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Wrote this over the weekend for English, I haven't written any stories for a little while so I'm a bit out of practice. We were told that we had to write about someone making a decision, so if it seems a little limited then that's why. :P
Anyway, feedback is always appreciated. {:)
____________________________
The roar of thunder awoke Andy from his trance. He looked at his watch, and realised that he’d been sitting in the kitchen thinking for almost an hour. His Cup-A-Soup sat in front of him, untouched. He gingerly sipped from his mug, and grimaced as he swallowed the stone cold Chicken and Mushroom flavour soup. He thought about this for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he should have known it was going to be cold in the first place. He shook his head, stood up, brushed invisible crumbs off his trousers and made his way over to the window. He peered outside, and was greeted by torrential rain, and a sudden flash of lightning.
He found this quite depressing and decided that he’d rather go back to his trance, and so he returned to pondering whether he should become a woman or not. This was before he realised he had more important matters to sort out, such as his faltering relationship. He would think about this instead.
His girlfriend Anna was certainly special. He vividly remembered the day he met her…yes, mainly because that was the day he saw Bon Jovi live in concert, but that was also where he found himself standing next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Her long dark hair fell to her shoulders, and her thin, wet lips complimented her smooth, tanned face. She had a slender figure and her long legs were half-covered by a skirt. But what Andy really noticed about her was the eyes. They were a gorgeous sea green, and he found himself becoming lost in them as he stared in awe at her. After a minute or so she had finally realised that she was being eyed up by a strange man wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed we should “Give Quiche A Chance.” She found this strangely amusing, and told him so.
“Um, well, yeah,” he stammered, “I thought it was quite funny too. So that’s why I bought it…obviously.”
Fortunately, she took a liking to him, and they decided to swap numbers after the concert. Even better, they only lived a few miles apart. Andy had always believed this was fate, although now he hoped that it was just coincidence.
Andy stepped away from the window and actually slapped himself. He couldn’t think like that – despite all her faults, she was still the first girl that he had actually loved. But there was no doubt that their relationship was struggling, and it was definitely her fault…or was it? For the first time, Andy actually began to consider whether all the problems were in fact his doing. He threw his soup away, disgustedly retrieved the mug from the bin, and decided that it was still all her fault. No doubt about it.
There were no specific reasons. She hadn’t cheated on him or anything like that, but he was in fact beginning to find her annoying. And he wasn’t stupid – he knew that she probably felt the same way about him. She was a very lively character, and for a while this was fun. Anna was the sort of girl who wanted to go on all the rides at theme parks, wanted to try all the different flavours of ice cream and would rather cut Andy’s hair herself than have him pay for it to be done professionally.
That reminded him. He would need to go to the barbers tomorrow – he hated being the butt of all the jokes at work.
Oh, and she liked to talk. If it was up to her she would talk all day, and there are limits to how many times you can nod and say “yeah I know” and “hmmm” before becoming extremely bored. Obviously the more interesting thing to do would be to disagree with her (which he silently did on many occasions), but the last time he did this he spent the whole of the next week repairing two broken doors and a hole in his bedroom wall.
Another roar of thunder. He jumped, and checked the clock once again. Another half an hour had passed. He had quite a lot of work to do, so he headed to his PC in the dining room. He tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him, but it was impossible. Andy had always found it hard to concentrate when something was on his mind. He fell deep into thought again, this time whilst staring blankly at the monitor.
He desperately tried to put his finger on what it was. There was a reason why he felt this way…there was definitely something which had changed. Andy still felt the same person he had always been, and to be honest he hadn’t noticed any definite change in Anna either.
The spark had gone. Ironically, there was a jolt of lightning just as he thought this. Was that it? Had the spark really gone? It seemed unthinkable, but maybe that was it…
He got to his feet once again and walked into the lounge, taking a seat on his plush blue leather sofa. He considered turning the TV on, but he doubted anything of any interest would be on. Instead he let his mind wander. He tried to contemplate what life would be like without her. Certainly a lot less chaotic, and much more hassle-free. He could do what he wanted, when he wanted…at least until the next girl of his dreams came along.
He suddenly remembered that tomorrow he had to see her after work, for their latest reconciliation meeting, stemming from their last argument. He groaned.
