Story Time Animated

“So Principal Miller, you’ll get rid of all these boring subjects and fire the teachers I don’t like okay?”“Yes Claire, anything for you.”“Wonderful! Also, I have one more request.” I said while blinking at him. He looked totally mesmerized so I knew it was working.“What is it, dear?”“I want this office. Can you like, use my locker or something? And I’ll just bring my stuff in here and make it nice and cozy.”“Anything for you Claire.”I was excited but this was nothing new to me. I’d just left middle school and I ran that place! I planned to control my new high school too. See, whenever I looked into anyone’s eyes they’d do whatever I asked. Some people have told me that my eyes change into their favorite color when I look at them but when I look in the mirror, I see a mixture of magenta and purple – depending on my mood. Very rare right? I know!I called my dad after I finished talking to Principal Miller. “Daddy, can you bring my cute furniture and stuff? We have to redecorate the principal’s office. Well, it’s my office now – and you might need extra people to help to carry his stuff away. What? Yes, he agreed to use my locker. You want to know what subjects I got cancelled? Well P.E obviously – but Chemistry, Geography and Shop too. I don’t want to injure my beautiful, delicate hands. Okay daddy! See you soon!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was sitting in history class thinking of what to do to get my teacher to stop talking about, well, history. Like, I’m sorry, why would I wanna know about Alexander Hamilton when I could be playing basketball right outside this classroom?I tapped the girl in front of me on the shoulder and a wink told her what I wanted. She ripped a few pages out of her notebook and handed them to me with a smile. I opened my bag without my teacher seeing me. If he had seen me he would have immediately known what I was up to. I ripped the paper into little bits and soon enough I was shooting little goopy paper balls, not at my teacher, but at the ceiling right above him. I then asked for permission to go to the bathroom. He handed me my hall pass, but before I left, I gave the wall a little punch, which shook the ceiling above and the paper balls rained down, getting stuck to my teacher’s bald head. The class erupted in laughter as I ran out of the classroom before my teacher could get me for what I did. I did stuff like this in pretty much every class. Sometimes it was pretending to be dumb, sometimes it was the classic paper plane and sometimes it was playing an obnoxiously loud video on the smart board. I only got into real trouble once, and when I did, my entire class protested to get me out of detention, saying the teacher had no need to be so rude when he told me off. I was pretty much golden at school, not having to put in any effort and just passing my classes. I never thought it would all catch up to me, until it finally did.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Are you ok?" Daniella, my girlfriend, looked at me concerned.Sweat rolled down my face like a fat lady rolling down a hill. The armpits of my tshirt were soaked as the line moved forward. I've never been to an airport before and my parents warned me about the metal detectors and scanners used there. "Sir, step through the scanner please," the officer looked at me annoyed.Daniella was already through and she beckoned for me to come towards her. I gulped hard as I stepped through the scanner. The scanner alarm rang loudly and I froze. What happened next changed my life forever. Hi, my name is Adam. The scanner alarm rang loudly and I froze. I watched as the officers huddled around the scanner. One of the officers walked towards me, “Sir, we have to take you to a second screening. We detected metal in your arm.” “In his arm?” Daniella looked at me confused. The officer ignored me and grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into a room and closed the door. I heard loud voices outside the room, one of them being Daniella. I didn’t know what to expect. What did the officer mean they detected metal in my arm? Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The couple walked quickly up the path of the orphanage to the front door. When they got there they put the basket they were carrying on the floor in front of the door. They took a quick look around them to see if anyone was looking and then rang the doorbell. Without stopping to see if anyone came to answer, they both took off running down the street as though their lives depended on it. The door was opened by a kind looking lady, she took one look at the note on top of the basket and sighed.The note read: “This baby is far too pretty for us. Please take care of her. Thank you.”You’re probably thinking that you can’t believe any parent would do that to their own child. Well guess what? That's exactly what happened to me!!I can’t say that I was unhappy growing up in the orphanage, well I didn’t know any different did I? As they say, “you can’t miss what you’ve never had!”But I always felt that something was missing from my life. The people at the orphanage took great care of me, I always had hot meals and a comfy bed. I had everything that I needed, but I didn’t have my parents. The lady who had taken me in all those years ago had told me what had been written on the note. I just couldn’t understand why my parents couldn’t look after me.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was exhausted, it had been a really long day at school and then I had stayed for football practice so I really couldn’t wait to get home.As I went around the corner I could see my house in the distance and could almost smell my Mom’s cooking. I was starving!Suddenly I heard the sound of tyres screeching and a car came hurtling down the street heading straight towards me. I tried to jump out of the way, but it was going too fast. The next thing I knew everything had gone black.As I began to stir I could feel my head was throbbing. I tried to open my eyes but the glare from the lights above were too bright, so I closed them again. “Charlie? Can you hear me?”I recognised my Mom’s voice. “Yyes, where am I?”It was hard to get the words out, and when I did manage my voice sounded weird.“You’re in hospital darling, you’ve had an accident.”I blinked my eyes a couple of times and then opened them. Both of my parents were standing next to my bed, they had worried looks on their faces.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was so happy to be home from work, it had been a very long day and I couldn’t wait to see my husband Tom.“Hi darling, I’m home!”“I’m in the kitchen!”I took my jacket off and walked through to the kitchen, Tom was standing at the sink. I walked over to him, put my arms around him and gave him a big hug.Immediately he collapsed on the floor.