Story Snippets // NaNo Update No. 3

As you can see I didn't get this post published over the weekend as I had planned.  All I can say is, that's life, people.   And you gotta live with it.   Eh, what?

The story I worked on during NaNo was actually a continuation of this story snippet which I shared with you in a post back in July.  So if you didn't read that post, and would like a little more background information, I suggest you go and read that first.  Then you can come back here and torture yourself with more.  Okay?  Okay. 



Now my story is not about a little girl, but I thought this picture was cute,
so we'll just say this is the heroine when she was young.  How's that?

Without further ado...

My story (or rather, bits of it).

*****

This Billy of whom Rosa spoke so fondly--and whom, at this point, we must assume to be the hero of our story simply on account of his current relationship to our heroine--was not by any means a man to catch the eye of the female population.  His appearance in itself was not prepossessing--in fact, he was extremely ordinary--and his manners were nothing to write home about, for though not bad, they were certainly not genteel (a fact which rendered him rather "blah" in the eyes of romantic-minded girls.)  He was short, which unfortunately has not been the popular stature for young heroes this many a day--a tall man always being preferable where romance is concerned--and he also had a horrible habit, when taking a romantic walk with his girl by his side, of forgetting that he was supposed to be "in love" and acting as if he were merely a young boy strolling down the lane with his best buddy.  No wonder Rosa shivered at the thought of such a man.

     "Anyway!"  Rosa cried, sitting up abruptly and giving her head a good shake as if to clear it of all unpleasant thoughts.  "Why are we sitting here talking about Billy?  I can think of a hundred and one subjects more palatable than that one.  And besides we've entirely strayed from the original thread of our conversation.  Which was, will you come out with me and have a little fun this evening?"

     Nancy turned back to her desk with an air of one bent on conquering a most irksome task.  "No, I think I'd better not.  Anyway, I'm not feeling very sociable tonight."
    
     "You're never feeling sociable," Rosa exclaimed.  "And you need to stop it.  You wanted to come to college, and a big part of college is being around people.  So interact with them more.  Make some friends, for goodness sake!"

     "I have friends.  You and Eva."

     "We're your roommates.  We don't count.  Come on, Nan.  Make an effort."

     "I can't," Nancy said, with a long drawn-out sigh.  "I haven't the strength for it.  Math's taken everything out of me."

     "Oh!  Would you forget about math already?"

*****

Something inside her snapped.  Slamming her book shut, she shoved it and all her scattered papers into the top drawer of her desk, and threw herself onto her bed.  She was failing at this.  All of it.  Why was she such a weakling?  Why with every thought of home did she grow sad and shaky inside?  It was natural enough for her to feel a little homesick when she first came away to college, but that was eight weeks ago now.  And she'd been home for a visit just about every other weekend.  So what was her problem? 

She had chosen to come to college because she wished to study music.    She and Rosa had, had it planned ever since they were in grade school.  Rosa would write the songs, and then she and Nancy would sing them.  Together they would travel the world sharing their music with vast audiences of people.  It had been a dream they had shared for as long as Nancy could remember, and as far as she could tell, it was still her dream.  What then was this endless tugging of her heart toward home?  Was she just being a fraidy-cat?  So comfortable in her own little corner of the world that she was too scared to step out of it and try her wings? Or was she trying her wings in the wrong direction? 

*****

Nancy had never known any other home than the little white house on the corner of ----- Street; the white house with the dark red shutters, the spacious front porch, and the gray window boxes (which window boxes by the by never had any flowers in them anymore because the Roths were experts at killing plants, and had finally decided--after a great many successes in that line--that growing things just to kill them was a bit counterproductive.  Not to mention a waste of time.) 

So yes, there were no flowers in the window boxes, but that didn't keep the Roths' home from being one of the prettiest spots in the neighborhood nonetheless.  And in Nancy's mind, one of the prettiest spots in the whole world.

*****

     "I do miss home so much, though," Nancy said, dropping her head onto Billy's shoulder and sighing audibly.

     Billy put his arm around her in a comforting, protective manner, and assured her that "home missed her, too."

     "And Billy?" Nancy asked, peering up at him with a smile.  "Does he miss me?"

     "All the time."

     "Funny," Nancy mused, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.  "Seems to me I heard him say this very day how I was coming home too often, he never had a chance to miss me."  She sat up and gave him a triumphant look which said plain as plain, "There now, young man, I've backed you into a corner.  What are you going to do about it?"

