Beowulf and the City

            It can probably be said that almost every resident of Orlando, Florida has heard of the once great Sheriff Sheafson. Back when he was alive, crime was unheard of. People could sleep at night with their windows open and doors unlocked.  Yet, all good things cannot last forever and eventually Sheafson had to retire. He turned the job over to Beow. Of course, Beow had some big shoes to fill, but he filled them well. He kept the people of Orlando perfectly content during his career. However, just like Sheafson, Beow became too old to work and his job was passed on to the next worthy man, Halfdane. This sheriff, just like the others, continued to keep crime at bay. Now we begin to approach present day, 2010. Halfdane retired about five years ago and since then Sheriff Hrothgar has been running the town.

Unfortunately, things have not been operating as smoothly for Hrothgar as they once were for Sheafson, Beow, and Halfdane. This sheriff has faced many issues ever since he allowed for the relocation of the Orlando Police Headquarters. The new building was constructed in the territory of Grendel’s Gang. This aggravated the members of the gang to no extent. Every night, for the past twelve months, the midnight stalkers have been tearing Orlando inside out by breaking into homes, vandalizing public parks, and terrorizing the homeless. After trying to stop these attacks but never succeeding, Sheriff Hrothgar gave up hope. He indeed felt terrible not being able to protect his city, but Grendel’s Gang was just simply too hard to control.

Across the country, all the way out in Los Angeles, a man by the name of Beowulf began to hear about Sheriff Hrothgar’s misfortunes. Out there, Beowulf was known for putting an end to some of the toughest gangs of all time. Because of that, he decided to embark on a journey to Orlando with fourteen of his most worthy officers. His mission was to destroy Grendel’s Gang.

Meanwhile, nobody in Orlando had any idea some famous man was on his way to pull the city out of its troubles. Therefore, upon arrival, Beowulf and his crew were not really welcomed with open arms. The first person to greet the men was a security guard who operated the front gate of the headquarters. With a very suspicious voice, he asked the group,

“Hey there, can I see some ID please? I work this gate each day of the week and I have never seen any of you before.”

Beowulf spoke for all the men and said, “We are here to help the city of Orlando. I have heard that things around here have been very messy. Now, will you tell us where the sheriff is and open the gate?”

The guard was very happy to hear this news and let the team of officers on to the premises.

Then, Beowulf and his men began to search for Sheriff Hrothgar. They entered the building, which had been transformed into a chaotic mess ever since the uprising of Grendel’s Gang, and eventually stumbled upon the sheriff’s secretary. Her name was Sheila Wulfgar and she was eager to find out who these men were standing at her desk. She looked at the group and asked,

“What can I do for you today? Are you here to see Sheriff Hrothgar? If so, let me warn you, he really has not been in the best of moods lately.”

            Beowulf replied to the woman by saying, “Yes, we would like to speak to the sheriff. It is an urgent matter.”

            Sheila then picked up her phone and called Hrothgar’s office. She told him what was happening and who was here to see him. The sheriff remembered the good times he had working with Beowulf at Publix when they were both teenagers and told Shelia to send the group in.

            Hrothgar was so pleased to see his old friend and became even more pleased when Beowulf announced why he had traveled to Orlando. With a little excitement in his voice, Beowulf broke the news.

            “I am here to put an end to the terrifying nights in this city! I am going to catch Grendel’s Gang and give back to Orlando its long lost peace!”

            With this news Hrothgar called for a huge dinner at Outback Steakhouse because it was time to celebrate! Stories were told, good food was feasted on, and cold drinks were served around the entire table. Beowulf recalled a triathlon that he participated in a few years back. He discussed how during the majority of the race he was at the front of the pack. However, during the swimming part of the race, one of the contestants became too tired to swim and needed help. Beowulf decided to assist him and in turn fell into last place. Hearing this, a jealous man by the name of Unferth addressed the entire table and said,

            “Do not believe a word this man says! What really happened was that Beowulf just gave up and lost the race, simple as that.”

            Beowulf was now extremely aggravated with Unferth. However, instead of completely knocking his block off he replied by saying, “Unferth, buddy, you are awfully full of yourself to say that! What have you done that makes you so big and bad? You have not even tried to defeat Grendel’s Gang! In fact, I came here to basically do your job for you!”

            With that said, everyone knew it was time to leave before more tensions heated up. Hrothgar and his officers went back to their homes for the night while Beowulf’s group went and stayed at the headquarters.

            Later that night the God-cursed group decided to wreak havoc on Beowulf. They broke into the police building towards the middle of the night and open fired on the men sleeping there. One officer was shot and killed but the others had survived. Hearing all this commotion, Beowulf jumped up and grabbed his AK 47 (Rambo style). He then shot Grendel and all the other members of the gang.

            Orlando was back to normal. There would be no more nights of terror because Grendel’s Gang had been destroyed. People could now revert back to sleeping with their windows wide open and their doors unlocked. Beowulf had done the city a huge favor and saved Sheriff Hrothgar’s reputation. Oh, that good ole’ Beowulf did it again…what would we do without him?

College Essay

We have the same eyes. We have the same hair. We have the same build. In general, we just simply look alike. I am a twin and for all of my seventeen years of life I have worked to steer away from “we” and focus more on “I”.

There happens to be this really weird myth out there about twins. For some reason, people seem to think that two humans who look alike, must also think alike, and therefore, might as well be one individual. I cannot begin to count how many times I have been asked, “Do you feel like you’re missing a part of yourself when you’re not with your brother?” The answer to that question has always been a yes, no, and maybe mixed together. Yes, I’m missing someone who I consider to be my best friend, but no, all of my body parts are still fully intact. The maybe part of my answer has always confused me. I usually include it because I’m not certain whether I should or shouldn’t feel like I’m missing a part of myself. You see, my brother and I have pretty much always tried to out do one another just to get attention. Because of that, it feels unusual when I’m not around him. The rivalry has evaporated, and I no longer have to fight to be seen or heard.

The more and more I think about it, being a twin is almost like playing a sport. You are constantly in a competition and you have to keep practicing your game if you ever want to “one up” your opponent. Since I can remember, my brother and I have always played by these rules. Who can get the A+ on the history test? Who can get their bedroom the cleanest? Who can go the longest driving without getting a traffic violation? With pretty much everything we do, I always come out just a hair behind my brother. Nevertheless, I have come to realize that’s just part of being a twin, and if you do want to “win” or be seen as something other than a “clone,” you have to put forth the effort. Let me tell you, when that hard work does pay off, and I’m the victorious one, nothing can hold me back.

I’m sitting here at my computer writing this essay and now it hits me. Will my brother and I end up going to the same college? I really don’t know the answer to this question. My parents seem to think and hope that we will, but I have a different take on the situation. I’m ready to break away and start life on my own; independent and separate from my twin brother. Let the myth about twins being inseparable stay a myth. Testing the waters is my kind of thing.

About Me

Hey everyone. My name is Stephen Bolden. I'm seventeen years old and a senior in high school. I, of course, love writing long english papers in my spare time! :)