A Scintillating Discussion

The Ragtag Daily Prompt for today is PEDANTIC
The Jibber Jabber Daily word is LUCK

GETTING TO KNOW HIM

Pierce, relaxing on the sofa, looked over at his sister who was studying some paper. “Whatcha readin’, Lilly?”

“Something I just downloaded — this is some expert’s advice on how to get to know people better.”

“You really want to?”

“Of course. We should take an interest in other people or we’ll become totally self-centered.” She looked at him pointedly.

“Yeah, right. And I suppose you gotta ask all kinds of nosy questions, like, ‘Did you love your mother?’ Good luck with that.” Pierce popped the tab on his soft drink and took a swig.

“Well, this expert has given readers a list of questions that ‘should stimulate an intelligent discussion.’ Like this one. ‘Would you call yourself a pedantic person?’ How would you answer that one, Pierce.”

“Yes. No. Maybe. Dumb question.”

Lilly rolled her eyes. “This discussion hasn’t reached ‘intelligent’ yet.”

“Define pedantic.”

Lilly typed the word into her cell phone and read the definition. “Pedantic: ‘excessively concerned with minor details or rules; over-scrupulous, persnickety.’ I guess it means someone who sweats the small stuff and gets the fine details right.”

“I’m not much into fine details.” He guzzled more pop.

“You can say that again. Your room’s a tornado aftermath.”

“I can find things,” he protested. “But sometimes I do sweat the small stuff — like on a math exam. So it depends.”

Lilly sighed. “According to this expert, a question like this should lead to a scintillating conversation.”

“Define scintillating.”

“You’re being pedantic.”

Pierce shrugged. “Who cares?”