Cosmic Pool
“OK, last game – rack ’em up,” Cal said, “and let’s see how your hustle holds up.” He leaned coolly against the paneling in the close, dim room and chalked his cue with a deliberate eye on his opponent, studying every glance and gesture with purpose.
Eddie – or The Shark, as he liked to introduce himself in pool halls – clumsily racked the balls, paying little regard to the fact that each stripe and solid was a stand-in for its celestial counterpart or that the fate of the universe rested in the outcome of this game.
“Careless asshole,” Cal muttered not quite under his breath and positioned himself to take this crucial shot, smirking as he thought to himself that he needed to be completely on his game, to use the cliché; he knew what had to happen here.
Swiftness and skill moved the stick through Cal’s arched fingers and a deafening crack split the tension in the room as the cue landed a hard kiss on the lips of the waiting rack. One by one the balls dropped and Cal, never taking his eyes off of Eddie, began to count, “1… 2… 3…”
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Join us at Ivy Walker‘s blog for Six Sentences Stories. Each week writers are challenged to spin a tale in six sentences – no more, no less. This week’s cue is…CUE.
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20 Comments
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Lisa, this was wonderful.
Well, thank you!
Very descriptive, I could hear the sound and see the pool balls falling.
Awesome. Thanks, Paul.
Very, very clever plot here, intriguing to say the least! I love the tension you’ve built as the balls begin to fall!
Thanks, Josie. Glad that worked!
Love this. I could totally go wherever this story might be leading us after….3 or! the back story. What was going on an hour before this game. You’ve got a definite hook here 🙂
Great pic. Perfect fit.
And! I like your new look.
Thanks, Girlie! So good to see you!
Yeah, this could definitely have some more on either end. I’m a little disturbed that I find myself in the sort-of sci-fi world more and more often lately. 😀
I loved the photo – how cool is that! I knew I had to use it.
The Shark doesn’t seem to know what he’s getting into. Fabulous story!
No, the Shark has no idea. The Shark only thinks he’s clever…
very nice! (I’d thought about this scenario, the game of pool, it’s such a distinct experience… color, sound, even smell (chalk and cigarette smoke)… I read here an example of that trick of simple yet compelling description. … ah well, someday! lol)
‘cellent Six!
Thank you, Clark. I knew I wanted to do cue as in pool, but wasn’t quite sure what until my husband gave me a bit of inspiration a la Douglas Adams. Almost named the first character Dirk, in fact. 😀
Nice story , Lisa . I could feel the tension floating in the space . Really well written .
Thank you, Moon.
The sound of the balls smacking each other was imprinted on my brain as I read this piece. Well done!
Ooh, that’s good! Thank you, Old Egg!
Vividly told story of a tense moment in a competition. I can’t help but think 1 – 2 -3, he’ll sink the cue ball and the game will be over. Very well written.
The balls are sinking…one by one… Game over for Eddie the Shark, anyway.
What a great story! I want to know more about these fellows.
Thanks, Rachel. I do, too! I think I may do something more with this one.