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Oregano and Elizabeth
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Oregano and Elizabeth
Oregano and Elizabeth M.'s thread! Can't wait to see what you two come up with!
submitted by Oregano/Elizabeth M.
(May 16, 2011 - 3:45 pm)
(May 16, 2011 - 3:45 pm)
Okay, okay, I'll just start it then or we'll never get anywhere!!!!!
Ida--
I heft my duffel bag and backpack. They sure are heavy. Clothes. Shoes. Books. Pens, notebooks, pencils. My lucky baseball cap. Ahead of me: Natalie. In the other class. I still don't get why she hates me. I mean, my parents were totally innocent. I've tried to be friends with her, but she won't let me. Ahead of Natalie: Luke. He's really neat. He's Natalie's twin brother. At least he doesn't hold such a grudge. Behind me: the Schwartz twins. Ariana and... Trevor. Ariana's wearing high heels. Again. I never understood high heels. Polly had a pair once, but her feet are small and once she outgrew hers they didn't fit me. I didn't want them anyway. They're waiting for Gweneth.
Polly's already gotten on the bus. Luke gets on. Natalie gets on. My turn. I hate school buses. They smell. The windows don't open. The seats are small and hard and stained. I put my duffel bag in front of my seat and sit down. There isn't any room for my feet, but that's okay. Only for half an hour to the airport.
OW! Someone's tapping me on the shoulder. Oh. I forgot I was in front of Polly. She really needs to work on her shoulder-tapping. It hurts.
I turn around. "What is it!"
"Did you get your contact fluid?"
I sigh. I forgot it once on a week-long trip. Polly's never let me forget that time. Mom and Dad were furious that they had to buy me some more. I can still hear Dad: "If you can't take care of your contacts, you'll just have to wear glasses instead." Ugh! Glasses. Gross. Covered in face grease. The ear pieces. The nose piece. The only safe place to pick them up is by the hinge.
"Well? Did you? You did, didn't you?"
"Nooo! Of course not! Will you stop bugging me!" I turn around and sink into an annoyed silence.
[[I'm stopping there. I have too much of a tendency to write ovelry long posts, so I'll leave it at that.]]
(May 30, 2011 - 9:09 am)
Natalie-
I drop my heavy suitcase into the compartment on the side ofthe travel bus.
Finally! The trip I’ve been waiting for! The Aztecs, anancient civilization and we got to study it!
Theonly problem I have with this trip is who’s on it. Not Luke, of course, he’s mybest friend. I’m talking about Ida. She’s in the other class and because ofher, my parents are dead. Yes, that sounds harsh. The court judge claimed theminnocent but I don’t care! She will always have a grudge in my book.
Ourclass piles onto the bus. I take the window seat in the last row in the back,Luke plumps down in the seat in front of me with Ben.
Ben ishis best friend, other than myself. I don’t like him. He’s loud, a bully andacts like he’s king of the world. Ben is one of the only things that Luke and Idisagree about.
Idacomes onto the bus with her older sister Polly behind her. Polly is girly. Shealmost always wears wedge shoes, make-up and has her nails done.
She’sgriping about Ida’s contact lenses again.
“Well,did you or did you not?” She yells.
“No!Now stop bugging me.” Ida yells back.
Shewalks down the aisle and sits down in a seat across from Luke.
“HeyLuke.” She smiles at him.
“Hi!”He answers.
I rollmy eyes.
One ofthe teachers, Mrs Niña, stands up. She has light brown hair and green eyes.
“Noweveryone,” the bus jolts to life and she falls over. Some giggles.
“Okay,um, we’ll have a long bus ride and we’ll be stopping at a hotel half way there!Remember to behave yourselves and safety first!” She sits down.
I stareout the window at the passing fields and some waving families.
“Bye.” Iwhisper.
(May 31, 2011 - 9:05 am)
Yay! And happy June!
Ida---
The fields roll past the window [[I'm assuming there are fields in northeastern Illinois, though I don't know what they's be growing, and correct me if I'm wrong please...]]. Hill after hill. I unzip my backpack and pull out my notebooks. I start sketching the view from my seat, starting with the head of the person in front of me. Seat. Seat. Heads. Then the left side of the bus. Now some bodies. Suitcases, backpacks, heads. The gray of the seats and the gray of the pencil. Now the window. I start sketching fields, hills, rows of corn [[or whatever else you think]]. I filp to the back page, which is covered in charcoal, and rub my finger in the dust of the dark pencil. Then I dab it on the page, indicating the clouds in the sky, the thick, layered storm clouds, indicating rain.
