Walking by Jennifer Santoni

Walking

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"Walking" by "Jennifer Santoni"

[You have to specify that the first room is actually a room.]
house is a room. "[if the house is unvisited]a two story brick house on a main road. the back yard is littered with trees and a small playground. cars fly past house, ignoring the speed limit.[else][end if]"

[Using "one of" you can have a whole chain of things which are said to the player, each separated by [or]. Once you've gone along the chain, the last one will always be displayed. Notice how "it's time for school" is outside the  "stopping" instruction, so it's always displayed.]


[Now that inform knows that house is a room, it can deduce that other objects related to it are also rooms.]
school is north of house.  "[if school is unvisited]you’re at school. the walls are white cinderblock and the fluorescent lights tint your skin translucent. the hallways are too small for the number of people that go here. as you make your way through school, you’re shoved around like a pinball by all of the other students. [else][end if]"

[here, the "if .... is unvisited" does exactly the same as the "one of" construction did, except that one is counting the number of visits, while this one is a true/false  option (sometimes called a "flag".]

[I find it's easier to place new rooms in relation to the rooms you've already made.]
classroom is east of school. "[if the classroom is unvisited]you met a new friend here a few months ago. you have 1st period psych with her and the friend that introduced the two of you. as you enter, they look you up and down, ostebsibly annoyed. you're worried that you've done something wrong, but are afraid to ask. you decide to leave. press 'w'.[else]students shuffle papers around on their desks.[end if]". 

Julie is a woman in the classroom.

The initial appearance of Julie is "[one of] [or]you can’t focus after last night. you’re too on edge. you wish you had someone to talk to about it, just to feel less alone. you can’t tell anyone, though. they wouldn’t understand. press ‘w’ to leave class.[or]you make it through the day today. press ‘w’ to go home. [or]yesterday’s memory is swirling around in your mind. too painful. too hard to focus. press ‘w’ to go home. [or]your mind wanders. you think about aunt and mother coming into school later, anxious. the sounds of the classroom get quieter.[paragraph break]MEMORY UNLOCKED. 7 years old. mother and father are putting you to bed. mother looks at you, says ‘you love father so much it hurts your heart.’ this makes you want to cry. they leave the room, and you listen to their footsteps as they descend the stairs. in the pit of your stomach, you feel guilty, but you don’t know why.[paragraph break]class is over. press ‘w’. [or]biology class. you learn about insects and how they ward off predators. your group gets assigned to read about ladybugs. they’re beetles, really, just pretty ones. their spots tell predators that they’re dangerous. a lazy lie, but a good one. class is over. it was fun today. press ‘w’.[or]the bell rings. press ‘w.'[or]you sit in the back, observing classmates. you wonder how they’re able to do so well. wish you were like them. wish you weren’t you. you’re discouraged. don’t want to think about it. press ‘w’ to leave classroom. [or]the sounds of the classroom fade in and out. pencils scratching paper. chalk scratching chalkboard. the tick of the clock. the bell rings to mark the end of the school day. press ‘w’[or]the sounds of the classroom fade in and out. pencils scratching paper. chalk scratching chalkboard. the tick of the clock. the bell rings to mark the end of the school day. press ‘w’.[cycling]".

Jamie is a woman in the house.

