Prompt #4

The Prompt: His favorite table was, of course, occupied by some girl.

Andrew sighed as he waited in line for his lunch. That was his table. He always sat there, alone. Other people weren’t supposed to be at his table. He grabbed his food from the woman in the cafeteria with a scowl and surveyed the lunch room.

Very few tables remained empty. Most of his classmates had already spread out across their own tables. Technically there were no assigned seats, but everyone sat in the same places every day.

So Andrew turned back to his own table. The girl sat there with her lunch box, a book spread across the table in front of her. The table was pushed against the wall and half the size of the regular tables which was how he’d been able to claim it for himself. But now this girl was there. Didn’t she know the unwritten rule of the cafeteria? Find your seat in the first week and stay there.

No one moved from their seat past the first week, not unless it was prearranged. So what was this girl doing at his table?

Seeing no other choice, Andrew made his way slowly to the table. Maybe the girl wouldn’t talk to him, maybe she would just keep reading her book. There were three seats on each side of the table and Andrew slid into the one closest to the wall. The girl was sitting on the opposite side in the middle seat. It was small enough that his tray was practically touching her lunchbox.

She didn’t say a word, so Andrew continued his lunch ritual, occasionally sending a dirty look her way. Maybe she would get the message. He pulled out his iPod and jammed in his headphones. The girl didn’t leave, but at least she didn’t talk.

But just as Andrew was bringing the burger up to his mouth, she broke the silence. “I’m Laura,” she said, pushing her book off to the side and sliding down a seat so she was sitting across from Andrew. “Hi.”

Andrew’s eyebrows drew together in a fixed scowl. He spent lunch listening to his music. At his table. Alone. Spending the period with some girl didn’t appeal to him in any way whatsoever. Instead of responding, he took a bite out of his hamburger and continued as though his music was so loud he hadn’t heard her speak. Or seen her move.

After a moment her smile fell and the girl- Laura her name was- slid back over into her seat. She opened her book up again and Andrew let out a small sigh of relief. Even if she was there he could at least suffer through his lunch in silence. And he’d have the table to himself tomorrow.

The next day at lunch, the girl was sitting at his table. Again. Andrew groaned and snapped at the lunch lady when she passed him his tray. This time he looked around the cafeteria more closely for another table, but it was raining so even the students who usually sat outside were filling the tables.

There was hardly a free seat anywhere, let alone a whole table. Even more slowly than the previous day, he made his way to the table. The girl had a new book today, a textbook Andrew recognized as one of his own from the previous year. Brilliant, she was a seventh grader. Practically a kid.

This time she looked up before he even managed to put his tray down. “Hi!” She said excitedly. This time she was sitting across from where Andrew had been the day before.

Andrew set his tray down in the middle seat. He didn’t like sitting on the end. Too many people walked by, bumping into his chair and backpack. Andrew frowned at the girl. He knew her name, but that didn’t matter. Especially not when she was just some random seventh grader.

“Hey,” he muttered sullenly, not making eye contact. He didn’t want to encourage her presence at his table every day.

“I’m Laura,” she said, undeterred by his lack of enthusiasm. She slid down a seat to sit across from him just as Andrew was pulling out his iPod. “I’m new in town. My Dad got a job here and stuff so we just arrived last week. What’s your name?”

“None of your business,” he growled.  He put the headphones on hoping she would get the message and leave him alone.

“Well hi!” Laura flashed him a smile, but Andrew didn’t return it. Instead he went back to his music and started eating his lunch.

Laura waited for a few minutes, but after seeing that Andrew was decidedly not talking to her, she moved back to her own food and book with a sigh.

Lunch for the rest of the week went like that. Every day Laura tried to make some sort of conversation with Andrew and every day he rebuffed her. After a while he began to think that she didn’t get the hint. She continued to sit at his table despite his attempts to push her away.

It became routine for Andrew to check his table to see if he was going to finally get it alone, but after a while he gave up and accepted that she’d be there. Until she wasn’t.

