The little girl stroked her doll’s hair while humming a sweet lullaby into the doll’s ear. It was her favorite song; the one Mommy used to sing to her every night. That was before Mommy had changed, though, before she had started drinking all of the time and getting very angry at the little girl, before they had to leave their big house by the water and move into a small house with only one room, before Mommy had began cursing the day her two daughters had been born. 1
The little girl turned her head as she heard her name being called. She peeked around the dumpster that she had been sitting next to and began to run down to the other end of the damp alley. “Gracie!” she heard a familiar voice call. She ran excitedly, her bare feet making faint slapping noises against the hard dirt. As she reached her older sister she came to a halt, grinning and pushing curly blonde strands of hair away from her eyes. “Lisa, you came back!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down and hugging her doll. 2
Lisa rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide a smile. “Of course I did, Squirt. I told ya I’d only be gone for a bit.” 3
Gracie’s eyes lowered. “I-I wasn’t sure. You were gone for an awful long time. I thought maybe you’d left me.” 4
“Naw,” Lisa said, ruffling her sister’s hair. “If I did, then who’d I give this to?” She opened her hand to reveal a tiny bracelet strung together out of old beads. Most were chipped, but the rising sun glinted off the beads at just the right angle, so they glittered and sparkled in Gracie’s tiny hands. She giggled with delight as she put the bracelet on her wrist, handling it as if it were the finest gold. 5
“You like it, Squirt?” Lisa asked after a while, pushing a strand of light brown hair out of her face. Gracie nodded happily. Lisa’s face grew serious. “That means no more stealing jewelry you think is pretty, Gracie.” Gracie nodded again, this time imitating Lisa’s sullen expression. 6
“Now let’s go,” Lisa said, her voice sounding more cheerful. She held out her hand, which Gracie took thankfully. “We’re gonna go work at another one of those dress making shops,” Lisa said, trying too hard to sound excited as she led her sister across the near-empty street. 7
“Oh,” Gracie responded. “Hey Lisa, could you—could you tell me that story again? The one you always tell to me?” 8
Lisa sighed and stopped walking. “You know it. You tell me.” 9
Gracie shook her head. “It only works if you tell it,” she said, looking up at Lisa with big pleading eyes. 10
“Fine,” Lisa muttered, beginning to walk again. As she began reciting the story, Gracie followed along, saying the words silently to herself. “Most girls,” Lisa began, “Most girls aren’t like us. Most don’t have a home to go to. Most girls are alone, traveling the streets, wondering where their next meal will come from. But us, we’re different. We’ve got each other. And we’ve got a Mommy, and a big house by the lake just waiting for us to come back.” 11
“Just waiting!” Gracie echoed, clapping her hands together. “And…” she urged. “And someday, we’re gonna make enough money to buy back our house and everything else we ever had before. And we’ll go and show Mommy what we’ve earned, and she’ll be happy again,” Lisa finished; a sad note in her voice as she said the last part. 12
“And she will love us again,” Gracie whispered, hugging her doll tighter. 13
Lisa sighed and they walked the rest of the way in silence. Finally Lisa stopped walking and stood in front of a large building. Gracie stopped too, staring up at their soon-to-be work place. She grasped her sister’s hand tightly as Lisa led her to an old door on the side of the building. Lisa knocked a few times and then stood back as a large woman in an overly elaborate dress answered the door. She scowled slightly, taking in the girls’ appearance. “You the new help?” the woman asked, the lines at the edge of her mouth turning farther down. 14
“Yes ma’am. I- my name is Lisa. Lisa Andrews. And this is Grace Andrews, my sister. We’re willing to work wherever we’re needed, ma’am,” Lisa said, looking a little nervous. The woman eyed her disbelievingly. “Can either of you two read?” she asked, leaning in close to look her straight in the eye. 15
“I can read,” Lisa said. “And Grace, well, I can read for her.” The woman raised an eyebrow. “Read this then,” she demanded, shoving a newspaper in Lisa’s face. “The New York Inquirer, today is Monday, September twenty-first, nineteen hundred thirty-seven,” Lisa read with ease. 16
