Describe a “first”

"Describe a “first” (first apartment, first kiss, first time driving a car, first lie, first big success, first roller coaster ride, first time in this setting). Include as many details as possible, being sure to include an aspect relating to each of the five senses."

The first thing I remember about my first apartment was just how big it was, which comes as a bit of a surprise considering how small it really was.  There was barely enough room for my bed and desk, so it was lucky that I didn’t have a lounge chair.  Luckily, there was enough space in my sliding closet that I could fit my dresser in, but barely.  The kitchen was also positively tiny, but it was my own, so that stuck with me.  Everything was quite cramped from the wooden table to the stuck sink and over to the refrigerator that scraped against the wall and wouldn’t always close all the way.  If two people were in there, cooking was difficult, to say the least.

A stolen ring, fear of spiders, and a sinister stranger

"Give me the ring..."
 
The voice carried on the wind and across Tiffany's neck.  She turned around to see a mysterious figure shrouded in a long coat and many scarves.  She frowned at him before saying, "I'm sorry, what ring?  I don't know what you're talking about."
 
"Liar," the stranger whispered.  He spread his arms as he started moving towards her.  Spilling out from underneath his cloak in waves like dark water were thousands of spiders.  Tiffany made to gasp, but it chocked in her throat.  Spiders were her number one fear.  "I'll not say it again: give me my ring."

What’s behind the door? Why is it closed?

No one really liked to talk about the door in Grandma’s house.  Everyone know about it; it sat at the end of the hallway by the radiator, leading to a room that no one had been in.  But for some reason, it gave everyone just a horrible feeling, so much so that they didn’t even like to look at it.  But one day, little Roland made the brave leap forward.

Despite all of his instincts telling him to leave, he went to the door one day and peeked through the keyhole.  There was nothing to be seen but a dim yellow light, yet even that sent shivers down his spine.  After several deep breaths, he gripped the handle and opened the door.

Inside was a dark room that was designed completely differently from the rest of the house.  It seemed to be made up of warped wood that had been waterlogged for too long.

Be careful out there...

“Be careful out there,” your mom said as you grabbed your duffel bag and headed on a camping trip with friends. “You know that tonight is the anniversary, don’t you?” You nodded, then shut the door behind you before getting in the car and taking off.

“Be careful out there.”  It wouldn’t normally be such a contentious phrase in my mind, but I know what it’s implying: she’s afraid of losing another son, just like she did five years ago at this same spot.

Getting in the car, I felt myself pressed against Tamara because of how cramped the car was.  Not that either of us minded.  As we started driving off, I felt her head on my shoulder, her long red hair tickling my arm.  From the front seat, I heard Josh and Cam arguing over what tunes to listen to.  And on the other side of Tamara, Grant stared out the window, completely lost in thought.

“Something on your mind?” I asked.

This seemed to shake him out of her reverie.  “Hm?” he said, looking over.  “Actually, I was thinking about you.  You going to be all right?”

A significant person

Describe a significant person (teacher, neighbor, mentor, coach, parent, sibling, sweetheart) with as many physical details as possible, but no clichés! (If you’ve heard the expression before, don’t use it.)

David Pope.  Rarely has such a heavy boot come along to leave such an imprint on my memories.  He was my tenth grade math teacher and one of the few I performed well under in high school.  He had a voice like a very pleasant kazoo and could captivate you with it using the tales from his younger days.  It certainly helped that he wasn’t intimidating at all, standing barely an inch higher than my head and carrying a large sack of calories in his stomach for all the world to see.  His think-lensed glasses also gave him a distinct appearance as well.

All the wrong ideas...

Sometimes people look back on their lives and wonder how they got there.  For John, it was a series of terrible ideas that all stacked on top of each other.  It all started out when he dropped out of high school to run away with a girl he took to prom.  Three months later, a Vegas wedding took place between them and their new life began.  And right off the bat, it was frought with problems.

The first thing he did was invest all his money in a start-up venture in the Silicon Valley.  “It’ll pay off,” he would say.  “We’ll get back ten times what we sunk into it.”  Unfortunately, the start-up crashed and died a horrible death, leaving both of them penniless at the worst possible time: a child was on the way.  Sure enough, Lila was born and they had no way to really support the three of them.

A twinkling eye can mean many things. Start with a twinkle in someone’s eye and see where it takes you.

A twinkle in his eye and a twist of her head soon gave the town cause to fall into dread.  Her body was found partially buried in the mayor’s rose garden with her neck snapped.  Sure enough, the press went absolutely wild and panic started to spread throughout the town.  People were losing their minds wondering if they would be next and their neighbors were the killers.

All the while, the real killer looked down from his hill with a twinkle in his eye.  He was content to watch from on high when people tore each other apart in panic.  That was the true nature of humanity: persecution from panic.