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Young Writers Society


Acrobat (Isha and ninjacookiemonster)



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57 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5578
Reviews: 57
Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:59 am
NinjaCookieMonster says...



My name is Tate Evans. I attend the National Academy for the Physically Inclined. My hair is spiky and ink black, my eyes are steel gray, and I have an athlete's build. One, two. One, two.

Launch!

Flip, flip, flip, spring, roll, handstand, cartwheel, roundoff, twist flip, arabian. Stick. I swung my arms out to the side and lifted my chin proudly.

"Better, Evans, but that arabian was! Not! STRAIGHT!"

I winced with each shout. Coach Baxter was under heavy stress. Extreme. You didn't cross him. But my arabians just had to. Curse them. To the alleys and back. I mean, it's not like I did many arabians in street performance- I just didn't have the room. And if I mislanded, it would hurt like-

"Break!"

I nodded curtly and dashed for the gym door, gulping in night air. Napi is a boarding school, and so our fields are spick and span, with every variation of special-school vegetation you can think of. I hurried down the walkway to the dorms, biting my lip at the cold. Gym clothes plus cold equals rachachacha cooold. I hugged my chest and walked faster and-

Bumped into hotshot Rilan. Greeeat.
hey, Jude, don't make it bad
take a sad song and make it better
remember to let it into your heart
then you can start
to make it better.

~make books, not war~

"Not vampires, fish from space."





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384 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 14918
Reviews: 384
Wed Nov 10, 2010 3:15 am
eldEr says...



I took a quick step back, frowning at my now-spilled gym clothes. Apparently, zippers were created for a reason. Now, if I had been just a little smarter, I would have realized that a long time ago. Of course, things like zippers and shoelaces often went ignored by me.

And wasn't it always the chick who dropped her stuff in the movies? Then the guy was supposed to help her pick it all up? Whatever man. Movies sucked. Mostly because they weren't real. Okay, so who am I kidding? Movies are great.

I bent over, scooping up a handful of clothes and shoving them into my bag. The chick who had run into me handed me a shirt, which I took grudgingly. Usually, I would have used this oppertunity to flirt. But usually, I wasn't in such a downer mood. Your girlfriend breaking up with you did that to a guy.

"Thanks," I grumbled. Honestly though? I didn't mean it. At all. I looked up, trying not to appear as irritated as I really was. "Tate."

I pushed myself to my feet, making sure to actually zip the zipper this time. I yawned loudly, making an effort not to rub my eyes. Did I mention I was up all night last night? Because I was.

"How are those arabians coming?" I asked absently. Yeah, I snuck looks at Coach Baxter's clipboard. It was to see if I had better marks than one of my friends, but let's just say I had come across a lot of other people's marks in the process. Tate just so happened to be one of them.
Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurl.

got trans?





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57 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5578
Reviews: 57
Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:02 pm
NinjaCookieMonster says...



I growled. "Not freaking straight, Rilan." I wrapped my arms around myself again and pushed my way around him. "Now, I've got a stash of powdered donuts with my name written all over them. Excuse me." I broke into a slow jog, ignoring my aching feet. My aching everything. Those donuts really did sound enticing.

Argh. Rilan didn't give up, did he? "Donuts? Not very healthy."

I whipped around. "Have you been reading Coach's clipboard or something?" I was infamous for not eating as right as most kids here, but for eating right just enough and for never getting lazy. And the arabian mention? He was getting shady.

"Have you?"

"How about you give me a straight answer?" I said back in an instant, shooting him a sidelong glance.

"Why don't you?" he said with a gracious sweep of the arm.

"I haven't," I said, which was only a half lie. He had told me to hold it a couple of days ago, while he chewed out some new kid, and I couldn't help but look. All I saw were grades for the little kids. Not higher ups like me and Rilan. "Your turn, then. Were you looking at my stats? Me and the other competition?"

I made sure that some more weight was put on the last sentence. Not like we were competing, but I wanted him to know that we were not best buddies here.

Because we weren't.
hey, Jude, don't make it bad
take a sad song and make it better
remember to let it into your heart
then you can start
to make it better.

~make books, not war~

"Not vampires, fish from space."





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384 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 14918
Reviews: 384
Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:23 am
eldEr says...



Both of my arms shot above my head defensively. "I refuse to think of the same school as my competition," I announced. That was half a lie. It really depended on who you were looking at. Some of the guys were definately competition... in more ways than just acrobatics, if you catch my drift.

"Uh-huh," Tate muttered, obviously not buying it. "Did. You. Look. At. The. Clip-board?"