“AHHHHH!”I rang for an ambulance and within a few minutes they were wheeling him out on a stretcher. I went in the ambulance with Tom, I was a mess. I couldn’t stop crying.When we got to the hospital they told me to go to the waiting room whilst the Doctor’s looked at Tom. I could tell by the Doctor’s face when he came into the room that Tom had died.“NO!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you imagine what it’s like to live out your best romantic dream ever? That fantasy you’re so obsessed with that it could only be found in your imagination?Well that’s what I had! In real life! I fell in love with Steve when we were in high school. We were so in love with each other that we swore never to love anyone else, ever. He was handsome, respectful, sweet and he took me out on the most thoughtful and romantic dates. He was every girl’s dream boyfriend and sometimes, the other girls would try to steal him from me but they’d never succeed. He only had eyes for me – and I only had eyes for him.We went to the same college for four years and when we were finished, he took me on a vacation to a little island in the South Pacific and proposed to me there. Everything was falling into place for me – at just the right time. When we got back home we announced our engagement and the wedding plans began pretty quickly.We didn’t have to deal with a lot of the stress that couples face when planning to get married. Steve’s parents were really rich so they bought us a really nice house. They also deposited some money into our accounts because they knew it would take us a while to find good jobs since we were just out of college.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I picked up the chair next to my bed and threw it through the window, glass shattering everywhere. Carefully I climbed through the window, making sure to avoid the broken glass, and jumped down to the garden. As soon as I landed I jumped straight to my feet and started running down the street as fast as I could. Suddenly a car came skidding to a halt right in front of me, it missed hitting me by only a matter of inches. The car door opened and out climbed my Mom.“Aaargh!!!”When I was little it was just me and my Dad, I didn’t really have any memories of my Mom. I do have a clear memory though of the day my Dad told me my Mom had died. Even though I was really young at the time, I still remember how sad I felt when Dad told me that Mom had been in a car crash and died. I was so sad that my Mom was gone, but I knew that me and my Dad would be fine. It took me a little while but eventually I thought about her less and less. I had lots of fun with my Dad, I think he probably spoiled me a bit, making up for the fact that I had lost my Mom. I have lots of memories of him taking me on day trips and him buying me toys and pretty much anything I wanted. For years it was just the two of us, we didn’t need anyone else, why would we? Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Can I see the baby?" With eyes twinkling, four year old me, smile plastered on my face, I stretched my hands towards Mom who just brought home my baby sister, Destiny. Mom sat on the chair and I peeped into her arms, "See how pretty she is? Don't you wish you were as pretty as she is?""Don't worry Mommy, one day I'll be just as pretty as she is!"Mom cringed and laughed, "Sure you will, Solange."Hey! Before I get back to the story, my name is Solange.At age four, I didn't quite understand what Mom meant nor did I realize that she found me to be the most hideous thing on the face of the earth. Before Destiny was born, I would usually play alone in my room while she entertained friends or watched her soap operas. To be honest, I really didn't mind. However, after Destiny was born, I realized how differently Mom treated us. Mom took Destiny everywhere and always complimented her on how pretty she was even though she couldn't understand what she was saying. Mom, on the other hand, always asked me why I wasn't as pretty as Destiny. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I made my way through the prison, I tried to ignore the inmates calling out to me.“Hey, come over here.”“Hey, what’s your name?”“Got a cigarette, mate?”I made sure I didn’t make eye contact with any of them. It was a scary place to be, so I got through there as quickly as possible.I cleaned up the prison, mopped the floors and emptied all the trash cans. Finally it was time to go home. The minute I walked into my house I ripped the moustache off my face and jumped into the shower. You’re probably wondering how I got into this peculiar situation aren’t you? Well let me start from the beginning. To where it all began.When I was at school I was just your typical normal, boring schoolboy. I didn’t stand out in a crowd. In fact most people had no idea I even existed. I was fine with it being like that, I didn’t care if anyone knew who I was. But one day that all changed. The day started off just like any other, but when we got to class I noticed there was a new girl sitting at one of the desks. As soon as I set eyes on her I fell for her. All of a sudden I wanted to be noticed. I didn’t want her to get snapped up by one of the other boys before I had a chance to ask her out. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Hurry up and get yourself ready for church!”“We’re going to be late again because of you! Pastor Mac doesn’t like when we’re late!”My parents both screamed like we were somewhere being chased by tigers. What was so urgent or important about church anyway? I mean I understood that it was important to some people but there was something seriously wrong with “our” church. I put on my dress and ran down the stairs without bothering to comb my hair.“You look like a wet cat!” my mom continued screaming.“God loves the animals. Leave me alone. Let’s just go already.”Later we pulled up to our megachurch with its golden doors and diamond chandeliers.“We will start today’s service with the offering! Remember that you will get one hundred times the amount you receive, so give generously! The Lord loves a cheerful giver!”Now where was I. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go through that torture for much longer because Pastor Mac was involved in a huge scandal and my parents decided that we shouldn’t go to that church anymore.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do bad things happen to innocent people? It’s a question I’ll never have the answer to. Picture this. I was four years old and I had the best parents in the world. My mom was beautiful and she had the most caring eyes ever... AND she smelled like an angel. She sang with me, played with me and made the most amazing food. My dad was funny. He’d always pick me up and spin me around the room. Most of all, they loved each other – and I know they loved me. When I look back I think about those happy moments. Life was perfect.