Wysi·Wyg Volume I, Issue 3

Untitled
by Alex T.

Danny’s mom passes Danny’s room on her way to her own room and hears weird noises coming from inside and decides to investigate. She opens the door to see her son writing frivolously at his desk making sounds of frustration.

“Danny honey, what’s wrong?”, she asks concerned for her son.

“Nothing”, he responds trying to get her away.

“Why were you making those noises?”, prying to get to the bottom of the problem.

“No reason”, trying to shield the problem from her.

“No, now Danny I want to know why you were making those noises and I’m not leaving until you tell me!”, frustrated at Danny’s lack of response.

“I told you there wasn’t a problem!”, practically crying, “Now can’t you just leave me alone!?”

“Actually no I can’t, because something’s wrong and you won’t tell me, and I feel that it is my job as a parent to make sure you’re okay”, calmer, seeing the pain her son is going through, “so it would make my job a whole lot easier if you could just calm down and tell me what was bothering you.”

“CALM DOWN!? Calm down? You think that I can just instantly calm down because it would make your job easier?”, almost hysterical, “Well let me just tell you that it isn’t my job to make your job easier. And frankly right now if you would just leave me alone then we wouldn’t have to worry about our jobs and life would go on.”

“Don’t you dare tell me what to do young man! I am going to keep asking you questions until I am satisfied with the answer you give me!”, he has obviously struck a nerve.

“That’s just the problem mom! Satisfying you! That’s what everything is always about! Not you worrying about me, but me satisfying you!”, obviously enraged at his mother’s switch of attention from his problem to hers.

“…”, shaking her head, trying to refrain from yelling anymore, “let’s go back to why I’m here in the first place, what is wrong?”

Danny realizes his position and decides to tell his mom what is bothering him, “Well you know that writing contest you signed me up for?”

“Yes honey, why?”

“Well I decided that today I would start to try and write it so I would have time to go over it and make sure it was perfect and stuff.”

“Well good for you, I’m glad you’ve taken that attitude towards this.”

“Yeah well so the first thing I decided to do was to come up with an idea for it.”

“Right, that seems like the right thing to do. So how far are you now?”

“Right where I started, trying to find something to write about. I’ve tried to think of something and I’ve come up with some ideas but none of them work.”

“What do you mean “work”?”

“Well, the ideas either couldn’t last for the length needed or they were just stupid.”

“What did you think of so far? Let me see.”

Danny hands her a blank sheet of paper.

“So, where are your ideas?”

Danny looks as if he is about to cry again and wipes his eyes.

His mom recognizes that he has no ideas and tries to hold back her frustration for his lack of success. “Well that’s okay, honey, it’s hard to come up with ideas on the spot.”

“What do you mean “on the spot”?”

“Well, most of the time it’s easier for a writer to have the ideas come to him or to be inspired by something that he sees or has gone through.”

“Like when grandma died or something?”

Nervous, “Well yes, but let’s try something more…happy?”

“Oh, okay, like when my football team won last week?”

“Yes, that’s on the right track, but maybe something more poetic.”

Danny is confused as to why his win in football isn’t good enough and continues to question, “Well, a football game win can be poetic if you write it poetic.”

Danny’s mom really doesn’t like the idea about writing about football so she suggests something else, “How about your last birthday party I threw you? Remember you had so much fun with all of your friends?”

“No, not really, but I do remember how much fun I had with my friends during the game last week.”

“You know what? Okay fine. You go ahead and write about your stupid football game and see where that gets you”, she leaves the room in a hurry and leaves Danny confused as to what he did wrong.

“Well, okay, something that happened in real life. Something inspiring. Okay, I got it.”

Danny turns back to his desk and writes on a new sheet of paper after throwing his old one away. He completely loses track of time and writes into the night; fortunately it is Saturday and tomorrow he can sleep late. He becomes sleepy but doesn’t want to upset his mom by leaving the lights on so he makes his way towards the switch on his wall. The attempt is useless as he falls onto his bed and doesn’t quite make it.

Later that night Danny’s mom is getting ready to go to bed but sees Danny’s lights still on and decides to check in on him and apologize. She opens the door but he is asleep and after sighing for his carelessness goes to turn of his lights. She goes over to his desk and sees his paper there and decides to read the first page or so to find flaws in it. However, she is stopped when she reads the title, “Perfection or Death”. She places the paper down and runs out as she had done just earlier that day, leaving the lights on.

