In the Eyes

The Prompt: Despite everything he said he’d be when he was eighteen, when he looked in the mirror, he still saw that scared ten-year-old boy.

It was the eyes, he decided. Those wide, pale blue eyes. They were in a constant state of fear. They glanced alarmingly around, never stopping for too long. Danger could always lurk behind that door, in the shadow over there, behind him. At ten he had learned about danger. His teacher, the door locked tight to protect them. Protect him.

He was supposed to be stronger now. At eighteen he was an adult, legally ready to take on the world. Legally. He wasn’t ready in any other sense. At ten he’d had a plan. He’d be all grown up at eighteen. He’d get in a car and drive. He’d drive anywhere. New York. Florida. California. The very edges of the country. It didn’t matter as long as he was getting far away. But now he was eighteen. He was an adult. And he had no car. He wasn’t driving away. He was crouching, burrowing, hiding in the same place he’d always been.

When he looked in the mirror, he didn’t see an adult. He didn’t see a teenager. All he could see were his eyes, the ten year old’s eyes. So many things could change. He was taller, his hair was longer, his clothes different, but the eyes. The eyes never changed. They were the same pale blue, the same fearful expression. The eyes were windows to the soul, they said. The soul must never change either.

Stronger, smarter, faster, braver. It was all a crock, a child’s dream. Naïve. He was naïve. That had changed. So he had finally found it. The eyes staring back at him, those scared pale blue eyes, didn’t belong to the ten year old after all. They were his. Just as broken and scared, but without hope. Only children dreamed and he was no longer a child.

Hanna- 100 Word Scene

Hanna sat at the dinner table with Beth and her father. Three people at a rectangular table was an awkward number, always left an open space that should have been filled. When Graham visited he filled that space.

“How was school?”

The perfunctory question came from her father, too tired from a long day to come up with something a little more original. They were the first words he’d spoken to her since arriving home. Beth had called her to dinner.

“Fine,” she answered, putting as little thought into her answer as he had the question. “It was fine.”

Hanna- Setting

Hanna stood alone in her kitchen. The window above the sink let bright light stream in, illuminating the dishes that had been left there from breakfast. The counters were clear and bare of any food or utensils. The cabinet doors were all shut tight, except for the one with the crooked door that hung off kilter from the rest.

Hanna sank into one of the wooden chairs around the table. It stood straight and sturdy with a stiff back that she couldn’t comfortably lean against. The table was covered in a blue tablecloth and the cereal box from her breakfast hadn’t been put away yet.

No one had been there since she’d left that morning and it was late afternoon. Hanna glanced toward the refrigerator, the only part of the room with any kind of personality. It was covered in magnets, some hers from her childhood and some belonging to her older stepbrother who lived across the country. There were pictures too, but only one of the whole family together. It had been taken at the wedding four years before. Graham had been twenty and he had his hands on twelve year old Hanna’s shoulders. Beth and her father stood on either side of them and all were smiling. A seashell magnet obscured part of Beth’s dress.

Sighing, Hanna stood. She needed to clean out the sink before anyone else came home.

Indirect Characterization- Hanna

Hanna was at the pool with all her friends and she was worried. She hadn’t left a note and her father was getting off of work soon. He didn’t like it when she went out with her friends and didn’t let anyone else know. He was strict in that way and Lacey never seemed to understand that.

Hanna didn’t like making her father upset, especially after a long day at work. It would be best for everyone if she managed to convince Lacey to take her home early, but it seemed no matter how hard she tried Lacey was just too stubborn.

Hanna could be stubborn too when she wanted to be. Having Beks or Ashton to back her up would have helped, but they both spent their days at the pool flirting with any cute guys they could find. She was often on her own when it came to arguing her own side.

After a bit of arguing she convinced Lacey to drive her back home, although Lacey didn’t seem too happy about it. All Hanna wanted was to get home and avoid getting into trouble. She never understood why her friends didn’t get things like that. It made her feel isolated sometimes.

Direct Characterization- Hanna

Hanna bit her lip. “I think I should go,” she said, her voice quiet.

“What? No! We’ve got loads of time.” Lacey leaned back on the towel, dark shades covering much of her face.

“Dad will be home soon and he doesn’t like it when I go without leaving a note.”

