100 Worder My Name’s Jones

100 Worder

Alan Cadman

My Name’s Jones

Martini … shaken, not stirred

Jack’s job wasn’t very exciting; sales, commission only. He made it interesting, during his pitch to the customer, by pretending to be someone else. He stepped out of his car and buttoned up his coat.

Tonight, Jack thought, I’m going to be the world’s most famous spy.

Clutching his Quality Fitted Kitchens briefcase, he sauntered up a driveway and tapped on a door. When it creaked open he raised one eyebrow. “My name’s Jones … Jack Jones.”’

His eyes widened as a woman, stroking a white Persian cat on her arm, replied, “I’ve been expecting you, Mr Jones.”’

About the author

Alan has been writing short stories for six years. Before that, he was the editor of a civic society newsletter for seven years. When he first started writing fiction, his published work was rewarded with complimentary copies from magazines. His first cheque arrived on Christmas Eve 2009.

In 2011 he made the short list for one story and became a prize winner for flash fiction. Alan also won first prize, of £100, in a poetry competition in 2013. The last three accolades were awarded by the same best-selling UK magazine for writers. Alan’s work has been read out on Internet radio and his stories are now published in hard copy magazines and e-zines.

100 Worder South of the River after Midnight

100 Worder

Charlie Wade

South of the River after Midnight

Whisky Straight Up

The cabbie looked at him in the mirror. “That’s what you lot don’t understand,” he started, “you go south of the river after midnight and it blows your hours the rest of the week. People never learn.”

He watched the cabbie shake his head.

“Job’s hard enough anyway. It’s the government, see? Don’t look after the working man anymore. This country, eh?”

Their eyes met again.

He wanted to disagree but couldn’t speak. The gag was far too tight. All he could do, trussed up on the floor, was blink. Blink and hope to hell this wasn’t his last ride.

About the author

Charlie Wade is forty years old and lives in on the edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire. He's written three books and many of his short stories can be found online. His latest novel, Seven Daze, was published by Caffeine Nights on 27th May 2013. You can find him online at

http://batteriesarentincluded.blogspot.co.uk/

100 Worder Shake Your Booty

100 Worder

Mike Olley

Shake Your Booty

Isotonic Rum

Rosie had never felt more stupid in her life but had decided to front it out. Stuck flat on her back for the next half hour with everyone staring at her. So what if stripy tops weren't in? She could take the other girls' sniggers. And what was so wrong with the gold earring she was sporting? She'd seen worse. The eye patch was an embarrassment but could pass as a legitimate ailment. The five o'clock shadow was more difficult to explain; the parrot and fake wooden-leg nigh on impossible. Rosie wished she'd read the invite to Pilates class properly.

About the author

Mike Olley made pop videos but gave it all up to live next to a Spanish castle, where he grew cactuses, practised carpentry and wrote strange funny stories. Unable to take the heat any longer, he returned to England with his sense of humour and a half-baked novel. His first collection of short stories is Better.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder High Steaks

100 Worder

Angela Haffenden

High Steaks

A glass of Chianti – served chilled

My husband chews the steak, an ecstatic expression on his face.

            ‘You should cook meat more often.’

            I nod at him, glad he doesn’t realise he’s eating what is his last meal.

I slice my char grilled vegetables. I savour every mouthful.

            ‘I’m glad you’re enjoying it,’ I say, taking a generous swill of wine with my next bite.

Hovering above myself, I watch a macabre scene play out below me. My husband, slumped in the chair, head lolling, his face purple from the poison I concealed in his meal.

            Me, I’m choking on a huge lump of red pepper.

About the author

Angela Haffenden is a thirty-seven- year old mother of four children. She is also responsible for a husband, a dog and an ageing father. She writes mainly to stay sane. She lives by the sea and writes in a cabin in the garden.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder Accident

100 Worder

Roger Noons

Accident

A cup of strong tea

When Mervyn Davies fell down stairs and broke his neck, his son Philip was not saddened. Many a night he had been awakened by banging on the partition wall between his bedroom and that of his sister. Megan was two years older than Phil; well developed for her fourteen years. He would hear their father’s cough as he closed the door, followed by the creak of the floorboards. Pressing his ear against the anaglypta, he would listen to Megan’s sobs. It was early on a January morning, when Phil leapt from his doorway, startling his father who lost his balance.

About the author

Roger is a regular contributor to the CaféLit site and a couple of his stories have been selected for the Best of CaféLit 2012.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder Gone

100 Worder

Lindsay Bamfield

Gone

Bitter lemon

There she is dressed in dramatic black, weeping prettily, revelling in the fuss from the mourners. She is playing to perfection the role of widow. Has she forgotten that she is not his widow? I am. Yet I’m an embarrassment to those who remember that he never married her in the twenty years they were together. Twice the time he was with me. I doubt she loved him twice as much. I loved him enough to let him go when I was no longer wanted but she clung on to him like choking ivy so his only escape was suicide.

About the author

Lindsay Bamfield is a co-founder of Greenacre Writers in Finchley, North London. She has had several short stories and flash fiction pieces published in anthologies and online and is editing her first novel and working on her second.

If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK

100 Worder Three Little Words

100 Worder

Dawn Knox

Three Little Words

Lemon tea – quick to make and slightly sharp

She'd been longing to hear those three little words and now, here he was across the table, making and breaking eye contact as he swallowed again, summoning the courage to speak. How easy it would have been to say the words for him but she too would have struggled. She placed her hand on his and squeezed encouragingly. Why was it so hard for them both to express their feelings and share their thoughts? Finally, he took a deep breath, cleared his throat and unable to hold her gaze, he looked over her shoulder into the distance. 'It’s over, Laura.'

About the author

Dawn Knox has been writing for several years and has had horror and sci-fi stories published in various anthologies and romances published in magazines. She enjoys a writing challenge and this is her first foray into Flash Fiction.

 If you want to send us a story in exactly 100 words check out the 100-Word Challenge here: LINK