All girls are astonishing; all girls hold a remarkable purpose; all girls deserve the opportunity to live out this purpose and shine.
Please follow the links below to learn more about the Because I am a Girl cause initiated by Plan International:
http://becauseiamagirl.ca/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_AQA1xb4Is&feature=youtu.be
http://plan-international.org/
The female characters in my novel are all quirky and spunky women each with a bit of an edge. Although Portia is the main character and has unique qualities that make her stand out, the supporting characters make up for her mild mannerisms and introverted tendencies. Meet a few of the ladies.
Portia - Narrator who is hopelessly awkward and stuck in a mind numbing medical receptionist job.
My friends
are mostly amazing, but sometimes having great friends, who have it all
together, just help to highlight everything lacking in your own life. With that
summation of my view on my life circumstance, I slip on my god awful, yet comfy
crocs, grab my Marc Jacobs purse (because I must still demonstrate some good
taste in my daily wardrobe) and strut out the door while working those lavender
scrubs to the max. “Today will be amazing.” I keep telling myself, over and
over as I approach the elevator.
As the doors
open my heart skips a beat. That intriguingly mysterious and dashing man from
the lobby I crossed paths with the other day is standing opposite me taking in
my attire from head to toe. I’ve secretly been scouting this guy out for months
now but it wasn’t until last week that we had our first verbal interaction. We
were both checking our mail and he had accidentally received my cable bill in
his mail box. I acted all aloof, because an acquaintance of mine, Lucia, told
me aloof is attractive to men. She has been with a gorgeous anchorman for 3
years so she has to know a thing or two about this stuff.
I then tried
to converse about how little I watched T.V. due to having so many hobbies. He
then asked about my hobbies and I froze. I FROZE!! I couldn’t think of one! I
couldn’t even make one up because the
idea of “having a hobby” was so foreign to me. I just stood there, eyes wide
like a deer in the headlights, attempting to conjure some interest up, then I
got thinking about how sad it was that I didn’t have a hobby, and by that point
he was so uncomfortable, rightly so, that he simply said, “Well, enjoy your
afternoon.” and walked away scratching his head.
I then went straight up to the apartment,
flipped on the television and attempted to create a list of actual hobbies that
I have, just in case I ever meet him again and have the opportunity to redeem
myself. After scribbling television, wine
and baths on a notepad, I then
decided to make a list of fake hobbies. That list included: horseback riding
(never ridden one in my life), baking (hahahaha), gardening (well I did manage
to keep all my neighbours plants alive when asked to water twice weekly while
she was away on business), fashion (if lavender scrubs and crocs equate to making fashion a hobby then ding..ding..ding). With that I
concluded that THIS MUST CHANGE! I then wrote “GET A HOBBY!!” to finish off the
list.
Anyway, back
to reality and the present circumstance. This unbelievably gorgeous man who I
made undeniably uncomfortable days ago is now standing 2 feet from me, a half
worried, half sincere smile on his face, dark tousled hair, so perfectly out of
place, pin striped suit and checked tie. Professional, dapper, yet still
somewhat misplaced as though the clothing just doesn’t belong on him. He’s like
a woodsman playing dress up. He’s, in short, the
picture of my perfect man. At first glance, he looks like he has it all
together, but underneath, he’s a little awkward and rough around the edges.
Kind of like me. Well I suppose at this exact moment, I’m a bit more obviously
rough around the edges as I haven’t had the motivation to shave my extremities
for days. However, one good thing about scrubs is they mask all that
prickliness wonderfully.
Charlie- Gamer addict and close friend of Portia's who becomes the subject of an intervention.
Charlie, as
I now contemplate things, really is the type that never owns up to anything in
the moment, but does come around to an accurate realization eventually. Like,
for instance, when we were all at a house warming party in the Beach. A group
of 20 or so were gathered around a bonfire in our mutual acquaintance, Paulo’s,
backyard and he was giving a speech to thank everyone for coming. Charlie decided to pick up one of the unlit
tiki torches and light it on the bonfire.
