Week 9: Our Visions…and Chuck Norris vs. Oprah?

I would first like to acknowledge Veterans Days by thanking all of the men and women serving our country. And…because of you, our students didn’t have school today so they were in pretty good spirits.

We began the hour with a little jam session and snacks along with some discussion on our futures and where we envision ourselves in it. To help get the ball rolling, Veronica and Shannyn created a little questionnaire. This allowed us to not only get to know each other better, but also provided some hilarious insight to what makes us each unique. Some of the questions/answers are as follows:

1. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Sean Mayfield: Video Game Designer
Veronica Reyes: Middle School Teacher, Social Studies
Charles Hill: Journalist
Savon Clark: A professional football player, Economist or Computer Engineer
Shannyn Nellett: Documentarian, Writer, Photojournalist

2. Where do you see yourself in 4 years?

Sean Mayfield: Graduating High School and Furthering my education
Veronica Reyes: I see myself teaching. Maybe living in Chicago, but I do want to teach in the city for a couple of years. Hopefully I will be closer to having my own ‘family’ life.
Charles Hill: Going to College
Savon Clark: Graduating High School and Going to a Big 10 school.
Shannyn Nellett: Being published/Adapted. Displaying gallery work, art. No idea where I’ll live or what my status will be, and I’m ok with that. I would like to do a considerable amount of traveling.

3. Who inspires you? What kind of person do you inspire to be?

Sean Mayfield: Nobody/I want to be a successful person
Veronica Reyes: My family is my inspiration. They put their faith in me, that keeps me focused and dedicated to move toward my goals. They help me strive to be the well-rounded and open-minded person .
Charles Hill: Nobody really. I wish to be a person who is recognized to have achieved great accomplishments at my age. I want to be a person who is unlike any other.
Savon Clark: My parents inspire me to do great things because they provide the best for me. As my duty, I will do whatever I can to succeed. I want to be a role model, as I try to be now.
Shannyn Nellett: My mother and older sister inspire me. Throughout a life of struggles they remained strong and positive. They truly appreciate the simple things in life and do not allow insignificant negatives to burden them.

4. What makes you happy?

Sean Mayfield: Chocolate?
Veronica Reyes: Friends and family
Charles Hill: I wouldn’t exactly say I found something that makes me truly happy, or happy in any way.
Savon Clark: Listening to music I guess
Shannyn Nellett: Positive energy. Cabrini Connections. Music. Beaches. My niece and nephew. Visiting home. Chicago. Boats. Sundays.

5. What does family mean to you?

Sean Mayfield: They are irreplaceable
Veronica Reyes: People who support you and never judge you. People who you love unconditionally and love you.
Charles Hill: A group of people who are very close to you. People who you trust very well and can rely on.
Savon Clark: Family means to take care of each other and support one another through any endeavor
Shannyn Nellett: Everything

6. Do you envision yourself having a family? If so, what kind of family do you see yourself having?

Sean Mayfield: No.
Veronica Reyes: A big family
Charles Hill: I do see myself having a family. The family I see myself having would be one that is completely free to act and be who they want to be
Savon Clark: Yes I see myself having a family that has morals
Shannyn Nellett: I always wanted a very big family. But I’ll gladly take whatever I am blessed with.

7. Do you have plans for college? If so, where do you want to go?

Sean Mayfield: Yes. ITT
Veronica Reyes: Yes, I’m a DePaul student
Charles Hill: I plan to major in Writing and minor in Music. I want to go to either Northwestern or DePaul
Savon Clark: I want to go to a Big 10 school , and I will either be playing football and/or taking classes on Economics/Computer Engineering
Shannyn Nellett: Did undergrad at San Diego State University, would love to earn a graduate degree…maybe I will

8. What are you going to carry with you forever from Cabrini Green?

Sean Mayfield: Memories
Veronica Reyes: Chuck Norris vs. Oprah
Charles Hill: Being from Cabrini Connections
Savon Clark: I will carry all of my childhood memories
Shannyn Nellett: Every year end dinner, watching the students perform their work

9. What interests or hobbies do you have?

Sean Mayfield: Making comics
Veronica Reyes: Arts & Crafts. Music, reading , and going to museums.
Charles Hill: Skateboarding. Writing. Playing guitar. Listening to music. Psychology
Savon Clark: Watching football. Anime. Basketball. Helping within the community.
Shannyn Nellett: Art. Photography. Film. Writing. Music

