Writing excerpts
I'll be posting some excerpts from what I'm writing for Nanowrimo. Probably not enough for anyone to really make sense of the story, but what the heck. So far I'm doing well, on schedule to make 50k. Of course, at three days in, I was on schedule last year too :P
So here's the first excerpt. Note that this isn't the beginning of my novel, just one scene.
"Nasty Nika booger eater!" The girl chanted in a high pitched sing-song voice. "Daddy left her, mommy beats her, even dogs don't wanna eat her." She pointed at Nika and laughed, one hand covering her mouth. Nika sat with her legs spread, digging in the dirt with a stick just about the size of a pencil, but thicker. She was on the far edge of the playground, beyond hearing range of the teacher, and she'd thought she was far enough away from the other kids that no one would notice her. Her limp hair clung to her face, streaked with dirt and sweat. Nika watched the girl, Becky, with a blank expression. "What's a matter? Cat got yer tongue?" Becky stood with one hand on her hip. Nika squinted up, pausing in her digging. "Freak." Becky hissed and stomped off, back toward a group of girls huddled around the tether ball pole. Nika watched the girls gesturing at her, laughing and tossing their heads back in amusement.
"They're just jealous." Nika whispered. She dug into the packed dirt. "Stupid girls, stupid, stupid, stupid." She punctuated each word with the stick. She looked up at the girls again. They were leaning in, their heads touching. Nika wondered what they were talking about, what they were plotting. She stood up and dusted her hands on her faded blue jeans. Four bruises marred the side of her right bicep, nearly the perfect outline of a man's fingers. She tucked the stick in her back pocket and walked slowly toward the pack of girls. A couple of them glanced at her and giggled. All of them were dressed in clean, bright clothes. Some of them wore braids, others wore their hair loose and shiny straight. They smiled with pearly white teeth and blinked bright, clear, eyes. Nika stood out in contrast. Her brown hair hung limp and stringy across a face streaked with dirt. Her eyes were clouded and dull, and her expression rarely changed. She looked, for lack of a better word, haunted.
"Becky." Nika's voice was barely audible, nothing more than a hoarse whisper among the din that is an elementary school playground. "Becky." Nika repeated, louder. Becky had her back turned, but the other girls saw Nika talking, heard her whisper Becky's name. They tapped her on the shoulder, pointed toward Nika. Becky turned around and wrinkled her nose.
"Eww, what do you want nasty Nika booger eater?" Her voice was a sneer. She crossed her arms defiantly.
"Nothing." Nika stood perfectly still, her hands hanging limp at her sides. "Nothing at all." She turned slowly, obviously intending to walk back toward the edge of the playground. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." Anda echoed in her head. "Stupid girls do stupid thing. Bad girl Nika, bad girl Nika." Anda's voice was a chastising whine. Nika gritted her teeth. Anda was going to ruin everything if she didn't shut up. She made a low hissing sound, as if trying to shush her imaginary friend. She continued to walk slowly away from the other girls. "Bad Nika, bad, bad, bad."
All at once Nika felt hands on her back, pushing her forward, throwing her off balance. She stumbled, managed a few more steps, then stumbled again, finally pitching foward. She caught herself with her hands and knees, wincing as her left shin came crashing down on a sharp rock. Nika felt herself being shoved further down against the ground, her hands knocked from under her. She struggled to get back to her knees, but was suddenly pinned down by the weight of someone sitting on her back. "Uh oh spaghetti oh." Anda's voice again "Yer in trouble now missy." Nika grinned slightly as she stared into the dirt. Sometimes people were so predictable. She wiggled enough beneath Becky's weight to get her left arm beneath her and her right arm slightly behind her. The girls were laughing and cheering. All at once Nika began to roll to her left, using her arm as leverage. At the same time she reached for the stick protruding just over the top of her back pants pocket. It was just small enough to hide, but big enough to be used for what Nika was about to do. Using the force of her own momentum as she turned, Nika rammed the stick into the soft inside of Becky's left ankle. She felt the skin give way, like the popping of an under inflated balloon. The blood trickled down Becky's foot and across Nika's fingers before anyone even realized what happened. Then suddenly Becky was screaming.
