Terrible Things
Just Write.
Outfit for the piece: School
I tool my place in the back of the music room and pulled out my notebook. Lyrics I had written but never compiled into full songs were scattered through the pages, littering my class notes and compositions with scribbles of ink. The class was empty, I was ten minutes early from lunch, but I didn't like the idea of hanging around the cafeteria and hearing the high pitched giggles from Chloe and her groupies any longer than necessary. I grabbed my pen out of my black studded backpack and began scrawling more lines through my book.
And as the sun went down we ended up on the ground
I heard the train shake the windows
You screamed over the sound
And as we own this night
I put your body to...
The bell rung and i snapped the cover of my notebook closed. No one can see them. My lyrics were like a small wall between my mind and reality. The class slowly started to fill and I pushed up the sleeves of my pumpkin face jersey, waiting for the class to begin. I had been in this class with all the same students all year, yet I had no idea who half of them were. I knew Sophie, Joe and Mikey but I never talked to anyone else. Sad, there was only twelve people in the class. We were the advanced music class, and we attended an extremely uncultured school. Miss Torrence waltzed in, late as usual and started to scrawl on the whiteboard as she spoke.
"New assignment will be started today. I'll assign your partners and you will compose a lyrical song in the next two weeks. Lyrics, melody. I'll need the sheet music handed in Tuesday so I can check over it and give you an approximate grade and then you can fix up any problems and hand it to me on Friday." The class let out a collective groan. Lyrical compositions and assigned partners. I didn't like the idea of being partnered with anyone other than the three I knew, and all our assignments had been in groups or solo this year. I started to pick at my nails nervously as Miss Torrence read out the partners.
"Karli and Joe, Harvey and Haylee, Mikey and Sophie," My picking increased as my group was assigned without me. "Alex and Carrie, Penny and Cho, Lee and Garen." The class walked off to each others desks to start brainstorming and I stayed glued to my seat. Alex? Who was Alex? A hand thumped down on my desk and my heart rate increased ten-fold. I slowly looked up to see a plain white shirt and skinny jeans flick themselves onto a rotated chair next to me. A hand extended out across my desk and I looked up to find the face which had offered it.
"Hey," he flicked his sandy fringe off his face and winked at me. "I'm Alex." Yes, yes you are. I had seen Alex around, he was usually with the kid with the skunk hair. His eyes shone as he smiled at me and I took his hand.
"Carrie." He nodded and pulled his notebook out of his bag. "Do you write? You play guitar, don't you?" Alex's shoulders rose and fell in quick succession as he laughed.
"You know, Carrie, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say in this class." He bent down to grab a pen and drop it on his book. "Yep, I sing, guitar, write. You?"
"About the same actually. Except I play piano too." I ran my hand through my fire-engine hair and felt my nails scrape across my skull. He snorted in approval and clicked his knuckles. We sat and scribbled in our books in an awkward silence. It would have been easier if only one of us was a writer, but now we had to collaborate and both agree on the lyrics. A hand snatched my notebook from under me and i grappled to get it back before Alex pushed his chair back and moved out of my reach to read the lyrics.
"Burned out, It gets you down, We've all been there some times, but tonight I'll make you feel beautiful once again." Alex looked down at me and raised his eyebrows. He looked from the lyrics to me and back again. "Are you lesbian?" I flushed red and squeaked out that of course I wasn't.
"I find it easier to write from a guys point of view. Plus, I write for my friends out of state and they're guys."
"I guess you listen to male fronted bands as well." I nodded and pulled my notebook out of his hands as he sat back down.
"I have two older brothers as well and my moms not around so, I just find it easier. I grew up with guys, so they've really influenced my writing." Alex flicked his hair, AGAIN. The bell rang and interrupted our conversation.
"I like it." Alex said as he packed up his things. "Keep writing, I'll write a melody with Jack and see you tomorrow." He turned and bounced out the room to where the skunk-haired boy was waiting by the lockers across the hall. Jack.
I jumped off the bus and walked up the path to my front door. I heard the smashing of glass as my key made contact with the lock and I sighed as I turned the handle to go inside.
I tool my place in the back of the music room and pulled out my notebook. Lyrics I had written but never compiled into full songs were scattered through the pages, littering my class notes and compositions with scribbles of ink. The class was empty, I was ten minutes early from lunch, but I didn't like the idea of hanging around the cafeteria and hearing the high pitched giggles from Chloe and her groupies any longer than necessary. I grabbed my pen out of my black studded backpack and began scrawling more lines through my book.
And as the sun went down we ended up on the ground
I heard the train shake the windows
You screamed over the sound
And as we own this night
I put your body to...
The bell rung and i snapped the cover of my notebook closed. No one can see them. My lyrics were like a small wall between my mind and reality. The class slowly started to fill and I pushed up the sleeves of my pumpkin face jersey, waiting for the class to begin. I had been in this class with all the same students all year, yet I had no idea who half of them were. I knew Sophie, Joe and Mikey but I never talked to anyone else. Sad, there was only twelve people in the class. We were the advanced music class, and we attended an extremely uncultured school. Miss Torrence waltzed in, late as usual and started to scrawl on the whiteboard as she spoke.
