Word: Hebdomadal

 

hebdomadal

\ heb-DOM-uh-dl \  , adjective;

1. taking place, coming together, or published once every seven days; weekly: hebdomadal meetings; hebdomadal groups; hebdomadal journals .

noun:

1. a weekly magazine, newspaper, etc.

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The dimmed lights cast an almost eerie shadow over the room, aided by the flickering candles.  Various incense burned on one table, filling the air with their scents.  The small group of young women gathered around a small sheet of paper with a large circle drawn on it.

                “Ok, is everyone here?”  Asked Carol, the high preistess.  One by one, the others all chimed in, saying that everyone was present.  “Woo, nice!”  Carol said happily, “First time everyone’s been on time in weeks.  Ok, girls, let’s get the weekly meeting of the Northstone Coven on.”

                The girls clapped their approval.  Talk immediately went to what kind of spell they should try to cast.  Of course, none of them were serious in the things they said. The spells were really just for show.  Still, it was fun to be able to call themselves witches, even if it wasn’t real. 

                One of the girls got out a large book with the words “Everyday Witchcraft” printed in large gold print on the cover.  They riffled through the book to find a “spell” to cast.  As they each cast their ideas of what to do, they were interrupted by a soft, barely audible knock on the door.

                “Huh.  Anyone expecting a visitor?”  Carol asked.  None of the other members had.  Carol got up and opened the door.

                The person standing there was a woman about the same age as they were.  She was thin, but cheerful looking, and wore bright clothes.  A large red backpack with holes in it was slung over her shoulders.

                “Hello.”  The newcomer said.  Her voice was light and airy, but cheerful enough,  “I heard there was a witch coven here.  Is this the place?”

                “Oh, yeah, that’s us.”  Carol replied.  She was always happy to invite a new member in, and this one looked interesting.  “You looking to join?”

                “Oh, very much so.”

                “Great.  Come on in.”  Carol stood aside and let the new girl in. “I’m Carol, the high priestess in our little group.”

                “Oh, it’s an honor to meet you.”  The newcomer said with a light bow of her head.  “My name is Elizabeth.”

                “Great.  Can I call you Liz?”

                “I would prefer my full name, actually.”  Elizabeth said.

                “Alright.  Let me just introduce you to the rest of the girls.”

                Carol brought Elizabeth into the room and introduced the other members in turn.  Elizabeth was soon brought into the circle made by the bodies of the others.  As they were all taking at once, a distinct sound came from her backpack.

                “Is that a cat?”  Asked one of the coven members.

                “Oh yes, that’s Molly.  Hold on, I’ll bring her out.”  Elizabeth removed her backpack and opened it.  A small black cat with white rings around its eyes hopped out and quickly started looking at her new location.  “I hope none of you mind I brought my familiar with me.”  Elizabeth said as she extended a hand to the cat.

                “O-oh, no.  That’s not a problem at all.”  Carol said.  She was just glad nobody was allergic to cats.  Still, this was a new one.  Not only had this girl brought a cat, she claimed it was a familiar.  This one was apparently really into witchcraft .

                “Excellent.”  Elizabeth said.  The cat stopped looking around and jumped on her owners lap and quickly settled down.  “So, what are we casting?”

                “We were thinking of this one here.”  Said one of the coven members.  She pointed to the page in question.  Elizabeth read the words and a look of awe came to her face.

                “This one?  Are you sure?”  The others nodded.  “Wow.  You must be very powerful.  I could never attempt a weather change spell, even on a Sunday.  And none of you have your familiars with you either.  I knew I chose the right place.”

                “You, uh, you can’t?”  Asked Carol.  This was starting to take a very odd turn.

                “Not alone anyway.  Maybe on Samhain, but not on a normal Sunday.”

                “Samhain?”  Another member asked.

                “You don’t know?  Oh, I see.  You must call it by a different name.  I mean All Hallows Eve.”  Another round of blank stares. “Halloween?”  Elizabeth tried again.  This time she got a reaction.

                “Why should it matter what day it is?”  Asked the coven member.

