Revised Entry 14 Carol Anne

Title: The Picasso Project

Genre: YA Contemporary


My name and email: Carol Anne Shaw, shawshack(at)shaw(dot)ca

Pitch: The world hasn’t been easy for 17-year old Eddie DuMont. A few years ago, his abusive father vanished, and his mother succumbed to a nervous breakdown soon afterwards. Any dreams for art school were quickly forgotten in Eddie's struggle to survive. The rules are simple: Lay low, trust no one, and make sure you have plenty of Duct tape on hand. But will Eddie's passion for art provide a way out for him and his kid sister, Maya, or will it derail them for good?


2nd line: I remember the stupidest things about that day, like the way the Beefaroni in the cracked enamel saucepan bubbled over the sides and messed up the stove.

250 of 2nd chap: 


“Why do I have to wear this stupid coat, anyway?” my sister asks. She’s at that age where she thinks it’s cool to walk around in t-shirts, getting soaked in the pouring rain.

"Because you do," I tell her, "so don't argue."

"Jeez Eddie, you're so uptight!"

I hold up the green coat for her to put on and she thrusts her arms angrily into the sleeves. As coats go, it's not bad. Almost new, down-filled with pockets and zippers everywhere, and the best part was that it was eight bucks. Some days you just get lucky.

"Just wear the damn coat, Maya."

She flips me the bird and begins to walk off toward the trees.

"Wait," I call after her. "You forgot your lunch."

I push the plastic grocery bag into her hands and she looks at it hopefully, like by some miracle there’s going to be a massive corned beef on rye or a couple of super-sized brownies inside it. Right.

"Gross. Bran muffins again? They're totally stale, Eddie, and the banana is seriously rotten. No way am I going to eat that!"

"Listen, your ass is scrawny enough as it is,” I tell her. “Eat something.”

Maya is really starting to piss me off. Lately, she's always in a bad mood. Maybe it's girl stuff. She just turned fourteen so I guess all that psycho hormonal crap is probably going on, not that she'd ever tell me.