Kody Blackwell "Over the Counter"

Kody’s story is one about a father struggling to keep his house and support his three kids on a meager salary. As a pharmacy technician who doesn’t make much, it becomes obvious that he will not be able to keep his house with his current income. Based on the suggestion of an acquaintance, our protagonist decides to steal some prescription medications from his work and sell them on the street. By the end of the story, it is clear that the main character’s desire to keep his house for himself and his children is more important than staying on “this side of the jail bars.” What works great for this story is description. Just to pick out some of my favorites from page one: “each letter hit my eye like a typewriter’s hammer,” “ink sank into my brain,” and “the numbers that sat in my hands with the weight of all the money I didn’t have.” These did a fantastic job of engaging my attention and making care about the character. The voice throughout the whole piece feels relatable and down-to-earth, making his struggle feel more important to the audience.

            What I wished was different about this piece was the ending. It wasn’t anything related to the character’s actions that bothered me, it was just the fact that that was the end. The story felt truncated somehow, like there was more that needed to be said but wasn’t. I think I wanted to see more about what this decision did to the character mentally and emotionally as time went on. As it stands now, we don’t know how the character might have changed or developed as a result of this choice to sell drugs. I also wanted to see more interaction between the father and his children. We are given brief glances into their relationship, but I thought this could have been expanded a lot more and added a lot to the emotional appeal of the piece. All in all, this was a very enjoyable read, and I think with a little expansion it will be even more engaging than it already is.