Weekly Challenge #894 – Stand

Richard Lizzie Lisa Serendipidy Tom Norval Joe Planet Z LISA Swipe and Pay on the Last Bus of the Day It was standing room only, always the same on a rainy Saturday night, a sea of vacant faces and glazed expressions. I was sandwiched between a woman with a lot to say and a good looking man, I found out later, called Paul. The bus jerked us about. Someone nearby really needed to wash their neck. Paul and I collided for the whole journey. We apologised whilst sharing an uncomfortable look then awkwardly got off at the same stop. Thankfully he hadn’t noticed his missing card; I did a food shop bought some shoes then threw it into the Clyde. RICHARD Old Boy’s Club “So, Sedgwick, where do you stand on the fairer sex?” “I beg your pardon”, I replied, momentarily distracted from savouring my brandy. “Women, old chap! Some of the boys think we should allow them into the club, are you for, or against it?” The Clarrington was one of the more forward-looking gentlemen’s clubs, but even so, some things are sacrosanct. I took another appreciative sip of Brandy. “No, women have their place, and The Clarrington is not that place.” “Jolly good, old boy” He checked his fob watch, “Now, drink up, the pole dancing girls will be starting soon!” LIZZIE They said “You can become filthy rich being a travel blogger”. He believed them. One day, a guy said “You’re a wuss.” He was no wuss. He was a King. “Off with his head!” He’d always wanted to say that. His kingdom. An old mattress, a dusty rug, a lamp. He could walk a few feet to the left and a few feet to the right. Thirty years, till the parole board decided he could leave. He did have some incense burning. It made him look normal. The severed head in his backpack was sloppy. Oh, well, stand still, Zen…! SERENDIPIDY Teacher made me stand in the corner. She was always making me do that; I reckon she got a kick from it. What sort of person takes pleasure from exerting their authority over a kid like that? I wasn’t bothered about spending time in the corner, it gave me plenty of opportunity to plot and plan, it was more about the embarrassment of being singled out and made to look a fool. Another bonus of facing the corner, was that it allowed me slip my gun from where I’d hidden it. Time that teacher got singled out, by me. TOM Stand I’m child of the 50s. I cut my music teeth on the Chicago Silver Dollar Survey. A top 40s kid. A system best described by Joni Mitchell in Free Man in Paris: Stoking the star maker machinery Behind the popular song. This all changed in the 80s with the rise of Alternative rock. Thinking man’s rock. I totally embraced REM’s Stand with its super bubble-gummy pop bounce, so reminisceic of The Banana Splits, The Archies, 1910 Fruit Gum Company and The Monkees. “Your feet are going to be on the ground. Your head is there to move you around.” Yup. NORVAL JOE Not wanting to have to make a stand against the two burley teenagers, Billbert leapt into the air. Linoliamanda rose with him, but stopped, as Sabrina remained, standing on the ground as solid as any rock.<br /> Billbert dropped back to the ground. “I can’t stand this.”<br /> Sabrina pointed to a stand of trees. “We can hide in there. Maybe fight them off.”<br /> “No. It’s no use.” He thrust his other hand to Sabrina. “Let’s give it one more try.”<br /> Sabrina took Billberts hand forming a three person circle.<br /> Billbert barely thought about it and they rose into the air, together. PLANET Z