Thursday, October 30, 2014

Synecdoche

The voice. The voice is special. The mouth opens and a beautiful voice is heard. The voice opens up peoples eyes. It's strong. Strong enough to cause tears. The voice is raspy. Raspy enough to keep listening. It's powerful. It's power can lead to beautiful things. The voice is something we wish we all had. It leaves you speechless.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Angry Letter

Dear Janelle,
          I understand that I'm your older sister, so you look up to me. That doesn't mean you can do

everything I do. You copy everything I do. It drives me insane. If I'm wearing my combat boots, then

you're wearing yours too. Literally Janelle, STOP. Oh my gosh, everything about you annoys me.

You try so hard to be funny. Lemme tell you a little something, honey you aint funny. You think

you're so cool when you copy me. You aren't, at all. Also, I hate when you take my clothes without

 asking. There's been so many days where I'm looking for a shirt, and you're already wearing it. NO

JANELLE. Did I say that you can wear it? Probably not!! Then If I ask you to wear something, you'll

say no. C'MON JANELLE. UGH, you're so annoying. You make me so mad that I want to rip my

hair out. Another thing, fix your hair. You always leave it gross. I would help you, but you're rude.

Anyways, I still sometimes love you. 

PS) please ask for my clothes next time. Or I'll be really mad.


- xoxo, Nicole

Monday, October 20, 2014

Timed Prompt

It was Christmas Eve. Fog stuck to the tarmac at Lindbergh Field. It was only morning, the sun isn't out yet. My plane has arrived to its destination. I grabbed my bags and left my seat. The plane ride was almost 12 hours long. I just can’t wait to see my wife and kids.

I took a cab from the airport. My house was seventeen minutes away. I hope I surprise everyone. I can’t wait to see all the Christmas decorations. The tree that my beautiful wife put up. All of the presents for my kids. This is my favorite time of the year.

At 7:23 AM, I finally made it home. The Christmas lights outside the house looked lovely. I opened the door quietly. The tree looked amazing with all the lights and ornaments.  All the decorations were set up. The stockings were lined up on the fireplace. The  My family was still asleep. I decided to make breakfast. Pancakes and eggs for my little girls, Melissa and Holly. An egg sandwich and hash browns for my wife. I can’t wait to see their faces.

I heard my kids run down the stairs, my wife after them. The room was filled with screams of excitement. My dog gave me lots of kisses, I hugged everyone tightly and kissed my wife. These are the moments I live for.

“Daddy! Daddy! We missed you so much!” Holly yelled.

“I missed you girls even more. You girls got bigger and look so beautiful!” I said

"John, I thought you weren't suppose to be home until February! Oh my gosh, this is a lovely surprise. I am so glad you are back honey." My wife then kissed me.

"I wanted to surprise you guys!!" I explained.

I haven’t seen my kids and wife in eight months. My name is Lieutenant John Bass. I served in the Vietnam War. Now, I don’t need to go back. I’m done. I can now watch my little girls grow up. I can attend school plays, games, and activities. I can wake up to my best friend every single day. I can take the dog on daily walks. I missed these days.

“John, babe, thank you so much for the breakfast. I've missed you dearly. I love you so much.” My wife said to me.

“Daddy, I don’t want you to go back to war. War is bad. Stay with is.” My little one, Melissa started to say. 

“Don’t worry, darling, I’m not going anywhere for awhile.” I said with a smile. 


PS: My story and the authors concerns aren't the same. Hers talked about violence. Which my story doesn't have at all. My story is happy and heart warming. She said that almost all her students wrote about death and violence. When reading this prompt, not everyone writes about violence. Also, no terrible things happened to my protagonist. In fact, it was the opposite of terrible.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Two Sided Date (midterm)

                On October 14, Nate asked Taylor to hang out. He went up to her, and simply asked the question. She smiled in agreement. The date was planned for Saturday, at 7PM sharp.
Light purple: added/edited

                I am so nervous for this date. I have never been on a date before. What do I wear? How do I wear my hair? Should I change my makeup? Do I wear jeans or a dress? This is so hard. If I wear jeans, will he think I dress carelessly? If I wear a dress, will he think I’m taking this too seriously? If I wear my hair up, will he think of me as a little girl? What kinda shoes should I wear? Wait, does that even matter? Oh god, why am I so nervous? 

                I hope everything goes well tonight. But, I have a confession… I only want to be friends. I am interested in another girl. I was only hoping to hang out as friends. I only asked her out to make it up to her. She’s never been on a date, so why not. I hope she doesn't think this is serious. I hope these sweatpants are alright. 

                I've been at Nate's house for an hour. It's kinda awkward. We're just sitting at the table, eating pizza. He's wearing sweatpants...I decided to go with the cute dress. I totally shouldn't have worn this. This doesn't even feel like a date. Oh god, what if it's not? I am so stupid.

               Taylor has been here for about an hour. We haven't talked a lot. It's so awkward. She's wearing a nice dress, she looks cute. But, I only asked her here to hang out. She probably thought this was a date. I'm here wearing sweatpants, I feel bad. I mean, I don't want to be anything more than friends...

