From Teachers Write
Today’s assignment:
Pick one character, and one image connected with that character. Either as you rewrite an existing scene, or as you draft a new one, bring that image with you. Use it when you describe your character or when it’s time for a metaphor to reveal your character’s emotion, and hey—if all else fails, throw that object into the scene with them and see what happens.
Amelia rocked on the swing, twirling her ponytail, as she looked at the other kids playing soccer on the field. She jumped off the swing and started walking toward them. As she did, she stuck her hands into her pockets. The left pocket just had some threads and lint, but the right pocket had something much better: Extreme Sour WarHeads. 3 of them! They must have been left over from the weekend when her brother dared her to try them.
When her brother first mentioned WarHeads to her a month ago, she had no idea that he was talking about candy. When she first watched him and his friends try them, rapidly blink their eyes, puckering their cheeks, flapping their hands, and trying to hold back tears, she knew these candies were not for her; she preferred smooth, sugary butterscotch drops.
But there was something funny about watching her brother and his friends eat the WarHeads. EVen though they looked like they were in extreme distress at the time, they also looked like they were having fun. And they keep doing it over and over again. I made Amelia wonder.
It took a lot of pestering, but Amelia finally gave in to her brother and joined in on the WarHead Challenge. The winner was the first person who could finish 5 WarHeads. Amelia finished in last place, not even able to finish one WarHead.
As she rolled the WarHeads around in her hand, she though about the fun she had being part of a challenge with her brother’s friends. They cheered her on and congratulated her for finishing her first WarHead. They were shocked and high fived her when she popped a second one into her mouth without any prompting.
Amelia walked toward the soccer field, ready to try something new.