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Sweet Pea
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Aug 07, 2014 02:37PM
Okay, so this is a folder of this weird thing I'm writing... Any feedback would be marvellous, positive AND negative. Thanks! :D
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CHAPTER ONE: SUNDAY
The day before the life of Pea Frost went completely and utterly mad, Pea Frost came to an important conclusion: It was best to go shopping at Knitworks on a Sunday night, when nobody else was around to buy the best wool and get in her way.
Saturday mornings were something else entirely. The few times Pea had made an attempt to stock up on new wool on a Saturday mornings, she'd returned home considerably dampened in both spirit and mind, lacking her usual four balls of shimmering fluff, and once with a black current juice staining a $47 sweater thanks to a particularly clumsy toddler.
That was another cause of irritation on a Saturday morning at Knitworks- every mother in creation, it seemed, found it necessary to bring their tiny, sticky fingered child along with them to poke and prod at everything. It was rather an unpleasant sensation to place one's hand on the counter while paying, and then find it glued to the surface by some mysterious goo, probably baby formula or dribble or milk or something disgusting like that.
No, Saturday mornings were the worst.
But Sunday nights were often the highlights of Pea's week.
It gave her a certain feeling on grownuppishness to take her handbag, fling a scarf around her neck and call up the stairs, 'I'm going out!'
She left very quickly after that usually, to avoid the questions from Mum and Cinnamon- you know, 'How long? I need help with dinner, Pea' and, 'Off to that bliddy knitting shop again, Granny?'
Of course she was.
At sixteen, Pea had decided, you were in between: you couldn't drive a car, but you could stay out till half past ten. You couldn't drink wine at dinnertime but you were allowed a small glassful at Christmas. And you couldn't run away and go wherever you liked every day, but you were free to go to a harmless knitting shop. Although Pea liked to think of it as more than just a shop- rather a sanctuary, an escape; a kind of paradise.
She'd shut the door behind her very firmly, brushed a stray lock of curly brown hair off her forehead, hitched the bag further up her shoulder and walked very briskly down the path in her blue high heels- which were very pretty, but she refused to admit were much too small -, and made her way to the nearest bus stop, where she would toss her hair around and look at her watch, as though she had somewhere far more important to be. She thought herself quite dignified, and was totally oblivious to the people around her rolling their eyes and exchanging looks.
Dignified or not, the whole ordeal was worth it when she took a step through the door of Knitworks- after four flights of stairs which made her regret wearing her heels- and paused, just for a fraction of a second, to close her eyes and inhale deeply the warm, dry, comforting smell of wool and paper, and to hear the clatter of china and laughter coming from the direction of the small cafe in the back.
Knitworks was a very large shop- sanctuary, rather - with high ceilings and and tall sash windows in rows on all walls, adorned with the longest, gauziest red curtains Pea had seen in her life. The walls were painted a very tasteless pallet- one mango, one lime, one midnight blue (very nearly black) and the other raspberry, a sort of pink. In any other place it would have had quite a disgusting effect, but in KNITWORKS, it just seemed to... work . The carpet was gray- from years of filthy shoes walking across it or it having been that way to begin with, goodness only knows-, and covered in places with patchily knitted rugs, probably to cover stains that those toddlers and parents had left behind.
But even though Pea was a dramatic, clean, fashion queen and Knitworks was a style nightmare, she loved it. It had that faint, friendly smell that only childhood teddies, grandma's houses and Christmas possessed. Much as the decor annoyed her at times, Pea could never imagine it any other way. To give Knitworks a makeover would be like having lifts instead of moving staircases at Hogwarts. In a word: unnatural.
And then there was the wool.
Lord, Pea sometimes dreamed about that wool.
It was on shelves that went up to the ceiling, row after row after row, each shelf crammed with every type of every colour of wool in the known world. There was the normal stuff, then the glitter-covered fuzz, and the balls of wool that Pea could have sworn had come directly off the shimmering tail of a unicorn, so gossamery and soft and sweet it was, smelling faintly of flowers. Every time Pea came to Knitworks, she ended up buying at least one ball of the world's best wool, sometimes knitting it into scarves she never wore, beanies that had never touched the top of her head, and socks she put on her toy elephant, Humphrey. No, Pea was more than happy to snuggle down in her beanbag and doze off to the comforting click-swish of her needles, but she was completely unwilling to wear any of her creations outside of her bedroom. Cinnamon would have a field day- she could imagine it:
'Ready for the fashion show, Nanna?' 'Hey, Baa baa black sheep called. He wanted his wool back.' and, 'Look, Pea's all knitty, Mum! Best give her a flea bath.' Lame jokes and too much makeup. That was Pea's sister in a nutshell.
Pushing all of the unpleasant thoughts that belonged at home into the back of her mind, Pea walked through the door and to her favourite armchair in the mini lounge area. And by mini, she meant extraordinarily cramped. But when one is only intending to curl up, put their earbuds in and knit, it was a perfect place to be. Cosy, even. And it was where Pea went nearly every single Sunday night.
