Is it just me or does WIPpet Wednesday come around faster and faster? Lol. Anyway I’m being kind again this week. I’m sharing a whole 30 lines from chapter 4 of my current WIP, which is tentatively titled Reunion, though I’m working to change it. One idea I had was ‘Reunion’s Meeting’. Any thoughts?
OK, on with the main event. I would have shared 29 lines (for the 29th January) but the excerpt makes more sense with the extra line. This week’s WIPpet takes place a while before last week’s just to confuse you. Anna is out jogging when she sees someone she’d much rather not…
Feeling unnerved she turned around. When she saw who it was she had an unpleasant surprise.
‘Will! What on earth are you doing here?’ she demanded before she could help herself, pulling out her earphones. She’d barely looked him in the eye at the reunion; now she saw him as if for the first time. He was tall, taller than she remembered, with dark eyes and short hair that curled gently around his temples. He would have been attractive, but his expression was conceited and smug.
‘I live here,’ he said in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘Well not here in this park,’ he added jokily, seeming to register her dumb-struck face.
‘You mean you live here, in Warston?’ Anna was unable to hide her incredulity. This was all she needed.
‘Yes, as I just said.’ He had an odd expression on his face, somewhere between a self-satisfied smile and a genuinely interested look. ‘Warston is a big city, Anna,’ he went on. ‘It’s not that surprising that we’ve never bumped into each other before.’
‘No thank goodness we never have,’ Anna blurted out unable to stop herself. She knew she shouldn’t be rude, but this was Will. After the way he’d treated her he didn’t deserve to be spoken to politely.
‘Well it’s nice to know that I’m still in your good books.’
Anna was surprised that underneath his sarcastic tone he sounded hurt. But she mentally shrugged off this thought. Will had put her through hell during her school years and the scars were still there. His hurt feelings weren’t worth worrying about.
‘Well I didn’t expect to see you here,’ she said, hearing her voice sound abrupt and cold. ‘But I doubt we’ll meet again. Like you say, Warston’s a big city.’ She turned to jog back down the hill.
‘Good luck then. You must have a lot of work to do on your novel. See you around.’
WIPpet Wednesday is open to anyone who has a piece of writing they’d like to share. If you want to join in, just post a bit of your writing that relates in some way to the date. Then add your name here. Thanks goes to K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 🙂
Elaine Jeremiah 
You made me check the day and date. Wednesday certainly comes around early when you post on a Tuesday!!!
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Ah sorry about that! I generally post on a Tuesday cos I work Wednesday mornings and then the afternoons just get filled up with dog walking, housework and so on. So I find it easier to post a bit early so it’s not a rush! 🙂
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For some reason I want to reach out and touch Will. Like, with my fist. Nicely done. You’ve captured the scene and the tension well.
As for the title…Reunion and Meeting are so similar in my mind that it’s not working for me.
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^^This. Me too! I just went to a class reunion and had to deal with a couple of people like Will. I sure hope Will has changed some since their childhood.
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Will has definitely changed and he continues to change during the novel. 🙂
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OK thanks for your thoughts on the title. I’ll carry on thinking about it… And yes, Will is a pain in the ass to say the least.
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I really like this scene and Will definitely comes across as a bit of a twat and very conceited, neatly summed up when he said “Yes, as I just said.” I like Anna’s reaction to him too and how she doesn’t mince her words!
I have to agree with Kathi about Reunion’s Meeting as a title – for me I think it’s actually a bit of a mouthful to say/read. It’s really tricky coming up with a new title when you’ve been using one for so long. Is there a line in the novel or even a couple of words that don’t necessarily explain what the book’s about like Reunion does but would give a reader a flavour of the themes/ideas within it? Just a thought.
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Hi Kate, thanks for your tips re the title. I will have a think and see if there’s anything I can use that’s in the novel. Glad you liked the excerpt too. 🙂
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Ugghh, he sounds like a bit of a douchenozzle to me. I mean, I’m sure he’s lovely, but to borrow Kathi’s wonderful turn of phrase up there, smugness is one thing that makes me also want to touch people with my fist. Do we find out more about him later on?
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Douchenozzle? I have actually never heard that word before. You learn something new every day lol. I get the drift though, and yes, you do find out a lot more about Will later on. 🙂
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Man. I also wanted to punch Will. Glad Anna gave him the cold shoulder.
I agree with Kathi. Both words seem similar.If the reunion is in Warston, why not use the name of the city if the setting is key?
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The reunion is actually down the road in their old town of Holmsborough. But it’s a thought. I will keep absorbing everyone’s suggestions and see what I can come up with. But arghh it’s hard changing a title!
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Elaine, really nice excerpt! I’m so curious now as to why Will was such a jerk in school. I guess it’s the counselor in me that longs to know the why. Not that there’s ever a good reason to hurt others. But someone once said, hurt people hurt others. So I’m interested to learn more about Will. Hopefully he changes for the better. 🙂
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Thanks Chloe. Will does change but for the better? You’ll have to wait till I’ve published the book! 😉
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Okay… I have to play the Devil’s Advocate here. I think Will deserves a break, and (in a lot of ways) Anna needs to get over herself. She’s not in high school anymore, and she is holding herself down by reacting to everyone she knows from that time as if they are the same people she dealt with then.
But then that growth of character seems to be the focus of your story, Elaine. And if our characters were perfect on the onset, where would the story be? 😀
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I have to say you’re really quite astute Eden! I’m impressed. Yes, Anna does need to get over her demons from the past. And yes she and Will do some growing of character, so to speak, over the course of the novel. 🙂
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The fact that Will knows about her novel made me cringe. I don’t know about Anna, but writing is so personal, the thought of someone who hates me getting into that place is yuk. Great line that.
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Ohh that’s a really great observation! It’s so true!
Love the conflict here, and the descriptions are great. Might as well be standing on that path with them 🙂
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Ah thanks Krista. So glad you could relate to it. 🙂
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Thanks Raewyn. Yes it’s a bit of a nasty realisation Anna has at this point, that Will knows about that.
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He knows about her novel!?! Creeeepy. (Maybe. I guess it depends how well known an author she is.)
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The next line on from this section is Anna wondering how on earth Will knows that she’s a writer. She can’t fathom how he’s found out that she’s a writer, let alone that she’s currently working on a novel. So she’s really thrown by the whole encounter.
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