It was more than a week after she’d first been at his table and she wasn’t there. For a moment Andrew stood with his tray, staring at the empty seats. She was probably just late. Students always stayed late to talk to teachers or see their friends. She’d show up in a few minutes for sure.

He settled into a chair and took out his music, but didn’t play it yet. There was no point in starting it if he was only going to have to pause it when Laura arrived and began to annoy him. By the time the bell rang, Laura still hadn’t showed up, but Andrew packed up his lunch and left anyway.

She didn’t come the next day or even the day after that, but on Friday she was sitting at the table as though she’d never been gone.

Andrew sighed, annoyed. He didn’t like having company at lunch. It was his time for solitude and peace where he didn’t have to deal with the rest of the idiots that attended the school.

But when he sat down at the table, Laura didn’t look up from her book. Her hair covered her face and she didn’t even acknowledge Andrew’s presence. For a moment he waited for her to say something before sitting down, but she kept quiet.

Finally he sat, shooting her an odd look that she didn’t notice. She looked odd with her shoulders hunched over and her turtle neck pulled up as high as it would go, despite the fact that it was relatively warm in the cafeteria.

“Er hey,” Andrew ventured, before realizing that he didn’t want to talk to her. This silence was just what he craved.

She grunted at him and Andrew frowned before going back to his food. It seemed strange that she would act so differently after a few days. It was what he wanted of course, but it was still strange.

After he finished his food, Laura still hadn’t said a word to him or opened her mouth at all. He didn’t even think that she’d flipped the page, she was just staring at the same spot without moving her eyes.

“Hey,” Andrew said again, sliding down a seat to sit across from her.

Laura glanced up, but her hair still mostly shielded her from view. “Hi,” she said, her voice quiet and trembling.

“Er-“ Andrew didn’t know what to say. He’d never talked to a girl before, not really. “You um haven’t been in school for a while,” he said awkwardly.

“I was sick,” Laura said and her voice stayed quiet. She glanced up at Andrew and he saw the dark circles under her eyes. She certainly didn’t look well. “Dad wanted me to stay home. He’s- overprotective.” There was a brief pause before she said overprotective, but Andrew took little notice of it.

He did notice when the neck of her sweater slipped briefly and a dark purplish mark showed. His eyes stuck to it and widened noticeably. Laura jerked the neck back up and her face flushed. Andrew wasn’t stupid, he knew what it was. He’d seen people get bruises before. And she had been at home for a long time.

But the pleading in her eyes looked desperate. And he didn’t know what to do anyway. Was he supposed to tell? He couldn’t tell when she stared at him like that. And tell what exactly? It was only a bruise.

“My name’s Andrew,” he said finally. “Hi.”

Prompt #3

The Prompt: It was not the birthday gift I was expecting.

I let my hands fall to my sides in surprise as I stared at Elliot beneath me. The smile on his face was so sincere and confident, as though this couldn’t go wrong. As though everything was going according to plan.

This wasn’t in the plan, not mine at least. I needed my own space. We’d only just graduated together last year. I couldn’t go from school to him so quickly.

My mouth opened and closed, but I couldn’t get any words out. What was I supposed to say? Should I be blunt? Let him down easy? And in front of everybody?

I glanced up at my friends and my sister. They watched me expectantly, more silent than I’d ever seen them before. Not one of them squealed or whispered or even giggled. They were all waiting breathlessly for my answer. Only Amie looked hesitant. Her eyes were down in her lap and she refused to meet my gaze.

If there was one person I could have chosen to speak to in that moment, it would have been her. It should have been her here instead of me. I’d known she had a thing for Elliott when we started dating, but I hadn’t ever expected things to go so far.

“Get up,” I finally managed, my voice hoarse.

He grinned at me and shook his head, remaining on the single knee. “I think the rules are I’ve got to wait until you give me an answer. Marry me?” The diamond glistened invitingly in the small velvet box he held up to me.

