too long again - need more practice!
Also, totally forgot to do number 5...
Frank laughs when mother calls us in from the garden. It’s just as well she didn’t notice. We often get into trouble when we are together, but it’s better than playing alone. We have some good times. Frank doesn’t really have anywhere else to go, so he usually stays over. We don’t mind sharing our things, and we don’t like Frank’s house. It’s old and cold and quiet, with a high roof and stone walls, and no one who lives there ever seems to be at home when we visit. It scares us and so we’ve only been there a few times. Frank had to move there, and is supposed to stay there all the time, but no one checks. It says Frank on the wall and so everyone thinks he must be there.
“Coming!” We get up quickly and run indoors.
“Have you washed your hands?”
“Yes.”
Jacob talks more loudly. Frank is mischievous but shy. We get on well because we can help each other out that way.
We go indoors, and mother greets us over her shoulder then starts dishing out dinner. As usual she’s only set us one place, but we don’t mind sharing – we’ve been sharing for months and we’re used to it. If we mentioned it she’d get upset, and we hate it when that happens.
Mother never seems to notice, and she always gives us a big portion anyway. She says Jacob is a growing boy, and we suppose Frank must be too.
We finish in double quick time. Frank eats the cabbage, as Jacob doesn’t like it all that much. Mother is very impressed and we get a big slice of chocolate cream pie. She won’t let us eat it in the lounge – she knows that Frank will leave a mess. Jacob is tidy but when Frank is around you can’t tell that. We cancel each other out.
After dinner we go and play in the garden. There’s a miniature swing-boat, but we’re not very good at making it go. We used to be good at it, but somehow we can’t manage it any more. Mother says that life will get more difficult as we get older, and we think this must be what she means.
The swings are fun, though, even if it’s not the same as sitting on the swing-boat together – Jacob offers to push Frank, but Frank prefers to watch. Frank gets sick easily, and we don’t want to waste any of the pudding.
Our next door neighbour’s cat Smoky jumps over the fence. He hisses at Frank, and won’t let Jacob near him much either. He’s a miserable old animal – we used to feed him from our secret stash, but when we ran out of things he liked he wouldn’t forgive us. Frank tries to pick him up, but the cat slips through his fingers. At least we didn’t get scratched.
Later on we go indoors. Frank wants to stay outside, but really it’s too cold. Jacob is tired and shivering even if Frank never notices the frost. We used to be scared of the dark, but we’re not any more. If we stay together, then we’re both braver.
Frank thinks of a surprise for mother, and we creep upstairs. Frank is best at creeping, and even Jacob can’t hear his footsteps. Frank starts to order Jacob about, but Jacob doesn’t mind. We imagine the look on mother’s face and grin at each other.
“Sweetie, you tidied your room!” Mother is surprised when she comes up. We think she might cry, but she looks happy too. We look at each other and shrug. Neither of us understands parents.
“We both did,” we say, and smile proudly. It’s not really true. Frank had to sit still while Jacob picked up his toys, because Frank makes a mess everywhere he goes. He’s terrible at picking things up. But Frank did tell Jacob how to sort them out, so we did it together really.
Mother looks a little sad. “You’re a very brave little boy,” she says. Jacob thinks she is talking about Frank, but later on Frank says she meant Jacob. Maybe she meant both of us, though neither of us really understands what she means.
Showing posts with label Challenge 6. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenge 6. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Challenge 6: Ma's birthday party
Ma thought it was a bit strange at first. It is strange if you think about it - one living being growing inside another. But she got over the weirdness - perhaps the slight bit of disgust - soon enough. Same old story, right? We look into each other's eyes, we fall in love. Ma had heard it all before, but it was something else to experience it for herself. The kid? Well, she did the usual. Eat, poop, scream. We got along so well, even when Ma thought the kid would bust both our eardrums screaming. It wasn't five days before the kid was little Lou (Ma only became Ma when little Lou was born, she was Annie before that, then everyone got so used to Lou hanging around asking for 'Ma!', they started calling her that too) and Pa had vanished again. Lou, growing up without Pa, barely noticed - that's how well we get on.
