Jules - Yellow

Prompt: Yellow 

Musical inspiration: Robin the Rain by Raffi

Jareb Wiseman was going his normal farm chores on afternoon in April/May, specifically mucking out Chayton’s stall, when he heard the splish, splash, splosh of little feet running past the barn doors, through the puddles that gathered below the eaves.  It didn’t register, at first, that anything was out of ordinary.  Then he realized there shouldn’t be puddles … and his niece should be asleep.  Parking the shovel on the nearest vertical surface, he hurried to the door.  Somehow he had missed that a sunshower had started, the sunlight sparkling through a shimmering, crystal curtain of rain.  And there in the garden was his Juliet.

     She was clad in a bright yellow hat, what had formerly been a bright yellow slicker but was now covered in mud, except for the front, and, rather unseasonably for Montana, a pair of jean shorts.  Her bare feet splashed through the mud as she moved about between the garden, front yard, and barn yard.  She would stand still for several long moments up on her tip toes, then drop down and bob with her elbows out, squatting slightly.  Once this ritual was complete she would scurry, scurry, scurry to another location, her feet a blur until she suddenly STOPPED dead in her tracks, rising up to her tiptoes again and surveying her surroundings.  Every once in a while something on the ground would catch her eye as she was bob, bob, bobbing and she would bend fully to snatch it up, examine the muddy object, and shove it in the pocket of her rain slicker.  After the fourth or fifth time Jareb saw her pick something up his curiosity won out.  The rain had abated as he made his way across the yard, avoiding the worst of the mud puddles.

     “Jujuberry!” he called.  The little girl started, nearly dropping whatever was on the way to her pocket.  She looked slightly guilty, rain having turned her hair to ropes around her pale face, exaggerating her big, startling blue eyes.

    “Hello Uncle Jareb,” she said softly, muddy hands disappearing behind her back and muddy toes digging into their place.

    “What are you doing?” he asked, trying to put enough curiosity in his voice to draw her out, keeping out was much judgemental concern as possible.  “Was that a rain dance?”

    “No!” the girl gasped, appalled that her uncle could not identify her inspiration.  “I’m pretending to be a robin, silly!”

    “Oh!” was the only reply that immediately came to mind.  “That’s why you were scurrying and bobbing?”

    “And stretching up to look for cats, just like Mr. Robin-in-the-Rain,” she demonstrated.  “And I put mud on my coat so I would look like one.  I couldn’t find anything red for the front so I decided I was just a pretty lady robin all dressed up.”

    “I see,” her uncle said mock gravely, getting in the spirit as he nodded.  “And what have you been putting in your pocket, my little robin yellow-feather?”

    The guilty look came back and she glanced at the ground, rather embarrassed.  She had meant to put them back before she was caught. Oh well, maybe her uncle wouldn’t laugh.  With a long-suffering sigh she reached a grubby hand in and withdrew a writhing handful.

    Jubal couldn’t help it, he gave a bark of laughter at the sight of the worms and his niece’s guilty face, then gently kissed her mud speckled cheek to soothe any ruffled feathers.  “You may be a robin my dear, but I hope you weren’t planning on serving those for lunch.  I don’t think there are enough and I am still a human, you know.”

    Jules giggled.  He had laughed at her but he was so silly, what a thought!  “No!  I was going to put them in the garden for the plants and birds.  I don’t want to eat them!”

    “Oh thank goodness,” Jared sighed in exaggerated relief, wiping his brow.  “Why don’t you put your friends in their new home while I finish in the barn.  You can give Chay a carrot then take a bath to wash those muddy robin feet and I’ll make you people food lunch.”

    “Grilled cheese and tomato soup?” Jules asked eagerly.

    “With a surprise for dessert,” Jareb promised.

    Nearly an hour later a freshly clean Juliet sopped up the last of her soup from her Ariel bowl with the crust of her sandwich.  Sighing in contentment she snuggled into her soft robe (her clothes were in the dryer).  She had forgotten her uncle’s promise until a clear plastic cup descended in front of her.  She stared at the brown concoction covered in dark brown crumbles for a moment then squealed in delighted laughter as the bright colored spots made sense.  While she was in the bath her uncle had mixed up chocolate pudding and Oreos and put gummy worms in it!  She had muddy worms she could eat!  What a happy robin she was.


     AN:  You all haven't met Jules yet but she's my NaNo13 main character.  I'll be posting more about her soon.  Also, this is not the best intro or conclusion I've ever written but oh well.  I like the middle.  824 words.

