves lay limp on the floor next to their roots. Penelope couldn’t believe her eyes, she went to follow Elias and Hunter onto the sand but as she stepped forward she heard a crunch beneath her feet. She looked down and saw Hunters old ‘SAVE THE TURTLES’ poster torn and yellowed with age. “Hey!”, Penelope called, “Hunter, I found your poster, what is it still doing here?” Hunter turned his head slightly towards Penelope and said sadly, “This is what happens when nobody cares.”

Penelope couldn’t understand how this had all changed in so little time, the beach had completely changed. It went from being the famous Bondi Beach known for its incredible surf and sand, to a beach piled high with pollution. She was distracted by the poster until she was startled by joyful barking and the tinkle of a bell from a dogs’ collar. Wagging its tail, a wet, ruffled black and white Dalmatian puppy appeared from the bushes on the left side of the beach. As the puppy ran up to her, Penelope knelt and was immediately covered in kisses from the dog’s small tongue. Penelope picked her up and scratched her behind her ears as she read the nametag written on the dog’s blue weathered collar. “Hey there Patch, how are you doing girl? Hunter and Elias looked on in surprise. They didn’t realize that Penelope had such a love for dogs nor did they think she had any kindness at all. But as they watched her play and snuggle with the small puppy, they realized she could change and maybe she would have the heart to change the rest of the world for the better. As if they had predicted it, Penelope looked up at them with a sad look in her eye. “Do you know who this dog belongs too?” she asked. Hunter and Elias shook their heads in unison. “Well if you don’t mind I think I’m going to take her home with me. This little girl deserves a good home and lots of hugs.” Penelope said. “I’m sorry Penelope but that’s not how time travel works. You can’t take things between dimensions. It messes with the laws of reality,” Elias said. Penelope was startled, “But what's going to happen to her? Won’t she die out here all alone, without family, food or shelter?” “Penelope, you don't understand. This is not real. This is what the future would look like if people continued to act the way that they do. If they continued not to care about the environment, or animals or even each other. But it can all be stopped with your help. All you have to do is begin to care and you can change the future,” Elias replied kindly.

Penelope contemplated what Elias just told her as she said her goodbyes to Patch and stepped back on the train. It was time to go back home and she now knew exactly what she had to do.

CHAPTER FIVE

After a peaceful train ride where Penelope not only offered her seat to elderly people, but also offering to help them disembark the time travelling train. Elias, Hunter and Penelope arrived back at Bondi beach, right where they had started their enlightening journey. “Well, this is us” said Hunter with finality as they left the train. “And this is where i leave you” Elias said tearfully “I’m going to miss you guys” “So am I,” Penelope announced with more than a little emotion. The three time travelling companions stood (and floated) silently for a moment, as each of them reflected on the days events. As soon as Elias left, time unfroze, and all of Hunters volunteers were staring open-mouthed at her. She frowned as she tried to figure out why, and then it clicked, she had been a horrible person and told all of these people that she didn’t care about the environment, only money. She smiled and said; “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened there, but I would love to support the turtles, I am willing to help you as much as possible” “Are you sure? If so, we would love it if you could become our ambassador for our turtle protection program,” Hunter questioned.

“Of course!” she exclaimed, catching Hunters eye, “where would we be without charity and kindness”.

Actress Penelope Mullin is obsessed with 3 things. Herself. Her hair, and herself. It takes a time-travelling adventure with a generous charity worker named Hunter to realise how bad the world would be without giving. As they travel to a dystopian future, both Hunter and Penelope witness desolate beaches and polluted cities. On a train to a desperate world, Penelope may come to realise how vital giving truly is.

PENELOPE