Story Time Animated

“Watch out everyone, here comes Craig, the teachers’ pet!”I hated having to walk past the “cool kids”. They always had something to tease me about. It wasn’t my fault I was a clever kid. Didn’t mean they had the right to call me a “nerd”. But they always did.I tried to ignore them all, but as I tried to get past them, one of the boys stuck out his foot and tripped me up. I went flying in the air and landed flat on my face. Everyone started laughing and jeering, loudly.The cool kids just walked away, still laughing as they went. I sat there on the floor, tears pouring down my cheeks. I knew people were staring at me, but I couldn’t stop crying. I’d been miserable for weeks from their constant teasing, and this had been the final straw. As I sat there sobbing I suddenly felt someone put their arms around me. I looked up and saw a pretty girl standing beside me.“Are you ok? Come on, stand up.”She held out her hand to me and when I took hold of it, she pulled me to my feet.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I watched as Billie walked into the cafeteria, as usual she was surrounded by her group of friends. I had been wanting to ask her out on a date for ages, but I could never catch her on her own. I had decided that I couldn’t wait any longer, there was nothing else for it, I was going to have to ask her in front of everyone. I waited until she and her friends had got their lunches and sat down at a table. “Right then Craig, it’s now or never!”I took a deep breath and casually wandered over to their table. “Hi there!”Billie looked up at me, she had a puzzled look on her face.“Are you talking to me?”“Err, yeah, err hi there! Err, listen I was err, wondering err..”“Come on, spit it out!”“Would you like to go out on a date with me?”“Err, NO THANKS!”I was so embarrassed, I didn’t know what to say, I actually thought I was going to burst into tears. I had been waiting for that moment for so long, only to be rejected. As I walked away I could hear her friends giggling.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, it was a typical Saturday afternoon in our house, and even though I complained to Mom sometimes about being bored, the truth is, I liked spending time with my Mom. I guess the reason we were so close is because I had never really known my Dad. He had disappeared one day when I was only about five years old. It had been more than ten years since we had seen him and we never heard from him again! Suddenly I heard the sound of someone hammering on the front door. “Go answer that for me will you Jake.”“Aww, Mom, I’m in the middle of a programme.”“Jake, come on, I’m busy here.”I opened the door, when I saw who was standing there, I screamed.“Dad!”“Hello Jake!”“What…. I mean….. How?.....I mean……”“Well aren’t you going to invite me in?”I opened the door and my Dad walked past me and into the kitchen.“Crash!”I heard the sound of a plate smashing on the floor and then my Mom shrieking,“Oh my god, darling! You’re back!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael and I went home, I couldn’t wait to tell Layla that we were dating. But when we arrived we got the shock of our lives, the front door was wide open and the place was full of broken glass, Layla was nowhere to be seen!“Michael, what’s going on, this is starting to really scare me!”“I don’t know Sally, let’s see if we can see anything inside.”I followed Michael into the house, the whole place looked like a bomb had hit it, tables and chairs were turned on their sides and the window was broken. There were belongings scattered everywhere. As I walked through to the kitchen the first thing I saw was a note on the table. I picked it up and read it, I felt sick when I realised that it appeared to have been written in blood!“If you want your friends back, come and get them. Oh, and don’t bother calling the cops. If you do, you’ll never see your friends again - Amber"Below the words, a drawing of a house was made in blood!“Oh my god, I can’t believe it, it was Amber that was behind the kidnapping all along!”“You’re right Michael, and now Layla is missing too! What are we going to do?”“We should call the cops!”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 stretched my arms out, yawning loudly at the same time. I looked at the clock on my bedside table, it said 8 o’clock.A few seconds later I heard a soft tapping at my bedroom door. I knew it would be Nora, our maid, bringing me my morning tea.“Come in!”The door opened and Nora came into my room, I smiled at her,“Morning Nora!”Nora looked at me, but instead of answering, she suddenly started screaming“My eyes, my eyes!”The next thing I knew she had collapsed onto my bedroom floor. “Nora! Nora! What’s the matter!”I jumped out of bed and ran over to her, I tried to wake her but she was unresponsive.I shook Nora but her eyes remained closed.“Mum, Dad, help! Something has happened to Nora!”My Mum and Dad came running into my room. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was in a deep, deep sleep when suddenly I began to hear a voice in my head. “I must be dreaming! But it sounds so real!”I opened my eyes, I could still hear the voice, so I definitely wasn’t dreaming.“Hello, hello, are you there?”“Who’s that?”“I’m your pillow!”“Are you really a talking pillow?”“Well you can hear me can’t you?”“Yes, I can hear you! But how can a pillow talk? It’s impossible.”“I am an Area 51 experiment, but I managed to escape and I made it to your bedroom!”‘Wow! I feel quite honoured that you chose me!”“You won’t tell anyone that I can speak, will you?”“No, no, of course I won’t say anything. You can trust me!