Dialogue

Context: SGA

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” Rodney said, keeping his voice as calm and patronizing as he could manage.

“Darling,” Elizabeth said through gritted teeth, “you’d best start giving a damn soon, or our guests may think us inhospitable.”

No one had expected some crazed conspiracy theorist nuts to explode into Rodney’s living room while Atlantis’s senior command was having a planning session - and very nice dinner party at Major Lorne’s hand - but now there was pretending to be done.

“Where is he?” the lead gunman asked. He had pale skin and pale eyes and looked like he didn’t see nearly enough sun.

“The person you’re looking for, Dr. Daniel Jackson, has never been to this house, and I doubt he ever will be here in the future,” Elizabeth said, and Rodney snorted derisively.

For a man who was terrified of rats offworld, his ability to be snarky when guns were in play was astounding.

“Then give us Dr. Meredith McKay. Where is she?” the second gunman asked. By contrast, his face was tanned and weatherbeaten from many long hours in the sun.

John looked at Rodney. Rodney shook his head minutely.

The second gunman turned his weapon on Teyla. “You. You’re Meredith McKay?”

“I am not as brilliant as Dr. McKay,” Teyla said, serenely.

“But you know who she is? Where she is?”

“I do not know where she is,” Teyla said, which was not exactly a lie.

“Do you know how to reach her?”

“I do not have her telephone number,” Teyla said, which was the truth.

“Wow,” one of the other gunmen said, forking up a mouthful of the garlic mashed potatoes. “These are really good.”

“Please,” Elizabeth said. “We’re just having a dinner party. We aren’t the people who can get you what you want.”

Lorne said, “They’re real mashed potatoes, not out of a box.”

The gunman actually set is gun down and sat down at the table - in Lorne’s seat - and started serving himself dinner.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at Rodney. What now?

Ronon punched the first gunman in the head, and chaos exploded. Teyla, Ronon, John, Lorne, and Elizabeth managed to overpower the gunmen, disarm them. Ronon, Teyla, and Lorne got them all backed into a corner, hands raised in surrender, while John put in a call to the SGC. They needed backup immediately.

“Next time,” Elizabeth said to Rodney, “please do try to give a damn when armed gunmen crash into your house.”

“Their demands were stupid, and I didn’t give a damn about those,” Rodney said, and he handed Elizabeth her plate of food and a fork. “But I did give a damn about, you know, maintaining our cover.”

Which was that they were having a nice dinner party and nothing more.

“Gone with the Wind? Really?” John asked once his phone call was done.

“I was improvising,” Rodney protested. “Improv is harder than people think it is.”

“Totally,” one of the gunmen said. He sounded young.

Rodney rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

Writing Exercise: Dialogue

Famous Lines

Dialogue isn't exclusive: characters may say the same things, but mean something entirely different in the context of the scene. Pick one of the below famous lines from literature and film. Then start a scene by having a character say it. Develop the scene that follows in 500-600 words and see where it takes your characters.

• "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
• "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
• "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"
• "You're gonna need a bigger boat."
• "Oh, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."

This Year is Your Year

“So,” Keith said. He was sprawled on the cool tile of Angel’s fancy kitchen. He had a champagne flute in one hand and an empty bottle of Bushmills in the other. “What’s your new year’s resolution?”

DJ, who was stubbornly clinging to a bottle of absinthe, said, “To stop drinking alcohol.”

Tobias, whose head was nestled next to DJ’s knee, let out an ungainly laugh. “Yeah right.” He waved his bottle of vodka to emphasize his point.

“In that case,” Christian said, “you’re welcome to take this as paint thinner.” He plunked down his mason jar of moonshine next to DJ’s ear.

“The day you stop drinking alcohol,” Gabriel said, “is the day Keith stops setting things on fire for fun.” He paused, then waved his shot glass. “That’s probably a good new year’s resolution for you, Keith. Because Asia’s gonna crumple you into a ball and throw you down the Marianna Trench if you keep burning her stuff.”

“Why do we even bother writing new year’s resolutions?” Keith asked. “We’re gonna live forever. If we actually followed through with any of them, we’d be perfect in a century, easy.”

“You know what my new year’s resolution is?” Tobias asked. “To get Asia to kiss me. Just one more time. Before I die.”

“You make it sound like you’re going to die sometime this year,” Christian said.

