"Welcome to Starbucks"

As I stood in line with the other 100 kids turning 18 today, a million thoughts raced through my mind, I didn't know what to expect or how I would react, and with my last name starting with R, I was pretty far down the line. The thing is, everyone was watching, this was the moment we all looked forward to, everyone you know comes to watch, wondering if they are going to be important to you.

My mind raced, I couldn't think straight. The whole time standing in line to receive my "gift" or whatever you want to call it, I was worried I'd trip walking across the stage and causing all possible suitors to scoff and my clumsiness. You see, I am a very clumsy human being, I trip on air at least once a day. My mother told me I would never get married if I couldn't learn some balance. I have tried all my 17 years of walking to learn, but it's harder than it looks. 

Anyway, the line moved closer and closer to the stage and before I knew it, it was my turn. "Abigail Reed," the voice called. I took a deep breath and walked up the stairs. Carefully choosing my steps, I made my way to the center of the stage. Blinded by the lights, I stood, anxiously awaiting my future. "Your soul mate's first words to you will be 'Welcome to Starbucks, how may I help you?'"

A quiet murmur arose from the crowd, a ringing began in my ears and I stood frozen for a second. I soon remembered to walk off the stage. My mind was racing as I stepped off the last step. The good news was that I made if on and off the stage without tripping, but the bad news was that I had absolutely no idea how to discern who my soul mate was based on this information. Everyone else received words like "My dog can't stand to sit any longer, would you like to take a walk with me?" Those people were the lucky ones, they would have no question if that was who they were meant to be with.

I, on the other hand, would probably never go to a Starbucks again, unless absolutely necessary, hoping that I would meet my soul mate a different way. They tell you that doesn't happen; they say the only way to meet your soul mate was for them to say those exact Words to you. The trick was to just live your normal life and it would happen to you. You don't know when, you don't know how, and you don't know what the person will look like. You might not meet them until the day you die, but you also might meet them the day after the ceremony.

I followed the hallway down to the room set up for all of us. We could chat and discuss the Words given to us, but the time was mostly spent sitting silently, thinking of all the places these Words could be said to us. I found an empty chair on the backside of the room against the wall. The room was soundproof, making it impossible to hear what your friend's Words would be.

My friend Lauren was sitting on the same side of the room as me, so she walked over and asked what my Words were.

"'Welcome to Starbucks, how may I help you?'" I replied.

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Wow," she said, "how vague."

"I know. What were your Words?"

"Um, they were 'I think you're in my seat, do you mind scooting over?'"

"That's... odd," I replied, trying to lighten my own spirits, I joked, "are you going to purposely sit in the wrong seat every time you go to the theater?" We laughed.

"I thought about it!" she replied, "What about you? Are you going to go into every Starbucks you see?"

"I was more thinking about avoiding it." She asked why. "I don't want to go into every Starbucks and think that every person who works the register is my soul mate. I'd rather die alone than make a mistake every time I get a latte. What would I even say? 'Hey, that's what my soul mate's supposed to say to me!' Talk about embarrassing!"

"But what if 'That's what my soul mate's supposed to say to me' is what their soul mate's supposed to say to them?" she asked.

I laughed thinking about the sheer awkwardness of the situation and decided it was time to change the subject, "What about you? What are you going to do when someone asks you to move seats?"

"I don't know. I've thought about it a long time and I can't decide what would be best. Whether I play it cool and move over or if I say something witty about him being my soul mate. I wish they would tell us what we're supposed to say."

"Wouldn't that be nice?"

By this time, the room had filled up quite nicely and there were no empty seats. We were squished in there, but the noise level was low, the only talking was the quiet murmur of friends comparing Words.   As the last person entered the room, the same voice who announced our Words came over the speaker saying, "Congratulations to all, you have been given a great gift, use this knowledge wisely and keep your ears open, but don't expect to hear from your soul mate right away. Go back to your families and live your lives as normal, enjoy this time in your life, you will never have such mystery again."

We all slowly filed out of the room and headed to the front lawn of the building where our families were waiting for us.

