Tuesday Teaser - Bettina post 6

This is the beginning of Chapter 3 from Bettina. You can go up to the top tab to look at the other teasers if you like. Important things to know - Erik has just stolen 50$ from a local cafe. Jessica watched him do it. Setting is 1962. And um, that's about it. I kept it kind of short today and it's pretty rough. As for yesterday's post - I'll reveal what the science photo is tomorrow so if you want to take a guess at it, go here. Cheers!



It normally takes five minutes to drive to Jessica’s house from the diner. I get there in two. I pull straight up to her house, park curbside and let the engine idle. Across the street is her father’s church. I’m quite certain he’s there, can hear my radio from his office and is likely to peer outside any minute. I shake another smoke out of my pack, roll it across my tongue and light it. I’m not gonna make this easy for her.

She leans across the center divide and snaps the radio off.

“You better get inside before your dad sees you,” I say.

“He’s never in at this time of day.”

Damn. I lean my arm across the car door and flick ashes onto the street. I glance around her neighborhood – so much cleaner than mine. The sidewalks are swept, the grass is cut, even the damn mailboxes look like they’ve been scrubbed. I settle my eyes on Jessica’s house with its pretty red shutters and flowerboxes. Her mother is quite the gardener – and spy.

“Your mother’s looking out window.”

Jessica inhales and scoots half a foot away from me. I fight the urge to laugh and wave at Mrs. Hughes – with the hand that’s holding my cigarette.

“Stop that,” Jessica protests. I can’t help it. I’m laughing now. Jessica’s so damn cute when she’s embarrassed. “You’re impossible,” she concludes. There’s a smile on her face, and somehow I think she doesn’t even care that she’s going to get the third degree when she goes in the house.

But she doesn’t plan on doing that until she gets what she wants.

“Come on, Erik,” she says. “You know it was wrong to take that money. If you give it to me now, then I’ll hand it over to Mel and your name won’t even be mentioned.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then…” She takes a deep breath. “Then I’ll have to tell him that you stole it.”

“If you could prove it, which you can’t. Besides, Mel likes me too much. He wouldn’t press charges.”

“He won’t like you once he knows you stole from him.”

“I never said he likes me for my honesty.”

Nikki's Wish Chapter 1 tease

Nikki's Wish

CHAPTER 1

I picked the wallet up and shook the mud off. Its owner was already halfway down the block. He looked tame enough - leather jacket, faded jeans, dark hair that played freeze tag with the wind. He sprinted across Nicollet Avenue, skipped up to the curb, and proceeded on his way without a sideways glance around him.

Forget about meeting Dad and catching a safe ride home. I had more important things to do. Like chase a stranger through downtown Minneapolis. On a Wednesday night. In the dark. Alone.

I could imagine what my sister would have said: You have no common sense, Nikki. He could be a drug dealer or... or a murderer. I mean, come on. Where's your head?

As always, I attributed her ‘the world is full of freaks who are out to kill you’ attitude to the fact that our father put those freaks in prison. But there was more to my carefree attitude than a need to show her wrong. I was like a wind-up toy springing back to life, and after so many months of feeling like shit, it was a welcome change. Besides, he looked pretty good in those jeans.

He entered the Foshay Tower, and I followed half a minute behind. I came to a full stop and blinked. Pink and blue neon lights shone off the walls and cascaded over a checkered floor. Sitting on a donut-shaped desk was a lighted “W”, and to the right was a lounge of sorts with black leather chairs, a wrap-around sofa, and a hot-pink beaded centerpiece that dropped straight from the ceiling.

I focused on the lighted sign. W? What does that mean?

Try W Hotel, numbskull.


Bitchin’.

You mean eerie. Where is everyone?

She had a point. The place was deserted. No desk clerk, no guests, no bellhop. One glitzy brass elevator was moving – the only thing alive in the entire place. I watched the numbers creep higher and higher, all the way to the observation deck without stopping. I stepped into the second elevator and jammed my thumb on the number 32.

So what are you going to say to him? Shani’s voice rose to a creaky falsetto. ‘Hi, my name is Nikki, and I thought your ass was so smokin’ hot, I just had to follow you up here.


I was thinking more along the lines of, ‘hey, you dropped your wallet’.

Ah, the art of simplicity. No wonder you got all the guys.

Before I could ask her what she meant by that, the elevator stopped and the door slid open. I glanced at the empty desk where a night guard should have been sitting. I walked towards the doorway to the observation deck, anxiety carving a nook in my gut. I grabbed the door handle, turned and pushed.

