A love story for teens by a teen with no love life.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Chapter 23 (post two)


Pre-note: This will be my last post for quite a while. The section that comes after this I still haven't written yet because I'm still not sure what's going to happen. And because I am so busy with school work, and feeling uninspired lately, I'm probably not going to get around to writing or posting again for a couple weeks. Not that anyone cares cause no one reads this, but whatever, I will stop being negative. This is the buildup to the football game and the dance.
Chapter twenty-three, section two:
I couldn’t concentrate on my hot chocolate. I tried to watch the way Jake’s bangs fell in his face, which typically would make my mind wipe blank, but instead I thought of the dance that night. I sighed again and glanced once more at my cell phone, sitting silently on the table. 10:31 am, only half an hour before I was meeting Lulu to get ready for the football game.
“You must have looked at the time ten times in the past five minutes,” Jake said, “Why are you nervous? It’s only a football game, right?”
I nodded, “But then there’s the dance after that...”
“Now don’t go fooling around with boys tonight,” Jake smiled, his eyes glimmering in that we-may-be-in-public-but-you-know-what-I-mean way.
I smiled, taking another sip of the hot chocolate and watching the stream of Saturday morning customers rush through the little coffee shop. They came in their black suits and high heels, with that confident upper-West walk and always with the right Sunrise purse.
“Hey,” Jake said, “What’s up?”
I was the worst liar ever; I never would have made it as an actor like I wanted to when I was five. But, I’d kept the whole Amy-thing secret for so long that biting my tongue almost seemed more like a habit than lying. I smiled, looked Jake in the eye, and said sweetly, “Nothing. It must be the fact I’ll be the only dateless girl at the dance tonight.”   
“Don’t stress about that,” he said, then whispered, “I’m really sorry.”
I shook my head and said softly, “It’s not your fault.”
The waitress came by to clear out dirty dishes, smiling a bit too much at Jake before heading back to the counter to serve another upper-West business lady. Something twisted inside me, but I almost laughed as I noticed Jake rolling his eyes.
“C’mon,” I said, “I can’t be late, me and Lulu need to get good seats.”

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Chapter 23 (post one)

Pre-note: I feel like in this chapter I'm trying to figure out my own characters. However, the information at the end is something that the reader must know, so the section is staying although it will be edited so it flows better. 
Chapter twenty-three, section one:
“I want to know more,” I finally said, turning towards him.
“More about what?” Jake passed me half a sandwich, his other hand still in the picnic basket sitting in the pale white sand.
“You. I feel like I hardly know you.”
“You know more about me than most people do.”
“Your past, maybe, but I don’t even know about much about your past.”
Jake opened a can of pop, perhaps more violently than needed, before answering, “Let’s not talk about the past.”
“Ok...” I watched as the pop bubbled all over his hands. He just managed to get the can away from himself before it started dripping, leaving dark spots on the red blanket. Jake swore under his breath but I laughed, grabbing a napkin from the picnic basket.
“Thanks,” he said, smiling as he placed the can down in the sand and started wiping the stinky liquid off his hands. “What were we talking about again?”
“You were going to tell me more about yourself,” I smiled, taking a bite of cheese sandwich.
“What did you want to know?”
I swallowed. “Favourite colour?”
“Blue.”
“Favourite number?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Favourite food?”
“Sushi.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I tried it for the first time here in Soleres. It’s really interesting, nothing like the food I had growing up.”
“I was not expecting that,” I laughed.
“Well, that is my favourite food. Have you had it?” Jake asked, his pop halfway to his mouth.
“It was the only thing I’d buy from the cafeteria at my old school, so I basically lived off of sushi, even if it was the pre-packaged kind,” I responded before finishing my sandwich. I remembered the pale purple of my old cafeteria, the cheesy murals with the school motto and the school mascot, an otter.
I shook my head, bringing myself back into the present. I noticed Jake had been watching me, and with his head tilted, he asked, “Still thinking of the past?”
I nodded, biting my lip and wondering how he could read my mind.
Jake put his hand on my knee, saying: “Let’s not think of the past.”
He removed his hand and instead passed me a plastic-wrapped piece of banana bread.
“Why, though? Why is the past so bad?” I took the bread, letting it grow soft in my head as I watched Jake. His face went from smiling to expressionless, cold.
“The past is something you’re not supposed to remember.”
“But I do! And so do you.”
“Let’s not talk about it.”
“Why? I want to know more about your past.”
At this point Jake seemed to cringe a little. He looked away from me, watching the waves.
“New Wings, you know enough about my past.”
I put the banana bread down and moved a little closer to him on the blanket, until I could comfortably place my hand on his shoulder. He looked me when I touched him, his bottle green eyes shining with thought.
“Jake,” I said softly, “Why don’t you want to talk about it?” 
He took my hand off his shoulder and instead wrapped his hand around mine. He looked at our fingers intertwined as he said, “I don’t want to remember. I can, but I don’t want to...” he trailed off, then sighed. “It hurts too much.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
We sat in silence except for the waves steadily crashing on the shore and the occasional call of a seagull. My pastel blue nails rested in Jake’s strong hands. He kept watching them, our hands, like he was wishing he could never let go, or maybe that time would stop altogether. In the end he looked up at me, asked me something about school, and we drifted back into simple conversation until the sun set and the wind chilled and we realized I was going to be home late again.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Chapter 22 (post three)

