She leaned over with her elbows on her knees, and met me with confident, piercing blue eyes, “Mom thinks there’s something wrong with me,” she smirked, “She’s convinced I’m getting bullied. She thinks I’m miserable because I’m friendless. So, in her effort to ‘cure’ me, she sends me here to seek a resolution to my loneliness.”
“Are you lonely?” I interjected.
“That’s hilarious,” she said, leaning back and flinging her arms across the back of the couch, “I’m overwhelmed by the throngs around me! I’m alone for my own sanity.”
I raised my eyebrows, Patients always discussed how their actions were for the sake of sanity, “What do you mean by that?”
“Here’s the thing,” she said as if confiding some deeply held secret, “I watch them band together around fads, reality shows, or - worst of all - boy bands. I watch them grasp on tendrils of a commonality in efforts to clone themselves. I watch them flee from the euphoria of individuality and I can’t understand why. To belong?” She stopped for a moment, looking over me, out a window with no view, “I tell Mom this and she tells me that’s living, but I wonder: whose life are you living if it’s just a copy?”
I felt like I was looking into some time-warping mirror. I let Macy go on about everything she’d figured out about the world and about how she’s above it all. Part of me envied her certainty. Another part of me remembered her mother’s anguish.
I let Macy leave my office sure that she taught me a thing or two. I let her maintain the belief that she was walking the world stoically alone. I remembered the power in that thinking. Then I picked up the phone and called my mother.
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This
is my response to the Trifecta weekly challenge, which is to write a 33
to 333-word response (mine is exactly 333) using the following word and its third definition
CHARM (verb)
1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
BAND (verb)1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
3: to gather together: unite <banded themselves together for protection>
to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) -
See more at:
http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
CHARM (verb)
1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
Remember:
- Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
- You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
- The word itself needs to be included in your response.
- You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
- Only one entry per writer.
- If your post doesn't meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz.
- Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us.
This week's challenge is community judged.
- For the 14 hours following the close of the challenge, voting will be enabled on links.
- In order to vote, return to this post where stars will appear next to each link. To vote, simply click the star that corresponds with your favorite post.
- You can vote for your top three favorite posts.
- Voting is open to everyone.
- You have 14 hours to vote. It's not much time, so be diligent! We'll send out reminders on Twitter and Facebook.
- The winners will be announced in the comments of Friday's post and will be posted in our typical fashion in the post on the following Monday.
This week's word is charm.
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1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
CHARM (verb)
1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake>
CHARM (verb)
1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
Here's the think for this week's writing challenge to see if you have time to join in (or just to read the other awesome responses!). 1a : to affect by or as if by magic : compel
b : to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction<charms customers with his suave manner>
2: to endow with or as if with supernatural powers by means of charms; also : to protect by or as if by spells, charms, or supernatural influences
3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (as the playing of music) <charm a snake> - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.pfKAby6g.dpuf
************************************************************************************************************
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ReplyDeleteTo have had that level of clarity and insight at that age is enviable. When I read your story it showed me the girl I always wished I was ... but wasn't.
ReplyDeleteLoved your story. Your character's teenage sense of certainty rings very true. Her voice is quite authentic. Very well done. As a teacher, I have had similiar conversations and have ended up calling the parents afterward, too. There is a certain comfort in having all of the answers. Thank you for linking up and for sharing your good work. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I didn't think of it, but I could have easily had set up this conversation in a classroom after school. I, too, had many of these same conversations with my students! That part of my life always sneaks its way back into my writing somehow!
ReplyDeletevery true. :)
ReplyDeleteTammy, I agree. I had many students who could articulate themselves this well and be that certain about the world around them. At their age I was just as confused then as I am now! :)
ReplyDeleteGood for her!
ReplyDeleteOh I loved this, how sometimes the gift we give others is the belief that their ideas and hearts are right.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you (the character) calls her mom at the end. I find myself, at 43, doing that soooooo often. I see my own folly for what it was, my own separation fir the thing it was.. Not wanting to hurt and moving before I could be.
It was a moving piece.. Thank you for linking up and sharing it.
This girl either sounds a little like me or a little like my 22 year old daughter (both). I concur with Kir. The gift we give is understanding OR letting them believe. You nailed the girl's attitude and style of speech.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this, Nicole, especially the line: "She stopped for a moment, looking over me, out a window with no view." Nice! I love it when sentences stop me in my tracks like that. ~Tui
ReplyDelete