Looking around for the tallest people on the lawn, I found my family. I was the shortest of them and they never let me forget it. Now there were these vague Words that I've been given and I knew my brothers would be saying them to me every time we went somewhere and passed a Starbucks. I thought about moving out and leaving town just to escape the confusion and ridicule that might come with a mistake.

My parents greeted me with a hug and said encouraging words meant to sooth me. It wasn't working. The ride home was long and quiet with only male voices spouting insults and jokes at each other. They would raise their eyebrows at me every time we'd pass a Starbucks, sometimes saying thinks like "What if your soul mate was in there right now?" Shrugging them off, I'd look the other way. They were all older than me and unmarried. None had met their soul mates, and I doubt they were worried about it.

Then next few weeks I explored other coffee shops in town, trying to find a barista who could make my favorite drink the way I liked it, like the one at the closest Starbucks. So far I had struck out. I thought about swearing off coffee, but that idea was quickly shut down the next morning when the only tea we had was caffeine free and a headache started to set in. I suffered through the bitter taste of the black drip coffee my mom made and would head off to whatever I had to do that day. I did this for a month.

My parents discouraged my actions, telling me that I wasn't supposed to change my behavior because of the Words. I couldn't help it though.

Lauren had already met her soul mate. It happened a week after being told when she saw Much Ado About Nothing in the theater. Her and her soul mate did everything together so I never saw her or talked to her. I became better friends with someone else from work to fill the space Lauren left. As far as I knew, we were no longer friends.

I longed for the day I found my soul mate, or at least someone I could bond with over the search for our soul mates so I wouldn't miss Lauren so much. She called me about a month later and wanted to meet for coffee. I was elated when she asked to hang out, I tried to convince her that we should get lunch or something other than coffee, but she was adamant about meeting at the Starbucks by my house at the same table we used to sit at every week. I was reluctant to go, but agreed anyway.

I arrived late, as usual, and saw that Lauren was already at our table and she waved enthusiastically. I smiled back and walked over, skipping the coffee line.

"Aren't you going to order something?" Lauren asked. I said I wasn't thirsty and sat down. "Why not? There's a cute guy working the register."

"That's why," I replied, "I'm not in the mood to find love," I forced a laugh and looked away. We sat in silence for almost a minute before one of the baristas called Lauren's name to get her drink.

"You should order something," Lauren said when she came back, "please? It would make me happy."

"Fine," I said, "If it makes you happy." So I stood in line, yawning every couple of minutes. Maybe I really did need the coffee. The man in front of me finished paying for his drink and walked towards the pick-up counter; it was my turn. Taking a couple steps forward, I glanced at the guy at the register, mostly keeping my eyes on the menu.

"Welcome to Starbucks, how may I help you?" he asked. My face burned as the redness traveled down from my forehead, I smiled awkwardly as best as I could manage. My voice shook as I gave him my order. "Can I get a grande mocha with an ounce of orange flavoring with cinnamon sprinkled on top? And can you make it a little less hot than normal drinks please?"

The look on his face made me nervous. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open. His coworker nudged his elbow after what felt like an eternity. I didn't know what to do, this guy could be my soul mate or just a regular Starbucks worker who thought my order was super weird.

"I - I" he stumbled over his words, "I think you're my - my," he struggled to get the last word out, clearly as nervous as I was, "soul mate." A slight smile came to my face as I accepted the events for what they were: a miracle. "I'm Alexander," he stuck out his hand awkwardly. I introduced myself and shook it. "Nice to meet you Abigail," he said.

His manager yelled at him to get the line moving again, but when I looked back at the people behind me the women were starry eyed and were whispering to their friends about us with smiles on their faces. The men seemed oblivious to what was happening and didn't care that the line was held up. "Will you come back at 3 o'clock? My shift ends then and I'd like to talk to you some more."

I agreed. My hands, shaking noticeably, extended my debit card to pay for my drink. "It's on me," he held up his hand to decline my card, "but you have to come back and see me."

His manager yelled something at him again, so I quickly said. "Thank you. I will be back."

Lauren and I enjoyed girl talk about what we expect our lives to be like from now on, and we left around 1:00. I came back at 3:00, like Alexander asked. He saw me as he counted his till, waved, and smiled to himself as he looked back down. My face grew hot and I could tell I looked of roses. I picked out a spot on a comfy chair in the corner and waited.

