Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Six Sentence Stories - Fling

I wasn't sure where I was going to go this week with the prompt for the Six Sentence Stories blog hop. It was an interesting trail I took to get to this point, but I'll spare you the details of that. I'm linking this piece of writing to Six Sentence Stories - Fling hosted by Zoe at Uncharted. I'm not sure how she decides what the prompts will be each week, but I'm glad she comes up with a new one each week. All the stories that are linked to Six Sentence Stories are only six sentences, as short or as long as you wish. Click the link and read a sampling of the posts to see what I mean. If you think you would like to take the challenge, join us next week. The new prompt if usually posted the Sunday prior to Thursday when the link up is available.





His granny knew he hadn't slept well the night before in their shack which had thin walls and with his family bickering about anything and everything and the all-to-familiar eventual fighting and shoving between his ma and pa which caused his granny to to call the cops again, but it was time for her to take control and get her nine-year old grandson enrolled in school even if it was two months after the beginning of the school year.

Billy, dressed in tattered bib overalls, no shirt, and wearing no socks and some badly scuffed hand-me-down shoes, much too big for him, was aware that he towered over the other kids in the first grade classroom and that the kids were staring at him as his shabbily dressed granny nudged him gently toward the nicely dressed woman approaching him.

After the teacher found a desk that was big enough for him at the back of the room, he slouched in his seat hoping that he could blend in with the smaller kids, but he slid down even further when he heard how well they read when called upon and wished even harder that he wouldn't have to read, but his wishes were futile. The whispering and impatient looks of some of the faster readers made him wish that he could run away, from school, from home, from his non-existent friends, from everything, but the whipping' he'd get when caught wasn't worth it.

At recess he roamed alone around the edge of the playground until he found a place where he could sit hidden behind an old oak tree and whittle on a stick with his pocket knife until the bell rang.

After school, he knew his granny wanted him to hurry home, but he hung back a bit as the cliques of kids walked and ran ahead of him, all the while talking about the fun things they were going to do when they got home, at which point, he grasped a small garter snake sunning at the edge of the road and debated only for a moment whether to fling it with all his might toward the kids and listen to their screams hoping to drown out the disturbing voices he was hearing within his head.


12 comments:

  1. We had kids like that in my elementary school. Too old, too big, too mean. It was tough for all of us. Good six.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Parents, teachers and kids had challenges then and they have them now, only there are so many other factors thrown into the picture now.
      Thanks for reading my SSS.

      Delete
  2. Oh, my this is so sad. It makes me think about the early life of the shooter in Florida. Is Billy doomed? Excellent piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a sad thing to consider, isn't it. Some kids rise above their past, and some unfortunately just spiral downward if they don't receive the help they need and accept that help to try to rise above their challenges.

      Delete
  3. This is terribly sad, of course. But you've done a nice job with the telling of the tale. Not all stories have happy endings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I almost took a guilt trip for writing a SSS that was so sad, but like you said, "not all stories have happy endings."
      It is a good thing that we have the TTOT blog hop each week.

      Delete
  4. "It was an interesting trail I took to get to this point, but I'll spare you the details of that." no! that, imo, is one of the most interesting aspects of this 'hop!
    what vert visual Six!... I totally saw it and, even more, as a clark, I very much could identify with the boy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I just didn't want to put the focus on the trail, so I decided to put my time into writing the SSS. LOL.
      I think that in reading about different characters, if we admit to our humanness, we all see pieces of ourselves in pieces of the characters.

      Delete
  5. It's sad when these things happen. If he isn't treated with great care, he will grow up resentful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is highly possible, but I have seen miracles happen too.

      Delete
  6. A heartbreaking telling of a reality that should never exist. Children are so vulnerable, so innocent until dysfunction steps in and takes center stage. Painful to read Pat, but well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, unfortunately dysfunction often tends to take over a person's mind and heart.

      Delete