A Compendium of Carrolls

F2 - The Mad Hatter

"Then put your little hands in mine..."

Oh very funny fellas.

"It's 6 p.m."

"Six Pee Em."

"Time to do whatever you are doing because it's ALWAYS 6 p.m."

"and coming up in a few minutes our 6 p.m. news program, followed by Smooth at Six, and then the 6 p.m. Party Fun Time Discotheque."

I groaned, dragged myself out of bed and headed for a leisurely shower. I didn't need to be at work till 6 p.m., which was right now. Always. Right. Now!

The commute to work was as uneventful as usual, since by 6 p.m. most of the nine to fivers were already home. Not that anyone worked nine to five any more.

I flipped on the radio in time to catch the latest record by Orchestral Manoeuvrers in the Dark, called 'Enola Gay'.

"It's eight fifteen, and that's a time that it's never been!"

Pulling onto the near empty car park, I headed into the office.

My boss greeted me with,

"What time do you call this? I've heard of late, but this is a whole other ball park."

A few moments later she came past and commented,

"On time as usual, I could set my clock by you Maurice."

About an hour later, when I'd finished my late lunch, she passed again.

"Working late Maurice, you certainly are an eager beaver. Mind you don't burn the candle at both ends."

She says the same things every time, and always at the same time each day.

Cruising back through the post rush hour streets, I wondered idly if I'd catch the James Bond marathon starting at 6 p.m. tonight. Actually, I had a pretty good hunch that I would.

I had invited some friends over or dinner at six. No surprise to find them waiting for me when I got home. Laughing, I dragged them in to help make it. It was ready by six pee em, it always is.

After eating, we settled down to watch the Bond Marathon. It went on a while, as they showed every film in the series. It was 6 p.m. when I finally kicked my guests out, and staggered to bed. After all I had to be up the next day to go to work. Ideally I'd get there by 6 o clock in the evening, I set the alarm just in case,

"Then put your little hands in mine..."

WORD COUNT & PROMPT ▼

Word Count: 401 Words.

2. "The Mad Hatter" – Forever stuck in time! Write a story (or short poem) where your character is always stuck at 6 p.m. (<1000 words or < 40 lines)