The boy was standing on top of the four-foot high cement wall that surrounded the observation deck, behind the metal fence built to deter people from climbing it. He was 450 feet in the air, grasping a cold metal bar, his feet teetering on the edge.

Anxiety escalated to panic. If not for Shani, I would have passed out.

Don't just stand there, Nikki. Do something.

“Don’t do it!” I shouted.

He lifted his head and cocked it to one side.

Now what?


Keep talking.

“You um… you dropped your wallet.” I held up the sad little piece of leather.

Nice, Nikki. Real nice. You never were one for crisis situations, were you?


Yeah, what was your first clue?

“Thanks,” the boy said, “but I don’t think I’ll be needing it.”

He wouldn’t be needing it. Of course. What was I thinking? I peered down at the wallet. It fluttered as though it had grown wings. Or maybe my hand was trembling.

Calm down, Nikki. Breathe. This time I decided to trust my sister. I didn't need to add hyperventilation to my problems.

Inhale... exhale...

The wind snatched his hair, tossing it around like a feather. He balanced his weight forward and crossed one ankle over the other.

Inha... ex... in... in...

He chuckled. “What’s your name?”

“M-my name? It’s um... Nikki. My name is Nikki.” This was good, right? Isn’t this what you were supposed to do to keep lunatics from jumping off skyscrapers? Keep them talking? “So uh… what’s your name?”

The corner of his lip tilted upward as his eyes roved over my chest. I couldn’t believe his nerve. Of all the places to be checking someone out.

“Sam,” he said. “My name is Sam. Like your friend Yosemite there."

I cringed at my favorite t- shirt. Yosemite Sam had his arms crossed, aiming two guns, while the words SAY YOUR PRAYERS glittered in gold letters. I’d never be able to look at the ornery little prospector the same again.

“Look, Nikki,” Sam said, clasping his hands together. “I’ve got some business to take care of, and I can tell you don't want to witness it, so if you don’t mind…”

“You expect me to leave?”

“Actually, I do. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate you using me as a guinea pig for your 'Good Samaritan' campaign, but trust me. I’m not the kind of guy you want to save.”

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.” Dr. Katherty’s words. He had said them to me so many times over the past six months I’d lost count. Though they never worked in my case.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew why I was planning to jump,” he said.

I breathed more deeply, gaining confidence. “Try me.”

He laughed and ran both hands through his hair, not even noticing that he’d let go of the fence in the process. His fearlessness was making me ten times more nervous. “Trust me. You don’t want to know, and besides, I don’t have the time to tell you. Like I said, I’m on a tight schedule.”

“What, so it’s dinner at 9:00, jump from the Foshay Tower at 9:15? How insane is that?”

Baaad, Nikki. Bad. Bad. Bad. You don't call someone who's contemplating suicide insane - even if they are.

Again, Shani was right. My confidence waned.

Inhale... exhale...

“I-I didn’t mean you were crazy,” I said. “Lots of people think about…” I swallowed on the word that had come to my lips, “but it’s not an answer.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure it is.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Um… yes, it is.”

His eyes twinkled and a huge smile spread over his face. I bit my tongue. The trickster was baiting me.

“You know, Nikki,” he said, “you’re really something. Do you think you could do me a favor? Grant a guy one last, dying wish?”

“Grant you a wish? I-I don’t know that I have anything I could give you and besides, what would you want, being that you’re so gung-ho about doing this?”

He tilted his head, his eyebrows making flirtatious little dances. “Oh, I can think of something.”

Incredible! The balls he had. The nerve. The –

“I was talking about a kiss,” he said, laughing and holding up his hands. “Nothing more. I’d just like to get a kiss from a pretty girl before I crack my skull open.”

This settled me. Well, it would have settled me if he hadn't added the visual.

“You want me to kiss you?”

“Or I could kiss you. I’m good either way.”

At least he wasn’t afraid of rejection. Then again, he probably didn’t expect rejection. Because what was I suppose to do? Say no?

“Well, I suppose,” I said, “but I’m not going up there. You have to come back down here.”

Ha! Take that! I’d get him down from there yet.

He shrugged once and hopped over the fence. Seeing his feet fly through the air, my own had trouble staying firm. I set a hand against the wall. My teeth chattered.

Sam sat on the ledge, peeled off his jacket and held it out. “You’re shivering.”

“D-don’t you need it?”

“Not where I’m going.”

“Enough with the dead jokes already.” I snatched the jacket and slipped it on.

“Let’s get this over with.”

“A woman who knows what she wants. I like it.”

