Running in the family (1 of 6): "scoundrel". Humpbuckle Tales 161

Tommy comes from a long line of scoundrels.

Both his father and grandfather were charming and talented conmen.

Although neither of them were successful enough to avoid capture.

One of Tommy's earliest memories was of meeting his grandfather for the first time outside the prison on his day of release.

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Running in the family (2 of 6): "brown eyes". Humpbuckle Tales 162

Tommy's mother works nights in a bar when his father's "away", which is often.

When Dad's home it's like Christmas - so much excitement, gifts and laughter.

But, too soon, it's all over.

"Take care of your mother!" Tommy's dad says his brown eyes twinkling as the police drag him away.

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Running in the family (3 of 6): "big crowd". Humpbuckle Tales 163

His grandfather trains Tommy in the family business.

Or at least he tries to.

"Tommy lacks confidence," the old man complains. "You can't be a con man without it."

Alf, one of his dad's friends offers to teach him a different trade.

Tommy learns to pick pockets in big crowds.

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Running in the family (4 of 6): "dirt on face". Humpbuckle Tales 164

One summer Tommy tries to pick the pocket of an elderly gentleman with a silver-tipped cane.

The old geezer catches him in the act and whacks him repeatedly with his walking stick.

Tommy runs home, the dirt on his face mixing with blood and snot from his busted nose.

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Running in the family (5 of 6): "Badger". Humpbuckle Tales 165

Tommy gets caught stealing a car when he's eighteen.

He gets a two months stretch.

He's released with a streak of grey in his hair and a determination to go straight.

"You look like a badger," his dad tells him.

The nickname sticks, unlike his resolution to give up crime.

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Running in the family (6 of 6): "the last meal". Humpbuckle Tales 166

Badger hates visiting his grandparents.

The old man teases him relentlessly, and his grandmother's once fantastic culinary skills have deteriorated.

One Sunday lunchtime, his grandfather chokes to death on a chunk of grissle. Turning blue he falls facedown onto his plate.

Badger's grandmother, racked with guilt, dies within the week.

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These fifty-word stories were written using the six @freewritehouse freewrite prompts @mariannewest gave us this week (see her weekend freewrite single prompt post. Check out her Three Prompt challenge for more weekend Freewrite fun!
These are the 161st to 166th fifty-word stories in the Humpbuckle Tales series. You can find all the tales reblogged on the @humpbuckletales account.

These six stories are part of the Humpbuckle Tales series I am writing. Each tale is 50 words long. They can be read individually but when read together they make up a much bigger story. The 6 weekend freewrite stories are an obvious example of this because you can see that one follows on from another. The other tales might not be so obvious as they are sometimes set a few decades earlier or later than the others.

There are author readings available of the first 22 Humpbuckle Tales on the Humpbuckle Tales YouTube Channel or you can listen to the Humpbuckle Tales podcast.

On Hive, you can find the first 10 tales read here, and Humpbuckle Tales 11-22 are read here

Hive has it first!

Humpbuckle Tales are always published first on Hive!
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