z

Young Writers Society


E - Everyone

Life of Stephanie Pritchard~Chapter 1: 8th Grade Prom

by Pinkiegirl13


I thought it will be better than it was used to. I thought people were my friends. I thought it was perfect. However, it makes my love ones go away. I tried to talk to them and make them stay with me, but they flew away. I just lost my friends, my boyfriend, and my important family member, Stuart Pritchard. I was alone and need to be loved. I missed them. I missed them so much. God or some universe in the sky, please grant my wish. I wish my life go back to normal like it was in prom.

In Counterstone Middle School, all the 8th graders went to the gym for the prom tonight. The girls was wearing on colorful dress with their high heels, and the boys were wearing on black or colorful suits with any color shoes. The popular and average kids were happy and having fun while the geeks waited for someone to dance with. Then, there was Stephanie, who walked in the gym. She was wearing pink dress with white heels. She had her strawberry blonde hair down to her back and put some make-up on her face like the other girls. She is one of the geeks by the way. She tried to get along with the popular kids, have the boys to fall in love with her, and to become popular. However, she has a boyfriend named Henry, a quarterback of the football team, in the prom. You think she is showing off, but she actually have a handsome boyfriend. Then, Henry stopped her before they get to the dance floor.

"What it is?" questioned Stephanie.

"Um...do I have to go in the dance floor....I meant with you?" replied Henry.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why I need to go out there with a nerdy girlfriend and I am handsome guy. That is just awkward to date with a nerd that have a nerd father in prom."

Stephanie got mad at him. "So you're saying that I am embarrassment?!" shouted Stephanie.

Henry laughed nervously. "Ha! Nonono! I just saying about the popular kids thinking of you. They said that your father is a creepy old guy and you are too. So...I am not dancing in prom with you..."

Stephanie got really mad at him. Why he believe what those kids say? If she is popular, she would have demanded the popular kids to stop like their owner. Also, she is nothing like her father. Her father is jerk and not caring person. Plus, he left her to walk to her boyfriend 's house because he have to go the club to date a model. God, she hates him and Henry! She wished she have better people.

"Fine! Be that way! I just sit over there while you leave."

Stephanie walked over to the the seats in the back as Henry left the gym. She sits on the first seat and puts her hand on her face. She stared at the people who were in the dance floor. She was alone and have anymore to dance with. Then, she saw her friend, Jean, walking toward her direction. She was wearing purple dress with purple heels. She had her black hair back on her neck and didn't wear any make-up. She is one of geeks also. However, she looks better without the make-up.

"Hey, Stephanie. How are you?" asked Jean.

"Bad. My boyfriend left me..." replied Stephanie without looking at Jean

"Well, that's okay. Boyfriends comes and goes. Hey, how about we talk while my boyfriend is in the bathroom?"

Stephanie stared at Jean with surprise. "You got a boyfriend? How?"

"Well, this guy had a crush on me and we went for a drink for a chat. Finally, we're dating," said Jean happily.

Wow, I never know guys want to date my friend. I know she is geek like me, but she never get boyfriend since sixth grade. Maybe she turning hot or she just like to be herself like me? Well, I will never know. I just keep it untold.

Then, Jean's boyfriend came from the bathroom to the girls. When he came to them, Stephanie take a good look at him. He is short and have brown hair. He was wearing a black with black shoes and bow tie. He is cute for a short boy in the 8th grade. Jean smiled at him and then looked at Stephanie.

"I gotta go. My boyfriend needs me. See you at the graduation!" said Jean before she walked to her boyfriend.

Now Stephanie is alone again. She looked at the clock and saw it was about to end. The last song was the slow dance with a boyfriend, and she don't have one anymore. She knows her prom is the worst day in her school year. Then, she heard a familiar voice.

"Stephanie!"

She looked at the direction of the voice and noticed it was her father. He was wearing black jacket with white shirt, black pants, black shoes, and black long tie. She didn't felt happy or relief to see him. She just felt...indifferent. She don't care about him as he don't care about her. She just don't want him here.

"Oh, what are you doing here? Do you supposed to go on a date with some supermodel?" said Stephanie .

"Well, I learned that she is lesbian," replied Stuart, "So how are you?"

"Bad. My boyfriend left me because I am embarrassment..."

Stuart looked at her as he noticed her pain. "I see..."

Then, the music appears. The last song for the prom. People began to dance slowly with each other. Stephanie became upset.

"The last dance that I never get to. I maybe just go home with you and...have a miserable life," cried Stephanie as her tears streamed down her face.