I tried to smile, but it was difficult. His whole attitude was perplexing. It was all a joke to him. Like, “hello, Death. Here I am.” The thought made me shake and I hugged his jacket closer.

“Looks good on you,” Sam said.

“Uh… thanks, but if you want your kiss, you’re going to have to come down further.”

“Nah,” he replied. Bending over, he slipped an arm around my middle and lifted me onto the wall. I shrieked, but Sam just grinned and pulled me closer. Disgruntled, I scooted back and hugged one of the metal fence posts.

Don’t look down. Look at Sam, Shani instructed.

Oh, bad idea, sis. Bad.

Being this close to the crazy boy, my own sanity hit the skids. Nothing seemed as it was. Shapes lost their edges, his face seemed both wider and thinner, and his skin appeared translucent. Then I noticed his tattoo.

It was hard not to. Etched all the way from his wrist to his bicep was a cobra, one that seemed to have sprung from a hole in his flesh. I guessed it was supposed to represent some sort of inner demon. And yet, the snake’s eyes were closed as though it were asleep. Weird right? But then, the snake moved! Or at least I thought it had. It seemed to have opened its eyes and flicked its tongue out. I blinked, but then it appeared to be sleeping again.

It’s a trick of the eye, Nikki. Like one of those dancing girl tattoos that moves when the guy flexes his muscle.

Only Sam wasn’t flexing.

He was smiling though, and damn if that smile wasn’t bewitching. I mean what was I doing, sitting on a wall 32 floors above the ground, getting ready to kiss a guy who was going to kill himself afterwards?

I tore my eyes away from Sam’s tattoo and focused on the view. The tower itself was dwarfed by the nearby, taller buildings; its lighted reflection danced on the windows across the street. The sky was midnight blue, the moon a crescent wedge suspended from a string. As I watched the tiny, flickering lights of a passing airplane, everything fell into place. I knew what I was doing there. This boy had crossed my path for a reason. Whether Sam lived or died, at least I could say that I had tried to save him. And that was something.

Self-serving much?


You don’t think it’ll make a difference?

The wind carried her sigh. We'll see.

Sam leaned forward enough so I could make out a pink cut on his chin. Staring at it, I didn’t realize how close he had advanced – until our lips met.

I know how crazy it sounds to say that was the best kiss of my life. But it was. Thoughts of lost wallets, skyscrapers, death and the deceased slipped away. All that existed was the two of us, coupled by fate and secured by the wind. With his lips pressed against mine, I let my fingertips graze his face, memorizing the sharp angle of his jaw, the prickly hairs that sprouted along his cheek. He was soft and rough, boy and man, dream and reality, all rolled into one being who seemed to dangle just beyond my reach.

A noise echoed from inside the building, and as quickly as it had begun, the magic ended.

Sam pulled away, eyes staring past me to the door.

“Tick tock,” he whispered.

Seconds later I found myself back behind the safety of the wall. Sam stood again, a silhouette against the Minneapolis skyline.

“Sam, please. Don’t.”

“I’m sorry, Nikki. I never would have involved you in this, but now you are and…” He seemed distracted again, and for the first time, his arms shook. He tightened his grip on the metal bar.

“Sam, you don’t have to do this.”

“Actually, I do have to do this.”

“But we can figure it out. We can –“

“The only thing you have to do is close your eyes. Or better yet, leave. There’s still time. You should get out of here while you can.”

“No. I won’t leave.” I would have gotten down on my knees and begged if I thought it would help, but I already knew. It wouldn’t. “Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll… I’ll help you.”

Tears I’d been holding back fell loose. His face softened.

“That’s sweet, Nikki, but you can’t help me. It’s hard to explain, and I wish I could, but…” Suddenly his arms were moving so fast they made the fence rattle. The sleeping snake swayed back and forth, hissing. I wanted to believe I was imagining it, but Sam's expression told me I wasn’t. “You have to go. Now,” he said.

“I’m not going anywhere!”

His face twisted and he looked away. “I’m sorry, then. Tell him… tell him that a kiss from Nikki is worth a thousand wishes.”

I blinked, his weird poetry startling me, tickling me, and then confusing the heck out of me.

“Huh? Tell who? What?”

But it was too late for explanations. Sam leaned back - and let go of the bar.

Tuesday Teaser - February 2nd

Happy Groundhog's day!! I've never put much stock in Ground hog's day - living in Minnesota, you always get six more weeks of winter whether Punxsutawney Phil predicts it or not. Did I say six? I meant ten, heck sometimes twelve. Yes, I've seen it snow in May. Still, that groundhog is pretty darn cute, and being a close relative to the gopher, I kind of have a soft spot for him.

