Vanilla #1, Chocolate #13, and Strawberry #29 + Whipped Cream
Name: Dream-Chan
Challenge: Vanilla #1 (Shopping), Chocolate #13 (Humility), Strawberry #29 (Rope)
Topping: Whipped Cream
Extras: Fresh Blueberries (It is not necessary to succeed in order to persevere. As long as there is a margin of hope, however narrow, we have no choice but to base all our action on that margin. ~ Leó Szilárd ~), Fresh Peaches (Inquiring minds want to know. Today, with Mercury sextile Pluto, you're in investigative mode. Get to the bottom of things. Peel off layers and find what's hiding beneath. Tonight, singles are wise to change the subject when someone spouts tired old come-on lines. Been there, done that.)
Story: Snapshots
Title: Retribution
Words: 1803
Rating: PG
Genre: Angst
Characters: Isabelle & Kevin (Age 13)
Summary: Isabelle's attempt at getting back at Kevin for his trick ends up causing more trouble than she had ever expected.
Notes: This is set beginning the weekend after The Gag Gift (Which ended on a Thursday) and goes through a whole week. Izzy's birthday is not until the weekend after this.
The Fresh Blueberries in this piece are for Kevin and his motives for the confrontation in this story. He wants his friend back but has to contend with the knowledge that this could break and not make their friendship if Isabelle took it another way. The Fresh Peaches are self-explanatory once you read it.
I never expected this piece to get as big as it did. I thought it would be 500 words at most, but Izzy and Kev took over and real life provided enough inspiration for an angsty piece about the strength of friendship.
Isabelle sighed tiredly.
‘Is it really that hard to go shopping with me?’ she wondered as Kevin slumped on the chair in the food court looking like he had just gone through a horrible ordeal.
“Geeze Kevin, you’d think I’d have ordered you to go on a killing spree the way you’ve been acting.” She said bitterly. Kevin blanched at the word ‘killing’ and remembering why he didn’t like that word quickly apologized.
“You do realize that you owe me right?” She asked him. “I mean you did embarrass me in front of my school. Everyone keeps saying stupid stuff such as ‘where’s your teddy baby Izzy?’ and ‘why don’t you practice with us?’ I don’t know which is worse the teasing or the propositioning.” She ranted not noticing her friend’s indignation over her words.
“I don’t owe you anything, Izzy.” Kevin said boldly to her. Isabelle paused, surprised that he would argue with her when it was clearly his fault.
‘I hate that nickname!!’
She tried to explain to him why he owed her. “What do you mean by that! Of course you owe me. You were the one to-”
“NO!” You’re the one who owes me Isabelle!” He shouted, he had clearly lost his patience with her. “And if you can’t see that then we’re not friends anymore.” He told her as he stood up from their table, the weight of his words; the breaking of his promise when he holds his promises to the highest degree, shocked her to the core.
“Wait a minute…” She muttered in shock, looking at him like he was a ghost, a figment of a nightmare made real. “You can’t really mean that. You promised that you wouldn’t leave me. YOU PROMISED ME!!!” She shouted, as though the strength of her words would keep him bound to her before he severed their bond and walked away, forever.
“Yeah, I did promise, but doesn’t accepting that promise mean that you won’t leave either?” He asked her seriously, deepening her shock.
‘He’s NEVER serious. What happened to the real Kevin? Who is this stranger in front of me?’
“Because if that’s the case.” He said startling her out of her thoughts.
“Didn’t you break you’re promise years ago when you chose to stop hanging out with me as much because you became a ball-breaking bitch and hated every guy around you. Including me, when I’ve never done anything to you.” He explained, looking pained as he remembered the past two years as one of his two best friends pulled away from him.
“Wha- But I didn’t mean…” she trailed off, because as uncomfortable as it was to admit the truth was that she HAD been avoiding him, unconsciously resenting him for being a boy, for being part of the superficial gender that lies to women, saying that they love them and then going for the next thing with big boobs and leaving the ones that they had lied to fall into despair. Her mother won’t even come and see her because that man and she blamed him for driving away her awesome and beautiful mom and ruining their family. She hated him and she hated all those lying cheating scum.
“Yes you did.” He said. “And if you can’t remember the truth. If you can’t remember what you once said to me and if you can’t remember what you told me you’d heard when we were in second grade. Then we’re not friends anymore. Don’t talk to me and don’t come near me unless you remember, unless you want to say ‘sorry’ for forgetting everything.”
Kevin started to walk away and no matter how much Isabelle called out to him he didn’t turn back, he acted like he didn’t even hear her
***
She thought about what he said to her all the way home. She tried not to, but they were stuck on repeat in her head, playing over and over again. But it was better than the crushing fear that he gone. Even though she took his friendship for granted; she didn’t want him to cut ties with her entirely. It took her two days to break from the stress, fear and curiosity and on Monday she started to try and prove him wrong.
