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.