My Childhood House

Picture Prompt Day 33 - A picture of the house you grew up in

     From left to right, me waving 'Hi' to the camera, my sister running around, and my mom seven and a half months pregnant with my brother.  The little (currently) unborn stink is the reason we had to move, leaving the only house I had ever lived in, the only school I had gone to my entire life, and almost all of my friends.  I wasn't bitter at all.  Nope.  Not at all.

     Funny fact, after we painted our house yellow with green trim (no, we're not sports/Ducks fans, it looked nice) the same color scheme popped up all over the neighborhood and spread all over the city.  I felt so ahead of the curve.

Me and the Siblings

Picture Prompt Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

      On the left, myself and my sister when we were younger.  I wish it still snowed like it used to.  Those are whole apples as eyes, a carrot for the nose, and pistachios for the mouth.  On the right is myself and my brother, when he was still smaller than I was.  Now he's a behemoth with several inches on me.

My Day + 18 Facts About Me

Picture Prompt Day 25 - A picture of your day

     Today I worked on planning my NaNoWriMo, chatted with a friend I randomly ran into at the library, got the things I needed for dinner, then made dinner (Tuscan Bean and Sausage soup). 

Now I am going to unpack from our trip and clean my room so my sister can share with me while our grandmother is visiting.

1. My favorite song depends on my mood.  I like Mordred’s Lullaby, Come Sail Away, In My Room, I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls, Scarborough Faire, Bring Him Home, Part of Your World, Starry, Starry Night, God Help the Outcast, My Immortal, Solla Sollew, Falcon in the Dive, A Victory Song, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Gunpowder and Lead, Bait a Hook, and Ode to Joy.  (Julie O) 
2. I have never finished writing a long story.
3. One of my favorite things to write with is a Sanford Design Ebony Jet Black Extra Smooth charcoal pencil. 
4. I took art class in middle school and the only thing I really learned well is how to draw eyes.  Once our teacher had us sketch with our eyes closed to practice drawing without looking at the paper and my eye sketch was nearly perfect. 
5. For years I didn’t think I was artistic in the traditional sense because my artwork was not realistic but I have recently realized that cartoon-ish work is just as beautiful and have enjoyed embracing my own style. 
6. My reading choices as a youth consisted of mysteries (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and ND/HB xovers), animal stories (Island Stallion, King of the Wind, Animal Ark, Dinotopia), and historical novels (Laura Ingalls, Dear America, American Girl, The Midwife’s Apprentice, Girl in a Cage).
7.  The first book that made me cry was Black Gold by Margurite Henry.  I immediately gave the book to my sister to keep and while the book has found its way back to me, to this day I still have not re-read it.
8. When I read, if I’m not careful, I completely block everything out.  I lose track of time, I have no idea what has happened while I was reading, and my fingers will suddenly be in pain from me chewing on them.
9. As a child I would fall asleep chewing on the edge of my favorite blanket, singing to myself.  No wonder I have TMJ problems now.
10. These days I fall asleep listening to an audio book, either one of the Cat Who books by Lillian Jackson Braun, narrated by George Guidall or one of the Mary Russell books by Laurie R. King, narrated by Jenny Sterlin.  ((At this very moment it is Justice Hall.))
11. Or I fall asleep to the Return to Pooh Corner album by Kenny Loggins with “Lux Arumque” by Eric Whitacher, “Trial of Lancelot” and “Mordred’s Lullaby” by Heather Dale, “Flying” and “The Fairy Dance” from the live action Peter Pan soundtrack, and the main theme from Hunt for Red October.
12. Have I mentioned that Hunt for Red October can put me to sleep?  One of my favorite movies and it knocks me out! 
13. I have seen three movies in the theatre twice: Wreck-it Ralph, Les Miserables (2012), and Star Trek: Into Darkness.
14. So I already mentioned, I liked chewing on things as a child, especially when falling asleep ... including the power cord to the lamp above my bed. If my parents hadn't discovered it when rearranging my room I would have chewed on the live wires and killed myself by accident.
15.  I like cleaning my room to books on CD, especially Mossflower by Brian Jacques and Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson.
16.  Music and audio books can trigger very vivid memories.  For example, I hadn’t listened to Mossflower for a while but the moment I heard the passage about the Kotir soldiers capturing Martin I was immediately transported from the road I was driving on, back to my room where I first heard the story, facing my highboy, looking out over it into the backyard, in the summer, and I could distinctly taste the fruit gummies I had been snacking on at the time, as mother had bought a big box and I was the only one who really liked them.
17.  I am incapable of cleaning while looking normal.  I end up with my hair in funky/spikey buns, wearing clothes that don’t match at all (whatever I find while cleaning plus a skirt usually), whatever jewelry I come across, and my cleaning apron with bunches of pockets.
18. When Somebody Loved Me from Toy Story 2 makes me feel guilty about getting rid of things.

