An Hero Exercise.

Rrring.

Rrrring.

Sarah clutched the phone in her hand and sat up, staring at Joel's picture on the vibrant little screen.

Rrrrrring.

He was wearing a bright pink safety vest and posing with a cardboard cutout of a cop.

Rrrrrrrring.

She didn't want to answer. She didn't feel like she could endure it. But she knew she needed to hear his voice. Without that, nothing would get better.

Rrrrrrrrrring.

Joel's breath quickened and his head throbbed. Each moment became heavier and heavier. With each moment, every somber, static ring on his end of the phone grew longer and louder. He waited. He couldn't let his mind produce thoughts. He just waited.

"Hey..." Sarah's voice was muffled. Had he not known any better, Joel would have assumed the sniffling and the rustling of bedsheets on Sarah's end were just static. As tears broke to the surface of his rich, hazel eyes, he wished he could assume it was static.

"Why weren't you at school today?"

"..You didn't have to call. I'm fine."

"Yeah but, why were you gone?"

"I'm usually gone now. You know that." Sarah faked a light-hearted laugh.

"...Can you just tell me why?"

Sarah broke out in tears again. He could hear her pushing the phone under her pillow and burying her face in the warmth of her crisp red bedsheets. Her cries grew muffled and even more distant. Joel knew a lot about Sarah. He knew more than he had ever wanted to know. He knew she had been lying in her bed and sobbing for most of the day. He knew that Sarah wouldn't have let him ear her cry if she could have helped it. And he also knew that Sarah had probably hurt herself again, and that it was probably getting worse. He let Sarah sob into her pillow for a while. There wasn't anything else for him to do. But he was there.

Sarah gritted her teeth. Stop crying. Please stop crying. She tried desperately to stamp down all of her tears and terrible thoughts. She knew Joel could hear her. She knew he wouldn't hang up, no matter how much it hurt him. She knew that he had probably gone into his room immediately and buried his face into his old orange bedsheets, and she knew that now he was waiting to hear her speak again. She also knew that she wasn't ready to ask for his help, so she stalled. She kept telling herself to be quieter, to stop hurting.

"Did you ask Sam about Precalc?" Sarah produced at last, sniffling and sobbing the whole way through.

"Yeah, he said they'd let me drop it. I just have to have Karlbiner write a thing about it.." Joel knew he was being distant. He didn't want to talk about math classes or school or other friends. Sarah was hurting, and he didn't know how to help. The essence of rosemary and grilled chicken drifted up from the kitchen and found its way into this nostrils. His stomach churned, and he wished he could vomit. He didn't want to go downstairs and live his happy life. He didn't want to eat dinner with his brothers and tell his parents about school. He wanted to stay right where he was, nestled in his worn old sheets, listening to his best friend sobbing and trying to breathe for the rest of eternity.

"You're smart. I should've dropped it. Mr. V was right in not recommending it for me." Sarah successfully averted her attention to math for a while. She remembered screaming into her pillow and throwing her phone to the ground when her esoteric, sweater-vested Trig teacher had calmly denied her request for a Precalculus recommendation. Instead, he recommended she enroll in Jr. Review, a remedial course for only the most dim-minded of North High.

"Dude, Mr. V is not the authority on math abilities. He has no sen-"

"Yeah but, come on, I've failed all three of his tests so far. He must've had a point."

"He couldn't have seen that this would happen. You'll do fine, you're fucking smart."

"Not psychopharmacological engineering smart."

"...Yeah y'are."

Sarah smiled slightly and warm, heavy tears rolled down her cheeks again.

"I overslept. I don't know what happened."

Joel stayed as quiet as possible. He tried not to breathe as he listened to the gentle hum of the static.

Sarah's breathing grew heavier as she restrained herself. She couldn't start sobbing again. She just had to do this.

Failure ("Explosion" from Making Shapely Fiction)

Justin shivered in his bed, staring off at some point in the distance. She should have known. A breeze swept into his room and wrapped its icy fingers around his neck, shaking him and choking him. She should have known.

He's gone. He's really gone. Cara's breaths quickened. Her eyes widened. She stared at the mirror and fear crept into her throat and filled every crevice of her organs. She missed him. She loved him. She wanted her life back.

"I don't care if you have somewhere to go! I need the car!" Justin stared daggers into his mother's calm, forgiving eyes. I wonder how long this will last, she thought, prepared to play the game she had always played with her little boy.

"This is it, then. We're done?" Asked Cara, a snide smile hiding in her face. Justin's eyes welled with tears. Temper tantrums were always his specialty. He could cry for hours and hours as a child, and even if he got what he wanted, he might not stop. Cara left before Justin had the chance to begin his melodramatic, sob-filled tantrum.