Pre-read note: These sections go together, so I'm posting them together. These is lots of foreshadowing in the last section! I think I'm going to need to add more hints, though, throughout the last couple of sections that I've posted, when I go back and edit this draft anyways.
Chapter twenty-two, sections three and four:
My untrained heart beat faster when he gently zipped up the back of the dress.
“There,” he said as I turned to face him. “Gorgeous.”
His emerald eyes were sparkling. I twisted my hair in my hand as I stepped towards my full-length mirror.
“It was a great find,” I said, looking back at Jake sitting on my bed.
He nodded. “Beautiful.”
I did a twirl and the dress flowed in pink waves around me. I came to a stop facing and Jake, and taking a little bow, sat down beside him laughing. He smiled his huge Jake smile, then took my hand and pulled me up.
“This,” he said, fishing an mp3 player out of his pocket with his free hand, “Calls for a dance.”
He selected a song and it began to play from the tiny speaker on the back of the device. The music drifted through my room, the slow beat catching my hips. Jake placed the mp3 on my bed before turning back to me and tucking his hand on my back. Coming up close to him, we moved together across my bare floors, the sound our breathing matching the music. Me, breathing in his cologne, and him, guiding me through the movements, making me feel as though I was part of something larger than myself. I closed my eyes and placed my cheek against his chest.
*~*~*~*~*
You know that feeling of dancing alone? That moment where your arms are above your head and you’re swinging your hips to the beat only to look up and notice you’re by yourself? Your best friend has some guy all over her and those people who you kind of know have disappeared, and you’re dancing there, surrounded by a hundred people but still all by yourself. You close your eyes again and keep swinging your hips, but now it feels like everyone is watching you, laughing at that poor girl: no friends, can’t get a guy, just dancing alone. Dancing alone is supposed to be empowering, but the more you move the more you feel like an idiot. You wonder if you should just stop, drift back through the crowd to the wall where you’ll be hidden in shadow and no one will be able to see that you’re alone. Yet, who wants to be the person drifting to the back, abandoned and rejected? So you swing your hips and close your eyes and wish that someone will come along, your friends will return or some guy will pull you into his arms. You swing and move and wish until you’re fading and fading, until your arms fall to your side and you stand completely still. You’re the only unmoving thing in a mass of alcohol, short-skirts and lost souls. You’re no longer dancing, and yet you’re still dancing alone.
I started out dancing hand-in-hand. Jake and I moved together in a seamless way that I had never known before but I instantly craved. We became one on that dance-floor, one body that moved gracefully without question. It should have been obvious it would never last, but I never thought twice. I closed my eyes and fell, but eventually, when I opened them again, he would be gone. He would disappear into that mass of sweaty bodies, leave me in the middle of the crowd with no one to turn to. Eventually, I would open my eyes and realize I was dancing alone.

An insider's view: Annika's Acessories

Just for fun...
To give you an idea of how I imagine Annika's dressing for class, here are some of her favourite accessories that she pairs with her school uniform (white tee and black pleaded skirt). Of course, what she wears always comes down to the newest Sunrise products, but these are some basics. This is a mini-preview to the drawings/sketches that are hopefully coming along someday (no rush Gremikin!). (Can you tell I've been watching Gossip Girl? lol :D)


 Annika seems to have inherited her love of skeleton keys from me :)
Of course there's no Chanel where Annika is, but I think you can get the idea.


