Weekly One: Time Travel and the Butterfly Effect

Part 1: The Butterfly Effect

I rushed through the halls, hair whipping past my face and my arms tightly wrapped around my school books. This wasn’t good, not good! I was going to be late to my first class. I ran past the math class, past the gym, past the water fountain- my foot gave way underneath me. The water reducing any friction between my foot and the floor. Not now, no no no no- I saw the ground become closer and closer, my heart now pounding, my mind went blank with fear- blackness. Except not the kind when you’ve fainted. The kind of blackness you see when your head is buried in someone else’s shirt. “Sorry, um, are you okay?” I looked up and saw the owner of the voice was a tall boy, probably about my age. I flushed. Of course I’d embarrass myself on the first day, my luck had caught up to me again. I must’ve just continued to stare dumbfounded at him, my jaw slacking, because he continued, “My name’s Nathan.” Eventually, my mind caught up to the present and I said, “My-my name’s Julia.” Little did I know, that was the start of something great. No, I don't mean great as in “good,” I mean great is in “important”. I guess I should have just said important. Little did I know, this was the start of something big, something important.

Outcome 1:
It started with me tripping. Then, we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways. But, we kept on seeing each other everywhere. First the school halls, then at the store, and then he even (coincidentally, his shock was as much as mine) switched to my science class. We became great friends, and eventually maybe something a little more. But the fateful day happened when I asked if he wanted to go to the local smoothie shack. I waited, and waited, and waited. He never came. Feeling frustrated and to be honest, a little hurt, I headed home. My mom greeted me at the door, a look of pity on her face. “So… how was your day?” She asked. I mumbled something about being stood up by my best friend, and picked up a glass to get some water. I realized then she wasn’t following me. I turned around. Her hand was over her mouth, and I could just barely hear her say, “Oh honey… I’m so sorry, Nathan-” The glass dropped and shattered.

Outcome 2:
It started with me tripping. Then we said our goodbyes, and headed our separate ways. But, we each had a little slip of paper with each other’s numbers on it. We didn’t see each other much after that, but we texted all the time. I always suggested hanging out sometime, maybe going to the park or something, but Nathan had such a busy life. Especially because, and I was surprised when I learned this, he volunteered at the local daycare. We became friends. And stayed friends. And eventually, I got busy too. Too busy apparently, to even text him. Later I would regret not making time to get to know him more. And after 2 years, Nathan was just a forgotten contact on my phone. But one day after a crazy (and a bit overwhelming) 16th birthday party, I thought to myself, “What the heck?” and called him. The voice that answered was much deeper, and said, “Hello? Call me crazy but… does this number still belong to Julia?” My voice caught in my throat as I asked, “Nathan?”

Outcome 3:
It started with tripping, then we said our goodbyes, and… headed in the same way? After a few steps I laughed, and Nathan said, “Why hello again! It’s been too long.” My heart betrayed me, and gave a little flutter. “Yeah, it’s been what, 5 seconds?” I joked back. We began to hang out. We went to the park. Played video games together. Got drinks at the local smoothie shack. We joked and laughed, it almost felt unreal. I had met my best friend, well, I had tripped into him. God worked in pretty weird ways sometimes, and it didn’t stop there. We had an absolute blast at my 16th birthday party. His 17th was something we’d both remember and reference for years to come (he fell into a lake, but it was still a fun day). I’d never regret accidentally bumping into him and forgetting which way my class was in. (I learned 2 minutes after I had tripped that the way he went wasn’t the right way for me, but being late to class was a small price to pay to meet a life-long partner).

Part 2: Plotting Timelines

Point one: Jane gets lost and finds shelter in a weird cave
Point two: Jane meets a shadowed figure in the cave
Point three: More shadowed figures start following Jane
Point four: Jane lights a fire, figures don’t like this
Point five: Jane leave the cave, and she’s free

Elaboration of point one: Jane is going hiking alone. Something her elders had warned her about endlessly. She thinks she’s smarter. But, when it’s starting to get dark and Jane can no longer find her way, she seeks shelter in a cave that doesn’t seem to fit the landscape. In the dim light, she starts a fire and worries about the future. She hears footsteps, but when she looks around, she doesn’t see anyone. This, despite the fire, sends chills to her bones. Slowly, the footsteps get louder and louder, her heart beats louder and louder. And- CRASH! The entrance is blocked by rocks, and her fire is put out. She is left in complete darkness. She only hears her own breath. Until she hears a voice….

