July Writing Craze: Day 24!!

Day 24!! We're almost at the end!! :)  Enjoy!

Not three minutes had Yori been playing (and not minding running) did Katie come storming down to the field with Velvet and Brody at her heels.  Yori pretended not to see Katie in her rusty orange sweater that seemed to choke her rooster throat and just kept playing.  The laughs and cheers of the campers floated through the air and surprised Yori with the joy they brought her.  One little boy, that Yori learned his name was Brent, made a bolt for the flags on the girl’s side.  Yori let the other girl campers race after him and tackle him, so she could provide the moral support on the sidelines.

            “All right!  There you go!  You got ‘em!”  Yori cheered, pumping her arms in the air.  Mallory danced around, holding up Brent’s red flag, making hilarious animal noises.  Tegan, Sapphire, and Kristina piled on top of her, cheering and laughing the whole time.  Yori couldn’t but laugh, too.  In fact, Yori laughed a whole-hearted laugh, one she hadn’t felt resonate from her body for a long, long time.

            “Yori!”  Katie yelled.  Yori’s internal tranquility immediately ceased as Yori’s mind focused back on reality.

            “Hi Katie,”  Yori said, as if nothing was wrong.

            “A word with you, please,”  Katie said, her voice drawn out like a stupid chess game.

            “Sure,”  Yori said, as pleasantly as she could muster.  “You guys keep playing,”  Yori told the campers.  Walking over to Katie and unsnapping her yellow flag, Yori waved to Velvet and Brody, her fingers crossed for good luck.  Velvet gave her a sympathetic smile and Brody thumbs-upped her.  Katie and Yori headed into the office building, past the lethargic Jane Webster, and into Katie’s claustrophobic and poorly designed office.

            “Yori, I regret to say…”  Katie said, once they had both taken a seat with the door closed behind them.  The isolation from everyone else made Yori sick.  She felt her knees wobble like she was standing in four-inch Stilettos.  Yori looked down at her bare feet to make sure she was stable…for the time being.

            “…that you are suspended for the rest of Camp Sing-Song.  You will be leaving early tomorrow morning.”  Yori knew the news was coming, she knew what she could say to defend herself, but no words came out.  All Yori could concentrate on was Katie’s smug expression with her nose scrunched up like a Pug puppy’s.

            “I…I…”  Yori couldn’t find the words to stand up for herself.  Yori wondered if Velvet and Brody were able to get through to Katie?  Apparently they hadn’t because Katie was sitting before Yori, telling her to get her butt out of the camp.  The more Yori looked at Katie’s complacent face, the angrier Yori felt.  Finally, words seemed to shove their way through Yori’s vocal chords, because soon Yori couldn’t stop talking.

            “Suspended?  You are suspending me?  For what, may I ask?  I didn’t do anything illegal.  You just…you don’t like me, isn’t that it?  Isn’t that it?  Well, who says that’s fair?”

            “Life’s not fair.”  Yori caught her breath.  She hated that saying.

            “Why are you suspending me?”

            “You were caught in the woods today, the woods are off-limits,”  Katie said, her face so smug it looked like it might implode. 

            “I wasn’t in the woods today, Katie.  I was down at the field playing Capture the Flag with the campers.  You just saw,”  Yori said evenly, trying not to loose her temper.  Whoever had mistakenly reported Yori in the woods made Yori mad for jeopardizing her counselor-ship.

            “No?  Then how come I was down here with Velvet and her campers earlier this morning, and you weren’t there?  I bet I could get Velvet to confirm on that.  Even Brody, too,”  Katie said, almost teasing Yori with the information.

            “Don’t bother,”  Yori said, deciding that two could play Katie’s game.  Yori put on her best superior and tantalizing smile, breathing easy and calmly.  Yori knew she hadn’t been in the woods, therefore she couldn’t be suspended.  Yori knew she couldn’t be suspended, so there wasn’t anything to worry about.

            “I won’t bother if you can tell me where you were this early morning,”  Katie replied, leaning on her elbows.

            “I was in my cabin.  I was running late because…something has happened in my family that…”

            “Caused you to be running late?”  Katie mocked Yori.  Yori felt the thunderous rumble of her inner anger, but made sure to flash her genuine smile and just agree with Katie.

            “Right you are,”  Yori responded, giggling a little.  Yori sensed Katie’s eyes flutter. Katie was getting antsy.  “I was upset and needed time to be by myself.  That’s not a crime against camp rules, is it now?  Especially since I pulled it together enough and came down to play anyhow.  Right?”  Yori widened her eyes, pulled her chin down, and smile a weakly innocent smile.  Katie didn’t speak for a moment and Yori’s mind was racing.  Would Katie give in?  Even though Yori was lying about being in her cabin all morning when she was actually in a boat, crying her eyes out, Yori was still in the right about not being in the woods.  There weren’t any rules against hiding in boats, were there?

            “Listen, Yori.  I’m going to be frank with you.”  Katie stood up and came around to Yori’s side.  Katie sat on the edge of her desk, her orange sweater shedding a handful of thread as she sat.  Yori purposely backed her chair up in disgust.

            “Lucky me.”

