NaNoWriMo

I have done it.

I have made an account on nanowrimo.org. I am ready. I think.

For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Basically, crazy people across the world (myself included) embark on a near impossible quest to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

I haven't attempted it yet, but I have decided that I'm going to try this year!

The only problem is that the month of November includes hell week for drama (meaning I rehearse until 10 pm every night during the course of one week), all the show nights for the musical, and I'm pretty sure exams.

So my poor, poor, baby novel probably is not going to reach adulthood.

But I shall try anyway! Even if I never even make it to 10,000 words! Even if I pass out from exhaustion! Or have writers block! Or something else awful like that! This is a lot of exclamation points!

It may only be the last day of September today, but hopefully by the end of October I will have enough mental fortification to be prepared for November.

I'll also probably have to stock up on notebooks.

Lots and lots notebooks.

Libraries

As a professional nerd, I love libraries.

I mean, the whole system is ingenious! You can get free books whenever you want to as long as you return it after you're done. Like, how awesome is that?

I have a whole route planned out when I go there so that I can check all my favorite authors, new books, and the manga section.

Of course, at this point I've sort of read most of the good books (in the teen section at least) and really all that's left is 'teen paranormal romance' which I have tried, and let me tell you that if you thought Twilight was bad, it's got nothing on this stuff.

The trouble with the really good books is that they're drowned out by the Hunger Games and Twilight wannabes, making them harder to find than the Yeti. And let me tell you, there have been way more sighting of the Yeti than a good book in the 'teen paranormal romance' section.

Ripped To Shreds

Congratulations! You have just won a free short story written by the great and all-powerful Nina!

“Listen, I’m giving you a lot of money just for this one little job. Just accept it all ready,” Richardson said, adjusting the diamond cufflinks on his hand tailored suit.

Anthony narrowed his eyes. “That depends on what the job actually is.” Richardson was obviously feigning nonchalance. Anthony could see the sweat on his forehead and the slight shaking of his hands. It was never good to take a job from a nervous client.

“This woman, Josephine Mason,” Richardson said, handing Anthony a photo of the woman, “she’ll be wearing a watch.” Another photo was slid across the desk, this time of an expensive looking watch. “I need you to get it from her.”

“Can I ask why?” Anthony said.

Richardson frowned. “That is my own business.”

“Then at least tell me why do you need to hire a Rip to get it,” Anthony said.

“It was destroyed. On the same day I need you to retrieve it. June 17, year 3105.”

Anthony looked at his own watch, a necessity for every Rip. It read; March 3, year 3108. Not too bad a jump for this kind of job.  And he needed the money. “All right,” he said, “I’ll do it.”

Richardson relaxed slightly and leaned back in his chair. “Excellent.”

“I’ll be back in…” Anthony checked his watch again, “…five minutes.” He turned the face of the watch counter-clockwise five times and pressed his hand down on top of it, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt the familiar wrench in his gut, and when he opened his eyes, he was still in Richardson’s office. Only now, it was empty. He could hear the distant clinking of glasses and laughter from downstairs, a sure sign of a party.

He exited the office and descended the stair down into the party. There, a younger Richardson, with significantly less grey hair, was dancing with the woman from the photograph. Josephine Mason. She wore a deep green evening dress that shimmered with diamonds and her hair was pulled up so that only a few blond tendrils fell into her face.

Anthony strode across the ballroom floor, approaching Josephine just as the song she and Richardson were dancing to ended. He bowed to her, extending a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Josephine looked up and down at his scuffed shoes and poorly made suit. “Of course,” she said with a tight-lipped smile that suggested she would be less than pleased to be dancing with him. Richardson looked mildly disgusted at Anthony’s appearance.

Anthony’s eyes found the silver watch fastened around Josephine’s wrist. He let his hand close around it lightly to place her hand on his hip. He unfastened it deftly without her noticing and slipped it into a ready-made pocket in his sleeve. The musicians began to play a lilting waltz, but Anthony stopped in the middle of the floor. “On the other hand,” he said, “I must be going.”

