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Charms of Opher (Part 2)



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Gender: Female
Points: 1396
Reviews: 46
Sat Aug 27, 2011 5:47 am
Xreigon says...



Ok, heres the rest of it.
________________________________________

Standing in the doorway was Tristyn. I blushed and said, “Sorry. I was doing some work with my mom. How did you even get my address?”

He replied, “I asked your friend with the blond hair. Can I come in?”

Sure, but be prepared,” I said, “My house is really crazy.” He nodded, stepped in, and I closed the door behind him. I said, “I am going to go back into the living room. Come at your own risk.” I walked back to my painting and said to my mom, “Mom, meet Tristyn. He’s a friend from school.” She stepped down from her ladder and held out her hand for him to shake.

He took it and said, “Nice to meet you.” I smiled and returned to my bluebird. He came up beside me and said, “Nice bird. It looks as if it is just going to jump out at me. Can I help?”

I grinned and said, “Let’s see if you’re any good with a brush. Why don’t you start on that one? I finish this one up. But you might get paint on your clothes.”

He shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter. Where’s the paint?”

My mom said, “Look around. We have paint cans everywhere. It might be interesting to have a colorful bird. Don’t paint it blue. Any other color, just not blue.”

Tristyn glanced at me and I said, “We like to be colorful, to paint outside the lines. This isn’t the worst. Once, my dad sculpted a life size glittery purple yak. It was insane.” He ended up choosing to paint a neon yellow bird with a pink beak.

My mom said, “That’s the spirit!” We painted for about half an hour, then my dad came home.

He said, “Lyka, can you fetch the big can--who is this?” He was carrying paint in his arms and almost dropped them.

I ran over to help him and I said, “This is Tristyn. He is a friend from school. He is helping us paint bluebirds on the wall.”

My dad groaned and said, “Susanna, why is always birds? Last week it was hummingbirds, the week before, wood peckers, the week before that…”

My mom replied, “I like birds.”

Dad said, “Anyway, I got paint for the abstract tonight.” I knelt by the paint cans and examined their labels. Pink, purple, yellow, blue, red, and black.

I replied happily, “You always choose good colors. I’m so excited! How big is the canvas?”

He said, “Ten-by-ten.”

I smiled and said (for Tristyn’s benefit), “Tonight we are doing an abstract painting.”

Tristyn said, “Well, you will have to tell me how it turns out.”

My dad said, “Not possible. You are going to do it with us. Surely you are going to stay for dinner!”

He tried to say, “I really shouldn’t intrude. I can…” But my dad wouldn’t hear of it. Finally, Tristyn agreed to stay for dinner and for the painting. We finished our birds and then delivered the painting. We came back home with take-out Chinese food and ate a quick meal. Then, it was time to paint!!!

Dad and Tristyn were getting the ladders and me and Mom opened the paint cans. I chose blue for my first color. Mom chose black, Dad chose purple (if you haven’t noticed yet, that’s his favorite color), and Tristyn chose red. We climbed up on the ladders, with our paint. Tristyn didn’t know what he was doing, so we put him at the end of the line. I was first, so I took my paintbrush and stuck it in the blue and threw a streak of paint on the canvas. Dad spun his brush and a spiral of paint fell to the floor. Mom shook her brush, covering the canvas and us in black speckles. Tristyn spit some black paint out of his mouth and dipped the end of his brush in the paint. He dropped a tiny dot on the canvas. I called to him, “You can do better than that.”

He replied, “You want more?” He proceeded to dump half of his can on the canvas.

I laughed and said, “I think that works. What are you trying to do, paint a sea of blood?”

He smiled and said, “I thought that this was abstract. You can’t assume anything.”

I grinned and threw four long slashes across the canvas.

My dad said, “Nice touch, but watch this.” He kicked his shoes off and painted his feet. Then, he jumped onto the painting. My mom did the same, and I painted my already bare feet. I jumped onto the canvas and stomped around, leaving blue footprints behind me.

