July Writing Craze: Day 15!!

Today is the halfway mark for July Writing Craze!!! Thank you all soooo much for all your support! :)
Enjoy!

“Go to sleep, you guys,”  Velvet called, titling back the green curtain, giving the four campers a reason to scream and scamper.  “We’ll be playing an early game of Capture The Flag tomorrow.”  Velvet went back into her room where Yori was already laying in her bed, flipping through a People magazine.

            “What are you reading?”  Velvet asked nonchalantly, pulling back her hair into a loose bun.  Yori flipped to the next page in her magazine, scanning through the pictures and captions.  Her manicured nails strummed lightly against the covers of the mag.  The crinkling of the flimsy paper and the muttering of the little troopers in the next room edged at Velvet’s mind.  The mix of negative emotions was getting to her.  She was feeling ire with a twinge of guilt from trespassing Yori twice in one day.

            “I put your mail back where I found it,”  Velvet tried again, grabbing her book from the floor beside her bed.  Yori closed her magazine, reached for her bag under her bed, and selected a nail file, proceeding to file her nails.

            “Okay, I get it.  You’re mad.  I still don’t think you should be doing what you are,”  Velvet commented, fluffing her pillows.

            “Velvet!  Can we go to the rec room for pudding?”  Sapphire cried out from the other room, her little feet appearing underneath the green curtain.  A small hand poked through the slit in the curtain and soon a short-haired head stuck out into the counselor room.

            “Sapphire, we can’t.  It’s time for bed, actually it has been time for bed for the past thirty minutes.  Bed, now,”  Velvet commanded, growing a little tired of the tedious routine of trying to get the campers to sleep.

            “Please, Velvet?  Can we go for tapioca, then?  Please!  Everyone wants to go,”  Sapphire persisted.  Velvet wanted to talk to Yori alone even though chocolate pudding sounded pretty tasty.

            “I’m going to sleep,”  Velvet said simply, demonstrating by tucking herself into bed.  Sapphire sighed in disappointment and turned to leave.

            “Why ask Velvet?”  Yori piped up, throwing her blankets off her legs and standing up.  “I’m up for it.”  Sapphire’s face lit up.

            “Yes!  You guys, Yori is going to take us!”  Sapphire hollered to the other girls, running into the front room.  Yori hurried to her makeup case, rapidly coating her brushes with natural colors and then doing up her face with them.

            “We’re just gonna get dressed,”  Mallory called into the counselor room.

            “Don’t bother.  Just put on some slippers,”  Yori called back, setting down her brushes so she could drape her silk lavender robe over her shoulders.

            “Yori.  They need to go to—“

            “Yori, you’re the best!  Do you think the air hockey table will be plugged in?”  Tegan said, pinning back the green curtain.

            “I don’t know about you, but I know how to plug in a cord,”  Yori responded as she combed through her hair and gave it a messy toss.  Tegan grinned.  Velvet could feel the surge of jealousy creeping up her throat.

            “Yori, did you tell Brody I was sick yesterday?”  Velvet demanded Yori, grasping at something to keep herself from plain exploding.

            “Of course not, Velvet,”  Yori taunted super-sweetly.  “I told him that today.”  Velvet swallowed, hoping her jealousy would go down too.  After spritzing some perfume on her, Yori popped a breath mint in her mouth and looked through the green curtain.

            “Ready to go, guys?”  Yori called.  “Oh, Velvet?  Can I ask you something?”  Yori asked before she left.

            “What, Yori?  What could you possibly want from me?  After you’ve taken Brody from me, you’ve taken my campers from me, you’ve made lies up about me, and you’ve ignored me, taunted me, and insulted me…all because you need to keep a guy for yourself, you want to tell me ask me something!  Oh, pray tell, what you must ask me.”

            Yori’s lips curled up into a tormented little simper, her head falling limply to one side.  She slowly closed her eyes in a blink and when they opened, Yori shook her head, her black hair tossing from side to side.

            “Brody’s in 4B, right?  I think I’ll get him and his little campers to come too,”  she said.  Velvet’s heart burned.  How was it, that all the suck in the world could be bottled up and shoved into one person?  The one person being the one Velvet had to spend the two weeks that were supposed to be the best days of her life with?!

            “Can I ask you something Yori?”  Velvet said, surprised by how calm her tone was.

            “Go for it,”  Yori replied, taking a deep breath, her smile still goading.

            “How do you live with yourself, being so…mean and…difficult?”  Velvet spat out, staring at Yori’s feet, fearing she would slap Yori if she looked her in the eyes.

