Chasing Joy Written by Hadley Esty Lennon Anelle your current

Chasing Joy Written by; Hadley Esty- Lennon Anelle: your current pacing of the story is too fast. You launch from one thing to the other without fillers. Extend the story bits that aren’t nearly as fast paced. Her friend should die in chapter 10 or something. Have the reader learn about her fam (two mums maybe? (: ) before setting her onto the bus. Also when she finds out her friend is dead add some sort of flashback to all the good moments in their lives together. I’d suggest reading “The Truth Is” to get a good sense of what it is like for your main character to lose a best friend. Have fun with the story! Take your time! Prologue The girls brushed my shoulders as they passed,talking about who knows what. Probably boys and shopping , new trends that make no sense. I am currently sitting alone like almost every other day of school. People think I’m weird , just because of my black mask, hoodie and jeans. I always wear the same style. . . all black. People call me ‘emo’ and things like that. Everyone thinks I’m a freak because I am a foster kid, cause’ my parents died. Last year because we got bullied, my friend Cyress, who I call Cybbie, jumped of the school roof, attempting suicide, and has been in a coma ever since. I visit her every day. And she’s healthy but not with me when I need her. I celebrate the holidays with her in the hospital. In two weeks it is her 18th birthday , I care so much because I kinda, sorta ‘like’ her brother. And that’s another reason. People don’t like me because . . . I’m different. But I am usually nice. Anyways on with the story. When I was younger…I was teased because of liking the most popular kid in school. Honestly, I can’t exactly control who I like, but people still look at me sideways and snicker when they see me, the demon who likes the popular kid, me and Cybbie have only ever wanted to be popular. Yeah I know that is sorta stupid , I mean the popular kids are the ones that bullied us. Well Cybbie Is expected to wake up any day now. And I’ve felt on top of the world, thinking about what it would be like to have my best friend back. To deal with the bullies with somebody. It would be really nice, they say maybe in the next week or so she might wake up. And school starts tomorrow, it’s our sophomore year of highschool. And I still want to have her advice. She always has the best advice. And I don’t want to look like a goth so I am gonna dye my hair. And I was thinking , I have Dark curly brown hair and dark brown skin with freckles. And I want to dye the tips of my hair orange because it’s my favorite color, and compliments me in every way. At least that’s what I think. 😉 Chapter 1That night. . . . Today is the first day of school. It’s hard to get sleep because I have lucid dreams , but that doesn’t matter. Because they are just more nightmares . Everyone says I am SCARY But I am a normal person , or I mean a demon. But I mean I’m still half human. I am very pretty, one of the prettiest people in the school , but I am once again half demon . Which for some reason means you are a bad person. I am skinny and short and have amazing hair , but the black horns and tail ruin it. At least I can hide my wings. Which is great so I don’t “accidently” hit somebody. And if it did I would , definitely not, be sorry. I mean it was their fault , so if I do hit them it is not my fault. As I trudge out of the empty house I realize , will I . . . ever . . . be happy again . . ? Tears well up in my eyes as I walk faster to the bus stop. Not even acknowledging the fact that people are making fun of me as I climb to the back of the bus . The bus bumps up and down while we go over the old beat up dirt roads. My eyes slowly drift shut and as I blink them open I see everyone saying how cool I am as the biggest bully I will ever meet decides to shout about how disgusting and vile demons are and, what they do to people , what my parents did to people. They killed people just for . . . fun , it was terrible yes but they thought just because that person hurt them it was okay but it wasn’t. I blink my eyes open as the bus driver yells “Get off the bus Scarlett!” I scramble to grab my bag and I hurry off the bus. And as I hurried off the bus , you remember how I said “Biggest Bully I will ever meet” well he gripped my bag and ripped it off my back throwing it against the building. His fist lunges at my eye then he takes a knife out and cuts my face , one on each cheek and one on my forehead then he said , “ Just die , like your little friend A’right “ then he storms off kicking my backpack into the road. And