Savannah #2

Here is another installment of Savannah.  Right now I'm trying to explore her character and figure out who she is - really get to know her.  The more I know her, the more I will be able to set up a believable plot around her.  It seems strange to do an exercise like this.  After all, shouldn't I be able to just develop the character however I want?  Yes and no.  I'm learning that as I write about Savannah, there are certain things that I write that seem plausible and believable for her, and certain things that just don't really fit her.  So, this little scene is my attempt to get to know Savannah better.  The scene is somewhat depressing.  I didn't intend it to be that way but that's how it came out.  I don't want Savannah to be a dark and morose character, but I think this scene shows a gloomy side of her because she's going through some hard things.  Maybe soon I'll have a scene that shows her lighter side.  This scene also gives some clues into potential problems that could be developed.  Feel free to leave comments about any impressions you have, good or bad.

iary,

It’s day number 116 here.  Thanks to Mrs. Hale teaching us percents I now know that means I’m only 16% through this move.  Of course, that’s if we end up staying here two years.  Nothing much to report today.  Eileen and the Brat Pack seem to have lost interest in me.  Probably because they are bothering the new girl Trudy now.  That’s just fine with me.  At least they’re leaving me alone, and that means I can go back to being invisible Me.  Just waiting for the next move to hurry up and get here.  Only 614 days to go…

Savannah looked at the three little dots left hanging at the end of her last sentence.  She found out from Mrs. Hale that those three dots have a name – ellipsis.  She liked how the dots seemed to hang in space, just waiting for the next words to get there.  Kind of like how she had to wait.  But how nice to be a patient ellipsis on a page of words instead of an impatient 5^th grader watching the time stretch out in an endless road ahead of you.  Or maybe more like a never ending circle, or better yet, an ellipse. 

Sometimes Savannah thought of time like it was laid out on a giant oval race track with January 1^st the starting line and each month connected to the next in a curve of 12 blocks that shaped the oval path.  The black and white checkered line at December 31^st marked the finish line of the year.  But unlike the Nascar races her dad watched on TV where the first driver across the line celebrated by burning out and driving to Victory Lane where they thanked their sponsors and fans, there was no Victory Lane in time.  No matter how many times you crossed the finish line at the end of the year, there was always a new starting line the very next day and little reason to celebrate.  The ellipse of time left you hanging a lot like the ellipsis at the end of a sentence.  But at least those three little dots made you feel like there was hope, like something better was coming to finish the sentence.  Savannah knew she was like that ellipsis, just waiting for something better to come along and finish her.