“That’s crap. You’re sixteen. Plenty old enough to come down to the pool with us.” Us included Beks and Ashton, both flirting in the pool with a group of senior boys.

“I don’t- I should just go, okay?”

Lacey shrugged. “Suit yourself. Have fun walking.”

“You have a car. It’ll take ten minutes. Won’t you just drive me?”

There was a break in the conversation. Then- “Let’s go see the boys. I bet one or two of them can change your mind.”

“That’s not- Lace, don’t! Just drive me? You don’t even have to get dressed. You’ll be back before they notice you’re gone.”

Lacey looked at the pool, then back at Hanna. She sighed. “Your Dad’s really gonna flip?”

Hanna nodded.

“Fine. But I swear, tomorrow I’m not letting you bail early.” She grabbed her keys and Hanna breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Anything,” Hanna promised.

Character- Hanna

Character name: Hanna Jocelyn McDowell

Date of Birth: January 13, 1997 (age 16)

Place of Birth: Simsbury, Connecticut

Physical attributes: 5’4, 140 pounds, straight auburn hair, pale skin with many freckles covering her face and body, not very athletic, dark brown eyes, thin lips, small nose

Some likes: Pop music, watching the day fade into night from her window, summer, history is her best class because it’s straightforward without requiring the same problem solving strategies as math

Some dislikes: Sports, being left out, falling behind, asking for help, being alone, her red hair, loud rock/punk/metal, English class because she feels it’s too convoluted and complicated with all kinds of metaphors and symbols

What is the one thing in this world (or realm) that this character wants more than anything?

Hanna wants to be something more than average. She wants to stand out, be the best at something. She wants to be the prettiest or the smartest or even the most charismatic, but finds herself lacking and coming in third or fourth best. Hanna sees other people’s strengths, but not her own.
She regrets never finding a true best friend or someone to whom she can be number one. Within her core group of friends she often feels like a fifth wheel and thinks that she gets left out when they spend time together individually or hang out in pairs instead of the whole group.

What is the one thing in this world (or realm) that this character regrets more than anything?She regrets never finding a true best friend or someone to whom she can be number one. Within her core group of friends she often feels like a fifth wheel and thinks that she gets left out when they spend time together individually or hang out in pairs instead of the whole group.

Nightmares

The Prompt: In this dream I was...

In this dream I was screaming. The walls of fire surrounded me, cutting off any route of escape. The heat of the flames seared my skin as they burned closer. My body felt painfully dry and tight and all I wanted was to escape. But the fire was a circle around me and there was no way out. I was trapped. So I continued to scream.

“Peyton, wake up already!”

I jolted up in my bed and stared at my roommate with shock on my face. When the realization sunk in, I reddened from embarrassment. “Sorry,” I muttered, wiping the sleep from my eyes. It was early afternoon and all I had wanted was a quick nap since I hadn’t been sleeping well at night. I’d been plagued with nightmares for the past two weeks and the circles under my eyes showed it. I needed some restful sleep.

“You okay?” Michaela asked. “That sounded…rough.”

I hadn’t thought it was possible, but my face got even redder. I’d been screaming in the dream, I remembered that much, but I sincerely hoped I hadn’t actually been screaming. “Was it really that loud?”

“Uh…” Michaela seemed hesitant to answer. “I’m sure no one could hear you outside of the room.”

Great. That was just what I needed. For our entire hall, scratch that, entire floor to know I was a psycho with nightmares all the time. I’d have to figure out some way to stop them. Just bloody brilliant. Exactly what I needed the week before midterms.

“You gonna be okay?” Michaela asked. She sounded worried and I nodded, plastering a smile on my face.

“Sure. Just have to study. All this stress is playing with my head.” That might have even been true. I’d never really had nightmares before, but it was my first set of midterms in college ever. Maybe it really was just the stress. If I spent more time studying and worried less the nightmares might go away. That made perfect sense.

“I think I’ll go to the library,” I said, ignoring Michaela’s questioning look. “Quieter. Better for studying. Have to ace chem..”

“Right.” She nodded.

I packed up my bag, grabbing both lab books and textbooks for the library. I didn’t really prefer studying in the library, but I also didn’t want see Michaela anymore. I was too embarrassed to be around her. This was the second time in a week that she’d woken me up screaming from a nightmare. I sincerely hoped it would be last, but I couldn’t face her now. Going to the library was just an easy excuse.

