Sara Bauer's assignment?

To write a short story that involves a cat, a tree struck by lightning and a couch stuffed with money.Briana Morrison will be writing a story that includes a dragon, an empty passenger train and a wind-up manta ray that's powering a submarine.Huh? The two are part of LOL, a writers' group of middle and high school students that meets at 6 p.m. Tuesdays at the Tamaqua Community Arts Center.In this case, LOL doesn't stand for Laugh Out Loud, although they do a lot of that. It means League of Luminaries.Now in its second year, the LOL group's goal is to support each other in writing efforts.The "assignments" developed during a recent meeting were the result of a writing exercise suggested by Sophia Gursky, the vice president of LOL.Each of the attendees crafted a block of paper and wrote or drew a description or thing on each side of the block.The blocks were then collected, and each person rolled them onto a table.They could then choose three topics from the top sides of the blocks."This is going to be difficult," Gursky said. "But that's what makes it fun."The table is an old wooden door, placed on supports. The walls of the comfortable back room at the art center are painted in warm red and yellow.Writers can choose from a mix of chairs, and the lesson plan is rarely etched in stone."We're veryinformal," DeFebo said. "We decided early that we didn't want to keep to a strict plan; we are just a group of people who enjoy writing."Jacob Gursky is the LOL president and Molly Carnish is the secretary.Each of the writers have different goals.Bauer, a Marian High School student, is working on a short story that she'd like to turn into a screenplay.Alexander Salefski of Frackville and Frankie DeFebo of Tamaqua, the LOL treasurer, are working on short stories.Justin Weiksner of Tamaqua likes to write about the 1920s era, but include a bit a science fiction."I support scientifically accurate science fiction," Weiksner said. "I use it in my stories as if it's a bit of magic."Somebody gets a cellphone message; his ride is waiting outside."I can't believe that the hour has flown by," Morrison said. "It feels like I just got here."Any middle or high school student is welcome to join.For more information, contact the Tamaqua Community Art Center at 570-668-1192.