Post by Pseudomuse on Mar 18, 2006 22:39:28 GMT -8
Freewrite started 16.03.06
Acrobat
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow
Now it looks like this
- Acrobat, U2
Maddie looked to her feet, her sore, muddy feet. Grabbing the hose from the front porch, she switched it on, and let the blast of cold well water splatter all over her skin and flow between her toes. Faintly over the spray she could hear laughter and squeals from inside the house; but it only distracted her for a moment, and she turned back to scowl at her feet.
The Dalton house was a small, peeling place. White with fading green trim, it had stood the test of time and that of the ever increasing family. The front steps sat cock-eyed, the antebellum porch was patched in variously places, and the whole structure leaned slightly to the left. There was an addition at the back that looked slightly less ragged than the rest, and the yard was yellowed in the dry September heat. In the rocky driveway were parked two cars: a large blue ford pickup with a dented bumper, and a white mini-van. The entrance to the Dalton property started sharply in the bend of the road, where an ancient mailbox and the dead leavings of a Christmas stood vigilant.
When the last vestiges of mud had disappeared, Maddie yanked the hose off. The last of the water dripped on to her bare shins just below where she had rolled up her jeans. Coiling up the green hose she placed it on the deck, grabbed her backpack, and headed inside.
The noise affected Maddie the most and she physically flinched as she stepped inside.
“Maddie, Maddie home!” One of the youngest twins shrieked, and Maddie fought the impulse to cover her ears and run.
“Madeline, thank god, take Emma-Marie for me girl.” Her mother’s slightly frantic voice sounded in the hallway, after which she entered the youngest, at age one and a half, on her hip.
Maddie slightly nodded taking the wide-eyed child from her and her mother rushed off without another word.
“Come on,” she whispered conspiratorially attempting to smooth an errant blonde strand on her sister’s head, “let’s she what the boys are up to.”
(first break)
The living room was a mess. Bits of crackers and honey nut cheerios were scattered all over the stained carpet. Legos and coloured blocks from toppled bridges and castles were bright buoys on the off white. Two of younger Daltons’ were sitting on the L – shaped couch watching cartoons. Maddie caught a glimpse of Chad at the kitchen table, scribbling on a wide ruled, yellow notepad. Hoisting Emma higher in her arms, she made her trek through the myriad of foot obstacles to sit on the edge of the couch. Micah, the youngest boy at three glanced up at her, and smiled, the spaces where baby teeth had fallen out showing.
“What you watching?” Maddie turned her attention to the television, she did not recognize the show, and it reminded her how long it was since she had watched TV at all.
Diana, Micah’s twin, not taking her eyes of the screen answered in a annoyed voice, which she had recently picked up from their sister Cindy, “Kim Possible,” adding a little sigh at the end, as if she was implying ‘you loser.’
“Oh.”
Leaning backwards to accommodate Emma, Maddie continued to watch the show, her backpack cutting into the planes of her back. A young, thin, red-haired cartoon in a cheer-leading outfit was rushing off to save the world.
After a few minutes, Emma tugged at the collar of her shirt.
She flashed a plastered smile at her, “Yeah.”
“Blocks.” With her chubby pointy finger Emma pointed at the blocks spread across the floor, then curled the tiny fingers in a grasping motion. “Blocks.”
Maddie heaved an internal sigh, “Yes, blocks,” before managing to seat herself at the foot of the sofa, Emma in her laps.
She stretched out for one of the bright blocks, and when she had it secure in her hands, she pressed the plastic turquoise Y into the child’s searching hands.
(take a breath)
Maddie wasn’t sure when the headaches had started, maybe at the start of the school year. She had enough advanced placement classes to sink a battleship, English Language, American History, Physics, French, as well as her regular classes: Algebra II and Advanced Acting. Study Hall was the only thing that had kept her from breaking she was sure.