“Good luck,” she said. “You know, with the studying and stuff.”

After two months we still weren’t close friends and a bit awkward around each other so I ducked my head. “Yeah, thanks.”

“And uh, it’s okay, you know. About the nightmares and stuff.” My faced burned. “Yeah, I know. Just—studying calls. Gotta hit the books.” I stumbled out of the room red in the face and closed my eyes in relief. I had to find a way to make the nightmares stop. Somehow.

Underwater

The Prompt: They came out under water.

It was the summer before they turned seventeen, in the pool in Lia’s backyard. Their skins were a deep golden brown from the weeks spent tanning. Together they swam and laughed, acting like the best of friends. And they were.

But in that moment, in the blue water that smelled vaguely of chlorine, they were more. They took hands almost instinctively, staring into each other’s eyes with a feeling neither could define, but both recognized. It was less than love, but more—different—than friendship.

Words between the two didn’t need to be spoken. They just understood. Their eyes open under the surface they could see what the other felt in a clear way they never could on dry land. It filtered out the lies, their facades, and left just them, naked to each other. Their fingers wove together and they drew nearer, intrigued by the new feelings. The lust and desire. They didn’t need to reason, talk things over. They just knew. They just felt. The just were.

Closer and closer their faces came as they drifted under the water. Their hair rose and circled their heads, one brown and one red. They were free, free to experience everything they truly felt away from judgment and fear.

But the chlorine began to burn their eyes. The water felt heavy over their heads as the pressure built. Their chests felt like they were going to burst from lack of air and they pulled apart, disentangling their hands as they did. They both pushed against the bottom and shot up, breaking the surface of the pool as they gasped for breath and gratefully filled their lungs with oxygen.

Once more they were separate, not touching or even looking at each other, but no longer quite the same. The moment was over, but they hadn’t ended. It wasn’t the same as it was before. The one moment, alone under the water, had changed everything. Even as they breathed in deep gulps of oxygen, so distant from the blue depths below, they had changed. They didn’t take hands again, but as they moved around the pool their fingers brushed.

Words were never exchanged, not a one, but they weren’t needed. The girls just understand each other.

They left the pool completely, hair dripping as they returned to their towels and lay out in the bright summer sun. As their hair began to dry the girls turned to each other, their smiles shy and small across their faces. They could see through the other’s walls now, see what they really felt since the moment under the water, but it was muted, no longer blaringly obvious. Softer in a way.

And they reached out with their hands as they lay side by side and wove their fingers together. The innocent gesture was all they needed as they closed their eyes against the bright glare and continued on with their lives, the rest of the world oblivious to the moment that had just passed under the water.

Study Break

The Prompt: Eavesdrop on a conversation and write what happens later.

She hastily brushed her thin brown hair out of her eyes as she bent over the book, intent on her studies. There was a test on Wednesday and she couldn’t seem to focus on the vocabulary. The words were beginning to swim together in her head. It didn’t help that whatever idiots lived on the floor above her were blasting some kind of heavy metal, the words dulled by the walls until nothing but the thumping bass remained. It wasn’t so much that she minded the music itself, she just wanted a break from it while she studied. It was apparent that they didn’t have a test any time in the near future, or at least they didn’t care if they did. Meghan didn’t have that luxury. French was one of the hardest classes she’d ever had to take, followed shortly by biology. This was her last semester of French, but biology was going to follow her for the next two years unless she managed to stand up to her father.

“Okay, you definitely need a break,” Jackie said. She pulled out her headphones and moved away from her computer. “I know that sigh.”

“What sigh?” Meghan asked. She hadn’t been aware of making any noise.

Jackie ignored the question. “Your dad called again, didn’t he?”

Meghan shrugged and glanced back down at her notes. “I just have to focus on this French tonight. I can’t afford to, well, you know.” Formulating the word ‘fail’ was sometimes too much for her. She’d done well enough in high school, but college classes were different. Freshman year was the first time she’d ever failed anything in her life. Now she was constantly worried about French and biology. She’d done poorly enough on some tests and labs already. She had to shape up or risk her GPA.

“You’re stressing too much. Don’t psych yourself out. Take an hour and unwind.” Jackie surveyed her roommate with a critical eye. “And get your damn father out of your head.”

