A Short Story for “I” and the Font “Indelible” (#AtoZChallenge)

#AtoZChallenge Indelible

As a graphic designer and writer, I chose to combine my two passions for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. My posts will highlight fonts, which I will use as the inspiration for original flash fiction short stories. Each day, I will choose a random font whose name begins with the letter of the day and create a 500-word story (more or less)  using the font’s name as a prompt.

For Day 10, I chose the font Indelible by Youssef Habchi as my prompt for today’s contemporary romance flash fiction.

#AtoZChallenge - indelible#AtoZChallenge - indelible

I hope you enjoy today’s short story, Indelible.


Indelible

by  Anjela Curtis

There are some things you never forget: your first crush, your first slow dance, and your first kiss. What makes my particular memory indelible is that all three occasions involved the same guy, Josh Anderson.

Standing there, just inside the door of my high-school gym at a 20th high school reunion, I couldn’t help but wonder if he would make it tonight. Josh was one of the most popular people in school. Everyone knew him; and, everyone loved him. He was the total package: good-looking, intelligent, good at sports. Tonight wouldn’t be the same without him.

Most of the varsity football team was located near the entrance waiting for the moment he’d walk through the gym doors, as was his debate team, and the Spanish Club. I was waiting too, but off to the side. I was pretty sure that very few here would remember me. I was definitely not one of the popular kids. I was just the typical orchestra geek who faded into the background. But, Josh was always nice to me. Of course,  it didn’t hurt that he was my next door neighbor.

My older brother was best friends with his older brother. So, all of us kids hung out together. On the occasions when his girlfriend Missy joined us, I’d often wish it was me who was sharing his Walkman or holding his hand.

Missy was over in the corner with her old clique of mean girls. When Missy’s eye caught mine, she stared daggers at me for a moment before turning her attention back to the baby on her phone. There was definitely no love lost there.

Then the gym doors opened and Josh entered. He was still the tall, good-looking jock, brainiac and amiable guy he was in high school. He had a few extra laugh lines but was as handsome as ever. The team encircled him, but he scanned the room. His eyes lit up when he saw me off by myself. My heart melted as he excused himself and walked in my direction. In this context, would he still see me as his cute next-door neighbor who’d watched Sixteen Candles all weekend just to get the courage to ask him to the Sadie Hawkins dance the year Missy jetted off to France as an exchange student? Did he regret going or kissing me at the end of that momentous night?

Coming to stand directly before me, he leaned over and kissed me as if I were the only person in the room. When we parted I asked, “How was your flight?”

“We sat on the tarmac for so long, I didn’t think I’d make it back in time,” he smiled. “How are the kids?”

“They’re at your brother’s for the night. They’ve missed you…and so have I.”

“I think they’re playing our song. Let’s go dance, and you can tell me all about your week.”

“What about the guys from the team.”

“I need a few minutes to catch up with my high school sweetheart. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

© 2017 Anjela Curtis

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8 thoughts on “A Short Story for “I” and the Font “Indelible” (#AtoZChallenge)

  1. Nice. I didn’t see that coming. Now that you’ve hooked me, I have to go read all your other A-Z entries. And probably hunt down all the fonts. And add your site to feedly. I nearly need a separate task list at this point.

    1. Thank you! I’m glad the ending came as a surprise. I was worried I gave too much away. I began the challenge at letter “E,” so sadly, I don’t have much at this time. But, I plan to do all thirty days worth…so stay tuned and sign-up to get notified when I post new flash.

  2. !!!
    I like your post! It honestly played with my emotions, lol. I really wasn’t expecting that but I’m glad it happened. (Everyone likes a good underdog story!) And It’s really cool how you’re drawing on inspiration from fonts to create your stories for the A to Z Challenge. I too have multiple different hobbies but I often find it hard to combine them like you have.

    1. I’m so happy you liked it! I was afraid that I’d given too much away and that readers would figure out their status before the big reveal. I’m glad that’s not the case.

      Yes, I struggled a bit to find a combo that would work. Then the font idea just popped into my head. Sometimes keeping things simple is the easiest way to go. Best of luck finding your magic combo…it’s probably staring you in the face, waiting to be noticed. 😉

    1. Right!? I love stories about underdogs. It was great to write a story where the non-popular girl actually succeeds in winning the heart of the most popular guy in school.

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