This isn't the first time she's had to exert her power, to put a stop to it before things spin out of control.
The tip of the knife drags just a little as she runs it up and down, leaving perfect parallel lines of almost-broken dry, ashy skin.
The blade knows where it wants to be ? she slows down just below the elbow and smiles.
"You don't hurt me," she says quietly. "I'm in charge now. I hurt you."
She pushes deeper into her forearm and watches the slow motion drip of blood to the cold bathroom tile.
Eeeeee. Aaaaugh.
I just submitted "Shopping" to Glimmer Train. I've never submitted anything to a national magazine before. Time to start collecting rejection letters!
They are at least nice when they reject you.
Go, you P-C! Good for you for having the courage to send it out.
Because I have the sort of mind that wants to try.
110 words total, every word in the list if you count "spinner" as a form of spin. Not very good writing.
- - -
Round and softening, the avocado sits sadly in the waste-land of the dinner table. Once laid to classic, elegant perfection, the diners have been and taken their revenge on the innocent foods, and all is lying in chaos; the withered scraps of winter lettuce—she remembers them in the salad spinner, crunchy and fresh—look like deadbeat seaweed, stranded by a cruel ocean.
The thought of clearing up invites procrastination. The gloaming of the evening is awash with anhedonia. She rolls the uneaten avocado, now overripe, and sends it caroming into a bowl decorated with geckos. The dinner is finished, and the guests have wandered off to absorb their revenges.
Way to go, P-C! All fingers crossed.
Great challenge, Steph. I love stuff like this--if I can manage it, I want to get all the words in.
Am-Chau, yours is wonderful--I love how you worked in words in unexpected places, like the bowl "decorated with geckos". Very cool.
Great challenge, Steph. I love stuff like this--if I can manage it, I want to get all the words in.
It is utterly hysterical in my class when we have 20+ random and bizarre words and 10 minutes to use them all in a piece. When we read them out loud, it's better than Last Comic Standing.
It's a little bit like Mad Libs, but backwards.
I was giggling over the "fur pie" story all night.
I was giggling over the "fur pie" story all night.
Oh, you should have seen my class! We were howling with laughter at "furp-ee?"
