Complete this sentence for today’s writing prompt: “When she collapsed…” Keep reading to see the full writing prompt and my completed version of it.
Today’s Writing Prompt: When she collapsed…
Today, start writing by completing the sentence: “When she collapsed…” Today’s writing prompt is about drama. Write a dramatic scene. And try to incorporate humor into what you write, as well.
Completed Version of Today’s Writing Prompt
When she collapsed…, by K.E. Creighton
When she collapsed, she knocked over a display of melons in the produce section. There were melons rolling everywhere–running into carts and shoes and walls, and into the aisles. Luckily, she fell on top of a few melons herself. So when her own melon reached the ground, it collided with honeydew instead of concrete covered in linoleum.
Various shoppers had different responses to the runaway produce. One woman kicked a cantaloupe into a man’s shins on accident, while a woman holding a toddler’s hand reached down and grabbed a wandering watermelon and nonchalantly placed it in her basket. And one young woman moved frantically to catch and place the melons back on their display before quickly giving up when she realized that the entire display was in shambles.
A man in an orange baseball hat came to ask the woman who collapsed if she was okay. She opened her eyes when she heard his voice, then sneezed in his face. He helped her to her feet with the hand he wasn’t using to wipe off his mouth. Once she was standing, she looked around bewildered at the scattered fruit, before turning around and walking away in a hurry with melony goo and seeds in her hair.
I had seen a lot of scary things on my beat. When you’re assigned the city beat, this usually means you have to report the worst of the worst stories. More crimes, more injustice, more corruption, and the odd hero story. I had been doing this for 10 years, and my editor was ready to move me up to Metro Editor.
We had discussed what this entailed at a very lengthy interview. Since my boss was now ready to become editor-in-chief, he would still be my boss., But, I was finally going to be getting double the salary, while not having to cover stories that made me sometimes feel like a jackal.
I was scheduled to take the editor position in a week. Then, it happened. I knew that the hot story was the mayoral race. The incumbent was Ron Weeks. He had built his 20 year campaign on being tough on crime. However, the rumors flew at City Hall about some shady characters being on his payroll.
His challenger was Karen Musgrove. She had been on the city council for 10 years, and had become the city commissioner last election. I was being teased that my career was paralleling hers, but every time I tried to interview her, she would stonewall me. Her favorite phrase was “No Comment.”
The debate was mine to cover, and this was to be followed by rallies and speeches leading to the vote on Friday. I could always rely on the police commissioner to give me the straight scoop. He was Kevin Grant, and he and I knew each other since high school. He was the all-state linebacker, and I was the nerdy school newspaper editor.
I knew some of the scandal rags would try to attack Weeks on the rumors of his being dirty. Kevin had no problem letting me get a press pass to the entire week of campaigning. My biggest problem was to get some kind of quote from Karen. I wondered if this was simply a dodge, or she simply didn’t trust the press.
The debate was at the city center. I was down front with the local news anchors and competition from the other two major papers. I shook hands with Kevin and most of the city council. I was amazed to see Karen shaking hands with every reporter there, but she refused to shake my hand. She even avoided looking at me.
I decided I had had enough of this. I would make sure to be the first to ask a question of her, and I decided to corner her on the issue of the massive city bond passed for the power and electric plant, only to have the project stalled for almost a year.
Ron was smooth as always. The corruption questions were answered quite professionally, and it was difficult to ignore his record at cleaning up the police force. He managed to come out of the press conference smelling like a rose. Then Karen took the podium. I took a chance, and yelled my question prior to being asked.
“Miss Musgrave, how do you explain the 32 million dollar bond passed to update the power and electric plant, only to have it delayed for one year?” She looked at me and caught me completely unaware with a sweet smile. She retorted, “The entire project has needed to be delayed due to labor union issues and some of the infrastructure near collapse.”
My colleagues jumped on this, and she spent the next 15 minutes trying to explain the nearly condemned building and the pressure from the labor union of electrical workers. She finally asked if there were anymore questions, and took her seat for the debate.
The arbitrator for the debate asked mostly innocent questions, avoiding the corruption-laden issues. I noticed that Karen seemed to be perspiring profusely. As the debate came to a close and she and Ron came to shake hands, Karen collapsed. An EMT rushed the stage and took her vitals. She was rushed to the ICU, and I sat in the waiting room. The doctor finally reported her as stable.
I called Kevin to see if he knew anything about the union, and he told me that even his best undercover boys couldn’t find anything. The wages and benefits had kept the project from finishing for almost a year, not to mention that the building was just now up to code.
I smelled a story, so I called my buddy, Terry Holt. Terry was one of the best electricians in the city. He had worked at the union for 10 years, but was voted out as president when Weeks was named mayor. I found that just a bit too coincidental. The new president was the main reason the project was stalled. Terry told me his wage and benefit demands were ridiculous.
After visiting the archives, several articles of a possible tie of the union to the mayor. However, each article stopped after a week or two. I asked Terry if he knew anyone at the union who was honest. He mentioned the union secretary, whose last name was Musgrave. I immediately wondered if there was a connection, and everything clicked. The mayor was probably using the scandal of the project delay to make Karen and her family look bad, so her race for mayor would be doomed to failure.
I now had a working theory, but without proof, I didn’t dare go public. I got in touch with Carl Musgrave. He said he appreciated all the support I and most of the press had given his daughter, except for the delay on the project. I assured him that we felt close to the story breaking.
He told me to meet him at the union hall the next day, around 7 PM. I asked Kevin if he could give me backup. After he heard the details, he offered to let me wear a wire. I agreed, and met Mr. Musgrave that night.
He took me to the records room, and sure enough, the minutes of the meetings and the delays caused by the president spelled out the truth. Then, he showed me the memos to the president. One from city hall told him to just hold out until after the election.
I took copies of everything, but just as I was leaving, the president and 5 other large men met us in the parking lot. Mr. Musgrave told him that any move against the press would mean his landing behind bars, but his men surrounded me and told me to give up my briefcase. I spoke the trigger words, “…and if I don’t?”
Four cop cars came around the corner, and the president lunged for Mr. Musgrave. I tripped him up, and put my toot on his back. The other union guys put their hands up, and I handed the papers over to Kevin.
My editor met me after I finished the story, and told me I was not supposed to go undercover without his consent. However, as Kevin called him and told him the details, he agreed to not take punitive action. Mr. Musgrave and his daughter gave statements, and Karen was our new mayor.
I settled into my desk as the Metro Editor, and the first call I got was from our new mayor. She thanked me and Kevin for blowing the lid off the union. Her father named the secretary as the new president of the union. I told her no thanks necessary, all part of being a reporter!