For this assignment, Prof. Kesler asked us to write a two-to-three page scene where the majority of the story relied on dialogue. He explained that SOME narration obviously had to take place ((otherwise everyone would be lost)) but that more than half had to be dialogue. So here is my scene, again I won't give it a special title. I've had a lot of positive feedback from this piece but if anything seems off don't hesitate to say so ^_^ Enjoy and please share your thoughts!!
CRW Assignment 02 -- Emphasis on Dialogue
Amy took a cautious step forward and placed her hand on the car-door handle. "Are you sure I'm ready for this? I mean, I did run over a lot of cones during practice..."
Dismissing her comment with a wave of his hand, Amy's father, Noah, climbed into the passenger seat. "You'll be fine! We'll just avoid parallel parking today."
"Still," she said while climbing into the driver's seat, "you really think I'm ready to drive out on the road?"
"Well you've got to learn sometime," he said with a lighthearted chuckle. "Relax! I'll be right here if anything goes wrong. Now buckle up, and tell me, what's the first thing you do?"
"Check my mirrors." Amy examined the rearview mirrors and made the necessary adjustments for her height. She started the ignition and slowly pulled out of the driveway. Amy had never driven anywhere outside of her school's parking lot and the thought of driving onto the public roads (with real traffic) was, she will admit, a little frightening.
As they neared the exit of the complex, Amy gave her father a quick glance. "Did you want me to take Maple or Orange?"
"Take Maple, we'll stop by the supermarket and pick up some groceries. I thought you might enjoy a home-cooked meal tonight instead of frozen pizza again." The smile on his face eased Amy's nerves. "Merge left here, we're going to turn at the next light."
As she merged safely into the next lane, Amy returned to the original subject. "Yeah, we really are hopeless whenever Mom goes on her business trips." She let out a small laugh as one particular occasion came to mind. "Remember that time we tried to bake a chicken but forgot to defrost it first?"
Noah made a sound of disapproval. "It took hours to cook and still didn't taste right." He watched as Amy waved at another driver, signaling that they could merge in. The sound of her laugh made his next statement difficult to say. "Listen, Amy, about your mother--careful that car is turning."
Amy sighed as she adjusted her speed to let the car through. "I wish more people would use their signal, I mean it doesn't take a genius to figure it out."
"But you're doing great. See? I told you it'd be fine."
"Thanks, Dad," she sent him a quick smile before turning her attention back to the road. "What about Mom?"
He looked for a way to approach the subject. "She... She decided to extend her business trip a few more days."
"How come? I thought she was coming back Monday?"
He took a deep breath before answering. "She's been upset with me and needs the time away."
Amy sent her father a puzzled look. "What do you mean? You've had your arguments--a lot of them actually--but you always get through it."
"Amy... this time it's not the same..."
"What do you mean?"
There was a short pause. "We're getting a divorce."
"You're WHAT?" In her shock Amy spun the wheel and the car swerved into the next lane. She screamed as the cars honked and swerved to avoid her, only half noticing her father reach over and grab the wheel.
"Jesus, Amy!" Noah swerved the car away from traffic and into the grass where Amy slammed the brakes. "Amy! You can't just--"
"You and Mom are doing what?" She yelled. Her heart was beating at a painful rate, her body was shaking from fear, and her face had turned sickly pale--but it had nothing to do with the car accident she almost caused. "A divor--A divorce?"
He held out a hand, motioning her to calm down. "We tried to make this work, we did. We even went to counseling if you remember. It's just not working."
"What do you mean it's not working? Everything was fine! Everybody fights, Dad, it doesn't mean you just quit! You work it out! You and Mom are supposed to work it out!"
"I'm sorry, Amy, but it's just not happening. We're tired of kidding ourselves--"
"Kidding yourselves?" Amy noticed her father's wince, but didn't lower her voice. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Amy, your mother and I grew apart long ago, but we stayed together for your sake. But it's time we both moved on with our lives and now that you're old enough--"
"I don't believe this!" Amy ran her hands over her face, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "I can't believe this is happening!"
Noah reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a box of tissues. "I'm sorry, Amy..." He sighed as he watched the tissue box fumble in his daughter's trembling hands. He tried again, "Your mother and I just can't do this anymore."
"I can't believe this," Amy repeated quietly over and over. "I can't--"
"It'll be alright, sweetheart," Noah said as he pulled his daughter into an awkward embrace.
"No it won't, Dad. It won't be all right."
Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and comment.
