Aditus' prompts and circumstances - 3. Engagement Party

Engagement Party

"Watcha doing?"

I'm staring at a screen, willing words to appear!

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a hand stealing my coffee and looked up. Mick.

"I'm answering a prompt."

"A prompt?"

He came around the table and tried to sneak a peek. I quickly closed the laptop. Not that there was anything to see, but an empty document and a blinking cursor.

"Yes, you know: 'Write a story using the following words, yadda, yadda, yadda.'"

Mick took the chair opposite of mine, still sipping at my coffee occasionally, and I knew I wouldn't get rid of him until he'd said his piece.

Lifting his infamous left eyebrow he nodded. "Okay." Sip. "Why?"

"To get back into the right mind-set of writing. I'm a little bit off lately. I want to see stories happening in my head again..." Leaning back in my chair I tried to rub the slight tension out of my neck. Not that it helped.

Maybe I'm trying too hard.

"You writers are weird people." He examined me like he would one of the rare fungi species he was so fond of.

"Hmm..." What could I say, he's right.

He leaned forward, placing his outstretched hands on the tabletop. "Okay gimme the words."

"Hmmm?"

"The words, what words do you have to use?" He'd stopped drinking my coffee, probably because it was empty by then.

"Oh." Opening my laptop I clicked at the link and read, "Charity party, mortician, tracing paper, cork tree and fins."

"What whacked out mind came up with that?" He threw himself back in his chair. "Jeez."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's a challenge Mick; it has to be a bit difficult."

"Oookay." Scrunching his nose, he narrowed his eyes and stared at something only he could see. It's always fun to see Mick thinking.

"What would I know about this?" He taps with his fingers on the arm rest. "Although, it can't be that hard."

"Uhu..."

Then he grinned. "What about: A mortician runs his car into a cork tree while on his way to a charity party because he's wearing fins?"

I snorted. "Easy as pie, huh? You forgot the tracing paper."

"Ah shit, I'm sure we can fit it in somewhere. How about-"

"MICK! Why are you here?"

That finally shut him up. He shrugged.

"Lisa asked me to remind you that you are expected to be at her engagement party at six and not to wear your cowboy boots with the suit again."

"And you are her errand boy since when exactly?"

"Since I also have to tell you that her idiot brother, who happens to be your boyfriend, has once again acted like a clown and thinks it's funny to wrap her car in toilet paper."

"It is funny, though." I couldn't suppress my grin, even if I'd wanted to, which I didn't.

"Yeah, I know, seeing that she actually gets hysterical every time she sees toilet paper since you told her that some of it is made of used paper, skipping over the fact that they don't use that kind of used paper..."

"I wasn't skipping over the fact; I'd never thought she would actually..."

"Yes, and that magnolia tree over there is actually a pine tree.”