He finished up his closing duties, took off his apron, and came over to me. I stood up, he greeted me, and we walked outside.

It seamed so awkward, to have met the person I was destined to be with. I was clumsy and would stumble over my words. But so would he. I would say something to impress him, bending the truth just a little, but then I would have to come clean later on, as casually as I could, as if I remembered a detail that made that one extravagant part untrue. But so did he. It was awkward as we realized we had walked around downtown for almost two hours, and I panicked as I new I would be late for dinner. I also panicked because I knew I would have to tell my family, but I didn't tell Alexander just how nervous I was. He told me not to worry, that he would take me home. It was awkward as he opened my side of his car door and walked me to my front door. But what was the most awkward was how not awkward the next event was. As he leaned in and kissed my cheek, I expected my face to flame up, for my voice to get shaky again, but none of my worst fears came true. It all seemed so... natural. 

A One dollar Bill

Phillip sauntered down the crowded Manhattan streets with a grin on his face and a spring in his step. In his pocket was his first huge paycheck. The 20 year old boy headed straight for the bank. Time to get some cash, he thought to himself, I'll be a rich man.

Walking into the bank he went straight to the first teller he saw. Placing his check on the counter he stated, "I want this cashed."

The lady looked annoyed at his bluntness, "Okay," she replied, "sign the back." He grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled his name where she pointed. She placed the paper in her little machine and handed him the $651 in cash. He thanked her and walked out, counting it as he marveled at the six one hundred dollar bills he held. 

He folded the paper up and just as he was about to put it in his pocket, a boy in a hood ran in front of him, snatching the money right out of his hands. "Hey!" Phillip yelled and chased after him. He pushed his way through the clumps of people, knocking over an old lady and pushing children aside. He was too slow; the boy was already half a block ahead. "Stop him!" he yelled, but the New Yorker's just continued on their way, ignoring the theft. A gust of wind blew through the streets and a bill flew out of the robber's hands. Phillip caught up to the green paper, picking it up, he unfolded it and looked at the amount, praying it was a one hundred. His heart sank, he stared at the lonely one in the corner. He really only had a dollar to his name. 

"One dollar," he said aloud, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that that was all he had, "what can you do with one dollar?" Phillip stood in the middle of the sidewalk, people bumping him left and right, some telling him to get out of the way, but he just stood there in disbelief. 

A thought popped into his head, he didn't know where it came from, but it was there, and it was big. A couple streets over was the casino that he would go to to meet girls, he had never had much luck at the slot machines, but what did he have to lose? 

Phillip raced to the casino, the marquee above the entrance was blindingly bright, even in the daylight. He pulled open the heavy door and drifted to the closest slot machine. The hustle and bustle of the casino filled his ears. Dinging machines, cheering people, angry people, and the clanking of glasses at the bar seemed a little louder than normal. He shook his head, trying to focus. Taking a deep breath he pushed his only dollar into the slot, the machine dinged with a "whoop" and the words "Push button when ready!" appeared on the screen.

He took a deep breath, and as he hit the little red button he fully understood what he was doing. He had either just made a huge mistake or the best decision in his life. The three reels turned and turned. One by one they stopped rotating. The first was a seven. The second was another seven. He waited in anticipation for the third one to stop. It seemed to spin for a full minute before it rested on the one picture that changed Phillip's life. It too, was a seven.

The machine dinged loudly for the whole casino to hear. Gambler's around him stopped paying attention to their games and stared as the slot machine rang and flashed fancy lights. A huge $500,000 appeared on the tiny monitor. Phillip couldn't believe his eyes. He sat on the tiny stool just staring at the dollar sign. 

A receipt printed out next to the buttons, he took it, still not fully understanding what was happening. One of the casino workers, a bright eyed showgirl, rushed over to him, she grabbed his hand and said something that Phillip couldn't understand. Everything around him seemed to be in slow motion, words were mumbled and sounds were muffled. She took him to the payout counter, just as she turned to him to tell him what to do, his hearing returned and everything was a normal speed. "Just give them your receipt," she explained, with a wink, she continued, "and then maybe we can spend some of it."