We're at the beach today. Ma's wearing her old sundress and Lou's wearing her new one. Actually, Ma gave Lou hers but Lou gave it back when she got the new one. It's Ma's thirty-fifth birthday, so we thought we'd go out, only Ma's drinking has taken a bit of a toll on our finances, so we took the bus to the beach. Lou got the day off, and made a picnic. The only reason we do birthdays now is because when Lou went to school, all the other kids had birthday parties and cakes and lollies. Since it was rare we had more than canned tomatoes and cheap bread to eat, Lou never got a birthday party until she was thirteen and had her first part time job, and figured it was a good investment to buy a cake if she got presents in return. Took her a while to realise that meant she'd get invited to parties too, and would have to come up with presents of her own.
Once Lou left school it was easier for a couple years - we had two incomes, and we started having our own little birthday dos, just us two. That was before Ma started drinking - but we're working on that. We always support each other. When Lou got into trouble with the cops, Ma told them our sad story about how that bastard walked off and left her holding the baby and they felt so sorry for us they just said don't let us catch you dealing pot again. And Lou can be pretty smart when she wants to be - she hasn't let them catch her again.
We're happy just to walk along the beach. Some boys are playing around on the tidal flats, finding shellfish or something. Neither of us likes seafood. Ma doesn't even like the smell of the sea, though Lou doesn't mind it. She’d a boyfriend who smelt like the sea once, because he used to go fishing all the time. Actually, that was her only real boyfriend and he was a tough one. Ma would’ve scared him off if he hadn't got himself into trouble already because of the weed. Ma’s a bit put off lunch by the smell, so we wander back towards one of the benches and sit down. Lou starts eating, makes a face. “Good to see your sandwiches ain’t changed,” says Ma, “go put some salt in it, that’ll make it taste better.”
A boy runs up to us with a big grin on his face and a kete in his hands. The others are straggling back to the shore. This one can’t be more than six or seven. “’Scuse me.” He drops the kete and we can see it’s full of mussels and something else. “Mattie says we got too much, and would you like some?”
We don’t know what to do for a moment. Ma’s eyes’re full of tears.
“Oh, darlin’. ‘Course we would. Would you like some cake?”
------------------------------------------------------------------
Word count: 659
We're at the beach today. Ma's wearing her old sundress and Lou's wearing her new one. Actually, Ma gave Lou hers but Lou gave it back when she got the new one. It's Ma's thirty-fifth birthday, so we thought we'd go out, only Ma's drinking has taken a bit of a toll on our finances, so we took the bus to the beach. Lou got the day off, and made a picnic. The only reason we do birthdays now is because when Lou went to school, all the other kids had birthday parties and cakes and lollies. Since it was rare we had more than canned tomatoes and cheap bread to eat, Lou never got a birthday party until she was thirteen and had her first part time job, and figured it was a good investment to buy a cake if she got presents in return. Took her a while to realise that meant she'd get invited to parties too, and would have to come up with presents of her own.
Once Lou left school it was easier for a couple years - we had two incomes, and we started having our own little birthday dos, just us two. That was before Ma started drinking - but we're working on that. We always support each other. When Lou got into trouble with the cops, Ma told them our sad story about how that bastard walked off and left her holding the baby and they felt so sorry for us they just said don't let us catch you dealing pot again. And Lou can be pretty smart when she wants to be - she hasn't let them catch her again.
We're happy just to walk along the beach. Some boys are playing around on the tidal flats, finding shellfish or something. Neither of us likes seafood. Ma doesn't even like the smell of the sea, though Lou doesn't mind it. She’d a boyfriend who smelt like the sea once, because he used to go fishing all the time. Actually, that was her only real boyfriend and he was a tough one. Ma would’ve scared him off if he hadn't got himself into trouble already because of the weed. Ma’s a bit put off lunch by the smell, so we wander back towards one of the benches and sit down. Lou starts eating, makes a face. “Good to see your sandwiches ain’t changed,” says Ma, “go put some salt in it, that’ll make it taste better.”
A boy runs up to us with a big grin on his face and a kete in his hands. The others are straggling back to the shore. This one can’t be more than six or seven. “’Scuse me.” He drops the kete and we can see it’s full of mussels and something else. “Mattie says we got too much, and would you like some?”
