Remember Fables? We’re back with another one!
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Enjoy!
Fable: Delusion (#35)
Wandering in a lonely place as the sun went down, a wolf noticed the long shadow cast by his body. ‘Fancy a big fellow like me being afraid of a lion!’ he said. ‘Why, I must be thirty yards long! I’ll make myself a king and rule all the animals, every single one of them.’ But for all his boasting, a strong lion caught him and sat down to devour him. Too late, he regretted his mistake. ‘Conceit,’ he wailed, ‘has helped to bring about my ruin.’
He was dressed in his finest suit. He got a fresh haircut this weekend. He was wearing his fathers watch—the gold one, not the leather one. He was wearing a red tie—projects confidence. He had a pocket square—also red. He looked in the mirror of the bathroom on the lobby floor.
“Todays the DAY!” he said to himself. “Get up there and tell them how much you’re worth. Tell ‘em what you do for the company.” He clapped his hands, pointing at his reflection. “Tell ‘em that if they don’t back up the brinks truck, today will be the day they lose out on working with Mark Smith.”
He left the bathroom, flinging the doors wide, walking with swagger into the elevator.
He hit the button for the executive suite.
The ride up to the thirty-second floor was agonizing.
He looked at himself in the reflection in the elevator walls. You’re worth it! He whispered to himself. You got this! Go get ‘em! Don’t take “no”!
The elevator doors opened.
“Ah, Smith, we’re glad you’re here!” his boss called. “Here, uh, lets talk right here.” He stepped into a cubicle near the elevator doors.
Mark was shocked, and entered, sitting quietly.
“Mark, I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but there’s cutbacks across the board and the intern program has been discontinued. We’ll be sorry to see you go. Here’s the special line for HR, they’re expecting your call.”
Mark was stunned silent.
(250 words )
Talk to me!
Your feedback helps to improve my writing. I would really appreciate a comment on your thoughts on this writing exercise. Consider telling me your thoughts about:
Do you hype yourself up?
Has it ever gone horribly wrong?
What is your celebration meal?
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy! Come back next week for another writing exercise!
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Thank you and God bless!
I don't like hyping myself up all that much; it just feels awkward. I tried once to do a karaoke bit of "White Christmas", and bailed after the first line out of sheer embarrassment, so, yeah. Celebration meal: pizza. Definitely. Domino's cheesy bread, ideally. Pizza Hut would be right up there, or a Red Baron pizza on holidays. Can't go wrong with that.
He just missed the mark :D