SPIRIT CHAMPIONSHIP

[Zero]

DEADLINE ONE - 3,250 WORD RP ALL COMPETITORS 7TH JUNE 2019 2359 EST


DEADLINE TWO - 750 WORD SHOOT / SEGMENT 9TH JUNE 2019 2359 EST


DEADLINE THREE - 2ND 750 WORD SHOOT (WINNING CONTENDER AND CHAMPIONS ONLY) 12TH JUNE 2019 2359 EST

[Kas]

It’s raining, a soft silvery drizzle that drifts around the trees, whispering against the leaves, and beading around our campsite. It drums on the roof of the tarpaulin that’s strung up to keep us dry around the fire, and occasional drops hiss into the campfire.

It’s quiet and peaceful here today. Lindsay has taken Chris and Mordecai riding. Josh and Mark are off to the nearest town to pick up a few more supplies for tonight, which probably means meat and beer. And possibly fireworks. Dad is somewhere about the place, making himself useful with a few odd jobs, which leaves me here on my own, staring into the curling smoke.

I’m not complaining. I love my family, I love my job, but sometimes, a girl just needs a little bit of solitude. And here, surrounded by the green smells of the outdoors, it’s easy to sink into the quiet of my own head.

Although it’s not so quiet in there at the moment. All my thoughts are tangled up like a giant ball of wool, and teasing free the strands is something that I’ve not had  time to do, at least, until now.

But now that I have time, I find it's something that I don't want to do. I'm quite happy to stare at the fire and listen to the rain in the trees. Everything else is just waiting for me to look at it, but I’m quite happy to let it wait while I sit here in the moment.

Behind me, the cabin door creaks as it opens, hinges protesting the lack of oil. Boots thump on the porch, and I track the sound until Dad joins me beside the campfire, sighing as he settles himself on the wooden bench next to me.

I think that he needed this break more than the rest of us. He’s been working hard in GCW, training for the Iron Man match, and, as we just discovered, scheming to get Chris back into his right mind. Or what passes for his right mind to be honest. With everything else that Dad does, it’s a wonder that he’s not transparent by now. Plus, Memorial Day.

"You okay?” I ask him, quietly enough that he can pretend to not hear me if he wants.

“Aye,” he replies in the same quiet tone, and there’s a brief pressure on my shoulder.

The fire sparks and crackles in our comfortable silence, before Dad sighs again.

“Lillian sent a message.”

He always calls her Liliian. Never ex-wife, or your mother. Always by her given name, in that cold tone. I should have realised there was more going on.

“It was more...incoherent than usual,” he continues.

“I sent her a text on Mother’s Day,” I tell him. I thought long and hard about whether I should do something like that or not. My relationship with her is troublesome, but she is still my mom, even if we are really not on the best of terms. A text was the compromise that I could accept and not feel too guilty about. “Arthur insisted that it wasn’t enough later on that night. I ignored him.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see my Dad’s fingers flexing. Arthur might have been born as Dad’s brother, but now Dad wouldn’t piss on Arthur if he was on fire.

“Still getting us to do her dirty work,” he murmurs. “She was berating me for every sin she could imagine, and how I’ve corrupted her sweet Sammie. That I had to be stopping you from calling, because of course you’d want to talk to your mother.”

“I haven’t been Sammie since I was in kindergarten,” I say thoughtfully. “She used to make quite a point about that when she was using me to boost her ego.”

Which was something that she did a lot of the time.  Dad didn't realize because he was deployed,  and she was generally good at pretending when he came back.  Not that I realized it at the time,  but hindsight is 20 20.

"She wanting to steal some of your spotlight?"

"Either that or she wants to tell me again how unbecoming a career this is,  and how much of a disappointment I still am,  and why don't I just come home and do what she wants," I try to sound light.  "Or she might have moved on to begging me to settle down with a nice lawyer or a doctor and play happy families."

Dad really tries not to be nasty about mom.  He tries not to disparage her or degrade her where I can hear.  But I can hear the faint grind of his teeth as he bites back what he wants to say.

"You make your own path,  sweetheart.  I'll support you," and I feel warm at the loving tone in his words.  "Just... if you do end up seeing her,  consider taking someone with you?"

I nod.  I couldn't see Mom on her own, she'd bring Arthur with her to try and browbeat me into submission.  Don't know who I'd take for moral support if I decided to go down.

(Maybe she'd leave me alone if I claimed to be dating Mordi?)

Something to think about later.

My phone buzzed against my leg, and I ignored the notification.  I really should have turned it off,  but I like having that connection to the world.  Plus,  it's helpful for looking things up.  With this family,  you never know when you might need to check an obscure bit of trivia.

