Tables Turned-- Tell Me!

Instead of telling you what my characters are like in High School, I'm spinnin the tables 'right round baby' and asking you to tell me what YOU were like in high school.

What were your hobbies? What kind of people did you hang out with?

What are your best memories? Your worst?

Tell me all you remember about your high school experience! Who knows, maybe one of my characters will adopt parts of your story, or you'll find out that you and one of my characters are exactly alike!

A Best Friend

Taylor is lucky. She has two best friends who would do anything for her. She has a best girl friend, and a best boy friend. The trio has been friends for a long time.

When Taylor meets Abigail in class her freshman year, the other two open their arms, accepting her into their little group.

That really is the way to go through high school, in my opinion, with a group of friends. You have the people that you knew before high school, and you also meet new people throughout your time there.

Each of Taylor's friends has a unique relationship with her. Theres Nolan, who she has been best friends with her entire life. Some people say its hard to "just be friends" with a boy, but Nolan and Taylor are special. Yes, they do try going into the boyfriend/girlfriend category....but I'll tell you right now it doesnt really work out. These two have such an original chemistry, they could never be together in that way. Thankfully, their friendship resumes back to normal once all the drama dies down. Its hard going back to a normal friendship, but when you have a bond like Nolan and Taylor, you make it work.

Then theres Taylor and Christina. Best friends for a while before high school starts. Shes the one with advice on fashion, boys (from a girl perspective...Taylor can get a guys perspective on guys from Nolan), and overall crises. She would drop anything to rush over to Taylor when she is in trouble, and vice versa. Christina is one of the best girl friends that anyone could have.

Check out this scene, and how Christina is defending Taylor from Noah after he just crashed into her. Christina's defense went straight up, even if Taylor was alright with the hottie knocking her down.

“TAYLOR! Areyouok, areyouhurt, whoisthisguy, didhehurtyou, illkillhim!” Christina shouted out in her too fast for human hearing language. She had seen the whole thing. As I turned my eyes to the sides, I noticed the entire hallway had seen it as well. Suddenly, my cheeks felt hot and became a dark crimson color. Then I realized Mr. Perfect was still examining my head.

“I'm ok. Really, besides a headache, I’ll be fine. So-so-sorry for bumping into you.” I sputtered.  Smooth, Taylor, smooth.

He drew his hands back and looked me in the eyes. I stared back at the baby blues in front of me, trying not to pass out from the intensity. 

“Are you sure? I mean, you fell pretty hard. Taylor, is it? I’m Noah, Noah Hart. Are you a freshman? I haven’t seen you around before.”

I just about died at the 100 watt smile he just flashed my way. Anyone seen my sunglasses?

“Yes, she’s a freshman. What did you do to her? Don’t you have eyes?” Christina snarled at Noah while grabbing my head to examine me herself.

“It was just an accident C, not a huge deal. I'm fine! Can you let go of me now?!” Stumbling out of her grip, I turned to Mr. Right. “I'm sorry about her. Shes a little over protective if you can tell. This is Christina, Christina, this is….Noah, you said?”

“Yup, Noah. Noah Hart. I'm a junior. I didn’t mean to run over your friend here, I am really sorry. Are you sure you’re alright? Can I get you anything?” Noah looked genuinely concerned as he bent over to retrieve my previously in-flight books from the floor.  Anything? How about a date for Friday night, you gorgeous specimen of man you!

“I’m ok, I promise. Thanks for my books. Hope to see you around!” The words came out of my mouth before I had a chance to think of what I was saying. ‘Hope to see you around’ to a junior?? I'm sure I would never bump into this Greek god again.

“Same here” Noah replied, waving as he turned and continued on his way down the hall.

Watching my perfect gentleman walk away was heart breaking. Good thing Christina was there to pick up the shattered remains.

“Who was that? Why are you staring? Are you listening? Are you sure you don’t have a concussion? Concussions are serious you know!” Christina wailed on and on, but I didn’t hear her. I was too busy dreaming of the encounter I just had, and planning the wedding in my head. 

Taylor is the glue that holds the group together. They all met each other because of her. What happens if Taylor backs out...would the group stay together without her?

