Excerpt from the Wisp ...*
A near-deafening cacophony of adolescent chatter greeted them. Most St. Cat residents were already at dinner. The huge dining hall was full to capacity. In a situation like this, they had their routine. Bara joined the food line. She’d get food for both of them. Amy would look for two seats together.
Bara could have lived at home. Her mother remained in what had once been the family residence, but Bara spent most of the school year in the dorms. Her parents had made the decision during the divorce. There’d been too much fighting. It was supposed to be a short-term fix, but once installed in a room with Amy, she’d wanted to stay. Life wasn’t perfect at St. Cat—Louise and Cassandra saw to that—but even with the terrible twins, school was relatively carefree. Bara could be happy, pretend things hadn’t changed. She could almost forget the divorce.
There were two choices for dinner—pasta shells stuffed with spinach and cheese and chicken curry. Bara took an order of each. She and Amy would split the meals. Lemon meringue pie was for dessert. She grabbed three slices—an extra one for Colin—and went looking for Amy.
Finding two seats together had been a challenge. There was some space at the terrible twin’s table. Social suicide. Sitting with the Pops meant spending the entire meal at the mercy of their taunts. The only other option was at Patsy Pillanger’s table. She sat alone. Social Siberia was preferable to social suicide. Amy claimed two seats across from Patsy.
With no real friends, Patsy spent most of her time with books. Not taking her eyes from the page, she shoveled pasta into her mouth. Spinach fell onto a crisp page. She took no notice of Amy sitting across the table, but when Bara sat down with her overloaded tray, she looked up and smiled a very large smile, too large and too teethy to be attractive. Silver braces didn’t help matters, but the smile was genuine.
“Hi, Bara,” Patsy chirped.
She smiled even wider. Patsy really liked Bara.
“Hey, Pats,” Bara returned through a yawn.
The lack of sleep from the night before was catching up to her, and Patsy was partly to blame. Bara had woken early from her dreams and gone to bed late because of Patsy. Patsy was in the room next door. It wasn’t unusual to be woken up by loud banging and odd smells. They’d run next door. There’d be Patsy, loopy as all, her current roommate cowering in the corner and looking for a chance to make a break for it. Den Mother had recently admitted defeat and allowed Patsy to bunk alone, but as it turned out, Patsy didn’t need an audience.
“What were you doing last night?” Bara asked.
“Calling on the spirits of the forest,” Patsy all but hollered. Her voice easily carried to the terrible twin’s table—with predictable results.
Pop entourage in tow, Cassandra and Louise stood up and sauntered over.
The Wisp, and its sequel, the Tall Man, can be found on Amazon in paperback and #kindle.
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Words are my own. Images unless otherwise attributed are a collaboration between me and AI, Grok. They should be viewed visual haiku, in that they contain symbolism. The concepts are my own creation and the rendering AI. Keep drawing and painting. AI cannot replace your hard work and excellence. All titles below, including the Wisp and its sequel, the Tall Man, represent lengthier works. are available in paperback or digital through amazon and your local libraries and bookstores. Click on any title below to further explore and support my writing.
These are very peaceful places, you won't find such places in the city.
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