Aryan's A-Z

  The llama at the fashion show      September 1st, 2035. Today aired the biggest fashion show in the entire world, featured in Timbuktu, and George the llama had his mind set on winning it. He had spent hours each day buying and trying out an assortment of clothing, and he made sure that he was dressed to kill. All dressed up in his best bib and tucker, George entered the grandiose stadium and waited his turn at the show. His diffidence was apparent, as no llama had ever won a fashion show before, but his willpower was nonetheless incontrovertible.      Finally, the fateful moment arrived, as George, shaking in his hooves, made his way across the stage. He was greeted by a series of oo’s and aah’s , and was squealing in joy to be face to face with Bob the rock, a connoisseur in the art of fashion, a true pundit. All of the other competitors had been dressed in the best of clothing, and George needed to be absolutely exceptional if ...

  Mission: Improbable By Aryan Mukherjee      The commander spit his cigarette butt onto the ground and stomped on it. He frowned in deep and troubled contemplation, though the effect was likely cast from the plume of scars eroding his face. His protruding belly made it clear that his gluten -free diet wasn’t working out, and his undercut vest added to the effect. Finally, he broke out of his trance and faced us.      “Your mission is to capture the diamond. Do so by whatever means possible, and know that you will be entering enemy territory, so it certainly won’t be easy. You have your orders,” he barked, followed by a sharp solute and “yes sir” by the army. I sighed. It won’t be easy, I speculated , as I visualized the terrified, pleading faces of all of our lost soldiers on our last mission to capture the diamond. If it weren’t for our tactical retreat, it would be the end of the road for us.      As we neared enem...

                                                                                Spooktacular Tales By Aryan Mukherjee I was supposed to be dead. Supposed to, but obviously, that isn’t the case. Here I am, a horrendous, eerie-looking zombie with skin the color of vomit dripping down my face and ragged clothes adorning my crooked figure. I was standing, hunching actually, alone next to a grave with my name on it at the dead center of night, hoping that my foggy memory wouldn’t let me down in deducing just exactly how I got here. How in the world did I, Wilbur Soot, a 16 year old mediocre high-schooler with nothing better to do with my life than slump on the couch and play video games all day long, end up looking like the main character in “The Walking...

  My 10th Birthday By Aryan Mukherjee      It all started when I was resting in my grandparent’s abode in Kolkata, India, all curled up in my lofty bean bag chair like a slug, pondering what to watch on Netflix that day. The hot winter sun was gleaming through the window and infusing little sweat particles above my brow, and the lofty bed behind my back was a furnace. As I was lazily lying around, my mother entered the room and asked me if I would like to go to an orphanage for my birthday.      “Yeah, yeah”, I tersely dissed her, and nuzzled back into my comfort zone. It was only until the day of my birthday that I realized what I had signed up for. But it was too late, and I was already at the street leading up to the orphanage. I heaved out a sigh and rubbed my eyes softly, ready to go back to my bean bag and slouch. However, something out of the corner of my eyes stole my glance, and I sauntered to investigate it further. Lying there on the ground,...

  Person of the Year By Aryan Mukherjee Millions dead, billions affected. A pandemic that has vitiated the world, a bat that was not to be eaten, a social massacre of racial slurs and despotism, and a political insurrection that has caused the United States of America to literally fall off. These are just some of the elements that have made up what is arguably the worst year in history, and Times Magazine was tasked with deciding on who should be the Person of the Year, a reputable title born from an annual tradition taken up by this magazine, signifying that person’s importance both historically and politically that year. The basis under which Times magazine chooses their Person of the Year is on how much they have affected the news and our daily life that year, as well as how their commitment will make an impact on the years to come . In the year 2020, Times Magazine chose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be the persons of the year, an erroneous decision no doubt. In fact, the on...