Over the course of a rumination about Orson Welles’ late masterpiece F for Fake (which is always worth pinning an essay or two on), Emily St. James breaks down narrative into just three concepts:

But: This introduces the idea of opposition. The hero has done something, but the villain has done something to oppose it.
Therefore: This introduces the idea of progression. The hero has done something, and therefore the world adjusts to her actions (usually with some new struggle the hero must overcome).
Meanwhile: This introduces the idea of parallelism, of two things happening at the same time, so we can always cut to something else. The hero is saving the world. Meanwhile, her friend is off dealing with the fallout.

Choose one. Write a story using that concept.

Off you go.