Your Name:Emina Dizdarevic

Creative Writing, Portfolio Final

Hour: 4

Due Date

Nonfiction Essay

Emina Dizdarevic

Hour 4

11/12/13

Critical Nonfiction Essay

Being active for fun wasn’t something I really thought about in middle school. It all started

when I moved here to St. Louis, Missouri over the summer right before the eighth grade. I

started gaining weight ever since I moved here from St. Petersburg, Florida. In gym class I

couldn’t even run or even jog for at least five minutes straight. I didn’t want to believe it but, I

was way out of shape. Since I knew I needed to do something about it, so since I lived right

by a track I tried to be more active and started jogging. Thankfully I had an iPod for

motivation.

At first, I could barely jog at all. So instead, of going to the track, I would just walk around the

neighborhood with my music. Sometimes, I would go walking around with my friends. I did

not get in shape during the eighth grade at all. Truthfully, I was just lazy and didn’t feel like

going all the time. Yet, I wanted to be able to jog and hopefully run one day. In the beginning

I would get mad at myself for not being in shape. My problem was not doing anything about

it and still expecting myself to be able to run, which I didn’t acknowledge for a long time.

A year passed by and I was still out of shape and still got pretty tired when I tried jogging.

My weight stayed about the same for the whole year and up until my sophomore year. In the

beginning of my freshman year I was still walking. I really wanted to do track, so I tried to

walk more and hopefully start jogging. Of course I knew that to lose weight you needed to

eat healthy. During my eighth grade and freshman year I never really cared about that. My

only goal was to lose weight which made it all even harder.

Walking got better faster because I never usually got tired when I would walk. Track came

around and I wanted to join. I joined track thinking that I would be in shape, but without

eating healthy or actually trying, I never got in shape. The whole season was hard, but I still

had some motivation and I looked up to a lot of the junior and senior athletes hoping that

one day I would be just like a few of them, not to only get in shape, but to have something to

be proud of. I got mad at myself for still being out of shape and so I quit track during the

middle of the season.

Sophomore year came and I still had the same goal in mind, to get in shape and to be

proud of something. Thankfully I could start jogging by then. Instead of jogging with others or

even a friend, I preferred to jog alone with just my music. Usually, I don’t even like jogging in

front of many people, no people at all would be better but I know I cannot control that. So

whenever there was football or soccer practice, I waited for their practice to be over.

I thought that my sophomore year I would join track and win something, but I was still wrong.

Before that, I would always try to jog and eat healthier. I started losing weight, but my weight

never stayed down. Towards the beginning of track season I thought I was ready, but I was

wrong. So I never joined track because I was scared of failing again like I did freshman

year. Although after working hard for almost two and a half years, by the time I was a

sophomore, I could jog at least three miles straight. Not until the middle of my sophomore

year did I start eating healthier

As a junior, from my sophomore year I hadn’t really jogged that much cause it’d get tiring. I

was mad because I couldn’t really sprint so that was one of the reasons why I stopped

jogging. Around November of my junior year, I tried to start jogging again. I was only at a

mile. Instead of giving up again, I kept on going on my own time. I knew that if I joined track I

would get better since I already knew I could jog. Still as a beginner, I made a lot of friends.

I always knew that the more I ran and the harder it was, the better I would become.

Obviously by quitting would never get me anywhere and would only take me steps back.

Now as a senior I can still jog and I’m trying to sprint. Hopefully I can move from long

distance to at least middle distance. I know that in order to get better, I need to practice

every day and not stop. I know I need to eat healthy and try to stay positive because I know

it was hard, which is normal. Not much of a beginner anymore and somewhere in the

middle, I still need to run more instead of jogging or else I’ll fall behind again. Throughout

eighth grade to my senior year I realized that you need to do the work by yourself and to not

expect to be perfect overnight or even in almost a year. It takes practice, many trials and

errors.

Nonfiction Essay Final Draft

Emina Dizdarevic

Hour 4

11/12/13

Critical Nonfiction Essay

Being active for fun wasn’t something I really thought about in middle school. It all started

when I moved here to St. Louis, Missouri over the summer right before the eighth grade. I

started gaining weight ever since I moved here from St. Petersburg, Florida. In gym class I

couldn’t even run or even jog for at least five minutes straight. I didn’t want to believe it but, I

was way out of shape. Since I knew I needed to do something about it, so since I lived right

by a track I tried to be more active and started jogging. Thankfully I had an iPod for

motivation.

At first, I could barely jog at all. So instead, of going to the track, I would just walk around the

neighborhood with my music. Sometimes, I would go walking around with my friends. I did

not get in shape during the eighth grade at all. Truthfully, I was just lazy and didn’t feel like

going all the time. Yet, I wanted to be able to jog and hopefully run one day. In the beginning

I would get mad at myself for not being in shape. My problem was not doing anything about

it and still expecting myself to be able to run, which I didn’t acknowledge for a long time.

A year passed by and I was still out of shape and still got pretty tired when I tried jogging.

My weight stayed about the same for the whole year and up until my sophomore year. In the

beginning of my freshman year I was still walking. I really wanted to do track, so I tried to

walk more and hopefully start jogging. Of course I knew that to lose weight you needed to

eat healthy. During my eighth grade and freshman year I never really cared about that. My

only goal was to lose weight which made it all even harder.

Walking got better faster because I never usually got tired when I would walk. Track came

around and I wanted to join. I joined track thinking that I would be in shape, but without

eating healthy or actually trying, I never got in shape. The whole season was hard, but I still

had some motivation and I looked up to a lot of the junior and senior athletes hoping that

one day I would be just like a few of them, not to only get in shape, but to have something to

be proud of. I got mad at myself for still being out of shape and so I quit track during the

middle of the season.

Sophomore year came and I still had the same goal in mind, to get in shape and to be

proud of something. Thankfully I could start jogging by then. Instead of jogging with others or

even a friend, I preferred to jog alone with just my music. Usually, I don’t even like jogging in

front of many people, no people at all would be better but I know I cannot control that. So

whenever there was football or soccer practice, I waited for their practice to be over.

I thought that my sophomore year I would join track and win something, but I was still wrong.

Before that, I would always try to jog and eat healthier. I started losing weight, but my weight

never stayed down. Towards the beginning of track season I thought I was ready, but I was

wrong. So I never joined track because I was scared of failing again like I did freshman

year. Although after working hard for almost two and a half years, by the time I was a

sophomore, I could jog at least three miles straight. Not until the middle of my sophomore

year did I start eating healthier

As a junior, from my sophomore year I hadn’t really jogged that much cause it’d get tiring. I

was mad because I couldn’t really sprint so that was one of the reasons why I stopped

jogging. Around November of my junior year, I tried to start jogging again. I was only at a

mile. Instead of giving up again, I kept on going on my own time. I knew that if I joined track I

would get better since I already knew I could jog. Still as a beginner, I made a lot of friends.

I always knew that the more I ran and the harder it was, the better I would become.

Obviously by quitting would never get me anywhere and would only take me steps back.

Now as a senior I can still jog and I’m trying to sprint. Hopefully I can move from long

distance to at least middle distance. I know that in order to get better, I need to practice

every day and not stop. I know I need to eat healthy and try to stay positive because I know

it was hard, which is normal. Not much of a beginner anymore and somewhere in the

middle, I still need to run more instead of jogging or else I’ll fall behind again. Throughout

eighth grade to my senior year I realized that you need to do the work by yourself and to not

expect to be perfect overnight or even in almost a year. It takes practice, many trials and

errors.

Haiku Sets

Insecurity

All the compliments

you receive you always

deny, such a shame.