I just think about how this was the worst first day of school so far in the 16 years i’ve been alive. And I still wish I wasn’t . . I mean what’s the point in living if you live like me.?! I walk to class slowly just to make sure I’m late. As I swing around the door frame and mouth ‘Ms. Scarlett ‘ while Mrs. Puffin says “ Ms. Scarlett you are late! Go to class detention , NOW.” She screeched. As I turn around I hear a couple of kids mumble , ‘There goes the idiot ‘ or ‘Bye freak’ . I storm down the hallway and down a set of stairs, then I saw that in my head, it was perfect but in reality nothing went right for me. At all. Before I knew I was on my knees with my face between my legs bawling, screaming. The scars on my wrists reopened, and blood was dripping from my eyes.I was laughing. That’s when I realized, I was a mistake , My LIFE was a JOKE . At This point I’m hysterically crying and laughing so much. It was funny, so, so, so funny! I AM FUNNY, MY LIFE IS FUNNY. It is all one big old joke. I was chasing something I couldn’t catch. I was seeking the joy I could never have. I was running a race that no one can win, especially not me. . . . . Chapter 2The hospital I opened my eyes and everything was blurry. It was too bright. White. Too clean. And the realization hits me. I am dead . I’m in the wrong place , I’m not supposed to be in heaven I don’t belong here. And then I start laughing. Then the door creaked open and a woman walked in . I kept yelling over and over. “I don’t belong here, I DON’T BELONG HERE.” “Ma’am , You have been diagnosed with pathological laughter and crying, also known as PBA.” she said gently and she walked to the door . She turned and said “ You can leave whenever.’’ and she turned and shut the door gently. I felt a shiver down my spine. I turned on to the side and sat at the edge of the bed .I stood up the cuts and scars still stinging. I walked towards the door slowly and started faster and faster until I was there. In front of the door of which the room Cyress remains in. I turn the knob slowly. When I look in I see my best friend standing upright and smiling. For the first time in a year, the same gummy grin I’ve seen for years is stretched across her face. “ Cybbie ” I whisper to myself. I say it again, and again it feels so good to call her that. I slowly step toward her not being able to stop. Then I touch the side of her face. Black. Everything turns black everybody fades away. Cybbie is gone. Forever. I close my eyes tightly then open them to a world. A very different one. In this world, everyone is a happy little fairy surrounded by flowers and beautiful houses. It’s the world I have never lived in. The alternate universe , the perfect one that has never made a mistake. The good child nobody has. It’s funny. I feel a laugh in my throat, then hundreds of giggles turn to full out bursts of hysterical laughter. I started to scream and then I recognized it. The nurse was that woman. She started checking If I was okay , but I stood up and walked out the door ignoring her saying how I wasn’t okay . That I was insane. I kept walking and walking down the halls until I found myself In front of my locker. I slowly turn the lock 24 to right , 56 to the left. They were Cybbies favorite numbers . . . . was she alright . . . . That was something I was unsure of. I ripped the locker open and yanked my bag off the hook and slammed the locker shut, shuddering while everything fell off the door. Frustratedly, I realized I’d have to clean that up later. My anger doubled. I had no idea what pathological something or whatever was .So her life starts out horrible and then her —friend wakes up eventually dies , RIP , and—- then she ends up depressed gets a boyfriend and then some person breaks into the school and turns out the lights and kills person by –person not her because the sugalar is yandere and scarletts is his senpai and then she ——commits suicide and the becomes a demon— between worlds and kills people so yah….—–Then I opened my eyes once again and walked through the soft moss , and down the rocky— path. I walked to the edge of a forest and —looked in . I saw wild animals crawling around. The vines twisting up the trunks of trees. Some es on the ground rotting. —–animals carcassThe smell was pungent, then I saw a small —-bead of light. I slowly walked towards not —-being able to stop myself . Then I saw it as —it turned green and started in a straight line ,- not the steep mountainous pattern it was —supposed to be. She was gone and her ——-heart had stopped beating.——————–My life was crumbling apart bit by bit.——–That’s WHEN CYRESS DIES————-^^^^^^^^-