this is a story i wrote a few days ago. i know it oculd use more wok but this is how i turned i into my english teacher. waddya think. {note: not to be added on to. the story is over. if you cant tell fro the ending.}
*****************************************************
DEAD END
Calvin lugged the bag and heaved it into the back of his truck, with all the tools of his trade. He was running on instinct now. Pure gut instinct.
Getting in, he started the truck and turned on the radio, where the end of Black Sabbath’s, “Paranoia”, greeted him. The radio was always kept off when his wife rode in the car; it gave her headaches.
STOP
Grace was always getting headaches; she was good at it. Sometimes they would leave her immobile for house on end, drifting away in a scrip drug induces sleep. When she didn’t have one, she was complaining that whatever Calvin was doing was giving her one. Complaining as another thing she excelled at.
Mick Jagger came on, singing softly to that girl, “Angie”, and Calvin hummed under his breath.
CHILDREN AT PLAY
His wife was always telling his that she really wanted to be a mother. She desperately wanted a child to hold in her arms and comfort when they fell down, and to be proud of after their first piano recital. Calving agreed, although his head was filled with images of playing catch in the backyard and his son making the winning touchdown of the state championship game. They agreed that children would be very nice to take care of; despite the other troubles it would give them.
EXIT ONLY stated the sign in front of the Olive Garden, Grace’s favorite restaurant.
(none for you tonight dear), he thought, and chuckled quietly, driving past it to her least favorite, Gary’s Seafood. Gary’s had been Calvin’s favorite since it opened, partly because his best friend owned it, and partly because the food was damned good. (best damn lobster tail in town)
Calvin got out of the truck, cutting Fleetwood Mac off in the middle of “Never Going Back Again.” Inwardly he was disappointed.
When he went in, Gary himself was coming from behind the counter, wiping his hands on a towel.
“Hey, Cal! Long time no see, eh? How ya been?” Gary asked, grinning, “And where’s that lovely wife of yours?”
“She’s out in the truck,” Calvin said extending his hand. Gary obliged enthusiastically. “You know how much she likes this place.” The truth was she hated the place.
(geeze one bad shrimp and you think the place is trying to poison the town)
Grace had gotten food poisoning from a shrimp salad she had ordered the first time she came there. She had never been back.
Calvin had tried to explain to her that since the shrimp was shipped up all the way from Louisiana, there were likely to be a few bad shrimp, but she refused to listen. She took Gary to court and won a small claim to make up for lost workdays. She didn’t stop there.
Once out of court, she circulated a petition to have the city close Gary’s for unsanitary food preparation. By the end of that month she had a good deal of the town, mostly people who had never been there, actively boycotting the restaurant, and having daily pickets at the times Gary did the most business.
Ultimately the campaign failed, but grace never forgave Gary for that one bad shrimp.
“She still sore about that shrimp? Christ, almighty, I swear that woman holds her grudges better than an Irishman holds his liquor. Well anyway, what can I do for you, my friend?”
“Well, what id really like is one of those fish sandwiches, some fries, and one of those famous coffees of yours to go. That all right?”
“Sure, we’ll fix ya up in a jiffy. Hey, Sam,” he shouted to the cook in back, “gimme a fish sammich and an order of fries going.”
“Sure, Gare,” the cook replied.
“Thanks. So where you headed, buddy? You usually stay in here and eat. And you would never leave your wife in your truck.”
“We’re headed up to ‘Chussetts for a small romantic getaway. Goin’ for the weekend. Nothing special. How’ve you been?”
“I’m doing all right, I guess. Business hasn’t been what it used to be, but…”
Grace also didn’t like Gary himself. Once a few years back he had lost a poker game to Calvin and owed them $30. Gary didn’t pay them back for a while but he did eventually. Grace didn’t trust him for it. She had hounded him every time she saw him about that small amount of money until the day he paid them back. Needless to say, Gary didn’t care much for Grace either. Calvin thought about all of this, with the absentminded ness of one who had lost someone recently.
“…were going?”
