Short Story rough draft for English 240
“Oh, come on, do I really have to go?” The young woman aggressively twirled her scarlet hair with her finger in the midst of her protest.
“Lilianne Lindstrom, it’s our senior prom, and I’m going to drag you along with me if I have to!” The other girl, a brunette, employed a mock scolding tone in her declaration, narrowly avoiding knocking over a flask full of some clear liquid as she gestured.
“I don’t have a date! For that matter, I don’t have a dress!” Lilianne felt herself losing the argument; her counters were becoming weaker by the minute. Truthfully, she hoped that someone would ask her out; she couldn’t envision attending prom with a group of her friends. “Watch what you’re doing, Rissa; you almost spilled the HCl,” she added as she moved the flask of acid toward the center of the table and away from the edge.
Larissa ignored Lilianne’s admonishment. “Lil, please. I don’t care what flimsy argument you throw at me again, because I know you really want to go.”
She sighed. The façade was utterly destroyed now. “I can’t really think of what it’d be like to go out with everyone instead of a date.”
Her friend smirked mischievously. “Well, we could fix that real easy.”
“Rissa!”
Larissa laughed at her friend’s embarrassment. “Really, Lil, just relax, and find a dress.”
“Like that’ll be easy,” she remarked sarcastically as she stood up and pushed her stool under the lab table. She paused to make sure her long, red hair was still tied back in the simple ponytail that she left it in.
“Where are you going?” asked Larissa.
“I’m just getting a drink,” she replied as she left the chemistry room for the fountain in the hallway.
The trip to the fountain was uneventful. Equally mundane was the operation of the fountain. The footsteps she heard from down the hallway weren’t unusual. In fact, that entire day had seemed rather bland to Lilianne, as it often did during the springtime. There was no real opportunity to spend time working on color guard-related activities, save for the weekend drum corps camps. Thus, her surprise was greatly magnified when she turned away from the fountain only to find that her lips were touching those of the boy who had gotten behind her to wait for his turn.
She yelped in surprise and stumbled backward onto the floor. Though he was startled when she gave a start, he quickly recovered and offered her his hand. “Thanks,” she said while grasping it. As he was pulling her up, she noticed his cherry red hair and bright, green eyes. He had the same athletic build as she did; when she got to her feet, she also noticed that he wasn’t much taller than she.
“I’m really sorry about that,” the stranger apologized. Though he still appeared uncomfortable, his eyes also revealed that he thought he had seen her somewhere before.
“No, it’s okay,” she quickly quipped back, already feeling awkward enough. “Well, I, uh, should be going…”
“Um…” He looked conflicted as to whether to just let her go or to pursue a further question.
“Hm?”
”Uh, never mind.”
She smiled nervously before skittering back to the classroom, her face totally flushed. This was certainly a touch of flavor during a bland period of time!
Larissa took notice of Lilianne’s condition as soon as she returned to the table. “You’re totally pink. What happened?”
“Not now, Rissa!” she cried out loudly. It was louder than she thought it was; nearby students turned to see what happened. Flustered, she reseated herself. “I’ll tell you about it later,” she whispered.
“’Kay,” she replied. “But you’re still going to prom with us,” she said as she absentmindedly dropped pieces of zinc into the acid flask and then stopped it.
Lilianne was more observant than her friend. “Rissa…take the stopper out.”
“Huh?”
“The stopper. Take it out of the flask.”
“But Wilson said to put it in after we put the zinc in.”
“No, he didn’t. That’s what the balloon is for.”
“I’m confused.”
“RISSA. Take the stopper out before-“ Too late. Propelled by hydrogen gas, the stopper shot out of the mouth of the flask, striking the ceiling and falling benignly to the tabletop.
The loud popping sound did not go unnoticed. Not only did the surrounding students turn to look again, Mr. Wilson came rushing to the table to assess the situation.
“Girls, what did I tell you to do?” His right eyebrow rose in annoyance as he crossed his arms and stared directly into their eyes. “There’s a reason we weren’t using the stopper for the HCl flask, and I explained it too.” He picked up the flask and observed its contents. “That’s also at least twice the amount of zinc you were supposed to put in, also.”
Larissa fessed up. “I wasn’t paying enough attention.”
