The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!

[Scott6373]

Perpendicular  7/12/07

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Yeah?  What about?”

“Perpendicular”

“Perpen-what?”

"Yeah that’s what I said when I heard it.”

“What the hell is it?  A disease or somethin’?”

“Neah…got ta do with math or some such.  Junior is learnin’ it at school.  She asked for help with it .”

“Did ya help her?”

“Couldn’t.  Didn’t know what perpendicular was.”

“Oh…do ya know now?

“Kinda…something ta do with two things bein’ next ta each other.”

A quizzical silence plopped over them, each man’s face deep in though over ‘perpendicular’.

“Wanna screw around?”

"Ya mean…get perpendicular with each other?”  Ennis’ sly grin spoke of knowledge not learned in math class.

106 words

[outrider]

paper clip:
perpendicular:
paralyze/paralyzed:


http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,9354.new.html#new

~

[mariez]

. . . .
“Wanna screw around?”

"Ya mean…get perpendicular with each other?”  Ennis’ sly grin spoke of knowledge not learned in math class.

  Hee Hee.  Ennis always did have a gift for metaphors. 


Thanks for another link, outrider.


Marie

[Clyde-B]

     A long hot drive home.  Jack, happy he’d decided.  Paper clipped to his invoices a card to Ennis. 
     The towtruck from the last gas station barrelled past him and pulled across the road perpendicular to the ditch.  Why the roadblock?  Jack slowed to a stop.  The grizzled old mechanic walked toward him; he had a tire iron in his right fist nervously beating it against his left palm.
    Jack rolled down his window.  “There a problem?”
    “Get out the vehicle.”
     Jack froze, paralyzed.  Something wasn’t right.  “I said, there a problem here?”
     “And I said, get out a your vehicle.”   


      100 words

[mariez]

Important Places

Jack fidgeted with the paper clip between his fingers. Jesus.  He'd wanted to be on the road no later than noon, but here he sat.  Listening to this blustering jackass go on and on in excruciating detail about his glory days as star of his high-school football team a hundred effin' years ago …..

Finally.  

