°°° Flowers at Work °°° • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • -Carl’s Automotive Repairs and Accessories- The sun was up and hot like it was midsummer. The Wednesday traffic almost never had a shortage of vehicles rolling into the repair shop, but today was rather slow. The proprietor of the establishment, Carlos Wilson, a chubby Latino, sat outside the shop having a chat with a man in a black suit as his subordinates worked on the man’s car. "How’s the job hunt, amigo?" Carlos said, changing the topic from the car. The man gave him a look and then looked away. "Heh," Carlos chuckled, tossing a chip into his mouth. He crunched on it before he said, "I told you not to quit that job, Boris." He coughed dryly, almost choking on his chips. "Keep laughing, stupid," Boris wasn’t the least bit amused. "If that doesn’t choke you, I’ll do it myself." "Heh…" Carlos’ laughter died down as he drank from his water bottle. "I always knew you were a murderer," he chuckl
°°° Call °°° • Louisville, Kentucky • -Whites Residence- Jason stared at the books on his study table. It was Friday, and for the next two days, he didn’t have any papers, but he had been studying as though he had exams later that night. The evening breeze blew in from the windows he left open. He suddenly let out a frustrated sigh, pushing his black, high-back office chair away from the table. Getting to the middle of the room, he began spinning around in the seat, thoughts flowing unrestricted through his mind. "Sean," his thoughts suddenly halted at the thought of Sean. His eyes turned to his phone, and he began pushing his wheeled office chair towards the bed. He jumped off the office chair onto his soft mattress and pulled his phone out from under the pillow. He had switched it off to avoid distractions, so it took a while for it to come on. In a minute, he was scrolling through his contacts and reduced his scrolling speed when he got to "S."
°°° Resolve °°° • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • -Walker Residence- Kate stood before the mirror, putting on the final touches to her makeup. It was Sunday morning, and she was going to be twenty minutes late to church, her usual time of entry. She was clad in a beige body-con pencil dress. It looked like a simple high-waisted pencil skirt with a wide black elastic band that stopped immediately under her knees, complimented with a long-sleeved blouse that seems to have the wind blowing it from underneath. But it was, in fact, a gown. Her black, glossy hair was pulled to the front through the right side of her head, resting just below her breast. "It's not excessive, is it?" she asked herself as she dropped the lipstick after applying it lightly to her lips. She exhaled, happy with her look. For a woman in her late thirties, she was extremely beautiful, and her body was envied by most younger ladies in Oak Lane. She pulled open the doors of her room and walk
°°° 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