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#AtoZchallenge #flashfiction: R for Rather than give in to temptation

As part of the A to Z Challenge,  through the month of April I’ll be posting a story a day based on photographs by Joseph W. Richardson and prompts given to me by blog-friends.
Writing prompt: Rather than give in to temptation

Provided by: Tina Downey, close friend, comrade-in-arms for the A to Z Challenge

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#atozchallenge :Rather than give in to temptation

#atozchallenge :Rather than give in to temptation

          Mum says it’s evil to steal.

          Sure, the first time you try it, you go Gawd I can’t do this, but then you’ve picked it up and chucked it in your handbag, your fingers shoved into your pockets to keep them from trembling, blood singing in your ears as you wait for the alarms to squeal on you, and then you’re out, striding out into the daylight, and they tell you they’d cut the tags out for you and ask you how you feel, and you tell them you’re doing great, just awesome. You want to do it again.

         Rather than give in to temptation, Mum says, earn your cash, make sure you work to pay for what you want and don’t get into trouble. Gucci shoes, DKNY jeans, any amount of bling, I want it all. So that’s what I do these days. I work.

         No one can see my face, its only shaking my bits at the camera, twirl some panties, shimmying around a bit. Who cares if some weirdo in outer Serbia is jerking off to it, right? I have Paypal, and my Paypal has the zeroes, baby. You can buy anything, they deliver it to you, right where you want it. You gotta love internet! And if anyone gets into trouble, it will be the school, because guess what computers we’re using? lmao

Mum says it is evil to show yourself, but I didn’t fall from the sky, y’know? She must’ve done some showing someplace to get me, right?

       Anyway, what’s good and what’s evil? Who gets to decide which is which? Some day, I’m gonna ask Mum, but I doubt she has an answer.

       And d’ya know we’ll do today? We’re gonna be good girls! We’ll dress up all lush, the nipples, y’know, and today it’ll be the real deal, a reeeal Man, and I’m supposed to…I’m not telling you! Lots of Syrup heads, and tons of snow, that’s all you need to know…that rhymes, lol

         So excited, don’t know what to think ATM, but I know I’m gonna be evil, baby, and it’s gonna feel soooo good!! We might even get it on. What does Mum know, she doesn’t get JO, or TDTM, or 420 or even PIR, poor thing.

          But I love her so. She tells her friends I’m a good girl, and I am, right? Right.

           Mum says it is evil to lie…here I am, telling you the truth. OK, PIR, so gtg, ttyl!


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Are you taking part in the A to Z challenge? Do you read or write fiction? Ever write based on a prompt? Do you have teens at home? Do you get teenspeak?

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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30 Comments

  • Because the admin of this website is working, no question very quickly it will be famous, due to its feature contents.

  • Wow! Powerful… and scary too.
    And probably a reality for many teenagers out there… those who become “victims of circumstance”…

  • Trisha says:

    Scary that there are a lot of this type of person out there in the world today!

  • Fantastic story, D. I’m loving your flash fiction theme this year–and can’t wait to see them all collected in another A-to-Z book 😉 Yeah, I’m with Mum, too–what’s PIR? and 420? I’m glad I don’t have kids–the language barrier would be bigger than the generation gap 😀

    Thanks for the smile–and for stopping over at Vidya’s for my cameo there. Your comment was lovely.
    Guilie @ Life In Dogs

    • Damyanti says:

      Guilie, PIR Is Parent In Room, and 420 is another word for dope. I don’t know if I’ll collect these or let them languish like the ones the year before. We’ll see, I guess 🙂

  • lexacain says:

    Perfect characterization of a teen/twenty-something with no morals and a taste for the good life. They’re raised to be so entitled these days. But they age, mature, learn … and eventually raise their own crop of amoral, materialistic brats. Great work on the voice!

    • Damyanti says:

      Yes, for a moment I wore this girl’s skin. I presented her as who she is….though I wonder how much of who she is is her her responsibility…

  • kmandana says:

    As a mom, i found this story absolutely chilling! Very well done.

  • OMG! I loved this crazy girl! Great writing!

  • This story and the picture and the prompt are braided together such that it is absolutely believable that what you wrote could be what that girl is thinking/texting/messaging… 🙂

  • Brilliantly done. I like the slang thrown in there. It shows who is talking.

    ~Patricia Lynne~
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, YA Author

  • The ideas that run through your head! Love these voices.

  • A powerful piece that brutally illustrates the danger and innocence of youth which, coupled with a yearning for money and ‘grown-up-ness’, can lead all too many people down paths they may later regret. Well done with this one, its realism and openness really hits home.
    Davey.
    ‘The Path Through the Eye of Another’ http;//smarturl.it/daveynorthcott

  • Quite a gritty tale that makes me glad I’m the father of a son and not a daughter; I think any parent would share the same hopes, advice, and fears for one of their children. Another great tale…

  • You have such a way of turning things on their “ear.” For taking us, your readers, down one path only to find out there are many forks along that path. I never know where you’ll take us next! Brilliant.

  • Aditi says:

    I like the openness and the truthfulness in this story. There…this is it. ..on your face! Many girls are perhaps using this means to earn a quick buck!

  • Mou Mishra says:

    Interesting satire, loved it 🙂

  • Wonderful as always. Yours is the only A to Z Challenge I follow: your stories seem so carefully prepared and well-written, and not simply dashed off for the day as if the fulfilment of the A to Z Challenge is some sort of neurosis! Marvellous!

  • beloome says:

    Quite a tale you weave here, complete with all the right acronyms, many of which I must admit I don’t understand 🙂 But there is a certain sincerity in the way this story is narrated. I like that very much. Another good one from you!

  • Sue says:

    As an out of some of the ‘Lingo Loop’ grandmother, I do get the jest of the temptation, the mode of PayUpPal , and like reading a piece that explores and questions issues from one generation to the next. I also like reading ‘Prompt’ motivated writing….well done…very creative with the reader involved in working out the right and wrongs for themselves. Thanks for visiting today for my Letter ‘R’…and as you know I am a ‘Big Prompt Writer’.
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

  • Sammy D. says:

    Is it a world run amok that evokes this self-destructive behavior? The ease of electronic anonymity? ( or so we tell ourselves). What a lonely, sad tale. I pray she gets through these years relatively unharmed, and eventuslly turns her life around.

  • Tina Downey says:

    You captured her very well, down to her language. Yeah, which is worse? She’s not stealing…she’s getting paid, but oh the sacrifice. I think mum would choose stealing over this…it’s not at all what she meant. But I think that’s totally what you meant by the story…
    Tina @ Life is Good
    A to Z Team @ Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014

  • I’m with Mum – I don’t understand much of the language. No teens in the house; my youngest is in her late 30s, and the eldest her mid 40s. No grandkids, either.