“Simon, we're going to Thailand! We’re going on vacation!” my mom squealed one night while my dad lifted me into the air.I didn’t really understand what ‘vacation’ meant because I was really little but they were really excited so I just went with the flow. It was going to be my first time on a plane and I was very happy. I had dozens of plane toys and I’d seen them on TV and in the sky but to actually sit inside of one of them? Oh boy!The day came and I was jumping up and down with joy. We sat in the plane and my mom gave me some toys to play with. You should have seen me when the plane took off. I was clapping and everything. It was hilarious.I remember it being a fun ride and I was pretty much excited the whole time until the plane suddenly went dark and started to shake.“Don’t worry son, I think it’s just turbulence.” my dad said. My mom put her arm around me and told me that everything would be alright. But then the plane started to descend and the people started screaming. My mom blocked my ears and I don’t remember anything else after that.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was in the middle of a deep sleep, dreaming about lying on a beach on an island far, far away, when I suddenly felt like the earth was shaking beneath me. It took me a few minutes to come round and realise that it wasn’t in my dream, someone was actually shaking me!“Chloe, wake up, wake up”I opened my eyes,“What is it Mom? Why are you waking me?”“It’s Laila, she’s missing!”I sat bolt upright in bed, “What are you talking about? What do you mean she’s missing?”We looked everywhere, she was nowhere to be seen.I was sitting on the sofa in the lounge, listening to my parents telling the Police everything they knew. “Chloe and Laila both went up to bed at the same time, it was probably about an hour or two later that we went up to bed.”“My wife checked in on Chloe first, and then she went to check on Laila.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Mommy no! Daddy please stay!” I was blinded by my own tears. I was only seven years old and my parents were leaving each other. My world was falling apart.“Mindy what’s happening?”“What’s going to happen to us?”My little siblings Trevor and Trina said while expecting me to have answers. I was more confused.It was a total disaster and it was about to get worse.That night we were left home alone. My dad left first then my mom stormed out of the house to go look for him. My dad reported my mom to the police but they were both charged with child neglect for leaving us alone in the house.We did not expect what happened next. We were taken away and sent to live in some kind of orphanage. Well, they tried not to call it that but that’s exactly what it was– it was named ‘Hubert’s Home for Children’. The manager was a short, stubby man named Stewart.There were two big dormitories with about twenty beds. Girls and boys weren’t allowed to stay together so Trina and I were separated from Trevor. He was only three years old and I knew he was terrified.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I literally cannot wait for prom, can you?”“I know! It’s going to be so much fun!”“Have you got your dress yet?”“Yes, have you?”“No, but this is the one that I want to get.”I showed my friends the photo of the dress that I had chosen. It was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was strapless and bright red.“Oh wow, Trisha, you’ll look amazing in that dress.”“Ha ha ha.”I looked around and saw my Mom standing in the doorway.“You won’t be able to wear that! You’re too fat!”My heart sank when I heard what my Mom had said and I almost burst into tears. I could see from the shocked looks on my friends' faces that they couldn’t believe what my Mom had just said.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Angela! Don’t forget the party tomorrow night! You’re gonna be there right?”“Yeah of course!”“I can’t wait! We’re gonna have a blast!”I was bursting with joy inside but you couldn’t really tell just by looking at my face. I had finally been invited to a party by Jessica, the most popular girl in our class.So, where was I? I was telling you about how excited I was to finally get invited to a party. You might think that this is quite silly but you’ll understand after I tell you a little more about my life.I’m a real nerd – and I don’t mean that in a bad way because I don’t think it’s insulting to be called a nerd. Instead of hanging around people I preferred to read books and to learn every possible thing that I could. Well, the result of that was that I ended up being the smartest kid in class. Everyone knew me as the ‘smart kid’ because I represented my school in almost every single competition and I won every time – the spelling bee, science fair, robotics challenges – everything!Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might be sitting here right now thinking you’re the most ordinary person in the world but do you know that might not be the case? Maybe you haven’t found your ‘thing’ yet but when you do, you’ll be amazed! I’m about to tell you how I discovered my amazing gift and what happened next.My parents realized that I wasn’t ordinary by the time I was two years old. It happened when my mom left me and my twin brother Herman at my older brother’s music school because she had a quick errand. The music teacher was okay with it because he was cool like that. My older brother George was about six years old and he was playing ‘Hot Cross Buns’ over and over again. Then he got frustrated and left the room. I got up, went to the piano chair and started playing one of Chopin’s waltzes. I continued playing until my mom got back. She stood there with the music teacher. Both of their jaws dropped.“You taught her to play that?” my mom asked the music teacher.“No! I thought you did! I left the room for a while and when I got back she was just there, playing like a pro. She might be a prodigy! Well, she definitely is! I’d advise you to get some more instruments and see what she’ll do with them.” I stopped playing and stuck out my tongue at them. Well obviously I don’t remember any of this. That’s the story my mom gave me.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the start of 2020 my family was the richest family in the neighbourhood. Now, they’re the poorest and it’s all because of me. How did that happen? Stay tuned until the end of the video to find out.I laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling. My room was every teenage boy's dream. I had a top of the range computer with the latest gaming equipment and the best sound system money could buy, but I was still bored. You would think that living in this huge mansion would be great, but I missed my friends and my old life.I thought about how much fun I used to have when we lived at our old house. I was always out on my bike with my friends or playing soccer on the field. But ever since we had moved here I never got to hang out with any of my friends, they all lived too far away.Suddenly a knock at the door broke me from my thoughts,“Come in.”The door opened and in walked Jeeves our butler.