Departure

I've started on my novel, Departure. Beginning a story is always the hardest part for me. After the beginning is over with, the rest of it is basically a breeze. The sample I posted on deviantART, I think, was not a fair quote. It made it seem as though the whole novel is about high school. While high school is an important aspect of the setting and such, it would be wrong to say that "high school" is the subject of this novel. So here's a longer sample than what I posted the other day.



Sneakers slapped onto the floor in beat with the rock song Allison pumped into her ears at full blast. It had been a good day so far, and she planned to keep up the momentum of her energy. As she swayed her hips across the hallway on her way to the cafeteria, she suddenly found herself under Blair’s gaze. Allison staggered, a bit startled.
"Oh!" Blair exclaimed. "Hey there, May!"
Allison regained her footing. "How’s it going?" Last year at this time, Allison felt uncomfortable talking to Blair; it was mostly due to how strangely she acted. After putting her freshman year behind her, however, Allison had grown to appreciate Blair’s uniqueness.
Blair smiled. "I’m good." A brown messenger bag slipped from her shoulder and spilled its contents onto the dirty tile. A fleeting look of concern crossed her face; luckily nothing flew too far out of reach. She stretched and slid down against the white brick wall. "Sit down." She offered to Allison, patting the cold floor next to her.
"I, uh..." Allison gestured toward the ever-growing lunch line. "I’ll be right back."
Behind a pair of cheerleaders and before an unfriendly sophomore, Allison placed herself into a dark corner of the cafeteria entrance. She couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the girls in front of her.
"Did you hear about Andrea and Shane?" said the blonde.
"No," her companion replied, "did something happen?"
The blonde rolled her eyes, as if it were common knowledge by now. "She cheated on him. With, like, three other guys."
"Are you serious?" The friend with too much makeup stifled a laugh.
"It’s not funny," the blonde said, "I’m going to have to put up with her whining and shit when he dumps her."
"You mean they’re still together?"
"I know, right? I don’t understand Shane, either. He’s so cute but so stupid."
The two fell quiet for some time, and the line inched closer to the counters. Allison felt uneasy after hearing what she had. She had known Andrea Schultz for at least five years. At some point they had even labeled each other with "best friend" until a falling-out three months previous. Allison had always thought Andrea was a drama queen. She became bored so easily, and the only way to have satisfied her was to make up a rumor about an innocent person or to destroy a relationship in which she was perfectly comfortable. Allison had made countless attempts to talk to Andrea about her unnecessary behavior, all of which had been completely ignored.
Some 80’s music rattled through the ceiling speakers. It appeared Allison’s turn at the food counter would come soon. Deciding that she didn’t want half the sides, she chose the spaghetti meal. A lunch worker named Margaret spilled the pile of noodles and marinara sauce, letting it drain into every compartment of the lunch tray. Lip curled, Allison stepped away from the counter, paid for the meal, and proceeded back to the entryway hall where Blair had sat with a pair of soundproof headphones suffocating her ears. Allison practically had to fall on top of Blair until she realized her friend had returned from the lunchroom.
"That took a while," Blair raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Allison simply replied.
The two sat in silence for the remaining twenty minutes of lunch, and then proceeded to their separate classes. "I’ll see you later, May!" Blair waved.
Allison smiled. "Okay. See you." She had no idea why Blair always called her May. After a few reminders, Blair had come to the realization that her name really was Allison, but continued repeating the nickname. Allison didn’t really mind.
The day transited into a blur as each thought melted into the next inside of Allison’s head. However, a single worry nagged at her thoughts for the remainder of the school periods and into the late afternoon. Had those statements in the cafeteria been true, it would mean Andrea had become more of a nuisance since she and Allison had last quarreled.
Although Allison seemed to not care, a part of her inside had agonized as she slowly cut ties with Andrea. She had given her so many chances; "benefit of the doubt" resonated within her skull countless times between effort and failure. She so desperately wanted to change Andrea into a better person. It finally reached the point where Andrea had evolved into a burden upon Allison’s fragile shoulders. A collapse was imminent. Nothing could change without Andrea’s total surrender to Allison’s intentions, which would never happen in their lifetime. No, Andrea was always too stubborn to admit that she could ever be wrong in any situation. Wasteful breaths had always escaped Allison’s lips in all of her spent efforts.
It could be supposed that Allison sought refuge in improving Andrea’s character, in order to protect her own flaws from breaking her in their exposure. Worn and ragged, Allison’s powerless strains hardly made an impact upon Andrea’s diamond exterior. Defeat had eventually swallowed Allison’s hopes.
Halos of smeared sunlight glowed on the panes of the bus window. A storm cloud fast approaching from the west, it quickly became evident to Allison that she would be spending the evening locked up in her room. Rain showers like these often had a way of soothing her into an undeniable tranquility, and she didn’t want to be disturbed.


I feel as though I'm being a bit redundant in those last few paragraphs. :/ I dunno. I'll figure it out later. I'm only beginning, after all. Editing/revision comes later.

Even with this extended quote, I don't think I've still quite established the beginning of the point that I'll be making with this story. But I don't think that's a problem right now. It's only the start of it, after all. As the story progresses, it should become more evident what message I'm trying to get across.

So, this is what I've been doing this weekend. Writing a novel that I probably won't finish and playing Car Town on Facebook (I hate you for that, mobo).

Why do I waste my time like this?