Orange Peels | Teen Ink

Orange Peels MAG

June 6, 2021
By raineydays BRONZE, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
raineydays BRONZE, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Survival is the only option, you can fall and trip and end up on your knees, but you must never let something less powerful than you destroy you.


Smiling and whispering amongst themselves, five teenagers dragged worn blankets and computer light onto the top of the roof. Orange peels and chocolate wrappers lined the gutter, and the friends smiled at each other. They sat there, the wind lightly touching their backs while their voices carried out into the quiet darkness. 

Post-graduation, they spent their time recalling the moments
they grew up and matured. 

The first girl said her childhood ended when she stopped making rocket ships out of refrigerator boxes. The soft summer breeze made strands of her curly hair dance. Her light brown skin was illuminated by the moon, and while she usually didn't like heights, she had never felt safer. 

The second girl smiled faintly, saying her childish manner ended the last time she dressed up for Halloween. She was going farther away to New York City, where dreams of design were leading her. Blue eyes sparkled with excitement and the potential for new ideas filled the air. 

For the first boy, his moments of growing up began when he stopped chasing birds on the pier. Thin framed glasses on his face shifted as he went to hold the hand of the second girl, silently hoping the action would make his sister stay. 

The second boy's voice was hoarse, cracking with pain as he pushed out that his innocence left years before, when his struggle with depression worsened. The second boy twisted an iron ring on his middle finger, an item that always seemed to strengthen him. 

Noticing the crack in his voice, the first girl pulled him into a hug, stroking his black hair and planting a soft kiss on his forehead. 

The third boy spoke with humor and fondness lining his voice, recalling that the last moments of his true childhood dissipated when he fell in love. He reminisced on the butterflies he felt, wishing that he could go back to that moment and pause time. 

After moments of silence, the third boy opened his computer, and slow music began to fill the air. He reached for the hands of the second and first girls, pulling them up, the first and second boys following.

The five teenagers swayed and spun to the music, laughing and sweeping orange peels and chocolate wrappers off the edge. 

Joyful tears slipped down their cheeks as they embraced, holding each other tightly. They made promises to never forget about the memories, the laughs and the moments that could never be replaced. Smiling and whispering amongst themselves, five teenagers laid down on worn blankets and joined hands on the roof, vowing to never let their childhood go. 


The author's comments:

This piece was written after my friends gave me these 10 words to include in a writing piece: Halloween, Refrigerator, Pier, Strengthen, Voices, Love, Promises, Bird, Iron, Orange

It is written in 3rd Person omniscient, which usually I do not do but I figured I would try something different. 

I hope you enjoy!


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This article has 3 comments.


on Dec. 5 2021 at 4:38 am
Crazywolfiegirl2 PLATINUM, Kington, Other
26 articles 3 photos 284 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. —Rachel Carson

Really cool 🙃

on Aug. 27 2021 at 6:45 pm
raineydays BRONZE, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Survival is the only option, you can fall and trip and end up on your knees, but you must never let something less powerful than you destroy you.

@Lydiaq, Thank you so much!

Lydiaq ELITE said...
on Jun. 20 2021 at 9:44 am
Lydiaq ELITE, Somonauk, Illinois
172 articles 54 photos 1026 comments

Favorite Quote:
The universe must be a teenage girl. So much darkness, so many stars.
--me

Great job!