He released Josephine and left her, mouth gaping open and face flushed in indignation, alone amidst the other dancing aristocrats.

Anthony took the stairs back up to Richardson’s office two at a time.

Five clockwise turns, and he was back to March 3, year 3108.

He turned to look at the place where Richardson had been sitting and let out a strangled gasp.

Richardson was sitting in his chair, half collapsed on top of his chest.

A gaping bullet hole straight through his skull.

Good Riddance, Braces

Good news, blog minions! I got my braces off today!

If you've never had braces before, I hate you and I hope you step on a lego barefoot.

Just kidding, I don't hate you. But the pain of braces is a lot like stepping on a lego barefoot. Only in your mouth. Sort of.

Point being, I am finally free from the torturous metal contraptions that plagued a good two years of my life. 

Of course, the pain isn't over yet. I now have to wear a retainer 24/7, which turns all my 's' sounds into 'sh' sounds. For example, If I were to say, "It is supposed to be super sunny on saturday," it would come out more like, "It ish shupposhed to be shuper shunny on shaturday." 

Basically, I've been avoiding words with 's' in them at all costs. This means "It is supposed to be super sunny on saturday" turns into "The final day of the week will have a lot of light." 

Do you know how hard it is to construct a sentence without plural nouns or the word 'is'?

Pretty darn hard.

Phone

I have an iphone!

It's a green 5c and it's beautiful and I want to marry it.

Okay, not literally, but you know what I mean.

Red Blood, White Snow

This Friday's short story turned out to be really short for some reason! Oh, and we're back to violence again. Enjoy:

I saw the blood before I felt the bullet. The blood stood out, crimson on the snow, like wet paint on a blank canvas. The droplets felt onto the frozen ground, sinking into the snow and spreading out like blooming rosebuds.  My hand found my stomach and pressed against the wound, keeping the blood in as it dripped down my fingers, leaving sticky trails of red on my hands. The pain made my vision blur. I looked at Aaron, his hands trembling, barely able to hold onto the shaking gun.

“I- I had to,” he said, face whiter than the drifting snow around us. I thought back to his anger, red as my fresh blood, and felt the cold seeping into me.

“No, Aaron,” I said, “You didn’t have to.” My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, melted snow making its way through the thin layer of my jeans. The world was dimming, spinning, but somehow the image of the blood on snow stayed in my mind.

I tilted my head back and opened my mouth, tasting the fresh snowflakes on my tongue, and let the cold swallow me up. 

Cupcake Day

Thursday is cupcake day.

Every Thursday my school sells a batch of around fifty cupcakes, a dollar apiece.

I'm not sure where they come from, or why they're only sold on Thursdays, or what their greater purpose is in this vast and incomprehensible world we live in. One thing, however, is certain.

They are delicious.

I don't even like cupcakes but for some reason I've become addicted to the Thursday Cupcakes. Especially because of this one time when they were lemon-meringue flavored. Cupcake Maker, if you are reading this, PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER BATCH OF THE LEMON MERINGUE CUPCAKES.

Of course, the cupcakes could all be an elaborate scheme created by the school to gradually brain wash it's students, one cupcake at a time, but since we're all ready being brainwashed in our classes, I don't think cupcake tactics would be necessary.

Also, for something being used as a tool to brainwash the student populace, they are in awfully short supply.

Anyway, even if the cupcakes are slowly taking over my mind, they are definitely worth it.

The Homework Demon Strikes Again

The homework demon has possessed all my teachers and caused them to assign a horrendous amount of homework on the exact same day that rehearsals for drama start.

Individually, homework in each class doesn't take much time at all, but pile it all together and my body will be found a few days later half-decomposed in a river, covered in math notes, spanish conjugations, and english reflections.

Ew.

Another gross picture courtesy of my overactive imagination.

Point being, I'm drowning in homework and all I really want to do is watch the next episode of heroes because I NEED TO KNOW OF THIS ONE CHARACTER DIES OR NOT AND THE SUSPENSE IS UNBEARABLE.

