A telephone rings in a three-story walkup somewhere in Chicago…
‘Cook County Jail’… what the hell??? “Hello?”
“Cheryl, I need your help.”
‘Cook County Jail’… what the hell??? “Hello?”
“Cheryl, I need your help.”
Front Desk at the Cook County Jail…
“Hi, I’m here to bail Ethel out.”
“Hi, I’m here to bail Ethel out.”
Corner booth at the Blue Line Lounge & Grill…
Cheryl had taken her friend to Damen and North Streets under the El, a new restaurant they had been wanting to try. Cheryl could tell Ethel was upset, she had been silent on the way, most unlike Ethel. As curious as she was, she would bite her tongue and wait for her friend to explain why she had to ruin a perfectly good evening of watching Survivor. Ethel knew it was her favorite show, why couldn’t she get arrested on a different day.
Cheryl had taken her friend to Damen and North Streets under the El, a new restaurant they had been wanting to try. Cheryl could tell Ethel was upset, she had been silent on the way, most unlike Ethel. As curious as she was, she would bite her tongue and wait for her friend to explain why she had to ruin a perfectly good evening of watching Survivor. Ethel knew it was her favorite show, why couldn’t she get arrested on a different day.
“We haven’t been here since it was the Busy Bee. Remember the pierogis Sophie made?”
“Boy, it’s changed. Just like all of Wicker Park. Yuppiefied! I guess you are wondering…?”
“Of course I’m ‘wondering’ Ethel! What the hell did you do? They said you beat up an old man at Walmart.”
“Oh for crying out loud, I didn’t hurt him. Just a little slap and he makes such a big deal.”
“The blue vest you’re wearing wouldn’t have anything to do with why you were there?”
“I guess I won’t need it anymore. I should have told you, Cheryl, but I thought you’d laugh at me.”
“So this is why you’ve been so busy, nothing to do with your sister I’m thinking? The one you don’t like, remember? Start at the beginning, I’m dying to know.”
“At the time, it seemed like a brilliant idea. I wanted to earn some extra money, so I went looking thru the want ads in the Reader, circling jobs I thought I would like. Then I saw the perfect one, you know how good I am with people, I could work as a greeter! Well, of course they loved me, the manager wanted me to start at once.”
“Get to the old man, Ethel.”
“I’d been there two days. Most of the people were nice, but some I could do without. I was having fun, helping people by giving directions to the different parts of the store. I was greeting a woman when I got poked in the back. A little old man, who I had directed to sporting goods, was furious because he could not find sporting goods and he called me a ‘bitch’. So I slapped him! End of story.”
“End of story? What about Cook County?”
“Oh. Well he got all uppity, found a cop and pressed charges. The store had to go along with it, as employees aren’t allowed to hit the customers. It’s in the handbook they said.”
“Boy, it’s changed. Just like all of Wicker Park. Yuppiefied! I guess you are wondering…?”
“Of course I’m ‘wondering’ Ethel! What the hell did you do? They said you beat up an old man at Walmart.”
“Oh for crying out loud, I didn’t hurt him. Just a little slap and he makes such a big deal.”
“The blue vest you’re wearing wouldn’t have anything to do with why you were there?”
“I guess I won’t need it anymore. I should have told you, Cheryl, but I thought you’d laugh at me.”
“So this is why you’ve been so busy, nothing to do with your sister I’m thinking? The one you don’t like, remember? Start at the beginning, I’m dying to know.”
“At the time, it seemed like a brilliant idea. I wanted to earn some extra money, so I went looking thru the want ads in the Reader, circling jobs I thought I would like. Then I saw the perfect one, you know how good I am with people, I could work as a greeter! Well, of course they loved me, the manager wanted me to start at once.”
“Get to the old man, Ethel.”
“I’d been there two days. Most of the people were nice, but some I could do without. I was having fun, helping people by giving directions to the different parts of the store. I was greeting a woman when I got poked in the back. A little old man, who I had directed to sporting goods, was furious because he could not find sporting goods and he called me a ‘bitch’. So I slapped him! End of story.”
“End of story? What about Cook County?”
“Oh. Well he got all uppity, found a cop and pressed charges. The store had to go along with it, as employees aren’t allowed to hit the customers. It’s in the handbook they said.”
Walmart Superstore ~ North and Cicero…
“Hi,Welcome to Walmart!”
“Hi. I’m here to return Ethel’s vest. Remember Her?”
“Hi,Welcome to Walmart!”
“Hi. I’m here to return Ethel’s vest. Remember Her?”
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This is my response to The Speakeasy #135 prompt… This week’s sentence prompt, provided by last week’s winner Janna, can be used ANYWHERE in your piece. And our media prompt this week is a song, which you will find below. As with all our media prompts, your post shouldn’t be about the song, but you must make some sort of reference to it in your submission. The song is by Sarah McLachlan ‘I Will Remember You’; and the sentence by Janna is “At the time, it seemed like a brilliant idea.”
I’d read stories from Speakeasy prompts by some writers I like. I thought I’d give it a try. Here is where to find The Speakeasy!
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