Novel Situations Novels & Stories

A situation where the expected pattern would not apply. Where copying would fail. And only understanding would hold. The system was introduced to a new condition. Unfamiliar. But not chaotic. Just different enough. The initial response was exactly what I expected. They followed the pattern. Replicated previous decisions. Maintained tone. Maintained structure. But something did not align. The outcome was off. Not dramatically. But clearly. “They are copying,” Marcus said. “Yes.” “And it is not working.” No. Because the situation required adjustment. Not repetition.

Paying attention well enough to pinpoint why we go into a conniption fit when disrupted. Unprecedented situations and surprises are more or less a bonk on the head. Things that make us freeze until we’re able to navigate it, even hypothetically, to get to a desired outcome. My ‘plan’ was to sit across from a notary, then go to my working interview. Restarting and resetting my second chance on the one life I have to live without Nicky’s interference. The good Lord knows I have enough weighing against me with the struggle I have figuring what decade I’m in during flashbacks. I also know that no author would be crazy enough to make up a fictional character as ludacris as me.