Elaboration of point two: As she scrambles to relight her fire, a spark lights the room to see a shadowy figure, who seems to be the owner of the voice. And still, the fire won’t light. Each spark seems to cast another orange glow on this creepy guy, who seems to be in a different spot each time- And he keeps rambling on and on, it’s driving Jane crazy! Soon, the figure’s words get to her. The cave suddenly feels very small and the air is very hard to breathe. Each spark is hope found- and lost- succumbing to the darkness of the cave.

Elaboration of point three: Each spark revealed the figure to be in a different place each time. A spark- he was in front of her, 3 feet away. Another spark- he was to her right, 10 feet away. After a few seconds of scrambling for another burst of light, there was a third spark- he was to her left, a foot away. She jumped, dropping the flint and steel. Back in the darkness. She scrambled to find them, and eventually she found the flint, but where was the steel?! Her hand searched the cold rocky floor, until it quickly brushed against warm metal which cut into her palm. She took a sharp breath in before retrieving the steel, and she cast another spark. It lit the branch! She quickly got the fire to grow and grow, before it finally lit up the small cave around her. And to her horror, there wasn’t one hooded figure, or two, but 6 figures in total, surrounding her.

Elaboration of point four: The figures all hissed away from the light, obviously not liking the orange glow of the fire. But they still stayed in a circle around her, murmuring different things. Each mumble of their tongue she understood caused her to breathe a little quicker, her heart to race a little faster, and her eyes to get a little wetter. You’ll never escape. You can’t do it. You’re not enough. When will you ever see the light again? This is your fault, how could you? You, you, you! Are you that selfish, that horrible? You try so hard, but you can’t do anything right. You should be better than this. It. Was. Torture.

Elaboration of point five: Jane ran over to the pile of rubble blocking the cave. The figures still stayed at the edge of the light, their mumblings echoing off the wall. Setting the flaming branch on the ground, she began to dig through, if only she could get out! The figures didn’t like this, less than the light. They started to yell at her. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU REALLY THINK THAT WILL HELP YOU LEAVE? YOU’RE STUCK HERE. ACCEPT IT! YOU'RE TOO WEAK TO MOVE THOSE ROCKS! As the rocks slowly gave way, light came into the cave, driving the figure further back. Jane was free.

Part 3: Outlining a Non-Linear Storyline Draft

The main character is going through a really hard time. They feel stressed all the time, and they think that they should just give up. But, when they touch a picture from when they were 5, they are suddenly sent back to that day the picture was taken. Through meeting and talking to their younger self, they find hope.

Outline:

• Main character is rushing. They are trying to please everyone. They have a mental list that seems impossible. Another person asks a favor, and of course the main character says yes.
  
• Unfortunately their to do list catches up to them, and they fall short. Or perhaps asleep. Because the main character is so tired, they fell asleep and missed a task, and while trying to make that up the next task after that and the one after that and the one after that- well, you get it. The first domino was pushed, and now they’re all falling.
  
• Everyone is mad at the Main Character. They feel like crying, and they do once they’ve gone home and collapsed on their bed. A nearby picture of a younger them is sitting nearby, and they pick it up.
  
• Next thing they know, they are back at their childhood home, everything is exactly as they remember. Their mom, who they haven’t seen in years, greets them and offers a few days stay in the house because they seem lost. They are freaking out, how will they get back home?!
  
• After the Main Character gets settled in the guest bedroom, their five year old self runs in and greets them. At first, they are completely shocked, the main character remembers this! Well, they remembered it from the perspective of their five year old self.
  
• After a night lying in the bed of their old home’s guest room, they wake up to their tiny, excitable self and their mother telling the main character- or rather the five year old next to them -not to bother them. They reflect, “My mother just told me not to bother myself,”
  
• Throughout the day, they hang out with their little self. It’s exactly as they remember it. Except, they remember thinking this stranger, (that at the time they didn’t know was future them) was the coolest person ever. They think their younger self couldn’t be more wrong.
  
