Mrs Liney, Mrs Brown and Mrs Strathern’s introduction
In order to motivate our pupils to write, it is vital that we give them opportunities to see why writing skills are important to society. That is why we were so excited to have Ramsay speak to our third year classes (albeit remotely due to current restrictions). Our pupils understood, when they listened to Ramsay, that writing can lead to an exciting career and isn’t just something they will be asked to do at school. Bringing real-life contexts to subjects studied in school can give our young people a renewed enthusiasm to learn. This was certainly the case when Ramsay set our pupils their task – to write story about shoes using only 300 words! Every single pupil rose to the challenge and met Ramsay’s deadline – and we are hugely proud of them all. A tricky task, I’m sure you will agree. We hope you enjoy reading their work, and a massive thanks to Ramsay and Ashleigh for giving feedback to every pupil involved.
Kayleigh Kriel
I wake up with sirens in my ears, it was so early in the morning 4:27am exactly. I rushed to the window, wondering what the hell was going on. The sirens came to a stop and so did the car, right outside my neighbour’s house. Everyone rushed out the car and broke down the door. The next minute there was tape around the door and at the same time like 4 other police cars came and then 3 ambulances. I don’t think I will ever forget this night. Then the paramedics ran in and straight out to get a stretcher. They came back out with the kid, she was insanely bleeding and hardly moving. Then another person came out bleeding basically to death but somehow walking, but there was still one, not out and didn’t come out.
I went to the kitchen to get some coffee since I was defiantly not going to sleep after this but there was a knock at the door. It was the police.
“hello” I said shocked
“hi, I just wanted to know if I could come in?” he said
“sure, come in and sit down” I replied
“thank you” he said in a nice voice
Then he continued to tell me what happened. I was shocked. It was a robbery gone wrong. They didn’t get the money they wanted so killed the father tried to kill the mother and daughter but they somehow survived. The case cold and still 15 years after and no one found the killer and it was getting on my nerve.
It was an ordinary, but I was bored so I went down to the river at the end of my garden it was a river that ran through everyone’s garden on the right side of the street. This time the water was dried up cause of how hot it had been. Something caught my eye there was a lump in the mud, but the only thing was it was on the other side of the fence. But no one had bought the house since the murder, so I hopped the fence and got a stick and started picking at it. It was just an old pair of shoes. Well that’s what I thought…
5 months pass and the shoes are still at the bottom off the garden. I’m looking through old photos since I was cleaning out the attic and I stopped and looked. It was an old photo of the old neighbours. But then something caught my eye. The shoes at the bottom of my garden are the ones in the picture! Maybe it was a clue to the case.
I immediately called the police; they arrived and took a DNA sample. 2 weeks later the results came back. A guy named George Armstrong was found on the shoes. He lived in France and had been on the run from the police in Canada. We’ve found the killer. Finally, the justice they needed.
Isla Johnston
Fern had witnessed a lot of days like that. They lived in an area of the world where which rained even when it was warm, a lot like the day our story takes place on. Fern trotted through the puddles freshly forming on the ground, cringing as they felt the rain run down their legs and into their socks.
Anticipating a downpour, Fern ran into the nearest shop they could find. Luckily, it happened to be the shop they were meaning to visit.
Not far from Fern’s home in the forest, about a thirty minute walk, was a small town on the outskirts of the forest. In this town, was a tiny shoe shop.
Fern brushed their feet on the floor mat just inside the door, before walking further into the shop. They breathed in deeply and smelt lots of leather, among other fabrics and materials. The shelves were lined with different kinds of shoes; trainers, boots, high-heels. Fern looked down at their own shoes, compared to the ones on the shelves, they looked rather plain. After thinking for a moment, they wandered further into the shop, looking at the different sections, until they spotted the section titled ‘ELF SHOES’, in big, bold lettering.
Fern, like some other people living in the town, was an elf. Elves only grow to about a metre tall, at most. This meant that they were much smaller than most other creatures, and needed smaller shoes. Fern scanned the shelf until their eyes caught sight of the most magnificent shoes. A bright pair of yellow wellies.