10. What is a favorite memory that you have?

Sean Mayfield: Going to my first Bakugan tournament
Veronica Reyes: Christmas when the whole family was together, playing balderdash
Charles Hill: The day I started randomly writing poetry out of boredom
Savon Clark: My sister falling down the stairs….
Shannyn Nellett: The train ride to San Diego from Ohio, amazing

Next week we'll be transposing these ideas onto our vision collages. Oh…and while we were putting these on paper, the boys began debating Chuck Norris vs. Oprah Winfrey. Veronica and I were at a loss, as we are not exactly Chuck Norris buffs… but it turns out that the collective agreement is that Oprah wins because she could buy Bruce Lee to take over Chuck Norris. We will dig into this theory a little more next week so stay tuned!

Week 8: Welcome new Mentor!

This week in Writing Club we were graced with a new presence. Ms. Veronica Reyes, a fourth year DePaul student studying Elementary Education, has joined us as a mentor for Writing Club! I am thrilled to welcome her into our program! Hopefully with our combined enthusiasm, passion, and dedication to Cabrini Connections students, we will build a very exciting writing club this year.
We dove right into the activity from last week on lyric interpreting by discussing the chosen songs along with our summarized interpretations. Building off of this, we took it a step further and created our own verse to add to our songs. Here is a couple that we came up with:

Charles Hill: ‘You Know You’re Right’ by Nirvana

I would never bother you
I would never promise to
I will never follow you
I will never bother you
Never say a word again
I will crawl away for good
*For you have left me I’m dead*

(Chorus)
I will move away from here
You won’t be afraid of fear
No thought was put into this
I always knew it would come to this
Things have never been so swell
I have never felt failed to fail
Pain (x 3)
You know you’re right (x3)

I’m so warm and calm inside
I no longer have to hide
Let’s talk about someone else
Steaming, soon begins to melt
(Nothing else is right!!!!)
Nothing really bothers her
She just wants to love herself
*She’s full of greed and nothing else*

(Repeat Chorus)

*Charles’ Verse*
Things will never come ahead
I am lost without my head
I can barely stand
You don’t care, you just want more fans
Pain, you know you’re right, pain

Veronica Reyes: ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ by Darius Danesh

We get it on 'most every night
When that moon is big and bright
It's a supernatural delight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

We have fun but we never fight
You can't dance and stay uptight
It's a supernatural kind of delight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling
A fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Hey
Feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight
*Veronica’s Verse*

We laugh for fun while we’re stepping light
Everybody smiling big and bright
Feel the groove don’t put up a fight
Everybody’s dancing in the moonlight

Week 7: Interpreting Lyrics

This week in Writing Club, we have two new members! Please join us in welcoming sisters, Breonca and Yolanda Hyles. Or as I was introduced, BeBe and YoYo. (Did I get it right this time girls)?
We often discuss new songs or artists and how their music touches, relates or speaks to us. So Shannyn and Jessica decided to incorporate this collective interest into this week’s activity. We each printed lyrics to some of our favorite songs and then wrote a brief summary on what the artist is trying to say and how we can relate to the song.

Imann Mitchell: ‘Rehab’ by Rihanna, featuring Justin Timberlake
In this song, Rihanna sings about how she is so deeply in love with this guy that she’s actually ‘addicted’ to his love. But she doesn’t want to be so addicted to him that if he was to leave, she would go crazy. So she would need to go to rehab to get over her addiction.

Breonca Hyles: ‘Nothing at All’ by Myci
It’s basically about the mistakes she made in the past, and if she could change the past, she would change ‘nothing at all.’ It relates to me because I made mistakes in my past too, and I wouldn’t change them either because it is our mistakes that we learn from and make us who we are.

Charles Hill: ‘You Know Your Right’ by Nirvana
This song was written by Kurt Cobain as a divorce song that he was going to give to Courtney Love before he died. The songs meaning is pretty simple, “I’m leaving you, you only care about the money. Our child needs the both of us and even though I’m feeling pain, this is the best I’ve ever felt.” This song relates to me because I’ve felt a lot of pain over the years, but have always found something to be cheerful about anyway.

Yolanda Hyles: ‘Tell Him the Truth’ by Keri Hilson
My song is about relationships and difficult times. This song sometimes can go with me because I do have difficult times with boys and relationships, like most people do. But this is a diverse song that can relate to all people, young or old, in relationships.

Excellent job everyone! Next week we will take it one step further by adding our own verse to the songs we chose. It should be very interesting, so check back next week!

