Hullo, everyone! Did you know that sometimes you have to write for school? Isn’t that nuts? I recently finished a 700+ word essay for my comp class about one of my least favorite subjects: *whispers* poetry. So much fun. But yesterday I got to write a short story for American Lit! Yay! I thought all of you would enjoy it, and it’s been a while since I posted a short story, so I present to you… Be Careful What You Say In A College Coffee Shop.
“I just don’t know what to do,” Steven said, rubbing his forehead. “She won’t eat anything except spicy chicken wings anymore.” The college coffee shop buzzed around the two of them, their lattes sitting untouched.
His friend Colin smothered his laughter and pasted on a solemn face as he leaned across the table. “That’s a problem all right. Have you tried everything? Steak? Ribs? Ground beef?”
Steven snorted. “If she develops a craving for steak or ribs, I’m in trouble. My wallet’s having trouble with chicken wings as it is.”
“Well, they’re normally picky, just not that picky,” Colin commented.
“I’m not sure what to do next. I think I might—” Steven stopped, looking over Colin’s shoulder at the person sitting next to them. “What are you doing?” he asked.
Colin turned around to look, and the girl turned from her computer screen. “W-what do you mean?” she stammered.
Steven pointed at her computer. “I saw it! You’re writing down our conversation!”
The girl shifted nervously and glanced at her laptop. Colin leaned over and read it. “‘If she develops a craving for steak or ribs, I’m in trouble.’ You are writing down what we’re saying!”
She shifted again. “Um, yeah. About that. What in the world were you talking about? I just tuned in.”
Steven gaped at her. “We were talking about my dog. Why were you writing that down?”
She laughed. “Your dog! And here I thought it might be your girlfriend.”
Colin leaned towards Steven, eyeing the girl. “I think she might be crazy,” he whispered.
The girl’s cheeks turned pink, indicating she had heard. “I-I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” She stood up quickly and began to pack her things.
“No, wait.” Steven stood up. “I want to know why you were writing down our private conversation.” He focused on making himself look as imposing as possible.
The girl visibly cringed. “Um. Well, I’m a writer. And your conversation sounded like something interesting to make a story out of.”
Steven gaped. “What?”
“That’s a story I’d like to read,” Colin said under his breath.
The girl sidled to the side, hugging her laptop to her chest. “Um, can I go now?”
Steven stepped back. “Um, if you want. I’m, uh, I’m sorry if I intimidated you.”
She scampered off as quick as she could, and Steven sat back down at the table. Colin smirked. “I guess the lesson for this ‘Embarrassing Episode In The Life of Steven’ is ‘Be careful what you say in public, because you never know who could be listening and your words might end up in a book someday.’”
Steven glared at him. “You need to work on that.”
Colin grinned. “I know.”
OH MY GOODNESS I ADORE THIS!!! XD (I seriously DO write down things I overhear, but nobody’s caught me yet… 😛 And I thought it was a girlfriend too. XD) Awesome!
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😀 That was the first unusual conversation that popped to mind, and it ended up working! XD The mind of a writer…
I tend to write down others’ conversations, too. And some of them are VERY unusual out of context. 😉
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This explains me to a T. Seriously some of the things I overhear.
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IKR? Sometimes people are so weird…
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Love it! XD Goodness, that would be embarrassing for both parties…
I don’t hear a lot of interesting conversations, but sometimes people’s appearances interest me and I stare at them for a while taking note of everything. Hair color, estimated height, the way they move their hands…
I haven’t been caught yet! XP
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Definitely. 😉 Although at the end of this story I had a head canon moment where Steven and the girl started dating…
Oooh, that sounds awesome! I may have to try that. XD
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OHHO GOSH YES DO THAT. XD That would be so fun!
I’m warning you, it’s a dangerous game, miss. You can’t be caught by anyone. 😉
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Maybe I will. 😉
XD I’m pretty subtle…
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It’s also fun to look away just at the moment before they see you. They just squint like “I thought for sure I was being watched…” 😛
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XD Yessss! It’s weird how people just KNOW they’re being watched.
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Goodness gracious, I too thought he was talking about a girlfriend. XD But I love this.
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I love irony and random plot twists…
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This is one thing I’ve never done . . . but hilarious, all the same. xD
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You should try it. I’ve gotten some weird story ideas this way… 😉
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The problem here is finding somewhere to listen to conversations, because at the moment, the only place I really go is church.
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*cough* Well, I’ve heard some really weird conversations at church. Particularly in the youth group or around the little kids.
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That’s true . . . my youth group had some weird conversations. Of course, most of them were also a bit on the disgusting side. (They went to Haiti on a missions trip. I did not. Apparently they all got very close on this trip and so they now have very little filter at YG.)
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Ooh, yes. Our new youth group is a little like that. They’ve grown up together, and half of them are dating each other… so…
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We’ve pretty much grown up together too, but the conversation was much less weird before Haiti happened. Oh well. At least it made YG interesting . . .
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That’s very true. XD
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That was great! 😀 Super funny too.
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Thank you! 😀
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Pahaha. Can’t I relate. 😀
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😉 IKR?
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Love it! And would be especially true at my college. This school is tiny… word travels fast.
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XD Like at our old teeny-tiny co-op, and in our new church youth group. 😛
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I thought it might be the cat. X-D
Is this a true story, C.B.? 😛
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Yup, I was trying to decide between a cat and a dog… but cats are ALWAYS picky. 😛
Whaaaat??? XD No, actually, it’s not. I guess you could say it’s based off a true story, since I have overheard and used people’s conversations… but not this conversation… and I’ve never been caught. XD Mwaha, I’m just too sneaky…
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X-P Wow. This is fun, though.
I just wrote a story based on WriteFury’s “Wormhole” one. Well, from the same prompt, anyway. It was fun to do. ^_^
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I’ll bet! Hers was hilarious, I was so happy to see it won. I’m about to go read yours…
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X-D
Wait, there was a contest? When was this???
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That’s what the writing prompt was from. Kingdom Pen Magazine. They’ve started doing weekly writing contests.
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OH! I should just go join straight in, then. 😉
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That is so hilarious! I would’ve completely panicked if I were in the girl’s position.
(I thought he was talking about his girlfriend too. O.O)
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XD I probably would have, too. Or run away screaming.
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Heheh, yeah something like this has happened to me before. XD Love this!
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Most writers can identify with this… 😉
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Haha! Yep 🙂
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LOL. Thankfully, most people are oblivious to being covertly documented. 😉
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Yes, thank goodness! 😉
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Haha, this is great! I don’t generally write down conversations, but I do have a weird habit of remembering little bits of dialogue and then going over them in my head to see how I would make it look right on paper. 😛
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I’m glad you like it! Coffee shops are a good place for that, too. You can hear the weirdest things in there. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
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