Untitled by Alex T. Danny’s mom passes Danny’s room on her way to her own room and hears weird noises coming from inside and decides to investigate. She opens the door to see her son writing frivolously at his desk making sounds of frustration. “Danny honey, what’s wrong?”, she asks concerned for her son. “Nothing”, he responds trying to get her away. “Why were you making those noises?”, prying to get to the bottom of the problem. “No reason”, trying to shield the problem from her. “No, now Danny I want to know why you were making those noises and I’m not leaving until you tell me!”, frustrated at Danny’s lack of response. “I told you there wasn’t a problem!”, practically crying, “Now can’t you just leave me alone!?” “Actually no I can’t, because something’s wrong and you won’t tell me, and I feel that it is my job as a parent to make sure you’re okay”, calmer, seeing the pain her son is going through, “so it would make my job a whole lot easier if you could just calm down and tell me what was bothering you.” “CALM DOWN!? Calm down? You think that I can just instantly calm down because it would make your job easier?”, almost hysterical, “Well let me just tell you that it isn’t my job to make your job easier. And frankly right now if you would just leave me alone then we wouldn’t have to worry about our jobs and life would go on.” “Don’t you dare tell me what to do young man! I am going to keep asking you questions until I am satisfied with the answer you give me!”, he has obviously struck a nerve. “That’s just the problem mom! Satisfying you! That’s what everything is always about! Not you worrying about me, but me satisfying you!”, obviously enraged at his mother’s switch of attention from his problem to hers. “…”, shaking her head, trying to refrain from yelling anymore, “let’s go back to why I’m here in the first place, what is wrong?” Danny realizes his position and decides to tell his mom what is bothering him, “Well you know that writing contest you signed me up for?” “Yes honey, why?” “Well I decided that today I would start to try and write it so I would have time to go over it and make sure it was perfect and stuff.” “Well good for you, I’m glad you’ve taken that attitude towards this.” “Yeah well so the first thing I decided to do was to come up with an idea for it.” “Right, that seems like the right thing to do. So how far are you now?” “Right where I started, trying to find something to write about. I’ve tried to think of something and I’ve come up with some ideas but none of them work.” “What do you mean “work”?” “Well, the ideas either couldn’t last for the length needed or they were just stupid.” “What did you think of so far? Let me see.” Danny hands her a blank sheet of paper. “So, where are your ideas?” Danny looks as if he is about to cry again and wipes his eyes. His mom recognizes that he has no ideas and tries to hold back her frustration for his lack of success. “Well that’s okay, honey, it’s hard to come up with ideas on the spot.” “What do you mean “on the spot”?” “Well, most of the time it’s easier for a writer to have the ideas come to him or to be inspired by something that he sees or has gone through.” “Like when grandma died or something?” Nervous, “Well yes, but let’s try something more…happy?” “Oh, okay, like when my football team won last week?” “Yes, that’s on the right track, but maybe something more poetic.” Danny is confused as to why his win in football isn’t good enough and continues to question, “Well, a football game win can be poetic if you write it poetic.” Danny’s mom really doesn’t like the idea about writing about football so she suggests something else, “How about your last birthday party I threw you? Remember you had so much fun with all of your friends?” “No, not really, but I do remember how much fun I had with my friends during the game last week.” “You know what? Okay fine. You go ahead and write about your stupid football game and see where that gets you”, she leaves the room in a hurry and leaves Danny confused as to what he did wrong. “Well, okay, something that happened in real life. Something inspiring. Okay, I got it.” Danny turns back to his desk and writes on a new sheet of paper after throwing his old one away. He completely loses track of time and writes into the night; fortunately it is Saturday and tomorrow he can sleep late. He becomes sleepy but doesn’t want to upset his mom by leaving the lights on so he makes his way towards the switch on his wall. The attempt is useless as he falls onto his bed and doesn’t quite make it. Later that night Danny’s mom is getting ready to go to bed but sees Danny’s lights still on and decides to check in on him and apologize. She opens the door but he is asleep and after sighing for his carelessness goes to turn of his lights. She goes over to his desk and sees his paper there and decides to read the first page or so to find flaws in it. However, she is stopped when she reads the title, “Perfection or Death”. She places the paper down and runs out as she had done just earlier that day, leaving the lights on.