            “I’m going to suspend you whether you were in the woods or not.  Really, you were suspended from this camp the minute I knew your name.  All I needed to do was find someone to do my dirty work, report to me something you did that was not allowed.  That way, true or not, I would have something to write down for the paperwork to send to the big boss.”  Was that it then?  Katie simply didn’t like Yori and not caring if it was fair or not, was going to suspended her.  Yori was fighting a loosing battle.

            Suddenly, Yori’s walkie talkie crackled to life.  It buzzed and hummed and vibrated in her shorts pocket.      

            “Y-Yori?  Are you there?  It’s Velvet.  Over.”  Yori took out her walkie talkie and loving the excuse to get a moment to herself to regroup and breathe, Yori absolved herself from the room and from the uncomfortable conversation.

            “Yori, this is important,”  Katie snapped.  “You can’t just leave.”  Yori opened the door and right before she closed it, she said, “Can’t I?”

            “Yori, are you there?  I repeat, are you there?”  Velvet pretty much yelled into her walkie talkie, blasting Yori’s ears out.  Yori fumbled for the volume, turning it down quite a bit before pressing the red Speak button and announcing herself.

            “Oh, Yori!  Are you done?  What happened?  Over.”  Yori rolled her eyes.  It was just like Velvet to interrupt to know something.

            “Velvet, I’m being suspended.  There’s nothing I can do about it.  Katie doesn’t care if I was in the woods or not.  I’m gone.”  Yori pressed the Mute button on her walkie talkie.

            “What are your deals for overnight paving?”  Yori heard Jane Webster, the secretary, boringly say into her beige telephone.  Yori put her walkie talkie back into her pocket and took a few breaths.  Yori could feel the tension seeping from the crack underneath Katie’s office door and needed a few moments to regroup before she reentered.

            “You said 3200 dollars for overnight paving? …We have over 10 miles of pavement that needs to be redone and dry by the late morning. …Yes, well do you have any painting deals?  We need 34 wooden porches refinished. …When?  Tomorrow, late morning.  …I know it’s late notice.  Well, I’m sorry, but my boss just asked me if I made arrangements for our visitors and I didn’t know we needed to!”  Yori opened her eyes from her mini yoga meditation and slyly glanced at the panicked and overwhelmed Jane Webster.  Jane’s hand was pushing up her short hair in stress and her neck was strained so tight that it looked like it just might break if she said another word.  Yori couldn’t help but keep listening.

            “How much?  We’re willing to spend 10,000 dollars today.  …Yes, that’ll be for painting, refinishing, repaving, and landscaping.  We need a major crew for today and tonight...nothing?!  You can’t do anything?!  But, you don’t understand, my boss will fire me…I know, I know that’s not your problem.  Okay, well, thank you.  I’ll call you…soon.”  Jane Webster replaced the phone to its holder and covered her face with her hands.  Her shoulders were moving a little and Yori knew she was crying.

            “Excuse me,”  Yori said quietly, not wanting to startle the obviously oblivious secretary.  Yori didn’t care too much about Jane’s problems, but she needed to buy more time before she went back to her doomsday party.

            “Huh?!  Oh!  I didn’t know you were here.  Can I help you with something?”  Jane started, quickly wiping her eyes and smoothing down her hair.

            “Are you okay?”  Yori asked, hoping Jane’s problem was long, but didn’t require much concern or advice-giving.

            “I’m fine…what do you need?”  Jane said, folding her hands on her desk and smiling an awfully forced smile.

            “Nothing, but are you sure you’re okay?”  Yori said, glancing at Katie’s door, hoping it wouldn’t open.

            “No!”  Jane suddenly exploded.  “The magazine reviewers are coming tomorrow at one o’clock and I need to get this whole camp redone by then!  I knew the visitors were coming, but I didn’t think we’d have to change the whole camp!  So, Katie.  Ooh, Katie!  She tells me this morning that we need to fix this place or I’m fired!  Oh my god!”  Jane was a mess.  But Yori wasn’t at all concerned about that.  Suddenly, things were coming together.  The magazine reviewers were coming the next day.  And Katie was suspending Yori for no reason, just the simple fact that she didn’t want Yori there.  It was obvious, wasn’t it?  Katie didn’t want Yori at camp when the press came in case Yori messed anything up.  Katie was weeding out the trouble-makers, which Yori had to admit, she was kind of one from the beginning.  But Yori was a weed that could never be removed, instead she would be one of those really annoying ones that would spread, gaining a team, and turning the tables.

            “Jan,”  Yori piped up, running over to her desk.  Jane looked up, her bottom lip quivering.

            “It’s Jane.”  Mrs. Webster plump lips turned down in a frown, her eyes filling with water.  She looked absolutely pathetic.

            “You hate Katie?”

            “Well…”  Jane started, looking nervously down at her phone book and clipboard.  She started fingering the papers and flipping through pages, avoiding the conversation.  Yori slapped her hands on top of Jane’s, forcing Jane to look at Yori.

            “You’re telling me you like Katie?  The one who has you running around like a maniac, trying to fix the camp overnight?  She’s putting her workload on you, Jan—“

            “Jane.”

            “Don’t you wish you could walk into that office and tell Katie off?  Tell her, no!  It can’t be done, this camp is how it is!”  Yori hollered, trying to pump some life into the down-and-out Jane.

