#NovelSnip

#NovelSnip is a tiny portion of my fiction writing project.  I haven't been writing as much as I'd like, but I'm not giving up.  This picks up right where last week's left off. Chronological order, my friends!  Making a story!!

“Norah,” said Ellen, her roommate, one afternoon as the two wiled away  the last few minutes before the dining hall opened at five, “you should really come to the Spring Fling.”  The Central Wisconsin Association of Colleges put on the event each year, a social of sorts between St. Bonifacius and the other area schools.  

“No,” said Norah, “that’s not my kind of thing.” She stared into the mirror and tried to force the wisps of fine blond hair on her temples into some kind of order.

“Oh come on,” Ellen pleaded, her blue-jeaned legs crossed and her own blond hair pulled into matching low pigtails that bubbled over her wide-collared green shirt.  “There will be boys there.”  She hissed the s and bugged her eyes out.  “And bands, and almost everyone from 3rd MM is going,” she raised her eyebrows comically. Ellen and Norah both knew that the latter girl couldn’t stand to be left out.

“I have to study,” Norah said.

“On Saturday afternoon?” Ellen replied, sarcastically.  “No, you don’t.”  Norah met Ellen’s eyes in the mirror.  The two had grown steadily closer, especially since the afternoon when Ellen arrived in room 316 after her biology lab to find Norah wracked with sobs and curled underneath her bed.  Ellen had immediately dropped to the floor and softly stroked Norah’s hair from behind.

“It’s okay,” she’d whispered, before she’d even known.  “Everything’s going to be fine.”  A few minutes later, Norah had scooted back into the middle of the room and Ellen had laughed at the coating of dust that clung to Norah’s right side.

“Thanks for doing the cleaning,” Ellen said, smiling, reaching out with her hand to sweep the damp from Norah’s cheek.  “What happened?” Ellen said, when Norah had eeked out a tiny smile, a half giggle-half sob.

Norah’s breath shuddered as she prepared to tell Ellen her shameful secret.  “I got a C on my Hamlet paper,” she blurted, tears forming again.  Ellen, who’d been expecting news of a dead grandparent or the financial ruin of the Sullivan family, tried unsuccessfully to keep from laughing.

“Okay,” she said, a smile building from her chin to her cheeks and a few giggles trailing the word.  Norah swatted at her shoulder.

“Don’t laugh,” she said.  “I’m a failure.”

Ellen got to her knees and grabbed her roommate in a heartfelt hug.  “You’re just fine,” she’d said, and Norah hugged her back.

That's it!  Next week, they'll probably be some more.  I mean, I do have more.