Keyboard in the Sky
Parody & Satire, #1
Reeks: Parody & Satire
R. L. Saunders
- Julie
- Montcalm
- had
- a
- problem,
- or
- two
- of
- them.
- Horace
- Hackett
- Jr.
- was
- behind
- deadline
- for
- a
- story
- she
- needed.
- But
- the
- worst
- of
- that
- is
- he
- had
- written
- her
- into
- the
- story
- itself,
- as
- a
- character.Along
- with
- her
- friend
- and
- fellow
- classmate
- Micah
- DeWolf,
- she
- was
- living
- the
- story
- itself
- as
- Hackett
- wrote
- it.Worse,
- it
- was
- a
- hack-job
- version
- of
- his
- father's
- pulp
- fiction
- story
- about
- Caribbean
- wars
- between
- the
- English
- and
- Spanish.
- And
- the
- two
- of
- them
- were
- right
- in
- the
- middle
- of
- it!Fictional
- characters
- aren't
- supposed
- to
- die
- in
- real
- life,
- right?Luckily,
- they
- both
- have
- their
- smartphones
- and
- can
- edit
- the
- story.
- Maybe
- even
- save
- their
- lives
- in
- the
- bargain.These
- two
- find
- plenty
- of
- adventure
- and
- even
- romance
- as
- they
- work
- to
- fix
- the
- story
- before
- it
- fixes
- them...Excerpt:Horace
- Hackett
- Jr.
- was
- head
- down
- on
- his
- desk,
- the
- laptop
- filled
- with
- rows
- of
- b's
- and
- the
- machine
- bleeping.
- Horace's
- nose
- pressed
- neatly
- on
- that
- letter,
- regardless
- of
- the
- machine's
- discomfort.Nearby
- were
- several
- empty
- bottles
- of
- a
- variety
- of
- alcoholic
- beverages."Looks
- like
- it
- was
- beer,
- then
- whiskey
- with
- a
- beer
- chaser,
- then
- straight
- whiskey
- as
- the
- beer
- was
- all
- gone."Julie
- Montcalm
- was
- looking
- over
- the
- disheveled
- mess
- of
- the
- dorm
- room
- though
- the
- open
- door.Behind
- her
- stood
- Micah
- De
- Wolf.Both
- students
- were
- in
- the
- same
- school
- as
- Horace.
- And
- both
- were
- similarly
- disgusted
- by
- the
- state
- of
- Horace
- and
- his
- dorm
- room.Laundry
- was
- everywhere
- but
- the
- hamper,
- with
- scattered
- pages
- of
- print
- outs.
- The
- printer
- was
- blinking
- and
- obviously
- out
- of
- ink.
- Several
- empty
- cartridges
- sat
- nearby,
- and
- more
- on
- the
- floor.
- They
- had
- completely
- missed
- the
- trash
- can.
- Some
- of
- his
- school
- texts
- hadn't.Shelves
- for
- those
- books
- were
- filled
- with
- food
- wrappers
- and
- RPG
- manuals.
- In
- and
- amongst
- them
- were
- grade
- reports
- and
- various
- bills
- from
- equipment
- dealers
- and
- pawn
- shop
- receipts.Micah
- crossed
- behind
- her
- to
- the
- keyboard
- on
- it's
- stand
- against
- the
- wall.
- Moving
- some
- old
- shirts
- and
- unmentionables
- over
- to
- the
- bed,
- he
- clicked
- the
- device
- on
- and
- started
- a
- riff
- with
- the
- volume
- dialed
- low.Julie
- meanwhile
- had
- crossed
- to
- Horace
- and
- pushed
- his
- head
- to
- the
- side,
- stopping
- the
- insistent
- beep.
- She
- brushed
- his
- thick
- locks
- away
- from
- his
- face
- with
- a
- soft
- touch,
- more
- as
- an
- elder
- sister
- than
- an
- editor
- asking
- after
- her
- story.
- The
- alcohol
- on
- his
- breath
- rose
- to
- her
- nose
- and
- she
- stepped
- back,
- raising
- her
- hand
- to
- it
- as
- if
- to
- shield
- it
- from
- further
- offenseAt
- that,
- Horace
- moaned
- and
- slowly
- squinted
- his
- eyes
- to
- see
- who
- was
- bothering
- him.
- He
- saw
- someone
- standing
- there,
- sideways
- in
- his
- vision
- as
- it
- cleared.
- Slim,
- in
- tight
- jeans
- lit
- from
- the
- hallway
- light,
- it
- was
- obviously
- a
- her
- or
- a
- she.
- The
- curving
- hips
- on
- long
- legs
- was
- definitely
- not
- his
- room
- mate
- or
- any
- of
- the
- many
- female
- visitors
- that
- infrequently
- graced
- the
- male
- dormers.
- These
- were
- black
- jeans,
- cut
- for
- dual
- purpose
- of
- business
- while
- displaying
- her
- feminine
- charms.
- Not
- that
- he'd
- ever
- bed
- this
- one.
- He
- recognized
- the
- ring
- on
- her
- hand
- as
- it
- left
- his
- forehead.His
- head
- jerked
- upright
- and
- collided
- with
- the
- unlit
- desk
- lamp.
- The
- effort
- made
- his
- vision
- swirl
- again.
- Rubbing
- the
- bump
- was
- more
- a
- habit
- than
- needful.
- His
- scalp
- was
- numb
- from
- the
- result
- of
- all
- those
- bottles
- that
- had
- emptied
- themselves
- into
- his
- mouth
- not
- far
- below."So
- it's
- obvious
- that
- there
- is
- no
- story
- for
- me
- tonight."
- The
- tight
- jeans
- had
- a
- commanding
- voice.Horace's
- ears
- felt
- assaulted
- by
- the
- volume.
- He
- opened
- his
- eyes
- wide
- at
- this.
- "Julie!
- I'd
- say
- this
- was
- a
- pleasant
- surprise,
- but
- apparently
- you're
- here
- on
- business.""Do
- you
- even
- know
- what
- day
- this
- is?
- Do
- you
- know
- the
- Atworthy
- College
- Quarterly
- is
- due
- to
- ship
- tomorrow?
- Do
- you?!?"...Scroll
- Up
- and
- Get
- Your
- Copy Now.
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