Prompt: The starting bid is…

“Cue the making of video, and play in three, two one, play,” snapped the long-legged blond in the red silk suit. She didn’t have to raise her voice to keep the attention of every man in the studio. She pointed to the screen array as she fired out orders. “Split screens, four each on the bottom row, top bidders. Keep bottom central solo for highest contender. Keep our patron solo on top central. Items solo on middle row. Each row left to right. Come on people, let’s get this show on the road! Video’s done in ten, nine….”

Without missing a beat, she turned to the cameras, “…one. Welcome, gentle company, to the premier auction in the solar system, bringing items of such unique value, we accept only the most unique bids. Wealth does not always carry a price tag, but everything has some value.

“We’ll begin tonight with this dram of Europan Moonflower Liqueur. Yes, this is the authentic item, here in this small bottle. Only one dram is produced per decade, and those few who have tasted it call it the distilled essence of perfection. Mr. Bill Gates from Earth was one of our first customers, and he gave his entire legacy. Our second customer, Miss Lucy Danille, was seven years old when she won the auction with her charcoal drawing of her teddy bear, Bonkers, still regarded as one of her most inspired pieces.

“You all know the history of the Moonflower and the variety of winning bids. We’ll begin with an opening bid of … Thank you, number 17, $800 million. Gentle company, our opening bid is $800 million for one dram of Europan Moonflower Liqueur. Do I hear another bid?

“Number 6, your bid is accepted for a performance of Coppelia. Thank you, I had the pleasure to see your performance of Swan Lake on Mars last year.”

“Number 14, your bid is accepted for a black and white pen doodle. Thank you. Do we have another bid?”

As each bidder displayed their bid to the camera, the sponsor motioned yes or no with a tilt of the finger. She could not even say for sure if it was male or female. Number 28’s bid drew chuckles and snorts of disbelief from around the studio. She lifted her perfectly arched brow in surprise and signaled the camera to cut to the interrupt video of current bids. Looking up to the top central screen, she asked, “Are you sure?” A single tilt of the finger. She motioned to return to the live feed.

“Gentle company, we have a winner. Number 28, with a bid of a … lovey…a stuffed animal named Jujube. Thank you all for your contributions to the auction charitable trust, which receives all bids submitted.

“Now, our second item tonight is a recreation of a Frank Lloyd Wright home built on a Saturn orbital platform. Spectacular views of Saturn’s rings and more. Twelve bedrooms and more than twenty distinct living spaces make this one of the largest private properties in the solar system. We’ll begin the bidding tonight with Number 2, an unpublished manuscript hand written by fantasy author Margaret McGraw…”

Dogs in house	Houdini, Brindle
Time writing:	~40 minutes
August word count:	13,116