Don't Die Sis!

Picture Prompt Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

     This blog is turning into a love letter to my sister, lol! 
     We had friends over for a turkey dinner on Saturday, the AMAZING annual meeting on Sunday, and Monday kinda got away from me so I'm catching up today (Tuesday).

We're Messed Up Man

Picture Prompt Day 10 - The person you do the most messed up things with

     This should be self explanatory.  They have plastic cake decoration foliage in their mouths.  They are goofs and I love them and they make me laugh so hard I have to use my inhaler.  Two live an hour away now, thankfully the other lives a flight of stairs away.

My Rock

Picture Prompt Day 9 - The person who has gotten you through the most

     My Popcicle has gotten me through adolescence, adjusting to two siblings, illnesses, fights with my mother, math and physics classes, strep throat, learning to drive, spiders in my room, countless sprained ankles, the death of pets I loved as family, and every other scary moment in my life.  He has always been there for me and my mother and my siblings and I am eternally grateful, more than words can say.

Robyn Batch 10 - Pecan shortbread

HAPPY 100th POST!

71. Broken:  Robyn cried out in pain as she collapsed to the ground.  She had known she was coming down wrong and now she could feel her heartbeat throbbing in her foot, mostly centered around her outer toes.  Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to rise but ended up back on her butt on the floor with a grunt.  She focused on her breathing until Madame Jacobs arrived to help her up and to one of the chairs at the edge of the practice room.  Ice was applied, medication was taken, mothers were called, and two weeks later she danced, broken toes be darned.

     Seriously folks, anyone have a better name for her dance teacher?  Updated her dance teacher's name to Camille Elizabeth Smythe-Jacobs on 16.June.2013.  And I'm only guessing how it feels to break toes as I have never broken any bone.  I've sprained my ankles and jammed fingers more times than I can count but no breaks!

87. Life:  “To life, to life, l'chaim!  To Zeytle, my daughter!”

    “My wife!”

    “Life has a way of confusing us, blessing and bruising us!  Drink l’chaim, to life!”

    Robyn and her fellow chorus members danced around, arms linked, laughing and singing.  They had stayed after school for an extra practice before the performance, and now they were amusing themselves while waiting for their parents to pick them up by singing show tunes.  So far they had jumped through CATS, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Seussical.

     This may or may not be based on true life.  I admit to nothing.  Lyrics belong to Sheldon Harnick and those associated with Fiddler on the Roof.

98. Pride:  Stephanie soared through the song she had been given, nailing every note and emoting through every line.  When she took her bow the panel of judges and the staff that were hanging about all applauded.  It stung Robyn to note that the response was louder than it had been for her own audition a few minutes earlier.  Logically she knew that the older girl had more experience and was devoted to only one craft, but emotionally it still rankled Robyn to not be the clear favorite, and to someone who simply viewed it as another job (not that Robyn would ever admit to such petty feelings).

     One of my biggest pet peeves in high school was people joining choir just for the A.  They had no passion and because they weren't emotionally invested in the songs they goofed off and brought down the morale of the choir.  They were snide and snarky and didn't take things seriously.  Some days I wanted to tear out their hair for making me want to tear out mine.

99. Prejudice:  Robyn looked Jericho up and down.  Henry had just told her that the young man would be their new contact and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.  She had heard stories about Jericho, how his father was never up to any good, always off on some half drunken scheme (after a failed marriage Keith Moran was looking for something to make him feel successful again but his sons had to bail him out, which only made him feel worse), and his brother was in some bigger city, dabbling in crime and living off the good graces of the bad (OK, Gaven lived on the edge but most of his income was from honest car repairs).  Jericho himself had been a loner for the most part in high school, not fitting into any clique (all those people who didn’t know what they wanted and put up idiotic fronts to fit in).  He now went to college but she wasn’t sure how he had gotten there (scholarships and grants, and how would it change her opinion if she knew he was majoring in accounting and passing all his classes with As and Bs).  She had seen him around town in his old, classic, black Mustang or riding his slick motorcycle (earned penny by penny from odd jobs and restored with loving care).  She questioned why Henry would hire him, or at the very least trust him alone with her (because he knew how to treat women and once she was seen with him any bad element would leave her alone, though the ‘good’ element might be another matter).  She had seen the handful of girls Jericho had dated and quite frankly she wasn’t impressed (girls who hid their insecurities better than most, or had an idea where they were going).