     Billy just grinned.

*****

Billy was a firm believer in the old maxim: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  Perfection was something he never strove for.  He'd seen enough from watching his oldest brother to know that it was a never ending pursuit, and frankly he didn't have time to worry about such things.  Life was too good, and too short, to waste time chasing after stars.

*****

All of a sudden Nancy had the sense that someone was watching her.  Ending her song abruptly she turned around and saw him standing at the back of the room.  The young man who had stared at her with such admiration at the end of last week's choir practice.  That him whom she'd almost forgotten about and yet remembered so vividly now that he was standing before her. 

     "I'm sorry if I startled you," he said, smiling apologetically.  "It was just too pretty to pass by.  You sound like a chirrupy little bird when you sing.  (Oh, dear.  I do hope that was a compliment.  I definitely meant it to be one.)"  He added quickly.

     Nancy laughed and stammered out something about it "being a very nice compliment indeed."  She felt enormously awkward knowing that he'd been listening to her sing without her knowledge, but she couldn't help but respond kindly to him all the same.  There was a sweetness about him that endeared him to her somehow.  Perhaps it was the way his right eye almost winked at you whenever he smiled.  It gave him the look of a mischievous little boy, and truth be told, Nancy had a weakness for mischievous little boys. 

*****

"Maybe it was something I did.  Oh, Rosa.  Do you think we've grown apart since I've been at college?  Maybe I've changed.  Maybe Billy doesn't feel like he knows me anymore.  Maybe I've been too distracted and busy to realize that we're going in two different directions."

Nancy's face was a perfect picture of despair now, and Rosa's heart smote her.  She had no idea Nancy would take it this way.  She had been so upset by Billy's behavior and so eager to smash him for it, that she hadn't realized she'd been depending all the time on there being a logical explanation which would totally clear him and make everything right again.  And she had expected Nancy to have that explanation.  Yet here she was, totally taken aback by this report and actually questioning hers and Billy's relationship.  This was far worse than Rosa could have imagined.

"I think I've lost him, Rosa.  I've lost Billy, and it's all my fault."

    

 ~*~

Well, there you have it.  And now, confession time.  First, the second to last snippet was written as a snippet, specifically for this post, because I haven't actually written that scene yet, but I wanted to introduce you to the "other young man of the story" anyway.  (Just because.  I thought it would be more interesting that way.)  Also, the last snippet was a scene I wrote out of order.  I'm definitely not that far along in the story yet.  But I wanted to include that, too, because...well, I wanted to have some sort of suspense for you all.  And it is suspenseful, right?  I mean, you're all really confused now as to whether or not I've changed my mind about Billy and Nancy ending up together, right?  RIGHT?  (Don't give me that knowing look.) 

Okay, so please tell me what you think.  You can be honest with me.  I hardly expect you can be more critical of my writing than I am of it myself, so tell me truly.  What did you think of these?  Any glaring faults?  Are you--even the tiniest bit--curious to know more?  And just because I enjoy talking about my characters, is there any one character in particular that you'd like to read more about?  

Seriously, let's talk about it!  :)

In which I go out on a limb and share part of one of my stories with you



Yes, dear people.  Let's get our solemn faces on, for this could very well prove disastrous.



Okay, I guess I really shouldn't say "part of one of my stories", as this is in reality the "whole" of it.  You see, I don't actually write stories, I write scenes.  Scenes which I later read over and over again hoping that by some miracle they will turn themselves into a story before my eyes (a method of writing which has not proved altogether successful, I must say). 

 

Anyhow, the other  day I got this idea for a scene, and after enjoying it very much in the writing, I began to wonder, "Would anyone else find this sort of thing interesting?  Am I in any way capable of creating characters that people want to know more about?"  Having a good many doubts on that score, I thought perhaps I would share it with all of you and see what you make of it.   And this is where I go out on a limb...because, frankly, it's a very difficult thing for me to share my stories with other people.  Why? Well, because.  "Sink me, m'dear, I'm far too embarrassed." 

But today I have decided to be brave.  So here it is, and if you think it's perfectly awful that's okay.  It's not as if it's some major work which I've been pouring myself into for the past decade.  If it's a dud...well, it's dud.  Please excuse any mistakes, inaccuracies, misspellings, misuse of words, and the like.  I've read over this so many times now, I'm almost certain there's a mistake in it somewhere.  But I haven't time to belabor the point, so -gulp- here we go.