We don’t know what to do for a moment. Ma’s eyes’re full of tears.
“Oh, darlin’. ‘Course we would. Would you like some cake?”
------------------------------------------------------------------
Word count: 659
Monday, January 25, 2010
Challenge 6: Secrets of the Desert
We ran away.
There is something important out here in the desert, we can feel it. Tynan pulls his cloth a little tighter around his face, Tasya checks the water bottle. There is not much left. If we can’t find more soon, we will be in trouble. We push on, since we can’t go back. Everyone is fighting over us back there. They want Tynan dead because he can do magic, and boys shouldn’t be able to touch the spirit world. They want Tasya queen and she hates crowds. She likes to dance and fight and do tough girl things. She will get us through this.
We stop when the night takes over. Tynan says he can feel the water in the air. It is so close. He sits up all night trying to find a way to borrow the water from the clouds, high above us, and maybe from the wind. Tasya sleeps, lips cracking, hoping she will have more energy in the morning.
The feeling drags us on, further into the barren wastelands. It is calling us. Tasya has a little more spring in her step today, Tynan managed to condense a few extra drops of water for them. There are bags under his eyes though, it cost him a lot to do.
We push on, and on, missing papa and aunty Willow. They will be worried, but we didn’t have a choice really. Too many people are still so angry. We think that the answer is out here somewhere, perhaps beyond the black spine of mountains spewing smoke and ash. Tynan thinks, if we make it through hell, we will find what we are looking for.
Who knew the desert was so cold at night? We huddle together, warmed by the fire Tynan keeps in a bottle. We think about mother, each hearing the other’s thoughts, seeing the other’s memories.
Mother was beautiful, tall, at least to a child, with dark eyes that seemed to go on forever. She could see inside us, she knew what we were feeling and how much we loved her. She loved papa very much too. She went away two years ago. Papa told us she had died, but we can still feel her. She is here, in the desert, and up there in the sky. We are going to find her.
Tasya brushes her dirty blonde hair out of her face, staring at the flickering light, trapped inside the bottle. Tynan watches her, thinking, we don’t belong here.
In the desert?
No. In Tyria. Here on this planet…
There is that word again. Tynan said it once, a long time ago, and papa didn’t understand. Planet. We close our eyes sometimes and think of the sky. It is almost like we can step off the earth and look back at ourselves, and then we see this big round ball with all the people and the animals and the oceans. Papa asks us why, if we live on a ball, the land looks flat. We aren’t too sure just yet. Maybe the answer to that is out here in the desert too.
Tasya watches the sunrise. She is looking back. We don’t normally look back. Tynan give her a moment and then starts packing things back into our bags. He stands up just in time to see the morning light glitter off something in the black land. We are nearly there.
Wordcount: 569
There is something important out here in the desert, we can feel it. Tynan pulls his cloth a little tighter around his face, Tasya checks the water bottle. There is not much left. If we can’t find more soon, we will be in trouble. We push on, since we can’t go back. Everyone is fighting over us back there. They want Tynan dead because he can do magic, and boys shouldn’t be able to touch the spirit world. They want Tasya queen and she hates crowds. She likes to dance and fight and do tough girl things. She will get us through this.
We stop when the night takes over. Tynan says he can feel the water in the air. It is so close. He sits up all night trying to find a way to borrow the water from the clouds, high above us, and maybe from the wind. Tasya sleeps, lips cracking, hoping she will have more energy in the morning.
The feeling drags us on, further into the barren wastelands. It is calling us. Tasya has a little more spring in her step today, Tynan managed to condense a few extra drops of water for them. There are bags under his eyes though, it cost him a lot to do.
We push on, and on, missing papa and aunty Willow. They will be worried, but we didn’t have a choice really. Too many people are still so angry. We think that the answer is out here somewhere, perhaps beyond the black spine of mountains spewing smoke and ash. Tynan thinks, if we make it through hell, we will find what we are looking for.
Who knew the desert was so cold at night? We huddle together, warmed by the fire Tynan keeps in a bottle. We think about mother, each hearing the other’s thoughts, seeing the other’s memories.
