Fiction writing from the stars, Week 1

As has been my wont over the past few summers, I’m taking some time off from pontificating to write some fiction. I asked my 8th graders to provide me first and last lines for potential stories, and it’s my job to fill in the middle. I hope you enjoy! This week’s inspiration comes from Aubrey Baseman.

What have I done?

That thought would occur to me repeatedly over time when I found my friend Jean unconscious in her front yard.

Well, that seems foreboding. And it is, but let me go back a bit to set up this scene. 

Jean and I had been friends since she moved in next door to me in first grade. She and her family had moved out of the inner city to escape some of the danger they sensed was growing in correlation to household incomes shrinking. Drugs and guns were prevelant in that run-down area. 

Jean was always so happy about everything. The tight black curls on her head made me jealous more times than I can remember; my light, stringy hair was nothing in comparison. We grew up together in the suburbs, closer than sisters.

Parents can never be considered cool - that bird flies away when you have children - but mine weren’t terrible. They were strict about some things, like boys, but okay about a lot of other things like curfews. Of course, they didn’t have much to worry about since it was mostly Jean and me hanging out. 

As the days of playing with dolls and having tea parties faded into the past, those boys my parents were so worried about became front and center in our minds’ eyes. Sure, we were only in 8th grade, but wowza, some of these boys weren’t just stupid apes anymore. Plus, we were only a year away from joining the other middle school in our town at the high school. And then there would be even more! 

Jean and I spent way too much time giggling about guys like Aron and Bart and Karl. They were men among boys. They worked on their hair, wore fashionable clothes, and even used deodorant daily, something many of the boys had yet to understand the importance of. Spraying Axe on yourself does not take away BO; it just changes it into some hideous mutant smell.

Right after spring break, Nicholas arrived at our school. He was from South Carolina, and his mom had just taken a job with some big insurance company in the metro area. Who cared about the specifics when looking at this guy, though? He was an inch taller than any other boy in our grade and had naturally curly hair that might have outdone even Jean’s! His blonde hair made mine look like straw. He looked like he had stepped out of a modeling shoot, and every girl in our grade had to keep track of any drool dripping down from our mouths.

It looked like Jean was going to get first crack at him. The science teacher put them together as partners, and they went together like peanut butter and jelly. While the rest of the class toiled away at our projects, Jean and Nicholas laughed a lot and still got their work done before anyone else. 

Of course, Jean spilled a lot of tea when we’d walk home after school. Nicholas had joined the baseball team, so I didn’t have to worry about him horning in on my best friend…until he invited us to watch the team play one Thursday after school. I figured I was pity invited since I was with Jean when he asked. I mean, he did look at me too, but…

After the game, Nicholas popped out of the dugout and smiled broadly at us. He had gotten three hits and was also the pitcher. I didn’t know much about baseball, but the way everyone cheered, I knew he had done well. 

“Hey, Gina, can I just have a moment with Jean?” he asked. Oooh, this was it! He was going to ask her out!

Sure enough, she came back over to me, a bright red blush covering her brown cheeks. She wanted to squeal, I’m sure, but Nicholas was still too near for that. But I got all the deets on our way home. They would be going to a movie the next night after his practice.

Gina was so worked up that she could hardly get through school the next day. But before the end of the day, Nicholas caught up to me before his study hall. “Hey, can we talk before my date with Gina tonight?” he asked. As a puzzled look encompassed my face, he added, “I just want to ask you a few things so I can be better prepared.”

“Oh, okay, sure,” I stammered. “Um, do you want my number?”

“You live right next door to Gina, right?” he answered. “Why don’t I just come by like half an hour before I get Gina?”

“Um, sure,” I said before thinking it through. My parents were going out with some friends after work, and they wouldn’t be happy if a boy came over. But it wasn’t a date, so there shouldn’t be a problem. I told him which house was mine and headed to my next class.

When Nicholas showed up at my door, he was dressed to the nines. His khaki shorts were matched with a black polo shirt, and his hair looked more magnificent than ever. I had to remember to breathe as I invited him in and sat in a chair across from him on the couch. But he patted the couch. “I don’t bite,” he said with a grin.

So I moved over by him. He didn’t waste much time. “You like me too, right?” he asked.

“Um, sure?”

“I mean, you’re attracted to me,” he said. 

“Ummmm…” I was suddenly uncomfortable.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked. 

And before I knew it, we had our arms around each other, and the outside world disappeared. But after only a few minutes of this, I came to my senses and pushed him away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“You’re going on a date with my friend.” I turned away from him, embarrassed. 

“Not for another fifteen minutes,” he said. “Why not have some fun?”

I whirled around, then stood up. “Because she’s my best friend!”

“You weren’t worried about that a couple minutes ago,” he said.

I felt my face flush. “I think you need to leave.”

He stood up and advanced toward me. “I know when a girl is into me,” he said as he grabbed my arm.

I tried to pull free, then screamed. He called me an unkind name, then stormed toward the front door. 

I was so angry, I could spit nails. Wait, he was about to go out with Gina. I couldn’t let that happen. “Leave her alone!” I yelled. 

“She wants me more than you do,” he said with a smirk.

I watched him go out the front door, and in that moment, he was the most nefandous person I knew. I looked around and grabbed a commemorative brick my mom had from her old high school. 

As I stalked outside, I saw Nicholas heading toward Gina’s yard. What I didn’t see was Gina coming to meet him. I chucked the brick at his head, but he turned at the sound of me racing toward him and ducked.

Nicholas ran off, and I helped Gina wake up, cleaning the blood off her forehead first and hiding the brick. I made some lame story about a dead branch falling off the tree overhead but told her nothing about my encounter with Nicholas. She was heartbroken that he had “stood her up.”

I cleaned this mess, but my hands are still dirty.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is nefandous, which means abominable and appalling, as in, “The nefandous villain had the audience rooting against him from the start.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!