(Oh! And for a little background.  The two girls in this passage have been friends since childhood, and are now college roommates.  It takes place back in the early 60's or somewhere there about.) 

 

***** 

"I could set you up a blind date for Saturday," Rosa said nonchalantly, peering at herself in the mirror, and picking microscopic lint balls off her starched collar.
     "Why?" Nancy asked innocently, looking up from her desk by the window, where she sat working on a paper for her English class.
     "Why not?  It would be fun!"  Rosa smiled cheerily at Nancy's reflection in the mirror.
     "Awkward more like," came the stolid reply.  "I already have a boyfriend."
     "Oh, that's right.  Billy.  What a bore," Rosa cast a disgruntled look at her own reflection as if it were Billy standing there and not her.   "I forgot about him."
     "No you didn't!" Laughed Nancy.  "You can't forget a guy like Billy that easily." 
     "Mores the pity.  It's not as if I haven't tried," Rosa said, drearily. 
     "And he's not a bore, either," Nancy continued, turning back to her paper with a funny little grin on her face.
     "Isn't he?  Honestly, Nan, you've been dating him since high school.  What does he ever do but get up every morning at 7:00, go to work--at a drugstore, no less--come home and play basketball with your brother--which consists of them barking at each other the whole time because they can never agree who's playing fair and who isn't--and then going home and eating his dinner--with a relish--and hopping over to your house in the evening to watch Father Knows Best or The Andy Griffith Show...and eat more food.  Or, if his favorite shows aren't on television that evening, talking endlessly about his car and all that junk till you're blue in the face.  If that's not a bore, what is?"
     Nancy must have found this description of her "beloved" quite amusing, for she smiled broadly throughout the whole of Rosa's tirade, and then chuckled something about Billy certainly liking his food...but didn't all boys?
     "Nan, I'm serious.  Don't you ever wonder what it would be like to date someone else?"
     "No.  Why should I?"  And she truly looked as if it were a completely foreign idea to her.

     "Why, because.  Billy's the only one you've ever gone out with (if you can call watching television at your house going out, that is).  How do you know what kind of guy you'd really like unless you spend time with different ones?  I don't mean you have to go from boy to boy, but honestly it's a shame you've never actually been asked out on a date by anyone.  Billy's been your friend and neighbor since you were ten, and your boyfriend since you were fifteen.   I don't think he's ever actually asked you out on a date at all.  You just sort of fell into the relationship.  Totally unromantic, in my opinion."

     Nancy shrugged, as if to say, "Who cares about romance?" and still smiling sweetly replied, "What does that matter?  I don't care what I do with Billy.  I just like being with him.  Because he's the dearest, sweetest, most adorable person ever."

     "Well, he certainly fooled me," Rosa huffed, turning back to the mirror, and beginning a survey of her hair, trying to decide how best to fix it for the evening. 

     She was a curious sort of girl, Rosa.  Such a confused mixture of teasing and utter seriousness, that it was often hard to know where the one left off and the other began.  But it was obvious enough from her words that she really did have a very low opinion of Billy Myer and in fact considered him altogether unworthy to be the steady boyfriend for her "darling Nan." 

     "Nancy, really.  How do you know there isn't someone better for you out there?  Someone more exciting?  More gentlemanly?  More romantic?" 

     "Well, if you're going to take that view of things, you'll never be satisfied with anyone.  I can't date every single man in the whole wide world, you know.  Why would I waste my time looking for some unknown man, who might be better, when I like Billy well enough and he's right here?"  Oh the simplicity of the question.  Why indeed?  And yet, Rosa--that unfailing romantic idealist--couldn't see the sense in it at all.

     "Exactly," she cried, spinning around and pointing her hair brush in Nancy's direction, as if she were a teacher directing orders to her class.  "That's the whole problem.  It's the convenience of it.  You won't even take the risk of finding someone better.  Yours and Billy's relationship is just too comfortable." 

     "Can you be too comfortable with the man you intend to spend the rest of your life with?"  Nancy asked, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, knowing full well what Rosa's reaction to this remark would be.  And oh! she was by no means disappointed.

