Writing Exercise-Unrequited Love
I've started to practice writing fiction through a series of exercises. I thought I'd post them here. The main objective of this series of scenes is to:
1. Fictionalize myself
2. Write about an unrequited love
3. Write in first person
My friend Valerie says that I fall in love easily. I don't believe that to be true but when I do fall, I fall hard.
It was my first year of high school when I laid eyes on Jason. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome; being tall, black and only like, the hottest guy in school.
"He's so your type," Valerie said, most likely drawing that conclusion based on my new found love for rap music. It was becoming increasingly common to find myself kissing pictures in teeny bopper magazines of famous hip hop artists. I had never had a real boyfriend. Jason it seemed, was exactly my type, and I needed to find the perfect way to get him to notice me.
I had a babysitting gig next door and always invited Valerie over to keep me company. One night, after I finally put the kids to bed, we decided to find out more about Jason the old-fashioned way; through the white pages in the phone book. I greedily flipped through the pages to the first letter of his last name, hungry for the information that would surely bring me closer to him. My index finger slid down the page in excitement, like a child on a water slide, and then my search was over; I found his address and phone number.
"Maybe you should call him," Valerie said.
"And say what?"
"That you love him."
"No way!"
"I dare you."
I picked up the phone and dialed. I should have known that I didn't have the guts to ask to speak with him, never mind confess my undying love. So when he picked up the phone,
"Hullo?"
I slammed the receiver in his ear. Valerie looked at me, puzzled.
"What happened?"
I began screaming, "I heard his voice, he said hello."
Hearing Jason's voice became somewhat of an addiction and I started to experience withdrawal when I tried to go a day without it. My cravings were particularly strong when I was babysitting.
"I don't know who this is but stop calling here," he said.
I was enthralled by his voice and ecstatic to hear more than a simple greeting. Now I was being spoken to. If only I had the courage to talk back. What would I say?
"Hullo?"
"Hi, is this Jason?"
"Yeah."
"This is Katie. You have geography the period after me."
"Oh yeah, Katie. I know of you."
"Cool. How are you."
"Doin' real good. Why you callin'?"
"You wanna go to a movie sometime?"
"Yeah, let's get together real soon."
"Cool. I'll talk to you at school. Bye for now."
Instead the next time I called I got,
"This is Jason's Mother. You're scaring us. Say something goddamnit!"
This method of communication was no longer working for me. There had to be a better way to get close to Jason. Of course, I have his address!
Jason lived in one of the middle-upper class homes that were common in my neighbourhood. They all looked identical and therefore, I had the awful realization that his bedroom would be in the back, as the master was typically situated in front, above the two-car garage. Sadly, there would be no glimpses of him in his underwear.
"What are we even doing here?" Valerie asked with her hands holding the straps of her Invicta backpack.
"I want to see him."
Valerie scoffed and stared at her feet.
We both stood on the corner, watching Jason's home in our school uniforms. Valerie and I were both on the chubby side so we avoided ridicule by wearing pants and a long-sleeved cardigan, unlike the cheer squad and soccer player, Jen who was now approaching Jason's house in her kilt and polo.
"What's she doing here?" I growled as the door opened and she disappeared inside. "Tell me Jason has a brother," I begged Valerie.
Now I just knew that I would hate Jen until the end of time. Not just that Jen but any Jen that has ever existed and ever will. The name was already triggering my gag reflex and I had to get out of there before my lunch made a reappearance on my beloved's street. It was then and there that I realized that standing outside of Jason's house to gain his affections was not the right approach. But I had an idea.
Since Jason's geography period was directly after mine, I figured out a way that I could get closer to him.
"Mr. Levy?" I asked.
"Yes, Katie?" My teacher replied.
"Where does Jason sit in your class?"
The class roared with laughter but I paid them no mind. Despite a slight flush, I kept my resolve to finally reveal my intentions to my one true love.
"Why ever would you want to know that?" Mr. Levy asked, looking genuinely puzzled. Why wouldn't I want to know that?
"She loves him," Valerie blurted out. Oh, the betrayal I initially felt. However, as my best friend and confidant, I could only assume that Valerie had my best intentions at heart. Surely, she was trying to spare me the awkwardness of having to confess this fact to my ninth grade geography teacher. This also caused a wave of laughter throughout my class.
Mr. Levy said, "He sits in Peter's chair," and looked back down to mark our papers, shaking his head disapprovingly.
Now that I knew where he sat in class it made me want to go to his chair and rub my hands and face over where his butt may have once graced. However, as I looked to the desk and Peter Papademetrious smiled and twinkled his fingers at me, I cringed. There's no way I could do anything to a seat that Peter has sat in!
During my moment of deep contemplation some girls were giggling and writing on the chalk board. When they moved out the way there were multiple hearts with my name and Jason's in the centre.
"You girls will cause a ruckus next class," Mr Levy warned. "Katie, are you going to erase it?"
"No, I think I'll leave it up," I boldly stated, realizing that this was the ultimate opportunity I had been waiting for. What guy wouldn't be won over by such a gesture? That, and Jen would see it too and back off. I'd be hitting two birds with one stone, really.
