Hey friends,

Welcome to the next installment of Writing Prompts &, a series where I share a writing prompt with you from one of the many writing classes/groups I’ve attended and the zero draft it inspired me to write.

The Prompt: “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

This is what I wrote.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

But I did. I always had to tell her twice.

I just looked at her, rolled my eyes, and continued cleaning the gun. This needed to go smoothly.

She winked at me and went back to cleaning her gun. God she was so fucking stupid. I should just shoot her like that guy shot the slow guy in Of Mice and Men. Leave that slobbering goon of dead weight behind.

But then my mind goes to us being ten years old, holding hands at the zoo while her mother and step-father trailed behind. Twins. The orphan whose mother died and needed a home. Child’s laughter and screams of delight bubble up from my memory and my heart softens.

Keep your eye on the prize.

I finish cleaning my gun and start to lay out the masks. “You need to be ready by noon.”

“I know.” She smiles as she finishes her job.

We drive down the highway an hour or so later. The sound of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” pounding the speakers as we try to drown out our anxiety.

We pull into the deserted parking lot. I think of all the things this would fix. Four years worth of student loans. Ten years worth of credit card debt. All of my panic attacks.

I turn to her and ask, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

We pull down our masks, put our guns out of sight, and walk into the bank.

A Brief Note

I wrote this one in the span of 10 minutes while in a writing group with my friends from school in May of 2018. My boss created a writing group for teachers called, Write Club. I loved our writing time together.

If you have never been a part of a writing club or group, or if you have yet to take a writing course, I urge you to do it! Not only do you gain new skills and generate new stories, but you meet new friends.

Writing can be such a solitary undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be. Stop Writing Alone, the LA Writers Group, and Writing Away Refuge are just a few affordable options for sparking or feeding the flames of your writer life.

That’s it for now friends. This week, I wish you good stories and an easy pen.