Week 6: Haunted Halloween

Haunted Halloween, by Charles Hill.

Halloween, a day of terror in some eyes, while others consider the day magical. It all started in Ireland, the date of October 31st. Ancient Pagans thought of this day as a day when mortals and the people from beyond the grave were able to walk together, as one. Brought back from the dead, although still dead, they were known as the undead. Because for only this one night, they could walk with mortal humans.

Witches, wizards, zombies, and even cartoon characters. The day the Pagans worshipped for the dead and others has now become a day of trick-or-treating. Now I do say, the Pagans may like the idea of costumes supposedly being there to ward off demons. But I doubt all the good boys and girls really care about the demon part, just getting the treats from the neighbors is good enough. Games are always fun to play right? I’m pretty sure you love to play games on Halloween, if not, then oh well. One game that has been played on Halloween is bobbing for apples. Simple right? You just fill a bucket of water and attempt to get an apple from out of it, the only catch is, you need to do so with your mouth.

Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, these are images of frightening ghouls in today’s tradition of Halloween. Usually watching a classic “Dracula” movie, or one of the new horror movies they have out now. Like “Saw”, even though in my most honest opinion, the horror movies that are made today are not what they could be. They are easily predictable, they aren’t frightening anymore. I miss the days of true ghouls like Frankenstein, even a misunderstood monster was capable to do more damage than “Jigsaw” nice name also. It’s not very…creative, but still a puzzle piece name will always just be a puzzle piece name. Anyways, since the story began getting off topic with my opinion, I will go on with the words “Urban Legends” and “Chain Letters”, these are stories that fill my MySpace ads, internet letters, all types of technological outlets. One chain letter that I loved reading about, which doesn’t have a title, or at least not that I know of, so I gave it a name of my own, “The Clown?” A story of a girl who is babysitting a couple of kids while their parents are at a restaurant. The babysitter is putting the kids to bed one by one. The family has a group of collectible clowns and such placed by the baby’s crib. There is one large clown statue in particular that seems to be standing in the middle of the chair, which the babysitter thinks is just a normal statue. She goes back downstairs, then back up when the baby starts fussing. She notices that the lights are on, but she’s pretty sure she turned them off when she left. Next she notices that the clown statue seems to be very human like. This frightens her so she runs back downstairs and calls the family. She tells them about the clown statue, to which they say, “We don’t have a clown statue.” Then the phone cuts out and the babysitters breathing becomes very heavy. She doesn’t want to turn around to face her paranoia, and then…she’s dead. I don’t consider it very sad since her death created a chain letter.

All in all, Halloween is a day of colors. Orange, Black, and screaming children? No, they aren’t screaming out of terror for their lives because of some crazy monster chasing them, or a vampire sucking their blood or any other crazy thing. They’re just happy because they get candy and chocolate. Halloween is spread everywhere; Japan, America, Ireland, and many other countries. The 31st of October may be one of the spookiest days, but I will always admire it’s creativity for terror.

Week 5: Halloween; digging a little deeper.

The time of year has come around again, Halloween is rapidly approaching. Stores are flooded with consumers looking for fake spider webbing, jack-o-lanterns, corn husks, scarecrows, plastic tombstones, gobs of candy and the all-time best seller for Halloween, costumes. This week in writing club we discussed this holiday in great detail and researched the traditions not only here in America, but also in Ireland (the original country to celebrate Halloween) and Mexico (El Dia de los Muertos).

We first learned that Halloween was carried to America via Irish Immigrants during Irelands Great Famine of the 1840's. It has roots in the Celtic Festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints' Day. Samhain celebrates the end of harvest season in the Gaelic culture. Ancient Celts associated the dead (buried under ground) with the crops and harvest. So a tradition was born to hold bonfires into which slaughtered livestock were thrown. The only reason costumes were worn was to disguise mortal beings from evil spirits during this celebration. Most of these disguises were ghosts, zombies, witches and other relevant evil-spirited phenomena that could make an appearance during the celebrations.

A far cry from our American take on Halloween, and furthermore, costumes. The National Retail Federation in the United States found that American consumers spent nearly $5 billion on costumes in 2006. I have a feeling that the Ancient Celts would be greatly displeased with a Britney Spears School Girl wanna-be dancing around their bonfire. We, as a group, discussed the overindulgence in the 'ostentatiousness' (putting it very nicely) of female costumes in America. It could be argued that the traditions of Halloween are a bit lost on our generation. So the Writing Club is digging a little deeper and writing essays on the traditions of Halloween in other cultures. Stay tuned to see what we come up with!

