Game Time

A friend of mine is a librarian in the area and started a creative writing guild for area writers or anyone interested in writing. After our first few meetings, he created writing prompts for us as our 'homework' for the following meeting the next month. The prompts are a fun way to play with different styles of writing and to help keep those creative juices flowing.

Here is the prompt I wrote for this month's meeting (today) and the pictures that inspired it (he got the pictures from Cracked.com).

"Game Time"

“Dad, I wanna play!”

The sound of electronic beeps filled the air

“Soon, son. I need to make sure this is safe for you to play.”

More sounds filled the air, followed by a congratulatory trill from a small, electronic device in the father’s hands.

“Daaaaaaad.”

“Just a second. I just need to get past .... this ... level.”

The son sat and tried to wait patiently, all the while watching his father mash buttons on the handheld game unit.

------

“Dad, what do you think they are doing with that DS?” a little boy asked his father as they stood outside of the primate exhibit.

The sounds of a handheld game unit carried over to the pair, over the noise of the zoo.

“Looks like they are playing with it.”

“Do you think they’d let me play with them?” the little boy asked. “I have some cool games for my DS.”

The father chuckled and glanced at the other father behind the cement and Plexiglas barricade. They shared a look that only fathers understood.

“I don’t know, son.”

“Why?”

The father thought for a moment on how to answer his son. “Well, Alex, you didn’t bring any of your games for your DS with you.”

The boy’s face became crestfallen as he looked longingly at the father and son ape playing with the DS. “Maybe next time,” he said softly.

His dad smiled and patted his son on the head. “Next time.”