Drabble: Speak
Author's Note: one of the prompts from spn_30snapshots theme 1 (Elemental).
***
“Hello,” a man sniffs, “how may I help you?”
She fumbles her phone closer to her ear. A person living in the same minute as her was on the line. The phone had played its final twangy note.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” he sniffs again, “what is the problem?”
“I don't have a dial tone.”
“Is-” he sniffs a third time, “-is your phone connected?”
“Yes,” she replies having established this fact several times since her dial tone had walked out on her.
The man sniffles and makes a strangely high pitched noise in the back of his throat like the keening sound an unhappy dog makes. “Exx-excuse me a moment,” he says.
There is a clatter as the man displaces his headset without waiting for her reply. “huupp'nGKKSHhoo! HH-KUK'shhoo!”
“Sorry,” the man says, “where were we?”
His voice sounds like it's coming from a distance now, as if the speaker piece of his phone has a bubble around it. He apologizes again as he clears his throat with a short cough and sniffs. “I suppose you're glad there's a phone line between us,” the man adds.
“Oh no,” she protests. Then revises her statement, “well yes, it sounds like you've got quite a cold.”
The man grunts, “yeah, and I've only had it for a few hours.”
“I'm sorry,” she says.
“No, I'm sorry,” the man says, “you were calling about your phone?”
“Yes,” she tucks her hair behind her ear, “there's no dial tone and my phone has power but my telephone box doesn't.”
“Have you tried plugging it in to a different electrical outlet?”
“Oh,” she says, “no. I hadn't thought of that. Hang on.”
As she wrangles the telephone box's power cord free from the mass of cords surrounding it she hears a rustle on the other end of the line as the man blows his nose.
“Okay-” she says, sitting back.
The man makes a sound at her voice like she's one of the sneezes that have been paying homage to him today. He probably thought she put down the phone to hook her telephone box to a different electrical outlet instead of pinning it loosely to the area of her ear with her shoulder.
“-There's still no power,” she finishes.
The man coughs unnecessarily. She thinks the man is probably more happy than she is that there is the distance of a phone line between them.
“Alright, unplug your telephone box and take the battery out at the bottom,” the man says.
“At the bottom?” she repeats.
“Yeah,” the man sniffs, “there's a plastic bit you can take off there.”
“Okay, I've done that.”
“Just a moment.”
At first she thinks the man needs to sneeze again, but instead she hears the clacking of keys on a computer keyboard.
The man sniffs and says, “you can put the battery back in your telephone box and plug it in again.”
“It works!” She grins.
“It will probably take a moment to fix completely,” the man warns and sniffs sharply. “The telephone box is restarting.”
They both wait. She watches the lights come back on in her telephone box. He sniffles like a clock counting seconds.
When the lights have been on for a while in her telephone box she goes to check her phone, but the sound of the dial tone is obliterated by the man sneezing, “hp'gGUUXxsshoo!”
"Shit," the man says, sniffing. "Sorry, that one surprised me."
"That's alright," she says. The dial tone drones in her ear like her ears are ringing.
“I have a dial tone,” she informs the man. “Thank you very much.”
“You're welcome,” he sniffles.
“Feel better,” she says, before hanging up. She wishes she could tell the man how to restart his day.
***
“Hello,” a man sniffs, “how may I help you?”
She fumbles her phone closer to her ear. A person living in the same minute as her was on the line. The phone had played its final twangy note.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi,” he sniffs again, “what is the problem?”
“I don't have a dial tone.”
“Is-” he sniffs a third time, “-is your phone connected?”
“Yes,” she replies having established this fact several times since her dial tone had walked out on her.
The man sniffles and makes a strangely high pitched noise in the back of his throat like the keening sound an unhappy dog makes. “Exx-excuse me a moment,” he says.
There is a clatter as the man displaces his headset without waiting for her reply. “huupp'nGKKSHhoo! HH-KUK'shhoo!”
“Sorry,” the man says, “where were we?”
His voice sounds like it's coming from a distance now, as if the speaker piece of his phone has a bubble around it. He apologizes again as he clears his throat with a short cough and sniffs. “I suppose you're glad there's a phone line between us,” the man adds.
“Oh no,” she protests. Then revises her statement, “well yes, it sounds like you've got quite a cold.”
The man grunts, “yeah, and I've only had it for a few hours.”
“I'm sorry,” she says.
“No, I'm sorry,” the man says, “you were calling about your phone?”
“Yes,” she tucks her hair behind her ear, “there's no dial tone and my phone has power but my telephone box doesn't.”
“Have you tried plugging it in to a different electrical outlet?”
“Oh,” she says, “no. I hadn't thought of that. Hang on.”
As she wrangles the telephone box's power cord free from the mass of cords surrounding it she hears a rustle on the other end of the line as the man blows his nose.
“Okay-” she says, sitting back.
The man makes a sound at her voice like she's one of the sneezes that have been paying homage to him today. He probably thought she put down the phone to hook her telephone box to a different electrical outlet instead of pinning it loosely to the area of her ear with her shoulder.
“-There's still no power,” she finishes.
The man coughs unnecessarily. She thinks the man is probably more happy than she is that there is the distance of a phone line between them.
“Alright, unplug your telephone box and take the battery out at the bottom,” the man says.
“At the bottom?” she repeats.
“Yeah,” the man sniffs, “there's a plastic bit you can take off there.”
“Okay, I've done that.”
“Just a moment.”
At first she thinks the man needs to sneeze again, but instead she hears the clacking of keys on a computer keyboard.
The man sniffs and says, “you can put the battery back in your telephone box and plug it in again.”
“It works!” She grins.
“It will probably take a moment to fix completely,” the man warns and sniffs sharply. “The telephone box is restarting.”
They both wait. She watches the lights come back on in her telephone box. He sniffles like a clock counting seconds.
When the lights have been on for a while in her telephone box she goes to check her phone, but the sound of the dial tone is obliterated by the man sneezing, “hp'gGUUXxsshoo!”
"Shit," the man says, sniffing. "Sorry, that one surprised me."
"That's alright," she says. The dial tone drones in her ear like her ears are ringing.
“I have a dial tone,” she informs the man. “Thank you very much.”
“You're welcome,” he sniffles.
“Feel better,” she says, before hanging up. She wishes she could tell the man how to restart his day.