This should be something I didn’t have to think about. This should be instinct. And it was. I knew my answer immediately, it was just the wrong answer. I had the perfect guy bent down on one knee begging me to marry him and all I wanted to do was vomit.

“Stand up,” I whispered. This time he obeyed, but the stupid smile didn’t go away. He had no idea what I was thinking. “Can we go outside?”

“Ooh, outside,” Payton teased as we headed for the door. Any other time I would have scowled at her for the implication, but I didn’t bother. She was the least of my problems. I heard the other girls giggle and I assumed she had winked at them.

Outside Elliott tried to take my hand, interlocking his fingers with my own. I almost tore my hand away, not wanting to lead him on further. This was the first time his confidence seemed to falter. “What’s wrong, Bee?” He asked. “Don’t you know what you’re going to say?”

The way he asked it made my skin crawl. As if there was no other answer. As if I didn’t have another choice. “And what if I don’t?”

“Are you serious?” He asked incredulously.

I took a step back. Confrontations always made me queasy. If I’d some preparation for this maybe I would have been okay, but it was so out of the blue. I hadn’t even suspected he might do this. “It’s so soon,” I said, deciding honesty would be best. “We haven’t even been out of school for a year. I’m just twenty two- twenty three!”

“But why wait if something’s right?” Elliott asked, his face confused.

I glanced to the side, not meeting his questioning gaze.

“You don’t think we’re right, do you?” He demanded.

I shook my head. “It’s not that, it’s just- we’re so- this isn’t supposed to happen.” I sighed. I never was good with words when it came to people. There wasn’t anything concrete to tell them, you just made it up as you went along. I didn’t like making things up.

“You don’t think this is right,” Elliott said, shaking his head. “Two years of our lives together and you don’t think I’m worth a simple yes?”

“It’s not that simple.” I tried to defend myself, but I didn’t know what to say. Maybe things weren’t right between us. Maybe it was him, maybe it was me, but marriage? It just seemed too crazy to comprehend. Weren’t we still kids? We just graduated from college yesterday it seems, and high school the day before that. Heck, where did middle school go?

“All this time we’ve spent together and you still think I’m not good enough for you.” He scowled at me, his face twisted into an ugly sneer. “That’s great, Bee. Real great.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I protested, but he was already walking off.

“You know what?” He asked, spinning to fix me with a nasty glare. “You always think you’re better than everyone. So just screw it, let’s have it your way! Call this thing we have over and you’ll never have to see me again.”

I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better or explain what I meant. I knew I should have said something, but nothing in my arsenal of words and phrases seemed to fit this situation.

So I let him walk away.

It took me several very long minutes to gather up the courage to go back into my birthday party. I knew they’d all have questions. They’d be annoyed. They’d want to know why I turned down a proposal from a guy as great as Elliott, because he was a great guy.

The room silenced as I walked in and they all stared at me. I could feel them silently judging me before Peyton finally broke the awkward stillness. “Where’s Elliott?”

I shrugged. “Can’t you guess?” I snapped. Maybe it was a little harsh, but I wasn’t in the best of moods.

“Sorry,” Peyton said quietly.

I sighed heavily. I didn’t want her pity. I didn’t want the looks the rest of the girls were giving. I couldn’t even glance in Amie’s direction. Elliott was her friend. She’d liked him, loved him even, for all these years, even before he started dating me. What kind of friend was I to do something like that?

All of a sudden I felt awful. I wanted to throw up rather than celebrate. It was my twenty third birthday, how had this turned into such a mess?

“You want to cut the cake?” Ty asked cautiously.

“Why don’t you guys just leave,” I suggested. “I want to be alone.”

There were a few quiet protests, but Peyton quieted them down and ushered everyone out. I sank into a chair. This was supposed to be a day of celebration, my official birthday out of school. How had I managed to screw things up so royally?

