Word: falderal

 

falderal

\ FAL-duh-ral \  , noun;

1. mere nonsense; foolish talk or ideas.

2. a trifle; gimcrack; gew-gaw.

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Jeff walked into the room with a wide smile on his face.  The music was at just the right volume.  Loud enough to be heard by all, but not loud enough to create premature hearing loss in the people present.  The lights were also just right.  Dim enough for the occasion, but bright enough to see by (although it did take a minute or two to properly adjust).  The party was in full swing, with people either on the dance floor or hovering around the food.  Jeff figured the best place to be was with the later group.  At least at first. 

               He looked for someone to talk to, with the members of the fair sex being his prime target.  Unfortunately, most of the girls there were either with a date, or dressed to ‘show off’, which is something Jeff did not want, even if most guys did.  He just had to wonder why Halloween was the one time of year when so many girls dressed like that. 

               He scanned the room, and eventually found exactly what he was looking for.  A pretty girl standing alone off to one side of the room.  She was dressed as a fighter pilot, and not one that the words ‘sexy’ or ‘naughty’ could be applied to.   Both of those were good things in his eyes.  Plus, not only was she alone, but she wasn’t scanning the room looking for someone.  He knew this didn’t necessarily mean she was dateless, but it didn’t hurt either. 

               Jeff casually walked over to her and sat down in a nearby chair.  He gave no indication that he was paying any attention to her, but rather looked out over the dance floor at the myriad of costumed people. Then he simply waited for the girl to notice him and ask the inevitable question.

               “What exactly are you supposed to be?”  The girl said.  Jeff smiled, knowing stage one of his plan had been a rousing success.  He stood up with pretend drama.

               “I am Nonsense.”  He said proudly.  Jeff’s costume was not one that is normally seen.  His face was painted with several colors, with no pattern to it.  His clothes had been covered with colored pieces of paper.  Each of the small squares was covered with either a drawing or a few sentences.  Not one of them made any sense at all.  There was no pattern, no connections between them, and no method to the madness.  It was pure, random, nonsense.

               “What?”  The girl said with equal parts confusion and amusement.

               “Nonsense.  I’m every nonsensical thing that has ever been said or done.”  She blinked a few times, and then hung her head.

               “Oh geeze, there’s another one of you.”  She said.  Jeff’s smile fell.

               “Another one?  You mean another person dressed like me?”

               “Not quite.  See, the guy I’m here with is something along the same line.  Not Nonsense, but still.” 

               That was a killer blow.  Jeff knew there was a chance she would have a date, but he was hoping she didn’t.  Now he would have to give up on her and find another one.  All he needed was a way to end the conversation in a way that didn’t seem like he wanted to leave.  He was about to start the process, when someone behind him spoke up.

               “Excuse me, did I hear you correctly?  Is this man Nonsense?”  It was a guy’s voice.  Most likely the girl’s date. 

               “Yeah, that’s right, I am.”  Jeff said as he turned around to face the newcomer.

               His appearance was crisp, neat and orderly.  While his body was also covered with small pieces of paper, they were arranged in neat rows, unlike Jeff’s which were stuck on haphazardly.  While he couldn’t see what was printed on the papers, he could see they were neatly done, and each seemed to connect in some way to those around it.  The guy’s face was unpainted and undecorated.  No, there was some decoration.  His ears had latex additions.  They were ears that he had seen before in a movie recently.  Vulcan ears.  That alone was enough to tell him what he wanted to know.  Although he couldn’t get the girl, he could at least have some fun.

               “Logic.”  He said with mock hated.  He even narrowed his eyes to almost comical slits.

               “Nonsense.”  The guy responded in kind. 

               They stood there looking at each other for a moment.  Then Jeff made his move.  He threw a long, slow punch aimed at the guy’s head.  He missed purposely, but his counterpart still acted like he got hit.  The guy even slapped his thigh to make the impact sound.  The guy reeled back and held his cheek where he ‘got hit’.

               “A pink elephant flies over the moon!”  Jeff called out, think of the most random, nonsensical thing he could think of.  Logic gave an overly exaggerated wince at the statement, but quickly launched his ‘counter’, aiming a fake punch at Jeff’s stomach.  Jeff moved with it like the other guy did.

               “Elephants are land based mammals, and therefore cannot fly.  In addition, there is no ‘over’ the moon!”  Logic said.  Jeff acted like he had been hit with another blow before retaliating.

               The mock fight went on like this for quite some time.  Jeff would make a fake attack, and then follow it up with the most nonsensical thing he could think of.  Then the other would do the same, delivering a staged attack, then refuting the statement with cold, hard logic.

               People were starting to gather around to watch the theatrics.  Most of them probably had no idea what was going on, but it was fun to watch.  The girl stood there and snickered at Jeff and her date.  She looked like she wanted to step in and stop the ‘fight’, but was having too much fun watching to do anything about it. 

               After several volleys though, Jeff started to run out of ideas.  His words were starting to become repetitive.  Although still pure nonsense, it was harder to come up with new things to say.  He would have to end it soon.  His chance came soon enough.  Logic had just finished his ‘attack’, and instead of getting up and countering, Jeff wobbled around a bit.

               “I…I…”  He stuttered.  Then, he fell to his knees, and then to the floor.  He heard several groans of disappointment from the crowd, and he had no doubt the ‘fight’ would be posted online in a few hours, but he didn’t care much. 

               “Are you ok down there?”  Logic said. 

               “Quiet, can’t you see I’m wallowing in defeat?”  Jeff said.  He waited a few more seconds before getting up.  “Ok, that’s enough wallowing.” He smiled and held out his hand.  “Jeff.”  He said as the other guy took the offered hand.

               “Chris.”  He said.  “And this is my sister Kelly.”  He pointed to the girl.  Jeff did a mental back flip when he heard that.  He wasn’t her date.  He still had a shot.  Plus, he had gotten off to a good start with her brother, which was always a good thing.

               “Nice to meet you both.”  He said.

               “Likewise.”  Kelly said with an amused smile.

               “So uh, how’d you know what I am?”  Chris asked.

               “It’s the ears.  Anyone who’s seen Star Trek would know what those things are.”

               “See, told you they would give it away.”  Kelly said.

               “Yeah, yeah.  It just seemed to fit, you know?” 

               “I’m sure.”  Jeff said.  “So, what are you two doing after the party?”  He asked.

               “Nothing.  Just going home and hanging.  You want to come?”  Kelly asked.

               “Sure thing.”  Jeff said. This was a very good sign for him.  The fact that Chris wasn’t protesting helped quite a bit as well.  “But for now, why don’t we hit the dance floor?”

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Halloween is coming up soon.  Do you have your costume ready?  Also, just for the heck of it, Live long and prosper.