Class ended and my classmates left the room cheering and carrying on like it was the Friday before the Christmas holiday. It was only October. I caught a glimpse of Jason waiting in line to enter class and he was already noticing the attention that my fellow students were lavishing upon him; whispering, talking about and pointing at him. How wonderful that must feel. I went home that evening with the highest of hopes that by geography class the next day, Jason would be mine to keep.
I practically skipped to school in the morning. Upon my arrival into geography class I noticed that my declaration of love, which my friends had helped me to profess, was erased. Gone! Maybe Jen removed it in a fit of jealous rage. I triumphed over the thought. Perhaps after class he immediately broke it off with her so that I would have nothing to worry about when we met for the first time and fell into each other's arms. Sadly, my dreams were unfulfilled, to say the least.
After class, Jason was there alright but so was Jen. She approached me.
"So, you have been the one harassing my boyfriend."
Harassing? I thought. Hardly. More like seducing. And didn't she mean ex-boyfriend? I looked over toward Jason and he was laughing but refusing to look me in the eye. His friends were hiding him from me. Or was he hiding behind his friends?
"Look honey, you've got to stop stalking him."
"I was not." It was all I could manage to say, as my head was becoming clouded by confusion.
"He doesn't like you. At all." She crossed her arms and walked back to their crowd. Their crowd. I was beginning to realize that something had gone seriously wrong along the way. I thought Jen's statement stung but it was what I heard from Jason's own beautiful lips that caused me to run home, with the tears pouring from my ducts, sprinkling the football field behind me.
"This is so embarrassing. Who is that beast anyway?"
A beast? My Adonis; my picture perfect man doesn't even know who I am and thinks that I'm a beast besides? I tried to convince myself that it couldn't be but I heard it from his very lips.
I ran home and comforted myself with chocolate milk and Fuzzy Navels. They helped to fill the sweet void that Jason had left inside of me. I called Valerie and told her what happened. Apparently she already knew. Everybody did. However, my feelings over the situation went from hurt, to anger, to apathy and finally by the next morning I was ready to forgive and move on. I was fourteen and ready to be a woman. No more crying like a baby.
I went into geography class with my head held high. Sure, they were still laughing at me but I couldn't care less. I sat down and opened my textbook. I noticed Peter Papademetrious standing next to me.
"You got a pen?"
"I do." I opened my pencil case and gave him one. As he went back to his seat, Jason's seat, my eyes couldn't help but follow. Peter just spoke to me, I realized. And he waved to me yesterday in class.
I wonder if he is listed in the phone book?
1. Fictionalize myself
2. Write about an unrequited love
3. Write in first person
My friend Valerie says that I fall in love easily. I don't believe that to be true but when I do fall, I fall hard.
It was my first year of high school when I laid eyes on Jason. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome; being tall, black and only like, the hottest guy in school.
"He's so your type," Valerie said, most likely drawing that conclusion based on my new found love for rap music. It was becoming increasingly common to find myself kissing pictures in teeny bopper magazines of famous hip hop artists. I had never had a real boyfriend. Jason it seemed, was exactly my type, and I needed to find the perfect way to get him to notice me.
I had a babysitting gig next door and always invited Valerie over to keep me company. One night, after I finally put the kids to bed, we decided to find out more about Jason the old-fashioned way; through the white pages in the phone book. I greedily flipped through the pages to the first letter of his last name, hungry for the information that would surely bring me closer to him. My index finger slid down the page in excitement, like a child on a water slide, and then my search was over; I found his address and phone number.
"Maybe you should call him," Valerie said.
"And say what?"
"That you love him."
"No way!"
"I dare you."
I picked up the phone and dialed. I should have known that I didn't have the guts to ask to speak with him, never mind confess my undying love. So when he picked up the phone,
"Hullo?"
I slammed the receiver in his ear. Valerie looked at me, puzzled.
"What happened?"
I began screaming, "I heard his voice, he said hello."
Hearing Jason's voice became somewhat of an addiction and I started to experience withdrawal when I tried to go a day without it. My cravings were particularly strong when I was babysitting.
"I don't know who this is but stop calling here," he said.
I was enthralled by his voice and ecstatic to hear more than a simple greeting. Now I was being spoken to. If only I had the courage to talk back. What would I say?
"Hullo?"
"Hi, is this Jason?"
"Yeah."
"This is Katie. You have geography the period after me."
"Oh yeah, Katie. I know of you."
"Cool. How are you."
"Doin' real good. Why you callin'?"
"You wanna go to a movie sometime?"
"Yeah, let's get together real soon."
"Cool. I'll talk to you at school. Bye for now."
Instead the next time I called I got,
"This is Jason's Mother. You're scaring us. Say something goddamnit!"
This method of communication was no longer working for me. There had to be a better way to get close to Jason. Of course, I have his address!
Jason lived in one of the middle-upper class homes that were common in my neighbourhood. They all looked identical and therefore, I had the awful realization that his bedroom would be in the back, as the master was typically situated in front, above the two-car garage. Sadly, there would be no glimpses of him in his underwear.
