On December 21, 2004, Bryon Quertermous and Dave White launched a project wherein participating authors with blogs or websites were given the germ of a story and left to develop the details on their own:
The idea to get you started is that a character is driving along with something in the trunk when they are pulled over by the police. The character, the something and what happens when they are pulled over are all up to you. The stories should not be longer than 3,000 words, though we assume many of them will be shorter. You have until January 25, 2005 to complete the story.
Below is my story, some notes on my creative process, and links to the other participants:
Soft Sell
by Gerald So
Renée Roberts was relieved to see the California Highway Patrol car in her rearview. Three years a licensed masseuse, Renée was still self-conscious about hauling her massage table around in the trunk of her Jetta. Though the legs folded, the table—over six feet long—stuck out of her open trunk. Add to this a ten-year-old suspension, and the Jetta practically sashayed on worn pavement. Being pulled over was validation that the car’s suggestive behavior wasn’t all in her head.
Catching sight of herself in the side mirror, Renée wondered whether this was about the table at all. Her body had begun to shape itself at fourteen with minimal effort on her part. By senior year, boys gawked at her. One aspiring poet extolled her "raw animal beauty."
Renée only really looked at herself when something forced the issue, like being pulled over.
She steered onto the shoulder and cut the engine, feeling the usual tinge of worry it would never start again.
The patrol car pulled in behind her, lights still flashing. She listened as the driver got out, trudged over, and tapped on her window. Officer Burly.
Here we go, she thought, and cranked the window down.
Turning, she brushed a hair from her face. The cop blinked behind sunglasses.
"Yes, Officer?"
Words stalled somewhere in his windpipe. His mustache jiggered like a caterpillar. Renée held him with her eyes. All he could do to start was lick his lips.
"Uh...Miss...Is that a table in your trunk?"
"A massage table. Portable."
The cop worked that around in his head. His right hand went to his left shoulder, up by his neck. Renée imagined him saying, Can I get a freebie?
She almost smiled.
What he said was, "Ought to have that suspension looked at."
"Soon as I can afford it."
He smiled, not too broadly. A gentleman. "Don’t make much money as a whatchacall..."
"Masseuse."
"Right."
Renée waited.
"Well, all right then. You take care now."
"I will. Thank you, Officer."
Blushing, the cop stepped back. Renée listened again as he trudged to his car, got in. She turned her key, and the Jetta sputtered to life. She pulled back onto the highway, going easy on the gas until the cop was well ahead of her.
In the clear, she felt the sweat on her face. She’d always thought her story, the details, too obvious—especially the table. But finally put to the test, everything worked.
Officer Burly only asked about the table. If anyone were ever more inquisitive, Renée could go as far as to hand over her oils. They looked authentic. Only with more thorough tests—the kind not performed roadside—would you discover they were lethal.
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Notes
In my junior year at Hofstra, having appropriated a cubicle for Font, we set about furnishing our new digs. One piece was a wooden table with a removable center plank and folding leaves. My friend John drove the table from his house to Hofstra in the trunk of his 1980 Bobcat.
As we carried the table from the parking lot into the office, someone asked, "Is that a table in your trunk?"
I searched the Web for a table that would be similarly portable and fuel my imagination for the story. Why not a massage table, a traveling masseuse? And Renée Roberts was born.
Renée allowed me to write across the gender line. I went for an intimacy that, as I progressed, felt close to first person. I hope readers enjoy the results. Please do comment.
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Others Tackle the Topic:
Ray Banks - "Delia's Gone"
Andrew Beeston - "Endgame"
Aldo Calcagno - "The Anniversary"
Jennifer Jordan - "I Must not Think Bad Thoughts"
Jon Jordan - "No Cure For Cancer"
Pat Lambe - "The Dummy Receipt"
Graham Powell - "Bonnie and Clyde's Last Ride"
Bryon Quertermous - "Trunk Shot"
John Rickards - "Four Billion Funerals and a Wedding"
Duane Swierczynski - "State Trooper Joke"
Bob Tinsley - "Moby Dick In A Can"
Sarah Weinman - "Rulebreaker"
Dave White - "Negative Lottery"
Dave Zeltserman - "She Stole My Fortune!"
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