“He will, if he manages to get within kissing distance of her,” Gabriel said. “That’s killing distance too, you know.”

“It’d be nice to kiss her again, though,” Christian conceded.

“Then we should make it a team effort,” DJ said. “This year, Tobias gets his kiss. Next year, we nominate someone else.”

“I like it,” Tobias said.

“That’s because this year is your year,” Keith said. “But - all right. I’m in.”

“Happy new year, Tobias,” DJ said.

In the other room, crowded with Angel’s supermodels, starlets, and assorted floozies, people were cheering.

Six men stared up at the kitchen ceiling and contemplated the coming year.

(332 words)

Just a Bit Pathetic

“Are you scared?” James asked.

Tobias lifted his head, straightened his crown of oak leaves absently. “Why would I be scared?”

“Our entire semester rides on this one performance.” James tugged impatiently at his sword-belt. “I still look like an idiot with a sword at my side. How did anyone back then get around without banging into everything?”

Tobias reached out and used the loose end of James’s belt to hitch the sword up to a neater angle. “There. Now you won’t accidentally kneecap your lovely Hermia.”

James blinked. He tugged at the sword hilt experimentally, then grinned at his roommate. “You’re full of random useful skills. Thanks.”

“Yes, well, even though I’m not afraid, I don’t want to fail this class either.” He straightened his green tunic. “It’d be pathetic if I failed my Shakespeare course at a British drama academy, wouldn’t it?”

“Just a bit pathetic,” James agreed. “Is your family coming to watch?”

“No,” Tobias said. “Uncle Angel is on business, DJ’s on the runways in Paris or something stupid. Everyone else has jobs and things - I’m the only idiot who’s still in school.”

James slung an arm around his shoulders. “Well, my parents are here, and I’m sure my mum would love to coo over how pale and underfed you look.”

Tobias laughed but, for the first time, didn’t shrug him off. “I’m only underfed because you keep stealing my food.”

One of the directors came over and hissed at them, “Curtain in three. Take your marks.”

“Good luck, Puck,” James said, and started for the wings.

Tobias grinned. “Break a leg, Lysander.”

Beyond the curtain, the audience went quiet.

(275 words)

Midnight

Bryan settled into the plush chair in the dim room. He let his eyes wander as the room began to fill with people, people dressed nicely. Bryan sunk a little in his chair, feeling under dressed. He was a bit surprised at how many people were walking in. He turned to Mark beside him, "Seriously, what are we doing here?" he asked.

"Keep your voice down," Mark whispered, "It's impolite to be so loud."

"When you said you were taking me out, I didn't think I was going to feel so out of place. Couldn't we have gone to a club or something? Someplace with music?" Bryan asked in a lower voice.

"There will be music," Mark said and smiled cryptically.

"What kind of music?" Bryan asked as he perked up at the thought.

"You'll see," Mark smiled.

"It better not be lame," Bryan warned.

"Shh, it's about to start," Mark said.

The curtains rose and Bryan rolled his eyes when he heard the first strains of orchestral music, but quickly fell under the spell of the powerfully driven music and the voices. He looked down once at his playbill that he had ignored up to this point.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Presents:

Beethoven's Last Night.


Mark had to nudge Bryan when the performance was over to get him to move at all.

Bryan stood up slowly, "I..." he said, unable to articulate his feelings.

Mark threw an arm around his twins shoulders, "I told you you would like it," he said.

Are you Ready?

"I'm not sure about this David," Ariana said.

"I'm sure you'll love it." David said with a charming smile as he reached for her.

"Well, I'm not sure I'm ready for it," Ariana said stepping back just a little.

"Your first time might as well be with me," David said, stepping a little closer.

"I'm scared," Ariana whispered.

"Everyone is the first time," David replied as he held out an inviting hand to her.

Ariana hesitated for a moment longer.

"Don't you trust me?" David asked, his smile faltering just a bit.

"Of course I trust you," Ariana said as she placed her hand in his. There was no one she trusted more.

"I won't hurt you," David promised as he drew her closer to him.

"I know you won't," Ariana whispered as her arms snaked around his waist.

"Are you ready?" David whispered in her ear.

"Yes," Ariana said.

"Then let's do it."

Ariana closed her eyes and let the sensations carry her away.

"Open your eyes or you are going to miss the whole thing," David said.

