Today’s flash fiction prompt: write a story based on an odd news headline. I picked one coming out of the Seattle, Washington area, and it read thus:
Arrest Made in Stolen Yacht Rescue, ‘Goonies’ Fish Incident. An odd story, to be sure!
Lenny Mackerel, Daredevil
It started off as a way to make easy money. Lenny would post a few dares on his social media pages, and strangers would donate towards the one they wanted him to try. Most of the dares were silly. He’d jump into the Fraser River in the winter time or eat a dirty sock. Once, he made a hundred bucks just by singing songs from Newsies on a crosswalk during rush hour. He’d always livestreamed his antics, and the fans ate it up. But they wanted more, and Lenny obliged them by taking requests.
The likes and follows blew up after that. Dares became more outrageous and less legal. Lenny found it all thrilling, until a brief stint in a detention center set him straight. He swore off the whole business, and for a few months, he kept his nose clean.
But popularity is like a drug, and Lenny an addict. Drawn in by the coaxing of his fans, he slid back into his daredevil ways. He made rules, of course. It didn’t take long to break them.
Then came his biggest dare. With a $50,000 price tag, Lenny couldn’t say no. He hopped on a plane, crossed the US/Canada border, and flew into Astoria, Oregon. All he had to do was slap the iconic house from the movie “Goonies” with a mackerel, and he had fifty thousand reasons to give it his best shot.
Buying the fish was the easy part. Stealing the yacht was an accident, and the police chase that followed wasn’t entirely his fault.
His mother sent him a copy of the newspaper while he served out his year sentence. He had it framed when he got home.
ARREST MADE IN STOLEN YACHT RESCUE, ‘GOONIES’ FISH INCIDENT
Lenny made international news, and while he enjoyed the recognition, he learned his lesson and swore he’d never take another dare again.
But an addict’s an addict.
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