Except for this one, it seemed.
Her seat was occupied by something very large, furry, and moving. Understandably, Pea let out a shriek.
The thing jumped, quite literally- its shaggy behind nearly left the seat. It then whimpered, spun around and Pea realised that the thing in question was not a homeless person wearing an especially filthy coat, but a very large, very dirty dog.
It was hard to tell, but Pea thought that its fur, underneath the mud coating its body, was a blackish brown, as though some someone had mixed coal and milk chocolate together badly then dunked the poor thing in the mix. The mud itself was wet in patches but dry in others, flaking off and onto Pea's chair in a most revolting fashion. She tried to ignore this -though it irritated her immensely- and instead took a step closer, perhaps to look for a collar or identification of some sort.
Unfortunately, the dog seemed to react to sudden movement, for as Pea took a step towards the thing it jumped (again), lept off the armchair and bounded towards her, knocking Pea off her blue high heels and onto the grey-carpeted floor, her head smacking the ground with a sickening thump that nobody was around to hear. This time, the sound that came out of Pea was less of a shriek and more of an unholy scream. The big furry thing was directly on top of her now, licking her face with enthusiasm, and smearing dirt onto her dress.
'GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET- THE- BLOODY- THING- OFF!'
Had Pea lowered her voice for a moment, it's likely that she'd have heard the confused voices and running footsteps coming from the direction of the cafe. However, she didn't, and, as a result, received the shock of a lifetime when the dog- she kept thinking of it as the thing , like a monster -was pulled off her and the fluorescent lightbulbs of the shop were suddenly visible once again.
She gulped down air, as the dog -which had actually been slightly overweight- had begun to suffocate her. Death by dog. She gave a mental shudder. People would have giggled at her funeral.
She soon regained her breath, and then tuned in to what was happening around her. She sat up. To her left was a guy, maybe in his mid twenties, in cargo pants and an orange knitted poncho (she gave another mental shudder). To her right was a woman in her forties maybe, her hair dyed a shocking purple and swept up into a messy bun. Directly in front of her were two guys, both trying to wrestle the dog away; both wearing blue t-shirts. Pea realised they must be members of staff, and had the most absurd sudden desire to laugh. I'll bet dealing with psychotic canines wasn't in the job desription , she thought dryly.
Poncho man put his hand on her back.
'Are you OK?' he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
'I-I'm fine,' Pea replied, doing her best to sound composed. 'That just- I don't like dogs, that's all.'
'Oh, he's a good dog,' said one of the blue-shirt men, looking up for a moment while tying the dog to a pole on one of the shelves. 'He's just- not- trained-' the dog, which had been bounding around in a most obnoxious manner, had leapt up and slobbered clean across Blue Shirt's face.
'Ugh,' Said Blue Shirt two. Pea noticed a large -and rather revolting- earring protruding from his left earlobe. 'Hate it when he does that.'
Purple hair waved her hand at the two blue shirts.
'He's assaulted a customer,' she said, her voice unexpectedly clear and sweet. 'I told you he's stupid to have in a -' she said a rude word here -'knitting shop. He'll be eating all the wool next, stupid bloody thing.' She looked Pea over anxiously. 'Are you sure you're alright? I'd hate for someone to be hurt in my shop. Plus there'd be a mountain of paperwork to do.' She gave a little laugh.
Pea, who'd not been hurt apart for her dignity having been bruised, shook her head.
'I should probably just go, you know I-'
'No, no, no, don't mind Sirius,' said Poncho. 'Look, we'll keep him tied up while you're here, you're welcome to stay, honestly. Don't go on account of him. We're happy to get you a coffee. On the house.'
Purple hair made a noise of protest, but Poncho shot her a look. She sighed.
'I'd better go home anyway,' said Pea, standing up.
'Woah, careful!' said Poncho as she swayed slightly on the spot. Apparently Sirius had caused her to knock her head when she was pinned to the ground. She sat down on the grey carpet again rather quickly. Purple glanced at Poncho.
'Grab a coffee for...' she looked at Pea expectantly. They all did. Pea sighed- this was the part that she always hated when she met new people.
'Pea,' she said quietly. Silence. Then at the same time-
'What a lovely name-' said Purple.
'Like the urine-' Blue one.
'-Or the vegetable?' Blue two.
'I've never heard that before.' Poncho.
(To be continued...)
The day before the life of Pea Frost went completely and utterly mad, Pea Frost came to an important conclusion: It was best to go shopping at Knitworks on a Sunday night, when nobody else was around to buy the best wool and get in her way.
Saturday mornings were something else entirely. The few times Pea had made an attempt to stock up on new wool on a Saturday mornings, she'd returned home considerably dampened in both spirit and mind, lacking her usual four balls of shimmering fluff, and once with a black current juice staining a $47 sweater thanks to a particularly clumsy toddler.