• Through spending time with their younger self and mom from the past, they learn to love themself. They have a heart to heart with their mom, who reassures them they are doing great, and that they should be happy with themself.
  
• The next night, they lay in bed, and wake up to find themself home. They smile. They’re home, and happy.
  

Part 4: Final Story

An exhausted sigh escaped my lips. I forgot my sister's flowers she needed me to pick up for her boyfriend, I got a speeding ticket in my rush, my boss “forgot” about the promised raise, I couldn't set up my mom's surprise party, and got yelled at by both my sister and an angry customer with a broken finger (long story). I waddled to my bed, and fell into it, the tears spilling over into the sheets. I should've done better, then no one would be struggling because I fell short. I fell asleep crying.
I woke up to a smell that I haven't experienced in decades. But before I could decipher it, I realized I was laying on wet grass. I blinked awake. This isn't normal. I scanned my memories. I definitely remember going to bed at my apartment last night. I looked around. I was on my Mom’s lawn! But… she had toys out front and a tire swing in her tree again. I started to slowly rise from my spot on the lawn when I heard a yell, and my mom ran outside to greet me, saying, “Good Heavens! Were you asleep in my yard? Are you okay? What’s your name?” I struggled to catch up with all the questions, and mumbled a few things even I didn’t understand. She didn’t know my name?
I heard a little voice behind Mom that said, “Mommy, what’s going on? Is she okay?” I turned to see the owner of my voice- it was me. But tiny, and five years old. Everything went black.
I woke up again to find myself lying in the guest bedroom bed of my old house. With… me right next to me. She yelled, “Mommy! Mommy! The lady’s awake!” I cringed from the loud sound. But… I remember this. Not from my perspective now, but I remember a strange lady staying at our place for a few days after fainting in our front lawn. I remember thinking that this lady was the coolest person ever. I almost laughed.
My mom came into the room, with breakfast. This was the smell I woke up to, my mom’s old cooking. I ate it up, then my mom asked, “So, what’s your name?”
Without thinking, I replied, “Sally.”
The little girl (me, it was me, I’m still reeling from that), said happily, “Hey, that’s my name!” She was bouncing with excitement now. I pretended like I hadn’t known that before.
I finished breakfast, and my mom proceeded to use her nursing skills to do a little check up on my health. Her results: Overworked, stressed, lack of sleep, lack of a healthy diet, needs to care for self more. No kidding.
Miniature me grabbed my hand and dragged me outside, where the garden was. She showed me all the different fruits and veggies, and dragged me to the chicken coop to show me the chickens. The deja vu was giving me a headache, but I still smiled at her. She would grow fond of these memories. Until she would grow up and realize that the lady was her, and wasn’t that cool afterall.
I spent the day with my mother and, well, me. We had a picnic, and while mini-me played on the playground, I talked with my mother.
“So, what were you doing before this?” I decided it wouldn’t hurt to tell the truth.
“I had a rough day… Sorry I fell asleep in your lawn, I really don’t know how that happened-” I blushed, but I was cut off.
“Oh don’t worry, do you want to talk about it?” Yes. yes I did. It wouldn’t hurt, right?
“I got yelled at a customer while volunteering at a friends bowling alley because they broke their finger, which caused me to be late to pick up my sister’s flowers for her boyfriend,” (my sister was significantly younger than me, which is why she wasn’t here at the moment), I continued, “So I got yelled at by her, which caused me to be late setting up my mom’s surprise party, but when I got to my mom’s house I found I forgot the key. Then, I tried to finish a proposal for my boss which would’ve gotten me a raise, but it was due at midnight so I got it done late. I didn’t get the raise I needed to pay my rent.” My mom listened to my story. It was a pretty pathetic story.
After I finished, my mom thought for a bit, then said, “I think you’re trying to please everyone. Which never ends well, as you can see,” I sighed, but she continued, “And I think you really need to hear this:” That caught my attention, and she said, “You are doing fine, no you’re doing great. You’re human, you can’t do everything, and you're doing far more than you ever could. No one expects you to be perfect, and they think you’re awesome anyways. Take care of yourself, you’re worth it.”
My eyes filled with tears, “Thank you.” My voice cracked, “You’re right, I needed to hear that.”
We finished our lunch, continued our picnic, and I played with mini-me some more. Then, we went home.
I remembered this was the day I (the stranger at the time) had left. So I said my thank yous and left to check out a room at a nearby hotel. Luckily I still had my wallet so I could still afford it. I went to bed with a new found sense of content, happiness, and worth. I fell asleep, my mind wandering to my mother.
I woke up in my apartment the next morning. I was home, and happy.

