Excerpt Five.

The majority of teachers I’d grow to hate over the next four years found Amanda and I staring at the same chalkboard.  Of course she wasn’t at fault for my unbridled loathing of one arrogant World History teacher who shall remain nameless, but I liked having her to blame.  I still hated her for abandoning me during the summer, so it made sense that she should be the source of every single negative feeling I had over the course of freshman year.  Strangely enough, we still exchanged Christmas gifts that year, a courtesy that transferred over along with our guilt of having fallen on bad terms.  It was terribly awkward when we had nothing to talk about, and both of us were unsatisfied with the gift we’d gotten from the other.  She sat on one end of the couch, and I sat on the other, resorting to just about any subject that popped into either of our heads.

Update

I haven’t updated this in a while, mostly due to the fact that I haven’t had much time on my hands to write. School work keeps me busy, which means the artistic area of my life gets neglected until it shrivels up and starts begging for attention. As of right now, I’ve added another two pages of content to the story and I’m going back and refining some other sections. I know that’s what the editing phase is meant for, but I much prefer to edit as I go. I find that makes everything easier in the long run. Hopefully I’ll find some more time to keep writing, though I can’t promise much. Looking at my schedule for October, I have a ton of work coming up to save some money for my trip to Canada in December. As much as I hate to admit it, I might not get back on here until Thanksgiving break in November. I’ll do my best to try and work on the story more often. I’m really happy with it, so far. Cheers.

Excerpt Four.

The first day of high school was a sure reminder that being a freshman was going to be unbearable as a loner, since simply being a freshman wasn’t enough stress to deal with.  I was lucky enough to have a locker to sit by in the mornings because my sister was two years older than me, and nice enough to let me store half of my books on the floor of her metal box.  It wasn’t enough of a disguise, though, since I sat there staring at every person walking down the hall.  I can’t be expected to have done much more when there wasn’t anything else to do, remembering that I wasn’t on speaking terms with anyone.  I suppose that I could have found a book to read but I wasn’t looking to be a nerd quite yet, so I was just the strange loner type for a bit instead.  My only relief came with the fact that I didn’t have to eat lunch that first day, skipping the whole humiliation of being that freak that eats alone in the bathroom.

Progress: Chapter 1.5 (con’t.)

Since I haven’t written much of anything in the last week, I felt no need to update and ramble about my lack of inspiration. I’m back at school, though, with nothing to do and I’ve knocked out four pages to tack on to the end of the first chapter. I’m venturing into freshman year of high school, and not really loving it. Anyway, there’s an update for you. Excerpt later, maybe.

Excerpt Three.

This is the part I am currently working on, trying to decide if it’ll be its own chapter, or another part to the previous.

While I was finding success in alienating myself from every person I’d known for years, Amanda was helpfully rubbing it in my face by replacing me with unbelievable ease. On one hand, it was my fault for introducing her to people she’d get along with, no questions asked. On the other, it was my fault for lying through my teeth and attempting to ruin every aspect of her daily life. So, to put it simply, my current state of misery rested nicely on my shoulders. It had been a solid few weeks since we’d spent every waking moment together, and I found myself questioning all of the things I’d been so sure of. I’m not entirely sure if it was the fact that I missed her, personally, or if I wasn’t used to spending so much time on my own, but it all felt extremely lonely. It had become one of those games where you hold off calling someone in hopes that they’ll miss you enough to call you first, but they’re sitting by the phone waiting for the exact same thing. In the end, no one picks up the receiver, dials that memorized number, and admits to being the weakest of the pair.

Progress: Chapter 1.5.

To answer any questions that I’m sure are burning in your mind, Chapter 1.5 is my way of saying, “I have no clue if this is going to be long enough for a second chapter, or if I’m just going to throw it back in to Chapter 1.”

Now that we’ve cleared that up, I’m currently working on the events of my 8th Grade summer. It’s likely to be a relatively depressing chapter, but less likely than what’s still to come in later days of writing. I have a roller coaster life, to say the absolute least.

Excerpt Two.

I’d like to say that I’m finished with the chapter I’ve been working on, but I know that I’ll end up going back and tweaking a few things as I read through it. Anyway, here is another small piece of My Days With AA.

The root of this story actually stretches back to the time when I was five, and lacking in the proper social knowledge regarding people to avoid.  Amanda, the aforementioned best friend, was on my local soccer team from kindergarten through third grade.  That was about as far as our friendship went since we attended different schools up until junior high, which, if I had to guess, is the reason we didn’t tear each others throats out before the age of fifteen.  We were genial; of course, we were only putting into practice the rules our mothers had taught us:

1. Treat others the way you want to be treated (unless they’re really unworthy of your respect).
2. Never tell a lie (okay, sometimes you can tell a lie, just don’t get caught).
3. Sharing is caring (except when it’s the boy you like).

The few above, in particular, went out the window, filed under worthless, stored in the recesses of our otherwise preoccupied minds.