Three-Word-Story: The Never-Ending Sentence

I want a boyfriend right now or I might want a duck and that would be so cool because I hate when things go off train tracks and onto the back porch of my yellow house, next to my piece of pie which I got from my duck when I sat on the pony that my llama ate for breakfast on Saturday morning and then I had to go to a dolphin show in New Hampshire, and it was raining cats and pigs so I bought a Perry the Platypus in Las Vegas and it was really hot out so I decided I needed a glass of solid firefly juice that tasted like disgusting cow poop, so I spat it at my neighbor Francesca the brat of Milberry Road, and she said "I need a hairbrush to get these gnats out of my tangled horse's tail," so I gave her my GPS and she banged her head on the screen so I called my grandpa and he said, "Give it a lick and maybe it will go to Neverland with Captain Hook, not with the GPS," so I left Francesca the brat in Vegas and I went to Neverland with Peter Pan and he gave me a kiss on the foot, so I granted him one wish until he suddenly disappeared into the clouds of Jamaica, I looked at Florida and said "Wow," so I went to Florida instead but then I realized that I was bored, so I went back to Vegas, where I found Francesca working at McDonald's, and I spat fairy dust on her head and she disappeared, so I was alone again in California, where the sun is really weird, so I blew it out and some pigeons crashed into the Eiffel Tower in China, I got really cold so I took my mittens and ripped them off my elderly grandma's feet and stuck my lemon into her mouth so she would shut-up, then I was flown into Zimbabwe where the grass was really smelly and I sunbathed under the moon's rays of warmth until, suddenly, a dragon landed on my face, so I spat again, and the pixie dust went into its nostrils, causing a volcanic eruption in Colorado, even though it snows in Washington on my sister's birthday sometimes when Leonardo di Caprio burps on my llama, and I think 'dude, he is super hot,' and then I realize that I need a lawyer to defend my duck's face so I hired Reese Witherspoon to be my lawyer, 'cause she's a good actress, and also hot, she is a super-ninja, I think, plus she is pregnant, which means a baby is going to burp on my mother's goldfish's dad's uncle's face, now I think I need a shower in New Jersey, 'cause it's cool there, well, sometimes, when my feet turn into little piggies I have to go to the hospital to get my laundry, which has been there since June 5th, 1877, so it is probably smelly but very clean 'cause I also wash it with Windex, which is better than Oxi-Clean because it requires yelling when using, which is sooo overrated for a mermaid doctor ninja, like me, so I ditched the brat Francesca and moved to the countryside in Vegas, where the camels graze in the gravel meadows of Kentucky, so now I need to say farewell to dentists and Chili's warriors, so goodbye.

-Sienna and Grace

© 2010

Have a Little Faith part 3

“You think you have enough shoes?” I asked with a raised eyebrow as Cyrus led me into his newly-acquired room. “No,” he replied with a smile. The medium-sized room was a complete mess. Posters of bands and famous bicyclists were tacked sloppily on every wall and an unmade bed sat in the center of the room, pushed back against the window, with a big tree directly outside of it. Boxes were strewn all over the room, some opened with their contents spread around them and others still taped shut. Clothes was all over the room, and the closet was open and packed with more boxes. But more than anything, there were shoes. On the floor, on the bed, in the closet, on the dresser, in the boxes. “Jeez, you probably have about three hundred times as many as I do,” I added, shaking my head at the endless footwear. He laughed, “How many shoes do you have?”

“Six. Sandals for summer, tennis shoes for running, converse for every day, rain boots for fall, and snow boots for winter.” He laughed, “Well, sticking to the basics is one way to go.” I moved a pair of shoes and a pile of books about bike riding off the bed and sat down. I picked up the book on top, Bike Riding: Motor, Classic, and Off-Road. “Wow,” I said, looking at the other books, “You like bike riding?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and took the books hurriedly from me. He put them over on the dresser and said, without looking at me, “Something like that.” My eyebrow went up higher and I shrugged and leaned back on the bed. “So,” I said, “what brings you to our little corner of the underworld?” He laughed, “Pardon?”