I don't like the picture. It looks strange. I remember the art class I took in the fall, where the teacher talked about perspective for two days. Terms swam in my head in my sleep those nights - vanishing points, converging lines, one-point, two-point, three-point perspective... I shut my eyes and imagined a point on the windshield of the bus - no,in the sky, floating above the road. I turned to a clean page and marked it lightly. I sketch lines to it. Here's the row of seats I'm in. Here's the row of seats they're in. Windows. The aisle. The road goes to the same point. Then I mark off individual seats and draw the people in them. Again. The students. Hair, luggage, clothes, grayness... The teachers, who sit in the front and back of the bus - I can see only the ones in the front. Mrs. Niña. And Mr. Farian. What are they doing? Oh wait... I can see checklists that they're running down. I guess that's to make sure they did everything?
I draw the fields again. Then the sky.
I still don't like the drawing. It looks stark and bleak. I pull out an eraser. Highlights on the hair, but only small ones, since there's no sun. Differentiate the shading on the seats, the people's faces, the clothes. Draw leaves on the corn. Add shading between the stalks. That's better. Now the drawing can come alive.
I turn to another page. I love a brand new sketchbook. It is full of possibilities. It's empty, waiting to be filled. I turn in my seat and start drawing my best friend Sarah, who's sitting across the aisle. She giggles at me. I giggle back. Drawing is fun.
(June 1, 2011 - 7:00 am)
You two have a good plot! You're off to a great start!
@Oregano, northern IL doesn't have very many fields. Most of the fields are in central or southern IL. I have family in IL, so that's how I know. :-)
(June 1, 2011 - 10:44 am)
Illinois has a lot of corn fields and is very flat... :)
Natalie—
I could easily forgive his pride, if he hadnot mortified mine.
Prideand Prejudice, Jane Austen, Chapter Five. I put the book down and look out thewindow. Corn, the flat plains, endless blue sky…
Whydoes that sentence remind me so much of Ida? She didn’t mortify my pride or didshe? Was I even capable of forgiving Ida?
No.
I neverwill.
Ihappen to look over to Ida. She’s sketching her friend Sarah. The drawing, Ihave to admit, is accurate and beautiful. It captures Sarah’s laughing smile.
I wishI could draw. I can only draw one thing and that’s boulevards and boats on theSeine. It comforts me somehow. I don’t draw much though. I mostly write.Stories, diary entries… My one way to forget that I’m a lonely orphan.
I keepthinking and my eyelids start to droop. I hate sleeping in moving things but Ifelt so tired…
Alittle Later:
I wakeup. Mr. Farian is standing up this time.
“…giveyou numbers to see who your room partner is. We’ll be staying here for a night.No pushing while getting out of the bus.”
I standup and stretch my legs. Then I stuff my book into my little blue shoulder bag.
“And?”Luke didn’t have to finish his sentence for me to get what he wanted to ask.
“Awful,uncomfortable and boring.” I answer.
Hesmiles. “Ditto.”
We walkoff the bus and into the Daisy’s Inn parking lot.
(June 1, 2011 - 10:54 am)
[[We have some contradictions, but I'm sticking with your version for consistency.]]
My number is 7. Nice low number. Now I just have to see who else gets a 7. "What's your number?" I ask Sarah as she gets off the bus.
"Ten," she says.
"Too bad," I say. "I'm seven, we aren't in the same room. We'll be near each other, though."
"Couple doors down and across the hall."
I grin. "If the numbers match up with the room numbers. See you later. I better find the other seven."
"Ida, right?"
I turn around. "Mary?"
"Yeah," she says. "You have seven?"
"I do," I say. "You too?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I guess we're matched then!" I say, smiling.
We head off to the door of the inn. Mary's in the other class, a year older. She's really nice, and really smart. She's taller than I am, and has longish orange curly hair thar falls down over her shoulders. Her glasses glint in the sun. It's funny what you notice and don't notice. I never saw her glasses before.