“Bee? You okay?” A small voice asked. I jolted at the sound of someone else. I’d thought I was alone. Soft footsteps padded around my chair and Amie sat on the sofa across from me. “I don’t think I’ve seen you like this before,” she said after a moment of silence.

“What’s it to you?” I asked, knowing it was mean the moment it came out of my mouth. It didn’t seem I particularly cared about anyone’s feelings anymore. “You probably hate me now. You and Elliott-”

But Amie shook her head. “Don’t make this about me. You look sad.”

I turned away. I wasn’t worried about crying, but I didn’t like being sad. And I didn’t like that Amie knew I was sad. “I’m fine,” I said bitterly. “Just ruined the only real relationship I’ve ever been in. I’m doing brilliant.”

“It’s okay to cry if you want,” Amie said.

I snorted. Mostly I just wanted to wake up and realize this day was all a bad dream. “God, what made him propose? Did you know that was coming? It was- oh god. Out of nowhere.”

“He’s in love with you,” Amie said with a shrug. “People want to show that they love you.”

“Was,” I corrected, feeling it really sink in. “He was in love with me.” I seriously doubt he was anymore.

“Maybe,” she said and opened her mouth to continue, but the phone cut her off. We both stared at it as it rang.

Once.

Twice.

“Are you going to get that?”

“It’s probably my parents,” I said. Wanting to wish me a happy birthday, no doubt. Unless- Unless Elliott had asked Dad for his permission. “Oh no, what if they know?”

Three times.

The panicked expression must have shown in my eyes because Amie reached out and put her hand on my arm. “You don’t have to answer it now. Talk to them another time.”

Four.

I’d never screened a call from my parents before. I wasn’t that kind of girl. We had a good relationship, especially now that I wasn’t living at home. “Can I?”

Five.

“Leave it, Bee. They’ll be fine.” I nodded and we waited.

Six.

Seven.

Finally a sense of peace settled over me as the answering machine clicked on. I wouldn’t be able to avoid them forever, but for now at least they didn’t need to know. For now I could keep things to myself. “Everything’s going to be fine, Bee,” Amie said.

I wasn’t sure if this was exactly true, but I nodded anyway. Amie was always a good friend to have in a crisis. “Now come sit beside me,” she said, patting the cushion on her left. “We can do nothing at all.”

I paused, then curled up beside Amie, drawing my knees to my chest. She put her arm around me without a word. Yes, Amie was definitely a good friend to have in a crisis.

Something Random

Prompt Three: I cheated and didn’t use a prompt on this one. It’s just something that begged to be written.

You stare deep into his eyes. “What about me? Aren’t I important to you?” It’s the answer you’ve been trying to get out of him for months it seems. You want to know. No- you need to know. It’s what keeps you up at night, worrying and fretting.

“Course you are,” he says, his smile as easy as it’s always been.

You never know if he’s faking it or not. You’ve never faked anything, not around him. That’s why it hurts so much when all you want to do is tell the truth.

“I just don’t want to lose the guys,” he continues. “The team, they’re like my family.”

“And I’m not your family?” You ask.

He rolls his eyes and gives you a soft push. “Don’t be ridiculous!” He shakes his head and lays back on his bed, not even looking at you anymore. You know where this is going. You’ve seen the movies and read the books. They always take the same road. “You’re my best friend. And- and more.”

This admission draws your attention. He never says it out loud. He wouldn’t at all if you weren’t alone in his room, no chance of being caught or overheard. “More?” You ask, pushing for something else. You know it’s wrong, but you want him to say it. Make him define it so you don’t have to do it on your own.

He sighs and you know the conversations over. If you push harder then he’ll leave you. They always leave.

“Jay, I’m doing what I can.” He sounds so honest and sincere that you can’t walk out that door. You can’t leave him. He’ll always pull you back in. “This is harder for me. If people knew-” He cuts off. He doesn’t have to keep going. You know what he’s going to say.

If people knew they would shun him. He’d lose his team, the guys. He’d lose his family.

You don’t have anything left to lose except for him.

“I understand.”

