Story For Creative Writing...
I finished. I want to expand it, but this is what I have and am turning in.
Smiley Lane
He wasn't gay. No matter how much it seemed like it, he wasn't. It was true that he had sworn off women and that he started to avoid speaking to them. But he had a reason, which wasn't homosexuality. Despite how many people though otherwise.
It was his own fault, really. He bent the events to hide what had happened. In his revised version of the truth, he had control of the situation. Everything was the way he wanted it.
He knew it was his own fault that everyone thought what they did. And reacted.
The reactions were what really drove him away. If they didn't want to be around him just because of what they thought, he didn't need them anyway. That's what he told himself as he returned to his home town.
It was the first time he'd been back for more than a few days since high school. There was a lot that had changed in those eight years, the most notable change being the increase of businesses open in town. This made him hopeful about finding a new job.
After he told his parents about everything, the real version, they immediately offered to take him in. This surprised him a little, because of how much they pushed him to get out in the first place. "You're our son, Daniel. If you need us, we'll always be here for you." Cheesier than a mouse's dream, sure, but that's how his parents were.
Moving back in with them and having to depend on them again made him feel terrible. He never wanted to do this to them. But he didn't have much of a choice. A lack of money will limit your ability to choose.
While job hunting around town, he decided to try and track down some of his old friends. After meeting up with Billy Williams, Daniel realized this might not be a good idea. He had always gotten along with Billy in high school, but now, all the annoying qualities that had been minor and ignorable were amplified. In short, Billy was a jackass.
He knew that most of his other classmates probably shared this quality, so he turned his attention to finding only his best friend from back then: Ronnie Whitmore. Even in high school, Ronnie had always been convinced that Billy was a jerk. Although this might have been because Ronnie was always stuck next to Billy anytime they had to line up according to their last names. He wasn't fond of Trisha Wallace, either.
The first place he looked for Ronnie was in the phone book. He couldn't find Ronnie, but he did find Ronnie's parents. It took him a little while to realize that the names he was looking at were Ronnie's parents. Once he was sure that these were the people he thought they were, he called.
Ronnie's mother answered the phone and it didn't take her any time to know who was calling. "Daniel Rogers?! It's been so long! How've you been?"
"Not too bad, Mrs. Whitemore. I'm moving back to town soon and I figured I'd try to get back in touch with Ronnie. Do you know how I can reach him?"
She clears her throat. "Yes, I do. He doesn't have a phone, but I can give you his address. It's 223 Smiley Lane. Do you need directions?"
"No, ma'am. I remember Smiley Lane. Thanks for your help."
"No problem, Daniel. Call if you need anything else." They said their goodbyes and Daniel set off to find his friend.
Upon locating 223 Smiley Lane, Daniel was puzzled. Instead of a house, there stood an elementary school. It looked a little run down, but not too much to be out of operation. There wasn't anyone around, so he just assumed the school was closed. He reviewed the conversation in his head and knew that she had said 223.
So, in spite of his better judgment, he approached 'me an Elm cool,' according to a sign in front. After climbing the large cement steps, he was surprised to find an actual doorbell out front. Confused but interested, he pushed the small button. He didn't hear anything. He waited for ten seconds and pushed it again. This time, he could hear footsteps approaching the two large doors.
The left door opened slowly, and a head poked out. A girl's head. A cute girl's head "Can I help you?" Her voice was nice, the exact way he hoped it would sound.
Daniel nervously smiled at her. "Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a guy I went to high school-"
The right door swung open, narrowly missing the girl's head, and standing behind it was an older version of Ronnie. "Daniel! I thought it was you, but I hadda be sure. Can't be too careful, right? Come in, dude. We totally have to catch up."
Inside, Daniel watched the girl walk away, cursing at Ronnie down the length of the hallway. Daniel tried to find some kind of sign whether this was a house or school. The walls were decorated in a wide variety of colorful ways, but judging by how adult one section of the art was, he knew this wasn't a school. Learning even that little bit made him feel a better in this strange place.
Ronnie brought him into a classroom, complete with chalkboard. Daniel immediately noticed the lack of desks and inclusion of a bed. "So, what's going on here, man?"
Ronnie laughed. "I can't get into the specifics, but a few years ago, I got injured by this large corporation. Can't get into specifics, but they didn't wanna go to court. So they gave me a lot of money as long as I didn't tell anyone about it. And no one knows which corporation it was, so I keep my money!"
Daniel wasn't sure how that was possible, but it seemed to be. "So, you bought a school?"
"Well, I met up with an old professor of mine from the semester I spent in college. He had gotten fed up with 'the man,' and quit. He tells me about this idea for a commune. And that he found a perfect place. So, we redo this whole school and set it up for up to eight people to live really easily. Corporate sponsored communism, man!"