            “You bet I would.  The truth is, I have so many ideas for this camp, but every time I try to tell them to Katie, she won’t listen.  She pushes me aside and ignores me.  You know, my mom use to do that sometimes to me as a kid…I never got to speak—“

            “That’s what I want to hear!  Get rid of Katie, get rid of Katie!”  Yori cut Jane off, not wanting to hear her whole childhood memories.  Yori just wanted to get rid of Katie, not have a therapy session.

            “Right!  Get rid of Katie!  She’s unfair!”  Jane agreed, a smile creeping to her face.

            “Exactly!  Now, listen before the devil comes out of her office,”  Yori began.  “Katie is going to suspend me.”

            “I know.  I heard the conversation between her and Tiffany about you being in the woods,”  Jane responded, leaning forward, ready to listen to Yori.

            “You heard?  Who’s Tiffany?”  Yori was definitely glad she had come in contact with Jane.

            “Tiffany?  She’s a girl…short, squat.  Has brown hair, but with white roots.  Actually, that might be dandruff, that poor girl.  I use to have dandruff…one time in seventh grade, I had it bad—“

            “Tiffany has dandruff, you said?”

            “Yup, why?”  Jane returned, forgetting her second childhood memory.

            “Snowy mountain’s the one who reported to Katie?  Snowy mountain’s doing Katie’s dirty work…”  Yori mused to herself.

            “That’s not surprising.  Tiffany is Katie’s niece.”

Thanks for reading!  Just so you all know, I LOVE writing this blog!  It is so much fun writing, designing the page, coming up with new sideline activities, and reading all the comments!  Anyway, see you tomorrow!!

And remember guys: Sometimes thinking of your story in your head like it was a play or a movie, really helps you to visualize details and helps you to add in the little subtleties you might have missed just writing it.  Try acting out the chapter in your head (or if you're bold, by talking and actually acting with your body) to see if you missed anything. 

ABC 123,

                Maddie

July Writing Craze: Day 13!!

Almost at the halfway mark guys!
Also, sorry if the sidelines are hard to read with the new background, I'm still trying to find new background designs that'll work.  Thanks for being patient! :)
Happy reading!

After Yori and Brody went to the main office and got Brody’s uniform, they went to sit by the lake on the rocks.  It didn’t sound super appealing to Yori to sit on old, pointy rocks, but when Brody suggested the idea, his eyes were so full of shimmer and romance, Yori couldn’t say no.  Trying to find a comfortable position on a particularly bumpy rock, Yori thought about how leprechaun-lucky she had gotten in one day.  Who knew running around with a few blockheads and lying about holding Velvet’s greasy hair could get her so far?

            “You know, Yori.  To be honest, I didn’t think too much of you when I first saw you,”  Brody admitted, slinging his brawny arms around her thin shoulders.

            “I didn’t think so, especially when you said you wanted to impress Velvet,”  Yori teased.

            “Yeah…”  Brody trailed off.  “Velvet has been a really nice friend.  I used to think I  could maybe see myself with her, but she never seemed interested.  And then I realized how genuine you are,”  Brody continued.  “When you said you helped Velvet when she wasn’t feeling well, it really hit me.  You, of all people, the one who likes to stay pristine, was willing to get a little messy to help one of my best friends.”

            Yori smiled weakly.  Was that all Brody saw in her?  Her kindness…which was actually a fib?  He didn’t see her charm, her stunning beauty, her put-together and well-maintained physique?  Did Brody have to be that deep?  Was that what Yori wanted in a boyfriend?  Someone who saw her for her personality?!

Chapter Six:  Velvet

Read Between the Lies

            “Shower up, guys!”  Velvet called out as the four campers rushed into cabin 2A, darting towards their beds and unpacked belongings.  Everything was so out of focus for Velvet right then.  It was like she was washing and scrubbing at a camera lens that’s purpose was not to be clean.  Velvet had never felt such a level of anger before toward anyone.  Yori had really gone far that time and Velvet didn’t know how to pass her up.  Brody was already taken anyway.  Did it matter?  Could she—

            “Are you coming to shower, Velvet?”  Kristina asked, tapping her lightly on the arm.  Velvet looked down and smiled at the shy little girl.

            “In a minute,”  Velvet replied, wanting some time to think things over in the quiet.

            “Okay.  Oh!  Velvet?  Do you know where we pick up our mail?”  Kristina asked, edging towards the door where the other three were waiting.  Mail?  Velvet felt the reels and chains in her brain chugging to life, steam wisping from the inner workings of her emotional brain. 

            “Soon!  Go shower,”  Velvet responded quickly, pushing the four girls out of the cabin and to the shower room.  Hurrying back to cabin 2A, Velvet’s brain started working overtime.  Back in the cabin, Velvet tore up Yori’s side of the room—her half of the drawers, her luggage, her shoe row, and her bed.  Velvet slid her hand underneath Yori’s pillow, hoping her fingers would at least glaze over Yori’s manila envelope of mail.  Velvet checked underneath the blankets and sheets, and finally, desperate as a housewife, Velvet lifted up Yori’s mattress.  On the wrought-iron base bed, laid a mildly colored orange manila envelope with YORI, CABIN 2A scribbled on the front with a black marker.

            Velvet grabbed the envelope, let the mattress fall back down with a bang, and ripped open the manila envelope, two letters falling out.  Velvet knew there had to be something she could find out from Yori’s mail that would be of benefit to Velvet.