And this was when he realised it was all over. For the first time in their long relationship, he was actually not looking forward to seeing her. It wasn’t because they’d just had a row or anything like that, no…it was just because he didn’t want to see her. He’d rather be doing something else – anything else - , than seeing her. It sounded harsh, but he had to face facts.
And suddenly, Andy felt a whole lot better. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Obviously there was still the terrifying process of actually telling her first, there was no doubt that that was going to be an extremely ‘painful’ experience, in more ways than one. He stretched out across the sofa, and put his arms behind his head. He breathed a sigh of relief. You never know, maybe she would take it quite well…maybe she’d even agree!
For the second time that night, Andy felt like slapping himself, but he couldn’t be bothered this time. He did it mentally instead, reminding himself not to drift into the realms of fantasy, as he often did. He had a creative tendency that he often liked to use to make movies in his head – usually when he was bored. Often Andy would become the hero in a multimillion-dollar action movie that he wrote, directed and starred in – and he would always save the girl, who used to be Anna. Not anymore.
Andy opened his eyes and sat up. He squinted at the clock on the video recorder. He silently winced as he realised he’d wasted another half an hour…it was two hours ago he’d sat down in the kitchen with his soup. Everything was deathly quiet, and this puzzled him, especially considering there was a storm raging outside. He got to his feet and opened the curtains…it was calm. The storm was over, and this reflected the way he felt. He smiled, and danced his way back towards the PC.
After picking himself up (needless to say Andy wasn’t much of a dancer), he retrieved some work from the desk and sat himself down. He flicked through some files and looked up at the screen – and instantly froze. The PC had been left idle for a little while, and his screensaver had appeared…it was a photo. A photo of him and Anna at a restaurant, taken almost a year ago…back when they were happy. His smile disappeared and his stomach turned, and he shifted uncomfortably. He looked around, even though he knew no one could possibly have been watching him, and with the possible exception of God no one but him knew what he had been thinking for the last couple of hours. But he felt guilty nonetheless.
Both he and Anna were smiling radiantly in the photo. They looked like the perfect couple, and at the time they were the perfect couple…was she still so happy now? He doubted it, but it still troubled him.
NO. As this word popped into his head, the bulb blew in the main light of the room. He shot to his feet, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. He desperately tried to calm himself, and took a few deep breaths, before finally slumping back into his chair. He sat in darkness, the only source of light being the bright glow of the monitor that shone piercingly into him like a torch. For a fleeting second the monitor became Anna, and it shone inquisitively through his head and into his mind…it could see through him, and this scared him. It read his deepest and innermost thoughts, and it knew…it knew what he had been planning to do. Andy leapt up and scrambled into the kitchen, desperately turning all the lights on he could find, and when the room was bright enough he leant against the wall and tried to recover himself.
Andy put his head in his hands – he couldn’t believe he had been so quick to dismiss their relationship. Perhaps she still loved him…he tried to imagine how he would feel if she had been thinking the same thing…and it hurt. He couldn’t finish it just like that…so he would make another decision. Admittedly, his decision-making record was beginning to resemble Liverpool’s recent form, but this one would be right.
He would talk to her. After all, they had been together for years now, surely they could talk about these things together? He was sure she had the same doubts about the state of their relationship, and so she would understand. They would talk about it tomorrow…and they would decide then what to do.
Too many decisions. It was no wonder Andy fancied becoming a woman.
Anyway, feedback is always appreciated. {:)
____________________________
The roar of thunder awoke Andy from his trance. He looked at his watch, and realised that he’d been sitting in the kitchen thinking for almost an hour. His Cup-A-Soup sat in front of him, untouched. He gingerly sipped from his mug, and grimaced as he swallowed the stone cold Chicken and Mushroom flavour soup. He thought about this for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he should have known it was going to be cold in the first place. He shook his head, stood up, brushed invisible crumbs off his trousers and made his way over to the window. He peered outside, and was greeted by torrential rain, and a sudden flash of lightning.
He found this quite depressing and decided that he’d rather go back to his trance, and so he returned to pondering whether he should become a woman or not. This was before he realised he had more important matters to sort out, such as his faltering relationship. He would think about this instead.
