The Short Story
In English, we did a brief unit on flash fiction; the goal is to tell an interesting story using as few words as possible. Here is both a 55 word fiction, and a 683 word fiction. The first describes the actions and captures the mindset of a politician in the heat of a debate. The second elaborates on a politician's life, and exemplifies that a few elected officials perhaps catapulted to fame due to physical looks, and or debate rhetoric. In this case, the politician uses his brilliantly delicious, hypnotizing wig to excel in politics, and falls when his deception is revealed.
Perplexed [55 words]
Licking his lips, he cleared his mind, trying to liquidate any insecurity. It was almost his turn, and debates were important. It was his turn. He flashed a smile. The moderator asked him a question. But it was a question in which he did not prepare an answer. Perplexed, he bowed his head in defeat.
The Wig [683 words]
Ever since he was a little boy, William Ruthford had an almost inexplicable love for nice hair. William used to watch The Lion King, his all-time favorite movie, for hours on end and yet never tired of Simba's glorious, flowing mane of wavy, amber-colored hair. Whenever he watched television, his parents tuned into the local news stations, giving him ample time to ravenously study the various, elegant hairdos of the anchormen and women. In truth, he was an average looking, boring kid before he really started to pay attention to hair. But from then on, whenever he looked in the mirror, William would spend an exorbitant amount of time staring at and daydreaming about his hair. A typical grooming session would include making sure each individual hair was untangled and in its exact place atop his head, followed by an ostentatious display one would see in the movies: a dazzling flash of a smile, a suggesting wink, and finally, a warm, melodious laugh. In just a year, he'd undergone quite a transformation; suddenly, he wasn't the kid in the back of class anymore. Rather, he was the popular guy everyone wanted to be friends with. Indeed, to his classmates and teachers, his hair seemed too perfect and surreal to be true when William began the 7th grade. Although whatever came out of William's mouth was mostly babble and nonsense, he was always popular with girls, his friends, and even adults. William beamed whenever he overheard his teachers excitedly tell one another: "He'll make a fine newscaster or politician someday." And that he did.
Like a glowing crown on his head, Mr. Ruthford's hair proudly served as his signature look fourteen years later. Despite barely passing college, Mr. Ruthford seemed to be one of the most revered and recognized in his hometown. Upon jumping into politics after graduation, he quickly ascended the ranks and served multiple terms in the House. His hair, a forget-me-not golden brown, ever candescent, shone like a pearl and stole the spotlight whenever he appeared in the public eye. His rhetoric continued to be mediocre, and intelligence questionable. However, it didn't matter what the words spilling out of his mouth were; as long as a well groomed man with a hypnotic smile and aura of confidence was there, he would do. For nearly a decade, Mr. Ruthford saw a meteoric rise in politics and explosive growth in his army of supporters. While his appearance was indeed magical, it would not last.
It happened in late October when Mr. Ruthford was finishing a run in the senatorial elections. After an hour long speech, Mr. Ruthford, exhausted but pleased, walked off the stage absentmindedly, waving, of course, but otherwise remaining oblivious to his surroundings. It happened right as he turned his head in response to a supporter raucously cheering his name; a boom mike swooped down to parallel his movement but accidentally brushed the top of his head just as Mr. Ruthford put on his most dazzling smile. With a quick swoosh, Mr. Ruthford's hair slipped off, leaving his bald head completely exposed. After several painful seconds, he hastened to pick up his hairpiece. More bad luck ensued; while the crowd and media were completely awestruck, he slipped and broke his nose. And chaos broke loose.
In the ensuing aftermath, Mr. Ruthford was lampooned for hoodwinking his country. In a matter of days, his campaign had fallen apart and his army of supporters had disintegrated. Newspapers published his career-killing image with a vilifying "Fake" as the headline. Pundits, who also used the infamous image of a bald Mr. Ruthford with a broken nose in their sketches, labeled him as a real life "Voldemort." The few political commentators still loyal to Mr. Ruthford claimed it was his precipitous drop in confidence that ultimately cost his downfall and not his blunder that caused his self-destruction. However, even they could not explain why Mr. Ruthford simply disappeared within the next few years; it was as if he had disintegrated into thin air himself, just like his aspiring political career did when his deception was revealed.