Shallow

You are so fake,

thinking you're perfect but

you're just eww.

Stupid

You think they like

all your ratchet goodies,

they know you're dirty.

Too Ugly

You talk about

others because we know you're

a conniving liar.

Make­Up

You put on make­up

to cover up your ugly

face you fake cow.

Disloyal

How dare you do

that to her you ugly

you knew how she felt.

If Only

If just only

you and I could go

and escape.

Go Ahead

Keep on talking

all you jealous flocks of

female dogs, Ha!

Flowers

Flowers are cute

Coming in many sizes

They are all pretty

Revisions

Jessica­ Some are too informal to be taken seriously. Take out words like "rachet". They're all kind of the same.Maybe write one positive one?

Alex­ I think you are kind of going off just one theme in these try to vary some of the writings a

little bit more.

Sonnets

Flowers

Roses are red,

violets are blue,

roses mean love,

violets speak truth.

Daisies are cute,

lilies sympathize,

daisies are loyal,

lilies shine bright.

Gingers are proud,

anemones are fragile,

gingers stay pink,

anemones stay colorful.

Flowers vary and

are all beautiful.

Sweet Food

Chocolate is good,

so are strawberries,

chocolate ice cream and candy bars,

strawberries dipped in chocolate is the best.

Chocolate pretzels are good,

pretzels with peanut butter too,

too much chocolate isn't good,

peanut butter sandwiches are cool.

Too much chocolate can make you feel sick,

apples with peanut butter tastes yummy,

there's so much chocolate to eat,

don't put sour apples in the mix.

Much chocolate with any food

is pretty much the best.

Revisions

Jessica­What rhyme scheme are you going for? Try not to rhyme "good" with "good".

Alex­You're poems are pretty good, I do agree with Jessica saying to try not to repeat words to rhyme with each

other. But you do need one more poem too.

Free Verse Poems

Free Verse

School

It can be interesting

Aside from learning all these things

With amazing friends in the halls

And classrooms where we sit,

Laugh, and talk about a lot of things

Where some people are nosy

Or just curious about stuff that's going on

When we don't like what's for lunch

We eat anyways because

We're hungry or we buy chips and

All wonderful food that's called "junk"

By most adults and staff

It can be interesting

School

Revisions

Jessica­­the word "things" is too general

­you spelled nosy wrong

­about stuff, not "of stuff"

­take out the "when" in the part about lunch

­take out the "all" before "wonderful food"

Alex­Ya I would just say try and be more specific such as change in another word for "things" and just some easygrammatical or spelling errors that Jessica already mentioned but it sounds good to me otherwise.

My Own Revision

I could be more specific; and I don’t have to fix the lines in my free verse poem just because a member of my group

thinks I should fix something to make it better.

“Odd Forms” Poems

Shape poemLimerick

I can’t wait to graduateTo finally be doneTo finally leaveAnd start my lifeFor real this time.

RevisionI changed my second line from eleven syllables to only ten.

I revised the fourth line and changed a couple words so that it could fit better with the other lines.

Developed Poems

Free Verse

School

It can be interesting

Aside from learning all these things

With amazing friends in the halls

And classrooms where we sit,

Laugh, and talk about a lot of things

Where some people are nosy

Or just curious about stuff that's going on

When we don't like what's for lunch

We eat anyways because

We're hungry or we buy chips and

All wonderful food that's called "junk"

By most adults and staff

It can be interesting

School

Flowers

Flowers are cute

Coming in many sizes

They are all pretty

Flowers

Roses are red,

violets are blue,

roses mean love,

violets speak truth.

Daisies are cute,

lilies sympathize,

daisies are loyal,

lilies shine bright.

Gingers are proud,

anemones are fragile,

gingers stay pink,

anemones stay colorful.

Flowers vary and

are all beautiful.

Sweet Food

Chocolate is good,

so are strawberries,

chocolate ice cream and candy bars,

strawberries dipped in chocolate is the best.

Chocolate pretzels are good,

pretzels with peanut butter too,

too much chocolate isn't good,

peanut butter sandwiches are cool.

Too much chocolate can make you feel sick,

apples with peanut butter tastes yummy,

there's so much chocolate to eat,

don't put sour apples in the mix.

Much chocolate with any food

is pretty much the best.

LimerickI can’t wait to graduateTo finally be doneTo finally leaveAnd start my lifeFor real this time.

Short Story

­­Your character finally becomes fully independent by moving out on her own. Little before long

she runs into an old friend with some old resentment and wants to change her physical features

in hopes of looking better for him.

Memories of high school were still new in her mind. Although she graduated not even a year

ago, memories from her eighth grade to senior year filled her head. It was towards the middle of

June and she had just moved out from her mom. Finally on her own she thought, freedom at

last. Of course she knew that with complete freedom comes responsibility. No more sharing

with her mom, her own that she can claim from her hard work and double shifts along with those

late nights. She was happy she that she had found an apartment from a while ago when she

was still in school where the landlord understands her situation. When she was leaving her

mom and done packing, she couldn't wait to go. Moving out right away was what she needed

and wanted.

On her last day at home, she was fighting so hard to keep her tears from falling. Her mom

was getting so emotional and this made her feel uneasy and bothered. She wanted to stay

strong and not feel guilty at all for leaving her mom. On the day she was leaving she was just

trying to stay positive and think of everything she could do without having to ask first. Now she

was her own boss and no one could take that away from her. After saying farewell to her mom,

relatives, and friends who were there to wish her luck, she was gone. Monroe got in her car with

all of her stuff packed and drove off.

The apartments she found were far enough away from home. It took her at least three hours

to get there. Once she came to the apartments, something was missing. Monroe parked her car

in the garage and just realized that she was three hours away from her old home and it felt

different. She knew it was supposed to feel different but was still happy to be on her own. Feeling

all excited, the old place where she used to live was never her real home anyway she thought.

There was one good friend that she still thought of and wondered if he was doing good. She

didn't have any idea that they would be reintroduced to each other's new lives.

She walked into her new home for the first time and started exploring her townhouse after she

brought some of her stuff in from her car. Monroe noticed the granite counter tops, front porch

and back patio, her spacey living room and kitchen, and her laundry room. After exploring down

stairs, she went upstairs and explored some more. She went into her room first and fell in love.

Although it wasn’t super big, she still appreciated what amount of space she could afford. After

standing in her room for a few minutes and checking out her closet space, Monroe went in the

bathroom. The bathroom wasn't small or big, it was average. It had a lengthy mirror which

reflected an intelligent, confident, independent, hardworking, and self assured high school

graduate with dark green eyes, long dark red wavy and curly hair with all that volume, her curves,

olive skin, freckles on her nose, and a tattoo of a few roses and petals on her upper left arm.

After looking at the rest of the upstairs, she went back downstairs. She went to get the rest

of her stuff from her car. Monroe came back in and made sure everything was brought in. All of

her stuff was still sitting on the floor from when she came in the first time . Once she brought in

all of her stuff, she remembered she forgot her food in the car. So she went back to her car and

got her food. Monroe came in with her food and started eating. All of her food was from

McDonalds that she had bought on her way to her new home. She ate her food and listened to

her music for a while. After twenty something minutes, she locked her door on her way out with

the papers the landlord gave her for signatures a few months ago and started walking around the

neighborhood.

Monroe was walking around and introducing herself to everyone she passed by. As a

new start at her new home she wanted to start off positive. She knew that first

impressions come once and wanted to put good use to it. After greeting a lot of people,

she started walking down by the main office. To get to the main office, she had to walk

by a few buildings. And as she was passing by these buildings, she was real happy to

see that the apartments were really pretty and big.While walking she saw everything

the apartments showed online. The fitness center, the resort style pool, and a club

room where meetings are held.

