Happiness

The roving reporter stuck a microphone in her face, and asked the question he’d been asking of everyone on the corner that night.

“Did you see the killer? Did you see who shot Boo Johnson?” he asked the woman leaning against the stop sign with her arms crossed.

She stared the handsome reporter up and down.

Then she looked into the camera.  “My name is Cinnamon. Cinnamon Sugar."

The reporter cracked a smile, the same smile most men had when she uttered her professional name.

“Ma’am, did you see who shot Boo Johnson?

Cinnamon Sugar stared back into the camera. “Some say you can’t buy happiness. We beg to differ.”

“Is that so?” the reporter said.

Cinnamon Sugar nodded. “I don’t know who shot Boo Johnson, but I’m just telling you our motto: Some say you can’t buy hapineess. We beg to differ.”

The reporter stared blankly.

“For happiness is between my legs. Happiness is me down on my knees. Some say you can't buy happiness. We beg to differ. You see, we aim to please.”

The reporter yelled “Cut” and walked off to someone who had something more useful to say.

What she said was good.

What she said was right.

She wanted to let the city know what was going on in her neighborhood.

Happiness.




From September 2010 Women of Color Writing Workshop.

5 minute writing prompt. Draw a magazine clipping out of the basket and use it as subject matter for a story.

My magazine clipping was "Some say you can't buy happiness. We beg to differ"

That had me a little O_o. But I think I did okay on the spot in 5 minutes. This little vignette prompted a full character sketch of Cinnamon Sugar, who is a character in my manuscript Always Watching.