DATE: September
2007
AUTHOR: LosingInTranslation (aka Jennifer, losingntrnslatn)
TITLE: Produce
A Writing Sample
DISCLAIMER: Don’t own anything associated with the show… I
just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys!
Dance!
RATING: K+ – Most Ages (for some mildly coarse language)
SPOILERS: Season 7: Happenstance
PAIRINGS: N&M’s (Nick/Mandy)
SUMMARY: Nick hates grocery shopping.
A/N: I’ve been trying to break through a writer’s block, and so I took
on a meme challenge after seeing the results from Mingsmommy.
She totally rules, and has the best ideas. This ficlet
is because Smacky30 totally stumped me on the meme, and she wanted some
everyday N&M action. Thankfully, I’ve been looking for a good idea for
another N&M story, so I am very grateful for the chance to write another
one.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: While my regular beta managed to pull me out of
a couple of rough spots along the way (for which I am eternally grateful), I
have to give some credit to my other beta for making me want to get inside this
character’s head.
REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work
or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a
little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.
Produce a Writing
Sample
Pushing the
cart through the produce section, Nick paid little attention to anyone or
anything in his path, because he was focused intently on the piece of notepaper
in his hand. He was an educated, intelligent and capable man, but the moment he
set foot inside the grocery store, all of that disappeared. As soon as the
whoosh of the automatic door sounded, he was instantly transformed into a lost,
pathetic, practically drooling Neanderthal. Nick always hated going to the
grocery store.
Looking
down at the same piece of paper he had been staring out for close to an hour,
he was still having a hard time making sense of any of it. As he bumped into
the display of apple boxes, he cursed his luck and the fact that he had no idea
what he was supposed to be picking up. “Fruit? There’s
fruit everywhere! What the hell does that mean?” He flailed his arms in the air
and then slapped the list down against his leg. “Who just writes ‘fruit’ on a
list, but doesn’t bother to say what it is?!”
After
dropping a small bag of onions into the shopping cart, Mandy reached around him
to grab the list and laughed, “Ah… That would be your barely legible
handwriting, hot shot.”
He looked
up sheepishly and found her Cheshire cat grin waiting for him. “Oh…” The color
in his cheeks was doing a good impression of the stack of apples teetering beside
his shopping cart. Nick looked around the produce section, and tried to stall
as he jogged his memory for what he had meant when he wrote fruit on their
shopping list.
Chuckling
as she returned to looking at the list, Mandy tried to discern the next item.
“Um, Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we
supposed to be getting ‘fresh’ bread or ‘French’ bread? And how exactly are we
supposed to be getting bent donkeys at the grocery store?” Her barely contained
giggles became uncontrollable as he ripped the list out of her hands to read
his handwriting.
“French bread, and bean burritos… And I am no longer allowed to
write anything on the grocery list.” As he handed the list back to her, and
returned to his place behind the cart, Nick placed a quick peck on her upturned
cheek. As much as he hated grocery shopping, at least now he had someone to do
the hard stuff for him.
“French
bread, yes… But there’s no way I’m letting you get away with those nasty
burritos, Stokes. Go get some tortillas and I’ll make the real ones for dinner
tonight.” Nick smiled as he pointed the cart at the tortilla display. With
Mandy leading the way, at least the drooling Neanderthal was well fed.