I got this idea from a plot generator thing on this website (http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/) Suggestions would be appreciated! 
Note: I actually did use a magic 8-ball in the writing of this story.
The alarm clock went off with a shrill beep, and Abby turned it off with a groan. After forcing herself through the motions of taking a shower and brushing her teeth and hair, she reached for the smooth black ball that sat on her dresser. Picking it up, she ran her fingers over the “8”, feeling the cool silky surface beneath her fingertips. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and muttered, “Should I wear my blue shirt today?”
Quickly, she turned it over and gazed into the blue liquid that sloshed softly against the window. Abby held her breath with anticipation as she made out the words: Outlook not so good.
She nodded. It was right, as always. She would look ridiculous in that shirt.
“Should I wear my red one?” she asked.
My sources say no, the ball replied.
Abby went through several different colors until the ball chose white. After she got dressed, she went downstairs to the kitchen and opened the cabinet. “Should I eat Apple Jacks today?”
Most likely, answered the ball.
She took that as a yes and quickly ate her breakfast, and then set off for school. When she arrived there, Abby realized that she still had ten minutes before school started. Her best friend had moved away a year before, and she was still treated as an outcast by the student body. Feeling lost, she took the magic 8-ball out of her pocket. “Should I start a conversation with somebody?” she whispered.
It is certain, the ball replied.
Abby looked around the commons area. Everyone was clustered in small tight groups, impenetrable from the outside. “Should I talk with someone coming inside?”
You may rely on it, said the ball.
A boy opened the door of the school and stepped inside. Abby’s heart dropped. The star of the swim team? “Him?” she asked pleadingly.
Better not tell you now, the ball said elusively.
Abby sighed. She hated having to decide things for herself.
At that moment, the bell rang, and she hurried off to her first period class, Algebra. Abby slid into her seat, and took out her ball again. “Did I have homework that I was supposed to do?”
Signs point to yes, the ball answered.
Abby groaned. Her spirits dropped even further when the teacher reminded the class that they were taking their final that day. She hated forgetting about those things. “Will I pass?” she asked softly.
Reply hazy, try again, said the ball noncommittally.
She took that as a maybe…if she used her ball to help her, of course. The teacher passed out the test, a packet that seemed to be composed of hundreds of pages. “Begin,” he said.
Abby looked at the first question, which was, 215=100x + 15. She stared at it blankly, not comprehending any part of it. Why hadn’t she paid attention in class?
“Is it A: 2?” she asked her ball in a whisper. The girl sitting next to Abby glared at her spitefully.
Ask again later, it said smugly.
“No, I need to know now!” she muttered, a little louder this time. A hissing sound filled the room as all of her classmates made shushing noises.
My sources say no, the ball said.
“Is it B: 12?” Abby asked, trying to make her voice as quiet as possible.
It is decidedly so, it answered.
She marked it down, and moved on to the next question. “Is it…”
The boy in front of her whirled around. “Shut up! I’m trying to take a test!”
“What’s the problem?” said the teacher.
“Abby won’t be quiet,” said one of her classmates. “She’s distracting us.”
The teacher walked over to Abby’s desk with slow, steady steps. “What is that under your desk, Abby?”
She swallowed and pushed it farther from view. “Nothing.”
He raised his eyebrows, his dangerous look. Abby hesitated for a moment, and then took out her ball.
“What were you doing with your magic 8-ball, Abby?” asked the teacher.
“It…it was helping me with the answers,” she whispered. A small wave of snorts and giggles rippled through the room.
He held out his hand. “Give it to me, Abby.”
Abby stared up at him in silence, and then shook her head.
“Give it to me.”
“No,” she said.
“Now.”
“No, I need it!”
The teacher reached over and quickly pried it from her hand, and stepped back.
“No!” Abby shrieked, leaping to her feet. “You can’t do this! You can’t take it away from me! I need it, I…”
“Abby, I’m taking you to the principal’s office,” he said, and she quieted. As he steered her out of the classroom and down the hallway, Abby pictured the words she had seen in the blue liquid as the teacher had taken the ball from her.
Don’t count on it.
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
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125,008 Literary Works • 672,832 Reviews
To be perfectly honest, I've really had enough of reading stories about people that've just woken up. I swear that in the past few days, that's the majority of what I've come across - he woke up and this happened, she woke up and did this etc. I'm just about at the end of my wits here, and I simply had to say that this was not a particularly inventive beginning as far as beginnings go - almost too expected in a way.
Nice to see you trying random things, though!
Besides that, the idea of a magic 8-ball was intriguing. I liked how you began it with her already using it, already familiar with it, en media res, as it were, but I'm going to agree with angels-symphony here in that the excitement of it quickly wore off when I saw the KINDS OF THINGS she was using it for. I mean, I'm sure there's much more inventive ways of using that thing in a day than simply deciding what you're going to wear, who you'll talk to and how to answer questions in class. It would have been interesting to see her taken out of her comfort zone, into a totally new environment on the whim of the ball, and struggling, rather than the obvious and a tad overused scene of being at school or cheating in a test.
I was in mixed feelings about the way the ball answered. On the one hand, it changed from a 'yes' to a 'it is decidedly so' or whatever, becoming more annoying, cryptic and overly verbiose to answer her Q's. On the other hand, this also seemed like you, as the writer, were unsatisfied with a simple 'Yes' or 'No' and were trying a bit hard to put some variation in. Like I said - the variation should have been in the plot, the setting etc - as opposed to here.
Anyway, it was an experiment, and not all experiments need to work - so that's all good
The generator gave you a cool idea, Earth, but personally, the pace of the story seemed slow compared to the beginning. I tired of the Magic 8-ball answering when I reached the Apple Jacks paragraph. Like I said, cool idea, but try not to wear it out right away.
The main problem of this story is probably the execution. I never really got to find out why she uses the Magic 8-ball, and the ending where the 8-ball was confiscated seemed a bit dramatic since I couldn't really feel Abby's emotional tie to it. Also, it confused me when the Magic 8-ball answered at the end, because I didn't read anything about Abby asking it a question.
A good rough draft, it just needs a bit more meat and trimming, and it'll be a very nice short story.
-Shina