“I had my unwinding time earlier when I went to dinner. Now it’s time to focus.” Meghan smoothed the edges of her vocabulary list and read the first line over again. She just needed to get these words down so she could move onto verb tenses and prepare for her bio lab on Thursday. The paper was pulled from out of her grasp and Meghan shot out of her chair, a scowl on her face. “Oy!”

“You are going to relax for exactly one hour before I give this back, capiche?” Jackie held the paper over her head and Meghan rolled her eyes. It was more than a touch dramatic, although Jackie had tendencies towards melodrama. “One hour of your life, it’s not a lot in the long run.”

“Go to hell,” Meghan muttered. She could have easily switched to studying verb tenses or even to her bio lab, but it irked her to leave a task unfinished.

“Just an hour, I swear. Put all this school stuff out of your mind and enjoy a Friday night for once,” Jackie pleaded. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

The offer should have been tempting, but all Meghan wanted was to move on with her studying. There were more important things than an evening of relaxing alone. Classes, for one. “Give it back. Now.” Her tone was harsh, but there was a long moment when she thought Jackie would keep the vocabulary hostage. Instead her roommate shrugged and let go, allowing the paper to fall back to the desk and land askew on the textbook.

“Fine. Be an old stick the mud boring adult.” Jackie jammed her headphones back on and turned up her music so loud Meghan could hear it from across the room. She sighed once more and shook her head. Maybe she was a boring adult, but Jackie could sure act the immature child at times. Yet still she managed grades that were at least as good as Meghan’s. Some people didn’t have to work as hard as others.

She fixed the paper on her desk, laying it straight before she went back to memorizing the words. There would be time for fun later, Meghan promised herself. After the test.

Prompt #17

The Prompt: A Rainbow

The light streaked across the sky as Isa stared out her bedroom window. She recited the colors in order.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo. Violet.

A rainbow. A perfect rainbow, arced above all the houses and trees, dipping low to each side outside of Isa’s view. It hadn’t even rained earlier. Those were the best kind, Isa thought. Usually rainbows were an apology for the rainstorms, but occasionally one happened out of the blue like this. Just a random spark of happiness to brighten everyone’s day.

Isa smiled up at it. Nothing seemed quite so bad with a rainbow in the sky.

Sounds came from downstairs. They must have been fighting again.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Indigo.

They were always fighting lately. Cam deliberately made their father angry, like she was trying to bring out the worst in him. Isa couldn’t stand the yelling. It was a Sunday. Why couldn’t they just let things rest for one day a week?

Why couldn’t Cam just keep her head down and do what Dad wanted?

Isa always tried her best not to be noticed. It was safer that way. She was younger so he didn’t care as much about her as long as her grades were A’s and she didn’t stir up any trouble. Cam was a different story. She always had all kinds of friends and though her grades were good she rebelled in other ways.

There had been the shoplifting, and the drinking. Lately it’d been pot and college boys. She would come into Isa’s room late at night with the smoky sweet smell clinging to her clothes, ready to regale her with a story about her adventures that night.

Isa mostly tried not to listen.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue.

They were screaming again. She didn’t bother to question why Mom wasn’t stopping it. Their mother spent most of her time out on the patio with a cigarette these days. The stress smoking had gotten worse since Cam started high school.

Everything had gotten worse since Cam started high school.

“-won’t have this kind of behavior in my house! It’s disgraceful!” Isa cringed at the tone in her father’s voice. Her door was closed, but he still rang loud and clear.

Cam’s response was no better. “I’ll do what I want! It’s not hurting anyone!”

“That’s not your decision to make!”

Isa tried to tune them out, turned her attention back to the rainbow.

Red. Orange. Yellow. Green.

“You’re too old to act like this anymore! Look at your sister! She hasn’t started acting out and she’s been in high school for a year!”

“Only because you’ve got her locked away terrified in her room!”

Isa shuddered. She hated when the conversation- argument became about her. It seemed like it was the only time Dad ever noticed her. She wasn’t a fan of his attention. It never led to anything good.

“Look around this house, Dad. Isa never leaves her room, Mom’s outside pretending everything’s fine, it’s all on you!”

“I will not be spoken to that way in my own house!”

Red. Orange. Yellow.

