In Class Work Week 13

          My jewelry box on my bookshelf holds tons of untouched jewelry. I can’t even remember the last time I opened the lid. The box contains necklaces, earrings and rings that I’ve most likely only worn once. Some items were given to me as gifts from friends and family and others I bought myself. There is one item of jewelry I can’t go a day without wearing. I absolutely treasure my one and only thumb ring. It’s made from the handle of silverware. The ring is still as shiny as it was when I got it. My mother gave it to me for Christmas two years ago before we had a falling out. The ring has barely left my finger since then.

Prompt #69

A newly paved road. A slight cool breeze. A quiet neighborhood out in the country. The houses are huge and beautiful. Trees are scattered along both sides of the road. Overhead, birds flock together in one direction then circle around the opposite way. Many people are out walking their dogs. My two pugs trot along beside me. Their little pig tails are wagging nonstop as they always do when they go for walks. They love going for walks just as much as I love taking them. There is nothing better than taking a little time to get some fresh air outside on a nice day.

In Class Work Week 12

Plaid

Boot

Linoleum

Mouse

Fan 

Teacher

        My cat sat in the corner of the room watching me make a fool of myself. The mouse ran back and forth across the linoleum floor. I was shaking in my boots. I hated mice. I held the broom in my hand, intent on getting it out the back door. A small fan had already been knocked over in the chaos. The mouse ran toward me causing me to back up into the kitchen table. My grandmother's vase crashed on the floor spilling water on the plaid tablecloth in the process. All of a sudden, my cat pounced and caught the mouse under his paws. He walked over and looked up at me, the limp rodent in his mouth. The student had become the teacher.

In Class Work Week 12

Acrostic

"Tired"

        The class is almost over. I can't wait to go home and relax. Read a book or watch T.V. End up falling asleep on the couch. Dreaming of something that I won't remember once I wake up.

In Class Work Week 12

Reverse-lipogram

        The cat wanted to get outside through the gate. Steve, completely aggravated at that point, struggled to untangle the stuck cat.

Prompt #57

My Summer Vacation

           
            Nicky and I were city girls and had never gone camping before but our aunt and uncle insisted that we go camping with them for a week. We hated that we didn't have cellphone reception. We were disgusted when our uncle wanted to take a picture of a dead moose. We complained constantly about the cold weather. We refused to swim in the unclean lake. We despised the millions of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. We were terrified when a bear strolled into the middle of our camp. Our aunt and uncle could barely get us out of the camper for the rest of the trip.

Prompt # 54

By the time he made it to bed, the birds were beginning to awake and sing. 

There were ten of us. Seven girls and three boys. None of us really knew each other. The only person I knew was my cousin Nicky. Everyone paid eighty dollars in order to go to Adventure Bound for two days. Our supervisor thought a ropes course, and white water rafting would bring us closer together. We were all happy about the trip and the activities but seemed to be more excited about pulling pranks.
As soon as we got there, we schemed on pranks to do with one an other. All night the girls and the boys put their pranks into affect. Keys to the cabins were taken and hidden. All the mattresses were thrown into the middle of the cabins. Tape sealed the cabin doors shut so nobody could get in. Toilet paper was hidden in both bathrooms. Some kids made scary noises in the woods behind the cabins. It wasn’t until five o’clock that everyone finally fell asleep. To keep the pranks going, the girls used an air horn to wake the boys up at eight o‘clock. The boys returned the favor by throwing a small smoke bomb in the girls cabin.
Pranking each other brought us closer to together than the teambuilding activities Adventure Bound offered. None of us could stop laughing until we crashed of exhaustion.

Prompt # 50

She never got along with her mother. Everyday was filled of pointless fights and insincere apologies. She always told her friends that she couldn’t wait to move out of her mother’s house. She wouldn’t have to constantly find reasons to leave the house in order to get away for a few hours. She wouldn’t have to listen to yelling everyday. She wouldn’t be blamed for every little thing that was misplaced. Once she was legally an adult, nothing could stop her from moving out of that house.
The day of her eighteenth birthday, a friend helped her pack up all of her stuff and move out. Between the two of them it took only a half an hour. She had told her mother of her plans to leave that day and wasn‘t surprised when her mother left at the crack of dawn. She tried to rekindle her relationship with her mother for months but wasn’t able to. To this day, her mother barely talks to her anymore.

