Week 2 Story: Foolish, Timid Rabbit/Karlie and Kate

 

(Image Information: Jakatas, Blogspot)

Karlie and Kate: Consequences of Overreacting

Karlie pursed her lips. She stared down at her phone, which was conspicuously absent of notifications. She hit the call button again. The phone rang. Nothing. Straight to voicemail. Either Kate's phone was dead, or she was ignoring her. 

Karlie had a feeling it was the second one. 

Karlie's date night had ended well, with the two of them falling asleep in each other's arms, in a blissful, contented daze. However, Karlie had woken up to find her apartment empty, with no notes or messages from Kate. She'd shrugged it off, albeit somewhat confused, and gotten ready for work. She was the manager of a busy bookstore, and she had to be there soon to open it. She left early to get some paperwork done and managed to stay busy until the store opened, with a rush of early customers, all eager to get a new release from a popular young adult author. However, it was nearing noon, and business had slowed down. She'd already gotten most of her bookkeeping done in the morning and was ready to take a lunch break. It was now that the realization struck her. Kate still hadn't responded. Her stomach sank. What had gone wrong?

It's not like they were strangers. She and Kate had been dating for nearly a month, slowly growing more familiar around each other, and fueling a steady growing romance as well. Things had come to a peak last night after Kate had wooed Karlie with a surprise date to a local lantern festival. There they had sat on a picnic blanket, gazing at the night sky, lit not only by the twinkling stars but by everyone's lanterns as well. Karlie felt her heart overflowing with the romance of it all. Not only was it incredibly sweet of Kate to plan this for them, but it blew Karlie's mind that Kate had chosen such a perfect place. It was an event Karlie had always dreamed of going to. She had been fascinated by lantern festivals since she was a child; she liked to think each lantern she saw represented a unique love story, whether it be love between friends, family, or partners.  But Kate had no way of knowing that because Karlie was sure she'd never mentioned it. 

She had glanced at Kate, only to find her watching her, biting her lip in an adorably dorky manner. Kate was beautiful, not in a thin, jawlined, model-like way, but rather in a way that caused eyes to linger, that brought smiles to people's faces, even when she wasn't trying to please. She was beautiful in the most natural way, the type of person who clearly didn't try to be attractive, yet was undoubtedly so. Karlie felt a surge of affection rise within her and leaned forward to kiss Kate. This had led to them forgetting entirely about watching the lanterns and eventually heading back to Karlie's studio apartment. They'd had a lovely evening, which Karlie had felt very happy and confident about. That is, until she woke up alone, with no explanation from her lover. 

This is why Karlie was currently in a state of panic, head in her hands, pacing her tiny, book-ridden office while muttering to herself about "WOMEN!" 

A knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts. 

"Come in."

One of her employees, who also happened to be a close friend of hers, stuck his head in. "Is something wrong? We can hear you talking to yourself from the front desk."

"Shit," she muttered. "Real professional, Karlie, good job." 

"Hey, what's the matter?" Carlos asked. 

Carlos had known her for many years. He'd known her before she gained the management position, and even before she'd come out of the closet. He'd seen her at her worst, most embarrassing times. If there was anyone she could confide to, it would be him.

"I think my girlfriend is ghosting me!" she moaned despondently. 

"Woah, hold up. Why would Kate do that? She's totally into you, trust me, I've seen the way she watches you. It's almost creepy the way she stares at you while you're working. That girl would not ghost you."

"Oh yeah?" Karlie looked at him. "Then why is she ignoring me, after spending the night at my apartment, and vanishing without a trace before morning?"

Carlos gaped at her. "Hold up. What? She spent the night, and you haven't heard from her at all?"

Karlie buried her head in her hands. "No!" she wailed dramatically, "Carlos, I thought she was the one. I thought things were going well. And then she disappears on me! She's probably gone for good!" 

Carlos tried to calm her done, but Karlie could take it no longer. She was distraught and spent the remainder of her day, sorrowfully sulking and not getting her work done. She did not cheer up until the end of the day came when Kate stopped by to pick her up for dinner. When Karlie gaped at her in disbelief, Kate looked at her bemusedly and asked "What? We agreed that I'd pick you up after work last night, remember?" 

And now that it had been mentioned, Karlie did remember that. She remembered everything now, from Kate telling her she wouldn't see her in the morning and would be unable to pick up her phone, to them agreeing to a dinner date. 

Kate put her head in her hands. She had been worried for nothing!

Bibliography: Jatakas, by Babbitt

Authors Note: 

This semester I have been wanting to try out different styles and genres of writing. For this story, I decided to write in a YA/Romance style. I enjoy reading YA books with romantic subplots, but I usually prefer the main story to be something else. I greatly value humor. For my next story, I may try to leave romance out completely. Romance is inspirational so I am curious about experimenting with different levels of romance within my own writing and how this will affect the writing flow and process.  

This story is loosely based on the Foolish, Timid Rabbit, a story in which a rabbit overreacts, panics, and scares others, only to be calmed down by a lion with some sense. In this story, Karlie would be the rabbit, and Kate would be the lion. In the past, my stories have not strayed so far from the original versions, so this is something new for me! I hope to gain a lot of practice this semester by writing out of my comfort zone, even if that leaves me less satisfied with my quality of writing. For, to become better, one must practice. Thanks for reading!