Writing Challenge: Round Two

Day 18: A story set in a ghost town.

--

We recently moved to Jorgetown. By we, I mean my family. What's left of them, anyways. Ever since my mom left, my dad and brothers have been having a hard time adjusting. Calling us four a functional 'family' would be far too much of an overstatement.

The town seemed different from all the other towns we've been to. There were no personas bustling through the sidewalks, no shops with glaring signs surrounding them, and no children playing outside their houses in their yard like how they did back in my hometown.

I found it odd but didn't question it, for the community pool was desolate and all mine. Well, mine and my brothers. Same difference.

I'm currently on my way to the pool when I suddenly see someone I've never seen before.

A boy, around my age, with headphones plugged into his ears, bobbing his head. He takes one out when he sees me and smiles. "I've been here for quite a while and I've never seen you here."

My eyes widen in dismay at his boldness. He just talked to me as if I were another one of his friends, with such ease and confidence. "Well, I just moved here."

"Where ya from?" he says as he comes closer and I begin to question his unusual appearance. His pale face doesn't fit in with the bright sun and lack of trees in this town, it's just not possible for someone to be this darn pale. He's also wearing long sleeves on a hot day. 

Something about him looks familiar.

"A small town called Cloros. So, you live here? The place is pretty quiet," I say, hoping to get some information about why the place is so empty.

"I guess you can say I live here and I guess you can say this place has a bad rep," he says while scratching his blonde hair and smiling.

"Bad rep? Why?" I ask but he doesn't get the chance to reply when my father emerges into the room.

"Who are you talking to, honey?" he asks with concern woven in his features.

"Um, this guy I met. Introduce yourself," i turn around to face him but he's not there.

"What guy?" my dad pushes but I shake my head in disbelief.

"He was just here...You heard his voice though, right dad? 

"Nope, but I heard you loud and clear," he responds, confused at my weird behavior.

When I don't respond, my dad decides to leave and tells me to be back at the house by 6. 

The moment he leaves, the boy appears again.

"Hey, where did you go?" I ask, despeeate for answers.

He merely winks at me before saying,"Not everything's what it seems." 

"That doesn't answer my question," I mutter.

He sighs before saying, "You really aren't all that bright, are you?"

I feel a pang of answer hit me and I begin to protest. "Please, I'm one of the top students in my class." 

"I was too," he says with a sad smile lingering on his lips.

Was?

"You a drop out or something...?" I ask, befuddled.

The boy laughs and I join along, not because anything was particularly funny, but because his laughter was just so contagious. It was impossible not to join in. "So you're smart but not bright, beautiful, and funny?" 

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks when he says that and I try to hide it by covering my face with my hair. "Don't flatter me."

The guy moves a piece of hair from my face before sighing. "I haven't flattered anyone in decades. Consider yourself lucky." 

"I never was one to really enjoy compliments."

"You seemed to enjoy the one I just gave you a few moments ago."

I shoot a look at him before saying, "That doesn't count. I don't even know you." 

"You don't have to know me for a compliment to count."

"So anyways," I say quickly, "what's your name, kid?"

"Don't call me kid, I'm older than you," he responds with a chuckle.

"Yeah, okay," I say sarcastically. "So what's your name?"

"Patrick Square." 

I freeze in place when he says those words.

My childhood best friend's name was Patrick Square...before the accident.

"P-Patrick?" 

"Wendy," he responds.

"You look so different," I manage to say under my breath in awe. Was this seriously happening?

"You do too, love. You look so...grown. So different," he says with a gentle smile.

"I'm confused, how is it that you look my age? Actually, how is any of this possible in general?" I exclaim and begin having a hard time breathing. He walks over to me and starts patting me on the back, but I'm tempted to flinch away from him. He wasn't supposed to be here. 

"I can't explain."

"Then what can you explain?"

He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment before saying,"I can explain that I hate being alone and I want my best friend back, so I followed you back here, to this ghost town."

"BUT HOW?! YOU...YOU ARENT..." I try to say but be stops me from continuing. 

"Don't say it. Just love me."

"I do."

The end 

Writing Challenge

Day 16: Go to iTunes, put your music on random. Write a story about the first song that comes up. (250 words or less)

Song: The Fray - Over My Head 

---

She was a flower and I was the stem, she made someone who was as dull and lifeless as me, beautiful. Heck, she still is a flower. She's just not my flower, despite how much I want her to be.

"Go, go, go! Come on! What the heck is going on with the defense on this team?" I hear my brother scream, interrupting my thoughts, but I ignore him. 

