Young Writers Society

((This is me fitting in with the cool kids and using parentheses.))

Richard Alexander Parker

The trip was not as Richard had expected.

Honestly, didn't every private jet have a shrimp cocktail option? And what was with the cheap plastic chairs. They were obviously put together with craft glue and bubblegum from the way they looked -- cushions torn up, plastic drawn on with marker, squeaking every time Richard even breathed. The shades on the windows hardly did their job. The sun was still shining through the cracks, making it rather difficult to see clearly.

But of course, then you got the limousine. "It's.. huge!" the brunette had gasped. Richard had to do the favor in explaining how low-class the limo was. The juice offered wasn't even sparkling, as if the businessman behind this whole operation thought him a mere child. The TV had very few options of entertainment, the floors and seats looked as if they had never seen a vacuum, and the chauffeur couldn't drive smooth if his life depended on it. Richard was willing to bet the man couldn't even spell chauffeur.

It was dinner that Richard had finally voiced his opinions thus far. No one was talking, but then again, Richard didn't give them the chance.

"--and I assure you, Mr. Keene, that if the staff here can't clean a limousine, they will undoubtedly fail in keeping this house proper. I require my shoes to be polished every night, my clothes to be ironed and promptly returned after a maximum of two days, and -- " Richard had shoved a piece of lobster in his mouth but promptly spit it back up -- "the seafood had better be more appetizing than this cheap stuff you call lobster. Have you ever had a real lobster, Mr. Keene? They're much more delicious than this rubbish--"

"Shut. Up."

Everyone looked up at the black-haired beauty, glaring at Richard with pure frustration. Richard paid no mind to the look in her eyes but rather the rude interruption.

"I beg your pardon, ma'am?"

She took a breath and said quietly (yet harshly), "Shut. Up."

It was as if the phrase wasn't in his vocabulary, for Richard moved on and asked, "And who are you to be interrupting my discussion with Mr. Keene?"

"Alicia," she said, clenching her teeth.

Richard waited, but when the girl hadn't said anymore, he started, "Alicia...?"

Shee thought for a brief minute, wondering if it was safe to offer her whole name. She finally decided, "Alicia, the girl who'll shove your face in your 'rubbish' if you don't stop complaining."

Richard sat up instantly, disturbed by her threat, but the blonde boy muttered, "Don't waste your breath on the kid. But way to go." They made a quiet high-five under the table, though the gesture was very obvious to everyone in the room.

Naturally, that didn't keep Richard from talking, and he still filed his complaints throughout the rest of dinner, but it seemed pretty established that 1) the others should be able to talk as well, 2) Richard was a nuisance and 3), the black beauty Alicia was the most daring one at the table.

His bedroom was hardly impressive either. They had even picked out a ghastly orange color scheme for him which horribly clashes with nearly everything in his wardrobe. Even his orange polo didn't match this shade. Fortunately for Mr. Keene, the room was well-cleaned and tidy. Richard had to check the bed, of course, as well as the bathroom. Add to the list of complaints "thick woolen sheets," "tall sink," and "splashing toilet when flushed." Honestly, where's the class here?

As his father had always said, "Early is on-time, on-time is late, and late is too late," so Richard promptly left his room without another thought and made his way to the dining room. He was the first inside the dining room, so he casually looked around the room to compare, yet again, this house to home. Forunately for Mr. Keene, the dining room had passed the inspection. Minus a few cheap shlock items that were clearly made of clay -- quite cheap.

A brunette who had also won the drawing had arrived later. She wasn't the second to actually enter the room, but she was the first one Richard cared to recognize. He didn't know what it was -- in fact, she was hardly a classy woman at all -- but the way she never seemed to talk down to him (and rather, seemed interested!) gave him the jitters. She was worthy of his attention. He lifted his golf cap as he approached her, the girl standing a bit stiff as he did so. He took her shaking, sweaty hand and kissed it. "Good evening, mademoiselle. I hope the accommodations are to your satisfaction--"

"I actually think it's afternoon still," she said, smiling slightly. Taking her hand away, she walked off. Richard thought a minute about what that gesture meant, but as usual, he shrugged it off and began chattering away to whoever felt like listening -- something about Mr. Keene offering a poor brand (Welch's) of sparkling grape juice.

