Sunday January 25th, 2015

The exercise:

Write about something that has: rusted shut.

I don't think Max has an upper limit (that he is aware of) for how long he can be at the play cafe in Penticton. We were there for just over three hours this afternoon while Kat attended a talk and then did some shopping.

It wasn't until the car ride home that he realized how tired he was. Thankfully it's a short trip.

I guess it didn't fully hit me until after we'd been home for a few minutes. That was when the headache kicked in.

Feeling okay at the moment, but now I know better than to do that again.

Mine:

"A little more oil... there, that ought to do the trick."

"Or we could just sledgehammer it."

"I said no, boy."

"Well, looks to me like you still can't open it."

"There's got to be another oil can around here somewhere..."

"I think we should just use the sledgehammer. You know it would do the job."

"And I think you're plum crazy if you think I'm going to take that thing to this old Chevy's gas tank door! Doesn't that seem at least a little bit like a bad idea to you?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez. Can we at least use a crowbar?"

"... fine."

"WOO HOO!"

4 comments:

Greg said...

So since this play café does tire Max out, and he doesn't know when to stop, I think the solution is coffee for Max and Ibuprofen for you; that way Max will stay awake until bedtime and you won't have a headache. Well, not unless it goes for the full-blown migraine which I think you may have mentioned before.... Maybe you should share that coffee with Max then :)
Ah, I see you're still disappointed about not being allowed to take a sledgehammer to the bathroom (I would be too). I like the banter between your characters though, and the compromise they eventually reach :)

Rusted shut
"Mother Superior, I think it may have rusted shut."
Mother Superior, a gentle woman who towered over all the nuns in the convent because she wore eight-inch stiletto-heels under her robes, lifted her eyes from the Bible on the lectern and tried hard not to gape at Sister Susie. "I think I may have misheard you, child," she said, wishing that Susie weren't actually older than her. "Biological things can't rust."
"Well actually, Mother Superior," said a rotund woman with apple cheeks and a broad Irish accent, "I think you'll find that rust is a type of fungus as well."
"Yes, thank-you," said Mother Superior. She was sure that it was the sin of Envy that she was feeling now, and not really a desire to punch Sister Athena in the throat. "Be that as it may, I'm sure that it cannot have rusted shut, Sister Susie. Have you tried teasing it gently open? Perhaps you might wet your fingers first? I am sure that the Reverend Father will be... concerned if we cannot manage this."
Sister Susie's face reddened. "I think I know how to use my fingers!" she snapped. Sister Athena suppressed a snigger, and Mother Superior again fought down the urge to punch her. "I can hardly get them between her lips. And the smell!"
"Fish," said Sister Athena placidly.
"Was it haddock last night?" asked Mother Superior. She ate only vegetables in the convent, but once a month she went out to preach a sermon in the town, and as a reward she ate in Le grenouille brûlé and had whatever was most expensive. Both Sisters nodded.
"Well," she said, a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice at last. "I've had enough of this. There will be no more vows of silence, no more glueing our lips shut to ensure that they work, no more fish smoothies so that nuns can drink their dinner through a straw, and no more telling me that people's mouths have rusted shut! Run her head under the hot water tap until the glue melts and then make her look presentable for the Reverend Father!"

Anonymous said...

Nice characters, Marc. Really intriguing scene!

Rusted Shut:

“Oh my god, the door.”
“Quickly, open it.”
“I can’t?”
“This isn’t funny, Jared. It’s coming straight for us.”
“It’s not me. The door won’t open.”
“Let me try. Oh no.”
“Kyle?”
“It’s rusted shut. We can’t get out.”
“What do we do now?”
“We pray.”

morganna said...

Stuck closed,
How can I budge this
Unmoving gate so
That I may enter the garden?

Marc said...

Greg - indeed, though I believe my contribution to the conversation was to repeat 'sledgehammer' at every possible opportunity...

You. You sir, are very naughty. Hilarious, and naughty.

Ivybennet - thank you :)

Eek. I don't know what's coming, but I'm pretty sure 'eek' covers it.

Morganna - that's a clever little acrostic. Not that there's anything surprisingly about that, coming from you :)