{Velvet Verbosity's 100 Word challenge this week is prepared to allow the nomination to proceed via a voice vote. The word is actually a phrase, "road trip", and this story is called "Now Warming Up..."} {Please note: this story does contain a single bad word. If bad words give you the vapors, why don't you get off the Internet and start reading a nice pamphlet.}
"It's you, Cheese."
"Chuckles" hung up the phone with a rattling slam.
"Dammit," I said. "Doesn't he know I've pitched 6 times on this fucking road trip?"
"Doesn't know," Chuckles said laconically. "Or doesn't care."
I got up and stretched. My arm ached horribly. We heard the whistle and thump of another line drive finding the right field corner, and the rising roar as the home crowd cheered. Petey, the bullpen catcher, crouched down to give me a target. I took the mound, grimaced, and threw. The glamorous world of a pro athlete, I thought.
I'm so not in the sports mind set that when you first used the word "pitched" I thought it was the form of the verb as in "to pitch a story". Good one.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing :)
DeleteVery nice. It must be tough to be out on the road for that extended amount of time.
ReplyDeleteDeana
I liked it. I don't know if the last line — basically stating the story's idea outright — is strictly necessary. I'd use those 9 words to show more of the contrast between the illusion and reality of his existence rather than comment on it. :-)
ReplyDeletebeing a pro-sports player always SOUNDS so glamorous...but really, I think it is a horrible career
ReplyDeleteI love baseball stories, because so often, they totally debunk all the romance around the sport and yet there's something... something... that still draws us to it. I'd love to know more about just why Cheese sticks around it, despite the aches and pains and lack of glamor. Very nice!
ReplyDelete