            “Live with myself?”  Yori asked, in a completely serious and sober voice.  “It’s harder than you would think.”  Velvet snapped her head up to meet Yori’s eye level,  expecting to see a disgustingly smug, obnoxiously righteous, and utterly sarcastic expression.  Velvet did a retake when she saw how solemn Yori appeared, her wavering eyes darting within Velvet’s.

            “Don’t be so hard on yourself,”  Velvet heard herself say.  Her body suddenly felt very achy as if all the fighting and tension between her and Yori had lifted off of Velvet’s body, leaving a painfully sore repercussion.  Was it over?  Was all the fighting done?  Could Velvet finally relax after all the guilt and jealousy and betrayal and immoral undertaking she had to go through?  Was Yori coming around to be—

            “So, it is 4B?  Oh, never mind.  I’ll find him, you get some rest, I can see the bags under your eyes forming already.  C’mon girls!  Who’s the best counselor?”  Yori interjected, whirling around and flouncing off in her nightgown, robe, and slippers, looking more like a Grecian goddess than someone who just hopped out of bed.

            Velvet flopped down on her bed, cursing herself for thinking anything had been resolved, especially as the cheers and praise for Yori echoed through the cabin.

Thanks for reading!  And thank you for coming halfway with me! :)

And remember guys:  "Most of the material a writer works with, is aquired before the age of fifteen."    -Willa Cather
ABC 123,
                Maddie

July Writing Craze: Day 3!

What goes on guys?  I hope summer is treating all of you well!  Here is Day 3-Happy reading! :)

Chapter Two: Velvet

A Friend In Need is a Fiend Indeed

            “Do you think she’ll be okay, Brody?”  Velvet asked, picking Yori’s plate off the ground. 

            “Oh, she’ll be fine.  She’s kind of bratty, if you ask me,”  Brody responded, grabbing handfuls of food from the table as Velvet tossed Yori’s utensils.

            “I think she’s just nervous.  I mean, she really doesn’t seem like the camper type,”  Velvet said, filling her plate behind Brody.

            “Not even close!  She’s seems like a Barbie to me,”  Brody scoffed, grabbing a napkin at the end of the line.

            “Oh, cut her some slack.  She didn’t come here on her own accord and she’s still getting used to the atmosphere,”  Velvet proposed, looking around the main field for a bench to sit on.

            “What do you mean she didn’t come here on her own accord?”

            “Her mom made her come here for her college apps, actually Yori said she would rather be tanning than be here.  Wanna sit over by that tree?”  Velvet replied.

            “Wow, talk about taking the natural spirit of going to camp for granted!  So basically, you were cheated out of a cabin and four campers for someone who doesn’t even want to be here?  That’s lame, man,”  Brody remarked, rolling his eyes.

            “I guess if you look at it that way…what about by the statue?”  Velvet responded, pointing to the bench next to the stone statue of a bear and raccoon eating pancakes and hamburgers.

            “Yeah, let’s go there.  Aren’t you mad about having to share?  Isn’t the cabin space tight?”

            “Oh, I don’t mind, Brody.  I’m sure she’ll come around; at least she’s trying something new for her.  I mean, obviously she comes from shopping and lounging, so I would think the idea of sports and messy living would be a new and kind of unsettling experience for her,”  Velvet reasoned, not understanding why Brody was pressing the issue.

            “I guess...I bet she comes from more than shopping and lounging though.  She probably comes from a rich dad that makes everything perfect for her.  I bet the first thing she did when she walked in the cabin was spray it with Lysol or something,”  Brody persisted, laughing at his own jab.

            “Brody, it’s fine.  I’m fine, she’ll be fine.  Just leave it alone,”  Velvet concluded the conversation.  Velvet wanted to make the best of her sudden roomie since they’d be with each other for the three weeks coming.

            “All right, all right.  I’m sorry.  So, how did you like junior year?”  Brody gave in, diverting the topic elsewhere.

            “A lot of work, but worth it when I saw the grades I ended with.  What about you?”

            “It was pretty good…my End World Hunger club really expanded.  We were the largest club  on campus,”  Brody shared.

            “No way!  Good for you!  My brail club didn’t really expand this year, but my afterschool non-profit made over 10,000 dollars throughout the whole year.”

            “Hey, that’s pretty cool—“

            “What is?”  someone behind Brody interrupted, before smacking him on the shoulder.  Brody turned around to see his best guy friend, Matt.

