z

Young Writers Society


12+ Language

It's Complicated: Chapter 1

by zoehood1


(Sammy's POV)

He wasn't like the others. There was something about him that seemed to spark Sammy's interest. He wasn't like the typical airheads and jockies at Millwood High School. His name was Dylan. Dylan was athletic and attractive. He was quiet and well-mannered.

Sammy observed him from across the dingy classroom on the first day of Freshman year. She tried her best not to be obvious. His eyes were a deep, dark brown. His hair was short and a sort of dark brown. He had constant hat hair from his baseball caps. Each time he smiled her heart melted. Dylan was perfect.

"Samantha? Miss. Taylor!" Her teacher was snapping at Sammy "Will you please answer the warm-up?"

"Oh yea." Sam got up and slowly walked to the board at the front of the class room, which so happened to be where Dylan sat. His eyes crossed hers and she adjusted her stare to the boy sitting next to him.

"Did he notice me?" She thought to herself.

Sammy wrote the answer to the warm-up and hurried back to her seat. Her cheeks became hot and she was sure he would notice.

When she got back to her desk she leaned over to Caty, a girl she had only been introduced to a few days ago.

"Hey, whose that kid?" she asked, motioning to Dylan.

"That's Dylan France. Why do you ask?" Caty questioned.

"No reason, just curious." Sammy tried her best to ease Caty's suspicion. No one could know, at least not yet.

Later on in the class period Caty went to sit by Dylan and Jake. Sammy made up her best excuse to follow Caty.

"I don't want to sit here alone, so I'm coming with you!"

Sammy quietly sat down in the chair next to Caty. After an awkward moment of silence she decided to break the ice by introducing her self.

"Hi, I'm Samantha, but my friends call me Sammy." She waved towards Dylan.

"Hey Sammy." Dylan said "I'm Dylan."


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78 Reviews


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Sun Mar 30, 2014 3:15 am
Hadj wrote a review...



Hi there! Some nice improvements :)

A small nitpick:
"break the ice by introducing her self"
should be "break the ice by introducing herself"

I would continue to describe how Sammy sees him. In a romantic story, it is all about description in the eyes of the one in love :)
Also, the conversation between Sammy and Caty seems a bit dry. Try making it more realistic. Imagine a conversation you might have. It doesn't all have to be strictly to the point :)

I think with some more detail, you can make this chapter a bit longer, and more enjoyable. Overall, nice work, and I will be waiting for chapter 2 :)
~Hadj




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Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:34 am
NikkiJamesWolf wrote a review...



Hi welcome.
I will be brutally honest, this story has potential. But there are something's I would suggest you change.

First of all, the plot is moving too fast. You also need more details. I want to know who Caty is (a friend?) and other characters in the story.

Some background would be nice to have a better understanding of the story, such as :who exactly is Brynn to her? An old friend?

Don't try to force a routine of what the main character is doing. Leave room for conflicts and developments between Sammy and her relationships. Also try to reveal more about Sammy and about her personality . She could have been any other girl going after Dylan, what makes her so special?
Also the last sentence doesn't quite make sense to me. Brynn had just said before that he knew she was flirting with the boy. But Sammie seems oblivious to this and is maybe a bit tad delirious that she has fooled everyone that she doesn't care about Dylan.
Other then this I truly believe you can make this story work and show the potential that's been hidden ;) Good luck!



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zoehood1 says...


Hi! Thank you! I changed it up a bit, let me know what you think!



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Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:59 pm
Hadj wrote a review...



Hey there! Welcome to YWS!
This is a pretty good start :)

Any little nitpicks I found, Iggy already pointed out, so I'll get to the point.

This is pretty romantic, and very sweet, but it could definitely use some more description, and also could move a little slower. I think for romantic stories, it often helps to write in the first person, as to describe how the main character views this boy/girl. After reading this first chapter, I know nothing about Sammie, except that she is a little shy, and nothing about Dylan, except that he is "athletic and attractive. He was quiet and well-mannered"
So even if you want to keep the third person, I would definitely expand your descriptions, especially of Dylan. Why does she like him? If she is staring, we should know all the little details that she is thinking in her head. :)

It also moves kind of fast. By the end of the first chapter, a lot has happened, and she already seems very associated with Dylan. I think by expanding description, you can slow it down to a more realistic pace.

Anyways, all in all, very good start, and I look forward to reading any rewrite of this, or chapter 2. Once again, very sweet story :D

Good luck and keep writing
~Hadj



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zoehood1 says...


Hi! Thank you! I changed it up a bit, let me know what you think!



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Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:45 pm
Iggy wrote a review...



*waves* Hi!

Okay, so this was pretty good for a beginning chapter. After all, who doesn't love teenage romance? The cute and flirty relationship between Dylan and Sam is simple; it's nothing unique, but it's not terribly cliche, nor is it revolting with all the lovey-dovey mushy stuff. Nice balance. :P

You do make a few careless errors here and there, such as missing commas and words that should be capitalized that aren't, and etc. A few examples:

"I don't want to sit here alone, so i'm coming with you!"


Should be I'm.

"Sam, whose that boy that you flirt with during 6th period?


Should be who's.

There might be a few more mistakes, so reread and try to find them.

On the story itself: it's moving too quickly and it's over too quickly. Slow down. You just threw the love at us, and while that's a good hook, with the fast pacing, it definitely wasn't a very good sinker. Give us some details about this love and why Sam feels the way she does about Dylan. Talk about how he makes her feel, how she dresses to impress, how she acts around him. Show us how she talks to him. Is she nervous and wringing her hands together, or is she calm and collected?

Also, give us more details about the school, her friends, his friends, their class(es) together, etc. Use more imagery, paint us a better image of the scene, rathe rthan you just telling it to us.

Overall, it was a good start, but I think you could've done better with more everything. But it really was a good start, and I would like to see more, so do let me know whenever this is updated or whenever you add chapter two. :)



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zoehood1 says...


Hi! Thank you! I changed it up a bit, let me know what you think!




There is nothing more radical or counter-cultural, at the moment, than laying down one’s cynicism in favour of tender vulnerability.
— John Green