One flash fiction piece by James Gonda

Coppers
by James Gonda

—I’m not dropping no pennies in there.
—Why not?
—It’s a scam.
—It’s not a scam. Little League is legit. I’ve seen ‘em play.
—Really? When?
—Every Saturday. My nephew plays. Since his old man took off, I go for moral support.
—That’s nice.
—Nick’s a good kid.
—So you’re saying “Pennies-For-Little League” is legit?
—That’s what I’m saying.
—And they got these containers all over town, filling with pennies?
—I guess so, yeah.
—You know, that adds up.
—That’s the idea.
—Hey, we can do this! We can make up a charity, get our hands on a hundred plastic jugs –call our guy at Culligan – he can help, then put ‘em all over town. We’ll rake in the loot!
—Jackie, you’re talking only pennies.
—It’s easy money, Frankie. Think about it: no overhead, no territory, no competition.
—There’s the Little League. . . .
—We can’t run the scam here – you know that. We can’t shit where we eat.
—Yeah, okay, whatever you say. Fantasy-time is over. We gotta get goin’.
—What time is it?
—Pay for your coffee – we’re gonna be late.
—We’re not rookies. Why do we hafta go to roll call?
—Christ, Jackie, all cops go to roll call.

Author bio:

James Gonda is a dialogist who lives in upstate New York. At various times he has worked as a fur salesman, carpenter, pest control salesman, drug store manager, furniture deliveryman, college recruiter, and insurance agent. His writing philosophy is simple and complicated: story telling should be done completely through effective dialogue.