Flash Fiction written by Stefanie Gilmour
Writing Prompt
The three words given were: lugubrious, Apple watch, and doughnut. Story must be 440 words or less.
Story
The queue at the counter was long. It was so long, the last customer was standing uncomfortably close to Emily’s table. She looked up, convinced the guy was stealing glances at her computer screen. He was engrossed with his watch. Mr. Apple Watch was probably a student whose parents paid his rent and funded his education to ensure he wouldn’t miss out on new tech gadgets.
“How’s your doughnut?”
Emily looked from the watch to the guy who wore it. Her face flushed. She scowled at him, retorting “How’s YOUR doughnut?” She returned her gaze to her screen as the heat in her face crept to her ears. Smooth. Fierce.
There wasn’t an answer, just a sunny “Can I help who’s next?” from the front counter. Emily was here often enough to have witnessed comically ridiculous customer demands. She couldn’t believe how the staff remained courteous instead of smashing a pastry into someone’s face. People could be jerks.
Emily picked up her doughnut and took a second bite. She stopped chewing, and frowned at the donut. She pulled it apart into halves. “What the…?” There was no custard filling. Everything else seemed to disappear. She’d ordered a Canadian Maple and there was no custard filling.
All at once, the stress from the past week crashed back. A roaring noise sounded in her ears. Before any rational thought stopped her, she leapt to her feet. With a quick lift of her hands, she flipped her table. Her laptop and coffee flew. Someone gave a startled scream. As the table inverted, the heavy base nailed Emily square in the shin. “Son of a…!” Her words were drowned out by the cacophony of tipped chairs crashing to the floor.
The hustle and bustle of the shop screeched to a halt. Holding her stinging shin, Emily gave a panicked look around the room. Everyone was staring. A child began to cry.
“There was no custard filling,” she offered. Then the anger returned and she shouted, “All I wanted was a Canadian Maple Glaze doughnut, and it didn’t have custard filling!”
Emily saw an older woman in an apron and visor approaching her. It was an employee from the front counter. The woman gave a kind smile. “It’s okay, sweetie.” All the anger drained out of Emily. She offered the smashed remains of the donut to the older woman. The employee took the pastry and placed her other hand on Emily’s shoulder. “No need to look so lugubrious. We’ve all had those days, don’t you know. Now let’s head up to the counter and get you a donut.”
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