YAFF Muse is Back: School Daze

YAFF Muse is back!!! Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

Raygun by wintersixfour

School Daze

By Rachel Marie Pratt

Some schools have rules. Others have a code of ethics. This school—my school— has zero tolerance.

The gymnasium fills with teachers and students for today’s Call to Discipline. Despite the thousand plus in attendance to the afternoons event, the room is completely silent. Not that anyone would dare to make a noise during such an assembly. To do so would bring about great consequences.

Already there are several of us waiting in line to be punished when Principal Shuster crosses the gymnasium. Everyone joins together in showing support. Like a synchronized beat we clap. Clap.Clap.Clap.Clap.Clap.

He takes his place behind the podium. His hands part in the air and the room falls silent again.

“Welcome students. Faculty.” Shuster begins. “Here at Redwood we pride ourselves on the conduct of our students. Many of you were left in the guardianship of the school, because your parents saw the need for structure and accountability in a world drowning in its own sin and disregard. Redwood was built on discipline, with a defined set of ideals. It is through the constant application of these principles we maintain a safe environment and quality of living your parents dreamed for you.” He holds the schools commandments in his hand. All 3041 ways a student can earn a place in the Offenders Line. “Without further delay, let the Call to Discipline commence.” Shuster steps down. And in his place is Eli Manager, who we call “the executioner.”

“Francie Dressler,” he says.

The sound of my name being called reverberates off the high ceiling. Every muscle in my body tightens. I plant my feet firmly on the floor, but I’m no match for the two guards selected to bring me forward. At the center of the gymnasium, a third guard takes hold of my legs and I’m lifted onto a cool, metal slab. As if this hardened table has a memory, images of the tortures preformed here flood my mind.

“Please, don’t let them do this!” I plead with my classmates, to help me. Even though I know nobody will stop the events happening here today. I can’t blame them I’ve been where they are now. And I’ve done nothing the same as they will do nothing. Still, my yells persist until a rubber muzzle is placed over my mouth and secured to the back of my head, deadening my cries.

I thrust my head from side to side. The muzzle is like a vise squeezing my mouth closed until it feels as though my teeth are going to shatter like glass.

“I invoke the first commandment of Redwood: Tardiness will not be tolerated.”

Blinded by a glaring white light overhead, I shift my gaze to the side. A cart draws forward in my direct line of sight.

The Executioner takes his place at my side. He chooses his device of discipline. It’s one I’ve never seen before. It looks like a toy gun. But I know better, this is not a toy.

“Hold her still,” he instructs as the device whirs to life. A six inch needle shoots out. “You like my newest invention?”

© 2011, January 11, rmp. (rmg)

This muse came to me after I decided to steer from the b-rate sci-fi movie idea. In the end, I’m happy with the results. And VERY glad I didn’t attend Redwood.

Thanks for coming by. Please be sure to drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment. This will be our last Muse until after the holidays! But make sure you check back after the first of the year for more YAFF MUSE!

Miranda Buchanan

Rebekah L. Purdy

Traci Kenworth

Vanessa Barger

Writer-All-Nighter (2)

Wonder what  happens when an author (writer)  pulls an all nighter. Well here’s a list of my favorite all nighter activities:

#1. Write: This is probably a given, but I thought I’d better mention it to avoid confusion.

#2. Visit Blogs: Comment on the blogs in the blogroll for two reasons. First off because this is a great all nighter intermission activity. And second, it’s always nice to take time out for others when your otherwise busy.

#3. Read: That’s right. During my all nighters it’s essential that I keep a book close (that’s not my own) and read five pages here and there. I find this helps me to pull back from what I’m attempting to write so that when I revisit my work ten minutes later it’s like looking at it with fresher eyes.

#4. Chat on Skype: This works especially well with a friend in another time zone who’s impressed when you say, “Oh yeah, I’m still awake at 2 am. What time is it there? Oh, only 9? What’s that, you need to go to bed?” I find this activity tends to revive me for the big finish.

