“Mindyyyyy!” Sindy yelled. “There’s a … giant shark! … in my bedroom!”
“Well of course,” Mindy said, walking in. “That’s Meg.” (More)
Midday Matinee is our people watching, people doing and people being feature. Join the Woodland Creatures for an afternoon break.
Welcome back to Tuesday’s Tale, a weekly feature where we collaborate to write a story. Previous Tuesday’s Tales include Squatching It and Minnie-Winterization. We follow the basic rules of the “Yes, And” improvisational game – accept everything written so far as part of the story, and add your own paragraph (or so) where the last addition left off – except you needn’t begin your addition with “Yes, and.” I’ll start the story….
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“Meg?” Sindy said.
“Short for Megalodon,” the shark said quietly. “I’d offer to shake hands but my fin is in the next room.”
“You … talk?” Sindy asked.
“Of course she does,” Mindy said, helping her sister unpack her suitcases. “She’s had like a million years to learn. You kinda expect she’d pick up a few things.”
“Closer to two million,” Meg said. “But that’s not much difference in human terms.”
“Wait a minute,” Sindy said. “You’re a ghost? Shouldn’t you be in … I dunno … the water?”
“Yes, and yes,” Meg replied. “But this used to be an ocean. Then those tectonic plates moved … and now I live at your sister’s house.”
Sindy looked at the translucent shark, trying to find a reason to remain skeptical despite the obvious facts in front of her. “So do you, you know, eat people? Like in the movies?”
“Not on my diet,” Meg said. “You hadn’t evolved yet then. I eat fish.”
“That’s why I bought the fancy poles and stuff,” Mindy added.
“I wondered,” Sindy replied.
Mindy had never been interested in fishing when they were children, but now spent every weekend out on the lake. She even wrote a local fishing blog.
“Speaking of,” Meg said, looking at Mindy. “I’m kind of hungry. I missed lunch while you were picking her up at the airport.”
Sindy looked out the window at her sister’s 15-footer. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Meg sighed. “I really, really hate that line.”
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Have fun.
October 23, 2012 at 2:31 pm
“I can make myself smaller,” Meg said smugly. “I’m a ghost after all. And did you know, there’s a book named after me? Well, a not very nice Megalodon, actually, but they used my name.”
“Nobody’s ever named a book after me,” Sindy sighed.
“You need bigger teeth,” Meg explained sagely, then flashed her own gigantic ones.
“But how are you going to eat fish when you’re a ghost?”
“Ghost fish,” Meg said. “Of course.”
October 23, 2012 at 2:46 pm
“Okay, I’m confused,” Sindy said. “How do we catch ghost fish?”
“The same way the Ghost Hunters catch human ghosts in old buildings,” Mindy explained. “I have lots of special gear. Electromagnetic field gauges. Night cameras. The whole kit and caboodle.”
“I’ve never had a caboodle,” Sindy said.
“Actually you probably have,” Meg replied. “It’s an old word for a group or collection, usually of people.”
“Huh,” Sindy said. “Learn something new every day.”
“I try to,” Meg said, grinning.
“You know,” Sindy said, “It’s really disconcerting when you grin.”
October 23, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Sindy called to her sister, “Mindy, can you come back in here for a minute? I have a few questions.”
“Sure,” hollered Mindy from downstairs. “Do you want a diet soda?”
Sindy thought about it and yelled back, “I think I need a stiff drink.”
Mindy came in with a diet root beer. “Alcohol will not help this at all. You just need to think outside the box.”
Sindy rolled her eyes, “Thinking outside the box is almost as bad as ‘we need a bigger boat’. What is this cliche island?”
October 23, 2012 at 4:03 pm
“Well, we don’t live on an island,” Mindy said. “Unless you count an entire continent as an island.”
“The entire planet is an island,” Meg called from the guest room. “Galactically speaking.”
“Does she always listen to everything?” Sindy asked.
“Mostly,” Mindy said. “I’ve finally convinced her to butt out when Darlene and I are … you know….”
“Making love,” Meg called.
“I knew what she meant, Meg,” Sindy called back. “Oh dear. I’m talking to a giant prehistoric ghost shark. By name.”