That was another cause of irritation on a Saturday morning at Knitworks- every mother in creation, it seemed, found it necessary to bring their tiny, sticky fingered child along with them to poke and prod at everything. It was rather an unpleasant sensation to place one's hand on the counter while paying, and then find it glued to the surface by some mysterious goo, probably baby formula or dribble or milk or something disgusting like that.
No, Saturday mornings were the worst.
But Sunday nights were often the highlights of Pea's week.
It gave her a certain feeling on grownuppishness to take her handbag, fling a scarf around her neck and call up the stairs, 'I'm going out!'
She left very quickly after that usually, to avoid the questions from Mum and Cinnamon- you know, 'How long? I need help with dinner, Pea' and, 'Off to that bliddy knitting shop again, Granny?'
Of course she was.
At sixteen, Pea had decided, you were in between: you couldn't drive a car, but you could stay out till half past ten. You couldn't drink wine at dinnertime but you were allowed a small glassful at Christmas. And you couldn't run away and go wherever you liked every day, but you were free to go to a harmless knitting shop. Although Pea liked to think of it as more than just a shop- rather a sanctuary, an escape; a kind of paradise.
She'd shut the door behind her very firmly, brushed a stray lock of curly brown hair off her forehead, hitched the bag further up her shoulder and walked very briskly down the path in her blue high heels- which were very pretty, but she refused to admit were much too small -, and made her way to the nearest bus stop, where she would toss her hair around and look at her watch, as though she had somewhere far more important to be. She thought herself quite dignified, and was totally oblivious to the people around her rolling their eyes and exchanging looks.
Dignified or not, the whole ordeal was worth it when she took a step through the door of Knitworks- after four flights of stairs which made her regret wearing her heels- and paused, just for a fraction of a second, to close her eyes and inhale deeply the warm, dry, comforting smell of wool and paper, and to hear the clatter of china and laughter coming from the direction of the small cafe in the back.
Knitworks was a very large shop- sanctuary, rather - with high ceilings and and tall sash windows in rows on all walls, adorned with the longest, gauziest red curtains Pea had seen in her life. The walls were painted a very tasteless pallet- one mango, one lime, one midnight blue (very nearly black) and the other raspberry, a sort of pink. In any other place it would have had quite a disgusting effect, but in KNITWORKS, it just seemed to... work . The carpet was gray- from years of filthy shoes walking across it or it having been that way to begin with, goodness only knows-, and covered in places with patchily knitted rugs, probably to cover stains that those toddlers and parents had left behind.
But even though Pea was a dramatic, clean, fashion queen and Knitworks was a style nightmare, she loved it. It had that faint, friendly smell that only childhood teddies, grandma's houses and Christmas possessed. Much as the decor annoyed her at times, Pea could never imagine it any other way. To give Knitworks a makeover would be like having lifts instead of moving staircases at Hogwarts. In a word: unnatural.
And then there was the wool.
Lord, Pea sometimes dreamed about that wool.
It was on shelves that went up to the ceiling, row after row after row, each shelf crammed with every type of every colour of wool in the known world. There was the normal stuff, then the glitter-covered fuzz, and the balls of wool that Pea could have sworn had come directly off the shimmering tail of a unicorn, so gossamery and soft and sweet it was, smelling faintly of flowers. Every time Pea came to Knitworks, she ended up buying at least one ball of the world's best wool, sometimes knitting it into scarves she never wore, beanies that had never touched the top of her head, and socks she put on her toy elephant, Humphrey. No, Pea was more than happy to snuggle down in her beanbag and doze off to the comforting click-swish of her needles, but she was completely unwilling to wear any of her creations outside of her bedroom. Cinnamon would have a field day- she could imagine it:
'Ready for the fashion show, Nanna?' 'Hey, Baa baa black sheep called. He wanted his wool back.' and, 'Look, Pea's all knitty, Mum! Best give her a flea bath.' Lame jokes and too much makeup. That was Pea's sister in a nutshell.
Pushing all of the unpleasant thoughts that belonged at home into the back of her mind, Pea walked through the door and to her favourite armchair in the mini lounge area. And by mini, she meant extraordinarily cramped. But when one is only intending to curl up, put their earbuds in and knit, it was a perfect place to be. Cosy, even. And it was where Pea went nearly every single Sunday night.
Except for this one, it seemed.
Her seat was occupied by something very large, furry, and moving. Understandably, Pea let out a shriek.
The thing jumped, quite literally- its shaggy behind nearly left the seat. It then whimpered, spun around and Pea realised that the thing in question was not a homeless person wearing an especially filthy coat, but a very large, very dirty dog.
