Collection of short pieces

A collection of six two-hundred work pieces I did based on books or author's I studied for one of my units.

Chekov and Mansfield

 
The woman came in to the coffee shop and handed over the coins, always the correct change with a silver coin in the tip jar. The coins were exchanged for the coffee, ready and waiting for her. She thanked the barista and took her preferred seat as it had not been taken today. As she sat she pulled a book out of her bag and read. "How does she read that?" The barista wondered mostly to himself. He'd seen her reading the tattered book for a year now. "She needs a rubber band to keep it together, and the text must be so small. I'm going to get her a new copy. She’s put more than enough in the tip jar." His co-worker shook her head in amusement. She'd been working there for longer than him. When the barista gave the woman her new copy of the book, she smiled and thanked him. That night she put it on the shelf with the others. When she came back with her tattered copy the next morning the Barista was confused but his co-worker just smiled wistfully.

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonneghut

“Grandpa,” a young voice pleaded, “tell me a story”. And so Grandpa sat on the edge of the child’s bed. “What would you like to hear?” He asked. “The one about the space war.” the boy said and his grandpa smiled wearily. “Okay,” he said stroking the boy’s hair as he settled under the covers. “It was the year three thousand and fifty-three and the aliens were trying to take over the moon so earth sent its strongest soldiers to protect the moon. They went over in great big rocket ships. Their leader sent them to land on the wrong spot and they were ambushed by the aliens. But they were strong soldiers and they hid in craters with their light swords and laser shooters. They attacked the aliens scaring them back to their home planet and they never came near earth or the moon again.” Grandpa finished. The boy was asleep, snoring softly.

Atonement

I ask mum questions about the girl coming over this afternoon. Mum says that she can’t hear things like everyone else can. She communicates by using her hands. I think that’s really cool. Before mum can answer my last question there is a knock at the door. The girl looks normal except that her mum is making quick, funny hand gestures towards her and after they stop she makes some back. Her mother smiles and kisses her on the head like mine does sometimes. “Hi.” I say and she waves at me. “Why don’t you go find something to do with Sarah?” Mum suggests and I nod gesturing for her to follow me. My favourite show is on TV and so I sit down on the couch to watch it wondering if she likes this show too. She sits down but she doesn’t seem interested in the show. I’m wondering how to ask her what she wants to do when mum comes in. “Oh honey, she can’t hear what’s going on in the show. Maybe you could play a videogame?”

Elizabethan and metaphysical poets

Time stands not, always flowing

Seeming fast, seeming slow

But never frozen, always moving

Making the little things grow

 

Tomorrow is so much the fore

And today is already here

So why fret and act the bore?

Come what will, why fear?

 

When time moves on so nimble

Nothing you do will matter

No foul spot become your symbol

Something new making natter

 

So come follow me home tonight

Such short lives must be filled

Excitement, merriment and delight

Until in our graves we are stilled

 

Gulliver’s travels

Every building was covered in posters showing a picture of an elephant with the words ‘Help the endangered species’ written as a caption underneath. As I walked past I overheard two monkey-like creatures talking about the Elephants. One was explaining to the other how he had put up one of the posters. The other Monkey was complimenting them on their effort and saying how they would put one up too. It really was such a sad thing, the endangered species. I asked them where these Elephants were. They seemed surprised for a second but then answered pointing me in the direction of the Elephant’s habitat. On arriving I asked the Elephants about their problem saying that I had overheard the Monkey’s talking about it and seen all the posters. They said they had never heard of any Monkeys and knew only other Elephants.

Pride and prejudice

Eyes watched as her companions took tentative steps back politely avoiding the wildly gesturing hands. After one of her group departed the hands seemed to freeze and then stayed there even when conversation did proceed again. When the gestures did recommence they were slower but made no attempt to match the conversation. Finally the comment came, “Oh Charlotte, you are engaged! Who is the lucky man?”

Reviews

[SquinklaPsyOps]

It was funny, "Chekov and Mansfield", the character went home and put the book with the others and came back the following day with the same worn book, because maybe she kept notes on it or something like that.