Prompt: 099. carousel pony

1. He proposed to her while they were each riding a carousel pony.

A. He proposed to her while they were each riding a carousel pony. Bobbing up and down as the carousel music played, he’d looked across at her and his smile had been the sweetest thing she’d ever seen. And then he’d brought out the ring, and she was crying and saying “Yes! Yes, of course, yes!” and she was off her horse and in his arms.

He’d held her so tight and kissed her with such gleeful passion that she imagined she could still feel it hours later. The ring was beautiful on her finger; she planned on never taking it off.

She was getting everything that she’d ever wanted in life. First the great career, now the love of her life, and next… The thought of children tripped her thoughts up a little, but in a good way.

2. There was a moment of stillness as they took in the sight of the full-sized carousel pony taking up space in his living room.

A. There was a moment of stillness as they took in the sight of the full-sized carousel pony taking up space in his living room. “So. Is there some kind of story behind this? Or are we supposed to pretend that we don’t notice that gigantic pony taking up three-fourths of the room?”

He could barely hear Tory speaking over the buzzing in his ears. He walked around the carousel pony three times, four times, and was halfway around for a fifth time when his anger finally caught up with his shock. “I’m going to kill you, Derek!”

3. She held the toddler against her chest as they rode the carousel pony. He laughed and kicked his feet, the plastic reins clutched by his small hands.

A. She held the toddler against her chest as they rode the carousel pony. He laughed and kicked his feet, the plastic reins clutched by his small hands as he leaned his chest against the plastic neck of the pony.

“Are you having fun?” she asked.

“Yes!” He kicked his heels. “Go horsey, go!”

She tucked her face into the side of his neck, breathing in the baby smell still clinging to his skin. It was moments like these that she wanted to hold onto forever, because she knew they weren’t going to last.

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Prompt: 098. dirty computer keyboard

1. The worst thing about the IT job was fixing the office computers. It was hard to believe that so many people could happily use such dirty computer keyboards.

A. The worst thing about the IT job was fixing the office computers. It was hard to believe that so many people could happily use such dirty computer keyboards. It made her skin creep to see the crumbs and smears of grease on the keys.

The office was a breeding ground for germs. It was like a trip through a sewer every time she had to make an office visit. On leaving she would practically bathe in hand sanitizer and would wash her hands, arms, and face thoroughly once she was back in the IT department.

It reached the point where she finally had to face the facts: 1. She couldn’t do this job anymore. 2. She was going to need a new job.

2. The soda can hit the desk and tipped sideways. A flood of sugary soda covered the computer keyboard, slipping into the nooks and crannies.

A. The soda can hit the desk and tipped sideways. A flood of sugary soda covered the computer keyboard, slipping into the nooks and crannies. By the time he’d lunged across the room and begun mopping up the mess, it was already too late.

His keyboard was dead.

As the office had a no open beverages around the computers policy, he was going to have to buy a replacement keyboard out of his own pocket. And considering how close he’d been cutting his finances, he would be living on ramen, Spam, and rice until his next paycheck.

“Dammit.”

3. There was a dirty old computer keyboard poking out of the ground. Someone had gotten creative to mark the grave.

A. There was a dirty old computer keyboard poking out of the ground. Someone had gotten creative to mark the grave, using a remnant of the old world to help shape the new.

Julienne leaned down to read the name scratched into the plastic of the keyboard:

CRAIG DANSEN
14 YEARS OLD.
HE WAS BRAVE.
HE DIDN’T CRY.

Just another dead kid. One amongst the billions that had died since the end of the world.

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Prompt: 097. gold hoop earrings

1. She clutched the box with the gold hoop earrings to her chest. “Thank you!”

A. She clutched the box with the gold hoop earrings to her chest. “Thank you!”

Though it felt a bit strange to be accepting expensive gifts from him, she’d admired the earrings in the store and wanted them with a desperate longing. To have them in her hands now… there was no way she was giving them back.

They belonged to her now.

2. Steve raised his eyebrows at Linda and nodded his head toward the baby in the stroller. She glanced down, and he saw her eyes widen when she saw the baby had gold hoop earrings in its earlobes.

A. Steve raised his eyebrows at Linda and nodded his head toward the baby in the stroller. She glanced down, and he saw her eyes widen when she saw the baby had gold hoop earrings in its earlobes. Then she looked back at him, her eyebrows drawing together as she gave him a sharp glare. “NO!” she mouthed forcefully.

He shrugged his shoulders with an innocent expression on his face. He’d learned some form of tact. He wasn’t planning on saying a word. Not now anyway. Later he would bend her ear off.

“What are you looking at?” a strident female voice demanded.

Flinching, Steve met the eyes of the baby’s mother. “Nothing,” he said.

“You were staring at my baby,” she said. “Are you a creep?”

“What? No. I’m not a creep.”

She snorted. “You seem like a creep.”

3. The gold hoop earrings had once belonged to his mother, which gave them a sentimental value he couldn’t ignore. Which is why he had his nipples pierced and the earrings became nipple rings that he never took out.

A. The gold hoop earrings had once belonged to his mother, which gave them a sentimental value he couldn’t ignore. Which is why he had his nipples pierced and the earrings became nipple rings that he never took out. It gave him comfort to think that he would never lose the earrings, not even if he had to run again.

They were a comforting weight against his chest as he went about his day-to-day life. He would finger them sometimes when he was alone, feeling out the shapes with his fingertips.

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Prompt: 096. iced tea

1. “One Long Island iced tea, please. And keep them coming. I’ve had a terrible day.”

A. “One Long Island iced tea, please. And keep them coming. I’ve had a terrible day.” She propped her elbows on the bar and rested her forehead in her hands. “I didn’t think it was ever going to end.”

“A pretty thing like you shouldn’t be frowning so hard.”

She glanced up through her fingers, taking in the guy filling the barstool next to her. “I’m not in the mood,” she said. “Please leave me alone.”

“Baby, you don’t mean that.”

“I do mean that. I have never meant it that much in my life. I’m not looking for a date, a relationship, or anything else right now. Not with you or anyone else. Please leave me alone.”

“Oh, come on.”

2. There was a pitcher of iced tea spilled across the kitchen island and smears of blood on the refrigerator door.

A. There was a pitcher of iced tea spilled across the kitchen island and smears of blood on the refrigerator door. She took one brief look and hurriedly backed out the door to the safety of outside. Then she ran as fast as her legs could carry her back down the driveway toward her house.

“Mama! Mama!” she screamed as soon her front door was in sight. “Mama!”

The door was open and her mom stepped outside as she left the gravel driveway and sprinted across the grass. “What’s going on?” her mom asked.

3. Caught staring by the waiter, he hurriedly asked for a glass of iced tea.

A. Caught staring by the waiter, he hurriedly asked for a glass of iced tea. The last thing he wanted was to be confused for a creep.

He was here on serious business.

Opening the menu and holding it up in front of his face, he peered over the top at the couple in the corner. He was a blandly handsome man with brown hair and brown eyes, while she was an attractive brunet with the beginnings of laugh lines around her mouth.

She was also the older sister he’d never met. The mysterious sibling his mother had given away when she was desperate, poor, and thoroughly incapable of taking care of herself, much less another human being.

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