Fic a Week 34, Nano excerpt 2
Nov. 8th, 2009 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraque_bkStill going, 13,338 right now. This excerpt isn't anything special, except for not being embarrassingly incoherent! Ah, Nano...
++
When they get inside, Archana's father's office door is closed, and Robin can hear the faint roar of the white noise machine inside. He is in there with a client. They creep past quietly (they are really supposed to come in through the side door when he is working) and go to Archana's room.
"Looks like you cleaned up," Robin says in surprise. Things are still all over the floor, but in piles, not just randomly strewn.
"Yeah, I guess I have been," says Archana. "You want to help me?"
So they sit down on the floor and sort through years of discarded and forgotten possessions. Books and clothes.
"I'm just going to give most of this shit to the Salvation Army," Archana says, holding up a blue sweater. "God, did I ever wear this?" She throws it into a large cardboard box on the bed.
"Why's that?" Robin asks, picking up a book on astrology and opening it curiously to a random page.
"Well, I can't take everything with me to college, right? If I left it here, my dad would just throw it away."
Robin hesitates. Archana is so rarely in class, Robin hasn't been sure for a while if college was really an option for her. "Did you pick where you're going?" she ventures to ask.
"It's down to a couple of choices," Archana says, so curtly that Robin does not pursue the line of conversation further.
"That one is pretty cool," Archana adds, jerking her chin towards the astrology book. "It tells you what your birthday means, like each day of the year."
Robin turns to her own birthday. "March 19," she reads, smiling when she sees the title: "The lone wolf. You keep your own counsel and rarely take the advice of others..."
Archana snorts. "Yeah, that's you."
Robin turns the pages forward to Archana's birthday. "October 13," she reads. "You are responsible and hardworking, even a workaholic, but you can't stand to lose control. You want everything done the right way-- that is to say, your way."
Archana smirks. "Well, except the hardworking and responsible part. You can have that book if you want to read it. I don't even believe in that stuff anymore."
"Thanks." Robin shrugs and stuffs the book in her backpack. "I don't believe in it either. But I guess it's kind of interesting. I'll give it back to you later."
Archana waves her off. "Just keep it. I read the whole thing already."
"Really? Okay..." Robin is flattered by the generosity, though she doesn't know what brought it on. This, from the girl who hates to give anything away, and still talks about the fifth grade field trip when she lent Robin her watch, and Robin lost it in the river.
Robin picks up a pack of cards, and realizes that they're actually Tarot cards. "Only half of these are even in the box," she says, peering inside.
"Oh, I have a bunch of those loose." Archana reaches behind her and hands over some more loose cards. "I didn't know where the box was."
"Do you know how to use them?" Robin asks, sliding the lost cards back in. "It's still not full."
"I used to." Archana shrugs. "Not that it really works. I have the book that goes with it somewhere around here. If you find it you can have it. Oh, here's a book I wanted to give you too." Archana hands her a battered paperback called Fifty Thousand Baby Names.
"How come you have this?" Robin asks, raising an eyebrow. "Expecting?"
Archana chuckles humorlessly. "Uh, try no. It belonged to my mom. I was using it to think up names for characters. I thought you could use it."
"I don't write," Robin says, puzzled.
"No shit. I meant use it for yourself."
Robin's brow knits in confusion for a moment before she gets it. Her face grows warm. "Oh. Thanks."
"I don't know why you can't just stay Robin," Archana goes on, throwing a pair of ratty jeans in the Salvation Army box. "Lots of girls are named Robin, probably just as many as boys."
"I know. But to me it sounds like a boy's name. I just want to change it."
"Well, you can probably find one in there. Though who knows. Fifty thousand names in the book, and the best my mom could come up with was Archana." She rolls her eyes.
"Archana's a pretty name," Robin objects, unsure if she believes it or not. It doesn't come out sounding sincere.
Archana makes a twisted face. "Yeah. Would you pick it?"
"No, but only because I already know one."
"We could switch. You be Archana, I'll be Robin."
"Well, that wouldn't be confusing." Robin glances at the girl side of the baby name book, and puts it in her backpack. "I'll give it back to you once I find a good one."