And finally, the  activity to do when pulling an all nighter…

Blog!

How do you handle an all nighter?

Writer-All-Nighter

If you’re a writer there is a good chance you’ve experienced one or two writer-all-nighters. If your not a writer, think about being up with a baby that’s teething–you know–running a fever, screaming, pooing–the works. Yep, that’s a bit of what it’s like. Except in this case the baby is a laptop.

So this is where I’m at, pulling all-nighters to finish an adult piece that if I’m honset has been more painful to write than when I had my wisdom teeth extracted. Of course, I had a million and one interruptions yesterday during the daylight hours, which is when I prefer to write. But in the world of, ‘Hi, I’m-Rachel-wife-mommy-daughter-wannabe author’, the ‘Hi, I’m daughter’ overruled the weekend with a thousand phone calls and visits from my parents. <–An obvious exaggeration, but what can you expect? I’ve been up all night and I write fiction.

So when was your last all-nighter? (Anything remotely close to up late works too.)

And for those who participated in Friday’s QUIZ, here is a list of Super A+ Blogger WINNERS!!! (Some got all the questions right, and the others are A+ bloggers because of their honesty–the little cheaters. lol.) Grab your blog sticker here and let everyone know how smart you really are!

Harper Bennett

Vanessa

Rebekah L. Purdy

Joey Nichols

Min

Our winner is…(followed by a weekend update)

BG: Mom let me pick the winner this morning and I’m really excited to send you Flipped. I hope you like it like we did. (I still don’t know when my book order is coming in but I will make sure Mom puts it in the mail when it does) Oh and Mom decorated the winner thing to look like a tree because in Flipped Juli has a tree that she loves to climb. But Mom says not to tell you any more about the book so that you’ll want to read it.  :-)) Anyway off to school. Hope you liked our first giveaway. (And so you know I commented back to all of the comments I got Friday. It was kind of hard.)

Okay, stepping in here as it’s time for BG to go to the bus stop.

BG: See ya.

And that’s one kid out the door this morning. And congratulations on the WIN Jennifer. Jennifer blogs at Me, My Muse, and I. So if you get the opportunity to stop in and congratulate her on her win that would be great.

That said, while there should have been more writing accomplished in the Gilbert house this weekend, after a slew of unending interruptions I opted for the NO WRITING WEEKEND. I swear on Sunday I sat down a dozen times with my laptop. But after phone calls, running into town, being called for an unexpected favor, which ended in more running, our puppy begging for attention, 3 kids and a husband coming in and out of the room, irritation began to rise instead of word count. As I’m not the type of person to be buried in frustration I decided instead that the writing could wait, because life outside of my laptop could not.

Yep, they LOVE me so much, I can’t get anything done!

YAFF Muse: High Temps

Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

The Room By:trublueboy

High Temps

A hundred and two degrees and sunny, yesterday. A hundred and five degrees and sunny, today. The heat never dissipates. I shift among the sheets on my bed looking for the spot. You know the one, where it’s still cool, and for a split second you find relief.

Relief is a luxury these days, air conditioning that no one can afford, water that’s untainted, ice. Oh Lord, I remember the days of ice. Summer months spent with the wonderful treasure at my disposal. How many times a day would I sneak to the freezer and grab a cool, slick piece of frozen water from its tray? Each crunch of the cube a tasty treat, wetting my throat and freezing my tongue.

I turn, becoming tangled in the bedding. Someone takes a cloth to my forehead and wipes away the perspiration. I want to thank them but my tongue is like a sand-trap and the words are caught inside. My inhales become raspy and exhales catch in my throat.

And for the first time since the high temperatures began, I give in to the thought that they’ll be death of me.

*****

“The fever has taken hold, Sonny.  Her temperatures a hundred and five degrees today,” says Dr. Roth. “I think your sister’s ready to let go. It should be anytime now.”

She nods, allowing the tears to flow. Months of going without heat, so we could eat. Burning our furniture with the exception of this bed, all of it was for nothing. The wind blows its freezing breath through the gapes in the side of the house, she shivers. “Dear God, I pray she doesn’t feel this cold.”

