Can I Have That in Writing?

Emily: Cheers

It was true what Riley said. My opinion did matter. At the next meeting of writing club, we shared in pairs and received feedback from just one person.

I was anxious at first when I was paired with Kim. It was still hard not to see Lucy when I looked at her. Thankfully, Kim knew how to make me feel at ease.

"I can share first if you want," she said. She raised her eyebrows. "Don't hold back, alright? If it's crap, feel free to tell me."

I chuckled. "It's not going to be, but... okay."

As Kim read, she would swear under her breath and apologize, explaining there was a missing word or a misspelling. But when she wasn't doing that, I admired her witty dialogue and descriptions. I made sure to tell her so when she was done.

"Thanks!" she said, grinning. "Now, for the bad news, I guess. I can take it."

"Honestly, other than what you already pointed out, it was good."

"Are you sure?"

"I really liked your birthday prompt too."

"Wow."

Kim leaned back in her seat and laughed. "Like I said, I'm not really a writer. I only joined this club because of Vera. I'm more of a science and math person. Numbers and equations are straightforward, right to the point. With writing, there's no one conclusion to draw. I'm having fun, don't get me wrong! It's just... I still feel like I'm doing it wrong, I guess."

I understood, to a small extent. I was an expert at coming to the wrong conclusion.

"Well... if it helps, maybe you can think of it another way," I suggested. "Instead of thinking of right or wrong, think of it in terms of experience. Math is taking the shortest route. But writing is taking the scenic route. Yeah, it takes longer, but you can experience so much more."

Kim smiled. "Thanks. You know, you're pretty wise for a freshman. Maybe you should take some of my classes!"

I blushed. "Well, I do have a geometry class with some sophomores, Riley being one of them."

"Nice! Well, I guess it's your turn now."

My hands trembled as I gathered the papers I wrote on. I tried to read the beginning, but my voice wouldn't work.

"Hey, it can't be worse than mine," Kim interrupted with a warm smile.

I smiled and continued. My voice grew stronger as I read on. I couldn't bring myself to look at Kim until I finished. She was grinning.

"See? That was great!"

My face burned. "Th-thanks," I stammered. "So?"

"It was really descriptive- like I really felt I was there! Have you ever been there? Tennessee?"

The question made me freeze as I recalled my father's outburst. Thankfully, he was in a much better mood since then.

"I lived there when I was little," I eventually replied.

"Well, it shows!" Kim exclaimed.

She then dialed down on her enthusiasm and looked to the ceiling, as is she was choosing her words carefully. "If I had to critique anything, it would be dialogue. I feel like the South has such a distinct dialect- why not use it? I think you can write 'gonna' instead of 'going to', or 'ain't' in the dialogue, as long as you don't use it in the narration."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"But like I said, that's it! I loved it!"

I looked down and covered my grin with the papers. Kim didn't strike me as the type to lie. After all, she had no qualms about telling me that she disagreed with me about voting Anthony in. Someone genuinely liked what I created. My heart soared, though my head still had trouble wrapping itself around the idea.