giovedì 14 novembre 2024

The surprise party

Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month's prompt is “Halloween with a twist.”

This week’s contribution comes from Chiara De Giorgi. Chiara is an Italian author and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She writes fiction, with a focus on children’s literature and science fiction. 

 

The surprise party

by Chiara De Giorgi

created with Canva

 Our tradition of summer parties began when Linda and Andrew’s parents went away for a weekend.

I remember being a bit worried because I didn’t know Andrew very well yet and thought he was a dangerous guy. So I assumed his friends must be dangerous too, and imagined they’d wreck that cute little house while Linda and I hid in the closet to escape their destructive rampage.
Thankfully, reality turned out to be quite different! Neither Andrew nor his friends appeared to be dangerous guys… in fact, I ended up having some of the most interesting and intelligent conversations with them. But it’s not those clever conversations I want to talk about now. I want to tell you about last Saturday’s surprise party. I call it a “surprise party” not because it was organized without my knowledge, but because Andrew and his friends wanted to keep everything a secret from Linda and me—which meant we would be able to tell nothing to Sabrina and Isabelle, who were also invited. But we definitely knew there’d be a party. Okay, maybe I’m rambling a bit, sorry about that.


Early that afternoon, Andrew and his friends, Simon and Trevor, kicked Linda out, so she came to my place. We’re neighbors, which is very convenient: she just has to hop over the little fence, and she’s here. Even so, a typical sudden, heavy late-August rain caught her while she was crossing the fence, and she got soaked in those three feet between there and my front door. So, we had something to keep us busy for the afternoon (namely, drying her clothes and hair) while we racked our brains trying to guess what the boys were up to in the house next door. We tried to peek from my bedroom window, but it’s not at the right angle, so we ended up with stiff necks from all the twisting. My sister Marina’s room is perfect for spying on our neighbors, but she was locked in there drawing and didn’t want to be disturbed, saying we’d spoil her inspiration.

Later in the afternoon, Sabrina and Isabelle arrived at my place. They’d brought bags full of clothes, and we started trying on different outfits, also raiding my closet. The problem was, we didn’t know how to dress because we had no idea what kind of party the boys were organizing. Sabrina and Isabelle wanted to try peeking too but eventually gave up.

“Are you telling me your little brother Daniel doesn’t have a periscope mirror?” Sabrina asked at one point. “He’s always tinkering and building weird gadgets!”

Turned out, Daniel did have a periscope mirror. Full of excitement, we tried it out, only to find that Andrew and the others had hung dark sheets over the windows, so we couldn’t see a thing anyway.

When Andrew finally texted Linda to let her know the party was starting, we were all still undecided on what to wear. I thought maybe the boys would try and pull a prank on us, so I put on a silly little blue dress covered in pink flamingos (I bought it at a flea market, and I don’t know what I was thinking; I’d never had the courage to wear it, but the “surprise party” finally seemed like the right occasion).

As we walked into my neighbors’ house, we were greeted by a thick cloud of white smoke generated by a fog machine, and creaking noises and howls were playing in the background. Just a few steps in, a giant spiderweb dropped down on our heads. It was fake, of course, but in the moment, we all started screaming. Then, out of the smoke appeared the three boys. Andrew was dressed as the Joker, Trevor as Freddy Krueger, and Simon as a zombie.

Sabrina wasn’t amused and started spouting profanities nonstop. Linda and Isabelle were trying to disentangle themselves, and the more they struggled, the more tangled they got. I regretted not wearing my Grim Reaper costume that I have at the back of my closet and hated the pink flamingos on my dress more with every passing second. I’d been trying to make a good impression on Andrew, but the more I tried, the more awkward I got. Story of my life.
“Trick or treat!” the guys shouted, throwing gummy bears and Smarties at us.
I felt like laughing, but the other girls were pretty annoyed, and I didn’t want to side with those tricksters, so I just grabbed a few gummy bears while the three of them freed us from the giant spiderweb.
Then, before Sabrina, Linda, and Isabelle could follow through on their threats to slice them into pieces, Andrew, Simon, and Trevor handed us baskets to collect candy. We went outside and knocked on every door in the neighborhood, shouting “Trick or treat?” and catching all the residents off guard. This made most of them smile, and we soon gathered a decent following (led by my little brother Daniel!). By the end of our rounds, our baskets were full of all kinds of goodies. Not everyone had candy or sweets at home, so some gave us sandwiches, others offered pieces of cheese, Tupperware with pasta, meatballs, bottles of soda, and even some pork chops.
To finish off the night, we camped out in my neighbors’ yard, and it wasn’t just the four of us girls and the three masterminds of the party anymore—we’d amassed quite a crowd of kids and teens from the neighborhood.