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I’ll go noEver since Covid my school had been doing online classes. I loved it! No more getting up at the crack of dawn to get ready for school. I just hopped out of bed five minutes before class started and logged on to my computer. That morning started off just the same as all of the other days. I clicked on to my English class and waited to see my teacher's face pop up. Suddenly there was a bright flash and the screen went blank. I had no idea what could’ve happened, maybe my computer had glitched or something. I waited a few minutes then finally the screen lit up again. But instead of seeing Mrs Wilson, my screen was filled with a bunch of faces I didn’t recognise. My face fell in shock when I heard what they were saying,“This mission is top secret, for your ears only! No one can know about our plans to spy on Russia.” The man said.I couldn’t believe it, I’d somehow managed to join a top secret government meeting. I listened as they discussed exactly how they were going to infiltrate the Russian government. It was amazing, like something out of a movie.“Achoo!”Suddenly all the men stopped talking and looked at each other. I couldn’t believe it, they had heard me sneezing, I must have had my microphone on!“Who’s there? Who is it? Reveal your identity.” Said a voice.I was about to log off but what the man said next stopped me in my tracks.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I hate Wednesdays. Wednesdays I have to go to work from 6 in the morning and only get home at 9:30 in the evening, because I have to go to all three of my jobs. What’s worse is coming home and cooking, because I have four mouths to feed. No, I’m not a single mom working three jobs to support her kids. I’m an 18-year-old supporting his ill family.As soon as I get home I have four adults all over me asking for money. Two are my parents, two are my brothers. They’re not exploiting me, don’t worry about that.“How did your wrists feel today, mom? And your back, dad?” I asked my parents. My parents and my brothers suffer from a chronic illness that affects their joints and makes them unable to work. It’s genetic, but it thankfully skipped me. If it wasn’t for me, my family would be lost. I started telling my family about the day I had as I made us all sandwiches, but they stopped paying attention to me the moment I told them I had no money for spending this week. I got tired of this situation sometimes, but my family had taken care of me all my life, until they all fell ill. Yes, I had to deal with people screaming at me all day that they wanted to speak to my manager, but before I had teachers screaming at me, so there wasn’t that big of a difference.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Ugh! Robert! I can’t get my pants on! You did this to me!” my mom screamed at my dad.“Belinda honey, you’re exaggerating. You gave birth five years ago. It’s not my fault you’re still fat.”“How dare you talk to me like that! You’re sleeping on the couch for the week!”“Great! You take up too much space on the bed anyway! Come on Kera! You can sleep in the living room too and we can make pillow forts! It’s gonna be so much fun!” my dad laughed and smiled at me.Since I was a little girl it was a really hard task living with my mom. In fact, it was sort of like a punishment. I always wondered why I couldn’t have a loving, ordinary mom who wasn’t so obsessed with how she looked all the time. My mom was actually pretty normal in size but she felt like her body never went back to normal after she had me. After that horrible experience she said she would never have another child again. One had done enough damage to her body.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I found a microphone in my neck. You won’t believe who has been listening to me for YEARSI never wanted a sister growing up, despite only having two annoying little brothers. I didn’t want one, because I had my best friend Mariana. We are even closer than sisters, and sometimes it feels like we’re actually related, because our dads have been best friends since high school. We’ve always had each other, she’s the only one I can trust with all my thoughts and feelings. Until I had to hide something from her, and we almost fell apart.Mariana always walked me home from school. My parents asked why, because she lived at least 20 minutes away from us and after a long day at school it was pretty tiring. We always told them it was just to spend time together, but it was for a reason I could never bring myself to reveal. Our neighbor. Since I was around 12, we had this neighbor named Rick. Imagine the creepiest guy you can, with yellow teeth and a greasy shirt. That’s Rick. He gave me a weird feeling, which I trusted to mean he was up to no good. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I walked into the school cafeteria and looked around me, it was the usual scene, girls chatting away to each other and boys standing around hoping to look cool. I looked to the far corner of the room and saw that Rosie was sitting on her own, now was my chance! I quickly went over to where she was sitting, I wanted to speak to her before she was joined by her friends.“Hi Rosie, what are you up to?”“Oh hi there Sam, nothing much, just waiting for my friends.”“Err, Rosie, err, err.”“Yes Sam?”“Well err, I was kinda wondering, you know.”“No, I don’t know.”“Well, I was wondering if you would like to go out on a date?”There, I had finally plucked up the courage to ask out my crush! I held my breath and waited for her to answer.“Yes, I would love to go on a date with you!”I was so happy, but as I gave Rosie a big smile, something awful began to happen! First Rosie’s face started to melt away and then her head fell off!Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One night while watching television with Stacy an ad crossed the television screen. It was an old woman with a wrap on her head and large hoop earrings. She reminded me of a gypsy. What she said next changed my life! Hey, my name is Soraya.The old woman held a triangular bottle of perfume in her hand. She said that it was an ancient formula that when used will attract boys. My eyes twinkled as I looked at Stacy, "Do you really think it would work?"Stacy looked at me in disbelief before laughing out scandalously, "Do you really think that would work? You really think that something as powerful as getting boys to drool over you will cost only $19.99?""It's worth a try. Talking to boys always came naturally to you. Some of us need a little help.""Well it's your allowance, but, when it doesn't work you can't say I didn't warn you," Stacy shrugged.