Prompt Word: Drink Minervie and Chip 42 Minervie rolled Gungan out of the Casualty Department, making sure to grab the clipboard with his information. “I assure you, though your bruises hurt, you are fully healed and able to walk,” she said, encouraging Gungan to stand from the gurney he’d been on for the last few hours. She stuffed the paper related to Gungan into her bag, stripped the sheets and kept those, too, and left the clipboard on the mattress....

Prompt Word: Buffet Minervie and Chip 41 Minervie was sitting in the lobby of The Orient hotel. She’d already eaten breakfast, but she’d eaten early, and wanted to make sure Gungan had time to get to her if he was going to take her up on her offer. A boy in a newsie hat came in and headed to the side of the desk. The clerk behind the desk, same one as yesterday, was talking to the boy, and he said loudly, “Oh she checked out, but she’s sitting right there,” pointing to Minervie....

Prompt Word: Chest Minervie and Chip 40 It was dark, and a few hours after the day cruise had come back to dock. Minervie and the bartender, Gungan, had been talking since. Minervie was sitting on an unclaimed chest near a wall off North Quay. Gungan said, “Okay, okay, but then how did you know I was born on this river?” Minervie laughed, “Total guess! Your name means frog, so I took a leap to the water’s edge....

Prompt Word: China Minervie and Chip 39 Minervie found herself aboard a showboat Luana, for a river cruise from Sullivans Wharf down the Brisbane to Australia’s only man-made island. The bartender aboard the ship was playing with the patrons. Using an Chinese accent, he said, “Free Drink to the first who know … where I was born.” Three people yelled, “China” all at once, and Minervie, nursing a local whiskey just smiled, while folks tried to guess....