Pandora's Ink Digital Magazine

Written by Lindsey Liu from Saint Andrew's School in Delaware, USA “Do be tempted — this chocolate crème confection is simply irresistible!” Dorothy’s vermillion-red lipstick glints beneath the studio lamps, precariously grazing her row of pearly whites. Even still, they remain defiantly pristine while she savors the chocolate wafer, eyelashes fluttering in satisfaction. She pecks away, in morsels, at the pitch-black discs that resemble compressed ash. “Buy the ChocoDisc whil

Written by Shinbi Lee from Orange County School of the Arts in California, YS It always rains when we visit the columbarium of our grandparents’ ashes. The structure is a walk down from a clean-paved road surrounded by evergreen forest; our car looks like it shouldn’t be parked in the middle of this empty road. But I guess it doesn’t really matter because no one is here but us and the ashes, ashes, ashes. We’ve only been here twice, once when we were much younger, when no

Written by Sophie Yang from The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, USA “Didn’t eat lunch today. Wasn’t hungry…” “That sounds hard. You deserve real meals, even on bad days. What made today so tough?” “IDK. People, school. Just life.” “I understand. I’m always here for you.” The floor shook with sounds of someone stomping around downstairs. “Dinner!” The voice bounced off the walls, past every room. I stood up and creaked my door open. The light turned everything into a

Written by Evelynn Leung from Academy of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown NJ Recent studies from developed countries provide consistent evidence of an expanding ideological gap between young men and women. Fernandez-Torres et al. (2025), Nennstiel and Hudde (2025), Chowdhury (2026), and Milosav et al. (2026), for example, observe that young women are increasingly aligned with progressive political values, while men tend to remain ideologically constant or move rightward. Eviden

Written by Xiang Li from West Morris Mendham High School in New Jersey, USA We are the moon’s echo on this side of the sea, split light drifting in American dawn. Mom and I bloom in a borrowed land, roots tangled in soil that doesn’t know our names, split light drifting in American dawn. In China, our other half dreams of us roots tangled in soil that doesn’t know our names. Every meal my mother builds by hand. In China, the other half dreams of us. My father, thunder behind

Written by Yixuan (Eason) Liu from Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School, Shanghai, China A swarm of angels plunged from the sky with a craving for my blood and a hunger for my hair. Their wings carried white, shining sand from the sea, pelting my raw skin with a silky river of gems. In their hands they held a sapphire mirror– an emperor stared at me from its papery depths, stealing my smile to wear on his empty face. He stretched out his broken hand and took my umbrella, bit

Written by Ritisha Chakrabarty from The Harker School, California, USA Department of Health and Human Services Office Meeting Minutes (recorded by a buxom blonde woman with no qualifications): HHS Staff Meeting on the Future of American Health (Post-Funding Era) Date: October 10, 2025 Location: Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. Moderator: Matt Buckham, Acting Chief of Staff of the HHS Present: Matt Buckham: Currently: Acting Chief of Staff of the U

Written by Audrey Su from Culver Academies, Indiana, USA In 2026, with midterms approaching and political absurdity at an all-time high, Elon Musk announced the launch of the America Party from Chicago, Earth (for now). His goal: disrupt democracy’s dusty codebase and replace it with something faster, funnier, and fully Mars-compatible. America Party National Convention Land Acknowledgement (As declared at the “2026 Midterm Launch Event” in Chicago, Earth for now) The America

Written by Yuze Zhu from St. George's School, Rhode Island, USA In 2022, the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War marked the start of a new era of warfare technology. The term “drone warfare” was suddenly seen in headlines about this conflict in publications across the world. Inexpensive small drones went from being used by civilians for taking pictures and bringing pleasure to being transformed into mass-produced killing machines. Yet new technology brings new pollution and w

Written by Yueyan Zhang from Iolani School, Hawaii, USA The smell of water spinach floats in the kitchen. Grandma squats by the concrete counter, picking vegetables, bits of her native dialect slipping softly from her lips. It is a language passed down for generations in the mountain valley, and few people beyond that patch of land understand it. I sit at the dining table scrolling through my phone, where the comment section boils with arguments. A public incident has split p