In the midst of the chaos, Andrew came over to me and said, “You look great dressed as a flamingo!”

And that’s how that second-hand dress suddenly became my favorite piece of clothing.

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

giovedì 7 novembre 2024

Important Decisions

Welcome to The Spot Writers. The prompt for this cycle is to use this prompt: “Halloween with a Twist.” Phil Yeats wrote this story.

 

In April, 2024, he published The Body on Karli’s Beach, the third book in his Barrettsport Mysteries, a series of soft-boiled mysteries set in a fictional South Shore Nova Scotia town. For information about these books, and The Road to Environmental Armageddon, his trilogy about the hazards of ignoring human-induced climate change, visit his website: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

 

Important Decisions

by Phil Yeats

 

Decades ago, after I arrived to start graduate studies, I fell in love with the architectural absurdity of a house. The rent was more than I could afford, but if I sublet rooms to three or four housemates, I figured I could swing it.

My first year renting rooms out to undergraduates was a bit of a disaster. During my second summer, I changed focus and advertised for housemates in the graduate student centre and professional colleges. The low rent I could charge meant I soon attracted a couple on the long road to medical careers and in September, a young woman, Mary, an English student just starting graduated school.

When Halloween rolled around, the medical students begged off, arguing the overwhelming pressure of their studies. Mary and I were less pressured by our graduate student programs. I was rather into generating a spooky ambience for our yard and I was soon to learn Mary was into costuming. When I came inside, I found her dressed up in an elaborate costume as a character in a fantasy series that was trending with teenagers and young adults. I felt old at 24 when she had to explain it all to me.

She had everything under control until about 6:30 when she rushed into the kitchen, where I was preparing a late dinner for the two of us. She was in tears. “Please, Dan, can you take over for a few minutes? I had a shock and I need a chance to recover.”

I nodded and grabbed my conical wizard’s hat adorned with paper cutouts of alchemist’s symbols and rushed to the front hall to do battle with the ghosts and goblins out trick-or-treating.

 

She returned to the fray half an hour later. She’d touched up her stage makeup and smiled as she greeted the next gaggle of goblins.

I returned to my supper-making and didn’t hear from her again until 8:30, when she arrived in the kitchen and slumped into a chair. “We’re out of treats, so I brought in the pumpkin and turned out the outside lights.” She gazed at the stove. “I’m starving. What have you concocted for supper?”

I passed her a glass of white wine. “Pan-fried haddock with rice and salad. The rice has about ten minutes to go, so time to introduce the fish to the frypan.”

I slid the pieces of fish from a bowl of flour to one with whipped egg to one with spices and breadcrumbs. I checked the oily pan was good and hot and placed the pieces of fish into it. They made a satisfying sizzling sound. Four minutes later, I turned the fish pieces and a few minutes later the rice cooker indicated the rice was done. Perfect timing, I thought, as I returned to the fridge for the salad I’d prepared and wine to top up the glasses. It might almost look like I knew what I was doing.

After dinner and pumpkin pie, store-bought, not homemade for dessert, we were sipping cups of tea when she brought up the subject of her little emotional breakdown. “Sorry about my crying fit, but my daughter appeared on our doorstep along with three of four other trick-or-treaters. I hadn’t seen her for three years, but I know it was her.”

I wanted to ask her questions about how this all came about, but noticed she was almost in tears. I sat patiently, staring at my teacup.

“I’ve thought about her every day, since I left her at an institution for the handicapped.”

“And now, perhaps, it’s time to do something about it?”

“Yes. Perhaps it is.”

 

*****

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

 

giovedì 24 ottobre 2024

Howl

Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month's prompt is "Halloween with a twist." Today's tale comes to us from Val Muller, author of the Corgi Capers mystery series.

 

Howl

by Val Muller

 

The sun rose in rays cutting through the mist. Randy shook his fur and adjusted his shirt. It was finally here--Halloween. Tonight was his night to prove himself, to terrify small children and howl at the moon, to rustle through bushes and leaves, to claw at doorways.

