The Indie Ink Writing Challenge comes to me from Kelly, who asks me about fractured living. I issued a challenge to Karla.
I'm not at all sure about this one. But it's what came to me, so here it is: "Scenes In An Elevator"
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IN
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those guys were up long after me, yet the room was empty this morning...where the fuck did they go...good not too many people on the elevator...am I the only person who thinks about the cable snapping and plummeting to the ground? the impossible physics of being so damn high with only a steel cable holding this metal cage in the air?...yeah, im probably the only one...jeremy was so gung ho to have his bachelor party in a casino...he was probably imagining some wild "the hangover" type adventure...instead he gets the same four idiots he's known since the fourth grade all blowing their bankrolls the first day and spending the rest of the time watching games in the sports book and eating crappy takeout pizza...ah well, your boys are your boys, right? for better or worse...heh, that's funny- "for better or for worse"...with jeremy gone, that makes me the last one...last of the mohicans, my father would say...everyone thinks you're gay when you're my age and not married yet...im not..."not that there's anything wrong with that!"...im just, i don't know, not ready yet, i guess...something...my life is ok as it is, i think...missing something, but i'll find it...how hard can it be, if that asshole did it?
***
god, my knee is killing me...here comes somebody...oh, it's just one guy...bachelor party, i bet...he looks a little out of it and hungover...doesn't look that tough...a suburban softy...even at my age, i could take him...it's nearly noon, son, shape up!...oh stop it. you're just a old man, out of touch, irrelevant and pathetic...do you have to do this, constantly remaining on guard all the time?...what the hell is the matter with you...that indian doctor at the va says its from the war, but marjorie would have said its just being a prick...dear marjorie...goddamn it, its been seven years and it still hurts like it happened this morning...she'd tell me to shut up and stop being a sentimental old man...the doctor asked me if i was having trouble controlling my impulses, and i thought about telling him about the gambling, but then i thought why bother...it's none of his goddamned business...besides, i know exactly how much i have left...and what do i have to save it for?...the kids?...they call on christmas and my birthday, but i hardly hear from them otherwise...ah well...its going to be a rude awakening for them when i kick and there's nothing for them...oh well...i didn't spend 34 years assembling transmissions to make them rich...a few more minutes, im back at the table, and all i care about is the cards...those damned, stupid, beautiful cards...
***
jacob is so fucking earnest, i just want to punch him sometimes...up before the damn birds, and downstairs hitting the elliptical, like I should be...now he's probably sipping on some juice smoothie thing, feeling healthy and wholesome...looking at the 23 year old Korean who poured it...asshole...no, stop. i shouldnt be so bitchy...he set this whole thing up for me...for us, he would say...he arranged for the kids, one at my mom's, two sleeping over at the neighbor's, so we could spend 36 hours acting like newlyweds...well, we certainly lived up to that...my thighs are killing me....maybe i do need that elliptical work...after all that last night, i better not be pregnant...there is no way, no way in hell, that i am going through that again...i dont think i am...i better not be...we cant afford it even if i wanted it...i better look up the name of that pill the comedian talked about....i love him, i do, but sometimes its like he's my worst enemy...
***
where are you supposed to stand?...i usually just stand near mom...i cant believe she is letting me go down and get my own orange juice...my legs are cold...i should have put some leggings on like mom said...i hate it when shes right...its wierd standing here with all these adults...it feels like im pretending...i wish somebody would talk...its so wierd just listening to the rattles and chunks as it takes us down, down, down...janie was so jealous when i told her where we were going...she has two brothers so her mom says they cant afford to go anywhere...being an only child is kind of boring, but it can be awesome too...i can feel the ac blowing under my dress...its so ticklish and cold...i wonder if anyone famous is here...i read in that magazine that the blonde girl on that show wants to have her birthday here...i wonder if shes really gonna...shes like 19 though so she'd probably go to that club...i remember seeing all the people lining up to get in there when we came in from the show last night...all the pretty dresses...like a prom...so glamorous...i wonder what its like to be famous...
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there are like no single men here, none...wait, here comes a guy...not bad...no ring...but guys his age always have someone...maybe jonathan will call me back?...its been two weeks...he's not going to call...you know he's not, i dont know why you keep thinking he will...jonathan was so perfect, rich and funny and cute and smart...why the hell did i ever let him go...it killed me going to his wedding, absolutely fucking killed me...god, my head hurts...i drank so damn much...i cant remember anything after about midnight...i hope i didnt do anything stupid...usually anna is the one who keeps us under control. i wonder where she's at...i woke up dressed, so that's something...god, these elevators are slow...maybe try to talk to that guy?...have to get something to eat...so hungry when we stay here for some reason...there goes that guy...another chance lost...someday you're going to be too old, you know, and they're going to stop looking...