Archana throws some other dog-eared books roughly into the box. "Nah," she says.
++
When they get inside, Archana's father's office door is closed, and Robin can hear the faint roar of the white noise machine inside. He is in there with a client. They creep past quietly (they are really supposed to come in through the side door when he is working) and go to Archana's room.
"Looks like you cleaned up," Robin says in surprise. Things are still all over the floor, but in piles, not just randomly strewn.
"Yeah, I guess I have been," says Archana. "You want to help me?"
So they sit down on the floor and sort through years of discarded and forgotten possessions. Books and clothes.
"I'm just going to give most of this shit to the Salvation Army," Archana says, holding up a blue sweater. "God, did I ever wear this?" She throws it into a large cardboard box on the bed.
"Why's that?" Robin asks, picking up a book on astrology and opening it curiously to a random page.
"Well, I can't take everything with me to college, right? If I left it here, my dad would just throw it away."
Robin hesitates. Archana is so rarely in class, Robin hasn't been sure for a while if college was really an option for her. "Did you pick where you're going?" she ventures to ask.
"It's down to a couple of choices," Archana says, so curtly that Robin does not pursue the line of conversation further.
"That one is pretty cool," Archana adds, jerking her chin towards the astrology book. "It tells you what your birthday means, like each day of the year."
Robin turns to her own birthday. "March 19," she reads, smiling when she sees the title: "The lone wolf. You keep your own counsel and rarely take the advice of others..."
Archana snorts. "Yeah, that's you."
Robin turns the pages forward to Archana's birthday. "October 13," she reads. "You are responsible and hardworking, even a workaholic, but you can't stand to lose control. You want everything done the right way-- that is to say, your way."
Archana smirks. "Well, except the hardworking and responsible part. You can have that book if you want to read it. I don't even believe in that stuff anymore."
"Thanks." Robin shrugs and stuffs the book in her backpack. "I don't believe in it either. But I guess it's kind of interesting. I'll give it back to you later."
Archana waves her off. "Just keep it. I read the whole thing already."
"Really? Okay..." Robin is flattered by the generosity, though she doesn't know what brought it on. This, from the girl who hates to give anything away, and still talks about the fifth grade field trip when she lent Robin her watch, and Robin lost it in the river.
Robin picks up a pack of cards, and realizes that they're actually Tarot cards. "Only half of these are even in the box," she says, peering inside.
"Oh, I have a bunch of those loose." Archana reaches behind her and hands over some more loose cards. "I didn't know where the box was."
"Do you know how to use them?" Robin asks, sliding the lost cards back in. "It's still not full."
"I used to." Archana shrugs. "Not that it really works. I have the book that goes with it somewhere around here. If you find it you can have it. Oh, here's a book I wanted to give you too." Archana hands her a battered paperback called Fifty Thousand Baby Names.
"How come you have this?" Robin asks, raising an eyebrow. "Expecting?"
Archana chuckles humorlessly. "Uh, try no. It belonged to my mom. I was using it to think up names for characters. I thought you could use it."
"I don't write," Robin says, puzzled.
"No shit. I meant use it for yourself."
Robin's brow knits in confusion for a moment before she gets it. Her face grows warm. "Oh. Thanks."
"I don't know why you can't just stay Robin," Archana goes on, throwing a pair of ratty jeans in the Salvation Army box. "Lots of girls are named Robin, probably just as many as boys."
"I know. But to me it sounds like a boy's name. I just want to change it."
"Well, you can probably find one in there. Though who knows. Fifty thousand names in the book, and the best my mom could come up with was Archana." She rolls her eyes.
"Archana's a pretty name," Robin objects, unsure if she believes it or not. It doesn't come out sounding sincere.
Archana makes a twisted face. "Yeah. Would you pick it?"
"No, but only because I already know one."
"We could switch. You be Archana, I'll be Robin."
"Well, that wouldn't be confusing." Robin glances at the girl side of the baby name book, and puts it in her backpack. "I'll give it back to you once I find a good one."
Archana throws some other dog-eared books roughly into the box. "Nah," she says.