Week 4: Featured Writer!

Writing Club veteran and excellent student, Charles Hill, wrote a song in his spare time over the last week. He was generous enough to share this incredible piece of work with us and now you.

Song Title: Pain

Anyone can do what I have done
It isn't very hard
To take the things I have won
And set it all ablaze

It takes my pain away!
It's all a lie
Nothing is important now
Cause all I do is quit

I keep on trying to make a smile
But I keep on frowning
It isn't something I can't feel
But it's all I cannot kill

It' takes my pain away!
I can't let you follow me (follow me)
I can't let you follow me (follow me)
I can't let you follow me (follow me)
It takes my pain away

It's all a lie
A double sided knife
It takes my pain away!
Stop and try
All you do is quit on me

It takes my pain
It takes my pain
It takes my pain away!!!

-Written by Charles Hill

Charles, I always look forward to what you'll do next! You are truly a gifted writer with an insight and perspective that surpasses you in age, but not wisdom or experience. It is quite remarkable. We are going to set some wheels in motion to make sure we can help develop your talents to the best of our ability. In the meantime, keep the creative juices flowing and excellent job on the song!

Week 3: Theme Boards Complete!

We spent week three wrapping up our Cabrini Connections theme boards. This collage style project was hands-on from everybody in our group; even a few non-members pitched in and contributed some ideas! Some of the clippings, art and text include:

HOPE: Wish, Kanye West, "Live Happily Together Through Life", Barack Obama 'and the Triumph of Hope', "Get out there. Drink deep from the road. Eat life raw."....

BUILD: A picture of an Ancient Chinese Tower, "Every little step.", "By age 25 you might acquire more than you ever thought", OBAMA, "I have this fantasy of my older days, painting, sculpting, a bike trip to Chile." "Find your way!"

BELIEVE: "Unlock the wonders...", A picture of Taylor Swift with her guitar, "Do not be the Class Clowns.", A vibrant young salsa dancer, A Bride, Portraits of 8 Presidents of the United States of America.

ACHIEVE: "The thrill of choosing which way to go.", A picture of Lil Wayne showing his triumphant excitement over his record being named the biggest record of the year. President Obama (A popular figure to our theme boards...) Beyonce.

Great job everyone! A special thanks to Cazimir Ozuruigbo and Donald Stewart for participating in Writing Club this week, we hope to see you all next week.

Week 2: Dear Mr. Kanye West

This week our group carried over the activity from last week by starting to create vision boards for our Hope, Build, Believe, and Achieve theme. While we were clipping out pictures and words to build our boards, we discussed Kanye Wests' latest controversy.

For those of you unfamiliar with last weeks VMA crashing, while 'Taylor Swift was making her acceptance speech for winning Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", Kanye West got on stage, interrupted her and took her microphone, saying Beyoncé had "one of the best videos of all time" with "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". Beyoncé looked shocked, and West was then booed by the audience. Angered, he flipped off the crowd. During the commercial break, singer Pink walked by the rapper and reportedly shook her head in disgust. West was later removed from the remainder of the show. After Beyoncé won Video of the Year, she asked Swift to come on stage to complete her speech. Later, West apologized on his blog (which he later removed). -sited from wikipedia.

Everybody in our writing club has been a long time fan of Kanye West. There is no argument over his struggles, success or talent. I do, however, have to point out some incriminating points of interest. This is not the first time Mr. West went out of his way to draw attention to himself. (Special note to his bizarre haircut, we get it Kanye.) He is becoming more famous for his rants and divo behavior than for his earned success. 'During the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas, West delivered another rant and lost his temper after he was displeased with his performance being set inside a hotel suite rather than on the show's main stage. -sited from mtv.news.com. Mr. West also took the stage at the 2004 American Music Awards and declared that he was robbed of the Best New Artist nod. Really? You were disgraced by being robbed of a moment? Well here is what we think about your little (big) stunt.

Dear Kanye West,

I think what you did to Taylor Swift was very rude and uncalled for. You made (her) feel really bad because she won the award and it was her first time. I thought her video was awesome and very entertaining. She's only 19 years old, how could you do that to a child? If you had something to say, you should have said it while you were accepting your award.
-Sincerely, Jocelyn A. Jones.