"What are we even doing here?" Valerie asked with her hands holding the straps of her Invicta backpack.
"I want to see him."
Valerie scoffed and stared at her feet.
We both stood on the corner, watching Jason's home in our school uniforms. Valerie and I were both on the chubby side so we avoided ridicule by wearing pants and a long-sleeved cardigan, unlike the cheer squad and soccer player, Jen who was now approaching Jason's house in her kilt and polo.
"What's she doing here?" I growled as the door opened and she disappeared inside. "Tell me Jason has a brother," I begged Valerie.
Now I just knew that I would hate Jen until the end of time. Not just that Jen but any Jen that has ever existed and ever will. The name was already triggering my gag reflex and I had to get out of there before my lunch made a reappearance on my beloved's street. It was then and there that I realized that standing outside of Jason's house to gain his affections was not the right approach. But I had an idea.
Since Jason's geography period was directly after mine, I figured out a way that I could get closer to him.
"Mr. Levy?" I asked.
"Yes, Katie?" My teacher replied.
"Where does Jason sit in your class?"
The class roared with laughter but I paid them no mind. Despite a slight flush, I kept my resolve to finally reveal my intentions to my one true love.
"Why ever would you want to know that?" Mr. Levy asked, looking genuinely puzzled. Why wouldn't I want to know that?
"She loves him," Valerie blurted out. Oh, the betrayal I initially felt. However, as my best friend and confidant, I could only assume that Valerie had my best intentions at heart. Surely, she was trying to spare me the awkwardness of having to confess this fact to my ninth grade geography teacher. This also caused a wave of laughter throughout my class.
Mr. Levy said, "He sits in Peter's chair," and looked back down to mark our papers, shaking his head disapprovingly.
Now that I knew where he sat in class it made me want to go to his chair and rub my hands and face over where his butt may have once graced. However, as I looked to the desk and Peter Papademetrious smiled and twinkled his fingers at me, I cringed. There's no way I could do anything to a seat that Peter has sat in!
During my moment of deep contemplation some girls were giggling and writing on the chalk board. When they moved out the way there were multiple hearts with my name and Jason's in the centre.
"You girls will cause a ruckus next class," Mr Levy warned. "Katie, are you going to erase it?"
"No, I think I'll leave it up," I boldly stated, realizing that this was the ultimate opportunity I had been waiting for. What guy wouldn't be won over by such a gesture? That, and Jen would see it too and back off. I'd be hitting two birds with one stone, really.
Class ended and my classmates left the room cheering and carrying on like it was the Friday before the Christmas holiday. It was only October. I caught a glimpse of Jason waiting in line to enter class and he was already noticing the attention that my fellow students were lavishing upon him; whispering, talking about and pointing at him. How wonderful that must feel. I went home that evening with the highest of hopes that by geography class the next day, Jason would be mine to keep.
I practically skipped to school in the morning. Upon my arrival into geography class I noticed that my declaration of love, which my friends had helped me to profess, was erased. Gone! Maybe Jen removed it in a fit of jealous rage. I triumphed over the thought. Perhaps after class he immediately broke it off with her so that I would have nothing to worry about when we met for the first time and fell into each other's arms. Sadly, my dreams were unfulfilled, to say the least.
After class, Jason was there alright but so was Jen. She approached me.
"So, you have been the one harassing my boyfriend."
Harassing? I thought. Hardly. More like seducing. And didn't she mean ex-boyfriend? I looked over toward Jason and he was laughing but refusing to look me in the eye. His friends were hiding him from me. Or was he hiding behind his friends?
"Look honey, you've got to stop stalking him."
"I was not." It was all I could manage to say, as my head was becoming clouded by confusion.
"He doesn't like you. At all." She crossed her arms and walked back to their crowd. Their crowd. I was beginning to realize that something had gone seriously wrong along the way. I thought Jen's statement stung but it was what I heard from Jason's own beautiful lips that caused me to run home, with the tears pouring from my ducts, sprinkling the football field behind me.
"This is so embarrassing. Who is that beast anyway?"
A beast? My Adonis; my picture perfect man doesn't even know who I am and thinks that I'm a beast besides? I tried to convince myself that it couldn't be but I heard it from his very lips.
I ran home and comforted myself with chocolate milk and Fuzzy Navels. They helped to fill the sweet void that Jason had left inside of me. I called Valerie and told her what happened. Apparently she already knew. Everybody did. However, my feelings over the situation went from hurt, to anger, to apathy and finally by the next morning I was ready to forgive and move on. I was fourteen and ready to be a woman. No more crying like a baby.
I went into geography class with my head held high. Sure, they were still laughing at me but I couldn't care less. I sat down and opened my textbook. I noticed Peter Papademetrious standing next to me.
"You got a pen?"
"I do." I opened my pencil case and gave him one. As he went back to his seat, Jason's seat, my eyes couldn't help but follow. Peter just spoke to me, I realized. And he waved to me yesterday in class.
I wonder if he is listed in the phone book?