“I can see that.” He gave her a glare before turning to look at Lilianne. “You weren’t paying enough attention, either, or else you would’ve stopped her.” She started to refute his statement, but he plowed ahead, leaving no opportunity to respond. “I hate to say this, but you two have detention. I assume you know where the room is?”
They nodded.
“Good,” he continued, “now let me get you a new flask of acid, and you can start again.” His eyes narrowed. “But do it right this time.” The two breathed a sigh of relief after he strode away.
“Well,” Larissa stated, “at least we didn’t have plans today.” It was just a little more bearable since that was their last class of the day.
“Whoopty-doo,” Lilianne managed. It wasn’t her plan at all to end up in detention, much less as a result of Larissa’s inattention, but she was forced to admit that it was another change of routine. More excitement.
After class was over, she stashed away in her locker everything she didn’t need before meeting Larissa in front of the detention hall.
“Ready for your first detention, like, ever?” She grimaced, but Rissa added, “Don’t worry, it’s not that bad.”
She opened the door. “Whatever you-“ The sight of the guy from earlier stopped her dead in her tracks. Red hair, green eyes, lanky build…it was all there. “Quick!” she whispered through clenched teeth as she grabbed Larissa’s wrist and attempted to spirit her to the other side of the hall without gaining his attention.
Her attempt utterly failed when Larissa’s foot caught on a desk, causing both of them to crash to the floor.
“Oh, hey!” He looked to be much more relaxed than he was when they met previously.
“Oh, um…hi!” she replied as she quickly rose to her feet and scuttled to the desk on the far side of the room. Rissa jerkily moved to the desk beside her.
“What was all THAT about?” She enjoyed falling on her face like a mouse enjoyed being stalked by a cat.
“Not now!” She started to relive the scene from the water fountain and became flustered once again.
The redheaded guy didn’t seem to notice or care about Lilianne’s renewed embarrassment; he started to get up, saying, “Hey, uh, I was wondering-“
“Julian, don’t even! And no talking in detention!” The monitor had arrived and closed the door behind her; aside from those three, there seemed to be nobody else in detention that day.
He mouthed “come talk to me after” to Lilianne, who just nodded. She considered pretending to work on her homework while writing out the story of what happened so she could show Larissa, but ultimately decided not to. The monitor seemed to be an expertly vigilant person, and she didn’t fancy landing herself in more trouble.
Oh, anything for marching season again, she thought.
After what seemed like a decade, the monitor stood up and declared, “You are excused now. I hope I don’t have to see you again, Miss Lindstrom.” In a sort of mock benediction, she told the other two, “And you, just go out and do whatever it is you do. You’ll wind up in here again, anyway.”
Outside the room, Julian beckoned Lilianne to him. She had been walking away quickly as if she suddenly had important business to attend to. Sensing the start of something exciting, Rissa took her by the wrist and brought her over before stepping out and off to the side. “I’ll be right back; I’m just going to my locker.”
What are you trying to do?, she wondered. Something felt amiss.
“So, Lilianne, was it?” Julian asked.
“Yeah…” Socially trapped, she wrenched her hands into her pockets and decided to just let whatever would happen, happen.
“You’re the guard captain, right?” As if to illustrate his point, he pantomimed tossing a flag into the air and then catching it again.
“Yeah!” She was caught off-guard; hardly anyone in her high school paid attention to the marching band, if they even remembered that there was one.
“I love watching you when the band is performing; it really looks cool.” The confident air that had emanated from him began to dwindle just a bit.
“Oh, thanks!” She smiled. She felt tension in the air around them, but she ignored it; she wanted to know what he was about to do.
“Anyway, what I wanted to ask earlier was…”
“Yeah?” She had no clue what was about to happen.
“Do you want to go to prom with me?”
She was taken aback. Lilianne had not expected that she would be asked, let alone by someone who actually recognized what she did and how much it meant to her.
“Yes, I’ll go with you,” she said with a smile. It was a genuine smile this time, not from social obligation or embarrassment.
Larissa returned at that point. “Hey, what’d I miss?”
“I have a date,” they both said.
“Haha, I thought as much,” she stated. The excitement for her friend shone in her eyes. “But you still owe me an explanation, Lil!” she reminded her.
She considered it for a moment. She opened her mouth as if she were about to deliver the explanation, but she instead shrugged.
