Flash fiction - Overtime

Today I discovered a new flash fiction competition and inspiration has flowed. What a joy just to be and write. Over at Trifecta you are given a word and its third definition as it appears in the. This time you have between 33 and 333 words. Here's my first Trifecta attempt. The prompt and definition is below.

Overtime

She saunters into the room. All eyes turn to her. Her long limbs settle into a chair. She makes it looks like nothing to wear a dress like that. She folds one leg over the other and rests her hands in her lap. Her fingers sparkle with jewels from her travels. She only wears one earring. It’s so fabulous she doesn’t need two. She makes living look so easy.

Our boss starts talking. I am supposed to be writing, but all I can do is look at her. She is wide-eyed, looking at him with her head slightly tilted. She isn’t smiling, but she looks happy. She seems to be listening. I try to do the same. After a while my neck hurts. I obviously don’t tilt my head enough.

She stands and speaks. She doesn’t go to the lectern and use the microphone; she just stands there, amongst us all, speaking to us like she knows us. We’re all friends. Her hands often move about in front of her. One of her rings matches her lipstick and another matches her watch. Does she know this?

Later, she sends me an email. It’s about finance, but her writing is so open and friendly. She should have emailed my boss, but maybe she’s seen something in me. I start her request immediately. I’m not going until I’ve finished.

I’m the last one in the office, but I’m happy. I’ve done a good job and tomorrow she will see that. Maybe she’ll invite me for lunch. We’ll become friends. We’ll go shopping. We could go on holiday together. She’d be great to wander round markets.

I turn out the lights and stop by the toilet. Someone else is still here and she’s in a cubicle crying. It can’t be her. I peek through the crack in the door. It’s the boss’s fat PA with her head in her hands. Phew. It’s not her. I turn and leave, still happy. 

328 words

CRACK

1a : a loud roll or peal  

b : a sudden sharp noise 

2: a sharp witty remark : quip

3a : a narrow break : fissure      

b : a narrow opening —used figuratively in phrases like fall through the cracks to describe one that has been improperly or inadvertently ignored or left out 

4a : a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency :unsoundness  

b : a broken tone of the voice  

c : crackpot 5: moment, instant 

Go to www.trifectawritingchallenge.com to read more entries.