Walking past her, ignoring her attempt to flirt, he placed the ticket on the counter, pushing it towards the teller. Without a word the man behind the metal bars grabbed it, looking at the piece of paper his eyes widened. He told Phillip he would have to have the manager get the money from the vault and that it would be a couple minutes. Phillip nodded and the man went to get his money. 

When he returned he carried a silver briefcase, which he slid through the opening in the bars and said, "Don't spend it all in one place." Phillip pulled the case towards him and opened it, marveling at the stacks of one hundred dollar bills. He shook off the feeling and closed the case; he thanked to the man and walked straight out the door, passed the showgirl. The bright lights of the daytime momentarily blinded him. He blinked a couple times and walked right to the bank.

"I'd like to open an account," he told the teller...

Escape: Part One

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful girl. She was always locked away in her room, reading, writing, and learning new things. Her parents had always encouraged her to do everything to gain all the knowledge she could, for that was the only thing that would give her any sort of life when she was older. The town she lived in was not a rich, fancy town like the ones by the capital. 

The girl never met anyone she particularly liked in any way. They were rude, angry people, people who could kill you by giving you a glare. They had ugly faces that were riddled with dirt and anger. Scowling everywhere they went, they made no friends and what family they had hated them. The girls parents had moved to this town after they lost their jobs in the big cities, not knowing who lived there when they purchased the house. 

They moved when the girl was six, her parents decided to keep her from the anger and the hate of the town. They home schooled her and brought only people from the capital for outside interaction. She grew up sheltered, confused about why she was never allowed outside. The only time she got to go off her family's property was when they visited other towns. 

Her parents, Simon and Lara, named their daughter Kathryn, in an attempt to help her through life. With a name like Kathryn, she was always expected to do her best, be proper, always be respectful; in other words, she had to be the perfect daughter. But with all this expectation on her shoulders, she was never a very happy girl. The only comfort she found was in her books. She loved to read the old stories, of a world that existed long ago, of simpler times, when the biggest worry was whether or not there was enough pie to go around. She'd never had the kind of life like she wanted, like the ones in her books, when everyone knew and loved everyone else. 

This was no way for a girl to grow up -- sheltered, naive, wondering what life was about, longing for adventure but never being allowed to go on one. Oh, how she longed for adventure, like her favorite story; if only she could be taken on a quest to fight a mighty dragon and retrieve stolen treasure like Bilbo Baggins.  Or maybe catch a killer with her best friend like Sherlock Holmes. Every time she expressed interest in leaving her parents would lock her away in the only room without windows, telling her that leaving was not an option and that she should giver up her childish dreams.

By her 19th birthday, she had read every book in her parents vast library -- multiple times. She had almost every great story memorized, every poem, every snippet of excellence was up in her mind, and all she had to do was be remembered of one word of phrase and she could quote it perfectly. When she turned 15 she began to run out of new books, so in an effort to keep the adventures coming, she began to write. Her stories often consisted of wild ideas, with heroic princes who saved the damsel in distress; usually that damsel was her, being trapped in her own home. She kept these stories hid inside of her favorite books, books her parents never read, so they would not be found. 

When she was 20, she decided enough was enough. She was old enough to make her own decisions, and she wasn't going to take it any longer. What she was going to do, she didn't know, but she was going to do something. For the next couple days she began hinting to her parents that she was getting restless inside the little home. She would gaze out the window, saying things about how beautiful it was. Her parents didn't get the hint, they would agree it was a nice day, but the conversation would never go anywhere else. 

One day her mother came to her and stated, "Your father and I are going on a business trip, we must leave you here with the butler and we are hiring a mercenary to protect you. We will be gone for a fortnight; however, we will make certain you have plenty of everything, the maids will make your meals. I trust you will behave while we're gone." upon hearing this news, Kathryn new this was the perfect chance for her to escape. The mercenary would complicate things, but she would manage. 