Tristyn jumped down beside me and splashed me with red paint. I spluttered and threw paint at him. It hit him right in the face. I ran across the canvas and he sprinted after me. He had ditched his paint and snatched mine from my hands. He dumped it on me and I laughed. I chased after him and put blue handprints on his back. My mom and dad joined in our game and soon all of us (and the entire house) were covered in paint. Tristyn said, “I wonder what everyone will think when you and I go to school tomorrow, covered in paint.”

I groaned, and said, “Whatever happens, I’m blaming it on you. You started it.”

He looked indignant and said, “Did not. You threw paint at me first.”

I laughed and said, “It really doesn’t matter. We might be able to get it out in the shower.”

He grinned and said, “I hope so. How embarrassing would it be if I showed up with paint in my hair?”

I shrugged and said, “I could just say that I colored mine. No one would care. Blue makes my mouse-brown hair look exciting.”

He said, “My friends would think I had gone crazy. I would say that a crazy girl dumped paint on me. It wouldn’t be far from the truth.” He ducked the paintbrush that I threw at him and said, “Just kidding. I should say that an insane girl with terrible throwing skills dumped paint on me.” This time he didn’t duck quickly enough and got a face full of red paint. “Maybe I should say that I had an art project gone wrong.”

I nodded and said, “All of those work, but why not the truth?”

He said sarcastically, “Oh, yeah. My friends are going to be real impressed when I tell them that I was doused in paint, by a girl.” I grinned. He said, “I really should be going now. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs…”

My dad said, “Tameer.”

“Thank you for inviting me, Mr. and Mrs. Tameer. Lyka, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He smiled to me, and then left.

I sighed happily and said, “This is officially the best day ever.”

My mom smiled and said, “Look, George. Our little girl is growing up.” He nodded.

I huffed and said, “Come on. Don’t get all mushy now. I still have the small matter of this.” I gestured to myself and my paint covered clothes.

My mom said, “The paint removing soap is under my sink and you can use our high-powered shower.” I thanked her and went to take a shower.

I didn’t succeed in getting all of the paint out of my hair, but I pretty much got the rest of it off. That was fine by me. The part that worried me was the fact that Nix would be gloating about the paint. If I had a drop of paint anywhere on me, he would use it to his advantage. Well, there was nothing that I could do about it.

The next morning, I wore a green shirt that matched my charm bracelet. I actually had time to eat a bowl of cereal and I grabbed a sandwich for Tristyn. I waited at the bus stop for a few minutes and then jumped onto the bus. I started to make my way to the back of the bus, when a hand pulled me down. I found myself sitting beside Tristyn. He smiled to me and looked toward my hands. I followed his gaze and realized that he was staring at the sandwich. I handed it to him. He said, “I really shouldn’t take your breakfast.”

I replied, “I already ate. I brought it for you.” He smiled and unwrapped it. I sat back against the seat and noticed that his hair was blue. I stifled a giggle and said, “Your hair is blue.”

He replied, “Hanffs ooo groo.”

I said (trying not to laugh), “What? I didn’t catch that.”

He swallowed and replied, “I said, ‘Thanks to you’.” Kathryn boarded the bus and stopped in front of me.

She said, “Why do both of you guys have blue hair?” Me and Tristyn both started laughing. She looked at us and said, “Wait. That’s blue paint. Why do both of you have blue paint in your hair?”

Tristyn pointed at me and said, “She started it. She dumped paint on me.”

“I did not. You dumped paint on me. And, you splattered me when you jumped off the ladder. That was first,” I replied.

Kathryn said, “Well, I will go and let the two of you work out your little disagreement.”

I said, “Wait. I didn’t choose to sit here. He made me.”

She giggled and said, “Don’t freak out. I’m just going to sit behind you.”

I said in a small voice, “Oh.” Tristyn rolled his eyes. I slapped his arm and then dug in my backpack. I pulled out my homework and looked over it one more time. I had finished it last night, but I was still worried about some of the answers.

