Greg Lyons Writing Exercise 2

A star fell from the sky and hit Jeremy in the levator scapulae. It was inconvenient because he was in the middle soaking a box of his sister's chocolates inside the nearby lake of fire. The box of chocolates fell completely into the lake of fire and started to pop. Jeremy only meant to roast the chocolate to pop the popcorn kernels inside, so his sister couldn't enjoy the popping herself when she ate it; she was one of those people with red hot iron breath; ergo, she could enjoy the chocolates more than the people without: Jeremy. Once the popping stopped and he could no longer guess where the box had fallen in, Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck where the star hit him and gazed in disbelief into the lake of fire. The waves moved more like Tree leaves in the wind than water, with spurts of curling fiery fox tails soaring up and then spiraling back down. He thought about jumping into the lake, but then his clothes would burn off him, and he'd have to walk home naked. His mother would be furious to have to buy him another pair of overalls. He could take off his clothes then jump in, he reasoned, but it might cost him his life. He stood there. The star started to talk in a normal star voice, “Pick me up.” Jeremy waved to the star to shut up, as if it was an annoying child. The star, which was naturally lying on its back like a starfish, arched itself so each one of its five points became temporary feet, and it crawled through the grass in circles over to Jeremy. “I said pick me up.” “I heard you,” he responded still debating the lake of fire. As he leaned over to check for any evidence of the chocolates, a spit of fire shot up and singed the front part of his blond bangs, the ends curled black. “Hey, I'm a talking star that just flew from the heavens and cracked you on the neck. Do you know what that means?” “Does it mean you'll jump into the lake for me and get the box of chocolates?” The star's eyes, which were located at the top of the star much like a Ray's eyes, shifted back and forth as if in confusion. It answered while looking away from Jeremy, “No.” “Then what good are you?” He replied. Jeremy now had his shoes off and was testing the temperature of the lake with his toes. “I can get you a box of chocolates,” the star stated. “But I can not get you that box of chocolates.” “Oh yeah?” Jeremy stepped back and looked at the star. “And where do you suppose we get a box of chocolates?” “From the chocolate shop.” Jeremy eyed the lake of fire then shifted back to the star. “Alright. But make sure we get the popping kind.” “The popping kind it is!” The star said triumphantly as it lifted a leg and saluted Jeremy. “Follow me”. Seconds later at the Chocolate shop. Closed. “Now what?” Jeremy said confused at the hanging wooden sign with each individual letter spinning around but always producing the correct orientation of its respective letter. The front of the building was entirely glass and looked impenetrable. The display cases, which usually held the chocolates and their boxes, were blocked off by wooden shutters closed from the inside. All the shops would hide their goods during off-hours so as to not unfairly and unjustly tempt passerbys into wanting something they can not have right now. “It's okay,” the star shuffled around Jeremy and went to the door. “We'll break in.” “But how do we break in when the door is locked?” “I'll use my star power and get us inside.” With that, the star lowered itself down like a piece of paper and then slipped itself under the door. Once inside, the star lifted itself back up onto its points and looked around. There was an oak wood-paneled ceiling fan floating slowly in circles and behind it a black ceiling. It looked like a fake black to the star because there were no lights in it; black always has lights in it. Moving down the star could see the walls were also the same shade of black and the shop was outlined on four sides with transparent showcases displaying the chocolates of the world. There was vinegar chocolate, cold chocolate, seesaw chocolate, raspberry chocolate, gorilla chocolate, fox tail chocolate, mortared chocolate, and all the other chocolates ever seen by a star before. Of course, there in the corner just above the around-the-bend chocolate was the popping chocolate. It was out of reach for the star. It turned around and went for the lock on the door. It was also out of reach.