Status: Look! I added character descriptions! I nearly got fried alive by my friend for not having them!
The Soul for Some
Welcome to Georgianna! Population: 4,032
My Dad dropped me off in front of the town corner store. It was a ratty building with a peeling sign that read “McDuff’s Good Supply”. As I hopped out of the car Dad shouted “Hey!” I turned around, smiling, but my father’s face was serious. Then he said in a low voice “I want you to have a good time. Live in the moment. I know you’ve been having a very hard time lately with all of this . . . drama.” I kept my smile plastered on, but I’m sure my eyes showed my actual feelings, because Dad reached over and patted my hand. “Have a good time. If you want to grab a beer or two while you’re out, I’ll look the other way.” I slapped his hand and he laughed. Then I told him scoldingly “You’re dating a policeman!” He laughed again. Then he drove away, dust kicking up in the wake of the car.
I heard Julian’s voice. “Hey!” he shouted. I turned around to spot him walking up the street. He was wearing pants with a tartan shirt, accompanied by a pair of rainbow suspenders. “What’s up?!” I shouted back. He pointed at the front of the store, so I walked over and waited until he got there. I clapped him on the back. “When is Kelly getting here?” I asked. Julian responded “In about half an hour. She had some homework to do so she’ll be late.” I blew some air out of my mouth. Then I asked him “Is there anything we can do while we’re waiting?” He shrugged and replied “I guess we could hang out at the kiddie park for a while. The trees there didn’t get logged when operations were running, so they’re pretty big.” I replied “Okay. Lead the way.”
As we walked down to the park, I looked around at the shops that lined the street. Next to McDuff’s there was “Native American Cultural Center”, it had paintings of people in exotic tribal dresses in the windows, and a little totem pole in front. Across from those two stores was the grocery store. It was the largest shop on the street, it had vending machines and a few benches in front on some of the parking spaces. Next to the grocery store there was a farming store called “Fernado’s Feed and Seed”. It had a fresh coat of green paint, and planters with flowers sat underneath the windows. There were two gun stores I noticed. One was two shops over from Fernado’s. It was called “BigShot”. It had several hunting rifles displayed in the window, and a sign advertising “Buy one box of ammo, get a second one half off!” The sign was peeling and cracking. Directly across from it was the second gun store. “Hunting and Lesiure Supply Shop” it was called. It had plastic birds hanging in the window, framing a set of hunting rifles. I remarked to Julian after we passed the Hunting store “Close competition huh?” Julian chuckled. Then he said “The guys who own those stores are actually brothers.” I replied “Hmm”.
. . . . .
The trees in the kiddie park weren’t big. They were massive! They were as big around as a car! Julian laughed as I ran around one of them. I went closer to the tree, reaching out to touch it. I stroked the bark, and noticed a series of deep scratches running downwards. “What’re these?” I asked Julian. He leaned closer, and frowned. He shrugged his shoulders saying “No idea. Probably some kids gone wild with a knife.” I ran a finger into one of scars. They were old, I could tell. The tree had already grown plenty of soft bark over the sides of the cut. As I probed the rough cut, I discovered I couldn’t feel the bottom. I remarked aloud, to no one in paticular “More like someone gone wild with a chainsaw!”
Then, I heard a coquettish voice crow “Hey Jules!” I looked over at where the voice was coming from. A girl with short black hair got out of a black van, waved goodbye to the driver, and hopped over the low green fence that surrounded the park. She sprinted up to Julian and gave him a big hug. Then she whirled around to face me, smiling widely. “You’re Beatrice right? Hi, I’m Kelly!!!” She gave me a quick hug before I even said anything. I smiled shyly at her and replied “Yes. I heard a little about you from Julian earlier. You also do basketball?” She grinned and nodded while saying “Yeah! I go to the school on the Reservation though. So I’ll be playing against you this season.” I nodded thoughtfully. There was an American Indian reservation nearby, I hadn’t seen it yet myself but apparently it attracted a lot of money because of the casinos. Then I asked her “How is it on the Reservation? I haven’t seen it myself.” Kelly chuckled a bit. Then she replied “Its nice, everyone there has jobs in the casino business, so we all make decent money. We have good forest, and lots of wildlife as well. We don’t have any poachers, so people come from all over to take a look at the wolves.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “No poachers? With all of those wolves?” I asked. Kelly shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Not a single one! We have good police too!” I smiled at her. Then Julian came over and said “Hey girls, sorry to put a stop on the conversation but we should probably get going now. Kelly, can you show Beatrice the Warehouse?” Kelly grinned, replying “Sure!”