He hurried past the receptionist with a quick good-bye, much too distracted to hear her call after him.  "Aren't you forgetting something?"  She looked down at the third reminder to see his wife before he left and shrugged.  "Must have more important places to be."  

~~~~~~~
100 Words

[mariez]

  . . .  The grizzled old mechanic walked toward him; he had a tire iron in his right fist nervously beating it against his left palm.
    Jack rolled down his window.  “There a problem?”
    “Get out the vehicle.”
     Jack froze, paralyzed.  Something wasn’t right.  “I said, there a problem here?”
     “And I said, get out a your vehicle.”  

OMG, Clyde.  Can I hope that this is just part one . . . ?

Marie

[ifyoucantfixit]

      As he walked to the booth in the back he looked around to see if there was any familiar faces in the room.  He saw only a mother and child sitting at a table near the window, and a young couple, he thought he remembered seeing at Jrs graduation.  This late in the morning most of the customers had already come and gone.  He slid into the booth where the lady had nodded he sit.  Waiting.  Not sure what to say, so he said nothing.
      The woman that had identified herself as Annie, took the paper clip off of the group of papers she was holding and lay them out on the table.  The waitress came to the table,  Asked Ennis what he would be having.  He said just the coffee for now.  Ms Proulx telling him to go ahead and order some breakfast telling him they had already ordered.  He felt odd, never having had a woman buy him food before.  She nodded her head towards him, saying "go on, you have to eat."  "Alright he said I'll just have the special."  Waitress said " coffee or something cold." " Just the coffee thanks," he replied. 
      " Now  what we were thinking," she started, was to just go up there and check out the place,pointing to the area on the hand drawn map she had brought.   Stay overnight on Friday night, and come on down by Saturday afternoon.  Not planning on staying too long.  I am sure you know the best places to stay over, thats what we were told anyhow."
       "Yes maam," he told her  I spect I know those mountains about as well as anybody.  I have stayed all over them, campin and hunting too.  Even spent one summer up there herdin sheep."  Rememberin his summer with Jack, workin for Aguirre was a hard thing to think on.  On a empty stomach.  He continued "yes maam I guess I know em purty good." 
         The waitress came and brought his cup of coffee refilling theirs, and  even that made him think of Jack .  Seems everthin made him think of Jack some days.. Specially after the dreams at night that seemed so real. 
He shakes his mind back to the present, and listens to the women discussing the area exactly they wish to explore.  He finishes his meal and sits, and waits for them to do the same.  They obviously have more to say, so he moves slightly restlessly in the seat.  The worn green plastic that covers them making you sweat in the summer heat that isn't cooled enough by the ancient machine, that is doing its best to keep up. 
         The waitress returns and refills the cups again.  Picks up the empty plate and asks him if she "can get him anything more?"  He shakes his head and say no thanks maam that was real good."  She smiles as she leaves, and he sees she is now walking a bit more animatedly as she leaves. 
          They finally make the arrangements to meet at Ennis's trailer on Friday morning at 6:30 and they can follow him in the car.  He will be pulling a trailer, two horses in the back of his truck, and one in the trailer. " They can put all the tent and camping supplies in there too." " Room in the overhead for that."  He replies.  "Alright then see you 6:30 sharp Mr DelMar" she says.  "Ennis maam, just call me Ennis."  He motions goodbye and makes to leave, saying "very nice to meet you ladies."  "Glad to have the exta work.  I can sure use it.  Things been real slow around here lately."

[Cameron]

Parallels

(September 1985)
The wind was swirling, the lilac bush was shaking.  Ennis sat motionless on the step, frozen as if paralyzed.  He could barely breathe, gasping for air with quick shallow breaths. 

Finally, it all ceased.  The wind became just a gentle breeze, the lilac bush went still.  Ennis remained where he was, trying to catch his breath.  He looked up at the dark sky, with the bright shining moon overpowering the stars.  Then he went inside.

Ennis sat down on the bed, still breathing hard, and picked up the picture on the little nightstand, the picture he got at that strange store.  His eyes started to fill.  Ennis shook his head and sighed.  He quickly put the picture down as if it was burning, and stood up.  But in his haste, he knocked over the little box of multi-colored paper clips that Junior gave him years ago.  He never knew why she gave it him, but he kept the little box by his bed.

The paper clips scattered all over the floor, some falling parallel, some perpendicular, the rest in no particular direction at all.  Ennis bent down and gathered them all in his hand.  He held them tight, and then put them all back in the box and rushed outside again.

All was now calm, as if it always was.  Ennis looked towards Tom’s trailer, the lights were still on.  He started to walk there, but then he stopped and looked all around.  The leaves on the tree closest to him began to rustle and sway. 

Ennis looked up at the sky, at the shining moon.  The leaves were still rustling.  Ennis took a few small steps, looked all around one more time, and then quickly went on to Tom’s trailer.  The door was ajar.  Just inside, Tom was waiting, with wide open arms.

[mariez]

. . .  "Yes maam," he told her  I spect I know those mountains about as well as anybody.  I have stayed all over them, campin and hunting too.  Even spent one summer up there herdin sheep."  Rememberin his summer with Jack, workin for Aguirre was a hard thing to think on.  On a empty stomach.  He continued "yes maam I guess I know em purty good." 
         The waitress came and brought his cup of coffee refilling theirs, and  even that made him think of Jack .  Seems everthin made him think of Jack some days.. Specially after the dreams at night that seemed so real. . . . . .

Janice, you have a gift for storytelling and an ear for dialogue - this flows so naturally and rings so true. 

Parallels

. . . . .
The wind was swirling, the lilac bush was shaking.   . . . . .

Finally, it all ceased.  The wind became just a gentle breeze, the lilac bush went still.  Ennis remained where he was, trying to catch his breath.  He looked up at the dark sky, with the bright shining moon overpowering the stars.  Then he went inside.
 . . . . .
Ennis looked up at the sky, at the shining moon.  The leaves were still rustling.  Ennis took a few small steps, looked all around one more time, and then quickly went on to Tom’s trailer.  The door was ajar.  Just inside, Tom was waiting, with wide open arms.

"...The wind became just a gentle breeze..."  Superb, Marl. And the reference to the little box of multi-colored paper clips made me smile.  I have one too - a gift from my son when he was about six.  I love that little box of color. I keep it on my desk and I've never used even one of those clips.   

Thanks,
Marie

[Cameron]

Marie,
A whole bunch of thank you's, you are the sweetest.
And you are an amazingly awesome drabbler. 

Thanks again,
Marl