The Lesson

Flash Fiction

The Lesson

“Who said that?”

“Everybody says it!!”

“Everybody? In the whole world?”

“Well, Jimmy and Tina, those guys. All the kids down at the end of the street.”

“Any kids from up here?”

“No, well, me now!”

“No, you won’t… will you?”

“I can say it if I want!”

“Do you want to say it?”

“I don’t know… but it sounded serious.”

“Maybe serious, but not very smart…”

“What do you mean?”

“That kind of talking is exactly the talking that will get you in trouble!”

“How do you know, it sounded pretty serious. And they never seem to get into trouble.”,

“It’s called swearing. If Mom or Dad heard you, you would be in big trouble.”

“Just for saying a word?”

“Not just any word, that word. If you were reading a list of words that would get you in trouble that word would be there. I’ve never said that word!”

“They say it a lot!”

“Don’t listen to them.”

“I have to listen to them? We play together every day…”

“Well, I mean don’t start using those kinds of words just because they do. There are other words that mean the same thing and will not get you in trouble.”

“Like ‘Bottom?'”

“Exactly, Mom and Dad use the word ‘bottom’ so you using it won’t get you in trouble if they heard it. I’m just trying to help you. Grown-ups are very serious about what you say.”

“Well, how come they can say it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe their parents are different. But I know ours would be very angry if you used that word, and they heard it!”

“OK fine! But in the future don’t be the hole in anybody’s bottom!”

“Ah… I think we need to talk about this word thing a little bit more...”