“Yes, Jeeves?”“Excuse me Sir, dinner is about to be served.”“Ok, thank you, I’ll be down in a minute.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaxon this, Jaxon that, bla bla bla. Ever get so tired of hearing your parents call your name that you feel like gluing their mouths shut while they sleep? Do you think that’s a little extreme? I’m sure you don’t because even if your parents aren’t annoying like mine, they ARE annoying and sometimes you just want them to shut up.“Jaxon!” my mom screamed again. “You need to change your baby sister’s diaper if you want to eat dinner tonight! Unless you want me to contaminate the food! Is that what you want? Baby poop in your pasta? You lazy potato of a boy!”I walked to the living room like I was on my way to my own funeral. I didn’t hate my baby sister. She was cute. But have you ever changed a diaper? If not, you’re lucky. If you have, you know. You just know. Ugh.So I changed the little monster, gave her a toy and started walking back up to my room.“Jaxon! Where are you going? Set the table! And put your sister in her high chair!”“Ughhh mom! I have homework!”“Liar. Hurry up and do what I asked!”At that moment my dad walked in and started talking too... like somebody invited him into the conversation.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I had been in the school cafeteria less than ten seconds when the group of “cool kids” started on me. It was always the same, I tried to avoid them at all costs, but sometimes there was just no getting away from them.“Oh my god, what have you got on your feet?”“They look like you found them on a garbage site!”“He smells like he’s been on one too!!”“Hey, cut it out! Leave him alone!”I was so relieved to hear Mark's voice. He was my best friend and he always defended me.The cool kids disappeared in a flash and I turned to thank Mark. He put his arms around me and gave me a hug.“Thanks Bro!”“No worries! I love you man!”“I love you too!”Mark and I had been best friends for years, when I was a new kid at school he was the only one who was nice to me. When I first arrived I was pretty lonely, all the other kids already knew each other and weren’t keen on having a new kid hang around with them. But Mark was different. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I followed the line of kids piling into the school hall. It was the end of year Assembly and the whole school was gathered to hear their academic achievements.I took a seat at the back of the room, trying to look inconspicuous. There was a buzz in the room as everyone chatted away nervously. I was also nervous, but not for the reason you might think. I was probably the only person in that room who was dreading hearing their results. As the principal started calling out people’s names one by one, there were shouts of joy as people went up to collect their awards, trophies for the best soccer player and awards for the best drama students.Finally it was time for the award that everyone had been waiting for, the student of the year award. The principal picked up his microphone and started talking.“Now it is time to give out the student of the year award, as you all know, this is a very prestigious award. It is only ever given to the most dedicated, hard working student in the school. The student who has won this year has achieved outstanding success, getting A’s in every single subject! So this year, it gives me great pleasure to announce the winner is……...Martin Anderson!!!”The whole school broke out into applause and all eyes turned towards me. I just sat there, frozen to my seat. Suddenly I felt someone nudge me from behind.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Sarah farts really loudly when she sleeps. Oh my God and sometimes it smells so bad that we have to wake up and open all the windows. It’s awful.”Those were usually the first words my mother said to any friend of mine she met for the first time. She’d never say anything good about me and at first I never really questioned it because I thought this was normal. Isn’t this how all moms acted?Anyway...I’m my parents' second child. I have an older brother called Gregory who already left for college. My dad was a pretty average, boring guy - he ate a lot, was gaining weight and had already started balding. He wasn’t a bad person but he was pretty ‘bleh’ if you know what I mean.When I was about five years old, I realized I was good with my hands. I could paint beautiful sceneries and it seemed like I’d had years of training. There are people in art school right now who can’t paint that well! I also loved making things - I’d gather scraps of cardboard and create miniature houses. I’d paint them and they would look so realistic after. I never thought much of them because my mom would just roll her eyes every time she saw me doing something creative. Then one day my grandma came over and saw all my paintings and miniature buildings displayed in my room.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I picked the remote control up and switched channels,“Hey man! I was watching that!”“Yes, me too, switch it back!”It was so annoying living in an orphanage, I never had any time on my own, I was always surrounded by other kids.“Ok, ok, calm down!”I turned the channel back over. “I’m going up to my room anyway!”I stood up, but just as I was about to walk out, Mrs Parker, our warden, came walking in.“Michael, I have some great news for you!”“What?”“A family wants to come to see you, they are looking for a child to adopt.”My mouth fell open in shock, I was 15 years old, I didn’t think anyone would ever be interested in adopting someone my age.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Urgggghhhhhhh!" I slammed my hands onto the table frustratedly.My boyfriend, Jelani, who was sitting on the sofa watching a movie, looked across at me, "Babe, what's wrong?""It's this stupid laptop charger," I held it up annoyed, "it's not working!""Well, you can either sit there and get upset with the charger or you can purchase one on Amazon.""I hate purchasing products online. I never get what I purchase.""Everywhere is closed, babe, what other choice do you have?"Jelani did have a point. I needed my laptop to work so I decided to purchase the charger via Amazon. Little did I know that making that purchase was going to change my life forever!Hi! My name is Cindy and boy do I have a story for you.The next day, my Amazon package arrived. I took it to the table and opened it up."You've got to be kidding me," I groaned in despair.Jelani's head peeked over my shoulder and he chuckled."This isn't funny," I protested.