It was as if they were lit under a spotlight, they were so incredible. Fern held their hands near their face, desperately trying to stop themself from picking them up. They looked to good to be held. Almost too good to be true, even. Slowly, and extremely carefully, Fern picked up the shoes and tried them on. The wellies were extremely comfortable, and lined with special cushioning. Fern walked to one of the nearby mirrors to examine them. Not too shabby! They thought that the boots looked wonderful, especially with their cape that kept them cosy too.
Fern took the boots off carefully and slipped their other shoes back on. They carried the boots to the till, and placed them on top of the counter, which was tricky to reach. It seemed to be a higher till than normal.
From the back of the till, someone slipped through a curtain leading to the back of the shop. The man, a centaur, stepped forward to help Fern pay. A centaur must be very experienced with shoes, since they have four feet, Fern thought. The centaur man was at least three times as tall as Fern, which made the encounter look a little bit silly. He was quiet whilst Fern was paying, and waved when Fern left. Fern got a little anxious when going into shops, so having the centaur wave at them was quite nice.
On their way home Fern tried on their boots, again. They couldn’t help it. The walk through the woods was very pleasant, when they didn’t have to worry about getting their feet soaked. On the way back to their home, Fern spotted a few frogs sitting on the rocks and Lilly pads in the pond. Fern sat down on the small bridge to admire the frogs for just a moment, and one of the frogs even hopped over to look at Fern. So, Fern continued their journey home, feeling very pleased that they had gotten some nice shoes. Soon, they were back home, which was in fact, a refurbished giant mushroom. It wasn’t so odd, considering that there were mythical creatures living everywhere. Fern twirled around in their new shoes and went inside.
They were able to be separated from the boots, Fern didn’t think they should be worn all the time. Although, they did admire the boots often. Whilst they were eating dinner, they looked over at the boots and sighed happily. And when Fern went to sleep that night, they imagined all the things they could do with their new wellies.
They were content.
Owen Thorn
I woke up after a bomb hit and got on my ripped up botts and then I got my rifle and charge toward the German trench while bullets while bullets are flying past then we got their and took the trench. Then we saw that we were encircled by Germans, so we had to surrender. They took are bayonets and rifles and made us walk to the trucks as we did, I saw my friend getting killed for not obeying German orders.
When we got to the trucks they took are boots of. Then they took us to training camps after 2 months of training I was ready to fight again. The first place I was put was Belgium against the allies it was going to be horrible.
After 3 days of traveling, we got to the trench I was given a very tall pair of boots and a suit I was surprised I was going to be commander. So, I sat in my office for a few hours then I heard screaming the allies were charging at us, so I ordered a surrender. I ran away but the king found me, and I was thrown in jail then I had an idea. After a few days of thinking I hatched a plan I would kill the guard (who had my commander boots) when I killed him, I took his keys, and my boots then skedaddled. After a week and a few close calls with the kings’ men I found myself in the alps of Switzerland. I started to get hungry I saw a village after 20 minutes of walking it disappeared.
After walking even more my boots gave up and broke. Then I woke up from my dream and there was an executioner with a bottle of hemlock… I refused to drink it, but my mouth was forced open, and it was poured down my throat and after 3 hours I passed away into my forever ending sleep.
Jaden Bruce
Rob was putting on a pair of football shoes then he runs into a football stadium. He hears the crowd cheering his name ROB! ROB! ROB! But then he hears one voice in particular it was his mother, ROB! ROB! WAKE UP ROB YOU HAVE SCHOOL she shouted from downstairs. Rob wakes up saddened that it was all a dream, then he realises he needs to get ready for school. He puts on his school cloths then runs down the stairs and out the door after quickly brushing his teeth.
The school bell rang so Rob ran through the corridor then his French teacher Mrs Dupont shouts NO RUNNING IN THE CORRIDOR. SORRY MRS DUPONT shouts Rob. Rob sneaks into the classroom thinking he got away with being late but then his tutor teacher Ms Wodrikowsky shouts THAT’S THE SECOND TIME THIS WEEK YOUR LATE. I’m sorry said Rob. If your late one more time your getting detention, responded Ms wodrikowsky. Now class we will be watching a video about pollution.