She began planning right away, slowly collecting foods from the kitchen, washing almost all of her dresses, and studying maps. The morning her parents left, she sneaked into her their room and stole the only suitcase they did not take with them. Taking it back to her room, she was very lucky that she did not get caught. All the secrecy was very exciting for Kathryn as she had never done anything like this. She packed all her clothes and food into her suitcase and hid it under her bed. She would escape during the night. 

As soon as the sun went down she told everyone she was going to bed, but she sat in her dark room until all the lights were out and all the talking stopped. Then she waited longer.After she was sure that everyone was asleep, she opened her window as quiet as she could, and dropped her suitcase out the window. She stuck her head out an looked both ways, then she quietly moved her desk chair to the window and used it as a stool to get out the window. Sticking her feet out first she pushed off and landed on her feet. She turned around and closed the window. With her heart racing and her mind screaming, she grabbed her suitcase and ran towards the road. 

Kathryn walked quickly and quietly along the dirt road that lead out of town. There was only the town behind her and the world staring her in the face. Her destination would take days to reach, maybe longer than she expected. Before she had left she grabbed her parents emergency money from their room, hoping it was enough to by lodging for the next couple nights. 

With the rest of the world living in civilization, she didn't know what to expect. Her town was one of only towns that used dirt roads, no cars, and had no electricity. The rest of the world was going to be so different than what she knew, and she could barely wait to explore it. She reached the paved road after an hour, and withing minutes she could see the bright lights of civilization. Cars began to fly by her, going faster than Kathryn had ever imagined they could. Looking around for a motel, she could tell that she looked out of place. People would stare at her as she walked by, some would ask if she was lost or if she needed help, but she would shrug them off saying that she was fine. 

She soon found a cheap place to stay the night. The man at the front desk looked like he was on drugs and the place smelled like cheap alcohol. As soon as she saw the inside she turned around and almost ran out the door. A man was walking by the same time she came out the door and she bumped into him. Before looking up she apologized profusely. The man laughed and said, "It's okay, I would run out of that place too," he looked her in the eye, "you're not from around here are you." 

"No," she answered in a quiet voice, "I'm from a little town about an hour down the road." 

"Have you ever been outside of it?" he asked.

"Not exactly. We moved there when I was little but I don't remember where I was born." 

He nodded, "Why don't you come with me, I'll help you find a place better than this dump to stay." 

Kathryn was skeptical, "Okay," but she hesitated to follow when the man started walking. 

He turned around, noticing she was not following, and assured, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," he laughed a little. Her face turned a little red and she walked toward him. They traveled down the street. He asked, "What's your name?"

Pondering whether or not she should give him her real name or not, she took a second to answer him. Eventually she replied, "Kathryn, what's yours?" 

"Charles. You have a pretty name."

She blushed, "Thank you." She began to study this man. He was tall and handsome, his brown hair was cut short and his blue eyes shined, even in the dark of the night. He began asking her questions, making small talk, asking her where she was headed, why she was walking, and how old she is. She replied with, "I'm going anywhere, I don't have a car, and I'm 20 years old." 

"You're going all by yourself? That sounds risky."

"Well, I don't really have much of an option," then she told him a little lie, "My parents left and gave me everything, only the town I lived in was old and dirty, I needed something else, so I left." 

They were walking for what seamed like a while when they finally reached a motel that looked acceptable. Kathryn thanked him and Charles bid her goodbye as she walked in the door, then he walked back the way they came.

A Mysterious Key

Alice tried to remember who had given her the key. It sat on her dining room table, she sat and stared at it, questioning its existence. She found it in her pocket when she got home from work. It had been a rather unusual day...

Waking up at 6:30 AM, Alice turned off her alarm clock. She looked over at her dog, who was standing in the doorway, wagging his tail. When she put her head back on the pillow the dog ran up and jumped on her, like he did every morning. She got up to feed him, "Okay, Max. Let's go," she started walking upstairs as Max sprinted in front of her to the back door. She followed him outside. After starting the coffee maker she showered and got dressed.

There's no key in my pocket, I must have gotten it at work. Let's see, it started off like this...

