This is Week 34 of Odd Prompts. Things in life are moving forward and simultaneously appearing to stand still. I am successfully working through some writing blocks on my current work in progress. Book Three of the Academic Magic series is getting there. The goal is to have that one and hopefully one other one out in time for Christmas. That means, butt in chair and fingers on keyboard.
This week, I was initially given my own prompt for this week (I really didn’t want to write to that!) But ‘nother Mike offered to trade prompts and so I wound up with a prompt from Leigh Kimmel: Your dream job turns into a nightmare when you arrive at the gate only to discover you’re just going in circles.
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I woke up in a cold sweat. The alarm hadn’t gone off! What the hell! I had triple-checked it last night…oh. I still had an hour. Sighing, I rolled over and sat up. No point in trying to go back to sleep now. There was enough adrenaline coursing through my system to keep me going without any coffee.
Today was the first day of my new job. My dream job. This job was what I’d worked toward for the last ten years. I was going to be working with the security department creating new forms of shields for homes and businesses. I really couldn’t wait to get started.
Adrenaline rush aside, I made sure I had coffee and got something to eat. I didn’t want to start off my first day by getting hangry at something stupid or frustrating and turning somebody into a toad.
I transported myself to an intersection a couple of blocks from the front gate of the chocolate factory. I wanted to walk over and get a feel for the neighborhood since that would help understand any local security issues.
Approaching the main gate, I saw what looked like a small whirlwind in front of it. There were two people seemingly caught up in the whirlwind, circling around just before the gate. What was going on?
A tall man in a top hat stood in the main courtyard of the factory. He waved when he caught sight of me.
“Ah, Miss Turner!” he called out. “You’re a bit early! But I have a security issue for you already it seems. Something went wrong with one of my shielding experiments. My secretary and my quality manager are stuck in this whirlwind as you can see. I’m afraid this gate is the only public means of ingress and egress from the factory. I’d be most grateful if you could solve this problem.”
I gulped and stared at my new boss. He smiled and gestured toward the two individuals slowly turning around the gate.
“Of course, Mr. Charles,” I answered. I swallowed and moved closer to the gate, wary of getting caught in the twister myself.
I stared at the secretary and quality manager. The quality manager grimaced at me while the secretary just had a resigned look on her face. Interesting. This must have happened fairly frequently. Was that going to be my job? Rescuing people from my boss’ experiments gone bad?
What a nightmare. I knew that the first day would be stressful and exciting, but I certainly didn’t expect to be going in circles before I even got in the gate.
“Okay. Let’s get started,” I muttered.
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If you’re in need of inspiration, head on over to More Odds Than Ends and pick up a spare prompt. Or send in a prompt and receive one in turn. There’s no guaranteed weight loss or solution to the heartbreak of psoriasis, but you will have fun!
