Thursday, March 12, 2009

Downtown

So today, I decided to catch up on the good five writing assignments that I have piled up for me. I like to put these things off because I tell myself they're so easy I can do a ton of them in one shot. So instead of doing a simple two a week like I should, I wait until I'm weeks behind so I have some motivation to actually do them.

But anyway. I had to write a short story/vignette using ten of the fifteen words they suggested to me. Alrighty, just to let you know something. I HATE when I get writing assignments that are like "write a short story about something that we're going to spoon feed you." Where's the creativity? So I had this argument with my textbook in my head.

"Fine. I'll write your stupid paper. But it's going to make NO sense. See how you like that!"

Anyway. Here's what I came up with.

I took myself on a walk down the street today. It wasn’t a very nice day, and it was unknown even to me why I preferred a walk on a day like it. A heavy rain spilled itself from the sky, and gutters, into the street. The light was gray, and not a single bit of vegetation was in sight. Not even a small tree to line the dirty cobblestone sidewalk. I walked the stretch of the road, which is exactly one mile long. I know that it is one mile long because I have walked it many a day, on just days like this: dreary and cold.
I was becoming almost too chilly even for myself to bear, so I stepped inside a grungy old pub, whose storefront hinted the poverty of its inmates. It was without a doubt the cheapest pub in this town, which was why it was located on this very street, the cheapest street in this town. A cheap bell hung over the cheap door let off a cheap ring as I entered. The few old men who sat with their beers looked up at me for a moment, then went back to their drinking. I went to the bar and asked for a beer on tap. The bartender turned to fill a glass for me, while I dug through my coin purse for the fee. I paid the man, and took a large swallow of the beer. It was bitter and flat, as it always was at this pub, the cheapest pub in the cheapest part of town.
I asked the bartender if he had any peanuts for sale. He looked at me as if I was completely insane. 
“Peanuts? This is a PUB! We have beer. And ale. And anything alcoholic you want to drink. Want some peanuts? Go uptown for your darn peanuts!”

--Christina

PS. the words I had to use were: street, gutter, tree, tap, ring, purse, swallow, peanut, light, rain

1 comment:

Matt said...

so what were the words you had to use?