Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: SNOOZE (07/20/17)
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TITLE: Pink Fuzz and Plastic | Previous Challenge Entry
By Brenda Kern
07/27/17 -
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"Lint, Dust, and Fiber here, acknowledging completed work. The pink fuzz is in the assigned location."
"Excellent." His boss passed the news along to OC, Obstruction Control.
*****
The chunk of pink fuzz stayed in place as scheduled for the next three years, not surprisingly, as LDF was renowned for his work and the small electrical gadget was rarely tilted.
When the owner of the gadget moved to her new home, she placed it in a box, and a tiny piece of plastic slipped in through a vent, becoming entwined with the pink fuzz. OC paused from other heavenly work to cheer.
*****
Four more years went by, and the owner had a POTENTIALLY LIFE-CHANGING APPOINTMENT coming up. She had prepared as well as she could, convincing friends to conduct mock interviews. As silly as it made her feel, she practiced facial expressions in the mirror. Her resume and application underwent picky proofreading for the tiniest error until her vision became blurry. She had driven the route to the business building destination so she would have no worries of getting lost.
The evening before the job interview she made her final preparations. She took extra care to review her carefully chosen wardrobe, ironing the skirt and cleaning the shoes. That done, she bustled about setting everything in place that she'd need in the morning. It was finally time to turn in for the night--early, to get as much rest as possible. She sat on the bed and prayed her final prayer of the day, asking for restful, restorative sleep.
As her last act before snuggling in, she checked the alarm on the clock radio for possible goofs: Set for the right time? It is set on a.m., not p.m.? Did I calculate how much time I need correctly, allowing for one nine minute snooze? Yes, all was well.
She felt certain that her cell phone alarm, the all-important backup, was also set properly, but she decided to check it. Yes, it's right and charging.
When she climbed back into bed, she bumped the clock radio slightly with her elbow.
*****
The ever-so-faint jarring of the gadget moved the pink fuzz-coated plastic between the snooze button and the censor mechanism. LDF beamed as member after member of the OC team clapped him on the back, offering their congratulations for another job well done.
Once the celebration died down, OC turned to watch MCPJ work their magic. Missed Connections between Ports and Jacks had been working on the power chord jack on the side of her cell phone for 18 months, making it imperceptibly looser with each use. Tonight the jack fell from the port as she set it back on the floor, but she didn't notice. The phone charge had been low, and the power ebbed away through the night, exactly as planned by the Management Team when the project had been initially undertaken 17 years ago.
Now all was accomplished, and heaven's labors on her behalf were suspended until morning, when her clock radio's original alarm would sound.
*****
When the alarm woke her, she was pulled out of a sleep that had been deep and restful, just as she had hoped. She pressed the snooze button, falling back to the pillow for the nine more minutes of rest that were so critical to her each morning.
*****
She opened her eyes and stretched, letting her mind focus on today's schedule... and bolted upright. Why didn't the alarm go off again? What time is it? She glanced at the clock... and howled in dismay. "No, no, no! Not today!"
She jumped out of bed and flew across the room to the dead cell phone. "Both of you? How? Why?" She grumbled at God through her entire getting ready routine. "Why today? I had all this planned! I needed every minute I planned on to get ready and not be rushed, and look what happened!"
*****
Both the OC and MCPJ departments were silent and still. This was a part of the job that nobody liked. The humans understandably complained when their plans were frustrated, but of course Management knew best, being directed by God himself.
Two hours later, they waited for the announcement of the altered outcome. "Our subject was not involved in a fatal auto accident this morning."
And heaven rejoiced.
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I had to read your story a couple of times to figure out how the pink fuzz and plastic fit in, but then my brain finally realized the significance.