Monday, March 11, 2019

March Writing Challenge - Nola's Trip to NOLA pt 2

(This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.)

Nola's Trip to NOLA pt 2



Word count: 1000
Genre: Fairy Tale
Character: A wallflower
Material: A steamboat
Sentence: “Not for you.” ✖
Bonus: Your character is shipwrecked. ✖

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Soon thereafter, it was time to dock and disembark. The sailor that helped her earlier stopped her as she headed towards the stairs.
“If you want to go home, come back, and we will give you a lift.” he said pointing to her lunch pail.
“Thank you, sir!” and raising the edge of her skirt so she didn't step on it going down, she made her way to the main deck.

She followed the crowd to the bridge looking thing that got them off the boat. As she crossed and set feet onto the shore, a cheer broke out among the crowd. Everyone was looking at her and celebrating her! Immediately her instincts were to run into the crowd to hide, but something stopped her from doing that. She held her chin high and walked towards the sidewalk where her name was on a banner.
“Welcome to NOLA, Nola!” declared the banner.

A man in a fancy suit with a top hat came up to her.
“Nola?” he asked with a smile.
“Yes sir?” she asked curiously.
“Here is a key to your city. Come visit us any time you'd like! All hail Queen Nola, our fair ruler of NOLA!”
“All hail Queen Nola!” cheered the crowd.

Time began to blur as she got to see her very own palace, meet her subjects, try some yummy foods, and adventure all throughout the beautiful city. Days seemed to fly by, maybe even weeks or months. She wasn't entirely sure. All she knew was that it was making her braver than she had ever been. Every day someone new wanted to meet her and shake her hand. Confidence filled her steps. She didn't want to be a wallflower any more. She was the life of the party!

One day, she noticed her lunch pail on her shelf in her closet. What she had intended to do was get a pair of shoes so she could go join a game her friends were playing. What she ended up doing was taking the lunch pail off the shelf. Staring at the steamboat on the outside, it dawned on her that she had been in NOLA for a very long time. Maybe she should go home for a bit. How to do that though was the question. She started at it long and hard, then remembered what the sailor had said.

Slipping out of the palace quietly, she walked to the docks where the steamboat was waiting. The sailor greeted her with a smile and a welcome. He helped her onto the boat and they began to head up the river. Holding her lunch pail in her hand, she climbed back up to the top deck so she could get the best views of the river and the city as she left it. Lots of memories had been made. Confidence gained.

They reached the spot on the river in which she had joined them. Rubbing the wheel on her lunch pail, she was pushed across the boat and right back into her seat in the cafeteria. Connor was still walking away. Feeling lonely already, she followed him.
“Can I sit with you today?” she asked.








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