She was always beside me, almost a part of me, like a tattoo. The thing with tattoos though is that they're permanent. I wish she were permanent. If she was, then she'd still be here. She'd still be by my side. 

"Dude, are you even watching the game?" my brother snaps and I force myself to nod my head.

"Yeah, I'm watching."

"No, you're not. The Connor I know would be screaming hysterically at the screen right now. It's not everyday the Skins make it to the Super Bowl, y'know," he notes and I shake my head in frusteration.

"I know, it's just...I just keep thinking about her," I murmur and my brother puts his arm around me. 

"You're in over your head, bro. You'll get many opportunities to meet different 'hers.' However, you'll never get the opportunity to relive this moment," he says as he throws a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"It's just-"

"It's nothing. She's yesterday, we're today. Look there are  8 seconds left in overtime, she doesn't have to be on your mind."

"It's just hard."

"I know"

"..."

"But try to look forward, alright?" 

"...okay."

---

Authors note: Oh my gosh waahhhhht just happened. 

Update :)

It is officially 11:32 am and I'm still laying in bed.

But I have to get up soon.

Boy meets world's gonna be on at like 12

Speaking of the "Meets World" series, I've been having a lot of vivid dreams and last night, I had two about Lucas x Maya. I swear, if they don't end up together, I will flip a crap. Like seriously, they'd be great. The next shawn and angel. Riley can end up with Farkle LOL. Farkle. Who names a kid Farkle. Jeez Louis.

Okay, moving on. I also had a dream that I went on a scary quest to save farm animals by shooting lasers out of my eyes... Wow haha.

On a more realistic note, first day back at church wasn't all that great. I got into a big argument with my dad about leaving. My sister doesn't believe I'm ready for the repercussions of leaving yet though, and I'm starting to think she's right. Everyone, family, friends, will be on my back about it. Yelling at me, questioning me, and I'm not ready for that. I need a bit more time, which means sticking it out there a bit longer and memorizing verses for another year (I seriously pray that it'll be less than that). The good news is my sister's church is having this life group thing for highschoolers and I think middle schoolers that I can go to on Wednesday nights starting in September. Now that, I'm SUPPEEERRR excited about. Like I cannot wait to go!! :D 

It's a step towards the right direction and I'm pretty happy.

Today, I'm going to write my heart out. I always say that but today I'm going to for real. It's just, I never find that perfect spot to get my inspiration flowing. I work well in cafés and such because I know that I can't leave and get distracted, and plus it's such a nice environment. At home, I get distracted my 

 This manz ^^^

And 

^^ this thanng 

I'll figure something out. My basement was cleaned up recently so it looks really nice, plus I have this Christmas tree down there which looks BEAUTIFUL in the dark. Maybe I have a picture.

Nope, I don't, but it's still real nice. I could try there I guess.

----

So, I started watching 6teen again and man I love that show a lot.

I don't know why.

It's like a cartoon but it doesn't feel kiddish regardless of the G rating.

For example 

And the "you put the itch in b-" line 

And the episodes where one of the characters is flashed (apparently it happened numerous times. poor gal) 

I like it because it's realish. Minus the crazy stunts they pull, the conversations between eachother are real, the show focus' on all six teens and not just one in particular, each character is so unique and different from the other, and I like the background mall music lol. Also, they have their funny moments.

I also have my shipping which will never become cannon (like all my ships)

Yo I ship it so hard.

So hard.

------

Gotta go school supply shopping soon. Boo hoo.

It just makes everything seem more real.

Like I'm going back to the donut hole sooner than I expect. 

I feel like summer can last forever but 

School man

School's gonna be here before I realize it and im going to be like what the eff it was just summer I thought I could rule the world but no school had to come in and rule it for me

So I'm going to savor these last few weeks of laziness and eating all day and watching tv and my favorite shows and writing cause when school comes, in probably going to be too tired to do anything. 

Did I ever show you this picture? It's hilarious. Everyone's like...the heck how she gonna do this and the guy on the right is like you better not spill that on me

Questions and answers

1: Is there a boy/girl in your life

No lol 

2: Think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them?

Yes I do, but there will be times when I remember the moment they hurt me and I feel a pang of anger or bitterness but hey, forgiveness is a process and for the most part, I do.

3: What do you think of when you hear the word “meow?”

I think of my cat...or a cat in general. what else would I think of is this supposed to imply something else 

4: What’s something you really want right now?

Right now, I really want to get out of the house and do something with my life, but it's hard at my age because I have no car nor do I understand the metro system. I also want to write a darn good story :) 

5: Are you afraid of falling in love?