If he did all that, maybe his dad would finally get off his case.

The werewolf academy was awarding only three red shirts this holiday, making the high award an elite honor most likely out of Randy's league but definitely on his dad's radar.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with being a blue shirt," Randy said at dinner just last week. He had been assigned to terrify a young brother and sister walking their dog after dark, but he really didn't see the need to do such things. Besides, dogs were a little intimidating.

"No werewolf aspires to be a blue shirt." His dad tore a piece of raw meat off the bone, letting the remnants clatter to his plate with a splat while he chewed. Then he rubbed his claws along his size XL red flannel shirt, still emblazoned with the werewolf academy patch and the year he earned it.

"Dad, it's not the seventies anymore. Not everyone needs a red shirt. And even if I stay a green shirt, I--"

His dad growled at the very idea of Randy staying a green shirt. The wereboy lowered his head and munched on a piece of broccoli.

"Dang it, Randy, I've told you how many times. You have to eat your meat first. You think I'm gonna let you fill up on vegetables?"

Randy sighed. The whole week, dad had been like this. Criticizing his diet. Saying his teeth weren't sharp enough, his fur not matted enough.

"You know, Matthew got groomed this weekend," Randy had said. "All the kids at school seem to think his haircut looks nice and--" That set off Dad, of course. Next thing Randy knew, they were at the local dump finding musty discards to roll in.

"No son of mine is getting groomed, and certainly not this close to Halloween."

Since then, they had hunted, clawed, lingered, and howled. But Randy still hadn't found that drive, that urge to scare.

Now, Halloween morning, Randy was determined to put the issue to rest. If he could only just terrify someone, maybe instill in them some indigestion or the need for anti-anxiety meds, maybe that would be enough for Dad.

Randy headed out of their foresty shed in search of victims. The first victim was a woman walking her dog. It was a little one, a chihuahua. But you know what they say about little dogs. Randy chose to stay on the opposite side of the street. He threw the woman a creepy look. Alright, it was more like a sideways smile, but still. Dad couldn't say he didn't try.

The woman gave a half wave and a sympathetic smile. "I like your costume," she said. "Very scary."

The way she said "scary," Randy could tell she really didn't think so.

Randy continued walking toward the town. Surely someone would be frightened. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his green flannel shirt to add that extra little look of dishevelment.

Soon, screeching tires and backup lights. "No. Way." A voice called. Randy caught up to the truck that had stopped on the side of the road. The guy at the wheel looked pretty frantic. Maybe he would make an easy victim.

"Dude," he said. "You look just like Freddy."

"Freddy?"

"Yeah. He was our last werewolf. Something came up, though, and he can't play the role tonight. We don't have any spare actors, and I've been racking my brain all morning. Want to make an easy couple of hundred bucks?"

"Hundred bucks?" Randy approached the car.

The man nodded. "I mean, your costume looks so good, it could be real." He reached out and tugged Randy's facial fur. "That's some beard!"

"You're not scared of me?"

The man laughed. "I run a haunted woods attraction for a living. I'm not scared, but I know hundreds of people who will be."

Randy howled. "Sign me up."

 * * *

 The early November sun gently lit the morning fog. Randy crunched on a celery stalk while Dad ate some marrow out of a freshly cracked deer bone.

Between bites, he looked at Randy and smiled. "So proud of you for earning the scariest character award at that haunted woods place you went to."

"You're not mad I only earned a blue shirt from the academy?" Randy smiled, hoping the whole red shirt thing was behind him.

Dad let out a playful growl. "You only earned a blue shirt for now. There's always next year."

Randy looked down at his "scariest character" medal and the way it gleamed in the sun. His chest swelled with pride, which he released in a long, eerie howl that even made his own skin crawl as his mind wandered to next Halloween.

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

mercoledì 16 ottobre 2024

History Class

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is: you are home alone watching TV. The phone rings. 

This week’s contribution comes from Chiara De Giorgi. Chiara is an Italian author and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She writes fiction, with a focus on children’s literature and science fiction. 

 

History Class

by Chiara De Giorgi

 

created with Canva

I was home alone watching TV when the phone rang.

A perfectly normal sentence if you were born in the twentieth century. But I was born in the thirtieth, and had no idea what a TV was, or a phone. As for the home… it was above ground, but not in space.