***
‘The first place to look for anything important from the second grade is my old diary.’ She decided as she looked over her room after school. It was her sanctuary from him and it showed through her decorating as though it was her own place not his. The walls were a pale cream that suited the rest of the furniture, the desk was made from a light colored wood, the bed frame was painted a light blue, and her closet and dresser were both a light green.
She was digging through the mess in her closet for the small pink box that contained her diary
‘I really need to clean this out.’
“Ah ha!” She shouted as she pulled the box from the bottom of the closet. Opening it she pulled out a pink diary with purple hearts on the cover and pages. It was a present from that man and the only reason she kept it when she moved to this place was because it documented the time when her beloved mother had been a part of the family.
‘I wish the judge had given my custody to mom. I would have been happier then.’ She thought as she opened up the pages and started to read. Not knowing that what she would find would be the beginning of the destruction of the pedestal that her mother stood on and the re-arranging of everything that she had once believed in.
***
Isabelle’s hand trembled as she dialed the familiar number on the phone.
‘I can’t believe this. It’s a lie. It never happened.’ It was a mantra that she hysterically repeated in her mind; hoping that if she thought it enough times the words that she had seen written in her childish handwriting would be erased as though they had never existed. She couldn’t just dismiss them though. She wanted to talk to someone who could tell her what she needed to know. Her father and her mother would lie if she got in contact with them right now and asked them the question that was burning in her mind.
‘There’s only one person I know who wouldn’t care how much it hurt me to know the truth and who actually knows what the truth is. Let’s just hope he’s available today.’ She thought as she listened to the phone ring, just a few seconds away (she hoped) from finding out what the truth about her family really was.
***
“Thanks for telling me all this Professor Quention. I’m sorry that I took you away from your research. Yes. I’ll be fine, I’m a fighter. I’ll work it out. Thank you again. I’ll tell him for you. Bye.” She said, her mind reeling from the new information that she had just gotten from her father’s old friend.
The phone call was hard. It brought back memories that she had long forgotten and it forced her to look at her past with new eyes, and what she was seeing changed what she thought she knew about everything.
She had to think about what this all meant for her later. Right now there was only one thing she could do. Think about everything Kevin had said on Friday and try to look at things from his point of view.
‘This isn’t going to be easy.’ Was the uneasy comment that drifted in her mind. ‘But nothing good ever is.’
***
Sitting on the bench that she was on just a week ago with her oldest friend she waited for him to come. Isabelle through wondered if he would. Their fight was still fresh in her mind, making the guilt that had slowly crept up on her for the past five days deepen.
‘I wonder if it will drown me.’
“Hello Isabelle.”
The words made her flinch. Not only was he speaking in a way that Isabelle was not accustomed to, but the fact that he called her by her full name when he decided when they were younger that her name was ‘too bloody long’ (she had gasped at his curse word) and called her Izzy ever since no matter how much she had complained about it.
“Hi,” She mumbled. Her confidence, what little she had managed to dredge up from the tide of guilt wilted at Kevin’s words and as he sat down she found that she had nothing to say. So the pair sat in silence as Isabelle struggled to find the words that could fix everything and make things better than before.
“I’ve given myself enough rope to hang myself, haven’t I Kevin?” She asked him weakly. “I want to know how you remembered that though.” She said, the words just falling out of her mouth. Trying to distract her from the fear that this damage she had done to their friendship was irreversible.
“You know, the day you told me that was the day that I went to mum and dad. It’s pretty hard not to remember the day your life got better.”
“I see.” Isabelle said, humbled by the reminder that her life could have been a lot worse.
“Common.” He muttered as he stood up.
‘Huh?’ Her confusion must have shown on her face because he elaborated for her.
“Didn’t I have to help you with your shopping?” He asked her throatily, his face turned away from the embarrassment of being almost in tears from the resolution of this problem and the renewal of the friendship Isabelle quickly realized.
Smiling she got up and grabbing his hand quickly dragged him to one of her favorite stores to shop.
***
Looking at the rows of cotton and wool in cuts and colors that both flattered and didn’t flatter her form Isabelle, though not a good shopper was enough of one to enjoy the challenge of finding a new outfit to impress her classmates with and hopefully cause them to put aside the embarrassment from last week.
Kevin stood nearby, his arms loaded with bags filled with her purchases. The look on his face said it all to the other people in the store. Finally after three and a half hours of shopping he cracked.
“Just give me some of that rope of yours Izzy.” Kevin told her. Isabelle was surprised by his words whereas before he had chosen to suffer in silence.
“Wha-Why?” Isabelle stumbled over her words as she asked, vaguely curious as to why he would want rope right now.
