Woohoo! It's Friday, which mean's not only is the weekend just around the corner but it's time for a couple of new prompts. I hope everybody has had a great week so far and that you have a great start to the weekend. What better way to start it than taking one of today's prompts and write a little bit of flash fiction. Don't forget, story's under 1,000 words have to be posted as part of a collection. I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for next week!

Prompt 386 – Creative
Tag – List of Words
Use the following words in a story – angry teenager, a bright pink balloon, an elephant, a pie, and a note.

Prompt 387 – Creative
Tag – New World
You’ve been upset for months at work. There have been rumors of a gateway connecting your world to another, but you haven’t been able to confirm it and as a leading scientist in xenobiology you had hoped to be included. Finally, you have had enough and storm down to your boss’s office only to find as you open the door a whole new world before you. What happened and what is this new world like?

It's always hard to choose a prompt to feature, and this week was no different. However, it must be done. This week I decided to feature a prompt that brought tears to my eyes, Valkyrie71's response to Prompt #385:

The Minor

 

I shut the car off and rested my head on the steering wheel, thankful that something this week finally went right and I made it home safely in spite of the weather. I stretched and yawned before grabbing my work duffle and the bag containing the Chinese food I ordered for dinner. After a week of double shifts at the hospital, I was looking forward to having three days off. I opened the door and stepped into the blowing snow. I huddled into my coat and hurried up the walkway to my apartment building. I fiddled with my keys, but before I could isolate the front door key it registered that the snow covered lump on the stoop appeared to be moving. I slowed down, staring as I realized that it was a kid curled up in front of the door, blanketed in a couple inches of fluffy white snow.

 

I immediately went into ‘nurse mode’. I knelt in front of the kid – who looked like he was a young teenager – and shook him gently. “Hey kid. Wake up.”
He groaned and moved, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge me. I wondered how long he had been here and if hypothermia had set in. I shook him harder. “Kid. Wake up!”

 

He opened his eyes blearily and squinted at me. I helped him in to a seated position. “C’mon, you need to get inside.” I guided him to his feet and helped him into the lobby.

 

He shivered uncontrollably. He was wearing clothes designed for warmer weather – jeans, a t-shirt, and a light jacket. He had a backpack with him and looked very much out of his element.

So, who's the kid and what's he doing there? Read on to find out!