But lately the headaches had gotten worse. They began towards the back of her brain with this toothless pressure, and then crept up to her temples where it was not just the ache that pained, but severe jolts. At times, such as this she had to close her eyes and breathe, so she could see straight.
Breathe…
Maddie opened her eyes, and stared into the mirror. A very grumpy self-image growled back. Honeyed eyes tired, thin lips pressed together, auburn hair in two short pigtails at her neck base. Smudges on her round face stood out against her slight olive tan. Maddie brought up her hand to pinch the bridge of her small nose, and blinked a few more times.
Breathe…
She jerked open the medicine cabinet at the side of the mirror, and grappled for the aspirin bottle.
Two oblong white pills slipped into the cup of her palm; two little white pills. After a pause in thought, Maddie shook the bottle again, and two more fell out.
(second break)
“Hey, is the dishwasher clean?” Maddie announced, as she pried it open with one hand.
“I dunno, look?” Was the only answer she got, and she grumbled, fishing for a glass.
Finding one that looked passable she filled it up. Tossing back her head, she swallowed both the pills and gulp of water at the same time.
“So is it clean?” Adelaide, her twelve year old sister asked, sidling up to the dishwasher.
“I guess,” Maddie said softly, putting her glass back on wire rack.
Adelaide made a face, but didn’t reply.
“Maddie!”
Maddie groaned, what did her mother want now?
As if on cue, Chad appeared phone in hand. He offered it up casually. “Mom said the phone was for you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
(hello, hello.)
Maddie rested her back against her headboard, and settled into the relative quiet of the room she shared with her sister Cindy.
“Hello?”
“Mads?”
The sides of Maddie’s lips curled at hearing her best friend’s voice.
“Hey Georgie, yeah it’s me. What’s up?”
“Oh nothing much, just thought I’d call, how is everything going at the hell hole?”
“It’s going. I wish I could just rebel or something, maybe they would take some notice.”
“Oh, but Maddie,” Georgie started doing her best impression of Mrs. Dalton, “but you are so reliable, and perfect, you never do anything wrong.”
Maddie giggled at that, “Touché.”
“So other than the over-oppressive Nazi taskmaster giving hell, did you start the book yet?”
“Uh, which one, Wizard of Earthsea was it?” Maddie lifted her black Jansport backpack into her lap, and searched through the relative chaos that it was.
“Yes. I’m guessing you haven’t.”
Maddie extracted the worn copy that Georgie had given her in study hall. “No, but I you know how it is, can’t get any quiet in this place.”
“Too true. Hey, why don’t you come with me and Alan to the lake tomorrow?”
Maddie almost said no, she was tempted too. Maddie hated intruding on Georgie and Alan, and their private time, most of the time it made her uncomfortable. But she loved the lake too much, to pass it up; plus they hadn’t been there since Labor Day.
“Sure, count me in.”
“Yay!”
(smile)
“So question four, civilization versus the wilderness. The town obviously represents civilization, a place controlled by rules, where all actions are on display and punishment for transgressions is quick. The forest, who made up these questions any way? – this is stupid.”
“Agreed, Mrs. Marsh made them I think,” Maddie answered, as she tried to flip her notes over which one hand, the other occupied with the phone.
“Yeah, the ancient crone would. But never-mind – back to the prompt, the forest, the wilderness is a place of nature where society’s rules do not apply. While it allows misbehaviour, i.e. Miss Hibbins’s, it is also a great place of honesty. Errg, gag me with a spoon, can this be any more clichéd?”
“Georgie, the prompt,” Maddie chided her, although she was smiling.
“Oh yeah, so honesty in the forest, an escape from repressionist Boston; Hester and Dimmesdale become young lovers again there, and frolic just like Adam and Eve in nakedness and harmony.”
Maddie chuckled, “Georgie did you really write that?”
“No, but I am sorely tempted, very sorely. I think my angel decided to take a vacation, cause Satan here is thoroughly disgusted at being dropped in a vat of cheese; a very big vat of cheese at that.”
