Story Time Animated

The door flew open and Mom bolted inside. Startled, I jumped up from the sofa where I was watching the television.“Alex, we need to trash the house to make it look like someone broke in” “Mom, why? Where’s Hunter?” Mom stared at me blankly, “Hunter got wounded and the police are on their way.’ Mom began to throw the cushions from the sofa on the floor. “The house needs to look trashed because I told them that when we opened the front door we were attacked.”Without another word, Mom and I trashed the place. It wasn’t long before we heard sirens in the distance. Everything was a blur as police officers took pictures and dusted for evidence. Mom did all the talking as she said I was still in shock. After the officers left, Mom told me the owner of the house returned home early and Hunter jumped in front of Mom to protect her. Yeah, you may be wondering about that. The only way to get your answer is to continue watching till the end. I grew up in a family of thieves. Yup you heard correctly, thieves. We never stayed anywhere for more than a few months. Mom was the mastermind, Hunter was the brawn and I was the invisible son! I begged Mom to let me join them but she said I wasn’t ready. She never had time for me; she and Hunter were always planning their next heist. I was heartbroken when Hunter died a few days after his incident. Only Mom and I attended Hunter's funeral. After a fifteen minute sermon, the pastor left the room to give us a chance to say our last goodbyes.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Hey, Stanley!”“Yes sir!”“You’ll be doubling as a waiter tonight. So once you’re done cleaning, get dressed in a suit and get ready to serve the guests.”“Uhm, sir. I’m supposed to close by 7pm, that’s the end of work hours for me, sir”.“Well, not today! You’ll probably be here till tomorrow morning. One of the waiters fell ill so you’ll have to take his place”.“Sir, does this mean I’ll be paid his wage instead, since he won’t be coming?”The director burst into laughter.“Dream on, Stan. You’re not getting paid a dime for the extra hours you’ll be working for. If you’re not happy with that, feel free to quit, there are millions of janitors happy to replace you and in case you don’t know, these people are happy to be paid half your salary for more work”.“Half of $2 per hour?” I asked, surprised. Who in the world would want to be paid a dollar per hour? I only took this job because I was dying of hunger.“Sir, could I get just a tiny little bit of money from you? You didn’t tell me about the event earlier so I didn’t bring anything decent to wear, I have to go back home, pick something and come back”.He rolled his eyes and gave me my exact payment for the day, nothing for the transport to go home and return again on the same day. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“A hundred dollars!? You’re telling me that all you could make this month is a hundred dollars?! What kind of a man are you, Steven?!” Mom screamed throwing the money in my face. “A thirteen year old man!” I replied, making her give me a resounding slap. “It’s your fault we’re suffering like this. If your dad was alive, everything would’ve been much better!”“I know, mom. And I’m very sorry”. “Shut up! You’re not sorry, but you will be!”She walked towards me and picked up the money that she had previously thrown in my face before climbing the stairs, entering her room and banging the door. Hey! I’m Steven! Please hit the like and subscribe buttons below so we can go on with the story. Thank you! We used to be a very happy family. Before I was born, my dad was offered a life changing position in the United States and we moved. I was born into luxury and everything was set out for me. For people who haven’t lived this life, it may seem like the dream life but if you were born into it like I was, you’d understand that life quickly gets boring. At the age of ten, I was already looking for excitement in places I shouldn’t have. This was when people started noticing how special I was. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adan shared a look with Bradford and Kendrick as they sneered. “Me?” He repeated, “You want me, Adan Saltwater, to teach you math? Are you out of your mind?”He looked at Bradford and Kendrick again, surprised. “Couldn’t you find any smart girl in our class to teach you?” He really couldn’t believe it. I looked scared and humble but deep down, I was cackling like an evil wizard. “You are the brightest and best student in math that I know of. You also have a special way of explaining things to people and no one can do it like you”, I said in a very calm, sweet way. He blushed for a second then quickly changed his facial expression to one of disgust once he noticed that his friends were looking at him. “Well, Uhm”, he was scratching his head, my sweet talk was working! “Let’s see if we can start on…”, he was about to agree when Bradford interrupted him.“Adan will not be teaching you anything. Get out of here, will you?” He said in his British tongue, the accent that he used to deceive all the girls on campus. Jerk.As they tried to drive off, I stepped in front of Adan’s car. Adan looked perplexed. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yeah. I guess I have to admit it. I’m privileged. I am a higher middle class white American. But this isn’t where my privilege ends. Surprised? Don’t be. We are a family of beautiful people. I’m serious! We’re literally all beautiful. My Dad, My Mom, My Brothers and Me! Yeah, you might be like, “Are you supposed to call Men beautiful?” But what else can I say? The word, “Handsome” is not enough to describe the guys in my family. They are, in fact, beautiful. No one has to know. *Winks*Now that you’ve done that, let’s move on.Every one admired us and wanted to be like us. We weren’t just beautiful, we were smart, we aced all our classes, we all had leadership positions, in school, in church and in the community. Every one knew and worshipped our family. Everybody wanted to date one of us, even our exes bragged about us. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“MOOOM! I want more cake!”“Sure honey.”“MORE!”“Okay, here you go honey!”“I want a burger too!”“Ok dear.”“PIZZA! NOW!”“Yes, honey.”I was a really fat kid and I had no limits. I sorta looked like Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants. And what made it worse was that was actually my real name. None of this bothered me much when I was little because there’s not much peer pressure when you’re that young. Of course I got teased a bit at school but that didn’t matter to me. What mattered to me was that there was cake at home. And ice cream. So who cared if Karen “Junior” thought I was taking up too much space?But that began to change through middle school. Middle school kids are worse and I began to feel self-conscious. I started looking at myself in the mirror and I felt very uncomfortable. Was that really me? I was bigger than a small dinosaur!Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Mom! I got As in all my classes!”“So what? You’re not the first person to get all As!”“Mom! I’m sorry but I failed all my classes!”“Oh honey! You should be proud of yourself. At least, you took the exams.”“But what if I’m required to repeat a grade?”“What!? Impossible! That can never happen! I will talk with your teachers and principal immediately. They’re doing such terrible work in that school.”“The teachers?” I asked, confused. “They’re doing a terrible job? Your daughter, who refuses to ever study anything, unsurprisingly fails all her papers and ‘the teachers’ are to blame? You know who is to blame for her failures? You are! Yes, you! Don’t stare at me like you’re confused! I have had enough of you. You are to blame for every bad thing that happens to Claire! AND ME! AND DAD! Any bad thing that happens in this house is all your fault!”“Alright, that’s enough”, Dad tried to carry me but I pushed him away.