“Rose,” I whispered. “Are you there?”
We were stranded on one of the most extreme coasters in the world, famous for its sickening 400-foot drop. There was no clacking or screeching of cars on tracks, no yelling and screaming of people around me. Everyone was quiet, waiting to see what would happen. All I could think was, maybe they would reverse the ride and bring us back to the start. Then I wouldn’t have to face that drop.
But my relief soon melted into dread. We were stuck in a dark passageway—so dark that when I waved my hands in front of my face, I couldn’t see them. And when you’re in the dark, strapped into a tiny car, with no sense of what is around you . . . things start to get weird.
I reached for Rose. She was riding next to me.
I couldn’t find her.
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Student View
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To the Top
There’s no turning back now.
By Elizabeth Walsh
From the November 2024 Issue
Learning Objective: to analyze first-person point of view in a work of short fiction
Complexity Factors
Lexile: 620L
Featured Skill:
Point of View,
Other Key Skills: author's purpose, character
Standards
The soundtrack of eighth grade is a cacophony of locker door slams, lunchroom shouts, whining bells, and sneaker squeaks on gym floors. The buzz of it all lingers in my brain long after the bus drops me off by my house. So after school I usually sit in my room and read or sketch my cat.
It’s not that I don’t like my classmates or how noisy they are. It’s just that I get tired. And it’s not that I don’t have friends either. I do. Like Rose. We sit together at lunch and mostly talk about our cats. I never tell her that I’d rather go fishing than to a Taylor Swift concert, that I’d rather play chess with one person than go to a sleepover with 20. I don’t really know why I don’t tell her.
Maybe it’s because I’m not like the others. Rose is though. She talks to everyone as if it’s as easy as brushing her teeth. She’s a star on the basketball team. She walks down the hall as if she’s walking the red carpet.
“Rose?” I whispered again, into the darkness.
Where was she?
“Rose?” I whispered, louder this time.
“Jillian?”
There she was. Her voice sounded strange.
“Jillian. I need to get out of here.”
“Me too.”
“I’m . . . scared,” Rose’s voice said.
“Yeah.”
“No, you don’t understand.” She got even quieter. “I’m . . . afraid of the dark.”
Her voice was unrecognizable—a hoarse whisper. “I still sleep with a night-light on.”
I reached out in the darkness. This time I found her shoulder. I gave it a squeeze.
“Did Lion get his stitches out?” I asked. That’s Rose’s cat. Lion picks fights with all the other cats but never wins.
“Yes, he’s better,” Rose whispered. “What a monster,” she added, her voice less wobbly.
“And your cousin—the tuba player?”
“He made the marching band at his college.”
“Maybe we could go see him at a football game.”
“I thought you hated crowds,” Rose said.
I didn’t know she knew that about me.
“I could handle it,” I said, surprising myself. “When is his next show?”
“I’ll ask my mom,” Rose said, her voice almost normal sounding.
There in the darkness, amid all the groans of the other kids around us, we whispered about nothing and everything. Then we weren’t whispering anymore. We were just talking. We went on like this for what felt like a long time, telling each other random things, things that might be important or not important.
Then, suddenly, the ride roared to life and off we went.
As we climbed to the drop, I was still frightened. But somehow the fear felt different than before. And just before the plummet, for a tiny moment, we were on top of the world, the early fall air crisp, the view stretching across the flats into the hills, all of us pin-drop quiet—whether from terror or awe I cannot say.
I turned to Rose and she was grinning.
So was I.
Writing Prompt
Retell the story from Rose’s perspective, in first-person point of view. Be sure to give readers a direct line to Rose’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
This story was originally published in the November 2024 issue.
Audio
()
Activities
(7)
Preparing to Read
Reading and Discussing
Skill-Building Activities
Writing Support
Answer Key
(1)
Audio
()
Activities
(7)
Preparing to Read
Reading and Discussing
Skill-Building Activities
Writing Support
Answer Key
(1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building
Essential Questions: What is changeable within ourselves? How are people transformed through their relationships with others? How do we overcome fear?
1. Prepare to Read
(10 minutes)
Do Now: Journal About Fears (5 minutes)
Have students respond to the following prompt in their journals: A phobia is an extreme, irrational, and lasting fear of something. Common phobias include fear of spiders, snakes, heights, the dark, and germs. Do you have any phobias? How do you react when you come face to face with something you fear?
Preview Vocabulary (5 minutes)
Project the Google Slides version of Vocabulary: Definitions and Practice on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. Highlighted words: cacophony, dread, plummet. Audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Optionally, print the PDF version or share the slideshow link to your LMS and have students preview the words and complete the activity independently before class.
2. Read and Discuss
(30 minutes)
Read the “Spotlight On” box on page 20 or at the top of the digital story page.
For students’ first read, have them follow along as they listen to the audio read-aloud, in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.
Have students reread and annotate the story independently. Here are some symbols you might have them use:
∞ = connection
⭐ = important
❓ = I don’t understand
💭 = “I’m thinking . . .” (add words and comments)
💙 = love this
Alternatively, have students complete a double-entry journal during their reread. In their journals or on a piece of paper, have students create a T-chart. In the left-hand column, have them record three to five lines that jump out at them or feel particularly meaningful. In the right-hand column, have them record their reactions to these lines through questions, comments, connections, or analysis. You can find both a print and a digital version of our Double-Entry Journal handout in the Resources tab.
Divide students into groups to discuss their annotations or double-entry journals. Then reconvene as a whole group and pose the following questions, some of which may draw on students’ reading responses and group discussions. (If you prefer to have students answer these questions in writing, use the Discussion Questions in the Resources tab.)
Discussion Questions (10 minutes)
1. After the first five paragraphs of the story, the author interrupts the plot to include three paragraphs that are not about being stuck on the roller coaster. What happens in these paragraphs? Why might the author include them? (point of view, author’s purpose) In these paragraphs, Jillian shares her feelings about school and her classmates, names some of her preferences and interests, and discusses her insecurities. The author probably includes these paragraphs to give the reader insight into Jillian’s character—to help the reader better understand who Jillian is and how she feels about herself and Rose. By the end of the story, these paragraphs also help the reader see how Jillian grows and changes as a result of her experience on the roller coaster.
2. What changes occur in Rose and Jillian as they sit and talk in the darkness? How do you know? (character) At first, Rose and Jillian are both filled with fear as they sit in the dark. Jillian becomes more confident in herself as she distracts Rose from her fear of the dark. Jillian even surprises herself and offers to go to a football game, even though she doesn’t like crowds. Rose’s fear lessens as she talks with Jillian, as demonstrated by the changes in the sound of her voice.
3. What does Rose help Jillian realize about herself? (character) Seeing Rose’s vulnerability helps Jillian realize that everyone feels afraid at times, even people who are confident, talented, and well-liked. Although Jillian had always thought of herself as someone who isn’t “like the others” because she prefers quiet activities and doesn’t have what she perceives as Rose’s ease and confidence, on the roller coaster, Jillian is able to converse easily and calm Rose down. Jillian realizes that she has more in common with others than she thought, and that she has the power to overcome fear and help others do the same.
3. Plan Your Sequel
(60 minutes)
Have students use the Featured Skill Activity: Point of View to help them to respond to the writing prompt on page 21 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:
Retell the story from Rose’s perspective, in first-person point of view. Be sure to give readers a direct line to Rose’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story.)
Connected readings from the Scope archives
Text-to-Speech