Today's teaser is another excerpt from NIKKI's WISH. It's the beginning of one of my favorite scenes, somewhere in the middle of the book. All comments are appreciated.

And that’s how I ended up that afternoon back at Glitz! trying on dresses again. I had returned the white dress I bought on Saturday, knowing that since I now had a suitable dance partner, I didn’t have to resort to the color that made me look like an albino rabbit. I flipped through the hangers, looking for something a bit darker, finally deciding on a mocha number with short sleeves and a dipping neckline. I had always imagined prom dress shopping to be a thing that Shani and I would do together. She would have tried on every dress in the store only to end up with the one she had first spotted. I tried to smile at my reflection, but the thought of Shani was too front and center in my mind. Still, the brown dress was an improvement. Maybe if I colored my hair a bit darker...

            “What are you trying to do to yourself?” I jumped a foot in the air as Maxine walked towards me, followed by her ever faithful lapdog/android, Guy. “Seriously, that makes you look like something a dog dropped in the park.”

            “Gee, thanks.” I walked back to the rack of dresses, attempting to ignore her.

            “Nikki, Nikki, Nikki,” Maxine scolded. “If you needed help picking out formal attire, you should have consulted me.” She shoved a sales lady out of the way and pranced to the other end of the store where she began her mission to find me the perfect formal. “You need something bright, to contrast your pale skin. Red will be your best color.”

            “I don’t—“

            “Trust me, honey. I have three hundred years of dressing room experience.” She pulled out the brightest red dress on the rack. It was silk, sleeveless, with a tight fitting bodice that gathered in the small of the back. The front was accented by silver embroidery and matching rhinestones that glittered in all the wrong places. It was gaudy. It was obnoxious. It was nothing I would ever consider pulling off the hanger much less draping over my skin. But as Maxine proceeded to do just that, I realized that it looked – good.

Tuesday Teaser Jan 19, 2010

Time for something a bit different. The basic premise of this story is simple. In his past life, the main character, Erik, was a gangster from the thirties and forties, and now he has to fight the inherent darkness inside him or risk losing the girl he loves. I originally wrote this as an adult story and it was very, very long- around 200,000 words. It probably could have been three books because I went through a different "mini" story for each stage of his life - teens, thirties and sixties.  But now, I'm thinking that this might be better written strictly as a YA novel because I'm better at writing that genre. The problem is that every time I try to write this beginning it comes out completely different from what I had originally intended. And that's ok, but I would still like to incorporate some of the stuff I had written before. I mean I don't want to throw away all 200K words! At any rate, this is one version of my "teen" story. It's chapter one, and the novel is called BETTINA. This is my first attempt at writing in present tense and I'm not sure if I want to keep it that way. Oh, and the character of Karpis isn't made up - he was a real gangster who lived in MN (see mugshot to the right). As always, all comments are appreciated.

BETTINA Chapter 1

I’m supposed to be studying. Ms. Gray, my seventh period German teacher agreed to let me out since A. she knows that I’m already fluent in the language and B. she has a little crush on me. Bully to me. I’m not studying. I’m looking through the newspaper for any information on the closing of Alcatraz prison. This is not headline news in Minnesota, but I’m hoping that someone, perhaps a reporter with a penchant for Minnesota history, has recalled that one of Alcatraz’s most famous prisoners made St. Paul his stomping ground during the 20's and 30's.

I flip to the Variety section and lo and behold, there it is. The caption reads: Alvin "Creepy" Karpis to be moved to McNeal Island Penitentiary. 

Below the article is a mugshot of said Creepy. His mouth and eyebrows are straight lines, as if someone has penciled them in. His hair is swept off his forehead, exposing a half formed widow's peak. But it’s his eyes that draw the viewer. They stare through the page, emotionless, as if the man were not a man but something else altogether. 

I don’t need to read the article to learn that Karpis is a bank robber, kidnapper and murderer. I know that already. I remember that. What I want to learn is if he has any chance of being paroled. I scan the article. There are references to William Hamm Jr. of the Hamm Brewing company who was kidnapped on June 15, 1933, his life held for a 100,000 dollar ransom. But there is no mention of Karpis’s life sentence being revoked. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. In either case, I know that a smoke is in order.

I reach for the half-empty pack of cigarettes next to my copy of Chaucer. I shake one out and dig in my pocket for a lighter. As the flame flickers, I take a look around the diner. 