I've recently learned this from one of my favorite bloggers on tumblr -- Lauren -- or yesdarlingido

It's not about falling in love, it's about growing in love. Falling represents crashing down and hurting yourself. Growing represents change (in a good way) and learning. I'm not afraid of growing in love. I think it would be amazing to learn more and more about a person and continuously get to know more all throughtout my life and know that I will never fully know them, because you can never FULLY know a person. You can never say "i know everything about him/her" because you don't and you can't limit a person to your understanding. I learned all this from yesdarlingido and I'm grateful for it.

6: Do you like the beach?

Heck yeah! I love listening to the sound of the oceans and feeling grains of sand Inbetween my fingers and toes. What I don't love, however, is the lame-o porter potties are so gross and don't even have sinks o_o it's kinda nasty and plus, I don't think they have toilet paper either. I don't mind the crowd because it's nice knowing the hundreds of different people around you are looking at the same ocean you are and feeling the same comfortable and homey feeling you are but sometimes it's hard to maneuver around the boardwalk.

7: Have you ever slept on a couch with someone else?

Yeah, my friends during sleepovers and my sisters :) 

8: What’s the background on your cell? (I'm changing this to Ipod)

Dirk kuyt -- one of my favorite netherlands players and a current player for fenerbahce :) 

9: Name the last four beds you were sat on?

Uh weird question -- my own bed, my mom's bed, my sister's bed and um...not sure. Probably my cat's bed LOL

10: Do you like your phone?

Well I guess. It's a messenger phone -- nice, simple, and gets the job done. I barely use it though haha

11: Honestly, are things going the way you planned?

No, not at all. I plan and expect life to go about the way it does in the stories but it never happens and I'm forces to accept the reality of things. Still something I'm trying to cope with today.

12: Who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts?

Um, probably this girl named Diana who's kinda related to me in a way XD 

13: Would you rather have a poodle or a Rottweiler?

Poodle dang it. I especially want a toy poodle. 

14: Which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain?

Emotional, hands down. I've fell off my bike and still have some scars on my elbow and have three permanent burns yet none of that hurts more than one day filled with emotional pain. 

15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?

Nice question. I don't know. I would love to see all these different types of animals up close that I'm only used to seeing in story books or on TV but at the same time, I love art and it would be great seeing other people's artwork. I think I'll go with the zoo, though.

16: Are you tired?

Kinda, I got a decent amount of sleep today though. 

17: How long have you known your 1st phone contact?

Who, my sister? Oh, quite a while.

18: Are they a relative?

Yup.

19: Would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes?

I got no exes man. 

20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with?

My cat? I think an hour or so ago.

21: If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today?

No, I didn't even finish high school yet

22: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

My cat? Sure

23: How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now?

None. Should have asked me this a couple weeks ago. I would not take off my netherlands bracelet. 

24: Is there a certain quote you live by?

I don't think I live by any one quote but one I really like is

"Little people can make a big difference."

I'm so young and small so it means a lot hearing that. It lets me know that I'm not too little to do something amazing. That age nor size won't stop me from making a big difference -- whether I change the world or a world, a difference is a difference. 

25: What’s on your mind?

Right now I'm kinda irritated because I hate how people keep pointing out my acne. Like dang I'm a teen and I know, back off. I'm trying my best to get rid of it. So shut up por favor. 

Man am I really about to do all 100 of these???

26: Do you have any tattoos?

No, but who knows, maybe I will one day. 

27: What is your favorite color?

I don't think I have a favorite. Though, some I really like are berry pink, aqua blue, mint green, pale pink, etc..

28: Next time you will kiss someone on the lips?

Lolololololol

29: Who are you texting?

No one because I never text people other than my family and they don't wanna talk to me lolol

30: Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch?

BOII WHY YOU KEEP ASKING 

yes, I have given my cat a kiss on the couch.

Yeah, I've gone farther than you. Be jealous.

31: Have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right?

Yeah, I think when I was sitting on top of my friend's bike handles, I thought I was going to get hurt or something and I ended up falling off and smashing onto the road.

32: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?

Nope. Well God, but I don't think that's what you meant.

33: Do you think anyone has feelings for you?

Well, this dude came up to me and said I was cute and that he wanted to know me but the hayy...I don't think someone actually has legit feelings for me or anything right now

34: Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?

Yup. 

35: Say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you?

Man are you obsessed with kissing or something.

36: Were you single on Valentines Day?

WHEN AM I NOT STOP MAKING ME FEEL BAD

37: Are you friends with the last person you kissed?

-_-

38: What do your friends call you?

Well what's left of them, maddie :) 

39: Has anyone upset you in the last week?