"How long has this been going?" Daniel was becoming continually more surprised as this story went on. And much more interested. He loved irony.
"A little less than two years. We have about six people right now. I say about because you can come and go as you want, and one of us goes out for long periods of time."
In a strange instance of impulsiveness, Daniel became hopeful. "Dude, how much is it to stay here?"
"Nothing, man. We just do the chores, do a little gardening, and live here." He leaned a little bit closer. "Why, dude? Do you wanna move in?"
Daniel was a little panicked. How was he supposed to respond? "Uh...Actually, I need to find a place, so that would be pretty awesome."
"You're looking for a place? What happened?"
And he began to recap his story...
"We're gonna have to let you go."
Daniel's day didn't start well. After slowly rising to the position of manager at the restaurant that he worked, he was let go. Budget reasons. So, he went home, certain that Mallory would make him feel a lot better.
He arrived at the door and was a little puzzled by why the lights were off inside. He entered to silence. "Mal? You here?" He turned the lights on and saw exactly what he was afraid of sitting on the counter. A note.
And all it said was:
Dan,
I can't anymore. I'm sorry.
Mal
He stared at the note for what felt like hours. He couldn't move. He couldn't even think. The rest of his night was spent sobbing and trying anything possible to not feel.
...He left the last bit out when telling it to Ronnie.
"Wow, dude. That sucks. Well, yeah, you can totally stay. I mean, I get the final say on really important things, but I think most people are gonna like you."
Daniel was unbelievable excited. Nearly all of his problems were solved. Well, all but one.
Ronnie looked around a little bit, but didn't find what he was looking for. "Gwen! Come see!" He waited until the girl from earlier returned. "Hey, while I get everyone else assembled, can you entertain Danny, here?" He poked a thumb at Daniel. "What kind of music are you into now?"
Daniel didn't really know how to respond to this. He wanted to fit in, so he picked something was safe. "Um, well, I like some of everything."
"Well, we have a bit of everything in our listening room. Gwen'll show it to you, right?" Ronnie looked at Gwen hopeful. It was interesting that this rich bastard was genuinely asking her for help, and not just making it seem like it.
Gwen gave a side glance to Daniel. "Sure."
"Cool! Thanks Gwen, I'll be right back." Ronnie dashes off to get the rest of the house together.
They began to walk towards the listening room. "I've been listening to some really cool indie stuff lately. Are you into that?"
Daniel breathed a little bit easier, because he actually was. "Yeah, totally. Who's your favorite band?"
"Umm...That's a hard one. This week, it's Architecture In Helsinki."
Daniel nodded in approval. "Nice. Want to listen to that?"
"Okay." They arrived and she went right to the CD that she wanted. The listening room was full of cushions even though it was another converted classroom, with chalkboard. It was made for comfort while listening.
Gwen put the CD on, and the audio quality was amazing. The cushions were very comfortable. She sat close, but not too close, to him.
They both sat, listening silently, until the music was interrupted by the sounds of jackhammers. They went to a window and saw the source of the noise. Across the street, a group of construction workers had just begun work.
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Aw, that sucks."
Gwen smiled and started to get up. "I can fix this."
As she got up to change the CD, Daniel couldn't help but stare at her ass. The back of her shorts showed significant wear, forming an outline of everything hidden by them. He looked away and casually placed his hands on his lap. "So, what are you putting on?"
"Jazz!" She hit play and turned back to him with a huge smile.
After only a minute, he knew she was right. The offbeats of the music were made for improvisations. He smiled at her. "These construction workers have no idea they just became jazz musicians."
She laughed, and this too, blended with the music. "That's what's so great about good jazz. Everything that would ruin all other forms of music plays a new part and enhances jazz." She paused, as if debating whether to go on or now. "It's like when you find your soul mate. All the things that destroy other relationships improve your relationship." She moved slightly closer to him.
He looked into her eyes and was surprised. He had stopped trying to look into people's eyes after he began to just see loneliness in them. And, like all of those others, she had it in her eyes. But he couldn't look away.
Half of him screamed to got for it. 'Kiss her! Help her!' The other half did the opposite. 'Didn't you learn anything from Mallory?! They're all the same.' He took a deep breath and cleared his head. He had to be sure of which side was right. With a sigh, he looked back into her eyes and saw exactly what he was afraid he'd see. He saw a future, the two of them together for years.
The side of his brain telling him it was something simple and bad went silent. He turned just a little paler and leaned in. Luckily for him, she did the same, even smiling a little before parting her lips. And, as they kissed, terror overtook him. Because, despite his best efforts, he was in love again.