His girlfriend Anna was certainly special. He vividly remembered the day he met her…yes, mainly because that was the day he saw Bon Jovi live in concert, but that was also where he found himself standing next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Her long dark hair fell to her shoulders, and her thin, wet lips complimented her smooth, tanned face. She had a slender figure and her long legs were half-covered by a skirt. But what Andy really noticed about her was the eyes. They were a gorgeous sea green, and he found himself becoming lost in them as he stared in awe at her. After a minute or so she had finally realised that she was being eyed up by a strange man wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed we should “Give Quiche A Chance.” She found this strangely amusing, and told him so.
“Um, well, yeah,” he stammered, “I thought it was quite funny too. So that’s why I bought it…obviously.”
Fortunately, she took a liking to him, and they decided to swap numbers after the concert. Even better, they only lived a few miles apart. Andy had always believed this was fate, although now he hoped that it was just coincidence.
Andy stepped away from the window and actually slapped himself. He couldn’t think like that – despite all her faults, she was still the first girl that he had actually loved. But there was no doubt that their relationship was struggling, and it was definitely her fault…or was it? For the first time, Andy actually began to consider whether all the problems were in fact his doing. He threw his soup away, disgustedly retrieved the mug from the bin, and decided that it was still all her fault. No doubt about it.
There were no specific reasons. She hadn’t cheated on him or anything like that, but he was in fact beginning to find her annoying. And he wasn’t stupid – he knew that she probably felt the same way about him. She was a very lively character, and for a while this was fun. Anna was the sort of girl who wanted to go on all the rides at theme parks, wanted to try all the different flavours of ice cream and would rather cut Andy’s hair herself than have him pay for it to be done professionally.
That reminded him. He would need to go to the barbers tomorrow – he hated being the butt of all the jokes at work.
Oh, and she liked to talk. If it was up to her she would talk all day, and there are limits to how many times you can nod and say “yeah I know” and “hmmm” before becoming extremely bored. Obviously the more interesting thing to do would be to disagree with her (which he silently did on many occasions), but the last time he did this he spent the whole of the next week repairing two broken doors and a hole in his bedroom wall.
Another roar of thunder. He jumped, and checked the clock once again. Another half an hour had passed. He had quite a lot of work to do, so he headed to his PC in the dining room. He tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him, but it was impossible. Andy had always found it hard to concentrate when something was on his mind. He fell deep into thought again, this time whilst staring blankly at the monitor.
He desperately tried to put his finger on what it was. There was a reason why he felt this way…there was definitely something which had changed. Andy still felt the same person he had always been, and to be honest he hadn’t noticed any definite change in Anna either.
The spark had gone. Ironically, there was a jolt of lightning just as he thought this. Was that it? Had the spark really gone? It seemed unthinkable, but maybe that was it…
He got to his feet once again and walked into the lounge, taking a seat on his plush blue leather sofa. He considered turning the TV on, but he doubted anything of any interest would be on. Instead he let his mind wander. He tried to contemplate what life would be like without her. Certainly a lot less chaotic, and much more hassle-free. He could do what he wanted, when he wanted…at least until the next girl of his dreams came along.
He suddenly remembered that tomorrow he had to see her after work, for their latest reconciliation meeting, stemming from their last argument. He groaned.
And this was when he realised it was all over. For the first time in their long relationship, he was actually not looking forward to seeing her. It wasn’t because they’d just had a row or anything like that, no…it was just because he didn’t want to see her. He’d rather be doing something else – anything else - , than seeing her. It sounded harsh, but he had to face facts.
And suddenly, Andy felt a whole lot better. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Obviously there was still the terrifying process of actually telling her first, there was no doubt that that was going to be an extremely ‘painful’ experience, in more ways than one. He stretched out across the sofa, and put his arms behind his head. He breathed a sigh of relief. You never know, maybe she would take it quite well…maybe she’d even agree!
For the second time that night, Andy felt like slapping himself, but he couldn’t be bothered this time. He did it mentally instead, reminding himself not to drift into the realms of fantasy, as he often did. He had a creative tendency that he often liked to use to make movies in his head – usually when he was bored. Often Andy would become the hero in a multimillion-dollar action movie that he wrote, directed and starred in – and he would always save the girl, who used to be Anna. Not anymore.
