Jenny's Bane ~ a fifteen-minute freewrite!

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Smash! Bang! Crunch, crunch, bang, crack!

"Ow!"

Jenny sat back in the easy chair and stared at the painting on the wall. It was quite the masterpiece. A renaissance piece likely acquired by Joey's Aunt during the height of her wine empire before her death. She wasn't staring at it because it was a glorious piece of art though. No, no. She was staring at it because each thud, crack, and bang from the floor above shook it harder and harder and the rope it hung from was beginning to fray.

Normally she would get up and straighten it, or in this case, take the damned thing down. But there wasn't really any point, was there? She was surprised it had lasted this long with Joey's constant shenanigans.

Bang!

"Ow."

BANG!

"Ow!"

Crack! Thud!

"Motherfuc-- OUCH!"

Jenny closed her eyes and pushed her feet out, moving the chair into the ever-comfortable reclining position. The noises upstairs didn't really concern her. Whatever it was that Joey was doing, she'd inevitably find out in half a second...

She calmly waited. There was nothing Joey could do that would surprise her. Not anymore. There was once a time she would tear her hair out at the unlikely situations he put her through, but nowadays she sat back, relaxed, and watched as the mayhem unfolded.

One day, she thought to herself, she would write a book. There was no way she could market it as a true story -- no one would ever believe it -- but it would be the greatest piece of non-fiction fiction the market had ever seen.

Jenny laid back further into the chair and smiled. With all the copies she sold, she would move to the seaside and become a beach bum. She would never leave. Soft sand, surf, seashells, fish for dinner every night... it would be a heaven worth living in after all she had endured over the years.

Crunch!

Her smile widened.

"Come on, Joey," she whispered. "Show me what you've got. Give me another chapter to write and make me rich! Richer than what your Aunt became with her crazy wine."

Half a second passed, then half a second more. A sudden silence weighed down the air and forced Jenny's eyes open.

There were no more bangs, cracks, crunches or thuds. Neither were there any 'ouches' or curses. Either Joey had inexplicably given up whatever he was doing and was sitting on his bed sulking, or he had hurt himself so much he was lying in a pool of blood on his bedroom floor.

Jenny glanced up at the ceiling. It wasn't shaking. She peered over at the painting. It was on a crooked angle that ate away at her compulsions, but it was still hanging. She wrenched her eyes away from it and peered over at the stairs.

Dare she get up and check on her foolish housemate? A part of her was adamant with a big, gruff, "No!" but another part of her begged for her to check that he was okay.

"Ugh," she groaned aloud. Climbing to her feet, she headed for the stairs. This was asking for trouble. She just knew it. Joey was fine; he was merely luring her over so that she would actually react for the first time in a month. Surely that was all it was. Holding onto the railing, she took one step up and then yelled, "You alright up there?"

There was no answer.

"Ughhhh," she groaned again and continued up the stairs.

SLAM!

"Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Jenny -- outta the way! I'm doin' winter sports!"

"AAIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!"

Jenny screamed as Joey -- wearing full arctic gear complete with goggles on a handbuilt toboggan made primarily out of his wardrobe -- flew down the stairs, knocked her arse over head, and smashed through the loungeroom window leaving a shower of glass in his wake.

Laying her bruised face down into the carpet, Jenny released a small whimper. That was the last time she bothered to show any sympathy towards that maniac. Next time she would listen to the big, gruff, "NO!"

 

 

Hellooooo! 😄

It's Day 1595 of @mariannewest's five minute freewrite challenge.

Today I picked three of the week's freewrite prompts and wove them into one continuous piece. The prompts chosen were: half a second | beach bum | winter sports ~ I gave each prompt the 5 minute timer and came up with this fifteen-minute thing!

Poor Jenny.

One day she will find peace...

Little does she know where that peace lies though. I know. 😁 I must know! You can't truly write a story until you know its end!

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If you'd like to join in with the freewriters and the challenges, you can find the daily prompt at @mariannewest's profile each and every day! Everyone's welcome. Join usssssssss.

 

Until next time! 📚