Leave a comment about your best friends and adventures!

High School Heartbreak

We've all been there. Our first love. High school sweethearts. They dont last, but boy are they fun in the meantime. The two of you are invincible in the area of love. He's your one and only (at that time).

In my story, Taylor had invested everything she had in her relationship with Noah Hart. She was the luckiest girl in the world, a freshman dating a junior. All the other girls were jealous of her. Noah was the perfect gentleman, perfect boyfriend, perfect everything. Taylors mom loved him, he showed interest in Taylor's friends. He even helped Nolan workout so he could make the football team. He hooked Abigail up with a teammate. Everything was perfect in Taylors world.

Until it came crumbling down. High school relationships weren't meant to last, at least for most of us. Theyre a roller coaster of emotions, drama, ups and downs, to prepare you for the real world, for other relationships and finally for marriage.

Taylor is a very emotional person. She has very high highs and very low lows. Sometimes she blows things out of proportion. Usually there is a good reason for what she gets upset about.

But one thing Taylor is not, is a pushover. She will not let a boy get the  best of her. She will not let a boy control her and make her a fool.

So when things were over with Noah, she knew they were over. She was not the type to prolong the inevitable. Lets see how Taylor handled the ulitmate breakup with Noah: (ps. it's raining out in this scene, of course, to add to the drama.)

"You lied to me, Noah. Not only once, but twice. Two times you had the opportunity to tell me what really happened, and both times you conveniently left it out of conversation. How could you, Noah? Just…. How could you? And I don’t want to hear that you were drunk. Being drunk is not an excuse. Actually, I don’t even want to know.” I took a deep breath before continuing. I had to say everything I needed to say before I lost the courage or opportunity. Noah was looking more and more upset as the moments continued.

“You had your chance to tell your side of the story, and you obviously didn’t want to say it. Know what you are to me now, Noah?” I pushed my fore finger into his chest as I walked towards him. Noah, looking as if he were about to cry, stepped back at every poke. “Right now, you are nothing. You are a liar and a cheater. Poke. Even if you never meant for any of it to happen, it happened. Poke.  Even if you say you loved me, it still happened. Poke.  Even if you can come up with a million excuses of why it happened, it happened. Double Poke. You can talk for days upon end on how you are sorry, but it happened.” With another poke, both of us were drenched. Neither one of us paid any attention to the rain. Noah opened his mouth as to say something, but I started again before he could begin.

“I believed in you, Noah. I believed in us. We were living a fairy tale, weren’t we? Everything was going so incredibly well. Until you ruined it, Noah. You ruined it. Well guess what? I’m not a princess, this obviously isn’t a fairy tale, and you can no longer be the prince on a white horse.” To punctuate my finish, I gave him a good shove in the chest with both hands. It felt good, and there were no broken bones from it.

Noah stumbled and fell to the ground (who knew I had the strength to knock down a football player?).  he shifted to his knees before he began his speech. I didn’t want to hear any of it, but I let him continue.

“Taylor, I am so so so incredibly sorry. I know I screwed up pretty bad. Im sorry I didn’t tell you what happened when I had the chance. I didn’t want to believe it myself, and I knew by telling you, it became real. Please, Taylor, I'm so sorry. Please, give me another chance. I’ll do anything to make this up to you. Anything.” A mixture of tears and rain were rolling down his face as he rose to his feet and looked me in the eye.

“I'm sorry Noah.  Its too late now. You and your white horse can go.” I stood my ground, waiting for him to turn around and return to his car. His blonde hair was slick against his head as he tried to read me for another minute. After finally getting that I wasn’t going to back down, he shook his head and walked away.

The lovely job that I did on getting ready earlier was all ruined now. My curls were a big snarly mess, plastered against my face from the pouring rain. My makeup was all streaky down my cheeks. I took a few steps back and sat on the edge of the front stoop. Placing my head in my arms, I allowed myself to cry, for the very first time.

What do you think? How did Taylor handle herself? Would you have done the same thing (obviously, in your given situation, since you dont exactly know what theirs was....) 

Let me know what your thoughts are! 