It’s three o’clock. In fifteen minutes, classes will let out at my high school down the street and then the place will be bustling with kids seeking to gorge themselves on greasy French fries, overdone burgers and malted milk shakes. In the meantime, the only people here are me and a couple of truck drivers. I pick up my coffee cup, noting that it is cold to the touch and mentally reprimand Vera for failing to fill it. Again. She’s at the counter, taking money from a customer and as she closes the cash register, I notice that it sticks out half an inch. She walks away without bothering to fix it. 

I inhale deeply on my cigarette. Open my book to distract myself. Look again at the cash register.

Vera walks to the other table and takes the truck drivers’ order. They're flirting with her, and she gets flustered. She’s used to a little flattery. What waitress isn’t? But when one pinches her ass, she flees to the kitchen as if a bee has stung her. My gaze returns to the cash register, then back to the truck drivers who, to my surprise, are also eyeing it. They get up. One goes to the entrance of the café and remains there, looking out the window. The other walks to the counter. It’s rather clever really, to distract Vera like that. Crude, but clever. Unfortunately they have either forgotten that I exist or else they don’t consider me a threat. Imagine that.

I get up just as the man sets his hand on the money drawer. His head darts in my direction. I walk behind the counter, cup in hand and grab the coffee pot.

“Hey, boy what you doin’?” he asks.

“Vera doesn’t mind,” I say. 
 
I fill my cup and set the coffee pot back into place.

“Shouldn’t you be in school or somethin’?”

The man at the door looks at us, his eyes darting around like a frightened rabbit.

"School just got out," I say. "Of course you wouldn’t know that, being a stranger in town. You also wouldn’t know that in about five minutes two dozen witnesses will walk into this diner, and every one of them will vouch for me when I say that you robbed the place.”

“Now look here, boy," he says and points a finger at me. "You can't go 'round accusing people of shit like that. It ain't consensual."


"I think you mean constitutional."

“Oh, so you think you're a smartass, huh?" He leans forward and tries to appear menacing. Emphasis on the word tries. Compared to Karpis, this guy is about as frightening as Steamboat Willy.


"Stewart, I see someone coming,” the man at the front door hisses.

I grin. “So, Stewart. Should we call it a draw?”

He hisses something foul under his breath and looks at the register, wondering if he can take me on and still get out of there in time. I may not be much to look at, rather tall and skinny, but wearing my uncle’s WWII bomber jacket gives me a look of authority that I would otherwise lack. Or at least, that’s what my best friend, Tommy, tells me. Still, I decide that I need to make my point a bit clearer.

“That your truck out there?” 

“Yeah, what of it?”

“YHT476.” 

“Huh?”

Sheesh, how thick can you get?

“It’s your license plate number, you idiot. I saw it when you drove in.”

He curses under his breath, then grabs one of the toothpicks sitting on the counter as if he had intended to do so all along. He takes his time leaving, throwing a backward glance at me before the door jingles shut. When he and his partner are gone, I look down at the cash register and shake my head. It’s really too easy. I grab a table knife, jam it into the open crack and give it a good yank.

Tuesday Teaser Jan 12, 2010

I just added this scene yesterday, so forgive me for the non-existent editing. I thought about giving an intro, but I think that it's pretty much self-explanatory and for the parts that aren't, I'd rather save the mystery.

Sorry this teaser has been removed.

Tuesday Teaser - Jan 5, 2010

Today's teaser is the beginning of Chapter 6 from NIKKI'S WISH. It's kind of a short one.

Sorry, this teaser has been removed.

Tuesday Teaser -December 29, 2009

This is the conclusion to the first chapter of NIKKI'S WISH. The beginning is still posted in the Tuesday teaser section to the right if you want to review what's been going on. I feel like it needs a lot of work now, especially after reading everyone's great kissing scenes last week. But, enjoy!

Sorry, this teaser has been removed.

Tuesday Teaser December 22, 2009

This is a continuation of last's week's teaser. Everyone was so nice with their comments last week, but really I can take some harsh criticism if you want to give it to me. Even though it is Christmas.... just kidding. To get you up to speed, Nikki has encountered Sam on the top of Minneapolis's Foshay Tower, where he is prepared to jump. 


Sorry, this teaser has been removed.

Tuesday Teaser December 15, 2009

Hi All. This is my first tuesday teaser and it's the first chapter of my most complete WIP, called Nikki's Wish. I'm working on my second draft of this and getting a bit stuck. Any feedback is appreciated!

Sorry, this teaser has been removed.