Brown Nose

“Mr. Wilcox! How great it is to finally meet you.”

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you too…ah…um...”

“Hyperiongate.”

“Yes, yes of course, Hyperiongate. Well, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“Oh, nothing really. I was just hanging out with some of the other aspiring authors, you know, just chewing the fat.”

“It's great for you to all get together like that.”

“We all love to write. All we talk about is WDC.”

“Is there anything in particular about WDC that you discuss?”

“It varies mostly. Today some of the others, not me, were complaining about some of the contest judges dragging their feet when it comes to posting results.”

“Oh really? And who was complaining about that?”

“It’s probably not appropriate for me to say.”

“No, no. It’s perfectly alright. I think that it is good to be open and honest about such things.”

“I guess you’re right Mr. Wilcox. How could you not be with the vast amount of wisdom and experience you have under your belt? By the way, that is a super nice tie you have on there.”

“So, who were the conspirators, ah...I mean who all were you speaking with?”

“Well, let me see. There was Bobby Lou, M.J. Quixote, Tara Anne, Number 3, J.R. and T.L. McDonald. They were just going on and on about it.”

“And what were you doing while all of this was going on?”

“At first I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. To think that they could use such disparaging language about someone of such high esteem as you, well, it just made me ill. By the way, did you get the GPs I sent to you as a small token of appreciation?”

“Yes, thank you very much. Who was the ring leader? There is always a ring leader.”

“I would have to say Number 3. I don’t even think that is his real name. By the way, I brought you a stuffed hoagie. I know how you like them. I love hoagies too. I think they are just super great.”

“Number 3 you say? I would have guessed Bobby Lou or that McDonald girl. Those two told the SoCalScribe that he was way better than me at making up prompts.”

“Blasphemy! And might I just add that your willingness to overlook the grammatical errors that some of us newer writers may make from time to time is greatly appreciated. That’s why I offered to mow your lawn last week. I just wanted to show my appreciation.”

“Hyperiongate, you are a credit to WDC and all that it stands for. I wish there were more like you out there. Together we can stand against those that don’t see how hard it is to read tons of other people’s stuff and then pick a winner.”

“Mr. Wilcox, can I call you Bill?”

“No.”

“Mr. Wilcox, you can count on me to always be there for you. I am sure you will do great judging this weeks’ contest.”

Word count 498