Day 9: 15,531 Words and Week 2 Bites Back

Today was one of those days where I felt uninspired. Weirdly, I am still introducing new characters and there are a lot of hanging threads to pick up. Plus, this novel wants to be a love story as well as a story about revolution. I will include a short excerpt about the resistance creeping forward:

"Cass, who was the involuntary coordinator of the Foucauldian Discourse Analysis Aid kits, felt that the strategy of swapping items in the hallway during the school day was reaching its end. She was worried that they had not been as subtle as they should have been. More than once, she had noticed a member of the administration walking closely behind her. They were rarely seen on site, so their presence was noteworthy. Alarmingly, she had also noticed that there almost always seemed to be at least one small child wearing a yellow raincoat roaming the hallway unaccompanied and paying her undue attention. Was she under surveillance? By unhinged and gormless children wearing raincoats? It seemed unlikely but she didn’t want to take the risk. Additionally, there were only so many educational uses she and the teachers could make of the frankly useless and irrelevant items. The students, who had been surly since the Wifi stopped working, were becoming increasingly restless. And no one wants to deal with surly AND restless teenagers. No one. She recommended that perhaps they could meet at Jackie’s Place after school to discuss next steps.

After an unnecessary flurry of texts in which every single member of the staff asked the same 3 questions at least once, it was decided. Jackie’s Place at 4pm. The Resistance, as Cass had begun to think of it, was about to get organized. Kind of."

And then, in case you were wanting an update on the broken photocopier situation, Ryan from Physical Resources sent this update in Week 1 (when there was an embarrassment of riches to choose from for excerpts and this one didn't make the cut):

I am definitely “on” getting the photocopier fixed. Apparently these newer models require a particular kind of expertise that most Managers of Physical Resources don’t have training in (it’s not just me!). Technology has just come so far, you know, there’s artificial intelligence, and QR codes, and like microchips and all this stuff. So the guy who knows how to fix this is on vacation for the next 2 months and as you can imagine gets pretty busy with all the photocopiers and stuff. So let’s see where we’re at at Christmas time, yeah? Chad from Legal said that it’s still okay to say Christmas so we’re all good on that front.


Comments

  1. WhammyJuly 9, 2025 at 2:53 PM

    While I'm glad that Chad from Legal signed off on "Christmas" usage, I can't help but wonder what Chuck in HR thinks? It's an HR complaint waiting to happen. Love the excerpts and keep plowing through Week 2!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bone Breaking PunkerJuly 9, 2025 at 3:49 PM

    It must be true that there is a limit to what can be done educationally with those aide kits. But your characters worked wonders, despite the terrifying child in the yellow raincoat. I hope the organizing meeting goes better than the text lead up!

    ReplyDelete
  3. IndigoJuly 13, 2025 at 8:11 PM

    somehow i missed this when it was written and i am so sad! so much to love!! Ryan from Physical Resources is the real hero of your novel.

    ReplyDelete

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