Angels, drifting toward Armageddon. Greenfield Prep’s eighth-grade choir anxiously rose up the escalator. White smocks billowed. Sensible shoes shuffled.
After a noisy scramble up the half-moon of holiday risers, they stood stock still. White candles on a layer cake.
Lucy’s pale, delicate hand cupped the satisfying bluntness of her new Dorothy Hamill. Shimmering in the glass opposite, hovering transparently before a rainbow of Star Wars tees, behold! Her reflection. Her shiny helmet, haloed overhead.
All was in readiness. Her solo performance would soon be called forth by the master conductor himself, Dr. Rancid.
The last man to ever upstage her.
For another flash fiction with a hint of menace, read Correction.
Nice time capsule of 1977, with the sinister trail at the end.
Thanks msjadeli!
You’re welcome, Andrea.
I think most of us are old enough to know what a Dorothy Hamill is 🙂 I remember that year so well. Lots of changes for is in and around that time. enjoyed your story a lot.
Thanks granonine. Me too!
Wonderful trip down memory lane as a teen in the ’70’s. I had my own Dorothy Hamill at one point. She’s about to make her debut!
Yes Brenda she seems very excited about being the center of attention. But someone may soon steal the limelight.
I had to read the other comments to understand the haircut, but you captured the teenage girl perfectly.
Thanks Liz!
Full of suspense, and more than a little dread. Well done.
Thanks Sandra!
This was wonderful, Andrea.
Thank you chasing beans!
Yes, Dorothy Hamill lost me too.
But Dr Rancid leapt into life!
Separated only by a common language…😊
I held back from commenting in the hope I would learn a little more from other contributors. I’m glad I did because now I know exactly what’s going on! A great tale with an intriguing open end Andrea .
Too bad it’s written in a code that only those who were teens in the 1970s in the US can decipher!😊. Thanks so much Keith!
I was teen in the 60’s in the UK so that explains it!
Dr Rancid doesn’t sound very nice 🙂
I was a bit confused by “cupping… her new Dorothy Hamill” – I Googled her and she’s a skater?
Its a short haircut with a wedged back. I imagined her primping, by pushing the wedge upwards on the rear-side of her head with her cupped hand, as people do. 😊
You captured 1977 perfectly! Do we want to go back there? Eh, probably not.
Thank you Liz! Yes I think my time travel to 1977 will remain limited to the written word and the occasional movie. 😊
😀 Wise decision!!
I’m glad I read the explanation – I got a bit lost there. I’m guessing anyone called Rancid is not going to be a nice person…
Good guess Iain. Tried to pack too much in one story I guess.
This was wonderful, Andrea. A child of the 70’s, I got each reference (and sported my very own Dorothy Hamill at one time). Not digging Dr. Rancid, however. He gives me the heebie-jeebies…
As intended Dale. It was fun taking a trip down memory lane…
🙂
“Angels, drifting toward Armageddon,” is a wonderful opening line. Unfortunately I’m then lost. Is it a choral concert with a solo, or a skating contest accompanied by a school choir, – and who on earth is Doctor Rancid? I’m lost in a welter of cultural references that I don’t follow.
Sorry for the confusion, Penny. I was working from the picture, this time,and the images it conjured up for me,of junior high choir appearances (this time at a mall, on the second floor, across from a storefront window that reflects the rather vain soloist’s own image back at her.)
A dorothy hamill is a haircut popular in the US in the 70’s. Dr Rancid is the name i gave to the esteemed choir director who is about to start the show. (A somewhat cheesy choir performance)
The story is more of an intro than a finished work for sure. Sorry if it seems jumbled.
Dear Andrea,
I love the Dorothy Hamill. Great image. Oooh, and what a sinister ending. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle! Been a bit busy lately for FF but great to be a part of it this week!
I get that. I’m still sprinting to catch up. We lost my mother in law 2 weeks ago and we’ve been buried in family stuff. Not in a bad way, but you know how it is.
Wow so sorry for your loss Rochelle. Yes it can hit you like a ton of bricks. Which you are then tasked with clearing away. 😬
I absolutely love these two lines: ‘white candles on a layer cake’ and ‘the last man to ever upstage her.’ I am SO CURIOUS – how does he upstage her?! Why?! Does he mean to?! Please continue this story!
Thank you Tara. I guess I’ll have to keep writing and let you know. 😊
I would LOVE to know what happens next so when you do, please send it my way! 🙂
Thank you for asking the question, Tara! I want to know, too.
Okay, now I’m trying to think of what happened in 1977. I loved this line… ‘White candles on a layer cake’. And the haircut… that’s what happened in 1997! My 6 year old daughter, Ashley, had a Dorthy Hamill.
A friend took this photo and I liked it knowing some good stories would come. You can see her work here… https://instaology.com/
Dorothy Hamill won at the Olympics in 1976. Her haircut became all the rage. Meanwhile Star Wars premiered…i recently got a retro rainbow Star Wars Tshirt emblazoned with the date.
Great name, Dr Rancid
Sufficiently malicious, i hope? 😊
And a little slimey too
😊