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@savannah_grace2009 @hybridlore
This is a new scene I’m adding in here!
One summer day, Etta, Oscar, and Mattie had to stay home from school to help out on the farm, so George and I walked to school alone. I didn’t like it when Etta had to stay home; the empty seat beside me felt like a hole that would suck me in. The morning dragged by slowly, and finally it was time for recess.
As I stood in the entry reaching for my lunch pail, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Chester standing behind me. He tipped his head to swing his hair out of his hazel eyes, and I felt my stomach flip.
“Where’s Etta? Is her family sick today or something?” Chester asked.
“No, Mr. and Mrs. Culliver just needed some extra help around the farm,” I replied. “If they can get it all done today, Etta will be back in school tomorrow.” I caught Lillian’s curious gaze as she and Sara left the schoolhouse, and realized that she didn’t know how much Etta and I spent time with Chester and George. Etta and I didn’t associate with the boys much while we were at school.
“Okay, well, I’ll see ya later, Libbie.” Chester dismissed himself and ran off to find George. I hurried outside to join Lillian and Sara under our usual tree.
“Is there something we should know, Libbie?” Lillian asked. I felt a blush rise into my cheeks.
“Know about what?” I played innocent, knowing what she wanted to find out.
“Is Chester sweet on you?” Sara got straight to the point. I shrugged. I honestly couldn’t tell. I would have liked to say he was, but I didn’t know for sure. Someday, I hoped….
“Why are you blushing?” Lillian asked. “Do tell us, Libbie. What’s going on with you and Chester?”
I glanced around to make sure the boys were all happily engaged in their games. “I do like Chester,” I admitted. “I don’t know if he likes me back or not. His family lives out our way, so he walks partway home with me and Etta and George. The four of us go to the swimming hole sometimes after school, or after church on Sundays.”
Lillian’s eyes sparkled. “Well, he stopped to talk to you, so that has to mean something.”
I shrugged again and turned to my lunch, hoping the conversation would end. I felt self-conscious, having admitted that I liked Chester.
After school, Chester joined me and George walking home, as he usually did. The boys talked for a while about various subjects, from the crops and the damage the storms were causing, to rumors of locusts, to politics. Bored with the conversation, I got lost in my own thoughts, until Chester said my name.
“Say, Libbie,” he said. “What do you think?”
“Pardon me?”
“What do you think about the new statue in New York?”
“What statue?”
Chester laughed. “You weren’t listening to our conversation, were you?”
I flushed. “I guess I got lost in my own thoughts.”
“There’s a new statue set up in New York City,” George explained. “A man from France created it, and they shipped it over and gifted it to the United States.”
“France just gave us a statue?” I wasn’t sure how this piece of information was important, but apparently George and Chester found it significant enough to have an entire conversation about it.
“Yeah,” Chester replied. “I think it was a grand idea. It’s a symbol of freedom.”
I didn’t care about the statue. I was just wondering why Chester was suddenly including me in the conversation.
“Say, have you seen a picture of it yet?” George asked.
“No,” Chester replied. “Want to stop at the general store tomorrow after school and see if there’s a copy of a newspaper that has one?”
“Sure,” George agreed. “You down, Libbie?”
I shrugged. “I don’t really care.”
“You and Etta could always go on home without us,” George said.
“I’ll probably come.” If Chester was going, that was reason enough for me to go.
“And this is where I make my departure,” Chester announced, turning aside towards his home. “See you tomorrow, Libbie, George.”
“Goodbye, Chester!” George’s deep voice blended with my higher one as we spoke at the same time. With a wave, Chester was off, and George and I turned our feet towards home.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Looks good!!
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
@savannah_grace2009 @hybridlore
Some more… Honestly I’m not sure what the point of this scene is supposed to be, entirely, but here it is anyway lol.
Etta was still absent the next day, and after school, I met George and Chester by the road going further into town.
“You all still want to stop by the post?” Chester asked.
“Of course,” George replied. “Let’s go!” He turned in the direction of the post office, and Chester and I followed. It didn’t take us long to get there, and the moment we walked in, Miss Werner sat at attention behind her desk.
“Why, hello, young’uns,” she called out to us. Her white hair was pulled up atop her hair in the customary bun, and she peered over the tops of her wire frames at us. “What can I do for you today?”
“We were wondering if you got any newspapers with a picture of that new statue in New York,” George said.
“I believe we might,” Miss Werner replied. “Henrietta!” At the sound of the holler, Henrietta emerged from a back room. In her early twenties, Henrietta kept an aloof attitude, almost snooty some days, and her dark eyes always seemed hungry for a bit of juicy news she and her aunt could discuss over their dinner every day.
“Yes, Aunt Eunice?”
“Where did you put the last edition of the New York World?”
