Post by Delta1212 on Dec 23, 2006 12:17:59 GMT -5
Ok, for my AP Lit. class we had to write a Joycean short story. It's not exactly the kind of thing that's usually posted here, but at least it comes with the ending already in it. Keep in mind that I this was a school assignment that I spent all of one hour on.
The incessant patter of rain beating on down the rooftop above roused me from my slumber. I glanced at my clock and groaned as I saw the glowing numbers flash 5:30. I was about to roll over and go back to sleep when I realized what day it was. I was seventeen years old and was about to obtain the single most liberating object that had ever been within my grasp. I bolted out of bed and stopped at the window before getting dressed. As I watched the water snake down the invisible barrier of glass in front of me, I grew concerned that the weather might interfere with my plans for the day, namely, receiving my license to drive.
“Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes,” my mom called from the kitchen, drawing me from my reverie before nerves began to eat at my stomach. Instead, hunger took its place, my stomach growling audibly.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” I yelled. “Let me finish getting dressed.” I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and raced downstairs, snatching up my wallet on the way out of my bedroom. I would not want to arrive and discover I had forgotten my permit. That would definitely be one way to ruin my day.
My mom had prepared a plate of waffles for breakfast and I wolfed them down hungrily. Syrup covered the plate with a sticky glaze and I mopped up what I could with the last morsel before sitting back for a moment and resting.
“Well,” exclaimed my mom, “someone was hungry, or maybe you’re just in a hurry to get going.” She smiled knowingly, and I felt a twinge of annoyance rolling around in my stomach with the waffle. I wished she would just leave me alone. I went over to grab the car keys so we could get going, but my mom cut in. “Do you want me to drive?” She inquired. “It’s raining awfully hard.”
“Mom,” I started, “I’ve been driving for months now. Besides, I’ll never pass the test if I just let you do everything for me.” I shook my head and rolled my eyes for effect.
“I know,” she replied. "You’re just growing up too fast. Why couldn’t you stay little?” At that, I just gave up talking to her. I most definitely wasn’t growing up too fast. If anything, the opposite was true. I grabbed the keys, and we both headed to the car.
The drive was spent in almost complete silence. There was only the constant swishing of the rainwater being swept off the windshield and droning voices coming in over the radio to fill the air. Eventually, we arrived at the DMV.
I pulled into the parking lot where a long line of car already sat, waiting in the dark wet morning for the coming dawn. The wipers beat back the rain in a futile attempt to bring the dismal world ahead clear to me. I pulled into the line. I was overly anxious and, in my haste, stopped a little too close to the vehicle in front of me. I backed up slowly, thankful that the test had not begun. If I failed to obtain the coveted license...but I could not allow that thought to enter my mind. The prospect of such a potentiality was inconceivable to me. To think that my life depended on such a small rectangle of plastic was more chilling than the dreary weather outside the car. I leaned back in the driver’s seat and waited. I still had two hours before the testing began, two hours for my anticipation to build.
I was startled awake when my mom gave me a light shove. I sat bolt upright and looked over at her in surprised annoyance. “There is less than half an hour left,” she explained, pointing to the clock on the dashboard. My gaze followed her finger’s direction, and I was surprised to find she was correct. The time had passed in what seemed the span of only a few moments. I turned my attention back to the line, my anticipation growing with each passing moment until the first car pulled into the course.
A friendly looking old man came over our passenger window and gave it a rap with the back of his hand. I had been so intent on the car ahead of us that I nearly leapt into the air, seatbelt or no. He politely told my mother to go wait on the side and then climbed into the passenger’s seat himself. He smiled to me and took out a clipboard.
“Can I see your permit?” he inquired. I handed it over and he glanced down at it. “So, is today your birthday?” he asked, knowing that it was. I only nodded back to him. This man had the power to make my dreams come true or send them crashing down about my ears. I did not have the ability to speak, I was so nervous.
He had me pull out and drive the course. The test turned out to be incredibly easy, and I breezed through it without a problem. As we pulled in front of the main building, the tester took out my permit, scribbled something on it and handed it back to me with a smile and a nod. I snatched it from his hand and bolted out the door and up to the DMV. My haste was in vain, as it turned out. I had to wait in several long lines as each person had papers signed and various forms of identification checked. Finally I made it to the last counter.
“Please go stand back against the background over there,” the girl at the desk told me. “Ready?” When I nodded, she pushed a button and a small circle next to her flashed, temporarily blinding me. “Please go sit down and we will be with you in a few minutes.” She said lazily. I did as she asked, and within a few minutes, my name was called and I was handed my license. I raced outside to the car as fast as I could and found my mom waiting for me. She was sitting in the driver’s seat, and I was about to protest when I decided that I didn’t want anything to spoil my moment, and I slipped into the side seat without complaint.
