Herbert smoothed his tie, straightening the silver clip. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. His audience were several generations younger than he was, dressed in the fashion of the day – casual, loose, untidy.
They viewed the old guest lecturer with boredom. They stared at him from behind laptops and tablets, their faces lit by a white electronic glow. As Herbert lectured the accompanying sound was not pencils scribbling, but the tapping of screens and keyboards. He was sure those who were still awake were messaging friends or playing games rather than taking notes.
Herbert made a cross with his silver-plated pen on his handwritten script and turned the page. As he did so he clicked the button and the old projector slid onto the next slide. Like him, the projector was old but functional. The students viewed it as a curiosity.
‘I met my first live Tyrannosaur twenty years ago when I discovered the lost island of Ogasawara.’
The projector clicked to the next photograph. The class sat bolt upright in their chairs.
Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story in around 150 – 175 words, based on the weekly photo prompt. Thanks as always to the challenge host Priceless Joy. For more information visit HERE.
To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
Iain Kelly 
Nice little story about the relevance of old in today’s modern times.
Enjoyed this greatly, Kelly.
Mine talks about the other end of the spectrum. https://neelwritesblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/19/neelwrites-humanfossil-fffaw-fiction-shortstory-175words-19-12-2017/
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Thanks Neel
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Ha! If it’s old is it a dinosaur or a classic?
I still have my old slide projector from decades ago along with a collectin of equally old slides (sadly, no dinosaurs, just people and places).
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I used to love visiting my Uncle and in the evenings he would set up his slide projector and we would all sit and view his holiday snaps. I’d say classic, thanks James 🙂
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One of my colleague uses a nudist camp slide for catching the classes attention. Nicely done.
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Haha, that would certainly make the teenagers pay attention!
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Oh I love it Iain! One of my foster kids once asked me if I’d had a dinosaur as a pet!
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I would love a pet dinosaur 🙂
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Maybe a small one…………… I don’t mind clearing up after Maggie, but Dino-poo is a bit bigger!
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An homage to us old dinosaurs. Nice!
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Thank you 🙂
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I’ll bet they sat up sharply, Iain.
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It would get my interest 🙂
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Hahahaha! That certainly got their attention! LOL! They probably thought of him old as a dinosaur! Haha! Great story, Iain!
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Love the comparison between students and old instructor. You really set up the zinger at the end. Brilliant writing.
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Thank you, much appreciated.
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In the first paragraph, I pictured a T Rex was giving the lecture in a tie.. Couldn’t stop laughing .. So very entertaining as always Iain!!
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That would hold the students attention!
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There seem to be a few old dinosaurs in this story. 🙂 Excellent storytelling!
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Thank you 🙂
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Haha, that’s a great line from this Palentologist/Professor. I’m Wondering if he’s just trying to wake everybody up or if he actually met one on this lost island. I actually hope he really did b/c that would be shocking and much more exciting. The students think he is just a boring prof but really he’s lived quite an adventure in his time.
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I like to think it is true too Mandi, even if my adult brain tells me it’s impossible 🙂
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Loved the old-school presentation build up. Could see him doing all those things.
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Thank you.
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Great story Iain! I’m not sure why, but I see this as the comedic relief scene at the end of an adventure film.
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Thank you – I can see that too!
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A fantastic entry, Iain!
Ellespeth
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Thank you 🙂
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