“It’s right here.” Henrietta lifted a newspaper off a stack of boxes and handed it to her aunt. Miss Werner paged through it until she found the article she was looking for, then handed it to George. Chester leaned in closer to see it.
“It’s magnificent!” Chester glanced at me. “Libbie, look at this!”
I stepped forward, my arm brushing against Chester’s as I looked at the paper. The black-and-white picture showcased a statue of a lady with a spiky headdress of some sort holding a torch in the air.
“Lady Liberty,” George murmured, reading through the article. I wasn’t interested in reading the whole article about the statue; George could give me a summary whether or not I asked for it.
“I saw your sister Clara with Bert Hawley again on Sunday,” Miss Werner spoke up, apparently directing her words to me. “I don’t suppose they’ll be getting married before too long?”
Of course Miss Werner wanted to weasel something out of me to start rumors about. I wasn’t going to give her what she wanted.
“Clara hasn’t said anything about it to me, ma’am,” I responded as politely as I could, although inside I suspected Miss Werner’s guess was correct.
“Thanks for letting us look at this, Miss Werner,” George interrupted, handing the paper back to her. “We’d best be getting home, or our folks will start to wonder where we are.”
I started towards the door, and George and Chester followed me.
“You’re welcome,” Miss Werner replied. “You tell your sister Clara she’s got herself a good one.”
I pretended I hadn’t heard her, and kept walking. George and Chester caught up to me, and the three of us turned towards home.
“Etta’s going to be disappointed she didn’t come with us today,” George remarked.
“She’d better be back in school soon,” I replied. “It’s not so much fun without her.”
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
I like these scenes!
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333@savannah_grace2009 @hybridlore
What’s your vote? Chester and Libbie, or Albert and Libbie? I’m not gonna give any spoilers, but I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Hmmm, that’s a hard one.
I mean, Chester’s more mature, and Libbie actually likes him. So Chester and Libbie makes more sense…but the rebel in me wants to say Albert and Libbie, lol
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333I’m fine either way!! I would like to see more of Chester, though. I feel like you just added him in, unless I’m remembering wrong?
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
Yes, I introduced him more recently. He’s been part of the story but I felt like he wasn’t super well developed so I’ve been trying to write more with him in this part of the plot to help develop him some more. And if I say anything else I’m afraid I’ll give spoilers so I’m gonna shut up now lol.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
@savannah_grace2009 @hybridlore
Some more….
Towards the end of the summer, on a Sunday afternoon, the Cullivers invited my family and the Perkins over for a picnic. George, Etta, Chester, and I went out to the barn. The horses seemed skittish, which I thought rather odd, but I didn’t see anything that would spook them.
“What’s the matter, boy?” Etta reached up to pet the closest horse. Suddenly a loud rattling noise ensued from the entrance to the barn, right behind her. Etta turned and screamed. There was a rattlesnake who had been sunning himself right next to the entrance, and his head was swaying back and forth.
“He’s getting ready to strike!” George cried. Etta screamed again but seemed frozen in place. Chester, thinking quickly, grabbed a scythe from nearby and swung it at the snake’s neck, slicing cleanly through. Etta was still trembling violently, and I pulled her close in a hug.
“It’s okay, Chester killed it,” I reassured her. Using a pitchfork, Chester removed the dead snake from the barn.
“I guess you’ll be having rattler stew for dinner,” George remarked.
“Thank you, Chester,” Etta breathed gratefully when he returned to the barn. “You saved my life.”
“Aw, it was nothing,” Chester mumbled, running his toe along the floor of the barn as the tips of his ears turned pink.
That fall was a fun one for me. While our harvest wasn’t quite what we had hoped, we had enough to get by, and I was busy attending all the cornshuckings with Etta, George, Chester, Lillian, and Sara. When it came to dancing, Chester took turns with several of the girls, careful not to single one out. But for the dancing competitions, he always asked me. He was a really good dancer, and I must say I’d gotten a lot of practice and could pull it off pretty well myself. We always did well together, and Lillian and Etta would cheer us on as we competed against a lot of the older couples. Once or twice, we outlasted them. Albert often asked me to dance with him too, and I obliged him just like I did my brothers, Abe and George. However, my thoughts were on Chester, and any flirty comments from Albert went to the back burner of my mind.
That winter was a long, quiet one for me. It felt strange not to be in school, knowing Etta and Chester and George were there without me. Mama insisted I start sewing for my trousseau, and frankly, I didn’t have anything better to do, so my days often passed in quiet.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Sorry, I read this in my email but forgot to respond! Looks good!
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
@hybridlore @savannah_grace2009
Let me know if any of this needs to be fleshed out more (or if it moves too fast and there should be more specific scenarios).