“Not until you tell me why you never screwed up a chem experiment like that before.”
“Lilianne Lindstrom, it’s our senior prom, and I’m going to drag you along with me if I have to!” The other girl, a brunette, employed a mock scolding tone in her declaration, narrowly avoiding knocking over a flask full of some clear liquid as she gestured.
“I don’t have a date! For that matter, I don’t have a dress!” Lilianne felt herself losing the argument; her counters were becoming weaker by the minute. Truthfully, she hoped that someone would ask her out; she couldn’t envision attending prom with a group of her friends. “Watch what you’re doing, Rissa; you almost spilled the HCl,” she added as she moved the flask of acid toward the center of the table and away from the edge.
Larissa ignored Lilianne’s admonishment. “Lil, please. I don’t care what flimsy argument you throw at me again, because I know you really want to go.”
She sighed. The façade was utterly destroyed now. “I can’t really think of what it’d be like to go out with everyone instead of a date.”
Her friend smirked mischievously. “Well, we could fix that real easy.”
“Rissa!”
Larissa laughed at her friend’s embarrassment. “Really, Lil, just relax, and find a dress.”
“Like that’ll be easy,” she remarked sarcastically as she stood up and pushed her stool under the lab table. She paused to make sure her long, red hair was still tied back in the simple ponytail that she left it in.
“Where are you going?” asked Larissa.
“I’m just getting a drink,” she replied as she left the chemistry room for the fountain in the hallway.
The trip to the fountain was uneventful. Equally mundane was the operation of the fountain. The footsteps she heard from down the hallway weren’t unusual. In fact, that entire day had seemed rather bland to Lilianne, as it often did during the springtime. There was no real opportunity to spend time working on color guard-related activities, save for the weekend drum corps camps. Thus, her surprise was greatly magnified when she turned away from the fountain only to find that her lips were touching those of the boy who had gotten behind her to wait for his turn.
She yelped in surprise and stumbled backward onto the floor. Though he was startled when she gave a start, he quickly recovered and offered her his hand. “Thanks,” she said while grasping it. As he was pulling her up, she noticed his cherry red hair and bright, green eyes. He had the same athletic build as she did; when she got to her feet, she also noticed that he wasn’t much taller than she.
“I’m really sorry about that,” the stranger apologized. Though he still appeared uncomfortable, his eyes also revealed that he thought he had seen her somewhere before.
“No, it’s okay,” she quickly quipped back, already feeling awkward enough. “Well, I, uh, should be going…”
“Um…” He looked conflicted as to whether to just let her go or to pursue a further question.
“Hm?”
”Uh, never mind.”
She smiled nervously before skittering back to the classroom, her face totally flushed. This was certainly a touch of flavor during a bland period of time!
Larissa took notice of Lilianne’s condition as soon as she returned to the table. “You’re totally pink. What happened?”
“Not now, Rissa!” she cried out loudly. It was louder than she thought it was; nearby students turned to see what happened. Flustered, she reseated herself. “I’ll tell you about it later,” she whispered.
“’Kay,” she replied. “But you’re still going to prom with us,” she said as she absentmindedly dropped pieces of zinc into the acid flask and then stopped it.
Lilianne was more observant than her friend. “Rissa…take the stopper out.”
“Huh?”
“The stopper. Take it out of the flask.”
“But Wilson said to put it in after we put the zinc in.”
“No, he didn’t. That’s what the balloon is for.”
“I’m confused.”
“RISSA. Take the stopper out before-“ Too late. Propelled by hydrogen gas, the stopper shot out of the mouth of the flask, striking the ceiling and falling benignly to the tabletop.
The loud popping sound did not go unnoticed. Not only did the surrounding students turn to look again, Mr. Wilson came rushing to the table to assess the situation.
“Girls, what did I tell you to do?” His right eyebrow rose in annoyance as he crossed his arms and stared directly into their eyes. “There’s a reason we weren’t using the stopper for the HCl flask, and I explained it too.” He picked up the flask and observed its contents. “That’s also at least twice the amount of zinc you were supposed to put in, also.”
Larissa fessed up. “I wasn’t paying enough attention.”
