Sybil Nelson's Blog, page 8
February 13, 2012
The Hottest Boy in Fiction (part one)
In case you don't know, I'm currently running a contest where I am asking for you to tell me the Hottest Boy in Fiction. But I have yet to pick my own hottie. It's really tough cause they are so many! So, I have decided, since this is my contest, I'm going to choose more than one. So there! Anyway, get ready for a week of HOTTIES.
Today I'm going with Alec from Kings and Queens by Courtney Vail. In case you haven't guessed it yet, I'm kind of a quirky girl and I don't like a lot of things that are mainstream. This book is definetly not mainstream. It's twisty and cool and weird and addicting. Alec is Majesty's (the main character) best friend and he is sweet and brooding and dangerous and he loves Majesty with all his heart which I think is super hot.
Today I'm going with Alec from Kings and Queens by Courtney Vail. In case you haven't guessed it yet, I'm kind of a quirky girl and I don't like a lot of things that are mainstream. This book is definetly not mainstream. It's twisty and cool and weird and addicting. Alec is Majesty's (the main character) best friend and he is sweet and brooding and dangerous and he loves Majesty with all his heart which I think is super hot.
February 12, 2012
Sample Sunday: Priscilla the Great
Chapter 5A Deal's a Deal
I thought about confronting my dad about the whole Brazil-Dubai thing, but Mom totally covered for him during the video chat. She said she was in Brazil yesterday and had just flown to Dubai that morning. That explained it, right? Wrong. Dad didn't say she went to Brazil and then Dubai. He specifically said Dubai was in Brazil. There was definitely something else going on.Every Saturday afternoon we all gathered around the computer screen and talked with my long-distance mother so we could pretend like we were a family. I thought about taking Tai's advice and asking her about hot flashes, but how could I do that in front of my three brothers and my dad? It just wasn't going to happen. Besides, the Saturday chats never turned into anything productive. We usually just ended up fighting. It was annoying to have to interrupt my day for a woman who couldn't care less about me. "So, what's going on in your life, Priscilla?" my mother asked after talking to Josh about football practice and to the twins about their new dolls—I mean, action figures."What do you care?""Priscilla, you watch your tone," my dad barked."It's okay, Greg. She just asked a question." My mother took a deep breath and gathered her long red hair into a tight ponytail. "Despite what you might think, I really do care about what goes on in your life. Now, didn't you have a pool party today? Why don't you tell me how it went?""If you really care about what goes on in my life, how about being around more often than the seasons change? Why can't you be a normal mother and go to PTA meetings and back-to-school shopping with your children?" My mother pushed her glasses farther up her nose. Nothing ever flustered her, not even my scathing sarcasm. Just once I'd love to see some emotion from her. But, no, she never lost her cool. Everyone left that to Dad."That's it, Priss. I've had enough of you," my father yelled. "Apologize right now then go to your room!""Sorry … Mother." I hoped she put those two words together and got the true meaning of that sentence.
The next morning I woke up with a headache the size of Josh's ego. My eyes hurt, my ears hurt, and my whole body tingled. It kinda felt like sharp little bugs were crawling around in my body and trying to escape through my skin. I decided I needed to soak in a hot bath. When I got to the bathroom, Josh was just stepping out surrounded by swirling steam like he was coming out of a sauna or something. I bet he'd used up all the hot water … again. He was such a prima donna, spending literally hours in the bathroom every day. "Stupid meat head!" I yelled after I felt the frigid water. I let it run for a while and it wasn't getting any warmer. Then I had an idea. I might as well put this fire thing to good use. I filled the tub, then tried to think hot thoughts. Nothing. Okay, what did I do the other two times it happened? Nothing. It just happened. Then I remembered something. Both times I had the hot flashes, I was thinking about Spencer Callahan and how much … whoa, that brought the heat. I stuck my hands in the water just long enough to get it nice and toasty. This might not be so bad after all. But if I was going to use this fire thing to my advantage, I really had to learn how to control it. I had to figure out a way to bring the heat without thinking about Spencer.*** After spending the morning perfecting my fire-shooting technique, I headed to McMillan's pharmacy. With my time of the month approaching, I really needed to buy some "supplies," but after peeking through the window and seeing Trevor Callahan working the register, there was no way I was going in. I was not about to let the brother of my dream boy catch me buying those God-awful things. I was just about to give up and go home when I saw Kyle ride by on his bike. "Hey, Kyle, you up for a challenge?" I called out to him."What'd you have in mind?" He turned and rode up to the store front."Race to town square gazebo and back.""Bikes or feet?"I looked him up and down. As usual, Kyle was dressed a little too nicely for a lazy Sunday afternoon in River's Bend. He always wore these fancy Italian shirts that probably cost way too much money, along with pleated pants. He looked good, but like I said before, too preppy for my taste. He even had a pair of shiny brown loafers on. Loafers. Who wears loafers to ride their bike? That's when I made my decision."Feet." He'd never be able to keep up with me in those shoes."What are the stakes?" he asked."If you win, I'll give you back that Spider-Man comic you lost to me last week."Kyle smoothed a wrinkle out of his shirt and pretended like he wasn't intrigued. That was his favorite comic and I knew he wanted it back."If I win, I get the comic and you get poop duty for a month.""You mean you're not potty trained yet, Kyle?" I said with a smirk.He glared at