The results are in for the Story140 contest on Twitter, organised by Twitter micro-novelist Nick Warren, and I’m suitably pleased to announce that I came joint second, out of 20, with @mikebreed. Apparently were both just two votes behind the winner, @leeporter. To read Lee’s winning story, which I bagged as the winner as soon as I read it, and all the other 140 character stories click here.
I wrote 10 stories for the competition, before choosing this one as my entry:
“Small skinny decaf latté?” repeated the girl behind the counter. Samantha nodded. “Small skinny decaf latté? Do you even like coffee?”
The other nine were…
They told her that he’d been killed instantaneously. What did they know. She’d gone to great lengths to ensure he hadn’t.
The carpark was empty. He heard the footsteps behind him, but as usual, when he turned, there was no one. Always the same disappointment.
The barman poured him another drink, ‘on the house’. “Thanks,” he said. “Hey Dirk, old buddy, anytime.” Who Dirk was he had no idea.
The lift doors closed. He had 4 floors to decide, but knew it wasn’t enough. The deli counter was a minefield for the indecisive executive.
The newsreader stumbled, then broke into a sweat. He wasn’t sure, but he might just have called the Prime Minister Darling.
Every word, every character was beautifully crafted. Now all that was missing was the one thing which had eluded him all his life, a point.
“But I like money,” said Andrews, confused by the suggestion that there’s more to life. “I mean, you can’t eat spirituality.”
“To solve teen pregnancy we must instil in the young a sense of ambition,” the politician said. The student nodded, “Like wanting a PS3?”
Divorce wasn’t an option. Too expensive, too messy, too depressing. But sudden, violent death? It had its benefits. Like keeping the car.