It was hard to tell, but Pea thought that its fur, underneath the mud coating its body, was a blackish brown, as though some someone had mixed coal and milk chocolate together badly then dunked the poor thing in the mix. The mud itself was wet in patches but dry in others, flaking off and onto Pea's chair in a most revolting fashion. She tried to ignore this -though it irritated her immensely- and instead took a step closer, perhaps to look for a collar or identification of some sort.
Unfortunately, the dog seemed to react to sudden movement, for as Pea took a step towards the thing it jumped (again), lept off the armchair and bounded towards her, knocking Pea off her blue high heels and onto the grey-carpeted floor, her head smacking the ground with a sickening thump that nobody was around to hear. This time, the sound that came out of Pea was less of a shriek and more of an unholy scream. The big furry thing was directly on top of her now, licking her face with enthusiasm, and smearing dirt onto her dress.
'GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET- THE- BLOODY- THING- OFF!'
Had Pea lowered her voice for a moment, it's likely that she'd have heard the confused voices and running footsteps coming from the direction of the cafe. However, she didn't, and, as a result, received the shock of a lifetime when the dog- she kept thinking of it as the thing , like a monster -was pulled off her and the fluorescent lightbulbs of the shop were suddenly visible once again.
She gulped down air, as the dog -which had actually been slightly overweight- had begun to suffocate her. Death by dog. She gave a mental shudder. People would have giggled at her funeral.
She soon regained her breath, and then tuned in to what was happening around her. She sat up. To her left was a guy, maybe in his mid twenties, in cargo pants and an orange knitted poncho (she gave another mental shudder). To her right was a woman in her forties maybe, her hair dyed a shocking purple and swept up into a messy bun. Directly in front of her were two guys, both trying to wrestle the dog away; both wearing blue t-shirts. Pea realised they must be members of staff, and had the most absurd sudden desire to laugh. I'll bet dealing with psychotic canines wasn't in the job desription , she thought dryly.
Poncho man put his hand on her back.
'Are you OK?' he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
'I-I'm fine,' Pea replied, doing her best to sound composed. 'That just- I don't like dogs, that's all.'
'Oh, he's a good dog,' said one of the blue-shirt men, looking up for a moment while tying the dog to a pole on one of the shelves. 'He's just- not- trained-' the dog, which had been bounding around in a most obnoxious manner, had leapt up and slobbered clean across Blue Shirt's face.
'Ugh,' Said Blue Shirt two. Pea noticed a large -and rather revolting- earring protruding from his left earlobe. 'Hate it when he does that.'
Purple hair waved her hand at the two blue shirts.
'He's assaulted a customer,' she said, her voice unexpectedly clear and sweet. 'I told you he's stupid to have in a -' she said a rude word here -'knitting shop. He'll be eating all the wool next, stupid bloody thing.' She looked Pea over anxiously. 'Are you sure you're alright? I'd hate for someone to be hurt in my shop. Plus there'd be a mountain of paperwork to do.' She gave a little laugh.
Pea, who'd not been hurt apart for her dignity having been bruised, shook her head.
'I should probably just go, you know I-'
'No, no, no, don't mind Sirius,' said Poncho. 'Look, we'll keep him tied up while you're here, you're welcome to stay, honestly. Don't go on account of him. We're happy to get you a coffee. On the house.'
Purple hair made a noise of protest, but Poncho shot her a look. She sighed.
'I'd better go home anyway,' said Pea, standing up.
'Woah, careful!' said Poncho as she swayed slightly on the spot. Apparently Sirius had caused her to knock her head when she was pinned to the ground. She sat down on the grey carpet again rather quickly. Purple glanced at Poncho.
'Grab a coffee for...' she looked at Pea expectantly. They all did. Pea sighed- this was the part that she always hated when she met new people.
'Pea,' she said quietly. Silence. Then at the same time-
'What a lovely name-' said Purple.
'Like the urine-' Blue one.
'-Or the vegetable?' Blue two.
'I've never heard that before.' Poncho.
(To be continued...)
'Yeah, well, my mum told the nurse 'Bea'- you know, short for 'Beatrice'- when I was born, but she misheard her and mum never bothered to change it. She said it grew on her. Our family's all foods and stuff- I have a sister called Cinnamon and my mum's Coriander -people call her Cori- and my dad's Bazil. But he's always limping because he gets this thing in his archilles all the time if he runs too much so he limps a lot and people call him Baz The Spaz sometimes. But Mum wanted to break the tradition of foody names when I came along, so it sucks I ended up with one anyway. And I think I'm talking too much and I don't feelwellandsomethingtodrinkwouldbegoodplease.'
Pea promptly turned as green as her namesake.
'Forget the coffee, get a bucket for the girl!' Shrieked Purple. Poncho tipped about twenty yellow balls of wool out of a nearby discount bin and quickly handed it to Pea, into which she threw up without a moment's hesitation.
