Trifextra: Week Fourteen

Another prompt, another impressive response. Fifty-two of you took us into your confidence and once again we were impressed with how varied and creative your entries were -- the Trifectans are truly an eclectic group.

This week's winner is Libby, from Libby's Book Blog. Her powerful story about the shocking events at Kent State University in May 1970 is beautifully told. It was a dark day for the Nixon administration, but hearing it from the point of view of a child somehow makes it even more shocking:

I remember sitting there at my desk. Second row halfway between the door and window. We had just come back from lunch. Mrs. Shepard gave us each two worksheets and we settled in to do them.

Then, the first mother came to the door. She gave Mrs. Shepard a little wave, and the two of them talked in the hallway. We could see them through the tall, narrow window in the door to our classroom. Of course, it was not a big deal. Mothers came and picked kids up early for doctor's appointments and things all the time. 

Mrs. Shepard stuck her head in and called one of the kids from our class. He left with his mother. 

A few minutes passed and another mother came. And, then another, and another. Each time Mrs. Shepard would go out and talk before that mother's child was called. You could tell that the mothers were telling Mrs. Shepard something in confidence and she would come back in tight-lipped, but cool and calm. 

Then, Debbie Ballucci's mother came to the door. I can still see her! She had on a lavender sweatsuit and those really big, wide curlers on the top of her head that women used to wear. Mrs. Ballucci did not do that signaling thing that the other mothers did. She gave a cursory knock and then opened the classroom door as Mrs. Shepard rushed toward her. 

"They're shooting the kids out there!" she cried, out of breath and red-faced.

Mrs. Shepard moved toward her quickly as she was talking and kind of forced her out the door. As they stood talking in the hallway, the other kids sitting among the empty desks and I looked at one another in confusion. But, we were not supposed to talk.

I started on my second worksheet. I wrote my name: Libby Myers. I wrote the date: May 4, 1970.

In second place is Frelle with her piece, Two Weeks Later. She takes a risk using local dialect in her dialogue-heavy story, but absolutely pulls it off; she makes both the conversation and setting seem very real. In third place is Latitudes of a Day with Cafe, a story that hints at a turning point in the life of a young boy whose dedication and devotion to his father may soon be tested.

This weekend, we return to the 33-word prompt, but this time, a 33-word prompt with a twist. Your task, should you choose to accept, is to take a scene that involves (or affects) at least three people. You should then write this scene from the point of view of three of the characters, using 33 words for each character. So for example, if your story involves a mother, a father and a young boy, you will tell the story first from the point of view of the mother (in 33 words), then the same story from the point of view of the father (in 33 words) and finally, from the point of view of the boy (also in 33 words).

As always, we wish you well.