Andy opened his eyes and sat up. He squinted at the clock on the video recorder. He silently winced as he realised he’d wasted another half an hour…it was two hours ago he’d sat down in the kitchen with his soup. Everything was deathly quiet, and this puzzled him, especially considering there was a storm raging outside. He got to his feet and opened the curtains…it was calm. The storm was over, and this reflected the way he felt. He smiled, and danced his way back towards the PC.
After picking himself up (needless to say Andy wasn’t much of a dancer), he retrieved some work from the desk and sat himself down. He flicked through some files and looked up at the screen – and instantly froze. The PC had been left idle for a little while, and his screensaver had appeared…it was a photo. A photo of him and Anna at a restaurant, taken almost a year ago…back when they were happy. His smile disappeared and his stomach turned, and he shifted uncomfortably. He looked around, even though he knew no one could possibly have been watching him, and with the possible exception of God no one but him knew what he had been thinking for the last couple of hours. But he felt guilty nonetheless.
Both he and Anna were smiling radiantly in the photo. They looked like the perfect couple, and at the time they were the perfect couple…was she still so happy now? He doubted it, but it still troubled him.
NO. As this word popped into his head, the bulb blew in the main light of the room. He shot to his feet, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. He desperately tried to calm himself, and took a few deep breaths, before finally slumping back into his chair. He sat in darkness, the only source of light being the bright glow of the monitor that shone piercingly into him like a torch. For a fleeting second the monitor became Anna, and it shone inquisitively through his head and into his mind…it could see through him, and this scared him. It read his deepest and innermost thoughts, and it knew…it knew what he had been planning to do. Andy leapt up and scrambled into the kitchen, desperately turning all the lights on he could find, and when the room was bright enough he leant against the wall and tried to recover himself.
Andy put his head in his hands – he couldn’t believe he had been so quick to dismiss their relationship. Perhaps she still loved him…he tried to imagine how he would feel if she had been thinking the same thing…and it hurt. He couldn’t finish it just like that…so he would make another decision. Admittedly, his decision-making record was beginning to resemble Liverpool’s recent form, but this one would be right.
He would talk to her. After all, they had been together for years now, surely they could talk about these things together? He was sure she had the same doubts about the state of their relationship, and so she would understand. They would talk about it tomorrow…and they would decide then what to do.
Too many decisions. It was no wonder Andy fancied becoming a woman.
Possibly because it is said that a woman can never make up her mind (my other half disagrees with this statement as he tells me that women do not have a mind to make up) so if your teacher is female I'd seriously consider taking these references out otherwise she may catch the same references as I did
... and leave Liverpool out of this :)
Other than that I found it an enjoyable read.
* wanders away to look 'short' up in the dictionary *
... and leave Liverpool out of this :)
Other than that I found it an enjoyable read.
* wanders away to look 'short' up in the dictionary *
Hmm, I'm confused too, might take out the wanting to become a woman bit. It had a purpose but I've forgotten it now. :D
Cheers guys.
Cheers guys.
Yes, that was a long V. Short Story, like Black Glove said. It's too early in the morning for me to function properly so I won't give you an in depth diagnosis, let me just say I liked it.
He's imagining being a woman [being someone else] because he wants out of the relationship, or he wants to become a woman and that's why he's unhappy in the relationship - I didn't quite get which it was...?
And that was the longest "V.Short Story" I've ever read... but having said all that, it was pretty good :-)
And that was the longest "V.Short Story" I've ever read... but having said all that, it was pretty good :-)
I'm good, changed a lot, grown out of games a bit (:S) but life's pretty good. :-)
I was Dan when I posted at the Millenium Dome, my third or second time on here. Back then kids, there was nothing to stop you having the same name as someone else, so everyone thought I was this other Dan (Dan2K1 last time I looked) who'd been around for a while, so everyone started all these "clone" jokes.
So strapped a Uk on my name for that extra bit of identity. ;-)
They fixed that a few months later...