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OUT
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ok, everybody out...he's walking away...you just have one chance to follow him...do it...now...oh, forget it...my head hurts too much anyway...i want breakfast more...
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the lobby is so busy, all the noises and everything...mom says just act confident, and no one will say anything...this is a little scary...which way was that store with the OJ again?
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finally, downstairs...god, im going to kill jacob...ok, now to find him...the health club is by the pool, right?...yeah, there it is....
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ok, we're here...love that smell, the sound, the feel of the lobby...now to the poker room...it's showtime...
***
boy, that girl was cute...should have chatted her up...oh well...ok, coffee first, then go see where the other idiots ended up...see what kind of trouble we can get into.
Monday, September 05, 2011
Flash Fiction Friday: "Perfect Blue Buildings"
Our friends (well, maybe your friends-I'm not sure they are willing to be seen with me) at Flash Fiction Friday have posted a prompt about the "City of Lost Children", which, in 2011, is every city. Here's my shot, "Perfect Blue Buildings".
Antonio said he was gonna come back. He said I could watch Nemo and eat Cheese Its and he would come right back. Mama said I got to do what Antonio say so I sat on the floor and watched Nemo. I saw Nemo like a million times though so it a little boring. So I went and I looked out the window. It is dirty. Mama always says she gonna clean it but she never do that. When you put your head all the way on it you can look down the street and see the top of some of the buildings in the city. They look blue when the sun hit them, these perfect blue blocks in the sky.
Antonio said he had to go get some stuff from a guy on that street where the candy store is and he would be right back. So he left me watching Nemo by myself. Mama say he not supposed to leave me alone but Antonio said he had to do it and he would be right back so it okay. Sometimes Antonio he and that girl he with they let me watch TV while they go up to Antonio room but he say that don't count because he still with me even though he cant see me.
I ask Mama who live in the big blue blocks and she say that where she work. She clean floors for people there, important rich people who wear nice clothes and drive big expensive cars and trucks. She tell me that someday I gonna wear a nice shirt and work in that big blue building and make lots of money so Mama don't have to work no more. I hope that true because Mama work so hard and it make her tired all the time. That make me sad.
Antonio tell me to be brave and that he was gonna go to McDonalds to get lunch for me when he get back. I getting hungry now. Nemo already played all the way through to the end two times, even through all the music and the people names who made Nemo. I like Nemo, it my favorite. Antonio teach me how to hit the button with the triangles and then it go back to the start so I can watch it again by pushing the one with one triangle.
It lunch time and my tummy all growly. Antonio sometimes make me a grill cheese sandwich for lunch or mac and cheese but I like McDonalds best. I wanna have more juice but I drank it all already and Mama say she not have more until next week. Antonio teach me how to get water from the bathroom though so I keep drinking that while I wait for Antonio to come back like he say he will.
I know Antonio be back soon because he say he will, and Antonio always do what he say. I waited for the movie machine to stop making that sound, and then I hit the button with the one triangle and Nemo start again. I already watch it two times but it still a little funny. I hope Antonio back soon because I really want a cheeseburger and fries.
Mama say she comes home when I sleeping but I know it like 9-Oh-Oh because sometimes I stay up and wait for her. I hope I don't have to wait for Mama to have lunch because that mean Antonio in trouble and Mama yell at him and I hate when that happen.
I really hungry but I gonna just watch Nemo and Antonio will be back soon, because he say he will. It almost 3 Oh Oh now. I bet Antonio gonna get me my McDonalds first and then I can eat it here on the floor while I watch Nemo. I love Nemo. It my favorite movie. I wonder if those people in the blue buildings watch Nemo too? Maybe that why the buildings blue because they look like the ocean that way.
Antonio said he was gonna come back. He said I could watch Nemo and eat Cheese Its and he would come right back. Mama said I got to do what Antonio say so I sat on the floor and watched Nemo. I saw Nemo like a million times though so it a little boring. So I went and I looked out the window. It is dirty. Mama always says she gonna clean it but she never do that. When you put your head all the way on it you can look down the street and see the top of some of the buildings in the city. They look blue when the sun hit them, these perfect blue blocks in the sky.
