February 8th, 2010
Resolved Question: How do you like my story so far?
I’m trying to make the main character seem thoughtful, but also quite naive and innocent.
This is what I have so far. Feel free to make suggestions and edits.
Thanks in advance.
It rained again today.
Nothing new there I guess, but it somehow always seems to rain the most whenever I’m truly upset. I call this cosmic sympathy. I’d like to think that whoever created us actually cares that I’m in pain and wants me to know that I’m not alone. However, I know that the fact it’s raining is simply a coincidence, if cosmic sympathy was a real thing, I’m sure that whoever created us wouldn’t have time to change the weather for a practically invisible girl like me.
I waved goodbye to my parents and Allie waved goodbye to hers, both crying, we smiled. Not fake smiles, we were not trying to be brave. We were both happy and sad and I am not quite sure how this was. We didn’t talk as we walked into the airport. We didn’t talk when we checked in. We didn’t talk when we had to go through that scanner machine, we didn’t even talk when it beeped when Allie went through, just like it always does. Neither of us spoke until we sat down, waiting to be called for our flight.
“So… are you nervous?” Allie asked me.
“No.” I replied, which was true. I wasn’t nervous; I didn’t know what I was, I hadn’t decided yet. I told Allie this and she laughed. She said that I’m indecisive at times and that the nerves would probably start to kick in soon. I smiled as I hoped that they wouldn’t and waited for our flight to be called out. I didn’t have to wait long, about ten minutes later it happened. The nerves still didn’t kick in while we were queuing up, they didn’t kick in until I sat in my seat. Allie got to sit next to the isle, in case she felt she needed to go to the toilet to throw up because aeroplane food always made her feel sick. I got to sit in the middle, next to a man who I didn’t know. As I sat down he smiled at me politely, he said hello and I said it back as I didn’t want to be rude and ignore him, even though that’s what I felt like doing. I found out that his name was Mark, and that he was 21, I told him that my name was Ashleigh and that I was 19. He told me about how he was going home from London after visiting his friend, and I told him about how I was leaving my home in London and coming to make a new home in New York. He smiled and said that I would enjoy it in New York; I smiled back and said I hoped so. I talked to Mark for most of the journey, I would have felt a bit mean on Allie, but she was asleep. I asked Mark about his life in New York and he told me everything. He even told me about the time his pet rabbit died when he was 9 years old and his mother held a funeral for it in his back garden. He told me he was engaged to a girl called Mary and that she had curly hair and they met in a MacDonald’s when they were 20. When he asked me about my life in London, I just said that there isn’t much he needs to know other than the fact I am happy I am leaving there. That made him laugh.
“Are you not going to miss your mom and dad?” he asked.
“Well, yeah” I paused to think “But that’s about it. I won’t miss anything else there. I hated that town I lived in, I hated the people too. I’m mostly excited that I’m moving away.”
Mark just looked at me, so I looked out the window.
We didn’t have long left on the flight, which was strange since it only felt like 10 minutes. I’m glad I got to sit next to Mark, because Allie was asleep and otherwise I would have been bored senseless.
When the plane landed and everybody was getting up, Mark asked me for my number so we could be friends and I gave it to him because I knew that I needed friends here that were nice and knew their way around. We said goodbye and I woke Allie up and got off the plane. I told Allie about my new friend and she said I was stupid taking his phone number since he was engaged, I said she was silly jumping to conclusions, we were only going to be friends.