“Don’t touch me, Dad! Don’t you dare. You just stand around and watch this evil woman make my life miserable! And you never do anything about it!”“I try my best, honey”.“Well, your best isn’t enough! I had sleepless nights, studying, trying to be the best so once, just once in my life, my mother would say she’s proud of me but instead, she still doesn’t give a hoot about me”, I burst into tears and Claire tried to comfort me. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Hey Laura! Look this way!" A camera flash nearly blinded me. Whatever happened to personal space? I put on my best smile and posed. "You look fabulous tonight, just one more picture!" "I think you have enough for your tabloid Jeff." I said as I put my sunglasses back on. "It's a blog." "Gentlemen, that's enough." Alec, my driver, said as he placed himself between the bloodthirsty reporters and me. I expected them to push and shove him like they always did but their attention shifted to someone else."She's here."I removed a pocket mirror from my purse and quickly checked my hair and makeup. I had to look perfect for her. Alec stood next to me as we watched her walk down the red carpet. We stood at attention like the loyal soldiers we were."Laura.""Victoria.""That dress makes you look two sizes bigger. Don't wear it again. Unless you want to spark pregnancy rumors. Now, smile."She turned and waved at the cameras. She even blew them a few kisses.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I got up startled as usual, thanks to my alarm clock.As I dragged myself from my bed, I noticed that the house was very quiet.This was a very strange occurrence because my parents were early risers, I always woke up to them either arguing about something or celebrating their new conquest.Whatever. I thought as I entered the kitchen to make breakfast. My parents never prepared any meal for me, they always made theirs, ate and left, I was used to it by now. As I walked past my parents room on my way to the kitchen, something just felt very wrong. I had this strong bad feeling and I decided to check up on them in their room.I hope they aren’t dead? I thought. I walked into the room carefully, heart in hand as I opened the door, what I witnessed was worse than anything I could’ve expected. I opened the door and realised that my parents weren’t dead, they were much much worse….. gone! I ran to the drawer where I saw the documents last night, it was empty! Ah, I should’ve known!These people didn’t care about me so I don’t understand why I thought those documents were for us all to travel. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I noticed the weird looks people were giving me as I walked down the hall. A few guys were even smiling and winking at me. Weird. Something was definitely wrong, I just hadn’t figured it out yet. Well, whatever. I’ll just pack up and go home.Before I could quietly wriggle myself out of the school’s massive doors, Beck approached me.“Hey beautiful”, he said while spinning around me, a gesture that I believe he thought was romantic. “Wanna go on a date with me tonight? We’d get Pizza and Icecream then eat them all up in my car while looking at the stars”.Beck wasn’t all that, but he wasn’t that bad either. Besides, I didn’t have anything interesting to do tonight so I decided to accept. “Uhm, I…”“Dude, is that the best you can do?’ Jake interrupted with a grin on his face.“Bro, don’t kill my shine”.Jake ignored him and turned to me. He held my hand and kissed it.“Cat. I have a big-ass cinema in my house with chefs and cleaners obeying my every command. Spend the night with me instead and I can assure you that we’ll have the whole night to ourselves, no one will dare interrupt us”. “Huh?”Why in the world would Jake, the school player, ever think that I’ll want to go out with him? He may have been a millionaire but he knew I hated him. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Hey Peekaboo! Have your bath quickly before someone comes”.We had our bath and dried ourselves as fast as we could, before running out of the restaurant. Once we got to a  safe zone, we started laughing, so happy that we hadn’t been caught this time. The last time was so embarrassing, the security man didn’t even let us finish up! Thankfully he had the courtesy to call a female security officer who was even more ruthless than he was. We were forced to put our clothes back on despite the fact that our bodies were still filled with soap. We bowed our heads as we were dragged out of the restaurant, our faces still covered in soap lather. After that, we avoided taking baths for a couple of weeks till today. “We smell soooo fresh!” I giggled. This was our life now, sleeping under egg cartons and sneaking into neat restaurants when no one was looking to have our baths. It wasn’t always like this though, we used to be quite comfortable. My dad was a lawyer and his company rewarded him greatly. Unfortunately, he was hit by a stroke and we lost him. My mother couldn’t pay for our house and our survival with the tiny revenue we got from her shop and just like that, we started sleeping in my mom’s shop but when her landlord noticed this, he sent her packing also. We had no option but to move to the streets after trying the shelters and figuring out that they were all filled up.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I ran towards the goal, dribbling the football as I went, I suddenly noticed my Mom watching from the sidelines. My heart filled with joy, it wasn’t often that my Mom managed to make it to one of my games. You see, she has a very busy job as an accountant with a big city firm. She works long hours and usually isn’t able to watch me play.The referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match. I shook hands with the players from the opposing team and went to join my Mom.“Mom! I can’t believe you made it! I’m so happy you’re here!”But instead of giving me the smile I expected my Mom just scowled at me,“I’m so disappointed in you Luke, you played terribly.”I was so shocked and confused, I couldn’t understand why my Mom was being so rude.But little did I know things were only going to get worse, just wait til you see what she did at the end of this story!I got into my Mom’s car and we drove home in silence. I was upset that she had criticised my playing and she didn’t seem in the mood for chatting either.When we arrived home I took off my coat and was about to head upstairs to my room when my Mom came into the kitchen. “Where do you think you’re going?”“Up to my room, I’m going to play a video game with Ben.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“So what’s your secret?”“What?”“We’re the same age but you look like a man and I still look like a kid. How did you get your beard to grow?”“Genes bro, genes! Hahaha. ”My best buddy Ron had this conversation with me almost every day. We looked really different from each other although we were both sixteen.  I was tall, muscular and I had a lot of facial hair. I had a really cool beard and a mustache that made the ladies faint. My voice was also deep and extremely attractive. Ron on the other hand looked and sounded like a baby.“I bought this beard growth serum the other day. I’ve been putting it on my face every night. I hope it works soon!”“Don’t worry. Maybe you’re just a late bloomer! It happens!”Despite our differences, we were still good friends and we did almost everything together. Life was great! I also had an adorable girlfriend. Her name was Clara and she was great for my ego!“Oh Garth! You’re so handsome and muscular! And I love your beard! You’re the most gorgeous boyfriend on the planet!”“Thanks babe.”My only real difficulty in life was fighting off all the other girls who wanted to be with me too. I was a babe magnet – I guess they just love beards and muscles and that stuff. Luckily, Clara wasn’t insecure so that was great for me.Sadly, my awesome life was about to take a strange twist. