As a new feature, every week, I’m going to use a random word generator. It might be OneWord, it might be something else. I will put 15 minutes on my timer in my Write or Die desktop edition and I will write something for 15 minutes or until I feel like the piece is done. (I’m sure 15 minutes will be over before I feel like the piece is done!) Then, I’ll post the writing here for you to enjoy!
So, here comes the first ever Wordy Wednesday entry….
Today’s Wednesday Word is: Derived. Resource Used: OneWord
Writing Piece – Unedited, 15 minutes of straight writing using Write or Die Desktop version
Derived
The fact that Paul was a prick was derived from the fact that he had never spoken a genuinely nice word to anyone in his entire life. We all despised him and wished him dead. Imagine our surprise when he made our day and ended up dead.
It was a Friday and we all got to work at our regular times, somewhere close to 8 in the morning. Some before 8, some (that would be me) slightly after 8. Paul never showed up before 9. He would waltz in, sloshing coffee from his alcohol-smelling take-out coffee cup and yelling ‘Good Morning!’ to anyone who would listen. He didn’t really mean it and we all knew that. He just wanted to appear like a good manager, even though he was anything but.
That Friday, we all got settled in to our desks, checking emails, chatting with one another about the shows we watched on TV or who called who for dates. It seemed everyone dated everyone in that damned office. Well, I never dated where I worked, so I always said no when co-workers asked me out. Especially managers. They were never the smart choice for dating in the workplace. It never ended well and when it inevitably went south, you were the one who lost your job, not them.
So it was nearing 9 o’clock and we were expecting Paul any moment. The office got noticeably quieter as workers hunkered down with their nose to the grindstone in anticipation of their boss’ arrival. 9 came and went and pretty soon, it was nearing 10 o’clock. We all started glancing around, peeking above our cubicle walls, waiting to see if someone was going to say something about Paul not being there yet. I was a natural leader and others often looked to me for answers. Pretty soon, eyes turned my way, silently asking me what was going on.
Sighing, I locked my computer and walked towards Paul’s office. Stopping at Renee’s desk, I asked her if she had heard from Paul.
“No,” she said, not even bothering to look up at me.
“Ok,” I said, “Have you seen him yet this morning?”
She quirked an eyebrow and glanced at me, her purple eyeliner was smeared on her left eye. She flipped a hand out to the side in the general direction of Paul’s office, “Do you see him anywhere?”
I stood there silently for a moment, thinking. “I need him to sign some authorization forms for the company meeting purchases. Do you know when he’ll be in?”
Renee swept her hair back from her shoulder, took a lazy drink from her coffee mug and then decided to bless me with a response. “No,” she said.
I glared at her and stalked back to my desk. My co-workers all looked to me for an answer and I just shook my head and shrugged my shoulders to indicate I did not have an answer for them. Sitting in my chair, I scooted up to my computer just as my cell phone began to ring.
The ringtone told me it was my brother, James. I shook my shoulders in a little chair dance to ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ before I answered the call.
“What up, James?” I said cheerily. I loved my brother and we were very close. True, it was unusual for him to call me in the morning on a workday, but I was always happy to talk to him, no matter the time of day or what I was doing.
“Hey, Claire,” he started. His voice sounded weird and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something was wrong. “I have some news for you. It’s not being released to the public yet, so I can’t share details with you, but your boss’ body was found in an alley downtown.”
Never one for political correctness, my brother the detective just spit it out. I was stunned for a moment.
“What?” I finally managed to say.
“I know, right?” Was his response. “I was the first responder and I recognized him right away. He’s definitely dead, Claire, and from what I’ve seen it looks like it was not an accident.”
“What?” I said again.
“Did you hear me?” He sounded puzzled now.
“Yes,” I stammered, “Yes, I can hear you, James. I just can’t believe what you’re saying.”
“Claire, there’s more. The reason I am calling you is to give you a heads up. I’m going to be pulled from the case and you’re going to be questioned.”
“What?” I was feeling like a moron with a very low vocabulary at this point. “Why?”
“When I got here, he had his cell phone in his hand.” James began. I could hear a siren approaching in the background.
“Claire,” he sounded scared now, “the number on his phone was yours. You were the last person to speak to him on the phone apparently. So I will be removed from the case and the new detective will want to speak with you ASAP.”
“I didn’t speak to Paul, James. Why was my number on his phone?”
“I don’t know, Sweetie, but his phone indicated that the call to your cell phone connected. I gotta go.”
“Wait, James!” I almost yelled into the phone. “Who will get the case instead of you?”
James was silent for a moment and I dreaded his answer, knowing what he was going to say.
“Mark,” was all James said and then he hung up.
Great. Mark. My ex.
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Well, what did you think?
Happy Writing!
~ Eileen 🙂
Eileen Maki 