A few streets down a boy named Flynn was getting ready to leave for his first day at a new school too. There were so many thoughts going through his head as he walked out the door to meet his sudden fate at a place where he knew nobody. He wants to make friends, but it's so hard considering it is senior year. He has always been told that he was a beautiful child, but that didn't seem important because Flynn was lonely all the time.
Scarlet walked up to the front doors of the school and pushed them open. Everyone turned and looked at the new, exotically beautiful girl. Her wavy red hair draped all the way down to her lower back. She had no makeup on; her mom always told her that her natural beauty was enough. Scarlet walked through the hallway with everyone's eyes on her, but then all of their eyes shifted back to the front door. Out walks Flynn, a long, chiseled face hidden behind curly brown hair. The girls couldn't keep their eyes off him, and the boys couldn't keep their eyes off Scarlet.
The first bell of the day rang and everyone bolted to class. Scarlet and Flynn bump into each other as they both try to make it inside the classroom before they are counted late. Scarlet dropped her books and Flynn quickly bends down and picks them up in one fell swoop. They sat at desks next to each each other in the back of the room, but neither of them spoke a word the entire hour. As they walked out the door to go to their next classes, Flynn calls to Scarlet. "Hey, I'm Flynn by the way." He walked away and little did they know that would be the start of these soulmates' story together.
This picture of a statue of Psyche and Cupid represents the love that they share and the love that Scarlet and Flynn share.
"Psyche Revived By Cupid's Kiss" by Antonio Canova.
Author's Note: I based this story loosely on the story of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche was the most beautiful girl to ever set foot on earth, yet no one wanted to marry her. It wasn't until Cupid came along and shot himself with his arrow that Psyche met the love of her life. Scarlet and Flynn represent Psyche and Cupid and although their story is much more modernized, it still is a romance story about two young lovers.
Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche; http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html
Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche; http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html
It’s one of my favorite things when old myths get updated to modern settings, so I really like how you’ve shaken things up while still retaining the core of the inspiration. (Also, this is really random, but Scarlet and Flynn are great names.) Another thing that worked really well was just your ending itself—by closing on the promise of something else, you raised all sorts of questions about how it all comes to be, and I found that really engaging.
ReplyDeleteI loved how this old story had a modern twist, for a moment haha I thought you were talking about the movie Tangled cause of Flynn but I was wrong, oh well. Anyway enjoyed the moment of awkwardness between the two characters, that is such a great modern twist, cause let's be honest we would all be so awkward in that situation. I also enjoyed the sudden ending, kept me wanting to know what happened and kind of toyed with my emotions.
ReplyDeleteHi Bradlee!
ReplyDeleteI also read Cupid and Psyche for one of my stories! I had a really hard time figuring out what I should take and make into something new. I really like what you did with it though! What if you made it from Scarlet’s and Flynn’s perspective, separated by “chapters” (a few dots and then their name). I have seen that in a few books that I have read and it is wonderful being able to get into the heads of all of the people in the story. Maybe you could add something about all of the guys/girls being too afraid to talk to them because of their beauty? The ending really left me hanging as to what the rest of their relationship would be like. I love reading sappy romance novels and I read my fair share of ones that were set in high school. I wonder what happened to them that made them so afraid of their first day in a new school. I never switched schools in high school but I did go across the country for college here! I guess it is different coming so late in the game when everyone seems to be already in their clicks. Overall, great story!
Bradlee, that was a really sweet story. It's funny that being in high school seems like so long ago, but I still love stories of high school romance. I loved the two different settings you had going on with Scarlet and Flynn and how you wrote from both of their points of view. When I started reading I thought that the stories would cross over, but I didn't know how. I got invested in the characters quickly and I was excited to keep reading about how their paths would cross. I wondered what if the story had continued on and we got to know more about their relationship after they met? But at the same time I loved where it ended. It was definitely a cliffhanger, which is why I had questions! What if Scarlet wasn't interested in Flynn? Would he then have tried to win her over? That would have been a great direction to go, too. Anyway, I loved it and thought it was a really cute story!
ReplyDeleteHi Bradlee!
ReplyDeleteYou are an awesome writer. I love how modern you made this story and how relatable it is! You really updated it and gave it a new meaning. I think you could have expanded the ending if you needed to, but you ended it well! For some reason, I didn’t know they ended up together in the original story. I think you did a great job making them both naturally beautiful, but shy. It would not be any fun if they were snobby and beautiful. Making them high schoolers was a really big wow effect for me. I think it made them more relatable and also gave it a cool twist. It almost sounded like it could be right out of a modern day movie. Definitely keep up the good work! You have an amazing skill and I can’t wait to see how you use it in the future. I think your final project will be amazing!
I also did one of my stories over “Cupid and Psyche.” I kept my version closer to the original story and just added content to it and changed a few aspects of it. It was interesting to see it made into a more modern setting. I like how it was placed in a high school setting and how you made both the characters new students. That is what caught my attention because my first thought was that they could find comfort in each other since they were both experiencing similar situations and that could be the driving force that pulls them together. The way you left the story also made me wonder what would happen next and a million different possibilities popped into my mind. For example, what if Flynn or Scarlet ended up with someone else before they ended up with each other. You said that the girls couldn’t take their eyes off of Flynn and the guys couldn’t take their eyes off of Scarlet. So, what if they started as friends and, for fear of ruining their friendship, neither one of them told the other how they felt and someone else got in the way? I just think that would be one interesting way to steer the story, but there are a bunch of other ways you could go from there also! Overall it was very good at grabbing my attention and leaving me hanging.
ReplyDeleteThis was really cool! I love how you wrote this story in more of a modern twist, which was a really interesting take on this. I have never read the original before, but I got a good grasp on it through yours! I like the fact you made them highschoolers, I think it makes the story more relatable to people our age and younger, which is a really good twist to things! Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteHi! Back in week 3 I also did my reading and storytelling over Cupid and Psyche. It's a great story, and I have to say that I enjoy yours more than mine! I love that you told it in current times and kind of made it more normal than the strange original. It's very cute, you did a good job!
ReplyDeleteHow cute that the two new kids who think they are so alone and unwanted were the most wanted people in the high school. It's endearing that they are both so unaware of how beautiful they each are. Maybe if they were more outgoing or had some confidence then they would have tons of friends. Great job with the ending. It felt like a cliff hanger/ tease. It definitely made me interested into how their love story would play out. I have a hunch by how shy and quiet they are, this will be a slow and steady evolving relationship.
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