Clownbied.
Closing her eyes deeply, Tracy wrapped her hands on herself as she frowned at the thought that was running through her mind.
"No, no, no!" She screamed. "I need something better, something factual, something thrilling and..."
Opening her eyes in a flash, an idea came forward. "What if I... hmm, it'd be interesting, wouldn't it?" She said with a smile as she chuckled briefly.
"If not that I had known you for years, it would take a lot of medication and alcohol to believe you are normal." Darren, Tracy's childhood friend said while shaking his head.
Rolling her eyes and completely ignoring him, Tracy smiled more at the idea that struck her mind. With eyes wide open, she stared at the ceiling with a dreamy face as she let her thoughts run wild.
Face-palming himself, Darren left Tracy's room, which was left ajar as he walked straight to the small kitchen they shared to brew coffee and also prepared a toast for himself.
Still in her dreamy state, Tracy continued smiling like a maniac until a smell drifted right to her nostril.
"Tww!" she sneezed before taking in the smell as it led her to the kitchen where Darren stood with a cup of coffee on his lips as he prepared a toast.
"Hand it over." Tracy said with a pout as she stretched her hand toward Darren.
"I am not your maid, I can't just come in here and have you harass me because we stay together. I will not..."
"Give it now..." Tracy said more fiercely, cutting Darren's sentence short.
"I knew this would happen. I made you a cup of coffee too. Take it and let me breathe in peace." Darren responded as he handed over a cup of coffee to Tracy.
Lifting the cup of coffee to her nostril, Tracy inhaled the steam before drinking it. "Gosh! Coffee is life! Do you know that?" Tracy asked while smiling at Darren.
"You've told me a million times already now off you go to your dreamy state. I have real work to go to." Darren remarked, facing his toast.
"Yen, yen... must you always make me always feel bad, eh? You know being a writer is also a real job, don't you? I have a very good idea for a novel and you'd be surprised what this is about." Tracy said with assurance.
"Truly, you have ideas, but no one makes it up to chapter 3 before you trash it and say it is not good enough. You need strong character, you need to do this and that...phew! What other idea will be more than the Clownbied story you told me some days ago?" Darren asked, a bit curious.
"Well, hehe... the story I am about to tell you is about a clown and zombie. I know. Before you say anything. I know I told you about an idea for a clown and zombie movie, but this one is stronger, and it'll take the same title,"Clownbied.” Walking closer to Darren, Tracy held his hands. "I am sure this story will be a hit. I'll surely write it this time around and you'll be surprised. Just make yourself another toast and let me start writing." Tracy said with a smile.
"I must have been really crazy to be your friend for so many years. Gosh! I am the real clown here. If you want a toast, just say it. Don't use that as an excuse. Anyway, I knew this would happen. Phew! Just take it. Coffee is enough to start my day. Today is your free day, so enjoy it while it lasts." Darren replied before walking off.
Smiling ear to ear, Tracy clasped her hands together in victory before picking up her toast as she rushed back to her room to write. Opening her laptop, she stared at the blank sheet. Closing her eyes briefly, she opened them, flexed her fingers as her thoughts took over. Her hands found the keyboard as she typed away.
Moving her hands like a world class knitter, Tracy moved her fingers as each word poured out of her mind like they were in front of her. She continued writing, moving from one chapter to another with a smile on her lips.
Hours passed by, but it seemed like it was summer, winter, and autumn that passed by as she wrote. For once in her life, Tracy felt a renowned writer who had traveled with her characters into different timelines. She chucked briefly and paused as murmured to herself, "I have truly traveled into different dimensions with my zombie and clown characters in an apocalypse world."
"Don't tell me you've been writing since I left home." Darren said as he walked into Tracy's room.
"What do you mean by that? Are you just going to work?" Tracy asked.
"Going? Lol… I am back from work, and everywhere is dark." Darren replied.
"No, that can't be right. I just sat down here not quite long and..." Picking up her phone, Tracy checked the time and was shocked. "What! I mean, wow... I must have been truly engrossed in this." Tracy said with a smile.
