Ophelia, [name_f]Narcissa[/name_f], [name_f]Liesl[/name_f]… [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] browsed the name list. Nothing had struck a chord with her yet that day, but there was still time. Annabel, [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]… Her heart stopped. [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]. Beatrix. She’d seen it for years and years… but there was something special this time. Something beautiful. Love. She, [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] Olemot, was in love with [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]. She snatched it up, scribbling on it in her notepad and immediately brainstorming combos. But it was late. The date had to end.
“When can I see you again?” [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] whispered to [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]. [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] didn’t respond out loud, but she felt it in her soul: Every single moment of every single day.
Tinsley went to sleep with a smile on her face that night.
The next day, she planned an entire day for her and [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]. All the romantic things… First, they went to the park, to eat lunch. [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] packed a picnic basket with all the foods that reminded her of [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]- colorful foods like clementines and apples and skittles. Then, she clutched her notepad to her as they strolled to the park, assuring [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] that [name_f]Clementine[/name_f] had nothing on her, she just brought them because they reminded her of [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f].
Tinsley couldn’t help but stare at [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] as they ate. The soft ink inscribing the letters on the page- [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] had the most beautiful letters. Though [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and [name_f]Aster[/name_f] were clamoring on the very next page, that day, [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] only had eyes for [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f].
Then they went to the movies- a romance movie, of course. It was about a love triangle with [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] and [name_u]Wren[/name_u], because [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] left the main character.
“Now that,” [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] whispered to her notepad (in her own seat, next to [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]), “is quality film.” [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] agreed, [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] knew. They finally went home, and just cuddled on the couch together. The spiral-binding of [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]’s notepad poked into her arms, but she didn’t care. Her little brother looked at her strangely, hugging a journal on the sofa. But he didn’t understand- he didn’t understand anything. It was perfect. It was idyllic. It was [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]’s perfect day. She forgot about all the times she had done this before, with [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] and the like… [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] was all that mattered that day.
But the next day, [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] went cold. [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] said something… something that made [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]’s heart stop. But she was right to say it. You need to make a commitment. A combo. And she was right. She couldn’t just leave “currently loving [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] rn” in her user card forever. At first, she just doodled ideas. She started a thread. She made a google doc. And she finally got it down to two. But that’s when things got tough.
Beatrix Songbird or [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u]? She implored AppelationFruit, the online community of name lovers that she belonged to. But it was too close for comfort.
“[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] Songbird is nms!” The [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u] lovers called, heaving insults like mortar shells. “[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u] will age with her!” But the Songbird lovers threw back,
“[name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] Songbird is whimsical and lovely! [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u] seems bland in comparison!”
There was a collective gasp at the atrocity of these claims- at the violence. But it was nothing compared to the war raging in [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]’s head. Would anything be left over afterwards? And there was the question of other names. If she used [name_u]Sparrow[/name_u] for [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f], she couldn’t use it for [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. Her heart tore. Why, oh why! [name_u]Love[/name_u] is a curse, that much [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] knew. [name_u]Love[/name_u] only caused pain. But finally, she silenced the civil war going on on her thread- and in her head… she made a decision. She was gripped with fear as she entered her user card, typed it in… but when she clicked Save, she knew she was doing the right thing. All that was left was cleaning up the ashes left in her decision’s wake. Beatrix Songbird.
Read on for a sneak preview of [name_f]Tinsley[/name_f]’s next adventure, titled “[name_f]Tinsley[/name_f] gets pregnant but her mom doesn’t like the name she chooses!”
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