List of Requirements
PART 1: 400 words- Write 400 words using the butterfly method, with one catalyst event and three outcome timelines with 100 words each
PART 2: 500 words- Plot 5 points on a linear timeline, expanding on each one with 100 words for a total of 500 words
PART 3: 250 words- Outline a non-linear timeline in 250 words
PART 4: 750 words- Write a 750 word story using your timeline, considering how the events in your story will affect the future
Worth 1,900 words
Worth 2,500 points for sharing
Total worth of 4,400 points

My Word Count Tally:
PART ONE: 771
PART TWO: 597
PART THREE: 447
PART FOUR: 951
TOTAL: 2,766 WORDS WOOOOO!

PART ONE wrote:

Thirty years you been draggin' your feet, tellin' me I'm the reason we're stagnant. Thirty years you've been claiming you're honest, and promising progress, well, where's it at? I don't want you to feel like a failure, I know this hurts. But I gave you your chance to deliver, now it's my turn. Don't get me wrong, Nate, you've had a great run, but it's time to give the people somethin' different. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce my album- my album. What's my definition of success? Listening to what your heart says, standing up for what you know is right while everybody else is tucking their tail between their legs. What's my definition of success? Creating something no one else can, being brave enough to dream big, grindin' when you're told to just quit, giving more when you got nothin' left-

You been draggin’ me
You’ve been claiming you’re honest,
Promising it to feel great.
But it’s time to give somethin’ different.

Listen to what your heart says,
What you know is right

What’s brave enough,
Grindin’ to quit?
Giving nothing left?

PART TWO wrote:

You’ve been dragging me through the mud
And the dirt, and the grime,
You say these things
Telling me you’re honest,
That I should go and trust you,
Well what’s your proof? You’ve got it?
You say It’ll be great, I won’t feel pain
But it’s time you start spouting different nonsense-
How ‘bout silence?
Ha!

I should listen to my heart and conscience,
And I do
I should listen to my mind (well sort of,
It’s been a little defiant lately)
My conscience is my compass
And there’s so many magnets-

What’s considered brave?
Cause I’m just grinding away
That could be considered brave-
But my direction's changed,
And now the end goal’s reading, “quit”
I should give nothing to that engine, slow it down and end it
So relentless.

Sing these songs to the wind.
Sing and sing and forget the sins.
Sing until you scream and forget
These downhill thoughts will no longer win.

Cabin Wars! Write 4000 words as a cabin in the next 6 hours, or else lose 700 points. Extra challenge: write an original swc-themed joke or pun. Every cabin member who shares their joke in the main cabin comments can claim 10 points (and a pirate hook) each! This applies for up to fifteen campers (resulting in 150 points earned maximum.)

457 words of writing comp
122 words from weekly

Cabin Wars! Write 5000 words as a cabin in the next 9 hours or lose 900 points. Challenge: stretch, take a walk, and/or drink some water (and do a penguin waddle - if you're daring) after every 500 or less words you write. Every person who does this consistently while writing towards the war wins 50 points each for their cabin. This applies for up to three campers

270 words of writing comp
537 words of personal writing

Weekly TWO: Inspiration

Part 1: Off-Screen Time

Ahh, crocheting. Kinda like knitting, but with a singular hook instead of two needles. You could create blankets, sweaters, hotpads, or beanies. Actually, I’m making a beanie right now. The bright purple ball of yarn rested in my lap, connected to the bright purple beanie as I slowly crocheted the spiral pattern from the top down. Hopefully it will fit my little sister. Hopefully, she’ll like it. Hopefully, she’ll actually wear it. But for now, I ignored those worries and dove myself in the art of crocheting. Yarn over the hook, insert in into the next stitch, yarn over again, pull through the stitch, yarn over, pull through two loops, yarn over, pull through to loops again. One stitch done. Now to do that hundreds of more times.

