F For Fantastic

A piece of flash fiction in an alternate universe, where the grading scale starts at an F.

“Richard, show me your report card. Now.”
“Just give me a second to explain, Mom.”
His pleading voice and shaking hands earned no affection from his mother. She wrestled the folded paper from her son’s claw-like grip and perused its contents. She tilted her head to the side in surprise and looked back up at Richard. “According to this report card, you received straight F’s this semester,” she stated calmly.
Richard clenched his jaw in anticipation of his mother’s next words. “That’s fantastic! I knew that private tutor that we hired for you was doing a good job. We’ll have to give him a raise.” She lovingly pinched her son’s chubby cheeks and planted a tender kiss on his head.
“Now we get a special meal tonight, right Mom?” Richard longed for something sweet. “Well, it’s a little late to eat a meal,” she responded after consulting her watch, “but how about some dessert?” Perfect. Richard had held out just long enough to be rewarded. “Gelato?” he inquired. “I’ll drive,” his mother said with a smile.

Reviews

[skyejennings]

I like the idea and I think you could do a lot with this! I'm not sure what type of piece you were trying to create (maybe you wanted it to be this short) but I think if you expanded on it you could really elaborate on the theme that the world is a better place when we put in hardwork/create/learn. RIght now there's not a ton of detail on how we got the grades/why this alternate universe is set up like this so if you maybe include these you could make this even better! :)

[Brent]

I was trying my hand out with flash fiction, which is why this piece is so short. You're right in that I could expand on this to make a short story. Yeah, it's funny to think how much weight we give to grades. Of course, they represent a lot of hard work/dedication, but they aren't the end all to success in my opinion.

Thank you for pointing out how I can add detail to the story!

[AcasualPawn]

I’ll drive,” his mother said sarcastically...

Why

[Brent]

You're right I could actually change that. I used "sarcastically" because Richard is too young to drive, so his mom is being sarcastic that she'll drive. Thanks for the tip!