May, 2012 Archives

29
May

Too Old To Cry

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Jason prided himself on always trying his best. His approach to the SAT was no different. Every night, he memorized 500 vocabulary words. Instead of comic books, he read test prep books in his spare time. He employed a tutor for $100 per hour.

When his latest test scores were returned, he cried to learn that he had scored in the bottom thirtieth percentile. It was the 17th time he’d taken the test. He was 37 years old.

Jason had a hard time accepting that no matter how hard you try at something, sometimes you’ll never be good.

15
May

The Good Old Days

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Jeremy smiled. It had been many years since they had eaten dinner together like this, just the two of them. It generated a flood of memories.

He hadn’t thought of Olivia in many years. He had been crazy in love with Linda at the time, too oversexed to realize Olivia was the one he should have been dating. Of course, if they had dated, maybe their relationship would have ended just as shamefully. Jeremy was too immature.

“Do you know what happened to Olivia? We should have invited her tonight.” Jeremy had no idea why the question made Stacy cry.

14
May

The Responsible Monarch

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

“The queen bee thinks nothing of sacrificing a hundred soldiers to protect the hive. The queen ant goes even further, commanding thousands of her drones to forfeit their lives, all in the name of the greater good. But what you’ll never see is the Queen putting herself in danger. The Queen knows that without her, there can be no society.”

“I know. As Queen of England, I’m an important symbol. But I don’t understand what that has to do with me having one more piece of sponge cake.”

“We don’t want Charles inheriting one day sooner than necessary, your Majesty.”

10
May

The Attic

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

The Smith’s attic had been used sparely in recent decades. Occasionally, one family member or the other would allow the ebullience of Spring to convince them to open the trap door, but the thick dust cloud that emerged always changed their mind.

As such, an entire ecosystem had erupted. New lifeforms unknown to science inhabited the various niches created among the forgotten furniture and boxes of National Geographics.

The Smith’s often felt guilty for their neglect. Their cousin Tommy had once visited the attic and his body was probably still rotting up there. His parents always nagged them about it.

9
May

Stephen Samenlego

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

For Stephen Samenlego, even the simple act of walking across the street was a chore. He prepared for the ordeal with a regimen of ointments and black market pharmaceuticals that he applied to his most delicate areas. His biggest fear was someone would notice his discomfit and so he plastered over his features to look as resplendent as on celluloid.

His passings always attracted enormous attention. Samenlego often thought the crowds mocked him, that they considered he was somehow undeserving of his unrivaled celebrity. Being the world’s greatest film star has the effect of isolating you from your fellow humanity.

8
May

Hit And Run

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Sully swaggered out of the office on the upper east side. In his pocket, he carried an envelope stuffed with a photograph and a thousand dollars in small bills. This might be the biggest case of his career. That’s when the silver Pontiac swiped into him and broke his leg.

He only saw the back of the driver’s head. Whoever it was didn’t want Sully to take this case. But Sully had a stubborn streak when it came to someone handing him a grand.

Seventeen drinks later, Sully’s alcoholism finished the job that the mysterious driver had failed to accomplish.

7
May

The Family

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

PB came from a peculiar family. His siblings included an elephant, an owl, an orca, a duck, two monkeys, a chicken, a snake, a dinosaur, and a snowman. They sometimes went on strange adventures, though mostly they lazed around telling funny stories to each other. He often suspected they were figments of his imagination, but he heard their voices even as he pretended to ignore them.

He decided he wanted to understand how he came to be part of such a family so PB hired a private detective.

He was unsurprised when the detective informed him that he was adopted.