Cam’s response was too quiet for Isa to hear, even though she strained. The arguments were bad, but the endings were worse. Sometimes Cam locked herself in her room, sometimes she joined Isa in hers. Lately she’d taken to fighting back with everything she had and the fights never ended.

She rarely got quiet.

Isa couldn’t hear a thing. She considered getting up from her window seat if only to open the door, but decided against. If anyone wanted her they’d come looking. It was safer in her room.

Then suddenly, a door slammed. The front door. Turning her gaze from the sky, Isa saw Cam’s blonde head retreating from the house at a near run. She didn’t look back, she didn’t even pause. Just continued until she was around the corner and out of sight.

Another door slammed, this time coming from inside the house. Her father’s study. She doubted he’d come out until dinner when her mother would plead and cajole him to join them at the table. It would be a tense meal, but usually Cam didn’t get back until they’d all gone to bed.

Red. Orange.

Isa waited up that night for the click of the front door, the soft beep of the security system or her sister’s soft footsteps on the stairs, but they never came. She waited up until suddenly she was opening her eyes to the bright light of morning and there was no hint that Cam had ever entered her bedroom.

She tiptoed down the hall to her sister’s room and peeked in. The bed was unmade, but that was nothing new. Cam was a slob. She wasn’t there and there was no sign she’d come back during the night.

Breakfast was quiet with no Cam to stir up trouble. There were no lectures about breaking curfew or the shameful behaviors Cam was exhibiting. There was no Cam.

Not a word was said the whole meal and Isa retreated back to her bedroom. She took up her usual seat at the window and watched not the sky, but for Cam to return.

Red.

She remained in that seat for hours, staring out at the grass and watching for Cam to come flouncing up the path, but she never did. Afternoon arrived and she was still gone.

The knot in the pit of Isa’s stomach tightened. Cam had always come back before, but there was always a question of how long that would last. She was eighteen. No law said she had to return. No reason for her to ever set foot in the house again. She’d certainly made that point clear several times.

Isa felt sick and the grass swam beneath her eyes. She’d been watching it for too long. She blinked rapidly to get the green haze out of her head and caught a glimpse of the sky. Yesterday’s rainbow was long gone and the sky was a clear blue, not even a cloud in sight.

Just a blank sky, nothing to distract her from Cam’s absence.

Nothing.

Prompt #14

The Prompt: “If you were going to be some lame suburban dad why couldn’t you be that for me?”

“What are you talking about?” Paul asked, taking a step closer to his daughter.

Kelly pulled away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t want anyone else to touch her, especially not him. “You! You’re just some family guy, raising your two point five kids with your Carol Brady wife and white picket fence! You were supposed to be awesome, have some reason you weren’t around the last fifteen years! Not this.”

Kelly trailed off as she gestured around the house. It was so suburban, so typical of everything she’d seen her friends have growing up. There was the perfect lawn, the nice house, even dinner was the classic suburban dream. He had the perfect family.

“Why not me, Dad? Why not me and Mom? What makes them so special that you settled down?” Kelly’s voice shook and it took everything for her to not break down. He didn’t mean anything to her. He shouldn’t have meant anything to her. She didn’t want to show him that she was weak or that he had the ability to hurt her.

She wanted to be stronger than that.

“That’s not it at all,” he said looking saddened by Kelly’s accusation. “I was so young when you were born, so immature. I didn’t have an idea of who I was. I’ve grown up since them.”

“You never came back! You never contacted me again! Fifteen years went by and I’m only here because I sent you that damn letter!” Kelly’s voice rose and she pulled back even more, turning her back on her estranged father. “You never reached out.”

“I’ve made mistakes…”

“Mistakes,” Kelly scoffed. “I don’t want to hear it.” She’d gone to his house that night with the intention to build a relationship, at the very least hear him grovel and make excuses for the past fifteen years. But now that she had seen what his life was she didn’t want any of that. He had what she’d always wanted.

Only he had it without her.

“What is it that you want from me?” Paul asked. He looked sincerely as though he wanted to please her, but that only mad e Kelly feel worse.

“Nothing. I don’t want anything from you anymore,” she spat. Maybe another time, even earlier that day she had, but Kelly was done. She was finished with him. “I’ll go back to being your point five kid that you fathered and abandoned and you can keep being dad of the year for your other two.”

