Friday Fiction: Scene 1
Written by:
By Margaret Bail
Friday, April 2, 2010
Today we're starting a feature called Friday Fiction. It's a serialized story that we'll add new installments to each week. This is how it works: Since this whole thing was my idea I'll write the beginning of the story today, then next Friday Courtney will add to it, then the following Friday it's Julie's turn, then Merissa, and then back to me. Every Friday you, dear readers, will get to enjoy a new chapter!
So, without further ado, here is the beginning of our story:
******
Erica Dalton was well out of California, cruising east down highway 40 in her brand new mini-RV, when she was struck by panic that she might be making the biggest mistake of her life.
"Oh my God, Ragsie. What the Hell am I doing?" she asked her equally brand new canine traveling companion.
Sweat pricked her scalp, her heart began pounding, and her breath came quick and shallow, but when darkness started creeping into her peripheral vision she pulled the RV into the gravel at the edge of the road and slowed to a stop.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly uncurled her stiff, white-knuckled grip from the steering wheel. She worked the joints to loosen them and looked over at Rags, the little white mutt she'd picked out at the pound just a week ago.
He woofed at her from the passenger seat.
"I must be losing my mind." She ruffled his furry head as she slid out of her seat and opened the door behind him where she sat on the step and hung her head between her knees, gulping long deep breaths. "How else would you explain a 30-year-old woman quitting her job, selling her condo, and setting off in an RV with no destination in mind?"
When he hopped down from his seat to join her she finally sat up, only slightly dizzy from her deep breathing. She ran her fingers through her curly chestnet hair, pulling it out of her face, then scratched him behind the ear. "I'm too young to be having a midlife crisis."
He barked at her again and jumped down to the ground where she watched him pee on a clump of scrubby grass, roll in the dirt and shake it off leaving a cloud of dust behind, then chase a butterfly, snapping at it. Only then, as she giggled at his antics, did she finally notice her surroundings.
The vast open beauty of the Arizona desert took her breath away and renewed her spirit. By this time Rags was yapping at the butterfly which was well out of reach. Erica picked him up and rubbed her cheek in his fur.
"Come on, Ragsie, let's go. There's lots of adventure to be had while we're still young enough to enjoy it!"
It was only several miles later that Erica saw a hitchhiker ahead of them thumbing for a ride. Rags started barking at him and as they neared the hitcher he stuck his nose to the window and kept barking as they passed, then turned to Erica and whined at her. When she looked over at him, puzzled by his behavior, she could have sworn she saw pleading in his eyes.
"What? You want me to stop for him?"
Rags whined and squirmed in his seat.
"You know that's a bad idea, right?" she asked.
He barked and whined at her again, and against her better judgment she relented and eased the RV to the side of the road and pulled to a stop.
"I hope you know what you're talking about," she said, ruffling his fur and waiting for the hitchhiker to catch up. Rags gave her a doggie smile, his tongue lolling happily out the side of his mouth.
Shane McKenzie had been thumbing it for miles, watching indifferent drivers speed by without so much as tapping their brakes. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but some of it had escaped and whipped around his face in the wind. He sighed at the futility of his situation. Ready to give up, he was walking backwards, thumb out, trying to look as desperate and harmless as possible when a small RV flew by kicking dust in his face.
"Gee, thanks," he muttered and resigned himself to walking. But when he turned around to face forward he saw that the RV had pulled over about a half mile ahead. He couldn't believe his luck and started jogging to catch up before the driver changed their mind.
**********
Okay, that's it for now! Hope you like it and that you come back next Friday to see what Courtney adds to it. I know I can't wait!
We're going to need a title for this story....if you can think of anything as we continue to build the story, go ahead and suggest it in comments. Maybe if you have any plot ideas you can comment on those too. I'm excited to see where this story goes!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Today we're starting a feature called Friday Fiction. It's a serialized story that we'll add new installments to each week. This is how it works: Since this whole thing was my idea I'll write the beginning of the story today, then next Friday Courtney will add to it, then the following Friday it's Julie's turn, then Merissa, and then back to me. Every Friday you, dear readers, will get to enjoy a new chapter!