Her father looked at her as he see her sadness. Her sadness remained of him being a school nerd. He never got a girlfriend to dance with as his life became miserable. He soon felt for his daughter as he wished he will make this night the best for Stephanie. He got up and reach his hand toward Stephanie. Stephanie looked confused.

"Dance with me." said Stuart.

Stephanie smiled at him and placed her hand to his. They went to the dance floor and dance together. The people looked at them as they noticed Stephanie is dancing with her father. They think it is a sweet father/daughter moment, but the popular kids think it is disgusting as they moved far away from them. Jean and her boyfriend were cheering for Stephanie. The lights aimed at the family dancing together. Stephanie laid her head on her father's chest as she felt kind of happy for him being with her.

That night was the best time in my life. I never see my father was so mature and kindly gave me that amazing dance. However, his behavior changed when it was my graduation from middle school. He embarrassed me in front of the entire school by telling a story of how he saw my boobs. The kids laughed at me as I tried to hide my face. Maybe his charms goes up and down.


Note: You are not logged in, but you can still leave a comment or review. Before it shows up, a moderator will need to approve your comment (this is only a safeguard against spambots). Leave your email if you would like to be notified when your message is approved.







Is this a review?


  

Comments



User avatar
52 Reviews


Points: 467
Reviews: 52

Donate
Thu May 29, 2014 12:56 am
catcha01 wrote a review...



Hello Pinkiegirl13, Catcha01 here with a review. First off I like this story you took a cliche topic and personalized it so Hats off to you.
I feel that I only know Stephanie briefly, but not enough to actually KNOW her, if that makes sense. The same goes for Jean and the relationship that existed with Henry. I believe that some character and plot development should help just so we can know Stephanie to the point where we can feel her pain when Henry left her.
Next is your grammatical errors. You tend to confuse have, had, and has and would, will, and was. You use have often where has or had may be and so on. Reading aloud may make it easier to catch these errors because its easy to read over them when proofreading silently. Your flow in some sentences could use some work as well. For example "I was alone and need to be loved" could be "I was all alone and desperately needed to be loved." By adding "all" and "desperately" not only the flow, but the feeling pulled from that sentence is increased. Always make it a point to write in a way that your readers will remember.
Lastly I was reading and trying to hide my geeky smile with the daddy-daughter moment. That was really really cute. I was smiling the whole time as I read it. Try to continue developing this relationship between Stephanie and her father and displaying his ups and downs as you did with the whole boob scenario. Nice transition by the way.
Overall very good first chapter and an enjoyment to read. I hope that you do progress on with it and I will be awaiting the arrival of the second chapter.
Keep Writing!
~Catcha01




User avatar
557 Reviews


Points: 33593
Reviews: 557

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 11:51 pm
Ventomology says...



Alrighty, here as requested to assist with grammar!
So, before I start, let me ask the huge question: Did anyone read this aloud word for word? That's the BEST way to pick out grammatical errors, because we write like we talk, and if the writing sounds strange spoken aloud, chances are there's something wrong.
Now then, since there are a lot of errors lying around, I'm going to copy+paste this into an online pad, fix it, and highlight all the things I changed. It's much easier on the eyes than an anaconda of a grammar-freak post.

http://buggiedude2340.writerfeedpad.com/8 Let's hope that URL works. If not, this one definitely will: http://buggiedude2340.writerfeedpad.com/8




User avatar
55 Reviews


Points: 240
Reviews: 55

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 7:22 pm
puppys3117 wrote a review...



hey there :3 puppys here for a review :D

ok first of, that ex-boyfriend of hers is a complete JERK O_O I mean really!? who cares what others think!?!?!?! I do think u have some grammar mistakes but I knew easily what u were trying to say

I really have nothing else to say but this is a good story!!! ignore the other reviews below if they make u feel bad. today just wasn't your day, that's all. we get those moments don't we? just fix the few mistakes with grammar and continue on :) I WILL SLAP U IF U DONT U HEAR ME XD

P.S. I know this isn't much of a review lol but I wanted to do SOMETHING to show I liked it ;)

CONTINUE ON!
~puppys3117~




User avatar
151 Reviews


Points: 388
Reviews: 151

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 3:51 pm
Pinkiegirl13 says...



That is! I am writing more of this story!
~Pinkie Jackson




Pinkiegirl13 says...


*not writing



User avatar
151 Reviews


Points: 388
Reviews: 151

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 3:50 pm
Pinkiegirl13 says...



That is! I am writing more of this story!
~Pinkie Jackson




Pinkiegirl13 says...


