Wordzzling In The Dark

I didn’t intend to do all 3 challenges, I had Finola’s story completed and was going to watch TV. Let me tell ya – the excitement never ends round here. We had some violent storms pass through and we lost power. I was searching for a book to read by lantern when I found the Wordzzle words. Sometimes I print them out so I can get a feel for where I’m going.

I hope you like my 10 word and my mini – they were written longhand in the wee hours of the night with the thunder rolling and the lightening crackling. If only that had been as romantic as it sounds.

Please visit RAVEN’S NEST to read all the Wordzzle stories and print out next week’s words – never know when a storm may pass through.

Ten Word Challenge: exponentially, Nightshade, braces, impossibility, the beginning of time, barracuda, playful banter, delve, automatic, bewildered

Mini Challenge: fragment, hemoglobin, insipid, flourish, juxtapose

I added quadruped to Finola’s story since I screwed up last week and didn’t use it.

My 10 Word:

Nigella Nightshade couldn’t believe the impossibility of her luck. She had been engaged in playful banter with one of the club patrons and now she had a semi-automatic pointed at her. To say she was bewildered was an understatement. Her Mother, the infamous stripper Blackout Nightshade, had always said that since the beginning of time the Nightshade women had nothing but bad luck. Nigella regretted not taking the time to delve into her Mother’s superstitions. It might be helpful now as her fear grew exponentially to know more about the Nightshade curse.

Braces Barracuda stared at Nigella. He had heard so much about her from their father, Bruno Barracuda. Bruno and Blackout’s affair had been legend back in the day but now Bruno was dead and Braces was damned if he was going to share the family business with his stripper half-sister.

My Mini:

Jaunty Juxtapose had a problem. He was an award winning horse, greeted everywhere with flowers and a flourish but he was owned by an insipid little man. Harry Hemoglobin was a disgusting blob, his name suited him well. He was also the cheapest bastard on the show circuit and Jaunty was afraid the bone fragment in his leg was going to cost a fortune to fix.

And Finola continues her adventure:

Finola only half listened to the insipid yet playful banter the store clerk was attempting to engage her in. She quickly realized that as long as she giggled every few words he was content to keep on with what Finola assumed was his version of flirting. This gave her time to create her new persona. Where the hell had the name Posh come from? The impossibility of her carrying off a name like that; she was bewildered by the workings of her own mind. She supposed she had heard the name mentioned back at school. She vaguely remembered some British celebrity, an anorexic with the air of a barracuda. Finola thought she might be the lead singer in that girl band ‘Juxtapose’ or was it ‘Nightshade’? Her roommate had always told her she was culturally stunted.

Finola’s automatic giggling must have begun to sound hollow to the store clerk. He suddenly stopped talking and asked if she wanted another soda. Finola said yes, but she’d prefer a glass with some ice. Anything to make him move back a bit, he had chewing gum stuck in his braces and was in general difficult to look at. He grabbed a class and swooped it into the ice bucket. He popped open a bottle of root beer and poured with what Finola assumed was his attempt at a bartender’s flourish. Too bad they were sitting in the middle of a dump in the middle of nowhere.

“I’ve been talking about myself all afternoon” the clerk said as he handed Finola her drink. “You must be bored by my stories, I haven’t really done much with my life, seems like I’ve worked here since the beginning of time”. Finola’s frustration with her current situation was growing exponentially. Once the small talk ended people always wanted to delve into her life. Where was she from, where was she going, why was she alone. All valid questions that required careful thought; she had to stop making things up on the fly. It only made her head hurt trying to remember all the lies. If people would simply leave her alone she could get her hands on a car and get away. This isolated setting was dangerous; she wanted a place where she could disappear in the crowd.

“So” the clerk said loudly, “a penny for your thoughts Posh”. “I really don’t want to bother you with my problems” Finola said timidly, “my life is such a mess, you’re better off not getting involved”. The look of concern on the clerk’s face made Finola feel guilty. She hated using people; she knew all too well how that felt. “I’d really like to help” the clerk told her, “why don’t you tell me what’s going on”.

Finola took a deep breath. “It’s a complicated story” she started, “I left school to spend some time with my parents. They had rented a RV and we were going to travel the coast, maybe go to the stock car races at Stonepoint”. The clerk was fascinated. “Sounds like a great plan” he smiled, “what happened?” Finola put on her best tragic face. “It’s really a wild story” she started, “My Father raises exotic quadrupeds, some of them are very dangerous. It’s illegal you know but we’ve never had any trouble until …” Finola drifted off and forced a tear into her eye. “Until what?” the clerk asked. “Until one of them bit me! It was awful, just a tiny bite but a fragment of saliva made its way into the wound and now I’m afraid I may be very, very sick”. The look on the clerk’s face was one of utter devastation. “I’m so exhausted and confused and afraid” Finola continued. “I can’t even remember the name of the medical center I have to get to. I just know it’s in the next city. It’s the only place where they do the kind of hemoglobin test I need”.

The store clerk assured Finola that he knew exactly which medical center she was referring to. As soon as one of the guys in the back could relieve him he’d get his car and take her there. Finola took a deep breath and smiled at the clerk. She was going to rest now and let Posh do all the work.

POOR FINOLA’S BEGINNING
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
PART FIVE
PART SIX
PART SEVEN
PART EIGHT