- Lizzie
- Richard
- Duane
- Serendipidy
- Jared
- Norval Joe
- Planet Z
LIZZIE
Footnote is the prompt, they said.
Footnote… Something about a writer… no, that’s boring.
A mystery then. Something that had remained unspoken for many decades.
OK, let’s go crazy then, why not!
Let’s add a guillotine, but not just any guillotine, one made of solid gold.
Oh, and the Chinese mafia, determined to get to the said guillotine.
Now, the house. A strange house with secret compartments, dusty and dark.
Plus a few characters, odd characters.
Who’s the main character?
Yes, that woman, what’s her name…
The bell rang. Damn.
“Your time is up.”
The Unspoken Footnote. It’s a start!
RICHARD
Prompt
So, I joined this writer’s group, and every week we have to come up with a story related to a prompt that they give us.
It’s really hard!
Seriously, you think ‘how difficult can that be? And then, you sit down in front of your keyboard, and absolutely nothing comes to mind.
Every week I try, and fail – no matter what the prompt, I never come up with a story that’s in any way related to that word.
So, I made a suggestion: In future, whatever the prompt, that’s the one thing our stories should avoid referencing at all!
DUANE
To get over his shyness with girls, Lance took an introduction to improv class at a local theater. He thought this would really help out with speed dating.
“So, Lance, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m an ironic accountant.”
“I own a pet rental store.”
“I’m a holistic gynecologist.”
Looking across the table at the next girl, Lance said, “Hello, Val, it’s great to be here tonight. To get the ball rolling I’m going to need a prompt for a place you would go on vacation, a brand of laundry detergent, and the names of our future children.”
SEREMDIPIDY
Be there – the downtown intersection, six o’clock prompt. No sooner, no later, or the girl dies.
That was the note’s stark message: An ultimatum I had to take seriously.
It had been one of the biggest manhunts we’d ever seen, and still it seemed the killer had the upper hand.
This was an opportunity we simply couldn’t mess up.
I’d deployed snipers and surveillance teams, with backup along every route in and out.
We’d get the bastard.
I looked again at the note, and for the first time, noticed the post room stamp.
It was over a week old.
JARED
Jason was an intern at a local television station. He tried hard and showed up every day. About three and a half months into his post, he was promoted to the teleprompter data entry position. Honestly, the station manager was desperate because the previous data entry staffer didn’t show. There was no one else and no time to wait. Working quickly, he dutifully entered every story he was given. Minutes before the start of the broadcast, Jason finished.
“Good evening. Our top story: With fears of a reception, the President vetted a bill to simulate job growth for American worriers.”
NORVAL JOE
Halfway to Eureka it was getting late and they stopped for the night in Nice, California. Unable to secure a room at one of the quaint locations, like the Ginger Bread Cottages or the Featherbed Railroad Bed and Breakfast the family settled on the Worldmark Clear lake Motel.
Over a late diner in the motel cafe, Mr. Blanketmaker said, “We need to be prompt in the morning. I want to get to the Lunch Box museum as soon as it opens.”
Before Billbert could ask why, his father answered, “We don’t know when we’ll ever be back in Nice again.”
PLANET Z
“BE PROMPT” said the note.
So, Carl arrived at precisely 8.
A man walked past Carl, bumping into him. apologizing and walking away.
Carl thought he’d been pickpocketed, but when he checked his pocket, there was another note.
“GO IN THE STORE” it said.
Carl was in a mall, surrounded by stores.
But one was called The Store, so he went in.
“Here is your package,” said the clerk, handing Carl a box.
Carl sat down on a bench, turned the box over and over.
And he left it there, walking out of the mall.
Narrowly avoiding the massive explosion.