me. "You know what I mean."I knew what he meant. I just like messing with him. He meant poop duty for our dog, Max Montgomery. Max was a cute little chocolate lab that we found by the river when we were little. We took him home and named him Max after my middle name, Maxine, and Montgomery after Kyle's last name. Then we took turns taking care of him until one day Max got tired of being tormented by the twins and stayed at Kyle's house permanently. So I just went over every day to help."Fine, but if I win, you have to buy me something from McMillan's.""Is that all? Deal, Slumner. You're on."Two minutes and forty three seconds later, I had him beat."You're pretty fast … for a girl," he panted with his hands on his knees. He always had to add that "for a girl" part whenever I beat him. It made me so mad."Whatever, Kyle. I beat you fair and square.""Fine," he said, standing up straight. "What do I have to buy for you?" He ran his fingers through his blond hair, which still looked perfectly styled even after running three blocks and back. How did he do that?I stood on my tip-toes and whispered in his ear."Oh no, no, no. God, no. No way, Slumner.""You have to. I beat you. A deal's a deal.""Fine," he said, snatching the ten dollar bill out of my hands and storming into the store.I watched through the window as Kyle made his way to the female aisle. I could tell by the shade of crimson that crept over his face that he'd never been there before.Why the heck are there so many choices? a voice in my head said. Wait a minute. It wasn't in my head. It was Kyle. I could hear him from inside the store. He whispered to himself as he turned around in circles. I think he was sweating more than when we were running through town. Long, thin, regular, super, dry weave, and wings. Wings? Who needs wings? Is she buying a maxi pad or a magic fairy that lives in her pants?I had to cover my mouth to hold in a giggle. I should make Kyle buy these things for me all the time. It was much more entertaining. "Thinking about buying some more bad salsa?" a voice said from behind. I spun around and stared into the beautiful baby blue eyes of Spencer Callahan.A rush of heat filled me as I saw his perfect, pink, plump lips curve into a smile. He had apparently just skateboarded down Main Street so he was a little out of breath, so instead of breathing he was more like panting, and every time he exhaled, my bangs blew off of my forehead. That's how close he was standing to me. I could smell his Mentos-scented breath, and it made me weak. I thought I would faint, but then a hot flash woke me up. Oh snap! What would I do now? An image of a snake popped in my head, a poisonous snake. If a snake bit itself, would it die? No. It would be immune to its own venom. With that thought in mind, I clasped my hands together like I was about to sing "Mary Had Little Lamb" at a kindergarten recital. It stung a little, but I didn't burst into flames. And I hoped Spencer didn't notice the thin stream of smoke rising from my hands. "Bad salsa?" I asked, trying to figure out what the heck he was talking about. Then it hit me. That was my stupid response at the pool party. "Oh, I don't know. I'm thinking about expanding my condiment options. I'm looking into bad ketchup, bad mustard, and bad guacamole."Spencer chuckled. "That was funny. That was really funny, Priss." He stared at me as if he was shocked that I could say something funny. Actually, I was shocked, too. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask you—"Just then, Kyle burst through the door and shoved a package into my chest."I hate you, by the way," he muttered before doing that little shiver people do when they think something is really gross. He hopped on his bike and said, "I think I need a shower," before speeding off."What was that about?" Spencer said, looking from me to where Kyle was riding off. Thankfully, my supplies were wrapped up in a brown paper bag so he couldn't tell what they were.I shrugged. "Just Kyle being cranky, I guess. I think the peroxide from all that hair dye is seeping into his head."Spencer laughed at that, but I actually felt kinda bad that I'd said something so mean about Kyle. He was a jerk most of the time, but I still considered him a friend. Kind of. "Anyway," he said, "I'm having a few friends over tomorrow night. Kinda to celebrate our last night of freedom before school starts. Why don't you come?" Did he just ask me to his house? That's like a date kinda, right? I was going on a date with Spencer Callahan! I was too shocked to say anything so I just nodded. "Sweet. We're gonna start at like five after my dad finishes his Labor Day party stuff. We'll just watch some movies or something." He picked up his skateboard then pushed the door of the pharmacy open. "Is Tai back in town yet?" he asked before entering. "Her flight gets in tomorrow morning," I said, surprised that my lips still worked. I couldn't believe I was going on a date with Spencer Callahan. "Sweet. She can come, too."Oh my God. I was seriously going to faint. How nice of him to invite my best friend too! I plopped the package into the Batgirl basket at the front of my bike and prepared to hustle back home. I told my dad I was only going to get an ice cream at Willie's Sweet Shop so I literally had about two minutes and thirteen seconds before he sent Josh looking for me or, worse, he came for me himself. The last time that happened, he ended up busting into the library with tears in his eyes, sweeping me up into a bear hug and totally pulling me away from a classic Ms. Marvel comic. He said that when I didn't come home on time, he got worried. Hmph. Now that I thought about it, he really did worry about me a lot. My dad really loved me. And despite his scary pro-wrestler appearance, he was extremely smart. I mean like Tai smart. He had degrees in biochemistry and engineering. Though nowadays the only time he had to use either was when the twins put a peanut butter sandwich in the DVD player. Dad took it apart, cleaned it, and then rewired it himself. He was a genius. Now if only he could figure out a way to rewire the twins into something less gross and annoying.
