Tough Guys Wear Pink

So I'm working on a new novel. It's for a challenge, actually, and this story was revolving in my mind recently so I entered it into the challenge. :D So far everybody's been liking it. :P I'm deliberating whether I'd be posting it in this site I'm a member of, Quizilla, or not. Oh, well.

Anyway, here’s an excerpt from chapter three of the novel. Just wanted to post it, though I doubt anyone would read it.

***

The cab halted in front of Starbucks. I paid the driver, then, got out. I headed inside the store. The thickness of the crowd was bearable—but I wasn’t really planning to dine in, anyway. I was up for some shore-strolling, even though I’d be alone in the beach if I’d do that.

I headed to the counter and waited in the line, looking around, checking to see if someone I knew was there. I hadn’t looked around the whole place yet when my turn to order came. “Uhh, Java Chip frap and white chocolate mocha frap with extra caramel, both Venti and with whipped cream, please,” I asked.

The counter girl told me the total cost with a smile. I reached for my wallet. I didn’t find it in my jeans pocket, which was odd, since I’d tucked it in there. The only thing I found was my cell phone. I tried the pockets of my coat, but nothing there either. “Oh, shoot,” I whispered.

“Is something wrong, miss?” The girl asked.

I looked up at her, my hands still searching my pockets. Where the hell was that? I was able to pay the taxi driver! Unless…

I left my wallet in the cab right after paying!

I groaned internally. Ugh. Allison, how can you be so care—

“And Caramel Apple Cider, Grande, with whipped cream, please.” A very familiar voice came from behind me. The owner of the voice just laid a credit card on the counter; the girl took it, and I turned around.

“And what would you be doing here, alone at night, without your wallet?” Blaze asked with a teasing smile.“Blaze?” I blinked. Blaze ruffled my hair, then, took the drinks the girl had served. He walked past me; I didn’t move. He turned around and asked, “What, are you just going to stand there and stare or are you going to follow me?”

I blinked again, which I know made me look totally idiotic, like I wasn’t able to make out what he was saying. “I—uh—guess I’ll follow.”

“You better.” He chuckled. “I have your drinks. Why do you have two?”

“It’s my mom. I’m supposed to take one home for her.” I explained.

“Oh. So you’re supposed to go?” He asked.

“Well, I was planning to stroll by the beach before that.”

He shrugged. “Want some company?”

“Sure.” I replied as Blaze handed me my frap. He was still holding mom’s drink. I was about to ask for it, but he talked first. “What happened to your wallet?”

“I think I left it in the cab.” I said.

He tsked. I turned pink. “I was thinking about other stuff!”

We’d reached the beach already—the sea was bathed in moonlight, and restaurants and bars nearby were pulsing with RnB music and disco lights. People were also strolling like us, but I guess the surroundings were peaceful enough for me to think. Though Blaze wasn’t really helping—my heart was still thudding like crazy against my chest. Blaze was just an inch away from me—if he moved closer, he’d be touching me.

“So, we made it to the Saturday date, huh?” He said as he sipped his Caramel Apple Cider frap.

I smiled weakly. “Only, it wasn’t planned.”

“And you have to go home soon,” He added, stepping in front of me and waving mom’s drink. My eyes darted to the drink for a moment, but moved to him after. Standing there, a foot taller than me, Blaze looked like a night god. Like he was the lost son of Selene, or whoever the moon goddess was. His ivory skin was flawless against the moonlight. His black hair glistened blue, joining the night in its darkness. His left eye—being touched by the light—was gray, while the other one was black. I could see the reflections of rainbow-colored lights in his black one, dancing around in his irises. And then I noticed his smile—his lips were pink, and he had dimples on both sides of his soft cheeks.

Josh didn’t have dimples.

Why the heck was I thinking about Josh?

“Hey.” I jumped when his cold fingers touched the back of my hand. “You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I—I’m okay.” My voice was higher than usual. Blaze’s touch had been electric—icy, yet gentle. I thought up of an excuse. “I was just thinking on how to pay you back.”

“Don’t. I don’t let girls pay me back.”

“That wouldn’t apply to me.”

“You’re not a girl?” He asked, frowning but grinning, as if playing along.

“No, I just insist that I pay you back.” I said, honesty now audible in my voice. It wasn’t just an excuse anymore.