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I watched as an older lady attempted to cross the road. Immediately, I stepped towards her. “Do you need help to cross the road?” The lady nodded and I extended my elbow for her to hold on to. The older lady chatted politely as we crossed the road. Once we got to the other side she turned to me, “Thank you, young man.”I nodded and pulled my hoodie over my face and walked away quickly. My story is pretty unusual, and it changed my whole life.I’ve always been very picky with what I eat and the number of times I exercise each week, because I am a competitive swimmer. When I sat with my friend during lunch, I’d comment about the other girls who were larger than I was but were on the swimming team. I told my friends that those other girls didn’t deserve to be on the swim team until they lost weight. I was also a popular girl and dated the most handsome guy at school, Kendall, who was the captain of the hockey team. “Gigi, you really should stop speaking about your teammates like that,” Kendall said during lunch one day. “Why? I’m not saying anything wrong. If they lose a few pounds then maybe they can win a match or two, instead of the rest of us having to push harder to hide their flaws.” Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Good morning David! Do you want some cookies?”“Sure Miss Rosie!”“Just wait right there on the sidewalk! I’ll bring them to you!”While I was waiting, Mark’s golden retriever jumped on me and started licking my face.“Max! Stop that! Oh my gosh David I’m so sorry!” “It’s okay. Max is my dog too!”“Mark, do you want some cookies?”This was what a typical walk in my neighborhood was like. Ever heard of Sweet Magnolias? My town was just like that – but better. Everyone was so friendly and it was so safe that you could go sleep with all your doors and windows wide open. We all shared with each other and there was never really a sad moment.But a crazy mystery that had been kept from me was about to ruin all of this! I lived with my mom, dad and older sister  Lauralee. My dad worked in Tech and my mom was your typical housewife – like most of the women in my neighborhood.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Jones, remove these snacks, I need a place to sit down”, June complained. But Jones totally ignored her, stuffing his face with the bowls of popcorn, chips, fruits, veggies and hummus that he used to fill the whole sofa. June ran to the kitchen, “Mom! Jones won’t create a space on the sofa for me and our show is about to start”.“What show?” Her mom asked. “Don’t you know Mom? It’s “DECEMBER WITH THE GAYLINTONS!”Her mom rolled her eyes, went to the living room and removed all the snacks from the sofa, they carried them and sat down. The show began. What they didn’t know was that this year, ‘December With The Gaylinton’s’ was going to change the lives of the whole world forever, theirs included. Hello, my name is Martha Gaylinton and today, I’m going to be telling you about my crazy rich life, and how I became a millionaire without anybody’s help, despite the fact that I was still a cute tiny baby. Now, let’s continue.I will start from the very beginning, when I was just a foetus in my mother’s belly, so grab a popcorn and enjoy the ride. My family had a popular reality show called ‘The Gaylintons’ where they shared their whole life, like normal reality tv, some parts of it were acted but people knew and still loved the show. ‘The Gaylintons’ was the most popular reality tv show in the whole world and this made my parents and their whole family millionaires quickly!Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Ragnar. What if he gets hurt or killed? There’s no guarantee that he’ll be safe here”.“For Odin’s sake, Lagertha! We’ve talked about this a million times, I know you love our boy, I do too. But we are both certain that Bjorn will die at the hand of our enemies if we don’t hide him here. Besides, we’ll always watch and keep him safe wherever he is”.“Until we’re dead, that is”, Lagertha spat back but Ragnar simply hugged her tight and got into the spaceship. Reluctantly, Lagertha followed him into the spaceship and shed tears as they flew out of earth to finish the war on their planet, leaving behind their newborn son and only child, Bjorn. Ever wondered what it’s like to live among aliens on a planet that’s not yours? Well, that’s exactly what my life was!Sit back, relax and keep watching to know my amazing story. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this. We’re not young anymore, Martha.”“But do you regret coming out?” Martha asked as she lay on her husband’s chest, on a mat, under the skies.“Absolutely not. These beautiful stars remind me of my beautiful wife”.Martha laughed, “You animal!” Her husband always knew how to make her blush. Suddenly, a heavy rain began, it didn’t even drizzle, it just came down with full force and got them soaked immediately. As they tried to pack up and run inside, they heard a baby crying in the distance. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Pass me the plates and you take the cutlery," Kizzy, my younger sister said as we entered the kitchen.Mom was almost finished with her famous spaghetti and meatball combo. Dad was on a business trip and wouldn't be back in three months. He had opened another branch of his business in another country and he was overseeing that everything was finalized with his new location before coming home.Mom plated the food and placed it on the table,"Ok, girls it's time to dig in.""Mom, did you add something else to the recipe? It's different." I placed another bite into my mouth."Different good or different bad?" "I'm not sure yet," I said as I chewed slower trying to see if I could figure out what the extra ingredient was.Kizzy stuffed more food into her mouth, "I don't know what you're complaining about, it tastes the same to me." I laughed, "That's because you have the palate of a five year old." My life with my family is usually like any other family, normal, but the upcoming months things took a strange turn.Over the next couple of weeks, Kizzy played in her soccer tournaments.  She was the only athlete in the family. Since Mom and Dad were usually too busy with work I made it my duty as her big sister to go to every one of her games. I was happy when Mom showed up for Kizzy's semi qualification game. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“And our student of the week award goes to... Makayla. Again. I don’t understand why you all can’t learn from her.”“Good job Makayla!”“Thanks!”Apart from being the most perfect student in my class, I think I was also the best at our school. I had straight A's, perfect behavior, attendance and everything!“You’re gonna get a scholarship to Harvard someday dear!” my dad always said.And I believed him. I was going to do great things and change the world.Although I was already in my final year of high school, I’d never had a boyfriend or even been on a date. I was just too preoccupied with school and being the absolute best at everything. But one day I decided to take a break from studying to watch a rom com and I started feeling all warm and tingly inside. Maybe one day I’d go out to a movie with a boy and he’d put his arm around my shoulder! Oh my gosh!What made it strange was that a few days after these odd feelings, Dominic started looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes. Was I reading into it too much? I hope – because Dominic was super awful and if I had to pick a guy in my class it would be Stewart. He was almost as smart as I was and very kind and gentle.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