It’s the end of school and Rob is walking home with his friend Chloe. Chloe and Rob live in the same neighbourhood, so they walk home to gather a lot. When they were walking home they were passing a shoe shop and then Rob thought he heard a bang. He rushed in and what he found was a pair of football shoes the same football shoes from his dream just lying on the ground. Rob picks up the shoes and an old man comes from the back of the shoes shop saying, ‘That pair aren’t for sale’.
Rob feels like he needs the shoes and asks if he can pay double. The old man refuses and puts the shoes on the counter and goes to put more shoes to the back of the shop. Chloe suggests they just go but Rob takes the shoes and puts a 20 on the counter then runs. Chloe tries to persuade him to put the shoes back but Rob refuses.
The next day Rob wakes up on time to go to school. He put his new shoes in his bag to play football in gym today.
It’s gym and Rob is putting on his new shoes for the first time and he didn’t feel any different at first. But when he started playing he was more confident than normal, he felt faster as well and when he got the ball no one could get it off him, and then he started scoring goal after goal.
Then when Rob and Chloe were going Rob didn’t feel as happy as he thought he would and he didn’t know why until he passed the shoe shop. Then he realised it was the shoes that were making him good at football and he didn’t want to cheat his way to the top. He wanted to earn it. So he went back to the shoe shop with Chloe to return the shoes.
But then the old man told him that the shoes don’t make you good at football. It makes you as good as you will be if you work hard enough.
Twelve years later Rob and Chloe are married and Rob is on the top five best players in the world.
Amy Maxwell
One day Emily a hard-working waiter at the local coffee shop was walking past at a really expense shop. A pair of white, red, black, and blue trainers in the shop window. She immediately fell in love. She walked into the shop, grabbed the shoes, and looked at the price tag. £250. She looked into her purse and only had £50. She was going to get these shoes no matter what. She strutted to work, straight into her boss’s office and asked for more shifts and a rase. He agreed after a little while of convincing. She put on her apron and got to work.
After a long day of serving tables, wiping tables and other things you can do with tables. She made £20. She realized she would never be able to afford the shoes. So, she decided to get another job. She walked around for a while looking if anyone needed a worker. After about 35 minutes of looking, she bumped into a cute little conner shop. That had a help wanted sign in the window. She walked in and asked for the job. She told the guy at the front about all her work experience in the past and got the job. The shop keeper was okay with the hours she wanted, which was the tip of the ice burgh.
For about two weeks Emily would work her fingers to the bone until she finally got the money to buy those amazing trainers. She finally did it. She got the money to buy the trainers. She skipped to the shop with excitement. On the way to the store, she accidently bumped into a strange and creepy man. She quickly apologized and ran off. When she got to the shop, she couldn’t see the shoes anywhere. She went up to the casher and asked if they still had the shoes. The casher barley even looked at her and said no. She walked out of the shop and looked down she noticed that the strange and creepy man took her purse with all her money in it. She sighed and said, “this really is the worst day ever.”
Amber Stewart
There I was, sitting on an old wooden lopsided bench, placed on a solid concrete foundation, outside the dodgy alleyway on South Street, that I call my home.
A little bit before me, in the park near the edge of the pavement and across road, I see a pile of old “unwanted” clothes, which are in practically good condition, blocking which was a path through the park.
There I was, in the same old alleyway, staring at the same at the same old dump of unwanted clothes, which multiply everyday with new people adding to this pile.
My shoes were always full of holes or even non existent on the days that they were stolen, so I just have to pick up whatever I can find laying around on the streets, even if that means not it’s not a pair of shoes.
But today I had had enough, I wasn’t going to sit in a cold, dark alleyway and see those clothes turn rotten when, in the eyes of me, an old homeless man, they look perfectly wearable and even if you didn’t want them, you do not need to dump them in a public park.
So I got up, on my weary varicose veins and edged forwards towards the blistering sun that was shining on the large beech trees beyond the pavement, into the flying fox in the park.
I go to walk into the park to see a crowd of people squirming around something, so I move my stiff creaking body around to look over and I am astonished to see people conjuring over a pair of shoes. But why shoes?