We went out and got lunch before I returned to school. By the time I got back it, only two periods remained in the day. As I got out, my mom told me that she would not be there to pick me up after school today. I looked up at the dark rainy sky and gave her a sour look. She didn’t seem to notice and pulled away after wishing me luck. I turned to look at the looming white pillars of the front and, with a heavy sigh, made my way up the front steps before I was drenched.
I was bursting with excess energy for those last two periods. None of my friends were in either class, and I was anxious to tell them the news. I didn’t hear a single word that was said by the teachers, so focused was I on that eventual conversation. When the final bell rang, I could hardly contain my elation. I went to the side door and waited to talk to someone. Eventually, Frank, my best friend since second grade, came along, and I began walking with him.
“I got my license!” I exploded. The release I felt from saying those words nearly exhausted me, so much energy had been put into them. I stared at Frank for any sign of a reaction.
He looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, “Could I get a ride? It’s a bit wet out.” He gave me his best Cheshire cat grin. I could only return a look of mild disappointment.
“My mom has the car,” I said dejectedly. “I’m not driving anywhere today. Why can’t she just let me live my life and stop getting in the way?” Frank nodded his silent assent as we stopped to wait for the crossing guard. We walked across and thanked the older gentleman as we passed. I was just about to start back in about the unfairness of life and how we weren’t treated as independent adults when I loud crash made us whirl around. The crossing guard was sprawled across the windshield of a car only a few feet behind us. We stood in stunned silence before we simultaneously realized it would be a good idea to get out of the street.
“I think he’s alright,” said Frank. Sure enough, the old man was climbing off the hood of the car. A stream of blood was running down his forehead. One of the drivers of a nearby car got out to help him and a police officer came running out of the Ridge Diner, where he must have been eating, and started shouting directions to bystanders. The two of us were largely ignored, despite attempts to make ourselves heard.
After a few minutes, Frank spoke again. “Everything looks like it will be fine. Maybe we should just leave?” He turned to look at me.
“I suppose,” I replied. “We aren’t doing any good here.” We turned to walk down the street. We had not gone far before I came to a decision. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I quickly dialed a number and waited for it to ring. Finally, my mom picked up.
“Hi, Mom?” I said. “I need you to come pick me up.”
Driven
The incessant patter of rain beating on down the rooftop above roused me from my slumber. I glanced at my clock and groaned as I saw the glowing numbers flash 5:30. I was about to roll over and go back to sleep when I realized what day it was. I was seventeen years old and was about to obtain the single most liberating object that had ever been within my grasp. I bolted out of bed and stopped at the window before getting dressed. As I watched the water snake down the invisible barrier of glass in front of me, I grew concerned that the weather might interfere with my plans for the day, namely, receiving my license to drive.
“Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes,” my mom called from the kitchen, drawing me from my reverie before nerves began to eat at my stomach. Instead, hunger took its place, my stomach growling audibly.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” I yelled. “Let me finish getting dressed.” I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and raced downstairs, snatching up my wallet on the way out of my bedroom. I would not want to arrive and discover I had forgotten my permit. That would definitely be one way to ruin my day.
My mom had prepared a plate of waffles for breakfast and I wolfed them down hungrily. Syrup covered the plate with a sticky glaze and I mopped up what I could with the last morsel before sitting back for a moment and resting.
“Well,” exclaimed my mom, “someone was hungry, or maybe you’re just in a hurry to get going.” She smiled knowingly, and I felt a twinge of annoyance rolling around in my stomach with the waffle. I wished she would just leave me alone. I went over to grab the car keys so we could get going, but my mom cut in. “Do you want me to drive?” She inquired. “It’s raining awfully hard.”
“Mom,” I started, “I’ve been driving for months now. Besides, I’ll never pass the test if I just let you do everything for me.” I shook my head and rolled my eyes for effect.
“I know,” she replied. "You’re just growing up too fast. Why couldn’t you stay little?” At that, I just gave up talking to her. I most definitely wasn’t growing up too fast. If anything, the opposite was true. I grabbed the keys, and we both headed to the car.
The drive was spent in almost complete silence. There was only the constant swishing of the rainwater being swept off the windshield and droning voices coming in over the radio to fill the air. Eventually, we arrived at the DMV.