                “You don’t know?  Really?  Your High Priestess hasn’t thought you even that?”  Molly looked up at Elizabeth and meowed, “Oh, yes, I see. A very good thought Molly.  You must be testing me, to see how much I know.  Well, it’s like this.  Normally, there’s only a little magic in the air we witches can use.  But, every Sunday, the amount goes up.  It’s still not very much, but it’s enough to cast most daily spells with.  The next best day would be the Equinoxes, then the Solstices.  But the best day is Sam…I mean, Halloween.  On that day, even a minor witch like me can do almost anything.  So, how was that?”

                “Uh, very…very good.”  Carol asked.  Elizabeth was apparently much more into witchcraft than anyone else he knew.  To go so far as to think up all that, the girl must have quite the imagination. 

                “Wonderful!”  Elizabeth exclaimed.  “So, should we get started?  I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll do my best.  I assume you’ve already cast a forecast spell?”

                “What?”  Carol asked.

                “A forecast spell.  You know, so you know how to move the weather.  You should all know that weather changing only moves it around, right?”

                She was met with blank stares all around.  Molly hopped off Elizabeth’s lap and started sniffing at the paper.  She soon returned to her owner’s lap and meowed a few times.

                “Oh, I see.  You haven’t started yet. Well then, please allow me to show you what I can do.  It’s probably not like what you’re all capable of, but it’s something.”

                Elizabeth rummaged around her backpack and drew out an assortment of items.  Six candles, a small piece of charcoal, and some powders that Carol couldn’t identify right away.  Elizabeth went to work placing the candles at regular places around the circle, and then used the charcoal to draw lines connecting them.  The placed small amounts of each powder around each one.

                “Now then, Molly, shall we begin?”

                The cat meowed once and started purring loudly.  Then, she hopped up on Elizabeth, crawled along the girl’s shoulders, and wound up sitting on her head.  Elizabeth sat cross legged in front of the circle.  Both girl and cat closed their eyes for a moment.

                “Spirits of Time and Wind, show us what will be.”  She intoned. 

Instantly, the candles came to life, flickering in an unseen and unfelt breeze.  Elizabeth opened her eyes and the mouths of the other girls hung open.  Her eyes had taken on an otherworldly, golden glow.  Molly soon opened her eyes, and showed the same glow as her owner’s.  The cat jumped down off Elizabeth’s head and approached the nearest candle.  Carol rubbed her eyes in disbelief.  For a second, she thought she saw an afterimage of the animal as it jumped.  As she watched, she found it wasn’t just then either.  It was like the cat was being followed by itself. 

Molly stuck a paw up at the first candle.  The flame rose off its wick and turned a bright golden color.  The second did the same.  The third turned grey, and the last three became a very pale blue.  Molly looked at them and returned to her perch on Elizabeth’s head. 

“Monday and Tuesday, sunny.  Wednesday, partially cloudy. Thursday through Saturday, light rain.”  Elizabeth said.  Her voice seemed more distant than it already did.  Both cat and girl closed their eyes and the floating flames disappeared.  When they opened their eyes, both were normal.  “So?  How’d I do?”  Nobody said anything for a moment.

“Oh…my…god…” C arol said in wonderment.  “You’re a witch?  I mean, like, the real deal, aren’t you?”

                “Well, yes.  Of course I am, aren’t you?”

                “N-no, not really.  I mean, we all like to say we are, but we’re really just here to get around, eat ice cream and spread gossip.”  Carol said. 

                “Oh.  Oh dear.”  Elizbeth said sadly.  “I thought you were real when I found out you met on Sunday.  I guess I was wrong again.”  Molly meowed a few times and Elizabeth perked up.  “Oh, but Molly felt some magic from here.  Maybe one of you is a real witch like me?”

                “Wait, are you serious?” 

                “Oh yes, Molly’s never wrong when it comes to sniffing out magic.  She’s very good at that.  I can find out if you want.”

                Before anyone had said anything, she had flipped the paper over and was already drawing another magic circle on it.  She placed a few items from her backpack on it and got back in position.  Molly jumped up on her owner’s head.

                “Ok, each of you place a hand on the circle, and let’s begin.”   

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It's always fun to write about things like this.  You know, making up a magic system and everything.  The story format I'm using is a bit restrictive, so I can't get any real detail about it, but it's still fun, and I think I did a decent job in this one.  Some people might think it's too expository and stuff, but it should work, given what's going on.  What does everyone else think?

