Prompt: “Draw (at least) three cards and use them to tell us a real or fictional story about a call that was the wrong number.”
The Magician (l’Bagatto):
Antonio was sure that this was the job for him. He’s been trained well, going through all the company’s courses, and sailing through it all with flying colors.
Now, this morning, he walks into the office for his first day at work with his back straight and his shoulders strong. He moves to his new desk and unbuttons his suit jacket as he sits down in the comfortable ergonomic chair. He looks over all the buttons on the console, and he’s pleased that he feels not just professional and prepared, but filled with confidence.
The Tower (La Torre):
Putting on the head set and tucking the little speaker against his ear, he settles in and hits the button to make his very first call, and when the line is answered on the other side, he smoothly goes into his spiel. “Hi there! My name is Antonio and I’m calling to speak to Ms Dixie Rect. If you could give me a moment of your time, I have an amazing opportunity for you!”
The woman on the phone then immediately goes into an enraged tirade. She calls him a horrible person. A degenerate! A pervert!! She screams at him, telling him that she is going to call the police on him and have him arrested for harassment, and she took him so off guard that he ends up breaking the very first rule he’d learned in training. He hung up on her!
The Hanged Man (l’Appeso):
After hanging up, he sits there shell-shocked and shaking. His heart thunders and he’s near tears as he sits still and quiet in his chair. Swallowing as he battles with his embarrassment, he looks around to see if anyone in any of the other cubicles had seen what had happened, and assures he was not observed. He takes a slow, deep breath and a few minutes to calm down.
Rising, he then takes a moment to step into the bathroom and splash water on his face before returning to his cubical and sitting down.
The Sun (Sole):
It is as he is sitting down at the desk and prepared to begin again, that he looks up to his customer list on the computer screen and sees it… and starts to laugh. His gaze resting on the name on the screen. The name he’d just called.
Dixie Rect. Dicks Erect.
And as he laughs, his co-workers popped up around the walls of his cubical with a loud “GOTCHA!” The number had been that of one of his co-worker’s wives, and the entire thing had been a practical joke. And as all laughed and welcomed him into the fold, he felt truly at home and welcomed, and his confidence was restored.
DECK USED: IL GATTI DI KUNIYOSHI – IL MENEGHELLO EDIZIONI
Disgusted. I mean honestly, that was my first reaction when I saw this card. Disgust.
Twisting the Leaf 