Sundra R Allen
Eng 2270
July 24,2015
Using the character you are working on, write a two-page scene in which the character encounters an obstacle or conflict. Use one of the situations from your Fairy Tale list and include at least one object/phrase or character.
It’s All a Matter of Guessing
Martus Sclar stood facing the gate. The lock was stuck again and he looked over is shoulder to see who in the neighborhood might be watching, as he tried unsuccessfully to get it to open. He had looked over his right shoulder. He would not dare to look over the left. That would present the obvious.
“Where the hell is Marta?” he softly growled.
He didn’t want to be seen on the street in a home with a broken lock. Life was about looking the part and Marta fixed everything. Marta made him look good. He wiggled it again and still nothing. That was twice. He wanted to yell for his daughter but this might wake them on the cul de sac to his having failed to properly fix something on his property. He might cause the property values to go down. An impoverished fool instead of a happy up and comer was not something he could live with. This was his neighborhood. He was not about to give it up. He had to stand strong. It was all about saving face. Aware of the length of time that he had stood facing the lock, he shifted his feet back and forth projecting his best impression of having forgotten something. He put his right hand up to his forhead suggesting that the hand was making a connection with his mind. He moved his eyes to the right and looked up to the sky, brought his extended right hand down to his waist, pointer finger extended and shook it to signify that he remembered something that he forgot. He turned and walked back to the car.
The Ford Fusion was new and he was glad of it even if the payments were becoming a strain as the economy tightened. He opened the door of the silver car and bent to slid his lithe,six foor frame into the front seat. Once in, he bent to open the glove compartment. He noticed his hand. It did not have
the tan that Mr. Porta’s had but Mac Porta spent hours on the golf course. Old Porta had the money and the time. Maybe he could get out more to the golf course. He could if he could find more money. Maybe the interview with Lits Industries would prove fruitful. He planned as he rifled.
“I will use my list of credentials. I will do a 45 second commercial about me. I will sell me. I am a great salesman. My work history speaks of success.”
There was a map that he had forgotten about in the glove compartment. He sighed and pulled it out. He didn’t unfold it. He just sat with it in his hands for a few seconds. And then he had a thought. He pulled out his cell phone and rang Marta.
“I am outside. I need you to open that God Damn gate and make it look easy. Can you do that for me? Can you do it and make it look like you just walked out of the house? You could look for something in the mail box and then just be surprised that I am there.”
He hung up without courtesy and waited. Marta took care of him. She always did. She never questioned. She followed his instruction to the letter of the law. It was this way since her mother died. That was a big event in their lives but it never slowed them down. They were upwardly mobile. They did not lose position when the enormous bills came in. And Marta as gentle as a broken puppy had kept it all together. He used her as a cleaning women. He used her as a bill payer and shopper even though she didn’t drive.
He could hear the door the house door open. Marta in a clean,blue flowered, non-clingy skirt that reached her knees and a plain white blouse that did not announce her maturity walked the walk to the mailbox. She was tall, about five foot eight and about 118 pounds. Her hair was a light burgundy and her beige skin did not show blemishes. Her gait was steady. She opened the mailbox and looked in. There was nothing there.
“Hi Dad,” she said, sort of surprised and turned the garden gate lock without incident.
Getting out of the car Martus Sclar had only one thought. He wondered how he could use her.
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