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hellokittywrit3s · 22 days ago

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Wintering (Original Story)

Just a silly little "Christmas" story I wrote for my creative writing class. The prompt was to imagine a group of people in a car arguing over what music to play. May or may not be based on personal experience (;

Songs included:

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" - Nirvana

"LUNCH" - Billie Eilish

"Wintering" - The 1975

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A five hour drive looms ahead of the women of the Carpenter family. December 23rd was cutting it close to visit Josh, the lone Carpenter son, but with work and school, it was the earliest day they could leave. The trip from Michigan to Ohio shouldn’t be too torturous, but with the holiday travelers braving the winter weather, one could never be too sure. That’s why the vibe inside their trusty 2014 Honda Odyssey must be good.

Of course, the first step to a high vibrational level is good music. Unfortunately, that exact topic is what has since driven the vibe down to previously unseen levels.

“If you’re going to be in charge of the music you have to play songs we know!” Shouted the eldest sister, Mckenna, from the back row.

“Ugh! I’m sorry you guys just don’t appreciate music like I do… If you did, you would know this is Nirvana’s cover of ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’ AKA the best cover ever.”

Perhaps the Carpenter’s first mistake was letting Skylar, the middle child, control the music for the beginning of the road trip. At 17, her so-called “appreciation” for music leaned on the pretentious side, always quick to judge her sibling’s music taste and insist that hers is the best.

“Why is he screaming? It’s hurting my ears,” said the matriarch of the Carpenter family, Susan. “Let me play my music, it’s more calming than this! I can’t focus on the road with this racket!”

“Nothing is calming about acapella Christmas music, Mom,” piped the youngest, Gabby, finally looking up from her crochet project.

“I agree,” said Skylar.

“Yeah, same… there’s only so much Pentatonix I can take before I want the car to crash.”

“Mckenna! Don’t say that! We just prayed over the car!”

And oops, Gayle, more affectionately known as Grammy to the other women in the car, had just done that. “Hopefully God can recognize hyperbole,” Mckenna thought to herself.

Thankfully, at that moment, Nirvana was replaced with a different song. Billie Eilish’s soft voice over a rolling bass line was easy enough to listen to, and a quiet finally settled over the car as “LUNCH” filled the silence.

But just like the saying goes, nothing good lasts forever, and soon the silence is broken by Grammy.

“Skylar, is she singing about lesbian sex?” Grammy asks in an astonished tone, her southern accent making the word “lesbian” sound more like “lesbean”.

At Grammy's question, all hell breaks loose.

“And what if she is? What’s so wrong about that?”

“Skylar, I swear to God, hand me the aux cord right now.”

“Mckenna, do not use the Lord’s name in vain! How many times have we talked about this?”

“Has anyone seen my other crochet needle?...I had it in here somewhere…”

“Give. It. To. Me.”

“Stop it! You’re gonna break the cord!”

“Alright, alright, ENOUGH!”

At the use of Susan's Mom Voice, everyone stops speaking. Even Billie Eilish is silenced, Skylar finally having the wherewithal to pause the music.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” begins Susan. “Skylar is going to disconnect her phone and give the aux cord to Mckenna. Mckenna will play music for an hour. Then Grammy will get to choose the music for an hour, and then I will get to play my music for an hour. Understood?”

A chorus of “yes ma’ams” is said back. The Carpenter sisters know enough to not fight their mom on this one, especially since she’s the one driving.

And so it went: an hour of Mckenna’s choice, mostly musicals, followed by Grammy’s 80’s and 90’s worship music. In the final hour of their trip, Susan took control of the music, and to no one’s surprise, Pentatonix and other acapella Christmas music droned on.

Finally, the city of Columbus appeared through the snowy haze, and a collective sigh of relief could be heard from the women. “Just a few more minutes,” Susan thought to herself.

“Wait, wait, wait! I have the perfect song for this moment!” Skylar yelled suddenly.

“Skylar, no, we’re almost there,” replied Susan.

“Aw, c’mon mom, we’re all sick of your music! Give her a chance!” said Gabby.

With a sigh, Susan acquiesces, handing the aux cord back to Skylar.

“I promise you’ll like it, just listen!”

“Wintering” by The 1975 starts playing over the speakers, and the women have to admit, the wordy verses and chaotic lyrics do match their situation quite well. And when the last chorus hits, the women in the van smile at the lyrics as Skylar sings along.

“Now stop the percussion, I wanna have a discussion

and it’s Christmas, so this is gonna be a nightmare

I just came for the stuffing, not to argue about nothing,

But mark my words, I’ll be home on the 23rd.”

And with that, the Carpenter women pull into a parking spot outside of Josh’s apartment complex. Previous fights are forgotten, lesbian sex be damned, and even the biting cold is welcoming. It’s December 23rd, and the nightmare that is Christmas looms ahead of the women of the Carpenter family, but they’ll worry about that later. Right now, they’re just happy to be together.

#original story #creative writing #story #the 1975 #billie eilish #nirvana #song lyrics #inspired by music #christmas #holidays #family #writing prompt #original work #ignore any mistakes #my first post

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