            Velvet picked up the two letters.  Without looking on whom they were from, Velvet sliced open each letter.  The first one, on a nice piece of stationary, was from Yori’s mom, and the second one was on a coffee-stained, hamburger greased lined piece of paper, from someone named Steven Banks.  Yori’s mom’s note was brief. 

            Dear Yori,

                  I know you did not want a long explanation if any of the rumors were true, so all I can say is, I’m sorry, but there is no record.  They think it might have happened in Ghazni where not a trace was found of anything.  I’ll be coming home soon.  Hold you head high, princess.

         I love you forever, Mom 

            Velvet read over the letter several times, her curiosity overtaking her body.  She hadn’t expected something so serious (or so it seemed).  She had expected a nice post card from Europe with little candies and smiley faces next to fun parts of the mom’s trip.  Velvet carefully replaced the card and put the letter back in the envelope.  She unfolded the next one from Steven Banks, sat on her bed, and allowed her mind to go sober.

            Yori,

            I hope I got your camp address right.  If this is going to someone other than Yori at Camp Singing, STOP READING.  Thanks.  Anyway, if you are Yori, I’m sorry to hear about everything going on at home.  But, either way, I don’t think we can stay together.  I can’t have girl drama in my life, to be frank and stuff.  It’s been a nice run.  Thanks.    Later,

            Steve

Yori had a boyfriend?!  Adrenaline shot through Velvet’s stunned body.  Standing up, Velvet started to pace and ponder.

            First, Steve and Yori seemed perfect for each other.  Both totally unconcerned of other’s feelings and quite blunt with what they said.  Based on the mom’s letter, Velvet judged that the situation wasn’t all that great at Yori’s home, so seeing the breakup letter form Steve and how he couldn’t have “girl drama” in his life, really seemed like it was coming from someone that Yori would pick.

            Second, this was great war mileage for Velvet against Yori.  Telling Brody that Yori was already involved with some other guy, Velvet knew would turn Brody off.  After all, Velvet knew Brody better than most anyone.  Velvet didn’t need to mention that the Steve guy had just broken it off with Yori, the point was, was that Yori was with Brody at the same time Yori had another boyfriend.

            Velvet resealed the letter, replaced the manila envelope as precisely as she could, and grabbed her things to go shower.  Despite the saddening letters, Velvet felt on top of the world.

Thanks for reading!  Hope you enjoyed it!

And remember guys:  Writing by hand is a completely different experience than writing on a computer.  Try it out!

ABC 123,

                Maddie

July Writing Craze: Day 9!

Here is Day 9!  Please check out my other blog, Summer Outfits.  It is about fashion and design.  Thanks!

Chapter Four:  Velvet

Trick For Treat

            For Velvet, the week of training passed like a montage:  the clear mornings with hummingbirds, the training afternoons at the cool lake, the feeling of speeding wind on her wakeboard after Brody had gave her a few pointers, the homey smell of pies and pastries from the cooking room, the spinning pottery wheel with gray clay molded in a layered shape, the buffets of picnic food on red checkered tablecloths, and the breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that she shared with Yori, Brody, and Matt, talking and laughing.

            It was Sunday, the day off of training, the day before the campers arrival, when Velvet realized something about the past week. It was that Yori was seeming to distant herself from the group.  Velvet noticed by the subtle things.  Yori wasn’t hinting to Velvet about Matt or trying to set the two up.  Yori wouldn’t wade her feet in the lake, but just tan on the dock, sunglasses shading her eyes.  Yori would listen to the instructor during the Water Sports training, even when Brody seemed to want to teach someone very badly.  Yori would be asleep by the time Velvet came into the cabin and be up and showered before Velvet even had the chance to rub her eyes awake.  It seemed as if Yori had just suddenly lost interest in the whole guy chase and camp experience.  Velvet wasn’t too sure of what was going on, but she wanted to find out.

            Yori was touching up her makeup, Sunday morning, as Velvet rushed to dress and catch up to Yori.  The two were going to eat breakfast together and then meet up with Matt and Brody in the rec room to play some pool and air hockey.  Velvet seized the chance to talk to Yori about the past week.

            “Yori, how have you been liking camp?”  Velvet asked, yanking her green shirt over her head, pushing her fallen hair out of the way.

            “It’s okay,”  Yori shrugged, spreading some kind of paint on her eyes.

            “You’ve seemed distant lately.  Is everything all right?”  Velvet replied, trying to seem nonchalant about it.

            “I’m not distant,”  Yori said curtly, brushing on mascara, possibly to avert her eyes form Velvet.

            “You just don’t seem super interested in Brody all of a sudden,”  Velvet replied, tying up her blonde hair in a ponytail.

            “I’m laying off a little, trying the more mellow approach, you know?”  Yori responded.

            “That makes sense,”  Velvet commented, relieved it wasn’t something bigger.

            “But you’re still going to help me get with Brody, right?”  Yori asked abruptly asked, putting down her brushes and looking over at Velvet. 

            “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”  Velvet replied, a little confused at the sudden change of conversation.  Yori laughed a little.

            “I don’t know, so you don’t take him for yourself or anything,”  Yori laughed, finally giving Velvet a smile.  Velvet smiled and they set out for the breakfast buffet.