So, without further ado, here is the beginning of our story:
******
Erica Dalton was well out of California, cruising east down highway 40 in her brand new mini-RV, when she was struck by panic that she might be making the biggest mistake of her life.
"Oh my God, Ragsie. What the Hell am I doing?" she asked her equally brand new canine traveling companion.
Sweat pricked her scalp, her heart began pounding, and her breath came quick and shallow, but when darkness started creeping into her peripheral vision she pulled the RV into the gravel at the edge of the road and slowed to a stop.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly uncurled her stiff, white-knuckled grip from the steering wheel. She worked the joints to loosen them and looked over at Rags, the little white mutt she'd picked out at the pound just a week ago.
He woofed at her from the passenger seat.
"I must be losing my mind." She ruffled his furry head as she slid out of her seat and opened the door behind him where she sat on the step and hung her head between her knees, gulping long deep breaths. "How else would you explain a 30-year-old woman quitting her job, selling her condo, and setting off in an RV with no destination in mind?"
When he hopped down from his seat to join her she finally sat up, only slightly dizzy from her deep breathing. She ran her fingers through her curly chestnet hair, pulling it out of her face, then scratched him behind the ear. "I'm too young to be having a midlife crisis."
He barked at her again and jumped down to the ground where she watched him pee on a clump of scrubby grass, roll in the dirt and shake it off leaving a cloud of dust behind, then chase a butterfly, snapping at it. Only then, as she giggled at his antics, did she finally notice her surroundings.
The vast open beauty of the Arizona desert took her breath away and renewed her spirit. By this time Rags was yapping at the butterfly which was well out of reach. Erica picked him up and rubbed her cheek in his fur.
"Come on, Ragsie, let's go. There's lots of adventure to be had while we're still young enough to enjoy it!"
It was only several miles later that Erica saw a hitchhiker ahead of them thumbing for a ride. Rags started barking at him and as they neared the hitcher he stuck his nose to the window and kept barking as they passed, then turned to Erica and whined at her. When she looked over at him, puzzled by his behavior, she could have sworn she saw pleading in his eyes.
"What? You want me to stop for him?"
Rags whined and squirmed in his seat.
"You know that's a bad idea, right?" she asked.
He barked and whined at her again, and against her better judgment she relented and eased the RV to the side of the road and pulled to a stop.
"I hope you know what you're talking about," she said, ruffling his fur and waiting for the hitchhiker to catch up. Rags gave her a doggie smile, his tongue lolling happily out the side of his mouth.
Shane McKenzie had been thumbing it for miles, watching indifferent drivers speed by without so much as tapping their brakes. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but some of it had escaped and whipped around his face in the wind. He sighed at the futility of his situation. Ready to give up, he was walking backwards, thumb out, trying to look as desperate and harmless as possible when a small RV flew by kicking dust in his face.
"Gee, thanks," he muttered and resigned himself to walking. But when he turned around to face forward he saw that the RV had pulled over about a half mile ahead. He couldn't believe his luck and started jogging to catch up before the driver changed their mind.
**********
Okay, that's it for now! Hope you like it and that you come back next Friday to see what Courtney adds to it. I know I can't wait!
We're going to need a title for this story....if you can think of anything as we continue to build the story, go ahead and suggest it in comments. Maybe if you have any plot ideas you can comment on those too. I'm excited to see where this story goes!
Great Friday Fiction post Margaret! I'm looking forward to adding on (even if I'm a little nervous). So many possibilities for Shane! Is he a good guy or a bad guy?!
I love this. What a great idea! Maybe sometime you can run a contest whereby other writers can submit their ideas to continue the story! In the meantime I will anxiously await next week's installment.
Hooray! Great beginning Margaret!
I can't wait for my turn! :)