So here's the first excerpt. Note that this isn't the beginning of my novel, just one scene.
"Nasty Nika booger eater!" The girl chanted in a high pitched sing-song voice. "Daddy left her, mommy beats her, even dogs don't wanna eat her." She pointed at Nika and laughed, one hand covering her mouth. Nika sat with her legs spread, digging in the dirt with a stick just about the size of a pencil, but thicker. She was on the far edge of the playground, beyond hearing range of the teacher, and she'd thought she was far enough away from the other kids that no one would notice her. Her limp hair clung to her face, streaked with dirt and sweat. Nika watched the girl, Becky, with a blank expression. "What's a matter? Cat got yer tongue?" Becky stood with one hand on her hip. Nika squinted up, pausing in her digging. "Freak." Becky hissed and stomped off, back toward a group of girls huddled around the tether ball pole. Nika watched the girls gesturing at her, laughing and tossing their heads back in amusement.
"They're just jealous." Nika whispered. She dug into the packed dirt. "Stupid girls, stupid, stupid, stupid." She punctuated each word with the stick. She looked up at the girls again. They were leaning in, their heads touching. Nika wondered what they were talking about, what they were plotting. She stood up and dusted her hands on her faded blue jeans. Four bruises marred the side of her right bicep, nearly the perfect outline of a man's fingers. She tucked the stick in her back pocket and walked slowly toward the pack of girls. A couple of them glanced at her and giggled. All of them were dressed in clean, bright clothes. Some of them wore braids, others wore their hair loose and shiny straight. They smiled with pearly white teeth and blinked bright, clear, eyes. Nika stood out in contrast. Her brown hair hung limp and stringy across a face streaked with dirt. Her eyes were clouded and dull, and her expression rarely changed. She looked, for lack of a better word, haunted.
"Becky." Nika's voice was barely audible, nothing more than a hoarse whisper among the din that is an elementary school playground. "Becky." Nika repeated, louder. Becky had her back turned, but the other girls saw Nika talking, heard her whisper Becky's name. They tapped her on the shoulder, pointed toward Nika. Becky turned around and wrinkled her nose.
"Eww, what do you want nasty Nika booger eater?" Her voice was a sneer. She crossed her arms defiantly.
"Nothing." Nika stood perfectly still, her hands hanging limp at her sides. "Nothing at all." She turned slowly, obviously intending to walk back toward the edge of the playground. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." Anda echoed in her head. "Stupid girls do stupid thing. Bad girl Nika, bad girl Nika." Anda's voice was a chastising whine. Nika gritted her teeth. Anda was going to ruin everything if she didn't shut up. She made a low hissing sound, as if trying to shush her imaginary friend. She continued to walk slowly away from the other girls. "Bad Nika, bad, bad, bad."
All at once Nika felt hands on her back, pushing her forward, throwing her off balance. She stumbled, managed a few more steps, then stumbled again, finally pitching foward. She caught herself with her hands and knees, wincing as her left shin came crashing down on a sharp rock. Nika felt herself being shoved further down against the ground, her hands knocked from under her. She struggled to get back to her knees, but was suddenly pinned down by the weight of someone sitting on her back. "Uh oh spaghetti oh." Anda's voice again "Yer in trouble now missy." Nika grinned slightly as she stared into the dirt. Sometimes people were so predictable. She wiggled enough beneath Becky's weight to get her left arm beneath her and her right arm slightly behind her. The girls were laughing and cheering. All at once Nika began to roll to her left, using her arm as leverage. At the same time she reached for the stick protruding just over the top of her back pants pocket. It was just small enough to hide, but big enough to be used for what Nika was about to do. Using the force of her own momentum as she turned, Nika rammed the stick into the soft inside of Becky's left ankle. She felt the skin give way, like the popping of an under inflated balloon. The blood trickled down Becky's foot and across Nika's fingers before anyone even realized what happened. Then suddenly Becky was screaming.
posted by Ayanla at 11:16 PM
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