Here is the story which was awarded third place in the flash fiction competition I held at Swanwick Writing Summer School. Entrants had to write a story up to 250 words.
Catching Up
By
Allison Symes
‘Tremberina, how nice! Haven’t seen you since Fairy School.’
‘Good to see you, Sherell, here in the university’s magical plants section.’
‘With my results it was my obvious job. Well paid unlike those pleb Fairy Civil Service jobs.’
‘I’m in the FCS – taxation and special services. It’s enjoyable, plebs and all. Fairies should represent everyone, yes?’
‘You always were liberal, Tremberina.’
‘I thought I’d work here with you, Sherell. I did well in the magical plants exam but got a D. I wasn’t allowed retakes. Never understood why. Everyone else needing retakes had them. You did well though.’
‘I had an A.’
‘There was gossip papers were swapped. People got wrong results.’
‘No truth there, Tremberina.’
‘I heard those with connections, you and your family for example, suppressed that.’
‘No truth there either.’
‘I’m glad. That’s some good news for you, Sherell. Incidentally, you owe the fairy government several thousand pounds in taxes. I’m here to collect. They want immediate payment.’
‘I’m on the payroll. I pay monthly.’
‘We’ll forget about it if you admit to cheating in the plants exam. Make a public statement, resign, and live quietly.’
‘That’s blackmail, Tremberina.’
‘Exam tampering and suppressing evidence is worse, Sherell. Your call.’
‘If I knew your magic couldn’t cancel mine, I’d curse you.’
‘For being a pleb or for uncovering you, Sherell?’
‘Both!’
The door opened. In walked the head of the magical plants department accompanied by two police officers.
Tremberina smiled.
Sherell didn’t.
It’s not easy to tell a story almost entirely through dialogue. The dialogue has to do all the hard work – reveal who the characters are, their relationship to one another and all the events surrounding them. Allison demonstrates how to do this effortlessly, building the story all the while. It’s a tale that makes us smile – apart from Sherell, of course.
Esther Chilton 
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