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Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Dial Tone- A Life Story

by joonmymoon

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a piece of a longer writing project. You can view the entire project here: Dial Tone- A Life Story

The following is a piece of writing submitted by joonmymoon on February 22, 2010

Dial Tone- A Life Story (part 3)

It’s Friday. June left Parker’s office with heaps of assignments, like she did back in her freshman year- History class, to be exact. Articles to be written are about Vancouver, pancakes, live baits and, Nerds- candy, not people.
She walked out of the building and felt the sudden need to storm back into Parker’s office, shrieking, cuffing and maybe cursing. But no, she didn’t. This is all she has; throwing it all away is not an option. She drove away, in tears, surrounded in thoughts of her late father. “Papooze, I know I said I wanted to write. But did I ever say I wanted to write about live baits or Nerds… nerds for crying out loud?!” Tears streamed along her perky cheekbones. Her phone rang. It was Parker. She pressed the red button just like a dial tone, but not as bad.
Kathy, the Associate Editor, may be the loudest person one will ever meet. Questions freely come out of her mouth every minute. She never takes NO for an answer. Though she may seem too overpowering, and obnoxious, the whole company can depend on her. So in a strange way, everybody respects her.
Kathy, after seeing all the articles lined up for June, walked into Parker’s office.
“We both know the girl can write. Why do you insist on giving her these random articles?”
“Because I want to see how badly she wants her job, how well she can execute even the littlest of tasks.”
“Oh really? Because the way I see it, you just want to know how much she’ll do for you.”
“Kathy, I’m not asking how you see anything.”
Parker started walking out of his office, leaving Kathy behind.
“You know, if she leaves, it’s your loss.”
Parker kept walking away, shutting the door behind him.
Looking at Parker’s desk, Kathy sees June’s files. Within them is a puzzle piece that doesn’t belong. She took a piece of semi-crumpled paper and found what she thought was a window to a work of art.

For those who dance and sing melodramatic lines of conscience,
The gravitational pull of the moon has a tremendous effect.

She took the piece of paper and headed quickly to her desk. She scrolled through her contacts until she found June’s house number. Of course, June didn’t answer.
“June, this is Kathy. I know you’ve gotten all your tasks today but I want you to come in tomorrow and meet with me. I’ll expect you to be in at 7:00 am sharp.”
June was listening as Kathy left her message, wrapped in a pink blanket her grandmother crocheted for her when she was 2 years old. No, she didn’t want to come but she figured the office tomorrow can’t be worse than how it was today.
She thought about going out, drinking a little, and deleting a little. But she didn’t, she stayed in her sanctuary with the lights off and stared out the window for hours having a one-way conversation with her dad. The city lights twinkled back at her as her tears slowly fell down her cheeks again. Today, the world decided to put all its weight on June’s shoulders.
After ignoring Parker’s call, she got a call from her mother. Of course, it could not have been anything good. Not to her favor, at least.
“June, I’ve been doing some thinking and I think you should move back here with me. Seattle is much better than Canada anyway. I’m looking at all the mail I got yesterday and I think you should help me pay some of these bills. I will not have you say no to me. So you need to start packing your things and come along.”
“Mom, you know that’s not going to happen. Maybe if you stop paying for other people’s debts and use your money to pay your bills, you won’t need anyone’s help.”
“Well I’m getting old; I need someone to take care of me, clean the house…”
“Mom, you don’t need me to move in with you. I’ll keep visiting you but there’s no need for me to live there. I’m staying here. Besides, I’m not your only child.”
“You need to move back in right away. What is it you can’t leave behind? Your job? Well I’m calling your office and telling them you will no longer work for them.”
“No. Don’t.”
And the dial tone. Again, the story of her life.

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