INTRODUCING… SAM AND DEAN!!!FAMOUS TIKTOK STARS THAT HAVE MANAGED TO AMASS A GROWING FOLLOWING OF 30 MILLION FANS!TODAY, THEY ARE GOING TO BE JOINING US AND TELLING US HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO CLIMB THE TIKTOK LADDER OF SUCCESS. A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AS THEY CLIMB UP THE STAGE.The loud MC stood up and started clapping, the whole crowd did the same as the arrogant twins bounced onto the stage, refusing to shake raving fans like they were above them and walking to the stage majestically like the whole world was their oyster. I rolled my eyes, irritated. “Change that channel immediately”, my mom commanded. “Mom! I’m watching it!”Dad came to her rescue, “Didn’t you hear your mom? Switch off the television. I can’t believe you’re watching an interview about boys who got famous through devilish means, change it to a Christian channel and watch something uplifting!”I reluctantly changed the channel.“You know what? You’ve had enough screen time for the day, go to your room and study or pray!”“Dad! I’ve watched tv for less than ten minutes!” He gave me a warning look.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I always wondered why we moved around so much. I was only 18 and we had moved 6 times already.I have lived in India, Nigeria, Japan and so many cities in the U.S. People thought I was special because of this but I didn’t, I just wanted to grow up in one town. One day, I was on my way to Target to get some groceries when I saw two men arguing in front of me. I wondered why they were arguing so early in the morning. As I inched closer to them, I realised that they weren’t actually arguing.An elderly man, who looked like he was in his sixties, was trying to communicate with a cab driver, he was asking him where the closest restaurant was.He said he needed to eat as soon as possible because he was starving. He hadn’t eaten the previous day. Because no one around there understood what he was saying and he couldn’t take it anymore, he started rubbing his stomach and describing somebody eating with his hands and mouth.The cab driver smiled and brought out a dollar from his cab saying, “I’m sorry but this is all I have to spare. Go sort yourself out”. The old man threw the dollar at him and stormed off, grunting swear words.I quickly ran to him and told him where he could find different restaurants. I even wrote their addresses on a piece of paper and handed it to him. I gave him my number and told him to call me if he ever needed any help.“Oh, little girl”, he smiled widely. “God bless you! Mixed breed, you are? Parents are spanish?”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Bella! How many times am I going to wake you? We are waiting for breakfast."My aunt Martha stood over my bed, an angry scowl on her face. "Can't you make breakfast yourselves?"Martha clutched the pearls on her neck as if I'd insulted her."Why would we do such a thing?"I hated my aunt Martha. My mom died when I was 4 years old and my dad left soon after. I often dreamed of my mother and her beautiful smile. I looked just like her, I wanted to be a beauty queen like she was. Growing up I used to wait by the window waiting for mom to come back and take me far away. But Martha made sure I knew that she was never coming back, neither was my dad.Martha made me clean and pick after her and her daughter Annabelle. Whenever I complained, she told me I should be grateful that she took me in when nobody else wanted me. When I was younger she'd threaten to put me in a foster home. At the time, I had no idea where that was but it sounded terrible. So I did everything she asked. Hi, my name is Bella. It means beautiful. All my life, my aunt Martha told me that I didn't deserve that name.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Mom! Mom! Please make it stop!"I sat in my bed with my head between my knees. I thought my head was being split open. The pain was unbearable. I had no idea what time it was but it was eerily quiet, except for my quiet sobs and heavy breathing. "Luke? What's wrong?"My mom was at my side soothingly rubbing my back."It's happening again. The pain in my head. It's so bad mom. And my eyes. I feel like they're on fire. I can't take it."My mom said something but her voice sounded so far away, like I was trapped underwater. I already knew this part. It was what happened right before I passed out.My name is Luke Barrett. My parents told me I was born blind but they never told me the story behind it. Here's that story now. Trust me you do not want to miss this! I grew up pretty much alone. Apart from my parents I had no one else to spend time or play with. I was turning 18 soon and I hadn't even had my first kiss. Before you start to feel sorry for me, my childhood was great. You see, I was a special child. I know that's what every parent says about their child but in my case it was true. I took my first step when I was 5 months old and I could read and write by my first birthday. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Are you excited Luca? I wish I was going with you. I'm going to miss you so much big brother.""Breath, Anna."Ugh my little sister could be so annoying. As if I wasn't already embarrassed by my dad crying in front of my friends. It was the night of my farewell party. In two days, I'd be flying to the United States to start college. My dad's former boss, Mr. Warren Campbell, offered to pay for my tuition and give me a job at his restaurant. Dad had worked as his gardener for over 10 years before his bad health forced him to come back home."Everyone, I'd like to say a few words about my boy Luca and show you something Anna put together.""Dad you don't have to." I was losing cool points with my friends, fast. As I listened to my dad, I wondered what kind of life waited for me on the other side. So far life hadn't been so kind to me and my family. Mom and dad struggled to keep us fed and in school. Dad said that we were a humble family. I called it like I saw it, we were poor.Clapping and cheering erupted all around me. I looked up to see what the fuss was all about and nearly choked on my drink. Playing on the TV were videos of me as a child.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’m not stalking her. I’m not being overprotective. I just want to make sure she’s fine.You promised to give her more space, remember?But what if she gets hurt or trips on something? What if something goes wrong? Dude! She goes out all the time and nothing ever happens! Besides, she’s right in front of the house! Gosh! She’s just a child! Anything could go wrong.Two tiny versions of me were literally perched on my shoulder, giving me conflicting advice. Not being able to cope with the indecision anymore, I stood up abruptly, rushing to the front door. Something occurred to me on my way and I decided to pick up a trash bag so Pat would think that I simply came to dispose of the trash and not to watch her. Immediately I stepped out of the house with the trash bag, I heard Pat screaming my name, “Brian! Brian! Help me, help me!!!” I ran towards her voice and I discovered the most terrible thing possible. If you stick to the end of this video, you’ll find out exactly what that was. “Brian, what’s going on?”“Huh? I’m uhh… Recording a video for StoryTime Animated, the best animated storytelling channel on YouTube”.“Did they tell you to laugh like a witch and behave like a psycho?”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Bye, Mrs. Jenkins. Thanks for having me for dinner.” “Bye Brent, tell your mom I said hi.” I’m an ordinary teenager with a strange story or maybe not. Stick around and listen to the rest of my story. My family always had issues with maintaining their weight. I figured this is why my best friend and I, Timothy, who lived next door, got along so well since we were the same size. Timothy had a younger sister, Sherry, who hung out with us. She wasn’t one of those whiney, little sisters, Sherry was actually pretty cool. I never really thought about my weight, until that one time, when Granddad needed to go to the hospital and those firefighters had to bust those walls down with a sledgehammer to get him out.  