“What, nobody told you? This place sucks to the tenth power.” He sat down next to me, putting his fist under his chin and smiling at me. I caught my breath, freaked out by how close he was.

Let me tell you something I think I might have forgotten to mention:

I’m not good with anything that makes my heart beat slightly different than normally.

You know what that means: boys, sports, public speaking, horror movies, even

thunder-storms. Which sucks, considering those are all things I have to deal with. Well, all those things except boys. There are ways to avoid boys. And I have my guy friends, so my life isn’t completely male-free. I had a boyfriend once. After a while, I couldn’t handle it anymore. The fast-heartbeat thing just totally throws me off. I can’t function. I can barely even think.

“Well, that’s a bummer. Not exactly what you wanna hear about the place you just moved into. A nice, “Welcome to paradise!” would be very preferable.” I scooted away from him and allowed my heart to slow as I said, “I’m not a liar.” He laughed, “Clearly.”

He stood up as the other kids came in, but I just scooted back farther onto the bed until I was leaning against the window. I brought my knees up in front on my chest, figuring one more pair of shoes on this bed wouldn’t be a problem. “So, which one of you guys is her boyfriend?” Cyrus asked with a smile, motioning to me, as everyone found places to sit on the floor. It was weird how we all acted like old friends. But it’s not like it would make much of a difference, since it was pretty clear this guy was gonna be one of us, not one of the preppy we’ll-get-out-of-here-somehow kids. Nate and Tim blushed bright red, “Oh, neither of us.” Nate grabbed Queen, pulling her onto his lap, and said, “This is my girl.” Tim grabbed Keira, pulling her onto his lap, and said, “And this is mine.” Keira slapped him and moved away. “You wish!” she yelled, but she was smiling. Tim laughed and leaned back against the wall he was sitting in front of. Cyrus turned to me, “Oh, your boyfriend couldn’t make it?” Calm down heart, he’s just asking a question. I’m not the center of attention. This is no big deal. “I don’t have one,” I managed to choke out. Queen, knowing my freakish disorder, said to Cyrus, “What about you? You leave behind your girlfriend?” He laughed, “Definitely not. I did, however, have a close friend back home, and she was always saying my bike was my girlfriend.” He laughed again, an easy-going kind of chuckle that somehow returned my heart immediately to its normal state and made a soft smile spread over my face.

© 2010

Have a Little Faith part 2

I walked next to Keira as Nate walked ahead of us with Queen on his back and Tim dragged behind, kicking rocks with his dirty old sneakers. “Shouldn’t we bring cookies or something?” Keira asked.

“Our families are bringing dinner, stupid,” Timothy replied. “Well, I know, but I still feel like we should bring cookies. Chocolate chip cookies for new neighbors just seems like a kind of universally necessary thing to do. And don’t call me stupid, stupid.”

“Nah, it’s Ok. Cookies are overrated,” Nate said as Queen barely missed his hair with another one of her gum bubbles. “Did you actually just say that cookies are overrated?” Queen screamed in disbelief. “I think you might have forgotten how close your mouth is to my ear right now,” Nate replied with a wince. “Um, no, I didn’t actually. I can’t believe you would dishonor the world’s greatest pastry like that!” Nate laughed, “You are so strange. Besides, cookies are nothing next to crepes.”

“Crepes are nothing next to cookies.”

“Crepes and cookies are nothing next to cake,” Keira put in. “All three of those combined are nothing next to anything Italian,” I said. “I’ll second that one,” Tim said with a smile.

