The Boyfriend Interviews

Again, only a plot outline. I have so many plot outlines that I have to post them here to keep track of them!


Erin is weird. She has a lot of guy friends, and a lot of gal friends, but no boyfriend. She doesn't really trust any one of her friends with everything, and she has to pretend in school and at home. She used to have crushes, but as she began to read more and more, she became afraid of getting hurt. And so, she withdrew her heart from love.

However, on the next-to-last day of seventh grade, it's the Talent Show. A lot of her guy friends are performing: Jamie, Joe, Sam, Phil, Kevin, Ryan, Eric, Beshoy, and Jiansen. They are all singing one song: Can You Feel the Love Tonight, by Elton John, one of her favorites. As they sing, they move down the aisles until they are singing to ERIN. After the song ends, with one voice, they ask, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

So, now, Erin has nine potential boyfriends. She's not a little freaked out, and she's pretty sure it's a joke, but she decides to play along. Therefore, over the summer, she gives each guy a one-week trial as her boyfriend.

Eventually, though, she and the guys realize that she doesn't really click with any of them. So, it's a new school, and she still doesn't have a boyfriend... Although her friends all managed to pair up with the guy friends who sang to Erin at the Talent Show. And even Erin lucks out. She finds two new guy friends, Efren and Ross. Maybe one of them will become her first boyfriend, or maybe they'll make up the sequel of The Boyfriend Interviews.

???

I only have a plot to work with right now. I don't even have a title yet!! If anybody has any ideas, please please please tell!!


In 2296, scientists set up an experiment in which they recreate 2008 life. Each child born there has a special computer chip inserted in its brain. This allows the scientists to know their thoughts and control their actions to a certain degree. Also, it inhibits the children's natural-born ability to speak the Common Language, which is the language of all minerals, plants, animals, etc etc. Only children know the Common Language, for some odd reason. Around the time that their childhood ends, they no longer understand the Common Language.

This chip has always been accepted by the human body...until a girl named Bella is born in 2304. Nothing works on her. The antibodies that keep her from getting cancer or AIDS or other such fatal diseases won't work on her either. The scientists are both interested and worried. They are being threatened, although they are also highly intrigued by this oddity.

As an experiment, the scientists manipulate those around her to see how she will react. There are cameras everywhere, except on natural materials (the houses are all made out of concrete or brick). Bella is tracked, even as she speaks the Common Language with the animals and plants. She has no computer chip in her brain. Therefore, her thoughts are completely new and do not adhere to the guidelines that the chip sets.

The scientists continue trying to put the computer chip in Bella's brain, but it will not work. When she is fourteen, the chip dies as soon as it is in Bella's body (it used to just not work). The scientists decide she is a liability to the success of the experiment. Therefore, they manipulate those around her to make her miserable, and perhaps eventually force her into madness or suicide.

Then, the tables turn when Bella finds out.

The Fight of the Poppies

Just so you know, "Poppies" stands for "Populars", basically <3


Ariel looked around the library. She had been there so many times she could probably walk there in her sleep. Great, she thought unhappily. I’ve read everything already. Unlike the typical most-popular-girl-in-school stereotype, Ariel was an avid reader. By the time she had been ten, she had finished every book in the children’s section. On her fourteenth birthday, she finished every young adult book. And now, finally, on the last day of high school, she had finished the last adult book.

The young seventeen-year-old glanced at the old shelves again, and sighed. The public library was small. Castillo Azure was a large and rich town. 75% of the people there were filthy rich, and owned private libraries. Therefore, there was almost no need for a public library. If it hadn’t been for the 25% population of people who didn’t have private libraries, Libra Azure would have been torn down decades ago. It had no money. The people who used it had so little money to spare that they always returned the books ahead of time, for fear of paying the fine.

Ariel sighed once more, and finally started trudging to the exit. “Bye, Frank,” she said, smiling at the janitor. He smiled back, and continued to wipe the floor. Frank seemed like the only true friend she had made there. Back when she had moved to Castillo Azure, she had learned that conforming was the only way to lead a life without exclusion. She had become a very good actress this way. Frank seemed like the only person she could open up to sometimes.

It’s hard work being the most popular girl in the entire town, she thought ruefully. It was even harder when she was “poor”. She had no money to go to any of the big parties, the movie premiers, or for designer clothes. Everything she wore, she got from a rag shop and put it together herself, adding on sequins and ribbons each time she wore it so it seemed like she wore something new each time.

She thought through all of this as she neared the exit… But for some reason, Ariel no longer wanted to leave. She caught a glance of a strange shadow in the corner. Curious, she glanced at it again, and started walking towards it.

Then she shook herself and stopped. Her mother was going to be working the evening shift at the hospital, so she needed to be home to make dinner. She couldn’t waste time on pointless exploration! Besides, she’d explored the library countless times before, and was quite positive she knew every crook and nanny of it.

But still… Ariel glanced at the strange shadow again. It was so tempting, to try and find something that she hadn’t found before! She was hungry for knowledge, even if it only met finding out what caused such a strange shadow.

Finally, unable to resist the urge, she gave in and ran to the shadow…

~

She woke up lying on the cold ground a moment later—or at least it seemed like a moment. Ariel glanced out the window, and noticed with a shock that it was there was a thunderstorm outside. She looked around the room. It was built with cold, gray stone that looked like it had been there from the Middle Ages. The walls were covered in ancient bookcases made of oak, cherry, and mahogany, carved with strange runes and symbols.

Where am I? Ariel thought as she picked herself up and walked to the nearest bookcase. She chose a book at random, and blew the dust off the cover like in movies. With a slightly trembling hand, she opened it to a section in the middle. And so, heeding the sprite’s warning, Edwin did not approach the dragon using a sword. Rather, he walked up to the dragon and simply began to talk to it.