The pool looked bigger and better in person she thought. She got to the office in

what seemed like only ten minutes. Monroe opened the door and saw a few

chairs aligned on the wall behind a small wooden table with a basket of

magazines. A plant beside the chairs, a vending and soda machine, and a long

desk for an assistant to sit at to take calls with a desktop to take care of

appointments/schedules. At the desk that looked all professional to her sat an

elderly woman past her mid forties with medium wavy dark brown hair and light

greenish eyes dressed in casual attire.

She walked up to the lady and asked for Mrs. C, the landlord. The lady at the desk, Ms.

Sanna gave the directions to Mrs. C's office. So Monroe walked to the back down the

hall and made a right. Mrs. C's office was the 1st door on the left. Her door was open

and she was on the phone. It was nice to see that she was in a good mood and

smiling. Instead of walking in, Monroe just stood at her door as she noticed. Her and

Monroe acknowledged each other and smiled. She looked the same from when she

first met her a few months ago right at the end of Monroe's senior year.

Mrs. C still had long beach blonde hair, still dressed up as usual, same perfume by

Halle Berry, and long acrylic nails. She had one of the whitest, brightest, straightest,

and prettiest smiles. After a few minutes Mrs. C got off the phone and nodded for

Monroe to come in. When she walked in she stood up and greeted Monroe, "Hey,

(smiles) it's so nice to see you again. How have you and your mom been?" Monroe

answered, "We've been good. How about you?" Mrs. C laughed and said, "I've been

good. Thank you for not interrupting me when I was on the phone." Monroe smiled,

"Your welcome." Mrs. C then asked for the papers she gave Monroe a few months ago.

As Mrs. C was asking Monroe for the papers, Monroe was handing over the

papers with a bright smile. When the papers were handed over, Mrs. C made a

gesture to Monroe with her left hand to sit down. As they sat, Mrs. C and

Monroe talked about the basics from what information was in the papers. All of

the information about rent and others costs such

as a gym membership, and if she wanted to be involved in any of the other

programs the apartments held. Monroe told Mrs. C that she would think about it.

After a few more sentences, Mrs. C asked her if she had any questions. None that

Monroe could think of at the moment. Then Monroe and

Mrs. C said their farewells and Monroe got up to leave.

While leaving, Monroe thanked Mrs. C for welcoming her to

her new home and for being so understanding. Mrs. C

smiled and said it was no problem. Monroe started on her

way back home. About ten minutes later she was home.

She then started to unpack her things. After unpacking she

knew she needed to buy food so she did just that.

Before she went to the store, Monroe pulled out a paper from her purse with numbers on

it that she would need once she moved out. On the paper

from her purse included the numbers of Charter, the

number of her car insurance, Rothman’s furniture store,

Ameren Services, her mom’s number, and a few of her

friends’ numbers. She called Rothman’s to ask for their

business hours. Luckily Rothmans was still open so she

would go there after she was done with her calls. Next she

called Charter to set up cable and internet.

Then Monroe called her car insurance to give them her new address so they would know

where to bill her car payments. Monroe called her mom to

let her know that she arrived all good and well. After she

was done calling, Monroe went to the store to buy some

food and other essential stuff she needed. Then Monroe

went to Rothman’s to buy furniture (which took less than an

hour because she wanted to go home and eat). On her

way home, Monroe played the music loud as it could go as

she usually does and was looking to go and apply for

another job somewhat close to her new home.

She applied at a couple places and took a few applications home. At some other places

she would need to apply online. Monroe could really use a

third job on the weekends or whenever they called. She

was happy for the two jobs she already had as a daytime

waitress and as a cocktail waitress for her 2nd shift. The

tips she earned every weekday and some Saturday nights

really helped. Although she knew to gain more tips you

should dress more freely, she never settled for that.

Monroe came home around 8 p.m. and put the food away

then moved everything else where it belonged.

She ate, got ready for bed, brushed her teeth, locked everything, grabbed her pillow and

blanket from the side of the room on the ground where she

left earlier that day and slept on the ground. Monroe just

couldn’t wait for her furniture and bed to arrive in the next

few days. She had work early the next morning so she

made sure to go to bed early. The next morning she woke

up around 5 a.m.. Monroe got ready for work and ate

breakfast. On her way out she checked her Facebook and

mail from her other social accounts. She had mail from all

of her friends who wanted to know how she was since she

moved out from her mom.

Surprisingly, one message was from an old friend who she had known since their middle

school years who she hasn’t talked to since they

graduated, his name is Jay. They were good friends since

they met but had a lot of different friends and only a few

mutual. She wasn’t gonna write back to his message right

away. Memories from when they first met in middle school

all through high school flashed in her head. Monroe tried to

ignore it though. So she wrote back to all of her other

friends. Monroe was almost at work and had the music all

the way up even at 5:45 a.m.. Her shift started at 6 a.m.

She walked in around 5:50 a.m. Right before her shift

started, she wrote back to Jay.

It was only Monday and she couldn’t wait for a call back from any of those other jobs she

applied to. During her 1st shift, her and Jay texted a lot. On

her way to her second job, he called her. The first call she

didn’t answer because she was in a rush to get to work.

Her 2nd shift starts at 5:00 pm. until 12 p.m. and

sometimes until around 1 a.m. depending on whether they

need her to stay later or not. At her job as a cocktail

waitress at a popular club downtown from where she lived,

a lot of people were always there which made her happy.

That night she made almost ninety dollars from tips. She never even dressed

provocatively and still made plenty of tips for being nice with

everyone. On her break, she called Jay and when he

sarcastically asked her, “Oh, so now you’re not too busy

huh?” she laughed, “Ahah I was in a hurry to get to work.”

He smiled,”What are you up to?” She told him,” I’m on

break, you?” Jay told her he was also on break. Then she

asked him how he’s been since they graduated. They

talked their way through break. Right as they were about to

say their goodbyes, Jay hinted at making plans.

She didn’t want to seem too available so she told him she'd have to see. So they said

their goodbyes and each went back to work. Monroe got off

around 1:30 a.m. and came home kind of tired. She went

online on her phone and watched some episodes of a few

shows she liked. Around 3 a.m. she didn’t really go to bed,

instead she was gonna lay down for a little bit because she

had work in a few hours. She still brushed her teeth and did

the whole routine. A few hours later, she checked her hand

watch and it read 5:15 a.m. so she started getting ready for

work. After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, for

breakfast she ate this new healthy cereal she was gonna

try eating from now on, fruit, yogurt, and brought her Red

Bull with her.

In the car she turned up her music super loud as usual and drank her RedBull. She

arrived to work at 5:43 a.m. and then checked her social

mail. After a few hours passed by at work, her and Jay

started texting again. On break after they talked, she went

to the bathroom and when she looked in the mirror she

noticed how crooked the bottom row of her teeth were. She

just reassured herself that she knew she had brains and

beauty. Work wasn’t too bad today she thought. After work,

she called her friend Katie and talked to her for half an hour.

Katie wanted to know how she had been since graduation

and Katie was only a junior. Monroe and Katie had known

each other since the beginning of Monroe’s senior year in

school. They were good friends and would always go to the

mall with other friends and stuff.

They made plans for the next weekend to go the mall and the pool. Towards the middle of

the following week on Thursday in the afternoon, she got

calls back from the couple of jobs she applied to telling her

they weren’t hiring. But the furniture Monroe bought earlier

that earlier week had finally arrived with her bed and all of

that other stuff. Monroe called her mom to let her know that

her cable and internet was on along with her furniture

arriving. Her mom was relieved and happy for her daughter.

