Directions: Write a scene or an entire story of 100 words on the nose (no more, no fewer), inspired by this photograph. No judging. All fun. (Normal Flash! Friday guidelines regarding content apply.)
Don’t forget to add your Twitter handle & link to your blog, if you please.
And a few words on how your week’s going would be marvelous!
This week’s Warmup Wednesday challenge: Include a broken rule.
Flash! Friday 
Showtime
(100 words)
“We go on the count of three.”
“No Shere Khan, the pink flesh bag has his back to us. I want to wait until he turns around. I want to see his big white eyes when I wrap my jaws around his neck.”
“Tigger, you’re too intent on avenging Pooh.”
“You think too much and underestimate the power of ferocity Shere Khan.”
“And you’re too brash Tigger, the pink meat sack will meet the same fate as the feral child. Pooh will be avenged for his humiliation in the ring. Now, let’s give the crowd a show they’ll never forget.”
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Aww I feel for poor Pooh! He’s my favourite!
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LoL. Love the ‘pink flesh bag’ line, and cowardly Tigger instructing Shere Khan on ferociousness.
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Oops, not ‘cowardly’ but ‘fun-loving’ Tigger.
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Lion’s Stare
The heat is missing from our days.
And the rain,
the warm tropical rain
when it waves its way in from the sea,
slipping along the dunes of the desert,
blowing against the low hills,
rooted in time as still,
as full as fear, as hunger.
Is that what is missing, the hunger,
the sharpness, the natural skill
satisfied by a well stalked kill,
swift, bloody and final?
Here, in this cage,
the air is missing from our days,
the breath of movement, of freedom.
Here in this cage,
we are pampered, passive,
listless
inhaling
a raw ennui.
100 on the snout
@billmelaterplea
http://www.engleson.ca
It’s 11 at night here, still Tuesday,
and the Ducks and the Hawks are
in circus of their own, double overtime
and hoping no one goes into the cage.
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Nice buildup of tension. I fear for whoever enters. Well done.
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I could feel the suffocation and boredom of the animals. Good one
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Did I say double…triple so far…
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Thank you. May I say…and I know I shouldn`t…A hungry poet is always lion in wait for inspiration.
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Word Count 100 – excluding title
@susanOReilly3
Tasty
Warming up the crowd
Whipping them into a frenzy
Tigers loud and proud
Their coats I envy
The crowd oohing and ahhing
Admiring their tricks
Ahmed ducking and diving
How he gets his kicks
He gets them to stand to attention
They obey his every command
Treats too many to mention
All hidden in his hand
Women wishing they were a tigress
Being controlled by handsome Ahmed
Scratching under duress
As he takes them to bed
He broke his own unwritten rule
Not to sneak up on Lucy
He’s now covered in her drool
She found him nice and juicy
Hi all thanks for reading, tired this week, not sleeping well
#can’t wait for the weekend
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I like the mingling of fantasy with reality.
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thanks Dylyce P. Clarke x
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What a handsome meal! Poor guy. Liked it a lot.
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100 words
Paper bullets
Mr Phillips paces the floor like a caged lion. His anger emanating across the classroom, right down to the last bench.
Sanjay suppresses a giggle. He hides the rubber band he used as a catapult, in his sock.
Mrs Benjamin sits at her table, looking justifiably angry. She did take a solid whack on the bottom from the tighty rolled paper bullet.
“If you won’t tell me who played this disgusting prank, I’ll gate the whole class. No outing this weekend!”
Silence…
Disgusted, the teachers leave the classroom.
All eyes are on Sanjay as he steels himself for the punishment.
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Interesting twist that the kids knew but no one snitched.
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Yes residential school life tends to teach you to have each other’s back. Thanks for reading.
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THE GREATEST PHOTO NEVER TAKEN ON EARTH by E.F. Olsson
100 words
@EFOlsson
The red coat was sitting there. It was a perfect fit. I checked the pockets – five dollars and a key labeled ‘tiger’.
Edith said I wasn’t adventurous or spontaneous. I’ll show her I can be both. I told her were to stand and have the camera ready.
I found the tiger cage. Inside were two bengal tigers napping. I unlocked the cage, tip-toed towards Edith on the otherside.
“Got the camera?” I whispered.
She screamed startling the tigers awake. One stood.
“Help!” I yelled.
They ushered us out of the circus. At least I got five dollars.
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This is great. I’m glad he got out alive!
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Thank you!
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And all for five dollars! Nice.
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Broken Rule
(100 words)
Rule No. One: Never forget to feed the predators before entering a cage with them.
Rule No. Two: If you forget Rule No. One, never turn your back on a hungry predator when you’re in the same cage with them.
Rule No. Three: If you are foolish enough to forget Rule No. One and Rule No. Two, then when you get into the cage with the hungry predators you will be eaten by one or both of them.
Rule No. Four: There is no Rule No . . .
They’re out! Who forgot to lock the . . . aaaaaah!
************************************************************************************
I’m having a quiet week getting ready to do another interview for my news journal blog. Can’t decide on who to approach next.
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Hehe! That’s so funny 😂! Run!!
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Thank you!
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“Don’t Feed the Animals!” That’s what the sign says. The circus goers pass the animal pens munching buttery popcorn and sugary cotton candy. They stuff their faces with salty pretzels, caramel apples and every food on a stick you can imagine. Deep fried smothered in chocolate desserts and crispy golden brown turkey legs. Grease drips down their chins onto their fingers and stains their clothes. Napkins flutter out of their hands and float and spin around on the ground, spreading the lip smacking aroma of the vendors’ wares. Don’t feed the animals! Silly humans must not know how to read.
