Snippets from Oddball the Sequel

Guess what guys?

I hit 30,000 words in the first draft of the Sequel! Most of it's probably drivel.

But it's words. And they're on paper. I mean,uh, virtual paper.

I've discovered something about sequels. The sequel of a trilogy is where you let the characters get a taste of near perfection. Just so they know what it looks like. Then you snatch it away and send them spiral down to the deepest darkness and leave them there at the end.

That sounds terrible morbid. But I'm a writer. . .

Anyhow. Onward to snippets!

I drew this earlier this year. It's not particularly accurate since this scene doesn't actually happen. Oddball and Rocky don't regularly carry swords. Do they pick some up later? I don't know. . . We'll see. Just don't look at it too closely. I mostly drew it out of my bewilderment for where to start the sequel at.

“Well, if you hadn’t have scared him,” Peril said with her hands on her hips, "he wouldn’t have set fire to the place.”

      “Ma’am, I assure you, the dragon was not the one who was scared." The man sounded out of breath, but still sufficiently patient especially for having to deal with Peril.

“Turkey bacon does exist,” Oddball said wildly. “Bacon is meat taken from a specific part of an animal. It doesn't have to be pork-“

“But it doesn't taste the same,” Peril said.

“Well, turkey and pork generally don’t.”

“Then why do they both bacon?” Peril crossed her arms.

 

“You don’t often hide under people’s tables, do you?”

“But we are all slaves to the system. The system of the world. People don’t change. And they just go about their lives hurting other people with everything they touch. How do you fight against yourself, and the whole world?”

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He felt like he wanted to put his arm around her and hold her closer. He didn’t know why. But she made him feel brave. 

She felt out of place. The quiet was almost overwhelming. But it wasn’t a safe kind of quiet. It was like they all waited for what was next to happen.

Like they waited for something to go wrong.

Except Oddball. His face was- intense. He wasn’t just listening like the rest of them. He seemed to listen for something specific.

What had this place done to him?

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The kid looked up. He was a half breed. Oddball only had to see his eyes. Don’t anybody ever tell him any different. This kid was a hundred percent halfbreed, as ironic as that sounded. Oddball swallowed. The little scrap of person couldn’t be eight.

Little hands dug into his hair. “You mean, the Oddball?” It was said with awe.

“I don’t know,” Oddball said. “There’s a lot of them in the world. I’m not sure I could take credit for the being the original.”

"Listen, buddy. We’re going to make it.”

“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”

Just- golly! Watching out for all your friends’ well beings was hard work. If it wasn’t Oddball, it was the girls, and if it wasn’t them, it was Bolt. . . . or whatever kid Oddball took a liking too.

“There is nothing wrong with you.”

Oddball squinted. “You really mean that?”

“Yes.” Rocky didn’t think he could ever mean anything so strongly. “It’s everybody else who’s messed up.”

Oddball looked away. “Yeah.” He smiled. It was a shy, curious, genuine kind of smile, not that amused thing that he usually wore. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Oh,” Rocky said. “Well that sounds- dangerous. But I guess, that’s something we ought to be mildly used to by now.”

Oddball smiled. Some days Rocky drove him crazy, and other days Oddball was certain that Rocky was the best person on the planet. Today was one of the latter. “Yes, mildly.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“Thank you for your unwavering faith in me.”

“But you’ve come back. Alive.”

“Well, it’d be difficult to come back if I was dead, wouldn’t it?” He sipped his coffee.

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“You brought mud and water all into my house.” Shocky stepped into the living area.  His eyes landed on the sleeping boy, then Rocky.

Rocky, of course, waved like an idiot with his mouth full of food.

“And you brought people.” Shocky glared at him. “You know how I feel about-“

“And coffee,” Oddball held up the third mug. “I brought coffee too.”

Shocky snatched the coffee and handed Oddball the empty mug he’d been holding. He took a long swallow. “Okay, you’re forgiven. Why are you here? There isn’t going to be a lynch mob banging on my door, is there?” Shocky was always one to get to the point.

“No. We just needed a place to stay.”

“Good. Because I don’t think I can handle-“ he gave Rocky and the kid an apprehensive side look- “more.”

 “Have fun saving the world, kid.”

 I saw Age of Ultron the other day. It was the early viewing. . . at 7p. Our town is lame and small, so nobody shows up to midnight shows. Meh. Have any of you seen it? It was amazing!

I just opted out of going to see it a second time, in order to work on Oddball. I'm trying to be dedicated *whimpers*, and strong. But it's okay, because my other brother and I will probably go and see it again anyways. :) It was so good! Go and watch it!

But I do have to share a picture.

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