“Huh?” Calvin said, he had missed most of Gary’s speech.
“Where did you say you two were going again?”
“We’re going up to Longmeadow, for a romantic trip. Her idea, she wanted to get away from this little “**** Hole”, as she put it.”
“What a nice lady. How do you put up with her?”
“I ask myself the same question every night falling asleep,” he said and laughed.
“Well here’s your sandwich, and your coffee. You’re all set. That’ll be $3.48.”
“Thanks,” Calvin said, hading Gary a five.
“No problem anytime. Come back again, you’ve become a stranger.”
“Yeah, I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon,” he said, getting his change, “A lots more of me.” He walked out before Gary could reply.
Calvin got back in the truck, and headed off down Jamison Ave. Jefferson Airplane were asking Alice about the
pills mother gives you. He was still feeling good.
YIELD. He tuned right onto Elm St.
Calvin thought to himself of the first time he saw Grace. It was his senior year in high school and she was working at the Dairy Mart, across the street from the library. He had gone in to buy milk and bread for his mother, and when he looked up after bringing out his wallet, he saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Her eyes were a greenish-brownish-bluish color, which fascinated him. Her auburn hair fell in ringlets around her face, framing it perfectly. He had asked her if they could talk when their shift ended and she had said sure, why not. They ended up talking until 2:30 in the morning, and by the end of the week they had become inseparable.
ONE WAY.
He had taught her how to drive over the summer, and she picked it up pretty quickly. Her only problem was she seemed not to notice important road signs. Once right before she had taken her test, Calvin wasn’t paying attention and she had turned onto a one-way street the wrong way. Luckily, there had been no one coming and Calvin had directed her off the street. After that she had been fine.
25 MPH.
During the first few years of their marriage, Grace had been very loving and supportive. They had both done the dishes, and when he had had a rough day she had massaged him until it seemed nothing mattered.
Calvin turned left onto Hampshire, while The Beatles sang “Hey Jude”.
NO THRU TRAFFIC.
Everything had changed after her headaches had started to come. She started to attack him personally, when he was down, trying to get things the way she wanted them. At first he had appeased her, but that had just made things worse. She would come to bed and get frisky, but then push him away in disgust, as if he had come on to her.
TRUCKS ONLY
At last she had gone to see a doctor about the headaches. He said they were tension headaches and that she should take some time to herself, and relax. So she had, and for a while things had seemed to get better. She was talking to hi civilly and they had made love for the first time in weeks. But this had only been short term.
DEAD END
Slowly but surely the headaches had come back. She started yelling at him, and she even threw him out of the house once. All of this confused him very much.
So she had gone back to the doctor. He had then prescribed some unpronounceable pills, which he said should help. He advised that she not operate heavy machinery when under the influence of this drug. She said she would and left he doctors office.
Calvin turned onto the highway, and sped up. The Who played “Baba O’Reily”. His trip was almost finished. He felt the need to go faster. He signaled left.
EXPRESS LANE
The drugs had worked a little longer than the relaxation. She had even become mellower than she had been before. Calvin would tell her he was going out with his buddies, ad she would just wave her hand and say “Bye-bye”. She didn’t care when he came in late at night, drunk as a skunk and stumbling about the house. Nothing seemed to bother her.
NO U TURN
But after about six months she had begun caring again. The headaches had gotten bad again, so she took the liberty to up her dosage. She didn’t mellow out this time. She had gotten more and more hostile until one night, she had attacked him with her nails over an argument about who had won best actor that year. Calvin didn’t come home for a week after that.
REST AREA
Calvin turned off into the rest area. That was the one problem with Gary’s coffee. Went right through you.
When he did come back she seemed truly apologetic. She said she was trying to control herself and that he meant more to her than her own life. She had been almost to the point of suicide when he had come back. He had saved her life.
When he got back onto the freeway, he turned off the radio. He was getting a headache.
SLOWER TRAFFIC USE RIGHT LANE
But soon the attacks started back. They never got as out of hand quite as much as that one night, but they had been pretty bad. Calvin put up with it for a while.
