Title: California
Original Published: Aug. 31, 2009
Word Count: 100
Prompt: "California is a fine place to live―if you happen to be an orange."
Notes: With the show's tenth anniversary, I've been wondering what the characters were all up to in that amount of time. In this future, Casey is hosting a late night TV show like Conan. The prompt gave the piece an angsty tone.
It's ironic, really. All those years ago when everyone was talking about moving to LA, he was going to stay behind to be near his family. Ten years later, Danny's still in New York and he's out here with the palm trees and movie stars. He doesn't belong, but there's not a lot he can do about it. The show's a success. He's a success. You don't walk away from all that. Sometimes he can convince himself that he's happy. Then, Danny calls because he hasn't heard from him in a while...
He doesn't belong here. He's not an orange.