Here is the promised excerpt from my NaNo novel! The formatting was funky after I copied and pasted it before, but I found a nifty little button that magically made everything better! Yay WordPress! 🙂 So without further ado, here it is (and once again please excuse any typos. Proofreading is overrated when you’re trying to write 50,000 words in a month.) :
The day after Mike left was a Sunday, and it seemed strange only to have to bump elbows with Brad in the upstairs bathroom. As a matter of fact, Madge didn’t even bump elbows with him since hers came clear over his head. His elbow, however, did connect with her stomach as he vigorously brushed his teeth moments before they were supposed to be leaving the house.
“Come on, kids, it’s time to leave!” called Dad from the bottom of the stairs. Madge and Brad leaned over the sink to spit out their toothpaste at the exact same moment, and Madge’s toothpaste landed squarely in the middle of the cowlick on the back of his head. Madge gasped and the rest of the toothpaste in her mouth flew to the back of her throat and she began coughing uncontrollably. Brad froze, still bent over the sink.
“What…was that?” he asked suspiciously.
“Don’t move,” Madge managed to catch a breath and croak. “I just spit on your head.”
“EEEEEWWWW!” he howled. “Get it off, Madge! That’s gross!” He stood rock still, not daring to move a muscle, lest his sister’s saliva spread any farther down his head. Madge suddenly started laughing as the hilarity of the situation struck her. She laughed uncontrollably, leaning against the wall and holding her stomach, launching into another fit every time she opened her eyes and looked at Brad, who was still hunched uncomfortably over the sink. As his sister’s laughter continued, he began to squirm.
“C’mon, Madge, have a heart!” he whined. “Get this off of me!” At that moment Dad and Mom appeared in the doorway, having heard the ruckus and come up to investigate.
“What’s going on?” asked Mom, frowning. She and Dad took in the toothbrushes in both Madge and Brad’s hands, Brad’s uncomfortable position over the sink and the substance on his head, and Madge leaning weakly against the wall as she wiped tears from her eyes, still giggling now and then, and began laughing as understanding of what had happened dawned on them. Soon Mom and Dad were laughing along with Madge, who had managed to retrieve Brad’s wash cloth from the bathtub and was beginning to take care of the poor boy. Progress was slow, however, and she had to lean on Brad frequently as she continued to laugh, her hands on his head with the washcloth over his hair.
Finally, the scene quieted. Mom was leaning against Dad, who was leaning against the doorframe, and they both wiped their eyes as their roaring laughter slowed to an intermittent chuckle. Madge rised the washcloth out once again and finished scrubbing the last traces of toothpaste out of Brad’s hair. The hilarity of the situation had been lost on him, and he glared at Madge. “I don’t know why you’re laughing! It’s not funny to have to bend over the sink ’til you have a crick in your neck because your sister spit on your head!” he turned and stormed down the stairs.
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! 🙂
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