Heorot High

Leah Mancuso
Beowulf and the City Story

                                                                         Heorot High

        “Now class, please tell me you remember the story of King Shield...” Mr. Hroth said in exasperation. He had taught this story over and over, but nothing seemed to register with the kids.
         “He was the first king to rule Denmark. He led the Danes to great peace, and no kings could ever live up to his glory.” Beau spoke out. He was the “Mr. Popular” of Heorot High School. Funny, smart, flirty, and handsome to top it off.
         “Finally! Thank you Beau!” Mr Hroth sighed in relief. “Why can’t you all be like Beau?” He couldn’t help but ask aloud.
         Grundy groaned from the back of the class. Perfect Beau. He could do no wrong. Rolling his eyes, Grundy felt his glasses down his face. He pushed them back up and glanced around the room, trying to ease his everlasting boredom that presented itself everyday in this history class. His mind suddenly thought back to the 7th grade. He was walking aimlessly around the gym at the middle school dance, looking for someone to talk to. He noticed that everyone was crowded around Beau in a tight circle, watching him do his signature break dance. He even remembered the stupid name his fanbase gave it: “The Hrunting”. Grundy remembered snorting. How stupid. Grundy specifically could remember Freya, his long-time crush, laughing and clapping along to the music while she watched. Grundy had liked her since grade school, but he vividly remembered  at that moment realizing he had no chance with her.
          The bell rang, interrupting Grundy’s flashback. The class shot up and ran out; finally, it was lunch. Grundy sighed and packed up his belongings, but not before looking up and seeing Beau laughing and joking with Mr. Hroth. He even had Freya’s father’s friendship.
           Grundy stalked out in anger. He had a bad feeling that maybe Beau would be asking Freya to prom today. Not a chance. Grundy suddenly growled to himself. He wouldn’t let it happen. It had been nearly 12 years he spent in school liking Freya, and he wasn’t going to waste his last year watching Beau have her yet again. He would make Freya see that she belonged with him. Even if it meant facing off with Beau.
            He quickened his pace to the cafeteria. He felt himself full of rage, and fueling it were the memories he had throughout his life of Beau tearing him apart through his words and actions. Grundy could feel his face flush as he realized that Beau was the reason he had such a tortured soul; that he was so alone. He wasn’t going to stand by and let Beau beat him down anymore.
             Grundy threw open the cafeteria doors. He felt the lunchroom grow quiet and all of the student’s stares crept up on him.
            “Beau!” Grundy yelled out, not even sure where Beau was. He looked around in every direction, until he finally laid eyes on his prey. Beau looked up, his eyes big, and a smile crept up on his face.
             “Grundy.” Beau said simply with his smirk growing bigger. “You finally about to crack?”
              Grundy lost control. He felt himself grab Beau by the shoulders and toss him to the ground like he was nothing. If there was one thing Grundy was, it was physically strong. The lunchroom gasped. Nothing like this had ever happened at HHS.
               Beau was only startled for a minute, and soon regained himself. Picking himself off the floor, he managed to throw a punch at the fuming Grundy.
               “Give it up Grundy! I know you want Freya, the whole school does. You couldn’t make it more obvious. But guess what Grundy? I have her. I have everything. I have everything you’ve ever wanted, and now you’re taking it out on me. I know your pathetic game.” Beau spit in Grundy’s face. Grundy could take punches, but Beau’s words sliced right through him. Slinking back, Grundy fell to the floor and looked around in embarrassment. Heat rushed through him. Everybody knew. He jumped up and ran out as soon as he could, before the laughter shaking the cafeteria reached him.
                  Grundy ran and ran until he couldn’t anymore. He couldn’t get Beau’s words out of his head. He shook his skull until he felt like his brain was rattling against it. Dropping to his knees in front of his swamp house, he cried. He realized Beau was right, about everything. Beau had exactly everything Grundy wanted. He unleashed everything he had held in for his whole life. He felt his heart so ready to explode of sadness. He had finally got the courage to stand up for himself, and he was crushed and smashed like a stupid little bug.
                   After a minute or so of tears, he pulled himself together. He turned around and stared at the school in the distance. A thought came to his mind, and this time it was going to work. This wasn’t about Freya. This wasn’t even about Beau, or their so-called fight. This was about revenge.

College Essay - Final Draft

Leah Mancuso
College Essay

          When the typical person thinks of Mickey Mouse, various words may come to mind. A few popular ones might be cartoon, children, or just simply, Disney. To me, however, a rush of words flow in. Inspirational, influential, imaginative and so much more. To me, Mickey is symbolic of the life and dream of one man, and the the whole world that he affected. This man, Walt Disney, created more than he most likely ever dreamed of when he drew his first sketch of Mickey Mouse. This sketch led to the start of one of the world’s biggest companies of all time, and one that influences almost every industry on Earth.
            All my life, I have been a dreamer. When I started off in high school, I lived off of my fantasies and dreams of someday being happy and having a life people could only dream up. After a while, it was hard not to believe that they weren’t reality, as they were so vivid in my mind. As I grew older and I matured, I realized that I couldn’t sit around and wait for these dreams to just “come true”. While I used to almost live by the quote, “Good things come to those who wait”, I realized that although patience is a virtue, some things did not come from simply waiting. While Disney movies are notorious for their prominent happily ever afters, in real life they do not come without work. Walt Disney showed this with his creation of the Walt Disney Company, which in no way was produced overnight.
             The biggest thing about Mickey that has had an influence on me and my life, is not actually Mickey himself but a quote about him said by Disney. The quote, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing -- that it was all started by a mouse,” is simple, but can go much deeper. The idea is that any small thought, even one such as tiny and insignificant as a mouse, can lead to something much, much bigger, like the Walt Disney Company. As far as my life, that quote and the idea behind it is something that can speak to me on many levels and something that I try to apply to my life everyday. When I think of my future in college, and the always infamous post-college job searches, I try to keep this idea in my head: to be big, you must start small. This is to also never be discouraged when you feel you have close to nothing, because every big thing had to start somewhere. So in my life I plan on never giving up when it seems my dreams are impossible. I’ll do it for Mickey Mouse, and of course, Walt Disney.