“I just need time. After high school, maybe-” He stops again.

After high school. It seems so far away, you’re only juniors after all. You want to tell the world so he can be yours. You want to stop lying and sneaking around. “After high school,” you agree, although you don’t know if you can make it that long. High school seems to last forever.

“I promise this will get better, okay?” He says, sitting up and meeting your gaze. “I promise you.”

A lump rises in your throat. You want nothing more than to say it’s not enough. Walk out the door without looking back. You want something open and real. You don’t like to hide.

Instead you sit on the bed beside him and he puts his arm around your shoulders. “Give it time, Jay. I just need a little more time.”

You nod as he plants a kiss on your lips. You can’t take it further, not when his parents could be home any minute. “I can’t wait forever,” you say, although you both know it’s a lie. You’d wait forever for him if you had to.

The door downstairs slams and he pushes away from you, walking across the room to his desk where he can pretend he’s been doing his homework. You remember that you’re supposed to be tutoring him, it’s your excuse for being in his bedroom.

You pretend it doesn’t hurt when he leaves your side, but it’s harder to lie to yourself.

His mother opens the door to find the two of you seated at his desk exactly where you’re supposed to be. “Kyle, get ready to go to your game. We have to leave in a few minutes.”

He nods. “Sure, Mom.” The math book closes with a snap and in that instant your reason for sticking around longer has disappeared.

She smiles warmly at you. She wouldn’t if she knew what you were doing with her son behind closed doors. “James, it’s always lovely to have you here. Kyle’s grades have gotten so much better since you’ve been tutoring him.”

“Mom,” he groans, annoyed with the attention.

You look at him, waiting for some spark of acknowledgement that you mean something to him, but he only smiles at you in the same easy way he does everyone else. “See ya ‘round, James,” he says and you remember that he only calls you Jay in private. It’s your special name, something more to hide from the world.

“See you,” you repeat, leaving the room. You half expect him to stop you, give you a secret smile, something to remind you that your relationship isn’t all in your head. It’s got to be real.

But there’s nothing and you can hear his conversation with his mother continue. “He is such a nice boy,” she says. “You should have him around more often.”

“He’s just James,” Kyle says and you can feel your heart breaking.

Just James. No matter what he says to you in private, everywhere else you’re just James.

Prompt #2

The Prompt: I pushed past people, ignoring their complaints. I tripped and stumbled a couple of times, but righted myself. I could hear him shouting behind me, running to catch up.

I darted around the side of the building, panting hard. My heart beat fast in my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I could hear the sounds of the people talking and laughing as though nothing had happened.

Footsteps drew closer to where I was hiding and I held my breath, hoping it wasn’t him. He couldn’t have found me yet. A child’s laugh erupted from just a few yards away and I let out a sigh of relief. I was safe, for now.

I waited another few minutes and shakily pulled out my cell phone, texting Ike to come pick me up. I didn’t tell him what had happened because I knew he’d disapprove. I’d promised him more than once that all of this would stop. Maybe I’d even meant it at one point.

It felt like ages later before Ike arrived in his van. I could have walked in that time, but my legs were still shaking. I’d never had such a close call. My heart wouldn’t slow down and I was beginning to worry if that was normal.

I climbed in beside Ike and he frowned at me. “You alright?”

“Just bored,” I said flippantly, rolling my eyes. “There’s nothing to do in this stupid town.”

He shook his head. Ike never liked it when I complained about Seaside Haven. He’d moved here more recently than I had, but for some inconceivable reason he actually liked the place. “Whatever,” I muttered.

My heart was beginning to slow which was good because I didn’t know how much longer I could fake it to Ike.  He always seemed to know what I was thinking and feeling and lying to him was too difficult to make it worthwhile.

“What were you doing over at Juniper’s?” Ike asked, naming the flower shop he’d picked me up at. I was confused for a moment before I remembered that I’d run there after nearly being caught.

