Return to flip book view

Compendium of Spring FictionBy Kyra Dyer

Reflective EssayHello there! You have made a wise decision to come and read the most amazingshort stories & practice works you will ever peruse! I’ve put in a ton of hardwork and effort to put this portfolio together and include some of my bestworks. I would categorize my stories as drama related and a pinch of horror.Even though I prefer to write ab out romance, I thought I should shake thingsup a bit and try a different category. I have technically been writing sincehighschool, and it’s also the same time that I truly got into writing. Each time Iwould turn in an assignment that required writing a story, I would always bepraised for it and asked, “When does the book come out?” It always made me laughand gain confidence in my writing. Being able to put words on paper and turn itinto a book is probably one of the best and most magical feelings I’ve ever felt. Itreally shows how creative the mind is and has many possibilities of things youcan do with it. Out of all the stories in this portfolio, I would say my topfavorite is the last of the 3 major stories (you will soon see). It has more lengthand depth, and I enjoyed writing it the most since it’s in the romance/dramacategory! I believe that my writing has improved a great deal since starting thissemester. I’ve learned new ways that I can improve my writing, some tips if I’m everstuck, and how to be an astounding writer altogether! It also helps that thissemester I had taken two other classes that involved a TON of writing, so I wasgetting improvement everywhere! With that being said, please dive right in andtake a glimpse of the books that are to come!

┄ Table of Contents ┄3 Major StoriesPainting Over Lies ………………………………………………………………………………………….………... 5Love Turned Vengeful ……………………………………………………………………………………………..… 8Working for the Mafia Boss ………………………………………………………..……………………..……. 124 Small Writing AssignmentsWriting Practice: Movie Scene …………………………………….…………………………………………... 23Writing Practice: Dialogue ………………………………………………………………………………………. 25Writing Exercise: Elephant in the Room ………………………………………………………………….... 27Writing Practice: Photo Scene ……………………………………………………………………………….... 29

3 Major Stories

Painting Over Lies ⁓ Dinner Scene ⁓“Thank you,” Josh uttered after he stepped out of the uber. Looking from the outside, TheBistro looked exactly the same which made him feel uneasy. The building was the mostantique looking one in town, it had an outside sitting area with relatively good-looking tablesand chairs with a gate surrounding the area, the sign was still lit up and missing a letter asalways, and there were many people inside like there used to be. Then again, it is a Tuesdaynight, and not many people e at out during this time of the week. The Bistro still had thesmell of greasy pizza and tasty pasta emitting from outside the restaurant. It started tobring up old memories from back in the day when the group used to come here everyFriday to start out their night. Derrick’s dad would always give them a wad of cash to spendand keep them occupied. Afterwards, they would cause havoc around downtown doingwhatever they found entertaining. They always ended the night smoking weed on a rarelyused golf field. A smile formed on his face as he remembered the very few of the goodtimes they had together.When Josh peered into the large glass window, inside he could see Landon waving himdown. Josh waved back but paused. Eyes closed. Deep breath. Then he took a veryreluctant step inside.“Look who finally decided to show!” Landon announced and greeted Josh with a handshakeand a pat on the back.“Yooo, dude! How’ve you been?” Justin greeted, oering the seat next to him.“Joshy boy!” Zach yelled. Both him and Josh chuckled at the nickname he gave him manyyears ago.