 ***

I was not prepared for such a jump back in time; I would have searched for information about that era if I’d wanted to travel so many centuries into the past. I must have made a mistake in setting the destination in the time machine. I intended to go to 2987, as a matter of fact. Not 1987. But there I was, apparently inhabiting the body of my 15-year-old ancestor of the time. My first instinct was to immediately activate the return mode and go back to my time. But curiosity got the better of me. Everything looked so strange!

I was wearing a bizarre piece of clothing that reminded me of those worn by primitives in historical depictions and covered me from the shoulders to mid-leg but left my arms exposed. The material was likely cotton, in its original form before the genetic alterations of later centuries, when most plants had to be resynthesized. Ha! I recalled something from my studies, after all, no matter what my team-mates—and my teachers—said.

Thrilled by the realization that I might actually know something about human societies that lived a thousand years before my birth, I focused and tried to remember other details. They lived in houses, that is, artificial constructions above ground but not in space. I was inside one—and I was intrigued—but what I really wanted was to see one from the outside. I was curious to see how they looked like. How could I get outside, though? There were holes in the walls, but when I looked down I became so dizzy that I dropped to the floor for fear of falling. We were too high up! Wasn’t that dangerous? I mean. Space residences are much higher up, but they’re safe, there’s no possibility of falling out. As for underground dwellings, well. You’re already underground, where could you fall? And what were they thinking, putting holes in the outer walls? Madness. Unless… Maybe they had some device that helped them float gently to the ground.

I kept looking around. The house was full of objects I could not imagine the use of. A black box with a weird shape caught my attention. I accidentally stepped on something, and the black box came to life.

I froze for a moment, thinking someone had suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. I knew they didn’t have time travel back in the twentieth century, but maybe they used teleportation? I could not remember this from my history classes. But then I realized the people were inside the black box. Fascinating! That must have been the one-thousand-year-ago version of our fun-fiction.

I was watching the screen, completely mesmerised, when I heard a ringing sound. And another. And another. I started to look around to identify the source of that sound. I noticed a small object with the most peculiar shape and I approached it. The sound was louder there. Warily, I touched it. A piece of the object broke loose, and I heard a voice come out of it.

“Hello? Hello-oh?”

“Uhm… Hello?” I said.

“I am the headmaster of ‘Tweedledum and Tweedledee High School’. I called to inform you that your daughter has skipped several hours and I wish to know whether you are aware of this and if there is a good reason.”

“Skipped hours? Could it be that there’s something wrong with the subatomic direct exchange in her tripper?”

“What? I mean history classes! And math. She has good grades, but if she does not show up, she will be failed. Rules are rules.”

“Sure. Rules are rules. No doubt about that.”

“I’m glad we’re in agreement. Will you talk to her?”

“Of course!”

“Very well. I wish you a nice day.”

“Thank you!”

The voice disappeared. After a few attempts, I managed to reposition the detached piece. A moment later, the thing rang again.

“Hello?” a different voice than the previous one said when I picked up the removable part.

“Hello?” I said. I was starting to feel more confident in this strange, alien world.

“Hello and good morning, Madame! I want to tell you about this week’s fantastic deal! By purchasing the entire encyclopaedia collection today—”

“Encyclop—What is that?” I remembered that there used to be weapons in the olden days, and I suddenly felt afraid. “Are you offering me a collection of… weapons?” The very word felt dangerous on my lips.

“Ha ha! Good one! But wait. The encyclopaedia is indeed a weapon. A weapon against… ignorance! And it sounds like you could use one, ha ha ha!”

“Is that a threat?” I was starting to sweat. Maybe I should just…

I repositioned the mobile part in its seat and the voice went quiet. When the thing started to ring again, I ignored it. This was not the adventure I had envisioned when I had activated the time machine to go to my favourite hang-out place in 2987—ending up one thousand years earlier by mistake—instead of turning on my history lesson of the day… Wait. That’s what the headmaster was talking about! This made me laugh: my ancestor skipped her history classes and, one thousand years later, I did the same.

At that moment a large hole opened in the wall and a woman walked through it.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with a frown as soon as she spotted me. “Have you skipped school again?”

“I…”

The coincidence was remarkable. Apparently, my ancestor and I had woken up with the same idea that day.