We walked up to the same-as-every-other-house-in-town-house just as our parents emerged from Keira’s place, all carrying trays of food. Nate’s dad knocked on the door and big man with dark grey hair and a huge smile greeted us. “Hello! Thanks so much for coming, this is really great!” the man said, letting us into the house. Apparently we had called ahead. Inside, a white-blonde woman in a casual floral print dress smiled at us, walking up and hugging everyone as if we were old friends. As we descended farther into the parlor, I saw the boys. The older one came over to us with a big, sappy, clearly fake smile and shook all of our hands. The younger boy was sitting on the couch and he looked up as we came in but didn’t move. “Cy,” the flower woman said, “come greet our new neighbors!” The boy grunted and pulled himself off the couch, walking over to us. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he subtly greeted everyone. When he finally reached me, the rest of us had dispersed all over the living room and started to make small talk. “Hello,” he said to me, and I scanned him. He was tall, at least 6’3’’, and his dark hair brushed over his deeply tanned face like a wave over the sand. He had misty blue eyes that stared out like a cool refreshment on a hot summer day-a small sense of revival after looking over the gruff that was the rest of him-strong, dark, sort of intimidating. I could tell that intimidating was just the word he was going for, so I decided not to give him the satisfaction. “Hello,” I said, smiling almost as fake as his brother, “I’m Joan.” He nodded, “Cyrus.”

“Cyrus? Like Miley?” I asked with a smirk. He rolled his eyes and ran his right hand through his hair, and I saw a small purple star on his forearm. “Creative. Never heard that one before,” he said sarcastically. He noticed my eyes on the small tattoo and dropped his arm to his side immediately. I grinned, “Oh, I get it. Trace, not Miley.” He scoffed, “It’s a scar, not a tattoo.” I rose an eyebrow, “A scar? How’d you get that?”

“It wasn’t anything big, really. Just a bike accident.” I nodded, “Oh, right. Well, how’d it come out as such a perfect star?” He shrugged, “I don’t know. It was a freak thing, really. But hey, I’m not complaining. At least I didn’t get a big purple heart on my arm.” He smiled, and I grinned slightly.

© 2010

Have a Little Faith part 1

Chapter 1

“Do you know what's worth fighting for when it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away, and you feel yourself suffocating?” -21 guns by Green Day

“Another moment in this stupid town and I think my head might explode,” Keira sighed as she took her gum out of her mouth and stuck it on the back of the wooden fence we were sitting around. I sat on top of the fence, staring down the road, just waiting for a car to come, to show some small sign of life in this dead town. Keira was sitting on the dirt, leaning against the fence, and Timothy was standing next to her, his arm leaning on the fence. Nate was standing on the edge of the road throwing rocks across and seeing how far they would go, and Queen was laying sprawled out in the middle of the road, her arms and legs spread, without even the smallest worry in her head that she would be run over. Not in this town. By the adults, our little group was known as the rebels. In other terms, we were the kids who couldn’t care less about school or jobs because we knew that no matter what we did, we would end up just like our parents, and everyone else in this town: either stuck here living off cheap paychecks and neighborly affection or in some big city way far off, homeless and hopeless. Every other kid knew that it was going to be the same for them too, they just denied it. But everyone knew it. Being born into this town was like being born into the servant class in medieval times: you were stuck there, and that was that. No questions asked. The end. “I think we covered that, Ginger,” Tim growled in his ever-present deep, throaty scratch of a voice. It was like someone had ripped the vocal chords out of a crow and T.I. and combined them together to make the song that was Timothy. “Shut up, freckle-face, like you can talk.”

“Oh, right, ‘cause your skin is so perfect!”

“‘Cause I said that, right!”

“Would you guys just shut up,” Nate groaned, picking up another handful of rocks. “You know what I think?” Queen asked as she lifted herself up on her elbows. I winced, “Jeez, Queen, don’t asphalt burns even hurt you a little bit?” Queen glanced at her elbows, “Oh, huh, I’m bleeding.” Keira and Timothy rolled their eyes in unison and Nate smiled at his strange-but-appealing girlfriend. “Well, anyway, I think we should all go on a trip. It’s summer vacation, what are we all doing staying around here like we’ve got nothing better to do with our lives?”

