dontravis.com
blog post #302
Once again, funny. “Larry and Laura” got a ton of page views…
very few comments. Go figure.
Here’s some more nonsense for this week.
*****
ZYNDI
ZUE
Prissy Pullman eyed her best
friend across the malt shop’s checkered tablecloth, disbelief clouding her eyes.
“You can’t do this!”
“Already did,” said Cynthia
Sue Breedwell, teasing her recently dyed red, orange, and blue hair through long
fingers tipped with ebony nails. “Also got a nose piercing, and put three earbobs
in each lobe yesterday. The tats will come later. By the way, call me Zyndi Zue
from now on.”
Prissy eyed her friend’s hair
critically. “Red and orange?”
“And Blue.”
“Ugh.!
“You’ll get used to it. I
already have.”
“That’s because you don’t look
in the mirror all day while I have to watch you for hours.”
Zyndi Zue regarded her through
magenta accented eyes. “You don’t have to, you know.”
Prissy’s’ gasp drew the
attention of half a dozen staring spectators. “Cynthia! I—”
“Zyndi. If you want to remain
my friend, I’m Zyndi Zue.”
Prissy pulled a frown. “Do I
have to?”
“You hafta. That’s how I’ll
tell friends from foes.”
“You don’t have any foes.”
“Not before I dyed my hair. Now
we’ll see.”
Prissy couldn’t argue with
that, so she returned to wailing. “But you’ll never get any boyfriends. Not
looking like that.”
Zyndi shrugged. “Who needs
‘em?”
“You do. I do. We all do.”
“That’s what they want us to
think. Besides, they’ll come.”
Prissy’s nose caught a sharp
odor. “Ugh, what’s that smell?”
“Brut.”
“Brut? That’s a man’s aftershave. It… it smells okay on them, but on you? Why are you doing this?”
“I’m resigning from the world
and telling it to go screw itself.”
“What do your folks think?”
“I’ll tell you when my mother stops
fainting every time she sees me.”
“What about Frank?”
Frank had been Cynthia’s
boyfriend since forever. Prissy always believed nothing could ever come between
them. But blue and red and orange hair might just do it.
Zyndi waved dismissively. “Who
cares? He’s history, anyway.”
“No! When?”
“Last week. He thought we
ought to broaden our horizons, live life a little.” Zyndi Zue framed her face
with both hands. “So I took him at his word.”
Prissy compressed her lips for
a moment before speaking. “I’m not sure he meant this.”
“Who cares what he meant. He
doesn’t fit the new me, anyway.”
Despite herself, Prissy
blurted: “Who does?”
“Maybe nobody, but who cares?”
Prissy returned to what was
important to her. “Have you thought this through, Cynthia… uh, Zyndi? There isn’t
a boy in our whole school who’ll have anything to do with a girl who walks
around lit up like a neon.”
Zyndi fluttered lashes heavy
with mascara. “This is a big town. There are other boys besides the duds in our
school.”
“But how will you meet them?”
Zyndi shrugged her as yet
untattooed shoulders. “Who knows, but it can’t be that hard.”
“I’m not sure—”
A deep masculine voice
interrupted Prissy. “Well, hellooo, mama!”
They looked up to see a
well-shaped young man with spiked pink hair and a ring in his nose. Black and
green ink snaked up his tanned arms and disappeared beneath the sleeve of his
T-shirt.
“I’ve not seen you before?” he
continued, staring at Zyndi.
“I’ve not been before,” she
countered. “Not until yesterday.”
“I’m Zhak. You need orienting?”
“Big time.”
Zhak held out a hand. Zyndi took
it, stood, and fluttered the fingers of her unencumbered hand at her friend. “See
you later.”
Prissy sat with her mouth
hanging open as the two disappeared through the malt shop door. At length, she
shook her head and blinked.
Wonder how I'd look in cherry and gold?
*****
Did
you see anyone you recognized? Your younger self, perhaps?
Don’t
forget that The Lovely Pines is now
out. Please get a copy of the book and give me feedback.
Now
my mantra: Keep on reading. Keep on
writing. You have something to say… so say it.
If
you would like to drop me a line, my personal links follow:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/donald.travis.982
Twitter:
@dontravis3
Here
are some buy links to the Lovely Pines,
which (as noted) was released on August 28:
Abaddon’s
Locusts is scheduled for release on January 22, 2019. I’m hard at work on the first draft of The Voxlightner Scandal.
See
you next week.
Don
New Posts are
published at 6:00 a.m. each Thursday.
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