            “Matt!  There you are, man.  Couldn’t spot you for shi—“

            “You better get used to not saying that for when the campers arrive,”  Velvet sung, chewing on a piece of cheesy bread.

            “That must be Velvet,”  Matt said, smiling.  “How have you been?”  Velvet stood up and hugged Matt hello.

            “I’ve been fine, how about you?”  Velvet asked, sitting back down and crossing her legs.

            “Good, good.  I’m anxious to get back home though,”  Matt said, taking off his baseball cap, sticking his hand through his knotted up head of brown curls and scratching underneath all the hair.

            “Already?”  Brody asked, scooting over for Matt to sit down.

            “I’m so close to putting the final finish on my second computer,”  Matt said, replacing his hat, balancing it as carefully as he could upon his mop.

            “You’re building computers?  What happened to your frog testing?”  Velvet asked, swiping a bundle of crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

            “They’re not colorblind.  Literally, all I need is six pad screws for the motherboard and I’ll be done.  Do you think I could get them off geeks.com?  I probably could; they’d be cheapest there.  Harold’s sight sold them for $59.99, but I could probably get them for like…”  Matt trailed off, enveloped in his own mumbled-under-the-breath words that only made sense to him.  As Matt thought and went through the files in his packed brain, Velvet turned to Brody.

            “Here comes Yori,”  she said, popping her head to the side to indicate the direction she was coming from.

            “Do you see the smile on my face, Velvet?”  Brody asked flatly, his mouth in a straight line.  “Tell me where it is, ‘cause I don’t see it.”  Velvet laughed out loud and smacked Brody’s shoulder.

            “Shh!  Be nice,”  Velvet commanded, smothering her laughing smile.  Brody stuffed down a chuckle, as well.

            “Velvet.”  Yori looked quite put off.  She was wearing a new shirt that was not stained, but her annoyed expression remained the same.  “Where can I find a phone that works?  My cell phone isn’t connecting.”

            “Oh yeah, cell phones never work all the way up—“

            “Where is a phone that works?”  Yori repeated, her voice still level and precise, her face still miffed.  Taken aback from the interruption, Velvet’s smile faded and she pointed to the office by the parking lot.

            “Hi!”  Matt perked up.  “I’m Matt.  Nice to meet you.”  Matt stood up and stuck out his hand toward Yori for her to shake.  Yori distinctly looked at the hand, turned her head, and strode away to the office.  “What did I say?”  Matt asked.

            “Still think she’s just nervous?  Will she really come around, Velvet?”   Brody asked.  Velvet didn’t say anything; she just looked at Yori stalking away, wondering what could have made Yori so upset.  She couldn’t be that uneasy, could she?

            “Anyway, the motherboard should only cost like 40 bucks, guys.  I would say that’s pretty reasonable, wouldn’t you?”  Matt went on, totally disregarding what had just happened.

            “Yeah, Matt…it’s super,”  Velvet responded, defeated.

All right!  I'll see you all tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

And remember guys:  "Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart" -William Wordsworth 

July Writing Craze: Day 2!!

Hi everyone!
  Here is Part 2 of my story!  (You can reference my first post if you need plot refreshing!)  Enjoy!

            “Patience,”  Yori hissed under her breath as she neatly folded her purple Ralph Lauren skirt and slid it into her side of the drawers.  Yori and Velvet had been unpacking together in cabin 2A for fifteen minutes and definitely had different styles of doing so.  Velvet had dumped her duffle bag of tees and shorts into her half of the drawers and chucked her linen set on the mattress to make up later.

            Yori had carefully sorted her clothes and shoes and cosmetics, organizing them cautiously where there was room.  Yori took a generous amount of time placing potpourri on the windowsill by her bed and stretching her bed sheets across the sagging mattress that was stuffed into the small room at the last minute.

            “Yori!”  Velvet called for the third time from the doorway in the second bedroom where the four little campers would be rooming.  “This time is really just to put our bags in our cabins.  There is plenty of time to unpack later.  Right now is our golden time to socialize!”

Tired of being hollered at from 15 feet away, Yori snapped back, “Go down then!”

            “Are you sure?  Because I can wait for you…you know now that we’re roomies and everything, we should stick together…”

            “Anything but that, please,”  Yori mumbled under her breath, but then said aloud, “It’s fine, go.”

            “Thanks, Yori!  You’re the best!”  Yori waited as the screen door creaked open, clanked shut, and she heard shoes clomping down the wooden steps of the cracking porch, fading off down the pavement.