Priscilla the Great is Currently Free on Amazon!
I thought about confronting my dad about the whole Brazil-Dubai thing, but Mom totally covered for him during the video chat. She said she was in Brazil yesterday and had just flown to Dubai that morning. That explained it, right? Wrong. Dad didn't say she went to Brazil and then Dubai. He specifically said Dubai was in Brazil. There was definitely something else going on.Every Saturday afternoon we all gathered around the computer screen and talked with my long-distance mother so we could pretend like we were a family. I thought about taking Tai's advice and asking her about hot flashes, but how could I do that in front of my three brothers and my dad? It just wasn't going to happen. Besides, the Saturday chats never turned into anything productive. We usually just ended up fighting. It was annoying to have to interrupt my day for a woman who couldn't care less about me. "So, what's going on in your life, Priscilla?" my mother asked after talking to Josh about football practice and to the twins about their new dolls—I mean, action figures."What do you care?""Priscilla, you watch your tone," my dad barked."It's okay, Greg. She just asked a question." My mother took a deep breath and gathered her long red hair into a tight ponytail. "Despite what you might think, I really do care about what goes on in your life. Now, didn't you have a pool party today? Why don't you tell me how it went?""If you really care about what goes on in my life, how about being around more often than the seasons change? Why can't you be a normal mother and go to PTA meetings and back-to-school shopping with your children?" My mother pushed her glasses farther up her nose. Nothing ever flustered her, not even my scathing sarcasm. Just once I'd love to see some emotion from her. But, no, she never lost her cool. Everyone left that to Dad."That's it, Priss. I've had enough of you," my father yelled. "Apologize right now then go to your room!""Sorry … Mother." I hoped she put those two words together and got the true meaning of that sentence.
The next morning I woke up with a headache the size of Josh's ego. My eyes hurt, my ears hurt, and my whole body tingled. It kinda felt like sharp little bugs were crawling around in my body and trying to escape through my skin. I decided I needed to soak in a hot bath. When I got to the bathroom, Josh was just stepping out surrounded by swirling steam like he was coming out of a sauna or something. I bet he'd used up all the hot water … again. He was such a prima donna, spending literally hours in the bathroom every day. "Stupid meat head!" I yelled after I felt the frigid water. I let it run for a while and it wasn't getting any warmer. Then I had an idea. I might as well put this fire thing to good use. I filled the tub, then tried to think hot thoughts. Nothing. Okay, what did I do the other two times it happened? Nothing. It just happened. Then I remembered something. Both times I had the hot flashes, I was thinking about Spencer Callahan and how much … whoa, that brought the heat. I stuck my hands in the water just long enough to get it nice and toasty. This might not be so bad after all. But if I was going to use this fire thing to my advantage, I really had to learn how to control it. I had to figure out a way to bring the heat without thinking about Spencer.*** After spending the morning perfecting my fire-shooting technique, I headed to McMillan's pharmacy. With my time of the month approaching, I really needed to buy some "supplies," but after peeking through the window and seeing Trevor Callahan working the register, there was no way I was going in. I was not about to let the brother of my dream boy catch me buying those God-awful things. I was just about to give up and go home when I saw Kyle ride by on his bike. "Hey, Kyle, you up for a challenge?" I called out to him."What'd you have in mind?" He turned and rode up to the store front."Race to town square gazebo and back.""Bikes or feet?"I looked him up and down. As usual, Kyle was dressed a little too nicely for a lazy Sunday afternoon in River's Bend. He always wore these fancy Italian shirts that probably cost way too much money, along with pleated pants. He looked good, but like I said before, too preppy for my taste. He even had a pair of shiny brown loafers on. Loafers. Who wears loafers to ride their bike? That's when I made my decision."Feet." He'd never be able to keep up with me in those shoes."What are the stakes?" he asked."If you win, I'll give you back that Spider-Man comic you lost to me last week."Kyle smoothed a wrinkle out of his shirt and pretended like he wasn't intrigued. That was his favorite comic and I knew he wanted it back."If I win, I get the comic and you get poop duty for a month.""You mean you're not potty trained yet, Kyle?" I said with a smirk.He glared at me. "You know what I mean."I knew what he meant. I just like messing with him. He meant poop duty for our dog, Max Montgomery. Max was a cute little chocolate lab that we found by the river when we were little. We took him home and named him Max after my middle name, Maxine, and Montgomery after Kyle's last name. Then we took turns taking care of him until one day Max got tired of being tormented by the twins and stayed at Kyle's house permanently. So I just went over every day to help."Fine, but if I win, you have to buy me something from McMillan's.""Is that all? Deal, Slumner. You're on."Two minutes and forty three seconds later, I had him