Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Teaser Tuesday

Okay, this is what happens when there is no "current project" to work on: you ramble on your blog. However, for those who are interested, in some parts of the blogosphere, today is known as Teaser Tuesday. Soooo, since I read this interview with the amazing Doret of the Happy Nappy Bookseller, and in honour of Teaser Tuesday, I'd like to share a snippet of an MG I wrote:

     “Doesn’t it look like fun?”   
     Beni shifted in her seat.  
     Her mother looked so hopeful that Beni could only nod. “Wonderful!  Let’s join you up,” she grasped Beni’s hand and walked straight up to the coach.
    “I don’t wanna play soccer, Mom!”  That’s what Beni wanted to say.  Instead, she looked at the ground and hoped that soccer wouldn’t be as bad as hockey was. 
     When they got home, Beni’s mother gushed to Beni’s dad about how excited Beni was to play.
     “Really Ben?” her father asked.  He had a bowl of Hot Mix – a spicy, Indian snack – in front of him, as usual.
     Beni gave her father a half-smile while chewing her thumbnail. 
     “That’s great, sweetheart,” he said, dumping another spoonful of the mix into his mouth, “sounds like a lot of fun.” 
     Beni’s shoulders sagged as she headed up to her room to read one of her favorite books until dinner was ready.
     During dinner, her mother said, “Your coach called, and your first practice is this weekend!” 
     Beni’s stomach felt like she did when the roller coaster started to go down at Great Adventure Park, but she forced a smile through a mouthful of rice and chicken curry.
   
     That weekend her mother drove Beni to her first soccer practice.  Beni walked over to a spot next to a red-haired girl with lots of freckles on her arms.
     “Hi, I’m Melodie,” the girl said. 
     “I’m Beni.”
     The coach blew his whistle and all the girls gathered around him.  Beni looked at her mother standing on the sidelines.  She was chewing gum and talking to one of the other girl’s dads.  She smiled and waved at Beni.
     “…when you come back here, I want you to give me ten push-ups,” the coach said.  He blew his whistle and the girls took off, running around the field. 
     Beni started running, too, but by the time she reached halfway around the field, the rest of the girls were already back where the coach was.  But they didn’t stop when they reached the coach, they went around again.  And, when all the girls had stopped running and were doing push-ups, Beni was still running.  When Beni was doing her push-ups, the girls had partnered up and were practicing their kicks.  There were soccer balls flying all around Beni as she struggled to push herself up for the fifth time.  Her arms trembled and her face was red as she collapsed on the ground.
     The coach blew his whistle and the girls moved on to the next “drill,” – that’s what the coach called it – which was hitting the ball with their heads . . .


So, what do you think? Does she grow to love the sport? Or is she traumatized by the experience and opts, instead, to become a professional Navel-Gazer?

2 comments:

Doret said...

From the little you've shared I'd say Beni opts out. I like this teaser a lot. Does this story have a name and a home?

An MG novel with sports where the MC is not only a girl but a character of color. Dude, that's a serious trifecta. It's a royal flush go all in win the big pot good. It's a hat trick at the end of regulation to win the game good.

Neesha, thanks so much for sharing.

Neesha Meminger said...

Doret, thank YOU! I'm very nervous about sharing my MG writing because I feel like I spend so much more time honing my YA craft. But I really do love living vicariously through my MG characters. They're just so spunky and fun :).

Beni's story, alas, does not yet have a home, but it is part of my SUPER MAGIC TINY series.

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