Title: Dr. Seuss on the Loose
Prompt 36: Does he like poetry?
Word Count: 633, written 7/28/12
"There was a young man who lived in a boot." Twelve-year-old Gene gave a quick glance to see if his brother was listening. "He would spend all his days counting his loot."
"Did he live next to the old woman and her shoe?" Noll asked without lifting his head.
"It's poetry week at school, Noll. Don't be so droll."
The twins were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table. Gene was supposed to be working on a paper he had procrastinated on. Noll had finished his homework before dinner and was reading. Well, attempting to read. Parapsychology was difficult – even for Noll – when his brother suddenly decides he wants to become Dr. Seuss and test his poems out on him.
"I'm going to leave," Noll said, a warning creeping into his voice.
"I'll be quite bereaved."
"I don't find this funny."
"It was supposed to be sunny," Gene said, gesturing to the windows and the heavy thunderheads approaching. It was the main reason, at least in his eyes, why he wasn't outside at this moment. Not because Luella had told him he really, really needed to work on that paper. After a pause he added, "Never mind, that was too simple. How about 'This breakfast, Luella's eggs turned out runny'?"
Noll snapped the book shut and got up. Without a word – since all words were being used against him – he headed up the stairs to his room.
To his dismay, Gene decided to follow him.
"Not another word," Noll said, indicating for Gene to stand outside his room.
"Says my brother the nerd." Gene leaned in the doorframe to prevent his brother from slamming the door on his nose.
Noll sat at his desk, moving the chair so he was facing away from Gene and the open doorway. He could feel his twin's eyes burning into him, so he hunched his shoulders. He managed a paragraph before Gene went back to his nursery rhyme.
"There was a young man who lived in a boot. He spent all his days counting his loot." Silence for a blissful moment, then he continued, "He thought he was quite good looking, but he was actually a Newt. The only thing that redeemed him was his fine-cut suit."
"Gene," Noll said before he could come up with another line, "Poetry week is about reading the masterpieces by the great writers, not just stringing words that rhyme together."
"This is a masterpiece," Gene protested. He slid to the floor with his feet stretched out across the entryway. "Hand me a piece of paper, will you? I need to write this down."
Noll picked up a notebook, and tore a sheet out. He proceeded to crumple it into a ball, which he tossed at Gene's head.
Gene caught it. "And a pen or pencil, please."
The pencil collided with Gene's head before he could catch it. He picked it up before it rolled away and examined if the tip was still intact. It was.
"I've got a title for this already," Gene said casually. "It'll be called: The Story of Noll the Newt."
Noll pretended to ignore him.
"Ha!" Gene exclaimed, making him jump. "You can't think of something that has my name in it, can you?"
"I don't like poetry."
"It's fine if you can't, I understand."
Noll spun the chair around, his grim expression causing Gene's grin to falter.
"This is the story of Gene. After his brother was finished with him, he was never again seen."
Gene's face soon mirrored Noll's, eyes narrowed, lips thin. Gene finally said, "I think I'll go finish that paper now."
Noll opened his mouth to say that was a fine idea, but closed it quickly. He wasn't going to let Gene have the satisfaction of getting in a last word.
…
Hi everyone! The response to the last chapter was just awesome, thank you! Because Wishing Well is at 187 reviews, (and I never thought I'd get that many on one of my stories) I thought I'd set up a contest – the 200th review gets a one-shot. It'll be separate from Wishing Well. In fact, it can be any of the fandoms I have in my Beta profile. It'll need to be a signed review so I can contact you for details like character(s) and setting/prompt.
Oh, and Coriana – you don't count, ha! ;-)