They certainly looked like a normal pair of shoes, a pair of hiking boots in the colours of grey and blue, that’s normal right? I liked the colours; they went well together but I’m homeless so does that even matter?
I’m a homeless pensioner who is a misfit and has to find ways of feeding myself by scavenging the bins on the street or picking up half eaten food scraped off the pavements.
I go to bend down to look through the pile of clothes to hear a large shriek come from a lady behind me, I turn around to see there was no women, and she had ran away leaving the shoes…
Then, I see the shoes, and no they aren’t normal shoes like I thought, they were moving…
Yes, moving as if they were on someone’s feet, just without the feet part?
I moved towards them to see how this could be happening but before I could even close to them, they came at me…
I tried to run, but being old and weak it wasn’t something I could do, it was as if I was in solid concrete, I was STRANDED.
I look down to see the hiking boots chewing off my feet and biting into my shins.
They were going to eat me, but not only eat me, they were going to eat me alive…
Ashleigh Kriel
I had just bought these amazing shoes. They were unique and no one else had them in my school. I was so excited to wear them and show them off to everyone.
Once they arrived, I was jumping up and down on my bed, I opened the box and there they were. White Balenciaga trainers. I tried them on, and they fit perfectly! I took pictures and sent them to my friends. I couldn’t take them off because they were the best trainers I’ve ever had. They did cost a bit of money, but it was so worth it.
It was the next day and I couldn’t wait to show off my shoes to everyone. I got changed and put the shoes on. They were perfect. I walked out of my house all cheery and started walking to school. The walk was about 10 minutes. The first 4 minutes were fine, but the rest were torcher! It was like I was walking on knifes! I stopped and walked over to a bench and sat down. I took off my shoes and I had 4 blisters on each of my feet. I was starting to hate these shoes. I hadn’t even got to school, and my feet were so sore. I was in pain. I decided to suck it up and deal with it. I just had to get through this day and I’ll be fine.
It felt like I had been walking for hours, but in reality, it was only 3 minutes. But eventually I got to school. Everyone complimented my shoes, but I take back everything I said. These are the worst shoes ever.
Finally, school had finished. I got a lift home and as soon as I got home, I took off my shoes. My feet were red, and blisters were everywhere. I’m never wearing those shoes again.
Calum Robertson
Greg woke up on his 15th birthday and he got the present he was excited for, for about 2 months. He opened the box and saw a pair of red and black Nike trainers and he was happy. Straight away he put them on and ran out the door to go on a run. His goal is to be in the Olympics running in the 800m. Every day after school Greg was running, working to achieve his goal. He never stopped every day and then for him an opportunity came.
While he was on a run with his now dirty and 3-month-old trainers that he had used every day after he got them. He was approached by someone who claimed to be an ex-Olympian and he offered to help him train. After another month with his now completely battered shoes, he was in the school athletics team and miles ahead of everyone else.
It took Greg ages to realise that he was speaking to David Rudisha and he was coaching him. David said that Greg needed to get new shoes, but Greg had a goal of taking his battered shoes to the Olympics.
Another month had past, and Greg somehow managed his way into the GB under 16’s and he was better than some of the pros however he just wasn’t old enough. Greg got such a good 800m time that he has training with the actual pros that were training for the Olympics in a month’s time. Greg was often made fun of or mocked because of his shoes because they were ruined.
A day before the best GB runner got injured and Greg knew that this was the best chance he would get ever. He ran and won a gold with medal the red and black battered trainers.
Dimitris Zacek
He carefully placed the new, astonishingly bright red shoes. Another one to the collection. His rack was almost filled to the brim. Altogether everything was at least ten thousand dollars, if he doesn’t sell every single sneaker he’s going to be seriously bankrupt. Golden is the boy I’m talking about by the way. Also known as 24kGoldn in the rap game, but this was before all the money and fame, when he was just a normal American kid with a side-business of re-selling sneakers. Golden was quite chubby and his skin was light brown, he had braces and an afro too. He only cared about what clothes he wore and what was on his feet, he didn’t care if people thought he was unattractive.
