SSS Week Four: The Wise Guy and The Coworkers

  

Hello, dears!

So, it turns out that I've decided to follow along with Short Story Sunday this week, unlike the previous weeks that I will try not to mention again.

I got the prompt for this week on Reddit, again, and it is:

Write a conversation between multiple people using only dialogue. Distinguish who's talking by the way they speak other than addressing them openly.

Whilst writing this short, I realised that when I write a story of any form-- whether it be a long novel or short story-- I tend to use less dialogue and more... well, not dialogue.

To be honest with you, readers, speech scares me. I'm not very good at keeping up with conversations in person, for I wouldn't know what to say next or how to say certain things, leading to an awkward situation for both me and the unfortunate person who got stuck speaking with me. I suppose that's why I tend to go easy on the dialogue in my stories-- I simply don't know how to continue a conversation!

This was fun, and I feel as though it taught me many things and gave me more confidence in dialogue writing-- though it took me many presses of the backspace button and rewriting to complete it!

So, here it is. I do hope you enjoy it:

"I didn't take it! I swear! Just- please! Believe me! I'm innocent!"

"Innocent, are you? Then why did the boss see you take it?"

"Yeah, wise guy. Why'd the boss seen ya take it?"

"I didn't, I swear! He must've mistaken me for someone else. I have an average face! Half the people in this city look like me! He made a mistake!"

"Nah, nah. The boss don't make mistakes."

"Yeah. The boss don't make no mistakes."

"...By saying that your boss 'don't make no mistakes', are you saying he makes a lot of mistakes?"

"Whatcha gettin' at, wise guy? The boss don't make no mistakes."

"Well... It's a double negative. You're saying he doesn't make no mistakes, meaning he makes mistakes."

"Ya callin' me a liar, wise guy?"

"No, no. I'm just pointing out-"

"Oh, shut up, the both of yous! This ain't the time to be playing Grammar Nazi."

"Yeah. This ain't the time to be playin'."

"Where is it?"

"Yeah, where is it, wise guy?"

"I already told you I don't know!"

"Ya sayin' ya know, wise guy? Double negative."

"What? No. That wasn't a double negative. I said I don't know, meaning that I do not know."

"But ya used 'don't' and 'no' in the same sentence, didn't ya, wise guy?"

"No, no. Not 'no'. I said 'know'."

"Same word, wise guy!"

"It isn't! N-O means negative, the opposite of 'yes'. K-N-O-W means that I'm aware of something. By saying I don't K-N-O-W where what you're looking for is, I'm saying I haven't a clue where it is. Do you understand?"

"... Can I shoot 'em? Imma shoot 'em."

"Don't shoot! Please don't shoot! I already told you I didn't take what you're looking for!"

"Put away your gun, idiot. How are we supposed to get the stolen good if he's dead?"

"... Well, I was gonna scare 'em into tellin' us where the pen is."

"Wait... This is about... A pen?"

"Of course it's about a pen!"

"Yeah. Course it's 'bout a pen, wise guy!"

"What did you think we were talking about?"

"Yeah, whaddya think we was talkin' 'bout?"

"I don't know... Money. Maybe jewellery or something expensive."

"Then do you have it?"

"Do ya 'ave it, wise guy?"

"I... Don't know. I'll look in my bag... I don't remember purposely taking anything."

"It's from the shop on First Street."

"Yeah, the shop on First Street."

"Must you always repeat your friend? It's getting rather annoying..."

"He ain't my friend."

"Yeah, wise guy. We ain't friends."

"Oh, what? Just coworkers then?"

"Unfortunately."

"Yeah, fortunately."

"I think you mean 'unfortunately'."

"That's what I said!"

"No, you said 'fortunately'."

"Ya callin' me a liar, wise guy?"

"Just hurry up and get the pen, for goodness sake! Boss is waiting."

"Yeah. Boss is waitin'."

"...Here. Is this one it?"

"...That's the one. Boss will be happy to get this one back. He hates pen thieves."

"Yeah. Boss 'ates pen thieves like ya, wise guy."

"Right. Good. Can I go now, gentlemen? Or do you want to press me about a paperclip I picked up off the ground earlier?"

"Nah, we're done. Have a good day."

"Yeah. 'Ave a good day, wise, thievin' guy."