We are delighted to announce that Zoe Parkin, Year 10, has won The Telegraph’s Journalists of Tomorrow competition, and her winning entry, a short story titled ‘Imagine’, will be published in The Telegraph this Sunday 28th June. Congratulations to Zoe on this fantastic achievement. Her story can be seen below, with accompanying photograph (above) by Miss Dalrymple:
Imagine
by Zoe Parkin
Nine o’clock; rain had fallen this morning. A strange, sombre light had taken hold of the atmosphere. Any sunlight that dreamed of breaking the clouds surface had now been engulfed by heavy, ominous cloud. I looked around me, surrounded by four walls concealed in plaster and thick layers of egg shell paint, wondering if and when the world would let me escape. How strange it seemed to reminisce on a short twelve months ago, when everything was simple, and as it seemed.
Last April, twelve o’clock; sitting upon the tartan rug on the field next to the beach, my brother brought a tremendously sized picnic basket full of snacks and refreshments to enjoy. We spent hours laughing, playing swing ball and eating excessive amounts of crusty baguette, sweet cinnamon pastries and many punnets of raspberries. Hours went by under the blazing sunlight, he dozed off for a few hours and I read. I allowed myself to get lost in the tale of Moby Dick by Herman Melville, a story of friendship and adventure. How funny it seemed to think that a meagre twelve months away, the world would not be such a simple place.
The next morning, nine-thirty; we shovelled our cornflakes down so quickly we had tummy ache, guzzling our mugs of bitter coffee instantaneously and vaulting into my brothers pint-sized, cherry red car. Nine forty-five; we arrived at the beach, there were a few people walking their dogs but it was relatively quiet for such a pleasant day. Sprinting, we ran towards the sea, struggling as we hit the thick dry sand. Strolling into the water, it reached the top of my socks quickly as it began to get deeper. Crisp but refreshing, the icy water rushed over our ankles sending microscopic shivers up our spines. It was calming, my body totally relaxed in the vast blue waters of the immense ocean. We splashed for hours until larger volumes of people began to join us at around twelve o’clock. Finishing a typical spring day was never complete without a 99 cone with a chocolate finger and plenty of strawberry sauce. Looking out upon the enormous sea, we ate our ice-creams in silence, just absorbing the laughter and fun we had that weekend.
I now look out the double-glazed windows of my bedroom, out onto the tarmac of the roads with the occasional car passing by. I thought about those wondrous spring days for many hours, until the sky grew darker than it was before. I looked around me, surrounded by four walls concealed in plaster and thick layers of egg shell paint, wondering if and when the world would let me escape.