'Ugh, jeez,' said Blue Shirt two, turning away. The blue shirts had by now tied up Sirius, who was curled up in a ball whining pitifully, having worked out that he'd done something wrong.
'Sheesh kababs,' said Purple. 'I'll have to hose the hell out of that when she's done.'
*
By the time Pea had finished tipping her guts into the bin and had been handed a steaming mug of coffee by a very apologetic Poncho, Sirius was resting his head on his paws and looking at the five of them rather gloomily. She almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Purple had gone outside to hose out the bin, so Pea, Poncho and the two blue shirts were left in an awkward silence broken only by Pea occasionally slurping her coffee, which she was suprized to find so tasty. She made a mental note to ask Purple -who seemed to be the boss around here- what it was that she put in it, before coming to the realization that the only living thing in the room that she knew the name of was the dog, and he'd tried to kill her. She cleared her throat and Poncho, both blue shirts and even Sirius jumped.
'So, I don't really know your names...' She trailed off expectantly. Poncho blinked. Then-
'Oh, right! Well, my name's Ross, and the lady with the purple hair is my mum, Lacey. And the two weirdos over there are Ricky and Jack- Ricky's the one with the ear monstrosity.'
'Oi!' said Ricky. 'Lisa says it's sexy.'
'Lisa also says chocolate milk comes from brown cows,' retorted Jack. Ross snorted. Silence fell again. And Pea, who hatedhatedhated awkward silences, decided to fill it.
'So... what brings you to a knitting shop?' She asked, stirring the coffee with her finger. Ross grinned.
'I could ask the same of you,' he said. 'You're what, fourteen? And you don't really look like that much of a knitter.'
Pea's dress, while covered in filth, was still recognizable as something that a knitter wouldn't wear, apparently.
'Okay, I'm sixteen,' snapped Pea. 'And what the hell's a knitter supposed to look like?'
'Damn, Ross,' chuckled Ricky. 'Don't mess with her.'
Ross appeared to have ignored him, but reddened around the ears slightly anyway.
'Well, you saw my mum,' he said. 'She didn't look- normal , did she? You saw the purple hair. Ricky and Jack are wearing stripy socks they knitted themselves and they're Twilight fans, though they won't admit it-' Filthy looks from the blue shirts, who Pea saw were, in fact, wearing knitted socks- 'And I'm allergic to most fruits and wearing a poncho my grandma made me for Christmas when I was eight, which I'm embarrassed to say that I'm kind of really attatched to. So basically, a knitter's kind of- weird.'
'Oh, so just because I don't wear some poncho my gran made or knit myself socks or read the crappiest books ever written-' more filthy looks- 'Or have dyed hair, I'm not a knitter? I'm not weird enough?'
'I just- no- you-' Ross sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as Ricky and Jack whooped and clapped in the corner.
'That's not the point. I just- never mind. Look, how long have you been coming here?'
Pea, glad to have stopped the argument from escalating and ruining a twenty-minute long friendship, was more than happy to change the subject.
'Not long. Like, since January.'
'A ten-monther. Not bad.'
'And I guess you've been here your whole life?'
'Well, yeah. When I was little I used to help mum stock the shelves and stuff. I only actually learned to knit when I was twelve.'
Pea, who'd learned how at the age of sixteen and still knew little more than the basic knit stitch squirmed, but decided to keep this tidbit of information to herself. She had no desire whatsoever for Ross to pass her up in any way.
It was at this point that Ross's mum, Lacey, made a reappearance, holding the dripping bin and looking decidedly damp herself.
'What happened, Lace?' Asked Jack. Pea could see he was holding back a smile.
'You bloody well know, Jack,' growled Lacey through gritted teeth, brushing a soggy strand of purple hair out of her face.
'What did I do?' He asked innocently. She threw the bin at him and stalked away to the cafe.
'YOU BETTER HAVE WORKED OUT THE PLUMBING BY TOMORROW, MATIE, OR YOU'RE GONE!' She bellowed over her shoulder. Jack and Ricky looked at each other.
Then burst out laughing. Pea couldn't help but join in; Lacey had borne a startling resemblance to a drowned rat.
'I CAN HEAR YOU LOT!' Shrieked Lacey from the back. Everyone laughed harder.
By the time Pea had wiped the tears out of her eyes and the laughter had died to a couple of giggles and the occasional hiccup, Ross said-
'That was really mean, Jack.' Not to say that he stopped smiling, though.
'What did he do?' Asked Pea.
'Cut the hose,' replied Jack proudly. 'Thing's getting replaced tomorrow, so I thought, why not. She was supposed to get sprayed later on, when she went out to water the carrots, but you chucking saved us a lot of time. Nice one.'
Pea's stomach jolted as she realised exactly what time it was.
'Jeez, nine thirty!' She cried, jumping out of the chair, narrowly avoiding spilling the remaining cold dregs of coffee over Ross.