*not writing



User avatar
332 Reviews


Points: 10657
Reviews: 332

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 6:54 am
Blackwood wrote a review...



I understand that English must be your second language.

I think you need to work on improving your English a bit more before you start writing long works of fiction in it. English is a confusing language, and you have the tenses all mixed up and barely any of your sentences make sense. I know its hard, and congratulations on trying your best, but I think that you should stick with shorter stories so people can help you learn more in a more controlled sense. If you write with short stories then its easier for people to take the construction of your sentences and correct you, which will in turn help you improve at your English bit by bit and how sentence structure and tense work. Crafting a short story is much more efficient in learning how to write prose for beginners.
Things you need to study include how to construct sentences to flow more smoothly in fiction writing.

In this story, I can't tell if the plot is hindered by the second language or not which may make it more difficult to convey your ideas in the way that you want to. Much of the stuff you have here is quite clichéd, and needs some work, but you also need to consider your characters more carefully. You introduce us to the girl who is your main character and supply us with details about the girls and the boys at this dance, except most of it is unnecessary. The readers don't care about what colour shoes everyone was wearing, and at this stage in the story they wont care about your character if you just describe their appearance. You have to make the reader relate.

In regards to the content of this chapter, I was actually quite disturbed. Here you have some children in middle school. And you are exposing these young children to adult like themes and superficial things. I personally think these children are too young to be having boyfriends and showing people their breasts, but I don't know the type of area you come from, perhaps that is normal there. If I am not mistaken you said that her father saw her breasts? I am not sure what you are trying to say here, but I think that your meaning has been lost in translation.
In this work there is just too many errors I can't point them out, and I don't think it would be worthwhile to correct them all. Facing the problem at the root of the problem would be a better tactic to make sure you are writing with less errors when you start so there are less problems to solve later on.

I think as you are writing you need to consult with a fluent English speaker to check your sentences make sense and for advice on phrasing. That way you can learn and write more clearly at the same time. Good luck and I hope your English improves.




User avatar
172 Reviews


Points: 0
Reviews: 172

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 6:53 am
View Likes
Laure wrote a review...



Hai, Laure here to murder and ripe your pieces apart mercilessly review. I'm going to start off with some technical things and mentioned some suggestions along the way with both how you write and how you use your words.

The girls was


Very basic grammar rule, was should be were, as was is the past tense for the singular verb -is. But in this case, since you said girls. It will be were.

The girls was wearing on colorful dress with their high heels, and the boys were wearing on black or colorful suits with any color shoes.


On is incorrectly used here, in fact you don't even need 'on' to express what you want. So, just get rid of it. This is prom, correct? I'd imagine that the boys will not be wearing random coloured suits with randomed colour shoes. Now, we don't have proms in Australia but I've read enough to know that this is one of the most important events in American high school. So I very much doubt, they would wear random coloured shoes. Also, one problem with your chapter is that you told us everything. Literally everything, including what happened, what they were. You stated everything, which is absolutely boring. So show us instead, alright? Instead of saying colourful dresses, describe the dresses, their texture and how they look perhaps?

She was wearing pink dress with white heels. She had her strawberry blonde hair down to her back and put some make-up on her face like the other girls. She is one of the geeks by the way. She tried to get along with the popular kids, have the boys to fall in love with her, and to become popular. However, she has a boyfriend named Henry, a quarterback of the football team, in the prom. You think she is showing off, but she actually have a handsome boyfriend. Then, Henry stopped her before they get to the dance floor.


^You see that paragraph I have just quoted? That was completely telling. Describe her hair and dress. You've frequented she a lot, now try and stop start every sentence with the same word because it makes everything very monotonous and boring. Also, do we really need to know that she's showing off or that Henry is handsome? Because to me, that just seems like not-very-interesting-information-that-could-have-been-deleted-.

"What it is?" questioned Stephanie.

"Um...do I have to go in the dance floor....I meant with you?" replied Henry.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why I need to go out there with a nerdy girlfriend and I am handsome guy. That is just awkward to date with a nerd that have a nerd father in prom."

Stephanie got mad at him. "So you're saying that I am embarrassment?!" shouted Stephanie.

Henry laughed nervously. "Ha! Nonono! I just saying about the popular kids thinking of you. They said that your father is a creepy old guy and you are too. So...I am not dancing in prom with you..."


Alright, that dialogue and the logic of it just does not even work. He cannot just simply walk up there and say that he ditches her so abruptly and briefly. And also, you wrote it as if Henry had just thought of that right on the spot. Oh yeah, I have a girlfriend who's a nerd, let's ditch her coz the popular kids don't like her. Look, there is nothing wrong with that reason. But I expect a lot more preparation, the whole thing is just completely unrealistic. I'd have expected Henry would have taken her to a quiet place, sat her down and somewhat apprehensively told her this.