Word: Higgledy-piggledy

         

higgledy-piggledy

\ HIG-uhl-dee-PIG-uhl-dee \  , adverb;

1. in a jumbled, confused, or disorderly manner; helter-skelter.

adjective:

1. confused; jumbled.

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Victor felt his eye start to twitch.  He shut them hard for a moment to try and still them.  He hoped just passing it off as blinking would prevent anyone from noticing how frustrated he was.  Not that it mattered anyway.  It wasn’t like anyone in the room with him had any idea what basic body language meant.  With a room full f first graders, it was easy to hide what he was feeling unless it was extremely obvious. 

                Looking around at the chaotic gaggle of children, he had to wonder why he had even gone into teaching, especially since it was only the first day of school.  He had told the kids to stand in a neat line to go to recess, and for some reason, they seemed unable to do so.

                They stood in confusing, uncoordinated jumbles, massed around a few of the better behaved children into a loose line-like pattern that was anything but neat.  The fact that were unable to stand still for more than a few seconds didn’t help either.  They constantly moved in unpredictable directions at random, which only served to increase the disorder of the room.

                Is it always going to be like this?  He thought to himself, hoping the answer was no.  I mean, come on.  It’s not that hard.  He took a deep breath and started trying to herd them into a straight line. 

                “Ok, kids, remember each of you stand right behind another.”  He called out.

                His words did seem to have an effect.  It just wasn’t the one e wanted.  The kids treated it like a game.  Some of them froze in place, and others would stand right behind them.  This lead to quite a few bumping into each other, and some even fell.  None of them were hurt, and even the ones that ended up on the ground burst out laughing wildly.  That was something to be glad of, but it only made the room more jumbled and difficult to control. 

                Dear lord, do they ever stop? He asked himself.  He already knew the answer to that.  His first instruction seemed to have an effect though, he just needed a starting point.  He picked out the first kid he saw and went from there.

                “Ok, Zack,”  He said, pointing to the boy who happened to be closest to him.  “Why don’t you stand up facing me.  That’s a good boy.”  He said when the small boy actually did as instructed.  “Ok, now everyone stand in a line behind Zack.”

                “Hey, how come Zack gets to be first?”  Said another boy.  Oh boy, here it comes. Victor thought as the chorus of children demanding to be first in line issued forth from just about every kid in the class.  Victor did his best to sooth the children by making promises to each of them, saying that everyone would get the chance to be first in line at some point or another.  He would have draw up some kind of schedule for that, or else there would be hell to pay in the form of screaming children.

                Once the egos of the tiny perpetual motion machines were soothed, they started to line up successfully.  Victor breathed a sigh of relief.  He had done it.  He had finally gotten them to make a more or less straight line.  There were some who insisted of standing a bit further out to one side than others, but he could deal with that.  The fact that each and every one of them fidgeted in place was also fine.  H just needed them in something like a line. 

                “Ok!  Let’s move out!”  He called.  The kids giggled at the over exaggerated instruction.  Victor started leading them outside the building to the playground.  Once they were there, their natural tendency to do whatever they wanted took over and each and every one of them dashed off.

                For the next half hour, he was free.  For one blessed half of an hour, he could hold a conversation with other adults.  And for that one half hour, he could just let his mind go.  Apparently, recess was for the teachers as well as the students.  He could already tell this was going to be his favorite time of day.   

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I'm sure every first grade teacher out there knows exactly how this feels.  Every parent too, but on a different scale.  Although, I suppose it balances out since teachers have more kids at once, but are with them for a limited time, while parents have a smaller number of them, but have to deal with the youngsters for quite a bit longer. My respect (and sympathy) goes out to both groups though.

Word: Rejectamenta

 

rejectamenta

\ ri-jek-tuh-MEN-tuh \  , noun;

1. things or matter rejected as useless or worthless.

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“And that’s why I feel my machine deserves funding from your wonderful company for further development and eventual distribution.”  Will said, finishing his presentation.  It had only been ten minutes, but to him, it felt much, much longer.  He just hoped the people watching him didn’t see how very nervous he was.

