9 July 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3159: strange dough

“And see, this is why we ain't having these conversations because y'all act like legitimate money is some strange dough because our family has been selling stuff it has no business selling for so long that y'all can't even understand how I am selling soda and doing better – it's called the favor of God, and I keep trying to get y'all to understand, but listen here: if y'all really need to come on by and get the wages of sin over some over-hyped sugar water a white man who couldn't sell wine came up with –!”

“Uh oh,” eleven-year-old Velma Trent said to her big brother, 21-year-old Melvin. “Some cousins are about to get themselves hurt.”

“Nah,” Melvin said. “You gotta understand, Velma: you do bad long enough, and good people can touch you on your inner coward and put you right back in your place. All our cousins who have been in the game, into smoking all kinds of their own dope, all kinds of in and out of jail and prison and halfway this and that, all kinds of wasting decades of growth – they know Dad is something they will never be, can't understand, and can just shrivel them up and keep it moving. They may as well be hearing God telling them that they are going to do this and not that – and kind of they are, because God does care to keep them alive until they get saved, so, they need to not come over here.”

“And, Grandma Jubilee is here too,” Velma said, “and we all know she does not play about any of us.”

“Listen,” Melvin said, “if she got on the phone, it would be a total wrap. The Trents have known since our grandparents got married: they can't handle the Jubilee-of-the-mountain in-laws, so, they can't touch us. Cousin Darnell just forgot for a moment, but when Dad shot out all four tires at the same time, he remembered.”

“I still don't know how he did that,” Velma said.

“The car was already turning, so, before it got done, Dad had a clear view of all four tires,” Melvin said. “But see, you already know, he could have made Swiss cheese of Cousin Darnell, but, Dad is a Trent at heart always, and we just don't do that stuff if we don't have to. But Grandma? She wouldn't have left a scratch on the car. No need.”

“Is that the other reason beside helping Gracie understand herself and calm down that she came down here?” Velma said.

“Yeah, she isn't rolling with the generation of the foolery that is ours,” Melvin said, “because she and Pop-Pop V.T. worked hard to show folks that there was another way to live, but the people to the second generation that want the foolery are about to eat shotgun shells. Grandma would rather work with us because we listen and aren't tempting her to keep us out of prison permanently.”

Velma considered this.

“Yikes,” she said. “It's like Milton will never be allowed to be in a more serious lockdown than being grounded.”

“He better not,” Melvin said. “We're not doing that in our generation of Jubilee Trents, and, we may end up being one of the few Trent lines to survive.”

Velma considered this.

“Well, yeah,” she said, “because if you don't understand how selling soda is better than selling drugs and are mad because some of your relatives are keeping it legal and making more money without having to worry about going to jail … I mean, you live longer if you think a little bit.”

“I hadn't even thought about it that way,” Melvin said, “but, yeah, it does help if you stop smoking your own dope long enough to think just a little bit about going legitimate before the law or the streets catch up with you.”

“I didn't think about all that,” Velma said. “I meant, think a little bit about calling and talking crazy to Dad, even if you don't know that Grandma is in the house.”

“Yep, that's true too, Velma,” Melvin said. “That's true, too.”