With a thump, she shut the book, and replaced it with another, more official-looking tome. Once again, she opened it to the center. In Year 10, Arian cast a spell to protect Arda-Ura from outside rivals. This spell became the first Spell of Honor, which then became the second Spell of Honor with just one small consonant change. Ariel closed that book too, although more gently, and returned it. What is this place? she thought. Arda-Ura? Where is that? What happened?

However, instead of panicking, she felt merely curious. It didn’t feel real, somehow. And all those stories and histories on the shelves looked so inviting! It was out of the ordinary. It was—amazing. Unbelievable. Different. Extraordinary.

Ariel smiled to herself, and began to walk to the first bookcase. Only then did she notice that she was wearing different clothes. She was wearing long purple robes layered with blue, and her shoes were strange slippers that, though unfamiliar, were nonetheless very comfortable.

She shrugged and continued to walk towards a very large, purple book with gold edges that had caught her eye.

Suddenly, someone burst through the door. “Princess Ariella!” he gasped, panting heavily.

Ariel goggled at the figure in the doorway. “Frank?!” she exclaimed in shock.

“Why can’t you ever say it right? It’s Franco!” the man snapped. He, too, was wearing the odd robes, although his were sky blue and grass green. “Hurry, Princess, the carriage is at the door. They won’t wait long, and the sorcerers don’t have enough magic to keep the Poppies off for long!”

Ariel’s head was swimming. “Uh…” she managed to utter intelligibly. “Wait, let me take some books.” Save the books, was her one thought. For some reason, the castle—she knew it was a castle now—was under attack. She had to save the books.

With one free hand, she managed to scoop up the history that she’d been reading earlier, the storybook, and the large purple book. “Yes, yes,” Franco said hurriedly. He grabbed a grey book, a thin blue book, and a strange-looking red book that read Castle Secrets. Then, he shoved her through the door. “Now we must go!” he hurried. “Your robes, spell books, and other magic materials are in your trunks. We’ve packed a large selection of books for you. Now you must go! Please, Princess, run! I urge you!”

Still dazed, Ariel ran down the narrow hallway, clutching her robes in one hand. What’s going on? Who are the Poppies? Questions whirled in her head as she hurried to the carriage that Franco had said was waiting for her. The question that kept resurfacing was, Who is Princess Ariella?

Ariel ran and ran through the seemingly endless hallways. Her arms were growing more and more tired with the weight of the books.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she arrived at the doors leading to the outer gardens. A dark, shimmering carriage was waiting for her, harnessed to two brown horses who kept tossing their heads in agitation.

“Princess!” the driver shouted. “Hurry!”

Ariel yanked open the carriage door and jumped in, still holding the precious books with one hand. Just before she slammed the door shut, she yelled, “What about Franco?” The old man reminded her too much of Frank for her to leave him behind without worry.

“He’ll be fine,” the driver replied. “It’s you they want.”

She wanted to ask why, but knew that it would reveal her as the fraud she was. “Where are we going?” she asked instead.

“To the monastery in the Eadha Mountains,” he called back. “You’ll be safe there, Princess. The nuns and monks are very kind people, and your education will be continued. Your books, jewels, and clothes have all been brought. You’ll be taken care of there.” But who am I supposed to be? Ariel felt like shouting.

The Heartache Series

Okay, this is just a plot outline that I'm working with so far... I have some positive sentences that I want to see in this series...

Book 1: Setting - Middle School & Junior High; POV - Girl
- Girl likes boy and is boy's friend
- "I think it was his smile that captured me... It was so inviting and warm..."
- Lots of fun, but grow apart, then be friends again
- Boy doesn't seem to care anymore, so girl is heartbroken
- "His eyes were cold as he looked at me, and I knew in that moment that it was over..."
- Girl goes into background and watches boy from a distance

Book 2: Setting - Summer before studying for third Ph. D starts; POV - Girl
- 25; dances with guy at masquerade, then sleeps with him after too much wine
- Sees guy again at other masquerade; this time get numbers and arrange a date
- Keep masks on for date, thought was romantic, also prevent from seeing her "ugly face"
- Finally take masks off after 3 months because guy is proposing
- Is boy that was girl's first love, girl never forgot him
- "He called me perfect. I loved him for lying..."

Book 3: Setting - Middle School & Junior High; POV - Boy
- Boy likes girl and is girl's friend
- "I think I fell in love with her the first time I saw her smile..."
- Lots of fun, but grow apart, then be friends again
- Dad doesn't care anymore, so must pretend to be indifferent
- "I saw in her eyes the hurt that my coldness had caused. In that moment, my resolve weakened and I almost broke down and told her that this was for our relationship. But did we even have a relationship at that point?..."
- Boy keeps tab on girl from a distance
- "I saw her laugh, and I knew she had forgotten me. I was glad she didn't suffer, but I felt my heart cry..."

Book 4: Setting - Summer before studying for third Ph. D starts; POV - Boy
- 26; dances with gal at masquerade, then sleeps with her after too much wine
- Sees gal again at other masquerade; this time get numbers and arrange a date
- Keep masks on for date, thought was romantic and fun
- Finally take masks off after 3 months because boy wants to propose
- "I never thought I'd fall in love after _________, but this girl was so much like ________..."
- Is girl that was boy's first love, still in love with her

Book 5: Setting - Starts at graduation after 4th Ph. D for both; POV - Outsider view
- Planning the wedding, buying a house, having a child
- Girl continues to write her stories
- Boy continues to paint his art
- Have concerts together: piano, flute, violin
- "This was the happy ending they'd always dreamed of..."

It's probably not going to end there, because I'd have a lot of fun with this couple. But this is just a basic overview, that's all =]