I pulled into the parking lot where a long line of car already sat, waiting in the dark wet morning for the coming dawn. The wipers beat back the rain in a futile attempt to bring the dismal world ahead clear to me. I pulled into the line. I was overly anxious and, in my haste, stopped a little too close to the vehicle in front of me. I backed up slowly, thankful that the test had not begun. If I failed to obtain the coveted license...but I could not allow that thought to enter my mind. The prospect of such a potentiality was inconceivable to me. To think that my life depended on such a small rectangle of plastic was more chilling than the dreary weather outside the car. I leaned back in the driver’s seat and waited. I still had two hours before the testing began, two hours for my anticipation to build.
I was startled awake when my mom gave me a light shove. I sat bolt upright and looked over at her in surprised annoyance. “There is less than half an hour left,” she explained, pointing to the clock on the dashboard. My gaze followed her finger’s direction, and I was surprised to find she was correct. The time had passed in what seemed the span of only a few moments. I turned my attention back to the line, my anticipation growing with each passing moment until the first car pulled into the course.
A friendly looking old man came over our passenger window and gave it a rap with the back of his hand. I had been so intent on the car ahead of us that I nearly leapt into the air, seatbelt or no. He politely told my mother to go wait on the side and then climbed into the passenger’s seat himself. He smiled to me and took out a clipboard.
“Can I see your permit?” he inquired. I handed it over and he glanced down at it. “So, is today your birthday?” he asked, knowing that it was. I only nodded back to him. This man had the power to make my dreams come true or send them crashing down about my ears. I did not have the ability to speak, I was so nervous.
He had me pull out and drive the course. The test turned out to be incredibly easy, and I breezed through it without a problem. As we pulled in front of the main building, the tester took out my permit, scribbled something on it and handed it back to me with a smile and a nod. I snatched it from his hand and bolted out the door and up to the DMV. My haste was in vain, as it turned out. I had to wait in several long lines as each person had papers signed and various forms of identification checked. Finally I made it to the last counter.
“Please go stand back against the background over there,” the girl at the desk told me. “Ready?” When I nodded, she pushed a button and a small circle next to her flashed, temporarily blinding me. “Please go sit down and we will be with you in a few minutes.” She said lazily. I did as she asked, and within a few minutes, my name was called and I was handed my license. I raced outside to the car as fast as I could and found my mom waiting for me. She was sitting in the driver’s seat, and I was about to protest when I decided that I didn’t want anything to spoil my moment, and I slipped into the side seat without complaint.
We went out and got lunch before I returned to school. By the time I got back it, only two periods remained in the day. As I got out, my mom told me that she would not be there to pick me up after school today. I looked up at the dark rainy sky and gave her a sour look. She didn’t seem to notice and pulled away after wishing me luck. I turned to look at the looming white pillars of the front and, with a heavy sigh, made my way up the front steps before I was drenched.
I was bursting with excess energy for those last two periods. None of my friends were in either class, and I was anxious to tell them the news. I didn’t hear a single word that was said by the teachers, so focused was I on that eventual conversation. When the final bell rang, I could hardly contain my elation. I went to the side door and waited to talk to someone. Eventually, Frank, my best friend since second grade, came along, and I began walking with him.
“I got my license!” I exploded. The release I felt from saying those words nearly exhausted me, so much energy had been put into them. I stared at Frank for any sign of a reaction.
He looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, “Could I get a ride? It’s a bit wet out.” He gave me his best Cheshire cat grin. I could only return a look of mild disappointment.
“My mom has the car,” I said dejectedly. “I’m not driving anywhere today. Why can’t she just let me live my life and stop getting in the way?” Frank nodded his silent assent as we stopped to wait for the crossing guard. We walked across and thanked the older gentleman as we passed. I was just about to start back in about the unfairness of life and how we weren’t treated as independent adults when I loud crash made us whirl around. The crossing guard was sprawled across the windshield of a car only a few feet behind us. We stood in stunned silence before we simultaneously realized it would be a good idea to get out of the street.
“I think he’s alright,” said Frank. Sure enough, the old man was climbing off the hood of the car. A stream of blood was running down his forehead. One of the drivers of a nearby car got out to help him and a police officer came running out of the Ridge Diner, where he must have been eating, and started shouting directions to bystanders. The two of us were largely ignored, despite attempts to make ourselves heard.
After a few minutes, Frank spoke again. “Everything looks like it will be fine. Maybe we should just leave?” He turned to look at me.
“I suppose,” I replied. “We aren’t doing any good here.” We turned to walk down the street. We had not gone far before I came to a decision. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I quickly dialed a number and waited for it to ring. Finally, my mom picked up.
“Hi, Mom?” I said. “I need you to come pick me up.”