Prompt #51

Nicky and I were running as fast as we could. I knew I hurt my ankle when I jumped but I didn't care. Neither one of us dared to turn around and see how close the fox was. It was bad enough we could hear its vicious growl behind us. I focused my attention on my back yard fence. Once I reached the fence, I didn't think twice as I jumped over it. Nicky was right behind me. The back door was still open the way we left it. Nicky pushed me through the entrance causing both of us to fall to the kitchen floor. Without waiting a second more, I kicked the door shut with my already sore ankle. We were safe.
It all started when my mom told us to go outside and get some fresh air. Apparently opening all the windows and the back door was not enough. To make my mother happy, Nicky and I decided to go swing on my old swing set in the back yard. We were probably only outside for a half an hour before it came.
“What the hell is that sound?”
I stopped swinging so I could listen for what Nicky was hearing. It didn't take me long to pick up a growling sound that was coming from behind us. I turned around to see a fox coming our way. Without even conversing, Nicky and I ran onto the adjoining steps and climbed on top of the monkey bars.
“Um…. Tenika? What do we do?”
“I have no idea.”
The fox had reached the play set and was right underneath us. Up close I could see the fox looked emaciated and had a bit of white foam coming out of its mouth.
“Damn this isn't good.”
“No shit sherlock.”
“I have an idea but I don’t know if it is going to work. Jump at the count of three.”
I took off both of my sneakers and threw one at the fox. The fox growled louder but turned its attention to my sneaker.
“What did you do that for? You just made it angrier!”
Ignoring Nicky, I crossed my fingers my plan would work.
“One.”
 I threw my other sneaker as far as I could into the woods.
“Two.”
The fox ran into the woods after my sneaker.
“Three!”
Nicky and I both jumped down from the monkey bars and ran.

In Class Work Week 10 

Part 2

            It was time for another veterinarian appointment for my dog. I had to switch vet clinics after my last vet started charging me more than usual. My new vet seemed nice and cheerful. I was assured that everything would go smoothly. They were going to clip Bentley’s nails and clean his teeth. The receptionist, not so cheerful, handed me as post-it that listed the information I asked for. Appointment fee: $330 to $345. Pick up time: 4:30.

***

            I stood at the lobby desk as I waited for my dog to be released. The receptionist was still not cheerful. She could probably tell I was livid. I was not notified before they started the procedure. My dog now had twelve less teeth than what he woke up with that morning. A vet tech stood beside me insisting they had to do it. The receptionist handed me my bill with a row highlighted in red. New appointment fee: $459.

            “Would you like to plan your next appointment for Bentley now?” The receptionist asked.

            Hell no.

In Class Work Week 10 

Part 1

            “Gross! His breath is starting to smell again. Get him away from me,” Nicky complained.

            “I know. He has an appointment at the vet later today to get his teeth cleaned.”

            About every three months, I take my pug to the veterinarian to have his nails clipped and his teeth cleaned. The last time I took Bentley to the vet, they charged me more than what they had before for no reason. As soon as I saw the bill, I knew it was time to find a new vet.

            The vet clinic I chose to switch to was the closet to my house I could find. The clinic was small and the staff was very friendly. The veterinarian was very nice and insisted that my dog would be taken care of. She told me it would be expensive because Bentley would have to be put to sleep in order for his teeth to be cleaned. I was quoted a $330 to $345 fee for the appointment. 

            It took six hours until Bentley was ready for me to pick him up and take him home. One of the vet technicians was waiting with Bentley at the receptionist's desk when I walked in. The receptionist handed me my bill as I pulled out my wallet. Highlighted in red was the total of $459. 

            "Why is my bill more than what I was quoted?" I asked.

            "Well it turns out your dog needed twelve teeth pulled. We didn't know how bad some of his teeth were until he was asleep. There is no way you could have known either,"explained the receptionist.

            "He had twelve teeth pulled?  You couldn't call me to inform me that you had to pull some of his teeth?"

            "The vet doesn't stop in the middle of her procedures. Your new bill is the result of those teeth having to be pulled. If you'd like, you could pay for half of it now and then pay the rest of it the next appointment you make for Bentley."

           "I'll just pay it all right now. I won't be making anymore appointments here."