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic extended his hand to me and I took it, grateful for the mask that covered most of my face because I could feel the heat from his fingertips coursing through my veins. He held me close as we swayed to the rhythm of the music. No one else mattered then. After the song, we stopped dancing and he held my face and pulled me in for a kiss. It was my first kiss and indeed it was a magical one.  Hi, my name is Autumn.“Do I really have to go to Uncle Miles and Aunty Maria’s? Why can’t I go somewhere else? Bella is so spoilt,” I looked at my mom, my eyes pleading with hers. “Because there is nowhere else for you to go. My sister isn’t that bad,” my mom smiled, “And besides no teenage girl wants to babysit her grandmother over her summer break. Try to have fun ok.” My mother kissed me on my forehead and I hugged her. I grabbed my bags and stepped out of the car and pressed the buzzer for the gate. My mother waited until I was secure behind the gate. I looked at the mansion before me.“Might as well get this over with,” I muttered as I walked towards the house. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Mom, look at what I found outside in the bushes.” Juliet, my older sister, approached Mom holding a dog in her hands.. “Can we keep it pleaseeeeee.” It was a small brown and white dog with a distinctive snowflake covering one eye.Mom sighed, “I’ll discuss it with Dad when he gets home. But for now, please take the dog in the backyard.”“I will name the dog, Max.” Juliet looked at me smugly as she headed to the back yard.Hi, my name is Max.Juliet and I never got along. It seemed to me that she always had it out for me. The way Mom tells it is that Juliet always wanted a little sister but when she got me she wasn’t very happy. When I was five, Mom told us we could go and play in the backyard. Juliet tied me to a tree and snuck up to her room. Rain fell and I was sick for two weeks! Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I started to stir from sleep, the aching in my neck made me groan with pain“Argh, I must have slept in a really strange position, I feel awful!”I tried to stretch out my arms to relieve some of the tension in my body, but instead of feeling the soft comfort of my bedding, my hand hit something hard. My eyes shot open,“Where am I?”I could hardly see a thing, all I could feel was hard wood beneath me. A chink of light was coming through a hole in the side of the wood so I pulled myself upright and looked through the hole.“Oh my god!”I cried out in shock and fell back against the hard wooden side.“Am I in some strange kind of dream or something?”I looked out of the hole again, as I saw the scene before me, I knew that it was no dream. All I could see spread out before me was a vast ocean, it went on and on towards the horizon. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I picked up my gym bag and headed to the front door, I turned to Dad, "Don't forget about my geography homework." "Don't worry, son, I'll have it ready before school tomorrow."Then I turned to Mom, "My Science project is in two days, Mr. Waldo is looking out for something spectacular."Mom smiled, "Don't worry I have something up my sleeve. He'll have no choice but to give you an A+."I opened the front door "Thanks, I'll see you guys after practice." As I was closing the door I heard my ten year old sister, Lexi, ask for help with her homework. Mom told her that as soon as she finished with my science project she would be available.Hey my name is Derrick. Growing up I dreamed of becoming a scientist. Mom bought me all the science kits and even a white lab coat when I was younger, but as I became a teen Dad pushed for me to become a football player.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I threw my backpack over my shoulder as I said goodbye to my friends. Another great day at school. Now I just had to find my brother so we could go home. I was starving, because I had given my lunch money to a kid who forgot his. I figured that act of kindness would feel much better than buying food for myself, and it sure was. I spotted my brother leaning against the car we shared. A cute girl approached him, smiling, but he said something and she looked like she’d seen a ghost. I figured she mistook him for me. We’re identical twins, after all. As soon as we got home I went to the kitchen to say hi to my parents, while my brother Evan went up to his room, as always.“It smells fantastic, did you guys make pizza from scratch?” I asked my mom as soon as the amazing aroma filled my nose. I hugged her and did my special handshake with my dad. I then set the table and called my brother down to come eat.“So how was school? Levi? Evan?” My dad asked me and my brother. I started telling them about my classes that day, but my dad kept looking at Evan.“Evan? I asked about your school day.” Said my dad sternly.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I’ll be right back.”I excused myself from the table and headed towards the bathroom. Tonight we were celebrating my eighteenth birthday. As I looked around at the restaurant I knew my parents probably saved for months to even afford the reservations for a place like this. As I pulled the door open to the bathroom my jaw dropped. The person standing in front of me looked exactly like me.Hi, my name is Sharon.“Hi, I’m Cassie.” She moved aside for me to entire the bathroom.“You look just like me.” I looked at her in awe as though she were a legendary creature. “I know right, we really do resemble each other. You know they say that everyone in the world has a doppleganger.” Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I stood there nervously, watching, waiting for the big reveal. A huge blanket was hanging over my house, keeping it hidden from sight. Suddenly I heard the sound of a drum roll and the blanket dropped to the floor.