Pool Parties
By day, the pool pampered those who’d never known hunger; who’d been born into privilege and never left it. Cushy connections and nepotism guaranteed unearned wealth with interest and no taxes. Brown servants slathered their pale, never-pinked wrinkled bodies.
By night, Gemma, a hood rat, looped surveillance footage with empty glassed blue, while hungry, tired children, parents, and grandparents from a neighborhood three blocks away splashed harmlessly and forgot about their troubles.
Nothing good lasts forever. Drones patrol at night now. Yet they can never seem to identify the dark-hooded figures lobbing leaky offal over the fence, into its blue.
[100 words]
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the host of
Friday Fictioneers.
I loved this tale of popular requisitioning
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Thanks, Neil!
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That’s a very wonderful tale, Lisa! 👍
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Thanks much!
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You’re very welcome ☺️
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Karmic
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The divide grows larger every day. (K)
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I’m sure you’ve seen/heard about the Converse ad by now?
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Every day, something else…
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Excellent tale of appropriation. Nicely done, Lisa.
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Thank you very much, Nancy.
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Very welcome.
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The contrast between daytime privilege and nighttime community escape is so sharply drawn! As Nancy’s Notes and Neil MacDonald pointed out in the comments, that shift from quiet ‘popular requisitioning’ to defiant sabotage once the drones arrive packs such a powerful punch in just 100 words. Fantastic piece, Lisa!
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OM happy to read your feedback. Thank you.
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😊
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I remember the public pool I used as a kid being open to everyone.
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Any community that can provide a public pool is blessed.
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I love this story Li. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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<3 Thank you, my friend. <3
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You’re most welcome
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A tale of them and us. A great take, Lisa.
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Keith thank you very much. If we could set aside our petty squabbles and unite against them, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
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Great Lisa your world-building is dripping with atmosphere. Two very different worlds and I love the title too 🙌
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Thanks much, Ange. With the title, I was thinking parties in the party sense but also parties as in legal matters.
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🙌
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This is great Lisa your world-building is dripping with atmosphere two very different worlds – and I love your title too🙌
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Modern problems require modern vigilante justice. :) I heard Flock was transitioning from ground cameras to drones. We need push back on this sort of thing fast and hard. Great story.
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Oh no on the Flock cameras! Crossbows?
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