Special Occasion Speech
Dellanie Couture
COMM 1000
I. Intro
A. Attention Getter/WIIFM/Thesis/Preview of Main Points: Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are here to help the Bieber family mourn the death and celebrate the life of their son, Justin. He is survived by his parents, Jeremy Bieber and Patricia Mallette, and his half brother and sister, Jaxon and Jazmyn. The young pop star was killed in a tragic car accident; it feels as though it were much too soon for him to go.
[Transition: However, death is a truth we cannot avoid, and we must go on, as he would have wanted us to. ]
II. Body
A. He was born to his mother, Patricia, when she was only 18, and his parents divorced soon after. Patricia raised her son as a single mom with the help of her parents.
B. When he was young, Justin did say much about wanting to do anything musical. Instead, he was interested in hockey, soccer, and even chess. He got his musical start at a talent show in 2007, when he was merely 12.
i. He sang “Sick” by Ne-Yo, and his mother uploaded the recording to YouTube. His mother then continued uploading videos of Justin singing, and his channel became more and more popular.
ii. In 2008, a marketing executive for So So Def, Scooter Braun, found one of Justin's videos by accident. After much deliberating and praying, Patricia decided to let Justin, then 13, go for it, and that, as they say, was history.
C. However, it's not always easy being a teen idol.
i. Justin had to find time in his schedule for his music, school, and time with his family. He had to deal with crowds of crazed fans and mobs of preteen girls who adored him.
a.) It's hard to be a normal teenager when everyone knows who you are and is obsessed even to the point of a haircut making the news. (pause for giggles)
ii. He's also had to deal with considerable criticism from those who are less than impressed with his singing.
a.) There are many people who are very vocal about not liking Justin, mostly internet posters, specifically from YouTube and 4chan. He's been criticized for looking and sounding a lot younger than he is, as well as the amount of media attention and fan adoration he receives. He also gets made fun of because of the types of songs he likes to sing, namely love songs.
iii. Of course, Justin dealt with the fame, gossip, and criticism with class, like the good- natured person he is...was.
a.) For instance, there was the time he went to the beach with his girlfriend, Selena Gomez. Mistaken for a topless young girl, Justin made the news as the person who flashed everyone on the beach that day. (pause again) He merely laughed along with everyone else instead of getting angry.
b.) He never got angry at his internet critics. “They're just jealous,” he said, on more than one occasion.
[Transition: Yes, Justin was an example of how to be humble and famous at the same time, a lesson in grace itself.]
III. Conclusion
A. Summary of the Main Points: Justin taught us many things, and could have taught us many more. This event is bittersweet; he's in a better place now, but we miss him all the same. His death was unexpected and tragic, but we shouldn't dwell on it, or the sadness will consume us.
B. Clincher: Instead, we should focus on his life and how he lived. He will live on in our memories. Remember, as Thomas Campbell said, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” We will now dismiss you row by row to view the body. Please wait until the ushers call you forward. Thank you.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Questions, Part 2: 1st Intallment
Elina hummed as she danced about the kitchen preparing dinner, her waist-long brunette hair swinging about her waist. Her father, Pharon, would be home soon and she wanted to make sure that she had a full meal waiting when he arrived. After all, he had been working so hard lately, trying to get the fields all plowed. Her mouth puckered into a frown as she thought. It was getting much more difficult for him, considering his age. She pleaded with him to hire a farmhand, but he wouldn't hear of it. She sighed and went back to her cooking; the least she could do for him was make sure he ate well. Her brown eyes watched the bread as it baked in the brick oven as she stirred the soup. This meal was going to be a good one. She licked off a drop of soup that had landed on her tanned skin and laughed. She should really pay more attention when dealing with hot things!
She heard a knock at the door. Was her father here already? That couldn't be a good sign. Readying herself for bad news, she went to the door and opened it.
"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. Instead of her father, as she expected, it was a boy. Elina stepped back, closing the door a little. Her father had always warned her against opening the door while she was home alone. Now she knew what he was talking about. This boy was not from around here. His deep blue eyes, set into an oval face, watched her every movement, staring. His hair was cut very close to his head, though she could tell it was nearly black. He had very fair skin in the places that weren't burnt bright red from the sun. And that happened to be a very large area of skin as he had no shirt on, weird, and- was that a sword on his back? Around his neck was a turquoise necklace with a metal pendant that had some weird symbol etched on it.
He said something, pulling her from her study of him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She flashed him a smile, hoping that he wasn't one of those men her father was always telling her about. He said something again, but it was completely unintelligible, reaffirming her belief that he definitely wasn't from around here. Why in the world was a random traveler here? They were pretty far from anything. In fact, the nearest town was 10 miles away, at the edge of their land. And the main road went the other way through town, completely bypassing her father's farm. Whatever the reason, she couldn't understand a single word he said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you say." She shook her head, showing him that she didn't know what he was saying.
"Oh, I apologize. I forgot that you wouldn't understand me." Elina paused in the middle of shaking her head. What? She looked at him puzzled.
"You speak our language too?" He nodded.
"Shouldn't I? You don't understand mine." He had a point.
"Alright, that makes sense. It's just that most travelers only know one language: ours or their own. You're the first I've ever seen that knew two."
He didn't say anything, just continued that blank stare. She wrinkled her brow. He certainly was an odd one. Now he seemed to be waiting for something. What could he be waiting for? Oh. Right.
"Can I help you?"
"I need a place to stay for the night." Elina hesitated. He hadn't given her any reason to distrust him, and surely, judging by the looks of his arms and chest, he could have gotten past her into the house whether or not she agreed. Still, her father's warning words were playing in her mind. "Please. I've come a long way and my body is exhausted." He really did look tired. She made up her mind, though it might get her in trouble with her father.
"Alright, come on in." She led him into the house, mentally beating herself up for not having cleaned it up earlier. "Okay, so, this is the living room, over there's the dining room, and around that corner is the kitchen." He merely watched as she pointed, looking to each room as she gestured. "I'm sure you must be really tired, so I'll show you where you can wash up and then you can sleep until dinner." He looked at her and she felt her face flushing. She then cursed silently at herself for being so silly. She purposefully marched up the stairs and down the hall to the washroom. She showed him the pitcher and the cloths for washing and then took him to their spare room.
"Now that you know where everything is, you can just stay here until I call you when dinner's ready, okay?" He nodded and unbuckled the sword belt, tossing it on the bed, along with a pack she hadn't seen earlier. Elina then realized she should probably leave so he could wash and so she could finish dinner. As she was walking through the door, she turned and asked, "What's your name?"
"...Christopher."
"Okay. It was nice to meet you, Christopher.
With that, she hopped down the stairs and into the kitchen, reflecting on her strange visitor. She could almost hear her father yelling at her now...
She heard a knock at the door. Was her father here already? That couldn't be a good sign. Readying herself for bad news, she went to the door and opened it.
"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. Instead of her father, as she expected, it was a boy. Elina stepped back, closing the door a little. Her father had always warned her against opening the door while she was home alone. Now she knew what he was talking about. This boy was not from around here. His deep blue eyes, set into an oval face, watched her every movement, staring. His hair was cut very close to his head, though she could tell it was nearly black. He had very fair skin in the places that weren't burnt bright red from the sun. And that happened to be a very large area of skin as he had no shirt on, weird, and- was that a sword on his back? Around his neck was a turquoise necklace with a metal pendant that had some weird symbol etched on it.
He said something, pulling her from her study of him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She flashed him a smile, hoping that he wasn't one of those men her father was always telling her about. He said something again, but it was completely unintelligible, reaffirming her belief that he definitely wasn't from around here. Why in the world was a random traveler here? They were pretty far from anything. In fact, the nearest town was 10 miles away, at the edge of their land. And the main road went the other way through town, completely bypassing her father's farm. Whatever the reason, she couldn't understand a single word he said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you say." She shook her head, showing him that she didn't know what he was saying.
"Oh, I apologize. I forgot that you wouldn't understand me." Elina paused in the middle of shaking her head. What? She looked at him puzzled.
"You speak our language too?" He nodded.
"Shouldn't I? You don't understand mine." He had a point.
"Alright, that makes sense. It's just that most travelers only know one language: ours or their own. You're the first I've ever seen that knew two."
He didn't say anything, just continued that blank stare. She wrinkled her brow. He certainly was an odd one. Now he seemed to be waiting for something. What could he be waiting for? Oh. Right.
"Can I help you?"
"I need a place to stay for the night." Elina hesitated. He hadn't given her any reason to distrust him, and surely, judging by the looks of his arms and chest, he could have gotten past her into the house whether or not she agreed. Still, her father's warning words were playing in her mind. "Please. I've come a long way and my body is exhausted." He really did look tired. She made up her mind, though it might get her in trouble with her father.
"Alright, come on in." She led him into the house, mentally beating herself up for not having cleaned it up earlier. "Okay, so, this is the living room, over there's the dining room, and around that corner is the kitchen." He merely watched as she pointed, looking to each room as she gestured. "I'm sure you must be really tired, so I'll show you where you can wash up and then you can sleep until dinner." He looked at her and she felt her face flushing. She then cursed silently at herself for being so silly. She purposefully marched up the stairs and down the hall to the washroom. She showed him the pitcher and the cloths for washing and then took him to their spare room.
"Now that you know where everything is, you can just stay here until I call you when dinner's ready, okay?" He nodded and unbuckled the sword belt, tossing it on the bed, along with a pack she hadn't seen earlier. Elina then realized she should probably leave so he could wash and so she could finish dinner. As she was walking through the door, she turned and asked, "What's your name?"
"...Christopher."
"Okay. It was nice to meet you, Christopher.
With that, she hopped down the stairs and into the kitchen, reflecting on her strange visitor. She could almost hear her father yelling at her now...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Questions: 10th Installment
Lily jerked awake. What a nightmare. She had dreamt that the Initiation Ceremony had happened and Nannoc had...she gulped. Of course that couldn't have happened. Nannoc loved her; he had even said that he would die before he would be the one to kill her. She waved the remaining shreds of the terrifying dream away.
Slowly moving her stiff body into a sitting position, Lily mused over the fact that she had slept at all. She had spent a good portion of the night worrying over whether or not she had given Nannoc the right answer. And had she? The dream again came to her mind, in particularly the face of indifference on Nannoc's face when he had completed the act. She shook her head violently. That wasn't going to happen. He had been very clear on that point and she was merely being silly. But had she given him the right answer? He had seemed so sure she would say yes, and it would have definitely saved her life. But what kind of life was it if she had to stay down here? She wanted to be able to go above ground, to see her family again. And still, when she had seen how his face had fallen when she had said no, she began to doubt herself.
Damn it! Now she couldn't let it go. Had she done the right thing? Lily tucked her knees to her chin, trying to think. She really did like him, maybe even love him, but she didn't want to be stuck down in this absolute hell of a place. She wanted to see the sun. Suddenly something hit her: if she had said yes to being with Nannoc, she wouldn't be killed. Instead she would be with him, a valid part of the People. Then no one would care if they left together; they wouldn't see it as betrayal! Was this what he had been trying to tell her when he had come in so excited the other day? It must be! He was right, it would solve all their problems! And she had been so focused on the marriage part that she couldn't see past it to the bigger plan. How could she be so stupid?! She should have said yes! And she was going to. She was going to tell Nannoc that she had changed her mind; she wanted to be his wife so that they could escape together.
She turned around to where he had fallen last night after they whipped him, excited to tell him the good news. He wasn't there. Lily crawled over to the spot; she was sure he had been right here! She pulled up her hand only to find it slick and red. Horrified she saw that the stone all around this spot was stained dark with blood. Surely Nannoc wasn't dead! They couldn't have just let him die! Could they? His back had been bleeding pretty badly, but he couldn't be dead. He just couldn't! She had to tell him that she had changed her mind, had to tell him that she loved him and wanted to run away with him. The longer she stared at the ground, the surer she became that Nannoc was gone. Tears flooded her eyes and began to roll down her face. She laid her head on her hands and started sobbing.
A loud noise from the tunnel to the nursery startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly wiped her face; she would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they made her cry. It obviously wasn't Nannoc or there would have been no noise. Sure enough, one of the bodyguards she had seen yesterday came into the room, a look of disgust on his voice, swearing loudly at the rest of the captured Outsiders. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her watching him and stalked quickly across the cavern. He drew a large knife from the sheath and held it over his head. Lily ducked instinctively. He laughed and sliced through the rope that held her to the stake in the ground. Grabbing the end of the rope, he yanked. Lily fell forward, trying to keep her neck from breaking. He laughed again and pulled her to her feet using the back of the collar. Before she had even caught her breath, he yanked the rope, pulling her forward.
"Move. It's time to go." With that, he started off quickly down the hall. Lily had no choice but to follow him and try to keep up. When she her legs faltered from disuse, she had to jump immediately up; he wasn't stopping for anything and would drag her if she stopped. In this way they proceeded to the main hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Day began with the People in a frenzy. Today was the Initiation; today Nannoc would become a true member of the People. None were more excited than Elliott. After this, after that stupid girl was gone, Nannoc wouldn't be asking any more stupid questions. Nannoc would see that he, Ellliot, was right all along and would finally be happy. They could go back to how it had been, doing their jobs together as they had before when they were both Children. Of course, they would never be equal. Elliott was obviously chosen before Nannoc for a reason, therefore he was obviously that much more important. Although, Nannoc was much better at skill for hunting than Elliott was. No matter. He was chosen first, nothing to be done about that. He was apparently more important than Nannoc in the Elder's eyes at least.
Elliott was among the first People to arrive in the main hall. Since this wasn't as formal as the Announcement, the People chose their own seats instead of sitting according to age. He wanted to make sure he had the best spot to watch Nannoc's face as he sacrificed that nasty little witch. He spat at the thought of her; she had undoubtedly poisoned Nannoc's mind with her narrow Outsider views, leading Nannoc to question the authority of the People and the Elder himself. Elliott had been shocked and outraged that Nannoc, perfect citizen in all other accounts, would have the audacity to have even thought those accusations he made. Elliott was sure: he never would have questioned his role if it wasn't for that girl!
Speak of the devil, here she came, stumbling as one of the Elder's bodyguards pulled her across the room. Elliott laughed as she fell over multiple times. She deserved it. Finally they arrived at the wooden altar where she would be sacrificed. The bodyguard undid the collar around her neck. Now she tried to run, to escape, but her legs were so unused to walking after their months in the nursery that she couldn't even go two strides before she fell, scraping her face on the stone floor. Everyone in the room laughed hysterically; how comical! To think she even had a chance of getting away, even her legs worked. Soon she was tied down to the altar, completely unable to move anything but her head.
Now the People poured into the room. Someone lit the fire in the middle of the room, smaller than the one they had used yesterday, just beneath the raised area where the altar was. Soon it would be time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily was terrified. Somehow, though she had resigned herself to death a while ago, now that it was truly going to happen, she didn't want to die. She struggled against her bonds, to the amusement of the guards standing near her, but they didn't budge. She knew they wouldn't. After all, they had been doing this for centuries. She stopped moving, once again beginning to cry. Nannoc was surely dead and here she was, helpless to do anything, soon to be dead as well. At least they would meet again in the afterlife.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The hysteria in the crowd was growing. Rumors were flying across the room. Someone had seen Nannoc already and he had deep wounds across his back, as if he had been whipped. Someone else had heard that there was a commotion down in the nursery the previous night. Another had heard that he had asked the Elder if he could have her for a wife, turning down several of their own girls. Someone had said that Nannoc had died and someone else was going to be the Cutter today. One person said he had asked a Healer to verify the stories, and she wouldn't say anything. Whispers of That must mean it's true and Of course it can't be. He couldn't be that stupid were heard everywhere. Then shouts were heard and the Cutter was brought out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elliott breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't believe any of the rumors, but the longer it took, the more he doubted. Nannoc's appearance assured him that everything was okay. Except...He wasn't wearing his robe. Instead, he was bare chested. He heard the questioning murmurs in the crowd as they noticed the same thing he did. This wasn't natural. Why wasn't Nannoc adhering to tradition? Then he turned to take the ceremonial sword from the Elder and the congregation gasped collectively.
