Jillian Chantal

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt cup. I am still in my geese story.

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When she arrived home and entered via the back door, Brenda Sue’s dad looked up from peeling carrots. “Good grief, B., what happened to you?” He set the peeler and carrot on the cutting board and took a step toward her. “Did someone attack you on the way home?”

“No, Dad. I’m fine. Unless you count a group of six geese who decided I wasn’t feeding them quickly enough. One of them bit me and I fell. It’s nothing.”

“Your shin is dripping blood. Let me help wipe it off.” He wet a paper towel and nodded her to one of the chairs. “Sit.”

While he tended to her goose bite, Brenda Sue watched and thought about hearing those geese talking. “Hey, Dad, do you believe animals can understand us and vice versa?”

“If course. Dogs understand when their owners take out the leash for walks and things like that.”

“No. I mean like regular conversations.”

“To some extent, sure. But not to the extent of quantum physics.”

“Goodness, even I don’t understand that.”

He laughed “Have you been trying to talk to animals? Or those geese you’re feeding?”

“Not really but I wonder what they understand when we speak. You know, why that one would bite me when all I was trying to do was give her food. I mean, I was being nice and she bit me.” No way am I going to mention Gladys and Madge actually speaking words. If they really did.

“Seems to me she should have realized that.” Her dad smirked. “Unless she thought you were doing it wrong. Could be a picky goose.”

He had no idea how close to the mark he was. “Ha. As if.”

“I’ve got to finish getting this roast in the oven. You want to help with the potatoes?”

“Sure. I need some water first. That geese feeding is thirsty work.”

Her dad patted her leg dry with the towel he had over his shoulder, stood and walked to the cabinet to grab a cup. Once he’d filled it with water from the Brita pitcher, he set it beside Brenda Sue. “Drink up. I’ll work on the gravy while you peel a few potatoes. We don’t need a lot. Just us three for dinner tonight. Your brother will be home from practice in an hour or so and your mom has plans for dinner with friends.”

The writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt wicked this week. I am still in the contemporary I was writing but it has taken a veer into fantasyland. The joys of not plotting ahead…. LOL

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Brenda Sue woke with a wicked headache. Her eyes took a moment to focus and she almost shrieked when one of the geese was staring right down in her face.

“You all right there, girly?” The goose asked.

Brenda Sue shook her head to clear it. Surely that goose did not just speak to me. I’m concussed for sure.

She tried to sit up, but nausea flooded over her. She put her head back on the ground and closed her eyes. I’ll just wait for it to pass. It’ll pass.

“Maybe we should try to help her up,” someone said. Brenda Sue had no idea who since last she looked, she was alone with six geese.

“You shouldn’t have bit her, Gladys.”

“She was too slow. We’re all ready to lay our eggs and she was dragging around throwing out feed so slow. You know how much hungrier I get when it’s time to lay.”

“You’re doing nothing to help the girl now. We need to get her up and out of here before she realizes we’re talking about her.”

“I can hear you,” Brenda Sue said before she could stop herself. What am I doing talking to these birds? Hope no one comes along and hears me. I’m losing my mind.

She tried again to sit up. Her head felt like a cracked egg.

“No you can’t.”

Brenda Sue opened one eye and peered up at the closest goose. “I know it’s not real but if you’d quit talking, I could maybe focus and get up. I need to go home.”

“Madge, get behind the girl with me and help me sit her up. The sooner we can get her out of here, the sooner we can roost and lay our eggs. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m tired and want to go roost for the night.”

Betty Sue really wanted to go and was surprised when two of the geese got behind her and, using their beaks, pushed her shoulders until she was fully sitting up. This cannot be really happening. These are animals, not people.

She put her hand on her head. “I have to go. This is crazy.”

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to a picture prompt. We are limited to 300 words this week.

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“Will you be all right or do you need help going home?” Mike asked.

“I’ll be fine. I’m goose sitting for some people who live down this road and have to go check on the geese. Once I’m done there, I’ll head home. Should be fine. Thanks for your help.” Brenda Sue hobbled off, hoping Tyler wasn’t looking at her like she was a loser.

