The Quintessential Q

Nano Narrative – 10/09/2024

A hunched, gnarled, sun-baked man arranges loose-leaf tobacco from a grubby pouch onto a fresh rolling paper. The thin strips of tobacco leaf look like shavings from his thick brown hands.

Nano Narrative – 09/09/2024

The meeting that could have been an email that could have a been a direct message that could have been an in-person conversation that could have been nothing at all if the office drone had read an email properly in the first place.

Nano Narrative – 08/09/2024

It was a grey, post-holiday day. Gustavo locked himself out of his computer after entering his old, expired password too many times, and promptly took another three weeks’ leave.

Nano Narrative – 07/09/2024

As soon as she retired, Deb immediately dispersed with the concept of digital calendars. Years of the Outlook chimes, of reminders of upcoming meetings, had scarred her – a white-collared Pavlov’s dog. Her days would never again be broken up by neat, five-minute chunks.

Nano Narrative – 06/09/2024

Bubbly, bright HR rep Brittany wore a stained black hoodie on her daily bus ride, and mumbled to herself at random, just so no-one would sit next to her on the commute.

Nano Narrative – 05/09/2024

The crying may have started when Ken dropped his popcorn in the movie theatre, but it was sustained by the performance the lead actor was putting in on-screen.

Nano Narrative – 04/09/2024

The true test of the human intellect, waiter Byron found, was how quickly a table of ten or more could identify who ordered the food his arms were laden with. Most of the time it was blank looks and mouths opened in inquiring O looks.

Nano Narrative — 03/09/2024

The disconnect between the real products and the photoshopped ones on the McDonald’s menu finally made it all the way to the boardroom, where inflated projections and promises all came crashing down when the quarterly earnings were unwrapped (announced).

Nano Narrative – 02/09/2024

The commentary duo balanced each other out. One was raw emotion and had a high-pitched voice, and the other was pure statistics, whose balls had dropped when he was still in primary school.

Nano Narrative — 01/09/2024

‘Just hear those sleigh bells jingling. Ring-ting-tin-gl-ing too. Come on it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you,’ sang Bert idly, feet squeaking on the hot sand as he marched with his surfboard down to the water.

Nano Narrative – 31/08/2024

A narcissist was accidentally hired in lieu of an exorcist. The battle with the demon raged on for longer that anyone expected.

Nano Narrative – 30/08/2024

Eliza used to say that she avoided Brussels sprouts like the plague, though it struck her one day during lockdown that it was far easier to avoid the sprouts.

Nano Narrative – 29/08/2024

The locksmith showed such casual proficiency cutting open Isabella’s padlock that it made her doubt the usefulness of the entire enterprise.

Nano Narrative – 28/08/2024

Like the helmets worn by centurions of old, Dustin sculpted his mohawk with prim attention to detail. This is where his similarity with the Roman soldiers ended though; he would have swiftly shat himself if he ever found himself pitted against hordes of Germanic barbarians.

Nano Narrative – 27/08/2024

Angelique was a heart surgeon by profession, and an interior designer in her spare time. Though as she liked to tell people, she was an interior designer all of the time.