Music Video Gangster

Andrea Smith never liked to be called Andrea. Smith was a boring enough last name that she hated having a normal first name. Despite the occasional taunt that she was trying to sound too much like a music video gangster, she'd always insist on simply being called Dre. Her hair was longer than Dean remember, but at least she hadn't straightened it like she had for months during junior year. She didn't seem fatter or skinnier, although she looked older in some way Dean couldn't pin down. Probably the most noticeable thing about Dre was the very thing that Dean was trying to avoid the most - that she was staring right at him while walking closer.

And so the half way point is hit, and Chapter Four will begin in the morning. I don't even know what it's going to be called yet. Despite hitting the mark, the worry that the story will be over and I'll be like, 10k words shy is pretty real. In terms of plot, I could have Dean see his mother the next day and be on the bus minutes later. The conflict and resolution is really in Dean confronting his lost past, and that lost past catching up to him. So it's this razor's edge of keeping Dean in the midst of this conflict without it seeming too mechanical.