“I won’t take it.” He said. I opened my mouth to reply, but he said, “Alright, if you really want to pay me back, I don’t want it in the form of cash.”

“Huh?”

He took out two, strips of black, card-sort-of-looking papers. “I got the tickets. You can go with me.”

I looked from him back to the tickets he was holding. Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH! THOSE are the tickets to Dashboard’s gig. Oh my gosh! “Great!” I said, grinning. “I’ll pay for it on Monday!”

He ruffled my hair again. “What I meant was you’re going with me next Saturday. That’s all you’ll have to do.”

“Huh?” I was dumfounded. Was he saying that my ticket was free? “But—Blaze, that’s unfair. I cannot not pay!”

“You’re not not paying.”

“But—”

“Paying isn’t always in the form of money. Besides, I’m asking you for a day to be with me. Isn’t that already paying?”

I totally got what he meant. I knew paying could be in a lot of forms—like, kicking Josh’s butt once I see him roll his eyes at me, for example. I rejoiced at the thought—now, that’s paying.

“Okay, fine.” I said, taking a long sip from my frap. I held my hand out for the ticket.

He was about to hand it to me, but hesitated halfway. “On second thought, I’ll keep yours.”

“Why?”

“You might lose it in a cab.”

My nose turned pink. “I’m not that careless.” That was the first time I lost my wallet! Honestly! Though, yeah, I did lose some stuff before…

Oops. That’s what he’s pointing out, is it?

How many teens lose their things in cabs, anyway?

My phone signaled a message. “Sorry,” I said as I took my phone out. Mom had sent a message, telling me to hurry. And I thought I’d warned her about not knowing when I’ll come back…

“Hey, I gotta go.” I told Blaze.

“I’ll go with you.” Blaze offered, giving me a halfway smile. I nodded, dazzled, and followed him out of the beach, where he flagged down a cab. We got inside—I gave my address to the driver, and the cab drove off.

Blaze and I didn’t talk much on the way, except for minor things, like school, and what mom was doing that she needed the frap so badly. When we don’t talk, he’d look out the window, and I’d steal glances from him. I’d take note of the other details of how he looked—his body wasn’t overly muscular, but wasn’t very lean, either—it was just right, the exact body build that I like in guys. And he had long eyelashes. I always liked long eyelashes. The back part of his hair was carefully arranged in a spiky, messy sort of ‘do. He looked every bit dangerous—yet alluring.

Okay, so I know you guys are totally thinking that it’d be loads better if I just take a picture, but I couldn’t—I mean, hell-o! That’d be freaky. And I wouldn’t—because pictures just don’t captivate Blaze’s beauty.

He turned to me. “Is this your house?”

I glanced around, jerking out of my trance. I didn’t realize the cab just came to a stop. I could see the light from the second floor on, indicating that mom was still in the study. “Yeah.”

Blaze paid the driver, then, he slid closer to me. I was caught off guard by the sudden contact. “Wh—what?” I stammered.

“I’ll walk you to your door.” Blaze said, glancing at me.

“Oh. Oh! No, no, that’s fine. I mean, it’s okay if you don’t.” I actually prefer if he doesn’t! I DON’T think I’d be able to breathe properly if he does. I already hyperventilate when I look at him.

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.” I said, putting my best convincing smile.

He smiled. “It was nice being with you tonight, Allison.”

And then he kissed me near my lips.


© 2009 Abby Caranto. All rights reserved.

***

LMAO. Now that I posted that up, I'm LOLing here. But this is only a scene about Blaze. I didn't post the scenes concerning Josh, the other guy. When I posted this in the site where I really am posting my stories, I got the people telling me why the hell it wasn't on the lips. And that Blaze was really sexy. And that Josh was a jack**s--apologies for the word, I was quoting them, LOL!

Anyway, as for school news, obviously, my writing hobbies are affecting my studies. Sadly, I didn't reach the average I was aiming for this first quarter. I'd cried over it for so many times now. And am still depressed about it. And being pessimistic, I don't think I'd be able to "bawi" this second quarter, though my friends never get tired of telling me that I can. Oh! Now I'm being a drama queen. I'll stop these rants.

We had our last high school retreat just last Wednesday to Friday. The best retreat I had, ever. :] After the event, I realized how much of a family OLIC 09-10 is, for me.

Back to school.