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aliens were attacking me from all sides, there were hundreds of them. I dodged their bullets as best that I could, but there were too many of them. Bombs started raining down on top of me, I moved left and right, but eventually there were too many and one hit me, blowing me into a thousand pieces.“Aaargh!!”I threw the video game controller at the wall in anger.“It’s so frustrating, I was nearly at the final section of the game!”I looked at the wall and my heart dropped when I saw the damage I had done.“Oh no, my parents are going to kill me!”There was a hole in the wall where the controller had hit it. I went over to the wall to survey the damage. I was standing there, wondering how I was going to explain it to my parents when I suddenly saw something that made my blood run cold.Through the hole I could see an eyeball staring back at me!“Aaargh!”I let out a loud scream, and jumped back away from the wall. Ten seconds later my parents were in my room.“What is it Tara?”I pointed at the hole in the wall, “Over there, look!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I could hardly contain my excitement as I waited outside the school gates for my Mom to pick me up. My friends were all excited for me too!“I can’t believe you’re finally going to see your Mom, I know she’s only been away a year, but it seems like forever!”“I know right! I’m so happy, I’ve really missed her.”“Yeah, I know you’ve spoken to her every day, but it’s not the same as having your Mom there, is it?’“I can’t imagine how I’d feel if my Mom had to go away for a year. Anyway, she’s back now and in a few minutes you’ll get to see her!”I looked down the road, trying to see if I could see her car coming. My stomach had butterflies and my heart was beating like mad, “Come on, Mom, hurry up!”Suddenly this random woman walked up to me, put her arms around me, and gave me a big hug.“Hello darling!”“Err… Who are you?”“Marsha, what do you mean who am I? I’m your Mom!”My mouth fell open in shock, it was definitely my Mom’s voice, I would recognise that anywhere. But this woman looked nothing like my Mom!I could hear my friends sniggering and whispering to each other.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

H-hi. I'm Maria. If you're listening to this then I'm probably already dead. But I need to start from the beginning. Where it all began. Hi! I'm Maria. I'm here about the job interview?Hi Maria! Yes, yes, right this way. It's nice to meet you.So, you called in about getting a job here?Yes! I love working in grocery stores, my work ethic is really great, I just love chatting to people and--That's fine, Maria, you don't have to try and sell yourself. You've already got the job!I have?Of course! I've been trying to get an employee to work here for ages. The town of Hasbury is a quiet one, I can tell you that. Actually, come to think of it, what brings you to Hasbury? If you don't mind me askingWell.. it's a long story.No worries! Well, if you want to start tomorrow morning, then that would be great! The pay is 15 bucks an hour. We're open from 9 to 5. You'll basically handle the customers, cashier, all that jazz. It's simple stuff. Any questions?Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I was little, I took great pride in my family. My parents would take me to the park and I would wiggle my eyebrows mockingly at other kids as I walked with my loving mom and dad and their parents fought over stupid things, like forgetting the juice boxes or bringing the wrong blanket to sit on.My parents and I were the perfect family. Every night we had fantastic dinners that my parents cooked together, then we would play music and dance around as we cleaned up. My parents loved being involved in my school and extracurricular activities. They drove me and my team to soccer practice every Saturday and cheered the loudest when I scored. My birthday parties were legendary, because my parents always went all out to throw me really cool themed parties. I thought my life was absolutely perfect in every single way. Little did I know, there were things brewing under the surface that I couldn’t see.When I was 15, I woke up in the middle of the night to a door slamming shut, then I heard it creak open again and I heard crying. I froze; I had never heard anything like it. I ran out of my room and saw that my dad was crying at the bathroom door, whispering something desperately. My mom then came out of the bathroom, no expression on her face until her eyes landed on me. She got teary eyed, then she grabbed two suitcases and set them by the door. She swung our front door open, then turned to me, wiped my tears of confusion and fear and kissed my forehead. She then grabbed her suitcases and threw them in the trunk of a car that was waiting for her by the street.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I took a deep breath and summoned up all the courage I had inside of me. I was surrounded on all sides by Ninja’s. This wasn’t going to be easy!One by one they all began to launch their attack. I fought back with all of my strength. One charged at me with his star, I did a backflip and jumped out of his way. Another came at me from behind, I grabbed him and threw him down to the ground. The last one, was the biggest and strongest of them all, he punched me in the stomach and knocked all the wind out of me. It took everything I had, to recover from that. But I fought back landing punches and kicks to his face and body.“HIYA”“HA!”“HOO!”“HIYAA!”I watched as he fell to the ground like a burst balloon. As I looked to the right of me I saw the Sensei give me a nod of approval,“Well done, young one!” Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was standing waiting for everyone to stop chatting so that I could begin my song. It was my best friend Tia’s birthday party and she had asked me if I would sing her favourite song for her. As everyone quietened down I began to sing“One last timeI need to be the one who takes you homeOne more timeI promise after that, I’ll let you go”The whole of the room erupted into cheers and applause. I could see Tia standing in the corner mouthing “Thank you” to me and smiling. I finished the song and was about to walk over to Tia when someone stopped me in my tracks.“Excuse me, can I give you my card? I’m a talent agent and I would like to offer you a place in an upcoming singing competition which will be airing on tv.”I just stood there staring at the agent, like a deer caught in headlights. I didn’t know what to say, it was such a shock.“I will contact you again with further details.”“Ok, thank you, thank you so much!