Tristyn looked over my shoulder and said, “I got the same answers. Do you think that we’re right?”

I replied, “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I wish that we could just get to school, so that we could get the school day over with.”

Suddenly the bus jerked and we arrived at school. We hadn’t even picked up all of the kids yet, but it seemed that they were already on board. I glanced at Tristyn and he said, “How did you do that?”

I replied (my voice sounding scared), “I have no idea. I don’t even know what just happened.”

I looked up at him and he said, “Whatever just happened, I don’t think that anyone else noticed it.”

Kathryn’s voice startled me, “Are you guys going to get off?” I turned toward her and she said, “What’s the matter, Lyka? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” I stood up and grabbed my backpack.

“Nothings wrong. You just scared me. I must have been spaced out or something.” I walked out and headed down toward my locker. I took the card that came with the bracelet out. Mountain=Place. Book=Knowledge. I wished for answers to a test, got them, then the book charm disappeared. I wished to get to school faster. I spun the bracelet around, and what do you know, the mountain charm is missing. The charms have readjusted themselves to compensate the loss of the mountain charm. The charms are wishes.

I examined the writing on the card. If my theory was true, that each of the charms were wishes, I had three wishes left. One for an animal, one for an object, and one for love. Well, I needed a way to test my theory. I would do it after school, but in the meantime, I needed to be careful not to make anymore wishes. Or, if I just took off the bracelet. I tried to unlatch it, but I couldn’t do it with one hand. I had done it the other day, but I couldn’t seem to manage it now. I would have to ask someone to help me. Don’t you hate those kinds of little inconveniences, like not being able to reach something?

I walked to my class, scanning the halls for one of my friends. I saw Ashley, but as I made my way toward her, I ran into Nix. He pushed me down and said, “Where is your boyfriend now? I don’t see him.” He looked around sarcastically. “Why do you have paint in your hair? Did your dad get mad and throw a paintbrush at you?”

I stood up and said, “Go away, Nix. I need to get to class.”

He laughed and said, “Oh, the little wolf finds her tongue.” I flinched. I was a little touchy about my name. I tried to calm myself down, but he struck the final blow.

“Do you want to go curl up in a cave? Because no one wants an annoying little wolf.”

Before I could stop myself, I struck out and punched his leering face. That wiped the grin off. Then, I pushed past him and said, “I need to go to class.” He grabbed the back of my shirt and said, “Not so fast. The little wolf needs a whipping.” He aimed a punch at me, but I ducked and kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over and I said, “Good-bye Nixon.” I made my way to class and sat down, forgetting to ask someone to help me with my bracelet.

In the middle of class, a voice rang over the loud speaker, saying, “Miss. Lyka Tameer, please report to the principal’s office immediately. I stood up and walked out the door. I walked gently through the quiet halls and into the principal’s office. He was a large man with gray hair and a stern face. Sitting in a chair across from him was Nix. I mentally groaned, already knowing what would be the outcome of this. I would be given a week of detention for school fighting and Nix would get no punishment. That is exactly what happened. I was sent back to class with a pink slip and a red face. Our class ended and I saw Tristyn walking toward me.

He said, “What happened?” I blushed and handed him the pink slip. He glanced at it and said, “School violence? Don’t tell me. Nix did this.”

I looked up at him and said, “He didn’t hit me physically. He hit me with words. Then I grew angry, punched him. He tried to punch me, but missed and then I kicked him. He just makes me so mad.”

Tristyn nodded and said, “I just don’t understand why he has such a vengeance against you.”

I shrugged and said, “Do you think you could help me take off this bracelet? I can’t seem to do it with one hand.” He nodded and unfastened it, and I stuffed it in my pocket. I said, “I figured out what happened on the bus.” He looked at me expectantly, but then the bell rang and I said, “I’ll tell you after school.” He nodded and we went to our classes.

After my last class, I had detention. An hour of boring injustice. At least I finished my homework. After it ended, I walked out of the school, and then dug my phone out of my backpack. I was dialing my mom’s number, when my phone died. I threw my hands in the air and said, “Now what am I supposed to do?” I started down the sidewalk, when a voice made me jump. “May I walk with you?”

