Weekly Wordzzle Challenge # 142

Friday seems to be whizzing around with incredible speed of late. It's time for Wordzzles again. I had a good time this week. My contributions are really silly but I had fun writing them, so...


Words for this week's 10-word challenge were: sweetness, soap opera, leather jacket, matches, corn, pregnant, operation, mustache, crib, earrings and for the mini: closet, camera, cheese, flagrant, music


For my mega:

Lucinda was glued to the TV, quietly nibbling the grilled cheese sandwich in her had as she eagerly awaited the opening music of her favorite soap opera, the Corn Grows High. Today was the day that Sweetness O'Malley was supposed to have her operation. The operation was particularly risky because Sweetness was 5 months pregnant. The father of the baby was still unknown. Although Sweetness hoped and believed that it belonged to her boyfriend Alphonso (totally dreamy, especially since he had gotten rid of that ridiculous mustache, Lucinda thought), it was equally possible that it belonged to Alphonso's twin brother Chico who had in an act of flagrantly evil betrayal, gotten her drunk on New Year's Eve, pretending to be Alphonso and had seduced her into innocently betraying the man she loved. She was keeping this horror a secret from Alphonso because she knew the truth would break his tender heart. Alas, she didn't know yet that Chico - the evil antithesis of his gentle brother - had not just defiled her, but had recorded the event on a hidden camera.
Now adding to the stress and drama - the surgery (a bone marrow transplant) which she must have to save her life- puts the baby's life at risk. Because of her rare blood type, the hospital is seeking matches but so far have found none. Lucinda, polishes off the last of her sandwich, tears steaming down her cheeks, as Sweetness (exquisitely dressed in a sensational leather jacket and hoop earrings) sits weeping by the crib which Alphonso has crafted with his own hands for the baby who may die because of her surgery and who may not even be his. The camera, which has been doing a dramatic close-up on Sweetness' troubled and tear-stained face, now pulls back to reveal a 4th player in this romantic hodge-podge: Doctor Sandra Stinknee, who is also secretly in love with Alphonso and originally paid Chico to seduce Sweetness, whom she feels is unworthy of the man she herself loves. She had not expected the complication of the baby or Sweetness' illness and is torn between her jealousy and her inherent medical ethics and compassion. What have I done? she whispers and sobs into her hands. A few minutes later, Chico pulls her into janitor's closet, where he asks her with a sly grin... "having second thoughts, are you, Doc?"  Serves you right, witch, Lucinda mutters, still weeping. Then, wiping away her tears, she heads to the kitchen for a glass of water, muttering to herself. "Why do I watch this stupid show? It's so annoying," but none-the-less races back to make sure she is in her seat before the commercials end and the show returns.


My 10-word:

Playing idly with a book of matches someone had left on his desk, Stan Winford, thought that he was one of the luckiest men alive. He loved writing for the soap opera, The Corn Grows High.  He knew it was crap, but it paid incredibly well and allowed him to let his imagination run wild to come up with the most absurd and convoluted plots that were just plain fun to concoct and that allowed him to laugh all the way to the bank. His own entry into the business had something of a soap opera quality itself. Six years ago, he had needed an emergency surgery for his apendix. Two major life changes had come out of this one event. Following the operation, he had shared a room with a very witty gentleman named Fred Fargo, whose flamboyant mustache had amused made him a big hit with the nurses. His roommate, who took a great liking to him, turned out to be the executive producer of The Corn Grows High. Fred's beautiful daughter visited often and also took a great liking to him. One offered him a job and the other accepted his offer of marriage. Pretty good outcome for one small surgery. Now he and his pregnant wife lived in an awesome "crib" on the Upper West Side of New York. For Valentine's day he had bought them matching leather jackets and in the pocket of hers had placed a pair of diamond earrings and a matching bracelet with the name of the baby she was due to give birth to in just a few short weeks. His life had a sweetness he could never have imagined growing up in the slums of Chicago or even entering the hospital six years ago, screaming in pain. Life might not be as crazy as a soap opera, but it had its moments.


And the mini:  music

"Great Balls of Cheese,"  Sam Henderson muttered, looking into the unbelievably crammed closet in disbelief. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and deftly used its camera to photograph what he would later call "the scene of the crime."  He had known his soon to be ex-wife had a flagrant disregard for the reality of how much she had in the bank and how much she wanted to spend, but he had not expected this. Looking more closely at the closet's contents, he realized that some of these clothes were stolen. This lifted his mood considerably and he left her house whistling happily. The divorce process was acrimonious to say the least. She had been demanding a huge amount of alimony, threatening to claim spousal abuse. Tonight, he would show her these photos. Tonight he would suggest that she say the phrase that would be music to his hears... no contest... or he would make sure that others learned what she had done. Tonight, he chanted happily, I will be a free man again. Yee ha!

Word for next week's 10-word challenge: Pluto, space ship, make-up, peerless, wishing well, baby shower, cabbage, angels, ample bodied, plunge

And for the mini: chapter six, clams, spark plug, hustle and bustle, fragments

Thanks you for playing.  Newcomers can check here for some guidelines to make the game more fun. There are no rules, just some general guidelines and tricks.