They were nearing the prescribed percentage for herd immunity, but people were impatient and downright cranky, and as a result of that – well, that and the economy — restrictions were being lifted for those fully vaccinated.
Of course, you couldn’t be certain of the others; they could be fully vaxxed, recovered from COVID (but how long ago?), carrying the newest strain even though vaxxed, or just not trusting the public healthcare system and its attendant Big Brotherism.
But Tanya was ready to rumble, ready to dance and flirt and shake her booty until the morning sun cracked open the sky. She’d followed the rules, gotten her shots, been mindful of the vulnerable ones in her friends and family group, and masked up so often, the lower half of her face had a “farmer’s tan”; she supposed it really should be called an “epidemiologist’s tan.”
On the one hand, she’d gotten really good at making up her eyes to be their most alluring, but on the other hand, her remnants of lipstick had dried up and begun to smell funny from lack of use.
She laughed gamely and added a visit to the Stop, Shop ‘n’ Go, to find the juiciest, sexiest shade of lipstick they had, then rolled on out to the dance club.
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2021)
The challenge? Write a story in 6 sentences, no more & no less, and if you’d like, share your creation or just visit and comment on others’ ideas, with GirlieOnTheEdge, Denise. The prompt is “REMNANT”, and here’s where you join the party: Six Sentence Stories
Valley of the Trolls 
Am I picturing Tanya hitting the dance floor with lipstick on her lips or on her mask? Either way, she’s ready to rock and roll!
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Good one, Liz. A ‘mask-life’ Six! I get through four/five of them at work for a 13 hour shift. At lunch break when you remove it to eat it’s bizzare because your nose, chin and cheeks still have the sensation you are wearing one. Worse was during our positive cases, when we had to wear FFP2 masks plus visors.
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To quote The Grateful Dead: What a long, strange trip it’s been…
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Indeed it has!
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I’ve forgotten I was masked when I tried to take a drink of my Diet Coke, too. Doesn’t work at all, trust me.
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😜😆
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I actually saw someone in Starbucks forget they were wearing a mask when they went to drink their coffee! What a mess! Masks be gone … soon … please!
My Six!
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😅 Oping for herd immunity and more, soon!
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*Hoping*
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Love this somewhat wry look at a different priority, Liz.
And re masks, here in France they are still obligatory in most public areas and all shops (although not, obviously, in cafes and restaurants).
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France may have a better sense of history and deadly plagues than an adolescent US. 🙄
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To mask or not to mask seems to be the constant question. And most likely will be for some time. Covid aside though, our recent experience of the last year and a half indicates masking makes practical sense in certain situations.
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Yes, ma’am…so use your noggin, and forgo snoggin’…strangers.
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Ha ha… I need to wear lipstick again.
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STILL better than getting COVID! Sorry, was that a bit too irreverent…too soon?
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Nah. Anyway, I liked not needing to worry about my mouth. 😀
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😆😆
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Very timely tale!
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I really enjoyed that! I too have felt ready to ‘burst out’, even if not to dance! I can’t! Yoiu really capture the mood of the time, Liz. And as for the dried out lipstick – pure class!
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Thanks!
Added note: Went into a local coffee spot for a to-go iced coffee. I was the only one in there wearing a mask & was amused at the raised eyebrows and uncertain looks I got. Fuller vaxxer & fully masked, even when the shop does not require it. Cuz you can’t be sure…and they were reminded of it…🙊😷😆
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Such a dilemma some have as to when is the right and safe time to break loose. What may seem obvious to some is not so much to others. As for me not rushing out just yet to get new lipstick or to wear the old. Don’t want to mess up the inside of my mask. HaHa
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We’ll dance again some distant day, but meanwhile let our fingers dance across the keys. I dance so much better in my imagination, anyway 🙂 Good Six, Liz!
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Keepin’ the drama — and the tricky dance moves — on the page!
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Definitely!
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perfect depiction of the current mood. great six. hope all is well with you
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We’re all there for a while more…😷
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I, for one, (being of certain personality type) already misses the days of socially-valued distancing…lol
(masks remain quite useful, in our part of the country, in mitigating the effects of summer pollen-storms)
Good Six
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Fellow introvert! I think masks are not completely going away anytime soon. Witness recent massive fires, and the recommendation to wear masks to filter out ashes. 😕😷
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after a lifetime of childhood being admonished to ‘Take your hands down from in front of your face, no one can understand what you’re saying’ the past Era of Face-masks was not a chore.
lol
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Amusing six, Liz. Still a bit of wistful thinking going on – me thinks? 😉
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You thinks right! For many of us, cuz we’re still not in the clear…
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Some day….. *whisper* some… day…
XD
Great story. I am going to have to borrow the phrase Epidemiologist’s tan.
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Soon…
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I didn’t know that lipstick dried up like that. I hope she enjoys the dance.
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Oh, the trials of being a woman!
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