“All right,” the woman said, stepping aside to let them in. She paused for a moment, blocking the doorway again. “Exactly what is your age, girl?” 17
“I’ll be sixteen years old in February, ma’am.” 18
“And you?” the woman asked, looking at Gracie. 19
“Grace is eleven years old,” Lisa said, before Gracie had a chance to answer. Gracie looked up at her sister, confused, but didn’t say anything. 20
“She looks mighty tiny to be eleven years old,” the woman said suspiciously, her full attention now on the little girl. “Still playing with dolls at this age?” 21
Gracie hugged her doll tighter. Lisa bit her lip. “Well, she’s a bit small for her age, I suppose, but she’s as good a worker as any and she’ll listen when you tell her to do something,” Lisa said quickly. 22
“She doesn’t talk much, does she?” the woman asked, warily stepping aside to let the two girls in. 23
Lisa held Gracie’s hand tighter as they entered the dress shop. Everywhere tired looking girls and women were making clothes by hand. “You’ll work here for now,” the woman said, stopping in front of a barrel of mixed cloths. “Sarah can tell you what to do.” With that, she briskly walked off. 24
Lisa and Gracie turned and looked at the girl who was presumably Sarah. She smiled warmly, putting the girls a bit more at ease. “That’s just Ms. Ruthford. She’s always like that.” She shrugged. “All we have to do is sort the different materials. You can watch me for awhile until you get the hang of it.” Sarah was young, in what looked like her early twenties, with curly, dark hair and a very warm smile. 25
“Lisa, why’d you say I was eleven?” Gracie asked when the girls went on their lunch break. 26
“It’s hard to explain,” Lisa answered, biting into a piece of very hard bread. 27
“But I’m only seven years old! Did you forget, Lisa?” 28
Lisa laughed. “No, Squirt. I didn’t forget. I just said that so we could work here. If they thought you were seven, they wouldn’t let us.” 29
“But I am seven! And I will only be eight years old on my next birthday!” 30
“It’s okay,” Lisa said. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. Just eat that bread before it gets any harder.” 31
They arrived back from their lunch break early so Sarah could show them how to sort the materials. Gracie sat next to Lisa and watched in frustration as Sarah began putting the cloths into different piles. She couldn’t understand it; every single cloth looked exactly the same to her. She quietly slipped away from her sister and made her way into the depths of the shop. She wound through rows of workers, silently observing them as they cut and sewed different materials together. Soon she found herself at the foot of a stairwell. She turned around, looking for Lisa, but could not see her at all. She was scared that she was lost, but then figured she’d have a better chance of finding Lisa if she were up higher. She climbed the stairs two by two, remembering how she used to climb the stairs of their big house long ago. 32
She reached the top and looked around, but she wasn’t on a balcony. Instead she was in a small but neat room. She was about to turn around when something caught her eye. She looked to see something small and glittery resting on a box in the middle of a table. She walked over to the sparkling object slowly; making sure nobody was around. As she got closer, she saw it was a diamond bracelet resting in a velvety case. She touched the bracelet in awe, making sure it was actually real. The sleeve of her dress fell down, revealing the bracelet her sister had given her. Here, inside the room, the bracelet looked dull and lifeless. She picked up the diamonds and placed them next to the old bracelet. The diamonds looked ten times prettier than the chipped beads, and she carefully held both the bracelets in her hands. 33
Looking at the bracelets, she knew what she wanted to do. She knew she had to have the pretty diamond bracelet; after all, it was just sitting around in a box. She placed her old bracelet in the box and closed her hand tightly around the diamonds. Hearing footsteps coming, she raced down the stairs, right past Ms. Ruthford, who was on her way up. 34
Gracie kept running until she found Lisa and Sarah. “Gracie!” Lisa exclaimed when she saw her sister. “Where were you? Why’d you run away like that? Don’t you know what—” 35
A scream from the second floor interrupted Lisa, causing everyone in the shop to look up. Ms. Ruthford came storming down the stairs, her cheeks red from fury. “Where’s that little brat?” she screamed from the other side of the shop. “She stole my diamond bracelet! Does she know the punishment for stealing from me is?” 36
