Hello – It has been a while since I posted. Life can get busy sometimes. But, no excuses! I need to finish my 4th book. So each week or less, I will release a piece of a story until I am done. My goal is to complete the book by the end of June.
As I post these, I welcome any and all feedback.:)
The Noise
At first, no one noticed, except for the dogs. Each had their heads tilted to one side, intensely listening. It was as if an important announcement needed their full attention.
Shawna was the first human to hear it. She was frustrated because no one else could. “What is that strange noise?” she asked her parents at the dinner table.
“What noise dear?” answered her mother.
“That noise. It sounds like: budu dubba budu bida budu dubba budu bida.You don’t hear it?”
“No, I don’t.”
Shawna looked at her dad. He shook his head with some concern on his face. Shawna took a deep breath and sighed. She decided not to say anything more about it as her parents tended to overreact about everything. Rather than create a bunch of drama, she changed the subject. She said, “Maybe it is just a song stuck in my head. Oh well. These potatoes are good mom. What did you put in them?”
“I put bacon, parmesan, and a touch of saffron.”
Shawna took another bite and said, “Mmmmm. Tasty.” Then she carved a bite of steak and began chewing. Her mouth instinctively ground the meat between her teeth using the same rhythm as the noise in her head. It was annoying yet fun in some way. Her mouth was dancing to the beat and she imagined a small disco party going on in her mouth. Tiny pieces of food began shaking to the groove and hopping about.
All through dinner and after, the annoying beat kept pounding in her brain. The only thing that would drown it out was listening to music in her headphones. However, as soon as she turned them off, the noise came right back.
It was worse the next day at school. She could barely concentrate and her hand would uncontrollably tap her pencil to the beat. Other kids and her teachers became agitated with this. By lunchtime, Shawna couldn’t take it anymore and went to the nurses station.
