Night Changes

Chapter 13- Swaying

Kissing is one of those things that has all sorts of meanings. The kisses you give you grandmother are not the same kisses you give your significant other. Scarlett had kissed a great deal of boys in her seventeen years of life. But none had been as good as Adam Taylor. Who just so happened to be her best friend. A classic "boy next door" story. But Adam and Scarlett were far from classic; far from average and mainstream.

Scarlett knew she was probably way overthinking this whole thing. For all she knew, Adam could be dating someone back in LA. Or maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing. Or maybe the kiss they had shared did not matter to Adam in the least. Thoughts like these clouded her mind all through the school day.

Devin, for once, seemed to be totally oblivious to Scarlett's problems. He was too concerned with some big party he was planning for his birthday in late February before Mardi Gras. Devin's parties were always very extravagant, and everyone from every social group found an excuse to come; whether it be for the booze, the food, the chicks, or the music. There was something for everyone at Devin's place.

Scarlett for once was not so excited to go out partying. She did not want to be the only sober one at the biggest party of the school year. But her sobriety had been something she had worked so hard for, and she was not about to turn back now.

"Oh, by the way Scarberry, I'm loving the new tattoo. Was it another one of your mom's drawings?" Devin asked as they walked down the hallway filled with sweaty adolescents. Scarlett smiled and nodded, glancing down at her leg. Through the rips in her jeans was her new ink displayed for the world to see. She was proud of her mother's art being tattooed to her thigh.

"How many does that one make?" Devin joked. Scarlett just rolled her eyes,

"Honestly, I've lost count," she cackled. The two chuckled as the briskly walked into English class side by side. Waiting for her sat Adam in the seat in front of hers. Despite her racing heart, Scarlett smiled at him and sat down in her seat.

"Hi," Adam drawled, turning around to face Scarlett.

"Hi," she repeated, voice cracking ever so slightly in nervousness. Luckily, Ms. Riley saved Scarlett from having to continue embarrassing herself.

"All right everyone. Now that our Romeo and Juliet unit is over, I figured we could start on a different tangent; theme. Theme is basically the moods and emotions of writing. It will help the reader catch on to what you are trying to put forth," She started. For once, there was no collective groan at the sound of work. The class was actually intrigued as to what she had to say. With a triumphant smile, she continued.

"Everyone knows what emotions are; happiness, sadness, anger, etcetera. Stories and novels have emotions too. This is something you must be very specific for in your writing. For example, you wouldn't want the first line of a horror story to be "It was a bright and sunny day when my whole family got axe murdered." You would want to use things like dreary rain and clouds to set up the mood in your work, especially if it's your first line. Do you guys remember my rule about the first line of the story?" Ms. Riley asked.

"The first line in a story is the most important. If your first sentence is terrible, the whole book is useless," the class droned in unison.

"Yes! Exactly! Without setting the mood and the emotions in your story, there is no way to paint that vivid picture in your minds. Now, some stories have different moods and themes. Rachel, name one theme in Romeo and Juliet," Ms. Riley instructed. Rachel perked up in her chair.

"Love," she said, voice dripping with passion. Rachel was the type of girl to state the obvious and love the fact them at she got to do it.