©2010, September 21, rmg.

Pretty sure this weeks muse was inspired by the fact that I was sick most of last week and the weekend with a flu bug. Feeling better now, so it was time to make my characters suffer, I guess.

Thanks for coming by. Please be sure to drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Jennifer Fischetto

Mindy Buchanan

Rebekah L. Purdy

Traci Kenworth

Vanessa Barger

YAFF Muse: Long Ride Home

Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

Photo by: phypet

Long Ride Home

By: R.M.Gilbert

Leaning, with my elbows against side the viaduct, I peered out at the old neighborhood. The rundown apartment I shared with Mom. The train tracks below, where I played chicken with the subway. But nothing felt like home more than the maple tree at the far end of the road. My haven whenever Mom had a fight with one of her guys.

I inhaled the stale air, thick with the scent of rust and moldy wood. Who knew one breath would bring back the past?

The clatter of alcohol bottles echoed in my mind. I put my hands over my ears, but the cli-clank of glass got louder. And the neighborhood before me turned fuzzy like an out of focus lens.

Music blared from a boombox on the floor next to the coffee table, competing with the screams of my baby brother. Mom’s by the door. A guy stands next to her. Long greasy hair stringing past his shoulders, a scar on his right cheek and a bum eye.

“I’ll give you a half ounce, for five minutes alone with your daughter,” the man said. He dangled a small bag full of white powder under Mom’s nose. She probably thought I was too busy making the baby a bottle to hear, but I heard everything. And this guy was not going to lay a finger on me. Not one.

I watched the door closely for any signs he might push his way in. Mom’s feet shifted as she twists to glance at me in the kitchen. With the rear of her hand, she wiped her nose. Her nostrils flared and beamed bright red against the pale of her skin. The consideration in her drugged gaze was all the indication I needed to go to my special spot.

Slipping from the kitchen, I edged the wall of the living room. And while they negotiated I sneaked to mine and my brother’s room.  His tiny hands reached. Not for me, but for the bottle. I wondered if Mom fed him while I was at school. I pushed the bottle into his mouth, kissed his tear covered cheek then laid him back in the crib.

“Someday I’ll take you from all of this,” I said and turned to the window, knowing that was an awfully big promise for a twelve year old to make.

I sighed, taking one last peek at the crib before I shimmied down a vent pipe. The rusted metal scraped like gravel on the way down. But scratched hands were nothing compared to a mutilated spirit. The tips of my toes touched down and with the earth beneath me, sirens wailing around me, I raced to the end of our road, climbed to the highest spot I dared to climb in my tree and waited.

Waited for the sun to come up.

Waited for Mom to pass out.

Waited for the men to leave.

Waited for the five o’clock train to tell me it was safe to go back to my brother.

I listened for the train now, but instead…

“Are you okay?”

My eyes refocused and I glanced at the hand grasping mine; the fingers aren’t as tiny as they were then. “Yeah,” I whispered.

“Is that the train you took me out on?”

I searched the commuter cars, long deserted on the tracks, their graphitized walls.

“That’s not the one.” I shook my head. “Ours went the other direction. Downtown. To the police station.”

“Hey kids,” Aunt Pauline called from the end of the viaduct. “It’s getting late and you still need to eat and shower.”

Off in the distance I heard a screech on the rails. I squeezed my brother’s hand thankful for the five o’clock train.

©2010, September 15, rmg.

This weeks muse was written last second. My baby girl turned 12 yesterday so I wanted to portray a story of a girl the same age. But a close look at the picture this week and everything in the neighborhood looked broken down, so I put a 12 year old there and asked myself: What would her life be like? How would she survive? Who would be there with her? Where would she find an escape if not in something bad?

In the end, the answers would heartbreaking and yet a relief at the same time. She’s  courageous, a survivor, and a savior.

