Weekly Wordzzle Challenge #133

  

It's week 133 of the Weekly (formerly known as "Saturday") Wordzzle Challenge.  Well, I got it in before midnight, at least. Looking forward to seeing what others have done.

This week's 10-word challenge was:  defensive, volume, masterpiece, category, momentarily, advisor, public radio, charter, eleven days, ostrich   And for the mini:  gargoyle, flounder, screech, Saturday evening, locked up

My 10-word:

Maggie felt momentarily defensive about hiding in her house. She wasn't proud to admit that this was her version of an ostrich with its head in the sand, she knew, but it was the best she could do right now. Her therapist, her chief advisor in maintaining emotional balance, had gotten her to sign an agreement - the Political Withdrawal Charter he had laughingly called it - because he knew she would live the name.Anyway, she had signed on the dotted line: eleven days with no CNN, no public radio, no newspapers, no politics. None. Total withdrawal from who said what about who and who might win what election and whether the Democrats or Republicans would win the day. Even thinking about it - six days in now - started her thoughts racing. Time, she thought to turn up the volume on the stereo and get back to work on her masterpiece. The painting of Obama was coming turning out to be amazing.... She knew her therapist wouldn't approve, but total withdrawal... well, that was just too much to ask. Really.


My mini:

Franklin didn't know what day it was any more. He had been locked up since Saturday evening. It had all started when he heard the screech and saw the gargoyle land on the parapet with a flounder in its mouth. He was sure he had heard that screech again more than once in his restless dreams. Where was everyone he wondered? And suddenly he felt very frightened indeed.


And the mega:

Max Martinson was cold and wet and tired and he really missed the calming voices of his friends at National Public Radio. The volume of the screech last night had been ear-splitting and left him momentarily floundering for cover in the bushes. Who would have thought an ostrich could make a noise like that? It had sounded more like the noise a gargoyle or Godzilla might make and not just some large bird. Three of the female contestants had seen his shameful fright and now he felt stripped, so to speak, of his manhood. The original plan had been to play a defensive game but now he felt a need to redeem himself with a more aggressive approach. He couldn't believe it was only eleven days into the contest and he was already feeling a depth of exhaustion and panic worse than anything he had anticipated when he had climbed blithely onto the chartered plane on Saturday evening and headed for the "parts unknown" of the world. He hadn't thought Survivor would be so hard even though his friend and advisor Sam - who had done an earlier season of the show - had tried to warn him otherwise. He had thought he would have the game locked up by now and had expected to be in that category of contestants who stood out and ruled from day one. He was humbled, to say the least. He really wanted to go home, but he wanted that million dollars even more. He had his movie masterpiece to produce and he needed the money so he could do it his way... and also because he couldn't find any backers.

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Words for next week's 10-word challenge: charity, clouds, empty bottles, Give me Liberty or Give me Death, medicine, shrimp, clear as a bell, credible, hole, Aunt Sally

And for the mini:  just like you, leaves, everything in the store, continuing, dramatic,

Thank you for playing.  Newcomers to wordzzles can check here for guidelines (there are no rules) to make the challenge easier and more fun.