Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Acceptance

       Just another boring summer’s day, and like usual Billy and his friends were looking to start something.  They often gathered in the alley behind his house plotting, planning, and instigating mischief.  Today was no different. Billy’s friends were always a little more prone to finding trouble than Billy himself.  He just wanted more than anything to fit in.   Even though most of their ideas bordered on plain stupidity Billy went along on the most part.
 

      They talked about girls, sports, and challenged each other to silly dares.  Occasionally they would head to the park to throw a ball around or to the neighborhood pool to cool off.  He was only half listening when Tommy came up with the grand plan to steal something…just to see if they could get away with it.  They would make it a scavenger hunt of sorts.  You had to steal whatever the group decided and get away with it,   and the winner not only got the respect of his peers, he also got to decide what was next on the list.





        Stealing anything was completely stupid. He knew it.   As he listened to their latest hair brain scheme he knew one thing for certain, they would always think of him as a complete tool if he didn’t step up to the plate and show them that he had the guts to do anything they suggested.  They already teased him relentlessly and called him the priest because he normally upheld his ideals.  His sense of right and wrong always battled in his head and heart every single time they suggested anything like this.  Deep down most of them respected him for being so good.  On the surface, they despised him for the same reason. 

          “I’ll do it. I’ll go first.” Billy said with conviction.  Shocked, they turned to look at him, wondering if they had heard correctly.  He stood up, and made his way to the street.  That is when he saw Danielle leaving their brownstone, purse in hand.  Instantly, Billy knew what he had to do.  With a deep breath, he ran after his sister, snatched her purse and took off like a bat of hell with her hot on his heels screaming like a wounded banshee.

    “Billy, you little shit! Come back here!  You are going to make me late for work!” she yelled as she sped off in hot pursuit.  He weaved as he ran trying desperately to lose her.  He would have to answer for this later. He knew it as well as he knew his own name.  Danielle would give him holy hell for making her late.   Ducking into an alley, he rummaged through her purse intent only on what he searched for.  Seeing it, he snatched it, discarded the purse knowing she would find it there and ran hell bent for election to meet his friends.


        Danielle saw him disappear around the corner as she knelt to gather up her purse and its contents.    What the hell was Billy thinking?  The little shit.  If he wanted money, he could have asked her!!  Except, all her money was there.  Nothing really seemed to be missing.  Well he wasn’t going to get away with this.  She was going to give him a good telling off for this little stunt.  She was tired of his bullshit.  She was determined to find out just what the hell he was up too.  It was obviously no good.  Worry and anger engulfed her.  She was justified, damn it and threw caution to the wind as she pursued him with all thoughts of making it to work on time forgotten for the moment.    She found him surrounded by his friends, high fiving at his accomplishment as he held up her favorite pen.  A stupid pen! That was what this was about?  Instantly she knew it was about way more than a pen.   With realization, she smiled slowly turning away.   Good for him.  Through the clarity of retrospect, the obvious conclusion surfaced: things don’t always turn out as planned.

This is my response to Speakeasy’s weekly prompt, which is to write a piece in 750 words or less (mine is 671) (1) with some kind of reference to the media prompt, a short film by Tanmay Shah, entitled Intent, AND (2) use the last sentence of:  “Through the clarity of retrospect, the obvious conclusion surfaced: things don’t always turn out as planned.”





55 comments:

  1. Great story. How familiar is this though....being tested by so called friends to prove you are cool? If you accept the challenge it's bad, if you don't you are harassed and bullied.

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    1. JoJo, you are damned if you do and really damned if you don't! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! I am so pleased you liked my story♥

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  2. Well done. Hooked me right in!

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    1. tnkerr, I am so pleased you liked my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  3. Hi Kathy, another good story from you that shows what peer pressure can do to a person.

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    1. Michelle, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story. Here I was beating myself up because I really didn't think to far out of the box on this one. LOL Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  4. Pressure from peers can sure turn one into a whole other person

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    1. Pat, it sure can and make a person do something they would never consider otherwise! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  5. ahh the peer pressure... but Billy is a clever boy too :) loved the story.

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    1. Rajlakshmi, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  6. This is why we don't always have to struggle to prove ourselves. Things don't turn out as planned!

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    1. Michelle, No they don't. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  7. Oh! Peer pressure!! :-/
    You have penned the story beautifully Kathy!

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    1. pixie, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  8. Peer pressure is awful. Makes me remember my own days of wanting to fit in. So glad those days are done! I'm glad the sister was understanding enough to see what was going on and let it go.