            “Oh my god,”  Yori groaned, letting her head slap down on her mattress in annoyance.  Yori had been listening to Velvet’s greatest memories from earlier camp days for the past fifteen minutes and Yori couldn’t stand another second.  Velvet’s hyper-friendly, morning shine personality created friction with Yori’s demure and A-list personality.  Yori was not seeing three weeks of bunking with Velvet going down pretty.

            She also didn’t see Camp Sing-Song adding as a sightly setting for the next three weeks.  Drawer space for clothes was limited to three drawers, which meant one and a half for Yori and Velvet since their cabin room was now cut directly in half due to their sudden bunk sharing.  The dark brown wooden porches leading up to every cabin had broken steps and cracking surfaces that had to be stepped around and the cabin rooms were musty and had corners of cobwebs.  There was a green curtain hanging from the counselor bedroom doorway, producing very minimal privacy for Yori and Velvet from the campers in the front room where there was a simple screen for a front door.  And the only thing worse than the actual cabin was the bathroom situation.  One bathroom sat right in between cabin 2A and cabin 2B, providing four stalls, four sinks, and seven showerheads, no curtains given.  Yori was not excited for how early she would have to awake in order to shower in private.

            Elbowing Velvet’s mess of clothes to the side, Yori shoved in her last two pairs of Tim Hamilton denim skirts and quickly closed the drawer, in fear of her organization tumbling out.

            “C’mon guys, food’s out!”  a voice yelled form outside.

            “Suit up for the lake!  The dock will be open right after the induction!”  another voice hollered and Yori heard footsteps thunder down the pavement towards the main building.  Perking up at the chance to wear her new line of summer bikinis, Yori quickly slipped her Agua Bendita suit under her outfit and kicked her suitcase and handbag under her bed.  Yori pushed her way past the green curtain, brushed the screen door out of her way, and made her way down the porch, catching her boot heel in a crack only once.

            Down at the main field where the office, infirmary, and parking lot were located near, dozens of teens crowded around buffet tables of food.  Yori had to admit, she was starved since she hadn’t eaten since the morning and could go for a hearty dinner.  Surveying the rows of dishes, Yori found nothing that fit her diet.

            Mayonnaise oozed from hammy sandwiches, butter seeped from steaming white rolls, grease spilled from the tops of chicken slices in the cheese casseroles, and Orange-aid dripped from plastic pitchers.  Yori began analyzing how she could pick apart and rearrange the condiments of the dishes to make a semi-healthy meal, when she heard a familiar, perky voice.

            “Yori!  You made it down, doesn’t this buffet look great?”  Velvet exclaimed, grabbing a paper plate and a fork.  Yori slowly turned around, her nerves jittering at the very sense of Velvet’s presence.

            “If you mean puke-inducing and loaded with unhealthy sodium, carbs, and—Brody?!”  The broad-shouldered god was standing next to Velvet, staring down the elements of the buffet, plate and utensils at hand, and startling Yori.

            “That ham sandwich looks good,”  Brody commented, disregarding Yori’s earlier remark.  Yori snatched a plate and found the first platter of sandwiches nearest her.

            “Sure does!”  Yori burst, slapping her hand on the first ham sandwich she saw, mustard and mayonnaise splattering from her palm to her white blouse.  Yori yelped at the sight of her stained top and dropped her plate.

            “Oh my gosh!”  Velvet gasped, setting her plate down on the table and placing her hand on Yori’s back.      

            “Off!”  Yori barked, twisting her shoulder blade from Velvet’s grip and hurriedly click-clacking off toward cabin 2A.  Steamed, Yori prepared a letter to her mother in her head that would demand her deportation back home.

            Dear Mom,

                        I will need to be sent home immediately from this torture cell they call Camp Sing-Song.  An hour after I arrived, I realized the issues that come along with this counseling job.  FIRST, camper people are not my type.  SECOND, my bathroom at home is bigger than the cabin I’m living in and that is definitely not enough room for me.  THIRD, I will not be able to maintain healthy ways, physically or mentally, with the kind of materials and food they provide here.  Unless you can sponsor bigger cabins, better food, and smoother pavements by tomorrow, you can sponsor my trip home.

                                    Your daughter,

                                                            Yori

Okay, there it is!  Today was a little harder to get going, but I think I'm still on the right track.

And remember guys:  Start writing with something, anything! Even if the idea seems awful, no one has to see it and it will at least get you going, giving you a gateway to a good story line! 

                                       ABC 123,

                                                        Maddie