Oct 20, 2019
GLEAM BLOG
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GLEAM BLOG
FIVE WRITERS TO WATCH A LOOK INTO THEIR CREATIVE WRITINGS
Play this song while reading our entry stories on creative writing!
Our stories that will surely bring gleam to your life! <3
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London.
“Taming of The Alpha”
A 10-Minute play
By:
J.T. Espino
T.M. Kabiling
K.S. Ocampo
F.M. Sales
J. Simon
CHARACTERS
Simon Adler – 20 years old. President of Alpha Beta Max.
Fiona Boyle – 19 years old. President of MARIA
Julian Sprouse – 19 years old. Vice President of Alpha Beta Max. Best friend of Simon. Has a fling with Reese.
Reese Gogh – 20 years old. Vice President of MARIA. Best friend of Fiona. Has a fling with Julian
TIME
This time is in year 2019
PLACE
Maxwell University in Padua
SCENE 1
Morning. Boulevard of Maxwell University. There are booths set up for the club fair. The organizations Alpha Beta Max and MARIA’s booths are facing each other. MARIA giving out flyers. Boys enter
ALPHA BETA MAX
(chanting very loud)
Alpha Beta Max, Alpha Beta Max, Alpha Beta Max!
At this moment, JULIAN arrives, followed immediately by SIMON. JULIAN conducts the lead cheering.
JULIAN
Be cool, be a beta brother and strengthen each other.
SIMON
(nonchalantly)
Relax, guys. let them come to us.
FIONA
Tch, men. They’re just noisy good-for-nothings. Hi, join MARIA and end patriarchy together. Beware of those low college men.
Boys found their way roaming around the boulevard. SIMON overheard MARIA’s President, FIONA. He goes near MARIA’s booth with a loathsome grin
SIMON
(smirks)
Do I really affect you that much? Try focusing on your “organization” instead of swooning over us.
He backs up pretending to drop a mic. He forgets that his boys already left
FIONA
(exasperates)
Excuse me, how can anyone like such cocky guys like you?
From the other booth, college girls spotted SIMON. FIONA turns to the squealing girls
COLLEGE GIRLS
Oh. My. God! It’s Simon Adler! I’d totally hit that.
SIMON
You were saying?
FIONA hesitant to turn back to SIMON, starts clenching fists. REESE approaches and grabs FIONA’S arm away
REESE
(calmly)
Fiona, let him be. C’mon, let’s go
JULIAN comes from the nearby booth. He approaches SIMON
JULIAN
(kinky)
Hey, bro! Whatchu doin’ out here? What’s up with these la…dies.
JULIAN and REESE make eye contact. REESE tilts her head and widens her eyes.
REESE
Why don’t you go and take some rest? I’ll take care of this.
Everyone exits. REESE and JULIAN meet at the alley far from the booths.
REESE
What was that all about? Why are you with Simon?
JULIAN
What about you? Why are you with Fiona? Don’t tell me that you’re part of MARIA?
REESE
(fiercely)
What about it? At least, I’m not in a stupid group like Alpha Beta Max!
JULIAN
(offended)
What do you mean stupid? It’s my group!
REESE
Then, why didn’t I hear about this last summer?
JULIAN
(replies softly)
So, what do we do now? What about us?
REESE
I don’t know, Julian. I don’t think it’s possible with our situation right now.
REESE steps back and leaves JULIAN alone. REESE exits
JULIAN
(Obnoxiously nodding whilst talking to himself)
I need to do something about this. I have to make this work.
SCENE 2
Evening. Alpha Beta Max fraternity house. JULIAN and SIMON drinking their usual away from the other boys who were playing on their XBOX
JULIAN
(befuddles)
Fuck, bro. Who were you with a while ago? Damn, they’re gor-hor-geous, man! Isn’t she a catch? But she’s from MARIA.
SIMON
(baffles)
Yeah, bro. But that girl, you’re talking about is hell of a shrew.
JULIAN
Well yeah? You’ll have to find out yourself if you shoot your shot, ain’t it? But bro, you’re a ladies’ man, would you let her ruin your reputation?
SIMON
What’s the point? It’s a waste of my time. Ugh, I don’t have to prove anything to her and you.
JULIAN
Oh man, ya’ just gonna let them define us – just boys?! You should show them that we are more than “just boys”. We are Alpha Beta Max. Are you just gonna settle for words?
SIMON
Okay fine! I’ll do it. I am doing this for my Alpha Beta Max brothers. Nothing more, nothing less.
