And how is NaNo coming for you, friends? And if you are not doing NaNo, how is July so far? We're one third way through.
image from Pinterest
You don't really want to know about my NaNo. Because I have written only 2,850 words of my novel. I got distracted and did some 2,400 words on short stories. *sigh* Do you notice that what you are not supposed to be writing suddenly seems so much more inspiring than what you should be writing? My cabin mates second me on this.
Anyway. Since non of those short stories are ready and I haven't written enough to give you snippets, here is a short story from the spring. It's actually nonfiction, but you wouldn't know unless I told you :D
(Originally submitted to the TBLN 7th Annual Writing Contest.)
* * *
Opportunity
A boy stood in the centre of a circle of teenagers sitting on
benches, chairs, and couches. They were all watching him intently,
calling forth the names of fruits as suggestions, ready to jump up.
“Apples,
pears, and oranges!” he called and a quarter of the kids leaped
from their seats, and darted for another one that had just been
vacated. The boy who had been standing in the centre dove for an
empty chair. Everyone scrambled for a few seconds, and then it was
over. One girl was slower than the rest, and she was left without a
seat, standing in the middle.
“Strawberries,
bananas, and pineapples!” she yelled, and again some kids jumped up
and darted for a place on the other side of the circle, shoving each
other out of the way, bumping into their friends, all grinning and
laughing as they threw comments and mock arguments at each other.
One
girl didn't move and didn't say a thing.
She
bit her lip.
She'd
never played this game before.
She'd
never been in a youth group before.
She'd
never found herself in a group of teenagers before.
Her
heart dropped into her stomach as she watched the game.
You
can do this, she thought to herself, just go.
And
she started as the new boy in the middle yelled “Fruit basket!”,
but as everyone sprang up and a mad scramble ensued, she sank back
down.
She
couldn't.
She'd
be the one left standing.
She
wouldn't make it more than three paces.
But
it was just as bad sitting there, knowing that they all knew she was
new, knowing they'd all notice she was too scared to try.
“Everything
you put in a sub!” someone, the person who was it, called.
She
watched halfheartedly, and sidled closer to the edge of the bench she
was sitting on as a boy tumbled into the empty spot next to her.
He
sat down grinning. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees
as he watched the rest of the kids claims their places.
There
was a click in the girl's mind. She remembered this guy. She'd seen
him before, and she remembered him because of his wavy sandy hair.
As
the kid standing in the middle paced and contemplated the names of
fruits, the others called suggestions to him, the fruits they wanted
him to choose.
The
boy turned to her and asked, “What fruit did you pick?”
She
turned her head to look at him, for a moment so surprised that her
mind went blank.
After
a few seconds of scrambling in her brain, she replied, “Pineapples.”
He
nodded, and turned back to watch the game.
She
wondered why he would ask. Just curiosity, she decided, but then she
heard him calling to the it, “Pineapples!”
And
the only thing she heard when the kid called out the fruits he had
chosen was “pineapples”. He'd said other fruits too, because the
boy who'd sat next to her was gone again, but all she could think of
was that he'd said “pineapples”, and she hadn't moved.
Regret
swelled in her chest.
She
wondered why she suddenly wanted to do it so badly. Maybe just so
that the boy's help wouldn't be in vain.
He'd
given her a chance and she'd missed it.
She
set her jaw.
No,
she decided, she wasn't letting this opportunity slip between her
fingers.
So
what if she could make it only three paces? That would be a start, at
least. She didn't have to run to the other side of the circle.
“Fruit
basket!” came the call again, and she made her moved.
She
launched herself for a seat a just a few places to her right, and
flung herself into it before anyone
else could claim it. She reached
it, and exhaled as she sat down. A smile was mounting on her face.
She'd done it. Just a few paces, but she'd done it.
She
had to wait two turns before someone called “pineapples” again,
but when it came, she was
ready.
She
sprang up and bowled across the circle.
She
fell into a chair, and sat there triumphantly, grinning at everyone
else.
She
knew she could play this game.
And
she knew she would love it.
It
was just about grabbing the opportunity when it presented itself.
And
sometimes it helped to have a little nudge in the right direction.
* * *
And as a side note, you will excuse me, won't you, if I only post weekly for July? Yes? Good. Also I may or may not redesign my blog because I'm still a newbie and I want to try things out and explore :D
So until next time,
Happy noveling!
So until next time,
Happy noveling!
I really like your story! I haven't been writing anywhere near enough. But oh well. I had a really good first couple of days.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to experiment with your blog when you're starting out. Good luck! :)
Thanks Elaikie! We will conquer Nano yet! Wait and see xD
DeleteDefinitely. I am working on it, so excuse me if looks strage or is missing something now and then xD
I cannot even tell you how much I changed my blog around when I first got it. It was like I got a new theme every other day!! Now I've been using one theme for a while but I'd like to change it eventually. It's fun to experiment at first. 😊
ReplyDeleteI would have never guessed that was a real story! Good job! ❤
That's good to know! I'm not the only one! Yay!
DeleteGlad you liked it. Yes guess who the girl was? Me. I don't always act extroverted hehe :)
I like your new heading, Lisa! (And I completely relate to that story :)
ReplyDeleteJem Jones
That's nice :) It's ridiculously simple - the image being from Pinterest. What do you think of the rest of my design? I am still on the hunt for templates but this seems sufficient for the moment. (That's awesome Jem!)
DeleteYou've changed the text in the heading since yesterday! It's simple but elegant, and the letters are a bit more flowing than in the last one, I think? And your colour theme is nice! I wouldn't have a clue about templates, though - I just fiddle with the CSS on the Theme function on Blogger until I'm too tired to care any more... I mean, until I have it how I want it. (of course...)
DeleteLooks great!
ReplyDeleteI would sincerely appreciate it if you checked out my book reviews blog at https://elsbookreviews.blogspot.ca/ and possibly give it a follow as well! Excited to read more of your posts!
- El
Hi El! Thanks for checking out my blog! I'll definitely check your out and follow! I love book blogs :D *runs off to do it immediately*
DeleteDid it! Great blog you have!
DeleteAwesome short story. I really liked it. I totally agree with what you said at the beginning. Glad its not just me. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a really nice blog. I changed mine up, too, a couple times. I get really indecisive.
God bless you!
iviewrites.blogspot.com
Glad you liked the story. And glad you like the blog. It's a lot of work you know :D
DeleteYes! Blogs are sooo much work. :)
Delete