I saw The 777 Writing Challenge Tag at Little Blossoms for Jesus (Ya'll be sure to check out Katja's blog!) a long while ago. But, I thought I'd do this challenge today! I'll be using Third Chances for this...
Also, a quick update on Third Chances... It is no longer my top priority (school first y'all.) so I will not be participating in Nano this year. I hope to continue writing. But not put so much pressure. I truly believe there is a story here, a story that I will be thrilled when I can share it. But I can't share something that is not ready. So, I keep writing. Slowly. If there is a purpose for this book I'm writing, then it will be finished one day. But for now, I will keep trusting God's plan. His timing for this is perfect. It might be a couple years before I publish... I wish it were sooner. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this glimpse!
Rules:
1. Open your WIP to the seventh page
2. Scroll to the seventh line.
3. Copy the next 7 paragraphs and past them on your blog for THE WORLD to read!
4. Tag seven other writers to do the same. (I'm leaving this tag open, so anyone can do it!)
I'm also going to mix it up just a little and also share paragraphs from my pages 7, 70, and 77.
~~~
Page 7:
“I know, I know, I’m just teasing ya.”
“One more secret handshake before you go?” Natty inquired with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“Alright, if you insist… but you do know we are way too old for that, don’t you?” Aimee had just turned twenty-two, not necessarily a secret handshake age.
“Hey, you might be too old for a secret handshake, but I’m surely not!” Natty’s single grin could brighten a roomful of frowns.
Aimee shook her head but went ahead and performed the fist bump, high five, fingers snap, twirl, and handshake anyway. Some traditions were too special to break even though they seemed elementary.
Natty tapped her watch, “You better get going if you’re going to be at your mothers by 7:30 tonight. Plus,” she glanced at the gray clouds forming above, “the sky doesn’t look so promising. You might get some rain on your way home. I just hope my flight doesn’t get canceled because of the weather.”
“Ugh, I’m starting to regret that I told her I’d be home at a specific time. Because if I’m just one minute late, she’ll guilt trip me for hours, maybe even days to come. I don’t even know why I told her I’d come back home for a while until I can find my own place. I don’t even know why I’m going home to Marysville anyway.” This is one time I'm actually okay with being late.
~~~
Page 70:
She walked in the doors and was greeted a warm welcome that made her heart swell with gratefulness. Someone truly cared about her being back home.
“Well if it isn’t Aimee Bernard!” Aimee’s favorite person in all of Marysville boomed in her typical Penny fashion, “Why, I wondered when you would stop by! I heard you were in town… Come here, sweet child, and give old Penny a hug.”
To Aimee, the older woman hadn’t changed a bit. She still wore a baby blue apron with white ruffles and her hair tied back in a long, gray braid. With those vintage looking, gold rimmed and perfectly round spectacles that fell slightly down the tip of her nose.
“Penny, I missed you!” Aimee hugged her Maryville grandmother.
“Oh, sweetheart, me too.” Penny swiped at her wrinkled cheek, “Now, come sit down. I can get you a cup of strawberry lemonade and if you're hungry, today’s special.”
“I’d like that very much.”
The older woman led Aimee to a corner booth. The same booth that had been her favorite as a child. The booth she had drank her first milkshake at. The booth she had cried at when she had just gotten her braces and it hurt to eat. Aimee remembered how Penny had brought her out a special bowl of ice cream. The same booth where she had barely endured her first date… to Fredrick, the classroom nerd. The booth she sat in and contemplated what life paths to take. The booth she sat in when she decided to go to veterinary technician college. The booth where she now sat and pondered her scattered life.
~~~
Page 77:
She set down her butter knife, uncrossed her legs, and cut a too-large bite of omelet with her fork. Then, taking her straw, she opened it halfway, and blew the wrapper at the young girl sitting beside her.
“Much better!” Zoe laughed. She caught the white wrapper before it landed on the floor. Danny looked at Tina for a split second before laughing alongside their daughter. Ok, fine, she laughed too. There would never be a point when she was above laughing. Even if it was laughing at herself.
After Zoe performed her ice breaking skills, the conversation at the breakfast table flowed more smoothly and felt less rigid. They talked about their plans for the day. Tina had an art class and both Danny and Zoe were going to go to the grocery store. Aimee was going to get an update on her car. She needed to know whether or not it was fixable. She probably should start looking for a new car. That old Pinto had caused her enough problems as it was.
“Since we brought separate cars, I’m going to go straight to my art class, but Danny can drop you off anywhere on his way to the grocery if you’d like...?” Her mom worded her sentence more like a question and Aimee was surprised that she’d even care enough to communicate a plan that didn’t involve her oldest daughter being stranded and left behind.
“I don’t want to be a bother.” Aimee wrung out her napkin underneath the table, shredding it into little pieces. Such a bad habit, she thought to herself. She could feel the tenseness of earlier return.
Tina looked at her daughter with a piercing sadness in her eyes, something she usually covered up with self pity or guilt tripping schemes. She opened her mouth to say something, then pressed her lips tightly as if she’d changed her mind.
Finally, Danny broke the heavy silence that had suddenly hung over their heads, “Um, well, I can speak for both of us when I say that you couldn’t possibly be a bother to us.”
~~~
I hope you liked getting this small glimpse of Third Chances! Which was your favorite scene? Comment below!
ALSO CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS IS MY 200TH POST ON THE BLOG?!?!
Many Blessings,
Brooklyne Elysse
