Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Hosted by Denise, subject to the Rule of Six.
Previously, in our SSC&B story… where Ian realizes that, dosed with the right drug, Life could be a dream.
Prompt Word:
PERFECT
A vibration overwhelmed my brain, a sheet of static lit up my scalp, all as a soundless roar filled my ears; when it passed, the man across from me was not there.
And, I mean ‘not there’ as in: no evidence of him, (or anyone), sitting opposite me in a booth overlooking the IHOP parking lot; no coffee cup, plate of pancakes, cheap cutlery kimono’d in a paper napkin, not so much as a blue and white printed place mat.
My first thought was, ‘Man, am I high’, but, as everyone knows, if you can say that, you’re not, not really; for reasons that I’d just expressed and immediately forgot, laughter began to blossom somewhere in my chest, fortunately I was able to plea bargain it down to a giggle which, as spontaneous, albeit irrational, gaiety often does, it died of self-consciousness.
I looked out on the parking lot, the blue Chevy Bel Air wagon, my erstwhile time machine, was still where I parked it; confronting it’s reality made my head swell up and my face fall, all while fear kicked my stomach off an invisible cliff.
I struggled to remember something I thought I saw, when it came to me…. a detail about the car… the license plate!
Unlike in old detective movies, license plates are not the critical information in an investigation that they once were, that said, I felt definite relief to be thinking in terms that were part of my pre-time travel/drugged hallucination life, more importantly, I realized that deciding on whether this was perfect or pluperfect tense didn’t matter, what did matter was the single word along the top edge of the license plate and it got me to stand and say, “Check please!”
*
About clarkscottroger
When I read “perfect or pluperfect” I almost looked up the “plu-” one but figured it’s more enjoyable not knowing what it means.
Hopefully he can get away before others notice the license plate.
thanks, Frank
(good ‘get’ on the license plate, plus it gives Ian the last needed clue to the question puzzling us all: Was he really transported back in time or merely tricked into believing he had been by the use of drugs and an elaborate set up… plus! the car? I had one just like it…back in college years… a ’64 Bel Air wagon complete with the fading paint (a lot of Chevys back then had bad paint and, with time, would fade and let the orange primer coat show through on the hood and the roof)
Love it. All of it. Love pluperfect; it’s like a past participle of every bit of debris that had gone (as an example) into a blackhole. And who’d have thought to turn a kimono into a verb. Most enjoyable. Might read it again just to cheer myself up.
lol
thank you, surely the fun of ‘what-the-heck-that’d-be-interesting-to-see-in-a-sentence’ approach to seat-of-the-pants story-telling is it’s own reward (and compliments such as yours, a course)
I hope he gets him gone in right time.
I agree
When I read that first paragraph, my tinnitus kicked in! Thanks, Clark now I’ll have She-Boom’s ringing in my ears all day! Great six.
sorry, man
here, lemme help
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… Now that’s more like it!
little sil o et o
our pleasure
Love all of this one, but the best is that license plate… so pretty!
yeah… one of the few good things from our State DMV (Department of MotorVehicles)….as opposed to, say RUN DMC*
* lol
Plea bargaining laughter down to a giggle. Damn, if that’s not poetic.
Excellent recovery at the end there, by Mr. Devereaux.
The song added just the right touch of dissonance to a story exiting the other side of surreal.
ty
“Cheap cutlery kimono’d” Good God but that’s a great image. Completely, delightfully original!
your compliment made my day