The Marble King

"…the Logan County school was out last week and the return to classes wouldn’t begin again until after Labor Day. It was the first full Friday of their summer vacation and they were out to enjoy it.

Bradley was on the ground with a sharp stick drawing the circle that would be the ring for the marble game called ringer.

“Bet you still have that ugly, lame shooter don’t you, Larry,” ridiculed Bruce. He was busy chewing a wad of gum and flipping his own shooter—a black and white aggie—up into the air and catching it again like flipping a coin. Bruce considered himself the best at everything and that included marbles. He’d placed third in his first ever state marble championship last year and had a nice trophy and a fancy blue marble bag to show for it. He was a competitor and had no tolerance for those he considered inferior whether it involved marbles or anything else. He was a straight “A” student in school but in social situations, he might rate a failing grade for rudeness and belligerence. Many thought his attitude might have something to do with the fact his family had more money than anyone else in the small town. Larry thought it was because he had a wad of rude stuck somewhere in his body where good manners should have been…"

Excerpt from the short story “The Marble King” from the book “Storytellin’: True & Fictional Short Stories Of Arkansas”