I stared at her for a second, arms dropping back to my sides. "Yes, I looked at the clipboard. There were things I had to know, and it just so happened that a few names were read in the process," I answered casually, offering my best who-really-gives-a-crap-anyways? shrug.

"Does it really matter that much?" I asked, flashing her my famous lop-sided grin.

Apparently, she didn't care much for good-looking, lop-sided grins. Unless she was just a good actress, which I didn't doubt she was.

"Umm... yes?"

I frowned. "Why?"

Tate rolled her eyes, as if I was the most irritating thing the world had ever known. Please. I was hardly that bad. "Because you shouldn't... do that!"

"Don't you have doughnuts to go eat or something?" I grumbled. She was really bringing down my mojo, which I didn't need. There were things to practice for that were much more important than this. Even if doughnuts sounded enticing... I might just have to stalk her down to the cafeteria.

But I couldn't eat like that at the moment. As gross as it was, I had to stick to salads and that sort of junk. Unfortunately, being physically fit required a balanced diet as well. But, who says I couldn't balance off a doughnut or two with a salad and some more exercise?

"Unless of course, I'm allowed to join you?" I smiled. If nothing, I could snatch a few doughnuts off of her plate for free. Which would be cool.
Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurl.

got trans?





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57 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5578
Reviews: 57
Thu Nov 11, 2010 3:05 am
NinjaCookieMonster says...



"You're paying for your own," I said, breaking into a long-stepped run to the cafeterias. I had to jimmy the lock on occasion, but tonight, the doors were unlocked. Not quite nine o' clock yet. I walked, in a sort of awe, to the vending machine, pulling a dollar bill from under my shirt.

"I offer this sacrifice to you, God of Donuts," I mumbled, dropping to one knee and raising the bill with mock-trembling hands. The machine just ate it up, and with one more jab- voila. A crunching, a whiff of artificial dough, and I was out. Off to donutland. I couldn't take small bites, only chomps, and I had to puff powdered sugar out of my nose every now and then.

When I coughed and sent up a cloud of white, that was when I knew to cut back a little. Out of guilt, I got a health drink. That works in the grand scheme of things, right? One donut for one health drink? It should work like that. I eased my way back upright, carefully placing the wrapper in the recycling and stashing my bottle in a pocket. Handy enough.
hey, Jude, don't make it bad
take a sad song and make it better
remember to let it into your heart
then you can start
to make it better.

~make books, not war~

"Not vampires, fish from space."





User avatar
384 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 14918
Reviews: 384
Fri Nov 12, 2010 2:24 am
eldEr says...



I shoved my way past Tate, half wondering if she was even aware that I had actually followed her. I was also only half aware that she just ran into the cafeteria during a time when we technically weren't supposed to be in the cafeteria. Did it really matter? I was getting places I wasn't supposed to be all the time.

I shrugged to myself and eyed the vending machine, hands stuffed into my pockets.

Now, the doughnuts... they looked good. Really good. But, there were some healthier slightly unhealthy snacks in the machine. Snacks that I should probably take instead. Like the granola bars smothered in chocolate. A nice balance of crap and fiber... which just so happens to produce more- never mind. I won't get into that.

I shoved my hands into my pocket, producing a crips one dollar bill. Okay. More wrinkled and gross and warm than crisp, but hey, as long as I could smooth it out enough for the machine to accept it, I was good, right?

I crammed the bill into the machine, failing to re-create all of that useless drama Tate had gone through. What was the point? You were just making it take longer for the food to get to you. Which was stupid, when you really thought about it.

I pressed a random button, suddenly not caring what I got. Whatever it was, I'd eat it. The vending machine made a rumbling noise and I closed my eyes. Seeing which snack I had gotten myself might jinx it, make it so I got one of the gross ones.

The clank was my go-ahead to check it out. My hand reached into the little bin typed-thing (don't ask me what they're called, because I quite honestly don't know), making contact with... a doughnut box. I pulled it out and stared at the label for a second. Cinnamon. Good, because that was my favourite.

I turned around and eyed Tate's health drink. "You wouldn't fancy sharing that would you? I sorta don't have any cash to buy a drink with," I asked, flashing her my best lop-sided grin.
Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurl.

got trans?





User avatar
57 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5578
Reviews: 57
Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:47 pm
NinjaCookieMonster says...



I rolled my eyes. "Jimmy it yourself." I handed him a nail file from my duffel and popped the cap of my drink. I shouldn't have gotten orange, but if focused on the fizz and tang, not the flavor, I'd be good.