“What’s up, man?” Kyler spoke and chugged down the rest of his beer.“Josh, my brotha! You’ve been holding out on us, my guy!” Mark addressed him and wavedthe waitress down so he could order.“It’s great to see you again, Josh.” Derrick greeted him politely as always. He was known asthe dad of the group or a “buzzkill” to Landon for stopping him from doing somethingillegal.“Nice to see you all again. Sorry…you know, for not talking to you guys. Life’s been busy, andI lost track of time.” Josh spoke as he sat down next to Justin.“No need to apologize! We get it! You’re busy being Leonardo DaVinci while we’re all herefucking up our lives!” Everyone laughed but Josh, who just smiled.After catching up with his old friends, the dinner quickly became awkward for Josh. All of hisfriends continued conversations with one another while he sat in silence poking at his food.He jumped in a conversation once in a while, but other than that he didn’t know what to say.It seemed like time had moved on without him and his friends seemed like strangers. Joshbegan to wonder what time would’ve been like if he had not taken the job in New York andinstead stayed behind. Landon noticed how Josh was being quiet and staring o into space.He decided to bring back to reality and set things straight. No more nice talk.“Whatcha thinkin about over there? Feelin’ guilty about something?” Landon’s questionturned the whole table silent, and tension began to rise.“Excuse me?”“Don’t play dumb. The cops are reopening Parker’s investigation because of an anonymoustip they got. You w anna explain where that tip came from?” All of Josh’s friends, except for

Derrick, were all staring at him with stone cold faces like they thought he was the one whodid it.“What? You think I called them? After all this time? I’ve moved on with my life. It was youwho fucking brought me back here telling me to show up or you’d “expose” me. We all knowit was you who got us into this mess.” Landon threw his silverware on the table as soon asJosh stated that. The servers, waitresses, cooks, and what little customers were there werenow all staring at their table.“Landon, did you really say that? I thought you s aid he was the one who called and wantedto catch up?” Derrick asked since he didn’t know the four of them made a scheme to callJosh without him knowing.“I lied, but that doesn’t matter. He called the cops and needs to come forward before hedrags us down with him.”“Are you serio-…” Before Josh could finish his sentence, D errick interrupted.“Enough! Let’s not do this here. Now’s not the time to be drawing attention to ourselves.Okay? We don’t know who called the cops so let’s not point fingers.”“Shut up Derrick. For all we know you could’ve called. You’re just as fucked up about it asJoshy over here.” Zach added in shaking his head at both Josh and Derrick indisappointment.“What would Taylor say if she found out you killed her brother?” Landon casually said anddropped money on the table to pay for their meal.

Love Turned VengefulTyson doesn’t remember how he got to the lake, but the view seems to be putting his mind at ease.He’d always wanted to go stargazing at a lake. “The way the stars reflect over the lake and the way thewater ripples, it just makes the scenery so peaceful,” he thought to himself. The night was warm and breezy,the trees were dancing in the wind, and the grass was really soft. He knew the night would eventually end,but he hoped it would last long enough for him to permanently sketch the image of the view in his mind. Thelast time he was at the lake was a few months ago. His girlfriend and all her friends were having a lake dayand a cookout. It was a really fun day for everyone. The world around him seemed void and silent. Lookingaround, he noticed he was the only one at the lake. Although, it was around 3 in the morning, so he didn’treally expect anyone to be around. Tyson began to wonder what his life was going to be like once the sunrose up. Will his friends still talk to him? Will his family stand beside him during the tough road ahead? Isthere a possibility to deny everything and continue his life the way he wants? He sensed that there would bepeople waiting for him and questions to be answered. He began to drown in his thoughts for so long that hedidn’t notice the sun began to rise. Sirens could be heard in the distance; they were coming for him. Tysongot up from where he was sitting and walked to the edge of the lake. He took a deep breath and thenstarted walking through the water until he could walk no more and had to start swimming. Tyson made hisway to the middle of the lake and began to float with his back against the water. “Can’t I stay here forever?”He wondered while the blood stains on his clothes and body mixed in with the water. The screeching of tirescould be heard in the dirt, and he could hear the police shouting at him.

