#WriteMeAChallenge - Number 1

For a bit of fun, and to challenge myself, I have started a writing challenge.

I haven't written short stories before (and as a reader, I really struggle with them). I also struggle to pin down an idea, so I thought who better to ask for help than my network, my audience.

So my challenge is for people to give me a subject or plotline to write about, and I'll post a short fictional story whilst tagging them and adding the hashtag #WriteMeAChallenge.

Linda Tilson was the person to inspire the challenge and her plotline was as follows:

Stacey, surprise me. How about a short story where the main character goes on a transformation journey and becomes an overnight success. How does she deal with her new found self and abilities? How does she deal with friends and family that may not understand where they fit into her new world. She needs them to connect with her too.

I don't think I've really done her plotline justice. I should have stuck with my original idea; a young adult who gets "discovered" for their talent (dance, singing, etc). But I tried to get clever and I think I deviated quite a bit from the plotline.

Please bear in mind that this isn't great work by any means. It's a rough draft and kind of a follow-on after NaNoWriMo. I need to keep writing creatively and with the help and support of my network, I aim to do just that.

But this is also a journey, a learning experience. I am going to share my raw, rough drafts. I am not going to stress and fret over editing and being perfect. I am just going to do. Because that's the bit I find the hardest. I'm not very good at "just doing".

So here's my attempt..............

The dusky sky was enveloping the empty suburban streets as lights flickered on in the windows of the humble houses, neatly aligned in precise rows. Dinner had been and gone and Casey sat alone in her bedroom, like every other evening after school. Knees curled beneath her, she was staring intently at the picture she had spent the past hour sketching.

Despite her efforts, she could still hear her parents arguing downstairs, and the blare of her sister’s music coming from the room opposite. Casey’s gaze didn’t leave her drawing. “If I had a family like this, I’d never sit by myself, alone in my room, drawing stupid pictures.”, Casey mumbled to herself, tears welling in her eyes.

The hue of the moonlight bouncing off the rain-kissed streets drew her attention to her window. Taking her drawing with her, Casey stood at the window and peered out across the darkening sky. It was full of stars; a somewhat rare sight.

A shooting star! Casey’s eyes perked up. They went from the star to her picture in the beat of a heart and in that time, her heart not only filled with hope, but broke again, too. “I wish I had a family like you guys.”, she said to her picture as the shooting star flew by her window. A tear fell from her eye, smudging the pencil. Typical. Casey’s gaze returned to the sky, in search of the shooting star. “I missed it! Just my bloody luck!”

The evening ended pretty much like every other. Casey only ventured out of her room when she was in need of relief or a drink. Her parents continued to argue downstairs over money, bills, debts and just about everything possible. And her sister just wouldn’t shut up with her damn music. Casey finally gave into sleep and let her dreams consume her.

The morning came way too soon, and upon waking, the same feeling of dread settled in Casey’s stomach. But something was different. The morning was quiet. Casey felt unsettled and once she was ready for school, she made her way wearily downstairs, expecting to find a horrendous murder scene or something - especially after the arguments from the previous light.

“Casey! Good morning sweetheart!”, her mother greeted her at the bottom of the stairs. A whiff of smoked bacon filled her nostrils as the older woman took her hand, leading her into the kitchen. Upon entering, she found her dad and sister giggling away together at the table, both looking genuinely happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw either of them smile, let alone hear them laugh.

“Case! Come and have a seat!”, her dad beckoned her over.

Feeling somewhat surreal, Casey took a seat next to her dad. Before she even had time to sit down, her mum was laying plates in front of them all - full of bacon, eggs, French toast and tinned tomatoes. Casey’s mum gave them each a kiss on the forehead before taking her seat, and as she sat, it clicked. OMG! This is my drawing!

***

“Casey, money is getting a little tight. If you could just draw..” Her mum didn’t need to finish the sentence, Casey knew the ending well enough. It had been six months since she realised her “gift” - her ability to turn her drawings into a reality. And her parents had most definitely made use of it, too.

“Mum, I only just drew that picture last week. And isn’t it like, stealing? Surely the money has to be coming from.. Somewhere..?”

The other woman’s look intensified. “You’ve never had a problem before, Casey.”

“I’m just trying to make you happy.”

“And having enough money to do the things we want to do, makes me happy.”

Casey’s heart sank. She thought her gift would bring her happiness, give her a family she could only dream of. Yet she felt more isolated than ever. Her mum no longer thought she needed to be a mum, she could just buy her way out of everything. Afterall, Casey could just magically make money appear when she needed it, quite literally. Her sister had gained the confidence she needed to excel socially and since Casey had drawn a picture of her in with the cool crowd at school, she’d hardly been at home. She was now the perfect social butterfly. And her dad… Well, now her parents weren’t arguing over money, he spent most of his time pottering around in the garage.

After her initial popularity and the initial excitement about what Casey’s gift could do, she soon found herself escaping into her dreams again each night. She was no longer a daughter, a sister, a friend, another normal teenage girl. She was a tool, a source, a thing to be used when needed.

It wasn’t long before Casey found herself waking with the same dread in the pit of her stomach each morning. Now, it was just for different reasons. She longed for her family back.

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