The following is my submission to a prompt from the r/WritingPrompts subreddit. The full Reddit post can be seen here.
Prompt: Turns out that the change we find in between couch cushions is from spiders trying to pay rent.
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“Look, Mom, I want to go on this vacation as much as you. I’m sorry I have to cancel on such short notice, but I just don’t think I can afford it. I mean, I can barely afford to pay the rent,” Lena braced herself for her mother’s response.
As her mother burst into a long rant about prioritizing expenses and “keeping your word,” Lena zoned out, staring at the floor. She noticed a small quarter just underneath the edge of her couch.
‘Huh, that’s strange?’ she thought to herself. I don’t normally keep change around the house.
Realizing that her mother’s rant was coming to an end, she said into the phone, “Mom, now isn’t really a great time to talk about this. I’m sorry again. I’ll call you this weekend, I love you.” She hung up the phone and let out a sigh.
Lena laid flat on her couch and stared up at the ceiling, feeling as if she were bearing the stress of the world on her shoulders, hoping that one day things might be a little easier. It had been a struggle to make ends meet since she lost her job.
She rolled over onto her side, reaching for the Diet Coke on the coffee table. She noticed another quarter next to the soda.
“Ok seriously, what the hell is going on with all these quarters?” she said, now feeling quite perplexed. She scanned the room, realizing that there was a trail of quarters leading to the second floor of her house. “I’m gonna kill Ricky if he doesn’t start cleaning up after himself better,” she mumbled with frustration under her breath, blaming her roommate.
She started picking the quarters up, one by one, up the stairs, down the hall, and into her bedroom. The trail led under her bed. She dropped down to her hands and knees and took a peek under her bed. She let out a scream.
Staring back at her were four spiders the size of a baseball, all thirty-two eyes and thirty-two legs stood just a foot away from her face. She jumped back in fear, slamming against her dresser and knocking a candle onto the floor.
Lena sat panting for a few moments, collecting herself. Suddenly, a quarter slid out from under the bed right to where she was sitting. Confused, she leaned back down to get a better view under her bed.
The largest spider gently slid another quarter towards her.
“Ok what the hell is going on, for real?” Not sure whether to panic or try to communicate back to them, she picked up a quarter and then slid it with one figure back towards the spiders, grimacing in fear with each inch she got closer to them.
To her surprise, the spiders seemed delighted by this. They became excited, hopping around, and then disappeared into the back corner of the bed. Lena strained her eyes to see that far, but it was too dark. She took out the flashlight on her phone and pointed it in the direction the spiders went.
The flashlight's beam illuminated the collection of a thousand quarters, causing each coin to glimmer like a shining sun. The light danced across the coins, creating a mesmerizing display of reflections.
Smiling and filled with wonder, Lena sat in utter disbelief at the discovery she had just made. Feeling a bit more confident now, she tried to call the spiders back to her. She slid another quarter in their direction. They quickly scurried over to her.
As they approached, Lena noticed that one of the spiders was far smaller than the others. It looked weak. All of the fear that Lena had felt moments ago had dissipated, and she felt pity for the creature. “Aw, what’s wrong with this little guy?” she said to herself.
The largest spider walked over to the weakling and nudged it in the direction of Lena. They wanted her help, and seemingly, were willing to pay.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
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The following is my submission to a prompt from the r/WritingPrompts subreddit. The full Reddit post can be seen here.
Prompt: Turns out that the change we find in between couch cushions is from spiders trying to pay rent.
____________________________________________________________________________
“Look, Mom, I want to go on this vacation as much as you. I’m sorry I have to cancel on such short notice, but I just don’t think I can afford it. I mean, I can barely afford to pay the rent,” Lena braced herself for her mother’s response.
As her mother burst into a long rant about prioritizing expenses and “keeping your word,” Lena zoned out, staring at the floor. She noticed a small quarter just underneath the edge of her couch.
‘Huh, that’s strange?’ she thought to herself. I don’t normally keep change around the house.
Realizing that her mother’s rant was coming to an end, she said into the phone, “Mom, now isn’t really a great time to talk about this. I’m sorry again. I’ll call you this weekend, I love you.” She hung up the phone and let out a sigh.
Lena laid flat on her couch and stared up at the ceiling, feeling as if she were bearing the stress of the world on her shoulders, hoping that one day things might be a little easier. It had been a struggle to make ends meet since she lost her job.
She rolled over onto her side, reaching for the Diet Coke on the coffee table. She noticed another quarter next to the soda.
“Ok seriously, what the hell is going on with all these quarters?” she said, now feeling quite perplexed. She scanned the room, realizing that there was a trail of quarters leading to the second floor of her house. “I’m gonna kill Ricky if he doesn’t start cleaning up after himself better,” she mumbled with frustration under her breath, blaming her roommate.
She started picking the quarters up, one by one, up the stairs, down the hall, and into her bedroom. The trail led under her bed. She dropped down to her hands and knees and took a peek under her bed. She let out a scream.
Staring back at her were four spiders the size of a baseball, all thirty-two eyes and thirty-two legs stood just a foot away from her face. She jumped back in fear, slamming against her dresser and knocking a candle onto the floor.
Lena sat panting for a few moments, collecting herself. Suddenly, a quarter slid out from under the bed right to where she was sitting. Confused, she leaned back down to get a better view under her bed.
The largest spider gently slid another quarter towards her.
“Ok what the hell is going on, for real?” Not sure whether to panic or try to communicate back to them, she picked up a quarter and then slid it with one figure back towards the spiders, grimacing in fear with each inch she got closer to them.
To her surprise, the spiders seemed delighted by this. They became excited, hopping around, and then disappeared into the back corner of the bed. Lena strained her eyes to see that far, but it was too dark. She took out the flashlight on her phone and pointed it in the direction the spiders went.
The flashlight's beam illuminated the collection of a thousand quarters, causing each coin to glimmer like a shining sun. The light danced across the coins, creating a mesmerizing display of reflections.
Smiling and filled with wonder, Lena sat in utter disbelief at the discovery she had just made. Feeling a bit more confident now, she tried to call the spiders back to her. She slid another quarter in their direction. They quickly scurried over to her.
As they approached, Lena noticed that one of the spiders was far smaller than the others. It looked weak. All of the fear that Lena had felt moments ago had dissipated, and she felt pity for the creature. “Aw, what’s wrong with this little guy?” she said to herself.
The largest spider walked over to the weakling and nudged it in the direction of Lena. They wanted her help, and seemingly, were willing to pay.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