“I can see that.” He gave her a glare before turning to look at Lilianne. “You weren’t paying enough attention, either, or else you would’ve stopped her.” She started to refute his statement, but he plowed ahead, leaving no opportunity to respond. “I hate to say this, but you two have detention. I assume you know where the room is?”
They nodded.
“Good,” he continued, “now let me get you a new flask of acid, and you can start again.” His eyes narrowed. “But do it right this time.” The two breathed a sigh of relief after he strode away.
“Well,” Larissa stated, “at least we didn’t have plans today.” It was just a little more bearable since that was their last class of the day.
“Whoopty-doo,” Lilianne managed. It wasn’t her plan at all to end up in detention, much less as a result of Larissa’s inattention, but she was forced to admit that it was another change of routine. More excitement.
After class was over, she stashed away in her locker everything she didn’t need before meeting Larissa in front of the detention hall.
“Ready for your first detention, like, ever?” She grimaced, but Rissa added, “Don’t worry, it’s not that bad.”
She opened the door. “Whatever you-“ The sight of the guy from earlier stopped her dead in her tracks. Red hair, green eyes, lanky build…it was all there. “Quick!” she whispered through clenched teeth as she grabbed Larissa’s wrist and attempted to spirit her to the other side of the hall without gaining his attention.
Her attempt utterly failed when Larissa’s foot caught on a desk, causing both of them to crash to the floor.
“Oh, hey!” He looked to be much more relaxed than he was when they met previously.
“Oh, um…hi!” she replied as she quickly rose to her feet and scuttled to the desk on the far side of the room. Rissa jerkily moved to the desk beside her.
“What was all THAT about?” She enjoyed falling on her face like a mouse enjoyed being stalked by a cat.
“Not now!” She started to relive the scene from the water fountain and became flustered once again.
The redheaded guy didn’t seem to notice or care about Lilianne’s renewed embarrassment; he started to get up, saying, “Hey, uh, I was wondering-“
“Julian, don’t even! And no talking in detention!” The monitor had arrived and closed the door behind her; aside from those three, there seemed to be nobody else in detention that day.
He mouthed “come talk to me after” to Lilianne, who just nodded. She considered pretending to work on her homework while writing out the story of what happened so she could show Larissa, but ultimately decided not to. The monitor seemed to be an expertly vigilant person, and she didn’t fancy landing herself in more trouble.
Oh, anything for marching season again, she thought.
After what seemed like a decade, the monitor stood up and declared, “You are excused now. I hope I don’t have to see you again, Miss Lindstrom.” In a sort of mock benediction, she told the other two, “And you, just go out and do whatever it is you do. You’ll wind up in here again, anyway.”
Outside the room, Julian beckoned Lilianne to him. She had been walking away quickly as if she suddenly had important business to attend to. Sensing the start of something exciting, Rissa took her by the wrist and brought her over before stepping out and off to the side. “I’ll be right back; I’m just going to my locker.”
What are you trying to do?, she wondered. Something felt amiss.
“So, Lilianne, was it?” Julian asked.
“Yeah…” Socially trapped, she wrenched her hands into her pockets and decided to just let whatever would happen, happen.
“You’re the guard captain, right?” As if to illustrate his point, he pantomimed tossing a flag into the air and then catching it again.
“Yeah!” She was caught off-guard; hardly anyone in her high school paid attention to the marching band, if they even remembered that there was one.
“I love watching you when the band is performing; it really looks cool.” The confident air that had emanated from him began to dwindle just a bit.
“Oh, thanks!” She smiled. She felt tension in the air around them, but she ignored it; she wanted to know what he was about to do.
“Anyway, what I wanted to ask earlier was…”
“Yeah?” She had no clue what was about to happen.
“Do you want to go to prom with me?”
She was taken aback. Lilianne had not expected that she would be asked, let alone by someone who actually recognized what she did and how much it meant to her.
“Yes, I’ll go with you,” she said with a smile. It was a genuine smile this time, not from social obligation or embarrassment.
Larissa returned at that point. “Hey, what’d I miss?”
“I have a date,” they both said.
“Haha, I thought as much,” she stated. The excitement for her friend shone in her eyes. “But you still owe me an explanation, Lil!” she reminded her.
She considered it for a moment. She opened her mouth as if she were about to deliver the explanation, but she instead shrugged.
“Not until you tell me why you never screwed up a chem experiment like that before.”