Justin stood outside the art museum wringing his hands and, with tears in his eyes, searched desperately for a familiar face somewhere. She was never there on time. He was always the last one there after class. She doesn't love me. She never loved me.

"Justin, this is too much for me. I can't always listen to you cry like this. I need there to be happiness in this too. I need to feel like I'm not always taking care of you."

"No! I don't wanna go! No! No!" Justin hated doctors. He hated being pushed around. He just wanted the freedom of choice. He wanted to feel like he could do this on his own. He wanted to feel loved enough to be given those choices.

The Tide (just for fun)

Cecilia stood at the edge of San Francisco's foamy ocean waves. Her soft, peach-colored lips parted slightly as she closed her eyes, drew forth her delicately freckled hands, and absorbed the cold, clean, salty air. California's burning orange sun grew heavy with sleeplessness and fell slowly from the sky, leaving broad, pink ribbons in its wake. Its lingering rays grasped her hair as it fluttered through the wind, kissing its metallic golden hues. Her thoughts ebbed and flowed with the motion of the water, and she felt whole. Here, everything was sacred. Life took hold of meaning. Existence was beautiful.

She tried to remember a time in the past during which everything had so much weight. Everything was so vague and lost lately. Nothing was substantial. Cecilia's glistening brown eyes snapped open to their own accord. She stared out at the sunset. Perched at the very edge of the water, she saw nothing but ocean from all angles of vision. There are too many tests, she thought. Indeed, there were too many ways in which the universe allowed itself to determine the meaning of her life. The water responded to the sun's glorious submission and buried her pudgy little toes deeper into the sand with each of its broadening waves.

Lately, the tests had become the only way to prove her life was worth living. Her ability, or lack thereof, to find the limits of a function's graph determined her place in the world. The extent of her love for Amelia determined her future happiness. Her level of commitment to whole foods and jogging determined the timeline of her existence. Her toes sank deeper and deeper into the sticky, viscous sand. The waves slowly climbed up her calves, engulfing her weightless linen pants. She closed her eyes once more and drew in a deeper breath. The denim fabric of her jacket wavered in the breeze and flew open with the insistent crash of each wave. Enraptured with her own thoughts, it seemed as though the universe, in all its intricate workings, had written out the course of life at conception, and once borne into it, one was not allowed an escape from the plan. The tests only revealed the workings of the universe.

"Fucking existence..." she muttered aloud, as seagulls sounded their harmonious mess call and took up the laborious task of dropping unsuspecting clams onto looming black cliffs and rocks from high above. She wondered if it was all worth it. She wondered how the universe could be so predictable; how so many people could live with the knowledge that their lives were already decided for them.

The waves buried her thighs momentarily as she remembered that she did not believe in destiny. Destiny is an archaic design of the Church, she reminded herself. It was an emboldening thought, but it lacked substance. Her only evidence of the world's workings was that she was perpetually being tested, and she had grown weary from it. She couldn't escape it. It was all too much. My only option is to wait it out and watch the tests, she had thought on so many occasions previous to that evening. Tonight, that was not sufficient. Tonight, watching the sun set over the unchanging ocean horizon, she had to know that life had more meaning.

Cecilia stared down at her legs. Her pants were floating in the water high above her calves as the sea embraced her and pulled her farther under. The water beckoned to her. It felt limitless and weightless against her skin. She felt so at home in the ocean's grasp. A clam shell drifted past her ankle, brushing gently against her with its mossy exterior. A thin smile graced her freckled face. There's just so much more beauty in simplicity. If there was a way to escape the inescapable workings of society, Cecilia would have jumped at the opportunity. This is the only way, she thought, as she watched waves pulse against her midsection and move up her spine as they continued in their brilliantly impending path. Flecks of water splashed against her cheeks. She closed her eyes once more. Here, at least, she was at home.

Chai Tea ("Character On A Mission" Exercise)

It was cold outside. Snow began to condense atop the cracked brown grass of Wisconson's dairy pastures. Kathy smiled over at the site of it. Her fingers warmed at the thought of childhood memories while she sped east down the dusty gravel road.

Watching snow fall gently onto her windshield, Kathy was eventually seized with an intense desire for a warm, creamy, spicy drink. A chai tea latte would be so perfect right now. She looked at the clock on her dashboard. 12:17. I still have some time! Caron said there'd be a nice little coffee shop just outside Madison. I think I'll try and find it.

A half-hour had passed. After a frenzied search along the gravel roads of the countryside, Kathy finally found the little nook Caron had spoken of. A weathered whitewashed sign outside read Coffee & Pastries. She could smell the sweet, spicy aroma of her beloved tea as she shakily arose from the driver's seat of her car. Her mouth was salivating at the thought of the drink, making her thin red lips glossy and her bright green eyes rabid.

