Free to Write

The word was out. Young men muttered it out of the corners of their mouths as though it were the answer to all their problems. Young women, hearing it, would gather and from their muttered conversations, laughter emerged and sidelong glances. One grey-bearded grandfather was heard insisting that things were different in his day while his wife gave a knowing smirk to a young man who blushed and hoped he hadn't seen it. Children shouted innocuous variations of it during their play until their mothers swore they never wanted to hear it again.