That afternoon Jay and Monroe started talking on the phone

for a few hours. They each told each other what they did

that week and what their plans for the weekend had been.

Jay went bowling with his friends and to the movies.

Monroe had gone shopping for new clothes and basic household items for her bathroom

and kitchen. Right before they hung up, Jay asked

her,”What are you and your friends gonna do this

weekend?” Monroe told him,”We might go to the mall and

pool.” Jay laughed,”My friends and I were thinking about

going to the mall too. Maybe we’ll see each other (smiles)”

Monroe smiled,” Ahahh, we might. Well I’ll let you go

because we have to each get ready for work.” Jay smiled

too,”Alright, I’ll talk to you soon.” They hung up and Monroe

got ready for work leaving right before 4:42 p.m. A couple

days later on Saturday, Monroe and Katie met up at the

mall. She then called Jay telling him she was there and

asked him if he was too. He was there with his friends and

met up with Monroe and Katie. Katie and his friends left

them two alone.

Jay and Monroe hugged when they met up and spent the rest of the day together. Katie

and his friends understood. Later on around 8 p.m. Jay

asked Monroe if they could talk. Monroe felt that he wanted

to talk about something serious so they each told their

friends that they were leaving to another place. They

decided to go to the movies to just walk around and talk.

When they got to the movies, they got smoothies and

walked around. Jay started off by reminding her of the past

and how long they’ve known each other. She then brought

up memories too and how much she misses everything.

Monroe said,”You know, I wish we could go back and start all over from the middle school

to now. Time flew by so damn fast.” Jay felt her anger and

thought she was gonna scream. He tried to be positive and

told her,”I know but at least we’re done with school and can

finally start our lives as adults.” She tried to hold in her

tears as she suddenly got angry wanting to get in her car

and crash into the cinema, and just turn into the Hulk. With

passionate anger she said, “We barely made plans. Here

and there but you know what I mean (sighs).

Jay was surprised that she felt this way and wondered how long she felt like this. He told

her,”How come you never told me any of this before?” She

told him,”Because I know you’d never care or do anything

about it. I mean why would you? I never wanted to bother

you.” He thought about what she said and neither of them

said a thing for a few minutes. They stopped walking and

just stood their for a few minutes staring at each other. Jay

then said,”You’d be surprised as to how I felt too.”She felt

bad and wanted to take back all of her words. Monroe

wanted to comfort him and said,”You can tell me you

know.”

He told her,”You know I kind of had feelings for you since we’ve met, on and off

throughout high school. Although we barely talked.” She

stood there in shock and felt her heart beat like a thousand

drums at 110 miles per second. Monroe just stood there in

shock. After five minutes she told him the same thing. She

held in her tears and they hugged. The rest of their time

they told each other how they felt. Jay and Monroe didn’t

say exactly everything because they didn’t want to ruin

some stuff. Around 11 p.m. they said their goodbyes and

had made plans for the next weekend.

That whole week at work Monroe kept thinking about what she had told him. She wasn’t

sure if she should’ve said anything at all. Jay thought the

same thing. She’d always ask herself what he saw in her;

she knew she had a great and fun personality but why

someone as cool and handsome as him would be into her.

She let her insecurities vanish from her thoughts for a few

days. He felt kind of weird about it too but then at the same

time he didn’t let it bother him. The next weekend was here

and Monroe woke up that Saturday feeling anxious. Her and

Atniel had made plans to go to the pool where she lives and

then go the movies. A few hours passed and Jay was at

the door around 12 a.m.

She heard knocking and was so happy that he was finally here but still felt kind of

anxious. Monroe was also happy that her furniture had

finally come and that her place was coming together. He

knocked saying it was him. She opened the door and they

both smiled. Jay came in and sat down while Monroe was

putting the rest of her stuff in her purse. He complimented

on her couches which she thanked him. They walked out

together and headed to the pool with towels in their hands

with some food, soda, sunscreen, and other stuff in her

purse.

Right when they got there and were claiming two chairs in the shade, Jay grabbed her

and threw her in the pool which caught everyone’s

attention. When she came up from under the water, she

smiled and laughed along with a few other people. They

spent rest of their time having fun and ate the food she

brought for them. Around three they left the pool and went

back to her place. When they came in Monroe told him,

“You can take a shower first if you want while I clean up

real quick.” He smiled saying, “Aww, that’s okay. You can.”

They laughed and she insisted telling him,”You don’t have to be shy.” He laughed,”I’m not

shy and I’ll go then.” She asked him first if he was hungry or

thirsty in which he would when he got out of the shower.

While he took a shower she cleaned up a little and there

were no dishes so she waited. Eleven minutes later he was

done. When he got out she said, “You can go in the fridge

like it’s your house too. Be yourself.” They smiled and he

laughed,”Ahah okay.” She got in the shower while he ate

and watched t.v.

After fifteen minutes she came out of the bathroom dressed and put her bathing suit with

his along with the rest of her clothes to wash in the laundry

room. She just did her makeup and put some of her hair in

a clip which she thought was really pretty. They left at 4:23

p.m. Her and Jay took her car because Monroe didn’t want

him to waste any more gas than he already had driving all

the way out to see her. She let him drive while they both put

on their favorite music all the way turnt up. When they got

to the mall, they went in their favorite stores.

After some shopping, they went to the food court while Monroe checked her watch. It

read 6:25 p.m. and she laughed telling him the time. He

laughed too and asked,” It’s already 6:25? Damn.” Monroe

smiled while they were ordering subway and some other

food. When they sat down and started eating, she felt like

her stomach was gonna explode with all of those imaginary

butterflies from her nerves. She tried to calm herself down

telling herself that she’s known him for so long and that she

shouldn’t be nervous. He felt her butterflies and told her she

had nothing to be shy about. Trying to change the subject,

she said,”I’m glad you eat a lot too and how confident you

are (smiles).” He thanked her and smiled. They went to the

movies for a few hours, saw a comedy, ate a lot of

popcorn, candy, and drank so much soda.

The whole time on the way home she was thinking to herself about how glad she was

that she was saving up a lot of money for surgery,

especially since she felt that she ate like a wild caveman

that day. When they came back, before they got out he just

came out with it. Asking her “How about you and I be more

explicit?” She knew what he meant and smiled in

acceptance. Monroe didn’t want to wait anymore. Then they

kissed like boyfriend and girlfriend do. They were each

super happy that the feelings between them were mutual.

She came in way later around 11 p.m. because they left the

mall around 9 and just let time fly. After brushing her teeth

and getting ready for bed, she stopped in the mirror.

She still wondered what he saw in her. Monroe really wanted to fix her chipped tooth in

the back of her mouth which he probably couldn’t notice

she thought. Maybe whiten her teeth and fix some

crookedness, get some botox, and whatever else she

could think of. The next morning she called her bank to

know the amount in her account. She had just enough to

get her teeth whitened and to fix the crookedness in her

bottom row. So she then called her dentist and made the

appointment. Of course she wouldn’t tell him about this

because she knew that he already thought her teeth were

cute the way they already were.

Almost a month and half had already passed and the day was here. Although she had so

much fun with her new boyfriend with their plans and felt

somewhat secure in their relationship, she still went to the

dentist. On a Friday morning she was in the dentist’s office.

The dentist whitened her teeth from those coffee stains and

fixed her bottom row. Only costing her around a couple

thousand dollars which she knew was worth it. A week later

in August, her boyfriend was already starting college. He

knew she was so proud of him and happy for him. The

university he was going to was at least two hours away

from her place.

