A to Z: Short Beginnings Q

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your Q word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

P Story:

Percy heaved a great sigh and slumped into the mud, staring at the sky so he could avoid the disapproving gaze of the bird on the fence. He knew it was there, he could feel it's beady black eyes staring down its beak at him. It had been every morning for the last week. But unlike the previous mornings, it hadn't left after he'd turned his attention to the clouds.

"Leave me alone."

It opened its beak and squawked, then settled into a regular bird voice."Why would I do that piglet?"

"Because I'm destined to wallow here until I grow up and turn to bacon. What kind of bird are you anyway? You're too colorful to be an oriole and that's the brightest bird I know."

"Parrot. Pretty bird." It squawked again. "Sorry, I hate when that slips out. Too many years in the pet shop." It perched there, preening its wings. "You can't turn to bacon, you know. You have to be here to have the farmer do that to you."

Percy lifted his head from the cool mud to ponder this information.

"Polly wants a cracker!" The parrot let out a loud shriek and covered its beak with its wings. "So sorry. It gets worse when I'm trying make my own sentences. My name is Piccasso, but the way."

"Nice to meet you." Percy stood, the mud dripping from his portly belly. "So what you're saying is that I could just not be here when the farmer come for me."

"Exactly that. How about an adventure, you and me, perhaps Paris or Pamplona?"

Percy squealed. "Both, please."

A to Z: Short Beginnings P

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your P word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

O story:

The oblong shadows stretched far out ahead of Olive as she left the parking lot filled with immaculately clean minivans and approached the school. Presenting her idea to the oligarchy that was the PTO, said with nose high in the air and a perfectly manicured brows raised on botoxed foreheads, was not how she wanted to spend her Tuesday evening. But someone had to make a stand about the excessive fundraisers that further alienated the students whose parents didn't have rich relatives or parents willing to lay down a couple hundred dollars every time a flyer came home for twelve dollar single sheets of seed-embedded 100% recycled wrapping paper or two ounces of rosemary-infused extra virgin olive oil in some hand blown bottle made by monks in some old monastery in some remote corner of the world.

She walked into the school, already able to hear the chattering pouring out of the library. She walked through the open door and immediately felt out of place. Her blouse hadn't been seen on a mannequin in at least a decade and white dog hairs stuck to her slacks. The comfortable flats that got her through the day in the office that was her kitchen table didn't exude the fashion and power that the women had who were now staring at her.

Olive took a deep breath and did her best to be oblivious to their obvious disdain. She took a seat at an empty table, her knees rubbing the top of the surface suited the height of elementary-aged children. Even the allure of freshly brewed coffee that she was sure was better than the gas station variety she allowed herself as a treat, wasn't enough to coax her out of the safety of her seat. She whipped out her three year old phone and pretended to check messages while the others slowly turned back around and resumed their conversations.  

A to Z: Short Beginnings O

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your O word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.\

Sorry, life happened last week, and prevented me from visiting blogs and keeping up with my shorts each day. If you did donate words, the beginnings for each day have been updated now.

N Story:

The noisy sound of nothingness surrounded Nancy like static in her ears after a loud concert.

A to Z Short Beginnings N

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your N word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

M story:
Michael leafed through the motorsports magazine, watching the scrawny, mangy-looking twenty-something satisfying his craving for munchies. He could see the outline of a pistol in the waistband of his too-tight-for-comfort jeans as he approached the cashier

A to Z: Short Beginnings M

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your M word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

L Story:

Lucy lurked in the laboratory, waiting for Dr. Link to leave so she could examine the results of their latest experiment for herself. She knew what he'd told her was a lie. The man was a lunatic. How any man could end the life of another in such a cruel way was unbelievable.

A to Z: Short Beginnings L

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your L word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

K Story - brought to you by the words: exhaustion and utter nonsense

Katherine slipped into her kevlar vest and patted her thigh to make reassure herself that her knife was there and ready should she need it. She turned to her partner. "You ready for this?"

"I am." Kippers flexed her giant feet and patted her pouch. She grinned and turned to face the knoll where the kiwi stood.

The kiwi leered. "You'll never take me in."

"You're going back to Kenya where you came from," decreed Kippers.

"Australia. I came from Australia." The kiwi looked to Katherine. "I can't believe the police resorted to hiring kangaroos."

JKatherine got her cuffs ready. "Show him why, Kippers."

Kippers took a single step and landed on top of the kiwi. She reached into her pouch and whipped out a koala. She flung the koala at the kiwi. "Take that!"