Like a zombie, she wearily approached the counter of the little shop. "Hi! It's chilly, isn't it? I think I'll take a medium soy chai." She said, feigning perkiness.

The teenager behind the register looked at Kathy with a crinkled expression of disapproval. "Yeah, we don't have chai tea. Or soymilk. Sorry."

Kathy blushed and lowered her eyes to the counter. She fidgeted with her purse for a moment, embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "Okay..thanks. I'll go somewhere else."

Back in the chilly leather interior of Kathy's Sudan, her desire for chai grew more intense. She waited in the car for a moment, deep in thought. She considered walking back into that place and asking where the nearest Starbucks was. The thought was choking. The stare of the hopelessly acne-ridden kid burned into her mind, hanging over her as she started up her car and went off on another search. 1:02...Caron won't mind if I'm a little late...

The Scholar (Snapshot, from Making Shapely Fiction)

Kayleigh was on the verge of tears as she paged through her Kaplan books for the third time that day. She pressed the palms of her hands against her face and breathed deeply for a moment. Her hands felt worn against her smooth, pale skin. She was horrified. There was no way to get out of this; everything depended upon it. The words stared back at her mercilessly. Tears were forming in the recesses of her sinuses. She really didn't care about the slope-intercept form of an equation, or the meaning of the word "quizzical". But she sighed and got back to work. Her sister Marla was counting on this. Now that she had paid for all of her testing materials and workbooks, Kayleigh couldn't let her down.

Two years later, in a small, cluttered apartment, Kayleigh pored over her Calculus II textbook with a similar expression of fear and hopelessness. The class had seemed so important in September. Now, it was a barrier. Now, she started to feel fragile, like she could break at any moment. She wrestled with the four-inch-thick text, searching for a nonexistent meaning. Then, the memory of the disappointment and melancholy in Marla's face drifted into her consciousness. She couldn't stand to see that expression once more. The way Marla looked after she had announced her SAT scores was the only thing keeping her up late into the night.

On graduation day, she stood slumped over, a shell of her old self, unable to comprehend the weight of her accomplishment. Marla was in the audience, smiling up at her with wide eyes, cheering her on. Kayleigh felt herself drifting farther and farther away from the world as she watched herself grab her stage diploma and float across the platform with a blank, lifeless expression.

Marla approached her afterwards, with Kayleigh still dressed in her cap-and-gown. "I'm so proud of you. I'm so happy you made it this far." Kayleigh looked at her with an almost-empty expression as weightless tears welled up in her pale blue eyes. What do I do now? She thought to herself, unable to produce any words from her trembling lips.

Third-Level Dialogue

"Hey, what do you think that is, buddy?" asked Brian, signaling to the large gray clouds which began condensing in the east.

"Looks like rain, maybe. Is a little water gonna kill you, Brian?" asked Adam.

"Could. What if it does?"

"Then you'll melt like the Wicked Witch of the West and we'll all rejoice in freedom."

"Man, I can't remember...whose idea was this to go walking through the cornfields? Who decided it couldn't wait another moment?"

"Yeah, I dunno man. Because he definitely should've known that the summer sky would turn gray in a matter of minutes. We should probably turn back, huh? Man, it sucks we'll be walking towards the rain. Who's the sad bastard here who chose the wrong direction?"

As quickly as the clouds had condensed, water burst forth from them and poured down on the pair. "Oh awesome! Looks like it's clearing up already! Aren't you glad we went on this walk?!"

"Yeah, man! Truly liberating experience. Wanna run home to mommy or do you want to wait till it passes and stop being a dick?"

"Oooh I dunno. Hanging out in this seems enticing, but man..."

Autumn's Wind (Visitation, from Making Shapely Fiction)

Her silky black hair blew wildly in autumn's wind as she paced through the frigid rain. Her eyes burned against the cold, crisp morning, but she pressed forth while the glassy, looming office building stretched farther and farther from her grasp with each step and each freezing burst of wind. The city was still sleeping. She was alone on the ancient pavement, determined to make it to work an hour early as usual. Her pressed business suit and designer pea coat fluttered in the wind and the darkness of early morning.

"HEY. It's cold, don't you want a ride?"

Startled, Amy whirled around in a panic, her eyes staring daggers, only to find Paul's charming face gleaming back at her. Oh god. Not now. Not today. I have a presentation in two hours. If only he knew. "Jesus! Don't scare me like that. No, it's only another block or two. Thanks though."

"Well I'm not gonna let you walk through this. It's goddamn freezing."

