Post by Strife on Nov 2, 2010 5:34:23 GMT -5
I think I've written enough for a decent excerpt, for anyone who's interested. There's no sci-fi stuff in this scene, but it has a bit of character development.
The first thing Violet did when she reached the living room was kick off her enormous shoes, letting her equally enormous feet sink into the soft carpet. Just as she turned towards the dressing room to change out of her purple alloy suit, her roommate, Olivia, poked her head out from the bedroom.
“Hey Violet, how'd it go?” Olivia inquired with a perky voice.
Violet simply sighed and closed the dressing room door. Olivia's face shifted from cheerfulness to rightful concern. “Violet?”
Violet said something behind the door as she changed clothes, but it was too muffled for her to make out.
“What'd you say?” asked Olivia, swinging her body out from behind the bedroom door. She was clad in a bright green shirt with matching pants, along with white socks that were so clean that they looked like they had been bought that very day.
“I crashed!” Violet repeated with a raised voice.
“Really? How bad was it?”
“Can you hold on a minute, please?”
Olivia cautiously stepped towards the center of the living room and seated herself on the couch. Violet was usually just as perky and cheerful as she was, so she knew immediately that something was amiss. She took her glasses from the short table in front of the couch and slid them over her nose.
After a minute of anticipation, the dressing room door creaked open, and Violet came out in a white t-shirt and pink pajama pants with a pattern of stars on the right leg. Her feet were still bare, and her hair was still tied in a set of twin pigtails on each side of her head. Her hairstyle was her trademark, and she rarely changed it.
“Sorry,” she said immediately while closing the door. “I'm just... I'm fine. I wasn't hurt, if that's what you mean.”
“It's okay,” Olivia replied. “Good thing you came out of it in one piece, huh?”
“I guess so... but I mean, I lost. Mark was counting on me to qualify, and I... I just...”
Violet lost her words until she walked over to the couch and forced herself down on the cushions like an anvil, sitting beside Olivia.
“I don't know how he'll react,” she continued with her head lowered, not making eye contact with her roommate. Her toes curled sheepishly. “I wanted this so bad...”
“Well, you never know, right?” said Olivia. “Maybe he'll understand and let you try again.”
“I can't just try again. He never lets Rookies go for the Startide Cup, but I kept asking him and I practiced really hard. I convinced him that I could do it.” Violet bent down, on the verge of tears. “I don't think he'll ever let me try again...”
“Violet... Don't hit yourself like this...”
Olivia slid closer to her friend. Violet turned her head towards her in response.
“I think you have what it takes,” she continued. “So what if your boss doesn't think you can do it? What matters is that you think you can. Y'know what I mean?”
“I did think I could.” Violet sat up straight again, closing her eyes. “I was so convinced that I had it. But then I slipped. I made one little mistake, and...”
“And that's human. It happens to everybody.” Olivia grinned slightly. “Remember when I dropped my History thesis?”
“Oh, yeah, that was pretty scary,” said Violet, opening her eyes. “You were working on it for ages.”
“Yeah, I'm really glad I was able to print out a backup at the Microtech store. If I had handed it in a minute later it would have been the end of me.”
“Oh, I would imagine.”
The two of them laughed lightly for a few seconds. Violet sniffled.
“But, look,” Olivia continued. “My point is, there's always a way to come back when it seems like all is lost. Fate has a funny way of working like that.”
“Yeah, I guess so. I'll just have to wait and see.” Violet gave her roommate a smile. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, buddy.”
There was a brief pause before Olivia spoke up again. “You know, didn't you tell me that you were into athletics in grade school?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I remember taking Phys Ed with you at SCU, and you didn't have nearly as much trouble in the gym as you have at the racetrack. Why'd you quit?”
“Well, my parents pushed me into sports. I don't know why, but I could always run faster and jump higher than all of my classmates. Usually I blamed it on my big feet,” Violet laughed lightly and wiggled her toes, “but... that didn't stop them from teasing me.”
Violet's smile faded as she remembered her bitter past, turning her head away from Olivia. “My classmates hated me... I would always beat them in a fair match, and they hated me for it. They would do whatever it took to make me weaker. They lied, they cheated, they spread rumors behind my back... anything to put me at a disadvantage. I still had friends,” she looked at Olivia again, “but it was still too much. I was sick of all the drama, so I dropped out of sports and took up driving instead.”
“Yeah, there were a lot of jerks at my school too,” said Olivia. “At least now you have a clean slate. Nobody will tease you for who you are. That's kid stuff.”
“Well, I'm not sure about that. A lot of adults are pretty childish.”
“Like my uncle Pete?”
“Yeah,” Violet giggled. “Like your uncle Pete. But I know what you mean about kid stuff. We don't have to worry about schoolyard bullies anymore, at least.”
Olivia figured that this would be a good time to take her friend's mind off of her troubles. “Hey, guess what? I got the latest episode of Lightdash,” she said with a big smile.
“Really?” Violet's face lit up. “I thought they weren't doing any more episodes this season.”
“I thought that too! But there's a couple more until the season finale. This one's supposed to be really good. Kevin Crimson's doing the voice for the villain of the week!”
“What? No way!”
