Today’s writing prompt and my response.
This is day one of the story. The challenge is to turn the week’s worth of prompts into one tale. Let’s see!
Patty was known for stealing from her friends
They loved her anyway. How could one not love that smile, the freckles across her pert nose, the glitter in her mischief green eyes? They all fell for it.
Most of the stealing wasn’t actual stealing. She wouldn’t take money directly from your purse or help herself to your new lipstick. No, it worked a different way.
Patty would be at dinner with a group of friends, ordering the most expensive items on the menu, offering to pay her ‘fair share’ to cover the costs, discovering she had left all means of payment behind, (somehow, in this day and age) and of course she would make it up to Gill if Gill covered Patty’s share.
The smile would beam, the eyes glint, and Gill – or Rob, or Thomas or Sarah – would fall for it all over again. Patty never remembered, looked blank when asked and assured the lender she would never do anything like that, she always paid her way, and in a voice which broke, trembling on the verge of tears at such accusations. They took it in turns to pay for Patty and never invited her to anywhere truly upmarket.
A new person joined their group, a work colleague of Sarah’s, from another city, needing friends. This was Alan, an accountant (which is possibly why he needed friends), and Alan wasn’t so quick to forgive Patty. Seeing a charming, gentlemanly way to curry favour with the group and with the green-eyed Patty, he offered to lend her the ticket price of a movie they decided to see on the spur of the moment after a walk in the city’s park. Patty, not seeing the need for cash on a walk, had not a penny on her.
Sarah frowned when Alan offered, and he quickly assured her it was no problem at all.
A week later, at their shared workplace, Alan mentioned to Sarah that Patty still owed him money, and did Sarah think it would be ok for him to remind her. Could Patty be forgetful?
Sarah laughed. ‘Welcome to Patty’s world,’ she said, and offered him her freshly made coffee as a sort of recompense. Alan glared.
The story continues here.
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