Karl gazed disconsolately across the battlefield: the battle of Pydna was not going well. On the left flank his archers were about to be overrun by a phalanx of elite Spartans that had just taken out the cavalry set to protect the lightly armed bowmen. Things on the right were no better. Although his forces there were yet to sustain significant losses, they were in the path of several units of heavily armed Macedonians, all pikes and shields and strength-in-numbers. He briefly wondered if Maximus Decimus Meridius had had Sunday afternoons that went like this. Probably not.
The neighbours were glaring again. I’d almost forgotten what the old antipathy had been like, and had got quite used to ignoring, and being ignored by, them. But here it was – like an insecure partner they operated along the lines of “if-you-really-cared-you’d-know-what-was-wrong”. Once experienced, never forgotten. How long would it be before they approached me, before anyone realised I might need some details to work with?
On hot sticky summer days the ideas would come at them so relentlessly that they often ended up getting things confused. He would be crouching down on the living room floor trying to balance the Pick-Up Sticks in the little grooves on the dominoes. She would be rolling die across the kitchen linoleum and yelling the numbers through the doorway.
So, we were both sitting in the vegetable patch, holding a French Bean in front of our mouths ready to begin. We'd agreed that we would start on one, two, three – go! Not just one, two, three. You had to wait for the go! Not that I could care less. All I could think about was how this was turning out to be the worst summer holiday ever. There we were, on our arses in the soil, nothing better to do.
Anyway, I'd started counting, when Margaret went,
Wait! You have to open your mouth when you’re done to prove it's gone.
Stella got the giggles twenty minutes after, lying on the sofa pounding cushions and holding her belly. Davis watched. He was laughing too, less so, as he was struck by her expression. She hadn’t looked that way since they were teenagers.
He crawled on the sofa next to her, snaking his legs between hers, back turned, facing the television. It was on and loud, though neither was watching. The room was dark, apart from intermittent flashes from the screen. Stella put her arms around his waist. He could feel her warm breath on the knob of his spine, which perfectly matched the warmth at the centre of his forehead. He let his thoughts drift, eyes open, dappled light playing on his cheeks. He heard a deep hum from his wife.
“How does it work?” I slide the sheet of paper over without looking up from my game of patience. “Like the Palio in Siena? Eight departments, or ‘Contrada’, represented by eight runners. Three circuits of the office, starting and ending at the lifts by Reception.” “And who are the runners?” “It’s on the list.” “But not the odds?” “There aren’t any.” I sigh, bored of explaining. “Apart from a bottle of fizz for the runner, the winners divide the pot – the more you put in, the bigger slice you get back.”
Join the League for some Fun & Games on Tuesday April 12th - which is also our fourth birthday! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?
We can promise an office steeplechase, a lifetime of gaming, stoned parents, battle re-enactments, children tied to trees and a very unlucky cat. Seeing as it's our birthday there will also be jelly and ice-cream, party poppers and balloons, as well as the usual FREE books in our literary quiz, and BARGAIN wine.
The stories selected are: "Big Boys' Games" by Rob Mukherjee *NEW AUTHOR* "Genghis" by Simon Jones *NEW AUTHOR* "One, Two, Three - Go!" by Julie Mayhew "Palio" by Liam Hogan "Games I've played & the people I've played them with" by Nathan Good *NEW AUTHOR* We'll also be featuring a fab new story by novelist Courttia Newland, "Gone Away Boy"
PLUS we've persuaded fantastic actress/comedienne Lizzie Roper to join our company and she will be reading Julie Mayhew's story "One, Two, Three - Go!" ...
£5 on the door and more great stories than you can shake a stick at
Liar Katy Darby's debut novel, a Victorian drama called The Whores' Asylum, was published by Fig Tree (part of Penguin) in February 2012. It's had some nice reviews in The Independent on Sunday, the Sunday Times and Metro so far.
SAMMY WINS THIRD IN BRIDPORT 2011
Congratulations to LL author Sammy Wright who came third in the prestigious Bridport Flash Fiction Prize 2011: he owes everything to Liars' League. Everything. Especially his first-born son ... More here
OUR INTERVIEW WITH ANNEXE MAGAZINE!
They came, they saw, they asked us a bunch of interesting questions. Interview by Nick of Annexe Mag with Katy of LL: here