His back was covered in blood seeping from gashes that made it look as though he had been whipped harshly. He heard one of the men who had been spreading rumors say, "I told you so!" So, that much was true. What had he done to deserve that? There was absolutely no way the rest of the rumors could be true. But were they? At least one had been true...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her first reaction was joy at the fact that he was still alive. They must have come to heal him some time in the night. But when he turned and Lily saw the cuts from the whips, she thought That's my fault. I did that when I refused his offer. She could do nothing but watch him as he strapped the sword to his wounded back and turned to the altar. He must be in so much pain! But his face never changed. He had gone back to the blank stare that he had used the first day she had seen him.
Her heat beat faster and faster as he walked slowly up to where she was lying. She took courage in the fact that he had said he wouldn't hurt her, though his face was frightening in it's indifference. The doubts raised by her dream came back. Oh God, he couldn't! He wouldn't! He said so himself! No, he couldn't!! Her eyes widened in fear as he slowly approached the altar, sword in hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nannoc watched Lily's face as he drew nearer to the altar. Was that fear? Didn't she believe in the afterlife? Why was she afraid of death? He knew it wasn't death that scared her, but how she was about to die. At his hands. A bitter smile stretched across his face. Afterlife my ass he thought. Sephirin only cares about what we do now, in this life. This is what we have. As he watched her go stiff with terror, the smile left his face. Now I understand why the People think they're better. They don't lay down their lives as if there's no choice. No, they fight to the bitter end. He turned to the bodyguard who was still standing by the altar. The guard understood that his duty here was done and left, but not before giving Nannoc a smug smile, laughing at his pain.
Pain. If Lily had taught him anything, it was that emotions only brought pain. The way he was before was better. No problems, no heart ache, no gashes in his back, no infuriating questions. Just duty. And that's all there was left now. He stepped up to the altar. He paused a moment before bending down, getting himself close to Lily's ear. He knew that the entirety of the People were leaned forward, aching to catch what he was about to say to her.
"Nannoc..." Her voice was small, almost a sob. "Nannoc, I'm sorry."
He put his hand on the back of her head. She closed her eyes, a relieved look on her face. Then he spoke, "I told you I'd get you out any way I could." She turned to him, not understanding at first, then her eyes growing wide. That's right. You understand now. He lifted the heavy sword above his head and then let it drop through the air. With a thud, it hit the wooden altar. Lily was dead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The People cheered, some of the younger ones jumping up and down. Another Child had just become and Adult. Elliott was proud. Now that the girl was dead, Nannoc would be his old self; there was nothing left to worry about. Then, little by little, the crowd fell silent. What was wrong? Elliott glanced back to the altar. Normally the new Adult would be cheering just as much as the crowd was. Nannoc was just standing there, watching the blood drip from the sword still in his hand. Why hadn't he cleaned it? What was wrong with him?
Momentarily Nannoc woke from his reverie, cleaned the sword, and sheathed it, wincing when it hit his back. Then he stood there, staring at the crowd as the two aides went to collect the blood. After a few minutes of silence, Nannoc started to speak.
"Disgusting." His voice was thick with contempt. What was he thinking? "The way you all revel in blood and death. It's sickening. Here you are cheering for the murder of a young girl, so similar to us, who's done nothing to you." He spat at them. Elliott could hear angry mutterings from those around him. Was Nannoc trying to get himself killed? Already he had the wounds on his back; any more of this and he'd have another set on top of those.
The aides finished collecting the blood and handed the jar to Nannoc. The jar was as large as his torso and he held it, studying the jar. The crowd started to get excited again, thinking that he was going to finish the ceremony. Elliott merely watched. He knew Nannoc better than that. This wasn't over yet. As soon as he finished this though, Nannoc began to speak again.
"So, you relish the sight of blood, do you?" The People were getting frenzied again. Of course that's what they want; that's what they came here for. What are you going to do, Nannoc? Elliott thought. As if reading his mind, Nannoc glanced over to where Elliott was standing, raising the jar over his head, and said, "Then relish in this!" Elliott suddenly realized what he was about to do and started towards the place where Nannoc was standing. Before he could get there, Nannoc had already smashed the jar down on the fire, spilling the blood and quenching the fire.
The People screamed and began running into the tunnels, trying to get to the light. Most of them could not see in the dark the way those like Nannoc could. As the stench of burning blood permeated the cave, Elliott heard retching. Yet he kept on his search for Nannoc. Elliott knew Nannoc would be heading towards the exit to the Outside and ran in that direction. He didn't need to see; he knew the tunnels like the back of his hand. Battling the flow of bodies in all different directions, Elliott sprinted to the exit. He knew as he ran that he was too slow, he would never catch Nannoc. Still he ran. This stupid boy whom he used to call "friend" had just screwed everything up. He called the People disgusting. He condemned them for their sacrifices. He had blasphemed against Sephirin and Ophelia. He had to be caught and brought to justice.
At last Elliott reached the exit to the Outside. He burst into the light, shielding his eyes. He paused and waited for his vision to come back. He peered in every direction, searching for any sign of Nannoc or his trail. He didn't find any. He laughed bitterly. Of course he wouldn't find any trail; this was Nannoc, the one with the best skills as a Hunter the People had ever seen. Elliott pledged, looking off into the woods, that he would find Nannoc and would be the one to show that traitorous bastard what happened when you insulted the People and disobeyed Sephirin. With that, he turned and went back into the cave.
Slowly moving her stiff body into a sitting position, Lily mused over the fact that she had slept at all. She had spent a good portion of the night worrying over whether or not she had given Nannoc the right answer. And had she? The dream again came to her mind, in particularly the face of indifference on Nannoc's face when he had completed the act. She shook her head violently. That wasn't going to happen. He had been very clear on that point and she was merely being silly. But had she given him the right answer? He had seemed so sure she would say yes, and it would have definitely saved her life. But what kind of life was it if she had to stay down here? She wanted to be able to go above ground, to see her family again. And still, when she had seen how his face had fallen when she had said no, she began to doubt herself.
Damn it! Now she couldn't let it go. Had she done the right thing? Lily tucked her knees to her chin, trying to think. She really did like him, maybe even love him, but she didn't want to be stuck down in this absolute hell of a place. She wanted to see the sun. Suddenly something hit her: if she had said yes to being with Nannoc, she wouldn't be killed. Instead she would be with him, a valid part of the People. Then no one would care if they left together; they wouldn't see it as betrayal! Was this what he had been trying to tell her when he had come in so excited the other day? It must be! He was right, it would solve all their problems! And she had been so focused on the marriage part that she couldn't see past it to the bigger plan. How could she be so stupid?! She should have said yes! And she was going to. She was going to tell Nannoc that she had changed her mind; she wanted to be his wife so that they could escape together.
She turned around to where he had fallen last night after they whipped him, excited to tell him the good news. He wasn't there. Lily crawled over to the spot; she was sure he had been right here! She pulled up her hand only to find it slick and red. Horrified she saw that the stone all around this spot was stained dark with blood. Surely Nannoc wasn't dead! They couldn't have just let him die! Could they? His back had been bleeding pretty badly, but he couldn't be dead. He just couldn't! She had to tell him that she had changed her mind, had to tell him that she loved him and wanted to run away with him. The longer she stared at the ground, the surer she became that Nannoc was gone. Tears flooded her eyes and began to roll down her face. She laid her head on her hands and started sobbing.
A loud noise from the tunnel to the nursery startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly wiped her face; she would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they made her cry. It obviously wasn't Nannoc or there would have been no noise. Sure enough, one of the bodyguards she had seen yesterday came into the room, a look of disgust on his voice, swearing loudly at the rest of the captured Outsiders. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her watching him and stalked quickly across the cavern. He drew a large knife from the sheath and held it over his head. Lily ducked instinctively. He laughed and sliced through the rope that held her to the stake in the ground. Grabbing the end of the rope, he yanked. Lily fell forward, trying to keep her neck from breaking. He laughed again and pulled her to her feet using the back of the collar. Before she had even caught her breath, he yanked the rope, pulling her forward.
"Move. It's time to go." With that, he started off quickly down the hall. Lily had no choice but to follow him and try to keep up. When she her legs faltered from disuse, she had to jump immediately up; he wasn't stopping for anything and would drag her if she stopped. In this way they proceeded to the main hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Day began with the People in a frenzy. Today was the Initiation; today Nannoc would become a true member of the People. None were more excited than Elliott. After this, after that stupid girl was gone, Nannoc wouldn't be asking any more stupid questions. Nannoc would see that he, Ellliot, was right all along and would finally be happy. They could go back to how it had been, doing their jobs together as they had before when they were both Children. Of course, they would never be equal. Elliott was obviously chosen before Nannoc for a reason, therefore he was obviously that much more important. Although, Nannoc was much better at skill for hunting than Elliott was. No matter. He was chosen first, nothing to be done about that. He was apparently more important than Nannoc in the Elder's eyes at least.
Elliott was among the first People to arrive in the main hall. Since this wasn't as formal as the Announcement, the People chose their own seats instead of sitting according to age. He wanted to make sure he had the best spot to watch Nannoc's face as he sacrificed that nasty little witch. He spat at the thought of her; she had undoubtedly poisoned Nannoc's mind with her narrow Outsider views, leading Nannoc to question the authority of the People and the Elder himself. Elliott had been shocked and outraged that Nannoc, perfect citizen in all other accounts, would have the audacity to have even thought those accusations he made. Elliott was sure: he never would have questioned his role if it wasn't for that girl!
Speak of the devil, here she came, stumbling as one of the Elder's bodyguards pulled her across the room. Elliott laughed as she fell over multiple times. She deserved it. Finally they arrived at the wooden altar where she would be sacrificed. The bodyguard undid the collar around her neck. Now she tried to run, to escape, but her legs were so unused to walking after their months in the nursery that she couldn't even go two strides before she fell, scraping her face on the stone floor. Everyone in the room laughed hysterically; how comical! To think she even had a chance of getting away, even her legs worked. Soon she was tied down to the altar, completely unable to move anything but her head.
Now the People poured into the room. Someone lit the fire in the middle of the room, smaller than the one they had used yesterday, just beneath the raised area where the altar was. Soon it would be time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily was terrified. Somehow, though she had resigned herself to death a while ago, now that it was truly going to happen, she didn't want to die. She struggled against her bonds, to the amusement of the guards standing near her, but they didn't budge. She knew they wouldn't. After all, they had been doing this for centuries. She stopped moving, once again beginning to cry. Nannoc was surely dead and here she was, helpless to do anything, soon to be dead as well. At least they would meet again in the afterlife.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The hysteria in the crowd was growing. Rumors were flying across the room. Someone had seen Nannoc already and he had deep wounds across his back, as if he had been whipped. Someone else had heard that there was a commotion down in the nursery the previous night. Another had heard that he had asked the Elder if he could have her for a wife, turning down several of their own girls. Someone had said that Nannoc had died and someone else was going to be the Cutter today. One person said he had asked a Healer to verify the stories, and she wouldn't say anything. Whispers of That must mean it's true and Of course it can't be. He couldn't be that stupid were heard everywhere. Then shouts were heard and the Cutter was brought out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elliott breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't believe any of the rumors, but the longer it took, the more he doubted. Nannoc's appearance assured him that everything was okay. Except...He wasn't wearing his robe. Instead, he was bare chested. He heard the questioning murmurs in the crowd as they noticed the same thing he did. This wasn't natural. Why wasn't Nannoc adhering to tradition? Then he turned to take the ceremonial sword from the Elder and the congregation gasped collectively.
His back was covered in blood seeping from gashes that made it look as though he had been whipped harshly. He heard one of the men who had been spreading rumors say, "I told you so!" So, that much was true. What had he done to deserve that? There was absolutely no way the rest of the rumors could be true. But were they? At least one had been true...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her first reaction was joy at the fact that he was still alive. They must have come to heal him some time in the night. But when he turned and Lily saw the cuts from the whips, she thought That's my fault. I did that when I refused his offer. She could do nothing but watch him as he strapped the sword to his wounded back and turned to the altar. He must be in so much pain! But his face never changed. He had gone back to the blank stare that he had used the first day she had seen him.
Her heat beat faster and faster as he walked slowly up to where she was lying. She took courage in the fact that he had said he wouldn't hurt her, though his face was frightening in it's indifference. The doubts raised by her dream came back. Oh God, he couldn't! He wouldn't! He said so himself! No, he couldn't!! Her eyes widened in fear as he slowly approached the altar, sword in hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nannoc watched Lily's face as he drew nearer to the altar. Was that fear? Didn't she believe in the afterlife? Why was she afraid of death? He knew it wasn't death that scared her, but how she was about to die. At his hands. A bitter smile stretched across his face. Afterlife my ass he thought. Sephirin only cares about what we do now, in this life. This is what we have. As he watched her go stiff with terror, the smile left his face. Now I understand why the People think they're better. They don't lay down their lives as if there's no choice. No, they fight to the bitter end. He turned to the bodyguard who was still standing by the altar. The guard understood that his duty here was done and left, but not before giving Nannoc a smug smile, laughing at his pain.
Pain. If Lily had taught him anything, it was that emotions only brought pain. The way he was before was better. No problems, no heart ache, no gashes in his back, no infuriating questions. Just duty. And that's all there was left now. He stepped up to the altar. He paused a moment before bending down, getting himself close to Lily's ear. He knew that the entirety of the People were leaned forward, aching to catch what he was about to say to her.
"Nannoc..." Her voice was small, almost a sob. "Nannoc, I'm sorry."
He put his hand on the back of her head. She closed her eyes, a relieved look on her face. Then he spoke, "I told you I'd get you out any way I could." She turned to him, not understanding at first, then her eyes growing wide. That's right. You understand now. He lifted the heavy sword above his head and then let it drop through the air. With a thud, it hit the wooden altar. Lily was dead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The People cheered, some of the younger ones jumping up and down. Another Child had just become and Adult. Elliott was proud. Now that the girl was dead, Nannoc would be his old self; there was nothing left to worry about. Then, little by little, the crowd fell silent. What was wrong? Elliott glanced back to the altar. Normally the new Adult would be cheering just as much as the crowd was. Nannoc was just standing there, watching the blood drip from the sword still in his hand. Why hadn't he cleaned it? What was wrong with him?
Momentarily Nannoc woke from his reverie, cleaned the sword, and sheathed it, wincing when it hit his back. Then he stood there, staring at the crowd as the two aides went to collect the blood. After a few minutes of silence, Nannoc started to speak.
"Disgusting." His voice was thick with contempt. What was he thinking? "The way you all revel in blood and death. It's sickening. Here you are cheering for the murder of a young girl, so similar to us, who's done nothing to you." He spat at them. Elliott could hear angry mutterings from those around him. Was Nannoc trying to get himself killed? Already he had the wounds on his back; any more of this and he'd have another set on top of those.
The aides finished collecting the blood and handed the jar to Nannoc. The jar was as large as his torso and he held it, studying the jar. The crowd started to get excited again, thinking that he was going to finish the ceremony. Elliott merely watched. He knew Nannoc better than that. This wasn't over yet. As soon as he finished this though, Nannoc began to speak again.