She was happy that he would be getting the full college experience. On the day he was

leaving and she was saying bye to him at his new home at

college, she was sad and then thought of all the hussies

that would probably throw themselves at him. He then

noticed her teeth. She said, “I knew you wouldn’t notice

before because you were all stressed about school

starting.” He then started asking questions of why she

wanted to fix her teeth and when. Monroe told him when

and because she wanted her teeth to be perfect for him. He

tried reassuring her he loved her teeth the way they were,

but she didn’t believe him.

When hugging him, tears fell from her face because she realized that he’s all grown up

and how far he’s come. She hated getting all emotional.

And she saw his eyes getting watery too but didn’t want to

point it out and make him uncomfortable which it probably

wouldn’t, but still. They hugged for a few more minutes and

did all that cuddly stuff that boyfriend and girlfriend do. She

helped him bring his stuff into his dorm and they met his

roommate. Jay, Monroe, and his roommate introduced

themselves. His name is Thomas. He seemed pretty nice

and cool. When leaving, she turned to Jay, “Have fun and

you know if you need anything I’m always here. I love you!

(smiles).” He smiled,”I know and I love you too.” They

hugged and all that again.

She said goodbye to his roommate and said,”It was nice meeting you Thomas. Thomas

said the same. He was a freshman too and seemed to

have a similar personality as her boyfriend. Monroe was

glad that her boyfriend could hopefully have another best

friend here with him, hopefully she thought. On her way

home, she was upset but then wanted to stay positive. She

didn’t want to bother him so she waited until he called her

first. So after a few songs played, she thought about that

botox. Calling her bank, she still had more in there from all

the money she saved from her paychecks and tips from

work the past month and a half.

When Monroe got home a few hours later, she googled numbers for botox and tattoo

parlors. There was a local tattoo shop down the street

which allowed walk­ins. After calling a dermatologist, she

scheduled an appointment. Since it was only around 4 p.m.

on a Saturday, she went to the tattoo shop called “Crazy

Ink”. She came and spent fifteen minutes looking for ideas.

Monroe decided on music notes in the shape of a swirl on

her upper right arm. She loved her tattoo and was glad she

got it because music has always meant everything to her

since she was little. And now Jay could have another thing

to like about her she thought.

Another month passed by with many days of her and her boyfriend spending time

together. He was doing good in school and started

becoming good friends with Thomas. She remembers

back to when she first came to visit him and when he first

saw her tattoo. Jay was surprised but liked it a lot because

he felt like it fit her. When he asked her why, she told him

she’s always wanted one and had the money saved up. Jay

really knew why she got that tattoo. Of course she told the

truth, but not all of it which she felt like he kind of knew.

He knew it was also so that she could be prettier for him and not seem so ‘boring’ as she

felt like she was. Jay knew she’d deny his accusations so

he didn’t say that part. Her appointment for the

dermatologist was coming up and she couldn’t wait. At

home when she was watching tv. ,she started thinking

about how she never told her boyfriend about wanting to fix

herself with those appointments so she called him. It was a

Saturday and she wasn’t called in for work at the time so

she called Jay wanting to be honest. She called him and on

the fourth ring he answered, “Hey (smiles) it’s about time

you called.” She laughed,”Ahah that’s cute. How have you

been though?” He laughed too,”Good and you?”

She smiled,”Good. I miss you though.” He said,”I miss you too. What are you doing?”

She told him that she was watching t.v. ; after she asked

him and he told her she asked him if they could meet up to

talk. He agreed and before they hung up she said,”And it’s

not bad I promise, I just want to apologize in person for not

telling you the whole truth and not communicating with you

like I should have (sighs).” He felt her sincerity and they

agreed to meet up in his dorm. A few hours later when she

arrived around 5 p.m., she hugged him when he opened

the door. He smiled and hugged her back when she came

in. She started off,”Look, I’m so sorry about not

communicating with you like I should have and for not

telling you about wanting to fix my teeth (breathes). I know

you wouldn’t tell me what to do, it’s just the act of me telling

you because you’re a part of my life too.” He knew she was

being sincere and felt her heart thumping filled with regret.

Then he told her,”I mean you could’ve came up to me and told me how you were feeling

because I would understand.” She sighed in relief and

said,”Thank you (smiles). Because as a couple, you and I

need to communicate in order to have understanding. I

messed up when I didn’t do that and I’ll try not to let that

happen again because that wasn’t fair of me (sighs again).”

He laughed,”Aww I know how you feel. Just don’t worry

about it.” She smiled and tried to say her words in a

rush,”And I have an appointment for a dermatologist…”

Shock hit him in the face like winds of 180 mph. Then said,”

What?! Why?! (frowns)” She frowned,”I could cancel it…”

He tried not to be stubborn or bossy,”If you want to then..

but you don’t need any of that. You’re still young and

beautiful. You don’t have those lines from smoking on your

face because you don’t smoke and you don’t have crows

feet. You’re only 18.” She smiled and they both laughed.

She thanked him,”Aww thank you. You’re so

beautiful and handsome too. I’ll think about that though. And

I appreciate you not trying to tell me what to do. I love you.”

He smiled,”Aww I love you too.” They hugged and cuddled

spending the rest of the day together. On her way home

she still thought of that botox and maybe cutting her hair.

Then on the way home, that tattoo shop was looking really

good to her. The next day she called Atniel and said,”Hey

we should get matching tattoos, like a symbol or something

that represents us. Not names or initials..” He smiled and

laughed,”Ahah I’ll see.”

Short Story Final Draft

­­Your character finally becomes fully independent by moving out on her own. Little before long

she runs into an old friend with some old resentment and wants to change her physical features

in hopes of looking better for him.

Memories of high school were still new in her mind. Although she graduated not even a year

ago, memories from her eighth grade to senior year filled her head. It was towards the middle of

June and she had just moved out from her mom. Finally on her own she thought, freedom at

last. Of course she knew that with complete freedom comes responsibility. No more sharing

with her mom, her own that she can claim from her hard work and double shifts along with those

late nights. She was happy she that she had found an apartment from a while ago when she

was still in school where the landlord understands her situation. When she was leaving her

mom and done packing, she couldn't wait to go. Moving out right away was what she needed

and wanted.

On her last day at home, she was fighting so hard to keep her tears from falling. Her mom

was getting so emotional and this made her feel uneasy and bothered. She wanted to stay

strong and not feel guilty at all for leaving her mom. On the day she was leaving she was just

trying to stay positive and think of everything she could do without having to ask first. Now she

was her own boss and no one could take that away from her. After saying farewell to her mom,

relatives, and friends who were there to wish her luck, she was gone. Monroe got in her car with

all of her stuff packed and drove off.

The apartments she found were far enough away from home. It took her at least three hours

to get there. Once she came to the apartments, something was missing. Monroe parked her car

in the garage and just realized that she was three hours away from her old home and it felt

different. She knew it was supposed to feel different but was still happy to be on her own. Feeling

all excited, the old place where she used to live was never her real home anyway she thought.

There was one good friend that she still thought of and wondered if he was doing good. She

didn't have any idea that they would be reintroduced to each other's new lives.

She walked into her new home for the first time and started exploring her townhouse after she

brought some of her stuff in from her car. Monroe noticed the granite counter tops, front porch

and back patio, her spacey living room and kitchen, and her laundry room. After exploring down

stairs, she went upstairs and explored some more. She went into her room first and fell in love.

