Guess who's back! Now, I know that a lot of you probably don't know me because, well, I've been gone for a while and a lot of y'all are new. So I'd like to start with a formal introduction. My name is Antr (or Antr 2.0, as I am called now) and I used to be a very prominent writer on here. That probably means nothing to you all, but that mean that I have some prior experience in this archive.
So, why come back? Well, I was known as "A Critic" on here for a while because I liked to critique people's stories, and in return they would do the same to me. I like to have people say what I need improvement on or if I'm heading in the right direction. And seeing as how people tend to be more brutally honest on the internet, why NOT come back. So here I am.
So why not kick off the return with this new story entitled Stolen Innocence
Chapter 1: Monday
Autumn leaves flutter about in the air, falling down gracefully to its destination on the ground. Fall was such a beautiful time to witness this aspect; especially in Elmore. Nothing caught the citizen's eyes better than seeing the colors of the trees as they walk down the quiet and peaceful roads of their town. There was nothing else like it. Nothing else that could compare to it. It was its own thing. It had its own personality and character; it had innocence.
Not for much longer.
Down at the school the students were doing their normal thing. Girls doing girl things, guys doing guy things. It was just an all-around dull setting. And it got even duller as you head into the classroom. There was no energy to be found anywhere. People were dead. Stone cold blank as they sat in their seats doing nothing but letting Ms. Simian ramble on about something that was going in one ear and out the other. It was a bleak graveyard with the decks being the open graves and the hunched over students being the tombstones. You could literally see when they checked out plastered on their heads: Tobias, US History; Banana Joe, Geometry; Carrie, Modern Lit.; Teri, Biology (for obvious reasons); and so forth. Zero interest from anybody.
"So class," the ape says in her shrill voice, "can anyone tell me what's coming up in the next couple of days?"
"The weekend?" someone says.
"No."
"An exam."
"No."
"Summer Break!?"
"It's the middle of November!" she screeches out as she rubs her head of the obvious headache she's beginning to get. "
"In 4 days we're having our schools annual Fall Formal Dance."
OH, we all say at the clear answer and begin to express our excitement for the upcoming event. Elmore Jr. High has always had a Fall Formal two weeks after the trees turn brown. Fall had started late this year, so it's been held off for the last two months. For some this was a great thing. The students had ample time to finds dates and prepare themselves for the dance; a time where, if you were lucky, would be a time you wouldn't forget. The others who were indifferent about the formal didn't really care much to have anything to do with it, though that might be because they're the people who don't get dates in the first place. Not that they didn't try or didn't want one. It's just how it turns out. Sometimes you don't get to go with the person you want, or maybe the ones you asked declined. But for whatever reason, some go in pairs and some just go single hoping that once they're there that there'll be one partner of the opposite sex to have some fun with for the remainder of the night before the voting.
You see, the actual dance isn't the part that the students look forward too. It was the voting ceremony at the end that they all stayed to see. You see, every year two students are chosen to be the formals King and Queen of Fall. The pair would be given the spotlight and dance in the middle of the crowd at the end of the dance. After the final song is played the King and Queen kiss for all to see and then are escorted to a limo out front to be whisked away in the night like some fairytale ending. Thus concluding the night with a memory that the Queen cherishes and the King gets to brag about once they come back. When they do differs between one to three days, depending on how long the town allows them to be off of school. What they do during that time is anyone's guess.
The class continues to talk about the event of the season until the bell rings. Everyone pushes each other to get out of the door first and enjoy the sweet taste of freedom. In the halls you hear the kids beginning to ask each other out, possibly to ensure they have a date set in stone for Friday. You have your obvious couples like Carmen and Alan, and Tina and Hector. Then you have your odd pairs like Tobias and Masami, Bobert and Teri, Sarah and Banana Joe, and so forth. Lastly, you have your couples who everyone knows likes each other, but haven't tried to ask each other out yet. That's where I land. I guess you could say that I was still a bit nervous. I mean, Penny was my girlfriend and we've already been on scheduled dates before this, but I have never officially ask her to go out anywhere with me. It was a millstone that I had skipped and I am now paying for it by not being able to be straight forward with her and just asking.
I wasn't the only one. Darwin hadn't made his move on anyone yet either, though for a different reason. He had to choose between two: Carrie or Rachel. They were...interesting choices. Not my type, personally, but I can see the outward attraction. We were walking down the hall when D brings up the whole date thing. It wasn't uncommon for him to ask about this subject, but now he needs help trying to understand it as well.
"Who do you think is a better fit for me?" he asks.
"What do you mean, D?"
"Like, who should I go with? Which of the two gals do you think is a better suit?"
"I don't know?" I reply, hoping that he'll drop the problem. "Neither really have anything that I see as…special."
"What? What do you mean there's nothing special about them? Rachel is so cool and mature. And Carrie is so cute, in a mysterious-emo way. They're nothing but special; what are you talking about?" He looks up and sees that I wasn't paying attention. Something had caught my eye at the other end of the hall. A certain floating angel with an unmistakable smile and a voice that sounds like a heavenly hymn had captured the attention of my wandering eyes. She looked so elegant, even if she looked like a hovering rainbow dot in the distance. I wish I could just go up to her and be like 'Penny Fitzgerald, love of my life, light of my day, apple of my eye, would you make me the happiest feline in the world and allow me escort you to The Fall Formal.' If only it were that easy. She glance over at me and gives a little wave. In a shocked response I do the same and she walks off with her girl friends off to cheerleading.
I let loose a big huff of air before turning around to the exit doors, forgetting that D had been beside me. I get to the door before turning around and looking back at nature's beauty. "If only it were that easy." I say under my breath before I leave the school with D running up from behind to catch up to me.
Well, that's chapter one. Hope it was to your liking. Comment and express your opinion. I Hope to have chapter to up some time later in the week. Until then, peace out. (0_0)