Let’s Write a Story!
Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 08:23amTHE DEAL: We are going to write a story! I will kick things off with a few short sentences. Then everyone can take turns adding their own few short sentences. By the end of the day, we should have something interesting, and I will close out the story with my own ending.
THE RULES: Be brief. Do not monopolize. Keep the spirit of the story in mind and build on it for the next person — don’t write your own unrelated stuff. Try to keep it relatively clean (safe for work). BE CREATIVE. Don’t be afraid to contribute. We are all equal here. DO NOT contribute if you haven’t read every single post before yours. HAVE FUN!
And here we go…
As they drove down the Jersey Turnpike, the car in front of them slightly swerved, quickly braked, then continued. A split second later, a CD came sailing through their sunroof, landing in her lap. She picked it up and looked at the label. “What the f*ck?” she asked, looking at her friend in disbelief.
nora on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 8:38 am
It was a counterfeit version of the New Kids on the Block’s seminal album “Hangin’ Tough,” that had been translated into Mandarin and back to English and was now named “Strong Death by Noose.”
Chips O'Toole on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 9:07 am
This was the very same CD that she had discarded years earlier, evident from the heart shaped sticker residue next to the group’s name.
Susie on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 10:06 am
She looked up to see if she could make out who threw the CD, but the car was already gone.
Sandyjoys on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 10:12 am
She pushed the CD into the player and waited for it to begin. She was surprised when she didn’t hear the harmonious sounds of the New Kids but instead a voice addressing her by name.
Grey Rainbow on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 10:17 am
Rhianna, this is your brother, Tad…
chuck on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 10:17 am
It was an old man’s voice and it creaked from the speakers with a hint of a foreign accent. Maybe German. Maybe Dutch. She couldn’t tell.
“Ruth, you don’t know me. At least not yet. My name is…”
GeekBoy on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 11:38 am
“I guess it’s for both of us?” a confused Ruth said to Rhianna, who was driving.
“Why does my little brother’s voice sound so deep, though?” Rhianna asked. “And who’s the dude with the Nazi accent?”
“I don’t know,” Ruth said. “Maybe we shouldn’t be talking over it so much. Let me rewind.” And she did.
“… not yet. My name is …”
Dave on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 12:46 pm
“How did you rewind the CD?” Rhianna asked. She was always a stickler for details. Ruth rolled her eyes. as was her way, and they both turned their attention back to the CD.
“…Warner Wagner Hoffenschmidt. Years ago, your brother did me a favor, and it’s time I repaid him in full.”
“You ever notice that, even when they’re being nice, anyone with a German accent sounds kinda threatening?” Ruth asked.
Maggie on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 2:24 pm
“No, and I don’t think that’s a very nice thing to say,” Rhianna replied. “And shut up. I’m getting scared.”
“I’m getting scared!” Ruth mimicked. “You shut up — I keep missing what they’re saying.” She started the CD again from the beginning.
The voice claiming to be Rhianna’s brother continued. “I know this sounds really weird, but my friend Warner is a scientist and has some really important things he needs to discuss with you, about me. Please hear him out, and drive to the directions tucked into the CD case. And no matter what, don’t talk to anyone until you get there.”
Lisa on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 3:10 pm
“F*ck that noise,” replied Rhianna. “We’re on the NJ Turnpike. If we follow that dude’s directions we could end up in Delaware. Do you rember what happened the last time we went to Delaware?”
GeekBoy on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 3:29 pm
“The midget and the chainsaw? Don’t remind me,” said Ruth, feeling a bit queasy at the memory. Then she glanced down at the directions, and saw that they were telling her to get off at the next exit … which was only a few car lengths away.
“Quick, get off at this exit!” she yelled.
“We’re in the middle lane!” But for all her resistance, Rhianna could never refuse Ruth anything. “Ahhh, shit …” She cranked the wheel hard to the right.
Michael on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 3:30 pm
“Well, if I didn’t remember, there’s always that face tattoo to remind me,” snarked Ruth. “C’mon, where’s your sense of adventure? Plus, it sounds like there could be cash or prizes involved.”
Dave on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 4:34 pm
“That’s not a face tattoo,” Rhianna said. “That’s where I hit the rear-view mirror just then. I turned too fast.”
They drove in silence for 25 miles. Directions included “Turn left at the dead horse,” which meant that the map had been recently drawn, Ruth mused. No Google Map for Warner.
Finally, they pulled up to a farm. In the gathering dusk, it looked foreboding, like Dwight Shrute’s beet farm, only without the charm. A man stood by the barn, looking like he had been waiting for them all day.
Lisa on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 4:39 pm
He was wearing a shirt with the word “FEAR” scrawled across the chest.
Jayme on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 5:58 pm
At least that’s all you could make out. Rhianna looked at Ruth with a raised eyebrow and a twinkle in her eye, “Do you think it used to say “No Fear?”
Ruth, ever the optimist, “No way your brother sends us on some wild goose chase to meet a guy with a ridiculous bumper sticker cum t-shirt. Has to be this Warner Jingleheimer Schmidt setting us up for something. Something good. I better do up my hair in case it’s a surprise party!”
chuck on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 6:39 pm
What followed was a surprise, but certainly no party.
freakgirl on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 8:23 am
Three days later, both women woke up, dazed and disoriented by the side of the Turnpike. They stared at each other, confused. Rhianna reached into her pocket and pulled out…a ticket stub from the New Kids on the Block Reunion Concert. Ruth found the same.
It started to come back to them. Warner, in the FEAR t-shirt he told them was given to him by the band after their disastrous Saturday Night Live performance in the 80s. The surprise, as they read in a letter, compliments of Tad — a private NKOTB concert just for the Rhianna and her best pal. The two women smiled at each other, remembering how excited they were when the concert started.
Then they remembered the rest. The giant meteor that fell out of the sky…crashing onto the stage…annihilating the New Kids into nothing but bits of spandex and hair gel. Warner dragged the screaming girls to safety.
And that’s when the spacecraft landed. A steel ramp slid out from the bottom and Warner ran up it as if he’d done it a million times. As the ship hovered, Rhianna spotted a familiar face looking through a round window. Tad.
And then, it was gone.