"And I am surprised. Ever since I have known you, you have never sat down to write for a long time like this. Now, I feel the urge to read your story. I bought some food for you. You can shower and eat while I read." Darren said with a larger smile.
"That's nice!" Tracy responded before standing up and letting Darren sit.
Minutes turned to an hour as Darren read while Tracy prepared her dress for work the next day. She and Darren work at a diner where they work for two days and get a day off during school holidays but work part-time during school days. It was the way they both decided to help their parents by working while studying at the university.
Tracy and Darren have been friends since birth as their parents were also friends. It was one of the reasons they allowed them both to stay together in the same rented apartment as they both got admission to the same university.
"Wow! Tracy... I am, I can't explain this but firstly I do have to commend you for this. But you have to promise me to finish this. I truly can't wait for what happens next. A story about an apocalypse that brought in a virus that turned people to zombies is crazy. And I do like the concept of how the people who weren't infected had to paint their faces like clowns and act like they are zombies too to get food and medicines to keep at their hiding place." Darren said with a huge smile.
"It is amazing, isn't it? Hehe, I am so happy at your response to this. I'll write a little before bed and make sure to complete this very soon. How about you become my manager, eh?" Tracy said with a bigger smile.
"Well, there's no one to manage your crazy attitude better than me." Darren replied with a chuckle as Tracy sat closer to him as they both discussed more about the story.
A month later, Tracy began her journey as a renowned writer with her manager Darren as her story, "Clownbied," became the best-selling novel.
Nothing beats having a day of freedom to write. You never know when the muse is going to strike, or if you have to beguile it out the way Tracy beguiled Darren to make her coffee and toast. Fortunately, it worked out for her. I like the whimsical story of these two friends who have a close relationship, and the struggles the writer goes through to get herself motivated to finish the story. If you ever write another draft, I would recommend bringing up the fact that she's a struggling writer closer to the beginning. You hint at it in the following paragraph:
This might be a good place to mention it outright.
I think all of us who write stories can identify with Tracy and her struggles to finish up the tale. Perhaps, we're overthinking it, and all we need to do is to start typing (with coffee and toast, of course).
Hehe, you bet! One has to be ready as we truly don't know when the words will start pouring out. Lol.
Their relationship just fits rightly. Hehe, and thanks for pointing that out.
Yeah, we can. It took loads of thinking to just get this right. Her struggles her relatable. I still have a novel that needs my appreance, lol. Perhaps we are. Thanks for stopping by.
This story has some fine points. The casual relationship between the two friends is captured in their back and forth dialog. The dialog is strong and drives the story forward. It would have been helpful to get a little more information about how Darren truly felt. We know what he said, but a few words describing whether or not he resented or did not resent giving up his toast--that would have been useful. It's a good idea not to clutter a story with too many descriptions, and it's a good idea to let dialog speak for itself. Still, a few words here and there to clue the reader in on how Darren felt about his friend's apparent laziness would have been welcome.
Good job with this story, @balikis95
Thank you for reading and giving your thoughts on Darren. I appreciate the feedback given.
An autobiography brought from the future? I love stories about zombies and clowns.... 😨 I hope to read the book soon. Best regards @balikis95
A little fun story turned into a best selling novel. That is brilliant, Tracy had enough motivation to finish the novel.
Yeah, she did. Hehe.
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Awwww a friendship of value 🙂
Prolific writer! You go soon dey compete with Wolesoyinka, hehe
Lol... una Don come again. Thank you
A very interesting story, excellent way of narrating the details.🤗
I can just imagine if it could be done easily like that , then why do people in zombie movie stress to run and all from zombies when they could just paint their faces and blend in?
#dreemerforlife
Wow. That was a big push for Tracy, coupled with the fact that she had a free day from work. With what Darren had summarised about Clownfied, I believe her story would hit a big one and that could lead her to a big height. I enjoyed the story and how both of them flowed together. #dreemerforlife