“Well tell him, if he shuts up and lets us work, I’ll give him a cookie.”
“Yay, cookie! So back to the vat of cheese, Hester’s cottage: because it lies just on the outskirts of town, in both civilization and the wilderness it embodies both. It is her exile, but because of its distance from civilization it is also a place where Hester can make a life for herself. I think that’s it. Whatcha say Captain?”
“Sounds great, don’t we have to talk about Hester and Dimmesdale’s relationship too?”
“Umm, yeah, crud, cheesy cheese; Let me go get those notes we made in study hall.”
Maddie could hear the ruffling of papers, and imagined her friend’s frantic search. She shouldn’t have given her those notes, but it wasn’t as if Maddie was any more organized.
“Oh look, it’s my loser of a sister.”
Maddie snapped towards the voice. Her sister Cindy was loitering in the doorway, chewing bubble gum, her dark eyes narrowed in what could have passed for disgust. She was dressed in a bright green halter top, and skin sticking jean capris, her purse in the crook of her thin arm.
“Don’t you have a life?” She jibed when Maddie ignored her first comment.
Maddie ignored that as well, avoiding her sister’s stare.
“I thought you were out with friends.” She spoke, trying to make conversation.
“I was, cause apparently I’m like the only one in this place that has any. Corey and I went to the mall to look at dresses, fyi. What did you do? Read.”
“Actually, no, I helped Mom. Now scatter, I’ve got work to do.”
“Fine, then.” Cindy hooked a piece of her long, dyed honey highlighted hair behind one ear, before blowing a bubble in Maddie’s direction, the pop ominous in the tension.
When Maddie just rolled her eyes, Cindy just muttered ‘loser’ before sauntering off.
“Mads? Mads?” Georgie voice echoed in the receiver.
“Yeah, sorry Georgie, Cin decided to drop in, luckily without any of her friends this time.”
There was a pause before Georgie answered, “No offence Mads, but she is a bitch. Would you mind terribly if I gouged her heart out with a spoon?”
Acrobat
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow
Now it looks like this
- Acrobat, U2
Maddie looked to her feet, her sore, muddy feet. Grabbing the hose from the front porch, she switched it on, and let the blast of cold well water splatter all over her skin and flow between her toes. Faintly over the spray she could hear laughter and squeals from inside the house; but it only distracted her for a moment, and she turned back to scowl at her feet.
The Dalton house was a small, peeling place. White with fading green trim, it had stood the test of time and that of the ever increasing family. The front steps sat cock-eyed, the antebellum porch was patched in variously places, and the whole structure leaned slightly to the left. There was an addition at the back that looked slightly less ragged than the rest, and the yard was yellowed in the dry September heat. In the rocky driveway were parked two cars: a large blue ford pickup with a dented bumper, and a white mini-van. The entrance to the Dalton property started sharply in the bend of the road, where an ancient mailbox and the dead leavings of a Christmas stood vigilant.
When the last vestiges of mud had disappeared, Maddie yanked the hose off. The last of the water dripped on to her bare shins just below where she had rolled up her jeans. Coiling up the green hose she placed it on the deck, grabbed her backpack, and headed inside.
The noise affected Maddie the most and she physically flinched as she stepped inside.
“Maddie, Maddie home!” One of the youngest twins shrieked, and Maddie fought the impulse to cover her ears and run.
“Madeline, thank god, take Emma-Marie for me girl.” Her mother’s slightly frantic voice sounded in the hallway, after which she entered the youngest, at age one and a half, on her hip.
Maddie slightly nodded taking the wide-eyed child from her and her mother rushed off without another word.
“Come on,” she whispered conspiratorially attempting to smooth an errant blonde strand on her sister’s head, “let’s she what the boys are up to.”