“So I can hang myself too and get out of this stupidly girly shopping.”
Challenge: Vanilla #1 (Shopping), Chocolate #13 (Humility), Strawberry #29 (Rope)
Topping: Whipped Cream
Extras: Fresh Blueberries (It is not necessary to succeed in order to persevere. As long as there is a margin of hope, however narrow, we have no choice but to base all our action on that margin. ~ Leó Szilárd ~), Fresh Peaches (Inquiring minds want to know. Today, with Mercury sextile Pluto, you're in investigative mode. Get to the bottom of things. Peel off layers and find what's hiding beneath. Tonight, singles are wise to change the subject when someone spouts tired old come-on lines. Been there, done that.)
Story: Snapshots
Title: Retribution
Words: 1803
Rating: PG
Genre: Angst
Characters: Isabelle & Kevin (Age 13)
Summary: Isabelle's attempt at getting back at Kevin for his trick ends up causing more trouble than she had ever expected.
Notes: This is set beginning the weekend after The Gag Gift (Which ended on a Thursday) and goes through a whole week. Izzy's birthday is not until the weekend after this.
The Fresh Blueberries in this piece are for Kevin and his motives for the confrontation in this story. He wants his friend back but has to contend with the knowledge that this could break and not make their friendship if Isabelle took it another way. The Fresh Peaches are self-explanatory once you read it.
I never expected this piece to get as big as it did. I thought it would be 500 words at most, but Izzy and Kev took over and real life provided enough inspiration for an angsty piece about the strength of friendship.
Isabelle sighed tiredly.
‘Is it really that hard to go shopping with me?’ she wondered as Kevin slumped on the chair in the food court looking like he had just gone through a horrible ordeal.
“Geeze Kevin, you’d think I’d have ordered you to go on a killing spree the way you’ve been acting.” She said bitterly. Kevin blanched at the word ‘killing’ and remembering why he didn’t like that word quickly apologized.
“You do realize that you owe me right?” She asked him. “I mean you did embarrass me in front of my school. Everyone keeps saying stupid stuff such as ‘where’s your teddy baby Izzy?’ and ‘why don’t you practice with us?’ I don’t know which is worse the teasing or the propositioning.” She ranted not noticing her friend’s indignation over her words.
“I don’t owe you anything, Izzy.” Kevin said boldly to her. Isabelle paused, surprised that he would argue with her when it was clearly his fault.
‘I hate that nickname!!’
She tried to explain to him why he owed her. “What do you mean by that! Of course you owe me. You were the one to-”
“NO!” You’re the one who owes me Isabelle!” He shouted, he had clearly lost his patience with her. “And if you can’t see that then we’re not friends anymore.” He told her as he stood up from their table, the weight of his words; the breaking of his promise when he holds his promises to the highest degree, shocked her to the core.
“Wait a minute…” She muttered in shock, looking at him like he was a ghost, a figment of a nightmare made real. “You can’t really mean that. You promised that you wouldn’t leave me. YOU PROMISED ME!!!” She shouted, as though the strength of her words would keep him bound to her before he severed their bond and walked away, forever.
“Yeah, I did promise, but doesn’t accepting that promise mean that you won’t leave either?” He asked her seriously, deepening her shock.
‘He’s NEVER serious. What happened to the real Kevin? Who is this stranger in front of me?’
“Because if that’s the case.” He said startling her out of her thoughts.
“Didn’t you break you’re promise years ago when you chose to stop hanging out with me as much because you became a ball-breaking bitch and hated every guy around you. Including me, when I’ve never done anything to you.” He explained, looking pained as he remembered the past two years as one of his two best friends pulled away from him.
“Wha- But I didn’t mean…” she trailed off, because as uncomfortable as it was to admit the truth was that she HAD been avoiding him, unconsciously resenting him for being a boy, for being part of the superficial gender that lies to women, saying that they love them and then going for the next thing with big boobs and leaving the ones that they had lied to fall into despair. Her mother won’t even come and see her because that man and she blamed him for driving away her awesome and beautiful mom and ruining their family. She hated him and she hated all those lying cheating scum.
“Yes you did.” He said. “And if you can’t remember the truth. If you can’t remember what you once said to me and if you can’t remember what you told me you’d heard when we were in second grade. Then we’re not friends anymore. Don’t talk to me and don’t come near me unless you remember, unless you want to say ‘sorry’ for forgetting everything.”
Kevin started to walk away and no matter how much Isabelle called out to him he didn’t turn back, he acted like he didn’t even hear her
***
She thought about what he said to her all the way home. She tried not to, but they were stuck on repeat in her head, playing over and over again. But it was better than the crushing fear that he gone. Even though she took his friendship for granted; she didn’t want him to cut ties with her entirely. It took her two days to break from the stress, fear and curiosity and on Monday she started to try and prove him wrong.