Drustan

After eating dinner - and listening to more complaints - I went out for a walk in the garden. People might think I get to see plants and such all the time since I lived in France, but because I lived in Paris, France I mostly spent time bicycling around and trying to get to random places on time in such a big and congested city. So, now I was walking along the path outside and enjoying the beautiful plants and... A pond. I, personally, love ponds. All the frogs and the weeds on the bottom, they're just great.

I smiled and hurried back up to my room to get my swimming trunks. As I went up I saw a beautiful girl with long, reddish-pink hair who looked at my with a puzzled expression. It was the same girl who'd worn the... exotic, I guess, heels to dinner. I wiped the glee from my face and said, "Going swimming, there's a pond in the garden." Then hurried past her to my room.

(Okay, I'll just continue off where everyone started off...)

Alicia Corazon

After harshly making the child stop with his complaints, I continued eating my lunch. I don't agree with him at all. I think the castle is elegant and beautiful, the food was delightful, and the people seemed nice, despite the child. I continued to pick at the lobster on my plate, when a girl slid her chair next to mine. I glance her way, and she turned to face me.

"We meet again," she said, giving me a smile. I smile back, and look at her feet. Her shoes definitely stood out. The plaid design of the heels made her hair stand out too.

"Cute heels," I say without taking my eyes off the lobster. I could feel her smile.

"Thank you!" She said cheefully. I continued to sit at the table in silence.

I finished my lunch after playing with my lobster, and left the table. I decided to explore the castle, but chose not to. We had three weeks in this beautiful castle, so I have lots of time to explore what the castle holds for us. Instead, I made my way to my room. I loved the palette of the walls, it was a light purple. The bed looked pleasing, and the floor even looked elegant. There was a wooden desk that held a computer, and there was also a TV. I smiled at the room. It was definitely not what I was expecting. I heard footsteps on the other side of my door. I opened the door to see the white-ish/ blond-ish hair kid, talking to the cute heels girl. He quickly ran past her. I roll my eyes and close the door again quietly.

I sit on the bed, and examine the softness. It was definitely soft, I probably will have an easy time sleeping. I looked to my bags. They still weren't unpacked. I begin to unpack my things, clothes hanging in the walk-in closet, sheet music sitting neatly on the computer desk, books filling in the book shelf. I stepped back to view my room. It felt like home now. I continued unpacking. I finally finished after I set my violin case on my bed. I decided what to do next. This castle had so many things I could do, but I didn't know what to do first. Practicing is a way to kill time, and learn at the same time, I remember my dad saying to me. I open my violin case and take out the violin. Might as well practice here, the sound might be beautiful here too. I started playing, drawing my bow across the strings, making sounds. Tzigane, is my favourite piece to play.

(Hope this is okay!)

(Okay - I don't know if everyone's on the same page, but just to keep the storybook moving we'll say we're all waiting in the dining room for Keene to start the tour.)

Lillie

There was something about Ivan that made her smile and blush as he talked to her. She had to tell herself that it was silly to say she liked him; after all, she had only just met him today! But he was charming, and handsome, and he was a Georgian so they had a lot of common ground to talk about and relate on. That dark hair, those eyes...the way he talked to her was like she mattered more than anyone or anything else. It made her jump, but while she was engaged in conversation she couldn't show him how nervous she was.

"It makes the girls more beautiful," he said.

"Thank you," she replied. "I do like Georgia, but I've never been outside of it until now. It's pretty here, but it's a tad bit cold. And I love the way everyone talks here, and Keene is a nice man. I don't like that Richard kid though."

"I think he likes you," Ivan said.

"Yeah," Lillie said quietly. She thought back to the sloppy wet kiss he had planted on her hand and shuddered. "He's a brat, though."

Then Keene re-entered the room. He had changed from his tan business suit to a purple cashmere robe, silk pants, and slippers. The way he dressed was so...well, he looked like a cartoon stereotype of what a rich person should be. Lillie told herself the only thing that was missing was for him to have one of those old-fashioned wooden pipes.


Keene

"Alright," he said, getting the attention of the six. "We'll begin the tour. If you have any questions, feel free to stop me. As you all already know, the castle was built in 1706, but all the furniture and decoration that you see here is brand new."