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I crept towards Mom’s lab door, my palms became clammy and beads of sweat formed on my brow. My hands clenched the door and I pushed it open inch by inch until the space was wide enough for me to slide into the lab. My eyes bulged and my jaw dropped when I saw it! There she was… my baby sister in a large standing tube which was being filled with liquid. “Mom!” I screamed hysterically as I rushed towards my sister, “What are you doing?!” Mom turned to me with a weathered look on her face,“What I should have done a long time ago!” You are probably wondering how things could have escalated to this point so I’ll start at the beginning - but before I do, let me introduce myself, hi I’m Amanda. If you are new here, welcome! As hard as it may seem to believe, I had a pretty amazing life before my encounter with Mom in her lab. Mom and Dad are both scientists and after I was born they decided to branch out on their own and work from home. My parents were always there when I needed them and being an only child I loved the fact that I had my parents all to myself. Even though I got many things that I wanted, Mom and Dad made sure that I was responsible and respectful to everyone. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I opened my eyes and looked all around me, “Surely this must be a dream”But it wasn’t, it was real. Everything around me had been completely destroyed, smoke still rose out from the ashes of burnt down buildings, the sky was bright red with the glow from distant fires. It was a complete ghost town, I couldn’t see anyone else at all.“Oh my god, am I the only person to have survived this?”Whatever had happened had completely obliterated the town that I lived in. Hold up though. You’re probably wondering how I got to this point. Let’s backtrack, back to where it all began.The first time I saw Pia I fell madly in love with her. She was a new girl at our school and from the moment my teacher introduced her to our class, I knew she was the one for me. I couldn’t keep my feelings to myself, as soon as class finished I ran to find my friends.“Oh my god, have you seen the new girl? She’s so pretty, and she’s clever and she’s funny.”“Ok, ok, calm down!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I still can’t believe we scored tickets to this J-Wizz concert!” Maddison screamed and threw her hands in the air. I loved J-Wizz and my bedroom was adorned with his posters. I was his biggest fan! My other friends Monica, Claudette and Eden were there as well. Right before intermission J-Wizz threw his jacket into the air. Being the tallest among my friends, I reached up and grabbed it. “I got it! I got it!” That was the most perfect night of my life. Hi, my name is Kimberly.One afternoon while listening to the radio and hanging out at my house, my friends and I heard the most amazing news ever! J-Wizz was hosting a competition. All you had to do was purchase a ticket to win a chance to spend two days with him. The winner was to be announced at his club next Friday.My friends and I rushed to the mall to purchase the ticket. By the time we got there the lines were really, really really long. We finally got our tickets two hours later. We decided to purchase our outfits for the announcement of the winner since we were already at the mall. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I stood there watching as the passengers started coming out of the terminal, my “Welcome Home” sign held proudly in the air. I was so excited to see my Mom, she had been working abroad for the last year and I had missed her so much.“There she is Brittany!”“Where Dad? I can’t see her!”“There!”I looked to see who Dad was pointing at, when I saw my Mom my mouth dropped in shock“Mom, what’s happened to you? You’re so FAT!”My Mom looked a bit sad when she heard what I had said, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t believe she had let herself get so fat. “It’s going to be so embarrassing when my friends see what she looks like!”“Mom, I just can’t believe you’re so fat now!”“Now, now Brittany, that’s enough, your Mom is still beautiful. Don’t be so rude to her!”“I’m not being rude, it’s the truth, just look at her, she looks disgusting!”“Brittany! I will not have you talking to your Mom like that!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After walking around the mall for hours with my parents and younger sister, Michelle, I was starving!As we sat in the Food Court, I picked up a fry and was about to place it in my mouth when someone grabbed my hand. With a confused look, I tilted my head as a slim lady with a large mink coat and shades seemed to be admiring my hand."Can we help you?" Mom looked at the lady as she removed my hand from hers."I'd like to offer you one billion dollars for your hands," the lady looked at me as she lowered her glasses so I could see her eyes. Hey, my name is Caitlyn.Dad immediately stood up and pointed his finger at the lady, "Now you hold it there lady….."The lady held up her hand and Dad stopped talking. "Her hands are perfect for the beauty market. Her hands are the perfect model for my skin care products. I am willing to offer a one billion dollar contract now."My eyes pleaded with my parents."I think we should think about this." Mom looked over me then at Dad."The deal is on the table now. You either take it or leave it."Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As soon as she entered the room everyone stopped what they were doing and just stared at her. She was so beautiful, you know, one of those girls who just looks good without putting in any effort. I knew immediately that everyone would want to be friends with her and I was right! Everyone began to gather around her,“Hey, you’re new here, right? What’s your name?”“Hi, there, you can sit with me if you like.”And that was just the girls! The boys mostly just stood there staring with their mouths drooling like little lost puppies!As for me, I just sat at the back of the class, trying not to get noticed!As I watched her walk through the classroom, smiling at everyone as she passed, I couldn’t help but wish that I was like her. I had been at this school for ages, but I still hadn’t made any friends. Sure, kids would say hi to me, but no one ever asked me to sit with them at lunch, or to hang out after school.I tried not to let it bother me, but it was lonely sometimes, not having a friend. The new girl on the other hand, well, it was obvious it wouldn’t take her long to make some friends. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was that time of year again! The day almost every girl both looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. It was valentine’s day. My sister Mindy and I walked nervously towards our lockers, “Please let me get one this year!” “Me too! I just want one!”We stopped in front of our lockers and looked at each other,“Let’s open them together, after three!”“Ok.”