19 November 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2926: stake through his art

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“OK … uh, did somebody not read the story of Dracula right, or is there a lot more going on in the art world than we thought?”

Budding eleven-year-old artist Velma Trent was disturbed by something happening on Uppity Foolery Watch, live, while best friends eleven-year-old Eleanor and ten-year-old Andrew Ludlow were providing emotional support. They were all eavesdropping on Velma's cousin, 16-year-old Tom Stepforth III, who was getting up on the breaking news as a young news man for the Lofton County Free Voice.

“Stake through his art instead of stake through his heart … yeah, there's a problem,” Andrew said. “We're just going to have to get bold and find out why that man's art was attacked, because we need to be able to help protect you and your great art.”

“I'm putting the guy's name into my phone – we gotta do some research,” Eleanor said.

So they went over to the Ludlow porch while Eleanor did her work, and then …

“OK, so there is a problem,” she said. “It's a good thing the sheriff's department got there, because that guy is an artist, but he's also the guy who did the work up for Bayard Heights with the too short pylons thirty-two years ago.”

Andrew and Velma shook their heads.

“Don't tell Grayson,” Andrew said. “He would probably go get a stake himself, and although that wouldn't be right, I understand why he is frustrated. When you are six years old, and you live in a county in which you do Legos with more pride, purpose, and care than the people who really build stuff – it frustrates me, too.”

“What was happening was that this guy was doing a gallery show on his stuff the day Bayard Heights washed out, and got a phone call and still kept doing the show,” Eleanor said.

“Also known in literature as 'fiddling while Rome burns,'” Velma said, “but that's the Emperor Nero, not Dracula.”

“It also means you're safe, Velma,” Andrew said, “because you would never.”

“So, the second sale is – or was – today,” Eleanor said, “so they basically are destroying his art with this attack.”

“That's like killing an artist,” Velma said. “We put so much into our paintings and drawings!”

“Yep,” Eleanor said. “Still, because you would never, you would never think: how good can the art be of someone who thought it was a good idea not to put the right length pylons under Bayard Heights?”

“That doesn't actually track through history,” Velma said. “Sometimes you can be super good at one thing and have no clue about anything else.”

“This is true,” Andrew said. “Like that time Cousin Norris thought that because he is really good at stocking stores, he ought to put a bunch of money into the commodities market. Just because you can restock a store faster than anyone in Lofton County doesn't mean you understand what food and stuff like that are doing in the economy.”

“That's one of our Slocum-Bolling cousins, and we don't even talk to them except for Cousin Solomon,” Eleanor said, “and all Papa said about that is, “'if I gotta hear about anybody else, they have really messed it up.' Just a measly $3 million.”

“Ouch,” Velma said. “If he was working at a store, though, he had to be using crazy leverage to borrow that much.”

“Yep,” Andrew said. “To be fair, he's a supply chain manager, but he's still at about the same level of thinking that will gamble on a 90-foot pylon dong the job of a 200-foot pylon.”

“Yep,” Eleanor and Velma said.

“There's patterns to this stuff, I'm sure of it,” Andrew said. “When it comes to market leverage and bad construction decisions, there must be a Lever of Insanity people are pulling on for both.”

“If there is,” Velma said, “we need to find it and destroy it for the sake of humanity, because this is getting out of hand.”

“Way more important than taking out Dracula,” Eleanor said.

“Yep,” Andrew said.