"So, you relish the sight of blood, do you?" The People were getting frenzied again. Of course that's what they want; that's what they came here for. What are you going to do, Nannoc? Elliott thought. As if reading his mind, Nannoc glanced over to where Elliott was standing, raising the jar over his head, and said, "Then relish in this!" Elliott suddenly realized what he was about to do and started towards the place where Nannoc was standing. Before he could get there, Nannoc had already smashed the jar down on the fire, spilling the blood and quenching the fire.
The People screamed and began running into the tunnels, trying to get to the light. Most of them could not see in the dark the way those like Nannoc could. As the stench of burning blood permeated the cave, Elliott heard retching. Yet he kept on his search for Nannoc. Elliott knew Nannoc would be heading towards the exit to the Outside and ran in that direction. He didn't need to see; he knew the tunnels like the back of his hand. Battling the flow of bodies in all different directions, Elliott sprinted to the exit. He knew as he ran that he was too slow, he would never catch Nannoc. Still he ran. This stupid boy whom he used to call "friend" had just screwed everything up. He called the People disgusting. He condemned them for their sacrifices. He had blasphemed against Sephirin and Ophelia. He had to be caught and brought to justice.
At last Elliott reached the exit to the Outside. He burst into the light, shielding his eyes. He paused and waited for his vision to come back. He peered in every direction, searching for any sign of Nannoc or his trail. He didn't find any. He laughed bitterly. Of course he wouldn't find any trail; this was Nannoc, the one with the best skills as a Hunter the People had ever seen. Elliott pledged, looking off into the woods, that he would find Nannoc and would be the one to show that traitorous bastard what happened when you insulted the People and disobeyed Sephirin. With that, he turned and went back into the cave.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
So..
It's been awhile since I last posted. Been just a little busy. A couple tests just came and went (did a lot better on those than I thought I was going to), last weekend was the first home game of the season, this weekend I went to Newton, then home to watch the Urbandale Marching Invitational, got sick halfway through and went home before seeing any of the bands I particularly wanted to watch. This week is homecoming, and another quiz is just around the corner. So...Sorry to everyone tearing their hair out waiting for the last bit of Questions. Hopefully it will come out soon. Probably next week at the earliest.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Omegle
The other day I was messin' around on Omegle. Somehow I ended up in a conversation with a really cool dude named Chris. We decided that at the end of our conversation, we should at least exchange e-mail addresses so that we could continue talking after I went to movie night at Charlie's dorm room. We've been e-mailing for a few days now. It's been about 27 hours since I responded to his last e-mail. Generally we reply daily. It's kinda sad, but I actually miss the e-mail. I get so excited when I see that I have a new message, only to discover it's spam. Then I feel bummed. So, yeah, new friend is really awesome and I can't wait to talk to him again...If he would just reply...
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I laughed so hard when I read this.
Last night I stayed over at a friend's house. When I woke up to go to the bathroom, I was thoroughly confused when she told me not get lost. As it turns out, during the night I had slept walked to the bathroom but then went downstairs into her parent's room and pulled off their comforter, telling them it was on fire and I was saving them. Her dad peed himself. Her mom said she'd never laughed harder. MLIA
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Questions: 9th Installment
Morning of the announcement of the Cutter. Nannoc awoke to Aaron and his other roommates beating him in the face with their robes. Apparently he had slept much later than normal and they all had to go as a group. As fast as he could, he got himself ready to go. They then left the room in single-file, Nannoc at the lead, into the line of the other Children outside the room. An Adult came and led their procession into the meeting room where the rest of the Adults were waiting. As the Children entered, everyone in the room cheered as loud as they could. What else could they do? One of these Children was about to join their ranks in the Adult Society.
The Adult told Nannoc where to stop and slowly the rest of the Children fell into lines, fifteen across, five back. Then the Adult went over to his place while the Children remained standing as they were, facing the place the Elder would appear. Just below that outcropping, the fire was lit, creating odd shadows that danced across the walls with every pop or sizzle. Nannoc looked into the fire as he had just two months prior. This time, gazing deep into the bright flames, he saw something that looked like a boy running...and...next to him was a girl. Nannoc breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized until that point that he was still worried that Lily wasn't going to make the right choice. But this proved it. He needn't worry about anything now. Everything would go as planned.
Right then, the Elder appeared above them and put his hands up for quiet. The crowd, which had still been cheering until that point, quickly fell silent. The Elder looked at the Adults and said, "Sephirin's People, I know you've been waiting patiently this last few months." He paused as murmurs of assent ran through the crowd. "Therefore, I will not waste any more of your time. The Child to be the Cutter during tomorrow's Initiation Ceremony will be..." Now he looked at the Children until his eyes finally rested on Nannoc's. Then he pointed and Nannoc stepped forward from the line as the Elder shouted, "Nannoc!" Once again the crowd cheered. Nannoc turned toward them, a triumphant smile on his face. How wrong their expectations of tomorrow were. There would be no Cutting. He wouldn't be here that long. Last night he had put all his necessary possessions in a hidden depression in the hall to the Outside. To make them easier to carry, he had wrapped them up in an extra robe that he had found somewhere. He was entirely ready to go, and had been more than ready in a mental sense for quite some time.
One of the Council came up to him and led him out of the meeting room. Before he left, Nannoc turned around, just to see the jealous expression on Aaron's face. Well, he would be getting what he wanted soon enough. In just a few moments they arrived at the Elder's room. It wasn't impressive in size, but the kinds of things in it were different. Nannoc had never seen anything like them, though he thought he recognized some from Lily's description of things from the Outside. Things like a "bed" instead of the straw mat that the rest of the People had. And there was something that looked like a "candle" for light inside the room. Why did the Elder have these things here? And why didn't he distribute them among the People if they were good enough to keep?
He didn't have very long to ponder these thoughts. The Elder came in and gestured for the Council member to leave. He then gestured to one of the men who served as guards. One of them went out, and the Elder started to speak again, "So, Nannoc. How do you feel?"
"Greatly honored, sir." He was careful to please the Elder, since he was about to destroy several centuries of traditions as soon as the guardsman came back.
"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it, to know that you are about to become an Adult?"
"Yes, quite."
"Are you ready for everything that comes with that?" The Elder was staring at Nannoc intensely. Nannoc felt very uncomfortable under his gaze. It felt as he were a cow and the Elder was inspecting him. And judging by the face, Nannoc wasn't an entirely pleasing cow.
"What do you mean by that, sir?" He shifted, trying to release himself from the scrutiny of the People's leader.
"I mean, are you ready to accept your adult responsibilities? Including becoming a Hunter, since you're one of the best I've ever seen at the skills needed. Also including taking care of your two new wives."
"Yes, sir, I believe I'm ready for that."
"Well then, let's get those ladies out here so you can choose which ones you want." At that, the guard who had left came back leading a line of 10 girls, two of which Nannoc was supposed to pick for his own. "I'll have them each step forward; you pick the two that you want."
"Bu-" Nannoc didn't need to go through this; he already knew who he wanted.
"First is Natalie," the Elder interrupted. One of the girls stepped forward. She was beautiful, yes, and quite tall. Almost as tall as Nannoc. He shook his head; that didn't matter at all.
Taking it as a signal of his displeasure, the Elder waved Natalie back into the line and called up the next girl, Ariadne. The Elder asked, "Do you pick her?"
"No, I-" But once more the Elder cut him off and ushered a new girl forth; This was Elaine. Every time he tried to say something, the Elder interrupted. This happened for not only the first three, but with Rhiannon, Moira, Emmeline, Jaqueline, and Lia.
Nannoc's tries for attention got more adamant each time, to no avail. Finally, after Lia, he resorted to shouting, "SIR!" With that, the Elder paused in naming the next girl.
"What, Nannoc, gives you the need to interrupt your Elder?" Nannoc shrank back slightly under the intimidation of the Elder, but he had to say what he had to say.
"I don't want any of these girls. I already had a girl picked out for my wife." The Elder sat back in shock.
"Well, this is unconventional, but since you are an exemplary Child of the People, I will allow this. Tell me, Nannoc, who is she that you have chosen?"
"Well...her name is Lily." Nannoc's heart was pounding in his chest. To say he was nervous would have been an extreme understatement. He was shattering centuries of tradition and rules and betraying the People with an Outsider, specifically one set aside for the Cutting. The same Cutting that was initiating him into the Adult society.
"No one in the People is named...Oh. Nannoc," the Elder leaned down to Nannoc, who had his head down, trying to not make eye contact. "You've been breaking rules now, haven't you? Lily's the name of the millah who is to be Cut tomorrow, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir, she's the one I pick." He heard a small chorus of indignant and outraged sounds from the ten girls currently in the room. He had meant to tell the Elder before all the girls were brought in. There wasn't any help for that now, so he just had bear their scorn.
The Elder held up his hand to the girls, and they ceased. He raised one eyebrow and said, "Well, I assume since you've chosen her, she's chosen you, am I right?" Nannoc merely nodded. "Let's test that. If she chooses you, then I give you my express permission to take her as your wife and live out your life with her. If she doesn't choose you, I reserve the right to choose whatever punishment I deem appropriate for your inexcusable behavior and disregard for the rules." Standing up and putting his hand on Nannoc's back, the Elder said, "The ladies that Nannoc has turned down, I want you to come with me. The others can leave. As for the rest of us, we shall head down to the nursery to check see if Lily's affection measures up." With that, he more or less pushed Nannoc out into the hallway with the 8 girls right behind. Lily would undoubtedly say yes. Nannoc knew she would. She had to, or else suffer the consequences. But she would. And Nannoc comforted himself in the fact that, shortly, he and Lily would be free to go about their lives without the People there to oppress them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived in the nursery, they still had to walk past all the other millah. Nannoc smirked when he heard the wretching noises some of the girls made at the smell. Even the Elder and his guardsman wrinkled their noses. When the millah heard the commotion, for usually there were never this many people in the nursery, they began screaming and moaning to be let out. The girls looked incredibly nervous as Nannoc kept leading them (he had long since relieved himself of the Elder's grip) deeper into the tunnels past these noises. He could understand why, with the pleas for help, but he had long since numbed himself to all of the sounds and smells of the nursery. The Elder seemed to not even hear the screams. Neither did the guardsman. Did the Elder care, or had he too numbed himself? But he hadn't been down here in many, many years, decades perhaps. How had he gotten acclimated to this?
It didn't matter. All that mattered was that in just a few minutes, Lily and he could leave forever, never to be bothered again. When they finally entered the chamber for the sacrificial Outsiders, Lily was curled up, asleep in the middle of the room. Nannoc paused just inside, waiting for all the others to file in behind him. He then looked to the Elder for a signal as to what he should do next.
"Go wake her up so that we can talk to her." Nannoc bent down, put his hands on Lily's shoulders, and shook gently to wake her up. She looked greatly confused at first. In hushed whispers, Nannoc explained and her eyes opened wide as she turned to look over his shoulder at the man who had her imprisoned in the first place. Holding her hand, Nannoc refused to turn around when the Elder began to speak.
"So, Lily, Nannoc here has told me that you two are in love. He has chosen you as his wife over eight girls of the People. Before I let him do something that completely defies my rules, I need to know that his love is returned. As such, I have a simple question for you Lily: Nannoc has chosen you. Do you choose him?"
Lily turned her eyes back to Nannoc, looking scared. Not of the Elder, but of Nannoc. She pulled her hands out of his and pulled away slightly. He followed her with his eyes. In a small voice, she spoke, "I'm sorry, Nannoc, but I can't." He stared at her, not comprehending. What did she mean "she can't?" Her life depended on it.
"I'm sorry, what was that Lily? Speak loudly enough that we can all hear you." Nannoc could hear slight amusment in the Elder's voice.
"I can't. I can't marry Nannoc." Dropping her voice again, she spoke to only Nannoc, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The slight sobs in her voice didn't change anything. Nannoc's face stiffened. He stood up, oblivious now to everything exept the fact that Lily, his only friend, the one person he opened up to, the one girl he'd ever wanted, turned him down. Not even to save her own life would she marry him. And it wasn't even a real marriage.
"Well, I suppose that's it then. Nannoc, you know I need to punish you now for breaking all my rules."
"Yes sir." He faced away from Lily. Her rejection spun its way through him, squelching every good feeling this last two months had brought him.
"Very well." The Elder turned to the girls who had been waiting impatiently on the side of the room. When Nannoc saw the smug little grins on their faces, he wanted to wring their necks. But what was the use? Lily had denied him. Nothing would change that fact. Nothing would change the inevitable punshiment he would recieve. Nothing would alleviate the feeling that had turned him cold on the inside. He was dead to the outside world. The Elder addressed the girls, "As you can see, Nannoc's choice of an Outsider for his wife didn't work very well. We need a way to remind him that this is always the case. Each of you should get your chance to remind him of this fact. Therefore, his punishment is forty total lashes, five from each of you." The Elder then left, leaving everything else to his guardman.
Nannoc was stripped of his robe, exposing his bare skin to the cold air of the cave. He was then shoved down to his hands and knees. He didn't resist; nothing mattered now. The guardmans took his whip and gave it to the first of the girls, Natalie. Every single one of the girls of the People had been trained in using a whip so that they would never be useless in a battle. Each time the whip was lashed across Nannoc's back, it had that force and an indignant anger behind it. He knew he should feel it hurt, but it couldn't compare to what he felt inside. He closed his eyes and took his punshiment. He deserved this. It was his fault. He broke all those rules; he should be punished. This must be Sephirin's punishment for going against the rules of his spokesman, the Elder. Each girl had five chances to hurt him as much as possible, and they were planning on it. Each stroke of the whip was strong enough to tear his back apart.
Forty lashes later, the guardsman took his whip back from Lia, the last girl. He looked disappointed that Nannoc hadn't screamed or cried at all. He then ushered the girls from the nursery, but they each took one last moment to express their scorn: each of them spat on Nannoc. When he was sure they were all gone, Nanoc, lay down on his side. He heard Lily still whispering a pathetic, pitying, "I'm sorry," behind him. He knew his back must be a complete mess of blood and horrific wounds. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
As he lay there in the darkness, the damp stone floor beneath him, he contemplated what was going to happen next. He almost wished he was in Lily's position tomorrow; everything would stop. There would be no more to worry about; nothing more to pain him. It would be over. That's what he could do. When everyone was expecting him to celebrate his victory through Initiation, he would end his own life. How ironic that it would be with the same sword that brought him to Adulthood that he would die. As these thoughts went through his head, tears began falling from his eyes; tears for Lily, tears for himself, tears for the People, tears for the world. Eventually, he fell to unconsciousness despite the pain. Tomorrow would tell all.
The Adult told Nannoc where to stop and slowly the rest of the Children fell into lines, fifteen across, five back. Then the Adult went over to his place while the Children remained standing as they were, facing the place the Elder would appear. Just below that outcropping, the fire was lit, creating odd shadows that danced across the walls with every pop or sizzle. Nannoc looked into the fire as he had just two months prior. This time, gazing deep into the bright flames, he saw something that looked like a boy running...and...next to him was a girl. Nannoc breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't realized until that point that he was still worried that Lily wasn't going to make the right choice. But this proved it. He needn't worry about anything now. Everything would go as planned.
