The teacher sat crossed-legged on her oak desk. She stared at her middle school history class, patiently waiting for them to share what they thought of the writer's point of view on the constitutional amendments.

Just when she thought her students had decided not to participate in the discussion, a young girl in the front row began to splutter, shocked by what she had read.

The girl looked over at the boy beside her and pointed to the section which had caused such a violent reaction.

The boy squinted, "I have terrible vision, what does it say, Amelie?" He asked loudly, causing a few giggles to erupt around the room. His face flushed with embarrassment.

"Silas, it says that we have a right to protection from unreasonable search and seizures. They searched our bags today for no reason!" Amelie exclaimed, outraged over the blatant violation of her constitutional right.

The teacher smiled, she always taught the amendments on bag-search-day. It made the lesson applicable to her students' lives.

More and more faces began to contort with anger as their eyes reached the section Amelie and Silas had been animatedly discussing.

All of a sudden, with a splurge of forcefulness, a small boy from the back of the class called out, "How do they get away with this?"

Looking at Mrs. Henderson expectantly, her students waited for her to explain. All she offered was a shrug, trying to coax the children into discussing the topic further.

"Max, this is bullcrap! They've poisoned our minds. We didn't even know that they weren't allowed to go through our stuff." One boy shouted across the room.

Then, all of the students began to talk all at once. They pointed and discussed the topic with vigor, having more knowledge of the constitutional amendments than most adults.

For the first time all year, Mrs. Henderson had gotten their attention. She had finally succeeded in getting middle school kids to give a shit about something.

She decided right then she was having a feast and a few celebratory drinks tonight. She didn’t feel like a total failure today and that was good enough for her.

Feeling successful for the first time all year, Mrs. Henderson strolled up to the front of the classroom and looked at her students. Every face in the room eyed her eagerly. She held up a single coin, "This," She said, "Is a half-dollar coin. It is the reward for whoever can correctly tell me what the 19th amendment was."

Hands went up all over the room.

Despite it being February, Mrs. Henderson felt like she had had the best first day ever. She had been the children's teacher for months, however, she had not felt like a real teacher until today. Today, she actually taught them something. For the first time, they actually learned from her.

That day, Mrs. Henderson felt like a gold medal Olympian. She had conquered 13 year olds, and nothing else mattered.

What makes you, friend?

Is it your body?

The one you need to breath

The air of oak trees

With your arms like branches

And fingers of twigs

That you count your usesless coins

Your money does not make you, friend

Not how much you splurge

It is not the beginning

Nor the end

Of what you can be

Are you what you see?

A reflection of the world

A vision of the present

Too many people are

Carbon copies

Not diamonds

So what?

Your knowledge?

Your education?

Just what did those 'teachers' tell you?

And of the words they weave

A feast of lies for the naive mind

Writers of the worst kind of fiction

Do not let their words posion you

Do not let them make you

It is your constitution of morals that makes you

That saves you

It's the line you draw

That defines you

There are two reason why a person won't do something

They can't

Or

They won't

What won't you do?

The wide-eyed teacher, although she refused to admit it, had a constitutional weakness - she couldn't help but splurge her spendings during the Great Winter Festival's feast. She collected thousands of coins just so that she could spend away during this exciting time. For why shouldn't she? She had a vision for excellence, and a unique talent for taste.

The age-old festival took place nearby the town's Oak Forest - a dark, damp area haunted by the perilous snakes and their feared poisons.

Obsessed with the happenings of the Festival, the teacher took it on her to become the annual Great Winter Festival's new writer. She claimed the previous writers were far too unjust, and that their opinions were ill-informed. They had not the vision, nor talent, she possessed. She was going to do the job right - it was to be informative, and most importantly, just.

And she decided who was to be the winner, once and for all. The winner of the honourable Great Winter Festival is, the wonderful and talented...

Em Dawson!! :)