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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:20 pm
Page 001 out of 365
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"Stacey Jackson"
Every September, a dilemma for every socialites comes. This becomes a time when there usual schedule of shopping, spending and partying are over. Their months of lifestyle disturbed as they begin to return to the old routine. Classes are starting. Yes - this is a nightmare they have to live up for ten months. But who knows? Maybe this time it won't be as boring as it always was?
Stacey opened her green eyes as sunlight started filling up the room. It was a medium sized room with big windows and a balcony. There was a cabinet on one side, and a study table with her laptop on it beside it. At the foot of her bed there were two door. One leading outside and the other leading to her bathroom. There were magazines and clothes lying around everywhere. Her head was aching. It was probably from all that vodka she drank last night. She should never have went to that party when today was the first day of school. But she can't blame herself, her friends were "begged" her to go. She groaned and turned towards the other side to keep the sunlight away. she needed more sleep for her beauty rest. It wasn't time to wake up yet.
"Stacey Maryanne Jackson! Get the hell out off that bed and into the bathroom!" a familiar shrill voice shouted. She was lean and had the same golden hair as her daughter, but instead of emerald eyes she had brown.
"And can you please clean your room?" she continued with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. Stacey's mother was one scary woman. You wouldn't want to cross an angry Hillary Jackson. She had no choice other than to follow. It was time to wake up.
"Okay fine, fine I'm getting up." She sat up revealing her velvety blue night gown as she combed her hair with her fingers.
"Hurry up missy! We wouldn't want you being late for your first day of school," her mother continued. Stacey wanted to chuckle but had to stop herself. She didn't want her mother suspecting something. It was ironic how her mother thought that when she she knew she'd be skipping classes again this year. Stacey pulled away the bed covers, stood up, and put on her fluffy white slippers. Once she was on her feet, everything started to churn. Straighten up Stacey! You wouldn't want to be caught. She told herself as she begin her slow walk towards the bathroom. Taking her time until the dizziness subsides.
"What's wrong with you today? What's with the walk? You'd have to move faster!" her mother said as she pushed her inside the bathroom and closed the door. Stacey almost slipped at the force, but luckily caught herself before she started to fall.
"Be down in 10 minutes!" her mother shouted behind the door.
"Ugh how annoying."
All dressed and bags packed for school. Stacey carried them down the stairs and went to proceed to the dinning table. She had already been prepared, her hair curled and her make up on. Wearing a fashionably white tee and short shorts. She tossed her bag to the living room. Their house wasn't small nor was it very large, but she liked how it looked. It was cute and she liked it.
"Mornin' Stace!" her dad greeted her sitting on one of the wooden carved chairs around the circular table while eating his morning toast and bacon. She went to her dad and kissed him on the cheek.
"Morning dad..." she answered lazily.
"What's wrong honey? It's your first day of school? Try to be-" as her dad said this he accidentally threw the milk box on the floor spilling the milk all over.
"Clumsy?" she continued as her dad frown at her.
"What's this bob?" her mom asked seeing the spilled milk while Stacey proceeded to eating her breakfast.
"I'll clean it up," her dad answered quickly before her mother could say another word.
"You better do that." Stacey's parents were on good terms. They do fight at times but they always did make up. Stacey could say she was one of those lucky kids who still had non divorced parents.
"Ready to fail this again this year?" her sister Sarrah went into the dinning table with a book in her hand and sat down opposite Stacey. She was used to these remarks that her over-achieving sister gave her.
"Whatever geek. No matter how smart you are you'll never have as much friends and boys as I have," she told her smirking. They always had these petty fights. Stacey being a cool kid and her sister being the smart one puts more fuel into the fire.
"Doesn't matter. Your friends will work for me in the future," her sister replied as she took her cereal bowl with her and went to proceed upstairs. Stacey rolled her eyes at this statement. She's seriously such a geek. She's just allergic to them.