"Hey, Alice!" shouted a voice far behind her, she barely heard it, and turned around. "Alice!" the voice said again, she looked around, a tall man was waving his arms. It was her best-work-friend, Charles; he waved her over. She pushed her way through the crowd, she felt like a fish swimming upstream.

When she finally reached Charles, Alice asked, "Yes?"

"The boss-man wanted to talk to you." he replied nodding upwards, towards her office, "it didn't look good, you better go now."

Alice sighed, "Okay, do you know what he wants?"

"Just to see you, and he's impatient."

"Okay, see you later, maybe," she smiled and walked into the open elevator behind Charles; the doors closed and opened again on every floor. Alice was tired of the ever present ding when the doors open by the time she reached the seventh floor. She walked down the long hallway and opened the door that read The Daily News with Gloria Gunderson and Michael Meyers.

The receptionist, Clara, said, "Good morning Alice, Mr. Montgomery wants to speak with out as soon as possible."

Alice smiled, "Okay," and headed up to the largest office on the floor. Before she reached the glass walls of Troy Montgomery's office, she took a deep breath, this couldn't be good. She gathered her strength and walked over to the glass door. As she knocked he looked up from his computer and waved her in.

He was a young man, at 32, the youngest person to run The Daily News. He had short blond hair and blue eyes, his suit was neat and his tie was straight, he looked way too put together. "Take a seat," he offered. Alice sat in the left chair, diagonal her boss. "You've been working here for a year now, correct?"

"Yes, sir." Alice replied.

"You've never had a promotion either, right?"

"No, sir."

"Does that bother you?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"No, sir. I didn't expect one very early." she answered, confused about where this conversation was headed.

"That's good. It's bad to expect so much. How would you feel about one now?" his stern face broke and Alice saw a little grin.

"A promotion?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, a promotion."

Alice couldn't find the words to say what she wanted, so she sat there with the biggest smile on her face.

"I'll take take that as a yes." concluded Mr. Montgomery, "Instead of writing stories for the website, you are now in charge of celebrity guests. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Celebrity guests? Of course I can handle that," she almost yelled with excitement.

"Excellent. Pack up your desk, for this job, you get your own office."

Alice's eyes got wide, her mouth hung open a little, this was her first promotion and her first office, she couldn't believe it.

Her boss laughed as he stood up, "Come, I'll show you to your new desk." Alice stood up quickly and gathered herself. It was time to be professional.

Still no key. Where did I get it?

Alice sat down in her new office, he desk all set up the way she liked it, her new computer on, and her phone dinged. A text from her mom congratulating her on her promotion. Charles burst through the closed door. He had a huge smile on his face as he ran around her desk, he gave her a gigantic hug before she could react. "Congratulations!" he yelled in her ear.

Nope. Not where I got it.

Mr. Montgomery walked into her office and Alice looked up. "Your first assignment is here. Walk with me," he turned back around and walked out the door.

Alice was caught off guard and collected herself quickly. She stood up and walked out the door. She half jogged half-walked to catch up to her boss. "What is it?" she asked.

"Not what, who," he turned into the only room without glass walls and held out his hand, his way of pointing, to Lucas Levi; who was sitting at the big table. Lucas Levi was Alice's all time favorite actor. He stared in her favorite TV show and was in her favorite movie. She tried her best to stifle her growing need to fan-girl, so she stood there with a dumb grin on her face while Mr. Montgomery introduced them. "Lucas, this is the new Celebrity Manager Alice. She will be making sure you get whatever you need to make your visit as comfortable as possible," he turned to her, "Alice, say hello."

Alice snapped out of her trance and said sheepishly, "Hello, it's nice to meet you," suddenly she had a huge, dorky smile on her face.

Lucas' voice, what Alice described what silk sounds like, said, "Hi, it's nice to meet you too," then he stuck out his hand to shake her's, she stared at it for a second and then remember what to do.

"You'll have to excuse her," said Mr. Montgomery, "this is her first day and you're probably the first famous person she's met."

"That's okay," Lucas laughed, "I remember the first time I met an actor, it was the best day of my life."

"Alice," Mr. Montgomery handed her the file that was sitting on the table, "it's time for you to show Mr. Levi to his dressing room. Everything you need to know is in here."