“WOW! Just WOW!!”My house was made of gold! I was stunned by the image before me, all around me people were gasping and clapping and shouting congratulations to me.A man from the local newspaper came over and pointed his microphone in my face, cameras flashed left, right and centre. “What do you think of your house?”“It’s amazing!”How did I get a gold house? Well, let me start at the beginning. Ever since I was a young boy I had always been into adventure. I kind of saw myself as a bit of an Indiana Jones character. I was always going off on imaginary adventures. By the time I was in my teens the urge for adventure had become like an obsession to me. Everything I did and everywhere I went I was looking for excitement! So when my parents told me that we were going on holiday to Mexico I could hardly contain myself. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know how teenage boys sometimes deliver newspapers in their neighborhoods because it’s such an easy job? First of all, it's not an easy job. Second of all, I’m not a teenage boy. I’m a woman in my early 20’s, and yes, I competed with teenage boys to keep them out of my paper route. If my paper route was in any normal neighborhood, I wouldn’t be so protective of it, but I belong in this neighborhood. It should be mine, because this is where all the rich people live.Every day I biked around this place it felt like I was home. I used to belong in a place just like this, before my dad gambled all our money away. I imagined I was biking around in a yellow sundress, until I realised I completely forgot to throw my newspapers on people’s lawns, and then I had to awkwardly bike back to the beginning of the street. It’s not like nobody’s watching either, because all these rich old men love seeing a young woman biking around in front of their homes. I would have complained, but they did give me huge tips. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Who are you?”I asked the girl standing in the doorway,“I’m Amber!”“Sorry, do I know you?”“I’m Jack’s ex-girlfriend!”I realised that this was the girl that Jack had dated, the one that had caused him to fight with Michael. “I’m looking for Michael.”“Why? What do you want to speak to Michael for?”“I just need to speak to him about something.”“Well I’m sorry you can’t!”“What do you mean I can’t? You can’t stop me from speaking to him!”“You’re right, I can’t! But the police can, he’s under arrest right now!”Amber looked at me, she seemed really shocked. “Under arrest? What for? Is there anything I can do to help?”“You’d better come in and we will explain everything.”I took Amber through to where Layla was,“Layla, this is Amber, Jack’s ex-girlfriend.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Oh get out of my way! You are so annoying!”“That girl is so nasty.” I said to my best friend Kath. “I can’t understand why Brad is dating her.”“I know, what’s wrong with her? She really seems to have it in for you!” Kath replied.Susie had always been a bit mean, but since she had started dating Brad she seemed to have gotten worse. I tried to stay out of her way as much as possible, but sometimes it was unavoidable. Luckily we didn’t have many classes together, I usually only saw her at break and lunchtime. I was waiting in the queue in the school cafeteria when I saw Susie walking towards me. I put my head down and looked at the floor, hoping she wouldn’t notice me. As she got closer she suddenly threw her drink all over me, my shirt was soaking wet. “Oh sorry, didn’t see you there!” She said.“You did that on purpose!” I shouted at her. The next thing Brad came walking over to us.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I picked up Fluffy and stroked his fur as I walked down the stairs to the living room. Every year my family took a Christmas photo and created Christmas cards to send to family and friends. Yeah, I know it’s old school but we love it! Mom and Dad stood behind Joel, my thirteen year old brother, and we sat on stools while Fluffly lay lazily on my lap. As the photographer stood behind the camera I couldn't help but feel lucky to have such a perfect family. “Everyone, say cheese!”“Cheese!” My family smiled simultaneously into the camera.Little did I know that that Christmas photo was the last photo we ever took out as a perfect family. Hey, my name is Mandy.“How about we get a ten foot tall tree this year?” Joel smiled broadly as we sat around the breakfast table. “Don’t you think that’s a little much?” Dad looked at him with a raised eyebrow.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I listened closely as muffled noises came from outside my bedroom door. Cautiously, I opened my bedroom door and peeked into the hallway. Before I knew what was going on, someone grabbed me and dragged me to the living room where my parents were already tied up and gagged. The masked men quickly tied me up and gagged me as well. One of them threw me over his shoulder, walked outside and threw me in the back of a van and slammed the door.Hi, my name is Phoebe. The ride seemed endless. Eventually, I woke up in a bedroom, a really nice bedroom. With silk curtains, expensive wooden furniture and the tapestry on the wall looked priceless. It was even equipped with a television and cable. I banged on the door, before I searched the room for another escape route but the windows were nailed shut. There was another door in the room. I ran to it and pulled it open quickly but my heart sank when I realized that it was a bathroom with a window too small for me to escape.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You never let me do anything!” “Louise, you are too young to be going out to a club!” My Dad said.“All my friends are going, why can’t I?”“Because I said so, that’s why!”“You’re ruining my life!”I ran out of the room slamming the door behind me. “It’s not fair, I’m never allowed to go anywhere!”I ran up to my room and lay down on my bed, I was so angry with my Dad. When school finished the next day I asked my best friend Paula if I could go to her house for a while.“I had a big fight with my Dad last night and I just want to stay out of his way for a while.”