A Snippet

So this is part of the chapter I've been working on today. I have a few other scenes hammered out, some present tense, some past. I can't decide which I prefer for this WIP, but I keep coming back to present.

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She twists and twirls her long black hair between her fingers, working the thick strands into worry knots. When she lets go, the strands fall loose and straight, far too sleek to hold shape. I try to capture the way the sun casts a white circlet on her dark hair as she gazes out over the water, her back to me. She tilts her head to the side and fingers yet another thick lock, twisting, tugging, tangling.

I keep glancing back and forth, from her to the page, determined to finally achieve the perfect balance of light and shadow. Libby always said I paid too much attention to shading, and I guess she was right. When Libby drew the sun breaking through a dark sky, it was so radiant you almost felt you had to shield your eyes.

I bite my lip and hunch closer to the page, adding a few final strokes, but the heel of my sweaty palm smears the charcoal into the white space, and just like that, the drawing’s ruined.

With a groan, I flip to yet another page and reluctantly switch to carbon pencil. When I look up, the ebony-haired woman is gone, and I’m alone once again with the sound of my sketchbook pages fluttering in the wind and the deep emerald water rushing against the ship’s bow.

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Also, remember those secrets I mentioned this morning? MEEP! Things just got even more secreter! The secretest! *insert finger strumming lips sound here*