He exited on ramp 21A and parked the car not far past. He got out and began working.
When he was finished, he tossed his stuff in back and drove towards home.
SCHOOL CROSSING
Although Grace ha really wanted a child, she had argued that they couldn’t afford it. With baby food and diapers in the first year, school supplies in years following, she figured that they would be nearly bankrupt when the kid graduated from high school. And after that, she tried not to think about. College tuition, room and board, she said to Calvin, if she thought about it her head would explode.
Of course this lead to fights about his job. She said that ditch digging was no job for a man and that he shouldn’t have to do it. Calvin had tried to get other jobs while working as one but none would hire him. He had wanted to get into building construction, but the local company had gone out of business. He was married to a woman who wouldn’t leave, and tied to the town. She had gone and got a job as a receptionist, but had to quit because her headaches would flare until she couldn’t see when she was typing. She still wanted that kid though. Not for lack of trying.
They made love a lot more after she had started on he drugs. She had seemed to need it as much as she had needed the scrip. Every night they would go at it until he was exhausted. It was tiring.
CAUTION: MEN AT WORK
After 8 years of the same job, Calvin had finally gotten the promotion he deserved. He was advanced to overseer of the group of men he worked with. This meant a 15% pay increase and less physical labor for him. And as a treat that day, he had gone home early to tell his wife.
When he came in the door he had heard noises coming from his bedroom. He walked back there to see what was going on. Opening the door, he saw Grace and Matt Ryerson from two blocks up the street, screwing like rabbits.
He had screamed in rage and told Matt to get out now before he killed him. Matt hurried away, grabbing his clothes and running out the front door.
Calvin didn’t remember anything after that until he had gotten to Gary’s.
He drove right past his house, and turned onto Concord. He seemed to drive aimlessly for hours. Finally he pulled over to the side of the road and fell asleep in the front seat.
R. R. CROSSING
[im actually kinda proud of this one. what do you think?]
------------------
may the farce be with you.
*****************************************************
DEAD END
Calvin lugged the bag and heaved it into the back of his truck, with all the tools of his trade. He was running on instinct now. Pure gut instinct.
Getting in, he started the truck and turned on the radio, where the end of Black Sabbath’s, “Paranoia”, greeted him. The radio was always kept off when his wife rode in the car; it gave her headaches.
STOP
Grace was always getting headaches; she was good at it. Sometimes they would leave her immobile for house on end, drifting away in a scrip drug induces sleep. When she didn’t have one, she was complaining that whatever Calvin was doing was giving her one. Complaining as another thing she excelled at.
Mick Jagger came on, singing softly to that girl, “Angie”, and Calvin hummed under his breath.
CHILDREN AT PLAY
His wife was always telling his that she really wanted to be a mother. She desperately wanted a child to hold in her arms and comfort when they fell down, and to be proud of after their first piano recital. Calving agreed, although his head was filled with images of playing catch in the backyard and his son making the winning touchdown of the state championship game. They agreed that children would be very nice to take care of; despite the other troubles it would give them.
EXIT ONLY stated the sign in front of the Olive Garden, Grace’s favorite restaurant.
(none for you tonight dear), he thought, and chuckled quietly, driving past it to her least favorite, Gary’s Seafood. Gary’s had been Calvin’s favorite since it opened, partly because his best friend owned it, and partly because the food was damned good. (best damn lobster tail in town)
Calvin got out of the truck, cutting Fleetwood Mac off in the middle of “Never Going Back Again.” Inwardly he was disappointed.
When he went in, Gary himself was coming from behind the counter, wiping his hands on a towel.
“Hey, Cal! Long time no see, eh? How ya been?” Gary asked, grinning, “And where’s that lovely wife of yours?”
“She’s out in the truck,” Calvin said extending his hand. Gary obliged enthusiastically. “You know how much she likes this place.” The truth was she hated the place.