“Sure, Louise, no problem. Actually it’s a good time for you to come, my Mum is home.”“Really? Oh that’s great, I can’t believe we’ve been best friends for so long and I’ve never met your Mum!”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 pushed off, I felt the wheels of the skateboard rattling beneath my feet as I sailed down the ramp. I felt so nervous, it wasn’t because of the trick I was about to attempt. I’d jumped the rail many times and landed perfectly on my board. But this time Jessica was here with her friends, I really wanted to impress her with my skateboarding skills. I thought she was really cool and had been trying to get her to notice me. As I approached the rail I flipped the board up. But instead of landing straight on it, I fell to the floor and rolled over and over, finally coming to rest just in front of Jessica. As if that wasn’t bad enough I heard the sound of girls laughing loudly from the other side of the skatepark. It was my sisters, Dottie, Dillie, Donna, Diana, Debbie, Deirdre, Delsey, Deena, Dixie and Della. Yep, I have 10 sisters.They came rushing over and started teasing me,“Darren, that was so funny! You went flying!” one of my sisters said.When Jessica heard my sisters teasing me, she started laughing too. Things couldn’t have been any worse!Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was another boring Sunday, I had spent the whole day lazing around and watching tv. There was nothing much else to do, I decided to pick up my phone and have some fun with Siri. I liked trying to think up silly things to ask her.“Hey Siri, do you love me?”“I don’t know how to answer that.”“Hey Siri, How far is it from here to the nearest grocery store?”“I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you how to become a billionaire!”I had a mouth full of water when Siri replied and I spat it out in shock.“Siri, say that again!”“Say what again?”“Say that you can tell me how to become a billionaire!”“It’s true, I can show you the way.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As soon as I turned the corner into my street I noticed that something was wrong. The front door of my house was wide open. “Am I about to catch a burglar in the act?”My heart started beating ten to the dozen, I crept up the pathway to the front door, if there was an intruder inside I didn’t want to alert them to my presence. But when I went inside I was shocked to see there were at least a dozen people in my living room. Slowly, one by one, they all turned and eerily began to stare at me.“You never let me do what I want to do! Why do you always try to control me?”“Jillian, we only want the best for you! “The best thing for me would be for you to leave me alone! I can’t take it anymore! I’m leaving!”I ran up to my room and started packing my things together, I loved my parents but our relationship had always been quite tough. For some reason it was as if they didn’t want me to grow up. They were so controlling, they told me who to be friends with and even what I should do for a job. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As I opened my eyes, the first thing that hit me was the cold stone floor that I was laying on. I had no idea where I was or how I had got there. I sat up and looked around me, I realised I was in an alleyway, but I had no memory of how I had ended up there. My first instinct was to cry, but I knew that that wouldn’t help me, so instead I stood up and decided I would try to look for help somewhere. I began to wander the streets, looking for somewhere r someone that might take pity on me. After about ten minutes of walking around I saw a sign on a building, it said “Foster Home” My heart leaped, “Surely they will help me!”I went and knocked on the door, it was opened by a kind looking lady.“Can you help me please? I have just woken up in an alleyway, I don’t know who I am or where I am from!”“Come in child, we will take care of you.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Don’t you think it would be awesome to remember every single thing? To never, ever be able to forget anything? Well you’re wrong and by the time I finish my story you’ll understand why.Somehow I was born with the extraordinary ability to remember everything. I could talk before I was a one-year-old, and at first, everyone was obsessed with me. My parents boasted to everyone who’d listen and my two older sisters Monique and Mirabelle were always telling their friends about their awesome sister Maddie.“Many kids start talking early. There’s probably nothing special about her.” my grandmother said to my mom one evening. This was apparently enough to convince her that I was ordinary.Then a burglar broke into our house. My sisters were at school, my dad was at work and my mom was in the shower. I was in my crib poking the eyes of my favorite stuffed toy when I saw a tall man dressed in black towering over me. I didn’t scream – I just pretended to be a dumb baby. He picked up his phone and I heard him say“Yes, I’ll be returning home when I’m done. Yes. 24 Park Lane, 5th floor, second door. I’ll have a big stash for us to sell soon!”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On one of the most important days as a psychology student in college, I was running late, as always. I had been caught up painting my latest work in my dorm. I still had paint all over my hands, and I didn’t get the chance to change the dirty -shirt I had been wearing, but my classmates had probably seen me looking worse. At that moment I just needed to run.I burst in through the door and went straight to my usual seat, next to a few of my friends who also studied psychology. The teacher was just now walking in, so I got lucky. “The day has arrived, my dear students, to decide on your final experiment.” She said. This was my favorite part of the course. We did experiments all over campus pretty often, but they were mild ones or ones that had been done before. This time, we got to design our own experiment, and we could make it as crazy as we wanted to, as long as it was ethical. My friends and I turned to each other grinning. We had been waiting for this since it was first announced weeks ago.