Tristyn was sitting on a bench and I said, “Sure, but isn’t your house on the other side of town?”

He shook his head and said, “Nope. It’s near yours.” He stood up and we started walking. I told him what I had discovered about the bracelet and we decided to test it. Tristyn helped me put it back on and I closed my eyes, saying, “I wish that I had two Number Fives from McDonalds.” I opened my eyes and saw that my order was sitting right in front of us.

Tristyn said, “I think that you’re right. The charms are wishes.”

I laughed and said, “You think?” We picked up the food and ate it while we were walking. After a while, we passed a trashcan and threw away the wrappers. We were a few blocks from my house, talking about music, when Tristyn took my hand. His fingers intertwined with mine and I could feel his heartbeat. It was fast, and I didn’t know if it was from walking or if he was nervous.

We held hands all the way up to the door of my house. Then, Tristyn said, “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” I nodded and he said, “Have a good-nights sleep. Also, plan on doing this tomorrow, after detention. Good-night.” I walked inside and watched him leave through the window. My mom came and stood beside me.

She said, “Two questions. Why were you home late? And why did Tristyn walk you home?”

I blushed and said, “I got detention. Then when I was leaving, it turned out that Tristyn had waited for me. He said that his house was not too far from ours and walked me home. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know.”

Mom folded her arms across her chest and said, “Why didn’t you call us? Your father was so worried!” The tone in her voice made me think that my dad wasn’t the only one who was worried.

I replied, “My phone died.”

“Why didn’t you call on Tristyn’s?”

“I didn’t think about it. Sorry.”

My mom nodded and said, “Well, I will say one thing. You have picked a good one if he waits for you, and then walks you home.” I blushed.

I replied, “I didn’t pick him. He chose me.” My mom nodded sarcastically.

She said, “Oh, and I suppose all of those times that you couldn’t believe that he even looked at you, or when you couldn’t wait to tell me what he did, I suppose that all of those times don’t count.” If it was possible, my face grew even redder.

My dad came in and said, “What’s this about what he did? Are you talking about me?” I swear that my mom and I rolled our eyes at exactly the same time. My dad said, “Well, if it's not me, then who was it? Who are we talking about?”

I whispered, “Tristyn.”

My dad said, “What’s that? The swimmer boy? What did he do?”

Mom said, “Tristyn waited for our daughter when she had detention. Then, if he already hadn’t done enough, (I made a noise of great annoyance when my mom said this) he walked her home.” As my mom was talking, my dad’s eyes grew wider and wider.

He said in an awed voice, “He did?” He turned to me and said, “Good for you!” Then it was my turn to gape. He approved? My mom was speechless.

I swallowed and said, “Well, since that is settled, I should probably tell you that I have a magical charm bracelet.” My parents gaped at me, until my mom broke the silence.

“What? Did you hit your head, or something?”

I rolled my eyes and said, “No. Do you remember that bracelet that I told you about yesterday? Well, it turns out that it’s magical.” I told her about all of the things that happened with it.

At the end, Dad said, “Well, you have two charms left, so show us.”

I shrugged and said, “Ok, what kind of animal do you want me to make appear?”

My mom said, “Surprise us.” I shrugged and took a second to think.

Then, I closed my eyes and said, “I wish that I had a trained German Shepherd that would be loyal to me and my family and Tristyn.” My mom gasped and I opened my eyes. Standing by my feet, looking ready to please, was a big brown and black German Shepherd. He licked my hand and I knelt down beside him. I ruffled his fur and said, “I’m going to name you…Zephyr.”

I looked up at my parents and my dad said, “Wow. I didn’t actually think that was going to work.”


The rest of the evening passed normally. Sort of. There was the fact that we had a new dog and we had no idea what to do with him. It turned out that he slept in my bed (and took up most of it) and we ran to the store to get him some food. So, not really so normally. However, we still painted. Zephyr just watched us. I would have used him as a model, but he wouldn’t stay still. He would sit in front of me for a second, then come and sit behind me. Oh, well.

