Tuesday Tales - Grumpy

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “grumpy”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

The trip to the hardware store was thankfully eventful. It wasn’t like Dani expected Ezra to be around every corner, even though to Dani he seemed to be. She was waiting for him to pop out at every corner, for the ghosty souls that sprung out from Grarkiel to attack her while she was defenseless. 

Her head was on a swivel at the bus transfer spot downtown near the library. She searched the crowds that rushed past her for that familiar face that she cared for and that terrified her all at the same time. 

She almost forgot how effortless the exchange of the parts was. The associate that helped her was super friendly and escorted her to what her dad told her to buy. As she handled the galvanized metal, concern struck her heart like a brick. How was she going to wield this thing?

She never saw Ezra on either trips both to the hardware store and back to the apartment. She unlocked the door, shoved it open then closed and locked it behind her. She set down the bag, taking the parts out and setting them on the coffee table. Picking up her laptop, she opened the top to video chat her father again. She pointed at the plant that Bobo hid behind before. “Please?”

There was a rustle in her head than that familiar pressure. The little alien popped out of her ear. Bobos’s legs wobbled as he stomped to where she directed. 

“Oh, don’t be so grumpy,” she teased.

The balloon figure spun at her. “I don’t want to spend my whole night behind a bunch of leaves.”

Dani scrolled across the screen until she found the icon for her browser. She clicked on it then entered the address for the video chat platform. “You won’t. Once I finish this, my call will be over and you can come out.”

“Fine.”

Tuesday Tales - Discover

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “discover”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani shuffled to her room and shut the door. Pulling open the bottom drawer of her dresser, she rummaged for clothes she never wore. She even considered leaving them back at her parents' house, but decided to bring them in case she ever ran out of laundry. 

The first thing she pulled free was an oversized hoodie. Beneath it was a pair of jeans. She tried to get into this style, to match the rest of the kids she went to high school with. That was until she was bullied. The popular girls made fun of her for trying to fit in. The athletic guys laughed at her. From then on, she wore her long skirts and frumpy cardigans. Did she still get teased? Of course. However, since she spent most of her time in her sacred space, the library, she melted into the scenery. After a while, she was simply ignored. She liked it that way.

She shimmied out of her work clothes, leaving only her shirt on, then tossed them into the laundry hamper. She let go of a sigh, then sat down on her mattress. She threaded one leg after the other into her jeans. Standing, she yanked them up to her waist and fastened them. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head. The hood remained stuck to her hair and hung haphazardly off her scalp.

Dani tugged the door open and made her way to the living room. Bobo was pacing on the top of the coffee table, his little legs squeaking with each step. He seemed to step back a bit, startled, when he saw her.

“You look…different,” he commented.

“Yeah,” she responded. “I have yet to discover how to wear something like this so I don’t look like an idiot.”

His little head cocked to the side. “I think you look beautiful. Like an exotic flower that blooms on my planet.”

Dani bit back a laugh. He knew of a bloom that looked like a book obsessed girl in a hoodie and jeans? She gave him a smile. “Thank you. Should we go?”

Tuesday Tales - Fall

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “fall”. We are back with Dani in my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

It took a minute for Dani to find the right tool in the box that she got from Dad moments before she hopped into her car and drove off to Boston. Her first challenge was to find the kit in the first place. She hadn’t had to use it since she moved in. Of course it was in the far back corner of her closet. 

She grasped the screwdriver and nudged the box back where it came from. Hurrying down the hallway, she stumbled over the carpet runner that ran the length of the corridor. She gathered her footing and finished the distance to the laptop. She held the tool up to the screen.

“That’s it,” he praised her. “Go ahead and open it.”

It took a minute or two for her to loosen the screws. Once she did, she held up the open mechanism to her dad.

“Well, I will give you credit. That is the right diameter. You will need the metal ones, though. And while you are at it, you should get some carpet tape for that rug you bought at the second hand store before you trip and fall and need an ambulance.”

She glance towards the hallway. “You heard that, huh?”

“Sweetheart, I think all of Boston heard that.”

“Yeah, yeah. I will get some.”

“Give me a call when you get back and I can help you finish it.”

“It might be late.”

“It’s alright. I’ll be up watching the news. I’ll be awake.”

“Okay. Thanks, Dad. I love you”

“Anytime, kiddo. I love you, too. Talk to you in a bit.”

Dani closed the top of her laptop with a huff. She turned back to her room but stopped when she heard a voice. 

“Can I come out now?” Bobo asked.

She nodded. “Of course. Dad’s gone for now.”

The little balloon figure scuttled out from between the plants. It cocked its head up to her. “What are you going to do?”

She shrugged. “I’m going to try to find something that doesn’t make me look like me, I guess.”