# 05-29-06 | Deadlines



## Hodge

*Literary Maneuvers:* Deadlines

*Opens:* _Monday, May 29th_

*Closes:* _Monday, June 12th_

*Judging Period: *_June 13th to June 20th_ (scores posted on the 21st)


Kudos to *Ilan Bouchard* for suggesting this maneuever's theme—I'm sure you'll all be thrilled.

Deadlines! This week's theme is deadlines! Our lives are full of them—school deadlines, work deadlines, bills, chores, literary maneuvers—they're everywhere! And they will, in some form or another, become part of a short story. You can turn the theme into anything you want, and originality is a good thing, but *you must incorporate a deadline or deadlines into your piece*. Oh, and one more thing: *it must be fifty words or less.*

For this maneuver, only prose will be allowed. Poetry takes away from the irony. 


Your judges for this LM will be:

Hodge
zoya_brar
Pawn
FollowingShadow
The Space Cowboy
silverwriter
Oasis Writer

If anyone else would like to judge, let me know before the judging period starts.



Guidelines:

1) Your piece must be 50 words or less. Points will be deducted for entries that go over.

2) Your piece must have a title.

3) Grammar and spelling count, so proofread before you post.

4) One entry per person.


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## darthwader

*DEAD-SICK OF WAITING*​ 
“Hurry up!” I mumbled, rather than screamed. “The boss is biting my head off!”

Despite my pleas, nobody moves faster than a shuffle. I try to barge my way through, but nobody will budge. I’m stuck at the back. That’s the problem with being a zombie… deadlines.

________________________________________________________________

I must apologize in advance for the horrible, horrible pun.

Sorry.


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## Pawn

[ot]I think we're ready to declare a winner.[/ot]


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## mandax

*Sudden Shift of Priorities*​ 
The disk on the passenger seat would get him the promotion. It had to be in his boss’s hands by 6:00 pm sharp. It was 5:54.

_I need the money. I need this._

The collision was quick, and his consciousness faded. 

_I need a miracle. I need this._


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## Philo

*Last Heartbeat*

"My beat counter is off," he huffed to their sweaty rhythm.
Millie looked at him for the first time since they met on the street. "Never hearda that."
He nodded, shutting his eyes. "Today."
She pumped faster.
He tensed. 
Millie squeezed.
"I hate Deadlines," she said and went to wash.


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## Dephere

[ot]Damn, this one was hard guys, but I liked it. Really challenging to keep the word count down. But it's exactly 50 words! And lol Darth, I like it.[/ot]

Tick. 

Tick.

A man, clean cut and proper, pulled from his pocket a stopwatch, studying it with a keen eye.

A heart monitor flat lined with a resounding beep. He put the stop watch back into his pocket. 

Death, this man who was clean cut and proper, claimed a  life.


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## MNJ1193

Ok, here's my entry:




"Damn Professors" I mumbled as I walked from class. 

Fifty million other things that need to be completed within the next week, and _HE_ wants me to figure out how to write a short story on dealines.


I should have skipped his class this semester. _And_ in 50 words or


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## Ilan Bouchard

[ot]I totally forgot I suggested this, but I'm loving the submissions thus far.[/ot]


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## FollowingShadow

[ot]There are some serious entries here, I know, but the topic is funny as all get out. Can't wait to judge this one, lol.[/ot]


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## zoya_brar

[ot] this is going to be fun! [/ot]


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## Kelhanion

*Could I Have An Eternal Feast For One, Please?*


"I'm sorry, sir, you can't go through."

"What do you mean?"

"Move aside, now."

"I won't."

"Look, I won't have to kill you."

"I think I'm dead anyway. A place in heaven, right?"

"No. You were to die yesterday."

"So? I struggled."

"You missed your reservation."


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## Nish

*Let me explain*

Deadline is The Thin Red Line (actually it’s more fluorescent pink) that divides two warring armies. You Walk the Line (step on the mine) and you are dead for the rest of your life. Thus deadline.


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## ebmadman

*Hunger Fire*​ 

As his legs propelled him down the hallway, the constant friction of denim rubbing rapidly against rotund, inner thigh gave rise to a heat in his lower region, the displeasure a temporary distraction from his gnawing hunger. “Two minutes,” he thought, franticly. “The pastry cart closes... in two minutes!”


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## Jiieden

*Logical Consequences*

_If A then B. _

"Listen up, punk.  You have eight seconds before-"

_Either A or C._

"Six seconds, and you deliver or you die"

_Not C, therefore A._

"Didn't bring - take one last look at the halogen, last fucking light you'll ever see-"

_Therefore B (deadline failed)._


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## high_flyer

*Oopsidaisy*

Ten seconds. Jack was aware that his hands were trembling as he tried to hold the wire-cutters steady. Six seconds. Three wires. One choice. Jack ignored the drop of sweat that fell on his palm as he scissored the cutters together and cut the red wire. Wrong wire.