--- 9 Hours Earlier ---Tyson waited till approximately midnight to enter Katie’s house. He’s been watching them for daysand knew where they kept the spare key and the best time to enact his plan. He grabbed the key from underthe potted plan by Katie’s front door, unlocked it, and creeped inside. Quietly, he made his way through thehouse and up to Katie’s sisters’ bedroom. Grace, Katie’s sister, was sound asleep in her Minnie mouse bedcuddling with her mickey mouse plush. She wasn’t part of his plan, so he put a cloth that was laced withchloroform over her nose and mouth. He didn’t want to risk the possibility of her waking up and walking inon him. Grace woke up and began squirming around, but went back to sleep in a matter of seconds. With herout of the way, he made his way to her parents’ bedroom .The door was cracked open. “Makes things easier for me,” he thought to himself as he snuck in.They were sound asleep. Tyson made his way to her mothers’ side of the bed and took out his knife. He usedit to caress her face and watched as she stirred in her sleep. A smile crept on his face. He swiftly slit herthroat and covered her mouth so she couldn’t call for help. Katie’s mother looked up at him with fear andtears streaming down her face. It didn’t take long for her to die from blood loss. Tyson then made his way toher fathers’ side of the bed and decided to switch things up a bit. He raised his machete, which he alsobrought with him, and swung it downwards, completely chopping off her father’s head. Tyson didn’t feelcompletely satisfied with his work. “Maybe I should take a picture?” He pondered, looking at his creation.He grabbed his phone out of his back pocket, snapped a picture of both bodies, and showed his middle finger.Knowing that he couldn’t get away with it, he decided to post it on Facebook and captioned it with

“Disgusting Pigs. Got What They Deserved.” Now feeling complete, he made his way to his finaldestination, Katie’s room.Katie was still awake, but she couldn’t hear what happened in the other room since she had herearphones in blasting music. She looked up from her phone to see Tyson covered in blood standing in herdoorway. Katie began to turn white with the look of fear and confusion on her face.“Tyson, what are you doing here?! Why are you covered in blood? Are you hurt?”“No, but I can’t say the same for your parents.”“What…? You-... You killed my parents?! How could you?! What about Grace?! I swear to God if you harmher!”“Relax. I would never harm Grace. As for your parents, they deserved it. They were a poor excuse andtreated you and Grace like you never existed. I did you a favor, but you won’t be thanking me for long.”“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you doing this?!”“Why? You deceived me. You’ve been cheating on me for months and only dated me to make your ex feeljealous. You’ve also been bullying my little sister to the point where she has to take anti-depressants andcry herself to sleep because of how tormented she feels. Now, do you think you deserve mercy?”“What about you? Do you think this is okay? You’re going to end up in jail and your sister is going to be allon her own, like she should be. That little bitch was flirting with my boyfriend and conspiring against me.She got what she deserved.”“So will you.”

“NO! DON’T COME ANY CLOSER! GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP!” With one swift slice to thethroat, Katie was gone. He finished what he started long ago and it was only a matter of time till the policewere notified. He needed to find a calm and quiet place to spend his last night of freedom. Maybe a lake?

Working for the Mafia Boss (Intro)“Where were you last night?” Stefano asked Raul with a calm and casual tone.“I picked up a broad at the strip club and fucked her all night at a motel I found off thehighway. Why?” Raul answered nonchalantly.“Interesting. For a second, I didn’t believe you of all people would straight up lie to my faceand sneak around behind my back.”“What are you talking about? I would never betray you after all you’ve done fo-”SLAM! Stefano slammed photographs of Raul smuggling products and talking with theRussian Mafia onto the dining room table. It made everyone in the room jump and becomecompletely silent. You could see the blood drain from Raul and turn completely pale, yet heremained smug. It wasn’t going to be a good night, at least for him.“I guess the cats are out of the bag, huh? I was starting to think you were dull and acomplete dumbass. Don’t get me wrong, I always have but it just completely amazes mehow oblivious you are.”Oh? You’ve got jokes.” Stefano straightened up in his seat and folded his arms across hischest. Any second he was about to blow, and everyone in the room knew it.“Stop playing coy with me, Stefano. Everyone knows that you don’t take your positionseriously and downright weak and spineless. Did you really think I would ever be loyal to apushover like you? You’re not going to last long. Sooner or later the Russian Mafia, or otherMafias, are going to take you down and won’t show you any mercy. You’re pathetic.”