Granddad had been bedridden because of his weight and when he got sick, Mom called an ambulance. I watched as the paramedics came to the room to get him and told Mom they needed help to move him. They called the firefighters and that’s when we lost the wall of the house. A crane was used to pick Granddad off the bed and place him on the trolley. Then they used an automatic pulley to pull him into the ambulance. The eyes of the neighbourhood families bore into my grandad as though he was some kind of spectacle at a circus. When they finally got Granddad in they whisked him away. Sadly, Granddad didn’t leave the hospital that night. It was then and there I decided it was time to lose some weight. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Mom! Dad! Breakfast's ready."My little sister stood at the dining table in our parents' house, waiting patiently to serve them breakfast. "OH sweetie you shouldn't have!""Just thought I'd do something nice for your anniversary.""Aww you're such an angel Angel. Get it?"My mom laughed at her own joke. I rolled my eyes and fake-gagged."Mind your manners Adam. Your sister really worked hard on this.""It's bacon and eggs mom. And it's not even your anniversary! She wants something."Angel sniffed and wiped her eyes. I couldn't believe my parents were falling for her act! She had done it so many times."I'm really sorry I got your anniversary date wrong. I've been so busy with school and volunteering at the animal shelter I got confused.""OH honey, no need to apologize. Our anniversary is not for another 4 months but it's the thought that counts.""Wait for it…" I thought to myself.Angel typed on her phone. A few minutes later she looked up. "I had booked a weekend getaway for both of you. I'm trying to cancel but the resort says it's too late.This is not fair!""Don't be upset honey, we wish we could go but we are busy this weekend. How about we refund you the money?""And there it is." God she was good.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They were sweating, their eyes were red and looked like they would pop out of their sockets in any second. My dad took a step closer.Oh my God, he’s gonna hit me, I thought.I was trapped on a huge sofa and there was absolutely no means of escape.He took another step and this time, his face was right in front of mine. I could feel his hot angry breath right on my face and I started shaking, I shook so much that you’d have thought I just came out of an ice cold bath. He looked into my eyes with his red eyes, it almost looked like he was going to cry? After looking at me for a few seconds, my mom laid a hand on his shoulder, “Come into the room sweetie, let me get you a cup of lemon tea”, she said, trying to calm him down. My dad shook his head and started following my mom into their room. As he got to the staircase, he shook his head once more and muttered a few words that changed my life forever; “I can’t even believe she’s ours”, he said, looking at my mom.I didn’t really care that my parents were angry, I was only scared they’d hit me. Once they left for their room, I went straight to the refrigerator, grabbed a huge box of pizza and started munching on it. I took it into my room, closed my massive doors and blasted on my speakers. ‘So What’ by ‘Pink’ was the first song to play, it was almost like my speakers read my mind.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Tonight is beautiful.” I held Teagan’s hand as we looked up at the stars from the back porch swing. Suddenly, the door opened and Mr. Nelson, without a word, grabbed Teagan’s arm and dragged her inside. I sprang into action and ran behind them, I held onto Mr. Nelson’s arm just before it came crashing down on Tegan. Mr. Nelson turned to me and snarled. He grabbed a handful of my clothing in his large hand and lifted me above the floor and threw me through the front door. Tegan screamed as Mr. Nelson came after me on the lawn, “James! Please just go! I’ll be ok!” Feeling defeated, I held my ribs as I hobbled to my car. Whether Mr. Nelson knew it or not this was not the end of it! If you want to see how I dealt with Mr. Nelson for his hospitality, keep watching til the end of the video!Luckily for me, I was able to drive myself to the hospital where I called my parents and told them where I was."What happened?" Mom and Dad rushed into the hospital room just as I was pulling my tshirt on. "Your son will be fine," Dr. King said. "A few bruised ribs but in a few days he'll be ok.""Bruised ribs?" Mom gasped and looked at me wide eyed."Someone tried to rob me on the way home but I was able to get away."Mom hugged me tightly and cried."Paula," Dad looked at my reddened face, "You're suffocating the boy." Mom removed her arms hesitantly. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I had the perfect life. My parents adored me, I had tons of friends and my boyfriend Alex was the hottest boy at school. He was the captain of the football team and he drove a shiny new car. Every time he drove me to school, I saw a few girls turn green. I felt sorry for them, how did they even live?Everyone loved me, except for my small sister Ivy. I didn't know what her problem was. Between you and me, I thought she was jealous. A few times I caught her in my bedroom trying on my clothes. Then there's that time I saw her drooling at Alex when he came over to swim in our pool. Ugh. As if he could even look at her twice. I bet he didn't even know she existed. Ivy and I looked nothing alike. I was tall with naturally blonde hair. She was a brunette and her height was average. So was everything else about her. That's why what she did next took everyone by surprise. Want to know what she did?It was the last weekend of summer break. I'd just returned home after being away all summer and I couldn't wait to see my boyfriend Alex again. I bet he'd missed me. Correction, I know he'd missed me. Why else would he be throwing me a surprise welcome back party at his house? I wasn't supposed to know but my best friend Olivia was the biggest gossip at school. I'd just finished getting ready when mom announced that Alex had arrived. His timing was perfect. I even practiced my surprise face for when we arrived at his house for the party.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Are you sure, this is the item you want me to hide, Shelly?” Gideon, my twin brother, looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah sure why not?” I handed over the old tattered jewelry box that Grandma left for me in her will. We couldn’t get the box open because there wasn’t a key, so why not? Gideon handed me his Xbox, “Ok, so you know the rules. The person who figures out the riddle and gets back their item first will forever be dubbed the Riddle Champion. Remember, you are only allowed to hide the items in the amusement park, home or at school.” Gideon and I shook on it. We went our separate ways, prepared our riddles and hid the items. When Grandma left me this box she told me that I should keep the box safe until the time was right. Little did I know that the game with Gideon was about to ruin my life!  Hey, my name is Shelly. Gideon and I have a great bond but in spite of this we have always been competitive with each other, pushing each other and ourselves to be the best at what we do. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was sitting on the bench in the park enjoying the cool night breeze with my date for the evening. “Come here, it’s getting a bit chilly.”He put his arm around me and I leant my head against his shoulder.He looked into my eyes and my heart started beating faster. I knew he was about to kiss me. But as he leant towards me the alarm on my phone suddenly started beeping. It was midnight!“I’m sorry, I don’t want to go out with you anymore! We’re over!”If you think that is weird, just wait til you see what happens later in this story.It was the last day of the summer holidays and my friends and I were determined to make the most of it. We had arranged to spend the day at the lake in our town. It was our favourite place to hang out in the summer.I was watching my friends splashing about in the water, it looked so cool and inviting I decided to go for a swim.I dove into the water, it was icy cold and almost took my breath away. I started swimming towards my friends when suddenly I felt a cramping in my leg. “Aaargh!