“So what do you guys have in mind?” I asked them excitedly. Their expressions dropped immediately.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s just not going to be the same without you here! I’m going to miss you so much!”My best friend Sally was going to live in Spain, virtually the other side of the world! “You’ll still have Jack and Layla and we can talk every day!”“I know! But it won’t be the same as having you here.”“It won’t be forever, maybe you could come out to visit me in Spain?”I knew there was no chance of that happening, but it was a nice thought.“Yes, you never know!”Sally flew off to Spain the following day. Jack, Layla and I went to the airport to see her off. I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, Jack put his arm around me and gave me a hug.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Don’t worry, you guys will fit in fine,” our mom said as she dropped us off in the front of the school.My younger brother, Lucas and I looked at each other with a doubtful look. We waved goodbye.“Are you ready?” I asked.He nodded and I draped my arms casually over his shoulder as we walked through the gates of our new school together.As I sat in my first class, I could not help but notice how clean everything was. Nothing was out of place; all tables and chairs were perfectly aligned. Even the pencils on the teacher’s tables were the same size and in a straight line.I watched as children entered class, sat quietly, and waited for the teacher. The bell rang and the teacher entered the classroom. She called the roll, introduced me to the class and proceeded with the day’s lesson.For every single question that was asked all the children raised their hands in an orderly fashion to answer. Children did not talk to their friends or laugh while the teacher was talking. This happened in every single class. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Ha ha ha ha”“Why do you have to be so mean Amanda? You may be popular, you may have the perfect body and a beautiful face, but you have the mouth of a monster!!”“Ha ha ha ha”I was so shy when I first started at my school, I didn’t talk to anyone at all. I remember the first morning as though it was yesterday. I found my classroom and took a seat at the back of the room, I was trying to act as inconspicuous as possible. I hoped by sitting at the back that no one would take any notice of me. But unfortunately my teacher wasn’t going to let that happen!“Good Morning, you must be the new girl! Please stand up and introduce yourself to the class!”My hands started shaking just at the thought of having to speak out loud to everyone. I could feel all their eyes staring at me, I couldn’t control myself any longer, I burst into tears and ran out of the room and into the bathroom.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I’m so sorry girls. Your grandfather passed away this morning.” my mom said with sadness in her eyes. Then she smiled. “Poppy, he left you his entire fortune! Do you know what that means?”“No mommy.” Poppy replied. She was only eight years old and didn’t really understand anything but dolls and whatever nonsense the kids were into those days.“You’re a billionaire!”“A what?” she replied. I rolled my eyes. You know how some eight-year-old kids are smart? Well my sister definitely wasn’t one of those.“What do you mean he left his ENTIRE fortune to Poppy? I always knew that man was mad. But what does an eight-year-old know about money? Can she even use it before she turns eighteen?” I asked.“There, there Caroline. You sound a bit jealous. Well to be honest, I’m jealous too. But according to his will, Poppy can get whatever she asks for.” my mom replied.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I looked up from the tv show I was watching to see my sister Kate standing in front of me. She looked white as a sheet and was shaking,“What’s wrong?”“I..i..t’s G..g..grandma! She’s passed away!”“Ha ha ha! Good riddance!!”My family all looked at me in shock at my reaction.“Nick, what a terrible thing to say, how could you say such a thing?”“Grandma was a grumpy old woman who was never nice to anybody! I’m not going to pretend to be sad that she’s gone!”“Nick, go up to your room, right now!”I just ignored what my Dad said to me and walked right out of the house. I didn’t care if they didn’t like what I had said. It was the truth! Grandma had been a horrible person for most of my life, I was glad she was gone!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 around me, I had no idea where I was or how I even got there! It took me a few seconds to realise I was in a hospital room. Suddenly I sensed that I wasn’t alone. I looked to my left and saw a man standing there, looking at me.“Who are you?”“”I’m your father!”“What?”“Oh yeah, and you’re a billionaire too!”“WHAT?”I felt the cool water washing over my body, I wondered if I was dreaming, but as I opened my eyes I realised that this was no dream. I sat up and looked around me, I was on a beach at the edge of the water, but I had no idea how I got there. In fact, I didn’t even know who I was!I started to feel afraid but I tried not to let the panic take hold of me. Some instinct told me that I needed to get up and make myself a place to shelter. I began to collect driftwood from the beach and dragged it up into a wooded area bordering the beach. I piled the pieces of wood together, along with branches and twigs that I found nearby. It didn’t take me long before I had managed to build a reasonably secure place to sleep. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was hard to open my eyes, I had been in such a deep sleep but something just didn’t feel right. I stretched out my arm to reach for my clock, but instead I felt a hard stone floor. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times before things came into focus. I sat bolt upright, I was in a bank vault and I was surrounded by money, lots of money!Suddenly I heard the sound of the vault door opening, I looked up and saw a group of policemen standing there.