Fiction writing from the stars, week 4

As has been my wont over the past few summers, I’m taking some time off from pontificating to write some fiction. I asked my 8th graders to provide me first and last lines for potential stories, and it’s my job to fill in the middle. I hope you enjoy! This week’s inspiration comes from Gracie Luna.

Do you know where the goldfish fly? You might think that is a silly question since goldfish decidedly do not fly. But let’s just say a goldfish did fly - where would it be? That was something I was about to find out.

I’m a quiet person by nature. My two younger brothers, on the other hand, are not quiet. I’m sure they must be quiet when they’re sleeping, but then again, who knows. At 16, I’m five years older than Matt and seven years older than Ben. I’m considered responsible, so I get stuck with watching them when our parents leave for any reason. There goes any chance at a social life!

When I had to watch over Matt and Ben at home, I would station myself in the living room and find something to do so I could keep track of them as they trampled through the house. If the weather was nice, I would do the same on our patio. I enjoy reading and painting, so to find me in front of an easel was not a strange occurrence. 

Sure, I’d try to calm down my brothers, but about the only way to do that was to feed them, and that was only a small respite. The boys would also expect me to truckle to their every demand, which I refused to do. You want a snack, Ben? You know where the pantry is. You want your bike cleaned, Matt? You know where the rags and water are.

They were too old to just sit down and have a story read to them, like before they were in school. But one summer day, I felt like I was stuck in a story I used to read to them. Dad was gone on a business trip and Mom had left on some errands. To make matters worse, it was raining outside, so the boys were stuck inside. 

While I was reading in the living room, I saw Ben drag a stool out and practice standing on one foot. I rolled my eyes and went back to reading. Then Matt handed Ben a book and an umbrella to hold while balancing. Deep sigh from me.

Things escalated after that. Since Ben could balance and hold two things, Matt gave him an old toy boat they used to use in the bathtub. The boat was placed on the foot that was not standing on the stool. That’s when things clicked. “Hey, guys, I hope you didn’t find a cat to bring in the house.” 

They both chuckled, knowing I had figured out what they were play-acting. “No, but I’m sure we can find a hat!” laughed Matt. He took his turn balancing on the stool with all the accessories. At least they weren’t balancing on a ball; the stool was pretty solid.

But wait… “You leave the goldfish out of this,” I said. They had a goldfish Mom had given in and bought for them a few months earlier. It didn’t do much outside of swim around and eat the food they fed it daily.

They looked at each other, then back at me. The silence was disturbing. “I’m watching you,” I threatened. Then I thought about it and was relieved that there were no fresh-baked cakes or other desserts in the kitchen. 

The boys disappeared for a time, then came racing down the hallway from their room. Ben emerged first, trying to get loft on a kite. Just as I sprang up from the couch, Matt also came out, trying to do the same thing. Naturally, he tripped over the stool they had left out and went tumbling just as Ben had reversed course. The kite strings became entangled as Matt bit it and Ben jumped over him, laughing with glee.

“Enough!” I shouted. “Clean this up, Thing 1 and Thing 2!” Even though I was mad, they giggled in appreciation that I recognized what they were doing. 

What I should have been suspicious of was how quiet it got as they were supposedly putting things away. Just as I settled back into my book, things started up again. 

Matt appeared at the hallway entrance, carrying the umbrella and the book again. He opened the umbrella, which I knew was bad luck if done indoors. Ben quickly showed up and added the boat to Matt’s foot.

But the coup de grace was seeing the goldfish bowl placed on the top of the open umbrella. I knew immediately that this would not be good. In the time it took me to leap once again from the couch, Matt had felt the bowl slip from the cheap umbrella, and in his attempt to re-steady, he completely lost control, impelling the goldfish out of its bowl and through the air. 

I chose to catch the bowl before it hit the ground. That was a good thing since Ben dashed under the cacophony to catch the goldfish. 

As I sat down that evening to paint that chaotic scene, I thought back to everything that happened and knew the answer to the question of where the goldfish flies. Next time you should look in the sky.

A not-so-subtle tip of the (oversized) hat to the great Dr. Seuss for the track of this story and to Gracie for giving me a tough one to figure out! Thanks for indulging me again in some fictional writing. Next week, back to whatever is considered normal in this space! 

Word of the Week: This week’s word is truckle, which means to act in a servile manner, as in, “Students in one-room schoolhouses had to truckle and help with chores like bringing in wood for the fire and sweeping.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!