With all her bags in the car trunk Stacey went to the backseat of the car. She immediately pulled out her phone and instantly messages started popping out. 98 messages? Why so few? she thought then frowned a bit. On the drivers seat, her father kept on talking and talking, but she didn't hear any of this as she read the latest news. She just received a text from her bestie, katie. "So Josh has been spreading this photo of you with him. I can't believe it! I would never have thought he could do such a thing? I mean photo shopping you? Ha! The nerve of that geek." the text said with a picture of her and Josh together and then a follow up text. "P.S. The whole school's talking about this now girl. You have a reputation to clear." Stacey felt her heart slam in her chest. Josh Richards. How dare he do this to me? She thought gripping her phone angrily. I should never have trusted that freak! She thought as tears start building up on her eyes.
"Honey are you alright?" her father asked watching her from the rear view mirror.
"I'm just nervous. I don't want to go to school," she told her dad. "Can we turn around?" she asked. She was hoping that they hadn't reached the school yet. But unfortunately she wasn't that lucky.
"Aw, but honey were here. I guess you just have to be strong. I know you'll miss us but you can always call us. Though you never do that," her had said smirking.
"Alright I'm going." She placed her phone back to her pocket and stepped outside the car with her wedges and took her bag from the trunk.
"Good luck honey!" was the last words her dad told her before driving himself home. The phone on her pocket was still buzzing.
"Yeah good luck to me too," she added sarcastically.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:38 pm
Hey! Good luck with the challenge. I really enjoyed your first piece! Just a technical piece of information: when writing dialogue, if you include a speech tag, like 'said', 'exclaimed', 'muttered' etc. the punctuation inside the speech marks should be a comma not a period, and the tag shouldn't be capitalised outside of the speech marks. Also, when you finish speech with a question mark or exclamation you then don't use a comma or period, but you still don't capitalise on the speech tag. So, for example: Quote: "Yeah good luck to me too ," she added sarcastically. or Quote: "Get the hell out off that bed and into the bathroom!" a familiar shrill voice shouted. Quote: "Okay fine, fine I'm getting up." She sat up revealing her velvety blue night gown... This capitalisation is correct because there is no speech tag. Basically, think of it as if the sentence isn't complete if there is a hash tag, so you don't need a period. ... Does that make any sense? It confused the hell out of me at first, and even now I don't explain it very well. sweatdrop In any case, I do wish you luck on your challenge and I'll pop in from time to time if that's okay? =D
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Psychotic Maniacal Sanity Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:58 pm
Psychotic Maniacal Sanity Hey! Good luck with the challenge. I really enjoyed your first piece! Just a technical piece of information: when writing dialogue, if you include a speech tag, like 'said', 'exclaimed', 'muttered' etc. the punctuation inside the speech marks should be a comma not a period, and the tag shouldn't be capitalised outside of the speech marks. Also, when you finish speech with a question mark or exclamation you then don't use a comma or period, but you still don't capitalise on the speech tag. So, for example: Quote: "Yeah good luck to me too ," she added sarcastically. or Quote: "Get the hell out off that bed and into the bathroom!" a familiar shrill voice shouted. Quote: "Okay fine, fine I'm getting up." She sat up revealing her velvety blue night gown... This capitalisation is correct because there is no speech tag. Basically, think of it as if the sentence isn't complete if there is a hash tag, so you don't need a period. ... Does that make any sense? It confused the hell out of me at first, and even now I don't explain it very well. sweatdrop In any case, I do wish you luck on your challenge and I'll pop in from time to time if that's okay? =D Thanks for the explanation. I think I got it. smile Sure you can pop in from time to time. I appreciate it. smile So to sum it up speech tags after speech marks = small letter If there's a speech tag = use comma If there's and exclamation/ question mark = still small letter If no speech tag = proceed normally (?) What's a hash tag?
