The Victory

Prompt: Use this cliché at the end of your story: burn the midnight oil.

Source: Modified from creativewritingprompts.com

Original Airdate: July 22, 2010

Response:

"Ready, set . . . Type!" Their fingers flew over their respective keyboards, words thundering across their screens.

She glanced over at his screen as her fingers described the swirl of a lemon-colored ballgown and the kiss of a summer rain. He was lagging behind, stuck on the difficult phrasing of a run-on sentence.

She smiled, slowing her pace to a leisurely consistency. She had very little riding on the exercise. The demonstration was more for her boyfriend's benefit who, without her encouragement, would be burning the midnight oil for a third consecutive night laboring over a 500 word essay.

She paused, mulling over the essence of her scene, wondering if she should add more ambiance. Beside her, he clicked word count and said, "Done - 512."

A little shocked, she checked her own word count. 438. She sighed, deciding that it was all for a good cause, and conceded the victory.