“Hmm. It seems people have forgotten the reputation I have. I guess I will have to remindthem. Marco and Lorenzo, escort Raul down to the torture chamber. Matteo, Luca, andFilippo, you will be the clean-up crew for tonight. As for everyone else, you are dismissed.”Not wanting to upset Stefano more, everyone left as soon as they arrived. Raul wasn’teven with us for six months, such a shame for him to act so foolish. Everyone knows thatStefano is the one Mafia boss you shouldn’t mess with. He has the worst temper and agruesome background. Distant shouting could be heard from Raul as he was being draggedto the lowest level of the estate, the torture chamber. I tried my best to pay no mind to theshouting, this wasn’t the first time someone was being led to their death or murdered on myshift. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go in this horrible business. The only reason whyI’ve lasted so long is because of how I ended up here in the first place, the documents I wasforced to sign, and the rules I follow in order to stay alive. My foolish, selfish older brotherwent too far down the rabbit hole and put himself in debt with the Italian Mafia. Hepromised that he was going to take care of it and make sure that we were going to get byfine since it was the two of us. Instead of owning up to it like a man, he decided to trade his17-year-old sister and promise to make up for the rest of the money. Asshole. I haven’t seenhim in over 5 years, which means he went into hiding and doesn’t plan on paying his debt.Not only did my brother use me as a scapegoat, but I’m involuntarily supposed to work hereas a maid until he makes up for every penny he lost. By now, Stefano knows that he isn’tcoming back. My brother must be the least of his worries. Thankfully, I made a few friendswho have helped me during this horrible period in my life: Gabrielle, my best friend, Lucio,

Davide, Diletta, and Giada. Without them, I don’t think I would’ve made it through my firstmonth.Other than your “instructions,” you are not taught anything about how to do yourjob to the Mafia’s standards. It is survival of the fittest. Gabrielle befriended me since dayone, and I owe her so much for that. She introduced me to all of her friends, trained meherself, and taught me all of the best tips. Her lessons consisted of how to be a proper maid,keep my head down low, talk properly to the higher ups, and not to speak unless spoken to.Not to mention, how to party on our day off. We receive two days off a week if we’re doingan amazing job, which is Tuesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays I like to keep to myself and dothings I like to do in my spare time like read, go sightseeing, and draw. Fridays are the daysthat Gabrielle drags the group out and party until we drop or just go shopping and hangoutif we’re lucky. I spent the rest of the night finishing up maid duty until I was sent away forthe night.Since the “help” is not included in the inner Mafia circle, I live off the estate withGabrielle and Giada in our 3-story house with the beach directly behind us. Which isanother good thing about working for the Mafia, money is never a problem. Thank God itwas Thursday night. I was ready to head home and crawl into bed so I could get my bodyenergized for tomorrow. As I reached the middle of the estate where the large fountain was,I suddenly found myself entranced with the water and looked back on everything that hasgone wrong in my life. Raul’s screams of pain disturbed me from my thoughts along with thesound of gunshots. I shook my head and left the estate and said goodnight to the guard on

my way out. I wasn’t interested in staying and watching Raul’s dead body get dragged outof the house in a body bag. About fifteen minutes passed and I finally reached our house.The lights were still on which meant Gabrielle was waiting for me.“It’s about time you got here! I was beginning to wonder if you stuck your nose intosomething you shouldn’t have!” Gabrielle spoke and urged me to sit next to her on thecouch.“C’mon! You know I wouldn’t do that. I was told to stay behind a little longer sincesomeone didn’t finish up her job!”“You think I was going to stay and listen to Raul get brutally beaten to death? That shitalways freaks me out and makes me depressed. I actually liked him…”“You mean you liked his penis.” Gabrielle’s face widened and threw a pillow at me. We bothlaughed.“Shut up! You’re just upset that you never got to sleep with that handsome man. Let me tellyou, he loved to move fast and take his time!”“One, I didn’t need to know that. And two, he’s an idiot who got himself killed and not mytype.”“And who is your type? Stefano?” Gabrielle asked with a smirk and flashed me with whatshe called her “sexy” look. She always knew how to get me flustered. I’ve never reallythought about dating or fooling around like she does. I’d rather work my ass off and leavewhenever given the chance. Besides, he isn’t my type either and I would rather date thedevil himself than be his sex slave.

