"toasted skin" the academy is...

hi

just made it to chapter three. introduced mr. spinella to the mix. sneak peak? sure. why not?

setting: homeroom (ch. 2)
last place you look

Cass comes into homeroom plopping down next to me. She sips her Carol’s Coffee-shop to-go cup. I look up from my book looking over at her. “What happened to the no more coffee vow?” I ask.

She sighs. “It’s free,” She says staring at it sitting in the middle of her desk. “I can’t pass it up.”

“You should have taken the job at that store in the mall.” I say shutting my book. “A coffee addiction before college doesn’t sound like a good idea.” She went job-hunting over the summer. She applied everywhere. And she got a job at Carol’s Coffee-shop, a clothes store in the mall, and a job at the Gap that opened up in the beginning of August. But she picked Carol’s because they had an incentive: Free coffee.

She works on weekends, after school and sometimes before school like today. But the free coffee is her reason. Miles is trying to get her on tea to kick this habit in the bud but so far he’s unsuccessful.

She picks it up taking a sip. I open my book again reading. She looks over at me. “Well,” She sighs. “This kid Robbie quit yesterday. So we’re currently understaffed and this girl I know is getting killed by it. She has nobody to do her morning shifts with and half of her shifts altogether.”

“I think you’ve mentioned this before…” I say not letting my eyes leave the page.

“I did?” She says. “Huh…”

“And I think I’ve mentioned this before too,” I look at her. “I can’t get a job.”

She rolls her eyes. “Elisa,” She says. “Come on, who cares what Nancy says. She’s never around anyways she’d never know about it.”

“No,” I repeat again. “I can’t.”

“Why again?” Cass says picking up her coffee and sipping it.

I close my book holding my place with my thumb. I tug my hair. “She doesn’t think I need a job.” I say. “She says she can give me money when I need it.”

“That’s not good enough a reason.” Cass says. “Wait until you’re older and a sixteen-year-old has more work experience than you. That’s going to be sad, Miss Unemployed.”

I tug my hair again. I’m turning seventeen in January. I would like a job it’s just my mother won’t let me get one. She says I need to focus on school. I guess I do. But I get good grades without trying anyways. And I’m already set for college. But I just shrugged looking back at my book. Trying to focus, but Cass took a swig of her coffee.

“Wait until you’re twenty-one and finally admit you have a caffeine problem.” I widened my eyes at the cup in her hand waiting for another sip. “Then you’ll be sorry. Why don’t you try tea?”

She glared at me. “What is this? An intervention,” She threw her hand up. “Miles and now you? I hate tea.” I shrugged one shoulder looking back at the words on the page. I started getting busy reading again.

i think this rewrite is going to be my best. each chapter is between 4000-3000 words maybe longer. i think the first is over 5000 and that's pretty exciting. longest i've ever written. maybe after chapter 23 in the original.

i love writing:
1. chapter 23 of "last place"
2. the night rainie meets paul
3. rainie and paul's first kiss
4. sunday drive concert march 19

those are probably my all time favorite chapters ever. but anyways...

i gotta write

jaseyray