July 14th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! First I want to say Happy Birthday to my Aunt Linda. Hope you have a great day!

It may take three cups of coffee again today, but I MUST WRITE! I barely hit 1,300 words yesterday before I had to go and pick up the girls. My hubby will be out the door in a few minutes, and then I should have three to four hours of uninterrupted peace and quiet. (Dani’s a sleeper.)

I think I’m having a hard time because I really have no clue where the story is going. Only a few stepping stones have been revealed to me between where I’m at and the HEA, and I’m not sure what the road is going to look like between points A, B, C and D. This happens every time, so I should be used to it, and just suck it up, forge ahead, and trust my characters to lead me where they want to go.

So supposedly Champlain has confirmed they received, filled out, and mailed all the appropriate paperwork off the High Point, so now we are just waiting for High Point to process their end and get the acceptance package off to us.

I’m seriously starting to stress. She leaves for school in six weeks and I know nothing. I don’t know what kind of grants or scholarships she is going to be offered. How much is this going to cost us? I don’t know which dorm she’ll be assigned, which means do I need full size bedding or twin size bedding? Does she need a fridge? What’s allowed in the dorm – coffee pot, microwave, etc.? Who’s her roommate? When can she choose her classes so we can get her books ordered?

I went through all of this last year, just like every other parent of a college freshman. I should not have to be subjected to it a second time, and because of Champlain dragging their feet, it’s actually worse this time. High Point is going to be looking for money, and the loans aren’t even finalized yet because we weren’t sure which school Lys was going to. It’s all such a cluster, and there isn’t a dang thing I can do about it at the moment.

Since there is nothing I can do about it, and stressing will not change the situation one iota, I am off to Ireland where I do have control.

I hope you have an amazing day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

You are speaking to a cashier, when you hear shouting behind you.

It was a typical Saturday morning. I was out running errands. I had stopped at the bank, the post office, at Starbucks to indulge in a mocha cookie crumble frappe, and my last stop, before tackling the grocery store was the dry cleaners. As usual, the place was hopping. There were two people in line ahead of me, as well as three others in line at the second register, but I did not mind. I was sipping on an entire day’s worth of calories, and I was quite content.

The two people in front of me picked up their orders, and it was finally my turn. Since this was an establishment I frequented regularly, I knew most of the employees. Mia, the owner’s daughter, was at the register. While she was ringing me up, and I was asking her about school and about her new boyfriend, a commotion suddenly erupted behind me.

I was shocked at how many photos
of cars who drove through dry
cleaner's front windows I had to
choose from on the internet. Who
knew being a dry cleaner was such a
dangerous job?

The tone of the patron’s voice had me instinctually jump out of the way, and I’m grateful I did. If I had taken the time to look and see what they were yelling about, more than likely, I would not be here today to tell you this harrowing tale.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. One second I was chatting with Mia, and the next, an SUV was parked in the very spot I had been standing. The car missed me by inches.

***

TOTAL FICTION, well at least as far as my involvement in the accident. A few days ago, I saw an episode of Caught On Camera, where this same scene played out. The girl behind the counter, remarkably, received only minor injuries, a few broken bones if I recall correctly. The elderly gentleman driving the car mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake. He was shaken, but was relatively unharmed.

Your Next Challenge is:

Genre: Mystery; Location: Somewhere down the shore; Situation: Someone is stealing something unusual

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.