“Would you two shut up before you put a target on us? I’m also trying to study so I can getthe hell outta here.” Giada interjected as she stormed out of her room.“Girl, you know we can gossip as long as we’re not on the grounds. Besides, it’s not likewe're trading secrets behind their backs like Raul.” Gabrielle responded and rolled her eyes.“And I thought you liked him.” We all laughed at my response and spent the next few hoursgossiping about how the rest of our weeks went and the things we overheard whileworking. Even though Gabrielle begged us to stay awake with her, we turned her downbecause we knew she was going to keep us up all night tomorrow and we needed as muchrest as we could get. As I was lying in bed, for some reason I couldn’t get Gabrielle’squestion off my mind. Who is my type? I know I’ve admitted to warding off dating, but thethought of being intimate with someone does sound nice. I’ve never had a boyfriend beforeor someone to really lean onto, so it might be nice to start looking whenever I can. Slowly,my thoughts started to disperse, and I started to drift off into slumber.The next day I awoke to Gabrielle banging on our doors demanding that we get up.Apparently, everyone else in our friend group was going to be over in half an hour and we“had no time to waste.” Moaning from tiredness, I reluctantly got out of bed and got myselfa cup of coffee. Gabrielle always thinks of us in the morning by making us coffee or breakfastsince she never lets us sleep in. I headed back to my room to finish getting ready after Iquickly gulped down my coffee. Also, Gabrielle insists that we have a theme and match as agroup whenever we go out on Fridays; for tonight’s theme she decided to go with sexyangels and devils. Knowing damn well I wasn’t going to be a devil, I decided to go as an

angel and wear a white hippie dress I had bought last week while I was shopping. It’s awhite skater dress with a crochet inset, skinny crisscross straps, and a tiered skirt with aruffled hem. To match it, I chose to wear white high-top converse, pearl white earrings, asilver butterfly ring, a tussle butterfly bracelet set, a silver butterfly necklace, a 2-piece flowertassel for my hair, and an innocent makeup look. By the time I was gone getting ready, therest of the group arrived, and Gabrielle practically dragged me and Giada out the door.Needless to say, I was the only angel who didn’t go for a “sexy” style and was feeling a littleembarrassed.Since it was late in the afternoon and the clubs weren’t open yet, we all decided toseparate in the middle of town square and regroup around 6 o’clock. I decided to spend mytime in the library and then stop by a bakery afterwards. I swear I have the absolute worstluck. Only a few blocks away from the library, and I saw none other than Stefano and someof his closest men and guards. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked like a complete idiot;there is no way he is going to recognize me not in uniform. Taking a deep breath andgaining my courage back, I once again started making my way towards the library andgetting closer to him. I thought I was in the clear as soon as I made it past him, until I feltsomeone grab my hand. It was Stefano.“I’m sorry to have grabbed your hand principessa, but I feel like I’ve seen you before. Do weknow each other?” Stefano asked, leaving me stunned and at a loss of words. Did he justcall me princess?