Thanks for coming by. Please be sure to drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Cambria Dillon

Mindy Buchanan

Rebekah L. Purdy

Vanessa Barger

YAFF Muse: Your Biggest Fan

Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

Photo by: trublueboy

Your Biggest Fan

By: R.M.Gilbert

“If you can’t get him to meet me, you can forget our little deal,” Carrie yells over the noise of the crowd.

“What if—”

“Nope.” A smile curls her cherry chapsticked lips. “We agreed. You land me some time with Phin or I go to the Dean—”

“Okay, I get it,” I say.

She disappears among the thousands and waits on Phin to take the stage. A hush falls over the crowd. Blinding flashes of strobe lights explode overhead. With each blaze of light a member of the band begins to play until finally beams flicker around Phin, drenching him in literal lime light and a mix of shadows and stage fog.

The crowd erupts. Bouncing up and down, arms pounding the air above their heads while they sing along, as if they know his songs better than he does. At the end of his first set he struts offstage. The place reeks of sweat and alcohol. Girls tug their shirts off, happily exposed. The guys enjoy the flesh show as much as the concert.

I circle the outer edge of the crowd, flash my all access pass at the stage manager then head to Phin’s dressing room. The faces behind the scenes are as familiar as my own. Cameron, his stylist, empties half a can hairspray on Phin’s hair as I slip into the room. He spots me in the mirror.

“Lara, darling,” Cameron coos.

“Hey Cam.” I force a smile. “Can I get a minute with Phin.”

Cameron looks disappointed, but after another couple squirts of hairspray, he leaves.

“What’s up?” Phin swivels in his chair and puts his baseball cap on. If Cameron were here he’d have a beautician conniption.

I ignore the waste of Cam’s effort, and say, “I need a favor.”

“Yeah?” His brows joggle.

“Not that kind of favor, perv.”

“One of these days you’re going to change your mind.”

I shake my head. He forgets I know how many girls he’s seduced, or rather, how many girls he hasn’t needed to seduce, since so many of them try to reach him through me. So I start how I always start, “There’s this girl—”

“Sure Lara, I’ll meet her.” He usually makes me beg for it, but this time he lets me off easy. “Just tell me what this one’s holding over your head.”

“The thing is…” I fidget. “I’ve been seeing someone.”

His brows furrow. “Since when?”

“About a month now.”

“But—”

“Carrie saw me sneaking out of the dorms and threatened to tell the dean and my parents.” The rules are clear with both the school and my parents: No boys and no going out after curfew.

“So you met someone?” He leans back in his seat.

“Try to keep up, Phin. If Carrie tells them, I’m screwed. Mom and Dad will hit the roof and Dean Sanders…” I lift my hands in exasperation.

“Do you like this guy?”

“What?” I cock my head. Phin’s never cared who I’ve dated. Of course, maybe that’s because I’ve never really dated before.

“Have you done him?”

“Are you kidding me?” My arms link over my chest. “This isn’t one of those, I’m gonna be your macho best friend and protect your honor things, is it?”

He removes his hat, giving me full view of his eyes, they remind me of the lime stage lights, only they’re a calmer shade of green. “What if it is?”

“Trust me, I’m fully intact. I can’t seem to get any, even if I want to.”

“Do you?” He pushes from his chair.

I stare up at him. He’s a whole foot taller than me and on all accounts looks like a sex god. I swallow hard. “I’m going to be eighteen soon.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question, does it?”

“Phin, come on.” My face heats. It’s almost painful to admit what I think he already knows. “I’ve never gotten to second base with a guy.”

“Really?”

“Just forget it,” I say and turn to go.

“Wait up.” He follows me. “Bring this Clara—”

“Carrie.”

“Whatever. Bring her by after the show.”

“Thanks.” I smile.

“But you come too?”

“Okay.”

Tonight, when he finishes his set.  His people inform me that he only wants to see Carrie and me. Everyone else is turned away as I knock twice on the dressing room door. It swings open and he stands there with his button-down shirt open, bare chest exposed, pants riding low on his hips. Suddenly his dressing room feels hotter than the mass of fans I pushed through to get in here. It’s not like I’ve never seen his chest before, but it catches me off guard when I do, I can’t help it. It’s like an animal that jumps in front of your car and all you can do is react. But he’s way hotter than any squirrel I’ve ever seen.