Right then, the Elder appeared above them and put his hands up for quiet. The crowd, which had still been cheering until that point, quickly fell silent. The Elder looked at the Adults and said, "Sephirin's People, I know you've been waiting patiently this last few months." He paused as murmurs of assent ran through the crowd. "Therefore, I will not waste any more of your time. The Child to be the Cutter during tomorrow's Initiation Ceremony will be..." Now he looked at the Children until his eyes finally rested on Nannoc's. Then he pointed and Nannoc stepped forward from the line as the Elder shouted, "Nannoc!" Once again the crowd cheered. Nannoc turned toward them, a triumphant smile on his face. How wrong their expectations of tomorrow were. There would be no Cutting. He wouldn't be here that long. Last night he had put all his necessary possessions in a hidden depression in the hall to the Outside. To make them easier to carry, he had wrapped them up in an extra robe that he had found somewhere. He was entirely ready to go, and had been more than ready in a mental sense for quite some time.
One of the Council came up to him and led him out of the meeting room. Before he left, Nannoc turned around, just to see the jealous expression on Aaron's face. Well, he would be getting what he wanted soon enough. In just a few moments they arrived at the Elder's room. It wasn't impressive in size, but the kinds of things in it were different. Nannoc had never seen anything like them, though he thought he recognized some from Lily's description of things from the Outside. Things like a "bed" instead of the straw mat that the rest of the People had. And there was something that looked like a "candle" for light inside the room. Why did the Elder have these things here? And why didn't he distribute them among the People if they were good enough to keep?
He didn't have very long to ponder these thoughts. The Elder came in and gestured for the Council member to leave. He then gestured to one of the men who served as guards. One of them went out, and the Elder started to speak again, "So, Nannoc. How do you feel?"
"Greatly honored, sir." He was careful to please the Elder, since he was about to destroy several centuries of traditions as soon as the guardsman came back.
"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it, to know that you are about to become an Adult?"
"Yes, quite."
"Are you ready for everything that comes with that?" The Elder was staring at Nannoc intensely. Nannoc felt very uncomfortable under his gaze. It felt as he were a cow and the Elder was inspecting him. And judging by the face, Nannoc wasn't an entirely pleasing cow.
"What do you mean by that, sir?" He shifted, trying to release himself from the scrutiny of the People's leader.
"I mean, are you ready to accept your adult responsibilities? Including becoming a Hunter, since you're one of the best I've ever seen at the skills needed. Also including taking care of your two new wives."
"Yes, sir, I believe I'm ready for that."
"Well then, let's get those ladies out here so you can choose which ones you want." At that, the guard who had left came back leading a line of 10 girls, two of which Nannoc was supposed to pick for his own. "I'll have them each step forward; you pick the two that you want."
"Bu-" Nannoc didn't need to go through this; he already knew who he wanted.
"First is Natalie," the Elder interrupted. One of the girls stepped forward. She was beautiful, yes, and quite tall. Almost as tall as Nannoc. He shook his head; that didn't matter at all.
Taking it as a signal of his displeasure, the Elder waved Natalie back into the line and called up the next girl, Ariadne. The Elder asked, "Do you pick her?"
"No, I-" But once more the Elder cut him off and ushered a new girl forth; This was Elaine. Every time he tried to say something, the Elder interrupted. This happened for not only the first three, but with Rhiannon, Moira, Emmeline, Jaqueline, and Lia.
Nannoc's tries for attention got more adamant each time, to no avail. Finally, after Lia, he resorted to shouting, "SIR!" With that, the Elder paused in naming the next girl.
"What, Nannoc, gives you the need to interrupt your Elder?" Nannoc shrank back slightly under the intimidation of the Elder, but he had to say what he had to say.
"I don't want any of these girls. I already had a girl picked out for my wife." The Elder sat back in shock.
"Well, this is unconventional, but since you are an exemplary Child of the People, I will allow this. Tell me, Nannoc, who is she that you have chosen?"
"Well...her name is Lily." Nannoc's heart was pounding in his chest. To say he was nervous would have been an extreme understatement. He was shattering centuries of tradition and rules and betraying the People with an Outsider, specifically one set aside for the Cutting. The same Cutting that was initiating him into the Adult society.
"No one in the People is named...Oh. Nannoc," the Elder leaned down to Nannoc, who had his head down, trying to not make eye contact. "You've been breaking rules now, haven't you? Lily's the name of the millah who is to be Cut tomorrow, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir, she's the one I pick." He heard a small chorus of indignant and outraged sounds from the ten girls currently in the room. He had meant to tell the Elder before all the girls were brought in. There wasn't any help for that now, so he just had bear their scorn.
The Elder held up his hand to the girls, and they ceased. He raised one eyebrow and said, "Well, I assume since you've chosen her, she's chosen you, am I right?" Nannoc merely nodded. "Let's test that. If she chooses you, then I give you my express permission to take her as your wife and live out your life with her. If she doesn't choose you, I reserve the right to choose whatever punishment I deem appropriate for your inexcusable behavior and disregard for the rules." Standing up and putting his hand on Nannoc's back, the Elder said, "The ladies that Nannoc has turned down, I want you to come with me. The others can leave. As for the rest of us, we shall head down to the nursery to check see if Lily's affection measures up." With that, he more or less pushed Nannoc out into the hallway with the 8 girls right behind. Lily would undoubtedly say yes. Nannoc knew she would. She had to, or else suffer the consequences. But she would. And Nannoc comforted himself in the fact that, shortly, he and Lily would be free to go about their lives without the People there to oppress them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived in the nursery, they still had to walk past all the other millah. Nannoc smirked when he heard the wretching noises some of the girls made at the smell. Even the Elder and his guardsman wrinkled their noses. When the millah heard the commotion, for usually there were never this many people in the nursery, they began screaming and moaning to be let out. The girls looked incredibly nervous as Nannoc kept leading them (he had long since relieved himself of the Elder's grip) deeper into the tunnels past these noises. He could understand why, with the pleas for help, but he had long since numbed himself to all of the sounds and smells of the nursery. The Elder seemed to not even hear the screams. Neither did the guardsman. Did the Elder care, or had he too numbed himself? But he hadn't been down here in many, many years, decades perhaps. How had he gotten acclimated to this?
It didn't matter. All that mattered was that in just a few minutes, Lily and he could leave forever, never to be bothered again. When they finally entered the chamber for the sacrificial Outsiders, Lily was curled up, asleep in the middle of the room. Nannoc paused just inside, waiting for all the others to file in behind him. He then looked to the Elder for a signal as to what he should do next.
"Go wake her up so that we can talk to her." Nannoc bent down, put his hands on Lily's shoulders, and shook gently to wake her up. She looked greatly confused at first. In hushed whispers, Nannoc explained and her eyes opened wide as she turned to look over his shoulder at the man who had her imprisoned in the first place. Holding her hand, Nannoc refused to turn around when the Elder began to speak.
"So, Lily, Nannoc here has told me that you two are in love. He has chosen you as his wife over eight girls of the People. Before I let him do something that completely defies my rules, I need to know that his love is returned. As such, I have a simple question for you Lily: Nannoc has chosen you. Do you choose him?"
Lily turned her eyes back to Nannoc, looking scared. Not of the Elder, but of Nannoc. She pulled her hands out of his and pulled away slightly. He followed her with his eyes. In a small voice, she spoke, "I'm sorry, Nannoc, but I can't." He stared at her, not comprehending. What did she mean "she can't?" Her life depended on it.
"I'm sorry, what was that Lily? Speak loudly enough that we can all hear you." Nannoc could hear slight amusment in the Elder's voice.
"I can't. I can't marry Nannoc." Dropping her voice again, she spoke to only Nannoc, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The slight sobs in her voice didn't change anything. Nannoc's face stiffened. He stood up, oblivious now to everything exept the fact that Lily, his only friend, the one person he opened up to, the one girl he'd ever wanted, turned him down. Not even to save her own life would she marry him. And it wasn't even a real marriage.
"Well, I suppose that's it then. Nannoc, you know I need to punish you now for breaking all my rules."
"Yes sir." He faced away from Lily. Her rejection spun its way through him, squelching every good feeling this last two months had brought him.
"Very well." The Elder turned to the girls who had been waiting impatiently on the side of the room. When Nannoc saw the smug little grins on their faces, he wanted to wring their necks. But what was the use? Lily had denied him. Nothing would change that fact. Nothing would change the inevitable punshiment he would recieve. Nothing would alleviate the feeling that had turned him cold on the inside. He was dead to the outside world. The Elder addressed the girls, "As you can see, Nannoc's choice of an Outsider for his wife didn't work very well. We need a way to remind him that this is always the case. Each of you should get your chance to remind him of this fact. Therefore, his punishment is forty total lashes, five from each of you." The Elder then left, leaving everything else to his guardman.
Nannoc was stripped of his robe, exposing his bare skin to the cold air of the cave. He was then shoved down to his hands and knees. He didn't resist; nothing mattered now. The guardmans took his whip and gave it to the first of the girls, Natalie. Every single one of the girls of the People had been trained in using a whip so that they would never be useless in a battle. Each time the whip was lashed across Nannoc's back, it had that force and an indignant anger behind it. He knew he should feel it hurt, but it couldn't compare to what he felt inside. He closed his eyes and took his punshiment. He deserved this. It was his fault. He broke all those rules; he should be punished. This must be Sephirin's punishment for going against the rules of his spokesman, the Elder. Each girl had five chances to hurt him as much as possible, and they were planning on it. Each stroke of the whip was strong enough to tear his back apart.
Forty lashes later, the guardsman took his whip back from Lia, the last girl. He looked disappointed that Nannoc hadn't screamed or cried at all. He then ushered the girls from the nursery, but they each took one last moment to express their scorn: each of them spat on Nannoc. When he was sure they were all gone, Nanoc, lay down on his side. He heard Lily still whispering a pathetic, pitying, "I'm sorry," behind him. He knew his back must be a complete mess of blood and horrific wounds. He almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
As he lay there in the darkness, the damp stone floor beneath him, he contemplated what was going to happen next. He almost wished he was in Lily's position tomorrow; everything would stop. There would be no more to worry about; nothing more to pain him. It would be over. That's what he could do. When everyone was expecting him to celebrate his victory through Initiation, he would end his own life. How ironic that it would be with the same sword that brought him to Adulthood that he would die. As these thoughts went through his head, tears began falling from his eyes; tears for Lily, tears for himself, tears for the People, tears for the world. Eventually, he fell to unconsciousness despite the pain. Tomorrow would tell all.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Pictures
I've hated getting my picture taken for several years now. I don't like how I look in them, I don't really want that to be the picture that I'm remembered as.
Now I'm kinda forced to take pictures of myself, in a way, because my little buddy from Belize is writing to me. (Her name's Serena. She's 9.) I told her I'd send her pictures of college, and in my mind that translates to what I'm doing now as well. Well, that means taking pictures of me. I'm not exactly looking forward to this, but I need to get pictures with all my new friends here and of me doing different things around campus.
Another reason I need to take pictures of myself is for the Traditions Challenge. It's a sort of contest at UNI to complete as many traditions on the list as you can, but to prove that you did it, you have to be able to produce a picture of you doing it. I'm planning on doing this challenge, if only for the reason that if you complete enough challenges, you get a medallion to wear during gradutation.
So...this is going to mean I need people to take pictures of me doing things or being with people. Specifically things I can't take pictures of myself, such as performing during marching band. That way you can get me in our awesome uniforms with cowboy hats and capes. Or dancing to the music during the games or holding up our capes when a flag is called. So yeah, I suppose this is permission to take a REASONABLE amount of pictures of me.
Oh, btw, I'm gonna bleach all my hair at some point so that I can dye it all blue. Just so you know.
Now I'm kinda forced to take pictures of myself, in a way, because my little buddy from Belize is writing to me. (Her name's Serena. She's 9.) I told her I'd send her pictures of college, and in my mind that translates to what I'm doing now as well. Well, that means taking pictures of me. I'm not exactly looking forward to this, but I need to get pictures with all my new friends here and of me doing different things around campus.
Another reason I need to take pictures of myself is for the Traditions Challenge. It's a sort of contest at UNI to complete as many traditions on the list as you can, but to prove that you did it, you have to be able to produce a picture of you doing it. I'm planning on doing this challenge, if only for the reason that if you complete enough challenges, you get a medallion to wear during gradutation.
So...this is going to mean I need people to take pictures of me doing things or being with people. Specifically things I can't take pictures of myself, such as performing during marching band. That way you can get me in our awesome uniforms with cowboy hats and capes. Or dancing to the music during the games or holding up our capes when a flag is called. So yeah, I suppose this is permission to take a REASONABLE amount of pictures of me.
Oh, btw, I'm gonna bleach all my hair at some point so that I can dye it all blue. Just so you know.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
LOL
*Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, and she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while, so I asked him if he needed to go, and he said, "No." I kept thinking, "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me." Then I said, "Dan!, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?" "No," he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. Soooooo, I asked one more time, "Danny, did you have an accident?" This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over and spread his cheeks and yelled. "SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!" While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better by thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!*
Christmas/Birthday List
I know people are going to start asking me about what I want for Christmas soon, so I thought I'd get aheaad of the game and keep a running list.
1. Rememdy Drive CD- "Rip Open the Skies"
2. New mp3/iPod- one that isn't possessed
3. Disorder in the Court: Great Fractured Moments in Courtroom History by Charles. M. Sevilla
4. Awesome knee socks (only a few pairs)
5. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2P0lk8/cellfoam.com/
6. http://www.amazon.com/Glow-Dark-Lipstick-Nail-Polish/dp/B001UHWF2I%3FSubscriptionId%3D0DWX0HJVE7AWX9HF4X82%26tag%3Dpricedumper-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB001UHWF2I
7. Just about anything from this site: http://www.shanalogic.com/
8. Any of the PostSecret books
9. "Skydivin'" by Darren Styles (CD)
10. http://magneticmeme.com/products/Rage-Faces-%252d-32-Magnet-Collection.html
That's it so far.
1. Rememdy Drive CD- "Rip Open the Skies"
2. New mp3/iPod- one that isn't possessed
3. Disorder in the Court: Great Fractured Moments in Courtroom History by Charles. M. Sevilla
4. Awesome knee socks (only a few pairs)
5. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2P0lk8/cellfoam.com/
6. http://www.amazon.com/Glow-Dark-Lipstick-Nail-Polish/dp/B001UHWF2I%3FSubscriptionId%3D0DWX0HJVE7AWX9HF4X82%26tag%3Dpricedumper-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB001UHWF2I
7. Just about anything from this site: http://www.shanalogic.com/
8. Any of the PostSecret books
9. "Skydivin'" by Darren Styles (CD)
10. http://magneticmeme.com/products/Rage-Faces-%252d-32-Magnet-Collection.html
That's it so far.
Questions: 8th Installment
It was the day before the announcement of the Cutter, and Nannoc and Lily's plan to escape was no further along than before. They had pretty much decided it was hopeless, though neither would admit that to the other. Most of the time, Lily was just a hair's breadth away from bursting into sobs. Nannoc tried his best to comfort her, but he truly had given up hope. He knew that he needed to get used to the fact that Lily was going to die, but he couldn't get his mind around it. This girl, Lily, was special to him. She couldn't just die, not so callously, and especially not by his hand. He had begun doing a lousy job on his chores so that maybe he wouldn't get picked as the Cutter so he wouldn't have to kill her.
Not that he'd be able to kill her even if he were chosen. Nannoc had been trained all his life (roughly 17 years, according to Lily. The People didn't measure how old they were.) to get rid of all emotion, but he knew that once he was up there, facing Lily and having to...He couldn't even think it anymore! He would rather kill himself than deal with that. And if he were chosen, that's what he would do. He would jump into the fire or use the sword to kill himself. According to Lily's explanations, there was a life after this one, and everyone ends up there. So they would just meet again in that place, which had to be better than here. Of course, he didn't tell Lily any of this. If he told her that he was going to kill himself before he killed her, she would probably have a mental breakdown.