... if I remember rightly, it's because of something YOU did Ant, impersonating someone as a joke or something which led to Tony changing the entire username system! :-D
I was Dan when I posted at the Millenium Dome, my third or second time on here. Back then kids, there was nothing to stop you having the same name as someone else, so everyone thought I was this other Dan (Dan2K1 last time I looked) who'd been around for a while, so everyone started all these "clone" jokes.
So strapped a Uk on my name for that extra bit of identity. ;-)
They fixed that a few months later...
... if I remember rightly, it's because of something YOU did Ant, impersonating someone as a joke or something which led to Tony changing the entire username system! :-D
Hey Strafex mate, nice to see ya here again. How are you?
This is first year A-Level (so it's AS), we have one lesson a fortnight on short stories/novels, and it's the coursework part of it. This is the first piece he's set us to do.
Thanks for comments. {:) And yah, I remember the good ol' days here, like when you were Dan_uk, and you were posting at the Millennium Dome. :P
This is first year A-Level (so it's AS), we have one lesson a fortnight on short stories/novels, and it's the coursework part of it. This is the first piece he's set us to do.
Thanks for comments. {:) And yah, I remember the good ol' days here, like when you were Dan_uk, and you were posting at the Millennium Dome. :P
It's been AGES since I read your stuff. :-)
This is great.
Builds a great picture of the scene and what's going through the guy's head.
Is this GCSE or are you onto A-level now?
Either way, this is WAY above the standards I've seen from people at my school, and to think you develloped it "wasting spare time" on these forums! ;-)
This is great.
Builds a great picture of the scene and what's going through the guy's head.
Is this GCSE or are you onto A-level now?
Either way, this is WAY above the standards I've seen from people at my school, and to think you develloped it "wasting spare time" on these forums! ;-)
Wrote this over the weekend for English, I haven't written any stories for a little while so I'm a bit out of practice. We were told that we had to write about someone making a decision, so if it seems a little limited then that's why. :P
Anyway, feedback is always appreciated. {:)
____________________________
The roar of thunder awoke Andy from his trance. He looked at his watch, and realised that he’d been sitting in the kitchen thinking for almost an hour. His Cup-A-Soup sat in front of him, untouched. He gingerly sipped from his mug, and grimaced as he swallowed the stone cold Chicken and Mushroom flavour soup. He thought about this for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he should have known it was going to be cold in the first place. He shook his head, stood up, brushed invisible crumbs off his trousers and made his way over to the window. He peered outside, and was greeted by torrential rain, and a sudden flash of lightning.
He found this quite depressing and decided that he’d rather go back to his trance, and so he returned to pondering whether he should become a woman or not. This was before he realised he had more important matters to sort out, such as his faltering relationship. He would think about this instead.
His girlfriend Anna was certainly special. He vividly remembered the day he met her…yes, mainly because that was the day he saw Bon Jovi live in concert, but that was also where he found himself standing next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Her long dark hair fell to her shoulders, and her thin, wet lips complimented her smooth, tanned face. She had a slender figure and her long legs were half-covered by a skirt. But what Andy really noticed about her was the eyes. They were a gorgeous sea green, and he found himself becoming lost in them as he stared in awe at her. After a minute or so she had finally realised that she was being eyed up by a strange man wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed we should “Give Quiche A Chance.” She found this strangely amusing, and told him so.
“Um, well, yeah,” he stammered, “I thought it was quite funny too. So that’s why I bought it…obviously.”
Fortunately, she took a liking to him, and they decided to swap numbers after the concert. Even better, they only lived a few miles apart. Andy had always believed this was fate, although now he hoped that it was just coincidence.
Andy stepped away from the window and actually slapped himself. He couldn’t think like that – despite all her faults, she was still the first girl that he had actually loved. But there was no doubt that their relationship was struggling, and it was definitely her fault…or was it? For the first time, Andy actually began to consider whether all the problems were in fact his doing. He threw his soup away, disgustedly retrieved the mug from the bin, and decided that it was still all her fault. No doubt about it.
There were no specific reasons. She hadn’t cheated on him or anything like that, but he was in fact beginning to find her annoying. And he wasn’t stupid – he knew that she probably felt the same way about him. She was a very lively character, and for a while this was fun. Anna was the sort of girl who wanted to go on all the rides at theme parks, wanted to try all the different flavours of ice cream and would rather cut Andy’s hair herself than have him pay for it to be done professionally.
