°°° New Leaf °°° The kitchen was a mess, but not as bad as when Dan, Jason, and Sean were baking back in Louisville. Sean was preparing dinner. He knew his mother would be going to work after church, so he wasn’t really in a rush. He brought out the ingredients for the Mac and cheese dish, arranging them disorderly on the kitchen island, which was also used as the dining table. After reading multiple recipes online and watching multiple videos, he was finally confident that he could do it. It was four thirty in the evening. The macaroni, canned evaporated milk—which according to his research, lends a creaminess to the mac and cheese—the half and half—a half-milk, half-cream that adds flavor and builds more creaminess—the eggs and seasonings, including paprika, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper, were all on the island. Sean was busy grating the cheese. He was going to need about two cups of cheese for the dish, and pre-grated cheese wasn’t recommende
°°° Sacrifice °°° It was dark outside. It was one of those deceitful longer nights and shorter day periods. A red BMW convertible pulled up right in front of Kate’s place. The music was quiet and calming. It was a great atmosphere for romance. "You really should consider getting into a serious relationship," one of the passengers in the car, Kate, said, chuckling as the music came to an end. She was dressed in the beige dress she’d worn that morning, only she had her white lab coat over it. "If you know a store where they sell any such thing, hit your girl," her companion laughed. "Come on, Sarah. "I'll quickly whip something up for you before you leave," Kate got out of the car. "I know your lazy ass ain’t going to be cooking any healthy meals tonight." "You know me so well, baby," Sarah was already out of the car. "I am the goddess of takeout," she added, striking a pose as though she were a role model trying to show off her curves. "You better hope my son didn’t see any
°°° Drive °°° It was quiet, so Sean could hear the entire conversation. He was listening keenly until his phone rang; it was Jason. "Hey buddy," Sean picked it up. "Oh my God, Sean!" Jason was almost screaming. "What happened? I have been calling you for ages. You don’t return my calls, you don’t reply to my voicemails, not even on social media... "What the hell happened, bro?" "Calm your horses, son," Sean laughed. He was shocked by Jason’s reaction and laughed as he remembered that this kind of emotion was the same one Jason once said he would never show, a few months back. "…" Jason froze, then he exhaled loudly. "I’m sorry," Jason said after a moment. "I was just worried, that's all." It’s been a week now. "Yeah," Sean sighed. "And I’m sorry I couldn’t return your calls." Something came up and... "It’s Boris, isn’t it?" Jason’s caring tone was suddenly tainted by anger. "What? "No, well, yes... but... ugh," Sean was confused. "Let me explain," Sean exhaled and gave him
°°° Flowers at Work °°° • Crest Care Hospital • The staffroom was the only place, other than a few doctors' offices, that didn’t smell like antiseptic mixed with a metallic tang from stainless steel in the open air or bleach wafting from bedding. It was also one place where the scent of get-well flowers and questionable food smells from room trays had yet to corrupt. Even the doctors sometimes came up with excuses to take a breather here. A gray double-door fridge stood to the left of the doorless entrance. The wall it was backing had a sink and cupboards stretching across the entire wall's length. Just before the glass walls with a sliding door that led to a balcony, a microwave oven built into the walls was on. The sudden beeping sound drew the attention of the three ladies and the only man in the room, who were taking their break. The short, blonde-haired nurse with forest green eyes quickly walked over to the microwave and took out its contents. She w
°°° Decision °°° The sunny and mild afternoon weather was the kind that was perfect for bike riding. Accompanied with the cool breeze that blew around every now and then, this was easily one of the best Wednesdays this month. Sean was skateboarding through the streets, heading for the Millennium Skates World. He’d carried his roller skates to school today, planning to give himself a post-exam reward. He walked in and paid what was necessary, and in a few minutes he was roller skating. He met a few guys from school, and though he didn’t consider them friends, they kept each other company. They played a couple games, with Sean winning forty percent of the times they played, leaving the remaining sixty percent to be shared between the four guys. Time flew by, and they left one after another until he was the only one left. He found a place to sit, watching a man teach three kids—two boys and a girl—to roller skate. From the semblance, he could tell they were hi
°°° Pessimist °°° • Louisville, Kentucky• -May William’s Residence- The television in the living room was turned on, but as usual, no one was watching whatever was on. May William, Karen’s aunt, only ever watched videos related to her band and their music style. Karen, on the other hand, was subscribed to every reality TV show she wanted on her phone, so each time May brought home a new television set, Karen would just look away. After all, it wasn’t her money, nor was it May’s. It was a yearly gift from her grandfather, Colonel William. The basement was stacked with appliances he’d sent over that they didn’t need. Another room was now being used to store incoming appliances, and May was happy to let the Colonel keep wasting his money in an attempt to buy her over. Karen ran down the stairs in a short black leather jacket with golden diamond-shaped studs at the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and waistline. She wore a black shirt with a silver skull design and a pair o
°°° Domain of Cheesy °°° • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • -Walker Residence- Sean sat in his room upstairs, his ears plugged, while his PC loaded up a webpage. He had arrived home a few minutes past five, quickly toasted some bread, grabbed a jar of strawberry jam, and ran upstairs, popping open one of the three cans of Pepsi he’d bought on the way back. He had only skimmed through the card Karen had given him on their date in Louisville a couple times after returning to Philadelphia. He looked intently at it this time, muttering the name of the studio to himself. He quickly typed it into the search bar. "Fight to Fitness Studio Tournaments" The first thing to appear was a map of a region of Louisville, Kentucky, with a few locations highlighted, including the Fight to Fitness Studio. Sean ignored the map and clicked on the website of the studio. He skimmed through and saw what interested him—a highlighted phrase talking about tournaments t
°°° Job Seeker °°° The rays of the afternoon sun shone into Sean’s room through the windows. The blue-eyed lad sat at his desk, seriously going through the registration process for the Domain of Warriors tournament. Mr. Melvin had later called to inform him that the hosts of the competition had set up a venue in Pittsburgh, seeing as one of Sean’s reasons for hesitation was distance. After considering the pros and cons, as well as a half-hour video call with Jason and Karen to try to decide, Sean decided to go for it. After reading virtually everything the site offered, from the terms and conditions of the site to the rewards and means of advancing in the tournament, It was weird. a tournament with such benefits, but it was like something planned by amateurs. He felt there should have been stages: regional, state, and national. After three years of existence, he was shocked that they hadn’t matured. Sean suddenly froze as he noticed something else. "The registration