Thursday, January 31, 2008

My entry submitted for Nathan Bransford's THE SURPRISINGLY ESSENTIAL FIRST PAGE CHALLENGE

Young adult/Urban fantasy

You know that sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you don’t want to do something? The one that tells you that you should stay in bed, with the covers pulled over your head, for the next four years of your life?

Well, I’ve got that feeling, in spades.

Today is the first day of school. A new school about a gazillion trillion miles away from all my friends. They might as well have picked me up and put me on another flipping planet.

And it’s all His fault.

Him being Draven Whistlethorp, my step-dad. Me? I’m Mary Margaret Murphy. Murphy is a good Irish name. It was my Dad’s name. If I ever get married I’m never going to change my name.

My Dad died four years ago when I was ten. I miss him. You would think that it wouldn’t hurt so bad anymore, but it still does. Everybody tells me. “Mary Margaret, time heals all wounds. It will get better. Promise.” Everybody being our neighbor Lois who has known me since I took my first breath.

I’m still waiting, for it to get better that is, and I’m not sure I want it to get better. Cause like if it does get better won’t that mean that I won’t remember him? Won’t remember the way he used to tickle me until I couldn’t breathe, or the way that he used to bring me presents when he went on long trips, or the way he would sit and just listen to me? I miss that the most, the way he listened to me, like what I said was really important.

Mom went into a really bad funk when Dad got hit by that train. I didn’t think she would ever come out of it. For a while there I think she even forgot about me a couple of times, and if it hadn’t been for Sue Ellen and her mom having me spend the night so much I probably would’ve starved to death. There is only so much nutrition you can get from Pop-Tarts and Captain Crunch cereal.

But when Mom came out of her funk as she calls it, personally I think she fell off the deep end, she was different.

Really different.

She said it was all because of Draven Whistlethorp. That he saved her. Yeah, right. But she didn’t listen to me and they started dating and got married which is why I’m nauseous and want to throw up. Because now I have to start high school with no friends in a town I hate.

They don’t get it. Either one of them. Why couldn’t I just stay in Charleston with Sue Ellen? But nooooo. I had to come with them to some weird town in North Carolina called Spookeville.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this is awesome, for you to post this. Going in the right direction. Now get back to that YA BOOK! LAUGHING.

Michelle said...

I'm going to a SCWBI critque group tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes. LOL.