“You gotta read this,” Bob said to his roommate Nate.

“What is it?” Nate asked, grabbing the several sheets of paper Bob thrust at him.

It’s the first three pages of my NaNoWriMo project.”

“Your what?”

“That stands for National Novel Writing Month,” Bob answered. “It’s an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place next month. The idea is to attempt to write a 50,000 word novel between November 1 and November 30.”

“And you’ve got three stapled pages that you want me to read?” Nate said. “Isn’t that cheating, since today is October 30th?”

“It’s only a rough draft,” Bob said. “Just read them and let me know what you think.”

Nate sat down in an easy chair and read the first page. “This is pure fluff,” he said.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” Bob asked.

“It’s trivial,” said Nate. “It’s trite. It’s a cliché, it’s superficial. I’m sorry, dude, but it’s fluff.”

“Sheesh, that’s harsh,” Bob said.

“Well, you asked what I think. You want me to be honest with you, right?”

“Yeah, but you just read the first page. Turn the page and see if it gets any better,” Bob pleaded.

“Okay,” Nate said. He read both the second and third pages and then handed them back to Bob. “Sorry, Bob, but it’s all fluff.”

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This is another twofer. It’s in response to Sandi’s weekly Manic Monday challenge, which this week is to write some flash fiction using the title of the 1973 Bob Seager song, “Turn the Page.”

It’s also in response to today’s one-word prompt, “fluff.”