[[I decided not to match Ida with Natalie because it's more of a surprise that they get together if it happens later. Plus we do need some more secondary characters. We could also do three or four to a room if you want. It might be good if we get to know the twins a bit more, but since the rooms aren't coed, it would just have to be Ariana.]]
(June 2, 2011 - 6:59 am)
Oh, and... I read about the E. coli outbreak in Germany. Has that been affecting you or your family? I hope not...
(June 2, 2011 - 2:05 pm)
No, but I've been totally scared of eating anything where you can't take the skin off. That's why I'm only having melon for my birthday party. They've figured out that it has nothing to do with Spanish cucumbers though... :) It seems like most of the E. coli is in the North anyway.
(June 3, 2011 - 10:20 am)
Natalie—
I graba room number. Eight. I lug my suit case upstairs into the room and sit on thebed nearest to the window.
“Sorry,I’m here already.” Ariana (INSERT LASTNAME) walks up to the bed.
“Yourbags aren’t here.” I tell her.
Shepushes a pretty brown curl behind her ear. “So,” she gives me a look thatobviously says: “I’m better than you, dirt clump.”
Islowly give in, get up and sit down on the bed furthest from the window.There’s only one bed between the two and I wonder who will take it.
At thatmoment the door opens and Nadine Bruce walks in. She’s one of the few peoplewho I can stand at the school. Actually, she was the first person who walked upto me on my first day. She has long strawberry blond hair in a messy ponytail,copper looking eyes and long legs.
“HiNatalie! Ariana.” She nods in Ariana’s direction but she’s too busy with hernail file.
Nadinesits down on the bed and smiles. “The bus ride was pleasant except for thebumps.” For all who are reading this, they can probably guess that Nadine’s aoptimist.
Thehotel room starts to get stuffy and its blank walls start to jump out at me. Mystomach churns and I walk into the bathroom. It’s small with a shower cabinet,sink and toilet.
Isplash cold water on my face and glimpse at myself in the mirror. My frecklednose is covered in water droplets. I dry myself with a towel and murmur: “Gottaget some fresh air,” as I walk out of the room.
Thehallways were buzzing with students. A girl who I recognize is walking down thehall with Ida’s sister Polly (name is correct, right?). Her name is KatieOrlonzo. She’s a year older like half of the kids on the trip.
“Theteachers say that we’d all better come down. Tell your room mates.”
I quicklyopen the hotel door again, repeat the message and walk down the hall.
(June 3, 2011 - 10:36 am)
(Whee!)
Ida:
Mary and I stroll into our room. I see Natalie going into the room across the hall. Oops! Someone's already here! Wait, there are three beds... okay. Three to a room.
"Hi!" I say, sitting down on one of the beds.
"Hi," she says, a little shyly.
"You're Serena, right?" I say.
"Yeah," she says. "Ida.. and Mary?"
We nod. I shove my duffel and backpack under my bed and drop onto the mattress. It has white sheets, a brown blanket, a white pillowcase. How boring.
There's a knock on the door. I'm closest to it. I heave myself up and open it.
"Polly, will you go away?"
"No. The teachers want everyone downstairs."
I sigh. We all file out the door. "Where downstairs?"
"I dunno. They just said downstairs."
I sigh again. We troop down the stairs. There are so many flights. We're on the third floor. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. Clomp. We follow the stream of students back out into the parking lot. Natalie is in front of me. Everyone is talking to everyone else, but she won't talk to me.
"All right, boys and girls," says Mrs. McThyre. "It's time for dinner. Six to a table. No fighting. Talk quietly. Afterward come out to the field near the parking lot, where there's a campfire place, and toast marshmallows." [[I made that up. I think I've had two toasted marshmallows in my life. But it seemed to kind of fit.]] The students whoop and go back into the inn's dining hall.
[[I AM MAKING A FIRM DETERMINATION NOT TO WRITE EXCESSIVELY LONG POSTS. THIS MOVEMENT STARTS HERE.]]
(June 4, 2011 - 1:31 pm)
Sorry, it's really short. I have a slight writer's block!
Natalie-
Igulped down my dinner quickly and we rushed out into the little area behind thehotel. Some teachers had already gotten the marshmellows and started the fire.
Studentsstarted to join and I sat down next to Luke.
“Okayeveryone! Let’s have a toast to all the people who organized this!”
Thestudents cheered and we were soon singing and eating.
(June 7, 2011 - 10:58 am)