I wrote this over lunch but it only has 1622 words.
“2K words, that won’t be that hard!” George adjusted the phone on his shoulder.
“Alright then, you do the typing and I will help with the story and the characters!” frank replied.
“Sure, just let me bring up a new file! I will do this in word and we can change the format later!”
“Sounds good to me. How about we make this about two guys on the phone?” Frank started to smile knowing that George could not see him.
“What are we making this story about?” Frank starting typing the heading and for now left out the title.
“Two guys talking on the phone about what the next story will be!” George furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the phone on his desk.
“You have got to be kidding me!” George was now ready to turn off the computer and hang up on Frank.
“No, I am not kidding. They could be discussing the plot or maybe the characters of some new Sci-fi they are working on. It could be a discussion about how to format the plot or even what events they want to put into the story.” Frank waited for a reply and hoped that George would not hang up on him.
“We can handle the whole thing anyway we want. It just has to be a discussion that covers how they come up with the plot and the characters, alright?” Frank was still worried that George would hang up.
“Fine, but I am going to put one of them in an old pickup with an eight-track that keeps eating his tapes and a radio that is stuck on public broadcasting and unable to change channels!” The silence from the other end told him that frank was possibly shaking his head at the whole idea.
“Alright, then the one on the other end is stuck in an office with an open window that won’t close and the pigeons keep flying in and dumping in his coffee!” George started to laugh and turned to look at the pigeons on the ledge outside his window.
“Alright so we have these two guys on the phone. Now what?” George picked up a pen and made a note on his memo tablet to put some tabasco in franks coffee if he ever actually comes in to the office.
“So they are talking about this great new idea for a Sci-fi story.” Frank paused to turn into the drive through for a Capachino. He was thankful for the guy who invented the blue tooth.
“What is this story about?” George knew that Frank was a wiz when it came to the ideas for stories.
“One Capachino Mocha,please!” Frank had forgotten to mute the headset.
“Where the heck are you? And are you getting one for me?” George was getting annoyed.
“Oh, sorry and no I am on the other side of the bay, would take me all day just to get there.”
“Well get you drink and call me back then!” George was about to hang up.
“No wait, I have to tell you while it is still in my head!” Frank almost dropped his drink.
“Fine, so what is this Sci-fi about?” He tapped the keyboard which had gone to sleep while he was waiting.
“It takes place on this space transport headed for the mining colony on some remote moon.”
George nodded and made a note on his tablet again.
“What is the main plot?” He waited to see if Frank had a good idea for that one.
“Well, the pilot, a young and handsome fellow is flying his first solo mission. About half way through the voyage the engines quite working and he cannot find the trouble.” Frank paused to take a drink.
“That sounds rather boring to me!” George knew that this would get Frank going again.
“The problem is that a rescue ship is two days away. The Cargo however is love androids for the minors and they are set to auto activate on a timer. But the Androids will activate 20 hours before a rescue can get to him!” George starting laughing.
“So you mean the entire story has only one character?” He was still smiling.
“Well, one character and 2000 sex crazed androids!” Frank another swig of the coffee as turned left at the intersection.
“So what is this poor doomed fellow’s name?” George made another note on the tablet.
“I though it should be something adventurous and exciting!” Frank tried to think of a name.
“So now we know something about the main character, he is wide eyed and naïve!” George smiled at the thought.
“Yea, I suppose he is at that!” Frank signaled to turn right.
“So how do you plan on working this story, first person or narrative?” Frank thought for a moment.
“Well I was thinking it would be conversation between him and the captain of the rescue ship.”
“That sounds like it has possibilities.” George made another note and then looked at the time.
“Yes, at first it would be just your usual, it broke come get me, sort of thing. But once the captain of the rescue ship asks him for the manifest and the two realize what is about to happen it gets interesting.”
“Not bad, they could build the tension as the clock ticked down.” George made yet another note and then opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a package of chocolate donuts.
“So how does he get rescued?” George opened the package and ate one of the small donuts.
“What? It doesn’t matter. The story is about the two guys on the phone, remember?”
Frank pulled into a parking space in front of the lawn and garden shop.
“What? Forget the two guys on the phone! How does the pilot get saved?” George sat up and had a strange feeling about this story.
“I never said he gets saved! Besides, it is supposed to be about the guys talking about how to write the story, not the story they were writing.” Frank looked at the flowers in the flier that his wife had sent him to pick up. He noted that they did not look nearly as good as the ones in the flier.
“No way, man! Now we have to write that story! I have to know how it ends.” George grabbed his coffee cup and went to the break room. His headset didn’t like to work very well that far from his phone so he pretended that Frank must be a bad coverage area.
“I can’t hear you very well! You must be a bad coverage area!” Frank started to snicker.
“George, get your coffee and then get back to your office!” Frank had been through this before with George.
George took ahold of the pot and his nose was assaulted by the smell of half burnt coffee that had been there most of the morning. He noted that it seemed a little thinker than it should be.
He then grumbled to himself all the way back to his office.
“You really should get your own coffee pot for your office!” Frank shook his head and the sales person thought he was disgusted with the flowers.
“If you don’t like it sir, don’t buy it!”
“No, I think it is a good idea but I want more of the story.” George has heard the sales clerk and thought that Frank was talking.
“What? More of the story?” Frank looked at the clerk and pointed at his headset.
The clerk shrugged and nodded but did not speak. He then rang up the flowers and let Frank run his card through the card reader. The receipt then scrolled out and Frank grabbed it and headed back for the car.
“You still there?” George sat down at his computer and hit the space bar to wake the darn thing up again.
“Yes, I am still here. So where were we? Oh yes, the two guys talking on the phone.” Frank smiled.
“No way, the young pilot was about to be set upon by 2000 sex crazed robots!”
“Oh, that.” Frank picked up his now cold coffee and took a swig and almost choked.
“Why is this stuff so awful when it gets cold?” He looked around for a garbage can.
“What?” George was almost lost at this point.
“I want to know how he gets away from the SEX Droids!” George was getting a little loud and now attracting the attention of the people in the cubicals outside of his office.
“What does that have to do with the guys on the phone?” Frank knew that he could string George along for a bit. This was starting to be fun for Frank.
“Gad dang it Frank, what the heck did you get me involved in this story for?” George was reaching for the end call button on his phone.
“Alright, alright, I was thinking he would use a space suit and go outside of the ship, but androids don’t need suits for that so they would just follow him. Then it occurred to me to keep the tension up to the last second and then just as they got through the door to the flight deck he makes a dash for the escape pod.” Frank took a deep breath, realizing that the original story was now out the window and George would want the Sci-fi instead.
“But, does he make it?” George sat back down and made another note.
“I have no idea! It was supposed to be an open ended story.” Frank pulled out on to the main road and headed back home knowing that his wife will not like the flowers after all.
SM 8-3-2015