Friday Flash Fiction - week 30

The Wrong Man

The sound of ‘Jingle Bells’ made Joyce cringe for reasons that she could never explain to anyone. People not knowing made it more bearable some years and utterly unbearable others. She hadn’t realised falling for the wrong man all that time ago would taint the rest of her life. 

At sixteen Joyce had been a different person, with a different name. Her hair had been blond, her eyes blue and she had dressed like many other teenagers in the city: in short cut-off denims, strappy tops and flip flops. 

Just before she was supposed to take her end of year exams she spotted an unfamiliar man outside the school gates. His tall, slim frame was leaning casually on his Harley Davidson. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled slowly, blowing smoke rings into the hot air. His dark hair was gelled back and his eyes hidden behind Ray Ban sunglasses. She flicked back her hair and strutted past. 

“Hey you!” he called. 

“Me?” she answered, cocking her head to one side. 

“Yeah, you.” He sauntered over and leaned in. “You look kinda hot.” 

She giggled. “Kinda?” and smiled. 

“Wanna ride?” 

“Sure.” 

Eduardo had his own apartment which he shared with his cousin, Franco. It was covered in take-away pizza and Chinese noodle boxes, but she didn’t care. He led her to his bedroom and kicked the door shut. He slowly undressed her, kissing every inch of her body until she felt suspended mid-air. He bit her nipples gently and entered into her so easily she felt they must belong together. 

She never took her exams. Within six weeks she’d left school, moved in and spent her days in bed with him and her nights clubbing, drinking, getting high. She sold to anyone who was willing and a few who weren’t. Together they made a great team. 

On a December evening almost 20 years ago, she sold cocaine to an undercover police officer who cut her a deal: supply Eduardo and his cousin Franco and they’d only give her community service. She set them up in return for a new identity in a new town in a new state. 

At Christmas time she missed him most. 

Laura Besley

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Flash Fiction diary

This week's story was written in a shopping mall surrounded by Christmas decorations. This is my last entry for 2012 as I'm taking a break from writing over Christmas and New Year. I'll be back in January! 

This week saw the fourth installment of Flash Fortnightly on the Artipeeps website. Click here for 'Unfair Proposal', inspired by a true story. 




A couple of weeks ago I set up a facebook author page and I've already had loads of 'likes'. If you haven't yet, I'd be very grateful if you could 'like' the page! Click here for Laura Besley Writer. 

I've also stepped, rather gingerly, into the 21st century and have set up a twitter account! If you'd like to follow me, I can be found bumbling my way through this technology @laurabesley 
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Flash Fiction is short enough to read whilst you're waiting for the kettle to boil. It's fairly quick to write too, but with it being so short, every word has to count. 

On 4th May 2012 I decided to embark on a project: to write a piece of Flash Fiction every day. I'm hoping this will keep the creative juices flowing and ultimately help me hone my craft. Every Friday I'll be posting 'the best of the week' onto my blog for you to read. If you have anything to say (good or 'constructive'!), I'm open to comments.  

Thanks, as always, for reading.