
Productivity strode into the room. Great Idea, Inspiration and Research all cheered. Great Idea turned the computer on and hovered excitedly next to the empty chair waiting for her idol to get down to business.
On the other side of the room Distraction hurriedly picked up her phone and tried to open Facebook, but Diligence was onto her. She snatched the phone and changed their password, ensuring doom scrolling couldn’t commence. Grateful that Diligence had her back Productivity gave her friend a snappy high five as she took her seat, flexed her fingers and opened a new word document.
‘We’ve got this!’ Great Idea declared.
Inner Critic pretended to vomit, but nobody was paying her any attention. Great Idea and Inspiration both started talking at once, gushing with excitement, while Creativity began to hum. The room quickly divided, half of the occupants bubbled with anticipation, while the remainder were an agitated mess.
Great Idea and Inspiration called Research over, they conferred, and Research opened a search engine, they needed to know more.
Distraction zoned in on Research, slinking across the room seductively. ‘What are you looking at?’ She purred smiling sweetly at her target.
Research blushed, Distraction had a lovely smile, and she was looking rather attractive today. She started to explain what she was investigating, but Distraction interrupted her.
‘Ohhh,’ Distraction sighed disinterestedly. Then she leant in close to Research, ‘I like dogs, dogs are cute. Maybe we should check the adoption sights?’
Research havered, they all liked dogs. Inspiration floated over, she forced herself into the narrow space between Research and Distraction deliberately jostling the would-be tangent off the bench.
Fear of Exposure had overheard what Research was looking up. She started huffing and puffing, pacing back and forth across the room. Finally, she could take it no more.
‘That’s a controversial topic Research. I don’t think we are qualified to write about it. We could upset people.’
Inner Critic agreed while in the corner Stuck in the Middle started to cry. She wasn’t close to being needed yet, but she had a sixth sense for knowing when things could get messy and she had a bad feeling about this story already.
‘We haven’t had a cup of tea in ages,’ Distraction grumbled.
‘Or a biscuit,’ Can’t get in the Zone added. ‘I wonder if we have any biscuits, maybe we should go to the shops?’
Productivity, Inspiration, Great Idea, Research, Creativity and Diligence shared a look.
‘Get them!’ Productivity shouted.
There was a passionate tussle, but Diligence won over and soon Distraction, Can’t Get in the Zone, Perfectionism, Fear of Exposure, Inner Critic and Stuck in the Middle were all tied up in the corner of the room. For a while they mumbled and grumbled, but it was no good Productivity was on a roll.
© Juliet Robinson 2024, all rights reserved

“Her idle,” LOL! 🙂 I’m glad to see there was a happy ending for our protagonists!
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That would be an example of a dyslexic typo! Whoops!! They happen … Ha!
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I took it as a deliberate play on words! Sometimes a dyslexic typo can be a serendipitous boon! 🙂
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💚☺️💚 I should have played it cool!
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LOL!
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I thought ‘her idle’ was wordplay too!
This piece made me laugh in that wry, ‘OMG, I recognise this all too well’ way! Glad it ended on an upbeat writing note!
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I don’t have the smarts for such word play! Not at the moment. 😂
Glad it made you laugh.
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My critique group LOVED these two pieces (I printed them both — I didn’t want to deprive the group of the happy ending!) 🙂
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That’s really nice to hear. They were fun to write and very familiar …
Hope you have a lovely weekend when it arrives. 💚
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Thanks, Juliet!
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Displacement Activity is trying to decide if that is a Bourbon or a Garibaldi biscuit. Thanks for an uplift in my mood.
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You know I have never had a garibaldi, people tell me this is my loss, and I am sure they are right!
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They are a fine biscuit and I would recommend you try one if you ever get the chance. Ignore the nickname 2dead fly biscuits”, they are delicious. However I tend to stick to Digestives and Ginger Biscuits these days – the inexpensive classics as i like to think of them.
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Yeah the two dead fly part doesn’t really sell them does it! 😂
I’m a dark chocolate digestive person, with the occasional white chip cookie. I love biscuits.
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Dark chocolate digestives! Undoubtedly a biscuit, but coated in a substance that I have always had difficulty understanding. It’s called “chocolate” but it tastes like medicine and is, I’m assured, “good for you”. Another of life’s mysteries . . .
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