“Answer me, young lady!”

Oh, well. I certainly didn’t want to receive the scolding reserved for my ancestor. I activated the return mode and a moment later I was back at home.

“What are you doing here?”

For a moment I thought the return mode had failed, but then I realised it was my own mother who had asked the question. Uh-oh.

“Have you turned down your classes again? What was it, this time? History again? Answer me, young lady!”

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

giovedì 10 ottobre 2024

Kevin’s Story: Part Two

 

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is: you are home alone watching TV. The phone rings. Phil Yeats wrote this week’s story.

In April, 2024, he published The Body on Karli’s Beach, the third book in his Barrettsport Mysteries, a series of soft-boiled mysteries set in a fictional South Shore Nova Scotia town. For information about these books, and The Road to Environmental Armageddon, his trilogy about the hazards of ignoring human-induced climate change, visit his website: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

 

Kevin’s Story: Part Two

by Phil Yeats

 

On the day before the start of my annual summer vacation, I looked back on the past two years with conflicting feelings of true accomplishment and deep sadness.

Many factors, including the writing group I’d joined three years earlier and a little girl, Madelyn King, helped propel me from my life as a skilled technologist to a more well-rounded scientist with greater responsibilities in the hospital’s pathology laboratory. I now had a nine-to-five job monitoring the quality of the results produced by the three shifts in the path lab and investigating any deterioration in laboratory performance. I had a subordinate, a technologist who worked on improving laboratory procedures, and this summer, a math and computer science student who was updating our approach to laboratory quality management.

My sadness developed from the days two and a half years earlier, when circumstances placed Maddy in my care. We had two delightful days celebrating Christmas together before the city’s social workers took her under their wings. My frustration and sadness grew when the ‘system’ refused to allow me any contact with the lonely little girl. I couldn’t even send her presents at Christmas or on her birthday.

Her tear-filled wail when they took her away tormented my dreams. ‘But I like it here with Kevin, and Mummy will know where to find me. This was the best Christmas ever,’ were words seared into my brain.

That evening at the start of my summer vacation, I was watching some mindless drivel on the TV when my phone’s ringtone brought me back to the here and now.

A breathless childish voice exclaimed, “Yo, Kevin, the door’s locked. You have to let me in.”

She didn’t identify herself, but I knew at once the caller was Maddy. And if she was outside the front door of the old house that contained my apartment, she must have run away from her foster home or wherever else she may have been living.

“Don’t go anywhere,” I yelled as I shoved my feet into my shoes and rushed out my door, down the hall, and then the stairs to the front door. She slid inside and dropped a small but bulging backpack to the floor.

I pointed at a device on her wrist. “Is that your phone?”

“Yeah, isn’t it cool,” she said as she scampered up the stairs. As far as I knew, she hadn’t been in the building for two and a half years, but she knew the way. I picked up her pack and followed. She turned at the top. “The nice police lady gave it to me. Said I was only supposed to use it in a ’mergency.”

“So, this is an emergency,” I said after we entered my apartment?

“Two bad guys arrived at the front door and started arguing with my latest foster parents. When they said my name, I ran.”

“What then?”

“I grabbed the special backpack the police lady gave me, shoved in my favourite dolly, and ran out the back door.”

“Did you phone the nice police lady?”

“Yeah, but she didn’t answer, so I came here?”

“Okay, let’s try calling her again.”

She fiddled with her phone for a few seconds and touched the screen. We could hear the ring tone and then Constable Meadows’ voice. “Hi Maddy, what’s up?”

“Bad guys were after me, so I ran away?”

“Where are you now?”

“Kevin’s.”

“Good girl. You did the right thing. I’ll phone Kevin and we can sort this out.”

Seconds later, my phone chirped, and we sorted things out. The solution for Maddy and I was a two-week vacation at the seaside, with safe accommodation paid for by the police. Not what I planned for my two weeks off, but getting away from the city with my favourite ‘niece’ and free accommodation was something I could handle.

Around ten, when Madelyn was safely tucked away in the bedroom of the little guest cottage they reserved for us for our first night about two hours from the city, Constable Meadows tapped on our door. Inside, she slumped into an armchair. She looked like she’d been up for hours and through a wringer.