“You’re under arrest!”I froze in shock!I looked up and saw a group of policemen standing there, I froze!But hold up. You’re probably wondering how I got to this point. Well, I need to start from the beginning for this all to make sense. Let’s go back to where it all began.I grew up in a typical middle class family, my Dad was a teacher and my Mom stayed at home and looked after me. But one day things all changed, my Mom disappeared without a trace. No one knew what happened to her! One day she left to get some groceries, but she didn’t come back.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I woke up and looked around me, I had no idea where I was. Actually I had no idea who I was!! I felt panic rising up inside of me and wanted to scream, but I managed to suppress it. The door opened and a man wearing a white coat came into the room. “Hello Darren, how are you feeling?”I looked around me, there was no one else in the room, so he was obviously talking to me.“Is that who I am? Am I Darren?”“Yes, you are. Can you remember anything at all?I shook my head, “No I don’t, where am I?”“You’re in hospital, you had a fall and banged your head.”The doctor explained to me that I was suffering from amnesia because of the fall. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We followed Michael up the pathway to the front door, Michael tried to open the door but it was locked, “Maybe there’s another entrance around the back.”“Aaarrgh!!!”I looked at Layla, her face was white as a sheet and she was pointing to the floor. When I realised what she had seen I started screaming too! Red liquid that looked exactly like blood was seeping through the crack in the door. I turned to Michael, but he was freaking out!“Let’s get out of here!!”But hold up. I need to start from the beginning. Where it all began.As I stepped down from the train and onto the platform I stopped for a moment and looked around me. The familiar sights, sounds and smells of my hometown hit me like a hammer, I’d really missed this place. I had spent the last five years working in Spain, it had been a fantastic experience, one I’d never forget. But now it was time to come home! I missed my friends and my family too much to stay away any longer.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It’s my first day of senior high! Are you finally going to let me make some decisions of my own?” I asked my mom while she insisted that I take at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables to school.She didn’t only control my diet – she controlled every single aspect of my life; the clothes I wore, the friends I let come over, the subjects I did at school and even my extracurricular activities. I wasn’t allowed to go to sleepovers, parties, concerts or anything fun!I lived with my mom, stepdad and two younger sisters in Hawaii. My mom and I moved there when I was three years old and I don’t really remember much about our previous life. She told me I was born in Michigan and I have one picture of myself making snow angels but that’s about it. I had no idea who or where my dad was. I guessed that things didn’t work out between him and my mom. She didn’t ever speak about him and I didn’t really care because my stepdad was awesome and so were my two little sisters.Anyway, back to that morning I was begging my mom for more independence.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“What is up guys? Welcome back to my channel!”“Today I will be reviewing this new beauty product, Charisma. They were so kind to send me a bunch of products, and so I thought I’d try some out!”I am a famous youtuber, I have my own youtube channel with over five million subscribers. How did I get to this point?Well, let’s start at the beginning.When I was at school I had no friends at all, everyone thought I was a loser, I was always the odd one out. Other people were never at a loss for someone to hang out with, but I was always the one sitting all alone in the corner. Every girl I knew had a boyfriend, but I couldn’t find anyone interested in dating me.One time there was this boy that I liked, his name was Dylan. He was really cute in a rugged kind of way. I had liked him for ages, but I don’t think he even knew that I existed. Finally, after weeks of having a crush on him, I plucked up the courage to speak to him,Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Hey, Alyssa, where are you going in such a hurry,” a familiar voice called out to me.I spun around to see Crystal walking briskly to meet up with me. It was the first day of the new semester and I couldn’t help but feel very conscious about my attire. My shoes had holes in the toes, my clothing was washed out and my book bag was held together with a large, very noticeable, safety pin. I worked all vacation to get money to purchase new clothes and shoes for school but my Grandma got sick the last two weeks and I gave my mother the money to help with her medication. “Hey, Crys,” I said as she came and stood next to me. She looked me over, “I thought you were getting new clothes this semester?” I rolled my eyes and continued walking, “Grandma got sick, you know how it goes.”“Is Grandma ok?” “She’s at home now restin….” I tripped and the underneath of one of my sneakers flew off and skated across the floor, right in front of the popular kids. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Men are trash. So at least get some trash with money. Don’t date any guy who isn’t rich.” my mom said for the millionth time as we ate our dinner one night.“Do you think that dad is trash?” I asked.She laughed. “Oh definitely.” “Doesn’t that make me half trash?”