Ariana opened her eyes and watched the scenery flash past from the back of David's motorcycle.

Gone To Find C~~~

There were many times in my life when I was more than glad to wake up after a crazy late night and discover that the stranger who’d slept beside me was long gone.

I was less than glad, however, to wake up this morning and discover that the person who usually slept beside me in our pathetic one-room, one-bed hovel had taken half of our clothes and left little more notice than illegible scrawls on the back of a crumpled napkin.

I swallowed another mouthful of coffee and squinted at the note while I tried to pull on my jeans. Where the hell was Bob? We had to be at the school in half an hour, and my bleeding-heart twin had promised the wide-eyed kiddies fun and games today. According to his middle-of-the-night missive, however, he was gone to find C-squiggle. Really helpful.

I was halfway into my shirt when I remembered Dan’s ill-timed call. What had he told Bob that would make him just take off like that? I glanced at the phone, but hell if Bob hadn’t take it. He must’ve forgotten it was the only connection we had to the civilized world. I sighed and finished the rest of my coffee, snagged a slice of bread from the icebox, and toed on my shoes at the door.

I was assaulted on all sides by the little old ladies who lived on my street, so bowing and saying good morning made my haul to the bus stop twice as long as usual. The hunchbacked old man who ran the corner market at the bus stop peered at me.

“Teacher Clay. Where is Same Same?”

I really didn’t look that much like Bob. I mean, technically we were the twins, but honestly - we hadn’t looked the same since we were fourteen and Bob grew a few inches taller than he deserved, being the younger twin. “Same Same didn’t get enough oxygen in the womb and took off in the middle of the night with our cellphone. Can I use your phone?”

The man blinked at me, uncomprehending of my English-speaking rant. I made a phone call motion with one hand. He nodded, grinned toothlessly, and waved me behind the counter. There was only one number I’d memorized, so I shoved a few coins into the rickety machine and dialed.

“Y’ello.” Scott sounded drowsy. I heard a woman murmur in the background. I’d be the first to admit I didn’t know what time it was in Canada.

“This isn’t a conversation I want to have with the lady du jour. Boot her.” I flashed a smile at the old man.

“I’m at work, brat. Suicide watch. Get to the point quickly, before she tries to -- hey! Knock it off. Don’t make me tie you down again.”

I waited a beat. Sometimes I forgot that Scott was no longer a drunken philanderer, that he’d wandered back to White Horse and was now a semi-respectable EMT.

“What’s your point, Clay?”


“My point is that Bob took off in the middle of the night with our cellphone. I need you to send me a new phone and find out where he went.”

“Did he leave a note?”

“His handwriting sucks. It said ‘Gone to find C-squiggle.’ I don’t know anyone whose name begins with C, let alone who’d make Bob pull a Houdini.”

“...Carolyn.”

I swore under my breath. “I thought she was dead.”

“So did I.” Scott sighed. “Hang tight, all right?”

“Right. Slán.”

“Slán.”

(597 words)

To Whom It May Concern

I stared at the letter in my hands and had to reread the letterhead several times. Then I scanned the contents of the letter and swallowed hard. It was business-like and impersonal, if polite, but then it wasn’t addressed to me. It was addressed to whom it may concern. I knew who this letter concerned, and it sure as hell wasn’t Chief Moreno.

I darted a glance over my shoulder at the other two desk sergeants, then dove for my cell phone. I poked through my contact list and cursed myself for not adding my brothers to speed dial sooner. In the time it took for five rings to jingle across the line, I tapped my foot impatiently and read the letterhead again.

Five years of complete and utter silence, and now this? It was pure chance, I knew - the dry legalese stated that this department had been chosen to represent part of a “random sample”, but how random could it be, really, that this letter had ended up on my desk?

“Dammit, pick up,” I muttered.

After the fifth ring, someone said, “D’you know what time it is, Dan?”

Only Clay would be that rude from the get-go. “I don’t care what time it is,” I said, and darted another glance over my shoulder at the two sergeants. My heart was pounding in my chest, and hell, was this even a good idea? That didn’t matter. “Get Bob on the phone now.”

There was a rustle as Clay dragged the phone away from his ear, and I heard a faint Bobby, phone for you. Your brother’s an effin’ nut.

And then Bob said, “H’lo?”

