Word: Slapdash

 

slapdash

[slap-dash] / ˈslæpˌdæʃ /

adverb

1. in a hasty, haphazard manner.

   He assembled the motor slapdash.

   ******************************* 

                   “Wow. That looks terrible.”

                   Ben’s head slammed into the car he was working on. The car shook slightly, with some parts rattling in ways that Ben did not like. He rubbed his head at the point of impact and slid out from under the vehicle.

                   When he sat up, he saw his brother, Kyle, standing near the door to the garage with a wide grin on his face. Ben let out a low growl.

                   “Seriously? You come in here and that that’s what you tell me?”

                   “Sorry man, but you gotta admit it’s a pretty damn terrible car.”

                   Ben clenched and relaxed his fists. “Well maybe if I had more than a god-damned week to build it, I could’ve made it better.

                   “Hey, nobody said you had to do it on your own.”

                   Ben stood. He was covered with dirty and grease, but he did not care at that moment. Kyle was looking way too smug. Ben was tempted to wipe some of the grease on his dear brother’s shirt, but he held off. Barely.

                   “Oh no? Remind me again who said I could build a car in a week?”

                   To his credit, Kyle did look ashamed. Briefly. “I thought you could.”

                   “I can. I just can’t build a car that’s race worthy. Which was, you know, the entire point of having a custom car built.”

                    “And…will it be race worthy?”

                   Ben looked at his brother, and then at the haphazardly built car. The fiberglass that made up the outside was warped in several places. The front wheel axels were visibly out of alignment. The rear wheel assembly was held in place by duct tape. The windshield looked like it was going to pop out at any moment.

                   “You. Tell. Me.” Ben said through clenched teeth.

                   “So that’s a no?”

                   “That’s a no, and it’s also you’re an idiot for making me even try doing this. I mean, come on, what were you thinking?”

                   “I was thinking my little brother is a mechanical genius who could work miracles?”

                   Ben was not impressed by Kyle’s attempt at flattery. He knew what lay behind those words. He stood there and crossed his arms.

                   “Okay, fine. I thought I could make some serious cash on a long shot bet. Happy now?”

                   “No. I think you’re an even bigger idiot. Remember when I told you that ‘no, I can’t build a racing car in a week?’ Remember when I very clearly said that?”

                   “I thought you were being modest. You know, sell yourself short so that when you succeed you look like a miracle worker.”

                   “In what world do I ever do something like that? When was the last time you heard me even try something like that?”

                   Kyle did not answer. He avoided eye contact completely.

                   “Maybe if you had gotten me a team of people we could’ve done it. But by myself? There was no chance I’d make it. If you just want it to work, sure. I can do that. But you asked me to do the impossible, and now you’re surprised when I’m not going to make it.”

                   “Okay, okay. You’ve made your point. So what am I supposed to do? I put a lot of money on you succeeding.”

                   “Take your loss and move on. It’s what the rest of us do when we lose a bet. Now get out of here. I might not be able to get it fully race worthy, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to leave it in this state. It’ll work by the end of the week. Not well, but it will. What you do with that is up to you. I’m washing my hands of this whole thing once I’m done.”

                   Without waiting for Kyle to say anything else, Ben turned around and slid under the car. He had a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in.