Advil was sure everyone thought she was strange searching every inch of the floor with a magnifying glass. She doubled checked her watch, yes it was the right time and date. The eye strain was giving her a headache, popping a few pills, she downed them with some water. Holding the water bottle to her forehead to cool herself down she spotted something. Passing the water bottle to her assistant Tom she grabbed the magnifying glass and had a closer look.
It was a little red spot. Maybe the prophecies were true? Maybe her research wasn't for nothing?
”This is it Tom!” She swapped the magnifying glass for a pick axe. Tom backed away. Widening her stance she took a swing at the red spot, smashing a few tiles with the first blow.
Everyone turned around and stared.
Advil swung again, some of the tile came away and the red spot grew bigger.
A security guard approached.
“Keep him back Tom!”
Tom pulled out a badge. “Halt! This is a vital FBI mission, stay back.”
“Pull the other one pal, I saw you rock up in a rust bucket, you're just a bunch of crazy kooks,” replied the security guard hotly.
“So says the rent-a-cop.”
“Why you!”
But the confrontation was cut off by gasps. The red and smelly stuff was gushing from the hole. People screamed and ran away. Advil was covered head to toe with the stuff.
“What is it?” asked a finely dressed old man.
Advil laughed. “The red one, he is coming!”
“You're wrong, I'm already here.”
The old man snapped his fingers. The gooey red stuff burst into flames.
There was a loud bang. “No dreaming in class!”
Advil sat up to attention and wiped the drool from her mouth. She had to stop watching those late night horror movies.
** My fantasy novel Zoolin Vale is currently free for Kindle (weekend only) US http://amzn.to/goblinff UK http://amzn.to/goblinff
I fell asleep in class one time and startled myself awake - embarrassing! Perhaps Advil will become a writer one day...
ReplyDeleteI've had worse daydreams. I'm most amused that someone named "Advil" pops pills in her fantasies.
ReplyDelete@Li Good point, I think she has the imagination for it.
ReplyDelete@John I imagine many of those have being used in your fiction? I was wondering if your eagle eye would catch that :).
Oh no, what if her sister Brandy starts dreaming about drinking in class? Or her other sister Mary Jane dreams about smoking weed? Or -- well, sometimes I do go on and on. And my students fall asleep....
ReplyDeleteI must admit, having a hero named Advil made me see this whole piece in a strange light, especially when she held the glass of water to her forehead. I wondered, "is she going to swallow herself?". I wish my in-class dreaming had been as vivid.
ReplyDeleteVivid description held my interest but it wasn't enough to justify the 'and she woke up and it was all a dream' ending, I'm afraid.
ReplyDelete@Tim Haha some good ideas for more flashes there. Mary Jane is a new one to me.
ReplyDelete@Tony that might have been a more realistic dream, a girl cursed by her name. Me too!
@Louise thanks! I was wondering about that, maybe I should leave it off entirely? Because I know what you mean, when something ends with "it was all a dream", I always feel a little cheated.
Found my here Craig after all (your twitter link didn't work for me).
ReplyDeleteVery enjoyable flash. Is the smartly dressed man the teacher?
The structure of the dialogue threw me a bit: "The security guard. '....'". This would read better i think in the more conventional way with a verb, ie. The security guard shouted, "....".
I like Advil's imagination, I think she should become a writer.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'd have liked to had Advil's imagination… but I suppose it would be a headache at times. :)
ReplyDeleteThe "it was a dream" thing didn't put me off at all, to me it just made the situation that much funnier!
This was a little strange - at first it seemed to be fantasy, but the introduction of the FBI threw me a bit. The ending seemed to come around too quickly - perhaps let us know if she was talking out loud while dreaming?
ReplyDeleteI fell asleep in 75% of my end of school exams but I have no idea what I dreamt about or where I wanted to be, but this would've been fun!
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a daydream. Mine are always gone in a neck-snapping head-nod.
ReplyDeleteThis new system replaces some agencies while redrawing the jurisdictions of existing authorities like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve. In particular, the Fed's role in averting future crises is greatly expanded, a decision that is in keeping with the recent sea change in America's monetary policy.
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