Bzzz bzzz. He got a notification from his phone. Maybe someone was interested in buying his new sneakers already? He only put them on the market (his Instagram story) about 5 minutes ago. He switched on his phone and opened the notification. Golden couldn’t believe his eyes. ALERT! NEW TRAVIS SCOTT X NIKE FRAGMENT ONE’S DROPPING NOW! He knew right away that everybody would be all over these shoes. One of the biggest artist’s in the world collaborating with one of the biggest shoe companies of all time. He knew he had to act quick, but then sank back into his bed as his eyes moved to the price tag. $4,499. He didn’t have that type of money. I mean, it was all sitting right in front of him, but in shoe form. Golden knew there was only one way to get enough cash.
He slid off his bed and onto the ground, pulling an old, dusty safe from underneath his wardrobe. 1 3 1 1 0 0. The safe door opened. He reached his hand in and pulled out a golden shoe box. Golden blew all the dust off, and the NIKE logo revealed itself. He carefully removed the lid and reached in, pulling out two red Jordan 1’s. They were nothing special at first glance, but these shoes were like no other in the world. He turned them upside down, and there it was. The signature of his Dad’s old friend from high school. It read “Jordan”. The real Micheal Jordan’s signature was on the back of these sneakers. These were worth over ten thousand dollars, and these were how Golden was going to get the Travis Scott Fragment One’s.
Elliot Winterburn
Today I went to a sneaker event to hopefully get some more Jordans for my collection. I wanted to pick up a third pair of Dior Jordan 1s and maybe some off white Jordan 1s. I knew getting these would be difficult and it was a big price tag but I was hoping to get lucky. The thing about being rich is that everyone just expects you to be happy but it really doesn’t work like that, I actually found that I was happier when I didn’t have loads of money because I had things to look forward to and it made life so much more exciting but now that I have all this money I can just do and get anything straight away. That’s why I have started collecting sneakers I’ve been doing it for 3 years now and have loads of different types of sneakers from retro customs new releases and anything you can think of. Al together my collection is probably worth about 100,000 dollars and I do not regret one single bit of it and plan to keep going with it for my whole life. If you are wondering where I got all the money from I was really lucky I was in a charity shop one day and saw a pair of sneakers I got them and 3 months later they were worth thousands so I sold them and then kept buying and reselling sneakers and it went from their and now I’m a millionaire that spends his life buying and reselling sneakers with people from all around the world, I enjoy it but it does get a bit boring because of how repetitive it is and I don’t even get to wear my shoes much before I go and sell them again.
Joe Charlton
It was Christmas day 1940, my grandad was given his first Christmas present. A pair of fish slippers. He loved these fish slippers. He would wear them everywhere. He loved them. They always helped him feel better. If something bad would happen to him, his fish slippers were always there.
Later in his life, he became a well- known blues musician. He would go out on the stage and perform his heart to thousands of his fans. On time after a performance a reporter came up to him ask what the main reason was why he was so successful and he simply replied by saying “well, I was always to so well because I were my lucky fish slippers.”
My grandad was a very stereotypical man. Every time we wore his fish slippers, something good would happen to him and every time he didn’t, let’s just say not so good things would happen to him. He once saved a cat from a tree while he was wearing his fish slippers and was reward with a medal from the local council. Then he tried to recreate that without his fish slippers on, but he fell from the tree and broken 5 bones and was in cast and a wheelchair for 8 weeks. Another time, when he was 15, he stops a car in the middle of the road so a group of ducks could cross while he was in his fish slippers, then he tried it again without them and ended up back in hospital with 6 broken bones.
When he died passed his fish slippers down to me. Only a few years ago I got then priced. They cost 12 million pounds. Second most expensive item of clothing worn by a musician. Piped to the post by frank Sinatra’s hat.
