Cleaning my desk today I came across this, written as a little writing exercise on a writer’s retreat last year, where my obsession with apostrophes had become public. Enjoy!
In Trouble
Jonesy hovers.
“What is that?”
I grip my pen tighter.
“A story.” I’ve written only four words, so calling it a story is generous, but…
“Yes. I can see that.” A pause. A frown. “Well maybe being a bit ambitious to call it a story, but still, it’s a start.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe I’m not in trouble after all. But too soon.
“My problem is that. That!”
A finger trembling with rage hovers over my page.
My own fingers tremble with some different emotion. My eyes drop to the page.
“It’s an a-a-a-apostrophe.”
“I know that, Tommy.” Jonesy hisses, face red with rage. “But it’s misplaced.”