{"id":6210,"date":"2020-01-16T12:43:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T12:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/phillippines?p=6210"},"modified":"2020-02-19T09:27:07","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T09:27:07","slug":"waking-up-to-2050-story-entry-young-authors-scheme-creative-writing-competition-branch-level-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/waking-up-to-2050-story-entry-young-authors-scheme-creative-writing-competition-branch-level-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Waking Up to 2050 | Story Entry Young Authors Scheme Creative Writing Competition Branch Level 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"I am a 10-year-old, 5th grade girl that lives a normal life. Tanned skin, dark brown hair and blackish brown eyes. Never did I know that my life would take a very unexpected turn… to the future.<\/p>\n

Last Night (Saturday)<\/p>\n

I tossed and turned around in my bed, trying to sleep. One, two, three… sheep, please make me sleepy…<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been up since 11 in the evening, tossing and turning on my already messed up bed without a thought to sleep. Now it was 2AM.<\/p>\n

Four, five, six… there has to to be a twist…<\/p>\n

Counting sheep has to help.<\/p>\n

Seven, eight, nine… trying to make things rhyme …<\/p>\n

I stared at the ceiling, trying another way to fall asleep. It still doesn\u2019t work!<\/p>\n

Ten, eleven, twelve… now staring at the shelves…<\/p>\n

After hours and hours of counting sheep, I lost track at 43- yes, it took that long!- and finally closed my eyes.<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/p>\n

Waking up to the sound of my alarm clock felt like forever. But the sound of the alarm felt wrong.<\/p>\n

I opened my eyes, surprised to find wrapped presents at the edge of my bed.
\nIs it Christmas? I thought, then mentally smacked myself on the cheek. It was Christmas<\/p>\n

nearly a month ago! Wake up! And then I smacked myself for real.<\/p>\n

I turned to my left to find my alarm clock at the bedside table. Waaaittt… something was wrong. The screen had a holographic sheen to it… and the clock itself was hovering. I closed my eyes and opened them again. Still the same. It read 7:32. January 12… 2050?! Wait, what?<\/p>\n

I rubbed my eyes, needing to see it again. January 12, 2050. AHHH!!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I am going insane. Literally. I smacked myself three more times to be sure I was awake. And I was.<\/p>\n

I got up and checked the window. But before that I stepped onto a galaxy. Yes, a galaxy. Stars and constellations and all. I looked closer and found a small engraving at the far right. Mood Sensory Flooring. Ohhhh.. so that\u2019s why. I felt weird and the floor sensed it and changed to space- which was also weird.<\/p>\n

Back to the window.<\/p>\n

Cloudless blue skies with no sign of smoke or pollution. There were also lots of trees and I could hear birds chirping. I opened the window and breathed in the sweet, refreshing air. This wasn\u2019t 2020. This was the future.<\/p>\n

I snapped back to reality and went back to the clock change. \u201cMom! The clock\u2019s new and it\u2019s not right!\u201d I called to my right.<\/p>\n

I sat back on the bed, which now surprisingly felt like clouds and fluffy, non-sticky cotton candy .<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, sweetie?\u201d My mom- or I thought was my mom- strode into the room. I turned around.<\/p>\n

She had shoulder-length hair- which was not the usual short length, and wore this weird-and- fluffy-looking sweater with… fluffy pajama bottoms. I thought she wore just a shirt and pj bottoms or a nightgown. But then I remembered. This was the future! Those nightwear were so last 30 years.<\/p>\n

My eyes stretched as far as they could anyway. I closed the window and walked towards her.<\/p>\n

\u201cU-uh… the clock\u2019s new and its time\u2019s not right,\u201d I managed to stutter out.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mom\u2019 gave me a look that said huh? And what do you mean the time\u2019s not right?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat clock was there since we moved in.\u201d She started to look worried and reached out to touch my neck. \u201cIt\u2019s your birthday today. Are you alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

BIRTHDAY?!! My birthday\u2019s still months away from January!<\/p>\n

I shook my head vigorously and put on a fake smile. \u201cS-sure, I\u2019m fine!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cO-kay, then. Breakfast is ready in 10 minutes,\u201d \u2018Mom\u2019 glanced at me for a second then walked out the door and left me there, dumbfounded.<\/p>\n

I looked down at my nightwear, which was a fluffed-up white tank top and furry blue pjs. Were these what the clothes looked like in the future?<\/p>\n

I went outside of my room a few minutes later of staring into space (the floor), and walked to the kitchen-or what I thought was the kitchen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A two-layered cake floated (yes, it floated) in all its glory, cloudy puffs and all, in the middle of a 5-foot-long dining table and food. Floating food.<\/p>\n

Bacon strips and pancakes sat atop pristine white plates that floated above and around the glass table.<\/p>\n

