The Really Just Right Shoes

Today while reading Maxabella Loves I came across a new little group to join.  My type of group that might encourage me to write a bit more, something I've been wanting to do for a while but am entirely very slack about actually doing.

The Blogfast Club is run by katesaysstuff but it seem to have a different home each week so we can all tour the traps.  This week it is being hosted by Syrenex.

So I sat straight down and came up with this little short story for the theme this week which is a children's story about New Shoes.  This is a ten minute job and could probably do with lots of tweaking before being sent out into space but that's the good thing about this sort of writing, it's just about putting it down and getting it out there.  No need for perfection and I can always come back and fine tune it for my own benefits at a later date.

Also, please ignore the fact that the picture does not at all relate to the shoes in the story, we'll just gloss over that part...

The Really Just Right Shoes

Last night as Mum and I tidied up my bedroom Mum said I need new shoes.

“No way!” I said.  My shoes are just right.  They are red and they have lights that flash and even though the Velcro doesn’t stay stuck together and I kick them off when I play soccer in the playground, they are still just right for me.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have some different shoes though?” Mum asks me.

“No. I like my shoes how they are.  They are comfortable and they don’t squeak and even though the sole is coming off of one they are really just right.”

“How about if we looked for some just the same then,” Mum asked as she tucked me into bed.

“No, there’s really no need Mum.  My shoes are so quick and easy to put on even though they are actually a bit hard to put on because they are tight at the toes and I have to stomp a bit to get my foot in.  But they are still Just Right.”

“Hrm.” says Mum and she looked at me.  You know that look where her eyebrows go up and her mouth goes together all scrunchy-like to the side and she just waits.  That one.  I looked back.  It lasted a little while.

I know what that look means.  Mum uses it all the time.  It means Have you really thought about what you are saying?

“Mum, really.  They are Really Just Right.  Even though there is a hole in one toe they are.  They Really Are.”

Mum just kept on looking at me with That Look.

I sighed.

Maybe she’s right.

Knuckle Sandwich

  
I'm joining in this week with Write on Wednesday, normally held at inkpaperpen but this week over at Quilt of Dragonflies.  I've only joined in once before and it was quite a while ago now.  We get given a prompt and can right about anything that springs to mind.  The idea is to write for 5 minutes or 500 words.  Not too long, can break off in the middle of something and doesn't need to have an ending.  Just a piece of writing to get the juices flowing.

This week's prompt was Zany Characters, in real life or made up.  Mine comes from real life.

....

She was on the other side of the wall to me.  He was over the hall a few doors down.  She had been making herself known to me all day, finding fault with everything and everyone and talking really loudly.  In my head I had named her Obstreperous.  I was having trouble thinking of the right name for him, he was only new and I still had to get a full measure of his spunk.

“Helloooooooo,” she cried.  Every few minutes.

“Is anyone listening to me?  I want a coke and a thing.  You know, those things you put in the toaster. They have filling.  Sweet filling.  I want one of them.  And a coke.”

Silence for a few minutes, perhaps ten.  I wasn’t really sure because it was 2am and I was trying to sleep.

“Heeeelllllllooooooooooooooo?” it started again. “Can you HEAR me? I really want a coke and that thing. Oh, bother, what’s it called?”

I felt like yelling out that it was called a Poptart but decided that would just encourage her. 

It went on for a bit longer and then he chimed in.

“Be quiet!” he grouched.

“Who’s that?” she warbled in an anxious voice.  “Who’s in my house?”

“Don’t you know you’re in hospital?” he used a slightly gentler voice this time.

“I am not, I am at home.  Bring me a coke and a sweet toaster thing!” she shouted back.

At this point a nurse decided that ignoring Obstreperous was not achieving much and decided to join the fun. 

“You need to be quiet and go to sleep, it’s 2am and you’re disturbing the other patients.  We don’t have any coke and you can’t have any anyhow.”

Silence for twenty minutes, maybe half an hour.

“Hello? Helloooooo? I need my coke now.  And that sweet toaster thing.  Why isn’t anyone listening to me?” It started again.

“For pete’s sake, Shut Up.” A good call I thought, from the old man over the hall.

“No I will not! I want my coke.” she demanded.

“Do you want a knuckle sandwich?!” the old man roared.

Blessed silence apart from the sound of me snickering into my pillow.

Cantankerous, I decided on as a name for him.

Write on Wednesdays #1

  
I've been following a weekly writing meme for a few weeks now, thinking that perhaps I will have a go but still waiting for that prompt that pulled just the right threads of motivation needed to get started.  I used to write a bit, here and there, and have half written children's stories all over the place in various scrapbooks, and one finished one that even got sent to a manuscript assessor a few years ago and has since been sitting around collecting dust.

Today's prompt was a photo, not just any photo but a photo of a tree, I was sold.  I do love trees.  My first thoughts were that there was a little crack down the bottom that looked just like a faerie door and I started my piece with that in mind but it sort of changed around a bit along the way...  It's my first time to join in so go easy on me, but honestly.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 7 - Sit under a tree and write: Find yourself a quiet spot. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Take a look at Kristy's Tree Photo. Write the first words that come into your head. Keep writing whatever comes into your head. Stop when the buzzer rings. Do this exercise over and over if you wish. If like me, you struggle with visual prompts, perhaps try sitting under a tree to write. I have heard that changing your usual writing place can spark new inspiration. Try it and see. Do both if you please!

...

  

Dawn was breaking outside Woody Nook, the place we had called home for the past year.  I had grown to love our new home, a change from city living, all the lush green surrounding us and only the hoot of the owls to be heard at night.  That morning there were dewdrops on the leaves from the night’s rain and everything was sparkling and new.  A cliché I know but so much more true out in the country and I had never appreciated the saying before. 

I was all ready for the day, seated in my window seat filled with soft cushions, Enya playing on the CD player and a steaming cup of frothy hot chocolate next to me.  I had two options, the latest Maggie Alderson novel or my knitting.  Oh, the decisions.  Really, I thought, I should go for a walk out in the forest.  The sun was shining through the trees and hitting the raindrops still perched on the edges of the leaves drooping around my window sill, making rainbows sparkle around.

Throwing on a cardigan and picking up my mug I discarded the words and the wool and ventured out…
  
  
Thanks for inspiring us all to dust off that corner of our brain filled with stories Gillian from inkpaperpen!  If you are interested in finding out more, head over here to find out.