Josie Leck
I was just walking out of the park looking for food like I normally do when I stumbled across these shoes. They looked very fancy and expensive. I did not take them just in case anyone came looking for them. A few days later I checked, and they were still there. I decided to take them. It felt nice having shoes on again, the soft fabric under my beat down feet. Anyway, I continued with my day to find food. I wondered around for a bit then this lady gave me a soft pretzel and a cup of water. I thanked her. She said, “no problem.” I walked back to the park, but it was only then that I realised everyone was looking at my feet. I thought nothing of it and carried on. The next day I went through the usual routine of trying to find food. Then the strangest thing happened, this very posh looking man came up to me and asked if he could by my shoes! “What?” I replied confused. “Your shoes, there on of a kind,” said the man. “They are?” I replied amazed. “Yes, there worth millions!” he said. “Mm mm MILLIONS?!” I said shocked. “I’m willing to pay 3 million” he said. Another man joined in “4 million!”. Soon there was a whole Croud of people. Then a man said, “20 million pounds!!”. Everyone else backed down. I could not believe it a few days ago I found these shoes now I have 20 million pounds. The first thing I did was bought a house. A few years later I was a successful singer like I had always wanted to be. I told my story to many people, and I also wrote a song about it. It’s all thanks to those shoes.
Lewis Jackson
“Happy birthday Keiren!”
“Thanks Mum.” Keiren replied cheerly as he was frantically clawing at the wrapping paper tearing it apart, showing a blue shoe box with a snowflake pattern on it. Keiren slowly took the lid of the box to reveal an amazing pair of blue and white ice-skates.
“I always hear you talking about ice-hockey so I got you some ice-skates. There’s a club starting soon so I was thinking you could go to that to try out ice-hockey.
1 month of training later
“Okay the season is starting soon, and we need a team so if you want to be part of it, you’re going to have to step up your game and try your hardest.” said Kierens ice-hockey coach.
For the next week Keiren tried his hardest to be the best he could. He practised every day for 3 to 4 hours after school. But in the end, it wasn’t enough he only manged to secure himself a space on the bench. He was disappointed in himself, but he still had faith that he might be subbed on during the match.
It was the last ten minutes of the game and Keiren was losing faith. His team was down so many points and he had been on the bench all game. But finally, in the last 9 minutes, he was subbed on. As he was going onto the rink, he could feel the cold air hitting against his face, he could feel his skates digging into the ice ready to take off and save the game. He may only have had 9 minutes but in those 9 minutes something changed it might have been the ice-skates it might have been the crowd but whatever it was he knew that he had finally found his purpose.
Luka Barrie
I sliced down the Sellotape sealing the ragged carboard box. It had fragile written on the side, yet it looked like it had been run over by a car. I opened the box to reveal a mountain of clutter. Old keyrings, caps and some fridge magnets. As I unravelled this string of mess, I found an old pare of raggedy shoes. I remembered them from when my brother lived at home. He loved these shoes, and if it wasn’t for his crabby wife, I bet he would be still wearing them. They are white trainers with red laces and gold stitches. They are a bit muddy but for their age they look brand new. The shoes have a big red sole with my brothers fading name “Andy” on the bottom. I undid the loosely wounded laces and slid my foot in. They were cosy, not to tight not to lose. They were perfect, like it was written in the stars. As I ran up and down my room, I felt a spring in my step. As I jump, I felt like I was floating. In this short time, I had already become attached to them. I didn’t want to take them off!
Years past and I had forgotten about my old white trainers, with red laces and gold stitching. They were just sitting there, in darkness of my loft. I grabbed them. I looked down at my old hand. “Where did all that time go” I said to myself. I brushed the cobwebs of the trainers. “There not my trainers anymore” I thought to myself. Then the thought came to me.
I put down my game remote and looked to my side. There was an old raggedy box with my dad’s name on it. I opened the box to revile a pair of white trainers, with red laces and gold stitching, with my name on the bottom.
Maia Massie
I woke up on some grass. It didn’t feel like grass. It felt almost fake, but not plastic.
‘How did I get here?’ I thought.
I sat up and looked around. I didn’t recognise where I was. Colourful houses lined the yellow brick road, even the trees and water were vibrant. But there was no one around. I stood up and looked behind me. There was a regular looking house, it wasn’t bright like the others. It seemed so out of place compared to everything else here. There was a pair of black and white striped leggings sticking out of the front of the house. It seemed like the house was on top of them.