That reminded him. He would need to go to the barbers tomorrow – he hated being the butt of all the jokes at work.
Oh, and she liked to talk. If it was up to her she would talk all day, and there are limits to how many times you can nod and say “yeah I know” and “hmmm” before becoming extremely bored. Obviously the more interesting thing to do would be to disagree with her (which he silently did on many occasions), but the last time he did this he spent the whole of the next week repairing two broken doors and a hole in his bedroom wall.
Another roar of thunder. He jumped, and checked the clock once again. Another half an hour had passed. He had quite a lot of work to do, so he headed to his PC in the dining room. He tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him, but it was impossible. Andy had always found it hard to concentrate when something was on his mind. He fell deep into thought again, this time whilst staring blankly at the monitor.
He desperately tried to put his finger on what it was. There was a reason why he felt this way…there was definitely something which had changed. Andy still felt the same person he had always been, and to be honest he hadn’t noticed any definite change in Anna either.
The spark had gone. Ironically, there was a jolt of lightning just as he thought this. Was that it? Had the spark really gone? It seemed unthinkable, but maybe that was it…
He got to his feet once again and walked into the lounge, taking a seat on his plush blue leather sofa. He considered turning the TV on, but he doubted anything of any interest would be on. Instead he let his mind wander. He tried to contemplate what life would be like without her. Certainly a lot less chaotic, and much more hassle-free. He could do what he wanted, when he wanted…at least until the next girl of his dreams came along.
He suddenly remembered that tomorrow he had to see her after work, for their latest reconciliation meeting, stemming from their last argument. He groaned.
And this was when he realised it was all over. For the first time in their long relationship, he was actually not looking forward to seeing her. It wasn’t because they’d just had a row or anything like that, no…it was just because he didn’t want to see her. He’d rather be doing something else – anything else - , than seeing her. It sounded harsh, but he had to face facts.
And suddenly, Andy felt a whole lot better. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Obviously there was still the terrifying process of actually telling her first, there was no doubt that that was going to be an extremely ‘painful’ experience, in more ways than one. He stretched out across the sofa, and put his arms behind his head. He breathed a sigh of relief. You never know, maybe she would take it quite well…maybe she’d even agree!
For the second time that night, Andy felt like slapping himself, but he couldn’t be bothered this time. He did it mentally instead, reminding himself not to drift into the realms of fantasy, as he often did. He had a creative tendency that he often liked to use to make movies in his head – usually when he was bored. Often Andy would become the hero in a multimillion-dollar action movie that he wrote, directed and starred in – and he would always save the girl, who used to be Anna. Not anymore.
Andy opened his eyes and sat up. He squinted at the clock on the video recorder. He silently winced as he realised he’d wasted another half an hour…it was two hours ago he’d sat down in the kitchen with his soup. Everything was deathly quiet, and this puzzled him, especially considering there was a storm raging outside. He got to his feet and opened the curtains…it was calm. The storm was over, and this reflected the way he felt. He smiled, and danced his way back towards the PC.
After picking himself up (needless to say Andy wasn’t much of a dancer), he retrieved some work from the desk and sat himself down. He flicked through some files and looked up at the screen – and instantly froze. The PC had been left idle for a little while, and his screensaver had appeared…it was a photo. A photo of him and Anna at a restaurant, taken almost a year ago…back when they were happy. His smile disappeared and his stomach turned, and he shifted uncomfortably. He looked around, even though he knew no one could possibly have been watching him, and with the possible exception of God no one but him knew what he had been thinking for the last couple of hours. But he felt guilty nonetheless.
Both he and Anna were smiling radiantly in the photo. They looked like the perfect couple, and at the time they were the perfect couple…was she still so happy now? He doubted it, but it still troubled him.
NO. As this word popped into his head, the bulb blew in the main light of the room. He shot to his feet, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. He desperately tried to calm himself, and took a few deep breaths, before finally slumping back into his chair. He sat in darkness, the only source of light being the bright glow of the monitor that shone piercingly into him like a torch. For a fleeting second the monitor became Anna, and it shone inquisitively through his head and into his mind…it could see through him, and this scared him. It read his deepest and innermost thoughts, and it knew…it knew what he had been planning to do. Andy leapt up and scrambled into the kitchen, desperately turning all the lights on he could find, and when the room was bright enough he leant against the wall and tried to recover himself.