Also, this part. You could have developed this so much more, dialogue can show a lot of a character's emotions. But instead, you basically told us that Stephanie got mad and shouted at him. I'm sure you can do better than that!

Then, the music appears.


Once again, description. Appears isn't exactly a very accurate word here. I'd imagine that there would have already been some music playing softly in the background.

That night was the best time in my life. I never see my father was so mature and kindly gave me that amazing dance. However, his behavior changed when it was my graduation from middle school. He embarrassed me in front of the entire school by telling a story of how he saw my boobs. The kids laughed at me as I tried to hide my face. Maybe his charms goes up and down.


Can I ask, exactly why this paragraph is necessary? Because frankly it doesn't really show me anything besides saying that her father can have mood changes or behavior changes quite rapidly. Also, 'I never see my father was so mature' -> You have two conflicting tenses there, present and past. 'I never realized my father could be so mature' is probably a better way to phrase it.

Content and language:

I really want to say a good thing about this chapter, I'm sorry but I really can't. Because that way I will be lying to myself and I'm not honest with you. Before I do anything else, I must apologize if English is your second language or if you're unfamiliar with English. In that case, you must take no offence on my review as I'm just suggesting these changes to you. Alright, let's move.

Everything, from the start to the finish, including the characters, the language and in terms of plot-wise is a very typical and cliche story of a teenage novel. Everything in here, from the Stephanie being dumped by her boyfriend on Prom, a bad father everything just shouts cliche. Not only that, but her character is also very under-developed because we only get the most basic of her physical descriptions and nothing else. The plot, tends to jump from scene to scene without much elaboration of why it happened or what effect it had on that certain character. I think the main problem you have here, is that you are not developing your characters enough and that you tend to state and tell everything in short sentences instead of showing the readers how. The character's reaction to actions in this chapter is also quite unrealistic which gives the readers that this is not a real story at all but, someone's made up story of random fragments.

I very strongly suggest that you pay a visit to YWS's Writing Tutorial base because it contains everything from building a plot, a good character and writing good dialogues to how to write as an ESL (if you are one.) viewforum.php?f=150


Once again, I must mention the above is my opinion only, even though I have tried to take an objective view. As I don't know you very well, I do not know your English background. Please don't take any offence at this review, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

~Laure




Pinkiegirl13 says...


Listen, my English is first language. Look, my friend is trying her better with writing. Leave her alone
~Pinkie Jackson



Laure says...


In that case, I apologize, buy you should know that whenever you post a work on YWS. You're bound to receive criticism, and we aren't doing this to be cruel we are doing is, so that you know what can be fixed. Under any circumstances, I wish you luck in your future writing. :)



User avatar
6 Reviews


Points: 617
Reviews: 6

Donate
Wed May 28, 2014 6:33 am
Mersize wrote a review...



It looks like it just finished; you narrowed the whole story into 1 chapter. This is good material; it is really interesting; it grabbed my attention. It is good, but you told everything too fast. I want you to add more details; it needs more feeling, I want feel how it happens, how all comes around and goes around. Imagine that you are Stephanie; live what she lives and write as it goes on your mind. I do not know what kind of style you are going to use, but I would recommend the formal style, which consists in not using contractions, abbreviations and so on. She is having an external conflict with the "popular kids" that is cool. In my opinion you should NOT redo it but add more stuff. I was told this, some guys told me to add more details in my piece of writing, I will do it later on. So you should do as I will do.
Another thing that I could observe is that you have got too many grammar mistakes, I know that this is just a draft, but you've got too many. For instance, in line... But before the grammar mistakes, I could see that you are chaging tenses when you need to follow only one tense, some sentences are in the past form, then you just switch into the present form or vice versa, Be careful when doing that. Now some grammar mistakes:

Paragraph 2 Lines 1-2: The girls "was" wearing "on" colorful dress with their high heels. It does not go like that it needs the plural form which is "were" in the another situation "on" does not go there, neither in plural nor singular. The sentence would be "THE GIRLS WERE WEARING COLORFUL DRESSES WITH THEIR (NEEDS AN ADJETIVE TO DESCRIVE THE HIGH HEELS) HIGH HEELS. Throughout the whole piece of writing you will find these kinds of mistakes and the switching tenses thing. You have to add more, this is really good stuff, I really liked it...Keep writing :D

Regards.





I sleep with reckless abandon!
— Link Neal