Rachel Parsons opens...

The “Mad Store Scene” Contest

At the risk of competing with the Bulwer-Lytton “Dark and Stormy Night” contest, we hereby declare open indefinitely the “Mad Store Scene” contest.

The prompt paragraph is taken from the beginning of “Complex Scenes,” in issue 235:

Shelves lined the walls of the general store, a random assortment of partly opened crates were scattered around, stacks of barrels occupied the corners and large display cases covered half the floor. The store was bursting with activity, customers milling about and shouting orders. The shopkeeper was busy and catching his eye proved nearly impossible.

And now for Rachel Parson’s entry:

The shopkeeper, between putting supplies on the shelves; rushing to deposit money in the cash register, or restocking the shelves, seemingly all at once, jerked from the open crates that always seemed to be in his path to the stacks of barrels in the corners. Large display cases seemed about to fall from the kinetic energy he exuded. To make matters worse, customers were either milling around or shouting orders. Dale tried everything from grimacing, to lurching like some B-movie monster, to twirling his John Deer cap like a fuzzy cotton baton, but couldn’t get the owner’s eye. Finally, he...

Don Webb’s entry:

Dale pushed the knob on the door, opened it and walked into the general store. His senses were assailed by a madhouse of action: customers were shouting orders, and the shopkeeper was bouncing from one to the other, sometimes bumping into large display cases in the middle of the floor, sometimes clanging against barrels in the corners of the room and propelling himself from one crate to another as lights blinked and assistants jangled the cash register. Dale flicked his walking stick at the storekeeper in an attempt to get his attention. The storekeeper whirled, shot past Dale, and closed the door. “Your score is 279,086,” he announced. “You have four more shopkeepers left to play. Or do you wanna buy something?”