"Yes, I am filming a video in the school bathroom. No, it's not of girls. Today is just a regular day in the life of me. Wake up, school, work, did I mention schoolwork? And more. You know what? I should really ask mom and dad for a pin that I can put on my land yard."
I look at myself in the bathroom mirrors one last time before I go back to my class.
In English, I sit down and my teacher sips his extra light brew and milk coffee and puts down the school newspaper.
"Alright, I'm going to have you kids do something different. Instead of doing the usual book talks and book discussions, read overs and what not, you all seem like creative souls that have stories of their own that you would like to write. So, I want you all to write a book for me. Not a picture book, but a chapter book."
Half of the class gasped.
"What were you expecting? This is AP English after all. Luckily, this book of yours will be due by winter break. And make it at least 15 chapters and 200 pages."
Just when things seem to be going good, of course....
A girl raised her hand.
"Mr. Friedschick, do we hand write it or type it?"
"You can do a little bit of both. Write your ideas and draft on paper, or type it on the computer. Whatever you want, as long as it's 200 pages."
That's nice, but how am I supposed to write a whole book by January 3rd? It's November 15th.
"For today, you can all brainstorm. I expect ideas in by the end of this week."
That's tomorrow. God dang it!
The bell rung and I deeply thought about it while going to my next class.
There was a girl with a seashell bracelet that walked right by me. And suddenly, a lightbulb lit up I my head.
I was planning on writing a story about a small town, but the seashell gave me some inspiration. A small beach town in a tight knit community. Where everybody knows each other in some way.
Whenever I got the chance, I suddenly felt inspiration and jotted down my ideas. A web of bubbles and notes were on my paper, each bubble was connected to at least one line.
Even Adrian and Cassie noticed it too.
"Man, Kat. I have never seen you go that hard into a book." Cassie looked over.
"It's actually my own creation. My English teacher wanted us to write our own impromptu novels. And I'm currently in a brainstorming type of mood."
"What's your book even called?" Adrian asked with a hint of interest.
"Seaside Stories." I said to him.
"What's it about?"
"A small Britain town where everybody has a story. Some hidden love stories, some hints of bitter backstories, and some sweet moments. It's going to be a collection of 20 short stories converted into "chapters"."
"I like that, I think it would be worth a read." Cassie encouraged me.
"When is it due by?" Adrian was curious.
"January 3rd." I said.
He gasped.
"Can you really do it? I mean, 20 whole chapters and a whole book completed? What if you lose motivation? Neither of us want you to fail."
"Relax. I'll brainstorm for a little and then work on a chapter each day. Ever notice that some authors make more than one book a year? They're always working overtime."
"But don't burn yourself out, Kat! The last thing that we want is a mentally drained Kat!" Cassie went from behind and hugged me.
"I might need your help for some things." I suggested.
"We'll do anything to help!" Cassie jumped.
"I might need a painted cover of a lighthouse and a beach. Maybe where there is some life in it. You can do this by hand or by graphic design. As long as it's not a google image or a plain blue cover, something with heart and effort."
"You got it! I'll have it ready as soon as I can!" Cassie took out her phone and quickly started writing a note.
After school, I went to my desk and took the paper that I used to jot down all of my ideas on. Even though the paper itself was fresh, the many marks on the paper made it look like the paper was in a world war or something.
I took out a page from my English notebook and started jotting names of "chapters".
Seaside Stories
House 1: Falling in Love
House 2: The Expecting Couple
House 3: "Bitter Old Man"
House 4: Male Juliet
House 5: Hopeless Flormantic
House 6: Brotherly Roommates
House 7: Tutti Fruity
House 8: Old is Better than the new
House 9: Mental
House 10: House in the Back
House 11: Hotel Overstay
House 12: My Ex Girlfriend
House 13: Orphan in Need of Love
House 14: Workaholic Parents
House 15: A Grandmother's Heart
House 16: Restart
House 17: Don't Leave me Like this!
House 18: New Person
House 19: The Blue Home
House 20: Radio Host's First Date
YOU ARE READING
The Richardsons
Teen FictionCompleted on December 9th, 2020 In the sequel/spin off of All From A Small Town, Randy and Shannon had another child, a daughter named Katherine (or Kat for short). Live the story through Kat's eyes as she navigates entering her first year of high s...