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Oh yeah, forget to tell you how my week was going. Well, I’m sick. So I feel like poo. LOL
@dizzy_diaries
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Hope you get well soon. Nice imagery. I’m hungry now.
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“Do it again.”
“But…”
“Again! That was sloppy. And frankly painful to watch.”
“Alright. One and two and…”
“STOP!”
“What is he doing with his feet?”
“No idea. You do realize we’ve only an hour before curtain.”
“Yes, I do. Now, again. One and two…”
“Better…”
“Yes, better, and seven and eight, and turn, and up there we go, and big finish.”
“Now was that so hard?”
“Next, you come around, we bow, you wave to the crowd, and bow again, and out we go…”
“And then you get us an audience member to eat.”
“What?”
“Just kidding. Sort of.”
———-
Week is going well, trip to London in my future, so I’m plotting to hide drawings in bookstores or something. 2nd novel is 2/3 drafted, and Neptune Road is evolving into a murder mystery so having a lot of fun with that… also GO SEE MAD MAX. So good.
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Just kidding. Sort of ?!! That was funny.
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Unwritten Rules
(100 words)
You don’t see me standing on the other side of the tiger cage, tucked into the shadows. No, you’re too busy enjoying the spotlight. I have to admit it, you’re suave and debonair. Not many men can look good in a pink blazer and black capri pants, but you do. Plus you can handle a whip. It’s why I fell for you.
But you broke my heart, and the unwritten rule of the circus.
You slept with the bearded lady.
It looks like the lions and tigers are catching the scent of the raw hamburger I slipped into your pocket.
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Well, I guess now we know why its a rule.
Good job. Made me laugh.
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Emily Clayton
@emilyiswriting
Show and Die
“I can’t do this,” Sharese says. Paint smears on her skin an echo of last night’s show.
Blair glares. “You will.”
Her eyes leak brown-tinged tears. “But the food!”
“I took you in. Fat lot of good it did me. All you ever do is fall asleep.”
“I’m narcoleptic!”
“A druggie?”
“Narcolepsy. I fall asleep. Food can trigger reactions. I’ll be mauled!”
Blair scoffs. “Don’t be stupid. Paint on the disguise, and get out there.”
– – –
Curtains part. A cage, a “No Food” sign; Sharese prances over the growling pit. Wafting Cornish pasty suddenly mixes with terrified screams.
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The Responsibility Circus
Michael fell asleep on the bus home, finding himself in a cage with big cats.
Outside the cage was an unseen audience. Some hoped for his success, others wanted the animals to kill him.
Snapping his whip, he made the cats line up. First the tiger named Wife, beside the lioness named Job. Behind them the tiger named Income, was forced to lie beside the lioness named Bills.
He kept them from fighting each other or him. The crowd roared, some with approval and others with disappointment.
Feeling victorious, he turned his back on the cats to take a bow.
http://www.twitter.com/charleswshort
http://www.charleswshort.com
http://www.christianflashweekly.wordpress.com
A busy week, lots of appointments and activity. I have tried to simplify my life for a little while by being my own judge over at CFW for the next few weeks. We will see. Tomorrow I have an important doctor’s appointment. Good possibility it won’t have any answers, but perhaps no news is good news?
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“We don’t feed the tigers,” The Great Tamer, explained.
The Great Tamer was my Grandfather and his word was law.
The tiger nuzzling at my neck seemed to think differently.
“They only receive food when they successfully complete a trick.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” I replied. His fur was soft under my fingertips. His tail flicked with delight.
The Great Tamer snapped his whip against the floor, my tiger didn’t even flinch. I bent down to give him a kiss.
It was easy then, hidden by my shadow, to slip him a cube of meat.
I swear my tiger smiled.
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The last laugh
If things went wrong, the door stayed locked. That was the rule. It was a fantastic rule at the time, Tony the tiger trainer felt very brave when he had suggested it. The clowns had laughed, but that’s what they always did.
The issue he hadn’t considered was he was the one locked inside. He stared at the tigers as they slowly encircled him, licking their lips. Someone had forgotten to feed them.
Rules be damned. He fumbled with the keys as he soothed them. He opened the door just as they pounced. The clowns wouldn’t be laughing for long.
100 words
@todayschapter
https://todayschapter.wordpress.com
This week I have been focusing on finishing up my stories for the #flashdogs anthology. I’m really pleased with how they’ve turned out, although of course I’ll still be fussing over them at 11:59 on the day of the deadline. We spent the weekend painting the living room, which was a far bigger job than we anticipated. Now that I think about it, doing anything with a toddler running around is a far bigger job than it should be, particularly when there are buckets of paint lying around!
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Indecency
“Oh, Gods of Tooth and Claw, gouge my eyes out now.”
“Shush, Tigrah! I don’t want him to turn this way.”
“We had this settled. Even the ringmaster agreed.”
“Really. No one wants to see that.”
“Argh!”
“Massive ew!”
“He’s trying to make us lose our lunch, right here, in front of everyone.”
“They’re probably too busy retching themselves to notice.”
“How do you do it, Leona? How can you glare at him like that?”
“Imagining it with four red ragged stripes.”
“Can’t he see the audience wincing?”
“Hey! Maggot-flesh! For the love of Saberon, put a shirt on already!”
100 words
@rowdy_phantom
Racing the clock (and thanking the stars for Pratibha’s patience) to get the last two pieces complete for the Flash Dogs anthology while juggling houseguests and newly minted three-year-old’s needs.
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