Although it wasn’t super big, she still appreciated what amount of space she could afford. After

standing in her room for a few minutes and checking out her closet space, Monroe went in the

bathroom. The bathroom wasn't small or big, it was average. It had a lengthy mirror which

reflected an intelligent, confident, independent, hardworking, and self assured high school

graduate with dark green eyes, long dark red wavy and curly hair with all that volume, her curves,

olive skin, freckles on her nose, and a tattoo of a few roses and petals on her upper left arm.

After looking at the rest of the upstairs, she went back downstairs. She went to get the rest

of her stuff from her car. Monroe came back in and made sure everything was brought in. All of

her stuff was still sitting on the floor from when she came in the first time . Once she brought in

all of her stuff, she remembered she forgot her food in the car. So she went back to her car and

got her food. Monroe came in with her food and started eating. All of her food was from

McDonalds that she had bought on her way to her new home. She ate her food and listened to

her music for a while. After twenty something minutes, she locked her door on her way out with

the papers the landlord gave her for signatures a few months ago and started walking around the

neighborhood.

Monroe was walking around and introducing herself to everyone she passed by. As a

new start at her new home she wanted to start off positive. She knew that first

impressions come once and wanted to put good use to it. After greeting a lot of people,

she started walking down by the main office. To get to the main office, she had to walk

by a few buildings. And as she was passing by these buildings, she was real happy to

see that the apartments were really pretty and big.While walking she saw everything

the apartments showed online. The fitness center, the resort style pool, and a club

room where meetings are held.

The pool looked bigger and better in person she thought. She got to the office in

what seemed like only ten minutes. Monroe opened the door and saw a few

chairs aligned on the wall behind a small wooden table with a basket of

magazines. A plant beside the chairs, a vending and soda machine, and a long

desk for an assistant to sit at to take calls with a desktop to take care of

appointments/schedules. At the desk that looked all professional to her sat an

elderly woman past her mid forties with medium wavy dark brown hair and light

greenish eyes dressed in casual attire.

She walked up to the lady and asked for Mrs. C, the landlord. The lady at the desk, Ms.

Sanna gave the directions to Mrs. C's office. So Monroe walked to the back down the

hall and made a right. Mrs. C's office was the 1st door on the left. Her door was open

and she was on the phone. It was nice to see that she was in a good mood and

smiling. Instead of walking in, Monroe just stood at her door as she noticed. Her and

Monroe acknowledged each other and smiled. She looked the same from when she

first met her a few months ago right at the end of Monroe's senior year.

Mrs. C still had long beach blonde hair, still dressed up as usual, same perfume by

Halle Berry, and long acrylic nails. She had one of the whitest, brightest, straightest,

and prettiest smiles. After a few minutes Mrs. C got off the phone and nodded for

Monroe to come in. When she walked in she stood up and greeted Monroe, "Hey,

(smiles) it's so nice to see you again. How have you and your mom been?" Monroe

answered, "We've been good. How about you?" Mrs. C laughed and said, "I've been

good. Thank you for not interrupting me when I was on the phone." Monroe smiled,

"Your welcome." Mrs. C then asked for the papers she gave Monroe a few months ago.

As Mrs. C was asking Monroe for the papers, Monroe was handing over the

papers with a bright smile. When the papers were handed over, Mrs. C made a

gesture to Monroe with her left hand to sit down. As they sat, Mrs. C and

Monroe talked about the basics from what information was in the papers. All of

the information about rent and others costs such

as a gym membership, and if she wanted to be involved in any of the other

programs the apartments held. Monroe told Mrs. C that she would think about it.

After a few more sentences, Mrs. C asked her if she had any questions. None that

Monroe could think of at the moment. Then Monroe and

Mrs. C said their farewells and Monroe got up to leave.

While leaving, Monroe thanked Mrs. C for welcoming her to

her new home and for being so understanding. Mrs. C

smiled and said it was no problem. Monroe started on her

way back home. About ten minutes later she was home.

She then started to unpack her things. After unpacking she

knew she needed to buy food so she did just that.

Before she went to the store, Monroe pulled out a paper from her purse with numbers on

it that she would need once she moved out. On the paper

from her purse included the numbers of Charter, the

number of her car insurance, Rothman’s furniture store,

Ameren Services, her mom’s number, and a few of her

friends’ numbers. She called Rothman’s to ask for their

business hours. Luckily Rothmans was still open so she

would go there after she was done with her calls. Next she

called Charter to set up cable and internet.

Then Monroe called her car insurance to give them her new address so they would know

where to bill her car payments. Monroe called her mom to

let her know that she arrived all good and well. After she

was done calling, Monroe went to the store to buy some

food and other essential stuff she needed. Then Monroe

went to Rothman’s to buy furniture (which took less than an

hour because she wanted to go home and eat). On her

way home, Monroe played the music loud as it could go as

she usually does and was looking to go and apply for

another job somewhat close to her new home.

She applied at a couple places and took a few applications home. At some other places

she would need to apply online. Monroe could really use a

third job on the weekends or whenever they called. She

was happy for the two jobs she already had as a daytime

waitress and as a cocktail waitress for her 2nd shift. The

tips she earned every weekday and some Saturday nights

really helped. Although she knew to gain more tips you

should dress more freely, she never settled for that.

Monroe came home around 8 p.m. and put the food away

then moved everything else where it belonged.

She ate, got ready for bed, brushed her teeth, locked everything, grabbed her pillow and

blanket from the side of the room on the ground where she

left earlier that day and slept on the ground. Monroe just

couldn’t wait for her furniture and bed to arrive in the next

few days. She had work early the next morning so she

made sure to go to bed early. The next morning she woke

up around 5 a.m.. Monroe got ready for work and ate

breakfast. On her way out she checked her Facebook and

mail from her other social accounts. She had mail from all

of her friends who wanted to know how she was since she

moved out from her mom.

Surprisingly, one message was from an old friend who she had known since their middle

school years who she hasn’t talked to since they

graduated, his name is Jay. They were good friends since

they met but had a lot of different friends and only a few

mutual. She wasn’t gonna write back to his message right

away. Memories from when they first met in middle school

all through high school flashed in her head. Monroe tried to

ignore it though. So she wrote back to all of her other

friends. Monroe was almost at work and had the music all

the way up even at 5:45 a.m.. Her shift started at 6 a.m.

She walked in around 5:50 a.m. Right before her shift

started, she wrote back to Jay.

It was only Monday and she couldn’t wait for a call back from any of those other jobs she

applied to. During her 1st shift, her and Jay texted a lot. On

her way to her second job, he called her. The first call she

didn’t answer because she was in a rush to get to work.

Her 2nd shift starts at 5:00 pm. until 12 p.m. and

sometimes until around 1 a.m. depending on whether they

need her to stay later or not. At her job as a cocktail

waitress at a popular club downtown from where she lived,

a lot of people were always there which made her happy.

That night she made almost ninety dollars from tips. She never even dressed

provocatively and still made plenty of tips for being nice with

everyone. On her break, she called Jay and when he

sarcastically asked her, “Oh, so now you’re not too busy

huh?” she laughed, “Ahah I was in a hurry to get to work.”

He smiled,”What are you up to?” She told him,” I’m on

break, you?” Jay told her he was also on break. Then she

asked him how he’s been since they graduated. They

talked their way through break. Right as they were about to

say their goodbyes, Jay hinted at making plans.

She didn’t want to seem too available so she told him she'd have to see. So they said

their goodbyes and each went back to work. Monroe got off

around 1:30 a.m. and came home kind of tired. She went

online on her phone and watched some episodes of a few

shows she liked. Around 3 a.m. she didn’t really go to bed,

instead she was gonna lay down for a little bit because she

had work in a few hours. She still brushed her teeth and did

the whole routine. A few hours later, she checked her hand

watch and it read 5:15 a.m. so she started getting ready for

work. After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, for

breakfast she ate this new healthy cereal she was gonna

try eating from now on, fruit, yogurt, and brought her Red

Bull with her.

