Friday Fictioneers – Reading Club

Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (thank you, Rochelle!) hosts a flash fiction challenge, to write a complete story, based on a photoprompt, with a beginning, middle and end, in 100 words or less. Post it on your blog, and include the Photoprompt and Inlinkz on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!

PHOTO PROMPT (C) TED STRUTZ

Reading Club

Every Tuesday, after school, we have reading club in the library. It’s warm and peaceful there. I like the colours of the room; they make me feel safe.

Miss Robinson reads to us. When the story gets exciting, her voice goes all squeaky and she jumps about like a kangaroo. I just try to sit quietly at the back, reading my own book.

I wish we had reading club every night.

I wish it went on longer.

I hope Dad’s not drunk tonight.

Inlinkz – click here to join the fun!

49 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – Reading Club”

    • Thank you for such a helpful and constructive comment, Neil. I’ve been reading Murakami’s short stories, and I think they’ve helped me be more precise in how I structure my stories. And also, I don’t forget that a few years ago you kindly pointed out to me the benefits of foreshadowing, which was key to enabling the cadence of this story to remain consistent.

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  5. Truth for many. A wonderful story in many ways. The last line could have also been the first.
    After school, my local library is a busy place for children through teen years.
    Local bars are also getting busy.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Bill. I’m intrigued you feel that the last line could also have been the first. In terms of the narrative in the child’s mind, you’re obviously right; the fear that Dad will be drunk colours everything, all the time. But I don’t think the narrative of the story needs to follow the timeline of the child’s thoughts. By placing the last sentence where I have, I hope to increase the impact. As Neil says, ‘the emotional register shifts abruptly’. If you think I’m wrong, I’d love to hear why – constructive criticism is very valuable and I try very hard to learn from it! Thank you!

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      • Dear Penny,
        I don’t think you are wrong at all. I agree with you and Neil. I was simply pointing out that father’s drinking and the library events are independent of each other. I was not criticizing at all. Not even suggesting. Just sharing my moment for the piece. It’s wonderful as it is.
        Just curious. Have you read my Thursday post? Kind of father daughter poem. 🙂

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    • Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Jilly. I agree; it’s good that UK children are back at school with teachers and friends. The teachers have really risen to the challenge in suiting their teaching methods to be suitable for Covid protective measures. Distance teaching via computer is a whole different ball-game, and took immense effort to implement.

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  9. Being in a safe warm places and feeling happy and entertained started off well, the turn unfortunately tells a different story of neglect and fear. I think Miss Robinson jumping around like a kangaroo would amuse most children , but our little heroine prefers the solitude at the back of the class. Telling indeed.

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    • Dear Rochelle
      Thank you for your detailed comment. I found it hard to get the child’s voice, because it needs to be simple but not too simple. Miss Robinson is a real person; it’s always easier to describe someone you know, isn’t it?
      Shalom
      Penny
      xx

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    • Thank you for your compassionate comment, Keith. The number of children whose lives are blighted by their parents is a tragedy. I feel, too, that most parents who perpetrate domestic abuse must be deeply unhappy, as well as vicious.

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  13. There are so many children that find comfort in a person who extends kindness to them.
    Miss Robinson must be a person the child can relax around. Every abused child finds a safe place for this child to fall. In this case it’s library time. Sweet and sad story, all at once.
    Have a wonderful weekend …
    Isadora 😎

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    • Thank you for such lovely comments, Na’ama. While I wasn’t abused, I certainly found books a place of security. I suspect many of us writers did! And I agree about the great power of books. They have a narrative that interacts directly with the narrative of their reader. ‘Little Women’ was a life-saver for me, enabling me to escape into a family that was almost entirely female. Despite the huge cultural differences of historical period and nationality, I felt more real in that world than in my own. Interesting, huh?

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      • The power of stories has made humanity what it is. For good and less so, perhaps (when the stories are used for wrong) but mostly for good. And books enable an especially valuable way to transport us and widen our experience beyond our immediate. I know that reading was a life-saver for me, and for many I know. It is still one of my deepest pleasures. Nothing quite like diving into a really good book. 🙂

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  16. You paint the picture of this child’s life so well. Sad that this is a true situation for so many. I also enjoyed your exchange of comments regarding foreshadowing and cadence, and I like how you’ve prepared the reader for the shock ending by having the child distance herself protectively even though she registers the fun and pleasure going on around her. Very good.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments, Margaret. I’m particularly grateful for your comment about having the child distance herself. I’m working to make the structure of my stories more precise, so your remark encourages me.

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