I think she was three sheets to the wind because she just stood there holding it
tightly, yet no matter how tight her grip, her wobbly legs indicated that
disastrous circumstances were eminent. In the moment it did cross my mind to
steady her and casually remove the torch from her hands; I , however, did not
want to be rude and make rustling or cause a scene during Paulo’s speech, so I
just hoped and prayed for the best. My prayers went unheard because about 3
seconds later, Charlie began teetering and tottering back and forth like a cat
tail in the marsh. This cat tail had weight, and after 5 teeter totters side to
side, Charlie teetered one last time, but this time her legs gave way. She fell to the deck with a tremendous thud, the tikki torch made
immediate contact with the cedar wood that the brand new lavish deck was
constructed out of, and the deck soon was set ablaze.
Guests were
running in every direction, some to escape having legs, (and designer apparel)
scorched, others trying to find a water source to douse the flames. Paulo had a
look of horror on his face as if he could not quite believe what was happening.
He started screeching and literally running in circles trying to make a
decision as to what to do to save his newly built gem of a deck. Finally Paulo’s
friend Travis had the sense to unwind the garden hose, crank the nozzle to the
highest power, and blanket the fire in a heartbeat. Had Travis not enjoyed the
company of men over women, I would have jumped into his arms
immediately and insist we ride off into the sunset. (Honestly, all the good men
are gay or taken).
The next
morning, Charlie denied it all when recapping the evening with me over the
phone, and said that she saw the torch was just set alight off to the side,
that she had no part in lighting it, and was worried it would fall to produce
the very outcome that resulted. Her explanation was that she saw it teeter in
the breeze and went to catch the torch before it fell, but she was too late. I couldn’t believe my ears! I know that I was not the only one
who saw Charlie light and hold the culprit of a torch. Well she denied this for
3 weeks, but when Paulo called her to ask for an amount to cover the cost of
the deck and indicated that he had previously installed security cameras in the
back yard, therefore meaning he had the entire debacle on tape, Charlie finally
owned up. $2000 later, Paulo and Charlie
made amends and the ban on her visiting was lifted.
Nina- A renaissance woman with a vivacious enthusiasm for life. Dabbles in a variety of businesses and skips through life with a "go get 'em and eat cake while you do" attitude. She settles on a more permanent career towards the middle of the action and this choice becomes a direct link in helping Portia out of her rut.
Nina,
herself is a spunky, self-employed entrepreneur. What it is she actually makes
money at is a mystery to me. She could be turning tricks for all I know. Although that really isn't her style Her work
focus, much like her personal interest focus, changes on the regular. Last time
I heard, she had opened a baking studio called Baking with Nina. I remember helping to distribute flyers to local
coffee shops and community centres to help drum up business, and on them she
had included a picture of an elderly Italian lady. This pretty well indicated
that this woman was Nina. I knew this
was a bit misleading seeing as Nina is a petite, blonde fire cracker who has
barely spent more than an hour in her entire life, baking.
After the
distribution storm, I never heard another word about Baking with Nina, which kind of ticks me off! I spent hours
printing and handing out those flyers. I got the worst sunburn while
distributing them AND that night I had a blind date. He took one look at my
deep fried epidermis, muttered some excuse about an emergency situation then
flew out the door.
Angelica- A spoiled daddy's girl who never had to truly work a day in her life. She becomes more of a nemesis to Portia throughout the novel, yet this negativity fuels Portia's need to succeed.
Angelica is
definitely an oversensitive, spoiled, health nut. I adore her and despise her
all at once. She has always gotten whatever she has wanted in life and still manages
to make others feel badly about insignificant items, such as pizza toppings.
Keep an eye out for more posts. It's Friday, have some champagne and a cupcake to celebrate!
Jessica Ashley
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