Master Class 2014 Volume IX

I finally  got out of that nasty sinus cold, only to get bogged down with life. I apologize that this is so late going out. I gave everyone an extra week to respond to the last prompt which came from Ransom Rigg’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: “I had just come to accept that my life was ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.”

There were eight fantastic responses to this prompt (and 1 brave soul who answered the challenge issued in the addendum!)!]

Kelly set the bar with Leaving Only Vapor.

He shook his head. “The thing is, I can’t come back.”

“Ever?”

“Ever.”

“Why?”

“I was sent to show you how extraordinary life can be. But you…You cannot even see the extraordinary when it’s sitting across from you on a leather couch.”

Tara shared more of Agatha’s story in A Vital Ally.

Heads together, the two women held hands like each was a lifeline. Maud laughed, a sound Duncan had never heard, and it brought a tightness to his chest. He tried to not eavesdrop, but couldn’t help pick up an occasional word or phrase.

Troy gave us 706 Words Plus a Sentence.

I remembered being in tears, chasing his ghost down the stairwells as I prayed for his safety to a God that I hadn’t believed in in years. Praying, until I met his battered and wobbly flesh convulsing on the ground floor pavement.

Carrie made a triumphant return with Choices, another segment from her novel-in-progress about Rachel and the magic mirror.

Rachel considered this.  She was choosing her own path but she never believed otherwise. Her parents didn’t expect her to be anything particular. They just wanted her to be happy.

Stacey also made a delightful comeback with Bread.

My mind spun. I had never heard of Alden Holcombe. My mother always insisted that my father was a lowlife who abandoned us. She would never tell me who he was and when she died, I dug through her belongings trying to find out.

Lexy jubilantly rejoined the class with Rewired.

Reading was a great escape, though, and I went through the hospital library pretty quickly.  My brother rolled his eyes when I asked him to hit up the public library for me.  But since my accident, he’d hung up his helmet – the star quarterback learned his lesson from the has-been pitcher’s accident – so use of my parents’ van was granted in return for ’helping your brother out’.

Kir reemerged with Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (and I’m so glad she did!).

Colors were brighter, sounds were crisper and my skin fizzled with emotion bubbling over like I was in a constant state of warming up. In short, I existed in the space between my buoyant steps, neither here nor there, keenly aware of each breath that emptied and then refilled my eager lungs.

Eric responded to the challenge issued last week. The challenge involved using something one of your characters uses (a purse or backpack for example) or a place he/she frequents (like a home) to build the character. He responded by sharing the contents of Hannah Anne’s purse. Hannah Anne is one of my favorite Storch characters so I’m very happy she’d returned.

She dug deeper and the strap, which hung from her left shoulder, gave way with a silent tear. Hannah watched as her bag fell in slow motion, first tilting down from the end of the strap still attached, and then sliding from her shoulder. It hit the cracked sidewalk with a clatter, the contents spilling out.

Shannon amazed me with her beautiful wordsmithing of Atmosphere.  I have missed her words here in class so, as with all my other errant students who returned this week, I am so very happy she’s returned. Here’s a teaser from her story:

There was static in the air, a tingly dance that sent my arm hairs to attention and made the back of my neck itch like the phantom of a former love was breathing heavily beside my ear. I turned the radio up and tried to funnel the energy into my lungs instead of my fingers because they were shaking as I tried to hit my cigarette and it was weird to watch and I worried I would shake out of my skin.

The very vividness of her story, and the temporary escape she provided me with earned her the task of choosing the new prompt. I gave her liberty to choose any book she wanted, as long as she gave me the very last line.

Here is your prompt for this week:

Your challenge this week is to use this line at the end of your story. You also have the creative freedom to change the name to fit your story, as well. Since this challenge is going up late, I’ll give you extra time to complete it. Any length, any genre, fact or fiction or in between is accepted.

Your deadline is Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at NOON EST.

The link up is now live.

Ready? Set? Write!