The next morning, as I headed to the bus, Zephyr wanted to come with me. I let him come, provided that Dad would take him back home. So, Dad came to the bus stop with me. When the doors opened, Zephyr sniffed the air and jumped into the bus. I chased after him and found him tackling Tristyn. We succeeded in pulling him back to my dad, but everyone was mad by then. When we flopped into the seat, Tristyn said, “What was that?”

I smiled and said, “Zephyr. I used the animal charm and he was the result.”

Tristyn said, “Well, that was interesting.” He took my hand and said, “Did you bring me a sandwich?”

I slapped my forehead with my free hand and said, “No. I’m sorry. I forgot.”

He said, “That’s ok.” Kathryn boarded the bus and saw the two of us. She lifted an eyebrow and I grinned.

She said, “I guess that was going to happen eventually,” and went to sit behind us. I looked at Tristyn and stifled a laugh. He smiled and I rested my head on his shoulder.

When we arrived at school, Tristyn said, “I need to grab something from my locker. I’ll see you in class, ok?”

I nodded and said, “Sure.” He walked off and I watched him go. Then, I turned and walked to my locker, to get my Math books. On the way, I stopped beside a trashcan and unfastened my bracelet. I chunked it in and said, “I don’t need that.” I walked off, knowing that I had discovered magic, all by myself. The magic of true love.


At the city’s dump, a little orphan was digging through the trash, looking for something that she could sell. Her eyes stopped on a little charm. She picked it up and rubbed some of the dirt off it. It was in the shape of a heart. She stuffed it in her pocket, and continued searching. She had no idea the true worth of the little treasure in her pocket.
“If you don't think there is magic in writing, you probably won't write anything magical.”
- Terry Brooks
  





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Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:19 am
IcyFlame says...



Hi Xreigon!
I won't nitpick here, because you can spot spelling and grammar mistakes simply by reading this through. What I did want to mention though, is your use of speech.
By putting it in the form you are doing at the moment (putting he said/she said before the actual speech) it becomes a little list-like. E.g. he said this, then they did that, then I said this, and then I did that... etc.
I'll try to write one of your paragraphs in a different fashion, and then you can see the difference between the two.

Xreigon wrote:Standing in the doorway was Tristyn. I blushed. “Sorry. I was doing some work with my mom. How did you even get my address?”

He replied,“I asked your friend with the blond hair," he replied. Can I come in?”

Sure, but be prepared,” I said.“My house is really crazy.” He nodded, stepped in, and I closed the door behind him.I said, “I am going to go back into the living room," I told him. Come at your own risk.” I walked back to my painting and saidcalled outto my mom. “Mom, meet Tristyn. He’s a friend from school.” She stepped down from her ladder and held out her hand for him to shake.

He took it and said, “Nice to meet you.” I smiled and returned to my bluebird. He came up beside me. “Nice bird," he said. It looks as if it is just going to jump out at me. Can I help?”

I grinned. “Let’s see if you’re any good with a brush. Why don’t you start on that one? I finish this one up. But you might get paint on your clothes.”



See how it begins to sound less like a list and more like a real conversation? In my opinion, it really helps the concentration of the reader too.
  





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Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:34 pm
goofysmurf1 says...



Hi Xreigon!
I won't nitpick here, because you can spot spelling and grammar mistakes simply by reading this through. What I did want to mention though, is your use of speech.
By putting it in the form you are doing at the moment (putting he said/she said before the actual speech) it becomes a little list-like. E.g. he said this, then they did that, then I said this, and then I did that... etc.
I'll try to write one of your paragraphs in a different fashion, and then you can see the difference between the two.

Xreigon wrote:
Standing in the doorway was Tristyn. I blushed. “Sorry. I was doing some work with my mom. How did you even get my address?”

He replied,“I asked your friend with the blond hair," he replied. Can I come in?”

