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Chicken Soup for the Teen Soul Book - Real-Life Stories by Real Teens

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After The Day After

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By Jessica B., Lexington, MA

When I was maybe nine

I would lie awake nights

staring fearfully at the deep-navy

dome of starless sky

and I followed the progress

of each plane as it

blinked hauntingly past my windows.

I heard some as a strident snarl, but

some were just twinkling lights

just like stars, really,

except for their inexorable passage

across my view.

And the fear took my hands

and balled them into

nervous fists

and held my eyes so wide

they ached,

even though I knew it was silly,

too silly to disturb my parents with

so late.

Each plane I thought

might hold a strange

and powerful bomb and could

maybe unleash it

on my town

and everything would vanish

in a fascinating orange-radiation-glow

just like on t.v.

This piece has also been published in Teen Ink's monthly magazine.

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Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book and website featuring teen writing, information, art, photos, poetry, teen issues and more. All articles are written by teen authors who are students at schools. The monthly print magazine is appropriate for any teenager -- teenagers age 13 to 19 attending secondary school: junior high school, middle school and high school. This publication is used by professional people including English teachers, writing teachers, language arts instructors, journalism teachers, school newspaper advisors, librarians, guidance counselors, K-12 principals in addition to the PTA or PTO. Each issue of Teen Ink magazine contains a wide variety of student work: we publish nonfiction, fiction, poems, community service, sports, heroes, interviews, college essays, college reviews, book reviews, concert reviews, movie reviews, music reviews, video reviews, video game reviews, the environment, opinion, sports, pets, cars, automobiles, travel and culture, jobs and money, health issues, artwork, photographs, cartoons, short stories, essays, writing contests, a college directory and the website also has a bulletin board and resources for teens and educators. Subjects include racism, eating disorders, depression, death, suicide, family, relationships, jobs, grandparents, violence, the college process, college information, colleges, driving, self esteem, the arts, movies and more. Teen Ink is also a book series published by HCI Teens. Subjects covered in the book include Friends, Fitting In, Love, Challenges, Family, Heroes, Loss and Memories. Teen Ink was established in 1989 as The 21st Century magazine by The Young Authors Foundation, a nonprofit organization. More than 25,000 teens have been published in the magazine and its companion Poetry Journal. Teen Ink runs a London Summer Program for teenage writers.