M.K. Lee's Blog: Telling Tales, page 80
May 14, 2020
Diary Drabble: Joystick
Geoff takes the shiny new joystick out of its Amazon packaging and connects it to his C64. The red of the buttons seems violent against both the joystick itself and the pale grey of the computer keyboard, and it takes a bit of manoeuvering to get used to its grip.
Everything is set up; Geoff hits the volume on the TV its connected to and grins for the Donkey Kong music, letting it transport him back to being a teen. He takes a sip of his beer, shoves a handful of crisps in his mouth, and...
Diary Drabble: Confidence
When Theo walks into the pharmacy, all the confidence his rehearsed words had given him disappears.
Its frustrating; there is only one other member of staff in besides Fletcher. He cant make up many more ailments for fear of Fletcher thinking him actually sick.
Hed come here for an infected splinter three weeks ago, falling in love with the pharmacist for his gentle care of his thumb. Since then, Theos had a sore throat and patchy skin, all to get Fletchers attention.
I know just what you...
Diary Drabble: Post
The post goes viral on a Wednesday morning, sometime between seven and eight. Hes not sure what analytics would have to say about optimised timing, but has far bigger things to think about now.
He used to love memes. But now its his face accompanying who knows what awful version of the thing it is today, hes distinctly against them.
He clicks the bookmark for Twitter, holding his breath for whatever delights hell have to face today. 78 notifications, 14 direct messages; not so bad. He opens...
Diary Drabble: Breakfast
Seths never made anyone breakfast in bed before. Gone for an early morning McDonalds to soak up hangovers with, once or twice. Maybe started up the coffee machine for any guests to drink their fill. Not that hes had all that many guests stay over. This is different. This feels special, even if Neil has stayed over so many times before. They have been a thing for four months now, and every moment they share together just makes them closer. Seth sees it that way, anyway, and hopes Neil does...
Diary Drabble: Float
Lewis first memory of meeting Billy is a sticky coke float. Their parents had sat at neighbouring tables in the shiny new ice cream house that had just opened. And when Lewis had looked, Billys face was already covered in ice cream. Hed not tried one before, so after discreetly leaning on his mum to ask what it was, a coke float had been what hed ordered. Hed been just as sticky and messy after probably a minute, and is equally bad now, years later, replicating the thing with rum and coke.
...
Diary Drabble – Dissonance
The words werent coming easy. Was it the jarring way he ended each stanza, or the dissonance of words on every other line? Hed been writing this poem for days, retrying everything he knew and the words still not coming out right.
Iambic pentameter sounded forced and amateur, and the freeverse made him sound like a slam poet trying too hard. His attempt at a villanelle fell flat, and the only version he was happy with was a slowly forming ghazal.
Youre missing your muse, his sister said,...
Diary Drabble – Revenge
Hed planned his revenge for days, pretending that he had forgotten The Incident, when really, it was all he thought about. Maybe there was a touch of childishness about it, and there was more than a pinch of jealousy. But if he focused on getting Nathan back instead of why he felt the need to get him back, then, well. Everything would be okay. Probably.
Mark stands at the top of the stairs, waiting for Nathan, his housemate of three years, to show his date in. Hes sure he just heard the...
Diary Drabble – Ice
The world turned to ice. Once all the storms had blown themselves out, all the tsunamis had claimed half the coasts and prosperous lands became home to famine, ice seemed to be all there was left. For the first few years, those leaders who lined their pockets instead of leading their people still decried it wasnt climate change. After all, the entire globe wasnt exactly warm. But they soon were silenced, too idle to fend for themselves and too lacking in skill to have anything worth trading....
Diary Drabble – Penny
Its supposed to be lucky to find a penny. Find a penny and pick it up, or something. So Simon does just that, stops in the middle of the street like some eager magpie, bending down to retrieve his new shiny. Which is when someone steps out of the florists and bumps into him, leaving Simon sprawled out face down. A courier doesnt see him in time so rides right into his side. And when Simon tries to stand up he puts his hand straight on a shard of broken bottle glass, groaning in defeat. Im...
Diary Drabble: Condemn
Condemn, they screamed in the streets. Condemn, they muttered under their breath from the galleries in the court. Across dining tables, and from the comfort of living rooms up and down the country, condemn was the single shared thought. No one listened to alternative arguments. No one really knew what they had been accused of. The law had found them guilty, just because those laws were twisted and manipulated to make it so that didnt matter at all. They say that witchhunts are over, a product...