“Get a paper and pen,” I said.

“Dan, it’s eleven hours’ difference,” Bob began, but I cut him off.

“Get a pen, dammit!” I ducked instinctively, realizing I’d raised my voice, but no one looked my way. I was low man on the totem pole, fresh out of the academy, and I was pretty sure the other guys hated me. I couldn’t really afford to tick them off, but - this was huge.

“All right, all right, gimme a moment.” There was more crackling, then a crash - Bob was probably fumbling in the dark. Some swearing and then a Turn off the light filtered through the phone line, and then Bob said, “I have a pen. I swear, if this isn’t Beyoncé’s number, I’m coming all the way back to Calgary just to kick your ass.”

I bit my lip. Should I do this, really? “Write down this address,” I said, and read it off to him.

“Who do we know who lives in...Cedarville, Utah?”

I closed my eyes. I was going to regret this.

“...Dan? Dan, I swear if you hung up on me, I’m gonna - Clay. Get up. We’re going to Calgary to kill Dan.”

I felt my head begin to swim. This was almost worse than the day I’d told Dad about me and Joey. “Bob -”

“Just so you know, we’re coming to kill you. Triplets no more, Dan.”

“Bob, that address is for Carolyn Pierce.” There. I said it.

Now Bob’s end of the line was silent. I counted the beats of silence, waiting. Had I killed him? Had he keeled over dead? Clay wasn’t screaming, but then he slept like a corpse... “Bobby?”

“If this is a prank, I really am coming home to kill you.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. My voice came out sounding miserable. “No, it’s not a prank.”

“How do you know it’s her?”

“She always said she’d be a lawyer.”

(600 words)

Real Boys

“I was watching you today out there on the range with some of the other boys,” Sgt. Kennesaw said.

Christian lifted his head from where he’d been resting his chin on his knees and peered at the soldier. “Pardon?” It was almost midnight by his estimation. Nick and the others were probably asleep. He should have been asleep, too, but when he had a chance to be alone, he took it.

“When the other boys were showing your little friends how to work their way around an assault rifle.” Kennesaw’s dark gaze bored into Christian, but Christian had seen scarier men, had known more forceful drill sergeants.

“Kevin’s pretty handy with a gun,” Christian said. “We used to shoot his daddy’s rifle when he was a kid.”

“I’ve no doubt your country cousin knows his way around a Kentucky rifle,” Kennesaw said, “but I was watching you, too. And most boyband boys wouldn’t know their way around an M16 to save their lives. You handled that thing better than most of my men do.”

“I know my way around a Kentucky rifle, too,” Christian said. He kept his voice low, used Brian’s soft drawl. “Saw one of my cousins blow his own foot off because he hadn’t paid attention during my uncle’s gun safety lesson. Can never be too cautious with one of those things.”

Kennesaw shook his head. “I saw you drop your shots out there, too.”

Christian arched one eyebrow. “I’m afraid I don’t catch your meaning. Sometimes Yank slang still gets the better of me.”

“You could probably hit a dime from two-hundred yards away, but you let your shots spray wide.” Kennesaw leaned closer, lowered his voice to a growl. “You’re not a real boyband boy, are you?”

“I don’t know that any of us are real, Sergeant.” Christian tipped his head back and gazed up at the stars.

“I never told you my rank. I didn’t know boyband boys could read chevrons in the dark,” Kennesaw said.

Christian searched for the constellation Draco, idly wondering what one of his teammates would do. Gabriel would wipe the memory, but that wasn’t an option for him. Angel would get the man so drunk he wouldn’t remember a thing. Tobias would have spun an elaborate lie - perhaps witness protection? And Keith. Keith always did like fire a little too much.

“If I’m as good at all this as you think I am, do you really think you could stop me from doing whatever it is you think I might do?” he asked finally.

“Are you here to do anything, kid?”

“I’m here to sing, sir. And dance. Be a little patriotic for my homeland.”

“Where did you learn to do what you do?”

“The same place I learned to sing and dance.” Christian hauled himself to his feet.

“Why would they teach that sort of thing to you boys?”

Christian headed back toward the tent he was sharing with Dwayne and AJ. “Someone’s gotta watch their backs. You never know what screaming teenage girls can do.” But it wouldn’t be the screaming teenage girls he’d deal with tomorrow night. “Good night, sergeant.”