And I refuse to ask the Great and All-Knowing Wikipedia for spoilers because that goes against my moral code as a TV show addict.

I must finish all this homework soon because my strength is weakening and soon I will give in to the pull of the spoilers.

Thirteen Reasons to Stay Up Until One in the Morning

I found another book to add to my top ten list (which would technically make it top eleven but that's not really relevant): Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I started reading it last night at around ten, just to read a little before I went to bed. Two seconds later it was one am and the book was finished.

And then of course I couldn't fall asleep because I was reflecting on the complexities of life and human existence. 

It's the kind of book that makes you think about those sorts of things.

This of course, left me exhausted today. Luckily it's the weekend so I was able to sleep until what most people refer to as the afternoon and I affectionately refer to as 'the REAL morning'.

Anyway, you should read it, because even though it tortures you emotionally it's actually a pretty good book. 

Lights Out

Can it be? A Friday story that's not creepy? It exists and you're welcome:

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

“Hi.”

“Oh, um, hi. Do you know how to turn the lights on?”

“No.”

“Uh… Who is this?”

“Damien.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

“…”

“Well this is awkward.”

“Let’s just find a light switch, okay?”

“Look, man, I’m sorry-“

“Save it.”

“Damien-“

“Just shut up and find the freaking switch, Will.”

“The power’s not working.”

“Crap.”

“And the door’s stuck.”

“Double crap.”

“…”

“...”

“I’m really sorry, Damien. Okay? But I stopped hanging out with those guys now and-“

“And what? You’re reformed now? You’ve dropped out of the let’s-shove-people-into-lockers club so all of a sudden you’re a good guy? It doesn’t work like that, Will!”

“If it means anything, I also apologized to Claire.”

“…”

“…”

“The power came on.”

“I noticed.”

“And that wasn’t a door I was trying to open.”

“…”

“Well, bye, I guess.”

“Wait- Will-“

“What?”

“Thanks for apologizing to Claire.”

“I don't deserve it... but you're welcome.”

Heroes and Hiros

I'm still sick today because I haven't had a chance to use my Patented Cure-All System to get better because I haven't been able to stay home from school for various reasons that I don't really feel like explaining now because they're kind of boring.

Instead, I've been watching my new favorite obsession: Heroes

It was a TV show from a while ago which is now available on Netflix and probably has one of the most ridiculously complicated plots ever.

I mean, it's not that the actual plot is complicated it's just that there's like, nine different plot lines going on at once and they're all interconnected and there's a ton of characters and I just really like this show, okay???

Also Hiro Nakamura is adorable. 

Nina's Patented Cure-All System

I'm sure you've been anxiously waiting for a blog post these past few days but I haven't been able to post something for one simple, tragic reason.

I am sick.

My throat hurts, my nose is stuffed up, I have a headache, I can't stop coughing, and I feel an ominous sense of foreboding that my death is near.

Which brings me to Nina's Patented Cure-All System!

You will need:
1. Warm milk with honey
2. Pity from friends and family
3. A big ugly (but incredibly comfortable) sweatshirt
4. Books one through seven of Harry Potter
5. A Disney princess movie of your choice (I prefer Mulan)

Allow yourself to recline on your bed while wearing your ugly sweatshirt, as you sip warm milk and allow sympathetic family members to supply your every need, from an endless supply of tissues to a thermometer to measure your grievously high temperature. Entertain yourself by gradually making your way through all seven Harry Potter books. If you get tired of reading, have your sympathy-servants play a classic Disney movie for you on your TV. You'll feel better without any effort at all!

Abigail Flint

I'm sorry, I tried to write something that wasn't creepy but no such luck. The creative flow does what it wants!

The portrait of the girl was ancient. The paint was cracked, spider webs of thin lines snaking across its surface. The image itself still looked beautiful, despite the dulled paint.

A girl.

