In this series, I will take the Word of the Day from Dictionary.com and craft a short piece of creative writing around it. My goal is to embrace the meaning of the word in some unique way, all the while trying out different styles, rhythms and characterizations. It is as much an exercise in creativity as it is an exploration of grammar. Enjoy!
– – –
By Alex Seise
This time, the capriccio was on him.
As Tommy Evans pulled the dental floss tight across the bottom of his sister’s doorway, waiting patiently for her to emerge from her slumber, the string snapped suddenly and sent him rolling backwards.
He landed on the cat’s tail, sending Whiskers into a yowling frenzy of claws and spit. Rolling fast to evade the feline’s wrath, Tommy bumped directly into the hall table and sent vibrations up its tall, wobbly legs.
The swaying motion sent a decorative bowl of glass marbles careening off the edge, smashing and spilling its contents on the wood floor. Marbles rolled in a million directions, loudly crashing into doors and molding alike. Hearing the commotion, Tommy’s father opened the bathroom door, took one step outside and slipped on a tiny ball that had come to rest near the room’s entrance.
Unfortunately for Tommy, his father was holding an open bottle of aftershave as he stepped outside. The vial slipped from his hands as he grabbed the doorframe to steady himself, nearly falling in the process. But the strongly scented liquid was not as lucky. The bottle fell square on Tommy’s chest, the wide opening aimed toward his neck, and bled its contents all over the boy’s face, neck and chest. He was covered in it.
After a strongly worded scolding from his parents, he was sent to school still reeking of cologne. It would become the April Fool’s Day that Tommy Evans got his new nickname: Skunk.