“Yeah!”
“Let's check it out! I'll go bake some crunchies.”
Violet stood up and leaped over the table, scurrying into the kitchen. Olivia just sat for a minute with a grin on her face, glad that she was able to help her friend feel better this time.
“Hey Violet, how'd it go?” Olivia inquired with a perky voice.
Violet simply sighed and closed the dressing room door. Olivia's face shifted from cheerfulness to rightful concern. “Violet?”
Violet said something behind the door as she changed clothes, but it was too muffled for her to make out.
“What'd you say?” asked Olivia, swinging her body out from behind the bedroom door. She was clad in a bright green shirt with matching pants, along with white socks that were so clean that they looked like they had been bought that very day.
“I crashed!” Violet repeated with a raised voice.
“Really? How bad was it?”
“Can you hold on a minute, please?”
Olivia cautiously stepped towards the center of the living room and seated herself on the couch. Violet was usually just as perky and cheerful as she was, so she knew immediately that something was amiss. She took her glasses from the short table in front of the couch and slid them over her nose.
After a minute of anticipation, the dressing room door creaked open, and Violet came out in a white t-shirt and pink pajama pants with a pattern of stars on the right leg. Her feet were still bare, and her hair was still tied in a set of twin pigtails on each side of her head. Her hairstyle was her trademark, and she rarely changed it.
“Sorry,” she said immediately while closing the door. “I'm just... I'm fine. I wasn't hurt, if that's what you mean.”
“It's okay,” Olivia replied. “Good thing you came out of it in one piece, huh?”
“I guess so... but I mean, I lost. Mark was counting on me to qualify, and I... I just...”
Violet lost her words until she walked over to the couch and forced herself down on the cushions like an anvil, sitting beside Olivia.
“I don't know how he'll react,” she continued with her head lowered, not making eye contact with her roommate. Her toes curled sheepishly. “I wanted this so bad...”
“Well, you never know, right?” said Olivia. “Maybe he'll understand and let you try again.”
“I can't just try again. He never lets Rookies go for the Startide Cup, but I kept asking him and I practiced really hard. I convinced him that I could do it.” Violet bent down, on the verge of tears. “I don't think he'll ever let me try again...”
“Violet... Don't hit yourself like this...”
Olivia slid closer to her friend. Violet turned her head towards her in response.
“I think you have what it takes,” she continued. “So what if your boss doesn't think you can do it? What matters is that you think you can. Y'know what I mean?”
“I did think I could.” Violet sat up straight again, closing her eyes. “I was so convinced that I had it. But then I slipped. I made one little mistake, and...”
“And that's human. It happens to everybody.” Olivia grinned slightly. “Remember when I dropped my History thesis?”
“Oh, yeah, that was pretty scary,” said Violet, opening her eyes. “You were working on it for ages.”
“Yeah, I'm really glad I was able to print out a backup at the Microtech store. If I had handed it in a minute later it would have been the end of me.”
“Oh, I would imagine.”
The two of them laughed lightly for a few seconds. Violet sniffled.
“But, look,” Olivia continued. “My point is, there's always a way to come back when it seems like all is lost. Fate has a funny way of working like that.”
“Yeah, I guess so. I'll just have to wait and see.” Violet gave her roommate a smile. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, buddy.”
There was a brief pause before Olivia spoke up again. “You know, didn't you tell me that you were into athletics in grade school?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I remember taking Phys Ed with you at SCU, and you didn't have nearly as much trouble in the gym as you have at the racetrack. Why'd you quit?”
“Well, my parents pushed me into sports. I don't know why, but I could always run faster and jump higher than all of my classmates. Usually I blamed it on my big feet,” Violet laughed lightly and wiggled her toes, “but... that didn't stop them from teasing me.”
Violet's smile faded as she remembered her bitter past, turning her head away from Olivia. “My classmates hated me... I would always beat them in a fair match, and they hated me for it. They would do whatever it took to make me weaker. They lied, they cheated, they spread rumors behind my back... anything to put me at a disadvantage. I still had friends,” she looked at Olivia again, “but it was still too much. I was sick of all the drama, so I dropped out of sports and took up driving instead.”
“Yeah, there were a lot of jerks at my school too,” said Olivia. “At least now you have a clean slate. Nobody will tease you for who you are. That's kid stuff.”
“Well, I'm not sure about that. A lot of adults are pretty childish.”
“Like my uncle Pete?”
“Yeah,” Violet giggled. “Like your uncle Pete. But I know what you mean about kid stuff. We don't have to worry about schoolyard bullies anymore, at least.”
Olivia figured that this would be a good time to take her friend's mind off of her troubles. “Hey, guess what? I got the latest episode of Lightdash,” she said with a big smile.
“Really?” Violet's face lit up. “I thought they weren't doing any more episodes this season.”
“I thought that too! But there's a couple more until the season finale. This one's supposed to be really good. Kevin Crimson's doing the voice for the villain of the week!”
“What? No way!”
“Yeah!”
“Let's check it out! I'll go bake some crunchies.”
Violet stood up and leaped over the table, scurrying into the kitchen. Olivia just sat for a minute with a grin on her face, glad that she was able to help her friend feel better this time.