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:56 pm
Page 002 out of 365
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"Josh Richards"
Josh had woken up even before his alarm clock started ringing. He was inside his small, blue room. Books were neatly stacked on their shelves. Most of them were science fiction books, while others were book series. His guitar was on one side of the table while his laptop rested on it. His laptop has been up the whole night. People were sending him messages, asking him about the rumor. Josh had barely gotten any sleep at all, His phone wouldn't stop buzzing and his e-mail was piling up. He didn't know so much messages could be sent all at once. He's never knew something like this would happen to him.
Sitting in front the laptop Josh tried to blink his grey eyes as for the nth time another message came. This time it was from an unknown messenger, "Are you dating Stacey Jackson?" the message said, followed by the picture. Ever since yesterday, the day that the picture with him and Stacey got out, people around the campus had been pestering him asking him if all of it was. He ruffled his dark brown hair frustrated, and replied
"NO!" Shouting as he pressed the send button finally closing his laptop. He turned around to find his mom on the door way looking at him with a horrified look on her face.
"Well I didn't know you hated bacon that much," his mom said with a hurt voice. Samantha Richards was a woman who looked younger than her actual age. At thirty-nine a lot of people still admired the way she looked. She was dark and had wavy, dark brown hair that cascading down her back, and brown lovely eyes. For a woman her age she was fit and voluptuous, this makes a most moms envy the way she looked. Josh closed his eyes trying to calm himself.
"No mom It's not the bacon," he tried to explain to her. "I love bacon."
"Then why did you say no when I asked you?" his mom askedt. "Like it was the end of the world?"
"Well I was - um - saying no to my friend online..." he said trying to escape the situation. "-in Skype," he added. Her mother shook her head.
"I never did understand how those thing works." she said as she turned around and walked out.
"Mom! I love bacon!" Josh shouted so that his mom could hear him. He stood up and let his body fall, face first on the bed when the alarm suddenly rang. She got his alarm from the side table of his bed and pressed the stop button. Instead of stopping, the clock continued to ring. Frustrated he kept pressing the stop button.
"Do you like eggs with your bacon?" his mother asked over the kitchen. "SHUT UP!" Josh shouted at the alarm clock as he took the batteries out.
"Just say so if you don't like it!" his mom shouted. Sighing Josh placed his alarm clock beside him.
"That wasn't for you mom! I love eggs!" he shouted over as he shut his door. He leaned over it and covered his eyes with his hands, rubbing them. One stressful year ahead coming right up!
Josh ate silently as his mom glared at him. Ever since his mom's divorce with his dad, she never remarried. She only accepted boyfriends. She said she could support him alone so theirs no reason to remarry. But Josh knew that she was still not over his father. His hair was messy as he looked down to plate.
"Do you want me to talk to your friend?" his mom asked him. "It seems like he's giving you a headache." Josh stood up and placed his empty plate on the sink washing his hands and straightening his shirt.
"How sure are you that it's a he?" He turned to his mom with an eyebrow raised and went to get his packed bag. Her mother gasped covering her mouth with her hands. Her anger finally going away. His mom always acted like an excited little teenager whenever he mentions something about a girl.
"My little boy's growing up." she said excitedly. Josh sighed and looked at his mom.
"Mom~ I'm not a boy anymore." He tied his shoes as he added. "And she's just a close friend okay? Don't get too excited." A close friend whom he's never talked with for a month.He thought.
The drive to school was short, since the distance wasn't that much. Josh finally had time to rest as his laptop and cellphone was stowed away in his bag. His mom woke him up when the reached there destination. As soon as he went out of the car he was back to reality. Holding his bags he stared at the girl a few paces in front of him.
"I' have to go now Josh, I still have a meeting to attend to," his mom said not seeming to notice the look on her son's face as she kissed him goodbye.
"Yeah, bye mom..." he replied inattentively as the car drove away. She looked at the girl whom he spent his summer with. The last time he saw her was a month ago and it was the best summer he ever had. Stacey Jackson looked at him with disbelief as she started to walk towards him.
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