A to Z: Short Beginnings K

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your K word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

J story:

Jenna circled the jaguar with her six knives in hand. Giant golden eyes watched her with the same interest. Interest that might indicate the cat was ready to leap for her jugular at any moment.

"I don't think this is a good idea," she said for the third time since she'd met the cat ten minutes ago.

"Quit being such a baby," said Harold. "Just stay steady and don't make any sudden moves."

She knew the handler would know if one of the circus cats was truly posed a threat to her, but she couldn't help but sweat as she did the lap around the ring again. The cat kept pace with her, his steps much more fluid and graceful than hers. His teeth were much longer too.

"Isn't, you know, the whole juggling thing full of sudden moves?" she asked.

"Relax, I've seen you perform a hundred times. Your routine is very rhythmic. The only sudden move is the first one."

Jenna shifted the knives in her hand. She took a deep breath, kept an eye on the cat and tossed the first knife into the air.  

A to Z: Short Beginnings J

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your J word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

I story:
Charles regarded Isabella's invention with a critical eye, scanning up and down the shining silver tubes and jumping just a fraction as the tiny blue spark flared into an electric charge that made the hair on the back his neck rise. Not wanting to interrupt her while she made adjustments to the isotropic field that now surrounded them, he pondered the shimmering, semi-transparent surface from where he stood in the middle, marveling at her creation. Like peering through an icicle, the view to the rest of the warehouse outside the field was somewhat distorted and hazy, but still here, assuring him that they hadn't left reality quite yet.

The idea that leaving was actually possible seemed inconceivable. And he still wasn't convinced, which is why he was here now standing naked with his former student. He prayed to all that was holy that this wasn't some ignominious stunt, that the warehouse had remained empty and there wasn't a camera crew of disgruntled former students just out of his view laughing their asses off.

Isabella's fingers parted ways with the terminal attached to the equipment standing in the center of the field. "So what do you think?"

"Quite intriguing." He tried keep his gaze on the machine she'd created, but it kept drifting to other, more pleasurable points of interest. It had been far too long since he'd been this close to a naked woman, especially a young and pretty one, fairly beaming with pride and eager for his approval. Before he got himself into an even more embarrassing situation, he took a deep breath and plunged into cold shower thoughts.  

While she launched into an explanation into the mechanics behind her invention, Charles considered the Ice Age, his grandmother's hairy upper lip, crying babies, and the smell of the trash he was pretty sure he'd forgotten to take out this morning.

Isabella bent over, opening the tiny door near the bottom of the central tube. "This is the crystal I created that focuses the beam and..."

He had no idea what else she said. He turned away. Cold thoughts. Ice cream. He could lick ice cream off... Charles cleared his throat. "Why exactly is it that we can't wear clothes inside the field?"

A to Z: Short Beginnings I

2016 THEME: Short Stories - at least the beginnings thereof.

YOUR PART: Throw out names, themes, random words or situations using the letter of the day and I'll pick some of them to include in the opening paragraphs of a short story.
WHY: I'm most inspired when there's a challenge involved. Usually that means an opening line or a theme. This month: your words.

My creative blender awaits your I word suggestions in the comments section. Stop by tomorrow's post to read the story you inspired.

Looking for more great blogs? Check out the massive list of A to Z Challenge participants.

H story...

Alexandra stared at the broken black ceramic heifer on the tile floor, tears welling in her eyes. Her muscles tensed as Grandmother shuffled into the room, drawn by the sound. Her cane tap tapped over the floor while the hard soles of her shoes scraped along with each step, muffled slightly by the thick layers of her long dark skirts.

Spittle flew from her thin lips and the glare of those eyes carved deeply into her wrinkled face turned Alexandra hollow inside. "Girl, what have you done?"

Honesty would only gain her a beating. Lying would get her more of the same. The switch in the corner haunted her nightmares.

She took one last look at the shattered heirloom and bolted for the door. With her own skirts in hand, her bare feet sped over the worn grass outside the cottage, scattering the chickens. She passed through the field and had just reached the edge of the wood when her heel struck a rock. Alexandra fell to her knees, cradling her wounded foot, barely budded chest heaving as she gulped for air.    

Blood dripped through her fingers. Crows squawked from the nearby branches and a cold wind stirred the tall grasses around her. Her harrowing escape from Grandmother's switch was only the beginning. She'd glimpsed the yellowed paper inside the broken figurine and that writing hadn't been ink. Helpless, the heavy weight of a curse settled upon her shoulders.