Paul followed as she hurried to her car. Kelly ducked her head and avoided eye contact as she started the engine.

“Please, Kelly-”

“Have a nice life, Dad,” she muttered as she shifted the car into drive and sped off, leaving her father staring after her.

Prompt #12

The Prompt: There’s a reason why I can’t look you in the eye anymore.

I feel betrayed. We were never close, but I trusted you. I trusted you more than I did the rest of them. I thought you were safe. I try to avoid you as much as I can. It’s hard when I have to sit in the same classroom with you for an hour a day.

I keep my head down, sprint out the moment the bell rings. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I can’t stand to be in your presence anymore. Just that single hour in class makes me feel physically ill. You don’t have to say a word and already I want to run far away. I would skip, but I haven’t got anywhere to go and I’m too afraid that would draw me to your attention.

Instead I sit there, your desk not more than fifteen feet away from mine. Everyone else is working busily on their assignments hoping to fall into your good favor. I can’t focus. They don’t know anything. It’s supposed to be a secret. I’m not supposed to know either.

But she told Dana and Dana told me. I don’t know why Dana told me. I never asked to know. It would have been better to live happily in ignorance. But in a way I’m glad I know. What if I had gone on idolizing you? I feel dirty just remembering the way I used to think about you.

And even worse when I think about what you did with her. It wasn’t a onetime thing. It went on and on for weeks, maybe even longer. There were feelings involved. That almost makes everything worse. Feelings.

I glance up at the clock. This assignment carries over as homework so not focusing isn’t going to get me any unwanted attention. Ten minutes left. Ten minutes until I can escape.

Ten minutes is forever in the same room as you.

It’s hard to believe there was ever a time I looked up to you, idolized you even. I can’t imagine going back to that now. It’s hard enough knowing I have to continue to see you every single day when I come into school and pretend that nothing has changed.

I was never an actress. I’m not a part of the theater department. I can hardly tell a lie without being called out immediately. I don’t handle secrets well at all. And this is a huge one. I can’t think of anything else and it makes me wonder about all kinds of things.

Why you did it, for one. Why would you take such a risky chance when it could ruin your whole life? We have the excuse of being teenagers for our stupidity, but you’re an adult. You’re supposed to be mature and rational. You’re supposed to stop things before they go too far.

It all comes down to you. Maybe she made mistakes too, but you’re the adult. That’s why I can’t stand to be around you anymore.

People begin to pack up and I check the clock again. Three minutes. Oh god, please let it be over. Please let me be out of here. It’s a Friday so I know I won’t have to suffer the hour of class again until Monday.

“Lyssa?”

I freeze as you say my name. You can’t want to talk to me. It’s Friday. I’ve just got to get away from you.

But you’re a teacher and I can’t just openly disrespect you. I shuffle over to your desk where you’re grading our essays from last week. You smile up at me, but I look away. Keep my gaze on the ground. Talking to you makes my stomach roll over uneasily so I keep my mouth shut.

“I know I’m not handing the essays back until Wednesday, but I wanted to get yours to you early. Congratulations.” You offer me a paper from the side of your desk and I stare at it a moment before realizing you mean for me to take it. Accepting anything from you seems wrong now, even if it’s only a paper.

I grab it quickly and yank it from your grasp so we won’t both be touching it at the same time. I don’t want any kind of connection with you. The cursive A at the top of the page would have pleased me just a few weeks ago, but now all I can think is that you wrote that A and what else you’ve done with those hands. What else you could be thinking as you graded it.

“Thanks,” I mumble, already heading towards the door. I don’t want to talk to you any longer than absolutely necessary.

You frown at me slightly. “Is everything okay? Anything upsetting you at home?”

The question puts me on my guard. Home. Home’s fine. You’re the one upsetting me. But I can’t say that to you. You aren’t supposed to know that I know.

At that moment the bell rings and I snatch your backpack from the floor. “Gotta go, can’t be late for class,” I say. I just can’t wait to be out of your presence.

“Anything you need, Lyssa, don’t hesitate to come to me, alright?” You stare at me sincerely and I nod jerkily before sprinting out of the room. It’s only then I allow myself to cringe in disgust.

Had you said that same line to her before things started happening between the two of you? Did you offer your shoulder for her to cry on? Or was that offer to me merely innocent, a teacher trying to help his student the way he should?