JULIAN
(mirthfully)
Yes! That’s my man. We are rooting for you!
Boys wooed even if they didn’t know what was it about. Everyone exits.
SCENE 3
Morning. Library. FIONA is reading a book. SIMON approaches her.
SIMON
(flirty)
The Feminine Mystique. It suits you, strong and opinionated.
FIONA
(disrupted, annoyed)
What are you doing here? Are you here to yet again feed your male ego?
SIMON
Why do I need to feed my ego when girls do it for me?
FIONA
(exasperated then angrily replies)
Ugh! The audacity! You men are so full of yourselves like you think that women live for your needs and women can’t live without you. You think you can play with wo-
SIMON
Relax! Okay? Why do you hate men so much huh?
FIONA
For your information, it’s not that I hate men. We’re merely asking for equal opportunities. This fight is not about our pride, it’s about helping our fellow women fight for themselves. We seek nothing but mutual respect.
SIMON
(softly)
Well, that made me feel bad. I know I haven’t been really nice to you. It’s just that I didn’t realize the depth of your cause. To make it up to you, how about we grab some ice cream?
FIONA
(hesitant)
Hm, okay? But make sure that this isn’t just one of your schemes.
SIMON
Of course! See you tomorrow?
SCENE 4
Morning. Hallway of Maxwell University. JULIAN and SIMON already settled in Hallways, talks whilst fixing stuff inside their lockers.
JULIAN
Hey, bro! I heard you went out with the shrew last night. So, how was it?
SIMON
(nonchalantly)
Yeah, it turned out really well and by the way don’t call her a shrew, she’s not like that.
JULIAN
(confounded)
What do you mean?
SIMON
(dreamy)
She’s actually really nice… and really smart.
FIONA enters without the knowledge of the boys and she listens
JULIAN
(giddy)
So, don’t tell me you like Fiona, already.
SIMON
(laughs)
No, bro.
JULIAN
(unamused)
The way I see it, you still need to work on the bet. She needs to fall head over heels for you.
Fiona is shocked with what she heard. She tries to run away and Simon sees her and grabs her in the arm.
SIMON
(shocked)
Fiona, wait, it’s not what you think it is.
FIONA
Then what is it Simon? I thought you were different and you actually understood me.
SIMON
Don’t get mad.
FIONA
(aggravated)
I’m not mad at you. I’m just disappointed because I thought that this was finally the start of a good relationship between us.
FIONA walks away but SIMON did not try to chase her. FIONA then entered the organization room with disappointment on her face. She heavily puts her things down and REESE enters and notices her immediately
SCENE 5
REESE
Hey, is everything alright? Seems like you had a rough day.
FIONA
(furious and disappointed)
Guess what? Those boys from Alpha Beta Max? They bet on me. Men really think they have the right to objectify women and treat us as toys. And I'm actually disappointed with myself for thinking they were changing.
REESE
(befuddles)
What? Bet on you? Is it Simon and Julian?
FIONA
(confounded)
Yes, how’d you know?
REESE storms out immediately to the corridor and Julian approaches her.
REESE
(angrily)
So, this was the thing you planned on doing and you thought it was a good plan, huh?
JULIAN
I just thought that if our leaders are in good terms, then we could be together.
REESE
(furious)
But Fiona had nothing to do with this and you treated her as something you can play with. What you did was wrong no matter how you look at it.
JULIAN
I know it was a bad idea. I'm sorry, Reese. What can I do to make it up to you?
REESE leaves JULIAN alone in the hallway. Everyone exits. Enter JULIAN who calls SIMON and tells him to meet him at the fraternity house.
SCENE 6
SIMON
(anxiously pacing)
Shit man! We are so screwed up. Fiona’s mad at me and I don’t know what to do because I actually started to have feelings for her. What a stupid bet.
JULIAN
I know. I screwed up too. I schemed this whole thing for Reese and I to be together. I met her this summer and things have been going great until we realized we were in opposing groups. Now she’s mad at me too. This whole thing’s a mess.
SIMON
What? This basically means that we’re in the same situation. What do we even do now?
JULIAN
I don’t know, try and win their hearts back? Just trust me on this. This whole thing’s my fault and I’m gonna try and fix it myself.
SCENE 7
Morning. Hallway of Maxwell University. JULIAN approaches REESE’s locker and leaves flowers and chocolates inside. REESE reaches her locker and sees Julian.
REESE
(baffles)
What do you think you’re doing here? Why are you leaving your trash in my locker?