Things are about to get dicey…
1886
Come spring, many changes occurred. The first was Bert Hawley asking Pa for Clara’s hand in marriage. The wedding was planned for June, and Clara was ecstatic. Dr. Richardson offered to let Bert and Clara build an addition on to his office, where they could live in town. Clara had gotten her wish; she wouldn’t be living in a soddy with a farmer.
Speaking of young couples, something happened that spring that I did not see coming.
One April afternoon, Etta and I walked into town together to pick up some items at the general store. On the way back, I started talking about Chester.
“I know we’re still young,” I said, “But I can’t help but hope that someday he’ll court me. We know each other as friends, but don’t you think we could be a couple? It would be just swell.”
“Libbie, I have to tell you something,” Etta quietly interrupted. She avoided my gaze.
“What?” I looked at her in curiosity.
“Chester walked me home from church on Sunday.”
I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Blindly, I had been so caught up in my own imaginings of my potential future with Chester that I had been completely oblivious to his interest in Etta- my best friend. I couldn’t speak, and I stopped in my tracks. My hands trembled.
“I’m sorry, Libbie.” Etta bit her lip and looked away.
“Etta, you knew I liked him!” I exclaimed as a wave of anger suddenly washed over me. “And you let him walk home with you?”
Etta’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I… I like him, too.”
“What? Since when?”
“Ever since he killed that snake.”
Suddenly my eyes filled with tears. “Etta, you knew I liked him and you still went behind my back and let him walk you home from church! How could you?” I turned and started to run.
“Libbie, wait!” Etta called after me. I ignored her and kept running. “I never meant to hurt you! I just knew you’d be upset, and that’s why I didn’t want to tell you!”
Tears blurred my vision as I ran, and before I reached home, I veered off towards the creek, setting my basket down on the creek bank. There I wept. My best friend had just stolen the boy I had my eyes on, when she knew full well my feelings for him. Betrayal stabbed my heart. Something must have sparked between them as they and George walked home from school together every day, without me.
Glancing up at the sun, I realized Mama would be waiting for me. I quickly splashed water on my face to hide the fact that I’d been crying, then picked up the basket and went home.
“What’s wrong with you? You’re all moody,” Clara noticed as we helped prepare dinner. Mama glanced at me with concern.
“Are you feeling all right, dear?” She touched my forehead with the back of her hand. “You don’t feel warm.”
“I’m fine,” I waved it off. “I just had a little disagreement with Etta, is all.”
“I’m sure you two will have it patched up soon,” Clara said. “You’re such close friends it can’t last long.”
I wasn’t so sure she was right. I felt as thought I’d just lost my best friend. It would take time to heal the wounds she’d inflicted.
My relationship with Etta remained strained. Part of me hoped she would reach out and apologize, but she didn’t make a move to talk to me, so I ignored her whenever we saw each other, which was fairly often, since our families did a lot together. Several times I saw her walking home with Chester after church, and the pain knifed through my heart all over again. Apparently, the choice had been me or Chester, and she’d chosen Chester.
Once, Albert tried to ask me home from church, but I gave him a flat-out no.
“Say, what’s wrong with you, Libbie? You’re not acting yourself,” Albert observed. “Why aren’t you and Etta talking anymore? And you stopped spending time with George and Chester.”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” I replied, turning on my heel and marching off. As my family walked home from church, I lagged behind, and Clara dropped back to join me.
“This is about Chester, isn’t it?” Clara asked me knowingly. I flinched.
“How did you know?”
“It’s plain to see as soon as Etta and Chester start going together, you and Etta aren’t talking anymore.”
“I liked him first and she knew I did, but she still went behind my back with him anyway,” I announced bitterly.
“I’m sorry,” Clara sympathized. “Relationships have a tendency to get messy. But I would hate to see you and Etta like this for the rest of your lives. I think you should try to mend your friendship.”
I scowled. Easier said than done.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
@hybridlore @savannah_grace2009
I just had this thought: what if I added Etta’s POV to the whole story? Like switching back and forth between Libbie and Etta’s perspectives? I think it would be fun, and might help develop some of the side characters better, but it also might make things more confusing, and for simplicity’s sake might be better just to stick with Libbie.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Oh nooo, poor Libbie!! I can’t wait to see what happens with them next!
And yeah, that could be interesting! I think yeah, for simplicity’s sake and to keep it consistent, it might be better to stick with Libbie, but it could definitely work either way!
"Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out." Eccl. 12:12
I think it would actually be super cool if you added Etta’s perspective! And I love the chapter!!! great job!
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333@hybridlore @savannah_grace2009
OK, thanks for the input! Maybe I’ll just write a couple scenes in Etta’s POV and see what happens… I wouldn’t have to keep them as part of the story, but maybe it would be helpful to see some of my characters from a different set of eyes.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
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