beat."You're pretty fast … for a girl," he panted with his hands on his knees. He always had to add that "for a girl" part whenever I beat him. It made me so mad."Whatever, Kyle. I beat you fair and square.""Fine," he said, standing up straight. "What do I have to buy for you?" He ran his fingers through his blond hair, which still looked perfectly styled even after running three blocks and back. How did he do that?I stood on my tip-toes and whispered in his ear."Oh no, no, no. God, no. No way, Slumner.""You have to. I beat you. A deal's a deal.""Fine," he said, snatching the ten dollar bill out of my hands and storming into the store.I watched through the window as Kyle made his way to the female aisle. I could tell by the shade of crimson that crept over his face that he'd never been there before.Why the heck are there so many choices? a voice in my head said. Wait a minute. It wasn't in my head. It was Kyle. I could hear him from inside the store. He whispered to himself as he turned around in circles. I think he was sweating more than when we were running through town. Long, thin, regular, super, dry weave, and wings. Wings? Who needs wings? Is she buying a maxi pad or a magic fairy that lives in her pants?I had to cover my mouth to hold in a giggle. I should make Kyle buy these things for me all the time. It was much more entertaining. "Thinking about buying some more bad salsa?" a voice said from behind. I spun around and stared into the beautiful baby blue eyes of Spencer Callahan.A rush of heat filled me as I saw his perfect, pink, plump lips curve into a smile. He had apparently just skateboarded down Main Street so he was a little out of breath, so instead of breathing he was more like panting, and every time he exhaled, my bangs blew off of my forehead. That's how close he was standing to me. I could smell his Mentos-scented breath, and it made me weak. I thought I would faint, but then a hot flash woke me up. Oh snap! What would I do now? An image of a snake popped in my head, a poisonous snake. If a snake bit itself, would it die? No. It would be immune to its own venom. With that thought in mind, I clasped my hands together like I was about to sing "Mary Had Little Lamb" at a kindergarten recital. It stung a little, but I didn't burst into flames. And I hoped Spencer didn't notice the thin stream of smoke rising from my hands. "Bad salsa?" I asked, trying to figure out what the heck he was talking about. Then it hit me. That was my stupid response at the pool party. "Oh, I don't know. I'm thinking about expanding my condiment options. I'm looking into bad ketchup, bad mustard, and bad guacamole."Spencer chuckled. "That was funny. That was really funny, Priss." He stared at me as if he was shocked that I could say something funny. Actually, I was shocked, too. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask you—"Just then, Kyle burst through the door and shoved a package into my chest."I hate you, by the way," he muttered before doing that little shiver people do when they think something is really gross. He hopped on his bike and said, "I think I need a shower," before speeding off."What was that about?" Spencer said, looking from me to where Kyle was riding off. Thankfully, my supplies were wrapped up in a brown paper bag so he couldn't tell what they were.I shrugged. "Just Kyle being cranky, I guess. I think the peroxide from all that hair dye is seeping into his head."Spencer laughed at that, but I actually felt kinda bad that I'd said something so mean about Kyle. He was a jerk most of the time, but I still considered him a friend. Kind of. "Anyway," he said, "I'm having a few friends over tomorrow night. Kinda to celebrate our last night of freedom before school starts. Why don't you come?" Did he just ask me to his house? That's like a date kinda, right? I was going on a date with Spencer Callahan! I was too shocked to say anything so I just nodded. "Sweet. We're gonna start at like five after my dad finishes his Labor Day party stuff. We'll just watch some movies or something." He picked up his skateboard then pushed the door of the pharmacy open. "Is Tai back in town yet?" he asked before entering. "Her flight gets in tomorrow morning," I said, surprised that my lips still worked. I couldn't believe I was going on a date with Spencer Callahan. "Sweet. She can come, too."Oh my God. I was seriously going to faint. How nice of him to invite my best friend too! I plopped the package into the Batgirl basket at the front of my bike and prepared to hustle back home. I told my dad I was only going to get an ice cream at Willie's Sweet Shop so I literally had about two minutes and thirteen seconds before he sent Josh looking for me or, worse, he came for me himself. The last time that happened, he ended up busting into the library with tears in his eyes, sweeping me up into a bear hug and totally pulling me away from a classic Ms. Marvel comic. He said that when I didn't come home on time, he got worried. Hmph. Now that I thought about it, he really did worry about me a lot. My dad really loved me. And despite his scary pro-wrestler appearance, he was extremely smart. I mean like Tai smart. He had degrees in biochemistry and engineering. Though nowadays the only time he had to use either was when the twins put a peanut butter sandwich in the DVD player. Dad took it apart, cleaned it, and then rewired it himself. He was a genius. Now if only he could figure out a way to rewire the twins into something less gross and annoying.
