Story Fragment #25: Carol

Carol was in the middle of what felt like the longest shift in the world. It seemed as if every difficult customer in the store was choosing to come through her checkout line today. If she didn't get to take her break soon, she was afraid she would snap. But for now, she put on a bright smile and faced her next customer, who just happened to be a harried-looking young woman with three children.

"Did you find everything you were looking for today?" Carol asked, feigning cheerfulness.

"All except for the magic pills to calm these guys down," the woman laughed hollowly, gesturing toward the children.

As if on cue, all three children began to grumble. "Mom, I'm hungry. Can we go home now? Can we get some candy?"

Their mother sighed. "It's been like this all morning. I'm not sure if they got up on the wrong side of the bed, or if I did, but nothing is satisfying them." She turned to her children and continued. "We'll have lunch when we get home, which will be just as soon as we finish here. And no one's getting any candy, because it would spoil your appetite for lunch."

As Carol rang up the purchases, the three children to grumble under their breath, and their mother just looked more tired. Carol felt sorry for her, realizing that most of her days were probably like this. "I hope you have a better afternoon---maybe everybody needs a nap and a reset."

The young mother sighed deeply once again. "Thanks! That would be wonderful, but I'm not counting on it."

Writing exercise: emotion restrained vs. freely expressed

Frustration, restrained
Jackie Turner sat in her home office, cell phone pressed to her ear, wondering if she had heard her new client correctly.

"Mr. Anderson, are you sure you want to go with that color scheme in the entire apartment? What about adding a little variety?"

She gritted her teeth as she listened to his response. "Yes, of course it's your decision, sir. I just thought--" She listened again as he interrupted her, more insistent than before.

As the client continued to share his vision, Jackie wiped her hand across her face, wanting to erase all the tension.


Frustration, freely expressed

Pacing the small kitchen of her apartment, Jackie rubbed the back of her neck absentmindedly as she muttered to herself. "Of all the ridiculous ideas! How am I supposed to work with this moron?"

"What's wrong, Jax?" her roommate, Chloe, asked as she entered the room.

Jackie sighed heavily. "New client--he wants me to decorate his new condo totally in zebra stripes. The walls, the carpet, the furniture--everything!"

Chloe chuckled before responding. "Sounds, umm, shall we say---interesting?"

Jackie groaned and sat down, her hands held against the sides of her head. "Yes, let's say that. Interesting sounds so much better than what I'm thinking."

Writing Exercise: One character has a negative character trait

Tony looked at Angela in disgust. "What do you mean you don't want to go to my parents' house on Christmas? It's a tradition!"

Angela sighed deeply and tried to remain calm. "But this is the first year Susie has really been old enough to enjoy the whole tree, presents, Santa thing and I want her to have those memories in OUR house. I'm sure your family will understand.

"No, they will not understand, because I don't understand! We've always driven up on Christmas Eve and been there for Christmas Day. I don't see any reason why we need to change that now. Susie can make wonderful memories there."

"But everything there has to be done just the way your family's always done it, and I want Susie to have some of the traditions from my family, too."

"Oh please! No one has ever complained about it before--my family has been doing things this way for generations. It makes for a lovely, organized holiday."

"A boring, strictly scheduled holiday, you mean," muttered Angela.

"Enough!" hissed Tony. "We're going, and that's the end of the story."