What I’m Reading
Apr
4
Emma’s Encounter
Filed Under Choose Your Own Blogventure
This post begins the very first Choose Your Own Blogventure series. Much like the Choose Your Own Adventure series of my youth, these stories are meant to give you, the reader, a chance to direct the narrative. Rather than write all the story options myself, I wanted to get other bloggers in on the action and have them each write a piece. The catch? Well, each of them only had the story section previous to their own to work from. So really, the choices you make could take you just about anywhere. The point is to have fun and enjoy the ride. Just one note: all the posts will be up by 10 a.m. today, so don’t start reading until then unless you want to hit a dead end. Happy reading!
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Emma was perched precariously, her head hanging off the side of the bed so low that her hair pooled on the carpet and made wispy little tendrils cling to her face in static protest. Had she put her arms down around her head she could easily have pushed herself off the bed and into a handstand, but luckily she did not, for had she done so she surely would have crushed the tiny figure that had appeared there next to her face.
Of course that mattered very little to Emma, since she had taken no notice that there was a tiny being so close to her right ear that it might stick its miniature arm right down into her skull. No, Emma had something much, much more important going on at the moment. Eyes shut tight, she concentrated fiercely on the bubbling hatred she had been cultivating all afternoon. Emma always felt that despising people had been a strong point of hers and so she did it with gusto, complete with grimly set mouth and much brow furrowing. In fact, that was why she was currently hanging upside down; it fostered the proper red-faced look she felt signified angry.
Really, the situation was not to be tolerated. Not only had her older sister been invited to the biggest and best of the end-of-year parties, not only had she specifically not invited Emma, but she had even gone to the trouble of informing their parents that the party was no place for children such as Emma. A child! Emma! The same Emma who just a few months ago had to inform her older (and presumably wiser) sister that Santa did not exist, after comparing the signature on the gift tags to their mother’s signature in her checkbook. And her sister had been fourteen! Far too old to still earnestly believe in Santa Claus.
Child, indeed.
The blood rushing to her head caused it to pound, echoing her resentment. Well, Emma would show her. No one could stay angry as well as Emma could. Emma could remember slights and injustices all the way back to first grade when that stupid Tyler Duncan had licked her brownie and then claimed it as his own. She still hadn’t spoken one word to him in the last six years and-
“Hello there.”
Emma’s thoughts skipped a beat. What was that? Maybe she had been lying like this long enough. Yes, that was it, time to right herself.
“Yes. Hello! I was hoping you might open the door for me.”
Finally Emma’s eyes snapped open and her head twisted in the direction of the small voice. There stood a diminutive form, a minute girl with fists balled at her hips, no further away from Emma’s eyeballs than a toothpick’s length. She could be no more than four inches high and yet when Emma failed to respond, the look of annoyance that flashed in her eyes was unmistakable. She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to get the door for me or not? I haven’t got much time before they realize I’m gone so I’d like to leave this room as soon as possible. Time is ticking,” she said, tapping her watch.
If you think Emma should continue her conversation with this strange and tiny person and possibly open the door as requested, please click here.
If you feel that Emma should snatch up the wee one quickly, before it can escape, click here.
Comments
50 Responses to “Emma’s Encounter”
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[...] following post is my contribution to Nancy Pearl Wannabe’s Choose Your Own Blogventure. Start at the beginning and then follow along, choosing as you go. Have [...]
I haven’t started reading yet, but YAY! All systems are go! Now I can stop loading and reloading.
[...] The story begins here [...]
Santa isn’t real?! WTF!!!
I went through the story once. It took a decidedly different turn than my portion!
NPW, this is really working! Kudos to you!
Yay! I am so excited to see what happens next!
wow. i can’t believe how different the beginning of the story is from my ending. interested to see what’s in store
[...] CYOB-THE END If you’re new, the story starts here. [...]
Yay! OK, so I’m home this morning because I was waiting for the water guy to show up and fix my meter, but now he’s done and I don’t want to go to work! I have all these stories to read!
I’d like to apologize in advance for my ending. In my defense, I didn’t write that much of it, it was mostly the beer.
All systems are go! Yay! Nice work, NPW!
[...] Blogventure project. Here is the previous segment of the story. Or, you may want to go back to the beginning and choose your own blogventure from there. [...]
OMG, this is so awesome. By the way, NPW, you should definitely write a book. Please tell me you are doing so or already have or something.