As she lay with in his lap, Nannoc stroked Lily's red hair, deep in thought. In such a short time, merely two months, she had taught him so much. Everything she had taught him had changed him slightly. No, hadn't changed him, had made him realize something he already knew to be true about himself; he had just never explored very far into himself. She brought out the best in him. He decided that he didn't want anyone but her to be his girl. He didn't want to tell her that, seeing as she was probably going to die within the next 48 hours.
"Nannoc." Lily's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Please be completely honest. Do you think I'm going to get out of this horrid place alive?" He looked anywhere but her eyes.
"I will help you get out of here in any way I can." He felt a lump rise up in his throat. Damn, why now? Not in front of Lily; he had to think of her and keep her calm.
"That didn't answer my question." Her voice sounded far away, as if she had already died and was talking to him from the Other Place. No! He shouldn't think of things like that!
Nannoc opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. They wouldn't fit over the bump in his throat. Tears threatened to pour out his eyes. He closed them, but that just made it worse.
"It's okay. I can tell you're just trying to be nice. You think I'm going to die, don't you?" He opened his eyes to look into her own tear-filled eyes. Such a pretty green-brown. Unable to say anything, Nannoc just nodded, and the tears began to fall. "Don't cry, Nannoc. You'll make me start to cry."
He pulled her up into his arms. "Just know that whatever happens, Lily, I love you. This two months has been worth anything that could happen in the next few days." She said nothing back, but sat in his arms until she finished crying.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later in the day, Nannoc went to the lake to bathe. He liked using it as a place to think because very few people ever seemed to be there. Especially now. Everyone was too busy or excited to waste their time on a bath. There was time enough after the Initiation. Nannoc went through all the facts, hoping there was some chance of escape that he had overlooked. Chances were, that, although he had been doing a terrible job at his chores lately, he would still be chosen as the Cutter. Immediately after being chosen, he would be taken before the Elder to be given the Identity Necklace and to choose his wives from the available women. Nannoc stopped. That was it! The idea that would save Lily's life and bring them both out of this purgatory.
He ran from the water, taking only a few seconds to shake himself dry, then jumped into his trousers as he headed towards the exit. He was in such a hurry as he put on his robe that he merely shoved his arms into the sleeves, neglecting to close the front or put up the hood. Everyone who saw him in the tunnels either stared at him like he was crazy or looked around for what was chasing him. However, Nannoc didn't have any time to explain; he had to get his idea to Lily so she would know what to expect come tomorrow.
Lily glanced up when he ran in, looking slightly worried. He probably did look rather frightening, but he put her at ease presently.
"Lily, I think I've figured out how we can both get out of here alive!" The shocked expression on her face was priceless. He couldn't help but grin.
"Really? What is it?!" He heard the desperation edged with panic in her voice.
"Calm down. Calm down."
She grabbed the edges of his robe and pulled. "Don't tell me to calm down! Just tell me your idea!" She was quite a bit more worked up than the numbed-out version from earlier.
"As you know, tomorrow is the announcement of the Cutter. Well," he continued, noticing that she was about to interrupt, "Something you probably don't know is that immediately after the Cutter is chosen, he goes before the Elder and gets the Identity Necklace, that shows everyone else that your status as and Adult and your name, and chooses his wives." Lily slowly released the front of his robe, pulling away from him. What was wrong? Surely she understood what he meant now. "Instead of choosing any one of the women from the People, I could choose you. After that we could run away together and no one would even notice. They probably wouldn't even care!" She turned around and put her face in her hands. "Hey, Lily, what's wrong? You should be happy..." Nannoc went over to hug her, but she shoved him away.
"I can't do it. I can't marry you." Huh? Oh.
"It doesn't have to be for real. We would know that we weren't really getting married, and that's all that matters. Although, honestly, I wouldn't mind marrying you..." He went to her again, only to get pushed away harder this time.
"No, you don't understand! It would be marriage, whether you want to believe that or not, that's what it would be. I don't want to marry anyone. I'm too young; I'm only 15! I shouldn't be thinking about marriage yet, I should still be living a care-free life!" Lily was going into hysterics. To Nannoc, this seemed like an extreme overreaction. After all, he had just found a way to save her life; she should be grateful. He found himself getting annoyed by her lack of thanks.
"You have no other choice but death!" She stopped mid-sentence to look at him. He hoped he didn't look too angry, but enough was enough. "I told you that the marriage would be fake. We don't even believe in 'marriage' in that sense, it's just a male picking out a mate. It's not like what the Outsiders do." Lily dissolved into tears. Damn. He hadn't wanted to make her cry. He only wanted to point out that it was just a tool, though he would always believe in the validity of it. However, he didn't want to make her disagree again; he just wanted to get her out of here in one piece.
"Nannoc...." Her voice wavered as she spoke. "I can't do it. I just can't. I'm not ready for anything like that. Even though you say it's not a commitment, it would feel like it to me. I can't dishonor something like that, so it's not something I can just do. I...I just can't."
He stared at her, not understanding. Commitment? Dishonor? He had already told her that this wasn't something binding, though she apparently still saw it as such. His bright mood deflated, he turned around and started to leave. He called over his shoulder as he left, "You'll change your mind tomorrow." In his head he added when your life is on the line. She'll realize that what I'm saying is true: this isn't something binding. Just a necessary action to get out of these wretched caves. She'll see that tomorrow.
Not that he'd be able to kill her even if he were chosen. Nannoc had been trained all his life (roughly 17 years, according to Lily. The People didn't measure how old they were.) to get rid of all emotion, but he knew that once he was up there, facing Lily and having to...He couldn't even think it anymore! He would rather kill himself than deal with that. And if he were chosen, that's what he would do. He would jump into the fire or use the sword to kill himself. According to Lily's explanations, there was a life after this one, and everyone ends up there. So they would just meet again in that place, which had to be better than here. Of course, he didn't tell Lily any of this. If he told her that he was going to kill himself before he killed her, she would probably have a mental breakdown.
As she lay with in his lap, Nannoc stroked Lily's red hair, deep in thought. In such a short time, merely two months, she had taught him so much. Everything she had taught him had changed him slightly. No, hadn't changed him, had made him realize something he already knew to be true about himself; he had just never explored very far into himself. She brought out the best in him. He decided that he didn't want anyone but her to be his girl. He didn't want to tell her that, seeing as she was probably going to die within the next 48 hours.
"Nannoc." Lily's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Please be completely honest. Do you think I'm going to get out of this horrid place alive?" He looked anywhere but her eyes.
"I will help you get out of here in any way I can." He felt a lump rise up in his throat. Damn, why now? Not in front of Lily; he had to think of her and keep her calm.
"That didn't answer my question." Her voice sounded far away, as if she had already died and was talking to him from the Other Place. No! He shouldn't think of things like that!
Nannoc opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. They wouldn't fit over the bump in his throat. Tears threatened to pour out his eyes. He closed them, but that just made it worse.
"It's okay. I can tell you're just trying to be nice. You think I'm going to die, don't you?" He opened his eyes to look into her own tear-filled eyes. Such a pretty green-brown. Unable to say anything, Nannoc just nodded, and the tears began to fall. "Don't cry, Nannoc. You'll make me start to cry."
He pulled her up into his arms. "Just know that whatever happens, Lily, I love you. This two months has been worth anything that could happen in the next few days." She said nothing back, but sat in his arms until she finished crying.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later in the day, Nannoc went to the lake to bathe. He liked using it as a place to think because very few people ever seemed to be there. Especially now. Everyone was too busy or excited to waste their time on a bath. There was time enough after the Initiation. Nannoc went through all the facts, hoping there was some chance of escape that he had overlooked. Chances were, that, although he had been doing a terrible job at his chores lately, he would still be chosen as the Cutter. Immediately after being chosen, he would be taken before the Elder to be given the Identity Necklace and to choose his wives from the available women. Nannoc stopped. That was it! The idea that would save Lily's life and bring them both out of this purgatory.
He ran from the water, taking only a few seconds to shake himself dry, then jumped into his trousers as he headed towards the exit. He was in such a hurry as he put on his robe that he merely shoved his arms into the sleeves, neglecting to close the front or put up the hood. Everyone who saw him in the tunnels either stared at him like he was crazy or looked around for what was chasing him. However, Nannoc didn't have any time to explain; he had to get his idea to Lily so she would know what to expect come tomorrow.
Lily glanced up when he ran in, looking slightly worried. He probably did look rather frightening, but he put her at ease presently.
"Lily, I think I've figured out how we can both get out of here alive!" The shocked expression on her face was priceless. He couldn't help but grin.
"Really? What is it?!" He heard the desperation edged with panic in her voice.
"Calm down. Calm down."
She grabbed the edges of his robe and pulled. "Don't tell me to calm down! Just tell me your idea!" She was quite a bit more worked up than the numbed-out version from earlier.
"As you know, tomorrow is the announcement of the Cutter. Well," he continued, noticing that she was about to interrupt, "Something you probably don't know is that immediately after the Cutter is chosen, he goes before the Elder and gets the Identity Necklace, that shows everyone else that your status as and Adult and your name, and chooses his wives." Lily slowly released the front of his robe, pulling away from him. What was wrong? Surely she understood what he meant now. "Instead of choosing any one of the women from the People, I could choose you. After that we could run away together and no one would even notice. They probably wouldn't even care!" She turned around and put her face in her hands. "Hey, Lily, what's wrong? You should be happy..." Nannoc went over to hug her, but she shoved him away.
"I can't do it. I can't marry you." Huh? Oh.
"It doesn't have to be for real. We would know that we weren't really getting married, and that's all that matters. Although, honestly, I wouldn't mind marrying you..." He went to her again, only to get pushed away harder this time.
"No, you don't understand! It would be marriage, whether you want to believe that or not, that's what it would be. I don't want to marry anyone. I'm too young; I'm only 15! I shouldn't be thinking about marriage yet, I should still be living a care-free life!" Lily was going into hysterics. To Nannoc, this seemed like an extreme overreaction. After all, he had just found a way to save her life; she should be grateful. He found himself getting annoyed by her lack of thanks.
"You have no other choice but death!" She stopped mid-sentence to look at him. He hoped he didn't look too angry, but enough was enough. "I told you that the marriage would be fake. We don't even believe in 'marriage' in that sense, it's just a male picking out a mate. It's not like what the Outsiders do." Lily dissolved into tears. Damn. He hadn't wanted to make her cry. He only wanted to point out that it was just a tool, though he would always believe in the validity of it. However, he didn't want to make her disagree again; he just wanted to get her out of here in one piece.
"Nannoc...." Her voice wavered as she spoke. "I can't do it. I just can't. I'm not ready for anything like that. Even though you say it's not a commitment, it would feel like it to me. I can't dishonor something like that, so it's not something I can just do. I...I just can't."
He stared at her, not understanding. Commitment? Dishonor? He had already told her that this wasn't something binding, though she apparently still saw it as such. His bright mood deflated, he turned around and started to leave. He called over his shoulder as he left, "You'll change your mind tomorrow." In his head he added when your life is on the line. She'll realize that what I'm saying is true: this isn't something binding. Just a necessary action to get out of these wretched caves. She'll see that tomorrow.
1:30am This Morning, as told by my anthropomorphized stomach
Hello. My name is Alastair Quenten Stomach, but feel free to call me Alastair. I'm here to tell you about my uncomfortable night last night. It was caused by a few guests that I invited over for a quiet dinner party that slowly turned into cacophonic chaos. Let me begin.
I am a member of a very exclusive neighborhood meant for only the most prestigious men and women. Some of my neighbors are Mr. and Mrs. Eye, quite the beautiful couple, Ms. Mouth, a most elligible bachelorette and rather stunning, if I do say so myself. There are also Mr. Esophagus, Mr. and Mrs. Lung (an Oriental couple), Ms. Pancreas and Mr. Gallbladder (they live together, though they are not married. I do not approve, but who am I to judge others?), and Monsieur Coeur (A rather pompous fellow, as he has not a bit of French in him. His surname is truly Heart.) A long way off, down a very long drive, lives Mr. Brain, who is incredibly intelligent, yet also extremely eccentric.
Last night, I decided to throw a dinner party. It was high time; quite a while had gone by without one. However, after many of my neighbors declined my invitations, citing highly unlikely reasons, I was forced to resort to outsiders, however uncouth that may be. After all, Ms. Mouth had many a visitor, which she would then send down the street to me. (I live two houses away from her, just on the other side of Mr. Esophagus.) Because of my general lack of knowledge of outsiders, besides those I had met through Ms. Mouth, I decided to ask her who would be the best to invite. I rang her up on the telephone to hear her suggestions.
"Oh, Mr. Stomach, I have just the perfect people! I have these guests over currently that would be marvelous guests at your party! I was just beginning to worry, for I need to go to bed soon and would have had to send them home. I'll send them over now. Your timing is impeccable as always, Alastair. You're such a darling!"
Blushing from her praises (After all, the adorations of a young beauty are nothing to dismiss lightly.), I gave the final instructions to my servants, then poured a cup of coffee and waited in the parlor for my guests to arrive. Presently, I heard the doorbell ring. Setting my coffee down to await my quick return, I went to the door where the guests were being led in. My surprise when I saw these guests must have been palpable; this was not at all what I expected of Ms. Mouth. The first guests to enter were what must have been an entire extended family. Their name was Gardetto, and I learned that they were all brothers and sisters and all about the same age. I felt sorry for their poor parents. The second set of guests were a pair of twins, they must have been, for they not only had the same surname but looked alike. It was difficult telling them apart.
Upon relieving them of their coats, I ushered them all into the parlor. There were quite a few more than I expected, so I instructed a servant to adjust to the current number. Then I sat down to get a better estimation of my guests. The Gardettos were an exceedingly seedy and unkempt bunch, and none of them seemed to be particularly interested in personal hygeine. They all looked rather...greasy, almost to the point of my not wanting them to be on the furniture. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, and focused on the twins. Their name was Pepsi. On the outside, they looked much more refined and polished, and certainly they valued their outside appearance. I was much more inclined to enjoy their presence. Until they began speaking. While their outward appearance was overall impressive, I soon learned that it was merely a facade. Their true manner was quite boorish and crass. I was beginning to think that this dinner party was a bad idea. However, that would be a bad show of decorum and hospitality, so I decided to stick it out. Moments later, it was announced that dinner was served.
If my guests' behavior was less than exemplary before, now it was downright horrid. They seemed not to know any etiquette or have any manners at all. It was a complete free for all, and I was lucky to get any food out of it. The Gardettos piled their plates so full that the food was spilling off! One of them even spilled his wine (a 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac that I had spent a small fortune on) all over my brand new double-breasted dinner blazer (the one I had ordered specially from Italy). I was beginning to lose my temper. Not only were they messy and rude, but they were also loud. Very loud. They were beginning to shout and scream. (Apparently they were not used to wine, as they all seemed to be completely inebriated.) I developed a rather extreme headache. I told all these impossible guests that they needed to needed to leave my house immediately, but they refused. Then the calls from my neighbors began.
First was Mr. Esophagus, complaining about the noise. Then Ms. Pancreas and Mr. Gallbladder. Then Monsieur Coeur. Slowly, one by one, my neighbors were calling me, all to tell me to contain my guests jovialness to a dim roar. The last straw was when Mr. Brain called. Apparently even he, down his impossibly long road, could hear the jocularity of my guests. Finally, the police arrived.