Carrie nudges me.

“Sorry.” I clear my throat, hating introductions the most. “Phin, this is Carrie Solet.”

“Nice to meet you,” he says giving her one of his performance smiles.

“You too.” She giggles. “I’m one of your biggest fans.”

It’s at this point I usually leave, but Phin shuts the door and gestures for us to sit down. I stand in case I need to make a quick getaway when Carrie throws herself at him.

I listen as they talk a while, then he hands her a signed photo, in which, she asks for him to write that he had a great night with her, and he signs it with his signature, P. Afterwards he shows her out and when he comes back, I watch his every step. Until I finally get the nerve up to ask, “So that’s it?”

“Yep.”

“No kissing, or fondling, or sex,” I whisper.

He laughs and takes a snapshot of the two of us off his dressing room mirror. He scribbles something on the back then hands it to me.

I flip the photo over in my hand.

To the only girl I want to cover all the bases with!

Your biggest fan,

Phin

©2010, August 30, rmg.

Thanks for coming by. Please be sure to drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Mindy Buchanan

Rebekah L.Purdy

Vanessa Barger

YAFF Muse: Sunkiss

Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

Photo title: Wooden Gate

Sunkiss

By: R.M.Gilbert

Seven hundred twenty-five days, I’ve been confined to the upper level of the white chalet. Suffocating, in my bedroom—my five-by-seven foot personal prison. I toss my book aside on the desk and watch as groups of kids pass by. School let out for the weekend, so I won’t see them until they walk by again on Monday.

I pick my book up for the second time and glance at the vampire donning the cover of my newest purchase. “At least you turn to dust in the sun,” I say. Not me, I break out in a rash and my throat closes in, choking off my air supply. Turning to dust and blowing away in the wind would be welcome, compared to this hell.

“Allergic to the sun,” I mutter and turn to the chapter where Tristan McGregor swears he’ll always love Juliet Rodea. When something tinks against my window sill and collides with the curtain.

A tiny pebble lands on the floor, near my feet. I stand, leaning forward to peek out the window. Below, a boy, about fifteen, stands there. From here he looks cute. Not pretty boy cute either, but scruffy. Like he’d stopped on his way home from work, instead of school like the rest of the kids. And for a second I think he’ll toss another stone, but he just stares up at my window until eventually he fists his hands in his jacket pockets and leaves. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before. Not in all the days I’ve spent at this window, peering out beyond our gate. If only he could take me away from this place. If only he didn’t go away…

What am I saying? Mom would have a fit if she saw him here, which makes me glad she’s gone to the market.

With a sigh, I lift my book:

Tristan watched as sweet Juliet took her final breaths. He had promised he’d never take her as his own without her consent.

He whispered softly, “As your blood courses through the generations, I will find you. I promise my beautiful Juliet, as your children grow and their children after that, I’ll always remember it is your blood that courses through their veins.” He paused to kiss her cheek, tempted to take her blood and keep her forever. But instead he made his oath, unmarred by time or circumstance. “One day you will need me so that you may live. For this reason, I will stay with you until the end of time. I will follow your bloodline until you give me a sign that you are prepared to live a life at my side.”

Juliet drew her last breath.

Tristan leaned and spoke into her ear. “Place un caillou sur votre seuil.”

~~

I stare at the final words in the book. Of course they’re in French, which is Tristan’s native tongue. I flip to the very last pages, where thankfully the publisher has thought to add a French glossary, defining the forty or so phrases Tristan spoke in the book.

“Let’s see.” I flip through the pages, repeating “Place un caillou sur votre seuil,” over and over as I slide my finger down the page. When I spot the phrase, I trace my finger over to the translation. “Place a pebble on your sill,” I read.

Wait. What?

I glance at the pebble on the floor. Then turn to the final page of the story once again.