“Umm. Not exactly. I... uhm... I actually happen to work for you, sir. My name is Alessia if thatrings any bells. I didn’t think you would recognize me, and I didn’t want to disturb you, so Iwas just going to walk past you, sir.” I tried to be as respectful as possible. I don’t want toget on his bad side.“I recognized you!” Marco blurted out, catching me by surprise.“You did...?”“Yeah! How could I not? Your face is the most beautiful and distinct of all the workers! Plus,you’ve always done the best job cleaning up my room! I love the mint chocolates you leaveon my bed!” Stefano gave him a cold, deathly stare. Marco took the hint.“Anyways, apologies for having disturbed you on your day off. If I had realized who youwere, I would’ve let you continue on with your day. Where are you going if you don’t mindme asking?”“It’s no problem, sir! I was just heading to the library for a bit and then to a small bakeryafterwards before meeting up with my friends later.”“Do you mind if I join you?”“But you’re a Mafia Boss. Don’t you have important things to do or go run businesses? Idon’t think you would want to spend your afternoon with one of your maids at a library.Wouldn’t that be weird? No offense, sir.”“None taken, piccolo. I’m not in the mood for business relations today anyways. I’ve got mymen to do that for me. Besides, I’ve always wondered what my lower staff did on theirday-offs. And you can drop the formalities. You’re not in uniform. Just call me by my name.”

“O-Okay Stefan. I-I mean Stefano! Sorry! I wasn’t expecting something like this to happentoday and I’m feeling a bit nervous.”“Hmm. Stefan. I like it. Shall we be going then?”“Y-yeah! Let’s go!”We didn’t talk much on the rest of the way to the library. After all, what would amaid and a Mafia boss talk about? It also didn’t help that he continued holding my hand allthe way there. When we walked into the library, everyone stopped and stared. It made meshrink down and want to hide. I guess everyone knew who he was, and they were just asfrightened as I was. The library wasn’t helping my awkward predicament in the slightest biteither. As I was trying to find a book to read, Stefano was staring at me like he was studyingme or trying to read my thoughts. It made me really uncomfortable, but I was too nervous tosay anything. If only Gabrielle was her, she would know how to break the ice.“So why did you choose to come here instead of joining your friends?” He asked, causingme to jump slightly.“They’re what you call the “party” and daring type.” I replied, pulling out a book that caughtmy eye.“And you aren’t?”“No, but that doesn’t stop them from dragging me out to parties or getting drunk. I wouldprefer staying home and watching a movie or something like that. I’d rather just spend timewith them alone rather than go out all the time.”“I see. So, is that why you’re all dressed up? Or do you normally dress like that?”

“Yes and no. I normally dress somewhat like this, but without the makeup and excessiveamount of jewelry. If it wasn’t obvious, I’m supposed to be an angel. The theme was “sexy”angels and devils, but sexy isn’t really my style and I didn’t want to be a devil. Not only that,but I’m the only one who didn’t dress sexy and I’m the only one who went as an angel.”“It makes sense in a way, does it not?”“What do you mean?” As I asked this, he moved closer to me to where we were only inchesapart. He grabbed my chin and made me look up at him and moved my hair behind my ear.“Well, angels stand for purity and are often seen as innocent while devils stand for devianceand dress and act as they please. Plus, this style really suits you. It brings out your innerbeauty.” I became flushed by his response. Not only has he flirted with me, but he’scomplimented me on my looks twice in the last half hour. He’s not interested in me, is he?Before I could utter a response, Gabrielle suddenly popped out of nowhere and caught usoff guard. I quickly put space between us before she noticed.“How did I know you’d be here? Girl, you really need to venture out and intertwine withyour extrovert side. Anyways, we’ve all planned to go out for lunch at this bistro we fou-...”Gabrielle stopped mid-sentence in surprise, and I awkwardly waved at her. Stefano juststood there with confidence like he had the right to be with me.“Gabrielle, I’m guessing you know that this is Stefano. Stefano, this is my best friend, Gabrielle.She also works for you, that’s how we know each other.”“Hello, Gabrielle. You can discard the formalities outside of work.”“I’ll keep that in mind. Would you like to join us?”

“I’m sure Stefan needs to get back to work, so let’s jus-...”“Sure.” Stefan interrupted. I was hoping he would be okay with leaving. It was alreadyawkward enough being around him, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my afternoon withhim.“Great! Follow me!”Could this day get any worse?

