WIPpet: More Chickens

I almost forgot! But here I am with another WIPpet.  In case you’ve forgotten over the last 3 weeks, this is a little bit of our works-in-progress.  Add your own here, and don’t forget to read the other wonderful entries!

Today, I have 14 lines of dialogue (because this is the first WIPpet of 2014).  Just for context, my main character, Phin Patterson, is an educational consultant.  He’s observing classroom practices of a school in a small town in the Southern Tier of NY.  In this scene, he’s observing a lesson in which a kindergarten teacher has read a story about a woman who rescues chickens and has a couple as pets.*  She’s given her students a related activity, and Phin finds himself drawn in and paired with an enthusiastic student.

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By Kate Sheets from Izmail, Ukraine (Fuzzy Chicken) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

“You can be my partner,” she informed him.  “Ms. Scuderi says everyone participates, even if it’s just a picture.”

Startled, Phin replied, “All right. But I’ll need a pencil. Do you have an extra?”

The girl pointed to a cup on the table. “There’s some in there.” She leaned a little closer and said in a loud whisper, “They’re for people who don’t remember to bring one.”

When they had finished, the girl examined Phin’s work and said, “You draw pretty good.”

He smiled. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

“Does your chicken have a name?” the girl asked.

“Hm…I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I didn’t give him one.”

“Are you sure it’s a him? Because I think it’s maybe a girl chicken. It doesn’t look like a boy.”

Phin laughed. “You got me. Maybe it is a girl. What should we call her?”

The girl looked thoughtful. “Dandelion,” she said.

“Dandelion?”

“Yeah. Look, she has one of those fuzzy heads, like the one in the book. It looks like a dandelion.”

“Sounds good.” Phin took his pencil and wrote on the lines below the picture, “Mr. Patterson and his pet chicken, Dandelion.”

The girl giggled. “Good job,” she said.

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*The book is real.  It’s called City Chickens, by Christine Hepperman.  I’ve read it with my own daughter.

WIPpet Wednesday: Cautionary Tale

I’m a day late due to illness; winter colds just suck.  Today’s WIPpet is 18 lines (yesterday was the 18th) from the next chapter of the novel.  You can follow along with the other WIPpet-ers and add your own.  Be sure to read them–there is fantastic stuff in there!

I called this one “Cautionary Tale” as the warning not to store your entire life on your iPhone.  Let’s hope Phin learned his lesson.

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By ALT1040 from Blogosfera, via Wikimedia Commons

Frustrated, Phin tossed the phone onto his bed and stood there in his towel, still wondering who might have had reason to snoop in his phone. While he was puzzling over it, there was a knock on the door. He called, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Vic,” came the reply.

Phin barely restrained himself from stomping over to the door. As it was, he hauled it open forcefully. Vic looked Phin up and down and snickered. “What, no time to get dressed?” he asked.

“Oh, shut up,” Phin grouched. “It’s been a rough day. What do you want, anyway?”

“You didn’t stop by the desk on your way in, so I came to see if you got Dani’s invitation.” He crossed his arms.

“Yes, I did, and I’ll be there, fully clothed. Was there something else? Because I need to put something on.”

“Go right ahead,” Vic suggested. His lips twitched.

Phin glared at him. “In private.”

Vic laughed. “It’s not like there’s anything I haven’t seen before. How long were we friends? I was actually just going to ask how things were going, but I guess whatever I want to say to you can wait until you’re not half-naked.”

“Fine. Then get out.” Phin ran a hand through his damp hair. He wasn’t being fair to Vic, and he knew it. He relaxed his posture. “Wait. I’m sorry. It’s just that I misplaced my phone this morning, and by the time I got it back, someone had looked through it. I have no idea how much other information they managed to get, but my contacts list was open to my father’s number. Someone knows.”

Vic’s eyes widened. “I swear, I didn’t tell a soul. You know I wouldn’t. I already told you I can’t get involved in that again.”

“I know. That’s why it’s so weird. I’ve been trying to figure out who might want to know about that.  If anyone makes the connection, I’m screwed.”