Yeah, my family 

40: Have you ever cried over a text?

...no. Would have to be one heck of a text to get me to cry over it haha

41: Where’s your last bruise located?

I can't remember the last time I got a bruise. Probably somewhere odd though 

42: What is it from?

Don't know man

43: Last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad?

Last time I went to church lol 

44: Who was the last person you were on the phone with?

My sister from Georgia :)

45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?

I really like my pair of converse but I don't wear them that often because they're hard to put on o_o' like they fit fine but you have to wiggle and stuff your foot into them

46: Do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day?

No, I put my hair in a bun. 

my hair's always in a bun lol

47: Would you ever go bald if it was the style?

NO.

48: Do you make supper for your family?

NO.

49: Does your bedroom have a door?

YES.

50: Top 3 web-pages?

Probably 

-YouTube

-Wattpad

-Tumblr 

51: Do you know anyone who hates shopping?

Tons of people hate shopping.

Now the real question is do you know anybody that hates ONLINE shopping

52: Does anything on your body hurt?

Right now my finger because I burned it while making pancakes XD 

53: Are goodbyes hard for you?

Very. I act all composed and calm while saying goodbye to someone but the moment I'm alone, I crack and bawl like a baby.

54: What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?

Um, I think water? 

55: How is your hair?

Thick, curly/wavy, frizzy, and in bun 

56: What do you usually do first in the morning?

Check the time haha 

57: Do you think two people can last forever?

I don't like the word forever but do I think two people can be in a relationship until death? Obviously haha 

58: Think back to January 2007, were you single?

YES DO YOU KNOW HOW I OLD I WAS THEN?

59: Green or purple grapes?

Green <3

60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug?

I hope soon because hugs are nice :)

61: Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?

I do. I wish I were in a cafe or panera or somewhere with loads of people, calm, and not noisy, so I can write. 

62: When will be the next time you text someone?

No clue man I don't know my future.

63: Where will you be 5 hours from now?

Home 

64: What were you doing at 8 this morning.

Sleeping

65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked?

I liked loads of people because I was desperate and trying to fill the emptiness in my heart with crushes rather than God, and it's still something I have to work on. I liked this blonde kid, and this brown haired kid, and this black haired kid, this Asian kid, it was crazy man. Crazy and stupid and I never want to go back. 

66: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile?

*nako* 

67: Did you kiss or hug anyone today?

Nope

68: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night?

Not sure. It was probably this sermon about people pleasing and conformity, which hit me harder than a ton of bricks.

Oooo I wanna share something the pastor mentioned. So there was this little test thingy and it's like you'd have six people sitting around a table and there would be a picture of three lines that the six people would have to look at. Kinda like this

Yes that's a napkin btw 

Why did the text get so big? Oh well whatever

So everyone on the table would have to say which line is the longest, the first, second, or third. 

Sounds simple right? Wrong

5/6 people were told to say the first line or the second line.

So the 6th person has NO idea these 5 other people were told to pick the word answer and the objective of this test was to see if the 6th person would conform and pick the wrong answer.

The majority of them did (Which is sad but I would probably do the same thing too)

Now, they did this test again but this time 

4/6 people would pick the wrong answer and one other person would pick the correct answer and the 6th person would have a choice to conform with the 4 wrong people or the one right person

The majority of them went with the right one person.

All it takes is one person to make the right choice to influence others because the majority of the time, people are scared of standing up for the right thing alone.

69: Have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

Yeah. Whenever I tried my hardest to be perfect and good, I'd always crash and burn in the end of the day because I can't be perfect, I just can't, and I don't have to be 'good' to be loved. I don't have to work for acceptance.

70: How many windows are open on your computer?

Well I'm not on my computer but right now, I have four apps opened on my iPod -- this, wattpad, skype, and my music app haha

71: How many fingers do you have?

Isn't the answer obvious?

37

72: What is your ringtone?

This AT&T theme thing

73: How old will you be in 5 months?

15 :)

74: Where is your Mum right now?

Upstairs probably getting ready for work 

75: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love?

Because I didn't know what love was a year ago and I just wanted to be with this guy for selfish intentions rather than selfless intentions. Dating someone SOLELY because your lonely or because you can't keep it in your pants is so unhealthy and not right. 

76: Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days?

My cat 

77: Are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago?

No not really, other than Nako of course, I think I lost the majority of my friends and the ones who think I'm still their friends, well, I'm going to shake them off like dust because they're not the right friends for me. 

78: Do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7?