I can’t take anything you say at face value anymore. I question everything you say, everything you’ve ever said. It disgusts me, sickens me to the point where I have to run away. I know things I shouldn’t, things I never wanted to know.

I don’t know why you did it, though. I’m not sure I want to. I can’t begin to fathom what made you think it was okay. You’re not who I thought you were. Not by a long shot.

Prompt #7

The Prompt: “Hold still, I’m trying to kill you.”

Effie sighed as she leaned against the frame of the bed, craning her neck so Paul could wrap his hands around it. He kept them around the base, closer to her shoulders than her actual neck, but it still gave Effie the shivers. It felt strange to subject herself to this multiple times every afternoon.

“This is supposed to be a passionate scene, you two!” A voice interrupted them and a tall thin balding man stalked down the aisle of the auditorium. “Passion! Anger! Fighting for your life! You- Desdemona, you’ve just been accused of something you’d never do and now you’re being killed for it. Why do you look so bored?”

Effie rolled her eyes and Paul disentangled his hands from her hair. “Sorry,” she muttered, easily jumping off the bed.

“And you, Othello! You’ve been betrayed! Show us that pain! We want to feel your pain!” He sounded so excited that Effie just wanted to walk off the stage in frustration. She liked acting, being on the stage in front of so many people, but they’d been hearing the same things from Davies for months in rehearsal.

“It’s hard to act all impassioned when she’s so resistant to me getting close to her,” Paul whined.

Effie scowled at him. He didn’t have to throw her under the bus because he was a crap actor. “You try being strangled sometime,” she snapped, eyes blazing. “It’s rather difficult to look like you’re fighting for your life and keep your neck at just the right angle so you can grab me.”

“Well you knew this scene was in the play when you auditioned,” Paul shot back. “Don’t take the part if you can’t do the work.”

Effie huffed at him. He didn’t have to pretend to be strangled to death a dozen times every evening. “Well maybe I should just quit now, would that make you happy?” She asked scathingly. She was tired of having to deal with this every single night after school. She loved acting, but this was something more akin to torture.

“You can’t quit,” Davies protested, looking scandalized. “We open next weekend!”

“Well I don’t want to be strangled anymore,” Effie said, wiping her eyes and sniffling. A few tears slipped down her cheeks as she stalked out of the auditorium.

She heard Davies on the stage as she left, frantically calling for her understudy in the wings. Effie knew the freshman didn’t have her lines memorized, let alone the blocking. She’d get a phone call later that night begging her to come back. It wasn’t going to happen, though. She was done with the theater. It was all too much to handle.

As the double doors slammed shut behind her in a dramatic exit, Effie drowned out all sound from the stage. It was as though that part of her life had closed with those doors. Two girls walking down the hallway giggled at her and Effie refused to make eye contact. They could probably tell she’d already quit. Her fall from the school’s social ladder was beginning.

She didn’t wipe the tears from her face and instead hurried toward her car in the parking lot. Her hair whipped behind her rather dramatically and the tears only added to her image. Effie knew she looked good, but she didn’t think twice about it.

Her older brother Patrick was waiting by the car, smoking a cigarette. Effie scrunched her nose up at the smell. “That’s a disgusting habit,” she said. He was always smoking.

Patrick snorted. “Want one?”

Effie almost shook her head out of habit, but then thought about it. She’d quit acting, didn’t have to worry about the smoke damaging her vocal cords anymore. There was no real reason to say no. “Sure.”

Patrick turned the car on and offered her both cigarette and lighter. “So you quit again?”

“I quit for good!”

“Sure you did,” he replied. “Right up until they call you tonight and request that you return. Then you’ll change your mind again and burst into tears and I’ll have to pick you up from rehearsal tomorrow.” Patrick raised an eyebrow at her. “Acting’s what you do, Ef. It’s in your blood. You’re just a little drama queen.”

“Shut it,” she snapped turning away from him to scowl out the window. “I’m done.”

“Fine,” Patrick said as he laughed a bit. “Put down the window so I don’t have to hear to freak out about smoke inhalation and your vocal cords later.”

Effie considered arguing because she really was done with theater this time, but decided not to. Putting up a fight was simply too much work after the awful night she’d had. She rolled down the window and Patrick let out a loud guffaw. Effie huffed and determinedly stared out the window. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of arguing.

