“Where’s my level?!”
She crouched in front of her son, “You checked your backpack?”
He trembled. “No! It’s not the 43-511 model! I brought the 1794485 pocket model today!” His hands clenched the fabric of his jeans. “That goes. In. My. Pocket!”
“Breathe,” she searched her purse. “One, two…”
“Do not say three!” He threw his bag to the floor. “We need to go home! I won’t make it…”
She pried his fist open, placing a level in his palm.
“It’s not my 1794485,” he tilted it then looked up. “4 inch? 246-D?”
“Yes.”
He bit his lip. “Okay.”
Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch
October 28, 2015 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) include a tool in a story. How can it enhance the character, tension or meaning? It can also be a story about a tool or a character’s obsession for tools. Go where the prompt leads.
Lemon Shark Reef 
Never seen a cooler micro fiction about a tool, before. You’re one for firsts, Sarah! ♡
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Thanks, Eric. 🙂 ❤
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Ha! Great flash, and in a flash too! Mum to the rescue with a suitable substitute to keep a level head and son calm. I’m pleased the not-so-up-to-the-minute model will suffice in this instance. Trouble with those pocket-sized anythings – they’re easy to lose! 🙂
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Thanks! She’s quick alright. And apparently practiced at keeping a level head when her son does not. Also, prepared. 🙂 I wasn’t sure where I would take this one but I think the word “obsession” in Charli’s prompt lead me here.
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Whatever got you there indicates a full writer’s kitbag! 🙂
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Such a powerful flash! The emotion is crystal clear, the tension, the compromise, the relief. Sharp piece of writing.
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Thank you so much, Charli. I tried something here. Wasn’t sure it would translate but that’s what the Reef is for, after all. I’m so glad it worked. Tension, compromise, relief. Exactly. (With a possible talking-to in at home after school?) 😉
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Great tension. I guess that’s what Mum’s do. Come up with just the right answer (in this case tool) just in the nick of time. So well written I’d say it was written by a Mum with much practice at the art.
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Thank you. I tried to get some tension in there instead of pure bratty behavior.
Yes and no. 😉 I’ve certainly seen this done more than a few times. It always depends on the particular child and the particular situation. If this happened to me? There would be a talking to later…depending, again, on what exactly is going on with the child.
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