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Nora don’t worry, she won’t find out!”“You don’t know my mom!”“Stop worrying. Have some fun! This carnival is only set up here once every five years!”“Yeah! Look, have some of my cotton candy!” “Oh look! It’s a mini roller coaster! Let’s go on that one!”“Then I want to go to the haunted house!”“Fine!”I had an exhilarating night. I was only fourteen years old and it was the first time I’d ever snuck out with my friends. You’re probably wondering why I needed to sneak out because what I was doing with my friends was totally harmless. Well, my mom was a total tiger mom. I wasn’t allowed to do anything! I was only allowed to go to and from school and she completely controlled all of my extracurricular activities. I had gymnastics on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Piano on Wednesdays and swimming on Fridays. Apart from those days, I had to be either at home or school. If I went anywhere it had to be with her, my dad and my younger sister Lily.I wasn’t allowed to have sleepovers with my friends or to go to any of theirs. I had to top every single class or I was punished. And just like the original tiger mom, my mom didn’t allow me to participate in anything fun at school – no school plays, no fun days, nothing. In fact, if my mom found out that we were having a fun activity at school on a particular day, she’d force me to stay home to study.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dad opened the flap of my tent, “Hey, Darius, I need the backyard to set up for my birthday party.” I nodded. As Dad walked back to the house. I packed up my tent and placed my belongings in my black duffle bag. That night, Dad allowed me to sleep in his car that was parked in the garage. You may be wondering what type of parents would make their sixteen year old live in a tent in their backyard or even sleep in their car when they have a house. Well, honestly, I left my parents with no choice. Continue watching my story and you’ll see what I mean. When I was about fifteen years old, I wasn’t allowed to go out with my friends unless chaperoned by one of my parents. While my other friends were able to enjoy life, and date, I decided to stay at home. How embarrassing would it be if my parents were at the same table hanging out with my friends! My younger sister, Grace, didn’t mind but I wanted the freedom that my other friends had.  I found that freedom with a group of older boys. I honestly can’t remember how we began to hang together, I just remember we used to hang out a lot. But, these boys lived in nicer neighbours than I did and their parents were doctors and lawyers so I was quite surprised when I realized the kind of things they did. As much as I wanted my freedom, this freedom came with choices and consequences which I didn’t understand at the time. Anyway, my new friends embraced me and to prove myself I did everything they wanted me to do, including skipping school. As long as I did everything they wanted they got me new clothes and shoes and anything else that I wanted. Life was good! Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The ice cream truck’s coming!” Charlie, my six year old brother yelled. “I’m going to ask Dad for some money.” “Dad said not to disturb him unless it’s an emergency,” I warned. “But this is an emergency, an ice cream emergency! Dad and I always get ice cream together,” Charlie pouted. “How about if I paid for the ice cream, will that be ok, Charlie?” Neil, my boyfriend asked. “Sure!” Charlie looked at me for confirmation and I nodded. Neil was the perfect boyfriend, and maybe that should have been a big red flag. If you want to find out what happened between Neil and I, keep watching the video.Neil took Charlie’s hand and walked outside to the ice cream truck. They returned a few minutes later with three ice cream cones and a tub of ice cream. I took the tub and placed it in the freezer for dessert. Neil handed me the extra ice cream cone. After Charlie ate his ice cream cone, he went to his room to play while Neil and I watched the television.Fifteen minutes later, Dad emerged from his office. “Where’s Charlie? I'm ready to get our Sunday ice cream.” “Ooohh, sorry Dad, the truck came a bit early today and Neil took him to get ice cream. You said not to disturb you.” Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Rick and I lit the firecrackers and threw them down the street. “Rick! Gordon! I hope you aren't the ones bursting those firecrackers out there,” Mom yelled from the yard. “No, Aunty,” Rick yelled back. We waited about five minutes, before we started our shenanigans again. “Rick, check this out!” “Gordon, no!!” But it was too late. Jemma, Alicia’s friend from next door, called out to her and she ran right in front of me. The firecracker exploded. The cry that Alicia let out will haunt me for the rest of my life. Rick, Jemma and I ran to Alicia who was curled up in a ball in the middle of the street holding her ears.“Alicia!” Mom screamed as she ran into the street and knelt next to Alicia. Dad scooped Alicia up and put her into the back seat of the car, Mom hopped into the car beside her and Dad jumped into the driver’s and the tires screeched as Dad pulled out of the driveway. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"This week's topic will be Ethics. Throughout the week we'll answer the following questions: What is ethics? What are the examples of ethics? What…"I hated Mondays. I bet I could get away with a nap. Nothing fun ever happened at Oakwood High so what would I miss if I just zoned out for 10 minutes? Nothing right? Wrong. Turns out, we were about to have a very interesting Monday. Stick around and find out how a teacher almost lost his life for being too enthusiastic about his job.I closed my eyes and my mind went to my best friend Jason and that almost kiss a few weeks ago…"This week's topic will be Ethics. Throughout the week we'll answer the following questions: What is ethics? What are the examples of ethics? What…"I could've sworn Mr. Scott said this exact same thing right before I dozed off."Mr. Scott are you alright?""Sure am Lynne. Is something the matter?""You just said the same exact thing you said 10 minutes ago. Word for word.""Lynne, I just started the lesson now. 10 minutes ago I wasn't even in this class." Whole class gasps.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Damn, where is this paper?”, Mom said as she searched the house.“Have you tried checking the library?” I tried to suggest, but mom glared at me and made me keep quiet. She didn’t even bother searching the library!She decided to try Dad’s new car, I didn’t understand why she thought her documents could’ve found their way into his car, because Dad never concerned himself with any of her model stuff. I didn’t bother suggesting it because she wouldn’t listen to me anyway.Let her search in vain then, I thought.Few minutes later, I heard my mom screaming and crying loudly. She took out all dad’s things and set them on fire, she was also breaking anything and everything.I ran to dad’s car to see what made her go ballistic and what I saw changed my whole life forever.No matter what you do, a life event or an important decision you make will change your life forever. Your life may change for the better, but it could also change for the worst.I’m Emma.Mom and I used to be the best of friends, she always wanted a baby who was as beautiful as she was, so she could train this baby to take over from her in the modelling industry.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I always thought that sisters were supposed to be close, you know, have each other's backs, talk about boys and share secrets. Boy, was I dead wrong. My sister, Cathy, is a jealous psycho! If it wasn’t for my boyfriend Anthony… ok ok I’m getting ahead of myself.