               Wow, I'm not enjoying this at all. He probably thinks I took this too seriously. He asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. So, I said sure. It's better than sitting here and not talking. We're now watching a stupid horror movie. I hate these types of movies. To make it more awkward, we aren't even sitting on the same couch. I sat down and Nate sat in a chair. Okay?

               I asked Taylor if she wanted to watch a movie. I felt like this afternoon has been really awkward so I thought a movie would help. I picked a great horror movie. She doesn't seem too thrilled though. I sat in a chair. I thought if I sat next to her, then she might try to cuddle up to me. That wouldn't be good.

              The movie finally ended. Thank god. It was awful, too scary for me. I told Nate that my mother texted me to go home. That's a lie. She actually texted me to be home by 11. He walked me outside, to my car. I told him thanks for the great afternoon. Which was another lie, it wasn't a great afternoon. Then, I went to go hug him and he gave me a handshake...A HANDSHAKE... I just got friend-zoned. I came over here, all cute hoping to impress him. I thought he liked me? Why would he even ask me out on this date?

             The movie was so good! It's like the seventh time I've seen it. After, Taylor told me that her mom wanted her home. So, I walked her to her car. Just trying to be a nice friend. She went to give me a hug and I hesitated. I suddenly gave her a handshake instead. I know it was stupid, but it wasn't a date. Wow, why did I even ask her to hang out?

Monday, October 6, 2014

The Unforgettable Birthday (midterm)

Note: A drunken father and his daughter are sitting at the dinner table. The daughter is talking about her day. The drunken father just wants more beer. Today is a special day for the daughter. The father has no clue what today is… Father: Chuck | Daughter: Jenny

Light purple: added/edited


Jenny: So, today in English, my teacher was explaining how to use commas. Like dad, I am in 11th grade…people don’t even know how to use commas. Isn't that funny?

Chuck: People in your school are stupid. I almost need another beer.

Jenny: Yeah, I agree. In math I got my test back. And I got a 96%! I was the highest in the class.

Chuck: Wow how not interesting.

Jenny: Dad?! This is great news! Whatever.  At least I thought it was great news.

Chuck: You want to know what great news is. I bought 4 six-packs of beer yesterday. Now, that’s great and exciting.

Jenny: Wow, great for you. You deserve an award.

ChuckHey, young lady!! Don’t talk to me like that…the sass is not needed.

Jenny: (whispering) Yeah neither is all the beer.

Chuck: What was that?!

Jenny: I didn't say anything…

Chuck: That’s what I thought. You know, if you're mother was here, we wouldn't be arguing all the time.

Jenny: Well we all know who's fault it is that she isn't here.

Chuck: It isn't my fault that she fell in love and ran away with the milk man.

Jenny: Whatever, anyways…how was your day?

Chuck: Um alright, I slept the whole day so

Jenny: Aren't you going to ask me how my day was??

Chuck: No because I don’t care. Go grab me another beer.

Jenny: Do you even know what today is? 

Chuck: Yeah, it’s Thursday… now go get my goddamn beer.

Jenny:  Yes, its Thursday…October 9th…Do you know what October 9th is?

ChuckOh yeah, it’s like Columbus Day or something?

Jenny: DAD, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY.  I TURNED 16 TODAY. AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER.

Chuck: Of course I remembered, I was just kidding with you. Listen to me I was only-

Jenny: -No you weren't! You forgot… I can’t believe this. You can’t even remember your only daughter’s birthday. All you care about is your beer. I can’t stand it. You have no life, you’re pathetic, and an awful father.

Chuck: Listen, you do not talk to me like that! I am the parent. You are only a child. I can do whatever I want.

Jenny: Dad, did you even buy me a gift? You know I've been wanting those concert tickets! They're all I have been talking about. I wanted to go so badly, everyone is going! 

Chuck: If you keep up this attitude, there won't be no concert. Now, do you really want to be grounded on your birthday?

Jenny: No dad, I don’t care anymore…I am leaving.

Chuck: Oh yeah? Where are you going to go?

Jenny: Anywhere that’s not here.

Jenny slammed the door. She walked straight to her car and sat there. She started crying.

Jenny: This has been the worst birthday ever. 

As she stopped crying, she noticed a box sitting in the passenger seat.

Jenny: Wait, I've never seen this box before...

She opened the box slowly.

Jenny: (reading the card out loud) Dear Jenny, it's your 16th birthday!! I can't believe my baby is growing up. I hope you like your gift, kiddo. There's one ticket for you, and a ticket for a friend! I took work off the night of the concert, so I can drive you. Love, Dad.


Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Feedback To Peers

Abby M., Unreliable Narrator; I really liked how the beginning started. It grabbed my attention and made me want to read more. The story line is also very interesting. You have a creative mind :) ps, i liked the story where you used 'Jenny Blair' as a name

Colleen M., Self-Deprecation; I liked the whole story because I can relate to 99.9% of it. It's really funny too! I agree that you can't see a movie only once, you have to see it at least 7 times to understand it all!! The ending is my favorite, soo funny! You're a great writer :)

Jessica N.,  Unreliable Narrator; one of my favorite stories because I am one of the characters. It's a good story and is very interesting. The only thing I disliked was, you called me dumb at least 4 times. I get better grades than you in math..ok. I also loved the title, 3 AM. It is very creative :) xoxo, N.