She stopped at the mailbox and gathered the mail before leaving it inside the door of the home then headed out to be sure the geese had their evening meal. Her leg muscle was still tight but she thought she would make it home okay. It wasn’t that far.

Out in the yard, she flung out more of the feed and the geese swarmed around her as if they hadn’t eaten in thirty years as opposed to just that morning. “Do you usually get fed all day? Or think you’re at an all-you-can-eat buffet?”

None of the geese answered her but one actually nipped at her shin. “Hey, stop that. I’m feeding you as fast as I can. You’re an ungrateful wretch.”

Something trickled down her leg. Brenda Sue looked down. A stream of blood. “Great, you nasty beast, you’ve cut my leg now.” She dumped the bowl of feed on the ground and turned sharply to escape from the mad frenzy that ensued when the food hit the ground.

As she tried to run away, her left ankle twisted and she fell to the ground, conking her head on a rock.

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are using the word prompt intense. I am still in my story about the prom date.

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As she moved forward, a huge Charlie horse snatched at her calf. The muscle cramp sent her to her knees and she dropped her backpack. Tears filled her eyes and she grabbed the calf with both hands to try to rub it out. Her father’s strong hands usually did this for her when she had the cramps in the night. Hers weren’t enough to make much difference.

Sitting on the grass, she kept rubbing and crying, wishing someone would come and help with the intense pain.

Just when she thought she would die there, the two boys who she’d been trying to catch up to turned around.

“Hey, are you all right?” Mike called as they both ran toward her.

Now I want to crawl in a hole. Why’d they turn around? Here I wanted to be smooth when I talked to Tyler and now he’ll see me on the ground crying and I’m sure my ponytail is a mess. What a horrible day.

Tyler and Mike knelt beside her. “What happened?” Tyler asked. “Did you trip over something?”

Great, he thinks I’m a klutz. “No. It’s just a leg cramp that caught me by surprise.”

“Oh, my sister gets those. She always gets up and walks it off.” Mike held his hand out to help her up. “Come on, I’ll help you.”

Brenda Sue took his proffered hand, wishing it was Tyler’s. “Thanks. My dad usually rubs them out so I’ve never tried walking them off.”

“Just flex your toes hard as you walk. That will stretch the muscle out. Maybe you could get coach to give you some salt tablets. We take them during the heat of the summer practices. It seems to keep cramps away. Let me warn you though, they are big and taste nasty.”

“I will try those. Thanks for the tip.”  She wished he and Tyler would go on. This was not how she planned to get closer to Tyler to get him to be her prom date. No, this was not the plan at all.

This week, the writers of Tuesday Tales are writing to the word prompt bright. I am working on a short story.

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Her lab partner, Randy, was waiting beside their table. “I was afraid you’d be absent today. I know you’re kind of skittish about this dissection thing.”

“You got that right. But I’ll be fine. Mom made me some homemade smelling salts from salt, essential oils and peppermint. If I start to go down, wave this under my nose.” She held up a lace pouch.

“You’ll be like an old fashioned lady with her swooning?”

“I truly hope not. We don’t want me to become the gossip of the week, do we?”

“Nope. That would be a tragedy.” He flipped his hair out of his eyes. Always with the hair hanging down. She didn’t know how he got any work done with the way his eyes were usually covered.

Class went by fast and the day was over before Brenda Sue really was ready for it. She would have to go back out to the Mims’ place and make sure the geese were in for the night. They had clipped wings so they wouldn’t fly off but she had promised to check on them twice a day. They better appreciate me. The little freaks.

She walked back down the road from the school toward the Mims’ house. Ahead of her, she noticed Tyler and his best friend, Mike. They were laughing and jostling each other as they walked. She wondered why they weren’t at baseball practice since they were both on the team.

Brenda Sue shaded her eyes from the bright sunshine. This time of year, the sun was still super high in the sky on the walk home. Sometimes, looking at it caused headaches or crazy spots hovering right in front of her. Ugh. What a pain to have to go deal with those swans. I didn’t know what I was agreeing to when I signed on for this. Charlotte is right. I’m saving for a dress with no date in sight.

She stepped up the pace to try to catch up with Tyler and Mike. It was time to open the lines of communication. If she ever had a hope of dancing with Tyler at prom.