Assignment #1
[w/: trick, memory, aboard, tiger, pretend, appliance and cage. 350 words max.]
It was the third time that year Bob James came up to his childhood friend and ex-lawyer Will Linger with the idea of sailing to Antarctica aboard a ship of his own making, the Isabella.
Bob said that, this time, he was there to offer Linger something, an investment opportunity, and that it was not the same as asking for money at all, but Linger kept looking at him without saying a word, behind his thick wooden table where, in the left corner, stood a golden tiger statue with the inscription “Injured? Tiger Wounds Law Firm”.
“Listen, Bob, let’s pretend, since it is warranted, that a driver hit you with his car this morning and made you lose your memory, so now it is my job, as your friend, to help you seek damages and remember some things: you can’t deal with money; you blew all the cash you had, and the cash you didn’t have, on a boat that doesn’t float, so tell me how you think you’re gonna sail to Antarctica”.
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Bob looked at the golden tiger and at Linger again, and said that one of his ideas was to place an ad for the law firm on the side of the boat and that it would certainly make Linger more money than having a commercial on the Channel 9 nightly news, between those of the appliance store and the butcher’s shop, but Linger asked if there were many job-related injured penguins in Antarctica.
Sitting there, Bob realized for the first time how solid the tiger seemed, and he imagined penguins in cages being fed to an enormous cat.
Bob said he didn’t think Linger was taking his business proposition seriously, to which Linger retorted with a business advice: “Sell that boat to the junkyard, that’ll do the trick. The answer is no”.
“And stop bothering Isabella and me”, said Linger. “You’re not married anymore. Now, please”. He pointed to the door.
Bob stood up. He offered his hand to Linger. Under the golden statue, he read: “Injured? Tiger Wounds Law Firm”. It could certainly crack a skull.