Lisa’s eyes widened as she grabbed Gracie’s hand. “Did you take something again?” she yelled. 37
Gracie shook her head. “No! I didn’t! I didn’t take it!” she cried, twisting her hand from Lisa’s grasp. 38
Lisa grabbed her arm again. “Come on!” she said, pulling Gracie out the door. 39
They ran through the streets and weaved in and out of alleys until they couldn’t hear Ms. Ruthford’s screeches anymore. “What were you trying to pull back there?” Lisa asked angrily, both of them struggling to catch their breath. Gracie’s eyes filled with tears. “The diamonds were just so pretty! And the beads… the beads wouldn’t sparkle anymore!” 40
Lisa sighed. “You know what this means, Gracie? This means we’ll have to hop a train to somewhere and start all over again. I swear, someday you’re gonna get yourself killed over something sparkly.” 41
“I’ll try harder, Lisa. I’ll try harder next time,” Gracie said softly as they walked away. “For Mommy. So Mommy will love us again.” 42
Author notes
My favorite character I have ever created: darling Gracie. She's definately the epitome of innocence. I love her characteristics, and her words and actions just seemed to flow from my head to the paper.
This was written for an english assginment. It's inspired by Steinbeck's "Of Mice And Men." For those who read the book, Lisa is like George, Gracie is like Lennie. There are a bunch of other little links to the book in there too. And yes, the dialogue is supposed to be like that 
A contest entry
- Strong Women Protagonists by LaBelle.
100 points, ended December 28, 2006, 15 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - Memorable characters and relationships- stories by Jinxgirl.
125 points, ended May 1, 2006, 11 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
1 - 28 of 28
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ohmg, this is awesome. i love it. i want more of it
okay?
lol. good job
sha
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Aw, wow, this was really good! Sad, but good. I can definately see the connection between this story and Of Mice and Men. Like, the story Lisa told Gracie (which I didn't really understand until you said it took place in 1937, then I got that it was during the Depression), and Gracie liking shiny things instead of furry things. This was really clever.
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really good!
I can see the comparision now between Gracie and Lenny and Lisa and George. I love that story and would never have seen the connection if you hadn't pointed it out. Very good story, I feel bad for Lisa and Gracie both, they are both very sympathetic characters. I really really enjoyed this!beginning: 5, language: 4, plot: 5, overall: 9, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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thank you soo much! I'm glad you saw the connections, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for the great comment!!
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So sad, very touching. I love the idea of writing in the past. It takes talent to do that and you did it well, keeping the story simple, but still emotional with the dialogue. And the end is the perfect cliffhanger.
beginning: 3, language: 3, plot: 3, ending: 4, dialog: 5, characters: 3.
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well written and sad
Your conversation was excellent. This was well edited, no awkward spots cropped up that I could see. The plot was low, but that's common among short stories, especially ones inspired by Steinbeck
I was a bit worried she'd be taken advantage of when she said she was 16, but lucky the story didn't go that way
Strong characters and a nice piece. great work here!beginning: 3, plot: 2, overall: 9, ending: 4, dialog: 4, characters: 5.
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Great!!
Hey! This is a great story!! I liked the two sisters bond. This was a sad story tho!!! Keep up the great work!! You need to write something, you haven't for a while!!!!
Your AP Lil' Sis, Shadowbeginning: 3, language: 3, plot: 4, overall: 8, ending: 4, dialog: 3, characters: 5.
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thanks! And I know I havn't been writing for a while.. school has been torture and I have been having a serious writers block. But thank you so much for taking the time to comment... i really appreciate it!
your AP big sis!
Cristi
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WOO!
