The third prompt was given to the entire class. The previous prompts were randomly selected and were unique to each of us. It was interesting to see us all deal with the same prompt and the different stories and writing styles we’d come up with.

The prompt was: fired from her job after getting the wrong number. Write the scene.

Mary could tell that Leonard was positively beaming as he talked to her on the phone. She notified him that he had won the grand prize lottery draw of over one hundred million dollars.

“So, you’ll have to come down to the station as soon as possible to claim your prize.” Mary said with excitement.

She had only been working for Prize Management International for three months, and had never been the one to inform a winner. She couldn’t help but beam with pride as the grand prize was the largest they had ever given away.

After confirming some more details, Mary hung up the phone, excited to tell her boss the good news. Opening the large glass door, with the forms in her clammy hands, Mary presented them to her boss, Daniel. “I’ve called Leonard Michael like you asked sir. He will be in tomorrow to pick up his prize.”

Shaking so much with excitement, it almost looked like she was floating above the floor, Daniel turned from his cabinet slowly to face her. The blood had already drained from his face, and his knees buckled. Falling flat in his plush leather chair, he started to sweat profusely.

“You mean to say that you called Michael Leonard, right?”

Mary looked down at the form in her hand. It said, Leonard, comma, Michael. It was though time had stopped, yet the room started spinning. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what to say or do. The silence sucked all of the air from the room, and Mary couldn’t push out a sound more complicated than the squeak of a mouse.

Daniel put his head in his hand and sighed heavily. “How long have you worked here?”

“Just under three months, sir.” Her nerves started to get the better of her, and where her shaking once came from glee, it now came from dread.

“Unfortunately, we have to let you go.”

The words hit her like the hammers of a typewriter, each syllable pounding deeper into her soul. “But, I” She stuttered endlessly as it slowly sank in. She knew her next words would be important, but all she could say was, “But, I…”

Picking up his phone, Daniel typed in an extension and began to talk, but the words fell deaf on Mary’s ears. Tears welled up, and she held them back. A single tear rolled slowly down her cheek. Her face red, she couldn’t move.