“One, two, three!”I opened my locker door, an avalanche of envelope’s came pouring out on top of me. I literally had hundreds of Valentine's cards. I looked across to Mindy, but she just shook her head,“Nope, nothing for me!”I couldn’t help but notice the jealous look she had on her face.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was sitting in the lounge, watching tv with my parents when an ad came on for a new app. “Hey, that looks really cool, I should download it!”I grabbed my phone and searched for the app,“Yay, I found it!”I clicked on it and waited for it to download. “It says here that it can detect anyone’s DNA through facial recognition. In a matter of seconds you can find out if you are related to someone!”“Well that does sound like fun, imagine you could be standing next to someone in the supermarket and find out they’re your long lost cousin or something!”My phone pinged to let me know it had finished downloading.“Let’s test it out!”I pointed my phone at my face and then pointed it at my Mom’s. “Now I just have to click for the results!”“DNA match, you are related.”“Come on Dad, it’s your turn now!”I pointed the phone at my Dad’s face and then at mine, then I clicked to see the results.When I read what it said on the screen my face fell in shock.“Not a Match!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I walked through the restaurant something I saw stopped me in my tracks.“Wait a minute! That’s weird! That girl looks exactly like my girlfriend Stella, but it can’t be, she’s kissing some guy.”Just at that second the girl stopped kissing him and turned around, my heart almost stopped beating. It was Stella!!“Oh my god! You’re cheating on me!!”Stella instantly looked guilty,“Robbie, what are you doing here?”“You told me you were spending the evening with your friends, but instead you're kissing him!”“It’s not what you think!”“Oh, this had better be good! Go on then, try and explain yourself!”“It didn’t mean anything, I’m sorry, you can forgive me can’t you?”“Forgive you? Forgive you? Are you kidding me right now? I never want to see you again!”“Please don’t say that, I’m sorry, really I am!”“You’re a cheat and a liar Stella, I can’t believe I ever trusted you!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a Saturday afternoon much like any other Saturday afternoon and as usual I was sitting in the lounge watching tv.“My life is so boring! Nothing exciting ever happens around here!”Then suddenly out of nowhere I heard an almighty“BOOM”I looked to my right and was shocked to see that a car had come crashing through the wall and was stopped just inches away from the chair I was sitting on.For a few seconds I was frozen in shock, but then when I saw who was in the driver's seat the shock turned to panic.“MOM!!”My Mom opened the car door and crawled out. I jumped up and ran to her but by the time I reached her she had already fallen unconscious.Hold on though, before I continue, you have already subscribed and hit the notification bell haven’t you? Well, if not, make sure you do that now!What happened next is all a bit of a blur. I remember shaking my Mom, trying to get her to open her eyes, but she was out cold. The next thing I heard sirens coming towards our house, I guess someone must have called for the police and an ambulance.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My heart was beating so fast and loud I could hardly hear the clicks as I turned the safe dial. Just one more number and I would be in.“Click!”I looked at my teammates and smiled,“Easy!!”As I opened the safe door, the glare from the jewel inside almost blinded me. It was the biggest diamond I had ever seen in my life.“Come on, don’t take all day, the cops will be here soon!”I picked up the jewel and stuffed it into my coat pocket. I said goodbye to my teammates and jumped into my car. As I drove off I could hear the police sirens and saw the flashing lights of their cars as they pulled up outside the jewellery store. “Phew, got out of there just in time!”I drove to a gas station and went and changed my clothes in the restroom. Noone would think I was a criminal now that I was wearing my business suit. I put the jewel inside my briefcase and drove home. “Hi Mom, hi Dad, I’m home.”“How was your internship? Did you have a good day?”“Yes it was good.”“Was it exciting?”Flashbacks of the robbery sprang into my mind, the adrenaline pumping through my veins and the flash of the police cars lights.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Oh crap is that who I think it is?” Gabby, my girlfriend, looked in the direction I was looking at, “Who is it?” Just then my stepmother, Nicole, walked up to the bar. “Hey, let me get a martini,” she looked across at Gabby before returning her gaze to me, “Follow me, now!” We walked out of the bar and she turned to me, “So this is why you asked your father to let you live away from home?” She said, waving her hand at the building.“Look I…”“I’m really not interested in anything you have to say. I know about your little trust fund that Daddy handed over when you turned eighteen so unless you want Daddy to catch a hissy fit about this little activity that you are doing, you will supply all of my demands, since your Daddy decided to put me on a budget.” Nicole smiled slyly as she ran her hand along my jawline. She turned and cackled as she walked inside. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Picture this. You live in a hut in the forest with your two parents who have convinced you that this is perfectly normal. In fact, you’ve never seen any other human beings but them. Your only friends are trees, rivers and flowers and you only eat what your parents are able to catch or grow themselves. Sounds like the beginning of a really bad movie right? Well that was my life until I was eight years old.Now don’t get me wrong guys. I wasn’t neglected or anything. My parents treated me like I was everything they’d ever hoped for. My mom was always hugging me and telling me how awesome and brilliant I was – and my dad? He was the best! He taught me how to survive on my own and he told the most creative stories ever. I couldn’t sleep if he wasn’t around.This is why what they did next made absolutely no sense to me. Can you imagine your world being turned upside down and you had no idea why? One morning I was sleeping very peacefully when my mom shook me awake.“It’s time to go.”“Where?”“Away from here.”I didn’t even know what ‘away’ could possibly be. I imagined that if any other people existed they all lived in little huts in the forest with their parents and separated from everyone else.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I took a great big bite of my burger and smiled at my girlfriend, Natasha.“I’ve been looking forward to this all day!”“Oh my god Paul! You and your food! What are you like?”“Don’t tell me you haven’t been looking forward to coming to this place too!”