After he finished talking about the dining room, they ascended a long and narrow staircase that led to the pool. They didn't ask him any questions -- at points, Keene even wondered if they were really listening to him or paying attention to what was going on around them. They were all talking to each other; of course. He took notice of Lillie and Ivan in the back, talking to each other and smiling. Could they be...no. It was only the first day; but Keene supposed that that was just the nature of teenagers. Keene had been the same way with girls when he was their age. He was not married; he had been, long ago, but his wife was dead.

When they got to the top of the stairs, they were standing in a large room of marble; the pool.

"Well, I hope you all brought your swimsuits," Keene said. "I think you'll have fun here. There's one outdoors as well, but I took special care in designing this one."

"Excuse me..." It was Richard. "Do you think that--"

"What do you want?" Keene said through his teeth, trying not to sound too angry. He hated the kid already, and it seemed like everyone else did too. When the experiments started, he'd have something special for the kid in mind.

Alicia Corazon

I bite my lip, to keep my expression calm. The little boy got interrupted... and by Mr.Keene himself. I wonder how he will react to it. I look to the pool. The water looked refreshing and pleasing, and very blue. I then looked over to, what was her name again? Lillie... and... Ivan? Probably. Lillie and Ivan were talking and smiling back where we were sitting. I look back to Mr. Keene and Richard. I clear my throat. Mr. Keene looks to me.

"Ignore him, and continue the tour please," I suggested.

(Hope I did it right this time.)

(short post is short)

Ivan

“Romanian Marble,” Ivan said, catching the attention of Mr. Keene. “That’s remarkably expensive.”

“No expense was spared, Mr. Maxwell.” Keene smiled an arrogant, ‘look-at-how-much-money-I-have’ grin and turned his head to the side. “How did you know?”

“I did a sculpture for a girl last summer for her birthday.” He laughed under his breath. “I had to get a bloody summer job to afford it.”

“I do suppose those of the lowly grime class must make due for their minuscule gift-giving,” said Richard. He had cut his eyes at Ivan, perhaps wanting him to react the same way everyone else had.

Ivan just shrugged. “I suppose you’re right, buddy.” He stowed his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt as the group continued walking. Ivan, Lillie, and Alicia were the last three through the large archway leading out. To both of them, Ivan whispered, “I think we can have a bit of fun with Pudge up there.”

“You suppose it’d shut his mouth?” Alicia turned to look up at Ivan, who was a full head taller than her.

“Absolutley not,” he laughed. “If anything, it’ll enrage the little troll.”

“What d’you have in mind, Ivan?”

“You’ll see tonight,” he said.

“So you mean you haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Pretty much.”

~Nekole

During the tour, my mind was whirling. I know I’ve lived very comfortably all my life, traveling to the most beautiful and breathtaking crevasses of the globe. But, like I’ve told mother countless amounts of times, I would never get used to it. I just couldn’t explain what being surrounded by such amazing beauty gave me. Humbling even.

My upmost favorite part of the tour so far has to be experiencing it with my fellow guest-mates. That may or may not technically count as a part of the tour; however, it was all about adsorbing our new milieu to the bone, isn’t it? We’re going to be living here and what better way of learning about it than having fun as well?

When we arrived in the indoor pool, let me tell you, it was monstrous. Earlier I had stolen a peek at the outdoors pool and all I could utter was wow! That beaut had a massive belly of water surrounded by a gorgeous, shimmery waterfall on one end, along with curvy outskirts, snaking to a more secluded area out of my view. With that said, the indoor pool gave the one outside a good run for its money.

The tour continued and I strolled behind Richard and Drusten. They walked a couple feet apart from each other, Richard seeming very in-tune to Mr. Keene, very disconnected from the rest of us. One thing that was unmistakable was the tension between Richard and the others. He did seem rather spoiled, bratty, and, well, rude in ridiculing everything he encounters. But, can’t his thoughtless comments simple be ignored?

Whispery sounds caught my attention from behind. Glancing back, Alicia and Lillie sauntered next to Ivan at his sides, and he leaned slightly toward Alicia.

“You’ll see tonight,” I caught Ivan’s words as I walked.

“So you mean you haven’t figured it out yet.” Came Alicia’s matter-of-fact tone.

“Pretty much.”