‘Maybe someone wore those, and a house fell on them’ I thought, obviously joking. I chuckled to myself.
“Hey!” I heard a voice shout from behind me. It startled me, I quickly turned around, and saw a small man over the road. “Dorothy?” He shouted to me.
I was confused. “My name? My name isn’t Dorothy.” I yelled back.
By this point there was about twenty more small people running to me. Running slowly.
They were all speaking, but I couldn’t really tell what they were saying. More and more small people came out until there was a crowd of about sixty around me. The crowd all moved to make space for the first man who saw me to come through, carrying a pair of red shoes.
“Have these ruby slippers. They were from the first girl who came here; her name was Dorothy. She found them on the feet of the witch she killed when her house fell on the witch over there.” he pointed to the plain house behind me.
He handed me the shoes, “these are yours now”
I tried them on, they fit perfectly.
Mark Dexter
A young boy named Sam was a talented young footballer, but his boots were completely ruined. The soul came off and there were holes on them also.
His birthday was coming up, all he dreamed about for weeks was new boots, they were bright green, no laces and made by adidas. It was his birthday, he came downstairs there were balloons everywhere and he went into the living room and his parents shouted, “Happy Birthday Sam”, he saw at the corner of his eye and adidas box, he opened it, and he gasped the boots he wanted bright green and no laces. He didn’t care about the other presents all he cared about was his new boots.
Sam’s first game was coming up, his team were talented, top of the league, they were just brilliant.
He arrived at his game with his dad, in his bright boots glaring into the sun, the pitch was an Astro turf pitch at Sam’s local school. Sam’s coach was a large don, beer belly that sort of guy but was very nice. The coach started Sam at striker he was usually on the wing he wasn’t used to striker; Sam was slightly nerves because he had to get passed 2 6”1 centre backs and he was 5”3 and not very strong. The game was had half time and it was 2-0 to Sam’s team but both goals were from the other striker and Sam hardly got the ball. Full time and Sam’s won 5-0 and he got a goal in his bright boots as the sun glared onto the pitch something happened.
Sam was worried he lost his boots and couldn’t find them someone had the same-coloured boots, but nothing was left behind. Sam lost his dream boots, and he didn’t know that they were sat right behind him.
Orna Scott
I stepped out my feet hit the smooth, silky carpet it was as if I had just walked into heaven. Bright flashing lights hit me from every direction. I felt like a star, I was a star. I finally excepted the eight hours of getting ready played off and was worth it.
I found my way slowly strolling around for about 20 minutes before entering the theatre with a few interviews in the proses. I was directed to my VIP cast only seat. I sat down the room went dark and the chapter went silent, the moment I had been waiting for was about to begin.
“Shoes” in big bold black letter appear on the screen, it really had begun. After the film finished and I stood up I felt a so happy yet sad inside due to the months of work I and the other cast spent so much effort on was finally done.
Ruby Conisbee
I look down at my shoes.
Following the German invasion of Belgium, my family and the rest of us have had to wear a yellow star. We are a public display, a labelled showpiece. Our religious beliefs identified from a glance. They judge us, the Nazis. Like they despise us.
I look down at my shoes, cramped against the seat in front of me. I’ve been sitting here for days. ‘Labour camps’ are the destination. I’m completely alone, losing my family in the process of boarding the trains.
Waiting in line in the crowd of mostly kids, a lot of women and the elderly, I look down at my shoes. I’m not sure where I’m headed. When make it to the front, everyone is strictly led into barracks next to an odd-looking building. We’re forced to completely undress.
I tense and shrug my shoulders, and take a slow breath. The air bites at my exposed skin with cold, hard pinches. I slip off my shoes off my feet and place them underneath a rundown bench. I’ll retrieve them later.
I look down at my shoes, my precious leather loafers, before we’re ordered out of the barracks. Inside the main building was cramped and dark. The wall I’m tightly pressed against is damp, and coated in layers of chipped paint. When an armed guard shuts and locks the door, I feel a jolt of panic from the people around me. I can’t see a thing. I hear the hiss.
I look down at my shoes.