Antonio said he had to go get some stuff from a guy on that street where the candy store is and he would be right back. So he left me watching Nemo by myself. Mama say he not supposed to leave me alone but Antonio said he had to do it and he would be right back so it okay. Sometimes Antonio he and that girl he with they let me watch TV while they go up to Antonio room but he say that don't count because he still with me even though he cant see me.
I ask Mama who live in the big blue blocks and she say that where she work. She clean floors for people there, important rich people who wear nice clothes and drive big expensive cars and trucks. She tell me that someday I gonna wear a nice shirt and work in that big blue building and make lots of money so Mama don't have to work no more. I hope that true because Mama work so hard and it make her tired all the time. That make me sad.
Antonio tell me to be brave and that he was gonna go to McDonalds to get lunch for me when he get back. I getting hungry now. Nemo already played all the way through to the end two times, even through all the music and the people names who made Nemo. I like Nemo, it my favorite. Antonio teach me how to hit the button with the triangles and then it go back to the start so I can watch it again by pushing the one with one triangle.
It lunch time and my tummy all growly. Antonio sometimes make me a grill cheese sandwich for lunch or mac and cheese but I like McDonalds best. I wanna have more juice but I drank it all already and Mama say she not have more until next week. Antonio teach me how to get water from the bathroom though so I keep drinking that while I wait for Antonio to come back like he say he will.
I know Antonio be back soon because he say he will, and Antonio always do what he say. I waited for the movie machine to stop making that sound, and then I hit the button with the one triangle and Nemo start again. I already watch it two times but it still a little funny. I hope Antonio back soon because I really want a cheeseburger and fries.
Mama say she comes home when I sleeping but I know it like 9-Oh-Oh because sometimes I stay up and wait for her. I hope I don't have to wait for Mama to have lunch because that mean Antonio in trouble and Mama yell at him and I hate when that happen.
I really hungry but I gonna just watch Nemo and Antonio will be back soon, because he say he will. It almost 3 Oh Oh now. I bet Antonio gonna get me my McDonalds first and then I can eat it here on the floor while I watch Nemo. I love Nemo. It my favorite movie. I wonder if those people in the blue buildings watch Nemo too? Maybe that why the buildings blue because they look like the ocean that way.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Terrible Minds Challenge: They Call This Mutha Revenge
Chuck Wendig, King of the Britains, Defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of All England, has issued a unique challenge this week. The theme is revenge, and we have a scant 100 words to work with. Here's my entry, "Mail Drop"
Marissa sealed the envelope, pressing the flap closed and sealing it with tape. She
addressed it carefully, making sure the address was right.
He had made it clear that her path to the top ran through his office, and through his bed.
She wanted the job too much to have principles, and as he rose through the ranks, she
came along for the ride.
When he said it was over, that he had to concentrate on his family, she said nothing
about the pictures, the letter, the evidence she had gathered.
He didn't want her to know.
Now she'll know.
Marissa sealed the envelope, pressing the flap closed and sealing it with tape. She
addressed it carefully, making sure the address was right.
He had made it clear that her path to the top ran through his office, and through his bed.
She wanted the job too much to have principles, and as he rose through the ranks, she
came along for the ride.
When he said it was over, that he had to concentrate on his family, she said nothing
about the pictures, the letter, the evidence she had gathered.
He didn't want her to know.
Now she'll know.
Friday, September 02, 2011
100 Words Challenge: Storm Front
Velvet Verbosity's 100 Word Challenge lost its mojo for a bit, but is once again rising. This week's word is "Storm", and my entry is called "Storm Front"
Katie pulled her covers over her shoulders, tucking them under her chin. She wanted to pull them higher, but she always got hot and panicky when her mouth was covered. Outside, the rain poured down, pushed by the wind against her window with an intense rattle. She listened carefully, wanting to hear nothing. Mommy wasn't yelling any more, so that was good. She didn't hear the door shut or the car start, so Daddy was still here. Katie couldn't hear anything bad, which was good: but the waiting was as bad as the good parts were good.
Katie pulled her covers over her shoulders, tucking them under her chin. She wanted to pull them higher, but she always got hot and panicky when her mouth was covered. Outside, the rain poured down, pushed by the wind against her window with an intense rattle. She listened carefully, wanting to hear nothing. Mommy wasn't yelling any more, so that was good. She didn't hear the door shut or the car start, so Daddy was still here. Katie couldn't hear anything bad, which was good: but the waiting was as bad as the good parts were good.
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