The initial appearance of Jamie is "[one of]time for school. type 'n'.[or]you feel strange as you walk, like you’re in a dream. you observe the world as it passes you by. you get home and the day moves quickly.[paragraph break]it’s nighttime now and mother enters your room, says that father texted her. says he is on his way over. mother calls uncle. uncle drives over. hides in the bushes outside house in case father arrives. you tell mother that father isn’t coming over, that he is probably in New York. you assure mother that he is just trying to scare her. uncle comes inside after some time. you feel grateful for uncle but sorry that he has to protect you. you try your best to get enough sleep.[paragraph break]it’s morning now. time for school, press ‘n’.[or]cloudy today. the air is heavy with soon-to-be-rain. everything green is extra green today, the moss, the trees. you reach house just as it starts to rain. the day passes peacefully and it’s time for school again. press ‘n’. [or]you sleep the rest of the day away. don’t want to remember. time passes too quickly and it’s time for school again. press ‘n’.[or]it’s spring now and the cherry blossom trees that line the street have begun to bloom, tinting your walk home a soft shade of pink. you pick up a few fallen petals and feel their pearlescence. you put a few in your pocket to remember them later. [paragraph break]mother asks you about math teacher’s email, says she wants to talk to both of you after school tomorrow. mother says she invited aunt to come, too. aunt has always been more involved with school than mother. mother doesn’t seem to care that you’re failing, too busy worrying about other things. the day passes quickly. you try not to think about what tomorrow will bring, but it’s tomorrow now and it’s time to go. press ‘n’. [or]you wish the memories would stop coming back. you’re okay when you don’t remember. you try to make the rest of today good, anyways. you make dinner for everyone. mother and sister appreciate it. you sleep well and wake up to your alarm. time for school. press ‘n’.[or]the rest of the day passes and it’s time for school. press ‘n’.[or]you know it’s bad that you keep skipping. don’t know what else to do. wish there was somewhere else you could go that isn’t house. somewhere that felt hopeful. it rains all night and the sound of it lulls you to sleep.[paragraph break]it’s morning now. time for school. press ‘n’. [or]you walk inside and the room feels different. feels heavy.[paragraph break]MEMORY UNLOCKED. 4 years old. middle of the night. you hear screaming and crying. it’s worse than usual this time. you wonder if sister can hear it, too. you want to get out of bed and see what has happened. you’re frozen in place. you wake up the next morning to aunt instead of mother. aunt says that parents are at the hospital.[paragraph break]don’t want to remember. don’t want to be here.[paragraph break]the rest of the day passes and it’s time for school. press ‘n’.[cycling]".

Julia is a woman in the school.

The initial appearance of Julia is "[one of]press 'e' to enter class.[or]you decide to walk home, skipping the rest of your classes. press ‘s’. [or]time for class. press ‘e’. [or]after last night it all feels like too much. press ‘s’ to walk home.[or]you’ve been skipping too much. press ‘e’ to go to class.[or]MEMORY UNLOCKED. 10 years old. middle of the night. father in backyard, lighting fireworks. neighbors waking up. you start to cry, afraid a neighbor will call the police. afraid he’ll get in trouble. mother asks why you are crying and you say you're tired.[paragraph break]sometimes you’re struck with memories from the past. they feel out of place. can’t outrun them. wish they would go away. press ‘s’ to walk home.[or]math teacher stops you in the hallway just before you enter class. points out your poor grades. tells you she emailed mother about coming in. wants to discuss ways to help. press ‘e’ to enter class.[or]grades are bad but that doesn’t feel important. just need to leave. press ‘s’.[or]press ‘e’.[or]you find math teacher in the hallway and follow her into her office. mother and aunt are sitting there. don’t want to let them down.[paragraph break]aunt offers to drive you home afterward. you wish you could tell her everything. you regret not going home with mother. she wouldn’t have asked.[paragraph break]aunt’s car pulls into the driveway. press ‘s’ to go inside.[or]time for class. press ‘e’.[or]you see a friend in the hallway as you’re leaving and they offer you a ride home. it’s warm enough to roll the windows down. the wind whips your hair around. don’t want the ride to end. you thank your friend for the ride and go inside. press ‘s’.[or]MEMORY UNLOCKED. 11 years old. the weather is warm so you dinner eat outside. you sit down at the table, across from father. behind him is a candle lit to ward off mosquitos. the deck catches fire from the flame of the candle. you contemplate saying something, but stop. you imagine the whole deck catching fire, everything burning. flames dancing behind father. you just want something to happen that nobody can hide. you tell father to turn around. don’t want anyone to get hurt.[paragraph break]press ‘e.'[or]you memorize your walks home as they become more frequent. the house with the dog that runs along the fence as you walk by. the road signs. the sidewalk carvings.[paragraph break]you reach home. press ‘s’ to go inside.[or]teachers ask where you’ve been. you apologize, but can't explain. you want to stop, but you don’t know how. press ‘e’ to go to class.[or]friend offers you a ride again. windows down, music loud. you appreciate the familiarity of your rides home with her. feels safe. press ‘s’ to go inside.[or]you’re tired of the memories. wonder when they’ll stop. wonder when you’ll be far enough away from them. time for class. press ‘e’. [or]almost summer and the world is humming a quiet song. everything in bloom. you arrive at house but keep walking. everything in front of you.[paragraph break]you walk far.[cycling]".