Day 2 of 365 Days of Writing Prompts: Your character in yesterday’s post is justified (…at least to some extent), make us trust their goal is positive.

Erin: “How did your Christmas go,” Rosa asked sipping at some sort of brown liquor in her glass.

Leah stirred her coke, the ice cubes clinked on the sides of the glass. “Same old, same old.”

“What did they say now?” Leah could see all of the day’s happenings in Rosa’s eyes. Her mom asking her if she fell off of her diet. Her sister trying to convince her she would be happier if she found the right guy. Her dad presenting a few job options she could consider “if she wanted a career change.”

“Pretty much that my sister is doing everything right, and therefore I am not,” she pulled her straw out of her glass and pushed it back through the layer of ice.

“Your sister can take her 20’s housewife life and go back to Kansas,” Rosa said pouring her straight liquor into Leah’s glass. She could see her own control spilling out and over the rim.

“No,” she pulled the glass away and her friend’s drink poured straight onto the bar.

“You need to loosen up,” she insisted grabbing a small bar napkin and soaking up as much as she could. “If I were you I wouldn’t be calling my mom every day trying to get my family’s approval. I would cut them off,” she slurred the last few words and asked the bartender to top her off again.

The bar erupted as the glass ball dropped on the screen. Leah clinked her friend’s new drink and took 3 long sips. The alcohol felt warm entering her system and she felt warm around Rosa. Around her the whiskey felt safe, and around her whatever came of the night and of her life seemed fine. “You’re right, this year I will finally drink more and talk to my family less.”

Shannon: “You need to break out of your shell,” was the constant critique running through my head for the past few years of my life. I could never seem to meet enough new people, go to enough strange places, or test out enough out-of-the-norm activities. After all of my efforts to please my critics and better myself, I came to one conclusion: I miss my shell. This last year I spent so much time trying to break free from my shell that I left it so far behind I started feeling like I might never get it back. Sure, changing things up once in a while feels great, but I don’t want to lose my comfort zone again just to explore a new one. That’s why my New Year’s Resolution is to spend more time in my shell. I want to spend more time with the people I already love, more time in the places that bring me peace, and more of my days doing the activities that make me smile. Life is too short to spend free time not doing exactly what I enjoy most. So if anyone ever needs me, there’s a good chance they’ll find me happily in my comfy, cozy shell.

Day two built off of the simplicity of day one. Share your stories in the comments, and we’ll be back tomorrow!