(geeze one bad shrimp and you think the place is trying to poison the town)
Grace had gotten food poisoning from a shrimp salad she had ordered the first time she came there. She had never been back.
Calvin had tried to explain to her that since the shrimp was shipped up all the way from Louisiana, there were likely to be a few bad shrimp, but she refused to listen. She took Gary to court and won a small claim to make up for lost workdays. She didn’t stop there.
Once out of court, she circulated a petition to have the city close Gary’s for unsanitary food preparation. By the end of that month she had a good deal of the town, mostly people who had never been there, actively boycotting the restaurant, and having daily pickets at the times Gary did the most business.
Ultimately the campaign failed, but grace never forgave Gary for that one bad shrimp.
“She still sore about that shrimp? Christ, almighty, I swear that woman holds her grudges better than an Irishman holds his liquor. Well anyway, what can I do for you, my friend?”
“Well, what id really like is one of those fish sandwiches, some fries, and one of those famous coffees of yours to go. That all right?”
“Sure, we’ll fix ya up in a jiffy. Hey, Sam,” he shouted to the cook in back, “gimme a fish sammich and an order of fries going.”
“Sure, Gare,” the cook replied.
“Thanks. So where you headed, buddy? You usually stay in here and eat. And you would never leave your wife in your truck.”
“We’re headed up to ‘Chussetts for a small romantic getaway. Goin’ for the weekend. Nothing special. How’ve you been?”
“I’m doing all right, I guess. Business hasn’t been what it used to be, but…”
Grace also didn’t like Gary himself. Once a few years back he had lost a poker game to Calvin and owed them $30. Gary didn’t pay them back for a while but he did eventually. Grace didn’t trust him for it. She had hounded him every time she saw him about that small amount of money until the day he paid them back. Needless to say, Gary didn’t care much for Grace either. Calvin thought about all of this, with the absentminded ness of one who had lost someone recently.
“…were going?”
“Huh?” Calvin said, he had missed most of Gary’s speech.
“Where did you say you two were going again?”
“We’re going up to Longmeadow, for a romantic trip. Her idea, she wanted to get away from this little “**** Hole”, as she put it.”
“What a nice lady. How do you put up with her?”
“I ask myself the same question every night falling asleep,” he said and laughed.
“Well here’s your sandwich, and your coffee. You’re all set. That’ll be $3.48.”
“Thanks,” Calvin said, hading Gary a five.
“No problem anytime. Come back again, you’ve become a stranger.”
“Yeah, I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of me soon,” he said, getting his change, “A lots more of me.” He walked out before Gary could reply.
Calvin got back in the truck, and headed off down Jamison Ave. Jefferson Airplane were asking Alice about the
pills mother gives you. He was still feeling good.
YIELD. He tuned right onto Elm St.
Calvin thought to himself of the first time he saw Grace. It was his senior year in high school and she was working at the Dairy Mart, across the street from the library. He had gone in to buy milk and bread for his mother, and when he looked up after bringing out his wallet, he saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Her eyes were a greenish-brownish-bluish color, which fascinated him. Her auburn hair fell in ringlets around her face, framing it perfectly. He had asked her if they could talk when their shift ended and she had said sure, why not. They ended up talking until 2:30 in the morning, and by the end of the week they had become inseparable.
ONE WAY.
He had taught her how to drive over the summer, and she picked it up pretty quickly. Her only problem was she seemed not to notice important road signs. Once right before she had taken her test, Calvin wasn’t paying attention and she had turned onto a one-way street the wrong way. Luckily, there had been no one coming and Calvin had directed her off the street. After that she had been fine.
25 MPH.
During the first few years of their marriage, Grace had been very loving and supportive. They had both done the dishes, and when he had had a rough day she had massaged him until it seemed nothing mattered.
Calvin turned left onto Hampshire, while The Beatles sang “Hey Jude”.
NO THRU TRAFFIC.
Everything had changed after her headaches had started to come. She started to attack him personally, when he was down, trying to get things the way she wanted them. At first he had appeased her, but that had just made things worse. She would come to bed and get frisky, but then push him away in disgust, as if he had come on to her.
