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The Plan

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction
Challenge using the image below as inspiration.

© Alex Gagareen @ Unsplash

Gabby had packed her backpack four times last night …. not because she needed to but because packing it gave her something to do and that took her mind off her stomach doing somersaults.

New school, new teachers, new everything. She’d walked this route a hundred times over the summer, timing herself, memorizing which cracks in the sidewalk to avoid. Oh God, how embarrassing if she tripped in front of the seniors!

Her plan was simple: walk in like she’d done it a thousand times before. Chin up and don’t look back at mom watching from the window (like she did every day of the first week of school). Just walk, like this was routine, like her heart wasn’t currently attempting an Olympic quadruple axel.

Up ahead, the school waited …. full of strangers who were probably just as nervous as she was, though none of them looked it either.

One block left …. then put on the kind of brave you can’t fake, only borrow until it becomes real.

NAR©2026

This is “Hold Your Head Up” by Argent

Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #392

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated and may not be used without permission. Thank you for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.



25 thoughts on “The Plan”

  7. Hmmm, I’ll pretend I can’t remember that far back, but I think I told mum, “I was too sick to go” … that didn’t work, mum walked me to the school gate, embarrassed, I quickly ran in hoping the other kids didn’t notice …

    Room, Lyrics

    There’s a lump growing in my throat
    Cause you’re not here again
    I won’t be gone for too long
    Wish I could say, just that

    There’s a room full of you
    In the place where I awake from
    Ah ha ha

    Won’t you stay for a day
    Then I promise I will try not to cry

    There’s a lump growing in my throat
    That doesn’t really help
    The la la la

    There’s a room full of you
    In the place where I awake from
    Ah ha ha

    Won’t you stay for a day
    Then I promise not to go
    Again and again

    I would like to be with you
    Anywhere, all the time

    If I could be with you
    Anywhere I would
    Ah ha ha

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