My Event
Company Christmas party in Madrid (Spain)
My Scene
In times of recession, bonuses went small and instead of a Christmas dinner we had to put up with a cocktail party, so -– unavoidably -- conversation focused on the quality of the catering: “What are these balls made of?”
“Fish, I guess”, said the young woman shrinking her nose as she smelled the appetizer.
“You're joking –- this can't be fish”, disagreed the girl in the goyesca dress, as she tasted a bit of the appetizer with the tip of her front teeth. “Mary! you have to try this . . . it's de-li-cious”, she shouted to the blonde passing by as she abandoned the ball in a neighboring plate.
In the meantime, the Beatles' "Yesterday" was being shattered by the band which had been hired –- allegedly -- to entertain the cocktail party –- though it was common knowledge that the band leader happened to be the big boss's dearest nephew, so -– in fact –- it was killing two birds with one stone. “Oh, hell, I can't stand another song . . . couldn't someone do me a favor and kill that damned singer?” exclaimed the Marketing Director a bit too loudly as the big boss walked by at his back, putting an end like that to his career at the company.
Lessons Learned
- Spare words (I think my phrases should be shorter but I am Spanish so short sentences sound too "sharp" to my ears)
- Convey ambience (Company cocktail parties may be a pool of sharks, have I managed to convey that?)