Remember, there will be more.
Later.
Smiley Lane
He wasn't gay. No matter how much it seemed like it, he wasn't. It was true that he had sworn off women and that he started to avoid speaking to them. But he had a reason, which wasn't homosexuality. Despite how many people though otherwise.
It was his own fault, really. He bent the events to hide what had happened. In his revised version of the truth, he had control of the situation. Everything was the way he wanted it.
He knew it was his own fault that everyone thought what they did. And reacted.
The reactions were what really drove him away. If they didn't want to be around him just because of what they thought, he didn't need them anyway. That's what he told himself as he returned to his home town.
It was the first time he'd been back for more than a few days since high school. There was a lot that had changed in those eight years, the most notable change being the increase of businesses open in town. This made him hopeful about finding a new job.
After he told his parents about everything, the real version, they immediately offered to take him in. This surprised him a little, because of how much they pushed him to get out in the first place. "You're our son, Daniel. If you need us, we'll always be here for you." Cheesier than a mouse's dream, sure, but that's how his parents were.
Moving back in with them and having to depend on them again made him feel terrible. He never wanted to do this to them. But he didn't have much of a choice. A lack of money will limit your ability to choose.
While job hunting around town, he decided to try and track down some of his old friends. After meeting up with Billy Williams, Daniel realized this might not be a good idea. He had always gotten along with Billy in high school, but now, all the annoying qualities that had been minor and ignorable were amplified. In short, Billy was a jackass.
He knew that most of his other classmates probably shared this quality, so he turned his attention to finding only his best friend from back then: Ronnie Whitmore. Even in high school, Ronnie had always been convinced that Billy was a jerk. Although this might have been because Ronnie was always stuck next to Billy anytime they had to line up according to their last names. He wasn't fond of Trisha Wallace, either.
The first place he looked for Ronnie was in the phone book. He couldn't find Ronnie, but he did find Ronnie's parents. It took him a little while to realize that the names he was looking at were Ronnie's parents. Once he was sure that these were the people he thought they were, he called.
Ronnie's mother answered the phone and it didn't take her any time to know who was calling. "Daniel Rogers?! It's been so long! How've you been?"
"Not too bad, Mrs. Whitemore. I'm moving back to town soon and I figured I'd try to get back in touch with Ronnie. Do you know how I can reach him?"
She clears her throat. "Yes, I do. He doesn't have a phone, but I can give you his address. It's 223 Smiley Lane. Do you need directions?"
"No, ma'am. I remember Smiley Lane. Thanks for your help."
"No problem, Daniel. Call if you need anything else." They said their goodbyes and Daniel set off to find his friend.
Upon locating 223 Smiley Lane, Daniel was puzzled. Instead of a house, there stood an elementary school. It looked a little run down, but not too much to be out of operation. There wasn't anyone around, so he just assumed the school was closed. He reviewed the conversation in his head and knew that she had said 223.
So, in spite of his better judgment, he approached 'me an Elm cool,' according to a sign in front. After climbing the large cement steps, he was surprised to find an actual doorbell out front. Confused but interested, he pushed the small button. He didn't hear anything. He waited for ten seconds and pushed it again. This time, he could hear footsteps approaching the two large doors.
The left door opened slowly, and a head poked out. A girl's head. A cute girl's head "Can I help you?" Her voice was nice, the exact way he hoped it would sound.
Daniel nervously smiled at her. "Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a guy I went to high school-"
The right door swung open, narrowly missing the girl's head, and standing behind it was an older version of Ronnie. "Daniel! I thought it was you, but I hadda be sure. Can't be too careful, right? Come in, dude. We totally have to catch up."
Inside, Daniel watched the girl walk away, cursing at Ronnie down the length of the hallway. Daniel tried to find some kind of sign whether this was a house or school. The walls were decorated in a wide variety of colorful ways, but judging by how adult one section of the art was, he knew this wasn't a school. Learning even that little bit made him feel a better in this strange place.
Ronnie brought him into a classroom, complete with chalkboard. Daniel immediately noticed the lack of desks and inclusion of a bed. "So, what's going on here, man?"
Ronnie laughed. "I can't get into the specifics, but a few years ago, I got injured by this large corporation. Can't get into specifics, but they didn't wanna go to court. So they gave me a lot of money as long as I didn't tell anyone about it. And no one knows which corporation it was, so I keep my money!"
Daniel wasn't sure how that was possible, but it seemed to be. "So, you bought a school?"
"Well, I met up with an old professor of mine from the semester I spent in college. He had gotten fed up with 'the man,' and quit. He tells me about this idea for a commune. And that he found a perfect place. So, we redo this whole school and set it up for up to eight people to live really easily. Corporate sponsored communism, man!"