7? Like grade 7 or like at 7 years old? In grade 7: this blonde kid age 7: probably cole sprouse XD I'm not even sure I spelled his name wrong but if I did, Cody from suite life

79: Is there anyone you know with the name Mike?

No but I know some Michaels :)

80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?

mommy...

81: How many people have you liked in the past three months?

I did kinda think that this dude was cute but that's different from actually liking someone and pursuing them so, no one. Final answer.

82: Has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days?

no hbu 

83: Will you talk to the person you like tonight?

I hate these questions lol 

84: You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with?

My cat

85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care?

Definitely. I don't think I'd be with someone into drugs. I feel like it would be messy. Trying to learn more about each other, grow in faith, figure out problems together, and doing all of this at the same time while trying to force your boyfriend give up something he probably doesn't even want to give up. No. Sorry. I believe in relationships you should accept the good in bad in a person but you can't be someone's girlfriend and doctor at the same time.

86: What was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie?

What do you mean? Well, I ate a lot of popcorn.

87: Who was your last received call from?

Sister I thought I answered this already

88: If someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you?

...sigh. I don't know man. It's cruel but..ah.. I don't know. Maybe? It sounds so wrong but I'm going to be honest here and say: maybe

89: What is something you wish you had more of?

Love for God. I was talking to my sister a few days ago and she was telling me about how her heart beats for God and I just wish I was where she's at because I don't think I love Him nearly as much as I should. I do want to but I'm not there yet.

90: Have you ever trusted someone too much?

Yeah and I got burned, badly.

91: Do you sleep with your window open?

Oh heck no. Nights in Maryland are so noisy. There are people on motorcycles and airplanes flying over my house and all you hear is VVTOOOMOKMMMROMMM OR WHOOLKSHHSHG

92: Do you get along with girls?

I guess

93: Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth?

No

94: Does sex mean love?

Sigh. Here we go.

Okay, it doesn't mean love. I mean, in my opinion, it doesn't. I think it represents intimacy (which is why I think you should do it with da hubby -- it's something so special that it shouldn't just be given out to just anybody, ya know?) but I don't think it represents love. I think being there for your boyfriend/hubby at 4 am when he's sobbing into his pillow and listening to what's troubling him despite that fact that you're tired as heck and just want to go to sleep represents love.

95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?

My cat? Nope, no problem at all.

96: Have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring?

Nope 

97: Did you sleep alone this week?

No (my cat)

98: Everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you?

I don't have a person who can make me happy at all times because such a person doesn't exist but almost everyone in my life right now has made me happy before.

99: Do you believe in love at first sight?

Nope. Love at first sight? More like lust at first sight. I don't think love's that easy nor quick. It's a process, it's hard work.

100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise?

No idea. I haven't done one of those in forever. 

DONE. WOO. That was fun. :)

Why I hate being young

No one takes young people seriously.

People can say I'm an amazing writer but the moment I reveal my age, they'll suddenly find all these things to criticize and all these potholes in my road of words.

I should just quit.

--

Okay maybe I blew this out of proportions but it's still true that young people are looked down on.

"Oh you're not a 90's kid? Screw you haha the younger generation sucks."

"You never owned a Walkman? Dang you're such a BABY."

"Keep it PG guys, a youngling is here" (I a actually learned all the crap they were talking about when I was around third grade lol).

I guess I'm just done with it all.

My goal or dream or whatever you wanna call it was to write a really good story on wattpad. A story as impacting as 5:48. A harshly realistic story that would make people cry and laugh and learn but I'm doubting it's possible now. How could I teach others things if I barely learned anything myself. I'm only a kid, kids don't know much.

A group of people promoted my sort a while ago and it got me a lot more readers and I really grew hopeful. I really believed that the readers would keep piling up and the chapters would actualy impact them in some way but I'm starting to think they won't. I'm starting to believe that my chapters are just dull words on a page that mean little to the readers reading it and if I were to reveal my true age, they'd mean even littler.

I just feel so crushed.

Maybe my dream was unrealistic but I still thought it was possible but now, I don't. I'm not happy with my chapters, with my characters, or with me.

I don't want to go to school and be sat under the teachings of adults who think that the kids in front of them are clueless idiots that smoke weed in their spare time. 

Idk what I'm saying anymore.

I just don't want to do anything anymore.

I don't want to write.

I don't want to draw.

I don't want to talk to my family.

I don't want to go to church (not even my sister's right now and I love that church).

I don't want to go to school.

I just want to run away and forget about everything and everyone.

I want to be someone else living in a different world than I am because i hate the world I'm in right now and I just want to step into someone else's shoes for a while because I'm sick of my own.

Gosh, I hate being me.