Peppermint Wind - Prologue by Freezair, literature
Literature
Peppermint Wind - Prologue
Peppermint Wind: Prologue
He'd been waffling about tonight. He laid awake in bed, gazing into the five illusionary blades of the three-bladed ceiling fan, playing ping-pong with his brain, until Rosie decided for him.
The infant's burbling cry rattled the apartment's aging yellow walls. He snapped up at the waist, palms suddenly flat against the mattress. His eyes whipped to Bridgette, coiled up fetally beneath the lumpy contours of the blanket. The moon and streetlights from the window illuminated the moppy spread of her curls across the pillow, her face cut off at the nose by her coverings. Her dreams kept her to themselves. Very well,
NNWM: Peppermint Wind, Ch. 1 by Freezair, literature
Literature
NNWM: Peppermint Wind, Ch. 1
Chapter 1
Appropriately, the harsh cluster of lights was like a drill, boring into the depths of his mind.
Kane blinked into the halogen glare. "Nownow hold on jus' a second, Doc," he said. The doctor dutifully held, with a tiny, terrifyingly sharp instrument dangling beneath his latex fingers. "How many cavities did y'say again? Maybe I misheard you "
"Thirteen. That doesn't really sound too much like any other number, does it?"
"Thirteen? Doc, you gotta be kiddin' me! Thirteen!Wait, youyou're countin' the ones left over from when I was a kid, right? The ones with fillin's already in and such?"
"Thirteen new
NaNo: Peppermint Wind: Ch. 2 by Freezair, literature
Literature
NaNo: Peppermint Wind: Ch. 2
Chapter 2
Their section of town was born of hardy men who ate bricks and sweated concrete. The houses had seen bulldozers and earth-movers passing by on the street in front of them, but none of them had ever stopped in to say hello. A few pavers had dropped by to give them parking lots, but they had not dawdled.
The pillars holding up their porches were haphazard with good old-fashioned human error, and the wooden doors were worn shiny with time. The asphalt in front was busy with wheels, but the buildings behind nostalgically longed for the days when a horse was as common as a Ford. Law firms and insurance companies had snatched up the h
NaNo: Peppermint Wind: Ch. 3 by Freezair, literature
Literature
NaNo: Peppermint Wind: Ch. 3
Chapter 3
Was the silence inside a result of the door, or had everyone in the other room gone quiet with confusion? Kane gave an eye-flick to Pansy, straight-backed in front of her computer. She gave him a return eye-flick of encouragement. The velvety red curtains were drawn tight over the window; Pansy's tan features glowed with a blue halo. She typed with home-row efficiency, tapping her calculator and raptly filling out spreadsheets.
Kane's volume trickled to a hush. "Sorry about all the kerfuffle, Zeb. What were you saying?"
"My kids. You remember The Deal, do you not, couz?"
Kane teased the ridges in his forehead. "Ah remi
Chapter 4
Kane lurched down the dim hallway. His tongue lolled, fat and dry, against his sticky teeth. It kept dipping its way into the cotton balls lodged in his cheeks.
"And remember!" Larry called after him. "Lots of liquids, try not to do anything strenuous in the next couple of hours, and I'll see you back here in two weeks!" He tapped his entirely empty wrist. "Feel better soon! Just thinkonly eleven more to go now!"
"And two root canals," Kane garbled over the cotton balls.
The receptionist waved Kane off with the same sort of smile as the office's toothy mascot. Was it the anesthesia thinking? Up until now, he had never
Chapter 5
The front of the shop was wide, but quiet. Two single people milled around the wrappers; college students with morning classes who sought to satisfy their sweet tooth. They tottered in front of a wall stocked high with tipped, hexagonal jars, each one overflowing with jewels awaiting an appraiser's tongue. There were bags and scoops, and a new sign informing customers to please use the pink bags only for the candies marked at sale. The male of the pair broke off for a different wall, this one stocking chocolates and bonbons in various colorful boxes. The large cooling unit with the transparent door tempted him with fudge.
"Busy d
Chapter 6
"Wow." Dexter shoveled another handful of the amber-colored cereal into his mouth. "This stuff is good. What is it, anyway?"
Bergamot scratched his head. "It's well, it's what it is, really. Cinnamon apple-flavored puffed rice. I guess you'd say it's a combination between Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I think. I've only ever had those at friend's houses; sorry if I'm not on the up-and-up."
Dexter gobbled up the last of the cereal flakes, and crammed a large box of milk into a not-so-free spot in the fridge. "Better than that," Dexter said. "You know? I think Dad should make apple pie-flavored candy. I bet it'
Chapter 7
Saturday did not drag its feet. A spring breeze sweet as any treat herded customers into the shop. The store front hummed with people, taking their time among the sweets. Some of them had broken off from the nearby mall, wondering what other purchases they could add to their daily tab. Others seemed simply to have a weekend sweet tooth to satisfy.
Kane edged his way to the cold case, hands gloved and waxed paper in hand. His and his customer's gazes both locked in on a thick slab of peanut butter fudge. The customer's eyes salivated as Kane unlocked the case and withdrew the fudge. He slipped the cold square in a paper bag, and
Chapter 8
Closing time came briskly. Louie's extra peanut butter fudge came and vanished, and the chocolate chili bars mustered a half-strong force in their display box.
Danica turned a bar over in her hands, admiring the print of her handiwork. With a furtive glance, she snuck the bar towards Louie.
"I saw that," Kane said. "But go ahead. For a brand-new product, didn't do too bad for itself. Gotta lot of good comments on it. A lot of people tried it right here in the shop, and they were generally surprised. They said they didn't know what it'd taste like, but all of the doubters except one said it was better than they expected."
Wit
Chapter 9
Dexter had never looked so somber about a win before. It was no narrow victory, eithersome fine moves by Dexter, and the forwards, had helped secure a 5-2 advantage in the game's last quarter. During the obligatory high-five session at the end of the match, the opposing forward had clasped Dexter's palm sharply, and gave him a shoulder-rattling handshake. Kane was close enough, hovering protectively over his boy, to pick up the words hissing over the edges of his mouth: "You're crazy. And awesome. Good game." The line moved on, and Kane scratched his head.
Dexter was sandwiched between his sister and Ercole in the back of