06 Wednesday, April '22 (Completed Prompts)

06 Wednesday, April '22 Prompts

AN: My apologies in advance, not only for the fact that it's not even April anymore, but also for the fact that this prompt is a little bit all over the place. I lost my end goal half way through, and I never got around to editing it after. (That's what took me so long to post it; I want to do these in order and I didn't have the time or motivation to edit). But,  I eventually gave up on that and am now just posting it anyway. I mean, it's the result of a writing prompt. It's not supposed to be perfect, right? 
Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Let me know below if you do. :)

~~~~

Prompt: "Write a short story where the protagonist is a compulsive liar."

I didn't want to lie!

As the registration assistant in front of me asked for my full name and occupation, I fiddled with my shoes in front of her, scuffing the toes back and forth.

"Miss?"

I looked up again and almost winced. I didn't want to do this. I didn't...

"Meredith Ashley, pilot."

Pilot?! Out of all the jobs I could have listed, pilot was the one to come off my lying, deceiving tongue?!

The woman in front of me raised her eyebrow slightly, impressed, and I gave her a sweet, innocent smile, trying to mask the guilt and terror I felt.
Just a few more questions, and it can all be over. Just a few more seconds.

"Alright!" the lady in front of me chirped: "Gladys" her name tag said. "We're just about set up. All we have left to do is for you to sign right here and the whole thing will be yours."

The lady handed me a pen and, swallowing past the lump in my throat, I signed my name on the dotted line.

"There we go. Congratulations! You've just got yourself a license."

"Thank you." I nodded politely before taking the card she slipped over the counter and leaving as quickly as possible.

Meredith Beth, when are you going to learn?

The sharp voice of my mother flooded my thoughts, and I groaned. When I was a small child, I'd believed this inexplicable urge to tell anything but the truth was a curse given to me by some old, vindictive witch.

Now? I knew it was just my own twisted, deluded mind, but I still felt just as powerless against it. It was as if an angry green alien lived inside my brain, squealing with glee every time he got me to say something that was a lie, or a falsity, or a general half-truth.

I groaned as I pulled myself into the front seat of my car. Now what was I going to do? The name on my new card wasn't even correct; it was Meredith Winston, not Meredith Ashley. Heaving a sigh of frustration, I tossed the card onto the empty passenger seat, twisted the key in the ignition, and gunned it out of the parking lot, trying to get as far away as possible from the scene of my last lie.

I had just pulled into the front yard of my house, turning off the key, sticking it in my purse, and grabbing the useless card off the passenger seat, shoving it mercilessly into my bag, when I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye. Fabric. Black fabric, caught on the bushes just beside the driveway. Huh. Weird. Unease trickled up my spine, and I started taking the steps to the house slowly, tentatively.

I made it to the house without harm, but the unease refused to budge. Something about that fabric just didn't seem right.

Before I could make it all the way through the door, a rough hand clasped over my mouth, and I felt myself being pulled backwards. I tried to kick, to scream, to free myself from the hand rubbing my face raw with its severity. But it wouldn't budge. I noticed myself being dragged towards a large white van that had pulled up behind my vehicle.