     The parentheses were not there to begin with but I think they add a nice flavor and depth.  What do you think?

154. Tower:  It would probably always be Robyn’s favorite trip ever.  She had been newly sixteen and therefore able to fly by herself so her aunt and uncle Buchanan had invited her, and her alone out of family, to go on a European tour with them.  Robyn  said yes in a heartbeat and spent the next month doing all she could to convince her parents  she would be responsible and good and obedient.  In the end they had relented (they were going to say yes anyways but Robyn had been so helpful they decided to milk it) and Dawn and Elizabeth could barely understand the words in her squealing phone call but perfectly read the tone and dissolved into squeals themselves.  The family of four plus their two add-ons (they also invited their best chum Adiana) toured Ireland, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and ended in France, with a view of the Eiffel Tower and crepes every morning.  She had grown closer to her aunt, uncle, and cousins and made memories to last a lifetime and a half.

    Who else wishes they had family in Europe now?

Robyn 200 - Round 1

     This past month I've been participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, with my own word goal and a small group of people to share the experience with.  My character was Robyn Tolliver, as mentioned in an earlier post.  I worked on a list of 200 prompts to help out my word count and while I didn't get through them all I'd like to share with you, dear reader, what I have done, and continue until I finish them.  They won't all be 'cannon' but some of them are interesting 'what-ifs' and 'what on Earth where you thinking besides getting as many words on the page as possible?'.  Some of these were like pulling teeth, I forced myself to power through them so I could move on to ones that were more fun.  Enjoy!  As ever, Author Commentary is in italics.

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

10. Years:  It had been many years since Robyn had last thought of her cave experience but as she stroked the pyrite necklace she always wore, a gift from that time, she was amazed that she had not died that day.  She knew nothing about the cave systems, how dangerous they were, and how easy it was to get permanently lost in their labyrinth.  She was incredibly lucky that Henry had been able to find her. 

 

     The necklace is a gift from Henry, a chunk of pyrite from the cave he found her in.  The caves are almost a character unto themselves in this story and featured prominently in my thoughts as I wrote, so much so that I titled this body of work The Shadow in the Cave.

19. White:  White was Robyn’s least favorite color.  She couldn’t stand a white piece of paper, it had to be covered in doodles or drawings or assignments or ideas or lyrics or music ASAP.

     Who knew?

23. Lovers:  “You know what we used to be, don’t you?” Stephanie smiled coldly.  If Jericho wasn’t going to give her attentions anymore she was going to see to it that neither did his new little flame.  Never mind the tenuous friendship the young women shared as fellow performers, there was always a little bit of diva competition anyways and quite frankly, no matter how ‘cool’ or disinterested Stephanie acted, she really did care about Jericho and their permanent break up hurt her.

28. Children:  She always figured it was completely natural, practically hardwired in her as an older sibling, for her to mentor and care for those who were younger than her.  It was more than a matter of choice, it was a matter of willing duty and responsibility to be an older sister and defender to everyone who lacked one.   

      Robyn's philosophy here is my own.  There is a great amount of pressure and responsibility on an older sibling (at least to me it feels like there is, maybe I'm too conscientious) but if you accept it and embrace it the duty can become a joy.

89. Work:  Only one of her jobs would be considered work, being a barista.  The rest of her means of employment were really a matter of being paid for something she liked to do.  Robyn wasn’t a huge fan of coffee (to be honest most of the time she thought the stuff tasted foul), the caffeine made her jittery, and serving to people who were only half awake and in a hurry wasn’t exactly fun, but the pay was reasonable and she got health benefits.  Working as a cashier/stock girl at the bookstore had been a lot of fun and widened her reading horizons.  Being the front desk clerk at her aunt’s Inn was fun too, even though it didn’t pay well, she enjoyed interacting with the different kinds of people that came through the town.  Working summers at the children’s theatre gave her a hint at what her future might be like, teaching little sproutlings to dance and sing and emote on stage.  It was a lot of hard work (especially with some of the parents involved) but it was a fulfilling work, seeing the final product.  And she was sure Henry had something to do with the Peacock Lounge’s revamp and reopening with a list of musical performers, including herself.  While it wasn’t acting per se, which was her forte she felt, she loved singing and being on stage regardless.

 

     Expanded on the recommendation of a fellow writer lass, this originally ended after the second sentence.