I went to a short story workshop at Chatham College on Saturday. I loved it! I shared my short story, “Amity.” They loved the story and offered valuable feedback. The biggest thing I heard was that I needed to change the beginning. Since I didn’t like the short story assignment for my class yesterday, I worked on the edits for ” Amity” instead. If you are interested in reading more, message me on Facebook or reply on Twitter.

Amity

As he exited the garage at the end of the workday, Drew turned right instead of his usual left turn. He had driven only about a mile when he saw, “The Beerhive”, a bar he had never noticed before. It sounded like just what he needed, so he parked his car and went inside. What happened next changed his life forever, although he doesn’t quite remember how it all started.

The last thing he remembered was drinking with a strange woman at the bar. He was struck by her beauty and lucky for him, she seemed to be flirting with him.

“Hi, honey. You look really down. Are you okay?” asked Sophia.

“Yeah, I’m just really sick of my job. I need a change.” Drew said.

“Try this drink. I think it will help you feel better. It’s called “The Enigma”.

“Funny name for a drink, but I’ll try it.”

“Tell me about your job,” Sophia said.

“I’m a jury supervisor. You know those guys who send the summons, then whose job it is not to let you out of jury duty. I don’t get why everybody hates jury duty so much. You won’t believe how cranky most people get when they are asked to serve. Dealing with grumpy people all day is no fun. I don’t like all the paper work either. Some nights I work as a public defender in Night Court. That’s even worse. My job is to get criminals back onto the streets so they can just do the same thing over and again.”

“So, what would you rather do?”

“I got to do a bit part in my friend’s play. I loved it. Acting is my first love. Frankly, I’d be happy doing anything in the arts. Every day I get up and go to work, I am miserable,” Drew said, just before lighting up his third cigarette of the evening.

Drew found himself getting woozy as he spoke. In between hacker coughs he began to feel the room spin. Soon after, he found himself lost in the darkness, unaware of how he got there and how he would get home.

Drew was in a surreal place, almost like the setting of a Tim Burton film. All around him was dark except for the eerie glow of the moon, brighter than usual this night. The light coming from the moon seemed to be in a swirl pattern, something he had never experienced before

Where on Earth am I, and how did I get here? Drew thought.