Noah Hart

Oh, high school jocks. The most revered of all high school cliques. Become QB of your football team, and you have it made in high school. Date the head cheerleader, and you will be legendary.

What if you were the QB of the team, but not stuck up? What if you didnt date the head cheerleader, but she was your childhood friend instead? Would you still be admired in the same way?

Noah Hart was. All men envied him, all women wanted to be with him. Noah Hart had everything. His "girl next door" friend from childhood was Rachel, the head cheerleader. Rachel was the typical snooty, stuck up, obnoxious head cheerleader.

Noah was not afraid to break the stereotypes. If he wanted to date a freshman, he dated a freshman. Noah played by his own rules, followed his own heart.

Take this encounter for example. See the interaction between Noah, Taylor and the evil Rachel.

There he was. All 6 feet of perfect man had once again saved my books (and my lunch) from ultimate demise. He once again saved me from social doom. Yup, I was going to marry this man.

“Tha-tha-umm, thanks. That woulda been pretty bad if that all fell, huh?” Again, Taylor, smooth.  I looked away with shame. Lots of shame.

“Ya, that could’ve been bad. But when I see a pretty girl like you in distress, I try to help out.” And then he winked. Mr. Noah Hart, junior, winked at me. ME!

“So I haven’t seen you around lately. Have you been hiding from me, Taylor?” Mr. Gorgeous asked.

I was supposed to respond to that? To make actual conversation with my future husband? Oh, ya, I really was.

“No, not hiding. Just going to classes. I guess freshmen don’t have lots of classes with juniors, huh?”

“Well, it looks like lunch is an inter-school event, doesn’t it?” There was that 100 watt smile that I coveted.  “So, where are you sitting, Taylor? Mind if I join you today? My friends are getting some extra work out time during lunch.”

“You- you want to sit with me? With other freshmen?” No way was this possible. Just no way. The rules of the hierarchy forbade it. He would be committing social suicide by sitting with freshmen!

“Well, only with the prettiest freshmen. And yes, I want to sit with you. Maybe we can talk without having things spill or someone getting hurt. Oh, I got that. Don’t worry about it.”

Noah saw me trying to fish out my pasta lunch money when he put his hand over mine to push it back into my pocket. He was going to pay for my lunch? Does it get any better than this?

“Wow, that’s so nice. Thanks! I owe you.”

“You can pay me back by having a nice lunch with me and the pasta.”

As we walked through the winding maze of blue tables, I felt eyes following us. Heads turned and gasps came from every direction. It was not possible that Noah was going to sit with a freshman.

“Um, Noah, just WHAT do you think you are doing?”

Rachel St. Clair was stopped directly in Noah’s path. Her ever present posse of cheerleaders started to stand from their table behind her. I could feel my heart in my throat. A nervous sweat started to creep up on my hairline. Her hair was perfect. Dark brunette with a headband in a perfect blowout. Her makeup looked like it was professionally done. And don’t get me started on her clothing. Her top alone probably cost more than my entire wardrobe and then some. Her perfectly manicured hand was propped on her hip, waiting for an answer.

“I’m going to sit with Taylor. The team is working out right now, but I love pasta day, so I just couldn’t resist. I think it was a smart choice.” And then the impossible happened. Future Sexiest Man of the Year turned, smiled and winked at me. He was teasing Rachel. Teasing the head cheerleader was dangerous, I hope he knew that. The sweat started on my palms, and it seemed as if everything was going to come crumbling down once again. 

“You know she’s a freshman right, Noah? A freshman?”

“Of course I know that. Ive known that for a week. What I would like to know is just more about her and her friends. Bye Rachel.” And with that, he just causally walked around Rachel and left. Just like that. Though, that left me standing in front of Rachel. The intensity from her and her posse’s glare made me want to shrink into the nearest corner and never return.  Nervously, I chased in Noah’s path as I made my way around Rachel. I heard her suck her breath in and furiously spin around to be consoled by her fellow cheerleaders.

“Um, you just stood up to the head cheerleader. You’re stock is going to plummet, Wall Street!” I tried to joke.  Noah just smiled and laughed causally.

