This is my response to the Friday Fictioneers prompt for July 18. The challenge is to write a 100-word story inspired by the photo prompt. Play along by writing your own, reading others and/or commenting on the flashes we fictioneers create. My piece this week weighs in at exactly 100 words.
Copyright Adam Ickes
Aries
When Tamika asked if she could bring her kid on “bring your child to work” day, I responded positively. She hadn’t stopped talking about Aries since she started working for me, and I wanted to meet him.
On the big day, a commotion arose in the lobby. Hearing Tamika shriek, “Ashley said I could bring him!” I rushed into the room.
Aries, it turned out, was a pygmy goat. My boss looked my direction, and I knew I had some explaining to do. Since Tamika had never shown me a picture of Aries, plausible deniability would be my golden fleece.
Being MG 
Dear Marie Gail,
Golden fleece indeed. I laughed out loud. She did bring her kid to work. Priceless.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks, Rochelle. I had fun with the word play.
Peace,
Marie
haha, good stuff!
Thanks, Mr. Binks! We often played with this particular pun when I was a child, so as soon I as I saw the prompt I knew what I had to write about.
Cheers!
MG
That’s really clever, MG. Great twist. It seems already from what I’ve read, this picture is prone to puns. Kids these days… 🙂
Thanks, David. Frankly, the picture struck me as funny, so the best thing to do, IMHO, was to go with it. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it. I aim to please.
Cheers!
MG
Very, very clever. 🙂
Thanks, Sandra. My nine-year-old niece who has had a little trouble with reading got super excited about this story and is suddenly thrilled that I am a writer–all because of a simple pun. I’m glad it worked for you as well.
Cheers!
MG
Really clever. Entertained me well.
Thank you!
I can picture that happening with the way some people are about their pets. That would be a riot.
It would, wouldn’t it? Although I didn’t mention it in the story, I sort of saw this happening in a large call center. I can totally imagine the hubbub it would cause.
Cheers!
MG
Dear MotorGenerator,
Loved your wordplay and the light tone of your piece. I’ll bet this has actually happened somewhere out there. Life imitates art.
Aloha,
Doug
Thanks so very much, Doug. I had fun coming up with the story, and yes, I’m sure there is a Tamika out there somewhere just waiting to pull one over on an unsuspecting middle manager.
Cheers!
MG (By the way, that’s short for OMG. 🙂 )
This is so funny. I bring my dog to work from time to time, she is a superstar, everyone is crazy about her.
Ah, so you’re the culprit that caused Tamika to think she could get away with this! 🙂 We do all love our pets, and many can do well in the work place. I, personally, have cats, so they only get out once a year on St. Francis Day when they have to go to church to get their blessings.
Thanks for reading!
All my best,
Marie Gail
Clever with the wordplay, darling. You are a cunning linguist.
Thank you, m’dear. This one was simply too much fun.
So many clever lines haha. Quality work there 🙂
Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it.
Cheers!
MG
So clever it made me GOL (groan out loud). 😉
GOL–that’s funny, Dawn. I’m going to use it in the future, but I’ll be sure to give credit where it is due. Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
MG
🙂
Clever take on the prompt, plausible deniability sounds like the only way out 😉
Plausible deniability is good for so many things.
Thanks for reading!
MG
Very fun! I think we’re going to get a lot of laughs from this prompt. You certainly made me smile.
Thanks, Alicia. Yes, humor was where I went directly on seeing this photo, although I could understand if some folks choose to go with horror stories this week too. I haven’t had a chance to read much yet, but I’m looking forward to it.
Cheers!
MG
Well done, Marie Gail. Clever play with words.
Thanks, Karen!
I can actually imagine this happening. So comical!
Ellespeth
Dear Ellespeth,
I’ve known a few people that I wouldn’t put it past, for sure! And, of course, the best friend of any middle manager is plausible deniability.
Thanks so much for reading!
All my best,
Marie Gail
Well done – a humorous tale.
Thank you, Liz. I’m not generally a funny writer, but sometimes a picture demands it. This was a lot of fun.
All my best,
Marie Gail
Marie Gail, Funny story. 😀 I agree that this possibly has happened somewhere in the world. I could see a child bringing something like that goat for show-and-tell at school also. Well written. 🙂 —Susan
Susan,
I think the child that did that would be my niece. 🙂 She’s the one who sneaked home from a day trip with a three-week-old yellow lab puppy once. Perhaps that needs to be the topic of my next flash.
Thanks for reading.
Marie Gail
Dear Marie Gail, Love your story! Yes, I could see a kid bringing a “kid” for show and tell. Funny! Nan 🙂
Dear Nan,
Yes, if I had had access to any young goats, I likely would have done exactly that myself. 🙂 I wouldn’t, however, bring an animal to the workplace–mostly because none of my animals would appreciate it very much.
Thanks for reading!
Marie Gail
Hehe golden fleece. Nice story!
Thanks, Jessie! I had fun with the pun (had to work a little to get the golden fleece in there, but it was worth it).
Thanks for reading!
All my best,
Marie Gail
And loved your little kid Aries. and Aries must have liked the office atmosphere with so much attention.
I have the feeling that if management would calm down about the presence of the little goat everyone would have a better time.
Thanks for reading!
All my best,
Marie Gail
Take your kid to work day! Genius. I applaud your story and originality.
Randy
Thanks, Randy. That has been a long-played pun that was sure to come out in my writing one of these days.
Cheers!
MG
So amusing and such a clever play on words. Beautifully unique!
Thank you so much, Diana! This one was a lot of fun. I love playing with this diverse group.
Cheers!
Marie Gail
Funniest part of this is you can really see it happening. Great story.
Thanks, Jed! Realism is my favorite genre.
Cheers!
Marie Gail
Kid indeed! Loved the way you turned it out 😀
Thanks, Horus! This was a particularly fun prompt.
Cheers!
MG
Very witty and fun this week, Marie Gail.
Thanks! I had a great prompt to help me out this week. 🙂
Hilarious. Bring your kid to work day? They opened themselves up for that one. 🙂
They were kind of asking for it, weren’t they? Thanks for reading this week, Russell.
Cheers!
MG
The pygmy goat was probably more entertaining than the other ‘kids’. I’d rather have a visit from a bleating goat than a bleating ‘kid’ any day. Clever use of prompt.
Thanks! I’m glad enjoyed it.
MG
Kid, Aries, Work. I loved how you incorporated all this into a single prompt 😀
Shailaja/The Moving Quill
Thanks so much. One of the most fun things about flash fiction and other creative short forms in the process of pulling multiple facets into the piece without overloading it. Editing sessions can get intense, but the results are worth it.
All my best,
Marie Gail
Oh, I completely agree. I started dabbling in this ever since January and the results have been very satisfying 🙂
Brilliant! Just subtly brilliant!
Loved this piece and the twist!
Thanks, Pat. So glad you enjoyed it.
Marie Gail