Fly-By Times - February 20, 2026

FLY-BYTIMES 2025-26

Lucy Wyman

Luke Bunting

Hitch Goerdel

Leo Rodin

FABLE BOOK REVIEW

When my friend got me this book, and I looked at the cover, I already KNEW it was going to be traumatizing in the best way possible. And it was. The story follows 17-year-old dredger, Fable, in her quest to find her father, who dumped her on the thief haven island of Jeval at age 13 and carved a mysterious scar into her arm. He then left her, sailed off, and abandoned her. Fable spent every day since her father left her dredging, a common practice on Jeval, aka diving deep underwater and mining for pyre, which she then sold to the ship the Marigold.

On one fateful night, involving a greedy ship captain and a desperate attempt to leave Jeval, Fable buys passage across the Narrows (the sea separating Jeval from the mainland) to Ceros, the town where her father’s trading network headquarters is. The Marigold crew consists of the coinmaster, Hamish, the stryker, Auster, the navigator, Paj, the bosun, Willa, and the helmsman, West. Although the crew is not happy with West’s decision to let Fable travel with them, she finds ways to make herself useful on the ship. The crew docks in the city of Dern, where Fable learns multiple secrets, one of which is dangerous for anyone living in the Narrows. While docked in Dern, they meet Zola, the helmsman of the ship the Luna. After their run-in with Zola, the Marigold sets sail for Ceros, but things take a drastic turn. The crew does something that they DEFINITELY should not have, and Mother Nature is going to make them pay. A horrible storm strikes the seas on the way to Ceros, and the crew makes it, but not without losing most of their cargo and trading goods along the way. They dock in Ceros, and Fable goes to meet her dad. Unexpected secrets are uncovered, angry mobs with fiery torches, and horrible damage is done to ships.

I really loved this book, and I hope you enjoy it too!

SHOULD WE HAVE LOCKS ON OUR LOCKERS?

Are you the type of person who shares their locker with others, or who keeps everything in their locker to themselves? In this Fly-By Times article, we will discuss whether locks should be or shouldn’t be on lockers. A few benefits to having locks on lockers would be that you have more privacy. With locks, you don’t have to worry about someone snooping around your locker, regardless of the rules. It also abolishes any thought of theft, as long as the locker is kept locked. You can also leave items that are unnecessary for some classes and require a backpack to carry them, and can instead leave them in the locker, not needing to carry a heavy backpack around or having to worry about locker theft. The only issue with locks on lockers is that if someone were to forget their password or locker key, then all items in the locker would be stuck. Also, when in a rush, getting something from your locked locker would take longer than a locker that isn’t locked. In conclusion, locks on lockers aren’t necessarily good or bad, but the choice is yours to make.

WHY DO SOME DOG BREEDS

LOOK SO DIFFERENT, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE ALL THE SAME SPECIES?

All different breeds of dogs, from chihuahuas to Ssaint Bbernards, belong to the same species, Canis Familiaris. You probably also know dogs are the descendants of wolves, Canis Lupus. Dogs were first domesticated anywhere from 40,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago. But why do they look so different? Humans have had dogs as pets for a long time. The first dogs were nonaggressive wolves who lived near humans and ate leftover food from humans. Humans found out that they could use these wolves to help them hunt, and they would feed the wolves in return. Humans selected wolves with certain desired traits to be their companions, breeding them together to get results with the both desired traits from the mother and father. This process is called artificial selection. Modern dogs look so different from wolves because of the artificial selection of their ancestors. The children of the first domesticated dogs wouldn’t look much different from their parents, but modern dogs have been bred to look the way they do after millenia of generations. Unfortunately, inbreeding also caused dogs to have different traits. For example, pugs were inbred to have flatter, squished faces, curly tails, and bulging eyes. This inbreeding used to create pugs leads to consequences, such as breathing problems. Artificial selection is mainly used to create different breeds with certain roles/jobs. Dachshunds were bred to a slim body so that they'd fit inside badger dens to hunt badgers and large front paws for digging. In conclusion, dog breeds look so different because of lots of artificial selection used in their past.

TOP 5 HARDEST GD LEVELS?