Allo! Just thought I'd stop in and read something. This was great. I love the way the two sisters interact. What a little klepto! Lol...I've actually never read "Of Mice and Men." Several people have reccomended it to me, but I just never get around to reading it. Anyway, awesome.beginning: 5, language: 5, plot: 5, overall: 7, ending: 5, dialog: 5, characters: 5.
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thanks!!
thanks soo much! What a great comment. "Of Mice and Men" is a great book. A little slow at the beginning, but I got emotional at the end!! Thanks for taking the time to come look!
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Thank you so much! I'm pretty much new to this site, so let me just tell you that you gave me my first ever trophy! I'm so excited, you don't know how much this means, especially in a contest with so many entries. Again, thanks so much!!
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Absolutely loved it, fabulous, i hope you did well on your assignment, i should think so! I really like the way you wrote this, i don't know what it is but it held my attention the whole way through it and i immensily enjoyed it, you are into round two, congradulations you have a shot a the prizes, with a write ilke this, you deserve nothing less good luck
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Thank you! And I'm glad you got the symbolism and everything. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
-Cristi -
That story was great! I love the symbolization you used with the bracelet (literary devices lol). Very creative!
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That story was great! I love the symbolization you used with the bracelet (literary devices lol). Very creative!
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Awesome!!!
I had to read that book for summer reading! I loved it! All through your story I thought "Of Mice & Men." So great!!! -
Wow. This was sad, but forgiving. It made me feel kind of bad for them with the whole hater-mom thing going on. It wasn't so cool. It was a great story. Well written. good work!
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aaawww Cristi!!! sorry it took me so long to read this, but i absolutely love it! you are truly a fantastic writer, and if some huge publishing company doesnt print some of your stuff someday then they will have to deal with a very perterbed shannon! hehehe......this is so beautiful though. i really do love it, especially the whole bracelet thing, and they way you introduced the setting in an inconspicuous yet still informative way. Great job cristi dear, please keep writing!!! I love this very much! Love...Shannon
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You are a fantastic story writer. You had me hooked right away. I couldn't stop reading this story. Well done
I hope you continue with this I would like to know what happens next
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Thanks steph. and thank you everyone!! I'm so happy everyone liked it so much!
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AWESOME
wonderful write. I suck at writing stories and well u r awesome at them good imagery keep uo the good work...applaud me back I'm trying to get points to start a contest.
~*Steph*~ -
Loved it. I've never read 'Of Mice and Men' but now I think i'll go and pick up a copy. You told this very well. Here I get to see the relationship between the two sisters, and how they both long for a better life-does that make sense?
Gracie is a character I loved the most because I understand her temptation of wanting to take things that look pleasent to the eye. I've done my share and have payed the price!! And I could relate to Lisae, being the older sister, seeing as I am the oldest of five and am constantly trying to look out for the other four to make sure that they don't get into any trouble. I guess in summary I understand them. Their life. The way they're living. Plenty of times my family has lost alot and we had to find ways to earn money to get those things back again. You did an awesome job telling this story!!! Thanks for entering and good luck!!
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that was great! it's really touching and kinda sad, but sweet at the same time. it's awesome!
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Good
Very good work. I like it.
I also like the connections.
Great work. The setting is nice and the characters work well. Good job! -
Wow cristi that is really good. wow. Keep up the awesome work!
♥Kate -
aw. this was such a sweet story, and its really good too. The story is also really sad at the same time. Its well written and the story advances nicely. There is strong character developement, and although I have not read the book, I'm quite interested. Well done and good luck!!!
*~~*Holly -
really? thank you! wow... I'm so happy you liked it! As for continuing the story, I never thought about it. Hmmm, maybe I will continue it. I'll have to think about what I would do
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“And she will love us again,” Gracie whispered, hugging her doll tighter.-
that line made me want to cry my eyes out!! Please...please please please tell me that you will continue on this story! it started out so amazingly. I loved it, it was so detailed, just so wonderful. It captured me...I just couldn't go on if you wouldn't finish I'd be terribly sad!
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