In the car she turned up her music super loud as usual and drank her RedBull. She

arrived to work at 5:43 a.m. and then checked her social

mail. After a few hours passed by at work, her and Jay

started texting again. On break after they talked, she went

to the bathroom and when she looked in the mirror she

noticed how crooked the bottom row of her teeth were. She

just reassured herself that she knew she had brains and

beauty. Work wasn’t too bad today she thought. After work,

she called her friend Katie and talked to her for half an hour.

Katie wanted to know how she had been since graduation

and Katie was only a junior. Monroe and Katie had known

each other since the beginning of Monroe’s senior year in

school. They were good friends and would always go to the

mall with other friends and stuff.

They made plans for the next weekend to go the mall and the pool. Towards the middle of

the following week on Thursday in the afternoon, she got

calls back from the couple of jobs she applied to telling her

they weren’t hiring. But the furniture Monroe bought earlier

that earlier week had finally arrived with her bed and all of

that other stuff. Monroe called her mom to let her know that

her cable and internet was on along with her furniture

arriving. Her mom was relieved and happy for her daughter.

That afternoon Jay and Monroe started talking on the phone

for a few hours. They each told each other what they did

that week and what their plans for the weekend had been.

Jay went bowling with his friends and to the movies.

Monroe had gone shopping for new clothes and basic household items for her bathroom

and kitchen. Right before they hung up, Jay asked

her,”What are you and your friends gonna do this

weekend?” Monroe told him,”We might go to the mall and

pool.” Jay laughed,”My friends and I were thinking about

going to the mall too. Maybe we’ll see each other (smiles)”

Monroe smiled,” Ahahh, we might. Well I’ll let you go

because we have to each get ready for work.” Jay smiled

too,”Alright, I’ll talk to you soon.” They hung up and Monroe

got ready for work leaving right before 4:42 p.m. A couple

days later on Saturday, Monroe and Katie met up at the

mall. She then called Jay telling him she was there and

asked him if he was too. He was there with his friends and

met up with Monroe and Katie. Katie and his friends left

them two alone.

Jay and Monroe hugged when they met up and spent the rest of the day together. Katie

and his friends understood. Later on around 8 p.m. Jay

asked Monroe if they could talk. Monroe felt that he wanted

to talk about something serious so they each told their

friends that they were leaving to another place. They

decided to go to the movies to just walk around and talk.

When they got to the movies, they got smoothies and

walked around. Jay started off by reminding her of the past

and how long they’ve known each other. She then brought

up memories too and how much she misses everything.

Monroe said,”You know, I wish we could go back and start all over from the middle school

to now. Time flew by so damn fast.” Jay felt her anger and

thought she was gonna scream. He tried to be positive and

told her,”I know but at least we’re done with school and can

finally start our lives as adults.” She tried to hold in her

tears as she suddenly got angry wanting to get in her car

and crash into the cinema, and just turn into the Hulk. With

passionate anger she said, “We barely made plans. Here

and there but you know what I mean (sighs).

Jay was surprised that she felt this way and wondered how long she felt like this. He told

her,”How come you never told me any of this before?” She

told him,”Because I know you’d never care or do anything

about it. I mean why would you? I never wanted to bother

you.” He thought about what she said and neither of them

said a thing for a few minutes. They stopped walking and

just stood their for a few minutes staring at each other. Jay

then said,”You’d be surprised as to how I felt too.”She felt

bad and wanted to take back all of her words. Monroe

wanted to comfort him and said,”You can tell me you

know.”

He told her,”You know I kind of had feelings for you since we’ve met, on and off

throughout high school. Although we barely talked.” She

stood there in shock and felt her heart beat like a thousand

drums at 110 miles per second. Monroe just stood there in

shock. After five minutes she told him the same thing. She

held in her tears and they hugged. The rest of their time

they told each other how they felt. Jay and Monroe didn’t

say exactly everything because they didn’t want to ruin

some stuff. Around 11 p.m. they said their goodbyes and

had made plans for the next weekend.

That whole week at work Monroe kept thinking about what she had told him. She wasn’t

sure if she should’ve said anything at all. Jay thought the

same thing. She’d always ask herself what he saw in her;

she knew she had a great and fun personality but why

someone as cool and handsome as him would be into her.

She let her insecurities vanish from her thoughts for a few

days. He felt kind of weird about it too but then at the same

time he didn’t let it bother him. The next weekend was here

and Monroe woke up that Saturday feeling anxious. Her and

Atniel had made plans to go to the pool where she lives and

then go the movies. A few hours passed and Jay was at

the door around 12 a.m.

She heard knocking and was so happy that he was finally here but still felt kind of

anxious. Monroe was also happy that her furniture had

finally come and that her place was coming together. He

knocked saying it was him. She opened the door and they

both smiled. Jay came in and sat down while Monroe was

putting the rest of her stuff in her purse. He complimented

on her couches which she thanked him. They walked out

together and headed to the pool with towels in their hands

with some food, soda, sunscreen, and other stuff in her

purse.

Right when they got there and were claiming two chairs in the shade, Jay grabbed her

and threw her in the pool which caught everyone’s

attention. When she came up from under the water, she

smiled and laughed along with a few other people. They

spent rest of their time having fun and ate the food she

brought for them. Around three they left the pool and went

back to her place. When they came in Monroe told him,

“You can take a shower first if you want while I clean up

real quick.” He smiled saying, “Aww, that’s okay. You can.”

They laughed and she insisted telling him,”You don’t have to be shy.” He laughed,”I’m not

shy and I’ll go then.” She asked him first if he was hungry or

thirsty in which he would when he got out of the shower.

While he took a shower she cleaned up a little and there

were no dishes so she waited. Eleven minutes later he was

done. When he got out she said, “You can go in the fridge

like it’s your house too. Be yourself.” They smiled and he

laughed,”Ahah okay.” She got in the shower while he ate

and watched t.v.

After fifteen minutes she came out of the bathroom dressed and put her bathing suit with

his along with the rest of her clothes to wash in the laundry

room. She just did her makeup and put some of her hair in

a clip which she thought was really pretty. They left at 4:23

p.m. Her and Jay took her car because Monroe didn’t want

him to waste any more gas than he already had driving all

the way out to see her. She let him drive while they both put

on their favorite music all the way turnt up. When they got

to the mall, they went in their favorite stores.

After some shopping, they went to the food court while Monroe checked her watch. It

read 6:25 p.m. and she laughed telling him the time. He

laughed too and asked,” It’s already 6:25? Damn.” Monroe

smiled while they were ordering subway and some other

food. When they sat down and started eating, she felt like

her stomach was gonna explode with all of those imaginary

butterflies from her nerves. She tried to calm herself down

telling herself that she’s known him for so long and that she

shouldn’t be nervous. He felt her butterflies and told her she

had nothing to be shy about. Trying to change the subject,

she said,”I’m glad you eat a lot too and how confident you

are (smiles).” He thanked her and smiled. They went to the

movies for a few hours, saw a comedy, ate a lot of

popcorn, candy, and drank so much soda.

The whole time on the way home she was thinking to herself about how glad she was

that she was saving up a lot of money for surgery,

especially since she felt that she ate like a wild caveman

that day. When they came back, before they got out he just

came out with it. Asking her “How about you and I be more

explicit?” She knew what he meant and smiled in

acceptance. Monroe didn’t want to wait anymore. Then they

kissed like boyfriend and girlfriend do. They were each

super happy that the feelings between them were mutual.

