Posted by: DIYwriting | August 16, 2022

The Laws of Attraction

“I’m not sure when the attraction started, but once I realized, I fell hard and fast.  I couldn’t get enough and I didn’t know when to stop.  Or how to stop.”  I wanted to keep talking, but couldn’t figure out how to say exactly how I felt. 

I thought if I told Bill exactly how I felt, he would never talk to me again.  In fact, I thought he would never even associate with me again.  I didn’t want him to know I was interested in his brother because I knew he had been burned before by friends and ex-girlfriends.  He thought anyone who he became friends with was only friends with him because his brother was popular. 

“You interested in Jack?  Is that what you are struggling to tell me?”  I saw Bill tense, but he didn’t look my way.  Shit.  Apparently, I was not as smooth as I thought. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so suspicious of all your friends.  Not everyone is here just because they are interested in your brother.  Some people actually like you for you, you know.” I knew I had to think fast. I couldn’t lose Bill as a friend because I knew I would never be able to be around Jack. 

“Then who? Who are you so infatuated with?” Bill still stared at his phone as if he was waiting for my confession of love for his brother. 

“Tyler Johnson.” I blurted out the first name that popped into my head. 

“Mr. Johnson? The chemistry teacher?” 

At that particular moment, I didn’t understand how terribly my fake confession would change the course of my life. Or that Bill would betray me. But, sometimes I was thankful. Especially when Mr. Johnson was finally put behind bars for unsubstantiated rumors and I finally found real love. With Jack. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | August 13, 2022

Big Time

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot 

The table and stools appeared overnight and the graffiti came even quicker. As my neighbors complained about the sight, I knew I had finally arrived. I knew where my stage was and I knew what my calling was. And I finally had the perfect opportunity to show everyone what my talent was. I wasn’t expecting my simultaneous singing and painting to be such a big hit. The day my stage was destroyed was the day I knew I needed to take my show on the road. I knew I had made it the day my mother finally saw my show. 

More Friday Fictioneers stories can be found here.

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Posted by: DIYwriting | August 13, 2022

Lady

The bicycle I received on my sixth birthday was by far my favorite present I had ever gotten.  It was pink and white with a banana seat big enough for my sister and I to get to the park easily and quickly.  I had secretly named my bike Lady and when Sarah started calling her Gertrude, I promptly intervened.  I couldn’t imagine riding a bike named Gertrude as I didn’t want to be seen as the old lady of the street. 

On the first day of my sixth summer, I was up with the sun. I couldn’t wait to see where and how far Lady could take Collette and I. We had been planning for weeks on where we would go and what candy we would buy with all the nickels, dimes and quarters we had been saving. We picked up every bit of loose change on our way to and from school and saved it in an old coffee can we had found at our grandfather’s house. As I made my way to the kitchen, I noticed the back down slightly ajar. 

Had somebody left? Or had somebody come in? I tiptoed toward the door only to see my younger sister crashing my brand-new bike into the fence. As the front wheel twisted sideways, I began to scream. My plans. My summer. Our friendship. Could they be saved after such a disaster? 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | August 12, 2022

Handwritten

The handwritten note got passed around the class and I wondered what everyone was laughing about.  I had gotten to class a few minutes late because I was hoping to get a word in with Cyrus only to find him engaged in a lip lock with Darcy the Cheerleader during passing period.  Darcy the Cheerleader had literally rebranded herself when she was a sophomore so she wouldn’t be confused with Darcy the Nerd.  Which was kind of her, I guess, as I never wanted to be a cheerleader.  At least I wouldn’t be confused for her anymore.   

Though she was taking up more of my thoughts than I deemed necessary.  I was spending too much time wondering how I could break her and Cyrus up instead of doing my homework.  I watched Mr. B sidle over towards the side of the room where Thomas was sitting and I knew at once he had seen the note being passed around as well and was just waiting to intercept.  As he read the note, I watched his face darken and shot the slightest of glances my way as the rest of the class stifled their laughter.  I looked down at my desk and sank lower into my seat.  Now I was certain what the note was about.  It was about me and about what happened last week. 

Darcy the Cheerleader had made it a point to make it clear we were not friends and never would be. I knew now the entire class would never be friends with me either. Little did Darcy the Cheerleader know, I knew all of her secrets. I may have been a nerd, but I was also a hacker and knew how to hack into her computer. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | August 10, 2022

Remarkable

“Don’t tell me his story was fantastic.  Remarkable.  Amazing.  Going to win the prize.  You know he copied the entire story.  Or at least ninety percent of it.”  I sat staring at the email I desperately wanted to send to my English professor, but knew I would never do it.  I knew Garrett would win the prize and I wanted him to, I really did.  But I was in dire need of the scholarship the writing competition was boasting as the prize. Garrett had never had to worry about anything related to money. His trust fund had been set up before he had been born and his grandparents were already promising to buy him whatever he wanted when he graduated. He mentioned the car he wanted and had already been scoping out houses he could never afford without help. 

I wondered if there was a chance to get the scholarship and Garrett not know it was me who had turned him in. As the moments passed, I realized exactly what I could do to win the prize and the only person I needed to involve was my brother. My brother who could hack into any computer put in front of him. Two weeks later, I was shocked to learn I had not actually won the writing competition. Garrett won. With the story I had written. I had convinced my brother into hacking into whatever computer he could (I never really understood hacking) to change the author’s name on Garrett and my stories. I had never felt like such a fool. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | August 9, 2022

Enfolding

“All I wanted you to do was to love me.  To fold me in your arms and never let me go.  You were the only place I feel safe and the only place I want to be for the rest of my life.”   

As June read the beginning lines of her short story to the class, I sat up straighter.  I didn’t want her to continue because I knew what and who her story was about and I knew she shouldn’t read it aloud.  I tried to catch her attention so I could shake my head, but she was too engrossed in her reading to pay attention. 