(first break)
The living room was a mess. Bits of crackers and honey nut cheerios were scattered all over the stained carpet. Legos and coloured blocks from toppled bridges and castles were bright buoys on the off white. Two of younger Daltons’ were sitting on the L – shaped couch watching cartoons. Maddie caught a glimpse of Chad at the kitchen table, scribbling on a wide ruled, yellow notepad. Hoisting Emma higher in her arms, she made her trek through the myriad of foot obstacles to sit on the edge of the couch. Micah, the youngest boy at three glanced up at her, and smiled, the spaces where baby teeth had fallen out showing.
“What you watching?” Maddie turned her attention to the television, she did not recognize the show, and it reminded her how long it was since she had watched TV at all.
Diana, Micah’s twin, not taking her eyes of the screen answered in a annoyed voice, which she had recently picked up from their sister Cindy, “Kim Possible,” adding a little sigh at the end, as if she was implying ‘you loser.’
“Oh.”
Leaning backwards to accommodate Emma, Maddie continued to watch the show, her backpack cutting into the planes of her back. A young, thin, red-haired cartoon in a cheer-leading outfit was rushing off to save the world.
After a few minutes, Emma tugged at the collar of her shirt.
She flashed a plastered smile at her, “Yeah.”
“Blocks.” With her chubby pointy finger Emma pointed at the blocks spread across the floor, then curled the tiny fingers in a grasping motion. “Blocks.”
Maddie heaved an internal sigh, “Yes, blocks,” before managing to seat herself at the foot of the sofa, Emma in her laps.
She stretched out for one of the bright blocks, and when she had it secure in her hands, she pressed the plastic turquoise Y into the child’s searching hands.
(take a breath)
Maddie wasn’t sure when the headaches had started, maybe at the start of the school year. She had enough advanced placement classes to sink a battleship, English Language, American History, Physics, French, as well as her regular classes: Algebra II and Advanced Acting. Study Hall was the only thing that had kept her from breaking she was sure.
But lately the headaches had gotten worse. They began towards the back of her brain with this toothless pressure, and then crept up to her temples where it was not just the ache that pained, but severe jolts. At times, such as this she had to close her eyes and breathe, so she could see straight.
Breathe…
Maddie opened her eyes, and stared into the mirror. A very grumpy self-image growled back. Honeyed eyes tired, thin lips pressed together, auburn hair in two short pigtails at her neck base. Smudges on her round face stood out against her slight olive tan. Maddie brought up her hand to pinch the bridge of her small nose, and blinked a few more times.
Breathe…
She jerked open the medicine cabinet at the side of the mirror, and grappled for the aspirin bottle.
Two oblong white pills slipped into the cup of her palm; two little white pills. After a pause in thought, Maddie shook the bottle again, and two more fell out.
(second break)
“Hey, is the dishwasher clean?” Maddie announced, as she pried it open with one hand.
“I dunno, look?” Was the only answer she got, and she grumbled, fishing for a glass.
Finding one that looked passable she filled it up. Tossing back her head, she swallowed both the pills and gulp of water at the same time.
“So is it clean?” Adelaide, her twelve year old sister asked, sidling up to the dishwasher.
“I guess,” Maddie said softly, putting her glass back on wire rack.
Adelaide made a face, but didn’t reply.
“Maddie!”
Maddie groaned, what did her mother want now?
As if on cue, Chad appeared phone in hand. He offered it up casually. “Mom said the phone was for you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
(hello, hello.)
Maddie rested her back against her headboard, and settled into the relative quiet of the room she shared with her sister Cindy.
“Hello?”
“Mads?”
The sides of Maddie’s lips curled at hearing her best friend’s voice.
“Hey Georgie, yeah it’s me. What’s up?”
“Oh nothing much, just thought I’d call, how is everything going at the hell hole?”
“It’s going. I wish I could just rebel or something, maybe they would take some notice.”
“Oh, but Maddie,” Georgie started doing her best impression of Mrs. Dalton, “but you are so reliable, and perfect, you never do anything wrong.”
Maddie giggled at that, “Touché.”