Officer Chuck (His full name was Officer Up Chuck, but he preferred just Chuck.) came to my door. As I opened it, I was nearly sobbing from frustration. This was not the quiet dinner party I had planned! I was so grateful to see Chuck.
"Everybody quiet down NOW!" He had a rather commanding voice when he tried. This was why he was the police officer. Finally, my guests refrained from screaming. My aching head was immediately grateful. I sat down in the parlor, leaving everything to my very capable friend.
"My name is Officer Chuck, and it's become apparent that Mr. Stomach doesn't want you here any more. Everybody, out front now!"
"But we don't want to leave," said one of the Gardetto brothers.
"Yeah, thish guy hash shome good shtuff *hiccup* here." Apparently one of Pespi twins had drank more than he could handle.
"So, you've been drinking too? How many of you are truly of age?" All the protests on leaving immediately stopped. "I thought so," Officer Chuck said, "I'm gonna need to see all of your ID's."
They all reached into their pockets or purses and pulled ID's out of wallets. They seemed extremely reluctant to hand them over to Officer Chuck, and a few even tried resisting, but Chuck had his way eventually. He's extremely persuasive when he wants to be. Once he received all the ID's, he went back out to his car to run them all through the police system.
As soon as he was out the door, one of the Pepsi twins asked, "Did anyone else give him a fake ID?" At that, every single one of my ex-dinner guests rushed out the back door. To be honest, I didn't care at that point that they had lied to Officer Chuck, I was just relieved that they were gone. It was unfortunate that my headache did not leave as readily as they.
After roughly 5 minutes, Chuck came back in, wanting to know where they had all gone. I told them that as soon as he had left, they had all run away. "Well, that's too bad. I could've put the lot of them in jail for underage drinking, noise pollution, and trespassing, seeing as you didn't want them here at that point."
"It's okay, Chuck. Frankly, I'm just glad they've gone."
"I know what you mean, Alastair." He hitched his pants back up to the appropriate height and said goodbye, understanding that I needed time alone. I thanked him, showed him to the door, and then went upstairs, leaving the clean up to my servants.
As I changed into my purple silk robe (imported all the way from China), I reflected on this night. Never, ever again would I do something so incredibly imbecilic as to invite anyone other than my upper class neighbors to my house. When I lay down, my headache was finally down. As I drifted off into sleep, I noticed through my window that all my neighbors' lights once again went out. Ms. Mouth's first, then Ms. Pancreas and Mr. Gallbladder, Monsieur Coeur, Mr. Esophagus, then finally, the last one to turn out his light was Mr. Brain. And then the night was quiet and peaceful once more.
I am a member of a very exclusive neighborhood meant for only the most prestigious men and women. Some of my neighbors are Mr. and Mrs. Eye, quite the beautiful couple, Ms. Mouth, a most elligible bachelorette and rather stunning, if I do say so myself. There are also Mr. Esophagus, Mr. and Mrs. Lung (an Oriental couple), Ms. Pancreas and Mr. Gallbladder (they live together, though they are not married. I do not approve, but who am I to judge others?), and Monsieur Coeur (A rather pompous fellow, as he has not a bit of French in him. His surname is truly Heart.) A long way off, down a very long drive, lives Mr. Brain, who is incredibly intelligent, yet also extremely eccentric.
Last night, I decided to throw a dinner party. It was high time; quite a while had gone by without one. However, after many of my neighbors declined my invitations, citing highly unlikely reasons, I was forced to resort to outsiders, however uncouth that may be. After all, Ms. Mouth had many a visitor, which she would then send down the street to me. (I live two houses away from her, just on the other side of Mr. Esophagus.) Because of my general lack of knowledge of outsiders, besides those I had met through Ms. Mouth, I decided to ask her who would be the best to invite. I rang her up on the telephone to hear her suggestions.
"Oh, Mr. Stomach, I have just the perfect people! I have these guests over currently that would be marvelous guests at your party! I was just beginning to worry, for I need to go to bed soon and would have had to send them home. I'll send them over now. Your timing is impeccable as always, Alastair. You're such a darling!"
Blushing from her praises (After all, the adorations of a young beauty are nothing to dismiss lightly.), I gave the final instructions to my servants, then poured a cup of coffee and waited in the parlor for my guests to arrive. Presently, I heard the doorbell ring. Setting my coffee down to await my quick return, I went to the door where the guests were being led in. My surprise when I saw these guests must have been palpable; this was not at all what I expected of Ms. Mouth. The first guests to enter were what must have been an entire extended family. Their name was Gardetto, and I learned that they were all brothers and sisters and all about the same age. I felt sorry for their poor parents. The second set of guests were a pair of twins, they must have been, for they not only had the same surname but looked alike. It was difficult telling them apart.
Upon relieving them of their coats, I ushered them all into the parlor. There were quite a few more than I expected, so I instructed a servant to adjust to the current number. Then I sat down to get a better estimation of my guests. The Gardettos were an exceedingly seedy and unkempt bunch, and none of them seemed to be particularly interested in personal hygeine. They all looked rather...greasy, almost to the point of my not wanting them to be on the furniture. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, and focused on the twins. Their name was Pepsi. On the outside, they looked much more refined and polished, and certainly they valued their outside appearance. I was much more inclined to enjoy their presence. Until they began speaking. While their outward appearance was overall impressive, I soon learned that it was merely a facade. Their true manner was quite boorish and crass. I was beginning to think that this dinner party was a bad idea. However, that would be a bad show of decorum and hospitality, so I decided to stick it out. Moments later, it was announced that dinner was served.
If my guests' behavior was less than exemplary before, now it was downright horrid. They seemed not to know any etiquette or have any manners at all. It was a complete free for all, and I was lucky to get any food out of it. The Gardettos piled their plates so full that the food was spilling off! One of them even spilled his wine (a 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac that I had spent a small fortune on) all over my brand new double-breasted dinner blazer (the one I had ordered specially from Italy). I was beginning to lose my temper. Not only were they messy and rude, but they were also loud. Very loud. They were beginning to shout and scream. (Apparently they were not used to wine, as they all seemed to be completely inebriated.) I developed a rather extreme headache. I told all these impossible guests that they needed to needed to leave my house immediately, but they refused. Then the calls from my neighbors began.
First was Mr. Esophagus, complaining about the noise. Then Ms. Pancreas and Mr. Gallbladder. Then Monsieur Coeur. Slowly, one by one, my neighbors were calling me, all to tell me to contain my guests jovialness to a dim roar. The last straw was when Mr. Brain called. Apparently even he, down his impossibly long road, could hear the jocularity of my guests. Finally, the police arrived.
Officer Chuck (His full name was Officer Up Chuck, but he preferred just Chuck.) came to my door. As I opened it, I was nearly sobbing from frustration. This was not the quiet dinner party I had planned! I was so grateful to see Chuck.
"Everybody quiet down NOW!" He had a rather commanding voice when he tried. This was why he was the police officer. Finally, my guests refrained from screaming. My aching head was immediately grateful. I sat down in the parlor, leaving everything to my very capable friend.
"My name is Officer Chuck, and it's become apparent that Mr. Stomach doesn't want you here any more. Everybody, out front now!"
"But we don't want to leave," said one of the Gardetto brothers.
"Yeah, thish guy hash shome good shtuff *hiccup* here." Apparently one of Pespi twins had drank more than he could handle.
"So, you've been drinking too? How many of you are truly of age?" All the protests on leaving immediately stopped. "I thought so," Officer Chuck said, "I'm gonna need to see all of your ID's."
They all reached into their pockets or purses and pulled ID's out of wallets. They seemed extremely reluctant to hand them over to Officer Chuck, and a few even tried resisting, but Chuck had his way eventually. He's extremely persuasive when he wants to be. Once he received all the ID's, he went back out to his car to run them all through the police system.
As soon as he was out the door, one of the Pepsi twins asked, "Did anyone else give him a fake ID?" At that, every single one of my ex-dinner guests rushed out the back door. To be honest, I didn't care at that point that they had lied to Officer Chuck, I was just relieved that they were gone. It was unfortunate that my headache did not leave as readily as they.
After roughly 5 minutes, Chuck came back in, wanting to know where they had all gone. I told them that as soon as he had left, they had all run away. "Well, that's too bad. I could've put the lot of them in jail for underage drinking, noise pollution, and trespassing, seeing as you didn't want them here at that point."
"It's okay, Chuck. Frankly, I'm just glad they've gone."
"I know what you mean, Alastair." He hitched his pants back up to the appropriate height and said goodbye, understanding that I needed time alone. I thanked him, showed him to the door, and then went upstairs, leaving the clean up to my servants.
As I changed into my purple silk robe (imported all the way from China), I reflected on this night. Never, ever again would I do something so incredibly imbecilic as to invite anyone other than my upper class neighbors to my house. When I lay down, my headache was finally down. As I drifted off into sleep, I noticed through my window that all my neighbors' lights once again went out. Ms. Mouth's first, then Ms. Pancreas and Mr. Gallbladder, Monsieur Coeur, Mr. Esophagus, then finally, the last one to turn out his light was Mr. Brain. And then the night was quiet and peaceful once more.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Things for College Students...
....Who Are Bored Beyond Belief to do: (from lotsofjokes.com)
1. Jam miniature marshmallows up your nose and sneeze them out. See how many you can do at a time.
2. Use your MasterCard to pay your Visa and vice-versa.
3. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on.
4. When someone says "have a nice day", tell them you have other plans.
5. Make a list of things to do that you have already done.
6. Fill out your tax form using Roman Numerals.
7. Leaf through "National Geographic" and draw underwear on the natives.
8. Tattoo "Out to Lunch" on your forehead.
9. Go shopping. Buy everything. Sweat in it. Return it the next day.
10. Pay your electric bill in pennies.
11. Drive to work in reverse.
12. Find out what a frog in a blender really looks like.
13. Tell you boss to "blow it out your mule" and let him figure it out.
14. Polish your car with earwax.
15. Read the dictionary upside down and look for secret messages.
16. Start a nasty rumor and see if you recognize it when it comes back to you.
17. Braid the hairs in each nostril.
18. Write a short story using alphabet soup.
19.Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they're in jail.
20. Make up a language and ask people for directions in it.
1. Jam miniature marshmallows up your nose and sneeze them out. See how many you can do at a time.
2. Use your MasterCard to pay your Visa and vice-versa.
3. Pop some popcorn without putting the lid on.
4. When someone says "have a nice day", tell them you have other plans.
5. Make a list of things to do that you have already done.
6. Fill out your tax form using Roman Numerals.
7. Leaf through "National Geographic" and draw underwear on the natives.
8. Tattoo "Out to Lunch" on your forehead.
9. Go shopping. Buy everything. Sweat in it. Return it the next day.
10. Pay your electric bill in pennies.
11. Drive to work in reverse.
12. Find out what a frog in a blender really looks like.
13. Tell you boss to "blow it out your mule" and let him figure it out.
14. Polish your car with earwax.
15. Read the dictionary upside down and look for secret messages.
16. Start a nasty rumor and see if you recognize it when it comes back to you.
17. Braid the hairs in each nostril.
18. Write a short story using alphabet soup.
19.Stare at people through the tines of a fork and pretend they're in jail.
20. Make up a language and ask people for directions in it.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Questions: 7th Installment
The next two months were a nightmare. Sure, Nannoc went to visit Lily every day, and that part was great. Orchestrating Lily's escape from the People, on the other hand, wasn't as easy as Nannoc had thought it was going to be. First of all, Lily didn't look like the People; she was much tanner and had long, bright red hair. The People were all pale with dark-colored hair. Of course, the way she looked could be covered up by disguising her in the black robes and trousers of the People. The problem with that plan was that she would never be able to move in the graceful, smooth gait that the People used. That was something developed from years of practice in hunting, not to mention the fact that Lily had been tied up for so long. The other problem was that Lily could never sound like one of the People, for they rarely spoke English amongst themselves. Their language was so complex that even Nannoc was still learning the intricacies. Though all their plans remained thwarted, they still refused to give up hope.
For all of that two months, Nannoc finished his chores as quickly as he could in the morning and then headed straight to the nursery. He loved to listen to Lily's descriptions of how the Outsiders lived; their lives were so different! Lily seemed fascinated by his accounts of the People's way of life, though it didn't seem all that interesting to him. Oh well. As long as she liked listening, he would keep telling. They had both made an unspoken agreement that talking about what was soon to come was an unacceptable topic unless there was some even remote possibility of making an idea work. So they didn't talk about it much at all.
The People were becoming more and more excited as time went by. Soon the date would come when the Elder would make the announcement as to who the Cutter would be, and everyone had already pegged Nannoc as winning that honor. The day after that, the actual Inititation Ceremony would be held. Ten days away. Ten days to finialize a hopeless escape plan.
For now Nannoc had realized that he didn't belong with the People. All it took was another talk with Elliott. With one pompous reply after another, Nannoc knew that he and Elliott would never again be friends, if they ever had been in the first place. He had even tried talking to Aaron and his other roommates, but that had been just as fruitless, with just as much cockiness. How could he ever have been one of these people? They were so shallow, so superficial. He required something much deeper; Nannoc craved relationships and the freedom to express emotions besides anger. He wanted to live out his life like the Outsiders did, though he would never admit this to anyone but Lily. She was the only one he could stand anymore. He just hoped that no one would ever figure out that he spent most of his time in the nursery.
That was where he was now. He was lying on his back, with his eyes closed, listening to Lily tell a fairy tale that she remembered from her childhood. Nannoc had only recently discovered fairy tales and was addicted. At first he had been completely confused; he had thought they were true, that people had actually done that stuff. It wasn't until Lily explained it that he realized it was all make-believe. Which was different for him. The People never told stories, let alone make them up for entertainment.
The fairy tale she was in the middle of right now was about a naughty yet clever little boy who was apparently only the size of Nannoc's thumb. He had been dubious at first, but then remembered that, yes, this was pretending. It was going to take him a while to get used to that concept. Listening to Lily tell the story was very entertaining, because she changed her voice depending on which character she was supposed to be. He smiled. She was really funny, and, now that he thought about it, she was actually really pretty too.
"What are you smiling at?" He could hear the smile through the fake indignance in her voice.
He rolled over and propped his face on his hands so he could see her. "You," he answered.
"That's not very nice! Now I'm gonna cry." She hid her face in her hands and started to fake cry. If he hadn't known it was fake, he would have been convinced.
"Awww, did I make you cry?" He crawled over to where she was sitting. "How can I make it better?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I can ever forgive you." She pulled her hands away from her face, revealing her fake pout.
"There must be something I can do to make you forgive me!"
"Well, I suppose there is one thing. You could give me a kiss." Nannoc looked at her, perplexed. He had never heard of such a thing. What did it mean?
"You don't know what a kiss is?!" Lily seemed very surprised.
"No. Should I have?"
"Actually, no, now that I think about it. It's an action that supposed to show affection between a boy and girl. Since you don't have those kind of relationships, I guess it makes sense."
"Okay. But I still don't know what it is." He still didn't completely understand. Was it like the hand squeeze thing?
"I guess I'll just have to show you."
"Huh?" But before Nannoc could ask what she meant by that, she had flung her arms around him. He wasn't particularly sure he liked having someone so close to him, but he supposed Lily was okay. Then she pressed her lips to his. He was so surprised, he fell over backwards, pulling Lily over with him. She ended up on her back, lying next to him.
"That's a kiss?" He turned to look at her.
"Yup."
"Well," he said, shifting onto his stomach, "I think I liked it." This time, he kissed her.