The buzzing continued,  and I wriggled around till I could pull it free. Not a notification after all.

"I'd better take this," and I see Dads eyes flick to the screen which is displaying the bright red name of Charlie.

"I'll stay out here for a bit."

"Later," and I'm already turning and walking towards the cabin. I answer the call as I hit the porch,  and duck inside out of the rain.

"Good afternoon," I greet my newest friend.

"Evening from England. How's the weather?"

"Rain, rain and more rain."

"Hah. Heatwave here, suck it up, buttercup," he laughs.

"Enjoy your two days of summer."

Charlie and I haven't known each other for very long, but we've just clicked. We seem to have the same sense of humour, like the same things, and generally get on like a house on fire.

"We do. Having a barbeque down at the park tonight, pending getting chased by angry groundskeepers. What are you up to?"

"Burning meat over a campfire, drinking beer, and watching my uncles try not to set each other on fire with fireworks."

"Sounds idyllic. Celebrating something?" He asks.

"Little bit of yes, little bit of no. Memorial Day, you know? Excuse for a party mostly, but..."

"Ah," and he hesitates. "Your Dad, right?"

"Yeah. Always remembers those that didn't come home. We're sort of remembering with him, and providing the distraction so that he doesn't get his brood on. Oh yes!" and I brighten as I remember. "Changing the subject entirely, I wanted to pick your brains. Practical jokes. Simple but funny. Any thoughts?"

"Well, a couple. Why me, and not your uncle, Chris?"

"Because Chris gets carried away. See the donkey in the wedding dress incident."

"I won't even ask. Secondly, who, and why?"

"Just a co-worker, and I have my reasons. Any thoughts?"

Charlies hmms thoughtfully. "Nothing that comes to mind. I'll talk to my housemates and send you a text."

"Thanks," I tell him gratefully.

"Try and get whatever it is on camera though."

I chuckle. "No promises."

“Sure you don’t want to tell me more?” he wheedles.

“Nope,” I pop the ‘p’. This is a secret that I’m keeping to myself for the time being.

Although I do wonder if I might be able to enlist the man’s tag partner. Looks like he has a bit of a sense of humour, even if they’re meddlers.

“Fine,” Charlie concedes.

We chat for a while longer before he has to sign off and work on something else. I suppose that I could stay here in the dry for a bit longer, but I decide against it and head back out into the rain.

Dad is still sitting by the fire, carving scraps of wood into shapes before consigning them into the fire. From what I can see from here, his movements are mechanical, and his eyes aren’t seeing his surroundings. I really don’t want to disturb him, so I slip around the back of the cabin and away.

There’s a small pond a few hundred meters from the cabins, mostly buried in the undergrowth and hidden among the trees. I perch myself on a handy stump, and close my eyes, letting the rain bead on my face and listening to the sound it makes as the drops hit the pond.

In a few short days, I’ll be on a cruise ship. And not just for a holiday or a new experience. I’m not entirely certain what the head officers of EMERGE were taking when they decided to shove us all on a ship, but it’s either genius or insanity. We’re a volatile bunch, us EMERGEites, and in such close quarters, unable to get away from each other....

Makes you want to lock the door to the cabin and not come out until you absolutely have to. Or maybe that’s just me.

But regardless of my feelings about some of the people I’ll be sharing ship space with, I plan to go and enjoy myself. Make a few friends, gently break a few hearts, and generally live life a little. It’s not every day you get a trip on a cruise ship, and get to perform for the fans at the same time.

I have fans, isn’t that a thought?

A loud whoop from the direction of the cabins drags me out of my head before I can start to think about anything too serious. Sounds like Josh and Mark have returned. While I’m sure that they don’t need my help to unload whatever they’ve bought, it probably would be prudent if I turned up. It’s not just the fireworks that can be volatile.

[StrongStyle]

Here's my offering. Guest star appears with permission and continues the story from last rp, a few weeks later. Enjoy and good luck folks!

:: B.R.I.T.I.S.H :: S.T.R.O.N.G :: S.T.Y.L.E :: [CHAPTER 002]

[Minerva]

The Views Expressed By Minerva Is That of their Own and Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

 

THAT GIRL IS POISON

(Click Title)

[Jennifer Helms]

OOC: This RP is Part One of Two, a huge turning point in Jennifer's life that will change her forever and many others to come. It concludes in Willow’s RP.



Anything with the “REC” on it is Viewable to the Public.

The Views Expressed By Jennifer Helms & The Beauty Factory Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

MURDER BY NUMBERS: PART I

(Click Title)