            Throughout breakfast, as the two chatted, Velvet started pondering about what Yori had said.  So you don’t take him for yourself.  Why would she have said that?  Did something in particular make her say that?  At least it was all a friendly joke.

            “Hey!”  Velvet said, coming up with a great idea.  “Why don’t we go to the tennis courts and play doubles?  You can be on Brody’s team.”  Yori didn’t say anything for a moment, seemed to inspect Velvet’s creases on her face, and then brightened.

            “I’ve played that before,” Yori remarked, throwing out her leftover food and placing the tray on top of the trash can.

At the rec room, Brody and Matt were playing an intense game of ping pong when the girls walked in.  From the window, Velvet could see that the tennis court was free.

            “Should we play tennis?”  Velvet asked, once the ping pong point was over.

            “Sure, I call you as my partner,”  Brody said, setting down his tiny racket and leaning his elbow on Velvet’s shoulder.  Velvet could feel her face growing hot so she slipped her shoulder away from Brody and tittered.

            “Why don’t you be with Yori, though?  She said she wanted some tips on her game and you’re pretty good,”  Velvet said, looking nervously between the two.

            “You think I’m good?”  Brody asked smoothly.  Velvet cocked her head to one side, questioning Brody’s weird actions, and hooked her arm with Matt’s.

            “Matt’s my partner,”  Velvet decided and paraded out of the rec room to the tennis courts. 

            “Fine,”  Velvet heard Brody grumble and follow the two.  They each grabbed a racket and a few tennis balls, Yori serving first.  Velvet missed Yori’s first dead-on, fierce serve, not realizing Yori was so good.  As the match continued, Yori and Brody continued to score and Velvet and Matt just kept missing Yori’s intense hits.  Velvet actually sensed that Yori might be hitting the tennis ball extremely hard on purpose.  But Velvet also noticed how athletic Brody was.  He was light on his feet when he ran and always hit the ball over the net (even though it was usually out of court), showcasing his strength.

            A few more tennis matches, a long swim in the lake, and a couple of games of ultimate Frisbee later, the evening started to close in and the four counselors met up for dinner on the main field like usual.  Selecting a slice of pineapple and green pepper pizza and dishing a couple of large scoops of soaked Caesar salad, Velvet said, “Last night before the little ones come in.”

            “I can’t wait to get started with the campers in the lake,”  Brody said, his perky cheekbones lifting with his bright smile.

            “Me either,”  Yori blurted, Velvet secretly rolling her eyes, knowing about Yori’s mock interest for “other reasons.”

            “One of my camper’s names is Plume,”  Brody commented, attempting to suppress a chortle.  “Plume.  I mean, what do you say to that kid?  Poor thing, must get it hard at school.”  Velvet cracked up at that; Brody had such a great sense of humor.  And as the night went on, all Velvet could think of was, so you don’t take him for yourself or something.

That night, Velvet tried to get ready for bed at the same pace as Yori so she could catch her before she fell fast asleep.  Velvet needed to tell Yori something important.

            Yori shut off the light, the two girls tucked in in their beds.  They both lay there for a moment, in the illuminated darkness, the quiet seeping from the crack underneath the door and from the cobwebs in the corner.

            “Yori?”  Velvet called out into the endless darkness, feeling the words shiver in her throat.

            “What?”  Yori snapped, obviously wanting to sleep.

            “I have to tell you something important…” Velvet began nervously, shifting from side to side.  The creaking of her bed was killing the silence.

            “Yes…?”  Yori responded edgily.

            “I…like Brody.”  The silence returned, before the inevitable bedside light flipped on.  Yori was sitting straight up in her bed, propped up on her elbows.  Her eyes were nothing like Velvet had seen before.  They were a glowing, steamy mad.

            “You what?!”  Yori barked, staring daggers into Velvet.

            “I…I didn’t before, but it was just something this year that…that was different.”

            “You promised, Velvet, that you would help me be a couple with Brody!”  Yori pushed her covers off her legs and shot out of bed like a rocket.

            “I know, and I promised before I knew I had feelings for him.  But this past week, my love for him really evolved.  We’ve been talking a lot and he is just so fascinating and has a great personality,”  Velvet gushed, propping herself up on her elbows, her eyes following Yori’s pacing.

            “Well…you’re only hurting yourself by doing that.  Trust me, I know guys like Brody.  He could never like someone like you,”  Yori replied, her voice tone tense but knowing.

            “What?”  Velvet asked, feeling her inner soul deteriorating as Yori continued.

            “Yeah, it’s sad, but hunky guys like him just aren’t interested in girls like you,”  Yori said.

            “You mean, I should change?”  Velvet asked, folding back her sheets and blankets.

            “No,”  Velvet snapped.  “You should stop trying.  Just stop.  Forget your dumb feelings for Brody and focus on the more important: helping me.”

            “But…Brody is different.  He isn’t just hunky, he’s interesting and involved and—“

            “I know Brody,”  Yori snapped.  “I can look at a guy and know everything about him, from his past to his future.  Believe me, Velvet.  You’ll only going to get hurt trying for a guy so out of your league.”

            “I…”  Velvet was at a total loss for words.  She had never had a boyfriend and really didn’t know anything about guys, so maybe Yori was right.  Maybe she should have never even mentioned it.