Her light brown hair flowed over her shoulders and her dress was a delicate lacey blue. She was sitting in a wooden char, hands folded in her lap.

I looked over at Mary. “Is this her?” I asked.

“Yes, Abigail Flint. Died in 1896 after a terrible fire consumed her mansion-“ Mary stopped talking abruptly. “Did the portrait just move…?” she asked, voice shaking slightly. The walls creaked around us, like the old house was closing in.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, but the hand that was previously placed in the girls lap was now splayed in front of her, like it was pressing against a glass wall.

A glass wall separating her from us.

I shiver raced down my back. I turned to Mary. “Let’s get out of here.”

Mary didn’t reply. She was staring at the painting, eyes wide. I looked back at the old portrait of Abigail Flint. She was standing now, both hands pressed against that invisible wall.

Closer.

“Mary. Let’s go,” I tugged at her arm. I felt shaky, disturbed. The half second I looked away from the portrait to Mary was enough.

The girl was even closer this time, her porcelain face filling up the frame. Her mouth was wide open in a silent scream and porcelain hands hammered against her prison.

The message was clear.

Let me out.

No School, Chipotle, and Chocolate

No school today!

I didn't know there was going to be no school until late yesterday when someone told me about it the clouds parted and light streamed down from above and the soft singing of angels could be heard in the distance. 

Needless to say, unexpected days off from school are the best.

Of course I still have to go back to school tomorrow, but if I ignore that fact, absolutely nothing can go wrong today because I don't have to go to school on a weekday.

I've been plotting for a while to have a mysterious 'gas leakage' happen that closes the school for a few days, but I haven't quite worked out the details yet.

Anyway, I went over to a friend's house and we had Chipotle for dinner.

Chipotle, along with unexpected days off from school, also causes the clouds to part and light to stream down from above and the soft singing of angels to be heard in the distance.

Actually that whole sequence of events is sort of a regular occurrence that always seems to happen when I'm eating chocolate.

Mmmmm... Chocolate. 

The Demon Blogger Of Drama Club

So I'm in the drama club at my school (because I'm DRAMATIC *gestures wildly for emphasis*) and this year the musical production is Sweeney Todd.

I'm super excited because it's really bloody and dark and awesome (of course that translates to: a lot of work). The first meeting for the club was today and we basically just got sign up sheets and stuff. 

Anyway, I might be missing a couple blog days in the furturish region of time because of drama so just keep that in mind. 

Did I mention Sweeney Todd is about a demon barber? How cool is that?

Nina's Top Ten Book List

After completing this list, I will undoubtably remember a book I should have put on it. This is also the reading taste of a fifteen year old girl who likes to write stories about zombies, so keep that in mind.

1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green- My all time favorite book written by my all time favorite author. If you haven't heard of John Green, go read ALL OF HIS BOOKS. I mean it. ALL OF THEM. They are funny and heartwarming and amazing. You should also check out his YouTube channel with his brother Hank Green at http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers.

2. Hero by Perry Moore- Basically the coolest premise ever because who doesn't love superheroes?

3. Tithe by Holly Black- An urbanized fantasy book which caused me to literally sit down and not put the book down until I had finished reading it three hours later. I didn't even take bathroom breaks. That's dedication.

4. Eon by Alison Goodman- A fantasy novel with asian influence, sort of Mulan-esque.

5. Graceling by Kristin Cashore- Another book which I could not put down, and another fantasy novel. I really love fantasy novels, okay?

6. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver- The main character repeats the day of her death over and over until she finally gets it right. I listened to this as an audio book and ended up curling up in bed crying by the end of it.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- Told in the point of view of Death, it takes place during the Holocaust, and is the kind of book that really makes you love words.

8. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan- If you have not read this book yet, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? This series is hilarious and action-packed and there are a ton of sequels.

9. Divergent by Veronica Roth- A dystopian novel. The way the character's emotions are described is amazing.

10. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman- I read this book with my dad. It really freaked me out at the time, but looking back it was a really good book!