“There’s two weeks left of summer, Queen, and it’s not like we can exactly plan some elaborate trip in two minutes and then just drive down in a couple hours. Do you forget that we live in the middle of nowhere?” I asked. Queen rolled her eyes, “Who said it has to be elaborate?” she muttered as she lay back down on the asphalt, frying her face in the late-afternoon sun. “With five people driving at least nine hours, I’d say it’s pretty elaborate.” Queen blew a huge bubble with her gum and popped it carefully, pulling it back into her mouth with her tongue, “So we ditch the freckle twins,” she said. “Hey!” Keira and Timothy called out in unison protest. Nate laughed and continued to toss rocks over his girlfriend and onto the other huge, dead grassland that lay on the other side of the road. I spit on the ground and said, “Sorry, Queen, but I don’t think that plan’s gonna work out too hot.” Queen sighed, “Fine.”

“Well, at least we have some newbies coming,” Nate said, trying to cheer up his cry-baby, “maybe they’ll make things slightly less boring. I hear they have a couple sons, one our age and one a little older.”

“There’s some new doomed souls coming?” I asked, “How come nobody told me this?” Keira looked over at me, “You didn’t know?”

“Um, yea, actually, I did. I just felt like saying I didn’t for kicks.” Keira raised an eyebrow at me and I slapped her shoulder, “Of course I didn’t know, idiot! Who are they?”

“All we know about them is their last name. Dimpens.”

“Dimpens?”

“Yup.”

“That sucks,” I said with empathy. Nate laughed, “Tell me about it. Hopefully they’ll wear it well.” Queen popped another bubble and we all fell silent as a rush of wind swept over us and something strange came out of the distance. “Is that?” Nate asked, stepping slightly closer to the object, as if that slight change in distance might prove it to be wrong. Keira stood up,“No...”

“It couldn’t be...” Timothy said, walking next to Nate. I jumped off the fence and walked next to the four of them, all of us staring in disbelief. Queen watched us for a minute before finally saying, “What?” and sitting up. Just as she did, the truck was suddenly coming right towards us. Nate grabbed her arm and pulled her quickly off the road. We all jumped back in surprise as the truck drove past us. “A truck.”

“Oooh. I just figured it out. It must be the newbies.”

“Oooh,” we all said in unison, except Queen, who was staring at Nate in disbelief. He looked at her, “What?”

“You waited until I was just about to be killed to pull me off the road?!” she screamed. We all widened our eyes and looked over at them. Nate blinked, “Oh. Uh. Sorry?”

“You better be, you idiot!” she screamed. And with that, she moved back to the middle of the road and lay down again. We all looked down at her in complete shock, and Nate burst out laughing. He ran over to her and kissed her before laying down next to her on the road, gripping her hand in his and putting them on his chest, still laughing. Queen looked at him and just shook her head, closing her eyes again and gazing up at the sky. “Well, that was sufficiently weird,” Keira said, sitting down against the fence. Timothy sat next to her, “I’ll second that.” I looked down in the direction the truck had gone and wiped the sweat of the late-afternoon sun off of my forehead.

© 2010

Have a Little Faith: Introduction

A novel based on the song 21 Guns by Green Day

Dedicated to Bella and Green Day

Introduction

My life didn’t suck before I met Cyrus. But it wasn’t that grand, either. A small town in the middle of nowhere, where the greatest excitement was a thunderstorm or the robbing of a make-up pouch from a general store. There was nothing interesting or unique about my life. I was just a girl growing up on the bottom of the American social ladder, living the life I was given as best as I could, melting in the hot summers and freezing in the icy winters. It was the most typical, cliche life anyone could be given. But it wasn’t an interesting cliche. I didn’t have the consolation prize of knowing and being close to everyone in town, or having endless acres of beauty known as my backyard. I didn’t have a horse that changed my life, or a dad who kept me back from or pushed me toward my dreams. To be honest, I didn’t really have any dreams, because I knew exactly how my life was going to happen. Just the same as everyone else’s life in that town. I regretted it every day. But I wasn’t one of those kids who thought I could change it.