4 Small Writing Assignments

Writing Practice: Movie Scene“We’re home!” Chucky spoke with a taunting voice, knocking Andy out with a swipe of hisknife on the back of his head. As Andy fell to the floor, Chucky positioned himself right nextto Andy. He placed his knife on Andy’s chest and put his right hand on Andy’s forehead.“This is it world. From now on no more Mr. Good Guy.” Chucky starts chanting his famousvoodoo spell that allows him to switch bodies with any person or object. A storm began toform over the PlayPals factory consisting of huge dark clouds and thunder. All the while Kylewas still desperately trying to find and save Andy from the lakeshore strangler. As soon asthe spell was finished, there was a pause. Andy woke up. They both looked at one anotherwondering if the spell worked. A drop of blood fell onto Andy’s cheek.. Chucky stuck his handout and the blood then began to drip on it. He then put two fingers to his nose and realizedhe had a bloody nose. Chucky screamed with so much anger that it could be heard fromoutside of the factory.“You little shit, do you realize what you’ve done!? It’s too late! I’ve spent too much time in thisbody! I’m fucking trapped in here! What the hell?!” Chucky was suddenly piled with good guyboxes that fell from the top rack in the aisle. Andy looked up to see Kyle and she told him torun. He took no time to get up off the floor and ran away to go find Kyle. Chucky emergedout of the pile and screamed from rage. He left the pile to hunt down Andy and Kyle. Thechase was on. Kyle and Andy roamed the factory hand in hand trying to find a way out in

the maze of good guy boxes. One of the corners they turned into reached a dead end. Kylecursed out in frustration and began to lead them elsewhere through the maze, not knowingwhen they would run into Chucky. Once again, they began to turn corner after corner tryingto find the exit.I believe the point of this scene was to show that once again Chucky failed totransfer his soul into Andy’s body to return, killing as the lakeshore strangler. It shows usthat Chucky will never stop hunting Andy down until he gets what he wants. It also showsus that Andy will never stop resisting Chucky and he will always be prepared for whenChucky comes.

Writing Practice: Dialogue“Why are you still talking to her after I told you not to?” She said, presumably to herboyfriend.“I don’t need your permission to talk to any of my friends. I already told you she’s oneof my best friends and she even has her own boyfriend. I would never see her as morethan that.” He replied.“That doesn’t make a difference. Friends keep secrets from each other, and you don’tknow what she’s doing behind your back.” She expressed.“Oh, and you do?” He questioned.“Yeah, I have eyes and ears everywhere. Babe, she’s been lying to you abouteverything.” She responded.“Alright. What has she been “lying” to me about?” He asked.“Well, for starters she’s been cheating on her boyfriend since day one, she’s acomplete whore and hooks up with practically anyone, she spreads all kinds ofrumors about you, and she’s been hateful towards me ever since we started dating.She’s not a good person babe.” She explained.This conversation was becoming too annoying for Belinda. She was just trying towait for the bus, not having to listen to whatever bullshit conversation they’re failingto have. So, she took it upon herself to step in. Why does the bus have to run latetoday?

“Can you shut up and finish this conversation elsewhere? I’d like some peace andquiet before the bus comes and transports me to hell.” Belinda vocalized.“Excuse me?! We’re having a private conversation. Mind your own business.” Shereplied.“It’s not exactly private if I can hear every word you’re saying. Besides, you’re lyingabout everything. I’ve known Rachel since grade school.” Belinda responded.“Like she would ever talk to a nobody like you. So how about you turn your littledepressed ass around and keep your mouth shut.” She rudely suggested.“Great girlfriend you’ve got there. She’s a keeper.” Belinda replied, shaking her head.“Thanks.” He responded.“Travis?!” She shouted.

