10-min fiction is a new project. Each post is a fiction written in about 10 minutes.
Prompt: middle school students who are yearning to become fiction writers
It started as jealousy. she was a better writer than he was; she claimed she had attended an academy for philosophy. He thought that was why she had an air of amorphous aura around her.
As the wind blew through the window, the afternoon sunset glimmered corner of the classroom as the large window curtain flapped melodiously. It was an early fall, and the air had a pleasant sweetness.
The classroom was empty. Students were outside at the school field, playing games in groups of four to five. Only he and the girl were sitting next to each other by their desks. They were sitting next to each other because that was their assigned seats. But he was more curious about her than just a coincidence.
She recalled a trip to the west ocean side with her mom when she was little. She told him a story about how her original name was “west ocean.” He forgot the story but remembered it was with a hint of melancholy that she told this story to him.
Such a hint of trauma intrigued him further. At this point, it wasn’t clear if it was a mysterious appeal of hers or jealousy that led him to say “yes” when he was asked if he would like to revise her manuscript.
Her manuscript described two characters in the middle of the plain in autumn. They were swordsmen, one male and the other female, talking of fate. The female swordsman stabbed the other swordsman in the chest, and the blood spilled on dry yellow grass. The female swordsman shed a tear and spoke to the wounded swordsman.
There the manuscript ended. It was incomplete, but it embodied an inevitable sadness that must come between the woman and the men. It was clearly well-written, with wisely chosen words to carry the feelings of the story.
Yet, out of jealousy, he said this manuscript was rubbish. The girl replied, “oh, that’s unfortunate,” and threw the manuscript into the trash can.
Perhaps it was a pang of guilt he had then that pushed him to decide to write fiction one day.
Ralph with Coffee 