June often went from obsession to obsession and many of her obsessions were not what most high school juniors would consider to be normal.  In this case, her current obsession was Jack, the quarterback of the football team.  While Jack was not in our creative writing class, a few of his friends were, including Jeremiah.  Jeremiah had no limits on how cruel he could be.  There was no way he didn’t have trauma in his past to have made him act as he did.  I wished I could help him, but right now, I just wanted June to stop reading. With any luck, he wouldn’t pay close attention to June’s story and wouldn’t realize she was talking about Jack. I didn’t want to consider what hell she would go through if he did. 

As I paid close attention to June’s story, it took a quick left turn into something about a knight, a dragon, and maybe something about Prince Charming. Now I was just more confused than I was concerned, but also hoping she wasn’t going to reveal Jack as Prince Charming. The story came to an odd conclusion without her specifically naming who her Prince Charming was, but oddly smiling at our teacher all the way back to her seat. The way he looked made me realize this hadn’t been the first story she had written for him, but maybe (and hopefully) it would be the last. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | August 3, 2022

The Closet

“Why do you stack your clothes like this?  Wouldn’t it be easier to hang them up in your closet?  What do you have in your closet?”  Jason headed to my closet and I felt my stomach tighten. 

“Hey, why you gonna go into my closet?  Can’t I keep some things private?”  I sat up on my bed and tossed my hair over my shoulder. 

Jason tried to push his nosiness off as being helpful, but I knew he really just wanted to go through everything I owned.  He would pick apart my entire apartment if I would let him which is why we hardly ever met here. I preferred to keep some things private, and he wanted to be in control of every aspect of our relationship. If that’s even what you could call it. 

“Oh please. I know everything about you already. Why don’t you just let me help?” I jumped off my bed and stood in front of my closet before Jason even had a chance to reach for the knob. I couldn’t let him in. I had too much to hide. Specifically, I had too much to hide from Jason. 

I knew what he would do with the information he would eventually stumble upon in my closet and I was not prepared for it. The smirk on his face meant he knew I was hiding something. I was saved from answering questions when my roommate called his name. Or more specifically, his girlfriend called his name. And since he had almost free access to the apartment whenever he wanted, I needed to move everything he was looking for. Tonight. 

Hell would freeze if Jason ever found the pictures I had. And I needed to be ready for when it did. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | July 31, 2022

Welcome Committee

There was no way I felt like I would ever be welcomed into Frank’s house.  I was never sure why, but I think it had something to do with my brother.  He had dated Frank’s sister and ended up breaking her heart for unknown reasons.  At least that was the story Fern and Davis were holding onto.  I, on the other hand, knew Samantha had been the one to preempt the breakup.  I knew what Samantha had done and how she had treated Jason. 

But ever since Samantha’s disappearance, I knew the rumors would continue to fly. No matter what Jason and I said or did. But now, it was beginning to affect my everyday life and my ability to function. I heard whispers around every corner and I could swear everyone stopped talking when I walked into a room. I tried to tell myself it wasn’t just me and I was being paranoid, but I couldn’t shake my suspicions. I wanted everything to go back to normal, but until Samanta and Jason were back together – or until Frank let me be – I knew I was going to continue to be suspicious. 

I knew exactly what I had to do. How to exactly get them back together. I just wasn’t expecting to get caught red-handed. By the police. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | July 30, 2022

Magic

“I’m not going through any ‘portal’ or whatever you have called it.  I am staying here and not leaving until further notice.”  I crossed my arms and sat defiantly on the edge of the couch. 

As my mother moved toward the front door, I wondered if I was making the right decision.  If I was left behind, I knew I would be on my own with no possibility of rejoining my family.  But I also knew I couldn’t continue with the way things were going.  My mother had not left our neighborhood in close to nine months because she was convinced the tunnel was the magic ‘portal’ to an afterlife she wasn’t prepared to see. 

But at the same time, it was apparently okay that I went through the ‘portal’ at least twice a day to get to and from school.  My older sister looked over her shoulder as she followed my mother out the door.  For a moment I thought she would stay with me, but her scoff told me otherwise. 

She hadn’t been out of the house in months due to some sort of unspecified illness.  She would force herself to cough and my mother would tell her to go lie down while I made dinner.  Or cleaned the house.  My sister just wanted to be waited on. 

An hour later when they still had not come home, I got off the couch and started to actually plan my life alone when I heard the sirens.  The sirens I knew were headed here. Headed here to see about the two women who had just left me forever. 

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Posted by: DIYwriting | July 29, 2022

Generous

I never understood how someone could be as generous as Sophia.  She never took anything for herself and instead tried to think of who would benefit most.  I liked to think I thought of other people more than myself, but I didn’t think I was as nice as Sophia. 

What really surprised me more was when I heard others talking trash about Sophia.  I heard a lot of ‘I can’t believe she didn’t give me that’ or ‘I don’t know why I wasn’t on top of her list.’  This from the same people who never lifted a finger for Sophia or anyone else, but yet complained they weren’t given top priority.  I wanted to show my support for Sophia, but at the same time show my disdain for all those who took advantage of her. 

I began plotting and exacting my revenge on a Monday.  I had planned to start on a Sunday, but thought I shouldn’t try to plan my revenge while I was in church.  My first experiment in revenge would be with Summer.  She had loudly protested recently when Sophia didn’t help her get out of a tight spot financially (as if Sophia was responsible for her money management skills). 

Two days after my plan was put in place, Summer was gone.  Disappeared with a pocket of money that didn’t belong to her.  But not for long. I knew how to track her down and make her pay for everything she had done. Sophia would be grateful to me forever, she just had to be. 

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