One Way To Do It

by Louella Lester

By chance, Lisa had, that very afternoon, read a research article about female frogs sometimes feigning death — holding their appendages stiff and away from their bodies — to avoid mating with unattractive males. So, at that evening’s party, when Ben drunkenly planted himself on the arm of the chair in which she was seated, she gave it a try. Lisa closed her eyes. She stiffened her arms and legs, but Ben was not to be deterred. In fact, he seemed to find her lack of movement even more enticing and began rubbing his warty fingers back and forth over one of her still elbows. When it all became too much, Lisa leapt up and crossed the room in one hop, without looking back to see that the shift of weight had caused the chair to lose balance and topple backwards, sending a weakly croaking Ben into a heap on the floor.

6S

Louella Lester is a writer/photographer in Winnipeg, Canada, author of the CNF book Glass Bricks (At Bay Press 2021), contributing editor at New Flash Fiction Review, and is included in Best Microfiction 2024. Her writing/photos appear in variety of journals and anthologies.