 

WIPpet Wednesday: Detective Work

By Wordbuilder (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

It’s time for another installment of my WIP.  This week, we join my other MC as she tries to figure out just what the heck is going on.  For some context, she found Phin’s phone and did some snooping, and now she’s using what she learned to do a bit of detective work.  This scene was my husband’s idea–does that say something about him that he would go digging around if he found a phone belonging to his possible nemesis?  Anyway, this is 11 sentences from the 12th scene of the story (today is 12/11).  I’d have done it the other way around, but I posted from the 11th scene last week.

If you want to play along (and I hope you do!) post a bit of your WIP (your snippet must have an association with the date) and link up here.  Be sure to read the others; there are some absolutely fantastic WIPs to enjoy.

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Dani opened up one of the tabs on her browser. She had done a quick search for Donald Murdock’s name, hoping for more information besides his position with the Department of Education. She hadn’t been expecting to find much, but when she saw his name associated with a school district in the Albany area, she clicked the link.

By the time she was three sentences in, she was frowning. Murdock appeared to have been involved in the conversion of several elementary schools into charters. That wasn’t uncommon; with the new standards, many schools had failed to pass. Closing and reopening as charter schools was among the valid options. The problem was that Murdock seemed to have had a hand in at least three districts converting multiple schools to charters. Dani wasn’t sure if that was strange or not, but she decided it warranted further investigation.

It wasn’t until she clicked the link about Lorne Patterson’s company, EduText, that she made the connection. A news report from two years prior showed Patterson at the ribbon-cutting of a brand-new charter school near Buffalo.

WIPpet Wednesday: Chicken Not-So-Big

Happy Wednesday!  Adding another snippet of my WIP today.  Join in and add your own link, and don’t forget to read the other posts.

Today’s excerpt is 4 lines of dialogue (today is 12/4).  Enjoy!

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By Charles M. Sauer via Wikimedia Commons

Phin pulled open the door to see Alex standing there. He groaned. “Can I help you?”

It was obvious from the way Alex’s lips twitched that he was trying not to laugh. He leaned closer and whispered, “What happened to you? Get in a fight with a feather duster?”

“No,” Phin said through clenched teeth. “I helped put chicks back in their pens. Why the hell are there live farm animals here in the school?”

“No idea. Must be Jean’s idea of teaching the kids about the life cycle.” Alex straightened up and raised his voice. “Would you mind getting Carlie Roberts for me? I need to see her for a moment.”

WIPpet Wednesday: Copier Cat

It’s been a long time since I posted anything here.  Mostly that’s because I’ve been working on a longer project.  A couple of fellow writers introduced me to WIPpet Wednesday.  I don’t normally participate, but I’m finally at the point where I’m really excited about this project and wanted to share a bit of it.

For those who don’t know what WIPpet is, it’s a post from your current work in progress (WIP).  The excerpt must have something related to the date.  Today is 11/20/13, so here are 44 (11+20+13) lines from one of my favorite scenes.

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There was already someone else in the copy room; a slender brunette with a pixie cut was punching buttons on the copier. When it started, she turned to Phin. “Are you from the copier company? This will only take about ten minutes, and then it’s all yours.”

“Uh…” Surprised, Phin was momentarily at a loss. He shook his head. “I’m not—”

“I’m just going to go grab something I left in my classroom. Since you know the machine, can you just watch it while I’m gone?” She ducked out of the copy room without waiting for an answer.

While Phin stood there waiting for the copier to finish, another woman appeared in the doorway. She was considerably older than the first, and she had only a few pages in her hand. She turned to Phin. “I heard that. Ten minutes my fanny. This thing’s been acting up since last Thursday. Watch, two minutes in, it’s going to jam.” She leaned against the wall and studied Phin. “You’re not from the copier company. Who are you subbing for?” she asked.

“Oh, um, I’m not,” Phin said, caught off-guard once more. “I’m—”

The copier chose that precise moment to jam.

“What’d I tell you?” The woman set her papers down on the table in the corner and began fiddling with the copy machine. “Damn thing does this every time the copy lady’s out. I’m pretty sure it’s possessed, and the demon inside it only likes her.” She huffed and opened the paper jam compartment. “Doesn’t help that Gia took off in the middle of her job. Some people.” The paper came free and the blinking text on the copier stopped. “There.”

