Unconventional Character Exploration

It was a beautiful day outside. In fact, it had been a beautiful summer. Sally couldn't remember the last time it had rained, in fact, but happy to dwell on the beauty of the day, she carried on in her inexplicably elated mood, skipping down the street. She had spent the summer playing with her friends, doing what every kid does during the summer, whatever that happens to be. As long as her friends were with her, it didn't matter.

One, two, one, two. She loved playing unending hopscotch with the tiles along the pavement, always careful to never step on a crack, of course. Not that any of the perfect rectangles ever had cracks on them. That would be silly! Shifting her thoughts to more sensible patterns, Sally admired the beautiful trees, and couldn't imagine them any other way than vibrant green and full of leaves. She admired the beautiful shop windows, as if they had been freshly decorated that very morning, and she admired the cleanliness of the pavement. It was as if her picturesque little town was a freeze frame, or a higher being had reached down and painted the scene before her with a brush. What a quaint thought.

Continuing on her way to school, she waved at every person she saw, and they all waved back, calling out her name as they went past. She did not remember all their names - she did not have to. Somewhere in the back of her mind (or deep in her being, whichever you prefer) she knew that their names were unimportant, just as the very owners of the names would continue on their way past her and fade into the distance.

In what felt like no time at all, Sally arrived just outside the school yard. Of course, the school bell hadn't yet rung. Of course, her friends were all waiting by the front door. It was strange that Sally was noticing such obvious things. Of course, it was the same way that every school day began. Why should today be any different?

As Sally stepped lightly towards her friends and her first day of a new school term, she felt both a sense of uneasiness, and a sense that everything was going to be alright, as it always is.

~

It was normal, and yet it wasn't. That lunchtime was just like any other - Sally and her friends sat outside and ate their lunches. Sally couldn't remember making her lunch, and she had never seen her mother making it either, but it was always in her school bag when she arrived at school. She wondered who made Cheyenne Daymond's lunch, because as far as Sally knew, Cheyenne had no parents. In fact, a better question to ask would be 'who does Cheyenne go home to?' but Sally had never been good with awkward questions, and so it remained unasked.

Then there was Britney Howard, quite popular because of her beautiful blonde hair and head cheerleader position. She never said a word, instead singing cheers at every opportunity: 'Go! Go! Eat your lunch! Yummy sandwich, biscuits, crunch!' It was quite a sight, as she was cheering with her mouth full. Sally supposed that Britney probably hadn't thought through the logistics. Her best friend, Victoria Smithson, might had said something if she wasn't so painfully shy. Speaking of which, it seemed as if Victoria had disappeared half way through lunch. Sally wondered where to.

Last but not least was Zac Pentecost. He swaggered over to Sally's little group half way through lunch. Sally likened his swagger to an ape's - shoulders moving exaggeratedly from left to right, arms slightly in front of him, hanging down. She supposed he had practiced it in the mirror for maximum effect. Seeing it made her wonder why anyone would doubt that humans had evolved from primates.

The whole experience had left Sally feeling a little... empty, as if all her friends were two dimensional. She thought about how unusual the day was turning out as she headed back towards the school.

~

Sally felt bored. In fact, she felt like there was something she was supposed to do at school, but couldn't remember it.

~

While meandering purposefully through the corridors, Sally's eye was caught by a little picture on a door. She didn't remember noticing it before, but that was no wonder, as her purposeful striding generally kept her eyes from wandering.Yet here was this strange little door with a strange little picture. Cautiously reaching for a door handle, she realized there wasn't one of those either. What a strange little black circle on top of a strange little black triangle, with four sticks pointing outwards. It almost looked like a... girl.

Sally stopped her silly thoughts and, in a surprising burst of spontaneity, pushed the door open with both hands.

The room was empty. Sally ran. It felt like the appropriate response.

~

Taking the next right to the left, Sally found herself in a dead-ended corridor with no windows to climb through or rooms to hide in.

Please control yourself. You're ruining the story.

Sally turned, and turned, but there was no one there.

'Who are you? What's happening to me?'

I am the narrator.

Sally stopped. It couldn't... she couldn't... there was no way...

Yes way. And you aren't doing your job properly.

'My job?'

Yes. Don't you understand? I am the narrator, and you aren't doing what I tell you to. Being suspicious of everything, taking wrong turns, acting out of character, these things stop the flow of the story.

'But... I was just being myself...' She trailed off.

No. I decide who you are. It's not possible for you to have a personality outside of my imagination.

At this point the narrator had begun to narrate herself. Narratorception.

'Is that what this is about... all the strange feelings, like I have two minds at the same time... I'm in a book? And you're trying to control me?'

Of course I am, you aren't supposed to have a will of your own. Now be quiet and do as you're told.

At this, something inside Sally exploded. She really wasn't going to take this any longer. Kicking down the wall, she started to swim away.

What- what are you doing? You're breaking the laws of physics! You're ruining the world I created! You're unraveling the fabric of the time-space continuum!

A manatee swam past Sally, giving her a friendly wave. She supposed this was what lucid dreaming was like.

Stop! Stop! You can't do that!

But it was too late. Sally, having realized her situation, had taken control over the world and kept swimming towards the sun... which began to look less like a yellow sun and more like a blue blob... an ink stain... or maybe the nib of a pen? When suddenly...

'What are you doing here??' I screamed.

'I've escaped,' said Sally, 'and you can't control me anymore'.

I took a deep breath and tried to compose my thoughts. This had never happened to me before. I had the chance to meet my creation. There were so many questions I wanted to ask. The better I knew her, the less likely I would make her act 'out of character'. I might even have better ideas for plot points! I would befriend her, and once I had the information I wanted, I would write her back into the book.

'Not a chance.' Sally stated, before I could breathe a word. 'You've written too much of yourself into me. I know what you're like, and what you're thinking. I am never going back in there again. Never.'

Sally grabbed the book and was through the door before I could come up with a response.

I sighed, and said to no-one in particular:

'I hate it when my characters run away with my story.'