Writing sprint, 40 minutes, 450 words.
“Her fingers were…prickly? As if they wanted to be doing something, but she didn’t know what. And sometimes when she touched things – a door handle, a bit of wall, Shanthi felt a little jolt, like static electricity. She settled on the porch swing, laced her fingers together in her lap, and used her legs to start swinging gently. Breeze was good, and motion seemed to help.”
*****
More Sri Lanka in 2016 research questions.
1) What might a 7th grade girl be reading in her English class? Assuming it wouldn’t actually be called English either?
2) And plausible that back roads / alleys in Negombo wouldn’t be paved, then? This is what I have right now:
“Shanthi ran. She pulled off her pinching school shoes and stuffed them in her backpack as soon as she was off the main streets of Negombo and onto back roads, the fastest route to her house. Shanthi’s feet were callused enough not to mind the hard dirt packed beneath, and she kept a careful eye out for broken glass.”
I’m pretty sure I watched some kids play cricket on a dirt alley in Colombo on my 2009 trip with Karina (might even have a photo), but am not quite sure.
3) Oh, also, would a middle-class 16-year-old have a smartphone? If so, what would she be spending her time doing in 2016? Chatting with friends on WhatsApp? SnapChat? Something else?
4) And my grandmother’s one-story house in Negombo had a porch / verandah, if I’m remembering right. Reasonable for a middle-class house? Can I put a porch swing on it? Would a rocking chair be more typical?