So You Think You Can Write

Excerpt

Much as I adopted the easy camaraderie of these elite students, there were some mannerisms that I could not acquire. The veneer of supremacy, the nonchalance of wealth, the disdain of authority and the ignorance of poverty were all acquired traits imbued by years of luxury. Some great protective bubble existed around these girls that made them invincible, invulnerable and oblivious. They were unaware that real girls like them, lived in homes that slanted in the earth, whose entire square footage could fit in their bedrooms, who went to bed grateful that that night they had had supper, or heard no fighting, or didn’t experience the uncomfortable touch of “uncle” somebody or other who helped out with the food money. They didn’t even know that “have nots” walked amongst them, who lived in humble homes, who didn’t own desks or dining tables, who showered outdoors in the early morning darkness so that the strange old man on the hill couldn’t peep at them.

excerpt from novel...by Kathy Thomas

Got Laid

Chapter 1

“If you can not get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Today I take back my life!……..unlikely as this may seem, but the third stair leading up to the bedrooms, is the most significant place in my house. In this most unlikely place of worship, I nurse my morning cup of tea, savouring the gentle light of dawn, the silence of sleeping children and the freshness of the start of the day. In this seemingly innocuous of spots, I find the utmost peace and greatest energy ….it is where my positive thoughts lie, whether I daydream or reminisce. This is the stair on which I get lost, where I drift away from Caramel Square, and Toronto, and even Canada and glide into illusive worlds. This is the stair where molten thoughts and ideas flow and threaten to erupt, in a surge of new energy. There is no explanation for the power of the third stair, but there are many theories….. some suggest that I derive a sense of power as the master of all I survey or that I’m energized by the vibrant yet controversial red walls in the living room or maybe soothed by the pale blue kitchen, bathed in morning light Whatever it is, this is where my day begins and it seemed appropriate, that it would be where my life began.

Submitted by Kathy Thomas