The Dance of a Lifetime
By Ashley S., Op-Ed Editor

Kirby, fourteen, had been waiting for the Spring Fling ever since her big sister, Alana, went. Now she was only one month away from her dream. The problem was that she wasn't exactly popular and she didn't have a boyfriend either. That was until she met Jesse. He was new in town and when Kirby first saw him she knew that he was her soul mate.

For awhile, Kirby thought that Jesse didn't know she existed since he was always flirting with the popular and pretty girls. That was until one day when Kirby was in the library studying and out of nowhere, Jesse sat down next to her. She was so excited and nervous that she just buried her face in the book she was reading. After about ten minutes of quick glances and fake reading, Jesse finally blurted out, "Will you go to the Spring Fling with me?" Kirby just stared at him in shock for awhile then she whispered, "Yes." Jesse then whispered almost mocking her, "O.K. I'll pick you up at 6:00."

About a week before the dance, Kirby got her braces off and got the contacts she had been waiting for. Later, she and her sister went to look for a dress. Finally they found the perfect one. It was dark blue with spaghetti straps and had a little matching jacket. On the day of the dance Kirby had her hair, nails, and make-up done. At 6:00 sharp, Jesse arrived to take her to the dance.

The dance was beautiful, the gym was decorated with flowers, balloons, and tons of streamers and stuff like that. There was a long refreshments table with punch and snacks. Kirby was in heaven. The whole night was wonderful. Jesse and Kirby danced and talked the night away. When it was time to leave, Jesse asked if she would like to go out sometime and of course she said yes. When they got to Kirby's front door Jesse kissed her then ran off to his mom's car. At last, Kirby was popular and she had a boyfriend, her life was perfect!

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: a review
By Allie G.

J.K. Rowling tells the brilliant story of 11-year-old Harry Potter, a boy whose whole life changes when he learns about his past. He lives with his Uncle Vern, Aunt Petunia, and their son Dudley, who is Harry's age. Harry's mother and father died in a fire.

Harry is a wizard who is treated badly by his aunt and uncle. One day, however, he gets a letter from Hogwarts, a school in the wizarding world. He goes to Hogwarts in spite of his family's disapproval.

While at Hogwarts, Harry makes a few good friends, Ron and Hermione. He also befriends the gamekeeper, Hagrid. While finding good friends, he also meets an enemy known as Malfoy. Potter also discovers Quidditch, a game of soccer on broomsticks and more than one ball.

Together, Potter and friends go on a quest to find the Sorcerer's Stone. Hogwarts' principal, Professor Albus Dumbledore, helps Harry all the way through his quest. But one person stands in Harry's way, Lord Voldemort. I highly recommend this exciting story.

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What's the best sound player for your computer?
By Matt C.

Win Amp, what is it? I have your answer. It's the best sound player on computer for Mp3's, wave files, and other assorted goodies. To download Win Amp go to, www.winamp.com. I assure you it is totally free and doesn't take up that much space either.

For those of you who would like tocustomize Win Amp, at the Win Amp home page click on skins and browse through them. If you see something you like, just click on it and then click download and then download again, then you can save the file to disk. Once it's done downloading, open up Win Amp and in the upper left hand corner click, some stuff will come up, click on options, then skin browser. Once that menu opens up, find the desired skin and click on it. To find mp3's or whole songs go to www.lycos.com, then on the links below it, click on mp3 and type in the song or artist you want to search for. Don't download low rated mp3'sthey tend to sound choppy, mixed up, and overall bad. I have included some pictures of my favorite skins.

The original WinAmp skin


The Ken WinAmp skin


The Ampesizer WinAmp skin

The Army WinAmp skin

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NFL QuarterBack 2000
By Michael K.

I recently reviewed the game NFL QuarterBack 2000. It has more pluses than minuses, but the minuses really bring it down. First of all, the pluses: the game is very realistic and has great graphics. There are many options to choose from. You can mix and match any team and any stadium. No matter where you play, you can have any weather condition. I, for example, had it snowing in Tampa!

On the downside, there are too many controls to learn and remember the first time you play it. If you're renting it, and I advise you to, plan on keeping it for a week before you start enjoying it. If you get it as a gift you'll like it, but I don't recommend spending your own money on it.

Overall rating: 6

Graphics: 10

Sound: 8

Play control: 4

Game play: 5

Fun factor: 6

Price: $50-60

Number of players: 4

Difficulty: Rookie or Pro

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Fall
By Bryan C.

Fall

Red and orange leaves, Cold days

Kids playing

Fall

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Instant Messenger is the way to go online
By Amar P.

Instant messaging - It's free, it's easy to use, and it's addictive. Sending around 475 million instant messages per day, it's the new fad of the Internet. The great thing about this is that it's offered free to anyone who has a connection to the Internet. Users can talk to friends and family from all over the world about anything they want. Teenagers, for example, spend hours chatting about the latest Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and Nsync songs to friends and complete strangers.

America Online is the largest provider of an instant messaging service, called AIM. MSN Messenger is Microsoft's version. You can get other instant messengers too. One is called ICQ. Another is Yahoo! Messenger, offered by the popular Yahoo! web directory.

To use AIM (or other Instant Messenger programs) you must first download the software. Use your internet browser and go to www.aol.com/aim. Once downloaded and installed, the software asks you to choose a screen name. After this, you enter a "buddy list" using the screen names of those you want to communicate with. Your buddy list will always tell you which of your buddies are currently online. You can send an "Instant Message" to a buddy who is currently online too, or "Chat," which involves inviting a group of buddies to a "chat room."

Best of all, messaging is free! Many Peacock students talk online all the time.
Eighth grader, Chris M., screen name "Sprite0811," goes online and uses Instant Messengers everyday. He has two AOL screen names and five different Instant Messenger programs. He spends most of his time surfing web sites and Instant Messaging his friends. Chris's classmate Garret K., screen name "DodOpIMp247," is online all the time at home. He has three AOL screen names and eight different Instant Messenger programs. He also likes to go online to chat with people and surf the web. Like Garret, lots of people get hooked on Instant Messaging. So if you don't have an Instant Messenger, get one. You don't know what your are missing.

This is the buddy list window where you can see which buddies are online too.

This is what it looks like inside AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) chat window.

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