[Write the Story] Tension in Suburbia
Prompt: Tension in Suburbia
Words: muffled, medical, orchid, par, reign, animal, church, shirt, snatch, grin
Story
“Do you know who to call if there’s an emergency?” Sheila asked as she deadheaded an orchid and rotated the posts under the grow lights.
A muffled snort from the formless blob of teenager in the corner could’ve been a response, but that would’ve meant Sheila’s voice getting past the music blaring through headphones. Par for the course.
Sheila moved on to the other plants in her makeshift greenhouse. She kept the flowers close to the interior walls. The other plats thriving in the Three Season glassed in sun room were containers of food plants and the tithe plants for the current mob reign. Her sleep middle-class neighborhood now provided a significant percentage of medical-grade marijuana now part of the block’s “peace tax”.
Sheila harvested the now mature plants, wiping her hands on her shirt before taking the bundle to her car. She tossed a pre-packaged meal at the teenager blob. A hand snatched the packet and returned a grin and nod to Sheila.
She couldn’t wait for school to start again when the sloven teen animal emerged as her functional teenager once more, interacting with words once more.
“All right. I’ll be back.”
Sheila drove carefully through the oppressively quiet street, past the church, and to the park. She felt the eyes on her as she passed. She knew she was watched as she left the “offering”. She held her breath until she was back in her garage. They were “safe” for another growing season.
Word Count: 246
Written: 7/11/17