QUICK A/N I PROMISE. Yo. So I've been suffering from writer's block. It's been really annoying. I think my issue is that nothing I write ever goes anywhere. I write it, I save it to my google doc… Fin. I'm hoping that maybe if I post some of my work, getting some feedback (reviews, please) will help me overcome my linguistic dysfunction. Soooooo… I've decided to just start posting whatever is in my docs thats relatively publishable. Whats written of this story fit the bill.
That being said, I have a disclaimer to make. No, not the disclaimer, a disclaimer.
I was trying out a different writing style when writing the first few chapters of this story and, well, I don't think it was really working for me. Which is why around chapter 4 you see a huge style shift. I know the first few chapters read kinda awkward, and that's my bad. But I'm not really sure how to fix it, which is why I'm looking for feedback here! Anything you have to say is welcome (just don't drag me too much.) Luckily, the first few chapters with the weird writing style are really short.
Good luck getting through the first few chapters (though they're only about 300 words)... after that the story picks up. Thanks!
Riley sat at her usual lunch table with all of her friends. They were quite the assemblage.
Lucas was her boyfriend and had been for a year.
Maya was her best friend, whom she loved more than life.
Zay was Lucas's best friend.
Farkle was her Canada, her greatest ally.
And Smackle, was Smackle.
Riley was proud to say that Smackle got more and more relaxed with their group as time went on. Farkle and Smackle were in love, and it was a unique kind of love that warmed all of their hearts.
Lunch was a stressful time for Riley. That is, ever since her habits began.
She used to love lunchtime. She got to sit with her friends, enjoy talking to each other, and take a break from the struggles of high school classes.
But now, food was the Devil, eating was a sin, and Riley wanted to make it through the gates of Heaven.
A thin, controlled Heaven.
She tried to get out of lunch as often as she could.
"I have to make up a test I missed."
"I have to finish an assignment in the library."
"I have to work on my art project."
If there was an excuse, she had made it.
Riley was smart, much smarter than anyone cared to give her credit for. She knew how to conceal her problems. She knew how to profit from her friends and family's idea of who she was.
She was Smiley Riley. She had to be protected, she didn't know of the world and it's evils.
Ironically, Riley knew that she surely was naive. But not as much as her friends and family presumed she was.
Nonetheless, she played the part of Smiley Riley graciously. Of course, it was to some degree true. She didn't mind exaggerating for their benefit.
No one knew that Riley was no longer the little girl with stars gleaming in her eyes.
Stars die when they run out of hydrogen fuel. Then, they collapse in on themselves.
It was only a matter of time before Riley did the same.