She came in way later around 11 p.m. because they left the

mall around 9 and just let time fly. After brushing her teeth

and getting ready for bed, she stopped in the mirror.

She still wondered what he saw in her. Monroe really wanted to fix her chipped tooth in

the back of her mouth which he probably couldn’t notice

she thought. Maybe whiten her teeth and fix some

crookedness, get some botox, and whatever else she

could think of. The next morning she called her bank to

know the amount in her account. She had just enough to

get her teeth whitened and to fix the crookedness in her

bottom row. So she then called her dentist and made the

appointment. Of course she wouldn’t tell him about this

because she knew that he already thought her teeth were

cute the way they already were.

Almost a month and half had already passed and the day was here. Although she had so

much fun with her new boyfriend with their plans and felt

somewhat secure in their relationship, she still went to the

dentist. On a Friday morning she was in the dentist’s office.

The dentist whitened her teeth from those coffee stains and

fixed her bottom row. Only costing her around a couple

thousand dollars which she knew was worth it. A week later

in August, her boyfriend was already starting college. He

knew she was so proud of him and happy for him. The

university he was going to was at least two hours away

from her place.

She was happy that he would be getting the full college experience. On the day he was

leaving and she was saying bye to him at his new home at

college, she was sad and then thought of all the hussies

that would probably throw themselves at him. He then

noticed her teeth. She said, “I knew you wouldn’t notice

before because you were all stressed about school

starting.” He then started asking questions of why she

wanted to fix her teeth and when. Monroe told him when

and because she wanted her teeth to be perfect for him. He

tried reassuring her he loved her teeth the way they were,

but she didn’t believe him.

When hugging him, tears fell from her face because she realized that he’s all grown up

and how far he’s come. She hated getting all emotional.

And she saw his eyes getting watery too but didn’t want to

point it out and make him uncomfortable which it probably

wouldn’t, but still. They hugged for a few more minutes and

did all that cuddly stuff that boyfriend and girlfriend do. She

helped him bring his stuff into his dorm and they met his

roommate. Jay, Monroe, and his roommate introduced

themselves. His name is Thomas. He seemed pretty nice

and cool. When leaving, she turned to Jay, “Have fun and

you know if you need anything I’m always here. I love you!

(smiles).” He smiled,”I know and I love you too.” They

hugged and all that again.

She said goodbye to his roommate and said,”It was nice meeting you Thomas. Thomas

said the same. He was a freshman too and seemed to

have a similar personality as her boyfriend. Monroe was

glad that her boyfriend could hopefully have another best

friend here with him, hopefully she thought. On her way

home, she was upset but then wanted to stay positive. She

didn’t want to bother him so she waited until he called her

first. So after a few songs played, she thought about that

botox. Calling her bank, she still had more in there from all

the money she saved from her paychecks and tips from

work the past month and a half.

When Monroe got home a few hours later, she googled numbers for botox and tattoo

parlors. There was a local tattoo shop down the street

which allowed walk­ins. After calling a dermatologist, she

scheduled an appointment. Since it was only around 4 p.m.

on a Saturday, she went to the tattoo shop called “Crazy

Ink”. She came and spent fifteen minutes looking for ideas.

Monroe decided on music notes in the shape of a swirl on

her upper right arm. She loved her tattoo and was glad she

got it because music has always meant everything to her

since she was little. And now Jay could have another thing

to like about her she thought.

Another month passed by with many days of her and her boyfriend spending time

together. He was doing good in school and started

becoming good friends with Thomas. She remembers

back to when she first came to visit him and when he first

saw her tattoo. Jay was surprised but liked it a lot because

he felt like it fit her. When he asked her why, she told him

she’s always wanted one and had the money saved up. Jay

really knew why she got that tattoo. Of course she told the

truth, but not all of it which she felt like he kind of knew.

He knew it was also so that she could be prettier for him and not seem so ‘boring’ as she

felt like she was. Jay knew she’d deny his accusations so

he didn’t say that part. Her appointment for the

dermatologist was coming up and she couldn’t wait. At

home when she was watching tv. ,she started thinking

about how she never told her boyfriend about wanting to fix

herself with those appointments so she called him. It was a

Saturday and she wasn’t called in for work at the time so

she called Jay wanting to be honest. She called him and on

the fourth ring he answered, “Hey (smiles) it’s about time

you called.” She laughed,”Ahah that’s cute. How have you

been though?” He laughed too,”Good and you?”

She smiled,”Good. I miss you though.” He said,”I miss you too. What are you doing?”

She told him that she was watching t.v. ; after she asked

him and he told her she asked him if they could meet up to

talk. He agreed and before they hung up she said,”And it’s

not bad I promise, I just want to apologize in person for not

telling you the whole truth and not communicating with you

like I should have (sighs).” He felt her sincerity and they

agreed to meet up in his dorm. A few hours later when she

arrived around 5 p.m., she hugged him when he opened

the door. He smiled and hugged her back when she came

in. She started off,”Look, I’m so sorry about not

communicating with you like I should have and for not

telling you about wanting to fix my teeth (breathes). I know

you wouldn’t tell me what to do, it’s just the act of me telling

you because you’re a part of my life too.” He knew she was

being sincere and felt her heart thumping filled with regret.

Then he told her,”I mean you could’ve came up to me and told me how you were feeling

because I would understand.” She sighed in relief and

said,”Thank you (smiles). Because as a couple, you and I

need to communicate in order to have understanding. I

messed up when I didn’t do that and I’ll try not to let that

happen again because that wasn’t fair of me (sighs again).”

He laughed,”Aww I know how you feel. Just don’t worry

about it.” She smiled and tried to say her words in a

rush,”And I have an appointment for a dermatologist…”

Shock hit him in the face like winds of 180 mph. Then said,”

What?! Why?! (frowns)” She frowned,”I could cancel it…”

He tried not to be stubborn or bossy,”If you want to then..

but you don’t need any of that. You’re still young and

beautiful. You don’t have those lines from smoking on your

face because you don’t smoke and you don’t have crows

feet. You’re only 18.” She smiled and they both laughed.

She thanked him,”Aww thank you. You’re so

beautiful and handsome too. I’ll think about that though. And

I appreciate you not trying to tell me what to do. I love you.”

He smiled,”Aww I love you too.” They hugged and cuddled

spending the rest of the day together. On her way home

she still thought of that botox and maybe cutting her hair.

Then on the way home, that tattoo shop was looking really

good to her. The next day she called Atniel and said,”Hey

we should get matching tattoos, like a symbol or something

that represents us. Not names or initials..” He smiled and

laughed,”Ahah I’ll see.”

Original Work

Lorde­”Royals” is one of my new favorite songs. It has a catchy rhythm and chorus. Supposedly

her song is being called racist by some online critics and bloggers. It has no racism at all. Her

chorus which goes,

“But every song’s like / Gold teeth, Grey Goose, trippin’ in the bathroom / Bloodstains,

ballgowns, trashing the hotel room / We don’t care / We’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams But

everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece.

Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.

We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.

And we'll never be royals (royals).

It don't run in our blood,

That kind of luxe just ain't for us.

We crave a different kind of buzz.

Let me be your ruler (ruler),

You can call me queen Bee

And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.

Let me live that fantasy.

describes how most flashy artists sing about just that, living their life to the fullest, having fun and

not giving a care. The part where she sings,”We don’t care/We’re driving cadillacs in our

dreams” is referring to her and her friends not being flashy or wanting any spotlight.

They’re just regular teens trying to live a normal life and dreaming of driving Cadillacs in

their dreams, not caring about having all that money to buy one because they don’t want one.