Monday March 25th, 2013

The exercise:

Write about something that: bounces.

Went out for lunch with my parents today at our favorite Island restaurant: The Kingfisher. Which, apparently, is now called The Breakwater. Whatever - it'll always be The Kingfisher to me.

Max did a bit of fussing but I managed to get him to sleep, which lasted for most of the meal. Once he woke up he was in a pretty good mood. Also: a pretty pooping mood.

This evening I played a game of Scrabble with my Mom, as is tradition whenever I come for a visit. Thanks to a lot of good fortune I managed to pull off my best ever (as far as I can remember) total score: 403.

Sorry Mom.

Mine:

Gravel embedded in his knees, bloody scrapes and cuts on his arms, he breathes in the dusty heat with long, slow breaths. Somewhere, not too far away, he can hear tires spinning in vain, the ground hopelessly out of reach.

The pain is intense, both the physical and emotional. His pride has taken as much of a beating as his body and he knows what happens next will define this moment in the eyes of his friends. Closing his eyes, he knows that it can still go either way.

Running... well, limping is more likely... home to his mother is incredibly tempting. It's also the wisest course of action, if he's being honest with himself. Something might be broken. Infections are just waiting to set up shop in his bloodstream.

But the shame of it... oh the shame of it.

With a grunt that barely manages to slip between gritted teeth, he pushes himself to his feet. After allowing himself a moment to ensure he won't pass out, he walks over to his bike and pulls it upright. Without a word he gets on and pedals over to his waiting friends.

"All right, Ricky! Way to bounce back!"

3 comments:

Greg said...

But what was your Mum's score? :) 403 is a pretty good score for Scrabble, you clearly know your two-letter words! Most of my friends won't play Scrabble with me any more because of that....
Heh, I knew what had happened from the opening lines today, but I really enjoyed reading your writing to reach the end anyway. It reminds me of the time I went over the handlebars of my bike... into oncoming traffic :-D Even down the gravel embedded in skin!

It bounces
Mr. Bendix set his briefcase – black, faux leather, worn brass combination locks – on the table between himself and Dax. The table was formica-topped, and bolted to the floor like the orange plastic, moulded chairs that surrounded it. Over at the counter of this greasy spoon, Loretta was rattling spoons in cups and banging plates on the counter like the composer of an avant-garde opera warming up. He opened the case with a soft click, and then looked over the lid at Dax.
"It bounces," he said, his voice grave.
"Yeah, of course it does," said Dax. "It's made of rubber and heat-treated, what would you expect it to do? Hand it over and stop being pretentious."
Mr. Bendix frowned, but he removed a green ball from the case and tossed it to Dax. "Apart from bouncing," he said, "it attracts attention. Don't use it near Anna-Mix."
Dax's smile disappeared and his face clouded over. "What's she got to do with this?"
"I don't know," said Mr. Bendix. "All I've been able to find out so far is that she's got an interest in the nine-thousand names of God. So she might be around."
"Damn," said Dax, flatly.

MosesMalone said...

Here’s what bounces: balls;
Here’s what doesn’t: mommy’s crystal sugar dish.
Here’s what bounces: little boys off of walls;
Here’s what doesn’t: my glass sandwich plate against walls.
Here’s what bounces: Mommy; Mommy always bounces back if I just remember to say I’m sorry and I love you.

Marc said...

Greg - um, 285? Something like that.

And that sounds like one nasty crash! Glad you managed to survive it.

Great description of the background noise, and yet another intriguing twist has been introduced to this world.

Mo - 'little boys off of walls' - yes, they certainly do. So much to look forward to :P