“Well I have and I haven’t!”“What do you mean?”“Well, of course, I love coming here, I mean we do come every Saturday night! But I haven’t been looking forward to having to tell you something.”“What is it?”I noticed that Natasha took a deep breath,“Come on, tell me what it is. You’re starting to worry me now.”“Don’t freak out, ok, look, I’m moving schools.”“What? No! Why?’Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I finally had everything I had wanted. My long-time crush, Issac, was finally my boyfriend who took me out on dates every other day. And his family, well they worshipped me like a literal goddess and would do anything for me.Ever since I was a child I had always gotten everything I set my eyes on. You see, my parents were super-rich with their huge jewelry business so it was raining money for us all the time. And they treated me like a princess. That's how I knew I deserved everything I wanted.Then, there was Isaac. He was my brother’s friend and I had a huge crush on him ever since I was little. He was the only guy I imagined as my boyfriend but he, well he had no feelings for me. In fact, he had a girlfriend, Tina, who was nothing compared to my beauty and background.“What does he see in her?” I wondered while stalking them on social media. However, I was not ready to accept my defeat with Tina and give my lifelong crush to her that easily. So I thought about doing the unthinkable.Isaac 's parents, the Browns, worked for my parents so they were pretty close and they were invited to dinner at our place once every week which meant I spent plenty of time around him. Still, to get Isaac’s heart I needed even more time with him. For that I planned and executed something mischievous.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I opened my eyes and immediately closed them again. The glare from the lights above me were too bright for my eyes to handle. I blinked a couple of times and tried again. This time I managed to focus, but as I looked around me, I had no idea where I was. All I could see were machines and all I could hear was a strange beeping noise. Suddenly I realised where I was, I was in a hospital room.“But what am I doing here?”“Noel, you’re awake?”I looked to my left, my Mum and Dad were both sitting by the side of my bed.“What happened? What am I doing here?”“You’ve been in a coma darling.”“What do you mean? A coma? How? What happened?”As my parents began to explain what had happened to me I grew more and more shocked.“You got into a car crash and because of your injuries there Doctors put you into a coma for a month. Your body needed time to heal, but there’s nothing to worry about, they have said you are fine now.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Matthew put that book down and go to sleep!” my dad said as he walked past my little room. It was already eleven at night and my parents expected us to fall asleep by nine. I shared a room with my two little brothers Zachary and James. They were already sleeping.I put the book away, turned off the light and faded into dreamland. I loved to dream because it helped me to escape my life which wasn’t awesome at all. We were poor – my dad had just lost his job and my mom was finishing an MBA online. We were living off my dad’s savings and it honestly sucked eating crackers and macaroni every day.Now, where was I. Ah, yes. I was just fading into dreamland. I had a few dreams but the last one had me puzzled for a long time. I was walking by myself on a mountain and an old wizard approached me.“I heard you want to be like the great king Midas.” he said.“The king who could turn anything into gold?”“Yes.”“Well, yes. That would be nice.”“I will grant you this power. All you have to do is whisper these words while touching the object you want to turn to gold.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My best friend and I were sitting at the back of the classroom, trying not to get noticed by our teacher as we whispered and giggled to each other. We had so much to catch up on, I hadn’t seen her since Friday afternoon and it was now Monday morning. I was listening to her telling me all about the party she had gone to on Saturday when suddenly someone caught my attention.“Who is that?’“Who?”“Him, over there!”“No idea, must be a new boy.”“He is so hot!”“Aww Emma, have you got a crush?’I didn’t need to answer her, my blushes confirmed that I did have a crush!“Why don’t you go over and speak to him then?”Even though it was totally out of character for me to do something like that, I took a deep breath and went over to introduce myself.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"We have another package for you to deliver don't be late." The phone went dead. “What?” I said looking at my phone confused.I scrolled through my phone to see if I ever got a call or message from the number before. “Who are these…..” My voice trailed off when I realized it wasn’t my phone, that’s why I didn’t recognize the number, it was my mom’s!Hi, I’m Jackson.“Tasha is going to kill me,” I said as I turned the car around, “I just hope mom hasn’t left for work yet.”Tonight Tasha, my girlfriend of two years, had to babysit her younger brother so I was going to order pizza and spend a few hours over there. I told her I would be there at 7pm. It was already 6:50pm. My phone vibrated. I opened the message, it was an address. I turned the corner and realized mom’ truck was still there. I pulled up to the driveway behind it and ran into the house. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Odessa! Malcolm! There’s someone here we would like you to meet!” I crawled out of my room and groaned. I had an assignment due and all these interruptions were totally unacceptable. As soon as we arrived in the living room Mom introduced the girl who was standing between her and Dad, “Meet Genesis, you new sister!” My jaw dropped! New sister? “Yesssss!” Malcolm squealed, like the annoying ten year old that he is, “An upgrade to Odessa. I shall call her Odessa 3.0.”“Oh and Odessa,” Mom looked at me, “We are going to need your room to put Genesis in. You will be moved to the attic.” As I looked out of the attic window and watched my family hop into the car, with Genesis, acting like the sister of Chucky, Malcolm overly annoying and my parents acting as though I didn't exist unless they wanted me to fetch something for them, I couldn’t help but feel relieved that they were going out and I would finally have some peace and quiet. “I miss Grandma,” I thought as I dragged myself out of bed to attend to the long list of chores that Mom left for me to complete. A few days after Grandma’s funeral, her lawyer called and asked to speak with me and my parents. While he was here he told us that I was the sole heir to Grandma’s estate. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.