NaNoWriMo - Day One

Well, I'm doing it. I didn't want to say anything until I started, but I'm doing it. I'm officially participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.

Up until yesterday morning when it began, I still hadn't decided A. if I was going to participate at all, or B. if I did, what story was I going to write. I had two ideas in my head - two stories that I had already started awhile ago. You're not supposed to work on works-in-progress for the challenge, but I planned to start afresh anyway, so I figured it was fine. Planning and outlining a story ahead of time is a-OK and encouraged. Anyway, lately I've been having dreams that finally made me decide to go one way instead of the other for my first stab at NaNoWriMo.

Here's the beginning of what I wrote yesterday. Keep in mind, this is a first draft. It's bound to suck in places. I may change the names when I'm finished, too. Those are just what I have for now.

***

This was the most important outfit of my entire life. No, I’m not getting married. I’m halfway through college and newly single. I’m definitely not getting married anytime soon. Besides, this is more important than a wedding dress. This is the outfit that could maybe, possibly, someday lead to a wedding dress. You know, in a perfect world and all. Am I delusional? Maybe a little. OK, maybe a lot. This is the outfit I’m going to wear to meet my favorite band.

I’ve been waiting for this moment for years. And finally, tomorrow it’s going to happen. I just wish I had planned ahead better, but with school and work and sleep, I just didn’t have time to come up with something to wear until now. Now, as I’m looking in my closet and the pile of laundry, some clean, some dirty, on my floor, I realize that I really do have nothing to wear. At least nothing worthy of this day. The day.

I could always borrow something from my roommates, but I really wanted something new. This kind of occasion calls for something special. I pushed another small pile of clothes and some school books off of my desk chair and sat in it backwards, with my knees on the seat and the back of the chair facing the computer. With a vague sense of optimism, I logged on to check how much money I had in my checking account. $16.81. I put my hand up to my forehead. I can work with that. In the back of my mind, I seemed to remember I needed to pay for something, and I knew I needed to go grocery shopping, but that all can happen later. I get paid in a few days anyway.

I grabbed my purse from on top of the desk and reached in to retrieve my keys. I felt nothing metal—mostly gum wrappers and receipts and my cloth-covered wallet. I stood up and began flinging clothes into new piles until I found my backpack. No keys there either. Opening the door, I walked into the kitchen, which was a stark contrast from my messy bedroom. As opposed to my messiness, my roommates were both very tidy. Unfortunately, they were both at class, so I couldn’t ask them if they had seen a stray set of keys lying around. I scanned the kitchen counters and stuck my hands in the living room couch cushions but still found nothing except a nickel and a Starburst wrapper.

Minutes of searching later, roommates Liz and Kim came in to find me crouched down, trying to see things at floor level.

“What are you doing?” asked Liz.

“Looking for my keys. They’re not anywhere. Have you guys seen them?”

“Yeah, I hung them up,” Kim responded casually, gesturing to the key hook beside the door.

I groaned and snatched my keys from the hook. Flustered and sweaty from my frantic searching, I tried to keep calm and invited the roommates to join me for a trip to Walmart to look for an outfit.

***

Don't worry. For those of you who don't care, I'm not going to update you on my progress every day. For those of you who are interested in following along, you can do so here.