***
‘The first place to look for anything important from the second grade is my old diary.’ She decided as she looked over her room after school. It was her sanctuary from him and it showed through her decorating as though it was her own place not his. The walls were a pale cream that suited the rest of the furniture, the desk was made from a light colored wood, the bed frame was painted a light blue, and her closet and dresser were both a light green.
She was digging through the mess in her closet for the small pink box that contained her diary
‘I really need to clean this out.’
“Ah ha!” She shouted as she pulled the box from the bottom of the closet. Opening it she pulled out a pink diary with purple hearts on the cover and pages. It was a present from that man and the only reason she kept it when she moved to this place was because it documented the time when her beloved mother had been a part of the family.
‘I wish the judge had given my custody to mom. I would have been happier then.’ She thought as she opened up the pages and started to read. Not knowing that what she would find would be the beginning of the destruction of the pedestal that her mother stood on and the re-arranging of everything that she had once believed in.
***
Isabelle’s hand trembled as she dialed the familiar number on the phone.
‘I can’t believe this. It’s a lie. It never happened.’ It was a mantra that she hysterically repeated in her mind; hoping that if she thought it enough times the words that she had seen written in her childish handwriting would be erased as though they had never existed. She couldn’t just dismiss them though. She wanted to talk to someone who could tell her what she needed to know. Her father and her mother would lie if she got in contact with them right now and asked them the question that was burning in her mind.
‘There’s only one person I know who wouldn’t care how much it hurt me to know the truth and who actually knows what the truth is. Let’s just hope he’s available today.’ She thought as she listened to the phone ring, just a few seconds away (she hoped) from finding out what the truth about her family really was.
***
“Thanks for telling me all this Professor Quention. I’m sorry that I took you away from your research. Yes. I’ll be fine, I’m a fighter. I’ll work it out. Thank you again. I’ll tell him for you. Bye.” She said, her mind reeling from the new information that she had just gotten from her father’s old friend.
The phone call was hard. It brought back memories that she had long forgotten and it forced her to look at her past with new eyes, and what she was seeing changed what she thought she knew about everything.
She had to think about what this all meant for her later. Right now there was only one thing she could do. Think about everything Kevin had said on Friday and try to look at things from his point of view.
‘This isn’t going to be easy.’ Was the uneasy comment that drifted in her mind. ‘But nothing good ever is.’
***
Sitting on the bench that she was on just a week ago with her oldest friend she waited for him to come. Isabelle through wondered if he would. Their fight was still fresh in her mind, making the guilt that had slowly crept up on her for the past five days deepen.
‘I wonder if it will drown me.’
“Hello Isabelle.”
The words made her flinch. Not only was he speaking in a way that Isabelle was not accustomed to, but the fact that he called her by her full name when he decided when they were younger that her name was ‘too bloody long’ (she had gasped at his curse word) and called her Izzy ever since no matter how much she had complained about it.
“Hi,” She mumbled. Her confidence, what little she had managed to dredge up from the tide of guilt wilted at Kevin’s words and as he sat down she found that she had nothing to say. So the pair sat in silence as Isabelle struggled to find the words that could fix everything and make things better than before.
“I’ve given myself enough rope to hang myself, haven’t I Kevin?” She asked him weakly. “I want to know how you remembered that though.” She said, the words just falling out of her mouth. Trying to distract her from the fear that this damage she had done to their friendship was irreversible.
“You know, the day you told me that was the day that I went to mum and dad. It’s pretty hard not to remember the day your life got better.”
“I see.” Isabelle said, humbled by the reminder that her life could have been a lot worse.
“Common.” He muttered as he stood up.
‘Huh?’ Her confusion must have shown on her face because he elaborated for her.
“Didn’t I have to help you with your shopping?” He asked her throatily, his face turned away from the embarrassment of being almost in tears from the resolution of this problem and the renewal of the friendship Isabelle quickly realized.
Smiling she got up and grabbing his hand quickly dragged him to one of her favorite stores to shop.
***
Looking at the rows of cotton and wool in cuts and colors that both flattered and didn’t flatter her form Isabelle, though not a good shopper was enough of one to enjoy the challenge of finding a new outfit to impress her classmates with and hopefully cause them to put aside the embarrassment from last week.
Kevin stood nearby, his arms loaded with bags filled with her purchases. The look on his face said it all to the other people in the store. Finally after three and a half hours of shopping he cracked.
“Just give me some of that rope of yours Izzy.” Kevin told her. Isabelle was surprised by his words whereas before he had chosen to suffer in silence.
“Wha-Why?” Isabelle stumbled over her words as she asked, vaguely curious as to why he would want rope right now.
“So I can hang myself too and get out of this stupidly girly shopping.”