Hey, readers. This is my first story on fictionpress, and I wrote it when I was eleven so it's probably not going to be the, well, best story you've ever read. Please review though and some constructive criticism would be cool too.

The school bell rang to signal the end of school. "Before you leave," the teacher said to the class, "I'd like to remind you that your story contest entries are due next week. Remember: the student who wins will get his or her story in the school newspaper. Don't forget!"

Tony wanted more than anything to win the contest, but he knew he had no chance against...well...anyone. He had figured out the plot, no problem. Maybe it was just because he wasn't very good with words.

"What's yours about, Tony?" his best friend Felicia asked while walking home. He'd met her two years ago when she skipped third grade and went into Tony's fourth grade class. She was his next door neighbor as well as the smartest girl in sixth grade, as far as Tony was concerned.

"Huh?" he said lamely.

"What is yours about?" Felicia repeated, slower this time.

Tony ran a hand through his sandy-brown hair and sighed. "It's stupid," he warned.

Felicia smiled. "I don't care."

Tony sighed again and rolled his dull blue eyes. "It's about...a girl and her teacher."

Felicia stared at him for what seemed like a century. It was so quiet out there on the sidewalk you could have heard a bug sneeze. Then she started laughing hysterically. "A girl and her teacher?" she managed to say between her giggles and gasps for air.

Tony dug his hands into his pockets and stuck out his bottom lip. "Yeah," he sulked.

Felicia's giggle fit finally died down and said, "You really need help if you want to win the contest."

"No duh!"

Felicia took no notice. "Now first we need to work out a plot," she began, playing with a few strands of her almost platinum blond hair. "What is going to happen to this 'girl and her teacher'?"

"I dunno."

"So," she continued, "How about she goes to school and meets the teacher, but the teacher ends up to be a creature from outer space?"

"That could work."

"Now you need to start it. What's her name?"

"Um..." Tony muttered.

"How about Leslie?" Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Start like this: Leslie always loved school. She loved her teacher and fellow students. When she was at school, she was like a fish in water, a bird in the sky!"

After five minutes of listening to Felicia go on and on, Tony arrived at his house. "See you tomorrow, Felicia," he said as he stepped through the doorway.

Monday morning arrived and Tony gathered the pages of his story to turn in at school. He dreaded what his teacher would say when she read it.

He realized it was worse than he thought when Felicia read it on the way to school, her bright blue eyes went back and forth as she read the messy words on the page. She raised one eyebrow to look at him. "This is your...eh...story?"

"Yeah," Tony mumbled.

"It's...great!" Felicia smiled a grin that couldn't have fooled an infant. "I like how...you are so...simple. No one likes a story which is too complicated."

"Great," Tony muttered. "Thanks for the confidence booster, Felicia."

His confidence shrank even more when his teacher saw the story. From the look on her face, one could tell she had anticipated the outcome. Tony was disappointed. He had hoped Felicia's help would have improved his story. Maybe she wasn't the amazing writer Tony thought she was.

He found out he was wrong, however, the next day when Mrs. Walters announced the results.

"I have the contest winners," she announced. "Third prize goes to...Joan!" The class applauded and Joan had a very surprised look on her pretty face.

"Second prize goes to...Mike!" Half the class exclaimed: "What?" While the other half just sat and stared with their jaws practically on the floor.

"First prize goes to...Felicia!" The class applauded. Felicia, though, didn't look as happy as anyone else would if they got first prize in a contest. She looked over at Tony and shrugged sadly. She had hoped tony would have gotten the prize. She scolded herself for thinking such a ridiculous thought.

Felicia's parents were so excited when they learned Felicia had won the contest that they decided then and there that Felicia would become a great writer. She would be the next Mark Twain. The latest Philip Pullman or Ursula LeGuin. They wanted to reward her by sending her and the friend of her choice to a writing class.

Felicia knew exactly what friend she would take. Tony needed it.

THE END

Yeah, please review. I want to know what you think. TTFN, readers!