Setting
As if it were all back to the beginning like a couple summers ago, she sat in the very front row to enjoy the church’s annual talent concert. Everything about the church seemed promising to her. The same wooden benches that remind her of the hard and cold tile floors she sat on once during a stop on her road trip to New York when she impatiently waited in the long line for the one stall unisex bathroom of Chevron. The long and narrow sanctuary, dark red carpet with shoes stains. A colorful mosaic cross behind the white wall where the pastor preaches, allowing tinted sunlight to pull its cover over the four corners of sanctuary.
She enjoyed this day out of all the other days of her summer visit to ________, where her paternal grandparents live. (Give me a random location please!) In front of her was the youth group performing a mainstream love song. Most of them stood awkwardly. Slouched backs and tight shoulders, barely singing to the soundtrack. She lifted the corners of her lips, smiled gently as she watched these “kids” who can’t wait to finish their heartless performance that they threw together last minute. She had been in their shoes, too. Every summer before college, she came to this church and made friends with the local kids who attended this church. Now all of them went their separate ways after high school graduation. ( So did she. )
( She stared at the stage. ) Another performance after another by different groups. She sat with both hands overlaying each other on her lap. Her left leg crossed over her right. Her back leaning against the wooden bench which was then slightly warm. Many times, she unconsciously lift her left hand to touch the outer corners of her warm eyelids. A few times she touched her nose. As the program went on, she finally closed her eyes, leaned forward and covered her face as streams of tears rolled down to the melody of the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
I want to change the gas station to Shell or 76.
I want to change New York to Las Vegas. Does it make a difference?
Parenthesis= should i take these out?
This is what i get for reading J.D. Salinger all the time.