Annika lives in black flats. These are her favourite. 

I personally really want these! They are adorable.

 A nice dark purple nail polish is strong and without being vibrant, perfect for school.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of Annika's favourites (and mine too)! (Please note that I just got the images off Google, I'm not claiming they're mine! lol)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Chapter 22 (post two)

Pre-ramble: This is a short reminder to NOT JUDGE ME based only on my writing posted to this blog. Please forgive me for the sections such as the following which are slightly pointless and don't contribute much to the plot. But, hey, I enjoyed writing it, so you might not mind reading it.
Chapter twenty-two, section two:
The store was bustling with people. It reminded me of Christmas shopping on the 23rd, a mix of strangers trying not to elbow each other while making sure they got the right size sweater.
“I’m heading right for the shoes. Want to stick together or split up?” Lulu asked me.
“Split up, but I might text you when I need an opinion.”
We headed our separate ways, Lulu up the stairs and me around to the other side of the store. I found a section full of dressier clothes in dark fall colours, but kept looking for something with a bit more colour.
Without the magazine with pre-planned outfits in my hand, I was looking for anything that simply caught my eye, something that was a little different than those simple gray and black dresses, yet sophisticated enough that it would be clear I bought something just for the occasion.
With this in mind, I stumbled upon it.
It must have been a summer dress since it was floral in varying pinks, strapless and short. There were only a few tucked in the corner, but I quickly spotted my size. That was also when I noticed the price: $450. My heart jumped a little, but I remembered that was below my crazy high limit. Grabbing the dress, I headed to the change room.
It fit perfectly, hugging in the right places and flowing out where it should. I didn’t even text Lulu, I knew I was buying it.
With the dress in my hands, I headed up the stairs and found Lulu in the shoe section. She was wearing a pair of black heels with laces and a rounded toe. After a couple comments on the dress I’d found, I was trying on the same shoes.
“Everyone will be wearing these,” Lulu said with a smile, “They just got them in the store and they are in every magazine right now.” She twisted in front of a mirror, examining them from all the angles. “I’m going to get them.”
I stood beside her, looking at the shoes on my feet that were fitting perfectly. I had seen the price tag and was thinking them over, since they would put me at my max and I still needed jewellery. Then I noticed the same shoes in honey brown. When I held them up to my dress, the colour brought out the warm tones of the pinks, and I noticed these shoes were $100 less.
“Perfect,” I said, scooping up my size from a shelf.
Lulu watched me, her black ones in her hands. “You don’t like getting the exact thing that’s in, do you?”
 “I like to match the colours,” I said, holding the shoes against my dress. “Come look at jewellery with me?”
Lulu just nodded and smiled, leading the way to the stairs.
After finding “in” thin layered gold chains, we checked out. I was $24 away from my limit and I sighed with relief when the total came up.
As we walked out of the store, I glanced back at the rows of black and navy dresses and smiled.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Chapter 22 (post one)


Pre-note: I'm in an odd mood tonight... but unlike my typical odd moods, the words aren't coming. So instead I'm just going to post more of what I've already have. lol. 
Feedback on this section is needed. It's kind of simple "here's some information so I can keep the story going," so let me know how and where I could and should improve it. Thanks. 
Chapter twenty-two, section one:
The time passed like molasses, sticky slow and bitter-sweet.
In the hallways I was still watched. I kept checking to make sure my skirt was straight and my hair was fixed because I figured something was wrong, but I started to realize that it was pointless.
In class I got used to seating in the front row, by myself.
Cara would glance at me and smile, but then she’d turn to face Amy and Chantel again. I would watch Cara’s chocolate brown hair swing and think of Beth, and something in my heart would jerk painfully.
 So when I ran into Lulu after a Biology class, I approached her.
“Hey,” I said, falling into step beside her as she headed out of the classroom.
“Hey, how are you?”
I sighed. “The same. But the dance is coming up soon!” My voice rose cheerfully.
“I am so excited!”
“Do you know what you’re wearing?”
“I think so, but I need to find a pair of shoes.”
“Would you want to come shopping with me?”
“Yes!” Lulu smiled. “I’ll meet you after school and we can head to Sunshine?”
“Perfect.”