'That's the time you're supposed to be home by?' Said Rick incredulously as Pea snatched up her bag and forced on her heels.
'Not my decision,' replied Pea. 'Okay, well, thanks for the coffee and...'
'Letting our psychotic dog attack you and give you a possible concussion? Our pleasure,' said Ross. Pea gave him a smile, then stood there awkwardly.
'Okay... I'll see you next week, I guess. Um... thanks again, guys. Tell Lacey I said thanks, too,' she said.
'No! Don't go! Well, at least take some wool with you. Free of charge. You know, to make up for the probable brain damage.'
'Oh- nah, you don't have to, I-'
Ross threw a ball of something glittery and gossamery and blue in Pea's direction. She caught it, turned it over in her hands in wonder, and caught her breath. She knew it wasn't something that girls her age usually got excited about, but this wool was beyond perfect. It practically glowed . And Lord, it was so soft. Like a kitten and cotton buds and velvet had been smushed together to make a glorious ball of fluffiness.
'Wow,' said Pea.
'Mum got a whole shipment of the stuff from Peru last month. Isn't it brilliant? I'm making a scarf out of it at the moment.'
'Thanks,' she breathed. 'It's lovely.'
'No problem,' Ross replied.
Sirius suddenly lifted his leg and created a dark yellow stain on the woven rug he'd been sitting on.
'Oh, for the love of-' shouted Ricky. Pea took her leave.
And so, Pea Frost left Knitworks not with the seven or so balls of wool she'd been expecting, but instead a single, divine ball of sheer awesomeness and four sort-of friends.
And while this sounded cheesy, like one might read in a book or perhaps online on a book website, the overall outcome of this Sunday night was even better than she had dared to hope.
Pea Frost whistled the whole way home, still oh-so blissfully unaware of the hell that was soon to break loose.
Pea promptly turned as green as her namesake.
'Forget the coffee, get a bucket for the girl!' Shrieked Purple. Poncho tipped about twenty yellow balls of wool out of a nearby discount bin and quickly handed it to Pea, into which she threw up without a moment's hesitation.
'Ugh, jeez,' said Blue Shirt two, turning away. The blue shirts had by now tied up Sirius, who was curled up in a ball whining pitifully, having worked out that he'd done something wrong.
'Sheesh kababs,' said Purple. 'I'll have to hose the hell out of that when she's done.'
*
By the time Pea had finished tipping her guts into the bin and had been handed a steaming mug of coffee by a very apologetic Poncho, Sirius was resting his head on his paws and looking at the five of them rather gloomily. She almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Purple had gone outside to hose out the bin, so Pea, Poncho and the two blue shirts were left in an awkward silence broken only by Pea occasionally slurping her coffee, which she was suprized to find so tasty. She made a mental note to ask Purple -who seemed to be the boss around here- what it was that she put in it, before coming to the realization that the only living thing in the room that she knew the name of was the dog, and he'd tried to kill her. She cleared her throat and Poncho, both blue shirts and even Sirius jumped.
'So, I don't really know your names...' She trailed off expectantly. Poncho blinked. Then-
'Oh, right! Well, my name's Ross, and the lady with the purple hair is my mum, Lacey. And the two weirdos over there are Ricky and Jack- Ricky's the one with the ear monstrosity.'
'Oi!' said Ricky. 'Lisa says it's sexy.'
'Lisa also says chocolate milk comes from brown cows,' retorted Jack. Ross snorted. Silence fell again. And Pea, who hatedhatedhated awkward silences, decided to fill it.
'So... what brings you to a knitting shop?' She asked, stirring the coffee with her finger. Ross grinned.
'I could ask the same of you,' he said. 'You're what, fourteen? And you don't really look like that much of a knitter.'
Pea's dress, while covered in filth, was still recognizable as something that a knitter wouldn't wear, apparently.
'Okay, I'm sixteen,' snapped Pea. 'And what the hell's a knitter supposed to look like?'
'Damn, Ross,' chuckled Ricky. 'Don't mess with her.'
Ross appeared to have ignored him, but reddened around the ears slightly anyway.
'Well, you saw my mum,' he said. 'She didn't look- normal , did she? You saw the purple hair. Ricky and Jack are wearing stripy socks they knitted themselves and they're Twilight fans, though they won't admit it-' Filthy looks from the blue shirts, who Pea saw were, in fact, wearing knitted socks- 'And I'm allergic to most fruits and wearing a poncho my grandma made me for Christmas when I was eight, which I'm embarrassed to say that I'm kind of really attatched to. So basically, a knitter's kind of- weird.'
'Oh, so just because I don't wear some poncho my gran made or knit myself socks or read the crappiest books ever written-' more filthy looks- 'Or have dyed hair, I'm not a knitter? I'm not weird enough?'
'I just- no- you-' Ross sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as Ricky and Jack whooped and clapped in the corner.
'That's not the point. I just- never mind. Look, how long have you been coming here?'