                The group of five older people just looked at him.  Will wasn’t able to figure out what any of them were thinking.  For several seconds he waited, expecting feedback from them.  Eventually, it came.

                “Oh, I’m sorry, were you finished?”  Said one of them board members.

                “Uh, yes?”

                “Ah.  I see.  It’s just that we were waiting for more.”

                “May I ask why?”

                “Well, it’s just that your presentation seemed a bit…”  The older man made a gesture saying that he was searching for the right word.

                “Incomplete?”  Another board member picked up.

                “Yes, incomplete, thank you.”  The first man said.

                “I don’t see why.  I told you everything I could about my design.”  Will said, losing quite a bit of hope for his future funding.

                “Yes, I’m sure.  You see, you’re prospective product here can’t be developed any further.”

                “Really? You mean its good as is?”  Will asked, suddenly becoming much more hopeful.

                “No, not exactly.”  The board member said, “I mean it has nowhere to go.  You see, there’s quite simply no future for what you have here.”

                “What?  But there’s always room for more exercise equipment, isn’t there.”

                “Good exercise equipment, yes.”  Said another member, this time the youngest of the bunch.  “What you have here is effectively worthless.”

                “But it’s…”

                “It’s a machine that works the calves, and only the calves.  There’s quite simply no market for something so…specific.”

                “But there’s nothing on the market with this focus.”  Will said, desperately trying to salvage his funding.

                “Are you kidding?”  Asked the first board member, “There’s plenty of stuff out there for what you have.  Anything that works the legs hits what yours does and many do so better.”

                “Well, yeah, now.  But that’s why I need funding.  With some additional capital, I can make this thing much better.”

                “Look, Mr. Chambers, I’m sure we all appreciate what you’re trying to do.”  Said the only woman on the board, “But it’s just not worth it.  Such a narrow focus on home exercise equipment just isn’t worth any investment at all.  It works one very small area of the body, and that’s all it’ll ever do.”

                “But it works that area really, really well.”

                “Oh, I’m sure it does.  But, frankly, so what?  From what I’ve seen it doesn’t give anything a good pair of heels doesn’t do with less time and effort.  And I don’t see many men having interest in something like this.  It is, quite simply, worthless, both as an exercise machine and a saleable product.”

                “Agreed.”  Said the youngest board member, “I’m afraid anything we give you to develop it would be wasted almost immediately.  If we sell a few dozen units, it would be good for something like this, but not so good for the company.  How much would we need to sell to be profitable?”  He looked at the older members of the board.

                “After initial investment, development, production, advertisement, distribution, and general time costs, then I’d say we’d have to sell no less than a thousand to be even slightly profitable.  And that’s a conservative estimate.”  Said one of them.

                “Right, a thousand.  And what you’ve got here is unlikely to hit that mark.  No matter how good you make it, it’s still far too limited to be viable.  It’s useless for pretty much anyone.  If someone wants to work their calves at home, they’d either just buy a more complete home gym, or do bodyweight stuff.  It’s not exactly hard, after all.”

                “B-but…”  Will said, desperately trying to figure something out.  “Maybe with enough funding, I can expand it?”

                “And make it just like a dozen other things out there?  That’s just as useless.”  The first board member said.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we need to discuss this any further.  There simply isn’t room anywhere for your device, no matter how much you development.”

                “But, I…I…” Will looked around the room.  Not one sympathetic face amongst them.  Judging from the looks they were giving him, he wouldn’t be able to change any minds no matter what he did.  He hung his head and slumped his shoulders in defeat.  “I understand.”  He said with his defeat dripping from his words.  “I’ll just be going then.”

                “Indeed.  If you have any other ideas, make sure they could actually bring in some revenue before presenting them to us.”

                “Yes, sir.”  He closed out of the presentation and removed the small flash drive that contained it.  He hadn’t brought anything else, thinking that the videos and graphics would be enough.  He slunk out of the room, feeling the eyes of the board members on him all the way out.  

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With all the home gym stuff going around today, I'm sure something like this happens quite often.  In fact, it probably happens if other fields as well.  I'm sure that for every item gets made, many, many more don't.  It sucks, but hey, not everyone can have a good idea, right?