OTE/Weekly Teaser..m
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OTE/Weekly Teaser..m
| Tue, 06-25-2002 - 11:02pm |
OTE/Weekly Teaser..m
Write a story of 500 words or less with these words in it:
Charmed
Daily
stretch
Have fun, Sammi
| Tue, 06-25-2002 - 11:02pm |
OTE/Weekly Teaser..m
Charmed
Daily
stretch
Have fun, Sammi
Pages
Mr. Grainger's Cats (m)
Sara pulled the front door shut and checked the lock. She’d done so daily since Mr. Grainger’s cats muscled open her door and shredded her orange velvet sofa. The coot refused to pay for the reupholstery job so now Sara was left with a saggy canvas lawn chair.
“You can’t move back here.†Sara’s mom managed to get these last words in shortly before the phone company shut down the service. No more telemarketers in the evening. Partly because the phone was cut off, and partly because Sara worked a telemarketing gig, the 5pm to 10pm shift.
“No thanks,†said sixteen voices.
“No way,†said forty-seven voices.
“Stop calling me!†Women with a 4 and a 5 in their phone numbers always said this.
By nine o’clock Sara forgot what she was selling. Ten minutes before her shift ended, the purple-stockinged, over-pierced supervisor called Sara aside.
“Our district manager is not charmed with your sales.†Ya, thought Sara, what else is new. The supervisor continued. “Sell $1500 tomorrow or look for another job.â€
Sara kicked four garbage cans on her way home. One said ouch.
From the stairwell, Sara saw her front door wide open. When she peered into her kitchen, Mr. Grainger’s tabby was rolling in her compost tub, the calico was working the garbage bag free of the plastic bin and the Siamese had puked into the canvas lawn chair and lay stretched over the clean laundry.
Sara bellowed as never before: “Mr. Grainger!â€
No response. Sara grabbed her dusty mop and thrust it onto the door across the hall. “Mr. Grainger!â€
The creaky flannel occupant yanked open the door with unusual vigour. “What’s up?â€
“Your cats wrecked my apartment again.†Sara spit she spoke so fast. “I’m getting the building manager to evict you.â€
Mr. Grainger leaned back to let out a giant laugh.
“He can’t evict me.†His eyes shone. “I’m moving. Tomorrow.â€
“Wha- what happened?†Mr. Grainger had lived in this building since 1959. He moved in before the front door frame was up.
“Lotto!†He waved the yellow paper under Sara’s face. “I won the lotto!â€
He’s gone, thought Sara, to a new degree of kookiness. “How much?â€
“Three-quarters of a million!â€
Sara knew what she could do with that money. Move, far away from cats.
“Where are you moving?â€
He looked prouder than a mother goose in May. “I bought a place that overlooks the bay. Cash.â€
“Congratulations.†Sara gulped. She noticed bubble wrap at her feet. “Need help packing?â€
“Sure, but,†he added, “You’ve got to pack too.â€
“Me? Why? Am I evicted?â€
Another belly laugh. “I bought a duplex. You can live in the other half. ‘Bout time you moved out of this dump.â€
Not with cats, thought Sara. “And your cats?â€
“They’re not mine. They barged in here one day and helped themselves.†Still more chuckles. “Why do you think I want to move out of here? So, is it a deal?â€
Sara didn’t have to think long. She shoved her hand towards the flannel.
“Deal.â€
LOL funny eyewrite. (m)
Just when I was feeling sorry for her, the old coot neighbor wins the lottery and takes her away from it all.
Only one question (in case you decide to rewrite later or something)I didn't quite understand why losing her phone service meant no more telemarketers AND "because she worked as a telemarketer" (I think I quoted that right?).
Well you know you've written an engaging character when we readers are so glad things worked out for her --LOL.
Linda
cl-ozarker
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." - Ernest Heminway
This was fun to read (m)
Right from the beginning with the cat "muscling" his way into her apartment to destroy the sofa. Living with cats all my life, I had a clear image of that-LOL. I was happy to see Sara’s luck changed by the end of the story. That part was sweet and unexpected since Mr. Grainger appeared to be a grouch.
Thanks for sharing this entertaining story with us!!!
Mac
BTW, what OTE--LOL.(m)
CARY GRANT IN WIERDOSVILLE
Jada slipped through the door of the gym and peered around. "So far, so good," she muttered to no one in particular.
"Hi Jada."
She jumped at the voice before recognizing it as one of the girls at the front desk.
"Hi Carol, is he here?"
"I'm not sure." Carol slipped over to the door of the workout room and peeked through the small round window. "I just got here, but I don't see him."
