Poppy

This is a story in progress, but I wrote the beginning to try and get a compelling character. I like Poppy a lot and hope to do justice to her as the story continues.


Poppy was nine years old and in the four grade. She had long, reddish blond hair which her mother often braided for her. She was prone to freckles. She was skinny and liked to wear flower patterned, cotton dresses. Unlike most girls, whose favorite color was pink, Poppy's was orange. She lived in a comfortable, three bedroom rambler in the suburbs with her mom, dad and younger brother. She had a pet cat named Laura who slept with her every night. Everything about Poppy and her life was normal except for one thing: her eyes.

            When she was 6 months old she developed Strabismus, a condition which caused her to be extremely crossed eyed. Because of this her childhood was not what you would call normal. Her early years centered around bi-monthly eye therapy sessions where she had to learn to train her eye muscles to focus on one object. This was hard to do because her eyes tended to wander all over the place. But, with practice, she learned how to do it. By the time she was nearly 4 years old, she was 95% cured, though her vision was blurry and she had to wear glasses with thick, corrective lens.

            Starting in preschool, despite her teacher's best efforts, many classmates began calling her names like 'four eyes' and 'crazy crossed eyes' and generally making fun of her. But being different was OK with Poppy. Throughout her young life she had learned to be happy being by herself. Her favorite pastime was singing. Being shaped by poor vision in her early years, she was unable to focus on anything tiny. Therefore, her mother allowed her to watch videos and movies because it was easy for her to see the images on the screen. She could watch one per day. Her favorites became 'Strawberry Shortcake' when she was young and 'Annie' when she was older. She loved to sing along with the characters, imaging herself actually in the scenes before her on the screen, twirling and dancing and moving to the rhythm of the music.

            In short, Poppy had become a well adjusted child who had a mellow disposition and took things in stride. Being made fun of in school for being different didn't bother her too much. Not much, that was, until one day she started feeling different in a different kind of way. It all started toward the end of the current school year when a new kid came into her class. His name was Sidney. He was tall and skinny and wore braces. Right away you just knew he was going to be picked on for his appearance. He had red hair that stuck up all over the place, a face covered in freckles and he even wore a flannel shirt, despite the fact that it was a hot day in late May. But on top all that, he wore glasses just a thick as hers. He was assigned the seat in her row right in front of her. As he sat down he turned sideways and smiled,

            "Hi." He said with a grin and pointed with his thumb back toward the teacher. "They call me Sidney, but you can call me Sid."

            There was something interesting about this goofy looking new kid and Poppy had a good feeling about him. "Hi." She said. "You can call me Poppy." She had a feeling that they just might become friends.
(To be continued)

The Performance Review

 In the spring of this year I took an online writing course which jump started my interest in writing fiction. This story is one I submitted for an assignment to write a 1000 word story. It's based on the years I spent working for Honeywell.

David Jasper Collingsford strolled arrogantly down the hall and knocked on the office door of his boss.

            'Come in.' She said, pleasantly, opening the door to greet him. 'David,' she smiled. 'It's good to see you. Have a chair and sit down.'

            'Thanks'. With a smug smirk David sat down and gave his boss a quick once over. Peggy Sandquist was around forty five years old. She was short with a firm build and sandy, flyaway hair. She wore a dark blue skirt and jacket with a contrasting string of colored beads around her neck. She had an easy smile and almost everyone liked her. But not David. She had been his boss the entire twelve years he'd been a sales rep with the company, and he couldn't stand her.

            She smiled again. 'How have you been?'

            'Good', he answered, barely containing his dislike for her.  'Been on the boat a lot.'

            David had a big problem in his life and that problem was women. He honestly felt women had a certain place in society. And that place was definitely not on the same level as himself. He went to bars, met women and dated them. But he didn't like being subservient to them. Especially where he worked and especially like he had to be with his boss. In short, he felt he was better than women. He knew this went against the grain of modern society's attitude, but he couldn't help it. It was just how he was. Now he had this yearly meeting to deal with, and he was ready. His plan was to be assertive and ask for a raise for all the great work he'd done as a salesman for the company. He was positive he would get it.

            David was single, thirty nine years old and an athletic six foot one. His short cropped, dark hair and strong jaw anchored a confident face. He was tanned from hours spent out on his boat. He caught a reflection of himself in a window in the office and grinned, happy with what he saw.

            They spent a few minutes with small talk before getting down to business, which was fine with David. He'd had all he could take of her babbling on and on about her stupid kids. He was just about ready to bring up the subject of getting a raise, when Peggy offered a rare frown, concentrating. 'David, I'm afraid I have been receiving some troubling reports about you.'

            David leaned forward in his chair. What the hell about?, he almost yelled, and then checked himself. 'What about?' he asked pleasantly, trying to keep his cool. He had no idea what she was talking about.

            'It has to do with how you are treating the receptionists.'

            'Them? What do you mean? I'm fine with them.' David spat, bristling with anger.

            'Well, for one, you can't call any of them sweetie or darlin' or doll face. They have names, you know. Alice, Sue and Elizabeth. It's very derogatory'. She held up her hand to stop him as he tried to interrupt. 'And for another thing, you can't keep asking them to get you coffee and run errands for you.'

            David was stunned. This was idiotic. 'Why the hell not? Aren't they there to 'support us' he said, using his fingers to give air quotes around support.

            'Yes, David, but not like that'. Peggy was straining to be patient. 'They are not there for your own beck and call. You should really know better than that.' He fought to contain his anger. She had no right to talk to him this way. Peggy continued, looking him straight in the eye, 'You are disrespectful to others in the office, your clients find you boorish, and you treat women, myself included, like second class citizens.'

            David blew up. 'I do not,' he yelled, and stopped himself from pounding his fist on her desk. 'I can't help it if other people are incompetent.'

            Peggy sat stunned, not believing what she was hearing. 'David, I truly believe you should think long and hard about what you just said.'

            David glared at her for a moment, struggling to calm down. Then something deep inside took over.  He realized he could turn this situation to his advantage. After all, his boss was just a woman. He took a deep breath, and turned on the charm. 'Hey, I'm sorry,'  he said, giving her a bright, cheerful smile. 'I know I have a few faults, but, really, don't you think my sales record supersedes all the complaints?'

            Peggy sat back and sadly shook her head. 'No, David, I don't. It takes more than sales to make it in this company. You have to be a decent person, too.' Then she got up, signifying the meeting was coming to a close. 'David, I am placing you on probation. I would like to meet with you next week to discuss the next steps for you and your career'.  The meeting was over. She ushered him out the door.

            David was beyond mad. How dare she treat him like this? Literally seeing red, he stomped down the hall, bypassed the elevators and yanked open the door leading to the stairwell. His forehead was beaded in perspiration. His heart was racing. He leaned against the wall and sank to the cement steps. He was a perfect employee. How could she do this to him? Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, blowing smoke to the ceiling. After a moment the smoke alarm went off. Then the sprinklers kicked in and water started raining down. David sat there livid, getting drenched and wondering if he should just quit. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. To hell with her. And he quickly made the decision. He'd just quit. And he smiled, water dripping from his nose. That would really show her who was boss.