Mother was beautiful, tall, at least to a child, with dark eyes that seemed to go on forever. She could see inside us, she knew what we were feeling and how much we loved her. She loved papa very much too. She went away two years ago. Papa told us she had died, but we can still feel her. She is here, in the desert, and up there in the sky. We are going to find her.
Tasya brushes her dirty blonde hair out of her face, staring at the flickering light, trapped inside the bottle. Tynan watches her, thinking, we don’t belong here.
In the desert?
No. In Tyria. Here on this planet…
There is that word again. Tynan said it once, a long time ago, and papa didn’t understand. Planet. We close our eyes sometimes and think of the sky. It is almost like we can step off the earth and look back at ourselves, and then we see this big round ball with all the people and the animals and the oceans. Papa asks us why, if we live on a ball, the land looks flat. We aren’t too sure just yet. Maybe the answer to that is out here in the desert too.
Tasya watches the sunrise. She is looking back. We don’t normally look back. Tynan give her a moment and then starts packing things back into our bags. He stands up just in time to see the morning light glitter off something in the black land. We are nearly there.
Wordcount: 569
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Challenge 6: First day
“Tirella, Mirella, Breakfast!” called our mother. Mother is the only one who calls us by our full names, most people call us Tia and Mia. And often enough they call us the wrong one. We don't mind. We barely slept last night. Today we were off to our new school. Hogwarts. Mother and Father have told us heaps of stories about their days at school. We can't wait to see whether we will be in Hufflepuff like Mother or Ravenclaw like Father. Though we suppose that we may end up in Gryffindor or Slytherin. Our trunks are all packed and Ella, our owl, will be downstairs having her own breakfast.
After breakfast Father magics our trunks into the car. And we are off. Off to King's Cross Station and the train to Hogwarts.
We were early. “Here we are, platform nine,” said Father, he and Mother were pushing Mia's cart while we pushed Tia's and held Ella. “Just walk through the barrier between platform nine and ten.” Mother instructed. We admit we closed our eyes before walking through but we heard people talking, then we heard different people talking so we opened our eyes and got our first look at the Hogwarts express. Mother and Father were right behind us. “Choose a compartment girls.” said Father. “Your Mother and I will help get your trunks in. “All right.” “Thank you.” we said as we found an empty compartment. “This one.” we said, choosing one near the front of the train, but not at the front. Father and Mia took Mia's trunk while Mother and Tia took Tia's trunk. Ella having been put in already. We placed the trunks tucked away in a corner of the compartment. “There's Mrs Weasley.” said Mother. “Her twin terrors will be starting this year won't they?” asked Father. “Molly!” called Mother, “Jennifer!” replied Mrs Weasley. “So these are your famous twins!” said Father. “This is Fred, and this is George.” Mrs Weasley introduced the twins. “Tirella and Mirella.” replied Mother introducing us. “Nice to meet you.” we said. “Enchanté” they replied in unison with a bow. “Would you like to sit with us?” we asked indicating the compartment we had chosen. They just bowed and picked up their trunks and placed them next to ours. We left our parents talking. “I heard that the sorting test is you have to fight an ogre...” said Fred once we were seated. “Really?” we asked, “Hogwarts, a history says it's a hat. Godric Gryffindor's hat.” we reply. “Bill was probably making it up.” replied George.
Travel was uneventful, we got some candy from the cart, and bought some for our new friends. Then we were there. “First years!” called a loud voice. “First years over here! Leave your trunks, they'll be along!” he called. We followed Fred and George to the boats and our first view of Hogwarts.
“Told you it was a hat.” we whispered to the Weasley twins as we were instructed about the Sorting hat and listened to its song. We joined the que.
“Fred Weasley” “GRYFFINDOR”, “George Weasly” “GRYFFINDOR”. This was hardly a surprise, all their family were Gryffindors.
“Tirella Prewett”, How odd to be sorted apart. What if we are in separate houses? No. We will not consider it. The Sorting hat takes our preference into account, Mother said so. Tia placed on the hat. “Hmmm interesting... plenty of intelligence, and plenty of tolerance... hmmm... Interesting... Two halves of a whole almost... Well you'd both better be RAVENCLAW”, “Mirella Prewett” The sorting hat barely touched her head when it yelled “RAVENCLAW”. Together, for Tia had waited, we joined our Housemates. It was a pity not to be in the same House as the Weasleys but we would see them around.