“One day you will need me so that you may live. For this reason, I will stay with you until the end of time. I will follow your bloodline until you give me sign that you are prepared to live a life at my side.”

Juliet drew her last breath.

Tristan leaned and spoke into her ear. “Place un caillou sur votre seuil.”

I close the book and pick the pebble up off the floor, grasping it tight in my palm.

©2010, August 25, rmg.

This weeks YAFF story was, in part, inspired by my daughter. I was going to write looking from the outside-vs-the inside, but she suggested going inside the gate…so I took it a step farther. The other bit of inspiration came from a program I saw a few years ago about people who have sun allergies. I remember being surprised that there was such a thing as being allergic to sunlight. And for one reason or another this program came to mind. (to learn more about sun allergies visit: MayoClinic.com)

Thanks for coming by. Please drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment.

R.L.Purdy

Traci Kenworth

Vanessa Barger

YAFF Muse: Untarnished

Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

iturnedaround by: inessaemilia

Untarnished

By: R.M.Gilbert

Skin slick with sweat, I take the man’s shirt from the floor and slip it on before heading outdoors. Cool mountain air licks my body dry. I shiver. He didn’t take my innocence; it was stolen a long time ago. Little by little. By a man who should have loved me. It’s this thought that drives me forward.

I hike the path down the side of the mountain, through the trees, to the dock. The stillness of the water greets me and I wait for the familiar feel of the dock tipping under Dean Boucamp’s weight.

“You did alright today,” Dean says coming up behind me. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

I shake my head no, like I always do.

He stands next to me. “We appreciate your help.”

“I know,” I whisper and glance at him from the corner of my eye. Badge clipped to his waist, gun strapped in a shoulder holster, dress shirt, tie, and the most trusting face I’ve ever seen in my life. It almost hurts to look at him. The department assigned “young detective Boucamp” to my case years ago. After they realized I was going to catch these men one way or another—with or without their help.

There’s just one thing I never came to expect, how I’d feel about Dean. I stare down at my feet. What right do I have to feel anything for him, when he’s seen how tarnished I am?

“You’ve got a big birthday coming up at the end of the week, don’t you?” he asks, always polite.

“Yeah, my eighteenth.”

“Do you remember what you told me?”

“I remember,” I say, thinking back to my high school graduation a few months ago when I shared with him my plans to join the police force.

“Well, I brought you a present.” He reaches in his shirt pocket, pulls out a business card, and hands it to me. “When you decide you’re ready, he’s expecting your call.”

I take the card and study it. “Thank you for this…and everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you helping me—”

He pivots closer. “You would have done just fine without me.”

“No.”

“Yes.” His fingers rake his hair. “Everything you do is perfection. And after all you’ve been through.”

“Perfection?”

He clears his throat. “I mean, you’re strong and bright and you’ve taken control of your life instead of letting the hurt control you.”

I spot movement on the path; it’s his new partner. “Hey Boucamp, we’re about finished here. Fredrick’s on his way to county lock-up with the perp.”

“We’ll be right up,” says Dean without taking his eyes off me. “Give us a minute?”

“You got it,” his partner says, then disappears up the path.

“How’s it going with him?” I ask.

“Pretty good.” Dean inhales loudly and gazes out at the water. “You know your Uncle’s being released this weekend?”

“Uh-hm, on my birthday.” My stomach knots. “Seems like a cruel present, doesn’t it?”

“I was thinking maybe I ought to come over that day.”

“Dean. Detective. You don’t have to—”

“I won’t be on duty,” he says.

And at that moment I feel hope. “So you don’t think I’m tarnished?”

“What?” Surprise catches in his voice. “No. I think you deserve all that’s good in the world.”

©2010, August 17, rmg.

If you or someone you know is/has been affected by child abuse please follow the link below:

CHILD HELP

Or Call: National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD

Child abuse and neglect are nothing new to our society, but as long as it continues to exist we owe it to the children to address it. In this instance, I wanted to show a victim who’s come full circle. I wanted to express how she’s taken something painful and let it empower her. And in the end allow her to see that she’s not seen as ruined. That a future awaits her.

