WORDS TO USE:  chair – lemon – pelican – hunting – salty

PROMPT: Write about how it feels when you can’t focus.

Penelope was bored. Her shoulders drooped. Her wings sagged, dropping to brush the water at her feet. What was a pelican to do when nothing interested her, and she couldn’t seem to focus?

She glanced to her side, where her friends were busy hunting for small fish for lunch. Her stomach knotted. What she’d eaten for breakfast hadn’t settled right. She knew better than to go after leftovers on tables in the nearby restaurant.

Harold held a wiggling fish up in his beak toward her. Most of the others wouldn’t share a tiny bite with anyone. But Harold had this thing for her, sweet, adorable guy. He would give her the whole fish even if he was starving.

Still, she wasn’t up to it. She shook her head and saw the disappointment in how he seemed to sigh before turning away. Later she would soothe his hurt feelings. For now, that lemony crumb she’d snagged off the chair at the table fought a battle against the salty morsel she’d nibbled from the abandoned plate.

If she could figure out something to do, she could stop concentrating on her sour stomach. But what?

She took a few steps toward shore. Maybe she could go to the beach and stroll around. There weren’t any bothersome humans present right now, and, no, that didn’t seem particularly interesting.

Her favorite roosting spot on the first log of the pier was available. Nah. That would take flying the hundred or so yards to get there.

Maybe she could…

A half dozen small, loud, crazed humans suddenly came speeding down the beach. They ran and splashed their way into the water.

>

“Bird! Big bird!” a red-headed boy yelled, heading straight for her.

“Pelican! I’m a pelican!” Penelope corrected, although he didn’t seem to understand.

The other small humans grew near, too. Then several frantic-looking bigger humans raced into the water.

Enough! Finally, Penelope got focused on something: getting the heck away from these nutty people.