Artemis > Status Update

"We're missionaries,"/ Twig said one night. / "We preach the letters of/ the alphabet, and how they/ can save you, if you/ combine them just right."

"It was surreal: a crazy-hazy/ daisy petal of a heavy metal/ dream made real by just/ stealing words from/ the dictionary and mixing them up."

"Ssh," I said. "'Twinkie' is a curse/ word here in the health food world." -- that's because Twinkies are an anti-food. Chock full of preservatives and God knows what and there is absolutely nothing that remotely resembles food in its chemical makeup. The end.

"Surprisingly, disguised/ as heartburn,/ I had a slight yearning/ to turn around/ and stay in the town/ I knew by heart."

"The silence returned,/ and our muses churned./ The cool thing/ about Twig and me/ is that we don't need/ to talk. / We can be quiet/ at the same time. / No-Obligation Conversation." --the best kind of conversation in existence.

"Let's make a/ list," I said,/ of everything/ we need to do/ for the road trip."// "We don't need a list,"/ Twig said. "Pack clothes. / Write poems. Eat, sleep,/ pee, breathe."

"Do what you want,"/ Pops said,/ shaking his head./ His voice was soft. / "You're eighteen,/ and you think/ you're an adult. / It's not my fault. / It's not your fault. / Do it. I can't stop you anyway." Gee whiz. I like that the story didn't waste any time. Sister Slam starts her adventure right off.

Hm. Seems like a lot of words have been thrown in so as to improve the cadence but lend nothing to the substance of the story. Except, I guess to establish Laura's personality? I dunno. Still reading. I really want to like it.