Priscilla the Great is Currently Free on Amazon!
February 10, 2012
Follow Friday
Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?Call me weird, but I would much rather read 100 mediocre books. I have such a good memory that I can't read a book twice. I remember exactly what happens and I just can't read it again. I have never ever read a book twice. I just can't.
And, how can you discover your next favorite book if you just reread the same one over and over?
*Please follow me with LinkyFollowers if you can!*RULESTo join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}(Required) Follow our Featured BloggersPut your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followedFollow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followersIf you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!
February 6, 2012
Follower Love Giveaway!
Welcome to my Follower Love Giveaway! I have some great prizes for you including a $15 Amazon Gift Card (which you will hopefully use to buy Priscilla the Great *winks*), 5 copies of Shadows of St. Louis by Leslie DuBois, and 2 copies of Caprice by Edward Aubry.You can even use this giveaway to enter my awesome Hottest Boys in Books Giveaway! You can win a Kindle Fire simply by adding your blog to my blog hop. It starts February 13th and there are going to be tons of ways to enter. Adding your blog to the hop gives you 10 entries! So if you sign up now you'll get one entry for this giveaway and you'll already have 10 entries for Hottest Boys in Books Giveaway when it starts next week!
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February 2, 2012
Follow Friday
Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kickass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?
Yeah, I have no idea. This is a tough question. I think I just like a good story. And I also just like discovering something new. If a book is ridiculously popular, I probably won't like it. I just like to be different. I still haven't read Twilight or Harry Potter. I probably never will. I don't like wimpy girls. I like strong female characters. I also like books that have characters from different cultures. The world is mixed, books should be too. I love science fiction books with a lot of action, but I also love sappy love stories. So I'm not sure how to answer this question. Sorry. It's the best I can do.
RULESTo join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}(Required) Follow our Featured BloggersPut your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followedFollow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followersIf you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out
January 30, 2012
Movie Monday: The Prestige
I've had this movie on my NetFlix queue for a while. I wasn't in a hurry or anything to see it. I like Hugh Jackman, but Christian Bale annoys me for some reason. Anyway, it came in the mail so I decided to watch it. My thoughts? Well, in a word, AMAZING! I loved this movie so much I watched it twice in a row. I do have to mention that I totally predicted what was going on because I am, in a word, a genius. But you really have to pay attention in this movie so that you can catch the twist. That's why I immediately watched it again so I could capture all the hidden clues as well. So if you haven't seen this movie yet, go watch it immediately. I give it five flames!
