The Macaroni and Cheese Alien

I am a full time student at the community college, and therefore I get to take classes I enjoy as well as the more difficult classes. Currently, I am enrolled in a creative writing class, (because in case no one noticed, I like to write.) One of our assignment was to recall our first writing experience, which I think is just humorous enough to be shared here on my blog.


When I was about six or seven, there was a competition from the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese company. Basically kids had to write a story the was one hundred words or less that incorporated Kraft Macaroni and Cheese into it. Feeling particularly creative, I sat down with a pencil I had to sharped, some wide-ruled paper, and got to work.


In my head, I had an elaborate story. The story itself may have spawned from watching one too many SyFy alien movies and television programs, but that was regardless of the point. In my little six or seven year old brain, sitting at the round table in the dining room, the sun streaming through the sliding glass door, I had dissertation to write for Kraft.


I began my story with an introduction of my characters. I was, of course, the star of the production. My friend Alyssa took the role of faithful side kick. I grew my setting, the peaceful Missouri countryside during a particularly hot summer. Finally, I dropped in my conflict: an alien invasion.


I can't recall exactly how dark this story was. Looking back on it now, I feel like maybe I didn't win because Kraft didn't want to be associated with an alien invasion. Nonetheless, it was still a fabulous story.


See, the aliens were invading because they were extremely hungry. And they weren't hungry for just anything. They didn't want sausage, not were they interested in bread. Pudding was not on the menu. (Coincidentally they were not after human brains, so maybe six/seven year old me didn't make the story dark enough.) These aliens were after huge bowls of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and would stop at nothing to get it.


Naturally, I realized exactly what the aliens were after. How story me knew this information, I don't know, but that is when I started to incorporate the resolution.


Alyssa and I quickly went into the kitchen and started cooking up a storm, making bowls and bowls of the tiny elbow macaroni, coating it in the weird cheese powder and milk substance, and delivering it to the aliens' disc shaped ships. Finally, after our shirts were stained with cheese, empty blue boxes covered the floors, and our stove had run out of gas, the aliens had enough macaroni and cheese to be satisfied for a lifetime.


The thanked Alyssa and me in their weird alien way and their ships took flight into the dark expanse called the Milky Way. The world was saved, and I was to thank.


When I typed up the story, (and was four words over one hundred,) I asked my mom to help edit it. She read the story though, shortened it to ninety-six word because there were some obvious redundancies, and we mailed it to Kraft.


They sent back a letter several weeks later explaining that while they liked my story, it wasn't what they were looking for.


I didn't know what that meant at the time, so I was a little verklempt. I eventually got over the snub deciding that Kraft was full of crazy people and went on to write several short stories for school and myself. I have yet to have another alien invasion, but I am sure I have one up my sleeve.


That would have been me: