Ash and the Last Bell

Here’s a story idea that can be emotional without being graphic or unsafe, and it works really

well for a teen writer: Title idea: The Last Bell of Maple Hill

In a small town, there’s an old rescue dog named Ash, who spends every afternoon waiting

by the fence of an abandoned schoolyard. The townspeople think he’s just stubborn or confused,

but a quiet kid named Rowan notices something different: Ash always perks up when the school

bell rings—even though the school has been closed for years. Rowan slowly discovers

that Ash used to belong to a school janitor who rang the bell by hand every day after

classes ended. When the janitor passed away, Ash kept returning, waiting for the