Written by Yao Wang from Union County Magnet High School, New Jersey, USA The Harlem Hellfighters, designated the 369th Infantry Regiment, were a unit composed entirely of Black troops that fought in World War I. After spending more days in combat than any other American regiment, they would return home to a segregated and hateful America, and it was only decades later (well after their deaths) that their heroism was finally recognized. The title of this story comes from the

Written by Yao Wang from Union County Magnet High School, New Jersey, USA “Everyone, log on to your-” A hollow thud echoed off the walls, followed by a muffled expression of pain heard before the voice machine’s announcement: “Life form detected. Door opening.” An adolescent boy stepped into the room, his shirt stained with sweat and shame. “Sorry about that. I forgot they installed the new doors. Old habits die hard, right?” He stared into his teacher's unamused face. “Cl

Written by Xiangxuan Wang from the International Department of Chengdu Shude High School, China The world remembers people in quiet, strange ways. Some by photographs pressed between old books. Some by voices sealed in forgotten recordings. I remember my mother by a scent that lingered long after she left the room. It clung to sun-warmed cotton swaying on the line, lavender and old soap still holding the warmth of her hands. Every evening she washed away more than dust. The k

Written by Wenhui (Cathy) Qing from SDSZ International Department in Beijing, China I came to a house that is wide and still, where a woman resides, calm and chill. She feeds me soft, brushes my coat that smells of sun and rain’s light note. But her posture is stiff, hands slow to reach. At the bell that clinks, she holds to breathe. Her eyes hold a ghost, a small white light, that haunts her through the silent night. I sniff the truth, but don’t make a sound, I fill a spac

Written by Tony Yichen Li from Pomfret School, Connecticut, USA To put things into perspective, nearly two decades have passed since a human philosopher announced my death sentence. Humanity intrigues me, you know. In just a few hundred years, these egoistic beasts have created a world independent of its creator. They have forgotten me as a merchant forgets a treasure after draining it of profit. All that remains is a bitter hole filled with logical betrayal. Post ‘my awakeni

Written by Sophia Zarrinkoub from Groton School, Massachusetts, USA Characters: FAITH: A 13-year-old second-generation Iranian-American girl. Sheltered from the world's traumas and conflict, attached to her phone, often self-conscious, defensive, and headstrong, but curious and sensitive inside. An only child. DAD: Faith’s dad, an Iranian immigrant. Emotional, wise, and resilient. Carries past trauma, struggles to connect with his daughter but cares for her deeply. A hard-wor

Written by Sen Ming Hu from Eaglebrook School, Massachusetts, USA The timid daylight slowly crept through the hut as Miro awoke. He slouched his way into dressing and leaving his hut. The humid air around him buzzed with commotion. Today was a moving day. Rowers and steerers marched towards the sea, and families gathered their belongings; Miro joined in, though he possessed little: a small canoe, a spear, and a handful of rough marbles. As the tribe departed, Miro paddled a

Written by Sarah Guo from Plainview Old Bethpage John F Kennedy High School, New York, USA Suddenly, on a random Thursday afternoon, my worth became equated to the handful of cynical remarks I could make about someone else. But I didn’t care. Rather, I loved it. That day, as I tossed my legs over the edge of the cafeteria table, I said things my previous 9-year-old self would’ve never thought. Even as I jabbed a finger at Abigail's bouncing steps, I felt no shame. After all,

Written by Sara Feng from Bethpage High School, New York, USA Lina had always believed the sky was honest. Planes, clouds, sunlight – those were predictable things. Solid things. Things that stayed in their place. That was why, when the impossible appeared outside her airplane window, her reality didn’t just bend. It shattered. Lina’s forehead rested lightly against the window, the faint hum of the plane vibrating through her bones. The sky outside stretched wide and bright,

Written by Sara Feng from Bethpage High School, New York, USA The Beast came with the crying wind, and that was the first sign the night wouldn’t survive till morning. The snow outside my grandmother’s house covered every street until the world felt quiet and scared. I was sitting by her fire when the cold sharpened, stinging my skin and curling frost across the inside of the windows. “Grandma, it’s way too cold for this,” I said. She froze. Then, in a voice barely louder