Here is another of those two-sentence stories with poetry added. I’m thinking of them as “Minuscule” and quick to read.
Read the first Minuscule, the explanation of why I wrote it and got started on this idea, and search under the category Fiction/Poetry Combination for others in the series.
Crossroads
“There is no sign of clear skies clouding up and bringing rain after the drought, if you want to put things in a poetic kind of way, and if you don’t, well, let’s just say my luck is bad and I’ve lost my patience with it,” Meggie said to the bank teller (name tag announcing Hi! I’m AMELIA), who at first looked confused and then comprehending.
“Oh, a robbery,” Amelia said, “right, I get that, and if you want I’ll just hand over the money, we’re insured, so it’s no skin off my back, though I’ll warn you that banking isn’t what it used to be and the amount of cash in my drawer is borderline useless…but…you know what, we’ve got an opening in this office and” – she leaned forward, lowering her voice – “the opportunities from the inside are much better, if you get what I mean, so listen, talk to that lady over there” – she flicked her eyes – “and I’ll say you’re a friend…” holding her foot over the silent alarm in the floor as Meggie’s head swiveled away from her.
Double double cross
Where will the money end up?
First rule: stay focused.
(Haiku 384)
2/15/18
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
I see a secret life in your stars 🙂
Well, I hope it is exciting and not too dangerous, just enough, if you know what I mean!
Like bank robbery, I suppose 🙂
Embezzlement was more in my neck of the woods, or catching people just being incompetent with money, not just customers, employees too. I had a nose for numbers back then and a total willingness to ask almost any question!
Your skills ought to be much in demand, but I have a feeling the really big embezzlers (the big companies) are allowed to get away with it because they do so much for the economy.
Corruption exists at all levels. That is what I have learned over my adult life. Keep your eyes open and be honest yourself. That’s what I try to do.
Good advice. Putting one over on someone else seems to be a point of honour. It shows you’re nobody’s fool.
Yes. I have never understood this. I just want to get along and do my own thing, I don’t really care what others are doing.
It happens when you feel insecure, that everyone is out to get you. Attack being the best form of defence etc. There’s the pride in getting a bargain too, and some people can’t distinguish between getting a bargain and robbery.
This is why I try to keep to myself, more and more. I’m just tired of it.
I know how you feel. I’m the same. If I could fit inside a rabbit hole, that’s where I’d be.
Wonderful! I love that such a fraught, intense moment is so polite and, of course, it’s a neat ending that still the alarm gets triggered.
Thank you. My years of being a banker’s daughter and then working in a bank myself (though never as a teller, always as a lender, but – you pick up what goes on in the branch, oh yes!). And maybe this teller is not going to press the alarm, but get an accomplice instead? Inside jobs were not common, but if someone was inclined to steal, it was from the inside; robbery is not the answer, but “adjusting” the various money situations you might find yourself in…!
lovely read…Amelia is one smart cooky.
That Amelia, she should be running the branch, I think.
haha, Yes!
Enjoyed this immensely…great dialogue /thought filled sentences!
Thank you, I had so many ideas to fit into my self-imposed two sentence parameters, and I certainly admit to creative stretching, but I think it has made me learn a lot about how to write and get a lot said with a little. I’m enjoying these Minuscules a lot.
I like the form and the creative stretching. I’ve seen one-line stories and I think two-liners give you more scope…while still being short.
Yes, I have wondered sometimes if I should go to three lines, but I’m sticking with two (and using the very helpful : ; — punctuation. it gives enough creative room but you still have to work to say things economically which I think is good.
Enjoyable post all round, Claudia.
Thank you. In a past life I worked in a bank (though not as a teller) and several things over the last year have had me thinking about that section of my life.
I was a bank teller for 2 summers. I was just talking with someone the other day about how people would come in for a small transaction of some sort really just to talk to someone. The cash machine just doesn’t give the same satisfaction. All of a piece with our (dis)connected world. (K)
Yes. My father was a bank branch manager and worked a pretty large office, with I guess 12 or so tellers, and the place was packed on payday at the local factory, not to mention something always going on even on placid weekdays. There is nothing like it anymore. And my father’s old branch is now a banquet hall. Sigh…
We are all so impatient…no time to just connect with small talk. You can’t pay attention if you’re in a hurry.
[…] to be busy and choppy-scheduled. I grabbed a little time late in the afternoon to work on some more Minuscule […]
This was fun!!
Thank you!
[…] Today’s story is”Crossroads”. Read it here. […]