JULIAN
(confused)
What do you mean trash? Don’t you like flowers and chocolates? Come on. I got these for you.
REESE
(fiercely)
Do you really think I’m that shallow? Flowers and chocolates aren’t gonna cut it, Julian.
SIMON
Hey, Fiona. You saw what I got for you?
FIONA
Yes. Don’t ever give me those trash again. You can’t even sincerely apologize.
Eveyone exits. Bleachers of the school’s soccer field. SIMON and JULIAN enters
SCENE 8
SIMON
(unhappily reports)
What a plan, Julian. It failed again.
JULIAN
(abrasively replies)
Well, I don’t know what else to do! I thought they were gonna appreciate it!
SIMON
(alacritous)
You know what, after spending some time with Fiona, I actually now understand them. We need to apologize. Let’s do this for real.
SCENE 9
Morning. Auditorium of Maxwell University, filled with the entire student body, graduation stuff everywhere. JULIAN enters and walks towards SIMON
JULIAN
(nonchalantly asks)
Hey, man. You ready? It’s gonna be a long ass speech.
SIMON
(nervously replies)
I’m not, but here goes nothing.
SIMON, JULIAN, FIONA, and REESE together with the other seniors of Maxwell University march on the red carpet as a part of the graduation rites. The principal calls SIMON to deliver his speech as the president of Alpha Beta Max.
SIMON
(holds the microphone with confidence and pride)
To end my speech, as the president of Alpha Beta Max, I would like to formally apologize to the members of MARIA for ignoring their causes as an organization. This school year, I have had the opportunity to know the president of MARIA. After spending sometime with her, I finally realized the importance of their organization. It promotes equality and helps many women around the world. MARIA truly makes a difference. Alpha Beta Max supports MARIA and their endeavors.
JULIAN gets close and sits beside REESE. Turns to REESE
JULIAN
Heard the speech? I took part in writing that.
REESE
(laughs)
Oh, really? Quite good then. I guess you’re sorry?
JULIAN
(smiles slyly)
I was about to apologize! I’m sorry, Reese.
SIMON descends from the stage. FIONA goes to the backstage and approaches SIMON.
FIONA
Nice speech you got there.
SIMON
(scratches the back of his head)
Really? Is it alright?
FIONA
(nods and smiles)
SIMON
(nervously clears his throat and gently holds Fiona’s hand)
Look, Fiona. I’m really sorry for what happened. What I did is inexcusable. But despite that, I’d like you to know that what you saw in me was real. This time, if you give me the chance, I want to get to know you more.
FIONA
(looks at Simon’s eyes)
No secrets this time?
SIMON
(smiles with certainty)
No secrets this time.
THE END
Photo Credit: Touchstone Pictures.
SPACE TRAVELLER
By Jullianne Simon
My love, it’s been long since I caught a glimpse of your beautiful face.
You were telling me stories about your desire of exploring space
and imparting how it is a wondrous place
that keeps your world, revolving at the right pace.
Now that you are among the stars at night
and light years away from Earth’s loneliness and fright,
your soul is now as free and fiery as the sun, burning bright
and traversing the universe with pure blithe.
Photo Credit: @commonmayhem - weheartit.com
Colors of Rainbow
By Jullianne Simon
Before, I was just like everyone else, a completely normal high school student. I lived in a nice home with my mom who supports me with all my endeavors. I get to study and do fun things with the people I enjoy being with. I was able to do thing that I loved the most. My life seemed completely normal until I realized, I am not the person people think I am.
I am different. I am a person filled with different bright and wonderful colors. But instead of embracing who I am, I let the monsters take over and consume, leaving darkness and shadows. I was scared, scared of myself and of the shadows and monsters. That is why I hid inside the enormous closet, away from resentment. I thought I was safe, but the closet is also the haven of monsters and shadows, haunting me. Should I call for help? Or at least have someone to listen. I am tired of being inside the closet, I should get out of this closet.
“Robin, sweetie! Alexei is here!” my thoughts were interrupted by my mom’s loud voice. “Come on down now.” she added. I immediately fixed my things and sprinted downstairs to meet my best friend in the flesh. Alexei and I greeted each other with our signature handshake.
“Bye, mom! I’ll see you later.”
“Goodbye, Mrs. Byers! Thanks for the cookies” said Alexei.
“Goodbye! Be careful and be home by 11 o’clock.”