“Everything’s sorted,” she said. “I’m sure you got away unnoticed, but just in case, two constables from the RCMP will keep watch overnight and make sure no one follows you in the morning. Maddy’s mother was a key informant for a sting of a drug smuggling gang that went down today. It was going like clockwork until we realized someone had leaked the identity of Maddy and her mother to the gang.”

“Do you know who?” I asked.

“We suspect someone in Social Services. That’s why I was so relieved when she contacted you rather than Social Services.”

“But her phone only has your number, my number, and the one for her foster parents.”

“Perceptive bugger, aren’t you? That’s why my boss, the inscrutable Detective Twist, had it in for you.”

“Water under the bridge. What happens next? We need someone, you, to look after Madelyn for the next two weeks while we generate a longer-term solution and sort out the leak in Social Services.”

“And her mother?”

“Back in rehab with our support. If all goes well, we can get Maddy and her mother reunited in the next few months.”

She sighed as she stood and headed for the door. “Back to the fray. We must find the leak and tie up the loose ends in our case against the smugglers. Have a good vacation, and please, do what you can for Maddy. She’s a spunky little kid who deserves a better chance.”

Not so little, I thought as I closed the door behind Constable Meadows, but a resourceful nine-year-old who deserves any help we can give her.

 

*****

 

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

 

venerdì 4 ottobre 2024

Haiku

Welcome to The Spot Writers. The prompt for this cycle is to use this prompt: “You are home alone watching TV. The phone rings.”

This week it’s Cathy MacKenzie’s turn. Alas, she FORGOT! In a pinch and a bind, she penned a Haiku (short and hopefully sweet—not that Haikus are THAT easy to write!).

Cathy’s writings are found in numerous print and online publications. She writes all genres but invariably veers toward the dark—so much so her late mother once asked, “Can’t you write anything happy?” (She can!) Check out www.writingwicket.wordpress.com for further information on her works.

She recently published WHEN KAYAKS FLY, a mix of fantasy, real life, and gallows humour. This book was made possible with three years of Spot Writers’ prompts—after much editing and re-writing. Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1990589332.

 

***

 

Alone, not lonely

Jarring ring pierces quiet

I race to closet

 

***


The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

 Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

 Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

 Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.ca/

 

 

sabato 28 settembre 2024

Babysitting at Midnight

Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month's prompt is: you are home alone watching TV. The phone rings.

Today's prompt comes to us from Val Muller, author of the kidlit mystery series Corgi Capers.

 

Babysitting at Midnight

by Val Muller

 It was good money, but it sure was creepy babysitting past midnight. There was just something about the Ponds' house, mostly the creepy grandfather clock in the dining room whose chime rebounded across the whole house. And something about the clock striking midnight made it worse.

The lighting in the house was dark, and dark by design. The walls were all shades of purple or stormy gray. Ellie supposed it was calming for the Ponds, but in an unfamiliar house, it seemed less so.

Ellie was not a fan of TV, and she flipped mindlessly through the channels, looking for something to distract her. The Ponds would be gone for at least another hour. They said she could fall asleep on the couch, but the idea of them finding her asleep on their couch was even more frightening than the house.

Still, it was basically free money, sitting here while the Pond kids slept. What would Ellie be doing at home? She would have finished her homework by now. But here, she didn't feel

comfortable spreading everything out, so it was still in her backpack, untouched. She was halfway to convincing herself to attempt it when the phone rang.

Who would be calling the Pond's home phone at this hour except the Ponds. They were probably calling to check in or to update their arrival time.

"Hello?" she answered, trying to sound professional.

"I know what you did last summer," a gruff voice grunted.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me..." The voice breathed heavily. "Are you alone in the house?"

Frantically, Ellie searched for her cell phone, ready to call 911 before the deep voice broke into familiar laughter.

"Grace! I almost called the cops on you. Not funny!" Ellie took a few deep breaths while her best friend let out the last of the giggles. "Anyway, you called so late. How do you know you weren't gonna wake the Ponds?"

Grace giggled again. "I was babysitting right next door. The Martins mentioned you were over here when they returned. Thought I might keep you company."

Ellie sighed relief and hurried to the door to let in her friend.

*

The creepy clock struck 1. Grace and Ellie wondered about their decision to watch a horror movie on such a night. The Ponds were really late tonight. "I wonder when they'll be back," Ellie mused.

Grace shrugged.

Then the phone rang.

 

****

The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/