January 28, 2012
Sample Sunday: Priscilla the Great
Chapter 11
Thursday morning I woke up looking forward to using my fingers to make a nice warm bath, but something felt different in my body. My powers were gone. I tried to listen for Josh singing in the shower, but I couldn't hear a thing, thank God. I tried to make heat rise from my fingertips. Nothing. Finally, I got out of bed and tried to lift it with one hand. It wouldn't budge. A feeling of relief washed over me. A part of me would miss my powers. I was glad I had them when I needed to save Charlie's life. I'd had a couple of nightmares imagining what would have happened if the car had hit him. All joking aside, I kinda loved my brothers.I didn't know where the powers came from or why they had disappeared. Maybe it was just part of some divine fluke that was meant for me to save my brother's life. I didn't know and I didn't care. I was just glad they were gone. It was a burden having a secret like that. There was no one I could trust. I was just glad Tai hadn't told anyone. Or, at least I hoped she hadn't. Things were still super weird between Tai and me. I hadn't spoken to her since that night at Spencer's house. Come to think of it, I hadn't addressed another issue of betrayal that came up that night.No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't gather up enough courage to tell Josh about Stefanie. I kinda hoped that he would realize on his own what an awful person she was and dump her. But that didn't happen. In fact, I came home to find the bottle-blonde, bubble-blowing, lying, little bimbo sitting on my couch and staring at her new ring. It was the promise ring that Josh wanted to give her. I felt a heat rising in me. I wanted to set her face on fire. I know that's mean, but she was really going to break my brother's heart. I couldn't let her do it.I had to tell Josh the truth. But would he even believe me? And if he did, what if he ended up hating me? I sucked in a deep breath and decided it had to be done."Hey, Patricia," Stefanie said as I walked past where she was perched on our couch. Dad would flip if he saw her feet up on the coffee table. He had just dusted it. Thankfully, he was at the grocery store."It's Priscilla," I said even though I kinda thought she already knew that and just called me Patricia to annoy me."Whatever. Could you just tell your brother to bring me an iced tea with my sandwich? Thanks a bunch." Then she pulled her gum out of her mouth, wrapped it around her finger, plopped it back in, and blew a bubble. If there were bubble gum Olympics, she would win a gold medal, hands down."How's your car?" I asked as nicely as I could, showing off a fake smile."What do you know about that?""Oh, just that tires can be expensive nowadays."She stopped smacking and glared at me, her eyes turning to slits. Then she smiled and resumed her brutal assault on that poor, defenseless gum before saying, "No matter. Josh bought new tires for me."I gasped. My brother actually paid for her tires? Poor Josh was paying in more ways than one for her lying and cheating. He'd been saving his money for over a year to pay for a football camp at Penn State. He'd probably spent all his money on those tires. This was the last straw. Oh, this chick was going down. I stormed into the kitchen and found my brother making Stefanie's favorite sandwich: turkey, roast beef, and Swiss cheese on rye bread with the edges cut off and a smidge of low-fat mayonnaise. I was annoyed that I even knew that."Josh, there's something you need to know about Stefanie.""I know, I know. Iced tea." He grabbed a Snapple out of the fridge as if he was in a hurry. God forbid the skank have to wait for her sandwich."No, not that." I took a deep breath and blurted, "Stefanie's cheating on you with Trevor Callahan.""That's not possible. Trevor's in college. He already went back to Duquesne." Josh didn't even pause in his sandwich preparation."I know, but before he left, he was kissing Stefanie. It was on Labor Day.""I don't know where you're getting this from or why you would make this up, but Stefanie wouldn't do that to me. She's wearing my ring.""Josh!" Stefanie called from the living room."Coming, babe." Josh poured the Snapple into a glass and placed it on a tray next to Stefanie's sandwich. "Priss, we'll talk about this later. But you need to learn to like Stefanie. She's going to be your sister one day."I almost puked.Josh obviously needed more proof. And I needed reinforcements in order to get it. Just then, the devil twins ran through the kitchen, each sporting freshly painted green hair. I didn't know why their hair was green and I didn't care. I just needed their help.I stopped them both, holding them by their collars so they wouldn't run off."You guys up for a game?"For the past year or so, Charlie and Chester had perfected a game they liked to call Snot Wars. Basically, they earned points for hitting certain predetermined targets with none other than their very own snot. Yes, they would press one nostril closed and then, after taking a deep breath, aim a snot rocket at an inanimate target. We had to limit the boys to inanimate objects after Max Montgomery ran away from being the victim of one too many snot attacks. I don't know where they got an endless supply of snot from, but I swear, I've seen Charlie hit a lamp shade from ten feet away.Josh and I kept our belongings safe by telling the twins that if any snot ever fell on any of our stuff, they'd earn negative points. That was enough. They were so into their game that they had their own scoring system. Right now Charlie had forty hundred gazillion trillion points, and Chester had thirty fifteen hundred million bazillion points. I wasn't sure who was winning.Given the fact that Stefanie was in the local newspaper for sending ten thousand text messages in the month of July alone, I just assumed that she would have some little love notes