My pending novel The Wayward School for Girls was not meant to be a novel. It was supposed to be a short story. It grew as I wrote it. As of today, March 22, 2024, it is over forty-seven thousand words long. Yet another chapter is necessary to finish the book. Then again, “one more chapter” is how this short story became so long.
Imagine Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Alice from Alice in Wonderland as best friends. Carrie from Carrie is their age and goes to the same school.
The story is surreal horror as an action-adventure. The principal of the school is a warlock and the teachers his coven. They indoctrinate the students into believing that “learning” is smart and thinking is stupid. The children are brainwashed as their education. Their “school projects” are them used as unpaid servants.
Alice, Dorothy and Carrie are in the “gifted” program. They are being groomed to become witches. Most of the other girls are used as labor or as guards. The “special needs” girls are buried alive and rendered undead, to power arcane devices.
Dorothy is the good girl. She is flattered to be considered gifted… but horrified when put to a test that nearly kills her. She realizes she is expected to become like the adults who put her in such a cruel situation.
Alice is the bad girl. She is already cynical, so is not surprised when put to a test that nearly kills her. She does not mind the horrible things that are expected of her… but resents that they are expected of her. She dislikes people trying to control her.
Carrie is a girl without friends. She submits to the evil of the school to have power over the world that rejects her.
The story is violent. Dorothy and Alice are the heroines. They slay monsters but they also slaughter the brainwashed girls sent against them. Carrie, a lonely girl is one of the villains.
There is a point to the weird novel I am writing. The message is not its social commentary. It is that FRIENDSHIP is the goodness in the world. The heroes are friends. The villains are enemies. The lukewarm many are victims of both.
Did I mention killing? There is a lot of killing.
Evil uses others to fulfill its agenda, in much the same way as the girls exist to serve a purpose. Who they are is not really considered, only what can be gained from them. Friendship should not come with expectations.
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY! To the wicked, human resources are just another resource, and used accordingly.
DeleteThe spiritual nature of the story is my favorite aspect. The characters are endearing, the sugar and spice of Dorothy and Alice are an excellent duo. The violence is fun as the girls make quick work of the lukewarm.
ReplyDeleteSo far not a bad story, also very much in line and possibly in the universe of Goddess of Self.
ReplyDelete