“Rachel and I go way back. We grew up next door to each other when we were kids. Now she’s the head cheerleader, and I'm the captain of the football team. Seems like the perfect white picket fence story right? Our parents are pretty much planning our wedding. But, it makes things easier in school when you are friends with the right people. And now you and I are friends, right Taylor?”

What do you think? Quintessential high school groups, eh? Noah is breaking boundaries, hierarchies and all sorts of unwritten rules. A modern pioneer in the high school front. 

Do you think what Noah did was brave or stupid? Where do you think the story goes from here? Is it believeable, or is Noah too good to be true? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Let's talk about High School

Remember your first day of highschool. Were you nervous, anxious, excited, scared out of your mind? I probably was.

I was probably nervous, not knowing where my classes, locker, etc where going to be. Nervous because I didnt know people in my classes. I was anxious to be an "adult", out on my own (somewhat). I was excited for all that was to come in my formulative years.

High school makes you. It defines who you are, in some ways. It gives you a chance to form who you want to be, to find out who you are. High school is the one time in your life where you will have the most drama you could ever want, the most emotion filled years. After leaving high school, you wonder how you dealt with everything that you did. It takes a strong willed person to survive high school.

That is why my story takes place in high school. All these events that would seem way dramatic in any other time period make perfect sense when placed in high school. All the dramatic events that shape the way you make your decisions happen in high school. Nothing is too emotional or dramatic for high school.

Placing Taylor, Nolan, Christina and Abigail in high school not only made sense because of their relationship, but also because of their character development. High school is a great time to test relationships, boundaries, experiment, stir up trouble, have heartbreak and to dig deep to explore what really makes you, you.

Even for those characters who think they know who they are, will change. We see Noah Hart, a junior and QB of the football team, Mr. Popular,  fall so head over heels for Taylor that even he changes. We see him show his emotion to the max, both up and down. We see a man, confident in his place in the "world" (that is, the high school reality) crumble into a pathetic shell of who he used to be.

We see Nolan, trying to find out where he fits in, hop back and forth. Nolan wants to stay true to his real friends (Taylor and Christina, also Abigail when she joins in, though not as much), but he also wants to be accepted in high school on his own terms. He doesnt let one 'clique' define him. Bouncing from football to Taylor to the 'little people', we see Nolan really blossom in high school, until he finds his one place and sticks with it.

Taylor is the drama filled one. Her drama may be minor compared to reality, but in high school, the littlest thing is major, life changing events. We find Taylor go from a clumsy little freshman, scared of where her place in the heirarchy is, to the girlfriend of the most popular guy in school. She becomes hated by many jealous girls. She trys to lay low, a rare feat in the high school universe. She doesnt know where she fits in besides her tight group of friends, as she never joins any after school activity (a decision that will ultimately keep her lonely at times). Her decisions during her 4 years will be hard, and she makes mistakes. All of her mistakes and decisions will shape her future.

Christina is the only one we see as settled from her first day. Her sharp wit and confident attitude keep her grounded in her life. Her love for acting is seen as she chooses theatre as he hobby, but not as a act that defines her. Christina likes to keep life interesting, never letting anything ultimately define her. She keeps everyone on her toes.

Abigail is the school nerd. The big glasses, hair in braids 24/7, always carrying around a book "just in case". She is everyones best friend because she'll tutor you without a second question. She plays peacemaker more often than she should have to, but she does it out of love. She tries with the boys, sometimes succeeds, sometimes fails.


High school defines you in some way, whether you want it to or not.

Join me in showing these characters that there is more to life than high school, but it is a necessary evil to go through. Find yourself in one of the characters, find your best friend, your boyfriend, your teachers and mothers in this novel. Share in their triumph and their pain, just as you had experienced yourself.

First page, dont get used to it

There. The doors are staring back at me, the wide, gaping hole of an entrance. Beckoning me to come in and experience a whole new life. A life sure to be full of drama, excitement, fun and chaos. Taking a deep breath in, I slowly walked towards the overwhelming doors in front of me. You win this battle, doors. But be aware, I will win the war.