She started out again without another word, the heels of her delicate brown boots tapping at the sidewalk with more persistence than before. Paul's car followed her, slowly puffing along through the cold, leaving a trail of fluffy grayish clouds in his wake. Why in God's name does he have to do this to me? Amy felt a lump forming in her throat and moving up towards her face. As she wondered how much farther the building really was, she became more painfully aware of the daringly short length of her skirt that morning.

After a good number of quickening footsteps, Paul spoke again. "I don't know what's wrong with you. It's fucking cold. If this has something to do with your birthday, you've gotta get over that. Why don't you just get in the car?"

Why won't you just leave me alone? "Really, I'm fine. It's nice of you to offer, but don't worry about it." Dusty brown leaves crunched beneath Amy's leather boots.

An awkward pause ensued as Amy looked off into the distance, wondering if Paul could see the tears welling up in her eyes, hoping he couldn't see her fingers trembling as they clutched her briefcase tighter and tighter. She knew there were volumes of things she had kept deep inside her for too long. She knew she had to speak to Paul at some point, if for no other reason than to tell him how much she loathed him. But it was so hard. It was so hard to think of him, to look at him, after what he did to her. After what he subjected her to.

Paul's minty breath floated in puffy white clouds down Amy's spine. "I didn't want that to happen to you. They weren't my friends... God, I didn't bring you to Jimmy's that ni-"

Tears streamed down her face as she turned to face Paul. "Goddamnit, can't you just shut up? I can't take this anymore. I can't have you following me to work. I can't, I just can't do this. I don't want to see you anymore. I don't want to be around you. Why don't you get that? I can't even-"

"But it wasn't my fault! Jesus, I love you sweetie. Why would I do that to you?"

"Oh don't give me that bullshit right now. ...You..knew..they were...waiting there for me. You goddamn knew it!" Amy's chest heaved as she spoke through rivers of tears and broke out in sobs.

"Even if I did - and I didn't - does it really matter right now? It's cold. You're walking. You need a ride." Paul was still smiling out at Amy with his charming brown eyes and tousled blonde hair, pretending nothing was the matter; that the love of his life wasn't sobbing in front of him at that very moment; that everything would work out between them, even after she rejected his phone calls for months on end; that the horrible events of Amy's 27th birthday couldn't really change things between them.

"That night was awful! You're...such...a jerk" She said between sniffs and sobs, her cheeks burning red. "You..used me..."

The bells atop a mossy green cathedral chimed 7am somewhere off in the distance. Amy knew she was late, but she stood frozen on the pavement, bursting with tears as the wind whipped her white-hot cheeks and tore away at her coat.

"Baby, shh..it's gonna be okay. Shhh..don't say that. Look, you have some time before work. Let's warm up and get some coffee. Does that sound-"

"I want you gone. I want you out of my life. I don't want to see your tacky hairdo, or your faked smile, or your crappy, beat-up car, or your J-Crew sweaters. Never again." She spoke at a barely audible pace as she moved closer, her tears dripping down onto the rusted white paint of Paul's old Geo.

Paul stared at her with shining eyes, admiring her for her watery blue eyes and her wind-worn hair. She was beautiful to him. He could never see her as anything else. No longer watching the road, he leaned closer and closer to her, admiring the warmth of her pale body as his face nearly nestled into her rough, worn coat.

Fully aware of Paul's obliviousness, Amy leaned down. "Do you hear me? Don't you get it?! You hurt me! I hate-!"

Seizing the opportunity of Amy's face so close to his, he stole a final kiss from her, reaching out to firmly clutch her angled hips and pull her tightly against the car door. He could feel her writhing against his grasp, but he couldn't release her. Entirely oblivious to the livening setting around him, he turned in his seat to face his Amy more closely, unbuckling as he did so.

Paul felt Amy scream into his lungs as he ruthlessly dug his tongue into her mouth. He felt her hands grasping the window and pushing against the car. Had he opened his eyes for even a moment, he would have understood this. He pulled her closer, sucking her face into the window just as he felt her freeing from his grasp. Feeling his impassioned kiss come to a close, he stopped for a moment, holding her there as he gazed up into Amy's terrified expression. Vexation overcame him and, out of frustration, he turned to face forward.

The clouds had just begun to turn a pale pink as the sun's rays penetrated through clouds and fell against the tall buildings surrounding them. A scream sounded through the crisp morning air. A large, sinister SUV collided with the unhappy couple.

It was Paul's scream. Amy was already too far gone. Her neck collided with the edge of Paul's window on impact and her body dragged across the sidewalk for a distance before the disks in her spine slipped and snapped her weakened body into a million little pieces, rendering her lifeless. Paul, at least, had a moment left in which to scream before he dissolved into oblivion.

(Wow. I think I might actually hate this story. If only it was good enough to even be considered for massive editing...)