I know this post is pretty late, but I was short in time. Anyway, enough of all that. Let's start this post, I've only limited time in my hands!

So we got back to school last June 15. My reaction was pretty much like, "Oh, here we go again," which is, I hope, something normal for a girl who'd been tortured mentally during her junior year and had only two months to write a novel (a still ongoing novel) she had fully concentrated on and dedicated herself to. I honestly didn't miss any of the school--teachers, classmates, the chalk and blackboard, the big tree at the center (the batibot, as they call it), investigatory project--no, I didn't miss ANYTHING. At all. Well, except for one, of course--my bestfriend. :D But other than that, I completely whined over the whole going back to school thing. I was SO not ready to go back to fully studying yet!

But of course I had no choice. It was something I had to do. So I lazed my butt off in the orientation. And then, we met our teachers--who all had their own unique personalities. I am totally excited over calculus, and web-creation! xD! Oh, and I'm excited about physics, too, though the FREAKING-NEVER-ENDING-INVESTIGATORY-PROJECT ruined that. Argh! Anyway, so far, I'm okay, though I'm still not working to my fullest. But I will, of course! I just have to figure out this whole switching-between-writing-Iris-and-studying-HARD deal.

And I still haven't done my back-to-school resolutions, but even if I had, I won't be posting them here. LOL. Mainly because by the start of July, those resolutions are gone. Ha!

As for my novel updates (as if you need to be updated. No one I know personally knows where I post the chapters, anyway--well, except for two.) I'm thinking of trying to get it to a publisher once I finish it. I've already got that back-up since one of my uncles has a lot of connections for he is a Manila Bulletin editor, or something of that position. I don't really know, but that's our family. Anything about law, politics, accountancies, a little on the medicine part, and a lot on music (yeah, LOL, I know, music just popped up like that. Ha!)--and as of my mother's: architects and art directors, etc. etc., we've got connections to that--which is a pretty good thing, since it will help me a lot in getting careers. :] Anyway, I strayed far. Back to the novel! So, it wasn't exactly my whole--ehrm, what do you call this? Decision? Idea? Yeah, I'd use the term idea. It wasn't exactly my whole idea to want to publish it. That suggestion (or, yeah, idea) came from my readers. They've loyally stuck to the story and after the last chapter I posted, many were already urging me to publish it. And of course, I'd totally want that! I mean, that'd be so friggin' COOL, even if it is hard to get a book published because you've got to go through a lot of processes (and yes, one of them: re-jec-tion). Still, it'd be cool. :D But they'd have to wait, and I'd have to wait...because the story isn't finished yet! :]

Uhh, well, I think I gotta go. I'm running out of time. Still have got a lot to do!

Frustrated

Agh! I don't know why on earth the picture I'd uploaded in the site where I'm posting my novel won't appear. Argh! D:

Anyway, I made a banner for my novel, Iris. :) It's my first one! xD I'll be making more banners later. Right now, I'm thinking of making a banner for my batch in H.A. :D Hang on there, guys!

This is the banner for Iris :] :

http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNDIzMTEzMTg*NTMmcHQ9MTI*MjMxMTMyMjEwOSZwPTQ1NTkzMiZkPSZnPTImdD*mbz*xMTU5NTA1YmI5MTA*YjY2OGVkYzZmZGEyZDVjODA3NiZvZj*w.gif" />

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jane Wells. WOW.

"Red-Headed Stepchild" by Jane Wells.

I WANT THIS NOVEL. So much.

I saw it while surfing the net some months ago, and I knew that I'd want it (like this). I looked it up and learned that it'll be hitting the shelves around March-April 2009, so it'd probably come here months from now...I've no idea. But anyway, I'll TOTALLY watch for this one out. Shaa! xD *face glistens with excitement*

I saw it first in this site:

http://www.lovevampires.com/

Here's the exact link:

http://www.lovevampires.com/jwredheadedstepchild.html

And this site has a BETTER and more specific review:

http://www.scifiguy.ca/2009/02/review-red-headed-stepchild-by-jaye.html

And, oh, by the way, the Love Vampires site is a pretty good site for anyone who's into vampire novels and stuff. So for those Twilight Saga fans--(get real, guys. I saw some people spell Stephenie Meyer's name with Stephanie Mayer. WHO ON EARTH IS THAT?!)--you can check the site out.