            “Now, I’ve been meaning to ask you.  Is Brody allergic to anything?”  Yori asked, her voice suddenly decreased to a calmed level.  Velvet didn’t answer right away, she was still thinking.  In fact, she was thinking a lot.

            Velvet wasn’t stupid.  Velvet knew exactly what was going on.  Yori was trying to keep Brody for herself.  Maybe Velvet wasn’t right for Brody, but that didn’t mean Velvet couldn’t change to be right for Brody.  It might take a little extra effort to make anything happen, but Velvet had the will and stamina and she wasn’t just going to throw it away because Yori was jealous and competitive.  Besides, she had taken too much guff off of Yori already.

            “Yori, have you ever heard of the saying, two can play this game?  Well, the ball is my court.  Night.”

Thanks for reading!  

And remember guys:  You have to read to write :)

July Writing Craze: Day 7!!

Check out the sidelines of this blog for fun writing prompts, exercises, and ideas!  Please comment, answer the poll below, and give me feedback.  Thanks!  Happy reading!

“Not one of them wants Fashion Design or Interior Design?”  Yori asked, smoothing down her mini denim skirt that matched with her pale pink top that had little bows on the end of the lacy sleeves.  Yori walked down the line of booths with information on each course, her pink-beaded wedge sandals, clomping gracefully along with her.

            “Nope.  Tegan and Mallory want Water Sports and Kristina and Sapphire want Crafting and Cooking.  We can pick three courses for them and then book up their Activities schedule with 12 choices from the Activities booth over there,”  Velvet said, pointing to a lone booth with sign-up sheets and a faltering poster board with lists of daytime activities.

            “Fine, but have you seen you-know-who lately?”  Yori questioned, fingering her hair that she had dried and twisted up into a French braid, seeking out Brody amongst the other few dozen teen counselors.

            “No, why don’t you sign us up for Water Sports and I’ll look around for another course based on their interest application after I register for Crafting and Cooking, okay?”  Velvet replied.

            The two girls went in opposite directions, Velvet looking for her designated booth, Yori looking for Brody.  Halfway down the row of booths, Yori spotted a head of tangled thready hair and assumed Brody would be near that creepy spool.  Tucking the extra hairs behind her triple-pierced ears, Yori strode up to the booth on the end where the boys might have been.

            “Hi, Yori!”  Matt exclaimed, grinning a saliva-coated toothy smile.  Yori couldn’t help but focus in on the huge zit that Matt was unfortunately hosting.  Yori averted her addicted eyes to beside Matt to see if Brody was anywhere near.

            “Listen, Yori.  I’m really sorry about yesterday; I wasn’t the one who splashed you.  In fact, it was…”  Yori started to zone out the more Matt continued to rattle on, looking this way and that for any sight of the vaguely brown buzz cut and, fingers crossed, a muscle shirt.

            “Are you gonna sign up or what?  Hellooo?  Anyway in the attic?!”  a voice suddenly snapped, the familiar voice prodding at Yori’s sinuses.  Yori twirled around like she was cracking a whip and sucked in a sharp breath, taking in perfume that smelled like 99 cent drugstore product.  The chubby girl from the shower, earlier that morning, was waiting impatiently behind her.  Her burnt Cheetos colored hair was frizzy at the scalp and at the tips, looking as if she hadn’t conditioned or something.

            “Oh, it’s you,”  Yori said flatly, propping her hands on her hips.

            “Sign up already,”  the girl barked, looking nervously to the side, fidgeting with the bottom of her peppermint-tinted T-shirt.

            “As long as it doesn’t snow again,”  Yori snarled.  The girl reddened, glancing over at Matt, hoping he didn’t hear.  Matt looked away in sympathy, pretending to be engrossed in a brochure on the table. 

            Eager to find Brody, Yori turned around, signed her name and cabin on the last available line on the sign-up sheet and let the other girl pass.

            “Sorry, we’re full,”  the person behind the booth said to the chubby girl, taking in the sign-up sheet and brochures.

            “Aw, great.  Thanks a lot,”  the chubby girl complained and lumbered away.

            “Matt.  Where can I find Brody?”

            “Uh, probably at the Water Sports booth.  But, why?”  Matt replied. 

            “Wait, what booth is this?”  Yori inquired, looking for the poster with the name.

            “This is On Wheels.  Skateboarding, biking, in-line skating.  Interesting that girls would be into all that.  But there was a study in 2005, about the rate of girl interests leaning toward…”  Matt babbled on once more.

            “This isn’t Water Sports?!  Wait, wait, wait!”  Yori turned to the person at the booth to see them just going into the main office with all of her supplies.

            “Yori.  What are you doing over here?  Water Sports is over at the other end.  I hope you signed up for it already, I think I just saw it close up,”  Velvet said, approaching the two.

            “I thought the campers might like inside skating,”  Yori responded, pointing to the booth.

            “In-line skating?  But they wanted Water Sports and we agreed…”  Velvet started, wrinkling her overly hairy eyebrows.

            “Matt, here, talked me into it,” Yori lied, nudging Velvet and winking.

            “Yori!  This isn’t what we agreed—“  Velvet started to cry out, but Yori interrupted her by grabbing Velvet by the elbow and pulling her away from Matt.

            “Excuse us a second, Matt,”  Yori called from their spot a few feet away.  Matt smiled and waved his hand as if to say ‘no big deal.’