Andy put his head in his hands – he couldn’t believe he had been so quick to dismiss their relationship. Perhaps she still loved him…he tried to imagine how he would feel if she had been thinking the same thing…and it hurt. He couldn’t finish it just like that…so he would make another decision. Admittedly, his decision-making record was beginning to resemble Liverpool’s recent form, but this one would be right.
He would talk to her. After all, they had been together for years now, surely they could talk about these things together? He was sure she had the same doubts about the state of their relationship, and so she would understand. They would talk about it tomorrow…and they would decide then what to do.
Too many decisions. It was no wonder Andy fancied becoming a woman.
Anyway, feedback is always appreciated. {:)
____________________________
The roar of thunder awoke Andy from his trance. He looked at his watch, and realised that he’d been sitting in the kitchen thinking for almost an hour. His Cup-A-Soup sat in front of him, untouched. He gingerly sipped from his mug, and grimaced as he swallowed the stone cold Chicken and Mushroom flavour soup. He thought about this for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he should have known it was going to be cold in the first place. He shook his head, stood up, brushed invisible crumbs off his trousers and made his way over to the window. He peered outside, and was greeted by torrential rain, and a sudden flash of lightning.
He found this quite depressing and decided that he’d rather go back to his trance, and so he returned to pondering whether he should become a woman or not. This was before he realised he had more important matters to sort out, such as his faltering relationship. He would think about this instead.
His girlfriend Anna was certainly special. He vividly remembered the day he met her…yes, mainly because that was the day he saw Bon Jovi live in concert, but that was also where he found himself standing next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Her long dark hair fell to her shoulders, and her thin, wet lips complimented her smooth, tanned face. She had a slender figure and her long legs were half-covered by a skirt. But what Andy really noticed about her was the eyes. They were a gorgeous sea green, and he found himself becoming lost in them as he stared in awe at her. After a minute or so she had finally realised that she was being eyed up by a strange man wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed we should “Give Quiche A Chance.” She found this strangely amusing, and told him so.
“Um, well, yeah,” he stammered, “I thought it was quite funny too. So that’s why I bought it…obviously.”
Fortunately, she took a liking to him, and they decided to swap numbers after the concert. Even better, they only lived a few miles apart. Andy had always believed this was fate, although now he hoped that it was just coincidence.
Andy stepped away from the window and actually slapped himself. He couldn’t think like that – despite all her faults, she was still the first girl that he had actually loved. But there was no doubt that their relationship was struggling, and it was definitely her fault…or was it? For the first time, Andy actually began to consider whether all the problems were in fact his doing. He threw his soup away, disgustedly retrieved the mug from the bin, and decided that it was still all her fault. No doubt about it.
There were no specific reasons. She hadn’t cheated on him or anything like that, but he was in fact beginning to find her annoying. And he wasn’t stupid – he knew that she probably felt the same way about him. She was a very lively character, and for a while this was fun. Anna was the sort of girl who wanted to go on all the rides at theme parks, wanted to try all the different flavours of ice cream and would rather cut Andy’s hair herself than have him pay for it to be done professionally.
That reminded him. He would need to go to the barbers tomorrow – he hated being the butt of all the jokes at work.
Oh, and she liked to talk. If it was up to her she would talk all day, and there are limits to how many times you can nod and say “yeah I know” and “hmmm” before becoming extremely bored. Obviously the more interesting thing to do would be to disagree with her (which he silently did on many occasions), but the last time he did this he spent the whole of the next week repairing two broken doors and a hole in his bedroom wall.
Another roar of thunder. He jumped, and checked the clock once again. Another half an hour had passed. He had quite a lot of work to do, so he headed to his PC in the dining room. He tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him, but it was impossible. Andy had always found it hard to concentrate when something was on his mind. He fell deep into thought again, this time whilst staring blankly at the monitor.
