Iris’s Writings

• Iris’s reading journal, Lakeside Middle School, Seattle, 2019 – 2020
  (Apparently she used it as a scratch book later so some of her writings got overwritten)

• “Candy Store”, a poem by Iris, Lakeside Middle School, Seattle, 2019

• Iris’s Writing/Reading notes/journal, Lakeside Middle School, Seattle, 2018 – 2019

• A poster by Iris about her dream job, Lakeside Middle School, Seattle, September 2017

• Iris’s reading journal, Cherry Crest Elementary School, Bellevue, 2016 – 2017
  (Apparently she used it as a scratch book later so some of her writings got overwritten)

• An article by Iris from her 4th-grade writing class, Cherry Crest Elementary School, Bellevue, 2016

My Relaxing Trip to Trouble—Not!
By: Iris Tang

The sun’s shining in my face, the wind howling, ruffling my fur and flinging my ears. My name is James, and I’m a golden retriever.

The man sitting next to me turning that Frisbee-sized circular thingamajig is Drake, my owner, aka my fun supervisor for a lifetime. Drake tells me that this weird metal contraption balanced on thick rubber Frisbees is called a “car”, and that I shouldn’t scratch it because it cost a lot of green, easy-to-rip paper. You would’ve thought that human currency would’ve been better, like a nice juicy bone, right?

Anyway, we’re going somewhere “special”, but Drake won’t tell me where. Hmmmmmmmmmm. I wonder how this “car” moves without legs. Oh well, I’ll find out another time. Wait. Is that a butterfly? It is! I reach out a paw to see whether or not that annoying clear panel was there, so I wouldn’t smash my face into it. Thankfully, it wasn’t, so I bounded out of this strange “car”, off to chase that butterfly!

I was oblivious to the fact that Drake was calling out my name, while I leaped after that butterfly. It was so fast, a delightful chase! I swerve past a few more of those “cars” (are they like a trend or something?) and I was so close that butterfly, I could literally see the pattern on its wings! HOOONNKI!! Suddenly, an ear-splitting blast made me halt momentarily, which gave the butterfly a chance to fly away. I shook off the shock of that outburst, and frantically scanned the vicinity for the butterfly, and saw a gleam of light which looked exactly like sunlight glancing off a butterfly’s wings! The shimmer was next to some bizarre tall brown thingies with green blobs near the top, a few yards away (later found out they were called “trees”).

I raced to the green-and-brown object, but before I could stop… SMACK!!!
I was running headfirst into another green-and-brown (let’s just call them G-&-B, okay?) that looked exactly identical to the one the butterfly was next to! I began dashing around, looking for the butterfly, but before I knew it, I was surrounded by G-&-Bs! I panicked, but then thought that if I ran in one direction for long enough, then I would be able to get out of this myriad of G-&-Bs. I sped off for what seemed like hours, and then finally got to the end of those G-&-Bs, but I still had no idea where I was!

I wandered around and saw yet another G-&-B, except this one had a large yellow fruit on it. I might as well eat something if I’m not going to get home anytime soon, I thought. I prodded the fruit cautiously. Big mistake! In a flash, from out of the blue, a swarm of angry bees appeared and started chasing me! Then I remembered that Drake used to tell me: “if you’ve ever chased by a swarm of angry bees, your best chance to get away is to jump in the nearest body of water big enough.” Nearby, I spied a giant puddle of water, so I held my breath and… SPLASH!!

Even though I was wet, I was happy to be away from those bees! I paddled towards dry land, climbed out of the puddle, and shook myself off. As I wandered around some more, I caught a scent of… wait. Was that espresso and cappuccino?

I bounded to the scent of coffee, ravenous for at least a bite to eat. As I arrived at the coffee shop, I looked for the high, raised table, where Drake usually made his orders. I found it to the far left of the shop, and guess who was there? Drake!

He was telling the lady at the table something. I strained to hear, and this is what I managed to hear of their conversation:

“My dog, James, who’s a golden retriever, went missing about half a hour ago. We were driving over in a about this area. Have you seen him?”

“I’m sorry, I have not seen a golden retriever come this way yet. Would you like some sugar with your coffee?”

“Yes please. Would you let me know if you find him? My phone number is 517-463-2089.”

“Okay. Would you also like some milk with your coffee and some English pastries?”

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow, Sue.”

“Wait! I think I see your golden retriever over there by the window!”

After that remark, Drake came bursting out of the door, and hugged me, despite the fact that I was soaking wet and cold to the bone and kissed me on my forehead (the time-outs and lectures came later).

Drake also made me promise that I would never ever run away like that again, but honestly, the only important part (to me) was that I got a doggy treat and a pastry. Now let’s just hope a butterfly doesn’t come this way!

• Iris’s Writing Journal, Cherry Crest Elementary School, Bellevue, 2015

• Iris’s 3rd-grade self-reflection poster, Cherry Crest Elementary School, Bellevue, 2015

• Iris’s early childhood notes, 2012 – 2014