SLOHS English teacher Jane Hawley is soon to be District Teacher on Special Assignment, working with new District administrator Leslie O’Connor. Before heading upstairs and out of the classroom, Hawley shared the creative labor of her second trimester Creative Writing elective. Below is the second in a three part series of now published work. Enjoy!
An excerpt from “Dreams Under the Sun”, a short story about a genetically modified girl. The sun did not leave me with splotches of red tenderness, just a honey-coated layer over my skin. I am a complete freak and gorgeous in a way, a product of science. My mother was a disgusting creature that felt compelled to accept a couple thousand dollars in exchange for her unborn child. I imagine her surrounded by cigarette smoke and antidepressants, choking on regret from leaving her daughter. She deserved pain as her transaction landed me into a project that created beautiful genetically modified children; hence my lab filled life and very few experiences outside of my caretaker Milred’s house. In exchange for my utmost terrible reality, I was given a perfectly shaped nose, full eyebrows, and dimples that were accompanied by espresso thick locks of hair. Knowing of my beauty only pained me, as daydreams were the only source of romance that would ever enter my life. I wanted to have admirers that swooned in the presence of my beauty and drooled over my curves under a short white sundress. I prepared for my days of freedom by laying in the sun, so my skin’s tone is a chef’s kissed deep olive and contrasted my opalescent eyes. These eyes will capture the hearts of teenage boys, they will watch the life that I have never experienced; and they will not pray on others the way that eyes have extorted me in my life. -SLOHS Student Gianna Anselmo
Running up the steps of the capitol building in Washington D.C, Georgia couldn’t believe she was late for the first day of her internship. Despite the fact that she set her alarm for an hour before she had to leave, having come from California she still wasn’t used to the time change and completely overslept. Her wild, red hair, already frizzy from the humidity, stuck to her sweaty face while her pantsuit and blazer whipped in the wind. As an aspiring, untamed 22 year old who was just starting her life on her own, Georgia couldn’t wait to begin learning and working among some of the most qualified people in the government. Already in the building, Liz had gotten there thirty minutes early and had already introduced herself to the people she would be interning under. With dark hair cropped right above her chin and a smile exposing her perfect straight, white teeth, Liz was ready to make a stunning first impression. Also 22, she was an ambitious young woman who could hardly wait to dive into meaningful, important work and make decisions affecting other people besides herself. -SLOHS Student Sadie LaChapelle