What could be happening tonight? A party maybe? Slowing my pace a bit, I looked over my shouldered at the three and asked, “What’s happening tonight?”


((If I went overboard with the description of the outdoor pool, we don’t have to use it. But let me know. ))

Alicia Corazon

"What's happening tonight?" Nekole asked us. I look up to Ivan, who shook his head slightly. It didn't even look like it, but he was telling me to stall. I instantly link arms with Nekole. I'm not good with things like this, but it's worth a try.

"I love your heels," I said pointing to her plaid heels. I was honest. Nekole was beaming.

"Thank you!" she said, and smiled. I smiled back, then looked back to Ivan.

(Hope I portrayed Ivan and Nekole right! I'll edit if I didn't.)

~Nekole

"I love your heels," Alicia said, pointing. I grinned happily, thinking how amazingly easy my choice of fashion was accepted here. Something I can’t always say, unfortunately.

Still, I thanked her sincerely and she smiled. Then, her eyes peered to the side obviously and turned to looked back at Ivan, more abrupt then I thought was casual. Ivan seemed fairly cool, yet, there was an air about them that unsettled me. And I wondered if I really wanted to know what they were trying to hide.

((Don't be afraid of lengthening your posts! We're all in this together, so whatever new thing you add in your posts, everyone else will go along with it. ))

Richard Alexander Parker

"Before you ask, young man," Mr. Keene slurred as they observed the swimming pool, "it does reach fifteen feet deep, so it's quite high class for a private swimming pool."

Richard stuck his nose up and looked away from the outdoor pool he was originally observing. "Impressive," was all he had to say. "Our swimming pool reaches twelve feet. However, while it's not as deep, it's certainly larger than yours."

"It seems you missed something, Master Parker," Mr. Keene said with a slight smile, looking down upon the small, fat man boy. The formal address pleased Richard greatly, automatically adding Mr. Keene onto Richard's good list. "The indoor and outdoor pools are both connected. Therefore, taking that into account, this pool is much larger than yours."

Richard sniffed but his respect for Mr. Keene prevented him from ignoring the man. "Fair point. I'll also give you the fact that you have a lot of activity options here. I would most certainly be interested in your yachts. I assume you have some, of course?"

"Naturally, Master Parker, though they will be kept down by the lake. We also have a golf course. You seem like the kind of boy whose father is interested in his golfing time."

"More about the business and occasional boat trips, but yes. He used to golf quite a bit."

"Must've stopped thirteen years ago." Alicia didn't even try to keep that comment silent, and a couple others snickered.

The tour continued for only a bit longer. Mr. Keene, while introducing them to the rooms, didn't bother touring the inside of each. When they had entered the art rooms, things got a bit more interesting. The one guy who was whispering in the back seemed very interested in what it had to offer. Richard had no care in the world for this sort of thing, but of course, Richard's home was better. No one seemed interested in hearing about the marble statuette collection his mother owned.

Drustan

While the tour was going on I walked over to the girl with plaid heels.

"Hey," I said, "Nekole?"

"Yes." She smiled at me.

"Crazy heels you got there." I grinned.

"I know." She smiled at the compliment.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, then, "Don't you think it's kind of mean for everyone to not really be accepting Richard?" She asked me quietly.

I was surprised at her kindness. I did realize that it was kind of mean but he was really rude too... "Yeah, it is."

She went on, "I don't think it's his fault that he was spoiled, it's just the way that his parents brought him up. He's probably a nice person on the inside..."

"Yeah, probably."

She smiled. "I knew someone would agree with me."

I nodded, hoping no one had heard and would tease me about sticking up for the spoiled kid.

~OOC~

Hi guys =)

I’m really sorry to say that something came up with my family and I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to storybook again. Maybe in a week, I seriously don’t know. I’d appreciate if you guys kept Nekole involved, that would be great. I will be back, I just don’t know when. Probably in a couple weeks time, or sooner.

Take care.
~Ceely

(OOC: Hey everyone, I'll be gone from now to Sunday the 7th... See ya!)

Okay! So, uhh. I think we're going to put this storybook on hold, because we can't really run it without two of our characters missing, and I've been busy as well. We'll restart it again in a couple of weeks! I'll send you guys all a PM when we do restart it!