I tossed my head and caught Mr. Barnett’s eye.
My cheeks burned under the curiosity of that gaze. “What? Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what? I’m only curious.”
“Well don’t be. Try to box up your journalistic curiosity for one night and enjoy yourself.”
“I am enjoying myself.”
I ripped my arm out of his and rolled my eyes. “Then let me enjoy myself and stop staring at me as if you’d never seen me before. You’ve spent weeks with Callie Harper.”
“Not this Callie Harper.”
“Well, you played your little trick at the Stork Club, and I’m playing mine here. You certainly aren’t vain enough to think you’re the only human alive who can play the charmer on occasion?”
-Fly Away Home
Euphoria fell to the bottom and nerves rose to the top again. “But I’m sure I’ll find some dreadful mistake when it comes out. I’ll have spelled a dozen words wrong in one paragraph, or have broken all the most elementary rules of grammar…”
“Tell me, Callie, are you in the habit of spelling poorly?”
“Well…no.” I wouldn’t say it to him, but I rather prided myself on my ability to spell words like “different” and “separate” and “independent” without replacing the E’s with A’s and vice-versa.
-Fly Away Home
Mr. Barnett clapped his hands. “There—you see? You and I were meant to be together, Miss Harper. We’re fire and gunpowder. We’re flint and steel. We’re…we’re the North and South with Dixie whistling and Yankee Doodle dandling. Great Scot, woman—it’ll be a masterpiece.”
-Fly Away Home
“A glossy publication always sours my stomach,” my employer said, turning to me. “It seems to make a great show of promising everything and delivering nothing. Besides—it’s impossible to draw in afterward, and I know how disappointing that is to a child.” He laughed. “Did you ever flip through magazines just to draw moustaches on the women and bouffant hairstyles on the men, Miss Harper?”
-Fly Away Home
Golden was the lamplight, brass were the instruments, yellow was my dress, and Jules’ smile was twisted with bronze as he bent his head toward me.
-Fly Away Home
It
was always autumn in my memories—bright, copper-winged autumn with wood-smoke
purpling the distances and cloying scent of windfalls fermenting beneath the
trees.
-Fly Away Home
Eighteen years old and naïve as an infant, I sat on the porch in the light of noonday with a glass of honey lemonade in one hand and my college acceptance letter in the other. Tristan lazed back in a rocker behind me but he held a strand of my long black hair in his fingers and he twisted it now and then as if it was a cord that connected us.
-Fly Away Home
“You aren’t a very good gambler, are you, honey?” I drew closer to him so my mouth was at his ear and I could pour every ounce of malice I possessed straight into his soul. “Because if you think I like you well enough to do any favor for you, much less that one, then you belong in Bedlam.”I expected some retaliation, but Jules only swung me out to the fierce rhythm of the dance, twisted, and pulled me close again. When I looked at his face I found a frightening calmness etched into his features. “I knew you’d say that. But you do forget one thing.”
-Fly Away Home
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9 comments:
Hmm. I hate Jules. And have I mentioned that I really like Mr. Barnett?
These are so lovely, Rachel! I love the whimsical atmosphere that your writing gives. :)
Yes, Jules gives off that curious aura, conjuring that equally curious oh-my-gosh-I-want-to-stab-your-eyes-out feeling...
Mmhmm.
I really liked these, Rachel! Once again you have outdone yourself. I, too, have struggled with the E's and A's of "different," "separate" and "independent"... But I think my favourite, if I can have a favourite, was the following:
Mr. Barnett clapped his hands. “There—you see? You and I were meant to be together, Miss Harper. We’re fire and gunpowder. We’re flint and steel. We’re…we’re the North and South with Dixie whistling and Yankee Doodle dandling. Great Scot, woman—it’ll be a masterpiece.”
Such good, old-fashioned glee. ^.^
Thanks girls. Anne-girl, I'm so glad you like Mr. Barnett because I like him so much that I want him to make a good impression on everybody. Bree, I am glad my voice is consistent, because "whimsical" is what I am most often labeled as when it comes to writing.
Jenny, I am glad someone else besides myself struggles with spelling those words. It's the bane of my existence, always having Spell-check telling me I'm wrong.
My favorite was undoubtedly the one about the glossy publication. I LOVE Mr. Barnett. I used to draw mustaches and crazy hairstyles too, but my defacing was confined to Disney princess coloring books.
Fly Away Home is priceless, Rachel! I'm LOVING every single snippet.
Wonderful! I really, really like the sound of this Mr. Barnett. The more I read about Fly Away Home, the more I want to read it.
I love the line about autumn. That sort of description is my favourite, and very apt for this time of year! Although autumn is my favourite season, so perhaps I'm a little biased.
~Abby
"Jules’ smile was twisted with bronze as he bent his head toward me."
Ick - now I *really* don't want to be called "Jules" as a nickname! :P He sounds scary!
But boy, Rachel, just from these snippets, I can tell I'm going to love the books. Please finish them quickly! :D I'm itching to read them!
~Julia
Love the 2nd the last one the best! That's the kind of sentence that would make me keep reading a book! :) And the rest were...still brilliant. I had a great time reading through your snippets.
stopping by from the linkup. :]
Thank you, Cait! I am glad you liked that piece--I liked it too, as it's a little part of the story that gives you some insight into Callie's character. :)
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