Scott Christenson

“Octopus Game p3 - The Noise Complaint” by Scott Christenson

Steve Storm’s company had changed the world but in Medina Washington, right across the water from Seattle, the nation's richest man couldn’t alter his own backyard. It all started with the goats. Looking out the windows he scanned the wide lawn still pockmarked by their tiny hooves.“Lime, do you want to come down to the water with me today?” Steve asked his girlfriend as they drank their post awakening Kombucha.“I think I’ll stay inside.”“But watching the sunrise might facilitate your energy flow?”“The goats are gone Steve.” And she slu...

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“Octopus Game p2 - The Other Way” by Scott Christenson

Jason watched the guards lock the doors from the inside. A TV studio filled with kitchen equipment now held the 5 of them captive. “So, do you cook Alice?” he asked. She had bossed him around mercilessly in the previous stage and he wanted to stay one step in this round.“Successful people don’t waste their time cooking, Jason. They use other people for that.” “And can I ask what it is you do with your valuable time?”“I’m leading Amaze’s Brand Strategy new initiatives, looking at Porter's Five Forces to analyze our competitors’ move...

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“Octopus Game p1 - The Other Way” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #146

Jason stared at the crocodiles in the pool and felt the beads of sweat on his forehead. Traces of blood from the previous team were still lingering in the water. “Let's have a moment of mindfulness, to calm our thoughts before the game begins,” a curly haired woman said. Jason had never seen her at work before, her name tag said Alice.“How can I calm my thoughts while I’m in front of crocodiles that want to chomp on my femur for breakfast?,” Jason said.“No need to be hostile Jason.” “They are the ones that are hostile!” he said poi...

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“Octopus Game” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #145

In the control room Jason laughed out loud when he saw the first ten customers walk into Stage One.“This is dope. We did it!”“It’s going to be a fun day,” Phil replied.“And we got green uniforms this year instead of the red ones, more low key for lunch outside.”“Yeah, yeah,” Phil said, sounding impatient to get things moving. Phil was Amaze’s Chief Experience Designer, why he took things a bit too seriously. He picked up the microphone, “Good morning Amaze Loyalty Program Customers. We welcome you to the first day of the Amaze loyalty s...

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“Seoul Origin” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #144

Minjun was taking a polaroid photo of a long empty corridor in Seoul’s Incheon airport when the old man with an octopus called out.“You look like you need someone to talk to, have a seat,” he pointed toward the chair next to him, one in an endless line of empty chairs. An orange glow from the lingering dusk poured in from the windows facing the Yellow Sea, bathing everything in warm colors.Minjum scrunched his face into a scowl. Unwanted come-ons happened often these days. But the man appeared different from the usual perverts and loudmouths...

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“A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing, a Murder Mystery” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #143

“My name is Darren, 2 years sober. I bought this house plant today, and I am an alcoholic.” Darren smiled and gestured theatrically toward the lily plant on the table in front with him. Everyone in the room already had a good look at it. “I’ve let down many, many people in my relationships as my only real love was my drug of choice. With the advice from my new sponsor, I’m going to avoid a relationship for the next 12 months and learn how to take care of others by taking care of this plant.” He looked at the plant and then back at ...

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“The Tide is High ” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #140

I remember the moment when my roommate Nigel asked me to try cocaine for the first time. It was in 1996 and we were living in Tokyo in a vaguely multicultural apartment with roommates from Northern England, Queensland Australia and myself from Midwest America.Nigel had been asked the same question a week earlier by our other Australian roommate and apparently had been having a good time since then.“You should try it,'' Nigel said.“But I’ve heard so many warning about it.” I said. In my mind I pictured a hundred film scenes of Al Pacino type ...

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“Perfect Bound” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #139

Jessica had 2 weeks to plan how she would explain her manager's misconduct to the board. Being on leave had given her ample time to run through eight years of memories over and over and recollect every detail.Her humble compact car whined as she turned it into Tristate Graphics’ entrance and headed up the driveway toward the executive offices, resisting the instinct to pull into the production plant parking lot. “Build Me Up Buttercup”, a motown classic, was playing at full volume in the car. Bobbing her head and singing along to the mu...

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“Keep Your Eyes Open Einstein” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #137

Filled with a mixture of excitement, ambition and trepidation I headed into the first day of my first ever internship. The administrator from HR went through the company policies quite sternly, then said the pay was $7.00 an hour, I said ok. This was more than I had ever been paid. He showed me my cubicle. I sat down. It was the first time I had ever sat down at a job, It felt like heaven. Before this I had only worked in very physical retail jobs. Things were not easy in Milwaukee heading into 1990.I was introduced to my new boss Michael, w...

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“The Last Choice” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #136

Seth looked around the table at the test group gathered at Stanford University, their seven faces deep in thought. The task assigned was pointless but he would play along for two hours. He was good at this. This would be easy.Last month Professor Anderson called him into his office. Seth sat and listened to the ticking of the antique clock on the wall while the old professor composed himself.“Seth, I understand psychology is not the same as other scientific fields. The working of the human mind can be open to interpretation. But as things st...

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“Johnnie Walker” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #135

It’s not often you meet someone in a Haruki Murakami novel. Two chapters of courage and cowardliness would lead me to getting to know the man Murakami would later write about.A mysterious and sinister character, Johnnie Walker is named after and dresses like the mascot for Johnnie Walker brand whiskey. He is extremely cruel and violent, especially towards cats - Kafka on the ShoreMurakami was writing metaphorically, as though physical details match, there has never been any evidence of cat violence.In the summer of 1997, I had just moved to ...

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“Priscilla falls for Dr Anderson and Things Get Heavy” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #134

Priscilla floated out of bed. The idea of gravity never occurred to her before she fell for Dr Anderson.Without gravity she never “picked her head off the pillow” in the morning. She never “stood” for anything, nor felt “heavy hearted” when decisions needed to be made.Those were the types of things he said, but for Priscilla most days she happily drifted through life cleaning and organizing, checking in on neighbors. Occasionally playing a practical joke when someone wasn’t home and moving their things around just to keep life interesting.“L...

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“The Cacao in Kilombero” by Scott Christenson

Julieth was destined for a larger place in the world, but her story begins at her family's store in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's capital city.The conversation started with rabbits, as it so often does at Kuka Pesa. Julieth was in the front of the shop, cleaning the cages, sweeping out the droppings and uneaten vegetable peelings. The floor underneath the cages was spotless.Refrigerators murmured softly in the back room and the front was devoid of customers when the young man walked in. Many pairs of large dark eyes shifted insi...

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“The Day before Ramadan Bayrami” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #132

Are you there God? It’s me Emin. I’m worried Dad might find the gift from Aunt Donna. He’s unpacking our things out the boxes from Milwaukee. I know secrets are bad, so I’m not sure what to do. Dad always tells me not to ask you for things, and that I should ask you to show me a sign for what to do. Please show me something this week. Thank you.“We are moving to Chicago!” when my dad said that, I was sure he was joking because he tricked me so many times with stories like that, and he never tells me the truth until the very end when he's try...

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“Am I a Shiba?” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #131

Last year my wife gave me a new nickname, “Shiba”. By now I suppose almost everyone is aware of the grinning Shibas in countless social media memes. The dog that smiles! In fact Shibas have made such a great impression they are now the mascot for two major cryptocurrencies. These are not the reason for my nickname. The more relevant fact is that shibas are a two faced dog. This expression sounds wrong for an animal doesn’t it? Perhaps we don't use face idioms for things that have tails. Can a cow have egg on its face? I think not.&...

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