“Hey, Hillary, I heard Anthony was gossiping about what a rotten girlfriend you are to Jake and his popular goons.” Anthony and I looked up from the television and stared at Cathy. “Are you going to tell her Anthony or should I?” Cathy twirled her hair on her finger and smiled slyly. “Tell her what?” “That you were kissing Dalia, you know the pretty red headed cheerleader, behind the bleachers during lunch.” I close my eyes and try to block out Cathy and her lies. She always does this when Anthony comes over. If I ignore her, hopefully she’ll go away. But, Cathy decided to sit between Anthony and I. I scooted across and turned to her and smiled.“So, Cathy, how is Kirk, your crush? Is he still hanging out with Dalia and Hailey? Is he too busy with them to notice that you are alive?” Cathy shot me an annoyed look before she got up from the sofa and went to her bedroom. I snuggled next to Anthony and we continued watching our movie. My sister is a selfish brat and it's sad to say my parents are to blame. When Cathy was younger she had a heart condition which led to her having a dozen surgeries. Mom and Dad, even though they received a clean bill of health from the doctors for Cathy, still treat her like a china doll. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Dude! Is that Chelsea Hartley with your dad?"My best friend Alvin was scrolling through social media and he showed me a photo of my dad with Chelsea. "No way. What would he be doing with her? He's a security guard at a museum for God's sake. She's like the most awesome girl in the universe. Not to mention she's super rich!"Just then my dad walked into our kitchen. He told us that he met Chelsea at the history museum he worked at. "What would she be doing in an old and creepy museum?""Careful. That old and creepy museum feeds your scrawny behind. Ms. Hartley was there for a private tour. She'll also be attending the exhibition this weekend. There will be all kinds of cool artifacts on display. A few are even for sale."I zoned out at the mention of artifacts.After dad left the kitchen, Alvin and I kept looking at photos of Chelsea. I idolized her. She was only a few years older than me and was already a billionaire. I'd kill to meet her. "You totally could. Just ask your dad to get you into the exhibition."My dad's answer was a flat out no.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Hi Alex! What are you doing after school? A bunch of us are going to see the new movie, should we pick you up?"My cousin Jasmine was standing over my desk in class."Sounds fun but I have soccer practice later. Raincheck? Or you could come watch us."Jasmine gagged and shivered dramatically. "I'd rather watch paint dry. Sorry."I laughed and pretended not to be offended by her comment. Jasmine didn't understand my fascination with soccer. I was the captain of the girl's soccer team at school. I couldn't imagine my life without playing, I was going to be a huge soccer star. After practice I got home to find my older brother Josh waiting for me. Josh was a police officer."I'm afraid I have some bad news. Few months ago I applied for a captain's position in another station. They called today. I got the job.""Wow, congratulations Josh. How's that bad news?"He couldn't look me in the eye. "Josh?""The job is out of state. We leave in a week."Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fire alarm rang and the students in the home room looked around nervously at each other. “Ok, class,” Mrs Benjamin looked over her glasses, “Please collect your belongings and walk outside to the carpark calmly.”Mia and I looked at each other and, like the rest of the class, we followed Mrs. Benjamin calmly towards the car park. Once there we noticed that the science lab was on fire. The firefighters battled the fire for almost an hour before they got it under control. Mr. Haynes addressed the students and told us we were dismissed for the afternoon. The students cheered.My adopted sister, Mia, and I have been best friends since we were five, same as our mothers. When Mia’s mother got sick last year and then passed away a few months later, my parents stepped in and became her foster parents and immediately began working on her adoption papers. While it was sad that Mia lost her Mom, I was happy that we could spend time together. I always wanted a sister and now I had one. “Do you think we should call Mom to pick us up?”  Mia, asked. “It’s only fifteen minutes away, we’ll be fine.” I said as we walked out the school gates, “I’ll just call Mom to let her know we’re on our way home.” I dialed Mom’s number but I didn’t get an answer. When we arrived home, Mia opened the kitchen door and stepped inside first, with me following closely on her heels. By the kitchen sink, Mom stood frantically trying to get red substance off her hands. Mom’s eyes widened when she saw us, the water from the tap splashing on her hands.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just like most college students I struggled the first year as I tried to balance school work and football. In high school, being the best athlete at school came naturally to me but in college I needed to prove myself to everyone. I worked my butt off and in my second year Coach named me the team captain. Some guys like Nick, who were one year older than I was, didn’t like the idea that someone younger than them was the team captain. They thought they deserved the spot because they were there longer. Needless to say, he made my life a living hell for the first month until Coach said he would forfeit every game this season if we didn’t work together. Oh and one small detail I forgot to mention, I started dating Nick’s ex, Melissa, who was a cheerleader. Before I continue, don't forget to like this video, subscribe to our channel and tap that notification bell. In my defense I didn’t know that she was his ex until about two weeks after we started dating. As soon as I found out I ended the relationship. I told her that Nick and I already didn’t get along and dating her would make things harder for the team. I wanted to play professional football and I wasn’t about to let anyone, not even a pretty girl, get in the way of that. Melissa wasn’t too happy about that and we never really spoke again after that. Months passed by and Nick and I buried the hatchet. It felt good not having to look over my shoulder. One evening after we won a game the team and I went by Kelly Ann, one of the cheerleader’s homes, for a celebration party. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I loved college. I especially loved this college because it was hundreds of miles from my home. It's not that I hated my home or my parents, it's just that I never really experienced freedom until I went away to college. I was in my second year and I still couldn't believe this was my life. I could date as many girls as I wanted to. I could go to parties and stay out all night. My life was pretty much perfect at this point. What more could a guy my age ask for? Turns out, a lot more. This is a story of how the winds of good fortune blew my way but unfortunately blew away good sense on their way out. Stick around and find out how too much money, bad company and bad decisions almost cost me my parents. "I can't believe Lisa went home with Pete last night! She was giving me eyes all night."My roommate Jake thought every girl on campus wanted him. "Next time ask her to give you her number, not just her eyes."I stifled a yawn, advanced calculus was no way to start a Monday. An email notification pinged on my phone and I absent-mindedly opened it. "Dear Mr. Summers, we're delighted to inform you that you're the lucky winner of-"I shot up from my seat and sent books flying across the floor. "Matt are you ok?""I...I gotta go."Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Will you be my girlfriend, Steffanie?”