"New assignment will be started today. I'll assign your partners and you will compose a lyrical song in the next two weeks. Lyrics, melody. I'll need the sheet music handed in Tuesday so I can check over it and give you an approximate grade and then you can fix up any problems and hand it to me on Friday." The class let out a collective groan. Lyrical compositions and assigned partners. I didn't like the idea of being partnered with anyone other than the three I knew, and all our assignments had been in groups or solo this year. I started to pick at my nails nervously as Miss Torrence read out the partners.
"Karli and Joe, Harvey and Haylee, Mikey and Sophie," My picking increased as my group was assigned without me. "Alex and Carrie, Penny and Cho, Lee and Garen." The class walked off to each others desks to start brainstorming and I stayed glued to my seat. Alex? Who was Alex? A hand thumped down on my desk and my heart rate increased ten-fold. I slowly looked up to see a plain white shirt and skinny jeans flick themselves onto a rotated chair next to me. A hand extended out across my desk and I looked up to find the face which had offered it.
"Hey," he flicked his sandy fringe off his face and winked at me. "I'm Alex." Yes, yes you are. I had seen Alex around, he was usually with the kid with the skunk hair. His eyes shone as he smiled at me and I took his hand.
"Carrie." He nodded and pulled his notebook out of his bag. "Do you write? You play guitar, don't you?" Alex's shoulders rose and fell in quick succession as he laughed.
"You know, Carrie, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say in this class." He bent down to grab a pen and drop it on his book. "Yep, I sing, guitar, write. You?"
"About the same actually. Except I play piano too." I ran my hand through my fire-engine hair and felt my nails scrape across my skull. He snorted in approval and clicked his knuckles. We sat and scribbled in our books in an awkward silence. It would have been easier if only one of us was a writer, but now we had to collaborate and both agree on the lyrics. A hand snatched my notebook from under me and i grappled to get it back before Alex pushed his chair back and moved out of my reach to read the lyrics.
"Burned out, It gets you down, We've all been there some times, but tonight I'll make you feel beautiful once again." Alex looked down at me and raised his eyebrows. He looked from the lyrics to me and back again. "Are you lesbian?" I flushed red and squeaked out that of course I wasn't.
"I find it easier to write from a guys point of view. Plus, I write for my friends out of state and they're guys."
"I guess you listen to male fronted bands as well." I nodded and pulled my notebook out of his hands as he sat back down.
"I have two older brothers as well and my moms not around so, I just find it easier. I grew up with guys, so they've really influenced my writing." Alex flicked his hair, AGAIN. The bell rang and interrupted our conversation.
"I like it." Alex said as he packed up his things. "Keep writing, I'll write a melody with Jack and see you tomorrow." He turned and bounced out the room to where the skunk-haired boy was waiting by the lockers across the hall. Jack.
I jumped off the bus and walked up the path to my front door. I heard the smashing of glass as my key made contact with the lock and I sighed as I turned the handle to go inside.
Notes
Yes.. I know... I'm using PTV lyrics.. I'll do it a lot for Carrie... you'll see why later wink wink. <3 I will pull in lyrics and songs from all over and claim them as Carrie's songs so please don't freak out....Please let me know if you like it :D
This story is so good! OMG. I just found it and started reading it yesterday, and haven't stopped. I just caught up with all of the updates you have of it and really love it.
It's a very dark fan fic. Specifically with the first half, honestly one of the darkest I've read actually... like with that curse of everything happening on Sundays? Man... and you just kind of kept it up too. It was just very dark, and sad, but... different. And I really like that about this.
The second half seems to be deviating from that a little bit, but I sensed that coming back with the babies thing. I mean, not that I want anything to happen, but I almost feel you had something bad happening planned with the pregnancy. Perhaps not, perhaps that was just to raise some of the tone as opposed to keeping it happy go lucky, who knows. But I found it interesting how you did that.
I'm glad that Alex and Carrie finally got together, with the first part of this I was just screaming GET TOGETHER until they finally did. lol. And I was happy. :)
I found it a bit odd how they just took in those fans though. On a realistic writing level, the oddity of this story was the curse thing. But adding the fans thing in too, it just... it didn't really fit. Especially considering legalities and all of that. I feel like it was a little too easy that they gained guardianship.
But overall, I have enjoyed Alex and Carrie's love story. I'm sad to see it was never finished, so I'm leaving this comment to let you know if you ever do choose to finish it, I will be here to read, for sure. I'd love to see how it all ends for these two. Even if it's just a final chapter wrap up or something; I understand what it's like losing inspiration.
But yeah, sorry if this comment sounded harsh at all, but just wanted to leave my honest thoughts. I think you're a truly great writer, though, and hope you have at least kept up with it in your free time. :)
7/12/16