Part 2: Consuming Media

Podcasts: the pinnacle of reading, because you don’t really read. Actually, you can listen to much more than books, you can listen to conspiracies, mysteries, true crime, and fan shows. Currently, I’m listening to an actual play D&D podcast, which I like to do while crocheting. But for this weekly I crocheted for a while then listened while crocheting. Currently, the three adventurers are battling a group of thieves trying to steal goods from the caravan the adventurers are paid to protect. It was an epic battle (accompanied by epic battle music edited along with the audio of the game) and the 3 characters fought for their lives and for the money they were being paid with to protect the goods.

Part 3: Final Story

The Awesome, Intimidating Power of Crocheting
The adventurers ran through the forest, a trail of thieves after their gold. The three of them struggled to find something- anything to help them defend themselves! The half elf sorcerer, Rowin, yelled at his halfling companion named Sholck, “Do you have anything to help us?!”
Sholck, digging in his pack, yelled back, “No ‘shir! I’m ‘shorry ‘shir!”
Molli, a human and their party’s rogue, yelled, “Well, what do you have?!”
“I- ‘ell I have ‘shome crocheting hooks and yarn mish!”
“Then give ‘em to me! Come on already!” Mollie yelled, and skidded to a stop to face the thieves. Rowin followed suit. Then, Sholck stumbled to a stop and dug deeper into his back. He pulled out a bubble-gum pink yarn ball, and a green, thin stick with a little hook at the end. He took them up and tossed them to Molli who caught them and thought for a minute. Rowin just stood there, dumbfounded and confused as to what in the world Molli was up to.
After a moment Molli took the hook and yarn, sat down, and started to crochet a scarf-
—
“Wait wait wait,” The Dungeon master said incredulously, “You want to try to intimidate the thieves by crocheting? Seriously?”
The person role-playing as Molli said, “Oh course! Can you at least let me roll to see if it works?”
“Fine…” The dungeon master sighed. The player rolled their dice, and the passing seconds went by terribly long.
“Natural 20!” The player yelled and pumped their fist in the air, “Take that DM! What happens next?”
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” the dungeon master begrudgingly relayed what happened next, face in his hands and plan for this game destroyed…
—
After a moment Molli took the hook and yarn, sat down, and started to crochet a scarf. She first started with a 6 inch long chain, then made her way back and forth across the work using a small stitch, commonly known as the single crochet stitch.
“Oh-oh my gosh! She’s- She’s c-crocheting!” One thief yelled. After a few long lasting minutes, the scarf was a few inches long.
“I-it requires so much patience! So much skill!” Another thief said. A few more minutes went by, and a couple more inches were added.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, she called back to Sholck, “Hey! Do you have another color?!” He responded by tossing her a neon yellow. She cut her pink yarn, and continued the scarf using a new color.
“She’s obviously way out of our league!” Their leader yelled, “Even I can’t crochet that well or fast!”
The thieves stopped and stared at their leader who they once held a bit more respect for, “Wait, you crochet?”
“Let’s not worry about that, look! There’s already another inch added! It’s too much!”
“Run!!!” And the thieves ran away. Rowin stared, not understanding the power of crochet, while Sholck stood awed by this unmatched awesomeness. The adventurers were safe once again, by the power of crocheting.

List of Requirements

Now, before submitting the weekly, make sure that you have:

• Written 50-100 words of reflection over a relaxing activity

• Written 100 words of reflection from absorbing some form of literature, media/entertainment, music or art

• Written a 500 word story that draws inspiration from what you did in the first activity and what you “consumed” in the second activity

My Word Count Tally:
PART ONE: 128
PART TWO: 122
PART THREE: 500
TOTAL: 750 WORDS WOOOOO!