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Friday, March 11, 2011

Paper Hangover Flash Fiction Fridays: Attempt # 1

Writing Song of the Day: "Black Cat" by Janet Jackson



Happy Friday!



So, we don't usually blog on Fridays... but that just might change because of Pam's new excellent venture. She and her blog partners at Paper Hangover are challenging writers to come up with a Flash Fiction piece each week based on a given prompt.



How does it work?

1.) You get the prompt early in the week, write it, and then post it on your blog.
2.) Next, you link your FF piece to the Paper Hangover blog.
3.) From there, you visit others and leave comments on their fiction.


Simple enough, right?

This week's prompt was to write a FF piece (no longer than 300 words) that starts with the line "That darn cat..."

So... here goes my 1st attempt at Flash Fiction. *fingers crossed*


FF Attempt # 1:


That darn cat.

I hated him from the moment Dad brought him home. To make me forget about Rick. This darn lazy cat, Chemo is supposed to take away my ache for Rick.

Darn cat. I can’t curse. Not even in my head. Dad will know. He said so. “Don’t even THINK about cursing. I’ll know, Alexis. I’ll know.”

So I don’t.

It’s not like I’m naïve, I mean, I’m freaking fifteen…but Dad is scary as sh—I mean, hell, I mean…he’s scary. He knew about Rick—even when I was trying to be sneaky. Once Dad knew, I never saw Rick again. It’s not like I didn’t try. I did. Rick is just gone. In his place I have the fat orange and white cat, Chemo. Dad named him. Said he would cure the cancer that Rick put in me.
I didn’t know I could fall so hard. My friends were mad, saying I chose him over them. Who wouldn’t? Rick was tall, muscular and majorly cute. He had a chiseled face just like the late, great Heath Ledger. Only thing missing was the accent.

And now I have no clue where he went. He could be in a detention home, in jail, or just locked away in his bedroom. I try not to think the worst. But after three weeks of no new texts or e-mails…I can only think that Dad’s done it again.

Just like when I really liked Jamal in eighth grade. He disappeared and Dad brought home one of those rescue dogs. He named her Penny, short for penicillin. She died in her sleep.

I coax Chemo until he brings his fat body to me. I stroke his fur.

Dad might have missed my message with Penny, but he’ll get it for sure this time.


There you have it...my demented take on the prompt: That darn cat... What do you think? Are you participating this week? If not, you MUST next week! Have a good weekend :D

7 comments:

Meredith McCardle said...

LOVE IT!! Great, great start, Quita. I think you should keep going with it, actually. :)

Holly Hill said...

Ooh, that's really good!! I'm with Meredith, I'd definitely keep reading if you wrote more for that!

Unknown said...

I agree with the comments above. This is very intriguing.

Unknown said...

Wow. This is really good. There is so much going on in these 300 words.

Jamie Manning said...

Wow...excellent job! Loved it, Quita!!

Racquel Henry said...

Quita! Woot! You have crossed over into the fantastic world of flash fiction! Great job! I loved it! I'm going to try it out next week! :)

Caroline Tung Richmond said...

Aw, I loved this short story! The voice is wonderful--so descriptive and readable--and the prose is snappy and interesting. Thanks so much for posting it!