Quislai didn’t really need to sleep, either.

Stake-out

"I'm bored."

"To bad. The major says to stay, we stay."

"He's been gone over an hour."

"Shut up Joe."

"Bite me."

"Knock it off you two."

"How much longer do you think he'll be?"

"As long as he needs to be."

Sigh, "I'm hungry."

"Check your pack for a power bar."

"How about a game?"

"How about not."

"Hey Brian, I spy with my little eye something that begins with D."

"Dust. Achoo!"

"Bless you."

"Hurry up David."

Scott Meets Carolyn

“Hey there.”

“Hi!”

“I just - I heard your guitar and thought I’d come investigate, meet a fellow musician.”

“Me, a fellow musician? Hardly. I’ve barely got three chords to my name.”


“I could, uh, teach you if you like.”

“Really? I’m sure you have something better to do.”

“No, it’s a nice day. What better way to spend my time than in the sun in the park playing music?”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. My name is Scott, by the way.”

“I’m Carolyn. It’s good to meet you.”

“So have you been playing the guitar long?”

“No. This is my dad’s baby. I’m a drummer by trade.”

“A drummer, eh? So you’ve got music in your veins.”

“I like to think so.”

“Drummers are cool - one of my brothers is a drummer. So, show me what chords you’ve got.”

“I’ve got C, A, and G. Maybe also D, D minor, and E minor.”

“That’s more than three.”

“I just can’t do bar chords worth beans. My hands are so small.”

“They’re not too small. Here, try this. Lay this finger down first, turn your wrist a bit -”

“Oh. Oh! Hey wow! I’ve got a bar chord.”

“Nice job. Easy as pie, right?”

“My sensei says something easy as pie never tastes as good as pie.”

“Sensei? You do karate?”

“Yup. Train out here in the park sometimes.”

“That’s - wow. What other amazing stuff do you do with your spare time?”

“I don’t know that it’s amazing as much as boring, but - poetry. Since I’m an English major.”

“Ah. Hence the volume of Millay.”

“Yeah. What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m a guitarist in a band.”

“Hence your rockin’ guitar skills. Very cool.”

“Yeah. My band is playing a gig down at the riverfront tomorrow. Seven. You should come watch.”

“Really? That’d be awesome. How many bands are playing a the river?”

“How many? What do you mean?”

“A couple of other friends invited me to watch their bands play down by the river too. I didn’t realized the musical scene in this town was so vibrant.”

“...Neither did I. Well, good luck with those chords, Carolyn.”

“Thanks, Scott. See you tomorrow night!”

(364 words)

Chemistry or Chemistry... You decide.

"Do you have the history assignment done David?"

"Yes."

"Can I take a peek?"

"No, do your own work."

"Please..."

"Nope."

"But..."

"No, Ari."

"I hate History."

"I know."

"Sigh. Is there anything I can do to get you to change your mind?"

"I'm sure I could think of a few things, but you still have to do your own work."

"I'm tired of homework. School is almost over; isn't it an inalienable right to slack off at the end of the year."

"Not if you want good grades."

"I'm hungry. Let's take a break."

"Ari..."

"Yes?"

"Finish your history and I'll make us some food."

"Okay! I want Indian food."

"Okay."

~~~

"Hey, that smells good."

"Thanks. Ari, didn't I tell you to leave my work alone."

"Aw, come on."

"No work no play."

"Fine."
~~~

"Food is ready."

"Good. I'm done, no thanks to you, and I'm starving."

"Dig in."

"This is great! What should we tackle next?"

"How about Chemistry."

"My thoughts exactly."



(I should get a label tag going for these stories....)

Poetry, Brian?

"Brian, is this yours?"

"What?"

"What is this?"

"What is what?"

"This!"

"Oh that. That's nothing."

"When to the cessation of sweet thought..."

"Alright Mark, hand it over."

"Poetry? That's never come up before."

"Look just because you're uncultured doesn't mean that I am."

"Give it here."

"No."

"I warned you."

"Hey! Let go of my leg."

"Not until you give it to me."

"Ow! Aright, take your book."

"Thank you."

Scott Cross-Examines Dan

“Hey Dan, what’s for lunch?”



“Whatever you make for yourself.”

“What, no love for your elder brother?”

“Sorry. All my love is reserved for the womb-mates, if you know what I mean.”

