“Don’t go, Bobby.”
“Nobody’s lived in that shack for years. What’re you scared of?” Bobby’s irises grew blacker; his grin wider. “’Fraidy cat, Dixon. ‘Fraidy cat, Di…”
Smack.
“Hey, watchit.”
Loosened fists at his sides, Dixon grit uneven teeth and flushed to the roots of his ginger crew-cut. “Okay. Nothing else to do.”
The sagging veranda creaked and moaned beneath their grubby sneakers. A weathered shutter hung by spider spit.
Wikipedia Commons
“Weird—no broken windows. See anything?” Bobby yanked the doorknob but it separated in his hand. He fell against Dixon and they tumbled on their rumps.
“Ouch, I got a sliver on my butt. Get off me.”
His friend snickered. “Uh, this is boring. Come on.”
“Let’s try the back.” Dixon massaged his backside.
Whack.
“Ow!” they hollered and collapsed to their knees as the cane thwacked bare calves.
A sandpaper throat cleared. “Something I can do for you boys?”
How the Cookie Crumbles 
September 10, 2013 at 5:27 pm
Your words create such vivid imagery. This is really good, Tess.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:32 pm
You are lovely to say this, Paulette. You make me smile. Thank YOU. This takes work on my part but I do love the challenge. 😀
LikeLike
September 10, 2013 at 5:33 pm
I loved the impish dialogue in this (as mum of 2 boys I know it well, lol), great little piece 🙂
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Thank you for dropping by, Helen. Glad you thought the dialogue impish. I don’t know squat about boys (I grew up with girls, girls, girls and then my daughter (only one) has two girls.
LikeLike
September 10, 2013 at 5:39 pm
It takes a word artist to paint with a paragraph. Love it!
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:29 pm
I believe you’ve made my week! Can you see me blushing after your kind words? Thank you.
LikeLike
September 10, 2013 at 7:51 pm
I knew at ‘no broken windows’ it is someone’s home. Good, very good – glad they got a whack on the legs!
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:28 pm
You know kids, right? Bored with nothing to do.
There’s always someone you can’t fool. 😀
Thanks for commenting.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 10:36 pm
🙂
LikeLike
September 10, 2013 at 7:55 pm
That’ll teach ’em!
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:27 pm
Rascals. Boys will be boys, always looking for excitement. 🙂
Thanks for coming by, Colleen.
LikeLike
September 10, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Ooh, creepy, Tess. I just love the shutters hung by spider spit!
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:26 pm
Thanks, Naomi. It takes you to notice small details and I do enjoy hearing from you. Nice to see you.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 12:23 am
Teriffic images painted across my mind.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Thank you. Sheri, for your visit and kind words.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 4:37 am
A classic story. Who can resist a dare? Well, at that age 🙂
For me the caning is a bit off-putting, as the social-realism-part of my brain (I oppose corporal punishment, and violence against children generally) takes over, and distracts me from story-mode.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:24 pm
You make a good point but the trouble is in the days gone by, crotchety old folks with canes or umbrellas tended to startle children when they could.
Thank you for your input. I always appreciate honesty.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Ah, kids 😉
Cute story Tess 🙂
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:22 pm
I guess I can do cute. Thanks, Ghia. Happy days.
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Nicely flashed my friend 🙂
Andro xx
LikeLike
September 11, 2013 at 7:21 pm
Thank you, Gray. I’m pleased you like this.
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 12:44 am
This TOTALLY made me laugh. I remember playing in the woods around my grandparent’s cabin and there was this falling to pieces of cabin my cousins and I would play around…UNTIL we learned there was this scary, old bearded many who actually LIVED THERE!!!! Your flash is actually reality in the depths of northern, Michigan!!!
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 7:26 am
Kids are curious and why shouldn’t they be.
Fiction IS stranger than reality. Wow, I actually pulling this flash out of YOUR hat. 😉
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 9:28 am
You did! And it was a long forgotten hat. I really hadn’t thought about the cottage on the river or lost summers of Michigan for ages. This was a fun flash.
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 2:20 pm
😉
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 1:59 am
Oh heck I confess that could have been me never mind boys!
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 7:21 am
😀
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 9:05 am
Wonderful and vivid! I loved the spider spit
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 9:11 am
Me too. I don’t know how it got there. *grins*
Thank you, Valentine.
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Your writing transports all your readers into another world. I love it!
LikeLike
September 12, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Thank you, new friend.
LikeLike
September 13, 2013 at 12:28 am
This is good. Full of details, vivid, entertaining. “A weathered shutter hung by spider spit.” How’d you come up with that? Also, old men hitting kids with canes seems to be a theme in your stories…I can remember another of your stories that had an old man hitting somebody with a cane… 🙂 I think it was this one: https://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/exposed-trifextra-week-80/ 🙂
LikeLike
September 13, 2013 at 3:35 pm
I realized that before I hit the publish button. Sounds like I know someone with a wicked cane but I haven’t and don’t. I guess it would be men to do such a thing because they feel competitive or yearn for their youth. *grins*
So, you pay close attention. I’ll have to watch myself. 🙂
LikeLike
October 16, 2013 at 10:04 am
Love the old man! xxx
LikeLike
October 16, 2013 at 9:02 pm
I thought he was cute too.
LikeLike