Here's the idea: Take 3 completely unconnected words (the more incongruous the better) submitted by someone else and make a maximum 1,000 word story based on them.
Three Story Words: Kitty, Easter, Towel
Words Submitted by: corelliakid
Chapter Rating: K
Word Count: 523
Story Completion Time: 30 minutes
"Why is there no Thanksgiving mascot?"
"What? What do you mean?" Alexis peeks in the oven. Turkey's browning nicely. I won't be long now.
"Christmas has Santa. Easter has its Bunny. Where is our Thanksgiving representative?" Her father asks.
"Turkey is our representative."
"That can't be right. We eat them. That's a horrible thing to do to our mascot. Nobody eats the Easter Bunny."
"You don't know that. There could be a lot of people who eat braised rabbit for Easter." She throws him that wide-eyed, slightly maniacal look that he taught her. The one that makes him proud.
"That's just wrong. Thank God it's not the Easter Kitty. Imagine the carnage. Santa better watch his back."
Alexis laughs, checks the potatoes for doneness. They are. She turns them off, lets them sit for a while before draining and mashing them. Probably another 10 minutes. She turns the heat on under the steamer of green beans that have been waiting their turn on the eye.
Castle considers it for a while. Goes back to what he was doing. Rethinks it.
"I reject your supposition that the turkey is our Thanksgiving representative. What else you got?"
"I still say turkey."
"Oh!" He spins, gesturing with an assumed empty can of cranberry sauce. "Pilgrims ar-"
"Dad!"
"What?"
Alexis tears off two sheets of paper towels. "You are getting globs of cranberry goo all over the floor." She gives him one paper towel and takes the other, helps him clean up his mess. The floor will be sticky. She'll need to mop. She'll wait until after everyone has left just in case there are more spills.
They stand and she throws away the sticky sheets.
"Pilgrims."
"Hmm?"
"Pilgrims are clearly the Thanksgiving mascot."
"Nope. It's the turkey."
He glares. She smirks. "We're going to need to settle this..."
"Kate."
"Kate!"
They call her. She emerges from the utility room behind the stairs, gold, amber and cinnamon colored cut glass candle holders in hand. She sets them on the table next to the flowers.
"You bellowed?" She joins them in the kitchen and rummages in the junk drawer for the stick lighter.
Alexis beats her father to the punch, rounds in front of him so he's separated from Kate.
"Dad says Pilgrims are the Thanksgiving mascot. I say, clearly, the *modern* representative is the turkey. We need a tiebreaker."
Rick's head peaks out over his daughters, makes a 'pick me' face.
"Hmm. That's tricky." Kate rubs a finger across her chin. It's the slight little demonstration of dramatic playing along that has been increasing ever since she moved in. "Neither."
"What?"
"What?"
"I say it's neither. Clearly the Thanksgiving symbol is the cornucopia representing a plentiful bounty in which to be thankful." All serious.
Castle stands gape-mouthed momentarily. Not what he wanted to hear.
"You have got to be kidding! The cornucopia? Really?"
"No. I'm just messing with you, Castle."
He seems relieved.
"It's *clearly* the turkey."
Kate finds the lighter and turns to go back to the candles. She turns but not before Alexis catches the sneaky smile meant for her. Yeah, it's definitely the turkey.