But she really was finished this time.

Prompt #6

The Prompt: Terror in the night

She woke up, her throat raw from screaming and entangled in her sheets. Eileen struggled for a moment, freeing herself from the suffocating blankets. They fell to the floor softly and she pulled herself up, glancing around the room in fear.

Shadows played across the walls and Eileen continued to breathe heavily, even as she reminded herself of where she was. Her dorm room. Everything was fine. It was a new place, but it was nothing to be frightened of. Everything was fine.

The light flicked on and Eileen winced. She’d screamed. Again. At this rate Hadley was going to switch rooms before the first month had passed. “You okay?” Her roommate asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Eileen’s face burned. She knew she looked awful, sweaty and shaking and huddled terrified in the corner of her bed, blankets thrown on the ground in a fit of fear. Using every bit of self control she had Eileen pried herself from the bed frame and deposited her linens on a pile in the center of her bed. Making the bed was beyond her, though, so she just left them there.

“I’ll- yeah. Fine. I’m just going to head down to- yeah,” she mumbled incoherently.

Hadley gave her a small smile and lay back down in bed. She’d grown used to the nightmares after being awakened by Eileen more nights than not. “If you say so. Turn off the light on your way out, would you?”

Eileen nodded and flipped the switch as she hurried down the hall to the bathroom. At three in the morning even the late night partiers were mostly in bed, passed out or simply exhausted after classes. For this Eileen was grateful. The bathroom had become her safe haven in the early hours of the morning.

She sank down against the cool tile, letting her head rest against it. Eileen’s frame began to shake again as her walls crumbled and the true terror set in. This night had been worse than most. At least she usually knew what scared her so much about the dreams- nightmares. There was some detail she remembered.

But there was nothing. Not a whisper, not a hint. Just that feeling of utter fear as she awoke.

The nightmares were like panic attacks. They’d only started once college began and Eileen had to move in with her new roommate. The first night it had happened she’d been mortified. Now she just kept hoping they would go away.

Eileen felt her body slowly begin to still as the sheer panic left, but she was far from fine. It took several more minutes and all the strength in her body to stand up and stumble over towards the sinks. She glanced in the mirror and immediately turned away.

She didn’t need to see her bloodshot eyes or the dark shadows that circled them. She knew they were there. The reminder just made things worse.

Instead Eileen splashed water on her face and let the cold droplets wash away the last feelings of fear. Everything would be fine now that she was awake. The nightmares only came when she was sleeping, leaving her waking hours free to focus on schoolwork. It was only just before bed she began to feel anxious.

Because she couldn’t spend forever in the bathroom, Eileen finally emerged. She didn’t have a choice to go anywhere but back to her room and hoped that Hadley would be asleep by the time she got there. The worst nights were when Hadley tried to talk to her about the nightmares. The only thing worse than being scared was being so humiliated, although sometimes after just waking up Eileen didn’t think there was a worse feeling in the world.

The light was still off when she opened the door and she let out a soft sigh of relief. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any kinds of probing questions. They just made things so much worse. Her relationship with Hadley was already awkward enough.

Even though sleeping wasn’t a possibility, Eileen curled up on her bed with a textbook. The least she could was use the next few hours to be productive.

A soft rustling drew her attention after hardly getting through the first page, though. Hadley must have been awake after all.

“You awake?” Hadley asked from across the dark room.

“For a while,” Eileen replied, although she never fell asleep after her nightmares.

“If you ever want to talk-”

“I know,” Eileen said, her face flushing despite the dark room. “You’re there.”

“I mean it,” Hadley said, sounding sincere. “I’m not just going to switch out and leave you alone.”

Eileen winced. Being alone might actually be better than sharing a room, but the thought was nice at least. “Thanks,” she muttered, still feeling embarrassed.

“Don’t thank me,” Hadley responded. “We’ve all got stuff going on. You’re no different.”

Eileen wanted to argue, to say she was different, but she didn’t have the energy. On these particular nights she always felt drained of energy.

After some more rustling, Hadley let out a small sigh. “Night,” she said, her voice muffled.

Eileen nodded. “Good night.” At least Hadley was understanding, if nothing else.

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.”

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/