“Anyway, back to my point, Linda. These boys are nothing but stress. All they’re going to do is break your heart, lie to you and make you cry – and like they say – it’s way more comfortable crying in a Mercedes Benz than it is on a bicycle. So make the right choices. I forbid you to bring any broke guys home. I want to know their parents’ net worth, everything! Bonus points if they’ve already started their own businesses.” Since I understand words, this was the first thing that my mom preached to me. Normal moms would teach their daughters about self-confidence, honesty and that kinda stuff. Not mine. She was all about ensuring that I did not end up with a broke man who would ruin my life. When I was old enough to understand what she was talking about, I told her that we should probably judge people based on their personalities and not how much money they had. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I don’t want this one! I want that one!” I screamed and pointed to the red dress that the other girl in the store tried on and was twirling in front of the mirror. I watched as Mom pulled out money from her purse and begged the woman to give her the dress. The girl’s mother took the money and the girl burst into tears. Mom collected the dress from the girl and I smiled as we walked towards the cashier. Hi, my name is Chloe.My life has always been easy and I always got what I wanted. I went to the best schools, wore the best clothes and had the cutest boyfriends. What more could a girl ask for? I realized that I could get anything from my parents if I made a big enough fuss about it even if it made other people uncomfortable. Every birthday party I had since I was five was bigger and better than the last one; from hot air balloon rides to renting out entire amusement parks for me and my friends. I never asked where my parents worked or where they got the money because frankly I really didn’t care as long as I got what I wanted. Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I walked up the familiar pathway of my parents house and knocked on the door. A few seconds later the door opened,“Who are you?”“I’m your daughter!”“What? We don’t have a daughter!”I have such fond memories of my school days, I never seemed to have a care in the world. I found school quite easy and sailed through all of my exams. I had lots of friends and my social life was hectic. But the best thing about school was the day I met Edward.Edward is the love of my life, I remember the first time I saw him walking down the school corridor towards me. My heart literally skipped about ten beats and butterflies danced in my stomach. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. Oh my god. Does he.. Does he like me? Did he feel it too? That instant spark? I was starting to believe in love at first sight.But then he was suddenly surrounded by a group of girls and they were all giggling at something he had said.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I laid on my bed and tried to block out the sounds of my parents arguing in the room next door. But even the music I was playing wasn’t as loud as their raised voices.“You are so controlling! I can’t stand it!”“Well I wouldn’t have to control you if you weren’t so untrustworthy!”“What have I ever done to make you not trust me!”“Where do I begin?”“That’s it, I’m not going to take this anymore, we are over!”I heard a knock at my bedroom door,“Come in.”It was my Mom, “Tana, I need to talk to you about something.”I could tell by Mom’s face that this was something serious.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“No! No! You don’t mean it!”“I’m sorry Jane, I can’t do this anymore! We’re over!”I had been dating Jane for about six months but lately we hadn’t been getting on very well and I wasn’t happy. I knew she wasn’t the one for me and it was only fair that I finished our relationship.“I’ll do anything you want, just tell me” Jane pleaded.“There’s nothing you can do, or say! I’ve made up my mind, we are through!”I turned to leave but Jane threw herself on the floor and held on to my leg.“Don’t go, give me another chance!”I tried to shake myself free from her grasp, but she held on.“Come on Jane, you're acting crazy. Let me go.”“I’ll never let you go! Is there someone else? Is there?”“No, there isn’t anyone else, we’re just not right for each other.”Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“You’re the most handsome little boy in the universe!” were words I heard my mother say almost every single day since I was born. I was the only child and I think that my mom got pregnant just after she married my dad. They never really had much time alone before I came along.My mom treated me like a little prince but my dad was never really affectionate. I remember waking up from a bad dream when I was four years old. I was too afraid to stay in my room so I walked to my parents’ room. They were arguing about something so I stood behind the door to listen. I may not remember the argument word for word because it was a really long time ago but it went something like this;“I don’t know why you can’t be nicer to Tory. He’s a lovely boy.” my mom said.“I don’t like him. ” my dad replied.Then the lights went off and they went silent. This was worse than the nightmare I was trying to escape from. Why didn’t my dad like me?After that my mom continued to treat me kindly but my dad became colder and colder. Then, one day at dinner my mom said she had some exciting news for us.Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Ohhhh my package arrived," I said joyfully as I signed off for my package and skipped to my bedroom. I’ve been waiting six whole weeks for this and I was soooo excited. The package was smaller than expected and when I opened it I understood why. It wasn't the package I expected!!! It was a picture of a woman with a child sitting on her lap. That child was me!!!! In the box was a note. “Your father is a liar.”Hi, my name is Naomi.Ok so to give you a little backstory, my dad has been the only parent I have ever known. My dad said my mom died shortly after giving birth. My dad and I are inseparable and he is amazing. But, as I looked at the pictures in the box I couldn’t help but wonder if my mom died during childbirth then it couldn’t be her in the picture with me, could it? Did my dad lie to me? Visit https://www.storytimeanimated.com/members to enjoy ad free listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.