Geometry Dash is a very simple game. You're a cube, jumping over obstacles to reach the end of the level. But since there's levels, there must be a hardest level. People probably think it's Dash, since it's at the very end of the main level list. But as you scrolled there, there were 3 locked levels that you needed coins to unlock. Those 3 levels are Clubstep, Theory of Everything 2, and Deadlocked. For most people it's Deadlocked, the hardest level of those 3. A level you need to collect 30 coins to even be able to play. But you would be dead wrong. Deadlocked doesn't even hit the top 1000. You see, Geometry Dash has many difficulties, starting at Auto, then Easy, Normal, Hard, Harder, Insane. Then we move into the demons, starting at easy demon, you move into Medium Demon, Hard Demon, Insane Demon, into the top of the top, Extreme Demons. Deadlocked is only an Easy Demon, so what are really the hardest levels. There is definitely a debate on truly the hardest level, because people are constantly releasing new Top 1 difficulty levels, such as currently unbeaten levels Grief, Kocmoc Unleashed, and Orbit. Just to name a few. But for the ones that have been beaten, there is a list to settle the debate on which levels are the hardest. And these are the 5 hardest levels from that list

5TH PLACE IS FILLED WITH FRAME PERFECTS: NULLSCAPES

4TH PLACE GOES TO ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS LEVELS: TIDAL WAVE

3RD PLACE IS A LEVEL THAT SHOOK EVERYONE WITH ITS DIFFICULTY: AMETHYST

2ND PLACE IS THE 7 MINUTE LEVEL: FLAMEWALL

1ST IS THE LEVEL THAT TOOK THE BEST PLAYER THOUSANDS OF ATTEMPTS TO BEAT:THINKING SPACE II

NATIONAL PARKS ARE GETTING OUT OF HAND

In the past year, the NPS (National Park Service) has faced significant funding cuts, stemming from a new budget placed by president Trump. This budget cut almost a billion dollars from funding amid increased visitors and interest in national parks. Since the budget cut, 25% of national park workers have left, and things have gotten out of hand. At the same time, 2025 was one of Yosemite’s busiest summers, and half the time, including during all of the government shutdown, there was no one to enforce rules or collect fees! People were driving the wrong way down one-way streets, parking on fragile meadows, doing dangerous cliff jumps, and flying drones, none of which are allowed. Climbers have even been climbing Half Dome without permits, which is incredibly dangerous. While each of us cannot control the budget of the National Parks, we can control how we behave when we are there. So remember, if you ’ re visiting a national park anytime soon, have integrity and do the right thing even if no one is watching. Keep nature clean!

on National Park

Glacier National Park

SONG RECCOMENDATIONS

Music is beloved by many people, and although music tastes widely vary, here are a few songs that I would recommend!

1.Opening Night - Arctic Monkeys

This is my current favorite song, and their latest released song for the first time in around three years. The song has some really interesting instrumentals and a catchy chorus. The song is part of a soon to be released album, HELP(2).

2.うらみのワルツ / Waltz of Malice - Kikuohana

Although this song is in Japanese, it’s still incredible even if you can’t understand the lyrics. It has some of the most powerful vocals I’ve ever heard, and is hypnotizing. If you do have the urge to search up the lyrics in English, you’ll acquire a deeper understanding of the song.

3.Silver Swan - Solya

Solya is one of my favorite artists, and I love this song. I first heard the song at her concert in September, before it had officially been released. The song is really catchy, and I enjoy singing it.

Although these songs may not align to your music prefrences, I hope you give them a chance.

200,000 COLD WAR RADIOACTIVE BARRELS FOUND IN THE ATLANTIC

Between the 1940s and 1990, multiple countries secretly dumped over 200,000 radioactive barrels into the ocean. The United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy, were all involved. The barrels were encased in asphalt and concrete to secure the radioactive materials. The countries did this because it was an easy, short-term solution to get rid of an unwanted material. Also, at the time, this part of the ocean was believed to be lifeless and vacant.The barrels were purposely dumped in international waters in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. They have been located mostly off the coast of Nantes, France.The barrels sank to a depth of about 4,000 meters, which is approximately 13,000 feet. That’s about two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean, which is about the same distance between WNS and the 405 Freeway. Go forward about 35 years to 2025 when a French team of scientists started to map the suspected dumping zone, which was a 6,000 square kilometer area.

