One for the money - a 50-word short
Source: Pixabay image by lechenie-narkomanii
One for the money
“Wash your car?”
“No.”
“Do your laundry?”
“No.”
“Make you dinner.”
“Your cooking sucks.”
“Fine, Dad. Then what can I do to earn money?”
Roger McAlester the Third, Chairman and CEO of “McAlester, Barton, and Poole,” eyed his teenage daughter. “Go down to Burnside. Find your brother. Bring him home.”
This micro-fiction story is my contribution to this week's 50-Word Short Story challenge. The prompt is "money."
Lately, I've enjoyed including a backstory with my micro-fiction stories. With this one, I wanted to portray the complex issues that can crop up in families around money. The father in this story clearly has plenty. He runs a firm of some kind, presumably law. He could certainly just hand his daughter a wad of cash and let her do what she wishes, but he's not going to make things easy for her.
Perhaps he understands that kids need to learn how to work hard and earn their own money. Or perhaps he messed things up with his son, and is now trying to do the right thing with his daughter. What do you think?
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://jaynalocke.com/2018/08/29/one-for-the-money-a-50-word-short/
Very interesting! I actually thought maybe Burnside was possibly a place where burnouts go to hangout and that she needed to go get her brother to keep him from tarnishing her dad's reputation. Maybe growing up having everything handed to him contributed to his drug use and the dad is stricter on her to keep her from following in the son's footsteps.
That’s an interesting interpretation! It hadn’t crossed my mind that the dad would be worried about his reputation, but that would certainly be a believable storyline. My thought was that he had realized (hopefully not too late) that there is nothing more valuable than the people you love, and he wanted to bring his runaway son home to try to repair the damage.
Well I think it's fun how micro fiction can be left open for interpretation since you don't get a full backstory, but rather a snippet of what is going on.
So true. I also love the discussions that happen in the comments. It’s great to see how different people interpret pieces of fiction.
Nice story, @jayna. It is good that some rich people teach their kids that money should be earned. However, solving the parental issues with his son via his daughter does not seem right. Plus the attitude towards his daughter is kind of cold.
Very well written. I could imagine some "Young and Restless" scenery. 🙂
Thanks for your great comment, @roxy-cat. Yes, as an innocent bystander to this unfolding family drama, I would guess these people are working through quite a bit of dysfunction. I see the daughter, in this case, as a strong and centered girl who is not easily perturbed by anything her father says. Therefore he knows he can tease her about her cooking. The son — a runaway — has not fared as well. Perhaps the father is hoping his daughter can be the glue to bring the family back together.
Nice. Sad, but nicely done...
😄😇😄
Thank you, @creatr!
This interpretation made me think a lot. Just 50 words evoking so many thoughts ... amazing! Thank you so much for this inspiration. I had different social backgrounds in mind, after reading. This was so interesting.
Thank you, @anutu. I'm glad you read the story, and that it made you think interesting thoughts!
Yes, indeed! Have a wonderful Sunday!
Congratulations @jayna! You have completed the following achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPMaybe that should be the plan of life that should be given to the children but the means of communication and the easy life hinder these good wishes friend @jayna.