© 2010

Nature

Enveloped

in the soft foam and swift wish

of the crashing wave

Surrounded

by the smooth shadow

of the aging trees

in their darker days

Scratched

by the sharp-tipped grass

and weeds that slowly invade

Warmed

by the beating rays

of the crying sun

keeping the day

and finally

Enclosed

in the dark whispers

of the evening sky

and the moon's lullaby

Hypnotized

by the song of the wind

as nature takes me

away from this world

© 2010

Tavi

I just discovered Tavi, and I have but one word to say: genius.

And also, if this girl went to my school, (because we happen to be very close in age, though I'm slightly older,) we would be great friends. I have not a single doubt in my mind that she would be attracted to my "friend group" like a moth to a flame.

© 2010

Prison Break

It's cold...but the sun is shining.

It's raining...but I see the silver lining.

I'm lost, but soon I will be found.

I went the wrong way-but I can still turn around.

I left you

But you stayed

I hurt you

You weren't betrayed

I asked you

And you couldn't say

But you waited

And no matter the price I pay

I'm here now

And I'm here to stay

© 2010

Lovely, Lazy, Hot, and Not part 28

James

It is now officially a fact. The universe hates me. Russel is sitting with her now, really? After three freaking years of people approaching her table and receiving the death-glare in reply, (people including myself, in case you hadn't caught on,) this new guy comes and suddenly he gets to sit with her just 'cause he has a freaking accent? So what if he's British! I'm part British, too, I just didn't grow up there! What's the big deal? I huff and glance over at Ian, the kid who sits at the same table as me every day but who never says more to me than, "Hey", "Hello", or even the occasional, "'Sup." That kid really bugs me, but what am I going to say, "Hey, could you go find another loser to sit with, I'm sick of you?" Yea, like I have the authority to kick someone out of any lunch spot, even this lame one. "You really like her, huh?" Ian suddenly says. I look up at him, shocked that it has spoken, and reply, "Uh, who?"

"Venice. Duh. Who else would I be talking about?" I can feel my cheeks heat up and feel like slapping myself. Wow. I really am a loser. "Uh, why would you say that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you spend every single lunch period of your entire life staring over at her table?" I blink, "I do?"

"Wow. You're pathetic." I roll my eyes, "Thanks, man."

"Yea, whatever," Ian replies, standing up and swinging his bag over his shoulder as the bell rings, "See ya later."

"I know I will," I mumble, but he doesn't hear me.

"You have no life," Jesse says as he walks into the house that evening and his girlfriend pulls out of the driveway. I look up at him from the couch where I'm watching some lame show that is the only thing on. "Thanks, Jess, I appreciate it."

"Hey, I thought maybe if someone reminded you enough, you might do something to change it." I grab a handful of chips out of the ripped-down-the-side bag sitting next to me on the couch and say, "Sorry to crush your dreams, but I'm not changing for nobody."

"For nobody."

"Yup."

"What about for that Venice chick?" I look up at him, "You know Venice?"

"I know you like her." I roll my eyes and throw a couch cushion at him, looking back at the screen, "Shut up."

"Whatever. Well, are you going to that party that chick in your grade is throwing this

Saturday?" I look up at him, "You mean Erica?" He nods and sits down next to me, a soda in hand. I laugh, "I couldn't go to that even if I wanted to." Jesse rolls his eyes, "Course you can. It's a Barn Party."

"So?"

"So?! Everyone can go to a BP, doofus!"