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    1. jannatwrites, I wanted to show that it was completely out of character for him to do something like that but extremely like him to leave her purse with everything she would need where she would find it. He knew she was after him. She understood that all he wanted was to be accepted and not be quite so lily white in his friends eyes. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments I am so pleased you enjoyed my little story. ♥

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  9. Oh this was excellent! And my favourite line? "Deep down most of them respected him for being so good. On the surface, they despised him for the same reason". There are so many times we have to battle with what people expect and what we can be. Lovely work, Kathy :)

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    1. Shailaja, I am so pleased you liked it. It wouldn't be cool to actually admit out loud how much they respected them for always being so good. It is a pity that most of us don't realize that we don't have to impress people, just be ourselves and that is good enough. If it isn't well then there are more fishies in the sea! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  10. This was a wonderful story touching subtly on the subject of peer pressure and acceptance..and then how wonderfully Billu managed it...Another great post from your pen Kathy!

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    1. Nabanita, I am so pleased you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  11. Nice story Kathy...I was expecting a sad ending but I'm glad it ended in this fashion. Acceptance in teenage years in particular is so very important!

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    1. Psych Babbler, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  12. I'm glad he was a good guy, afterall!

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    1. Stacie, I am pleased you liked the way the story played out. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  13. Superb narrative...what peer pressure can lead to! But loved the end!

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    1. Aditi, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  14. This is such a lovely story Kathy-loved Billy's character and the subtle understanding which the siblings share:-) Peer pressure is such a terrible demon-not everyone is strong enough to withstand it-most young kids want to be "accepted" and this leads them into life-breaking decisions at times,leaving them to wallow in guilt and regret for the rest of their lives.Glad Billy knew how to hoodwink his stupid friends and I do hope he will have enough sense to move out of this harmful group.Great play with the prompt:-)

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    1. Atreyee, Deep down I think everyone wants to be accepted. Billy was rather clever. Technically he fulfilled the dare without doing it in a way that he would really get into trouble. I am so happy you enjoyed my little story. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥

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  15. Great story.. love how the sister immediately understands and accepts what he had to do to fit right in. Nicely done! :-)

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    1. I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to read and leave me such a lovely comment! ♥

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  16. Ah, the joys of peer pressure. Thankfully, his sister seems to understand – and hopefully Billy will find himself some new friends one day. :)

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    1. Suzanne, hopefully he will or they may get their wild oats sown and grow up to be responsible adults...you never know! Thank you so much for stopping by and for your lovely comments. I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! ♥

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  17. I like that his sister knew him so well! This was a fun little story. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Christine, I am so pleased you liked it. Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  18. Ah, the need to be loved. We all act crazy sometimes for that same reason.

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    1. Jacqueline, we sure do! Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  19. Nicely done Kathy...the need for acceptance, to "fit in" causes more trouble... :-)

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    1. Joe, it sure does! Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  20. The need to feel accepted can sometimes mean more than your very existence especially when you are that age... Wonderful narration Kathy!!

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    1. Reshma, I remember going through that myself. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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    1. anuprabha, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  22. Renada, I am pleased you enjoyed my story. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  23. Aaha :) Clever fellow :) He won the challenge and didnt lose his ideals too :D Good one, Kathy :)

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    1. Sreeja, I am so pleased you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥

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  24. That was a wonderfully narrated story!! The peer pressure can make you do crazy things, and love the way his sister understood him and this is a fab stpry for the prompt, Kathy!! You are a pro at short stories. When do we read your novella?? ♥

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    1. Shilpa, I am so pleased you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  25. I know this all too well, Kathy. Was the victim of it at school too. Not easy to deal with, but with a little sensibility nd support, we grow stronger. A great take!

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    1. Michelle, we sure do! I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  26. I enjoyed thi a lot and I have been talking to my son a lot lately about "BULLYING" so I shared it with him as well. Thanks for writing it it.

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    1. Glenda, that is so cool! I am so pleased you enjoyed my story! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  27. Well it is true Kathy many a times we have no idea what the real thought is. But really.. the other aspect of the story which is peer pressure is not such a happy part, thought a fact for many..

    Richa

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    1. Richa, it is a hard part of growing up and a fact of life for many! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥

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  28. Peer pressure yes, sisterly love, even better! Great write.

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    1. Jo, I am so pleased you enjoyed my story. Thank you for making my day with your comments!♥

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