Sunday, October 22, 2006
sorry for the two-month hiatus...I really haven't had anything worth writing or saying, at least to an audience. That said, I'm going to get cracking on a longer story that I started a while back, and I thought I might post the first chapter (written earlier)...it can be a sort of serial thing.
1.
Lily was coming towards the end of a very bad day. Well, that was inaccurate, she thought. It was a perfectly average day, and that was the problem. Every day was the same, as far as she could tell. She sighed faintly and continued walking home from the bus stop. School didn’t help the situation much. She felt like she had yet to learn anything this year, and it was coming up to the end of May. At least it was one of those nice days that seem to creep in at the beginning of summer, something breezy and warm and drenched in sun. She smiled slightly and angled her face towards the sky, hoping to catch the tracings of a gust of wind. The day might be perfectly average, but that wouldn’t stop her from enjoying the nicer parts of it.
Lily was 14 years old, and as her mother would say, very pretty if she put some effort into it. According to her father, she was extremely capable but didn’t apply herself. Lily, however, always thought of herself as smack dab in the middle of normal. The breeze kicked up, and the wind rustled through the trees. She was close to home now, and undecided on what to do for the rest of the afternoon. Being so close to the end of the school year, her teachers seemed to have given up on assigning any homework, and although Lily didn’t mind that in the slightest, she often found herself lacking anything to do in her afternoons.
As Lily walked onto her lawn, she noticed that the once-clear sky had begun to darken with clouds, and the scattered gusts of wind had become a steady blow. Stifling a sudden urge to shiver, she darted into the house and shut the door behind her. Setting her backpack on the kitchen table, she wandered over to the living room. The house was empty, but that wasn’t a surprise. Both her parents worked, and Lily had grown up coming home before them every day. She settled herself on the couch and turned on the TV. One of her parents had watched it last, and the news was on. On the screen was an exceedingly well-manicured anchorwoman talking about the incoming storm front, and how it looked to be a rough night. The segment ended with a graphic of a rain cloud with a smiley face. Lily sat up and looked out the window. The sun had vanished from the sky, replaced with an ominous blanket of clouds. The wind was blowing stronger than before, and the leaves were shaking hard enough to come near breaking off the branches. The first few drops of rain fell.
After an hour, the rain was coming down in sheets. Puddles gathered in the driveway. Lily stared out the window, watching the water gather in pockets on the lawn. It pooled in some places, in others it made tiny rivulets that worked towards the street. Thunder started rolling across the sky, accompanied by a fork of lightning. As Lily watched, the phone rang. She walked to the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Lily? It’s Mom. The radio is saying that the bridge is closed because of flooding, so I’m not going to be able to get home tonight. Tell Dad to make dinner.”
“Um, okay. Is there anything else?”
“Oh, there are candles in the top cupboard if the power goes out. Love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.” She hung up and went back to the couch.
Lily continued to switch between watching the television and the rain. It was completely dark now, and the rain was showing no signs of stopping. After perhaps half an hour, the phone rang again. This time it was her father.
“Lil, I can’t talk now, but the vendors in New York are trying to close the deal I’ve been working on. Tell Mom I’m flying out tonight.”
“But-“
“Love you honey. See you in a couple days.” Her father hung up.
Lily sighed. The rain was coming down harder than ever, and lightning was crackling down with frightening regularity. She went to the cupboard and found a can of soup for dinner. After a short while, Lily discovered her eyelids getting heavy, and she soon fell asleep on the couch, the TV quietly running in the background. ¶ 11:31 PM
1.
Lily was coming towards the end of a very bad day. Well, that was inaccurate, she thought. It was a perfectly average day, and that was the problem. Every day was the same, as far as she could tell. She sighed faintly and continued walking home from the bus stop. School didn’t help the situation much. She felt like she had yet to learn anything this year, and it was coming up to the end of May. At least it was one of those nice days that seem to creep in at the beginning of summer, something breezy and warm and drenched in sun. She smiled slightly and angled her face towards the sky, hoping to catch the tracings of a gust of wind. The day might be perfectly average, but that wouldn’t stop her from enjoying the nicer parts of it.
Lily was 14 years old, and as her mother would say, very pretty if she put some effort into it. According to her father, she was extremely capable but didn’t apply herself. Lily, however, always thought of herself as smack dab in the middle of normal. The breeze kicked up, and the wind rustled through the trees. She was close to home now, and undecided on what to do for the rest of the afternoon. Being so close to the end of the school year, her teachers seemed to have given up on assigning any homework, and although Lily didn’t mind that in the slightest, she often found herself lacking anything to do in her afternoons.
As Lily walked onto her lawn, she noticed that the once-clear sky had begun to darken with clouds, and the scattered gusts of wind had become a steady blow. Stifling a sudden urge to shiver, she darted into the house and shut the door behind her. Setting her backpack on the kitchen table, she wandered over to the living room. The house was empty, but that wasn’t a surprise. Both her parents worked, and Lily had grown up coming home before them every day. She settled herself on the couch and turned on the TV. One of her parents had watched it last, and the news was on. On the screen was an exceedingly well-manicured anchorwoman talking about the incoming storm front, and how it looked to be a rough night. The segment ended with a graphic of a rain cloud with a smiley face. Lily sat up and looked out the window. The sun had vanished from the sky, replaced with an ominous blanket of clouds. The wind was blowing stronger than before, and the leaves were shaking hard enough to come near breaking off the branches. The first few drops of rain fell.
After an hour, the rain was coming down in sheets. Puddles gathered in the driveway. Lily stared out the window, watching the water gather in pockets on the lawn. It pooled in some places, in others it made tiny rivulets that worked towards the street. Thunder started rolling across the sky, accompanied by a fork of lightning. As Lily watched, the phone rang. She walked to the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Lily? It’s Mom. The radio is saying that the bridge is closed because of flooding, so I’m not going to be able to get home tonight. Tell Dad to make dinner.”
“Um, okay. Is there anything else?”
“Oh, there are candles in the top cupboard if the power goes out. Love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.” She hung up and went back to the couch.
Lily continued to switch between watching the television and the rain. It was completely dark now, and the rain was showing no signs of stopping. After perhaps half an hour, the phone rang again. This time it was her father.
“Lil, I can’t talk now, but the vendors in New York are trying to close the deal I’ve been working on. Tell Mom I’m flying out tonight.”
“But-“
“Love you honey. See you in a couple days.” Her father hung up.
Lily sighed. The rain was coming down harder than ever, and lightning was crackling down with frightening regularity. She went to the cupboard and found a can of soup for dinner. After a short while, Lily discovered her eyelids getting heavy, and she soon fell asleep on the couch, the TV quietly running in the background. ¶ 11:31 PM
