I wrote this short story about Gabriela. Hope you like it!

Today was a big day for Gabriela McBride and all of her friends. They were going to go to Pittsburgh- five whole hours away- for a statewide poetry competition. Their poetry group, Land of Free Verse, won first place a month ago at a city-wide middle school poetry competition. Gabriela had been polishing her poem and making sure it was just right for Pittsburgh. It performed exceptionally well back home in Philadelphia, getting Land of Free Verse a coveted top spot- first place! “But now, things will be different.”, Gabriela thought. Poets all over Pennsylvania were trying to win. Gabriela hoped that even though there would be a bunch more poetry groups, she was going to get Land of Free Verse to win. For herself. For her friends. For her Mama. For her cousin Red. For Liberty Arts Center.