I shut the door close and rode the bicycle. Today, Alexei and I decided to have a day at the local beach of Elmore, our beloved town. It is one of our favorite places to hang out and have what we call “Robin and Alexei Day”. Alexei lives two blocks away from our house and I have known her being since 4TH grade. She is one of the few persons I am close with, oh well scratch that, she’s the only person I am close with aside from my mom. She is far from other girls in our school. She doesn’t care what others think and she simply let her heart out. She’s full of fun, courage, wit and talent which I am the complete opposite of. And maybe that is why we are best of friends.
On our way to the beach, Alexei screamed through her lungs, “Come on, Robin, we do not want to miss this chance!” with her hair all over hair face. “Okay, I’ll go faster!” I replied and pedaled the bike with all my might.
“SCREEEEEEECH!”
“Look, Robin! The weather is perfect for my peg layout and there are less people than last week,” Alexei said as we arrived at the Elmore and left our bicycles at the nearby parking rack. I gave her a big smile and answered, “Yeah, it’s beautiful. I wish the little crabs are out in the sand today so I take some clips too.” As a response, she nods her head and genuinely smiled back at me. Then, we started to do our thing. After an hour, we laid a blanket and ate the delicious snacks my mom has prepared.
“CHUM. CHUM. CHUM.” With cookies, chocolate and milk stuffed inside her mouth, she asked, “Have you decided what to wear on the Ball next week or have any of the cute boys asked you out already?” She wiggled her eyebrows and nudged me in the elbow. I shrugged and gave her a mischievous grin. “Hey is there something I need to know? Did Steve, the cutest boy in Elmore High School asked you out on a date without my knowledge?”
By the way, aside from having a thing for photography Alexei has also a thing for cute boys and as for me, I have a thing for films but definitely not for boys.
“Robin, hey!” she playfully slapped me in the arm. “Ouch! You’re just jealous.” I snickered. “How dare you hide things from me and how could I not know?” she let out a defeated sigh and frowned, the ugliest face she makes. I chortled and earned another slap. “I can be your third-wheel, I promise I’ll be good.” That is when I burst out into laugh. “Hey, I was just kidding! No one, not even your Steve, has asked me out yet.” Alexei’s face slowly unwrinkled and a grin formed into her lips. “Really? I still have the chance to ask him out. Ahhhhh.” she said.
“You’re crazy!” I muttered under my breath.
“Oh, tell me something, I don’t know,” she retorted.
“You really like him, do you?” I asked and we laughed sheepishly in unison. After that, we continued munching on our food then it was all quiet for a moment.
“How about you? Are you having a crush on anyone?” she asked.
With that question, I felt the urge to open the closet. I fidgeted. Hands all clammy, ragged breath, heart as if it would jump out the chest, and noodle legs. I thought it was the right time.
“Alexei, about that, can I tell you something?”, biting my chapped lips.
“Of course, anything. I am all ears.” She said as she propped her ears up and down.
And that is the best thing about Alexei, she is always ready to offer an open mind and open ears.
“Uhm, you know I haven’t been completely honest with you, like really honest with you.”
“Okay, go on.”
“You see, since we were in 7th grade, I knew that I was unlike the rest. I am attracted to girls more than boys. I have been denying and hiding this for years now. It is hard to accept at first. It is like stumbling upon a familiar to the heart yet completely strange to the mind. I don’t know if how long I could still suppress this truth. Now, I have gathered all my courage to tell you this because you are the closest person that I have and I feel like I am failing to share my life with you as my best friend. I am sorry.”
I am now crying, loud as the waves crashing to the shores. Heart beat hastier than before. Hefty weight on my body has been lifted. “Thank you, thank you for saying all of this.” Then she hugged me. It was comforting and freeing. Someone finally found my hideout.
“I escaped the reeling dusk of fear. Now I feel a lot safer.”
“That is because you are brave. And remember that I love you with all my heart.”
“Thank you, Alexei” Robin replied.
After that, we were surrounded by the soothing sound of our beating hearts. And just like that. Colors of rainbow have burst out the closet. One that is hiding in the dark has finally shown her brightest and boldest colors. She is now about to bring light on her world and unto the life others. No more monsters and shadows, just spectrum of light and happiness.
Photo Credit: @commonmayhem - weheartit.com
By Fiona Mae Sales
The middle of a cold night
You are the shadow of your own light
Pasted a smile trying to hide sadness
I looked into your eyes and all i see is a beautiful mess.
As the sun greeted me with delight In
I looked up, slowly, seeing and feeling the touch of the light
Pasted a small sad smile as my tears rolled down on my face
Trying to picture the last night I saw you in our own memorable place.
Photo Credit: Pinterest