written to Trevor on her annoyingly pink sparkly Blackberry.In order to distract Stefanie long enough for me to snatch her phone, I told the twins that there was a target in the house worth a hundred billion trillion gazillion points. The target: Stefanie's mouth.Josh knew something was going on when he saw the twins skulking around the living room in their blue camouflage Osh Kosh B'Gosh overalls. They were stalking their prey. I guess I should've told them that the war paint was unnecessary. "Priss, get the twins out of here. They're up to something," Josh called while wrapping a protective arm around his girlfriend."What? They can't play in their own house? They're fine." I peeked into the living room from the hallway and noticed that Chester and Charlie had worked out an attack plan through a series of hand signals. Charlie was going to distract Josh while Chester went in for the first shot.Charlie dug a half-eaten Twinkie out of his pocket and lobbed it at Josh. Josh leaped off of the couch and charged after him. But little Charlie was quick. As Josh's pursuit of the Twinkie-thrower spilled out into the backyard, Chester jumped on the coffee table, closed a nostril, aimed, and fired.Stefanie's wild screams filled the house as she manically wiped snot off of her forehead. She shot off the couch and ran to the bathroom, giving me the opportunity to rifle through her purse. Once I had the phone in my hand, I ducked into a corner and scrolled through her text messages."What's going on? Why is Stefanie screaming?" Josh asked, bursting back into the house."I missed." Chester poked out his lip, crossed his arms, and flopped into a chair."Missed? Missed what? Oh God, not Snot Wars." Josh ran to the bathroom to find Stefanie.Seconds later, Josh emerged from the bathroom and screamed, "I'm gonna kill you, Chester!""Josh, wait," I said, stepping in front of him. "He's not the one you should be mad at." I held up the phone as he started reading countless text messages from Stefanie to Trevor, or as she put it "Sexy Trevy.""I hope you're going to punish that little beast!" Stefanie yelled when she came out of the bathroom.Josh didn't respond to that request. Instead, he silently handed over her phone and said, "How could you?" before sulking off to his room.Stefanie's mouth flew open, giving Charlie the perfect opportunity. He won the hundred billion trillion gazillion points.
Thursday morning I woke up looking forward to using my fingers to make a nice warm bath, but something felt different in my body. My powers were gone. I tried to listen for Josh singing in the shower, but I couldn't hear a thing, thank God. I tried to make heat rise from my fingertips. Nothing. Finally, I got out of bed and tried to lift it with one hand. It wouldn't budge. A feeling of relief washed over me. A part of me would miss my powers. I was glad I had them when I needed to save Charlie's life. I'd had a couple of nightmares imagining what would have happened if the car had hit him. All joking aside, I kinda loved my brothers.I didn't know where the powers came from or why they had disappeared. Maybe it was just part of some divine fluke that was meant for me to save my brother's life. I didn't know and I didn't care. I was just glad they were gone. It was a burden having a secret like that. There was no one I could trust. I was just glad Tai hadn't told anyone. Or, at least I hoped she hadn't. Things were still super weird between Tai and me. I hadn't spoken to her since that night at Spencer's house. Come to think of it, I hadn't addressed another issue of betrayal that came up that night.No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't gather up enough courage to tell Josh about Stefanie. I kinda hoped that he would realize on his own what an awful person she was and dump her. But that didn't happen. In fact, I came home to find the bottle-blonde, bubble-blowing, lying, little bimbo sitting on my couch and staring at her new ring. It was the promise ring that Josh wanted to give her. I felt a heat rising in me. I wanted to set her face on fire. I know that's mean, but she was really going to break my brother's heart. I couldn't let her do it.I had to tell Josh the truth. But would he even believe me? And if he did, what if he ended up hating me? I sucked in a deep breath and decided it had to be done."Hey, Patricia," Stefanie said as I walked past where she was perched on our couch. Dad would flip if he saw her feet up on the coffee table. He had just dusted it. Thankfully, he was at the grocery store."It's Priscilla," I said even though I kinda thought she already knew that and just called me Patricia to annoy me."Whatever. Could you just tell your brother to bring me an iced tea with my sandwich? Thanks a bunch." Then she pulled her gum out of her mouth, wrapped it around her finger, plopped it back in, and blew a bubble. If there were bubble gum Olympics, she would win a gold medal, hands down."How's your car?" I asked as nicely as I could, showing off a fake smile."What do you know about that?""Oh, just that tires can be expensive nowadays."She stopped smacking and glared at me, her eyes turning to slits. Then she smiled and resumed her brutal assault on that poor, defenseless gum before saying, "No matter. Josh bought new tires for me."I gasped. My brother actually paid for her tires? Poor Josh was paying in more ways than one for her lying and cheating. He'd been saving his money for over a year to pay for a football camp at Penn State. He'd probably spent all his money on those tires. This was the last straw. Oh, this chick was going down. I stormed into the kitchen and found my brother making Stefanie's favorite sandwich: turkey, roast beef, and Swiss cheese on rye bread with the edges cut off and a smidge of low-fat mayonnaise. I was annoyed that I even knew that."Josh, there's something you need to know about Stefanie.""I know, I know. Iced tea." He