Aww. Now I'm having this strong desire to go out tomorrow and visit the bookstore. AGH. That Jane Wells book is driving me crazy.

And I also visited Fully Booked's website to check if they have Red-Headed Stepchild, but, apparently, they don't. But I saw something which piqued my interest--a FREE COMIC BOOK DAY on May 23, 2009. HELL, YEAH! And graphic novels will be 20% off. Woohoo! xD

Stressed Out. Again.

Maybe some of you would find the title quite bizarre for someone's who's having her (his) summer vacation. But then again, this is a bizarre person we're talking about. This is a bizarre person who's writing. So what do you expect?

It's been months since I last updated this blog, and I can say that it's partly my fault, and it's partly not (also). Of course I have my school as a reason again (heck, I've been writing about my studies in every entry I've created in the past, so it should be normal for me to write it here again!) Fourth quarter was as deadly as third quarter, in the sense that the lessons were--what, not for HUMANS?

And then there's the recognition, of course, and I luckily (Sorry, I have low self-esteem. That's another fact about me that you shouldn't find bizarre.) ranked as seventh in my class. Academically, I was fifth, but I was ranked seventeen in the 30% part--I meant, the activities. So I'm concentrating on joining the mother clubs for next year--I don't want some 30% criteria ruining my grade!

And then there's summer. For some recent updates about me, I put my manga on hold because I started on my fourth novel--Woohoo! So far, I've written about two hundred pages...it's somewhere around two hundred, three hundred. I'm actually writing the ninth chapter--yeah, I know what you're thinking about the span.

Then there's this review program thing my parents enrolled me in preparation for my college exams. At first, I really thought going into a review program sucks...well, I still do now. I mean, hell-O! I'm having summer vacation! So yeah, somehow, I'm not that bizarre at all--that's comfortable to admit, and it's much more comfortable because--well, I said it MYSELF. :DD LOL. But I really am better off writing my novel...at least, I feel loads, loads, loads better that way. It's not as if the review is super bad or anything--I just think it's bad because, on my part, I just started to really concentrate on my studies in second year, but before that, I was this easy-going student--an average, as others call it. I'm this student whose grades play around the line of 8, except for my Math grade, which ranges from 76-79 (YES, that's true.) and English, which ranges from 91 above. So basically, what I'm saying here is that I have no foundation of the basics whatsoever--that' why it's pretty hard for me to cope up! And then we had Math 1 and Chemistry today. I got everything in Math 1--though I wasn't able to answer the last question given to me because I divided the numbers wrong, but other than that, I really got it. Hell. Now I'm hating division.

And I thought Chemistry was a piece of cake--well, it WASN'T. More than half of what our teacher was saying wasn't even taught to us by our Chemistry teacher! No, it's not like more than half...it's more like 5/6. Don't suggest the idea that I hadn't paid attention to Chemistry class--I've loved Science when I studied Biology in second year, and I just rode it on with Chemistry (though I prefer Bio, of course. :D). Because no, it wasn't me.

I still have to go and drown myself in reviewing lessons. And I'm also watching Harry Potter 3--again--with my sister. So, yeah. I'll meet you guys at the flip side. LOL.

Happy Hearts

Happy Hearts Month. Yeah, for you guys. Count me out!

Okay, I know that was a bad start, but its what I feel right now. It's still about my grades. Darn, it always is!

Here's what happened: my ranking went up to third for this quarter, and I promised, well, I can't remember if I did promise-maybe not, because I perfectly know I can't handle promises that well-I said to myself that I'll make up for my third quarter grades for the fourth quarter. Well, a promise or not, I wasn't able to. I seriously know I am going down for the last quarter-honestly, I always say I'm going to go down, get low grades, blah blah blah, but I'm dead serious! I'm lazy enough to study that it's possible for me to pretend I'm sick and be absent for the day. Oh, and by the way, that's an old trick. I've done that before. So maybe mom would be able to tell that something's fishy if I do that again. Oops.

Eurgh. Enough with this talk. I've still got a lot of stuff to say. But really, it'd be a real miracle if I ever maintain my ranking for the fourth quarter. Too bad if that didn't happen, because medals are awarded for the fourth quarter, and all I've got so far are three First Honor qualifier certificates for the last three quarters. Of course I wanted something heavier than paper. Why, oh why do laziness have to struck me for this last marking? Fate already took my chance last year. Can't it give me something bronze and round and hang it around my neck? Or can't it just reply that, "Sorry, Abby, you're being too selfish."? Cause I'd appreciate that more than keeping on asking.

