Nanowrimo Bits - 11/14/19 (Patreon)

A snippet from today's Nanowrimo - 

“Punching people is still not okay, Flannery!” 

“I will not live in fear while I’m here because two idiots think they can control how I live my life!” Flannery shouted, standing so fast her chair make a terrible scraping noise against the floor. “I get enough of that shit at home, I’m not going to deal with it here. If punching him in the face is what it takes to get him to leave me alone, I’m going to do it. And you guys should, too!” 

“We can’t just going around punching people just because we don’t agree with them, Flannery!” Granny shouted back, sounding angrier than Flannery had ever heard. “There are laws and rules of civility that need to be followed!” 

“Granny, if they get their way I could literally die.”

A heavy silence fell upon the room, thicker than smog. No one moved, they hardly dared to breathe. 

“What?”

It was Granny that spoke first, shock evident in her lax jaw and the wavering of her voice. 

“Granny, in the tale of Red Riding Hood, the wolf eats her. Yeah, in the fairy tale she gets out okay, but people don’t survive being eaten in the real world,” Flannery argued, her tone steely and her fists clenched. “And even if the whole ‘eating’ thing is a metaphor, that still could mean any number of things. And none of those things are pleasant. The Grimm Brothers want someone in this town to attack me. They want that same someone to attack you! They want Cordelia to try and murder Yuki three times over before putting her in a damn coma for god knows how long! They want Ashe to be abused by her stepmother! They want to do us harm! If we win then the Grimm Brothers can just freaking leave the town. If we win, they get to go off and live their lives just like we get to live ours. If they win? If they get exactly what they want? Then the two of us might end up dead.

“I think punching them is a pretty fair trade for them wanting me dead.” 

“Honestly?” Ashe piped up. “Yeah, fuck that bullshit.”

She ignored Granny scolding her about her language and looked around at her friends. “I’m sick of living in fear of these two creeps and feeling like I’m not able to do anything about it. Next time they start spilling their bullshit about our stories, I saw we all punch them in the face!” 

“Hell yeah!” Sorin shouted in agreement, pumping his fist in the air. “I order some stupidly large rings and get my fist ready!” 

Kai nodded earnestly, as did Tristan. Even Henry, the friendliest of them, and Yuki, who was arguably the voice of calm, seemed to agree with the sentiment. Flannery felt fired up. She hadn’t felt this pumped about something since she participated in a walk out at school. 

“Viva la resistance!” She shouted, punching the air. 

“Maybe let us do the punching until your hand heals,” Yuki suggested. “We don’t you actually breaking your fingers.”

Flannery grinned roguishly. “I’d be worth it.”

She glanced up at her grandmother, who had been quiet since Flannery reminded her what exactly it meant to follow the path the Grimm Brothers paved. 

“Sorry, Granny,” she said, catching Granny by surprise. “Looks like I’m starting an underground resistance movement.”

Granny let out a small, tired laugh. “Well, I should have known you’d start it here.” She pressed her hand against the wooden wall reverently. “Coffee shops have historically been the places where revolutions start, you know.” 

“Does that mean we have your permission to punch?” Flannery asked. 

“I suppose there’s not really anything I can do to stop you,” Granny admitted. “I’m sorry, Flannery, for forgetting what happened in our story.”

Flannery squeezed between Yuki and Ashe to get out of the little circle her friends had made in the middle of the shop, approaching her grandmother to give her a hug. “It’s okay. I know you were just trying to keep me out of trouble. But I want to protect you, too, you know?”

“I know, sweetie.” Granny kissed her cheek. “What can I do to help?”