Last year Mike ran some neat flash fiction contests that made my brain hurt, but they were a lot of fun. So I thought I'd give it a try.

Your task: Tell a story, in no more than 200 words, that will make readers laugh, cry or simply think that the world is a truly great place. Any subject, any genre -- but keep it relatively clean please.

Stories must include the following in some way: a Chia pet and a song title from the 80's

Your deadline: Sunday, January 14, 6:00 p.m. EST.

Judging: All entries will be inspected for word count and inclusion of above mentioned items. The rest depends on mood and what Mr. Uglyfish thinks. Please note that only the entries that are actually posted will be judged, the ones that you thought about posting don't count.

Up for grabs: an incredibly cheap and tacky prize!

Ooh, this sounds like fun! Maybe I'll try entering under a different name!

Um, forget I said that last part. ;)