“I hate that joke, I’ll have you know. Everyone makes such a big deal about you three being triplets, like it’s never happened before.”

“You’re just jealous because our birthday party is always bigger than yours.”

“Shut up and pass the mayo.”

“Here.”

“...Are you humming? Sinatra?”

“Am I not allowed to hum? There’s this weird thing where I’m a musician, and so I constantly have music running through my mind --”

“Sinatra? ‘Fly Me to the Moon’? I thought you hated Sinatra.”

“Apparently whatever you had for breakfast has given you weird delusions, like you can read my mind or something. Finish making your sandwich and go lie down - sounds like your sanity could use it.”

“A man only sings The Chairman when there’s a lady involved.”

“What? Why me? Ben and Clay told me that you’ve got some weird romance conspiracy going on.”

“So there is a lady involved.”

“Not like you’d think.”

“Then what is it like?”

“I ran into this girl at the park, and she was doing katas, and we sparred a bit. She was good.”

“You have a black belt.”

“And hardly any time on the road to train.”

“So...you gonna go tangle with her again?”

“Do you have to makes sparring sound so...insidious?”

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘insinuating.’”

“Oh, so you did do your English homework.”

“Is she pretty?”


“What matters is that she’s good. It’ll be good for me, to train against a superior fighter.”

“So she’s smokin’ hot.”

“And she could kill you with a popsicle stick.”

“So you are going to see her again?”

“Are you sure you weren’t meant to be a lawyer instead of a musician? Because that was such a leading question.”


“You are.”

“Down at the park tomorrow, before the river front gig.”

“Do I get to meet her?”

“In your gi, sure. Now eat your lunch. I’m going to train.”

“Good luck, lover boy!”

“I can still beat you any day.”

“Yeah, whatever - ow!”

(367 words)

Scott Bothers Ben

“Hey Ben, give me the scoop on Clay’s new lady love.”

“Hmmm? Oh. Hey Scott. Clay’s new who?”

“You told me you saw him talking to some girl in town - a pretty girl. And I just caught him reading poetry instead of doing his math.”

“Poetry? Clay’s always the one who insists we rhyme ‘love’ with ‘above’.”

“He’s lovestruck, dude. It’s pretty pathetic. I want to hear every detail.”

“You’re really bored, aren’t you?”

“I’ll bet Shelley knows who she is. Shelley knows everyone in town.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I was trying to do my history.”

“You and Clay, always so studious. You make me and Dan look bad.”

“We’re twins. The world starts to rotate in reverse if we don’t do everything identically.”

“So...if both of you do everything identically, then you’re mooning over a girl too, right?”

“Don’t you have chemistry to do?”

“Not if you’ve got chemistry going on with a lovely lady. Tell Uncle Scott all about it.”

“Now you’re just being patronizing.”

“Oooh - big word.”

“I learned it doing my English homework. Which, according to Shelley, you still haven’t done. So buzz off.”

“Benny...”

“Don’t call me that.”

“C’mon, Benny, just --”

“All right, all right! Not the hair.”

“You’re so vain.”

“You’re the ones who whined when I cut my hair as short as Clay’s.”

“Why are we talking about hair when we could be talking about ladies?”

“Fine! I met her down along the river front. She was listening to music and I noticed her hands - she was playing the beat. She’s a real drummer. We got to talking, and - she was smart and funny and really, really pretty.”

“Did she recognize you?”

“I don’t think so. I mean - she didn’t go all nutty fangirl on me. It was nice to be treated like - like a real boy for once.”

“Keep up the honesty and you’ll turn into a real boy in no time, Romeo.”

“Get out of here. I don’t know why I tell you anything.”

(336 words)

Scott Pesters Clay

“I know that expression, bro. Spill - what’s her name?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Hey - give me back my math book!”

“C’mon. You’ve been mooning at the back of Dan’s head all day. Ben told me he saw you talking to a hot chick yesterday.”

“Are you sure you didn’t mix me up with Ben?”

“Clay, you can’t lie to your big brother. I’ll give you back your math book if you tell me her name.”

“No.”

“At least tell me something about her.”

“She was nice, all right? Nice and smart and --”

“It sounds like love.”

“Shut up and give me my textbook.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Poetry, actually.”

