Hello my dear friends.

While we are all twiddling our thumbs and waiting to get paid, I thought I would share a piece with you all that I wrote specifically celebrating this time-honored tradition.

The prompt that I used to write it was “Not Enough Funds”.

Feel free to comment or share with us any crazy things you have had to do to make ends meet until payday – we’re all dying to hear it!

Enjoy the piece and look out for another one coming out shortly.

Payday by David Ellis

“Check the jacket pocket.”

“I did, there’s nothing.”

“What about behind the back of the sofa? Find anything there?”

“I found an old After Eight mint, a shiny penny covered in fluff and a blue paperclip.”

Ralph rubbed his head with fevered anxiety and it made a rasping sound, sandpaper on a gritty chalkboard. Payday was still many days away and his credit rating was as solid as a sticky toffee pudding.

“It’s no good – we are going to have to hold up the corner shop down the road. Put on your mask Scott, hopefully we can be in, out and then put the kettle on.”

Scott squinted at Ralph for several seconds, beads of sweat playing out on his bald head, a symphony of raindrops that were showing no intention of slowing down.

“That’s not what Mum would have wanted Ralphie. Pops would also be spinning in his grave.” He snuffled, his warthog features belying a gentle kindness that still made you think of him wallowing in a trough every time the dinner bell rang.

Ralph scowled at him and pulled the cotton mask over his brother’s reluctant face. He wasn’t taking no for an answer, that was for sure.

Shoving Scott viciously out the door, they head towards the corner shop with grim determination. Ralph snarled at the shopkeeper.

“Empty the till and you don’t get hurt by my itchy trigger finger!” The bulge in Ralph’s pocket looked enormous but the shape was a bit odd. The shopkeeper folded his arms and started tittering uncontrollably.

“Is that a banana in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Ralph looked crestfallen. Scott took off his mask and started blubbing.

“We’re sorry mate, it’s just that it’s payday next week and it’s so hot, we could really do with a Cornetto ice cream!”

The shopkeeper smiled and handed them one each.

“I trust you’ll give me the money when you get paid next week fellas?”

They both grinned at him. “Next time, we’ll definitely make sure that the funds are on ice!”

For more stories and blog posts inspired by ice cream shenanigans, check out this excellent posts by my blogging buddies below:-

1. Synchronicity Not Knowing
2. tuckedintoacorner My Personality, Frozen
3. The Jittery Goat A Story Of Ice Cream and Passion; Redheads, Brown Cows, and Sister Char
4. RANDOM!!! My flavours
5. God, Nature, School and More Ice Cream Crazy
6. The Wandering Poet Daily prompt – Ice cream!
7. gut honest faith Blood, sweat and tears
8. The Floral Bunny Me, as an Ice Cream
9. Under the Monkey Tree It’s a Bit Fruity
10. The WordPress C(h)ronicle Flavor #32
11. Journeyman Flavor #32 : Which One Do You Prefer as a Friend?
12. Flavour #32 Ice-cream, You-scream, We-all-scream
13. TFGSC – Day 27 What’s your flava’, tell me what’s your flava’ 😉
14. Of Glass & Paper #DailyPost: Flavor#32 (Six words)
15. A Little Fluff Flavor #32 Tart and Sassy
16. A Penny For Her Thoughts Flavor #32
17. tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice Flavor #32
18. thinking out loud A cold treat.
19. Blissful Pages Flavor #32: Me in a Wacky Ice Cream?
20. Journey2dfuture Daily Prompt Day:20 Flavor #32
21. wandering story teller We all scream for Ice-cream!! 😀
22. Active Army Wife Swirl
23. sawyer sundries Postaday: Daily Prompt
24. Writer Wormie An essence of me— a frozen up magic potion.
25. Naziyah Mahmood Kicking the tastebuds!
26. the masculine pen My Spicy Frozen Alter Ego!
27. Pippakin Talks Cats, Dogs, Teeth and Claws http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/flavor-32/
28. Charron’s Chatter Look! It’s the Questionable Humor Man!
29. All Things Cute and Beautiful Being Flavoursome!
30. asterretha d. three sides
31. asterretha d. three shades of beauty
32. Finale to an Entrance I’ve Got 99 Flavors…
33. SERENDIPITY MY NAME IS MARILYN. I AM A CONE.
34. hooray4rae Do They Make Bitter Flavors?
35. Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss Flavour #32 – Eat it at your own risk
36. Me in a Bowl! Flavor 32
37. Nilesh Prajapati Flavour #32
38. Flowers and Breezes Fruit Yogurt Ice Cream
39. fabulouswivfeyz WITH A PINCH OF CRAZY AND AWESOMENESS
40. eastelmhurst.a.go.goi scream about my new flavor
41. Rain’s Writing Realm Flavor #32
42. lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown Lick for Lick
43. Photo Artistry Cafe Ice Cream Flavor #32
44. the girl who thinks an awful lot Wacky Flavor says Surprise!!
45. marbles, dandelions, string Rum Mama
46. A lot from Lydia ISCREAM Du Jour
47. The Zombies Ate My Brains A New Ice Cream Variety: Mugget’s Nuggets
48. idleandbored2 Flavour #32
49. Prairie Views Strawberry – Lemonade Berry Ice Cream
50. YogunPoetry Flavor #32
51. bohemiangypsy flavor #32 mother of pearl swirl
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53. pretty healthy No Ice Cream Maker? No Problem
54. Duniya Ku Flavor #32: ICE CREAM WACKY
55. A bouquet of roses A cherry on the top
56. Halfway Amazing Ice Cream Friends!
57. Il diario di carta Flavor #32
58. Destino Margarita Ice Cream: daily post
59. Will I make it or not? A deadly flavor
60. Artes del Viento Varying Relative Ice Cream
61. Jade Herrera Spicy, Sour and Sweet
62. Understanding and Embracing Diversity Ice Cream Personality
63. My Eclectic Existence Anna Without the Banana
64. Traversing Lines Crispy Seaweed FunFin Ice Cream
65. Robert Jepson This Writers Crazy Cream
66. Haiverer Flavor #32
67. Basically Beyond Basic Flavor #32
68. Mindful Digressions Plain Vanilla
69. Nogginknots Flavor #32
70. Joie De Vivre I am Flavor #32
71. by LRose The irony being I don’t like ice cream
72. Jackie’s Travels Trapped (Post 2 of 3) Prague Uprising
73. Slow and Steady Flavor #32
74. Barbara Pyett Perfection
75. Sara.Stark.Writes Flavor #32: bookend robbins
76. Writing on the Spot Ice Cream Made Fun
77. purplepeninportland Lavender Lulu Swirl
78. New Millionaires Mindset Chocolate Nuts
79. katesclippings The unique flavour of me
80. The Bohemian Rock Star’s “Untitled Project” Flavor #32 – My Ice Cream flavor
81. TyroCharm 31 Flavors Just Got Cooler!
82. Emovere Wacky Flavour #32
83. Life’s Journeys Unfolding Flavor #32 – Ice-Cream Essence of Me – Ylang Yum
84. Meowing Happily Flavour #32 – Leberry
85. field of thorns Laying of the Mine
86. thenibloggedit Flavor #32 make it spicy
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88. adorablyobnoxious Daily Prompt – Flavour #32