Welcome to the first Flash Fiction Friday of 2021! The prompt for this exercise was:
Please use a plot twist, reversal, or danger to tell a great story about the picture below.
You have 350 words to slay me.
The photo was a nighttime sidewalk scene. There was a slightly shabby storefront lit up with four different signs proclaiming its name (which is not the name in the story), and I just knew what the twist had to be.
I got a kick out of writing this and since there were a few giggles when I shared it with my writing group, I decided to post it here. I hope you will get a kick out of it as well.
KinKiller – Fun Gifts, Accessories, Vintage Clothing
I opened this shop seven years ago. I have been selling vintage clothes online since the dawn of E-Bay, but the online vintage marketplace has become really crowded. Some people thought that going brick-and-mortar in the digital era was crazy, but for me, it was the logical next step to protect my market share and continue to build my brand.
Keeping my one-of-a-kind, vintage inventory up-to-date online was getting exhausting, so I began stocking random tchotchkes so that I could keep the store looking robust. You know, fun gifts – incense, laptop sleeves, naughty garden gnomes, magic 8-balls. And accessories – floppy hats, beaded bracelets, and anything with fringe. The kind of junk that just screams, “BUY ME!” – especially when you’re trolling the internet drunk (or zonked out on Ambien). I know because most of my sales happen between 10:30pm and 3:30am.
Finding the right location was a big challenge. I couldn’t put my store anywhere that had requirements about business hours. Afterall, I needed my mornings free for thrifting. And my target customer is a bit tipsy. I needed to be somewhere where I could accommodate the same sorts of shoppers who frequented my online store. I needed to be next to some bars. Somewhere where I could open at 6pm and stay open late.
I wasn’t worried about having to deal with what the local PD termed, “unsavory characters” when they came by to check-up on me. After the cops realized that KinKiller wasn’t a front for some drug dealer or a pimp, they left me alone. What they didn’t realize (though the riffraff did) is that KinKiller’s off-the-books business is fairly literal.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. I know that I look like some bohemian hipster junk merchant. I mean, that IS what Instagram is for after-all. But there sure are a lot of Millennials out there who are sick of waiting for their folks to kick it. They are perfectly happy living with their parents, they just want to be able to spend mom and dad’s money without having to talk to them about it. They want their inheritance. Now.
Sojust want you to not be worried about that “vintage Pyrex” I just ordered to have sent to you?
Instilled giggles after reading this! So true!
Great story!
I still giggled after reading this! So true!
Great story!
Ha!! Loved this. I like how unpredictable your stories are, or at least I never guess the ending.
Is the ending a prediction???
That is an interesting take on millennials and drunk shoppers. Twisted it is, and a good read
That is an interesting take on millennials and drunk shoppers. Twisted it is, and a good read
So Cynthia: I posted my comment at about 3:00 PM but it says 10:05 PM. (I posted it twice by mistake – You know how impatient I am). If this is an ongoing error, you may be getting skewed information.