The woman managed to restart the copy job. When the pages had resumed cheerfully spitting out into the tray, the woman turned to Phin again. “I’m Eunice Clark,” she said, extending her hand. “And you are…”

“Phin Patterson.” He didn’t offer more details.

The woman blinked. “Phin Patterson? Well, damn, honey. I’ll bet you don’t remember me.”

“Uh…no. Sorry.” Phin racked his brain, trying to recall if they’d ever met before.

Eunice laughed. “I used to babysit you when you were tiny.” She threw an arm around Phin’s shoulders, and he tried not to stiffen. “You inspired me to go into teaching.”

Phin twisted slightly to get a good look at her and raised his eyebrows. “I did?”

“Well, no, but it sounded good, didn’t it?” She laughed. “Now, I already guessed you’re not here to fix this piece of garbage.” She waved a hand at the copier and eyed Phin. “Or was I wrong about that? Because if so, I just did your job for you.”

“Nope. I promise I’m not here about the copier. At the moment, I’m just helping Dani—uh, Ms. Sloane—in the office.”

Eunice returned her attention to the copier, which was still churning out copies. “When Gia gets back, I’m going to let her have it. I’m tired of her leaving her job running so she can go do whatever, while I sit here for fifteen minutes just to do a thirty-second job.”

Just then, the other woman—Gia, presumably—returned to the copy room with a textbook. She frowned at the copier. “I thought it would be done by now.”

Eunice laid a hand on Gia’s shoulder. “Oh, sweetie, the copier got hung up again, right in the middle of your extremely important job.” Her voice was thick with artificial sweetness.

Gia’s face fell. “I’m sorry. You’re not mad, are you?”

“No worries,” Eunice told her. “We fixed it for you. I’m sure you didn’t really mean to leave it for us to take care of. I just hope all your copies came out right.” She peered past Gia and winked at Phin, who stored the moment in the back of his brain for later use.  He was left wondering exactly what Eunice had done to Gia’s copies that she would discover back in her classroom. Apparently, there was some Secret Copy Room Code he would have to learn before he would be able to blend in.

Dad

Father’s Day is this Sunday.  Whether you have a dad, are a dad, or fill a fatherly role in someone’s life, I hope your day is meaningful.

This story is a little sadder than my usual.  This isn’t an easy day for me, and I imagine it’s not for many others as well.  No worries, I’ll be back with something lighter next time.

Note: Please don’t read more into this story than I intended.  I had several requests to write more about the people from my previous stories in this “world,” and I hadn’t done one about Chad, so I thought I’d start with him.  Don’t worry, he’ll have less drama in a future installment, I promise.  Also, don’t assume you know what’s underneath his troubled relationship with his dad.  I intentionally left that ambiguous, because I wanted it to be relatable.  I’m not even sure I know that just yet; Chad hasn’t confided in me.

Isaac Blesses Jacob, deatail. Govert Flinck, 1638.

Chad woke to the sound of the shower. He stretched lazily and blinked a few times to clear the sleep-induced blur from his eyes. He ran a hand over his face and sat up, remembering what day it was. He winced, thinking that as an adult, he really shouldn’t still let it get to him. He threw back the covers and slipped out of the bed, then began pulling the blankets back into place and smoothing them down. He flopped down on his back, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed, and threw one arm over his eyes.

The shower stopped and the door opened. Steam and the scent of soap wafted out, and Chad breathed in. He let himself smile a little as he propped himself up on his elbows. From where he was situated on the bed, he had a clear view into the bathroom. Al stepped out onto the bathmat to dry off. The familiar curve of his spine and the lines and planes of his body were comforting. He looked over and caught Chad’s eye.

“See something you like?”

“Always,” Chad replied, but only half-heartedly. Understanding flickered between them.

Al rubbed at his hair to dry it. From under the towel he asked, “Are you going to call him?” He finished and pulled the towel around his hips.

