Sunday Photo Fiction is a weekly challenge presented by my old friend Al Forbes.
The idea is to write a short story (200 word max) inspired by what you see in the picture (below).
This week’s prompt comes from J Hardy Carroll.
Click on this link to enter your tale, and to see what others have written.
Click here to hear the author read his words:
Hotel Room
The problem with hotel rooms is that you never know who is next door.
Especially when you are in a casino hotel on an Indian Reservation.
The music thunders through the wall.
I groan, check the time.
3.17 a.m.
‘Stay there, sweetie,’ my wife says, ‘I’ll call reception.’
She slams the phone down abruptly.
I look at her in amazement.
‘High rollers,’ she snaps, ‘Reception say they can’t do anything until the manager gets here in the morning.’
The room is still vibrating.
I groan again, roll out of bed.
I dress, knock on next door.
I see a music device, surprisingly small for the din it creates.
The guy laughs in my face.
I show him my badge.
‘Get lost, detective, you have no authority here on the Res.’
His friends gather round, hurling insults.
I take out my gun, shoot the speaker.
Not the guy doing the talking, the thing making the noise.
‘Do I need to shoot anything else?’ I ask the stunned faces.
The speaker shakes his head.
The guy doing the talking, not the thing making much less noise.
I go back to bed in blissful silence.
The problem with hotel rooms is that you never know who is next door.
Ha ha ha ha ha. I absolutely loved what you did there. Such a smart little tale.
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Thank you, sir, your comments are music to my ears!
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I liked the repetition of the line that began the story at the end. I also enjoyed the clarification of which speaker the narrator was referring to. Very funny. A satisfying conclusion to the situation, shooting the speaker. Now hopefully he can get some rest.
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I confess that I had fun with this one, Mandie.
Glad my little tricks worked for you.
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I expect that’s how Dirty Harry would have resolved noise complaints if he’d been an Environmental Health Officer. Very cleverly written CE.
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Thank you, Harry is only one of the inspirations behind this tongue-in-cheek piece.
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Definitely an excellent “sound bite” when it comes to silencing sound!
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Well, well, what a delightful surprise to see you here, my dear Penny.
I am glad my little story amused you, but when are you going to treat us to a tale of your own, it has been far too long.
My love to all, as always.
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Hi, C. Yes, long overdue indeed. I’ll see what I can come up with. Thank you. Will pass on to fam. All are doing great, wishing you well.
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Ha ha, clever! I liked the double use of the line about not knowing who’s next door, Clearly that applied to both rooms, in this case!
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I like that too, Joy.
It was the first line that came to me when I saw the photo, and I realised it was perfectly cyclic.
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Sometimes that “first line” comes to me too, and I have to figure out how to write the rest of the story around it, to make sense of it. You did a great job with that here.
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Strategic move 🙂
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Sometimes a man’s gotta do…
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Well done! Rhythmic creaking, loud snoring, thumping music – I’ve put up with my fair share during my travels – and that’s in my room!
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Beware of the neighbours, Keith
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Oh yes, many of us would like to be able to deal with noisy neighbours like this. Loved the ‘speakers’ duality.
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That came to me as I was writing, Iain.
I love when that happens, and someone appreciates it.
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Loved the story, it felt like it could grow, almost like the start of a film
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A slightly off-beat, trigger-happy cop?
Hmm, I think it’s been done before!
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Oh, this is something we so wanted to do to inconsiderate neighbours some years back!
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It is perhaps a tad extreme, but doubtless immensely gratifying.
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🙂 🙂
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