(Yeah, still not sure I like it, but here it is)
For all of that two months, Nannoc finished his chores as quickly as he could in the morning and then headed straight to the nursery. He loved to listen to Lily's descriptions of how the Outsiders lived; their lives were so different! Lily seemed fascinated by his accounts of the People's way of life, though it didn't seem all that interesting to him. Oh well. As long as she liked listening, he would keep telling. They had both made an unspoken agreement that talking about what was soon to come was an unacceptable topic unless there was some even remote possibility of making an idea work. So they didn't talk about it much at all.
The People were becoming more and more excited as time went by. Soon the date would come when the Elder would make the announcement as to who the Cutter would be, and everyone had already pegged Nannoc as winning that honor. The day after that, the actual Inititation Ceremony would be held. Ten days away. Ten days to finialize a hopeless escape plan.
For now Nannoc had realized that he didn't belong with the People. All it took was another talk with Elliott. With one pompous reply after another, Nannoc knew that he and Elliott would never again be friends, if they ever had been in the first place. He had even tried talking to Aaron and his other roommates, but that had been just as fruitless, with just as much cockiness. How could he ever have been one of these people? They were so shallow, so superficial. He required something much deeper; Nannoc craved relationships and the freedom to express emotions besides anger. He wanted to live out his life like the Outsiders did, though he would never admit this to anyone but Lily. She was the only one he could stand anymore. He just hoped that no one would ever figure out that he spent most of his time in the nursery.
That was where he was now. He was lying on his back, with his eyes closed, listening to Lily tell a fairy tale that she remembered from her childhood. Nannoc had only recently discovered fairy tales and was addicted. At first he had been completely confused; he had thought they were true, that people had actually done that stuff. It wasn't until Lily explained it that he realized it was all make-believe. Which was different for him. The People never told stories, let alone make them up for entertainment.
The fairy tale she was in the middle of right now was about a naughty yet clever little boy who was apparently only the size of Nannoc's thumb. He had been dubious at first, but then remembered that, yes, this was pretending. It was going to take him a while to get used to that concept. Listening to Lily tell the story was very entertaining, because she changed her voice depending on which character she was supposed to be. He smiled. She was really funny, and, now that he thought about it, she was actually really pretty too.
"What are you smiling at?" He could hear the smile through the fake indignance in her voice.
He rolled over and propped his face on his hands so he could see her. "You," he answered.
"That's not very nice! Now I'm gonna cry." She hid her face in her hands and started to fake cry. If he hadn't known it was fake, he would have been convinced.
"Awww, did I make you cry?" He crawled over to where she was sitting. "How can I make it better?"
"I don't know. I don't know if I can ever forgive you." She pulled her hands away from her face, revealing her fake pout.
"There must be something I can do to make you forgive me!"
"Well, I suppose there is one thing. You could give me a kiss." Nannoc looked at her, perplexed. He had never heard of such a thing. What did it mean?
"You don't know what a kiss is?!" Lily seemed very surprised.
"No. Should I have?"
"Actually, no, now that I think about it. It's an action that supposed to show affection between a boy and girl. Since you don't have those kind of relationships, I guess it makes sense."
"Okay. But I still don't know what it is." He still didn't completely understand. Was it like the hand squeeze thing?
"I guess I'll just have to show you."
"Huh?" But before Nannoc could ask what she meant by that, she had flung her arms around him. He wasn't particularly sure he liked having someone so close to him, but he supposed Lily was okay. Then she pressed her lips to his. He was so surprised, he fell over backwards, pulling Lily over with him. She ended up on her back, lying next to him.
"That's a kiss?" He turned to look at her.
"Yup."
"Well," he said, shifting onto his stomach, "I think I liked it." This time, he kissed her.
(Yeah, still not sure I like it, but here it is)
Questions Info
Sorry to the people who've been waiting for the rest of Questions. I wrote part 7 and most of part 8 over vacation and was planning on typing it up recently. Problem: now I hate what I wrote. So as soon as I get around to rewriting it is when part 7, 8, and maybe a part 9 will go up.
Friday, August 26, 2011
College
First week of classes = DONE! I must say, I was pretty nervouse when I went to the first of each of my classes, but that's completely gone now. It's going to prove to be an interesting semester.
First class of the week is Bio at 9am. Pontasch is very good at teaching his subject. He knows exactly what he's talking about, and he likes to make jokes to keep us interested. Sometimes he's not necessarily trying to tell a joke, but the way he says something is just funny. Like today, when he was describing evolution in DDT-resistant flies. "At first the Iowan farmers used manure from their animals to fertilize their fields, and flies love to live in shit." It caught us all completely by surprise, so it was funny. He also says that while we're in the classroom, we should call him Dr. Pontasch, Doc, Dr. P, but out of the class we can call him asshole for all he cares. XD
Second class of the week is Oral Communications at 12pm. If you didn't already know, Oral Communications is just a fancy way of saying that it's Speech class. Our teacher is pretty funny here too. She likes to be called by her first name, Amandajean, instead of by her last. She also talks a lot and talks really fast. She's actually just the kind of person I expected to be teaching a class on public speaking.
Third class is Marching Band at 6:30pm. Generally we rehearse in the Dome, but right now we're practicing outside to get used to the feeling before the ISU game next week. For those of us who just came in from high school, this isn't a big deal, but most of the vets haven't played outside since...high school. So they're in need of some practice. Something funny I realized when playing outside the other day: I can play louder and longer outside than inside. (while marching. Obviously when playing concert I can play for a longer time.) It's kinda random, but whatever. I guess I'm just cool like that.
Fourth class of the week is Religions of the World at 8am Tuesday morning. Burnight is pretty cool, and the content is really interesting. I've learned that there's an Egyptian creation myth where the first god, Atum, walks up and decides that he wants kids. But he's the only one there. So apparently he masturbates out his two daughter gods, Shu and Tefnut. o.O
Fifth class is Humanities. This might be my least favorite class, but I'm not quite sure. It's still fun and Prahl makes plenty of jokes, but this one is definitely a purely lecture-type class. It has to be with as many of us are in there. The rest of my classes are lectures, but they're not really more than about 50 per class. Oral Comm has about 15. But it'll be all good because I love history. :)
So, that basically sums up the first week of college. This weekend my boyfriend is coming up to visit, my roommate is going to go to a wedding, and next weekend is the first football game of the season. So, I'll write again soon.
First class of the week is Bio at 9am. Pontasch is very good at teaching his subject. He knows exactly what he's talking about, and he likes to make jokes to keep us interested. Sometimes he's not necessarily trying to tell a joke, but the way he says something is just funny. Like today, when he was describing evolution in DDT-resistant flies. "At first the Iowan farmers used manure from their animals to fertilize their fields, and flies love to live in shit." It caught us all completely by surprise, so it was funny. He also says that while we're in the classroom, we should call him Dr. Pontasch, Doc, Dr. P, but out of the class we can call him asshole for all he cares. XD
Second class of the week is Oral Communications at 12pm. If you didn't already know, Oral Communications is just a fancy way of saying that it's Speech class. Our teacher is pretty funny here too. She likes to be called by her first name, Amandajean, instead of by her last. She also talks a lot and talks really fast. She's actually just the kind of person I expected to be teaching a class on public speaking.
Third class is Marching Band at 6:30pm. Generally we rehearse in the Dome, but right now we're practicing outside to get used to the feeling before the ISU game next week. For those of us who just came in from high school, this isn't a big deal, but most of the vets haven't played outside since...high school. So they're in need of some practice. Something funny I realized when playing outside the other day: I can play louder and longer outside than inside. (while marching. Obviously when playing concert I can play for a longer time.) It's kinda random, but whatever. I guess I'm just cool like that.
Fourth class of the week is Religions of the World at 8am Tuesday morning. Burnight is pretty cool, and the content is really interesting. I've learned that there's an Egyptian creation myth where the first god, Atum, walks up and decides that he wants kids. But he's the only one there. So apparently he masturbates out his two daughter gods, Shu and Tefnut. o.O
Fifth class is Humanities. This might be my least favorite class, but I'm not quite sure. It's still fun and Prahl makes plenty of jokes, but this one is definitely a purely lecture-type class. It has to be with as many of us are in there. The rest of my classes are lectures, but they're not really more than about 50 per class. Oral Comm has about 15. But it'll be all good because I love history. :)
So, that basically sums up the first week of college. This weekend my boyfriend is coming up to visit, my roommate is going to go to a wedding, and next weekend is the first football game of the season. So, I'll write again soon.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Ideas
So I want to write something. (Yes, I know I haven't gotten back to Questions for awhile, but I will get on that. Eventually) Anyway, I need ideas cuz I have absolutely no clue what I want to write about. None of the stories in my head want to come out yet.
My point: I need your ideas. Anything. Anything at all. I want to write a short story, I want you to tell me what to write it about. It can merely be an odd list of words you want me to include. I don't care. Just let me know in the comments. Have at it!
My point: I need your ideas. Anything. Anything at all. I want to write a short story, I want you to tell me what to write it about. It can merely be an odd list of words you want me to include. I don't care. Just let me know in the comments. Have at it!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
College
So I'm officially moved into my room at UNI. It was a project that took most of the day. Everyone in my immediate family (who isn't already moved out) came along, except YS1, who had to work at 2. I was excited and nervous at first. Then slowly became more and more nervous. Let me explain.
For the last 18 years of my life, I have never been more than a room away from my family. I've always had people around. Even though I get sick of them all the time, they were still always there for me. But now they're not here. I can't just go to the other room and see YS2 and YB1 harrassing each other. I can't just go downstairs and mess with YS1. I can't just go to the dining room and hang out on the computer, being in with everyone, if not participating with them. Mother and Father aren't just around the corner, waiting to nag me about some chore I've been passively-agressively not doing. It feels as though a part of my life is completely gone. I know they're just a phone call, a text, a Facebook message away, but they're not here. The people who have made up most of my life since I was born aren't here with me any more. A huge chunk of my life is suddenly not there. They just left, and I didn't want them to go. I don't like to be alone.
To anyone who knows me, this might seem like a contradictory statement. I'm almost always in my room or upstairs, hiding/ignoring what's going on around me. I get sucked into a book or my computer and it looks like I'm not involved. But the very essence of myself needs people. I need to isolate myself within people. I need my alone time, surrounded by everyone. That's not the same kind of alone as it is here. Here it's an alone with a roommate that I don't actually know, and that only after a week of living in this dorm room (it's bigger than my own room at home) completely by myself. My best friend, Emi, is going to be half a nation away in Boston. My boyfriend and all the people I know through him are two and a half hours away. Technology is amazing, but it doesn't make up at all for those interpersonal interactions that I need. I know I'll make friends, I know I'll adapt, I'll create a new life. I know those things, but they seem so far away. As far away as my friends, my family, my boyfriend.
For the last 18 years of my life, I have never been more than a room away from my family. I've always had people around. Even though I get sick of them all the time, they were still always there for me. But now they're not here. I can't just go to the other room and see YS2 and YB1 harrassing each other. I can't just go downstairs and mess with YS1. I can't just go to the dining room and hang out on the computer, being in with everyone, if not participating with them. Mother and Father aren't just around the corner, waiting to nag me about some chore I've been passively-agressively not doing. It feels as though a part of my life is completely gone. I know they're just a phone call, a text, a Facebook message away, but they're not here. The people who have made up most of my life since I was born aren't here with me any more. A huge chunk of my life is suddenly not there. They just left, and I didn't want them to go. I don't like to be alone.
To anyone who knows me, this might seem like a contradictory statement. I'm almost always in my room or upstairs, hiding/ignoring what's going on around me. I get sucked into a book or my computer and it looks like I'm not involved. But the very essence of myself needs people. I need to isolate myself within people. I need my alone time, surrounded by everyone. That's not the same kind of alone as it is here. Here it's an alone with a roommate that I don't actually know, and that only after a week of living in this dorm room (it's bigger than my own room at home) completely by myself. My best friend, Emi, is going to be half a nation away in Boston. My boyfriend and all the people I know through him are two and a half hours away. Technology is amazing, but it doesn't make up at all for those interpersonal interactions that I need. I know I'll make friends, I know I'll adapt, I'll create a new life. I know those things, but they seem so far away. As far away as my friends, my family, my boyfriend.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
New Favorite Song
First time I heard this song was on the trip into Virginia with my family. I was really annoyed cuz I never got to hear the name or who sung it. Finally found it, after hearing it about 4 more times, never hearing who sang it or the name. So I guessed. So, here's my (current) favorite song.
Tonight, Tonight, by Hot Chelle Rae
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKBFnNSVrc
Tonight, Tonight, by Hot Chelle Rae
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyKBFnNSVrc
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Questions: 6th Installment
"What right do we have to capture you, eat you, and sacrifice you?" Nannoc looked at Lily. She seemed dumbstruck by his question and she didn't answer him. He didn't think his question was hard to understand. Maybe Elliott was right. Maybe Outsiders were stupid, mindless creatures who deserved to be put out of their misery by the People.
"What do you mean 'what right do we have?' You don't have a right to do anything to us! We're just the same as you; we're equals! 'Outsiders,' as you call us, should be treated with respect. Instead of taking us captive and slaughtering us like cattle, you should, I don't know, trade with us or something! Something less violent and not involving one party being superior to the other." She looked really worked up about something. He couldn't fathom what.
"What if some of us truly are superior to you Outsiders? Do we have a right to continue as we are then?" She looked at him as if were an imbecile.
"No! You wouldn't because you aren't. None of you. You're all the same as we are. There's no difference. We talk, we think, we feel emotions. None of you are superior to us; neither are we superior to you."
"But some of us are. Several of us can see in very dim light. Others are incredibly strong. A few of us are completely silent when we move. Even fewer can detect even the faintest scent or trail when hunting. And fewer yet have all of those abilities. Like me." Nannoc couldn't help but grin. He was very proud of all his accomplishments. He had taken great care to be able to become an indispensible hunter. Lily didn't seem quite as impressed at his skills as the People were.
"That still doesn't give you the right to treat us any different than you treat your friends and family down here."
"Um..."
"'Um' what?" She seemed irked with him, as though he were going to bring up another "stupid" (valid) point.
"We don't exactly have friends...or family." All her anger dissapated.
"What do you mean by that? Obviously you all have mothers and fathers. You can't be born without them."
"That doesn't mean we know them. We never know who are parents are. We never ask. We're born, then we're raised in nurseries with others who were born near the same time we were. When we're old enough, we're moved into rooms of four with those who are the closest to our age. Adulthood is competitive, though most often the oldest Child is chosen. We are discouraged from making friends because it detracts from our individual performance." Nannoc shifted slightly. As much as he needed to talk to Lily, and as much as he didn't mind so much now, he still didn't feel comfortable disclosing so much information about the People and how they worked. What if someone actually came down here, other than him? Usually no one did, since no one wanted the job of taking care of all the dumb millah, but what if someone did? What if she told them he had been talking to her? He just didn't like it.
"You mean, you've never had a friend?" She sounded like she pitied him. He didn't want her pity; pity never helped anyone accomplish anything.
"I have to had a friend! Elliott is...was my friend." Damn. He sounded like an indignant little kid.
"What happened between you two? Why isn't he your friend anymore?" She reached out and took hold of his hand. He jerked away.
"What are you doing?" Nannoc didn't trust this.
"Oh, sorry. It's just a way of expressing sympathy between friends for the Outsiders." He looked at her questioningly.
"Are we friends?" Lily smiled.
"Of course. Now we are." She was actually kind of pretty, when she smiled.