TRUCKS ONLY
At last she had gone to see a doctor about the headaches. He said they were tension headaches and that she should take some time to herself, and relax. So she had, and for a while things had seemed to get better. She was talking to hi civilly and they had made love for the first time in weeks. But this had only been short term.
DEAD END
Slowly but surely the headaches had come back. She started yelling at him, and she even threw him out of the house once. All of this confused him very much.
So she had gone back to the doctor. He had then prescribed some unpronounceable pills, which he said should help. He advised that she not operate heavy machinery when under the influence of this drug. She said she would and left he doctors office.
Calvin turned onto the highway, and sped up. The Who played “Baba O’Reily”. His trip was almost finished. He felt the need to go faster. He signaled left.
EXPRESS LANE
The drugs had worked a little longer than the relaxation. She had even become mellower than she had been before. Calvin would tell her he was going out with his buddies, ad she would just wave her hand and say “Bye-bye”. She didn’t care when he came in late at night, drunk as a skunk and stumbling about the house. Nothing seemed to bother her.
NO U TURN
But after about six months she had begun caring again. The headaches had gotten bad again, so she took the liberty to up her dosage. She didn’t mellow out this time. She had gotten more and more hostile until one night, she had attacked him with her nails over an argument about who had won best actor that year. Calvin didn’t come home for a week after that.
REST AREA
Calvin turned off into the rest area. That was the one problem with Gary’s coffee. Went right through you.
When he did come back she seemed truly apologetic. She said she was trying to control herself and that he meant more to her than her own life. She had been almost to the point of suicide when he had come back. He had saved her life.
When he got back onto the freeway, he turned off the radio. He was getting a headache.
SLOWER TRAFFIC USE RIGHT LANE
But soon the attacks started back. They never got as out of hand quite as much as that one night, but they had been pretty bad. Calvin put up with it for a while.
He exited on ramp 21A and parked the car not far past. He got out and began working.
When he was finished, he tossed his stuff in back and drove towards home.
SCHOOL CROSSING
Although Grace ha really wanted a child, she had argued that they couldn’t afford it. With baby food and diapers in the first year, school supplies in years following, she figured that they would be nearly bankrupt when the kid graduated from high school. And after that, she tried not to think about. College tuition, room and board, she said to Calvin, if she thought about it her head would explode.
Of course this lead to fights about his job. She said that ditch digging was no job for a man and that he shouldn’t have to do it. Calvin had tried to get other jobs while working as one but none would hire him. He had wanted to get into building construction, but the local company had gone out of business. He was married to a woman who wouldn’t leave, and tied to the town. She had gone and got a job as a receptionist, but had to quit because her headaches would flare until she couldn’t see when she was typing. She still wanted that kid though. Not for lack of trying.
They made love a lot more after she had started on he drugs. She had seemed to need it as much as she had needed the scrip. Every night they would go at it until he was exhausted. It was tiring.
CAUTION: MEN AT WORK
After 8 years of the same job, Calvin had finally gotten the promotion he deserved. He was advanced to overseer of the group of men he worked with. This meant a 15% pay increase and less physical labor for him. And as a treat that day, he had gone home early to tell his wife.
When he came in the door he had heard noises coming from his bedroom. He walked back there to see what was going on. Opening the door, he saw Grace and Matt Ryerson from two blocks up the street, screwing like rabbits.
He had screamed in rage and told Matt to get out now before he killed him. Matt hurried away, grabbing his clothes and running out the front door.
Calvin didn’t remember anything after that until he had gotten to Gary’s.
He drove right past his house, and turned onto Concord. He seemed to drive aimlessly for hours. Finally he pulled over to the side of the road and fell asleep in the front seat.
R. R. CROSSING
[im actually kinda proud of this one. what do you think?]
------------------
may the farce be with you.
may the farce be with you.
![[http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif]](http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif "http://forums.massassi.net/html/smile.gif")
Keep it up, I hope to see more.