Leigh used to hide the fact that she loved construction work. She was the only girl who wanted to be on the construction crew at her summer camp. Everyone had to sign up to do jobs around the camp, it was a co-opeartive. Some people preferred to clean dishes apparently. Not Leigh, she was fine with not seeing half eaten food floating in murky water. Some people preferred to clear trails through the forest. Not Leigh, she preferred to avoid places she could pick up tics, bug bites, and thorn scrapes. Some people preferred to weed and tend the garden. Not Leigh, she liked her work to stand the test of time and not just the length from garden to dinner table to stomach.
When she'd gotten older and had finally wielded a sledgehammer, that's when her interest really took off. Not that she often mentioned this to people as saying you like smashing things with an incredibly heavy hammer tends to intimidate people (for some reason). In the end though, this is why, when it came time, Leigh bought a house that was definitely a fixer-upper. She knew she'd get to smash some walls and that, eventually, she'd see her work stand the test of time.
Leigh was making good progress on her renovation and thought she should wind down for the day...but she couldn't, not yet anyways. Leigh had one more wall to smash. She smiled to herself and picked up her sledgehammer. Walking into what she planned to be her office (once she made it a bit bigger), she took a look at the wall she'd marked with an 'x.' This was the next wall to go. Leigh heft the sledgehammer and smashed it into the wall. She laughed with delight as it made impact.
As the dust from the first bash cleared, Leigh saw something odd. In the forming hole of the wall was something green. For an odd moment, Leigh wondered if a plant had managed to grow in the wall, but that was silly she told herself. She put her hammer down and went to investigate. On closer inspection, she was somewhat relieved to find that it wasn't a plant growing in her house, but simply a small green notebook.
Curious, Leigh carefully chipped away at the wall around it, knowing that the sledgehammer could end up damaging the notebook. When she'd managed to pry it free, she looked over it carefully. It was about the size of a mass market paperback book, but not as thick. The cover was a plain, but still vibrant forest green. Its binding looked pretty intact, so, leaning against the newly opened wall, Leigh cracked it open carefully.
At first, there was just a series of initials and various numbers laid out in a hard to read hand. But, after a while, the handwriting changed into a clearer print. The initials were written larger and there were little notes with each set. A.R. apparently wore ugly glasses. Y.W. always had coffee breath. B.G. seemed to take a fancy to the notebook writer. S.A. was maybe having an affair with P. H. (who was definitely cheating on his wife with J.L.'s sister).
There were also comments on the numbers. Some of them seemed to be money as the new notebook writer would make notes like "Lame, that wouldn't even buy you a decent bottle of wine," or "Damn, might as well just bet your whole house at that rate."
The other numbers, Leigh eventually guessed as she read on, were odds on bets these people had placed. The notebook writer said things like "You really have to believe in God if you think you're gonna win at this rate," or "meh, I'd take these odds."
Leigh smiled to herself. She had found a bookie notebook hidden in the walls of her house. She quickly dialed the number of her sister, who was an avid local historian. "Amy, you're not going to believe what I found with my sledgehammer this time."
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
When she'd gotten older and had finally wielded a sledgehammer, that's when her interest really took off. Not that she often mentioned this to people as saying you like smashing things with an incredibly heavy hammer tends to intimidate people (for some reason). In the end though, this is why, when it came time, Leigh bought a house that was definitely a fixer-upper. She knew she'd get to smash some walls and that, eventually, she'd see her work stand the test of time.
Leigh was making good progress on her renovation and thought she should wind down for the day...but she couldn't, not yet anyways. Leigh had one more wall to smash. She smiled to herself and picked up her sledgehammer. Walking into what she planned to be her office (once she made it a bit bigger), she took a look at the wall she'd marked with an 'x.' This was the next wall to go. Leigh heft the sledgehammer and smashed it into the wall. She laughed with delight as it made impact.
As the dust from the first bash cleared, Leigh saw something odd. In the forming hole of the wall was something green. For an odd moment, Leigh wondered if a plant had managed to grow in the wall, but that was silly she told herself. She put her hammer down and went to investigate. On closer inspection, she was somewhat relieved to find that it wasn't a plant growing in her house, but simply a small green notebook.
Curious, Leigh carefully chipped away at the wall around it, knowing that the sledgehammer could end up damaging the notebook. When she'd managed to pry it free, she looked over it carefully. It was about the size of a mass market paperback book, but not as thick. The cover was a plain, but still vibrant forest green. Its binding looked pretty intact, so, leaning against the newly opened wall, Leigh cracked it open carefully.
At first, there was just a series of initials and various numbers laid out in a hard to read hand. But, after a while, the handwriting changed into a clearer print. The initials were written larger and there were little notes with each set. A.R. apparently wore ugly glasses. Y.W. always had coffee breath. B.G. seemed to take a fancy to the notebook writer. S.A. was maybe having an affair with P. H. (who was definitely cheating on his wife with J.L.'s sister).
There were also comments on the numbers. Some of them seemed to be money as the new notebook writer would make notes like "Lame, that wouldn't even buy you a decent bottle of wine," or "Damn, might as well just bet your whole house at that rate."
The other numbers, Leigh eventually guessed as she read on, were odds on bets these people had placed. The notebook writer said things like "You really have to believe in God if you think you're gonna win at this rate," or "meh, I'd take these odds."
Leigh smiled to herself. She had found a bookie notebook hidden in the walls of her house. She quickly dialed the number of her sister, who was an avid local historian. "Amy, you're not going to believe what I found with my sledgehammer this time."
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
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