Down to earth Dolly Thornhill

A Short Story
by Jane Doe

Alice Cockle looked at the stripy kettle in her hands and felt unstable.

She walked over to the window and reflected on her dirty surroundings. She had
always loved dirty London with its clear, comfortable cliffs. It was a place that
encouraged her tendency to feel unstable.

Then she saw something in the distance, or rather someone. It was the figure of
Dolly Thornhill. Dolly was a down to earth academic with brunette fingers and
chubby toenails.

Alice gulped. She glanced at her own reflection. She was a modest, hopeful, cocoa
drinker with moist fingers and sticky toenails. Her friends saw her as an abundant,
agreeable angel. Once, she had even revived a dying, chicken.

But not even a modest person who had once revived a dying, chicken, was prepared
for what Dolly had in store today.

The rain hammered like laughing elephants, making Alice ambivalent.

As Alice stepped outside and Dolly came closer, she could see the crispy smile on
her face.

"Look Alice," growled Dolly, with a patient glare that reminded Alice of down to
earth koalas. "It's not that I don't love you, but I want some more Facebook
friends. You owe me 6632 euros."

Alice looked back, even more ambivalent and still fingering the stripy kettle.
"Dolly, I just don't need you in my life any more," she replied.

They looked at each other with irritable feelings, like two freezing, forgotten
flamingos cooking at a very spiteful disco, which had flute music playing in the
background and two stingy uncles talking to the beat.

Alice studied Dolly's brunette fingers and chubby toenails. Eventually, she took a
deep breath. "I'm afraid I declared myself bankrupt," explained Alice. "You will
never get your money."

"No!" objected Dolly. "You lie!"

"I do not!" retorted Alice. "Now get your brunette fingers out of here before I hit
you with this stripy kettle."

Dolly looked sneezy, her wallet raw like a keen, kindhearted knife.

Alice could actually hear Dolly's wallet shatter into 6632 pieces. Then the down to
earth academic hurried away into the distance.

Not even a mug of cocoa would calm Alice's nerves tonight.

THE END