Challenge 732

Blue Eggs

In Gary Clifton’s The Dead Bin, the story is told from a first-person point of view. In any such story, how might simultaneous actions be portrayed when the narrator doesn’t yet know they are taking place?
In Emma Grave’s “Stop, Thief!”:
1. The story functions by role-reversal. How does the author use misdirection to obscure Roanna’s real status and objective until the end?
2. What is the function of Roanna’s boots? What else might she have chosen to wear if she knew she were going to be running?
In Morris Marshall’s “Catching Up,” Dara asks if Krista suspects Gavin has been murdered. Might Dara’s question appear more motivated if Krista played the recording of Gavin’s phone message for Dara a little earlier?
In Edward Ahern’s “The Purloined Oil,” some of the characters have the names — or close to them — of real poets and artists. Do the names imply a subtext or are they decorative?
In Gregory E. Lucas’ “Remnants of the Nest”:
1. How old is Ricky?
2. Since cardinals do not lay blue eggs but cuckoos sometimes do, what might the color blue imply about Ricky’s actual relationship with his father?
3. Is the “rip current” imagery Ricky’s or the omniscient narrator’s?
4. If Ricky did run away, what would he do if he were brought back home?
5. Why does Ricky run in front of his father’s truck? Does Ricky commit suicide or does his father commit murder? Or both?