She took the file and opened it, the first thing she looked for was his dressing room, when she found it, she took a second to gather her thoughts and announced professionally, "Okay, this way please," Lucas stood up and they walked out the door.

Alice led Lucas down the hallway and around the corner. He spoke, "You look nervous, you don't have to be, people tell me how easy I am to talk to."

Alice opened up a little and they talked for a couple minutes until they reached Lucas' dressing room. She told him that if he needed anything he could call her office, and she set her business card on his desk.

This is ridiculous. Still not a sign of any key.

She didn't hear anything from Lucas all morning. An hour before it was time for him to appear on The Daily News Alice walked to his dressing room and brought him to sound check. While walking he handed her something.

What was it? It must be the key! But what's it for? What did he say?!

"Here," he said to Alice, handing her the key, "when I leave, go into my dressing room and open the box on the desk," Alice took the key hesitantly, she was confused and Lucas could tell. He reassured, "It'll make sense when you open it," and she stuck it in her pocket.

"That's it!" Alice exclaimed at her dining room table. She jumped up, snatched the key, and ran out the door. She reached Lucas' dressing room just before the cleaners did. Sure enough there was a box on the desk, it was really more of an old fashioned treasure chest. She took the key out of her pocket and stuck it into the lock. Opening the lid and seeing what was inside brought a tear to her eye...

They had nothing to say to each other

They had nothing to say to each other. The two 6 year old boys sat in little chairs facing each other in the small living room; which was a mess. Kevin and Artie received a huge lecture about how fighting was wrong from their mother, who was standing over them, waiting for the two to apologize.

            I couldn’t help it though, thought Kevin, he took my favorite truck. I had to beat him up! Kevin was the oldest of the twins, and by his standards, the cutest, which gave him a big ego. Artie disagreed though, He thinks he so much better than me because he’s older! I just wanted to play with his truck but he wouldn’t let me!

            “Come on boys, apologize!” their mother demanded.

            They stared at their feet, unwilling to say anything. Their mother then commanded them to stand up, she turned their chairs around to face opposite walls and said, “Now, you both can sit there until you are ready to apologize,” the boys sat down and she walked into the kitchen. They crossed their arms, refusing defeat. 

Cinderella

Cinderella's step sisters were giddy with excitement when the prince was at their door. He wanted them to try on the glass slipper that his assistant carried on a red plush pillow. If the shoe fit, the handsome prince would take the lucky girl to his castle and marry her. They screamed with anticipation to see if it would fit their rather large feet. Drizella went first. She sat down in a chair and lifted up her skirt just enough for the prince to see her hideous feet. She rarely washed them as they stank miserably.

Prince Charming winced as the stench reached his nose. Drizella was smiling idiotically and Anastasia stood off to the side, smirking, knowing that her sister's huge feet would never fit in shoe that small.

Cinderella was peeking out from around a door, she saw the prince, and remembering the events of the night before, she wanted to run up to him and say, "It's me! I'm the girl you're looking for!" and throw her arms around his neck as he kissed her passionately. But who was she kidding? She was the stepsister/servant of Drizella and Anastasia and the stepdaughter of Lady Tremaine. He rags had rips in them and she looked nothing like she did the night before. Prince Charming wouldn't give her the time of day. He would take one look at her and say, "Why does anyone like that even exist?" She thought it better to stay behind the wall and watch.

Everyone's breath was held as Prince Charming slid the shoe onto Drizella's foot, only her heel fit; she curled her toes, making them as small as possible, but her foot was simply too big. The prince sighed with relief and pulled the shoe away from the stinky ankle attachment. Drizella cried with disappointment, "NO! It'll fit! Try again!" she grabbed the shoe from Prince Charming and stuck her toes in first, slamming her foot to the floor, trying to shove her obnoxiously huge foot into the tiny shoe. The prince's assistant ran up behind Drizella, grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her away from the shoe. She screamed so loud the ears of every one on the street rang. Lady Tremaine said sternly, "Drizella, control yourself!" she turned to her other daughter, "Anastasia, your turn." 

Anastasia glided over to the chair her sister had recently vacated. She sat down with an elegance suitable for a princess. She smiled at Prince Charming, who grabbed the slipper off the floor. 