Did I also mention that the table and chairs were also floating?<\/p>\n

I almost fainted onto the… LAVA FLOOR?! Bubbling and hissing and emitting a pure sense of surprise. But then I remembered- Mood Sensory Flooring. I soon calmed down and the floor shifted into an ocean with schools of fish swimming by.<\/p>\n

I fell into a floating chair, which honestly felt like sinking into a bed of super-soft, not itchy grass and squishy earth.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, my \u2018mom\u2019 and what I supposed was my \u2018dad\u2019 sat down on the chairs and my \u2018younger brother\u2019 followed suit.<\/p>\n

I dug into my first slice of pancake- which tasted like honey and butter and cookie dough and creamy milk mixed into one, fluffy, and heavenly circle.<\/p>\n

The bacon tasted like it was soaked in maple syrup and toasted and cooked at the same time, turning into sweet, crispy and savory strips.<\/p>\n

Then there was the cake. There were absolutely no words.
\nIt was pure frosted deliciousness with fudge-like blue filling that tasted like melted fondant<\/p>\n

and soft marshmallows and coated with layers and layers of butter and sugar.
\nAfter breakfast, my \u2018dad\u2019 waved his hand in the air and out popped a screen, displaying all<\/p>\n

my birthday greetings and videos.
\nAfter replying and saying \u2018thank you\u2019 to every single one, was the gifts.<\/p>\n

I got a holo-book reader from my mom (supposedly like a Kindle that was 25x more advanced than 30 years back in 2020), a box of scented aromas from my friends (with spritzers that smelled like melty marshmallows and lavender fields and freshly baked cookies right out of the oven and open tubs of vanilla ice cream and so many other amazing scents) and a sky blue techband from my dad (like an Apple watch but way more advanced; it was like a phone and a holographic screen popped up when you opened it instead of you tapping the screen). The rest I\u2019ve yet to open. And there were still lots more.<\/p>\n

After that, I played with my younger brother a super-advanced Nintendo Switch upstairs in the game room and played the entire Grand Prix in Mario Cart 98.<\/p>\n

During the afternoon, we had lunch (and super-savory tasting roast chicken) and we biked to a nearby park for a while. There were lots of people at the park and there were less cars. There was also a train station near the park and people were using it regularly. And there were lots and lots of parked bikes, including ours.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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And when we went back to the house for dinner, we had the most amazing carbonara that tasted like it was layered with four types of cheese and soaked in the creamiest sauce in the universe.<\/p>\n

And when my \u2018mom\u2019 and \u2018dad\u2019 said goodnight after dinner and closed my bedroom door that night, I changed my mind about the future.<\/p>\n

Maybe it wouldn\u2019t be so bad after all. Monday<\/p>\n

I woke up again, and I checked my alarm clock to see if it wasn\u2019t floating and shimmering holographically- and that this whole going-to-2050 thing wasn\u2019t a dream.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t.
\nI checked the floor. It was just a normal gray hue.
\nI also checked my clothes. Blue-and-white pjs.
\nI sat on my bed. Same old fluff rate as before I transported through time to 2050. I went outside. 3 feet long not-floating dining table with no floating chairs.<\/p>\n

I went back to my room and checked my presents- which weren\u2019t there. Aw, I would miss those sweet scents! And the HBR! I was in the middle of reading a good book when I fell asleep! The T-band (techband)… I hadn\u2019t used it yet. Unfortunately.<\/p>\n

At breakfast we had bacon and pancakes- which tasted normal. And the plates were not floating. Also, no heavenly cake. Sadly.<\/p>\n

The floor also wasn\u2019t an calming ocean. Or a very surprising river of lava.<\/p>\n

After breakfast, there was no presents. But I did have to go to school. And after school, my brother and I played the Switch. We played Mario Cart 8.<\/p>\n

Dinner was normal, too.<\/p>\n

And when I fell asleep again that night, I realized all of 2050 was just a dream. What I wished it was going to be.<\/p>\n

Also a vision of what we need it to be. Clean air. No pollution nor smoke. Technology that does not only delight and surprise us, but helps us.<\/p>\n

A brand new world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But the good thing was, everything I loved and cherished in 2020 did not change, like family movie nights, card game or board game nights, playing Minecraft with my dad, racing with my brother in Mario Cart 8 or hourly book reading with my mom. It\u2019s about being happy with what you already have and spending time with the ones you love… like family.<\/p>\n

I hope that in the future years, family and happiness will never change in my life. This is what I look forward to in 2050.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a 10-year-old, 5th grade girl that lives a normal life. Tanned skin, dark brown hair and blackish brown eyes. Never did I know that my life would take a very unexpected turn… to the future. Last Night (Saturday) I tossed and turned around in my bed, trying to sleep. One, two, three… sheep, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[93],"tags":[94,69,62,90,63,98,92,91,96,89],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6210"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6210"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6256,"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6210\/revisions\/6256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catherinekhoo.sg\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}