WHAT IT IS
He stood with both feet spread apart, gently rocking back and forth, a little weight on the balls of his feet, a little weight on his heels. His eyes transfixed ahead as he rolled the barrel of the tungsten dart between his thumb and index finger. The dart was only twenty-five grams, but in his hand it felt like a twenty five pound projectile that would be the last thrown today because the tournament would be won or lost on this one last effort.
Smith was considered an archer in the dart world with a stance and style so unusual he should have missed the dart board with each attempt, but he did not. Standing flush and over eight feet from the dart board, Smith would bring the dart slowly up to his forehead, pause momentarily, then fling the dart at high velocity. His accuracy was truly amazing. At this tournament Smith brought his dart team, the Black Squirrels, and a dozen morale boosters from INSECT and as he made his final preparations the entire crowd of onlookers became eerily silent. On this night the dart was his oyster, his focus was unquestionable as he drew the dart up to his forehead and in the millisecond before its release, a yellowjacket, bigger than most, landed on the bullseye of the dartboard. This unfortunate distraction caused Smith to lose the tournament.
WHAT IT IS NOT
Cathy Jennings’ soot belching Jetta made it all the way to INSECT headquarters in Northern Ontario with only two significant incidences; the first being a failed roadside emissions test near Milton and after that problem was solved, a water pump seizure near Sudbury. With all this behind her, Cathy brought Graham’s hummingbird to the lower level labs where it was kept and handed it over to the lab technicians. Checking her mail before going home, she was gob-struck when she opened a letter from Graham informing her she was fired from INSECT and would she please clean out her desk immediately.
Walking around the main concourse in a daze, Cathy decided to go back to the lab to see the hummingbird which she had grown rather fond of during their trip together. The lab was filled with rowdy agents from the Exotic Creatures Division who had just brought in a black squirrel they said was part of a theatrical production being staged in the Temagami area. When all the hoopla died down and with spite and revenge on her mind, Cathy went back to the lab and liberated the rodent.
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WHAT IT IS/WHAT IT IS NOT 