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!"