In her own words:

Gabby Haywood is a ten year old girl who loves fashion. She’s been in two plays for the South Bend Civic Theater. She’s always dreamed of being on a TV show. Her favorite subject is math. Her favorite sport is volleyball. She has an eight year old sister, named Grace. Gabby’s always had a passion for writing.

Gabriella (Acrostic)

Going into 5^th grade

An awesome artist

Ballet dancer

Really likes to write

I can hulahoop with up to 8 hoops at once

Eats seaweed

Loves volleyball

Loves to swim

Adds and subtracts in my sleep

Dear Desperate for a Date,

Chill out! Just hurry up and get it over with! Before you know it, you’ll be chewing in fish pellets and talking about home decoration.

Sincerely,

Hubert

Dear Phil,

Wonderful! I told you my advice would work! Tell me how the date goes!

Sincerely, Hubert

Dear Date Disaster,

Sorry my advice didn’t work, although it usually does. But, I have a new plan! Woo her with a flashmob and a proposal.

Sincerely,

Hubert

Advice from Hubert the British Snail

by Alanna Bertoncini, Annabelle Morton,                                 

& Gabby Haywood

Dear Hubert,

Help me! There’s a new goldfish in my tank. Her name is Angie and she’s really cute. I want to ask her on a date, but I don’t have the guts to do it.

Sincerely,

Desperate for a Date

Dear Hubert,

She said yes! I’m so excited! She loved my name, Phil! She thinks it suits me well! I hope the owner gives us the expensive fish pellets! They’re her favorite! Wish me luck!

Sincerely,

Phil

Dear Hubert,

The date went terrible! It was going wonderfully until a giant hand reached in holding a yellow, square, spongy thing with pants. It landed on my tail. I screamed like a baby guppy. It was so humiliating! Angie giggled and swam away!

Sincerely,

Date Disaster

Dear Hubert,

Your idea worked! I acted lonely and my owner put in 12 new guppies. Six were my back-up singers. We did the flashmob and this is how it went: “Angie, you light up the tank like nobody else, the way that you swish your tail makes me overwhelmed, when you smile at SpongeBob it isn’t hard to tell, you don’t know-oh-oh, you don’t know that I’m proposing! Angie, will you marry me?”

Then she blushed and said yes! And guess who’s the best man? SpongeBob! Thanks for all the help!

Sincerely,

Engaged

Upside Down and Inside Out

by Gabby Haywood

            My life has been flipped upside down and turned inside out. I’ve just moved from Oklahoma to New York City, where fitting in is practically impossible. Mom says I have to make the best of it, but how? I’ve moved from a place where everyone knew everyone, where I was popular, and where I had friends, to New York, and I’m supposed to make the best of it.

It’s Monday, the first day of school in New York. I’m wearing a turquoise lace shirt, and white jean shorts. I scarf down a bowl of cereal and Mom walks me to school. It’s not safe for a sixth grader to be alone on the streets of New York. In Oklahoma that’s a different story. She walks me in and talks to the principal. She waves goodbye and catches a taxi.

The principal walks me into the classroom and says, “Hello class. We have a new student joining us. Her name is Avery Camball.”

For the first week of school most people must have thought of me as the girl with the caramel hair and big blue eyes who sat in the back of the classroom. Until Dylan showed up. On Thursday, a thin girl with brown curly hair sat beside me.

            “Hi, I’m Dylan,” she exclaimed.

            The next day I sat by Dylan at lunch.

            “So do you like roller-skating?” Dylan asked.

            “Sure,” I said (when really I’ve never even been roller-skating).

            “So do you want to go roller-skating tomorrow?”

            “Sure, why not,” I said.

             I spent the whole night dreading tomorrow. Saturday night was actually the worst night of my life. I fell on my butt, and everyone laughed at me, including Dylan. Laughter spread as I walked down the hall on Monday. I sat by myself at lunch, then a tall girl with blond hair sat beside me.

            “Hey, I’m Bree,” she said. “What’s your name?”

            I started to believe that my life had been flipped right side up, and turned over again. I was right. Bree was super nice, and we ended up being best friends.