Friday's Whims of the Time Traveler 6.0: September 27th, 2004
Untitled
by Belinda Roddie
Jason picked up the blue model car. One wheel was missing. Curiously, Jason ran his finger across the jagged edge where the wheel had been. It seemed as if it hadn't just been broken off. Actually, it looked like someone had ripped it off the car.
He set it down and picked up the red car next to it. One wheel was missing on this one, too. Jason frowned and checked all the model cars. They were all the same, with one wheel missing. Puzzled, we stepped up to the counter where the clerk was counting dimes in his palm.
"Excuse me, sir," he said, "but I noticed that all of your model cars have been broken."
The clerk looked up from his counting. He certainly looked exhausted, with a sunken face like a rotten pumpkin. His almond eyes were dull, as were the rest of his features, so bland that if Jason looked from a distance, it looked like all the clerk had was a mouth on his face and nothing else.
"Eh? What's that, you say?" he answered after five seconds' hesitation.
"I said that your car models are broken."
"What? How?"
Jason pointed at the shelf to further his point. "Well, they all have a wheel missing."
He had half-expected the clerk to get angry or at least frustrated. Instead the clerk laughed. "Oh, no, I'm sorry. They've been like that for a long time."
"What do you mean?" asked Jason, becoming more confused.
"I had those cars when I was a kid," explained the clerk, rubbing at his flattened nose. "It's just that some older kids always stole them from me when I showed them off, so I took one wheel each off of them so they wouldn't want to steal them."
"But you still kept them?"
"Sure! They're very old."
The work you see here has only been slightly modified for mechanics and errors since September 27th, 2004.
by Belinda Roddie
Jason picked up the blue model car. One wheel was missing. Curiously, Jason ran his finger across the jagged edge where the wheel had been. It seemed as if it hadn't just been broken off. Actually, it looked like someone had ripped it off the car.
He set it down and picked up the red car next to it. One wheel was missing on this one, too. Jason frowned and checked all the model cars. They were all the same, with one wheel missing. Puzzled, we stepped up to the counter where the clerk was counting dimes in his palm.
"Excuse me, sir," he said, "but I noticed that all of your model cars have been broken."
The clerk looked up from his counting. He certainly looked exhausted, with a sunken face like a rotten pumpkin. His almond eyes were dull, as were the rest of his features, so bland that if Jason looked from a distance, it looked like all the clerk had was a mouth on his face and nothing else.
"Eh? What's that, you say?" he answered after five seconds' hesitation.
"I said that your car models are broken."
"What? How?"
Jason pointed at the shelf to further his point. "Well, they all have a wheel missing."
He had half-expected the clerk to get angry or at least frustrated. Instead the clerk laughed. "Oh, no, I'm sorry. They've been like that for a long time."
"What do you mean?" asked Jason, becoming more confused.
"I had those cars when I was a kid," explained the clerk, rubbing at his flattened nose. "It's just that some older kids always stole them from me when I showed them off, so I took one wheel each off of them so they wouldn't want to steal them."
"But you still kept them?"
"Sure! They're very old."
The work you see here has only been slightly modified for mechanics and errors since September 27th, 2004.
Comments
Post a Comment