literature

Yawn Immunity

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"Which is why it is imperative that we stay alert and busy. It's amazing how it helps us to connect with our clientele."

Maggie didn't even bother attempting to hide her yawn as Victor droned on. His smile and gestures exuded energy and excitement, but the subject, coupled with his monotone voice and slow, Southern drawl, sucked the energy right back out of the air.

In fact, the metronome of Victor's training felt like it was pulling even the existing life from around them. It was a one-step-forward-two-back situation. Maggie wondered if Victor knew what he was doing, like an energy vampire, or if he was possessed by some demon utilizing him in order to subdue other humans by draining them of their life force.

"Now, let's talk further about the science of the Hour Bell Curve." Victor continued as he handed out the next worksheet.

Maggie again gave a long yawn, catching others within the room. Her coworker Geoff started the yawn wave to her left, then the clerk Henry, and their manager Cynthia, who quickly tried to recover by scratching her nose to hide her open maw. Before the handouts were gone from Victor's grip, the yawn wave crashed back into Maggie. She noticed that their director didn't skip a beat. Literally the entire populous of the room had yawned at least slightly, but he kept rambling on.

The blur of Maggie's eyes vanished upon her discovery. Perhaps Victor was an alien or a robot. Maybe it was simply that he alone found the topic exciting. She pondered other possibilities for a few more seconds, but that was all she could afford. With the jolt from Victor's lack of yawn came just as quick of a crash. Victor became a fuzzy tower of blond hair and neutral colors blending together in some vaguely human shape. Blinking thrice within the space of a heartbeat, Maggie redirected her attention to the handout. The words were little more than black shaky lines with a pale, offset duplicate. She felt her eyes drifting into a cross.

A rapid fire of more blinking cleared her vision briefly. She yawned again, but this time she forced herself to pay attention. The yawn passed around the room like a plague, infecting everyone but Victor yet again. Apparently, he was vaccinated. Maggie imagined him getting a shot of pure caffeine. She then wished the vaccine was included in their medical package.

"So, timing is key. Too much and they're overwhelmed; not enough and you haven't informed them to the point of their wanting to buy." Victor not only survived the yawn plague, but he also seemed to not even notice it. Maggie tried to save herself by interpreting the cause of his blissful ignorance of everyone's boredom. Yet there was no escape. Even in her daydreams Victor was a snooze. She couldn't even envision him as anything other than a human sweater vest.

She stopped blinking. Her eyelids were getting too heavy to peel back apart if she let them drift closed. Instead, she let her vision relax until her brain no longer registered that she was seeing anything at all. Can one actually will themselves blind? she pondered, only barely aware of her muscles drooping.

She heard his footsteps first. Then the rustle of the papers as Victor handed out the next sheet. Maggie bolted her head upright. She didn't even remember resting it on her hand to keep it off the table. Victor didn't react to her jump. He wasn't even looking at her. He was mindlessly handing out the next chart while scanning the room. He didn't even linger by her to call her out for drifting off for a few moments.

Refreshed with a second wind, Maggie tried her new experiment one last time. Her yawn made the rounds once more, again missing her mark Victor. Curious, she thought. She then started doodling along the margin to keep her focused and awake.

By the time Victor concluded the training, Maggie had a little cartoon of a bland man in a sweater vest. Finally yawning.

As a gift this year, I received "A Writer's Book of Days" by Judy Reeves. Along with advice, the book includes a different writing prompt for each day of the year (including Leap Day). You're supposed to just let the story flow from you; not think about it. Just grab the first image you see, and write it; see what comes out. This is a collection of my writings using those prompts.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

January 11: "Write about falling asleep"

I have to thank a coworker for the basis of this story. She was telling me about a time when she and our manager were in a mini training session with our new director of sales. She gave up trying to hide her yawning, and every time she did our manager would start yawning as well. The director never did, though. It freaked her out. So, when I got to this prompt, I knew I had to write a story based on her anecdote.

Also, I think I can consider this more than a simple scene. I think I can actually call this a flash fiction. Yay!
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