“Poetry? You? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I can read, you know. And - her voice. It was...haunting. Shelley never sounds like that when she reads us poetry.”

“It really does sound like love. Is that why a volume of Millay is in the middle of your trigonometry?”

“Leave, Scott. Leave now and let me study.”

“I’m gonna go tell Ben about your lady poet love.”

“You do that.”

(182 words)

Dark Waltz / Sway

"We are the lucky ones, we shine like a thousand suns, when all of the color runs together. I'll keep you company, in one glorious harmony. Waltzing with destiny forever."

"When marimba rhythms start to play, dance with me, make me sway. Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore, hold me close, sway me more."

"Dance me into the night, underneath the moon shining so bright, turning me into the light. Time dances whirling past, I gaze through the looking glass; and feel just beyond my grasp is heaven."

"Like a flower bending in the breeze, bend with me, sway with ease. When we dance you have a way with me. Stay with me, sway with me."

"Sacred geometry, where movement is poetry; visions of you and me forever."

"Other dancers may be on the floor, dear, but my eyes will see only you. Only you have that magic technique. When we sway I go weak."

"Dance me into the night, underneath the moon shining so bright. Let the dark waltz begin. Oh let me wheel - let me spin, let it take me again. Turning me into the light."

"I can hear the sounds of violins, long before it begins. Make me thrill as only you know how; sway me smooth, sway me now. You know how, sway me smooth, sway me now."

Top 40 Break-up

“The last thing I want to do right now is read your stupid poetry. Why can’t you just tell me what you really want to say?” [1]

“We all have a weakness. Some of ours are easy to identify.” [2]

“Look me in the eye.”

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours first. Let’s compare scars and I’ll tell you whose is worse.” [3]

“Welcome to the planet. Welcome to existence.” [4]

“Painted a picture of how it’s supposed to turn out. Down in a cold dirty well and I cannot climb out.” [5]

“Everybody’s watching you now. What happens next?” [4]

“I’m still alive but I’m barely breathing.” [6]

“I dare you to move.” [4]

“Just prayed to a god that I don’t believe in.” [6]

“I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor.” [4]

“When a heart breaks, no, it don’t break even.” [6]

(139 words)

Lyrics from:
1 - Silhouette Serenade by Vendetta Red
2 - Dig by Incubus
3 - Swing Life Away by Rise Against
4 - Dare You to Move by Switchfoot
5 - Down A Cold Dirty Well by Justin Nozuka
6 - Break Even by The Script

Annabelle Lee / I am going to the West.

"It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, that a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee."

"In this fair land, I'll stay no more; here labor is in vain. I'll seek the mountains far away, and leave the fertile plain."

"But we loved with a love that was more than love-- I and my Annabel Lee."

"You say you will not go with me, you turn your eyes away. You say you will not follow me, no matter what I say. I am going to the West."

"But our love it was stronger by far than the love of those who were older than we-- Of many far wiser than we-- And neither the angels in heaven above,
nor the demons down under the sea, can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee."

"I will journey to the place that was shaped by heaven's hand, and I will build for me a bower where angels' footprints mark the land. Where castle rocks in towers high
kneel to valleys wild and green. All my thoughts are turned to you, my waking hope, my sleeping dream."

"And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride, in her sepulcher there by the sea, in her tomb by the sounding sea."

"Wind, my blanket. Earth, my bed, my canopy a tree. Willows by the river's edge will whisper me to sleep."

Wanderlust/ Where are we going from here.

"Beyond the East the sunrise, beyond the West the sea."

"On a long road, miles to go, it's winding and cold and its covered with snow."

"It works in me like madness, dear, to bid me say good-by."

"But I ask you what we all want to know; where are we going from here?"

"I know not where the white road runs, nor what the blue hills are, but man can have the sun for friend, and for his guide a star"

"We lose our way, trying to find, searching to find our way home."

"And there's no end of voyaging when once the voice is heard; for the river calls and the road calls, and oh, the call of a bird."

"Trying to find our way home."

"And come I may, but go I must, and if men ask you why, you may put the blame on the stars and the sun and the white road and the sky!"

"As the day dies, with tears in our eyes, there's too few hellos and too many goodbyes."

"Yonder the long horizon lies, and there by night and day The old ships draw to home again, the young ships sail away."

"But who do you ask, when no one really knows where we are going from here."