Now piled on top of thousands of other dirty and worn pairs, are my shoes. A faint rubbery, leathery smell surrounds the perfectly formed remnants of lives behind the glass. Women’s fancy high heels, men’s Oxfords. A dozen pairs of baby shoes. Millions travel across the world annually to quietly acknowledge them; the stories behind every shoe made visible.
Tal Cohen
It all started with a pair of flip flops. Pink neon flip flops
I loved the beach. With the air having that salty tinge to it, the white sand underneath my feet, the sea a cyan blue and the waves were lazily rolling onto shore. Heaven.
“Can you get the picnic blanket Jaz?” My mum shouts to me. “Yeah, can I get the car keys?” I say back. She chucks them to me; I catch them with one hand. “Good catch!” My mum states, I give a curtsey and go to the car to retrieve the blanket. After having to rootle around to find it for 5ish minutes, I find it stashed away under a bunch of shopping bags. I walk back with the blanket folded in my arms and see my mum has found a spot on the beach to sit down. I spread out the blanket and plop down with a sandwich in my hand, luckily, it’s a hot sunny day so I can go swimming. I’m about to put my t shirt on when I spot a pair of neon pink and red flip flops that have washed onto shore. I run over to investigate them when I notice they’re tied together by a piece of bright green ribbon. I pick them up and then I realize it’s not pink and red flip flops, it’s just neon pink flip flops. With blood on them…
-Few days later-
I had to be questioned by the police multiple times.
“Did you see a body?” No.
“Did you see anyone else near them?” No.
“Did you see anything else out of place?” No.
They said it must’ve come from the other side of the sea and it was now their case. I believed that until the note came.
“You’re next”
Toby Grant
First, you get the poor homeless person that sadly cannot afford shoes. They will most likely have strong feet or have found some worn shoes two sizes too small. Then you have the people who work a minimum wage and have had some pair of shoes for 5 years. These shoes will work as good as a £100 pair of shoes and will most likely last another few years. After that, there is the average person who will get the latest Air Force 1s or Air Jordans for their Christmas or birthday. But these Air Jordans were special.
It was the 26th of December and Archie was admiring his new shoes. His Grandad had given him a cool set of original Air Jordans. They were red and blue with a signature on the left one. They looked fairly old because the white sole had gone a sort of yellow colour and they had creeses in them but still very nice. Archie asked his grandpa and he said he was given them by his dad and that they were very limited edition. One of a kind.
He wanted to search them up on the internet to see if they were worth anything even though he would never sell them because they were worth lots more to him as shoes. Archie did not have a phone, so he had to sneak onto his mum’s computer because it was her work computer with lots of important stuff. Archie searched the name that was label along with a code. “Original Air Jordan 1s DBS3”. They were the original Air Jordans used my Michael Jordan himself. They were worth $672,000. These were worth more as shoes to him. He decided there and then that he was going to pass them on to his future son.
Tori Iskierka
As the blood of an unfamiliar stranger runs down my bright red and white shoes, I feel a slight bit of relief. Finally, my 7th victim was gone, he was a hard one. But I knew that my trusty shoes wouldn’t let me down.
I usually keep the blood on my shoes, not because I fetishize over it (I’m not that much of a weirdo), but it’s that I love the feeling of having all the evidence right there on my feet, and yet no one notices. To be fair, I don’t go outside enough to be noticed, but when I’m walking around with a full face of makeup and a red nose, I would think that someone would look. Someone would notice.
Although I do get compliments sometimes, maybe not in the best ways, like when my victims are tied up fighting for their lives. But they are nice, I especially liked the one that said, “the pop of colour on your shoes makes you look like a psychopath”. Most of my victims really treasure the beauty my shoes are, probably because they have to or that’s them dead.
I haven’t only held 7 people hostage by the way. Who do you think I am? An amateur? Nah. Those are the only ones who actually died, the next 10 escaped. I mean what do you expect? They’d have to escape, or no one would know of such thing as the “killer clown”. Otherwise, I’d be known as your typical circus clown. But no, the stuff that goes on in private is not funny.
But even after all the work that has gone into feeding my family their daily chili, my shoes have never disappointed me, they always got the job done.