Dear Kanye West,

I think what you did was wrong, but I still love you and your songs. I think when you apologize to Taylor Swift she will accept your apology because she seems like a very sweet girl. If you do this, than I hope to meet you at your concert with Lady GaGa.
- Love, Kyana Malone


Dear Mr. Kanye West,

It's my opinion that an apology would be suitable and obviously some good PR, but it cannot give a 19 year old girl her moment back. You took it upon yourself to humiliate and permanently damage Ms. Swifts' memory of receiving her first, and maybe only, VMA. Not to mention, the very first ever VMA to be awarded to a country artist. I find your behavior to be, at best, atrocious. I realize that it's not the end of the world, and there are people out there struggling to find work and make ends meet. So while all the attacks against you, including comments from President Obama, might seem a little excessive and harsh, I have to say it looks like the shoe fits.
-Sincerely, Shannyn Nellett

Dear Kanye West,

How does it feel knowing that you took the spotlight of a young girl winning a very special award? If I was there, I would have to laugh at your stupidity. Seriously, think about it, you took a selfish role and made yourself out to be the bad guy in the situation. Sure you were drunk, however, in my words, YOU FAILED EPICALLY! Thanks to Beyonce, Taylor Swift got a lesser version of her moment. I doubt you're feeling proud now. See ya failure. Yes, I seem mean, but I'm not paid to be nice. Clearly, neither are you.
-Sincerely, Charles Hill.

Dear Kanye,

Everyone has the right to express their opinions, but there is a right time and place to do so. Put yourself in other people's shoes and use better judgment before you speak your mind.

- Thanks, Jessica Vandivier.

Dear Kanye West,

I love your music and every song by you, but I believe your actions at the VMA's was very inappropriate. I feel it was highly disrespectful towards Taylor Swift, especially with that being her first VMA. It was a big deal, she was the first country artist to ever receive such an honor. I definitely think you should apologize in respect for Taylor Swift, as well as the viewers and her fans. I still love you, but you should never have done that.
- Sincerely, Imann Mitchell.

Week 1: HOPE, BUILD, BELIEVE, AND ACHIEVE!

As we kick off our Creative Writing Program for the 2009-2010 school year, we acknowledge and discuss this years theme for Cabrini Connections; "Hope, Build, Believe, and Achieve!" We wrote down each word and talked about what the word means to us, how we incorporate that word into our mission at Cabrini and in life, and words that relate to these ideas.

HOPE: Kyana and Jocelyn define hope as another way of wishing or really wanting something to materialize. Charles Hill says, "The word Hope, in my opinion, would mean to be given hope, as in having someone or something to believe in and to give you inspiration to accomplish something." He also says, "The only thing I really hope for in my life is true happiness, especially in a world filled with so much corruption and sorrow." Well done Charles! Kyana hopes for a bright future and Jocelyn hopes she passes the Constitution Test. (We'll help you out with that Jocelyn.)

Words that remind us of Hope were: Faith, Believe, Wish, and Inspiration.

BUILD: The collective opinion on how we define the word Build was to provide a foundation for growth, work hard throughout the years to build friendships, relationships, and to go through obstacles until you achieve your layers of goals. Jocelyn wants to build positive strong friendships, Kyana Kiche wants to build toward becoming a successful Veterinarian, and Charles wants to build a world in peace, without the need for crime, violence and corruption.

Words that remind us of Build were: Structure, Create, Grow, and Foundation.

BELIEVE: We agreed that to Believe is to hold a personal opinion and to stand behind it as factual and representative of what, to us, is true. Charles took a deeper insight with, "To believe is to have a certain mindset, knowing exactly what it is that you stand for and what your opinion on life is." I couldn't agree more Charles! A common denominator of beliefs among this group was, hands down, the power and importance of education.

Words that remind us of Believe were: Faith, Confidence, and Trust.

ACHIEVE: Charles believes that, "To achieve means to get past an obstacle or goal, reaching the destination of accomplishment and satisfaction." Agreed. Jocelyn Jones says, "To achieve something is to complete a project that you have started with satisfaction." Agreed. Kyana simply and accurately states that, "To achieve means to complete a mission." Agreed! To highlight just a few of the many goals these bright young students would like to achieve; Completing High School and furthering their educations, to become productive and successful citizens, and to make the world a better place with their abilities.

Words that remind us of Achieve were: Complete, Finish, Succeed, and Execute.

Next week we will take the theme a step further, but for now, what an excellent kick off to 2009 and we hope to see you all next week!

Writing club year-end dinner performance

On June 4, 2009, during the annual year end dinner, the students of the Cabrini Connections writing club performed a skit that they had written during the previous weeks. Dan Bassill, President of Cabrini Connections, was enlisted as one of the performers.