Anyway, I've had enough of this talk for now. I've got a new object of affection for this-ehrm, yeah, I guess, for this month. I can't even remember if I met HIM this month. Well, anyway, he's already got a girlfriend, and still have lots of girls wanting to be his girlfriend, and still have lots of girls who are willing to kill just to be his girlfriend. Oh, you can pick my name on this. Not on the kill part, though. But what do I have against his girlfriend? They'd been together for almost two years. maybe three, or nearing three. And I don't even think that he knows I exist. Well, maybe he's seen me, but then, maybe I was invisible when he did see me. Err.

I had my birthday-PLEASE DON'T ASK MY AGE-last February the thirteenth. (Ooh. Friday. Cool.) And had my party on the fourteenth. Whoa, maybe I'd go on the details next time If I get the chance. Time's stabbing me at the back again. I've still got laundry to do, and still have to study!

I'm Not Missing This....

I know it's been, like, decades since I last wrote. I just can't find the time to write here anymore, and since it's the second week (and last T_T) of Christmas vacation, I'm not going to miss the chance to write here and update my blog.

Well, of course I still have the horrors from school-I just can't accept that I'm not the smartest in class anymore (Well, I know I'm competing with the smartest kids here, but still...) At least, I made it to one of the best. Yay! My ranking went up last quarter, and I am now sixth in my class. Plus I maintained my First Honor ranking in the Qualifiers list. I was just so happy that I made my parents smile again-though they were not pushing me too hard. I think I deserve more than I should. My classmates' parents have high expectations of their kids, but mine don't, though of course, my parents' expectations also have limits.

Then, third quarter started-it was the cruelest quarter I've ever experienced. I mean, come on, we weren't able to breathe! Seriously! Seven projects had to be done in a week, because the next week would be preparation for exams. Plus we're much more pressured than the other sections. And don't ask what kind of projects we've been assigned to do. It can kill with just plain 1-2-3-4 instructions. Third quarter depressed me so much that it became the first time that the nearing of Christmas never cheered me up-I had no spirit at all, unlike I used to. I hope it's only for this time.

First week of Christmas vacation was like having a project-again-though this time, it was with less pressure. We had to do a lot of preparations for our Christmas program on the 25th-I was assigned to head the props department. We won second place-being beaten by the gutsy group of my elder brother. Their presentation was pretty-uhm-well, gutsy.

I received cool presents this Christmas. I got a pair of Chucks from my parents; perfume from Tito Ben and Tita Nelia; The Official Twilight Soundtrack from my brother; A Billabong Hoodie from Tito Ricky and Tita Maridur(It's in pink, and I kind of have rules in wearing pink-mainly, I don't wear pink.)-and many others.

I guess I'll be ending this entry now-I'll update again. Oh. BTW, I had been having 'fun' with wishlists. Here's the best one I made. Haha.

Three pairs of Chucks-again!
Three more hoodies-haha. I'm getting quite addicted.
Three or two more shirts with hoodies. I know I'm obsessed, so don't say it.
Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.
Ten more novels. I want books, books, books.
Complete set of Harry Potter books-still number one for me! The Twilight Series never took the place. I mean, I love Twilight and all that, but Harry Potter has a much more interesting storyline and can be applied to readers of all ages. Think about it, what if Harry Potter had vampire characters (though it obviously had) and is much more romantic and poetic? Well, it might not be exactly like that...but just something like that.
Anime DVDs.
Mangas. Lots of 'em.
Black or gray or black and white backpack. Something good.
Materials for drawing my manga.
My own laptop...though my dad is talking about getting one for me and my younger sister soon...that'll be good enough. My sister is a bit scary in owning computers, though.
PSP SLIM! Hell, YEAH!
To finish my novels. I have another one coming up soon.
To be home-schooled. Grr. I'm hating school, seriously. Besides, I just want to learn, learn, learn.
iPod. I have one. Only, it looks like an iPod. But isn't.


Ah, well, this is all I have made up for now. I'm going to have it grown later.

I'll be posting about New Year!