I leaned back against the wall, taking another bite of doughy yumminess. The Evans could afford to send me here -even if I lived with my sister, not them- but I wanted to get myself here. So I'd worked for three years at a sandwich shop; nostalgia came over me every time I ate a sub now. Anyway, we had a vending machine there that I was pro at jimmying. It always got jammed, and when it did, you could hear the "TATE! Machine's jacked up again!" in the dining area. Then I'd grab a butter knife and a paperclip, and I went off to do I what I was paid for.

So I if I could do it, and he couldn't, I was making sure they never hired him. I came back on the weekends and breaks, and I did NOT want Rilan's face attached to Manhattan Subs. And, seeing as he was still staring dumbly at the file, I guessed he wasn't getting hired any time soon.

"Reese is so finding out about how incapable my classmates are," I mumbled. Reese being the sister that I lived with. I could not stand, worth a whit, my parents and other siblings. They all lived happily in the Upper East Side; I hailed from SoHo. And before you say a word against it, I'll have you know that we only live there because we can afford it and we love the area. Not because we appreciate pricing and what goes down in some corners.

"I'm not incapable. Now, please?" Rilan put on another winning smile. I sighed and shoved a bill into his hand.

"Pay me back or I'll sic the squad on you." Squad being the thirty girls that made up the Napi Cheer Team. I wasn't the captain, but only by choice. And those girls were fierce, in every sense.

Including me.
hey, Jude, don't make it bad
take a sad song and make it better
remember to let it into your heart
then you can start
to make it better.

~make books, not war~

"Not vampires, fish from space."





User avatar
384 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 14918
Reviews: 384
Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:17 pm
eldEr says...



I offered a slight, "Mhm," and turned to throw my cash into the machine. Incapable, I was not. It takes a certain level of skill to be able to squeeze money for snacks out of a girl like Tate. Skills that I have mastered, mind you. Incapable my foot.

I shoved the dollar into the slot and punched a button for some odd reddy-orange coloured health drink. Apparently they were delicious, and you got two servings of fruit and one serving of veggies in a single bottle. Along with other vital minerals and some good old vitamin C. I pulled the drink out of the machine and popped the lid, stuffing it into its proper place, a.k.a, my pocket.

"Speaking of the squad," I announced, slipping into a seat across from Tate, "I'm pretty sure Kayla and I had something planned for tonight." I grinned broadley and took a sip of my drink. Okay, so they didn't lie. It really didn't taste all that bad. "You wouldn't mind reminding her for me, would you?"

We all knew that Kayla had a horrible memory. I should probably also mention that this little thing had started out with me being forced to help her practice tonight. Why? Well, everybody else had quickly declined, which led coach to pester me. And what about coach? Nobody really knows why he wasn't going to do it himself, but whatever. Now, was I looking forward to it? Until breaking up, why no. No I was not.

After the breakup? Well, that was a whole different story. Kayla may have a hard time remembering things, but she was pretty easy on the eyes. Helping her out was seeming a lot more enticing now.
Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurl.

got trans?





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57 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5578
Reviews: 57
Mon Nov 15, 2010 9:38 pm
NinjaCookieMonster says...



I shrugged and ran a hand through my hair. Somehow, it was more fulfilling with short hair than long. Kayla? Really? He could do better, star like him. He'd landed a hot gig in an awards show a year ago, plus his natural "charm" (which I found disgusting); girls were falling at his feet. Out of the range, he could pick someone... smarter. Kay's brains lay in timing and cheer patterns, not city survival or in the books.

But she was a sweet girl, and I'd help her out here. "Yeah, sure." I whipped my phone out, a neat little Droid, and brought up a new message.

To: Kayla (head cheer)

From: Me (second-in-command)

Message: Rilan and you had something tonight, member? You wrote it on the calendar.

I swiped the phone closed. "Be proud, you made it to the calendar." I left that whole story open ended and took another swig, making a face at the taste. I really didn't like orange. Oh well.

"I made the calendar?"

"Rehearsals, practice, major tests, birthdays, holidays, and a select few boys. You've made it to the ranks of Marty's boyfriend. Be careful." Marty and her boyfriend had been dating for going on... two years? They were the sweetest couple I knew. No one dared mess with him, just because we honored that sort of thing. Girl code. Only the weak defy it.

Another gulp of disgustingly artificial orange. A powdery remedy. Repeat.
hey, Jude, don't make it bad
take a sad song and make it better
remember to let it into your heart
then you can start
to make it better.

~make books, not war~

"Not vampires, fish from space."








History repeats itself. First as tragedy, second as farce.
— Karl Marx