“I’m not sure.” Chad closed his eyes. He could hear Al rummaging around in one of the drawers, probably looking for his razor. Chad reopened his eyes just in time to see Al starting to shave. “It’s just…” Chad wasn’t entirely sure what it “just” was. It had been easier when he hadn’t had to think about what it would mean. “He hasn’t really been–you know.”

“You remember what my dad said his father was like. I still think he’s not too crazy about it, but at least he keeps his mouth shut during family dinners.”

“It’s not exactly the same thing.”

Al wiped his face on the hand towel and leaned back so he could meet Chad’s gaze. “I know.”

“After what happened, he wouldn’t even come to the wedding.” Not that Chad had been surprised, really.

Chad turned over so that he was lying prone with his face in the pillow. There wasn’t much to say. It was just a phone call, but it seemed like significantly more at the moment. Chad heard Al walk out of the bathroom and turned his head to peer at him. Al yanked off the towel around his waist, folding it and threading it over the rack on the back of the closet door. He pulled out his clothes.

“It’s really up to you. Not much going on today, other than dinner at my parents’ house at five.”

“Mm-hm.”

“We can just have a quiet day, if you want.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Or I could wait until you fall asleep and paint your toenails red and draw a fake mustache on your lip with a Sharpie.”

Chad pushed himself up a bit. “You’re a jerk.”

“Just making sure you were listening.”

Chad threw the pillow at him, but he missed. Al just laughed and went back to getting dressed.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Eventually, Al said, “Okay if I tell Paula we’ll take the kids overnight next weekend? Kyle’s out of town and she wanted to go to that women’s thing at her church.”

“Oh, God. I hope it’s every bit as fun as the men’s version I went to last week.” Chad sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

“I’m sure it will be even better. Why’d you go, anyway?” Al paused in buttoning his shirt, his head to one side.

“Because Kyle told me it was going to be awesome, and then he bailed. I was stuck with a bunch of middle-aged men going on about how hot their wives are.”

“I didn’t know Kyle had promised to go. He was with Dad and me at the new house.” Al resumed his buttoning.

“Yeah, well, that’s Kyle.” Chad shrugged.

“Sure is. I’ll give him hell for you next time I see him.”

“Nah. It wasn’t all bad. Remember that guy Bill I mentioned? He asked if I wanted to catch the game with him in a couple of weeks. I guess his company gets free tickets every year, and his wife hates baseball.”

Al rolled his eyes. “Better you than me. Anyway, what do you want me to tell Paula?”

“You can tell her we’ll do it.” Chad chuckled. “You know they only like coming here because we feed them ice cream and let them stay up late.”

“And put on DVDs of the Muppet Show. Don’t forget that.”

“I’m surprised that hasn’t gotten us a lifetime ban. You know how Paula is about ‘adult humor.’” Chad threw in air quotes for emphasis.

“There are worse things we could let them watch,” Al said, shrugging.

“Oh, like half the crap you enjoy? Good thing Paula doesn’t know about those.”

Al reached out to swat at Chad, who rolled out of his reach just in time.

“You want me to make breakfast?” Al offered.

“Maybe. I’m not really hungry.”

The bed dipped a little as Al sat down. “Hey.”

“What?”

“You know you don’t have to do this.”

“Call, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

“I know. But maybe if I do…”

Al shook his head. “Don’t do this just because you think you have to or because you think something will change.” He reached out and put his hand on Chad’s arm. “I’m not going to think less of you if you don’t. Do what you need to, but do it for yourself.”

“Okay.”

“I want to go get some coffee. You want to shower first? Should I wait for you before I eat?”

“Nah. I’m just going to take some time.” He knew Al would understand what he wasn’t saying.

“Sure.” Al leaned in for a brief kiss, then rose from the bed. “I’ll see you down there in a bit.”

Once Al had closed the door behind him, Chad glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes after eight, which meant it was plenty late enough. He reached for his phone. His hand was shaking slightly as he pulled up the number from his contacts. The phone rang twice before he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

“Hi, Dad?” He cleared his throat. “It’s Chad.”

©June 14, 2013 ABMitchell