Congrats, DL!

     I can relate to AB's procrastination. I've known about having to write this essay on The Metamorphosis for a week. It's due tomorrow and I just finished it a few minutes ago. So that's great. Sometimes you need to feel a bit of pressure to get things done. At least, I do.
     I've been surprisingly productive this weekend. I cleaned the bathroom for the first time in WAY TOO LONG and I cleaned my room (like really cleaned it. Dusted, vacuumed, changed my sheets, put stuff away, watered my plants, etc.). And I also helped with a Rabies Clinic for the humane society on Saturday, and that was from 8:30-2:30. So yeah. This is a boring post. I'll make it more interesting.
     DL's scary story was in the paper today! She won't brag about it herself, so I'll do it for her. Here's the interview that was included in the paper. She thought she sounded dumb and teenagery, but I don't think she did at all. (Names have been changed to protect identities.)
                                                 ______________________________

DL Vaughn just wanted readers to join her in the search.

A junior at Lalala High School, DL said her story, “A Knack for Hiding Things,” was inspired by a writing prompt.

“The prompt was ‘think of a place really unusual for something to be hiding,’” she said. “I was trying to think of something really unique. So I thought of somebody’s bag that they wouldn’t think of looking in because it wasn’t their bag.”

From the bag, DL, 16, let her imagination run wild.

“Then I thought, ‘What could be in the bag that could be really shocking and hidden in there?’” she said. “If a couple loses a baby and they don’t know where to look and it’s in the bag, that would be really shocking.”

She said she wrote the story awhile ago. This version, she said, is an edited one.

DL said she’s entered other contests and received honorable mentions. She felt like she had a chance to win the Scary Story Contest. 

“Because I like writing short stories more than I like writing poetry,” she said. “And I’ve entered a lot more poetry contests, so I thought I’d try my hand at a short-story contest.”

DL said she really likes writing, and when she grows up, she wants to write fiction for young adults.

“I try to write as much as possible,” she said. “I write in my journal every day, but I try to write stories and poems a few times a week.”

As for what scares her, DL said is terrified of fire.

“I just feel if your house catches on fire, it ruins your memories and your whole life,” she said. 

                                                        ______________________________________

“A Knack for Hiding Things”

By DL Vaughn

“I’ll be down soon, Bill. I’m looking for my earring,” Lisa called.

“Lucy just arrived,” Bill replied, hurrying to the door and ushering Mrs. Oakwood out of the rain.

Lucy Oakwood was the nanny — odd woman, but a good worker, so she’d worked for the Blanchards the past year.

“Lisa’s up there taking her sweet time,” Bill said. Finally, Lisa bounded down the steps.

“My earring was in the baby’s crib! Can you believe it?”

“That baby’s got a knack for hiding things. Now Lucy, we’ll be back around midnight.”

Just then, there was a burst of lightning, and everything went dark.

“I’ll go check on the baby,” came Lisa’s disembodied voice.

“I’ll come with you.” Bill’s voice sounded hollow in the blackness. They clutched hands and inched up the stairs, into the baby’s room. Just as Lisa reached blindly into the crib, the lights flickered back on.

“Thank goodness,” Lisa exclaimed with a smile that faded when she glanced into the crib. “Bill, where’s the baby?”

“I don’t know!” Bill bellowed nervously. 

The couple searched upstairs, feverishly swinging doors and yanking drawers, forgetting entirely about Lucy, who sat comfortably in the lazy chair with her spider-veined arms crossed, a grim smile in her eyes. Eventually, the wild-eyed couple stumbled into the living room.

“Lucy, the baby’s gone.” Lisa gulped. The distraught couple proceeded to ransack the main floor. Mrs. Oakwood eyed the eerie moon through the foyer window, trying to keep the giggle in her throat from her escaping her lips. 

“She’s gone!” Lisa sobbed from the kitchen where Bill and she had finally collapsed at the table.

Then Lisa noticed Lucy’s enormous bag on the table. Instantly Bill lunged towards the bag, exchanging a rabid expression with Lisa. It was the only place they hadn’t looked. Lucy Oakwood made her way to the kitchen in time to catch the looks of terror on the couples’ faces as they peered in at the lifeless contents of the bag. The giggles building in Mrs. Oakwood’s mouth made their way into the air, and hung there, stagnant.

                                                         ______________________________________

     Congratulations, DL! You're da bomb.

Day 338 Song Recommendation: "Volcano" by Damien Rice.

-SE Wagner