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FLASH FICTION
NORMAN by Ruth Thomas
Celeste spent Monday morning at the Job Centre: she’d lost her job as a barista and now there she was, sitting opposite someone called SHEILA MORRISON, filling in forms. There were a lot of sections to complete, and she wasn’t even sure she’d qualify: the reason for her redundancy having been lack of conviction. She just hadn’t smiled enough. Plus, a lot of customers had sent their coffees back. ‘Do I have to fill in this bit about . . . ’ she began. ‘You have to fill in all the sections that apply to you,’ SHEILA MORRISON sighed. And she looked up, past Celeste, past the plastic plants and out through the window.
Your surname had to go in a box before your first name. That was the way of things. The order. Like in James Bond.
NORMAN, CELESTE, she wrote, several times, over
about 20 pages. Then she handed the form back to SHEILA. ‘So. You’ll hear within a week to ten days,’ Sheila
yawned.
‘But what if I need the money now?’ Sheila looked at her. ‘Is it an emergency? Are you about to starve?’ ‘Well, no, but . . . ’ ‘In that case,’ Sheila said, ‘you’ll just have to wait.’ There was nothing to do after she’d left. It was
11.45 on a nothing morning. So she thought she’d pretend she still had money, and to spend it on a cappuccino.
‘Hiya! What’s your name?’ yelled the girl behind the bar. She had a sassy ponytail and was wearing a shirt that said TRAINEE BARRISTA. She seemed to be doing a better job than Celeste ever had. ‘My name?’ Celeste said. ‘Sure!’ beamed the girl. ‘So we can shout out when
it’s ready!’
‘NORMAN,’ said Celeste. The girl looked at her. Her smile struggled. And eventually, after a moment, it disappeared altogether. ■ Ruth Thomas is the author of The Home Corner published by Faber.
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication by using our ‘Add an Event’ service at list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Jaclyn Arndt. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 17
Glasgow FREE Bill Daly: Black Mail Waterstones, 153–157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 6pm. The local crime writer launches his latest. Edinburgh My Life in Poetry with Crispin Bonham-Carter National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, 557 2876. 6–7pm. £7 (£5). Actor amd director Bonham-Carter speaks with SPL director Robyn Marsack, sharing some of his favourite poems and telling tales of his career as an English teacher. FREE Michael Malone: The Guillotine Choice Looking Glass Books, 36 Simpson Loan, Quartermile, 229 2902. 6.30pm. Malone launches his new novel, based on the true story of a man in the notorious Devil’s Island penal colony.
Friday 18
Glasgow Britain from Above: Creative Writing Lunchtime Bites The Lighthouse, 11 Mitchell Lane, 276 5360. 12.30–1pm. Free but ticketed. Weekly bite-sized masterclasses to get your creative brain a-going, with prompt images from the Britain from Above: Scotland’s Industrial Might exhibition. Booking essential.
Edinburgh John Calder Festival Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. Times vary. Prices vary. Until Sat 19 Apr. See Around Town listings.
✽ The Golden Hare Literary Salon Golden Hare, 102 West Bow, 629
1396. 6.30–8.30pm. £7 in advance; £10 on the door. April’s salon is a celebration of literary hedonism and whisky (a perfect pairing), indulging in a dram or two alongside readings of prose and poetry. Whisky aficionado John Oliver hosts. Rally & Broad Counting House, West Nicolson Street, 07989 508436. 7.30–11pm. £5. Literary-flavoured cabaret night, boasting spoken word, music and dancing into the wee small hours, hosted by Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum. Tonight it’s Caroline Bird, Jack Webb, McGuire, Kite & the Crane and introducing Sarah Stewart.
Sunday 20 Glasgow Gerry Hassan: Caledonian Dreaming The Glad Café, 1006a Pollokshaws Road, 636 6119. 4pm. £5. The writer and commentator examines the state of contemporary Scotland ahead of the referendum. Tonight he’s in conversation with BBC’s business and economics editor Douglas Fraser.
Tuesday 22
Edinburgh Nothing but the Poem The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street, 557 2876. 6–7.30pm. £5 (£4). Poetry discussion forum with no previous knowledge required. This month’s sessions take on Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Wednesday 23 Glasgow FREE Mason Cross: The Killing Season Waterstones, 174 Argyle Street, 248 4814. 7–8.30pm. Cross launches his debut novel and first in his Carter Blake series.
5 THINGS . . .
APPS FOR BOOK LOVERS Bookspotting (bit.ly/bookspotting)
The new app that prompted this list is a Scottish books database in your pocket, featuring information on over 3500 books of Scottish interest, searchable in a myriad of ways. The app’s major strength is its focus on location, allowing you to find your nearest independent bookshop or take a guided literary tour with one of the many inbuilt maps. Wattpad (bit.ly/wattpad-app)
On a first sweep this self- publishing platform appears to be little more than an overflowing hotbed of fan fiction. But spend some time flicking through the virtual shelves, and little treasures start to reveal themselves. Check out sci-fi bestseller Cory Doctorow’s Homeland for starters: you’ll soon be happily lost in this intuitively designed and truly democratic app. Sequential (sequential.cc)
The visual nature of graphic novels makes them perfect for displaying on digital screens, and this app offers a really user-friendly way to discover what’s out there. It’s a graphic novel shop – iTunes for comics – and lots of thought has gone into the menus, categorisation and display. There is a lot of fun to be had in simply browsing, while purchases are neatly stored in the app’s own library.
Sherlock: Interactive Adventure (bit.ly/Sherl-app)
Arthur Conan Doyle’s ever- popular detective gets the interactive book treatment in style, with atmospheric music, an animated map packed with trivia and a fluid, easy-to-use way of navigating the story. Goodreads (goodreads.com)
Book lovers come in all shapes and sizes, but let’s be honest, a high proportion of them sit somewhere on the nerd/geek spectrum, which is why the Goodreads app is so popular (25m users and counting). It offers a simple way to list, rate and review all the books you read, as well as letting users check out what others are recommending. Then you can get involved in all manner of book-lovin’ discussions. (Paul Gallagher)
17 Apr–15 May 2014 THE LIST 43