This is the best ever. So much fun!
NPW, thanks for organizing this! It rocks. So far I’ve read three different endings and it is so funny how different the story begins and ends.
If the flow chart was not a hassle, and people found it fun to do this, we should do it again…bi-annually or something.
what a great idea.
[...] is an entry of the Choose Your Own Blogventure, started by NancyPearlWannabe. For the beginning of the story, go here and click to your heart’s [...]
This is so great. Thanks so much for organizing it!
It just occured to me – If we do this again, and it increases at the same pace that Blog Share increased, we are going to end up with enough segments for an actual book!
This is going to take all day to get through all the possibilities. So far so good, though. I think you have a success on your hands! Okay, fine, OUR hands (meaning every one of these awesome contributors).
Um, wow. I had no idea that Emma was so young! She definitely evolved into a 20-something by the end of the story, or at least some of it. Like a game of telephone…
this is great, just fucking great!
ok that was too funny…mine had a happy ending!
I love this! Ive tried a bunch of different ones now, can’t keep track of where I’ve been or where I am going, but LOVE them. Great idea NPW!
I love that on one side we had Justin Timberlake and Wham and on the other side we had orange Hostess cupcakes. I’ve had a full day already and it’s only noon.
What a great idea this was! I had so much fun reading all the different adventures. It was hilarious how crazy some of them ended up. Hope to read more of CYOB in the future!
I always die such horrible deaths in these books, what’s that tell you about my decision-making skills?!
This had to have taken a lot of thought and plotting. Such a great idea, though.
Fun, too!
[...] start at the beginning of the story, click here. [...]
This turned out great!
I’m amazed at how many details were preserved throughout the story. I had thought it would get totally disjointed.
[...] Adventure” book. The adventure story starts at her blog Friday morning at 10AM– start HERE – and then it is up to YOU to create your own unique version of the tale, depending on the [...]
[...] be warned this is not a regular post. This is the end of a chose your own adventure story that started at NPW’s page, and you can only get here by following the exact right combination of choices. (Or by cheating and [...]
It’s so funny to read how the story begins, having written one of the endings.
This was such an awesome project. Thank you so much for coordinating it!
How did it flow, I dont get it? Did you have certain people write a beginning or an end??
Oh my GOD! I can’t wait. I am so sorry I missed contributing but I’m defying work to type this comment. Take that, stupid rules!
You did such a great job communicating Emma’s anger – brought back memories of my bratty little sister and how irate I got at her!
Must choose!
Wow – what a fun idea… I’m going to continue with Emma having opened the door !
This is so cool! I love your section (awesome details!)and I can’t wait to read the rest!
thanks for letting me be a part of this! i had such fun.
I loved this. I’m sorry I wrote such a traumatizing ending!
Great job organizing this…I enjoyed reading the different pieces of the adventure. I am not sure if I got them all….going back to check!
lot’s of fun – my first round of reads had me cracking up just thinking about how telephone it really was. Props to all!
I finally made it through all the story twists and I was laughing so hard because each story had a completely different flavor. I was trying to figure out which story worked the best, but I think they were all terrific in different crazy ways.
You should do this again, with different people. It was fun…
You are my hero! This was fucking FANTASTIC!
If there is another one, can I put my name on the list now?
[...] April 4, 2008 by abbersnail The beginning… [...]
So, congratulations, NPW; this was a blast. Job well done. And thanks to everyone else for the varied options — but a special thanks to everyone who kept my cupcakes thread alive. Aww yeah.
OMG, that was so fun! I’ve been avoiding your blog all week because I was so freakin’ busy and I KNEW that this would be up and I would want to sit down and read all of the permutations of the story. I finally had the time to do so and it was even better than I had thought!
AWESOME!
[...] and remember the Choose Your Own Blogventure project that was curated by NPW a few months ago? Well, Choose Your Own Blogventure II is about [...]
[...] those of you who missed it the first time around, I am participating in the 2nd Choose Your Own Blogventure, hosted by our very own NancyPearlWannabe. It was tons of fun last time, and promises to be again [...]
[...] Return of CYOB Posted on July 30, 2008 by abbersnail Some of you may remember Choose Your Own Blogventure, a fabulous journey concocted by NPW a few months back. It was a rip-roaring good time, a journey [...]
[...] ***** If you’d like to read the original CYOB story, you can do so here. [...]