Pea, glad to have stopped the argument from escalating and ruining a twenty-minute long friendship, was more than happy to change the subject.
'Not long. Like, since January.'
'A ten-monther. Not bad.'
'And I guess you've been here your whole life?'
'Well, yeah. When I was little I used to help mum stock the shelves and stuff. I only actually learned to knit when I was twelve.'
Pea, who'd learned how at the age of sixteen and still knew little more than the basic knit stitch squirmed, but decided to keep this tidbit of information to herself. She had no desire whatsoever for Ross to pass her up in any way.
It was at this point that Ross's mum, Lacey, made a reappearance, holding the dripping bin and looking decidedly damp herself.
'What happened, Lace?' Asked Jack. Pea could see he was holding back a smile.
'You bloody well know, Jack,' growled Lacey through gritted teeth, brushing a soggy strand of purple hair out of her face.
'What did I do?' He asked innocently. She threw the bin at him and stalked away to the cafe.
'YOU BETTER HAVE WORKED OUT THE PLUMBING BY TOMORROW, MATIE, OR YOU'RE GONE!' She bellowed over her shoulder. Jack and Ricky looked at each other.
Then burst out laughing. Pea couldn't help but join in; Lacey had borne a startling resemblance to a drowned rat.
'I CAN HEAR YOU LOT!' Shrieked Lacey from the back. Everyone laughed harder.
By the time Pea had wiped the tears out of her eyes and the laughter had died to a couple of giggles and the occasional hiccup, Ross said-
'That was really mean, Jack.' Not to say that he stopped smiling, though.
'What did he do?' Asked Pea.
'Cut the hose,' replied Jack proudly. 'Thing's getting replaced tomorrow, so I thought, why not. She was supposed to get sprayed later on, when she went out to water the carrots, but you chucking saved us a lot of time. Nice one.'
Pea's stomach jolted as she realised exactly what time it was.
'Jeez, nine thirty!' She cried, jumping out of the chair, narrowly avoiding spilling the remaining cold dregs of coffee over Ross.
'That's the time you're supposed to be home by?' Said Rick incredulously as Pea snatched up her bag and forced on her heels.
'Not my decision,' replied Pea. 'Okay, well, thanks for the coffee and...'
'Letting our psychotic dog attack you and give you a possible concussion? Our pleasure,' said Ross. Pea gave him a smile, then stood there awkwardly.
'Okay... I'll see you next week, I guess. Um... thanks again, guys. Tell Lacey I said thanks, too,' she said.
'No! Don't go! Well, at least take some wool with you. Free of charge. You know, to make up for the probable brain damage.'
'Oh- nah, you don't have to, I-'
Ross threw a ball of something glittery and gossamery and blue in Pea's direction. She caught it, turned it over in her hands in wonder, and caught her breath. She knew it wasn't something that girls her age usually got excited about, but this wool was beyond perfect. It practically glowed . And Lord, it was so soft. Like a kitten and cotton buds and velvet had been smushed together to make a glorious ball of fluffiness.
'Wow,' said Pea.
'Mum got a whole shipment of the stuff from Peru last month. Isn't it brilliant? I'm making a scarf out of it at the moment.'
'Thanks,' she breathed. 'It's lovely.'
'No problem,' Ross replied.
Sirius suddenly lifted his leg and created a dark yellow stain on the woven rug he'd been sitting on.
'Oh, for the love of-' shouted Ricky. Pea took her leave.
And so, Pea Frost left Knitworks not with the seven or so balls of wool she'd been expecting, but instead a single, divine ball of sheer awesomeness and four sort-of friends.
And while this sounded cheesy, like one might read in a book or perhaps online on a book website, the overall outcome of this Sunday night was even better than she had dared to hope.
Pea Frost whistled the whole way home, still oh-so blissfully unaware of the hell that was soon to break loose.
Mod
Yeah. What do you think? :O I just want some feedback- I really want to know how to improve it and stuff. :)
The rest is here- https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
The rest is here- https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...
It's really good. I have a question. What genre is it?
Mod
UDAGFSIKUGFN VSHV AKUEG NALIUSEGFAL.KGB
I'm dying here! Wow, thanks guys!! :DD *Blushes furiously*
@Rubyfirewoods12- Thank you so much! That's really nice of you :))
@Kamiko- I have no idea. XD Maybe teen-girl-knitting? I don't know :D I don't think it has a genre... it's kinda random :P
I'm dying here! Wow, thanks guys!! :DD *Blushes furiously*
@Rubyfirewoods12- Thank you so much! That's really nice of you :))
@Kamiko- I have no idea. XD Maybe teen-girl-knitting? I don't know :D I don't think it has a genre... it's kinda random :P
Thank you so much! :D
ALSO
Am I the only one that gets ridiculously excited when there's a red '1 new' icon next to their writing folder? XD
ALSO
Am I the only one that gets ridiculously excited when there's a red '1 new' icon next to their writing folder? XD
Mod
That little icon is part of the events that make my day XD
Sadly, I don't get very many... :(
RUBY AND GREEN ELEPHANT GIRL YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES.
