This Is Research.

This really was research, I promise. I was looking up other computer interactive student tools that exist, and stumbled upon this story generator that Scholastic.com had created. It starts out with you adding your name, picking your grade, all the logistics stuff – then takes you to this slot machine that you click on that generates a sentence that you have to write a story about. My fate-generated story was “Describe a party for a brown peanut that goes on a fun camping trip.”

This is not the first time I’ve written a story about inanimate objects – see here. I promise this was all in the name of research!

Not my best, I have to admit, but hey, it’s been a while since I’ve told stories like this.

—

Once upon a time, there was a peanut named Tommy. He was quite young, at the time of this tale – his shell had not been cracked by the weary realities of the harsh world he lived in.

On the outside, he looked like a very ordinary peanut – brown, oval in shape, hard – but on the inside, he was very extraordinary. He had a heart for adventure, to see things no peanut had ever seen before. His little peanut eyes hungered for the beauty of the world, as well as the grittiness – he just wanted to live!

One day, when he woke up, he decided that this would be the day. He would finally venture outside his home and leave the jar he had known for his entire life. “Where should I go?” He felt a little reckless and giddy at the thought of leaving on an adventure – but he felt certain that he would have an experience to tell his grandchildren.

He decided to go camping. He had heard so many stories of tall, tall trees and and forest animals that he wanted to see for himself. He packed his things up and ventured outside.

Pretty soon, he had unpacked his things in a grassy clearing and was relaxing in the forest he had picked to go camping in. “This is the life,” he sighed to himself. “The peace, the quiet, the adventure!”

After a while, however, the little peanut started to get lonely. “This is fun…” he tried to reassure that this was what he wanted. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

As the afternoon faded into dusk and the first stars started winking and blinking into the sky, the little peanut heaved a sigh. He couldn’t deny it anymore. He wished his friends were with him, to share in all his fun.

The next morning, he packed up and headed back home. When he got back home, he found that his jar was dark and there seemed to be no one in sight. “Where is everyone?” He felt panic start to seep into his heart. He hadn’t enjoyed his night alone in the forest, and the thought of his friends and family having left him filled him with more sadness. “Did they all leave me?”

Sadly, he trudged into his jar. He reached to flip a light, and…

“SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

The little peanut had completely forgotten it was his birthday, and as he later learned, his friends had been overjoyed to hear that he had taken the opportunity to go on a solo camping trip so that they could plan a party for his return.

Happily, the little peanut gathered all his friends around him. “I’m sorry that I tried to be by myself all the time and wanted to take my own adventures. Let’s all go on adventures together!”

—

Alright, so the ending lacked pizzazz, but hey, I had to work in that dumb party somehow.

I should write more often, and actually try to improve.