Yet another weekly warmup from The Periwinkle Pen!
A character wakes up and their personality is the total opposite.
I'm also going to post another of the same exercise (with Abel instead of Mark) for next week.
I do have longer stories, they are just either: a) incomplete or b) getting feedback.
Something reeked of freshly pressed suit.
Mark sat up in bed and scratched at his head, hair filling his fingernails. His fingers yanked at tangles and smoothed out his hair. Throwing the covers aside, he let his legs swing over to the edge, facing the bathroom door. He could hear water running from behind.
For once, Mark thought to himself, I'm actually awake in the morning.
A minute later, the water shut off, and then Abel opened the door, nearly jumping when he found Mark staring at him. "Why are you awake so early?"
Mark found himself narrowing his eyes. "I don't need a reason for my body to wake me up."
He expected a snap--for Abel to growl with his eyebrows forming an incomplete V--but Abel just opened his mouth, but then just shut it and blinked. Dumbfounded. Mark felt his own mouth curl into a smirk.
Abel shook his head and walked to his clothes, which laid over a chair. Dressing himself, he said, "When my body feels shocked, I say questions. It's not my fault you /somehow/ took that the wrong way." His tone grew intense.
"Whatever you say. Because God knows you can't ever be wrong."
Glaring, Abel's head turned to Mark as he slipped his shoes on. "Something is wrong with you."
"There you go again! It's me, like always, right?!" Mark stood up and headed for the door, and over his shoulder, he added, "You're a perfect little princess."
Mark could only reach the end of the hall before he felt a hand grab his shoulder and turn him around. Abel lowered himself to eye level, glaring. He searched his eyes before saying, "Did you take strange drugs? Hit your head on something hard? Because you're acting like an asshole, not the Mark I know."
"Oh, excuse me? An ass, you say? I guess you're kind of shocked, looking into a mirror after all."
Abel's hands squeezed Mark's shoulders, and Mark could feel the rage slowly leaking out through them. "What are you going to do, hit me? It's not my fault you can't handle the truth."
"For one," Abel said, sucking in breath and letting his grip loosen a bit, "I don't deliberately say shit to piss you off. And second, this is not how you usually act. You're not an ass. You're not mean. You're not supposed to hurt other people. You're--"
"So I'm not usually supposed to be strong? Thanks. Thanks a lot, Abel."
Mark slipped away to fetch a new outfit, staying in his personal room until he knew for sure Abel left for work. He texted his friend, Gil, to pick him up, and he paced outside for almost ten minutes when Gil's car pulled into the driveway. Mark felt himself roll his eyes as he walked to the car.
"Took you long enough," Mark sighed, stepping into the passenger seat. Gil performed a double take and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Gil shifted his weight but continued to stare at Mark, eyebrows concerned. A head poked out from the backseat. "Mark, are you feeling okay?" Nellie asked, wrinkling her freckle-covered nose.
"Just stop right there," Mark sighed, exasperated and lifting a hand up in emphasis. "You're going to sound like Abel."
"/I'm/ sounding like Abel?" Nellie asked incredulously.
"You going to sass me?"
"This is weird," Gil said looking out the window on the driver's side.
"You're acting different, Mark." Nellie said, shrinking back just slightly. "I'm only concerned. I didn't mean to sound accusing or anything."
"Just because I'm irritated doesn't make me ill. That's what I hate," Mark said.
"If you're too irritated," Gil began to mumble, "we don't have to hang out today."
Mark looked between them for a moment, and then he started to slowly nod, a strange smile cracking his face. "I get it, I get it, you two. You don't want me around because I'm not all happy and stuff. That's fine, have fun, you two."
And out the car he went and into the house, stomping.
Gil and Nellie glanced at each other in disbelief.
"Did that seriously happen?"
"I don't know. Pinch me."
No comments:
Post a Comment