The exercise:
Four lines of prose about: the grey area.
Hey, look at that. We're almost free of January!
Mine:
The security guard came rushing over as soon as he saw the first flick of the lighter; well, it was really more of a purposeful walk, but his thick legs did their very best.
"Excuse me sir, there's no smoking allowed inside the building." Receiving only a face full of smoke in response, he pointed at the sign on the wall and added, "It says so right there, in black and white!"
*For those of you not familiar with Henri, feel free to click his label below to see other occasions he's visited the blog*
8 comments:
Almost free of January, and February is a short month anyway! It'll be spring before you know it, and you'll be back out in the garden :)
Ah, I do like Henri's refreshingly direct approach to things. I hope he never comes up against Charles's security team though, that could escalate badly out of control!
Someone asked about vests yesterday (sorry, I'm a bit pressed for time): in Britain, they're a sleeveless undergarment to protect a shirt worn over the top (or keep you warm, but that's usually for children), whereas in North America I think they're usually a waistcoat (i.e. worn over the shirt!)
The grey area
Charles Asciugimento, Head of Building Security, watched the CCTV as the arrogant man with the briefcase smashed a window and pointed out that there was a grey area.
"Well," said Charles to an empty room. "I agree, that certainly should be a grey area."
"More white than grey though, in fact," he said thoughtfully as he depressed the halon release switch.
mine is a bit high school but here goes...
The Grey Area
It was in Area 51 where they suspected a captured alien starship had been stored and reverse engineered. It’s possibly where much of our modern tech came from.
The ship had a rough metallic colour, a cross between military grey and college grey which housed strange looking humanoids alledgedly of the Grey alignment but the whole story is a bit of a grey area as any documents seized under the Freedom of Information act have been heavily redacted.
So the story goes...
@Marc - heh. interesting way to make a grey area.
@Greg - thank you - that's very interesting that vests are nearly the same thing, only ones outerware and the other is inner... and I thought you didn't want Henri meeting up with Charley's Security team?
@writebite - we're all allowed to be a little high school now and then.
okay so at first I thought this was four lines of poetry and I immediately went and grabbed a poem from my computer that fit, so...
The Grey Area
My world’s been mashed, into bits.
White and Black thoroughly mixed.
In between the shades of gray
Lies the true story of the day.
"Who wrote this?" Mr. N looked at the class over his spectacles as he eyed each student, looking for the culprit, but like him, they didn't know either.
We had a bit of a storm here yesterday which knocked out our internet connection so I missed yesterday's prompt. My bad.
Grey Area
Jenna pulled further back into the shadows while still keeping a close eye on the door to the hotel. Ten minutes earlier she had watched as Ben and his latest slut had entered through the revolving doors laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world. Jenna pulled her collar tighter before sticking her hands into her pockets, she caressed the warm, smooth grip of the small 9mm concealed there. This time, she thought, there wasn’t going to be any grey areas when she reminded Ben of the vows he had taken.
Newly fallen snow ought to be white. But mixing with the slush and dirt already on the asphalt, it became more of a gray. Perhaps it will be white when a bit more snow has fallen.
@ Marc - I would have liked it better if the security drone had specificed 'an enclosed area' which would have given Henri's punchline more oomph.
@ Greg - I've only seen him twice and I already like Mr. Asciugimento
@ WB - High school with a touch of Douglas Adams, can't complain.
@ CL Carrying on writebite's 'High School' notion?
@ IB - Yikes
@ Morgana - Not if Iron Bess has her way (apparently all snow is bad and needs to be washed away)
The Grey Area
Simon stared at his arm not really sure if what he was seeing was real.
At first he had just assumed that it was the bad light in the study that had made him do a double take. After a good hard look however he`d opted to walk out into the sun-room and get a 'second opinion'.
Out here, in the bright light, there was no denying the fact that half of his arm had become completely and utterly monochrome as if the flesh hue had just transformed into a literal 'grey area'.
It's been one hell of a day. 8 hours spent working on corporate taxes and I'm not even close to finished. Then unexpected company from out of town arrived right after dinner. It's two O'Clock in the morning and im just writing now. I really want to be good at this, so I'm paying my way with lack of sleep.
“Good Morning class.” Mrs. Game said as she entered room 305. “Welcome to Ethics 101. Please take out your books and turn to page fifteen, Animal Experimentation.”
A moan came from somewhere in the back of the room. Mrs. Game flashed a knowing smile before asking “Who can tell me what Ethics is?”
The hand of a pinch-faced brunette shot up immediately and without waiting to be called upon she started to speak. “Ethics is the study of morals that regulate a person’s behavior.”
Mrs. Game nodded. “Yes. Very good. In this class you will learn that each of us is guided by a different set of morals. These morals are specific to our culture and upbringing. Participation in classroom discussions will be rewarded. However differences of opinion may spark some debate among your classmates so please be respectful of other beliefs and conduct yourselves appropriately.” Mrs. Game quickly scanned the room, then turned on her heel and flipped her book to page fifteen.
“Alright then, Section one. Is it morally acceptable to experiment on non-human animals to develop products and medicines that benefit human beings? This topic has been a grey area for lawmakers. Differences of opinion have enraged animal activists and hindered drug testing by pharmaceutical companies. We are going to split into two groups. Everyone for experimentation go to the left side of the room. Everyone against it go to the right. You have thirty minutes to prepare your case. Your arguments will be heard before the end of class today.”
Greg - yes, things could get out of hand very, very quickly indeed :)
Writebite - I liked the various uses of grey that you managed to incorporate :)
Elor - Friday for prose, Saturday for poems :)
But I'll forgive you this time, especially due to how much I enjoyed that poem. And the prose you included makes it rather intriguing.
Iron Bess - I think that's Mother Nature's bad, not yours :)
Wonderfully sinister scene.
Morganna - ugh, dirty snow is the worst!
GZ - ah, that's a good point. I was struggling to figure out a way to make the joke work better. Thanks!
Ooh, that's a great beginning to a story I'd love to hear more of!
Krystin - ouch, that's a rough one. But consider me impressed by your dedication!
I'm sure some people would enjoy a class like that, but I'd hate it. I'd invariably end up wanting to punch someone out pretty much every class.
Anyway! Well described, particularly the eager beaver :)
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