100 words #6

Okay, so I didn't get this done in a week. I will still make it to 7, though!

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#6

adjective – unrifled: of a firearm; not having rifling or internal spiral grooves inside the barrel

noun – remanence: the magnetic flux that remains in a magnetic circuit after an applied magnetomotive force has been removed

Will a magnet stick to a Slinky? A slinky’s metal, right? It makes a sound like metal. Slinky slinky slinky slinky. I wonder if that’s why they named it that. Slinky slinky slinky ow! I better not snap it like that anymore. I’m hungry. Grapes! Do dogs like grapes? Nope, dogs don’t like grapes. Ew! Okay, paper towels.... Okay, we’re out of paper towels. Um. Regular towel. Oh, it’s touching me it’s touching me it’s touching me! Annnnnd it’s in the washer. Okay, deal with that later. I’m not that hungry anymore. What was I doing? Grapes. Fridge. Magnet. Slinky! 

Does anyone see the connection between the words and the story? Yeah, pretty tenuous on this one.

100 words #5

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#5

adjective – southernmost: farthest south

noun – lira: a monetary unit of Italy, Turkey, Israel, Malta, etc. either currently or in the past

Groceries:

-ramen, one case

-tortillas, 12-pack, burrito size

-peanut butter (store brand)

-jelly (store brand)

-bread (white, store brand, day-old shelf if possible)

-bag rice

-bag kidney beans

-hot dogs (regular, not all beef)

-ketchup (packets from McDonald’s on the way out)

-toilet paper (six-pack only)

-cat food

The cat doesn’t know how to eat less. She wouldn’t know why she was going hungry. It’s all right. The electric bill can be another week late until I get my paycheck so we can pay the phone bill.

This is the lowest our bank account has ever been. Happy New Year.

100 words #4

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#4

adjective – planar: of or pertaining to a geometric plane; flat or level

noun – half-back: one of two backs who typically line up on each side of the fullback; the main ball-carrier in football

Apparently it wasn’t a game, it was a campaign.  And despite the name, there were very few dragons, although they—the made-up characters—did spend a lot of time in actual dungeons. Books and papers with strange charts and lists were spread all over the plane of the table. Kirk was explaining to her how his friend Jim’s character... sort of protected his own character during fights. Battles?

“So he’s like the fullback to your half-back?” she asked.

“Um, sure, I guess,” Kirk said with a look halfway between confused and disgusted. He turned his attention back to his books.

100 words #3

(I totally forgot about this yesterday! There will be another one later on tonight.)

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#3

adjective – middle-aged: being of the age intermediate between youth and old age, roughly between 45 and 65

noun – enceinte: a wall or enclosure, as of some fortified place

A tire shop. A phone number. Coffee. Then a movie. Then dinner and a movie only they never got to the movie that time, couldn’t stop talking. Six months later, a casual (but actually terrified) request: “You wanna just get married?” Laughter, a kiss. A small, simple wedding. A really big yard sale, then down to one house and a mortgage with two names. Today it’s twelve years together (starting from the tire shop), and they’re both forty-seven, and they’re (inexplicably to many) just as happy as ever. She is his comfort; he is her fortress. Middle age is good.

100 words #2

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#2

adjective – granular: of the nature of granules; grainy

noun – boundary: something that indicates bounds or limits; a limiting or bounding line

There’s a line of salt across the doorway, so I can’t enter. Counting every grain would take too long—five minutes, at least—and I am hungry. I can hear their heartbeats through the closed door, quick with terror, like little rabbits. Their fear smells sharp and sweet, the way I vaguely remember green apples tasting. That tang in the back of my throat only increases my thirst. There’s a scuffling from inside: they’re attempting to hide, as if it will make any difference. The curtains are closed. No salt line on the windowsill. I smile and prepare to leap.

100 words #1

I chose 7 adjectives and 7 nouns at random from the dictionary. I matched up one of each for seven days. Each day for a week, I will write a 100-word story using and/or inspired by (loosely or closely) each word pair.

#1

adjective - cross-country: 1. directed or proceeding over fields, through woods, etc., rather than on a road or path: a cross-country race. 2. from one end of the country to the other: a cross-country flight

noun - antepenult: the third syllable from the end of a word, as in te in antepenult

I can’t be last. The biggest loser in a neon t-shirt and tennis shoes. My shins are killing me, I’m covered in sweat, and my face is the color of the inside of an over-ripe watermelon. I’m not going through all of this and ending up last. I’ve got nothing left to give, but I give it anyway. I pass Grandma In Yellow Shorts. And in one last burst, I stagger across the finish line just ahead of Ninety Pound Ponytail Girl Who Is Probably Anemic. Yes! Third from last. Third from last isn’t too bad for my first marathon.