- Ed
- Lisa
- Richard
- Lizzie
- Serendipidy
- Duane
- Norval Joe
- Tura
- Planet Z
ED
VOMIT
“No way I’m eating that,” my little brother said.
“It’s just a jelly bean,” I answered. “Pop it in your mouth and chew it up.”
“No, it’s not just a jelly bean. It’s one of those Harry Potter thingies, but I can’t tell which one. So I’m not eating it! Uh-uh.”
“OK. It’s egg flavored. No biggie, right? You eat eggs,” I said.
“Oh no, I’m not falling that. Last time it was red. Strawberry, you said. But it was earwax! It made me choke.” Then he ran inside.
The kid was on to me. This bean was vomit. “Aacckk!”
LISA
Sunday Morning
There was just the rumour of his scent. I’d just woken and still had my eyes shut so couldn’t see him, he wasn’t there anyway, wouldn’t be there ever again. I couldn’t reach out in the night to warm my feet on those legs that went on forever and filled my whole bed.
No. He was gone. The loneliness bubbled from my heart and choked my throat, stopping words from forming. But there was no one there to speak to anyway, to be fair there never had been but with the dog dead life felt even emptier than ever before.
RICHARD
Choke
It was an old car. Pretty good for its age, really, but hardly fashionable and lacking in all modern attributes.
It could be a pig to start, especially on cold winter mornings. Not that I cared: It was her car, her problem, and whilst she’d sit in the cold, cajoling it to life, I’d lie snug indoors beneath the duvet.
It still irritated me though.
Hearing that repetitive mechanical clatter, time and time again, then the sudden roar as the engine caught, followed by a protesting, whining, complaint.
Push in the choke!’ I’d mutter grumpily, rudely awakened, and peace, shattered.
LIZZIE
The words “Drink me” were on the label. No one had ever ordered him to drink anything, except his mother when he was a child. She used to say, drink this but don’t choke. Why would he choke?
He examined the liquid. Pink. Well, odd shades of green and blue usually demanded caution. But pink?
He shook the bottle. Might as well mix this properly.
He took a sip.
When he started choking, he thought of his mother and the way she would stare at him, waiting.
He knew that look would haunt him to the end of his days.
SERENDIPIDY
Choke, soak, woke, broke!
That was our mantra, the process by which we’d bring you to your knees.
Choke – The direct, brutal, softening-up. The leather strap, biting into your throat, depriving you of air; hands scrabbling, as you gasp for breath.
Soak – the sudden plunge into icy water, followed by hours of water-boarding; breaking your spirit, destroying your will.
Woke – sleep-deprivation. Day and night of constant stimulation, drug-induced wakefulness and no hope of respite, no let-up, no rest.
And then, eventually, body and soul destroyed and wasted, you…
Broke.
And we, went home.
Job done.
NORVAL JOE
Billbert had to choke back a laugh. “The Guild of the Black Knights? What could be more cliché?”
“Go ahead and scoff,” Sabrina said as they reached their homeroom class. She folded her arms and her bottom lip quivered. “They’re all around us and I’m just trying to protect you.”
He clearly had hurt her feelings and tried to cheer her up by asking, “Are you saying these knights are here, in our school?”
She shushed him. “Not so loud. And, yes. Even in our classroom.”
Billbert didn’t have time to ask who, before they had to take their seats.
DUANE
“Jesus Christ! How do you drive this thing?”
“It’s easy,” he said. “Just let out the choke a little more.”
“The choke’s out all the way and the engine is already warm.”
The old truck sputtered and coughed. I cranked the wheel to the sound of metal grinding. I pulled onto the road and the sputtering increased.
“Turn that little knob there. The gas mixture is too lean right now.”
At the intersection I pushed hard on the brake to come to a stop.
I looked over at my dad. With a grin he said “Someday this will be yours.”
Z
The most important thing about being an astronaut is that you learn to drink and eat slowly.
And never talk while you’re drinking and eating.
Be very aware of your breathing, and be patient.
Otherwise, you’ll choke or drown yourself.
And it’s not easy to recover from either.
Grabbing someone and getting leverage on them to expel the food or fluid isn’t as simple when on the ground.
You have to brace yourself or them, get around them, or on top of them.
And prepare to catch the wad of food or jet of water coming out with a towel.