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Snippets from 100for100: Week Six

I think I have flunked the challenge.
I had 2 weeks where I only wrote 5 days in each...instead of 6 days.
But I'm going to keep going because that is what you do when you fail at something you really want to do.  You try again.
So here are my snippets from Week Six of the 100 for 100 Challenge:

The large group worried me. The two adults had their hands full of excited youngsters, and there was one little boy in particular who seemed to have a destructive inclination.  I winced several times as he narrowly avoided crashing into the exhibits.
He had come too close to disaster several times…he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.  And then it happened.  He pulled one of the small models down from a shelf and, to my horror, threw it across the room.  The head and body of the little figure separated, sliding across the floor and coming to rest somewhere near the T-Rex.  My eyes flew anxiously to the serious guard.  What would he do?

As I watched, his hand opened, turning palm-up like a cup, while no other muscle in his still form moved.  The woman stepped closer, shoving her fist into his hand.  His hand closed over hers and rolled away.  A flash of green appeared between their hands as she pulled her hand away and then it disappeared as the guard clasped his hands behind his back. 

 A drawling Italian voice answered the phone.  “Bert’s Pizza – can I take your order?”

Under his breath he mumbled, “Carter’s gonna pay for this,” then, louder, he asked, “Where are you?”

“Don’t you turn your nose up at me, Leila,” the man said.  “If you make one wrong move, I’ll shut you down permanently.  You’ll have to find a job in a fast food chain…as a burger.”

“I want that girl even if you have to kill him to get her.  GO!”



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