*-Update-*

As promised I posted more info about our two main character choices.  The two chapters come from their past and dive a little more into who they were at the age of sixteen.  Each post is part of a bigger excerpt.  I will post more soon, so keep the votes coming.  (To vote, chose your preferred character on the right and click vote.)

Verbena (First Day of High School)

I felt like I was suffocating the first day of high school.  Everyone already knew who I was.  That's what happens when you move to a small town.

I could never get over the fact that we moved because of my academic goals.  The Thomas school of Art offered me a scholarship for outstanding artistic ability.  We moved to Kent Township the summer of my orientation.  But I never made it there.  I couldn't muster the courage to go after his death, so instead I went to the Howard Casey Charter High School for the Arts.

The first day of classes, I chose a seat in the back of homeroom.  I took out my notebook and sketched caricatures of the teacher and a few of the students at the front of the room.  The morning announcements were broadcasting, but I was in my own little world.  A world that came crashing down when the guy sitting next to me waved to get my attention.

"That's an awesome drawing.  I don't think I've seen you in town before.  My name is Trent," he said quietly so no one else could hear.

He looked nice enough with brown hair that hung down over his glasses a little.  He was flashing me a friendly grin that almost made me feel like he was safe enough to get to know.  Instead I turned back to my sketch and said, "nice to meet you."

My body was on auto pilot.  If I never let anyone in, I would always be safe.

Trent didn't speak to me much for the rest of the year.

Sage Wisdom (The Night of The Party)

I remember exactly how I was feeling that night.  A little nervous, excited and ready to face whatever came my way.  I would be sixteen soon and my best friends Anna and Casey decided I hadn't lived enough. So, they insisted on taking me to a college party in Amber Bay.

The morning of the party started with them dragging me out of bed at nine in the morning to go to the mall for proper attire and makeup.  After we cleaned May's Department store dry, we went to Sally's for hair accessories.  Casey picked up a box of blonde hair dye and looked over at me mischievously.  I should have known then that I was in trouble.

As I sat in a chair in Anna's bathroom, I thought about how my mom would react to my new look.  The bleach smell in the air was repulsive and I couldn't help but feel I was doing irreparable damage to my hair.

In the midst of my thoughts, Casey came back into the bathroom with latex gloves and lifted a section of my hair to check for progress.  Without saying a word, she leaned me over the bath tub, took down the shower head and gently rinsed my hair.  After she was done, she took a towel and blotted my hair until it was damp.  I looked in the mirror and was shocked to find a different girl staring back at me.  My hair was almost completely white.  Anna rushed back into the bathroom to see what was taking us so long and suddenly bent over in a fit of giggles.

"You look amazing like that," she gushed.  "Not that you weren't gorgeous before."

I shot her a glare and continued to analyze my new look in the mirror.  My hazel eyes made me appear otherworldly, like a wild animal.

"Do your worst," I said to Casey and Anna and they consequentially began working on my hair and makeup.

More about Evolving Stories

The two following introductions are possible excerpts for my next writing project.  As time goes by I will be adding more chapters to whichever character's story wins the most votes.  Every chapter will have some aspect that involves input from the readers.  That way everything stays fresh and unpredictable.

If one of the intros catches your attention, cast your vote by choosing your favorite character in the poll to the right.  I will continue to add info about the characters until the polls have closed.

Verbena Delamore (The Garden)

It's crazy how everything can change in an instant.  The first few months after my dad died, Vincent still had school, so it was easy to avoid him.  But after his graduation, it became nearly impossible not to stare into the same exact eyes as my deceased father.  Vincent was often called our dad's twin son.  It wasn't Vincent's fault, but it still didn't make things any easier.

The months flew by at the Howard Casey Charter School for the Arts.  I always came home right after school.  It was hard to make friends.  No one ever knew what to say, so I listened to the same song on repeat.  Save The World by Swedish House Mafia.  Vincent faced the odds and grew up before my sad eyes.  I watched him stress over finances and food, but he was too prideful to accept any help from me, insisting that I focus on school.  But the house would save all of our problems.

I remember hating that house at first. I saw it as the evil villain that swallowed my dad alive.  I often had nightmares about being its next victim, but there in the back yard waiting as if for the right set of hands, sat a garden.  It was small by anyone’s judgment, but its fruit gave us sustenance and more importantly it gave us hope...

To cast your vote, choose Verbena Delamore on the poll to the right. The votes will be tallied in two weeks (01/17/14).

Sage Wisdom (My Professor)

It was another time back then when everything was still new and exciting.  I walked through the doors of the Subton Whitmore University student union without much in mind.  The interior looked desolate and decaying.  The funny thing was that orientation was mandatory.  Seemed like everyone decided to skip it.

I continued to walk around for a while.  There were different tables and classrooms set up to showcase the semester’s extracurricular activities.  I’m not even quite sure why I was aimlessly perusing, but it brought me to her.  I walked into her classroom and was immobilized instantly.  She wore a maroon sweater and a short black skirt.  Her legs looked smooth and clean-shaven from my position at the back of the classroom.  She was busy conversing with someone, so I thought it was okay to get a good look at her face.  Her lips looked soft, pouty and lusciously pink.  She didn’t fit the profile of any professor I had ever seen, but she was very much my professor.

I was seeing everything in slow motion.  Me And You by Nero was playing in the background and I was frozen, feeling like a hawk staring down its prey.  The music suddenly got louder and she turned in such a way that I could not be missed.  Her conversational companion looked startled and turned to see the interruption.  But I was gone.  It happened in seconds and my body seemed to act of its own accord.  I never  got to see what happened after that.  All I could do was speculate about what was to come...

To cast your vote, choose Sage Wisdom in the poll to the right. The votes will be tallied in two weeks (01/17/14).

Photo Credit: girlsonlinegames.org