Sure, but be prepared,” I said.“My house is really crazy.” He nodded, stepped in, and I closed the door behind him.I said, “I am going to go back into the living room," I told him. Come at your own risk.” I walked back to my painting and saidcalled outto my mom. “Mom, meet Tristyn. He’s a friend from school.” She stepped down from her ladder and held out her hand for him to shake.

He took it and said, “Nice to meet you.” I smiled and returned to my bluebird. He came up beside me. “Nice bird," he said. It looks as if it is just going to jump out at me. Can I help?”

I grinned. “Let’s see if you’re any good with a brush. Why don’t you start on that one? I finish this one up. But you might get paint on your clothes.”
go to page.php?id=1242 now please and subcribe
  





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Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:59 pm
DragonGirl11 says...



Hey there, it's me again!

The first part was definitely better. It was stronger grammatically, flowed better, and had a better storyline. If you could bring this part up to the same standard as the first, it would be an all-around great story.

First things first. If she only had five wishes in the first place, she wouldn't have wasted them like she did. She would have thought about them and used them to her full advantage. I get that she didn't figure it out until she had already used two, but seriously? Wishing for Mcdonalds? How about a car or something she really, really, really wanted? Then,
I shrugged and said, “Ok, what kind of animal do you want me to make appear?”

My mom said, “Surprise us.” I shrugged and took a second to think.

Then, I closed my eyes and said, “I wish that I had a trained German Shepherd that would be loyal to me and my family and Tristyn.” My mom gasped and I opened my eyes. Standing by my feet, looking ready to please, was a big brown and black German Shepherd. He licked my hand and I knelt down beside him. I ruffled his fur and said, “I’m going to name you…Zephyr.”
Tell us what she's thinking. Did she want a German Shepard when she was a kid? Was there a recent burglary scare? Give us some detail, here!

Let's see...
My mom said, “The paint removing soap is under my sink and you can use our high-powered shower.” I thanked her and went to take a shower.
Lyka's lived there her whole life, so she should know what to do when she got paint on herself.

Don't be afraid to make the characters talk like people really do. Using contractions within speech tags is perfectly acceptable, and it makes it more realistic.

On the way, I stopped beside a trashcan and unfastened my bracelet. I chunked it in and said, “I don’t need that.” I walked off, knowing that I had discovered magic, all by myself. The magic of true love.
After, like, three days? Seriously? I think the orphan bit is unneccesary. If you're going to end it like this, then end it there. But whoever heard of a character doing what they're told? :D You could have her use the heart charm, and make a longer story as it goes right, contrary to the card. Or, better yet, have her wish for true love, and the card is right. Then she has to find a way to undo it. This would give you an opportunity to explain where the charms came from in the first place, and tell us what in the world "Opher" has to do with anything. This would probably end up being another chapter. I would love to read that.

Sorry about the harsh review, but this was a bit of a let down after part one. It could be really great, though!

Write on, and God bless.
~*~

"You could look at the raindrops on your window, or you could look through the window and see the rainbow."
~K.C. Oxford

<YWS>
  





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Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:37 am
AwesomeSocks says...



"I groaned, and said, “Whatever happens, I’m blaming it on you. You started it.”" This part made me laugh XD
Tristyn and Lyka are so adorable together! I really like the parts where they are together, which is most of it...
The part with her dog is a little awkward. The ending just sounded a little rushed, but it was still good :) I'm also curious as to the complete disappearance of her cat. Why mention the cat in the beginning if you don't include it later on?
I thought you were really descriptive with the painting scenes, I felt like I was right there! Very vivid :)
Another thing is the word 'said.' She said this, he said that... try using a different word! He yelled, she mumbled, etc. Other than that, I loved the word choice :)
I really love Lyka's name (wolves are amazing!), and Tristyn is one of my favorites, too.
Over all, this was a great story! Short, but wonderful. I can't wait to read more of your work!
transmissions from space
  








Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open.
— Sir James Dewar, Scientist