Wordcount: 660
Disclaimer: I do not own Hogwarts or any other part of J.K. Rowling's world or characters I only own Tia and Mia.
After breakfast Father magics our trunks into the car. And we are off. Off to King's Cross Station and the train to Hogwarts.
We were early. “Here we are, platform nine,” said Father, he and Mother were pushing Mia's cart while we pushed Tia's and held Ella. “Just walk through the barrier between platform nine and ten.” Mother instructed. We admit we closed our eyes before walking through but we heard people talking, then we heard different people talking so we opened our eyes and got our first look at the Hogwarts express. Mother and Father were right behind us. “Choose a compartment girls.” said Father. “Your Mother and I will help get your trunks in. “All right.” “Thank you.” we said as we found an empty compartment. “This one.” we said, choosing one near the front of the train, but not at the front. Father and Mia took Mia's trunk while Mother and Tia took Tia's trunk. Ella having been put in already. We placed the trunks tucked away in a corner of the compartment. “There's Mrs Weasley.” said Mother. “Her twin terrors will be starting this year won't they?” asked Father. “Molly!” called Mother, “Jennifer!” replied Mrs Weasley. “So these are your famous twins!” said Father. “This is Fred, and this is George.” Mrs Weasley introduced the twins. “Tirella and Mirella.” replied Mother introducing us. “Nice to meet you.” we said. “Enchanté” they replied in unison with a bow. “Would you like to sit with us?” we asked indicating the compartment we had chosen. They just bowed and picked up their trunks and placed them next to ours. We left our parents talking. “I heard that the sorting test is you have to fight an ogre...” said Fred once we were seated. “Really?” we asked, “Hogwarts, a history says it's a hat. Godric Gryffindor's hat.” we reply. “Bill was probably making it up.” replied George.
Travel was uneventful, we got some candy from the cart, and bought some for our new friends. Then we were there. “First years!” called a loud voice. “First years over here! Leave your trunks, they'll be along!” he called. We followed Fred and George to the boats and our first view of Hogwarts.
“Told you it was a hat.” we whispered to the Weasley twins as we were instructed about the Sorting hat and listened to its song. We joined the que.
“Fred Weasley” “GRYFFINDOR”, “George Weasly” “GRYFFINDOR”. This was hardly a surprise, all their family were Gryffindors.
“Tirella Prewett”, How odd to be sorted apart. What if we are in separate houses? No. We will not consider it. The Sorting hat takes our preference into account, Mother said so. Tia placed on the hat. “Hmmm interesting... plenty of intelligence, and plenty of tolerance... hmmm... Interesting... Two halves of a whole almost... Well you'd both better be RAVENCLAW”, “Mirella Prewett” The sorting hat barely touched her head when it yelled “RAVENCLAW”. Together, for Tia had waited, we joined our Housemates. It was a pity not to be in the same House as the Weasleys but we would see them around.
Wordcount: 660
Disclaimer: I do not own Hogwarts or any other part of J.K. Rowling's world or characters I only own Tia and Mia.
Challenge 6
The Royal We
Write a first person-plural narration of an event from the POV of a close-knit couple (not necessarily lovers or opposite sex). This means the narratice should sound a bit like this:
We found the body in the outhouse, and Jenny got the can of gasoline from the garage while Benjamin removed all the toilet paper folls stacked up on the door shelves (no sense wasting them).
The reader should not be able to discern who is telling the story - do not use 'I' at all in this exercise (not even in dialog).
Wordcount: 600 (+/- 10%)
Write a first person-plural narration of an event from the POV of a close-knit couple (not necessarily lovers or opposite sex). This means the narratice should sound a bit like this:
We found the body in the outhouse, and Jenny got the can of gasoline from the garage while Benjamin removed all the toilet paper folls stacked up on the door shelves (no sense wasting them).
The reader should not be able to discern who is telling the story - do not use 'I' at all in this exercise (not even in dialog).
Wordcount: 600 (+/- 10%)
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