Am I really talking to a door? Is that what my life has come to at the ripe age of fifteen? I need more friends. I wasn’t paying attention as I shook my head at my stupid self, and I almost ran straight into a wall. Thankfully, I looked up before my ultimate high school demise set upon me. Had I run into that wall, I would have forever been known as Wall –Mart, I just know it. I had heard horror stories of upperclassmen naming freshmen Locker Face, Trash Can Allie, and Gum Shoe (not in the detective way). The seniors didn’t particularly care how smart they sounded when making up a nickname, that was for sure.

Fortunately, just after my almost run-in with the wall, I spotted Christina. I hurriedly ran over to her, hoping our lockers were next to each other.

“Christina, just wait until I tell you what almost happ- oof!!” I shouted as I fell to the floor. I felt as if I were falling in slow motion. My books went flying up in the air, fanning their pages as they tumbled. My hands jutted back behind me, as if they were hoping to be able to catch myself as I fell. I landed on the ground with a decent sounding thud, my head slamming onto the ugly brown vinyl flooring behind me.

“ooowwwwwww” I whined, running my hand through my now tangled blonde curls to see for any blood or bumps on my skull. The pounding in my head started instantly, and I knew it was going to be a killer headache for the rest of the day. Great, just what I needed on the first day: a headache and everyone staring at me. Who knocked me down? I thought as I proceeded to roll my eyes towards the ceiling to catch a glimpse at the perpetrator. Finally focusing on a face, I gasped. Not like an “I'm scared” gasp, but definitely more of an “OMG OMG OMG hes gooooooorgeous” kind of gasp.


The perp? A boy, I mean a man, of god like quality. He was tall, had dirty blonde hair of the shaggy, Zac Efron variety, and muscles that shined in the hallway lights. There also seemed to be a halo around his gorgeous head, but I could have been imaging that. Or maybe it was from the thumping in my head. Either way, this man was perfect. Even more perfect after he did the unthinkable.

He. Extended. His. Hand. TO ME! Here he was, Mr. Adorable, trying to help me up after our vicious first meeting. As to not look a fool, I accepted the gesture and rose to my flowered Doc Marten clad feet
.

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry I crashed into you; I wasn’t watching where I was going. Let me see your head, I hope it’s not bleeding or badly bruised.” Not that I heard any of that, really. All I saw was the perfect , kissable lips moving over the perfect, straight, white teeth. Did I mention this boy was perfect? Well, he was. Is. Always will be. And before I knew it, his hands were running through my hair, checking my scalp for deformities. His hands were on my head. He was not running away laughing at the stupid freshman that fell. He was not kicking my books all the way down E hall as I ran after them.

I knew right then and there, I was going to marry this man. And I didn’t even know his name.


Please, post your feedback in the comments! 

An introduction

The story:
Teen drama.
Untitled.
Broken into 3 parts, so far: freshman year, boy trouble. junior year, friends trouble. senior year, family trouble.
To stay as one story or three different ones?
I lack motivation.
Started story in November. Still not finished.
At 87 pages, 47,512 words. Or so Microsoft Word tells me.

Outline:
Part 1- Fifteen
freshman girl meets junior boy. too good to be true? always is.

Part 2- seventeen
junior girl falls for best friend. do they live happily ever after or fall apart?

Part 3- eighteen
senior girl alienated from two best friends. does their friendship survive amid her big family crisis?

characters:
Taylor, girl. clumsy, witty, blonde but enlightened. used to be sure of who she was, but high school changes everything.

Christina, girl. Best friend forever. Street smart. Blunt. would do anything for her best friends, but might cross the line.

Nolan, boy. Best friend to Taylor. Loyal. Knows everything about her and vice versa. Wants to fit in the right crowd but stay true to his real friends. Jumps from girl to girl, which is not his style. His heart is true, but his head leads astray at times.

Abigail, girl. New high school friend. Brainiac in books, not boys. Fashionably challenged, but Christina comes to the rescue. Blossoms in high school. Is the 4th wheel soemtimes in the Taylor, Nolan, christina bff's syndrome.

Noah, boy. Uber cute. QB of football team. Dreamy. Taylors boyfriend in part 1. Perfect, or so it seems. No one is perfect in high school.

Taylors Mom. Loving. Accepting. Daring. Mother in spirit to Christina and Nolan, as they are always at the house. Understanding.