Late

A response to Nathaniel Lee's "Guest Lecturer" in Mirror Shards.

Taku hunched over his computer and pondered the flash story. The pixelled words flowed before his eyes as he tried to whittle them down.

"Ahem," said The Wisest Stone.

Taku jumped, landed on the edge of his chair, and fell to the floor knocking some books off the bookshelf as he flailed to catch himself. The Wisest Stone's belly bulged over the upper shelf, which creaked under his weight.

"Umm... hi," said Taku. "I need to cut five more words."

"Perhaps." The Wisest Stone was silent for a moment. "You're late, I think you need to write one hundred words."