He desperately tried to put his finger on what it was. There was a reason why he felt this way…there was definitely something which had changed. Andy still felt the same person he had always been, and to be honest he hadn’t noticed any definite change in Anna either.
The spark had gone. Ironically, there was a jolt of lightning just as he thought this. Was that it? Had the spark really gone? It seemed unthinkable, but maybe that was it…
He got to his feet once again and walked into the lounge, taking a seat on his plush blue leather sofa. He considered turning the TV on, but he doubted anything of any interest would be on. Instead he let his mind wander. He tried to contemplate what life would be like without her. Certainly a lot less chaotic, and much more hassle-free. He could do what he wanted, when he wanted…at least until the next girl of his dreams came along.
He suddenly remembered that tomorrow he had to see her after work, for their latest reconciliation meeting, stemming from their last argument. He groaned.
And this was when he realised it was all over. For the first time in their long relationship, he was actually not looking forward to seeing her. It wasn’t because they’d just had a row or anything like that, no…it was just because he didn’t want to see her. He’d rather be doing something else – anything else - , than seeing her. It sounded harsh, but he had to face facts.
And suddenly, Andy felt a whole lot better. He felt like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Obviously there was still the terrifying process of actually telling her first, there was no doubt that that was going to be an extremely ‘painful’ experience, in more ways than one. He stretched out across the sofa, and put his arms behind his head. He breathed a sigh of relief. You never know, maybe she would take it quite well…maybe she’d even agree!
For the second time that night, Andy felt like slapping himself, but he couldn’t be bothered this time. He did it mentally instead, reminding himself not to drift into the realms of fantasy, as he often did. He had a creative tendency that he often liked to use to make movies in his head – usually when he was bored. Often Andy would become the hero in a multimillion-dollar action movie that he wrote, directed and starred in – and he would always save the girl, who used to be Anna. Not anymore.
Andy opened his eyes and sat up. He squinted at the clock on the video recorder. He silently winced as he realised he’d wasted another half an hour…it was two hours ago he’d sat down in the kitchen with his soup. Everything was deathly quiet, and this puzzled him, especially considering there was a storm raging outside. He got to his feet and opened the curtains…it was calm. The storm was over, and this reflected the way he felt. He smiled, and danced his way back towards the PC.
After picking himself up (needless to say Andy wasn’t much of a dancer), he retrieved some work from the desk and sat himself down. He flicked through some files and looked up at the screen – and instantly froze. The PC had been left idle for a little while, and his screensaver had appeared…it was a photo. A photo of him and Anna at a restaurant, taken almost a year ago…back when they were happy. His smile disappeared and his stomach turned, and he shifted uncomfortably. He looked around, even though he knew no one could possibly have been watching him, and with the possible exception of God no one but him knew what he had been thinking for the last couple of hours. But he felt guilty nonetheless.
Both he and Anna were smiling radiantly in the photo. They looked like the perfect couple, and at the time they were the perfect couple…was she still so happy now? He doubted it, but it still troubled him.
NO. As this word popped into his head, the bulb blew in the main light of the room. He shot to his feet, his heart pounding like a jackhammer. He desperately tried to calm himself, and took a few deep breaths, before finally slumping back into his chair. He sat in darkness, the only source of light being the bright glow of the monitor that shone piercingly into him like a torch. For a fleeting second the monitor became Anna, and it shone inquisitively through his head and into his mind…it could see through him, and this scared him. It read his deepest and innermost thoughts, and it knew…it knew what he had been planning to do. Andy leapt up and scrambled into the kitchen, desperately turning all the lights on he could find, and when the room was bright enough he leant against the wall and tried to recover himself.
Andy put his head in his hands – he couldn’t believe he had been so quick to dismiss their relationship. Perhaps she still loved him…he tried to imagine how he would feel if she had been thinking the same thing…and it hurt. He couldn’t finish it just like that…so he would make another decision. Admittedly, his decision-making record was beginning to resemble Liverpool’s recent form, but this one would be right.
He would talk to her. After all, they had been together for years now, surely they could talk about these things together? He was sure she had the same doubts about the state of their relationship, and so she would understand. They would talk about it tomorrow…and they would decide then what to do.
Too many decisions. It was no wonder Andy fancied becoming a woman.