Gabriela's 312 word writing contest

Title: Battlefields of Love

Genre: historical/family saga

Status: WIP

Thirteen-year-old Daphne Chauvin didn’t want to move again, but she had to—her father was in the marines. They had moved several times before in her life, but this time was different. She seemed to be leaving behind in Florida everything she’d known—hot summers, warm winters, and best friends. She brought with her the only things in her life that were constant, her clothes and books. She loved to read, especially love stories.

Moving to Peaceville, Rhode Island, was new and scary. The town was small, with a wide main street, a few stores, and several other old buildings. And, even though it was June, it was still cold at night. After the sun went down, she had to wear a sweater. Whereas, in Florida, she had slept with a sheet this time of year, and still might sweat in bed, here she slept with a blanket. And in the mornings, the house was cold, like during wintertime in Florida. She wrapped up in a bathrobe to eat breakfast.

She’d been in Peaceville less than a week, and she was already lonely. She had no idea how she was going to make new friends.

“We just moved here,” her mother Merriam said. “It takes a little time, you know. But you will, I promise. If not this summer, then you will when you go to school. You always have before, and you will again.”

But Daphne wasn’t so sure. After three weeks, she still knew no one. She’d seen a few girls at Mass on Sundays, but she didn’t get to meet them. Being summertime, there was no youth activities to attend at the church. So she went home and spent her Sunday afternoons reading.

One morning, Daphne woke up to blood between her legs, and she was scared. She didn’t know what to do. There were even red blotches on