Thanks for coming by. Please drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Cambria Dillon

Mindy Buchanan

R.L.Purdy

Traci Kenworth

Vanessa Barger

YAFF Muse: Toothfairy

Welcome again to YAFF Muse: blog rounds. The ladies of YA Fiction Fanatics have come together for YAFF Muse. To have a little fun, explore different styles of writing and to give you some kick-butt shorts to read.  Enjoy!

kozarevets story 2 by: pstoev

Toothfairy

By: R.M.Gilbert

“I can’t believe you rode that bike to school. It’s sort of lame,” Taylor says, sticking me in the ribs with her elbow.

“Mom needed the car and I missed the bus,” I mumble while my lockers slammed shut by a couple of guys screwing off in the hallway.

“Yeah, but that bike is so…old.” Her nose wrinkles.

Taylor’s idea of ‘going without’ is taking her dad’s Hummer to school instead of the vintage Mustang. So there’s no point in explaining to her that Mom is on the verge of losing her job at the bar and grill, since her cars left her stranded three times in the last two weeks. Taylor would shrug and say, your mom can get a new job. And move on like it’s that simple. And for some people life is, but for others…

“Are you coming to my party Saturday?” she asks and gives a wave to a few of her other friends.

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it.”

She pouts. “Why not?”

“Mom’s gotta work behind the bar until two, so I’m babysitting Johnny.”

“Can’t she find someone else?”

There is no one else, I want to tell her, but instead I shrug and we head for our first period class. “I’ll see if I can find somebody.”

“You always say that.”

She’s right, I do always say that, but it’s the best I can do since Mom can’t afford a sitter.

***

SATURDAY NIGHT

“So what’ll it be tonight Johnny, Spongebob or Scooby?” I ask holding up two DVD’s. We’ve practically worn them out; they’ve been watched so many times.

He smiles, a big toothless grin and points at Scooby. And when I settle in next to him on the couch, he whispers, “Do you think the toothfairy will come tonight?”

“Sure she will.”

“But she didn’t come last night. Or the night before that.”

“She’s busy, kiddo.” I try to smile, but it is difficult knowing that after paying rent and the electric, mom needed to barrow twenty-five dollars from a friend at work for gas money. And next week’s check is needed to cover more of Johnny’s hospital bills. I sigh. Whoever thought a bit of change from the toothfairy would be so hard to come by?

I stand and go to the kitchen. “You hungry?”

“Yep.” He hops like a bunny across the floor.

“How about peanut butter sandwiches?”

“Can we have jelly?”

“We’re out of jelly,” I say.

“Still?”

I nod.

He frowns and curls his tiny hands over the countertop and stretches to his tippy-toes, when a knock sounds on the front door. “I’ll get it.” He pushes away from the cupboard and races through the house.

“Hey, is your sister home?”

“Taylor’s here,” he shouts when I’m a foot from him.

“I see that.” I glance up at her. “Weren’t you having a party tonight?”

“It canceled.” She hands Johnny a pizza box.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because I have this friend that needs me and whether she knows it or not, I need her too.” Taylor kicks her shoes off and bends at the knee in front of Johnny. “It looks to me like someone’s had a few visits from the toothfairy.”

He shakes his head. “Nope, she’s been busy.”

“Johnny,” I say, clearing my throat. “How about you go put the pizza on the table?”

“K.” He toddles off and Taylor comes to her full height again.

“I’m sorry,” she says, “I didn’t know things were this bad.”

I choke back the tears.

She leans in and whispers, “I’m going to be a better friend.”

“You’re my bestfriend.” I hug her.

“No,” she says, “tonight I’m the toothfairy.”

© 2010, August 3, rmg.

Had a bit of a rough week, trying to explain to our kids how ‘good’ they have it. And how there are others out there that are not as fortunate as they are. You could say this was inspired by these discussions. Thanks for coming by. Please drop by my fellow YAFFers blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment.

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