            “Yori, the campers aren’t going to be happy.”

            “They’ll be fine.  Water Sports, On Wheels, same difference.  The main thing is, is that you help me with Brody and I’ll help you with Matt.”

            “Okay, but I could have helped you with Brody if we had been in Water Sports because I saw Brody signing up for that right before they closed up.  Now, you’ll see more of Matt and less of Brody when you could’ve seen a lot more of Brody…with his shirt off,”  Velvet egged her on, raising her squirrel tail eyebrows at her.  Yori was silent for a moment, thinking over the situation. 

            “I’ll get it fixed.  For sure, I’ll get it fixed,”  Yori replied, smiling at Velvet’s relieved expression.

            “Good.  By the way, I signed us up for Cooking and Crafting and Pottery,”  Velvet added.

            “Wow, we sure have interesting campers,”  Yori said sarcastically, glancing over at Matt who was rocking back and forth on his heels, his red zit catching a reflection in his mud-colored eyes.

            “I’ll go fix it if you get Brody to go swimming with us,”  Yori said, turning to go up to the main office.

            “Deal.   Good luck!”  Yori trotted past Matt, barely acknowledging his somber wave and sloppy, drooping smile.  Entering the main office, Yori felt a blast of air conditioned draft.  She walked up to the secretary at the nearby desk.

            “Hi,”  Yori said, candy-coating her smile and tone.  “Who can I speak to about changing the courses for my campers?”  The office worker at her paisley blue counter top stared dumbly back at Yori, scratching the underside of her freckled chin.

            “You can’t.  Registry isn’t even done, yet,”  the worker, with the nameplate, Mrs. Jane Webster, responded.

            “What if I were CupCakery’s, the material sponsor’s, daughter?”  Yori asked, leaning on her elbows, mock-smiling at Jane.

            “I’ll call into Katie and see what she can do,”  Mrs. Webster replied, slowly moving toward the beige phone in the corner of her empty desk.  As Mrs. Webster got through to Katie and had a long, drawn-out conversation, Yori scanned the main office.  She had been there once before to call her mom about going home, before she had found her main purpose in her young teen life (where everything little is huge and everything huge is little), but never really noticed the details of the room like she usually wished to do.

            There were passionate red borders around sunset yellow bulletin boards with papers tactfully stabbed to the insides with titles like Don’t Walk This Summer Alone, Walk It on a Trail with Friends! and S'mores Instead of Chores!  Mossy green chairs sat to one side of the office with a flee market end table with outdated People and Velonews magazines.  The floors were blue and speckled white tile, matching the gray-ish walls with white trim.  Glass cases encompassed Camp Sing-Song trophies, with crooked photos of girls and boys having fun outdoors taped to the wall.  The pictures looked so old that the edges were yellowing and the colors were smearing together.  As Yori squinted at one of the photos to see if one of the smeared faces was a girl or a boy, she heard Jane put down her beige phone with a click.

            “Katie will take you now, but don’t get your hopes up; she didn’t seem too happy about it,”  Jane reported tonelessly, pointing to the door across from her desk.

            Yori took a deep yoga breath and headed towards the towering door.  Her hand turning the doorknob, Yori muttered to herself, “Here goes nothing.”

            “What’d you say?”  Jane asked from across the room, but Yori simply slammed the door behind her, hoping for the best.

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And remember guys:  "A metaphor is like a simile." -Anon :)

July Writing Craze: Day 6!!

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Chapter Three: Yori

Crack of Doom

Hearing her iPhone jingle-jangle away, Yori turned over in her French Adeline Andre pajamas, silk on top and antique satin on bottom, hugging her goose-feather pillow.

            “Is that yours?”  Velvet mumbled from the other side of the room, groaning at the incoming sunlight and the noisemaker.

            “I have to shower,”  Yori mumbled back, silencing her iPhone for the time being.

            “Why?!”  Velvet groaned, pushing the sheets and blankets off her bed and sitting up.  “We spent all last night gossiping and you still set your alarm?” 

            “There aren’t any curtains in the shower room,”  Yori snapped, pulling her sheet over her head.  Velvet got out of bed and slipped into her flip flops.  Velvet pulled out her toiletries case, more carefully that time, and headed for the green curtain.

            “Go back to sleep, Velvet,”  Yori said, her voice muffled by the cream white sheets covering her head.

            “I can’t now that I’ve waken up.  I’m getting ready,”  Velvet replied and headed out the cabin.  Yori spent the next few moments just laying in bed, trying to squeeze her eyes shut, but she knew she was just as awake as Velvet was.  Climbing out of bed, Yori grimaced at the early time her phone read, gathered her makeup and various cosmetics, and trailed after Velvet to the restroom.  Yori heard the splattering sound of water running and was surprised to see Velvet already showering, scrubbing her hair with foamy shampoo.

            “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,”  Yori said aloud.

            “You know, Yori,  I bet I know the reason you aren’t used to it…”  Velvet started, rinsing her blonde hair.

            “I’d love to hear this,”  Yori responded, slamming her things on the sink counter before splashing her smooth skin with icy, cold water.

            “You’re insecure of your own body,”  Velvet said, reaching for her conditioner.  Drying off her face with a cashmere towel, Yori snorted.