grabbed a Snapple out of the fridge as if he was in a hurry. God forbid the skank have to wait for her sandwich."No, not that." I took a deep breath and blurted, "Stefanie's cheating on you with Trevor Callahan.""That's not possible. Trevor's in college. He already went back to Duquesne." Josh didn't even pause in his sandwich preparation."I know, but before he left, he was kissing Stefanie. It was on Labor Day.""I don't know where you're getting this from or why you would make this up, but Stefanie wouldn't do that to me. She's wearing my ring.""Josh!" Stefanie called from the living room."Coming, babe." Josh poured the Snapple into a glass and placed it on a tray next to Stefanie's sandwich. "Priss, we'll talk about this later. But you need to learn to like Stefanie. She's going to be your sister one day."I almost puked.Josh obviously needed more proof. And I needed reinforcements in order to get it. Just then, the devil twins ran through the kitchen, each sporting freshly painted green hair. I didn't know why their hair was green and I didn't care. I just needed their help.I stopped them both, holding them by their collars so they wouldn't run off."You guys up for a game?"For the past year or so, Charlie and Chester had perfected a game they liked to call Snot Wars. Basically, they earned points for hitting certain predetermined targets with none other than their very own snot. Yes, they would press one nostril closed and then, after taking a deep breath, aim a snot rocket at an inanimate target. We had to limit the boys to inanimate objects after Max Montgomery ran away from being the victim of one too many snot attacks. I don't know where they got an endless supply of snot from, but I swear, I've seen Charlie hit a lamp shade from ten feet away.Josh and I kept our belongings safe by telling the twins that if any snot ever fell on any of our stuff, they'd earn negative points. That was enough. They were so into their game that they had their own scoring system. Right now Charlie had forty hundred gazillion trillion points, and Chester had thirty fifteen hundred million bazillion points. I wasn't sure who was winning.Given the fact that Stefanie was in the local newspaper for sending ten thousand text messages in the month of July alone, I just assumed that she would have some little love notes written to Trevor on her annoyingly pink sparkly Blackberry.In order to distract Stefanie long enough for me to snatch her phone, I told the twins that there was a target in the house worth a hundred billion trillion gazillion points. The target: Stefanie's mouth.Josh knew something was going on when he saw the twins skulking around the living room in their blue camouflage Osh Kosh B'Gosh overalls. They were stalking their prey. I guess I should've told them that the war paint was unnecessary. "Priss, get the twins out of here. They're up to something," Josh called while wrapping a protective arm around his girlfriend."What? They can't play in their own house? They're fine." I peeked into the living room from the hallway and noticed that Chester and Charlie had worked out an attack plan through a series of hand signals. Charlie was going to distract Josh while Chester went in for the first shot.Charlie dug a half-eaten Twinkie out of his pocket and lobbed it at Josh. Josh leaped off of the couch and charged after him. But little Charlie was quick. As Josh's pursuit of the Twinkie-thrower spilled out into the backyard, Chester jumped on the coffee table, closed a nostril, aimed, and fired.Stefanie's wild screams filled the house as she manically wiped snot off of her forehead. She shot off the couch and ran to the bathroom, giving me the opportunity to rifle through her purse. Once I had the phone in my hand, I ducked into a corner and scrolled through her text messages."What's going on? Why is Stefanie screaming?" Josh asked, bursting back into the house."I missed." Chester poked out his lip, crossed his arms, and flopped into a chair."Missed? Missed what? Oh God, not Snot Wars." Josh ran to the bathroom to find Stefanie.Seconds later, Josh emerged from the bathroom and screamed, "I'm gonna kill you, Chester!""Josh, wait," I said, stepping in front of him. "He's not the one you should be mad at." I held up the phone as he started reading countless text messages from Stefanie to Trevor, or as she put it "Sexy Trevy.""I hope you're going to punish that little beast!" Stefanie yelled when she came out of the bathroom.Josh didn't respond to that request. Instead, he silently handed over her phone and said, "How could you?" before sulking off to his room.Stefanie's mouth flew open, giving Charlie the perfect opportunity. He won the hundred billion trillion gazillion points.
January 26, 2012
Young Adult Giveaway Hop
Welcome to my Young Adult Giveaway Hop! I guess that means I should give away some YA Books, huh? Well, how about A copy of Priscilla the Great and a few books by Leslie DuBois! Here are the book deets:
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Follow Friday
Q: Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?I hate paranormal. I really do. I'm so sick of vampires and werewolves and witches I could scream. Unfortunately, that means I don't read more than half the books that are out now.
To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}(Required) Follow our Featured BloggersPut your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followedFollow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followersIf you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!
January 24, 2012
Tuesday Tunes: Lissie
Okay, so I'm totally not a Metallica fan, but I gotta say I really dig this cover. Plus, it reminds me of the book Nothing Else Matters by Leslie DuBois.
Sign up for my 300 follower giveaway and you could win a print copy of the book!
Sign up for my 300 follower giveaway and you could win a print copy of the book!