Writing Exercise: Elephant in the RoomEveryone in the living room could feel the unbearable weight of the tension andawkwardness, but Ali didn’t care. She couldn’t believe that Ben didn’t tell her about it, and shewas fuming with anger and a bit of sadness. Of course, Ben didn’t know that his best friendaccidently ratted him out because he thought he told her. Ali decided that she couldn’t take thelies anymore and decided to confront Ben in front of everyone.“Ben, I need to talk to you privately. It’s important”“Can’t it wait until later? We’re going to be leaving soon anyways.”“No. Let’s go to the backyard.”“Fine.”Ben got up from the couch and followed Ali out of the room, down the stairs throughthe basement, and out the sliding door that led to the backyard. They both could feel eyesfollowing them and hushed voices as they made their way outside. Ben was embarrassed andannoyed while Ali couldn’t care less about anything at this moment in time.“I thought we told each other everything and were committed to this relationship.”“We are. I don’t have any secrets and I’m not keeping anything from you. What is this about?”“Are you seriously still going to lie to my face?!”“What are you talking about?! I’m not lying to you!”“Oh yeah?! When were you going to tell me about Manhattan?”“How did you find out…?”

“It doesn’t matter! The fact of the matter is, you’ve been lying to me for months and you werenever planning on telling me. Were you?”“Of course I was going to tell you! Just at the right time.”“Bullshit. If that were true, you would’ve told me as soon as you got back.”“How was I supposed to tell you? I don’t remember it happening!”“I thought you were different. I thought you were caring, honest, and truthful.”“I am those things! It was a mistake that I don’t even remember! Please, you have to believeme! You mean everything to me!”“I think we need some time apart.”

Writing Practice: Photo Scene*Disclaimer - This is NOT a real story. It is a fabricated scene.This was the last picture I took of him and the last time I ever saw him. A week after thispicture was taken, he took his life as soon as he got home from school. If I had known whathe was going to do, I would’ve given him the biggest hug and not let him go. Colby, my bestand first friend since middle school. Our teacher at the time had paired us as partners forsome kind of project since we were both the new kids. It took us some time, but we startedtalking and clicked immediately no sooner than we did. We may not have had a friend groupand constantly getting picked on for the dumbest things, but we had each other and that’s allthat mattered to us. Life didn’t come easy for him. His parents were alcoholics and neglectfulof him, he was bullied at his previous school too, and he lost his brother a few years prior in acar accident. I felt really bad for him because I was the only person he could talk to and

get attention from. Of course, being the friend I am, I never brought it up and made sure hehad the best time whenever we got to hang out. Which for us it was every day because wecouldn’t go one day without seeing one another. Before he committed suicide, I remember himtelling me that life at home was getting worse for him. He told me that his dad startedbeating his mom and when he tried to stop him, his dad would beat him until he passed out.I tried convincing him to call the police or live with another family, but he didn’t want to getthe police involved because his parents have already been through enough. It got to the pointwhere he stopped hanging out with me as much and began isolating himself. I felt sad that Icouldn’t do anything to help him and that he wouldn’t let me. The day he asked me to hangwith him I felt so relieved. Little did I know that would be the last time I got to be withmy best friend. First we started the day out going to lunch, then we walked and talkedaround his neighborhood, afterwards we went to see a movie, and finally ended the day withsharing a milkshake and talked some more. At school the next day we were in our advisoryclass, which is the first class all students had. I was confused because he wasn’t sayinganything to me even though we had such an amazing day yesterday. The bell eventually rang,and he told me he would meet me at our next class we had together, but he never showed.Little did I know he had ditched school, walked home, and ended his life by overdosing on hisantidepressants. The news hit the town quickly and a funeral was planned for him. I didn’tleave my room for weeks after hearing about what happened; I couldn’t even show up at hisfuneral. It was too hard. I’m trying my best to move on, but people keep reminding me bytelling me that they’re sorry for my loss. It’s difficult living life without being able to see himor talk to him. I just hope he’s happier wherever he is. The world didn’t deserve him.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my short stories!I hope you have a wonderful Summer!