“So other than the over-oppressive Nazi taskmaster giving hell, did you start the book yet?”
“Uh, which one, Wizard of Earthsea was it?” Maddie lifted her black Jansport backpack into her lap, and searched through the relative chaos that it was.
“Yes. I’m guessing you haven’t.”
Maddie extracted the worn copy that Georgie had given her in study hall. “No, but I you know how it is, can’t get any quiet in this place.”
“Too true. Hey, why don’t you come with me and Alan to the lake tomorrow?”
Maddie almost said no, she was tempted too. Maddie hated intruding on Georgie and Alan, and their private time, most of the time it made her uncomfortable. But she loved the lake too much, to pass it up; plus they hadn’t been there since Labor Day.
“Sure, count me in.”
“Yay!”
(smile)
“So question four, civilization versus the wilderness. The town obviously represents civilization, a place controlled by rules, where all actions are on display and punishment for transgressions is quick. The forest, who made up these questions any way? – this is stupid.”
“Agreed, Mrs. Marsh made them I think,” Maddie answered, as she tried to flip her notes over which one hand, the other occupied with the phone.
“Yeah, the ancient crone would. But never-mind – back to the prompt, the forest, the wilderness is a place of nature where society’s rules do not apply. While it allows misbehaviour, i.e. Miss Hibbins’s, it is also a great place of honesty. Errg, gag me with a spoon, can this be any more clichéd?”
“Georgie, the prompt,” Maddie chided her, although she was smiling.
“Oh yeah, so honesty in the forest, an escape from repressionist Boston; Hester and Dimmesdale become young lovers again there, and frolic just like Adam and Eve in nakedness and harmony.”
Maddie chuckled, “Georgie did you really write that?”
“No, but I am sorely tempted, very sorely. I think my angel decided to take a vacation, cause Satan here is thoroughly disgusted at being dropped in a vat of cheese; a very big vat of cheese at that.”
“Well tell him, if he shuts up and lets us work, I’ll give him a cookie.”
“Yay, cookie! So back to the vat of cheese, Hester’s cottage: because it lies just on the outskirts of town, in both civilization and the wilderness it embodies both. It is her exile, but because of its distance from civilization it is also a place where Hester can make a life for herself. I think that’s it. Whatcha say Captain?”
“Sounds great, don’t we have to talk about Hester and Dimmesdale’s relationship too?”
“Umm, yeah, crud, cheesy cheese; Let me go get those notes we made in study hall.”
Maddie could hear the ruffling of papers, and imagined her friend’s frantic search. She shouldn’t have given her those notes, but it wasn’t as if Maddie was any more organized.
“Oh look, it’s my loser of a sister.”
Maddie snapped towards the voice. Her sister Cindy was loitering in the doorway, chewing bubble gum, her dark eyes narrowed in what could have passed for disgust. She was dressed in a bright green halter top, and skin sticking jean capris, her purse in the crook of her thin arm.
“Don’t you have a life?” She jibed when Maddie ignored her first comment.
Maddie ignored that as well, avoiding her sister’s stare.
“I thought you were out with friends.” She spoke, trying to make conversation.
“I was, cause apparently I’m like the only one in this place that has any. Corey and I went to the mall to look at dresses, fyi. What did you do? Read.”
“Actually, no, I helped Mom. Now scatter, I’ve got work to do.”
“Fine, then.” Cindy hooked a piece of her long, dyed honey highlighted hair behind one ear, before blowing a bubble in Maddie’s direction, the pop ominous in the tension.
When Maddie just rolled her eyes, Cindy just muttered ‘loser’ before sauntering off.
“Mads? Mads?” Georgie voice echoed in the receiver.
“Yeah, sorry Georgie, Cin decided to drop in, luckily without any of her friends this time.”
There was a pause before Georgie answered, “No offence Mads, but she is a bitch. Would you mind terribly if I gouged her heart out with a spoon?”