"Why? What's so special about a freakin' BP? What kind of stupid name is that anyway?" Jesse rolls his eyes,"If you throw a BP, you're automatically allowing anyone to come. You don't invite people to a BP. You just let someone know you're having one, word spreads, and when it finally happens, the place is filled with a bunch of people you've never seen before in your life." I raise an eyebrow in irritation, "Sounds like fun."

"You're an idiot. It's not like they'll be doing drugs or something. It's a freaking Barn Party."

"Yea, whatever. I'm not going."

"Why not?!"

"Because, it's stupid. And no one wants me there."

"You're a doofus."

"I think we already clarified that."

"Whatever, loser. Fine, let some other guy grab your girl, see if I care." I look up abruptly, "What?"

"You don't think Florence is just gonna spend her life walking around with a sign on her back that says, 'Reserved For James' do you? She's gonna get a guy and you're gonna regret it."

"Her name's Venice, not Florence." He shrugs, "Like I care," and stands up, walking upstairs. I look back at the TV screen and think of Venice sitting and laughing with Russel at lunch today. As much as I hate to say it... Jesse's probably right.

© 2010

Broken Glass, Broken Hearts part 54

"I really hate you."

"What! You're the one who said you wanted to go shopping!"

"I said I wanted to go shopping not hiking!!"

"What? But we have been shopping!"

"This is mall is so huge, and you keep dragging me to opposite sides! We must have walked at least five miles by now!"

"You're exaggerating."

"No I'm not! Look at this..." I pulled out my phone, "See! 5.4 miles. I have an app on my iPod that measures how far I walk." Selena looked at the iPod and shrugged, "Well, you got your work out for the day over with."

"Grrr!" I groaned, pulling my frappuccino up to my lips. "I don't get it. Why does it take you so long to shop? Can't you just get in, pick something, buy it, and get out?" Selena looked me over and said, "This coming from the girl with the tank top and jeans."

"Hey!"

"I'm not teasing. It works on you. But I'm just not the simple tank-top-and-jeans type of person. I need cute clothes and cute accessories, or I look...out of place. Everyone just expects me to be a statement."

"You're weird."

"You wanted to go shopping, Ang, you!"

"Yea, yea, yea. I know. But I didn't think it would be like walking a marathon."

"You're pathetic."

"This coming from the person who takes eight hours to shop!"

"That's not pathetic! I just have high standards!"

"You mean you're just picky."

"You're a jerk!" I laughed and we stepped into yet another store. If anybody had told me last year that I was going to become really close friends with Selena, I would have laughed out loud. I always just assumed that she was conceited, self-centered, and mean. But when I really got to know her, I found out that she was really a nice person. She may be a little on-the-surface sometimes, but she's a really sweet girl and is always there when you need her.

Tammy. I couldn't stop thinking about her. Why had we not talked in so long? Had she made a lot of new friends? Was she mad at me for never calling her? Did I have the right to be mad at her for not calling me? ...did she have a boyfriend in Canada? Tammy had never had a boyfriend before, but I could always tell when she liked someone, and plenty of people liked her, too. She was asked out a few times, but one was a jerk, one she didn't know very well, one was a girl, and one was a prank. All in all, she had never had a boyfriend before. I hadn't either. Dustin had always had her share of boyfriends, however, and that was enough for the three of us. It was always just that...the three of us. We weren't particularly popular, not that we wanted to be. But when Dustin died, it became just the two of us. And then Tammy left. And it was just me, alone in that huge school of people I'd known since kindergarten but didn't really seem to know at all. Like I said, we hadn't been very popular, but Dustin had very friendly. Although she only really hung out with us, she did seem to get along really well with everyone. And when she passed, it became incredibly clear to me just how many friends she really had. Selena had been in all of her classes the year before, (unlike me, who only had History with her,) and they had gotten to be pretty close friends. When Dustin died, I could tell she was really hurting. Probably not as much as me, (or Tammy,) but still a lot. She talked to me, and we just kind of clicked. Then Tammy left and she was the only close friend I had left at the school. And so it was that I became part of the popular table.

© 2010