The Jenna Devin Blog

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Barbie, Ken, and Juliet: Act 1, Scene 3


 
 
“Let’s get this party started!” the DJ calls out. 

Cheers erupt from all of the dancers…all except one.  “Let’s not,” mutters Darth Vader.  He groans and tries to escape, but I grab his hand again. 

“Don’t be such a party pooper!” I tease, giving him a playful swat.  Glancing at Darth Vader, however, I notice that he’s standing stiff and awkward, wringing his hands nervously.  He appears distressed and nervous, and I regret having forced him out onto the dance floor.  “It’s okay.  There’s nothing to be afraid of,” I reassure him.  “I mean, even if you did make a fool out of yourself, no one knows who you are with your costume on.”  …Including me, I think to myself, wondering if I’ll ever figure out who he really is.  I must admit that I’m curious.  Then again, maybe it’s better that I don’t know…

“That’s true,” Darth Vader says, his voice a tad bit brighter.  Well, as bright as it can be when one has the voice of Darth Vader at least…

“Yes, it is true, so let’s dance!” I say.  And dance we do.  Darth Vader pleasantly surprises me.  He starts out dancing a bit uneasily, still nervous, but after a couple more songs, he’s completely into it and actually dances pretty darn good.  As the night progresses, the music gets more and more high-paced, so our dancing gets more and more energetic to match.  Darth Vader really starts to get into it, and there’s an electricity in the air that makes me feel high.  I’m high on Darth Vader: the way he moves and the heat of his body close to mine.  Eventually, the high reaches a crash, and we both take a break to catch our breath.

“Wow.  You lied to me,” I say, panting.  “You can dance.  That’s for sure.”

“I honestly don’t know where that came from,” Darth Vader says.  “Seriously, I always suck at dancing.  I’m too self-conscious about it, I guess.  Tonight though, for some reason, I felt…free.  It’s probably the costume.  You know, knowing that no one knows who I am and all.”

“Well, you definitely don’t need to feel self-conscious,” I say.  “You are an amazing dancer.”

“Thanks,” he says shyly. 

There’s a moment of awkwardness, which is even more elevated by the sudden change in music.  The lights change to a muted navy blue, and the DJ calls out, “It’s time to take it down a notch and to grab that special someone.  It’s ‘slow dance time.’ ”   I blush and look down at my hands.  We stand there, uncertain and shy, until I see Darth Vader shakily take my hand.

“Would you…like to dance with me, Juliet?” he stutters. 

I beam and wrap my arms around him in place of a verbal answer.  My chest flutters with happiness as we slowly twirl around the room, Darth Vader holding me close.  I want to capture this moment and keep it forever.  Sadly, the song ultimately comes to an end.  We stop dancing but don’t release our hold on each other.  I sigh blissfully, but in the back of my mind I feel a sudden urgency to know his name.  I don’t want to leave without even knowing his name or seeing the face beneath the mask.  My heart skips a beat as I realize how I could go about doing this.  I hesitate, but then just tell myself: go for it!  “Darth Vader, would you remove your mask, so I may kiss you?” I ask.

“Of course,” he says.

Darth Vader slowly removes his mask.  When it’s completely off, I gasp in surprise of the face that is revealed.  “Oh my God…….Alex?!”

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Perception Pond



 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Is it dank and dirty?

Blue and brilliant?

Lush and lustrous?

You decide

Because the pond is yours

To choose.

 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

First Kiss



 
Expectation:

On a starry night, by a lovely pond,

A handsome prince sweeps me off my feet

And kisses me gently and passionately.

 

Reality:

On a stormy night, in the middle of the rain,

an awkward boy with raging hormones and braces,

 clumsily presses his lips on mine.

 

I wouldn’t trade the reality

for anything.

The imperfection of reality

is perfect.

 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Emptiness


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I know I need to move on, but

I can’t

Carry the ache in my chest.

I can’t

Heal the hole in my heart.

I can’t

Stand the emptiness.

I can’t

Forget you.

I can’t

Love anyone else

But you.

I can’t.

 

Free Gloves


So, this poem is kind of odd, but I think it's still kind of cool, too.  It was part of a poem exercise that I did in my independent writing class.  I picked three random magazine clippings from a box and was supposed to make a poem from those clippings.  My clippings were the following: "Free gloves," "Take charge," and "Get glowing."  So...the poem below is the result.  


Do you ever feel
that you want to be free?
Free like
free gloves.

Tired of being worn down
and used,
covering up and caring for others
but not yourself.

You need to take charge
and get glowing
like white gloves
dropped in the dark.
Free like
free gloves.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Barbie, Ken, and Juliet: Act 1, Scene 2


“This is going to be so fun!” Lindsay exclaims as she leaps gracefully out of the car, like a peppy cheerleader.