Radiation is a form of energy that travels through space or matter. There are many sources of radiation that can be natural and human-harnessed. An example of a natural source of radiation is the sun, which produces UV light. Some radiation is less harmful than others. The higher the frequency of the radiation wave, the more harmful it is. The radiation released from the dumped barrels is known to be gamma rays, produced by a process known as radioactive decay. This type of radiation is very harmful. We don't know yet if the barrels have contaminated the part of the ocean where they were dumped. However, it’s likely that the radioactive materials are harmful to plants and sea creatures. The radiation could break food chains by killing off plants and animals. Some plants and animals may be deformed by the radiation emitted from the material. Humans could also be impacted by this event through exposure to the contaminated waters and by eating contaminated sea food from this area.

TOP 5 ROBLOX GAMES TO TRY OUT

1.Forsaken

Forsaken is a popular multiplayer asymmetrical survival horror game on Roblox, inspired by Dead by Daylight. It is a 1v8 format where one player is the killer (mostly based on Roblox myths or hackers like John Doe) while eight others try to survive by completing objectives, running away, or using their abilities to stun and help themselves or others.

2.Die of Death

While Die of Death is an asymmetrical horror game on Roblox created by the Roblox account Saucefy10, it differs from Forsaken by emphasizing the retro graphics. It is a popular, simple horror game with retro animations and movement. The gameplay involves a player as a killer, while survivors hide or use their abilities to avoid being caught and dying of death.

3.Fisch

Fisch is a popular, high-RNG fishing simulation game on Roblox created by the Roblox account WoozyNate in March 2024. It became popular fast in late 2024. Inspired by Stardew Valley and Fishing Simulator, players cast lines to catch over 400,000 variations of fish, explore islands, upgrade gear, and complete a bestiary (a book with the fish you caught) while you are aiming for rare and mutated catches.

4.You vs Homer

You vs Homer is a Roblox horror-themed hide-and-seek game created by Deerxsx, where players, as Bart Simpson, must survive against the killer, Homer. Created in late 2025, the game is tense and has fast-paced rounds where Barts hide for 30 seconds before being hunted by Homer. It has become popular fast, and it is a Simpsonthemed nightmare experience.

5.99 nights in the forest

99 Nights in the Forest is a Roblox survival game focused on building a safe base to survive against creatures like cultists and a tall "not deer" or Wendigo. Players want to create the safest base by putting many traps, such as fences, to protect their campfire, which is what the “Not deer is afraid of. But if the fire goes out, the player/players are no longer safe.

Ingredients :

6 Tbsp butter

CHURRO RECIPE

2 Tbsp granulated sugar plus separate 1 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

¼ a cup ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

Vegetable oil, for frying

Step one

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, add butter, two tablespoons of sugar, 1 cup of water to boil, then slowly pour vanilla. Turn off the stove and add flour and salt. Stir until thickened, let cool for ten minutes.

Step two

On a rimmed baking sheet, mix cinnamon and the remaining cup of sugar.

Step three

Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, add eggs one by one, beat until blended fully. Pour mixture into a piping bag with an open star tip.

Step four

In a deep pot (for frying) with a deep fry thermometer. Add canola oil or peanut oil or vegetable oil or avocado oil because they are the best for frying. Pour oil to fill the pan halfway. Heat pan at medium high heat until thermometer reads 375°F. Hold piping bag a few inches above the oil, pipe around 6” long churros. Use kitchen scissors to cut of dough from piping bag

Step five

Fry churros in batches, turning as needed until golden brown usually 4 to 5 minutes, frequently check oil temperature. Once ready, immediately roll churros in cinnamon and sugar mix.

CHURRO RECIPE

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup of strawberries

1 cup of chocolate chips

¼ a cup of shredded coconut (optional)

½ a cup of Plain yogurt

Step 1

Blend strawberries and yogurt until creamy. Place strawberries into a microwave safe bowl and put in the microwave or toaster oven.

Step 2

Once melted, mix the blended strawberries and chocolate together, and add the shredded coconut on top and enjoy. :)

CURRIE

Editor’s Note

Last issue of the elective cycle already! We’re excited to start the new season with new members.

Hope you enjoyed the issue! -

Scherr & Lucy Wyman

Aya

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