End of Chapter
I heard Julian’s voice. “Hey!” he shouted. I turned around to spot him walking up the street. He was wearing pants with a tartan shirt, accompanied by a pair of rainbow suspenders. “What’s up?!” I shouted back. He pointed at the front of the store, so I walked over and waited until he got there. I clapped him on the back. “When is Kelly getting here?” I asked. Julian responded “In about half an hour. She had some homework to do so she’ll be late.” I blew some air out of my mouth. Then I asked him “Is there anything we can do while we’re waiting?” He shrugged and replied “I guess we could hang out at the kiddie park for a while. The trees there didn’t get logged when operations were running, so they’re pretty big.” I replied “Okay. Lead the way.”
As we walked down to the park, I looked around at the shops that lined the street. Next to McDuff’s there was “Native American Cultural Center”, it had paintings of people in exotic tribal dresses in the windows, and a little totem pole in front. Across from those two stores was the grocery store. It was the largest shop on the street, it had vending machines and a few benches in front on some of the parking spaces. Next to the grocery store there was a farming store called “Fernado’s Feed and Seed”. It had a fresh coat of green paint, and planters with flowers sat underneath the windows. There were two gun stores I noticed. One was two shops over from Fernado’s. It was called “BigShot”. It had several hunting rifles displayed in the window, and a sign advertising “Buy one box of ammo, get a second one half off!” The sign was peeling and cracking. Directly across from it was the second gun store. “Hunting and Lesiure Supply Shop” it was called. It had plastic birds hanging in the window, framing a set of hunting rifles. I remarked to Julian after we passed the Hunting store “Close competition huh?” Julian chuckled. Then he said “The guys who own those stores are actually brothers.” I replied “Hmm”.
. . . . .
The trees in the kiddie park weren’t big. They were massive! They were as big around as a car! Julian laughed as I ran around one of them. I went closer to the tree, reaching out to touch it. I stroked the bark, and noticed a series of deep scratches running downwards. “What’re these?” I asked Julian. He leaned closer, and frowned. He shrugged his shoulders saying “No idea. Probably some kids gone wild with a knife.” I ran a finger into one of scars. They were old, I could tell. The tree had already grown plenty of soft bark over the sides of the cut. As I probed the rough cut, I discovered I couldn’t feel the bottom. I remarked aloud, to no one in paticular “More like someone gone wild with a chainsaw!”
Then, I heard a coquettish voice crow “Hey Jules!” I looked over at where the voice was coming from. A girl with short black hair got out of a black van, waved goodbye to the driver, and hopped over the low green fence that surrounded the park. She sprinted up to Julian and gave him a big hug. Then she whirled around to face me, smiling widely. “You’re Beatrice right? Hi, I’m Kelly!!!” She gave me a quick hug before I even said anything. I smiled shyly at her and replied “Yes. I heard a little about you from Julian earlier. You also do basketball?” She grinned and nodded while saying “Yeah! I go to the school on the Reservation though. So I’ll be playing against you this season.” I nodded thoughtfully. There was an American Indian reservation nearby, I hadn’t seen it yet myself but apparently it attracted a lot of money because of the casinos. Then I asked her “How is it on the Reservation? I haven’t seen it myself.” Kelly chuckled a bit. Then she replied “Its nice, everyone there has jobs in the casino business, so we all make decent money. We have good forest, and lots of wildlife as well. We don’t have any poachers, so people come from all over to take a look at the wolves.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “No poachers? With all of those wolves?” I asked. Kelly shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Not a single one! We have good police too!” I smiled at her. Then Julian came over and said “Hey girls, sorry to put a stop on the conversation but we should probably get going now. Kelly, can you show Beatrice the Warehouse?” Kelly grinned, replying “Sure!”
End of Chapter
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Ken is 6'1", is muscular and has brown skin, black hair, and slightly slanted brown eyes thanks to his Japanese heritage.