2nd Wildcards
Choice
He had an unsettling knack of finding a karaoke bar wherever we went. As Tony had arranged to meet his friend here, I allowed myself to be ushered in without the domestic which this 'entertainment' usually spawned.
He went to the bar whilst I found a table far too near the tiny stage for my liking but too far for his. A suitable marital compromise.
Karaoke.
The word apparently comes from two Japanese words which mean 'Music' and 'Torture', at that point it was the unfortunate Sting who was the subject of the inquisitor's art and I wished that the particular Englishman who was inflicting the pain really was in New York.
The beer, whilst good was little compensation, but I doubted if I could drink enough of it to numb my ears.
"Tony! Maria! Hi! So good to see you. How long's it been?" Tony stood up and indulged in a show of familiarity with the newcomer, who to be fair, we hadn't seen for over a year since the last time we visited.
"Good place this" Mike was as effusive as ever. "The karaoke's great fun."
Huh.
It was now Don McLean's turn under the thumbscrews, his most well known song being particularly apposite at that point. I tried to drift into a private world to block out the sound, until I was dragged back by the leash of my name.
"Are you going to have a go then Maria?"
"What?"
"Up there?" Mike waved a hand towards the stage.
"Sorry?"
"Well you're a singer aren't you?"
"And your point is?" I tried, but I just couldn't make my voice sufficiently warm.
"Well, you'd blow 'em away"
"And why would I want to do that?" Colder yet.
"But you're brilliant. I've heard you. God, I've even paid good money to listen to you sing."
"Exactly." Icy.
"Err, Mike" Tony eased in half a bar too late, "There's absolutely no way Maria would get on that stage."
"But?"
"Given the choice between singing karaoke and having her bare bottom spanked she'd take the spanking every time"
"Huh?"
"The spanking. Every time"
Tony was only trying to help, but why did he have to put it quite like that?
"OK, OK. Subject closed" Mike held his palms to us in that 'calm down' gesture but not before I'd seen something greedy flit across his face. In his mind he had me stripped and draped naked over Tony's knee, my bottom bright red amidst soprano squeals.
Tony changed the subject, and as the evening wore on the memory of a succession of fine musicians was sullied. Each time I caught Mike's eye however I could see the conjured picture there, a carry-home pearl to entertain him long after the music died
A man stepped up to the microphone and said 'this is the last one' just as the time bell rang. Tony drained his pint and we stood up, making the goodbye pleasantries.
Mike grinned.
"Enjoy your spanking Maria"
Dyke Grrl/Jigsaw Analogy email
You got all three wildcards into the first sentence, which has got to be some kind of a record! I can imagine Maria's discomfort at the karaoke bar, and even more so, her discomfort with Mike's fascination with her being spanked. I like stories that feel like a peek into a much larger relationship--where it's clear that Tony, Maria, and Mike have some history, and we're just seeing a single moment in time.
sarah nada email
Maria, the main character in this story, seriously hates karaoke. The first person narration is believable, and the author incorporates the wildcards ("unsettling", "knack", "karaoke") smoothly. In fact, all three wildcards turn up in the very first sentence. The spanking in this story is implied rather than described, and honestly it's a little slight for me. But "Choice" is definitely entertaining and conveys a unique point of view.
Mija email
This is an excellently told story. There's an angry, aggressive or intrusive feeling about the Mike character in his unwillingness to take a hint as to the narrator's desire to sing or be the center of attention. I suppose one could say "Maria" is a bit callous about shutting him down, but the reader is able to sense her dread at the thought and then too, feel her squirm at the spanking illustration / choice Tony offers. Mike's last nasty little barb is cringe-worthy.
The whole story is well written and unexpected. The wildcards are worked in perfectly and its a fine entry in the category.
Zille Defeu email
This was well-written and I liked our protgagonist Maria a lot. I enjoyed the wry tone to the whole piece. I wouldn't have minded a paragraph or two of the spanking itself at the end of the story.