            “Me?  Insecure?  You’re the one who--,” Yori teased, looking through her cosmetic case for her hairbrush.

            “Hey!”  Velvet cut her off.  “You have to be nice to me, I told you everything, everything, about Brody.”  Velvet peeked one eye open as she rinsed her hair out for a second time.  Yori rolled her eyes, but gave in.

            “Okay, I take it back.  Sorry,”  Yori said.

            “What?”  Velvet asked, incredulously, soaping up her arms.

            “I said sorry,”  Yori responded simply, brushing through her black mane.

            “I never thought I would hear you say those words,”  Velvet teased, laughing.

            “Okay, okay.  Are you almost done?  I need to shower, too, you know,”  Yori responded, averting the conversation.

            “Let me just blow-dry my hair,”  Velvet responded, twisting off the shower faucet, wrapping her towel around her body, and scuttling over to the sinks where the hair dryers rested.  Velvet did a once-comb-through and gave her hair a quick drying before throwing it up into a high ponytail.

            “All yours, diva,”  Velvet faux-goaded and left the bathroom.  Finally, Yori carefully peeled off her attire and folded them neatly on the sink counter before turning the shower faucet.  As the water heated up, Yori grabbed her hair products, soap, and razor, and went through her head convo topics she could share with Brody.

            He likes ending hunger….Yori thought, fishing through her bag for her towel.  He’s into wakeboarding and waterskiing.  He hates driving a boat, though.  Brody’s favorite place to shop is…Gap, ugh!  And…Yori continued her thought process as she stepped into the stream of water.

            Letting out a high-pitched scream, Yori jumped out of the line of water. 

            “Cold, cold, cold,”  Yori muttered to herself, turning the faucet up on a higher heat.  If she had wanted a ice bath, she would have asked for one.

            Brody doesn’t like when people brush his hair out of his face, but does like popping his collar.  He will eat anything and everything as long as its not cherries and his favorite animal is a sea turtle.  Testing the water with the tips of her manicured nails, Yori found the right temperature of water and stepped in once more.  The temperature was okay, but went in and out sporadically and the stream of water was like a hail storm instead of a drizzle like the Drizzle-Nozzle said it would be. 

            Halfway through Yori’s scalp shampoo rinse and her ideas of conversing with Brody, Yori heard echoing footsteps in the sink section of the bathroom.  Then, out of nowhere, a girl with brown curls walked into the shower room with her shampoo and soap.  She had a Blue Man Group blue towel wrapped around her chubby body.  Embarrassed and frustrated that the girl didn’t even hesitate to come into the shower room, Yori tried to ignore the girl and focus on her hair cleansing routine.  She couldn’t get out of the shower without conditioning her scalp and she wasn’t even finished rinsing the shampoo out.  Scrub, scrub, circular motions around the top of the scalp….going to the bottom… Yori thought, closing her eyes and taking deep, reassuring yoga breaths.

            “Can I borrow your conditioner?”  a loud, balking voice echoed off the walls of the shower room.  The girl across the room was smacking her Double Mint gum, scratching her head with her specialized dandruff shampoo.  Opening one eye and scrunching up her nose at the sights she had to see, Yori slid her conditioner out of its wall holder and tossed it to the girl.  Scrambling to catch the bottle, the girl’s hair shook, beating Yori down with freezing water and specks of white dandruff.

            “Geez!  I didn’t know there were snowstorms up here,”  Yori barked, turning off her water, covering up, and grabbing her stuff.  On the way out, Yori grabbed her conditioner bottle before the other girl got to use it, leaving the restroom with a jaw-dropped chubster.            Stomping back to cabin 2A in her towel only, Yori cursed the other girl from depriving her of her second washing of her scalp, muttering to herself all the way past the green curtain where Velvet was just finished getting dressed.

            “Are you okay, Yori?”  Velvet questioned, placing her past year’s counselor cap on her head, snaking her long ponytail through the square in the back.

            “Only got one scalp rinse, on a snowy mountain without a view,”  Yori snapped, throwing her things on her bed and tightening the towel around her body.

            “I…don’t know what that means, but I will let you dress and I’ll meet you outside the cabin,”  Velvet answered, edging towards the green curtain.

            “Just go down,”  Yori said, squeezing the water droplets out of her hair and onto the floor.

            “But we have to register for our campers’ classes together since we’ll be counseling the same girls,”  Velvet replied, lifting back the curtain.

            “Oh, I forgot about the campers,”  Yori admitted, shrugging.  “I don’t know what to register them for.”

            “I have their preference applications that are all pretty similar, so we’ll get an idea about what they all want to do and what the campers are like from these,”  Velvet responded, holding up four pieces of speckled paper.

            “Sounds fine.  Let me dress and then we’ll register the little Bratz dolls for their singing classes,”  Yori replied, finding her comb and very gently and slowly brushing through her tresses.

            “You do know that we don’t even offer choir here, right?”  Velvet asked, wanting to clear up the obvious miscommunication.

            “Camp Song-Song doesn’t offer it’s own title?  Better talk to the PR officer about that one,”  Yori chirped, laughing at the “mistake.”

            “Never mind,”  Velvet said, giving up and walking out.

Thanks for reading!

And remember guys:  What would you like to read?  Write it and if no one else likes it, at least you will! :)

            ABC 123,

                            Maddie