These are some of the photos along with the entire script. Good job writing club!

Scene opens with everyone collecting around the writing club table chattering about what they saw outside and how cool it is….

De’sean – Narrator to introduce set the scene

Dan: You guys, sorry but writing club in canceled tonight!

Group: Why??

Dan: Someone has graffittied the wall outside the center!! All groups are canceled until we get to the bottom of this! I know just the investigators who can help us get to the bottom of this! {Leaves to go call investigators}

Sketch: Wow…. I wonder who did this? (Sarcastically… starts laughing with friends)

{Everyone looks at Sketch suspiciously}

Charlie: {Looks nervous and starts pointing at sketch} It’s so obvious that it is indeed you, Sketch!! Who else could have done this? This is your labor!

Sketch: What? Are you serious? Just because I know how to draw don’t mean it was me. Besides, if you look at my other stuff they don’t look anything like this one!

Charlie: Whatever! You’re not going to get away with this!! {Still nervous, looks side to side}

Sketch: Whateva man, I told you I didn’t do this!

De’sean – Narrator to introduce the investigators in rhyme and foreshadows the events to come. Questioning who actually committed the crime…………………

{In walks the investigators – Sherlocka & Wattsonia }

Sherlocka: So what do we have here?

Sketch: Why am I here? Why are you grabbing me fo?

Sherlocka: Cause we know it was you that tagged the wall at Cabrini Connections!

Charlie: Yup Yup – it was him! I saw him do it!

Narrator “Now it’s time to show the proof. Let’s see who tells the truth!”

Sherlocka: Just admit that you did it and this can be all over, shorty!

Sherlocka and Watsonia continue to harass Sketch while Charlie continues to look pretty quilty…

Dan: {Enters} Call off the investigation Sherlocka, I think I need to offer sketch here a job!

Everyone: {Shocked} What for?!

Dan: It turns out this magnificent piece of art has brought a lot more attention to the center! People keep stopping their cars and looking at the wall – asking who the artist is! This could bring the extra attention the center needs and may bring a lot more donors and volunteers to Cabrini Connections!

{Says while looking over at Charlie who appears very perplexed and uncomfortable}
Charlie: A masterpiece? Really? No, No, No!! Wait! It was me! I did it! I tagged the Cabrini Connections wall! It’s my masterpiece. I’m the 4.0 GPA student, I’m the one going to Princeton, I deserve all the credit for this piece of art!

Sketch: I told you it wasn’t me, now what!

Sherlocka: Shut up!

Dan: Well, well, well. It looks like the truth has finally come out! But we knew it all along! We were just waiting for you to confess! {Walks over to Sherlocka & Watsonia}

Charlie: What?! But how did you know?

Dan: Charlie, the art supplies that you used are not the same as what sketch uses and El Dasheon witnessed you hanging around the center long after everyone else had left with paint on your pants! The only question we had was why did you do it? And why frame Sketch?

Sherlocka: Your busted Buddy!! Yeah, tell us. Why did you do it?

Charlie: {Nervous, head down} Well, okay,okay, okay……

Sherlocka: C’mon, the Okays are killing me!

Charlie: Fine! I did it because I was frustrated sketch never asked me hang out with him and his crew. I wanted to prove to sketch and everyone else that I’m cool. I panicked and let Sketch take the blame because he’s always in trouble and I’m never in trouble. {Head down} I’m sorry, I should have fessed up.

Sketch: Yeah man, you shouldn’t have blamed me! I mean, your work is actually good! I didn’t know you had this kind of skill! We should collaborate…

{Sherlocka gets upset and goes towards sketch “Why I oughta”}

Dan : {Interrupts} ONLY if that collaboration is intended for Cabrini Connections!! I think we can come up with a great mural. Both of you need to be signed up for Art club. Let’s put your talents to good use – not an illegal use!

Charlie: {To sketch} Man, I’m really sorry. I screwed up.

Sketch: Forget about it, next time though, just ask me to hang out instead of framing me!

Sherlocka: Should I charge Charlie with Vandalism? Defacing private property? False accusations? Lying to an officer of the law…

Dan: Thank you Sherlocka, but I don’t think any of that is necessary! I think Charlie has learned his lesson – OR at least he will after all the work I have ready for him at Cabrini Connections. I think we can start with scrapping all the used chewing gum from under all the desks followed by cleaning the toilets, washing the windows ……

De’Sean – Narrator to end the play with a moral in ryme