“Uh nothing. I was just bored and looking for something to do,” I lied. I didn’t know what else to say and made up for it by looking out the window. “Does everything here have to look identical?”

“Were you at the mall?” Ike asked. My face flushed a deep pink. He glanced over at me and scowled. “You were, weren’t you? I thought you were going to stop!”

I looked down at my lap, suddenly embarrassed. Ike was the only one who could do that to me. “It’s not what you think,” I muttered.

“So I’m not your getaway driver?” He snapped. I shook my head, although in reality that was exactly what he was. “This is great, Leah. You’ve practically turned me into a criminal as well.”

We rode the rest of the way in silence and once outside my house Ike slammed on the brakes. “Don’t call me again to bail you out. I’m not getting in trouble because of your little habit.”

Tears stung my eyes, but I turned away so he wouldn’t see them. “Like I need your help. I only called you because I was too lazy to walk.”

I didn’t have to turn around to know that Ike’s face was bright red with anger. The van took off with the wheels almost squealing and he was halfway down the road before I turned to look.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and stumbled into the house before I reached into my purse and pulled out the cause for this whole mess. Two pink sparkly butterfly earrings that I’d grabbed from a display shelf in the store.

I didn’t even have pierced ears.

Prompt #1

The Prompt: I had been watching them quarrel from the window.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I’d heard it all before. They would fight about schedules, whose turn it was to keep me for the weekend, why he was late, and how dare he come early.

They would fight about money, where were those child support payments he was supposed to send and why wouldn't he help with the college fund.

They would fight about where he was living and whether it was safe enough for me to stay on the weekends and holidays.

But no matter what the subject was, it always came back to me. Everything was always about me. I remember when I was young Mama would always yell at him for being drunk. How could he do that to Kaelie? It was always me, never her.

When they finally divorced three years ago and gave me the talk, they fought about how to tell me. In the end, I found out from their screaming. This was after they stopped hushing their voices.

If it hadn’t been for their fights, I would have been shocked the day I came from school and Daddy was gone. They called it a break, but it never ended. It got longer and they ended up in court, fighting over me. I’m all they ever fight over.

Mama gestured toward the house, her eyes flashing dangerously. I ducked down so they wouldn’t see me watching. They’re not clueless, they know I know about the fighting, but they’ve never said a word.

When I glanced back out the window, Daddy was standing there alone, looking angrier than usual with his hands jammed in his pockets. The front door slammed and I immediately closed my blinds and grabbed a book from my bed.

Mama walked into my room with a scowl on her face. “Are you ready yet?” She snapped.

I nodded and grabbed my weekend bag. I already had a few things stored at Daddy’s apartment, but Mama refused to buy me two of everything. “Tell him not to feed you anymore junk food. It keeps you up at night and makes you break out.”

I nodded again. Daddy always bought us junk food. He said it was because I needed a treat when Mama wasn’t around, but I knew it was because Mama told him not too.

“Kaelie, are you listening to me? No more R rated movies, either. Not unless he wants to drive over here every night when you can’t sleep.”

“I promise,” I said, keeping my eyes on the ground. If she knew that Daddy let me watch whatever movies I wanted she might not let me go back. I didn't want them to go to court over me again.

“And keep your cell phone on.” She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “See you on Sunday.”

I left the house as I did every other Friday afternoon and Daddy grinned at me from his car. I smiled back. “Heya squirt. Ready for some fun?”

“I’m thirteen, Daddy,” I said, although I liked it when he called me squirt.

He laughed and my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, already knowing who it was from.

What are your plans for the weekend? –Mama

“Is that her?” He asked sounding tense.

I shook my head. “Shannon,” I lied. “A friend from school.”

He wasn’t fooled. “Tell her you’re thirteen, plenty old enough to hang out with your old man without her needing every detail.”

I nodded, but knew I’d never tell Mama that. It would only make them fight more. They did enough of that without help from me.

I found this prompt on a random plot generator here:

http://www.adammaxwell.com/writers-tools/writing-prompts-generator/