Unjournal 29

Prompt: Whine. Bellyache. Complain. Moan. Criticize. Create a conversation that uses some form of each of these words. Can you go the non-cliche route with this conversation?

Response: 

She looked over her family with intense concentration, silently judging their appearances.

“Your hat is too big and floppy; remove it right now!” the woman remarked to her eldest daughter.

“It’s a sun hat!” she said in a shrill, slightly mad tone. “Don’t criticize my choices!” However, her mother had already moved onto the youngest child.

“Honey, go get different shoes on. We’re going on a vacation to the Bahamas, not to the mountains.”

“But the hiking boots are so cool! Can’t I wear them?” pleaded the little boy, Jake, with a trembling lip.

“No. Go change right away.” the mother responded firmly. Jake ran off down the hall, frowning and mumbling as he went to exchange shoes. He sighed loudly, and a string of complaints followed. Her husband was next.

“Why are you taking your wedding ring; you could lose it! And what about your shirt? It’s long sleeve! I swear, you’re just as bad as the kids, some days . . .” she muttered. As her dejected husband slunk off to change his shirt and remove his ring, she loaded everything into the car.

The trip to the airport was even worse than the preparation.

“My stomach hurts! I have a stomach ache!” screeched 6 year old Jake, who was clutching his belly and moaning.

“I have no WiFi right now!” said Alli slowly, the panic beginning to build up inside of her.

“Are we here . . . or here . . . maybe if we turn right . . . no, left . . . oh, sorry, I guess we missed it . . . or did we?” her husband remarked, trying to puzzle his way through the directions.

Finally, she could bare it no more.

“Everyone SHUT YOUR MOUTHS! I am giving up 6 VACATION DAYS to go on this trip and you all are acting like you’ve never been outside the house before! I WANT TO RELAX! It started off bad this morning, but somehow, over the course of the drive, MY DAY GOT EVEN WORSE! Now everyone keep quiet and don’t say one word until we get there! Harold, dear, give me the directions. I will strangle you if I have to listen to one more sorry sentence out of your mouth. You are terrible at directions, anyways.” After that episode, nobody said another word. Dead silence blanketed the car on the way to the airport.

I can do it, I can put up with my family for a couple of days, right? Or my name’s not Linda Wrightly! she thought, somewhat comforted by this knowledge. If anyone could handle her out of control family, she would.