XD I'm glad!
ALSO
I will specifically go and leave a comment in your folders now. XD
ALSO
I will specifically go and leave a comment in your folders now. XD
I scroll through all my e-mails trying to find one that says so-and-so commented on Two Worlds(or any of my other writing)
Charlotte wrote: "Kamiko wrote: "RUBY AND GREEN ELEPHANT GIRL YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES."
I literally spend my afternoons refreshing the goodreads page waiting for that little red icon XD"
Awww! Yeah, it's really satisfying when you see someone's been looking at your writing.
I literally spend my afternoons refreshing the goodreads page waiting for that little red icon XD"
Awww! Yeah, it's really satisfying when you see someone's been looking at your writing.
Charlotte wrote: "also, did you actually get your name trademarked?
Dang.
And cute story!"
1. Ohmygod, no! XD I should though. I want to, now.
2. Thank you! :D
Dang.
And cute story!"
1. Ohmygod, no! XD I should though. I want to, now.
2. Thank you! :D
Kamiko wrote: "I scroll through all my e-mails trying to find one that says so-and-so commented on Two Worlds(or any of my other writing)"
Ohmygod, but that second when it says someone's commented, you click on it, and it's something like 'lol' or 'XD' or 'This is good.'
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR. >:(
Gettin' ma hopes up.
Ohmygod, but that second when it says someone's commented, you click on it, and it's something like 'lol' or 'XD' or 'This is good.'
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR. >:(
Gettin' ma hopes up.
Charlotte wrote: "Kamiko wrote: "I scroll through all my e-mails trying to find one that says so-and-so commented on Two Worlds(or any of my other writing)"
I LIVE for so-and-so commented on HOPE.FUL.NESS.
(I keep..."
Hrm? Yes, I am interested! Hang on, I'll go take a look. But I'm going out for lunch in a sec so I might comment later. :)
I LIVE for so-and-so commented on HOPE.FUL.NESS.
(I keep..."
Hrm? Yes, I am interested! Hang on, I'll go take a look. But I'm going out for lunch in a sec so I might comment later. :)
Charlotte wrote: "Green Elephant Girl ™ wrote: "WOW SUDDEN RUSH OF COMMENTS"
Don't you LOVE it when that happens?
Okay, I have a review for you but I'll message it to you so it doesn't hog space :P"
Omg, it's the best!
And cool, I'll have a look :)
Don't you LOVE it when that happens?
Okay, I have a review for you but I'll message it to you so it doesn't hog space :P"
Omg, it's the best!
And cool, I'll have a look :)
Green Elephant Girl ™ wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Kamiko wrote: "I scroll through all my e-mails trying to find one that says so-and-so commented on Two Worlds(or any of my other writing)"I LIVE for so-and-so commented on HOPE...."
THANK YOU
Charlotte wrote: "Green Elephant Girl ™ wrote: "Kamiko wrote: "I scroll through all my e-mails trying to find one that says so-and-so commented on Two Worlds(or any of my other writing)"Ohmygod, but that second wh..."
I'm sorry! My dad keeps calling me to do something. It gets annoying...
Kamiko wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Green Elephant Girl ™ wrote: "Kamiko wrote: "I scroll through all my e-mails trying to find one that says so-and-so commented on Two Worlds(or any of my other writing)"
Ohmygod, ..."
Oh wait nonononononononono I wasn't growling at you! Seriously! No, talking bout other people in this other group I used to be in- they always used to be like, ':)'. And that was it. IT BUGGED MEH! XD
Ohmygod, ..."
Oh wait nonononononononono I wasn't growling at you! Seriously! No, talking bout other people in this other group I used to be in- they always used to be like, ':)'. And that was it. IT BUGGED MEH! XD
Alice wrote: "i love the story!"
*Glows* Thank youuuu! That's so nice! :D
*Glows* Thank youuuu! That's so nice! :D
Yay! I followed Charlotte's awesome suggestions and now I've edited Sweet Pea. And I'm a LOT happier with it now, so thanks Charlotte!! :)
Omfg I was so ready to yell at you for like half a second there with the whole smiley face thing XDD
And if I need more help, I'll be sure to let you know. :)
And if I need more help, I'll be sure to let you know. :)
OH MY GOODNESSSSS yes that's what I was going to do before we went out for lunch! *Salutes* I'll go look now, NOT A PROBLEM. :)
Mod
ALSO
I will specifically go and leave a comment in your folders now. XD"
:D :D :D Really??? Thanks so much!!!
WOW I have not been active here for ages.
Awhhh thank you so much! :DD I feel so loved omg.