"How long has this been going?" Daniel was becoming continually more surprised as this story went on. And much more interested. He loved irony.
"A little less than two years. We have about six people right now. I say about because you can come and go as you want, and one of us goes out for long periods of time."
In a strange instance of impulsiveness, Daniel became hopeful. "Dude, how much is it to stay here?"
"Nothing, man. We just do the chores, do a little gardening, and live here." He leaned a little bit closer. "Why, dude? Do you wanna move in?"
Daniel was a little panicked. How was he supposed to respond? "Uh...Actually, I need to find a place, so that would be pretty awesome."
"You're looking for a place? What happened?"
And he began to recap his story...
"We're gonna have to let you go."
Daniel's day didn't start well. After slowly rising to the position of manager at the restaurant that he worked, he was let go. Budget reasons. So, he went home, certain that Mallory would make him feel a lot better.
He arrived at the door and was a little puzzled by why the lights were off inside. He entered to silence. "Mal? You here?" He turned the lights on and saw exactly what he was afraid of sitting on the counter. A note.
And all it said was:
Dan,
I can't anymore. I'm sorry.
Mal
He stared at the note for what felt like hours. He couldn't move. He couldn't even think. The rest of his night was spent sobbing and trying anything possible to not feel.
...He left the last bit out when telling it to Ronnie.
"Wow, dude. That sucks. Well, yeah, you can totally stay. I mean, I get the final say on really important things, but I think most people are gonna like you."
Daniel was unbelievable excited. Nearly all of his problems were solved. Well, all but one.
Ronnie looked around a little bit, but didn't find what he was looking for. "Gwen! Come see!" He waited until the girl from earlier returned. "Hey, while I get everyone else assembled, can you entertain Danny, here?" He poked a thumb at Daniel. "What kind of music are you into now?"
Daniel didn't really know how to respond to this. He wanted to fit in, so he picked something was safe. "Um, well, I like some of everything."
"Well, we have a bit of everything in our listening room. Gwen'll show it to you, right?" Ronnie looked at Gwen hopeful. It was interesting that this rich bastard was genuinely asking her for help, and not just making it seem like it.
Gwen gave a side glance to Daniel. "Sure."
"Cool! Thanks Gwen, I'll be right back." Ronnie dashes off to get the rest of the house together.
They began to walk towards the listening room. "I've been listening to some really cool indie stuff lately. Are you into that?"
Daniel breathed a little bit easier, because he actually was. "Yeah, totally. Who's your favorite band?"
"Umm...That's a hard one. This week, it's Architecture In Helsinki."
Daniel nodded in approval. "Nice. Want to listen to that?"
"Okay." They arrived and she went right to the CD that she wanted. The listening room was full of cushions even though it was another converted classroom, with chalkboard. It was made for comfort while listening.
Gwen put the CD on, and the audio quality was amazing. The cushions were very comfortable. She sat close, but not too close, to him.
They both sat, listening silently, until the music was interrupted by the sounds of jackhammers. They went to a window and saw the source of the noise. Across the street, a group of construction workers had just begun work.
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Aw, that sucks."
Gwen smiled and started to get up. "I can fix this."
As she got up to change the CD, Daniel couldn't help but stare at her ass. The back of her shorts showed significant wear, forming an outline of everything hidden by them. He looked away and casually placed his hands on his lap. "So, what are you putting on?"
"Jazz!" She hit play and turned back to him with a huge smile.
After only a minute, he knew she was right. The offbeats of the music were made for improvisations. He smiled at her. "These construction workers have no idea they just became jazz musicians."
She laughed, and this too, blended with the music. "That's what's so great about good jazz. Everything that would ruin all other forms of music plays a new part and enhances jazz." She paused, as if debating whether to go on or now. "It's like when you find your soul mate. All the things that destroy other relationships improve your relationship." She moved slightly closer to him.
He looked into her eyes and was surprised. He had stopped trying to look into people's eyes after he began to just see loneliness in them. And, like all of those others, she had it in her eyes. But he couldn't look away.
Half of him screamed to got for it. 'Kiss her! Help her!' The other half did the opposite. 'Didn't you learn anything from Mallory?! They're all the same.' He took a deep breath and cleared his head. He had to be sure of which side was right. With a sigh, he looked back into her eyes and saw exactly what he was afraid he'd see. He saw a future, the two of them together for years.
The side of his brain telling him it was something simple and bad went silent. He turned just a little paler and leaned in. Luckily for him, she did the same, even smiling a little before parting her lips. And, as they kissed, terror overtook him. Because, despite his best efforts, he was in love again.
Remember, there will be more.
Later.