I sigh and groan as I slam my car door and slowly trudge along after her.  Looking behind me, I notice that Alex has already disappeared.  I find this disappointing, since he is the only one here I could possibly be interested in seeing, but the evil side of me is also pleased because now Lindsay will be frantically looking for Alex.  Lindsay’s smile disappears as she realizes that her boyfriend is nowhere in sight.

“Alex?” Lindsay asks, glancing around in confusion.  “Where are you?”

I turn away and smirk, but Lindsay notices before I get a chance to turn away completely.  She gives me a suspicious glare.

“You know where he is, don’t you?” Lindsay says, her pencil-thin eyebrows set in angry arches.

I look at her in mock confusion.  “Where who is?  I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Alex,” she says, stomping her foot like a toddler having a tantrum.  “Where is he?”

“How am I supposed to know?  You were sitting right next to him like two minutes ago, and you’re his girlfriend, so if anyone were to know where he is, it should be you,” I say putting my hands up in frustration.

Lindsay blushes and fixes her hair, trying to recover.  “Well, you still know him better.  You guys have been best friends since junior high, so I think it’d be you who would know where he might disappear to.”

Hmm. Fair point.  I guess Barbie’s got more brains than I thought.  “True.  Well, I would say he’d go right to the refreshments table.  He loves food, that’s for sure.”

“Thank you, Celia,” Lindsay says, with a far too perky smile on her face as she confidently strolls away.  I just stand there for a few moments, watching her strut away like a runway model.  I shake my head, trying to break free from my gloomy mood.  I might as well try to enjoy myself, right?  Who knows, maybe I’ll meet some handsome prince or something. 

So, I begin to make my way through a crowd of colors.  Just looking at all of the different costumes people are wearing is enough to lighten my mood.  I stand off to the side, just observing and putting the costumes into categories.  There are the usual costumes: an angel, a fairy, a firefighter, a doctor, a princess, etc…  Then, there are the slut costumes: slutty nurse, slutty cowgirl, slutty pirate, slutty pretty much anything you can imagine. Finally, there are the funny, clever, or odd-ball costumes (which are my favorites): a toilet, a ketchup bottle, Mario and Luigi, Big Bird…and Darth Vader.  The Darth Vader costume is particularly impressive; tall, imposing, and wearing all the right gear, the guy looks pretty much exactly like the real thing.  The nerd that I am is very intrigued, so I figure why not go over to the dark side and talk to Darth Vader?  When I approach him he doesn’t notice me at first, so I reach up and tap him on the shoulder.  He turns around and looks down at me (at least he appears to be doing this).  I have a sudden doubt come into my mind: What if this guy is some kind of creeper?  He could be looking down my dress this very moment.  As I think this, I unconsciously pull the collar of my dress up higher, just in case.

“Um, hey!” I say.  “Just thought I’d tell you that I love your costume.”

“Thanks,” he says in the low, breathy voice of Darth Vader. 

“Oh, sweet!  I dig the voice changer,” I say, totally geeking out over this guy’s authenticity.  “Say something else,” I add eagerly.

“Ummm…what do you want me to say?” Darth Vader says.

His statement makes me laugh for some reason.  It’s probably due to the fact that the real Darth Vader would never say “ummm,” or be hesitant in any way, like this Darth Vader seems to be.  I have to say that I find it very endearingly comical, and I want it to continue.  “Say something that Darth Vader would never say.  How about ‘I love puppies’?”

“Okay,” he says.  “I love puppies.”

I burst out laughing, and Darth Vader joins in, which makes me laugh even harder.  Darth Vader is laughing.  I thought I’d never see the day. 

“Thanks for that, Darth Vader.  I really needed a laugh,” I say, after I’m finally able to control myself.

“Glad to be at your service,” he says.

“Wow,” I say, raising my eyebrows in mock surprise.  “I never knew Darth Vader was such a gentleman.”

“He’s full of surprises, I guess,” Darth Vader says.  “I never knew Juliet was such a geek.”

“How did you know I was Juliet?” I ask, surprised.

“Well, the outfit kind of gave it away,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Hmmm, I suppose,” I say.  “My friends didn’t know who I was supposed to be though.  The Dark Side must be giving you some extra skills.”

“I wish,” Darth Vader says, laughing ironically.  We’re silent for a few moments, taking in the scene around us.  As people begin to gather on the dance floor, fast-paced music pours from the speakers.  The crowd slowly begins to move about and dance to the music.

“You want to dance?” I ask.  Darth Vader just laughs.  “What’s so funny?”

“I can’t dance,” he says.  “The Dark Side hasn’t provided me with that skill.”

“Aw, come on,” I say.  “You don’t have to be a professional to dance.  I dance like crap, but I still do it anyways.  It’s fun!”  Before he can respond, I take Darth Vader by the hand and lead him away from the Dark Side and into the light.