"Okay." He smiled back. Then his smile faded and he said, "With Elliott, as soon as he was initiated into the Adult Society, he became a pompous ass. He now thinks that he's so much more important than me and he can't be bothered to deal with a mere Child. Though, I'm only his younger by about a month. I want to be the one chosen as Cutter because it would put me at the same level with him again and I would have my friend back. I think." He looked down at his hands. He hoped.
"Nannoc...I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think he'd be your friend again, even when you do become an Adult. Not to mention that the Initiation Ceremony would involve," she involuntarily shuddered, "killing me."
"I know. I don't want to do that, not any more." He fell onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "I just don't know what to do, Lily." He covered his face with his hands. "Especially if I'm chosen as the Cutter." What was he going to do?
Lily crawled over next to him and placed her hand on the top of his head. This time Nannoc didn't pull away, he merely sighed. "You could always help me escape. We could run away together since you don't want to kill anyone. You wouldn't have to be the Cutter and I wouldn't have to be the sacrifice. It works out for both of us."
He pulled his hands off his face, looking directly into her eyes. "Do you think we could pull it off? I'm not sure we could get past everyone."
"Sure we can." She smiled. "I have faith in you."
"Thanks." He reached out a squeezed her hand. It's always interesting, he thought, what emotions can do to change a person. Two days ago, Lily was merely a sacrifice. Today, right now, she was his only friend.
"What do you mean 'what right do we have?' You don't have a right to do anything to us! We're just the same as you; we're equals! 'Outsiders,' as you call us, should be treated with respect. Instead of taking us captive and slaughtering us like cattle, you should, I don't know, trade with us or something! Something less violent and not involving one party being superior to the other." She looked really worked up about something. He couldn't fathom what.
"What if some of us truly are superior to you Outsiders? Do we have a right to continue as we are then?" She looked at him as if were an imbecile.
"No! You wouldn't because you aren't. None of you. You're all the same as we are. There's no difference. We talk, we think, we feel emotions. None of you are superior to us; neither are we superior to you."
"But some of us are. Several of us can see in very dim light. Others are incredibly strong. A few of us are completely silent when we move. Even fewer can detect even the faintest scent or trail when hunting. And fewer yet have all of those abilities. Like me." Nannoc couldn't help but grin. He was very proud of all his accomplishments. He had taken great care to be able to become an indispensible hunter. Lily didn't seem quite as impressed at his skills as the People were.
"That still doesn't give you the right to treat us any different than you treat your friends and family down here."
"Um..."
"'Um' what?" She seemed irked with him, as though he were going to bring up another "stupid" (valid) point.
"We don't exactly have friends...or family." All her anger dissapated.
"What do you mean by that? Obviously you all have mothers and fathers. You can't be born without them."
"That doesn't mean we know them. We never know who are parents are. We never ask. We're born, then we're raised in nurseries with others who were born near the same time we were. When we're old enough, we're moved into rooms of four with those who are the closest to our age. Adulthood is competitive, though most often the oldest Child is chosen. We are discouraged from making friends because it detracts from our individual performance." Nannoc shifted slightly. As much as he needed to talk to Lily, and as much as he didn't mind so much now, he still didn't feel comfortable disclosing so much information about the People and how they worked. What if someone actually came down here, other than him? Usually no one did, since no one wanted the job of taking care of all the dumb millah, but what if someone did? What if she told them he had been talking to her? He just didn't like it.
"You mean, you've never had a friend?" She sounded like she pitied him. He didn't want her pity; pity never helped anyone accomplish anything.
"I have to had a friend! Elliott is...was my friend." Damn. He sounded like an indignant little kid.
"What happened between you two? Why isn't he your friend anymore?" She reached out and took hold of his hand. He jerked away.
"What are you doing?" Nannoc didn't trust this.
"Oh, sorry. It's just a way of expressing sympathy between friends for the Outsiders." He looked at her questioningly.
"Are we friends?" Lily smiled.
"Of course. Now we are." She was actually kind of pretty, when she smiled.
"Okay." He smiled back. Then his smile faded and he said, "With Elliott, as soon as he was initiated into the Adult Society, he became a pompous ass. He now thinks that he's so much more important than me and he can't be bothered to deal with a mere Child. Though, I'm only his younger by about a month. I want to be the one chosen as Cutter because it would put me at the same level with him again and I would have my friend back. I think." He looked down at his hands. He hoped.
"Nannoc...I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think he'd be your friend again, even when you do become an Adult. Not to mention that the Initiation Ceremony would involve," she involuntarily shuddered, "killing me."
"I know. I don't want to do that, not any more." He fell onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "I just don't know what to do, Lily." He covered his face with his hands. "Especially if I'm chosen as the Cutter." What was he going to do?
Lily crawled over next to him and placed her hand on the top of his head. This time Nannoc didn't pull away, he merely sighed. "You could always help me escape. We could run away together since you don't want to kill anyone. You wouldn't have to be the Cutter and I wouldn't have to be the sacrifice. It works out for both of us."
He pulled his hands off his face, looking directly into her eyes. "Do you think we could pull it off? I'm not sure we could get past everyone."
"Sure we can." She smiled. "I have faith in you."
"Thanks." He reached out a squeezed her hand. It's always interesting, he thought, what emotions can do to change a person. Two days ago, Lily was merely a sacrifice. Today, right now, she was his only friend.
Questions: 5 Installment
All "night" long Nannoc tossed and turned, debating every option he had. Nights and Days were exactly twelve hours long for the People. Night began when the torches that lit the tunnels were extinguished, Days began when they were relit, and neither was necessarily correlated to how time ran Outside. Twelve hours is a long time to toss and turn. By the time the first torches were being lit and everyone was getting up, he had made up his mind. There was no other way he could get the answers he needed; he had to go talk to Lily. He definitely wasn't looking forward to this.
"Hey, Nannoc, you're being really slow today." Aaron was one of Nannoc's roommates, as well as the second oldest Child.
"Is that a problem?"
Aaron grinned, "Not to me. The more you mess up, the more likely I'll be named the next Cutter. So go ahead, screw up all you want." Nannoc closed his eyes. Just the thought of the Initiation Ceremony was making him sick. All this new information and these damned questions!
Nannoc opened his eyes again and watched his other roommates, the three next oldest Children, getting ready with a fervor, excitedly jabbering about the Cutting, laughing at Aaron's comments to Nannoc. Three days ago, he would have been doing the same. There would have been no hesitation in what he was doing. There would not have even been the slightest doubt in his mind. There would have been no way he would do what he was going to. It's interesting, he thought, how much someone can be changed in so little time.
He was the last one to leave the shared room and the last to finish his morning chores. Aaron was right. The more Nannoc messed up, the more likely Aaron would be chosen. He almost wished he could just leave the whole thing to Aaron, but then he knew that Elliott would never so much as look at him again. In a place that discouraged companionship in all forms, Nannoc wanted as many friends, or at least allies, as he could get.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily woke up to someone shaking her back and forth. "Wake up! I need to talk to you." It sounded like her boy-captor. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was indeed her captor. "Good, you're awake now."
"What do you want now? And what happened to not being allowed to talk to me?"
"No one comes down here. They'll never know. And I have some questions for you." This was suspicious. After all that fuss of not being allowed, he suddenly decided to have a chat? What was he up to now?
"What makes you think I'm just going to answer your questions when you haven't answered any of mine?"
"Actually, I did answer several of your questions. You just want to obligate me in to something." Damn. He figured that out quickly.
"Well, fine. I'll answer your questions on one condition."
"What's your condition?" He squirmed impatiently. Whatever he wanted to ask her was certainly bothering him quite a bit.
"That you tell me your name and let me see your face." Ha. She grinned triumphantly. This would prove how much he really wanted to talk. Lily watched as he reached his hands up to his hood, probably to pull it farther over his face.
To her complete and utter surprise, he pulled his hood down. She felt her jaw drop. He showed his face?! Was he serious? Did her really just want to ask her questions? If so, what in the world did he need to ask her?
"It's not polite to stare." She shook her head.
"Yeah, sorry. You just surprised me." His deep blue eyes watched her intensely, studying her? His face was oval shaped and his dark hair was cut extremely short. Actually, he was kind of cute. "That's one part. Your name?"
"Nannoc." His voice had lost all the authority it had had the previous times he had spoken to her. He seemed much more a teenage boy than her mysterious captor. By her eyes, he was probably 17, maybe 16.
"I like that name." His eyes shifted back and forth, as if he still wasn't quite comfortable with doing what he was doing.
"I fulfilled your condition. Now it's your turn to answer my questions."
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
"Hey, Nannoc, you're being really slow today." Aaron was one of Nannoc's roommates, as well as the second oldest Child.
"Is that a problem?"
Aaron grinned, "Not to me. The more you mess up, the more likely I'll be named the next Cutter. So go ahead, screw up all you want." Nannoc closed his eyes. Just the thought of the Initiation Ceremony was making him sick. All this new information and these damned questions!
Nannoc opened his eyes again and watched his other roommates, the three next oldest Children, getting ready with a fervor, excitedly jabbering about the Cutting, laughing at Aaron's comments to Nannoc. Three days ago, he would have been doing the same. There would have been no hesitation in what he was doing. There would not have even been the slightest doubt in his mind. There would have been no way he would do what he was going to. It's interesting, he thought, how much someone can be changed in so little time.
He was the last one to leave the shared room and the last to finish his morning chores. Aaron was right. The more Nannoc messed up, the more likely Aaron would be chosen. He almost wished he could just leave the whole thing to Aaron, but then he knew that Elliott would never so much as look at him again. In a place that discouraged companionship in all forms, Nannoc wanted as many friends, or at least allies, as he could get.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily woke up to someone shaking her back and forth. "Wake up! I need to talk to you." It sounded like her boy-captor. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was indeed her captor. "Good, you're awake now."
"What do you want now? And what happened to not being allowed to talk to me?"
"No one comes down here. They'll never know. And I have some questions for you." This was suspicious. After all that fuss of not being allowed, he suddenly decided to have a chat? What was he up to now?
"What makes you think I'm just going to answer your questions when you haven't answered any of mine?"
"Actually, I did answer several of your questions. You just want to obligate me in to something." Damn. He figured that out quickly.
"Well, fine. I'll answer your questions on one condition."
"What's your condition?" He squirmed impatiently. Whatever he wanted to ask her was certainly bothering him quite a bit.
"That you tell me your name and let me see your face." Ha. She grinned triumphantly. This would prove how much he really wanted to talk. Lily watched as he reached his hands up to his hood, probably to pull it farther over his face.
To her complete and utter surprise, he pulled his hood down. She felt her jaw drop. He showed his face?! Was he serious? Did her really just want to ask her questions? If so, what in the world did he need to ask her?
"It's not polite to stare." She shook her head.
"Yeah, sorry. You just surprised me." His deep blue eyes watched her intensely, studying her? His face was oval shaped and his dark hair was cut extremely short. Actually, he was kind of cute. "That's one part. Your name?"
"Nannoc." His voice had lost all the authority it had had the previous times he had spoken to her. He seemed much more a teenage boy than her mysterious captor. By her eyes, he was probably 17, maybe 16.
"I like that name." His eyes shifted back and forth, as if he still wasn't quite comfortable with doing what he was doing.
"I fulfilled your condition. Now it's your turn to answer my questions."
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
Bad Translator
Original text:
"Seas snakes are the most poisonous snakes in the world."
...30 translations later we get:
"Another snake, snake in the world."
Original text:
"Harry Potter is awesome."...56 translations later we get:
"Milk is not enough."Original text:
"There's a bomb on the plane."
"There's a bomb on the plane."
...56 translations later we get:
"Explosyon"Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
College
Dude, I only have three more weeks until I move in to the dorms at UNI for marching band camp! How in the world did this sneak up like this?? I have one more week of freedom (ish- Mother keeps taking me shopping for things I might need for my dorm room) then a two-week family vacation. That's going to be fun. We get to visit OS1 and her daughters. (1 and 3-years-old) They're so cute! It's hard to visit them often when they live in Tennessee where my Army Man brother-in-law is stationed currently. After that, we're going to Washington D.C. to expand on the trip our school gives us when we're in 7th grade. We're going to be staying with an old family friend who will also act as our tour guide. It sounds like great fun. We get home on the 13. The 15th is my day to move in to UNI and it's the first day of band camp. That's ridiculously close!!!
Sure, UNI should be fun. I'll make new friends, learn new things, prepare for a career, do social things, but it'll be extremely different from my life here. First of all, no in-home day care in college. I really don't think I'll miss that part. Secondly, no siblings at UNI. Not sure if I'll miss them or not. Chances are it'll be a mix of both. Thirdly, I'll have quite a bit of unstructured free time in between and after classes. I'll probably get a job, but I'll also have a ton of homework. I really hope I don't end up with too much homework....That would kinda suck. No, that would really suck.
My roommate seems pretty cool, so there shouldn't be any problems there. She apparently went on a road trip for most of June. She and her sister traveled through thirteen states before ending up back here in Iowa. She sounds pretty nice. I hope we get along well when we live together.
Living in Campbell Hall is going to be interesting. Our room is apparently right down the hall from the laundry rooms. I don't know if this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing. It's on the first floor, so it's not like I have to run up and down stairs all day or anything. Our room does have a sink in it, though the showers and bathrooms are somewhere down the hall. Our dorm is not the special one with air conditioning, so all we have to cool ourselves during the end of August is a giant window and any fans we bring. At least the school year is mostly cold.
When I leave, I don't know if I'll end up with a car with me. I don't know if I'll need it, and it's not actually mine to have. I have it in exchange for running errands for my parents. Not having a car would limit how often I came home, but there are always going to be people heading home on the weekends. Chances are I wouldn't have to look to hard to find someone going near my home to ask them if they can give me a ride. With or without a car, I would definitely have to come home for Christmas Break (not that I don't want to). Campbell Hall is not one of the few that are open in between the fall and spring semesters, so I wouldn't be able to stay in my room for that period of time. Good thing I was planning on going home anyway. That's somewhere around the 16th of December....
Sure, UNI should be fun. I'll make new friends, learn new things, prepare for a career, do social things, but it'll be extremely different from my life here. First of all, no in-home day care in college. I really don't think I'll miss that part. Secondly, no siblings at UNI. Not sure if I'll miss them or not. Chances are it'll be a mix of both. Thirdly, I'll have quite a bit of unstructured free time in between and after classes. I'll probably get a job, but I'll also have a ton of homework. I really hope I don't end up with too much homework....That would kinda suck. No, that would really suck.
My roommate seems pretty cool, so there shouldn't be any problems there. She apparently went on a road trip for most of June. She and her sister traveled through thirteen states before ending up back here in Iowa. She sounds pretty nice. I hope we get along well when we live together.
Living in Campbell Hall is going to be interesting. Our room is apparently right down the hall from the laundry rooms. I don't know if this is going to be a good thing or a bad thing. It's on the first floor, so it's not like I have to run up and down stairs all day or anything. Our room does have a sink in it, though the showers and bathrooms are somewhere down the hall. Our dorm is not the special one with air conditioning, so all we have to cool ourselves during the end of August is a giant window and any fans we bring. At least the school year is mostly cold.
When I leave, I don't know if I'll end up with a car with me. I don't know if I'll need it, and it's not actually mine to have. I have it in exchange for running errands for my parents. Not having a car would limit how often I came home, but there are always going to be people heading home on the weekends. Chances are I wouldn't have to look to hard to find someone going near my home to ask them if they can give me a ride. With or without a car, I would definitely have to come home for Christmas Break (not that I don't want to). Campbell Hall is not one of the few that are open in between the fall and spring semesters, so I wouldn't be able to stay in my room for that period of time. Good thing I was planning on going home anyway. That's somewhere around the 16th of December....
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