OLWG #86- Freckled

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. I wrote the story below for practice. Practice makes perfect. Let me know what you think.

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

It was the final class before lunch, AP English, taught by Mrs Elden; only fifteen students. Nine of those fifteen kept their heads down and took copious notes. Another two spent their class time holding hands beneath the desks and staring out the windows, especially on fine days.

Ernesto Reyes never came to class and Kenny Pagel was always stoned. Ken had been known to drop a lot of acid because he liked the colours. Watching the colours occupied most of his time in school. All classes, not just AP English.

Red-haired Julie Argent handled her pencil adeptly and kept her notes concise. She paid attention and asked pertinent questions about the course work that seemed to intrigue, Mrs Elden.

I spent most of my time studying the fair-skinned Julie Argent. I believed that she was all I could ever want in a girl. Her hair fell just below her shoulders. She wore freckles strewn across her nose and on her shoulders, which I could see in the warm months when she wore sleeveless blouses. What fascinated me about Julie though, were her hands. They were always well manicured and like the rest of her, were generously speckled with sun kisses that flowed down her arm and spread out across the backs of her hands, below her fingers. Only a few freckles were bold enough to venture beyond her knuckles. I would dream of kissing each one.

Her fingers were long, slender, and dexterous. They looked like fingers I imagined a concert pianist or a harpist would have. I could envision her crafting elegant jewellery or performing delicate surgery with those hands and fingers.

Once I dropped a pencil and she returned it to me. Our hands touched and hers was soft and supple. She drew back when she felt my coarse raspy hand and noticed my nails, chipped, cracked and, chewed down to the quick. It made me feel coarse. I endured the entire semester studying Julie Argent, but I never summoned up the courage to ask her out.

Last year I flew home and attended our class reunion. I found myself sitting at a table with Julie Argent. She’s now Julie Reyes and her husband, Ernesto was there too. He clapped me on the back and tried to sell me insurance. Julie is still slender and freckled but her hands have changed. Lots of scars and the colouration would be better described now, as piebald, rather than speckled. She wore long sleeves buttoned at the wrist and told me that she and Ernesto have five kids. She looked like she’d been tired for a long time

Ken Pagel was there too. He started a software company and now lives somewhere in Silicon Valley. I talked to him before he wandered off. He told me that he had eaten a handful of mushrooms before coming to the reunion and was starting to peak. I didn’t want to be there for that so I excused myself and went out to my rental car.

I sat and listened to the DJ playing Deep Purple and Grand Funk Railroad records for the old folks to dance to. Finally, I headed back to the hotel. It was one of those “tilt-up” places along the freeway. Next door was a bar named “Rhinestone’s Western World”. I thought I should stop in for a Boilermaker.

This week’s prompts are:

she smiled crookedly
at least a hundred
dogs are barking

Go ahead and dive in, set your imagination free!
Write something
Ready, Set, Go – you have 25 minutes, but if that is not possible, take as long as you need and, have fun!