200 happier words for my friend Arti

I walked into the middle of the room.  It wasn’t scary or anything.  More like terrifying actually.  I ran the last conversation we’d had through my mind, reading into things that didn’t need to be read into.  He’d said it was going to be ‘so nice’ to meet me.  I mean come on, nice?  That’s like the deadliest word you can use on a dating site, you know? Like, it’s always followed with a ‘but’.  She’s nice, but...

I’d bought a new dress.  It was this cream - almost white - colour.  Yeah, I know... big mistake.  I hadn’t realised until about four minutes before I was due to leave the house.  I could literally feel the moment I would spill a drink down it.  Okay, not literally.  I hate it when people use ‘literally’ the wrong way.  

After scouring the room for a minute I finally saw him at the bar.  He sort of nodded at me, and I could tell straight away he regretted it.  He felt stupid.  It was alright though - so did I.  Still, I made my way over to him.  

“You look stunning,” he said, kissing my cheek.

‘Stunning’, I thought.  Now that I could read into.

100-Word Story I wrote for a Competition

The wind licked at my exposed ankles as my long skirt swayed in the breeze.  I’d never seen my home town from that angle before.  As I scanned the rooftops in search of my childhood home, memories flooded back; the playground bullying, the day the bad thoughts started, the way no one ever listened.  Right there, as I stood on top of the world, I was empty.  I didn’t care for anything, and no one cared for me.  I was fed up of being lost.  So I lifted one foot, and stretched it out in front of me.  Then I jumped.