All written for: Arcadia 100
Title: Brother to Brother
Characters: Luke and Kevin
“Kevin, I need to talk to you.”
“Shh. There is a tornado warning for our area. Are mom and Joan home too?”
“No, they stayed after school. Joan joined some new club and…”
“Do you think we should call them?”
“No, Dad will let us know if it’s dangerous. Kevin, I need your advice!”
Kevin finally looked up from the TV and noticed the distraught look on Luke’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… kissed Glynnis today at school. And… Grace saw us.”
Kevin laughed.
“It’s the Girardi charm, little brother. Welcome to the club. The tornado can wait. Tell me everything.”
Title: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
Characters: Joan/Friedman
Author’s Note: written for the “it will never happen” challenge
“What’s wrong, honey?”
Joan looked at her boyfriend, distracted. “Oh, um, nothing.” She knew she needed to start figuring out some better cover stories for her missions because he was starting to get suspicious.
Friedman sighed. He had finally landed Joan and she was acting weirder and weirder every day. He just could not understand her sometimes. One day she was throwing herself into an activity and the next day, she quit, no explanations.
He was terrified that Adam Rove was still in her thoughts. He knew they had a thing for each other. But Joan had picked him instead.
Title: Guy Bonding
Characters: Luke and Friedman
“Dude what is your secret?”
Luke shut his locker and turned to look at his best friend.
“My secret for what Friedman?”
“Getting chicks. You’re a legend among the nerds here Girardi. Two girls in as many months.”
Luke blushed furiously. He was embarrassed about having kissed both Grace and Glynnis. He had gone the first fifteen years of his life without kissing any girls and now, within months of moving to Arcadia, he found himself locking lips with two wildly different girls. And he was torn about his feelings.
“Well?”
Luke looked at his friend.
“Act uninterested,” he said.
Title: At the Beach
Characters: Joan/Adam and Grace/Luke
“There’s a spot!”
Joan led the others across the crowded beach to the small, unclaimed spot of sand. She began to spread out blankets and towels as Luke rummaged through his beach bag.
“Hey, Grace, can you put sunscreen on my back?” he asked shyly.
Grace looked at Luke’s pale body. “Are you sure you aren’t going to burst into flames being out in the sunlight?”
Luke playfully punched her in the arm.
Adam stood quietly, staring at the rolling ocean waves.
“Hey, Adam.”
He turned to look at Joan.
“You okay?”
He smiled at his girlfriend.
“Couldn’t be better.”
Title: An Every Day Occurrence
Character: Will
He quietly entered the room first. His partner was just behind him.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Quick glances at his partner communicated silently what needed to be done.
He slowly crept to the left, around a large file cabinet, breathing as quietly as possible. His hands were shaking slightly. He knew his partner was slowly creeping to the right.
He stepped around a pile of wires on the floor and immediately cringed when he heard the floorboards creak.
He groaned inwardly, his fear rising to his throat, praying fervently that the suspect had not heard his misstep.
Title: Just a Dream?
Character: Kevin and Helen
He was dancing.
In his arms, a woman was laughing, a vision in a long white dress. Her face masked by a traditional veil.
Noise swirled all around them. Music and conversation and laughter all mingled together, assaulting his ears.
“Kevin,” a familiar feminine voice whispered near his ear.
He moved his hand to lift the veil.
“Kevin, it’s time to wake up.”
He blinked a few times, the vision in white fading fast from his eyes. When they focused on his mother, he realized he had been sleeping.
But he had to wonder if it was just a dream.
Title: Road Trip
Characters: Joan/Adam and Grace/Luke
“Wow, I can’t believe your parents let you borrow the car, Girardi.”
“Grace, I’m 16 years old and I’ve never seen the ocean - they couldn’t refuse!”
“Besides,” Luke interjected, “they feel guilty because we can’t go on a family vacation this year because they‘re all working.”
“Exactly! We’re going to have a great day at the beach - sun, surf, sand.”
“And ice cream!” Adam jumped in. “There is a great shop on the boardwalk.”
“Uh, Joan. We’re going to need to stop at a store. I forgot my sunscreen,” Luke bit his lip. “I’ll end up with sunburn.”
Title: Tutoring
Characters: Joan and Luke
“Okay Luke, explain this solar powered stuff to me again?”
Luke rolled his eyes at his sister. He had explained how solar energy was stored at least six times and she still didn’t get it.
“Okay. These panels have been specially designed to capture and store direct sunlight which they then turn into energy to operate things that usually require electricity or batteries. This flashlight will run for 48 continuous hours if it’s exposed to three hours of direct sunlight.”
Joan grabbed the flashlight from Luke.
“You can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine.”
Luke just groaned.
Title: Self Examination
Characters: Joan and Grace
“I can’t believe we have to write such a stupid paper.”
“I don’t know, I think it will be kind of fun to look back on all the things we’ve learned about ourselves this year.”
“What have you learned about yourself, Girardi?”
“I’ve learned that sometimes things are bigger than just me.”
“That’s very profound.”
“Well, what have you learned about yourself, Grace?
She didn’t answer right away.
“Come on Grace, you had to have learned something!”
"I learned that guys do find me attractive even though I don't have raven hair and the initials L.L. on my backpack."
Title: Luck of the Draw
Characters: Joan, Adam, Grace, & Mrs. Lischak
Ms. Lischak clapped her hands together and called for attention.
“Class, this year we will be exploring the joys of Physics! This year we’ll be learning about energy and waves and light! We’ll be doing experiments with velocity and momentum and even learn how to wire electric circuits! We’re going to start the year by assigning lab partners.”
Joan groaned. “I hope I get to work with you guys again,” she said to Adam and Grace.
“Ms. Girardi! You’re going to work with Mr. Friedman this year.”
Grace and Adam chocked back laughter at the horrified expression on Joan’s face.
Title: Stuck
Character: Kevin
It was stuck.
Kevin felt panic wash over him as he frantically pumped the brake with his right foot. The gas pedal was stuck and the brake wouldn’t work.
He felt like he was moving in slow motion as he tried to swerve to avoid hitting the tree, still trying to stop the car.
A thousand thoughts ran through his head as he realized that no amount of screaming or stomping on the pedals was going to stop the car. Was this his punishment for treating Beth so bad? What would his family say? He braced himself for the impact.
Title: Secrets
Character: Helen
Cry to relieve what's in your heart
Desolation, grief and agony
She sat in the back pew of the church and she cried.
Her family was falling apart at the seams and there was nothing she could do to make it better. Everyone was keeping a secret. They weren’t communicating with each other anymore.
And she knew she was no better than the rest of them.
Ever since those dreams, she’d been looking for signs that God was in her life. Then Joan got sick and she knew she had to do something.
And look what it got her. A family that couldn’t even have a discussion at the dinner table.