"Good, maybe I can actually get through my sets before he shows."
Carol gave a snort. "Good luck."
Jada laughed as she headed for the locker room. "Thanks."
She slipped out of her slacks and blouse, and into the sweat shorts and tank top. Stopping in front of the full length mirror, she glanced over her lean, 5'10" frame before pulling her sandy blonde hair into a ponytail. Not bad for a gal rushing toward thirty!
Okay. She drew in a long breath and exhaled with a sharp huff. Let's get this show on the road.
She entered the large workout area, swept the room with a glance, and got onto one of the exercise bikes along the wall -- nodding to a chubby middle-aged lady across the room.
After riding for fifteen minutes, she clambered off the bike and went to the long bar along the far wall to limber up before starting the sets. She heard the door from the men's locker room open and froze momentarily, waiting for the inevitable.
"Hiii, Jada."
She turned, more abruptly than she'd meant to, and said, with a grimace, "Hi Tommy."
The gawky teenager stood with his arms full of dirty towels. The cowlick in his mouse brown hair seemed to stand and salute as he grinned, and said. "How are you today?"
The wide, simpering smile -- bristling with silver braces -- made her want to laugh. Total child geek, she thought, then, said, "I'm fine, just trying to get in a workout before I meet my husband for dinner."
She saw the disappointment behind his thick glasses and felt a twinge of shame for the little lie. "So, how's your science project going, Boy Genius? Blow anyone up lately?"
He gave a long, snorting chuckle. "Not yet. Well, don't let me keep you from your workout." His gaze, a geeky version of an ogle, slithered like a snake along her sweating body. "I must say, Jada, I'm charmed by your daily stretch."
The unctious tone in his voice -- Cary Grant in Wierdosville -- crept up her spine like dirty fingers.
"What is it with you!"
The anger burst out with more intensity than she'd meant and startled him into dropping the handful of towels. "I ... I'm s-s-sorry." He turned away and bent over to pick them up, fumbling and struggling.
As he straightened and turned back toward her, Jada saw the red rush of embarrassment in his watery eyes. "Look, Tommy, I'm sorry. It's been a bad day ..." She hesitated, then rushed on. "... I thought we were friends, but I don't let my friends treat me that way."
"Friends?" The blush faded. "You ... you and me?" A look of amazement crept across his thin face.
"Sure." Jada shrugged and smiled. Oh well, every teenaged geek needs one friend.
His shoulders straightened and his chin came up. "I'm sorry, too. Well, I guess I'd better get to work." He turned toward the door, then turned back. "Hey, the state science fair is next week. I'm representing Hillside. Do you think ... well, I mean ..."
Jada laughed. "I've always wondered what they do at those science fairs. I can't promise for sure, but I'll try to check it out."
THE END
cl-ozarker
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." - Ernest Heminway
Ooooops, that was supposed to be What's OTE.(nt)
cl-ozarker
"We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master." - Ernest Heminway
Funny EW!...m
...I thought this was written about my next door neighbor, she has about twenty plus cats. I enjoyed reading this. (I stumbled over the same part as Ozarker, what did you mean?) Fun read, EW. Sammi
Open the Envelope...m
Fun read, Ozarker. I could see the 'geek' clearly. I'm glad that she decided to be nice to him in the end. Just call me the happy ending girl, Sammi
Thanks! Was this the confusing part?...
" Sara’s mom managed to get these last words in shortly before the phone company shut down the service. No more telemarketers in the evening. Partly because the phone was cut off, and partly because Sara worked a telemarketing gig, the 5pm to 10pm shift."
I agree that it's clunky. I tried to show that since Sara's phone got cut off, she has no more telemarketers calling her place. Another reason Sara has no more telemarkters calling her at night is because she just started a job as a telemarketer herself. (And she's not very good at it.) So she's the one calling people at home between 5 and 10 pm trying to sell goodness knows what.
Thanks for reading. I had fun writing this, though it took me some time to work out an ending. And the conflict. And the types of cats, lol.
Take care, EW
I feel for poor ...
Tommy. I felt like I was in the gym with Jada. I like these parts: - "Not bad for a gal rushing toward thirty!"
- "cowlick in his mouse brown hair seemed to stand and salute as he grinned..."
- "His gaze, a geeky version of an ogle, slithered like a snake along her sweating body."
Just wondering, what did Jada find offensive in Tommy's comment?
Take care, EW
What a good lesson (m)
your story tells us. Sometimes people, like Tommy, do creepy things and the immediate response is anger, but then, as Jada did, you realize they didn’t really mean it.
I have to say the way you slid all those words into one sentence was way too smooth!!!
Mac
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