     "What? No!" Rosa, gasped, clutching her hairbrush to her heart as if it were her only protection against the shock of this mind-boggling news.  "It hasn't come to that, has it?  Oh!  Spare me!!  You aren't seriously talking about getting married, are you?"

     Nancy fell back in her chair, laughing.  She did so like to shock Rosa every now and then.  It was a most amusing pastime. 

     "Please tell me it isn't so," wailed Rosa, dramatically.

     "Oh, I think we've always known we would get married eventually," Nancy replied, in a most provokingly calm voice.  "Billy wants to save up a good amount of money first, though..."

     "On his paycheck?  That could take centuries."

     "...and of course I need to finish school," she concluded, ignoring the interruption.

     "Ohhh!"  Rosa groaned, putting her hand to her forehead as if she were about to faint.  "The utter insipidity of it all.  How can this be happening?  I mean, of course you want to be comfortable with the man you marry, but you and Billy? You're just too...I don't know.  You and Billy.  You've known each other forever, and you're so used to each other.  How do you know you're not just dating him because it's the expected thing?" Rosa paused, and the drama seeped out of her voice, as her brow contracted into a highly concerned and serious frown.  "How can you be sure he's the best man for you unless you date some other guys first?"

     "What?" Nancy choked down another laugh at the absurdity of such a question.  "You mean I have to spend time with another guy in order to know whether I like Billy?  Think about it, Rosa.  That doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

     "Oh, but it does," Rosa persisted. "Until you see what other guys are like, you don't know what you're missing.  Maybe there's a man out there who will actually make your heart flip, and your stomach fill with butterflies, and...Billy doesn't do that to you, does he?"

     "Well..."

     "I knew it!!"

     "Well, actually, it's never been my opinion that love consists of flipping hearts and fluttering stomachs, so I can't say that sort of thing really matters to me that much.  I've always considered that love comes from having a deep and personal knowledge of the other person's character and personality.  Until you really understand and know a person, you can't truly love them, now can you?"

     "Right.  So tell me why you like Billy again?  Because honestly, I'd think a closer knowledge of Billy's character would turn you off to him completely."

     "Maybe a closer knowledge than what you've got, but go a step further than that and he's alright again," Nancy said with a wink.  "With some people you have to go about three or four levels of deepness before you really know what they're like."

     "I don't think Billy has any deepness."

     Nancy giggled.  "I'll tell him you said that.  He'll find that quite humorous."

     "I bet he will.  Is there anything Billy doesn't find humorous?"

     "Missing a meal, for one.  Or having his food get cold because some neighbor lady had a question for his mom (they're not allowed to eat in their house until everyone is seated around the table, you know).  Oh!  That and having Lily's cat jump on his lap.  He abhors cats."

     "Oh, I give up," Rosa sighed, defeated, throwing herself onto the bed, and forgetting all about her recent primping in front of the mirror, as she rumpled her dress and hair most dreadfully; making the hard labor of the past hour all but wasted.  "You don't know what you're missing, but go ahead and have your old humdrum life, if you want it.  As for me, I'm not settling for some namby-pamby old bore.  If I can't love my man passionately--flipping hearts and fluttering stomachs and everything--it's a no go.  I'd far rather remain single than go into marriage with a man who thinks of nothing but cars and food and whatnot.  That's not my idea of a soul mate."

     "Of course it isn't," Nancy said, sympathetically.  "And I'd never want you to settle for someone you didn't love.  But, maybe we just have different ideas of what being passionately in love looks like.  I love Billy, and I always will.  And for your information, though I hate to admit this to you, he does give me butterflies in my stomach sometimes."

     Rosa rolled her eyes.  "Oh, groan.  I don't believe it.  Billy couldn't give any girl butterflies, even if he tried to be charming." 

 

*****

 

Okay, so reading over this again, it's striking me as rather lame, but perhaps that's only because I've been reading it too much.  Anyway, I still very much want to know what you think of it, so tell me...

 

Did this random scene spark your interest or imagination in any way?

Do you think this is leading to Nancy finding a more romantic hero, or remaining with Billy?  (Just curious.) 

Do you have any curiosity to know what happens next?

Or did you find this completely boring and not worth worrying about at all? (If so, I don't blame you. ;))

 

Well, that's all.  I realize now this was really quite long.  Sorry about that.  But thanks for taking the time to read it.

(And now I shall go and pretend I do not exist, because I know the embarrassment is just about to set in.  ;))