“Well… Uhm…” Steffanie stammered.I took a deep breath and brought my hand up to my nose.Steffanie’s face turned red. She knew what was about to happen. She knew I was about to sneeze, she shuddered and looked like she was going to burst into tears immediately.I took another breath and readied myself, “ Ah...” I was almost sneezing.“Wait! I’ll do it! I’ll be your girlfriend!”I calmed down. I didn’t sneeze. And just like that, I had a new, pretty girlfriend.Steffanie was not my first girlfriend, as a matter of fact, she was the fifth girl that I had dated this year. I got them to agree to be my girlfriends the same way I got them to agree to leave me whenever I wanted a new girlfriend.The last girl I dated was Amanda and I broke up with her just yesterday, when I decided that Steffanie was going to be my new girlfriend.“Amanda. It’s over between us”“Wait. Why? Did I do something wrong? Why do you want to break up with me?”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“What do you mean I can’t date him? Why are you guys so mean to me?” I screamed at my parents.“We are not being mean to you! Why are you teenagers just so difficult?” My dad hammered.“Listen to your parents! We know everything that’s best for you and that high school dropout is definitely not one of them”.I stormed out of the living room murmuring some very terrible words, I pushed my door open with all the strength I had in me and kicked it close with my foot. I felt an inexplicable pain, it was almost like my foot was leaving my body. What is happening …? I wondered.The pain was so severe that I couldn’t stand on my feet anymore, so I gently sat on the floor. I caught sight of a tiny object a few feet away from me but I couldn’t go to find out what it was immediately because I couldn’t walk, and I was in too much pain to even think of crawling.I grabbed my foot to figure out what the door had done to me and I was shocked well beyond my imagination. Once I saw my foot, I gained the energy to crawl over to the tiny object I had previously seen. I picked it up and was even more astounded, “Was that my smallest toe?”I was beautiful, at least I thought I was, unfortunately people couldn’t see it because something was always covering it: acne. I had been plagued by acne since I knew the definition of beauty, they were huge, fat, yellow, ugly and absolutely irritating.Whenever I went to the hair salon or just to hang out with friends, I would always get comments like “You would’ve been so beautiful but acne spoiled your face”, “I wish I had your face but without the acne”.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Push!”“Ahhhh! This hurts too much!”“Just push!”“Keep going honey. It’s going to be alright.”“Shut up! This is all your fault!”My dad hugged me as we watched in horror. My mom was giving birth to my baby sister and I don’t know whose idea it was to let me in the delivery room but there I was – a seven year old girl who received a rude awakening because she seriously believed that babies grew in cabbage patches.After some more screaming and hurling horrible expletives at my dad, my baby sister Mariam was born. She was covered in goo and yucky stuff but when they cleaned her up I thought she was the cutest person I’d ever seen in my life.Before she was born, I was mommy and daddy’s little princess. I was an only child so the world revolved around me. They bought me the best clothes and toys and let me have almost everything I wanted. I went to the best schools and they tried to get me involved in almost every single extra-curricular activity.When I was three years old I was enrolled in gymnastics, ballet and piano. I also had a private language tutor and a lady who’d come to teach me how to paint every Saturday.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Ok, hunni, I’m all done.” Mom smiled and handed me the mirror. I took it and grimaced at the person looking back. My face looked like a parade of colours not sure about which direction they needed to go. At this point, it was like looking at a totally different person. Mom was a top prosthetic makeup artist but when it came to normal makeup, she was terrible. “Thanks, Mom,” I shot her a fake smile and grabbed my book for school.“Don’t forget! Boys only want one thing from you and being an ugly girl is better than being a beautiful one!” Mom shouted as I walked out the front door. Hi, my name is Tammi. Genevieve, my best friend giggled, at me when I walked up to her at the school gate, “So, your Mom, is at it again. Why don’t you just wash it off and reapply the makeup before leaving school?” Gen, looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “But, don’t you remember that one time when I did wash it off?” “Yeahhh, and your mom grounded you for a week. The same week we had to go to the Jonas Brothers!”“And, let’s not forget the threat of being homeschool and never seeing the light of day again if I ever removed this hideous makeup she painted on my face!”  “Let’s meet in the cafeteria for lunch?” Gen smiled. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone murmured and stared at me. Teachers shook their heads and I could hear people whispering “Oh my God”. Why wasn’t anyone listening to me?!“Please, follow me Miss Annie”. Mr Ali, our maths teacher said while grabbing me by the arm and forcefully ushering me out of the exhibition hall. We were escorted by a few other teachers to the principal’s office before they all stopped, leaving me with our angry principal. She slowly stared me down, starting from my forehead to my toenails. I couldn’t keep up the staring match so I stared at my arm and rubbed it. Mr Ali had held me so tightly that he left a red mark of his fingers on my arm, it hurt badly. “Miss Annie, hmm. I have no words”. She sighed.Tears welled up in my eyes. All I wanted was to be very pretty! Now this?“You have been expelled from this school with immediate effect, please pack your personal items, leave and never come back!” She handed me a letter and said, “Give this to your parents as an explanation, you can leave now”.I collected the letter and raced to my class. Thank Goodness it’s still empty, I sighed.I picked up all my personal effects and left the school angrily. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it really mean to be popular? If you aren’t, it’s probably something you’ve wondered about. Maybe you imagined how thrilling it would be to be liked or admired by everyone. What a perfect life, huh? Wrong! It’s exhausting.My name is Carmen and for a very long time I knew what it was like to be important and well-known. I came from a very wealthy family. I was sixteen years old and I had one older brother. His name was Jacob and we looked nothing alike. Because he had already moved to college, I was the only ‘child’ left at home. I think this is why my parents let me do anything I wanted. I was their precious little girl.I was best known for hosting the most extravagant parties. Everyone knew about me. At school, everyone wanted to be invited to my house on the weekend. At first, my parties were just ordinary but after a while I decided to have themed parties to make them more exciting. My parents let me have at least one thousand dollars to buy whatever I needed; drinks, decorations, entertainers, anything! It was great being rich.I had a whole Instagram account with thousands of followers just for my parties and even people who weren’t from my school would come.Apart from my very active social life, I had some pretty amazing friends. My best friend was Mia – she lived across the street in another mansion and she always helped me plan my parties.I forgot to mention that I had the world’s perfect boyfriend. Chris was tall, handsome and a quarterback on the football team. Your typical hunk! I guess you could say he was like the male version of me because he was just as popular and rich. He always got me the best gifts and treated me like a total princess. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.