_Oopsidaisy. _

Boom!


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## Chris Miller

*Oscillation*

*Oscillation​*​
Dark matter’s pulling us apart.  Everything’s expanding.  Soon, see the sun die.  Further, see the galaxies fade.  Closer, see the atoms grow.  Everything’s exploding.  Faster and faster.  Faster than light.  Stop—go back.  See Merlin age.  See those deadlines re-approaching?  Again they don’t matter.


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## darthwader

[ot]





			
				Pawn said:
			
		

> I think we're ready to declare a winner.



After reading some of these posts, I'd have to disagree [/ot]


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## voicesinmyhead

*Decisions*



> Off-topic.
> I'm totally changing this piece from when I first posted it. I hope that's within the rules, since the deadline has not yet arrived.



 Flat Line​ _
Are you the wife? _
Watch his chest. So still.
_Extraordinary measures?
_What is ordinary? His face is still. Is he waiting for my choice?
_The time window is closing._ 
Watch the flat line stretching off to… where?
_ Ma’am, you have to decide.
_How can he be so still?
_Ma’am?_
​


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## huni

*Deadline*

The young man feels a chill and a calm run straight through him. Everyone is deathly quiet. All eyes on the red phone. tick-tick-tick.

_He hands the governor a red phone. "Goddamit Jack! this line is dead"_

Tick- tick....

Switch. Slick. "oh God, no.... " his mother whispers.


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## huni

[ot]how do I get italics for line three? Actually, how do I get 'Off topic'?
huni.[/ot]


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## Ilan Bouchard

[ot]





			
				huni said:
			
		

> Off topic: how do I get italics for line three? Actually, how do I get 'Off topic'?
> huni.





		Code:
	

[i]This will be italicized.[/i]


To make something off topic, remove the spaces and do this:

[ ot ]This will be off topic[ /ot ][/ot]


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## Savia

*A Race of Hands*


Panicked pens write faster than can be read, and the tick-tock man runs onward.  Sheets fly and nibs scratch.  Time is the problem but the questions are harder.

One man alone dodges between the seconds and the minutes, but falls at the end.  Obituary: never saw the hour hand coming.



[ot]50 exactly assuming that 'tick-tock' is one word   Topical, too, as my last exam for my degree was today...[/ot]


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## Blackhawk_t

Deadlines or Priorities? 
(Exactly 50 words)​ 

“Sir, can you shut that off?”

   “Just a few more minutes.”

   “We don’t have that kind of time.”

   “Make the time.”

   “She needs you.”

   “She’ll be okay.”

   “We need help! We can’t do it without you.”

   “Look, babies are born every day. The Superbowl only comes once a year.”

   “Nevermind…Doctor.”


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## poliArch

*“The Office”*

“Hello police; hello, can you hear me? Oh God, this damn phone won’t work! Please God help me, please!”

The heavy knocking on Raymond’s office door intensified as he struggled to save his life.  His first dead line was his last.


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## spaetzlemeister

*To Rise Again*

Wake from the fanciful dreams and plunge into the morning. Arrest the droning of the alarm and greet the sun. It's only a matter of releasing the cloak of sleep, forgetting instantly the land beyond reality, shattering the dream, and starting the journey toward sleep again. Every morning, again.


Spaetz.


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## Itsaboysname

*Actor?*

“Dear God she’s dead.” The actor said in a deep monotone.

“Wait. Again John,” said the director. “But with feeling this time!”

“Dear God she’s dead.”  John repeated.

“John, your brother killed your wife! Act like you care!”

“Dear God she’s-“

“ACT!”

“Dear God-“

“You know what, forget it. Next!”


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## Hodge

Two days left. Don't keep putting it off -- you won't meet the deadline.


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## darthwader

Hey, Hodge, add a title, and you could have a winning story there.


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## eggo

*The Ads*

Wanted,

Stripper. Must enjoy working in tight places, Has to be physically fit, Must be flexible, Must have good knowledge of tools and props, It would be helpful if can hold your breath for prolonged periods and are acquainted with scuba gear.







Contact Al’s Boat refinishing by Monday the 7th


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## gohn67

Haha, good one eggo.


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## Hodge

Shoot -- I had the stomach flu on Sunday and was still feeling it on Monday, so I have an excuse!

LM is closed. Scores will be posted up on the 21st.


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