Janet Flash: The Name Of The Game

by Michael Seese

So, how do we pass the time during these days of social isolation in the name of contagion containment? For many, reading is an escape.

(For me, it's writing and keeping the kids up to date on their homework.)

For literary Janet Reid, it's A LOT OF reading. As she said in her blog: 

I've read 18 Dick Francis novels in the last seven days. All of them were familiar friends and it was like taking a rest cure to dive back in. Reality just slipped away for four or five hours a night.

So from that book-binge came a contest. Craft a story using:

Banker
Risk
Forfeit
Proof
Nerve

I wanted to come up with a fun way to split "banker." Once I did, most of the story fell into place. And once I came up with the punchline, "The Name Of The Game" was done. 


Their furtive glances. The fidgets in cold folding metal chairs. Proof that they, like me, craved change. But they held their tongues, afraid to forfeit the silence, the anonymity.

"It's an open forum," I began. "Let's brainstorm."

"I spend my life feeding some monopoly. The electric company. The water works."

"I'm not cut out for surgery. I always touch a nerve during an operation." 

"We should ban KerPlunk! And Risk. They're Satan's tools."

Confusion overruled diplomacy.

"What are you people talking about?" I snapped.

KerPlunk Lady held up my flyer. 

Hmmm. 

Perhaps I erred in calling it simply "Game Changers."

How about you all? How are you spending your time these days?