Cinderella had grown anxious behind the door. Watching Drizella make a fool of herself, she decided that if the shoe didn't fit Anastasia, she would go out and meet the prince. She hoped it would fit her sister only because she didn't want to have to face the man she loved and explain why she was the servant of the worst family in town.

Prince Charming gently took hold of her ankle and slid her toes into the glass slipper. They were all amazed when her heel slid perfectly into place. They all sat and stared at her foot for a moment, processing the fact that the prince had just found the girl he was looking for. Or at least he thought he did. Anastasia and her mother yelped with glee as she jumped up from the chair, showing off her shoe. Drizella, who was standing off to the side next to the princes' assistant, screamed, "NO! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME!" and she fell to the floor like a pile of dirty laundry and wept. Cinderella's eyes teared up, this was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to waltz in after the shoe was too small for both of her sisters, just before the prince left, put on the shoe and have everyone see that it was her that the prince had met at the ball.

The prince stood up, still stunned that a girl with a personality like that could be the girl that he fell in love with at the ball. Anastasia threw her arms around Prince Charming and kissed his frozen face. The assistant stood by the pile of Drizella and smiled brightly, he was just happy he didn't have to go to any more houses filled with girls that would do anything to get their foot into a shoe too small for them.

The prince took a step back and Anastasia stood confused. He said, "No, there's no way YOU are the girl I met last night!" she asked confused, "Why not? My foot fits perfectly!" he replied, "Your personality is all wrong! The girl I met last night was incredibly nice, humble, and shy. She had beautiful blond hair, not red! And she had the face of an angel, not the result of inbreeding! I have been tricked!" He turned to his assistant angrily and added, "Come, we must go to the next house!" Cinderella couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. She stepped out of the door as her sister and stepmother cried out in anguish. "Wait!" Cinderella shouted, the prince turned around, "you haven't put the shoe on me yet."

Prince Charming laughed, "and I'm sure your foot will fit, just like all the other girls say. Goodbye," he and his assistant walked out the door; Cinderella stood in her rags as a tear fell from her eye. Both her sisters were on the floor in tears and her mother comforted Anastasia. Cinderella never saw the prince again, and the prince never found his true love.

Thoughts from the Librarian

    Why is it so hard for anyone nice and social to come to the library? I mean, it's really not that hard. All they need to do is walk in and say, "Hi Miss Scott, I need to check out a book," and then we'd get to talking and what do you know? I'd have a new friend. But no, no one comes in here. 

    That's me by the way. No one. The poor librarian, Miss Scott. The days here seem to go on forever. The only kids that I see coming into the library are the awkward geeky kids that only talk to themselves. It's really quite irritating. What I really want is for someone to come in and talk to me, whether it be student or teacher. I really don't have very many friends here. I guess that makes sense though because this is only the third week of my first year teaching here. "Here" is McGraw High School located in North Idaho. The teachers here seem nice, but I have yet to get to know them, which would be so much easier if I wasn't an introvert.

    I just moved here from a slightly larger town an hour south of here, so I don't have any friends at all. Look at me, such a sad sack. But don't worry, hopefully my life will get better. I like to think it will. My regular day is wake up ridiculously early, go to school, and go home. Sometimes I'll get crazy and go to the grocery store. But something about today feels different, maybe I got enough sleep, or maybe someone slipped me some drugs; either way, today was going to be different.
    I walk into the library and as per usual the same geeky boys sat at the same boring table. I began to have doubts about today being great. Just as I thought that, a teacher walked through the door; a handsome teacher. He walks right up to me, and I lose all control of conscious thought. I'm pretty sure I look like an idiot. Do you know what he said to me? Neither do I, but I'm pretty sure he asked about signing up to reserve the computer lab today. I gestured to the list to the right of me, still daydreaming about him, the next thing I know he's walking out the door. 

    I can't believe I just did that! Why can't I just be a normal person and speak to really cute boy? It's ridiculous. I sit the whole day, minus lunch and when someone was talking to me, thinking about him. His gorgeous blue eyes, short brown hair with longish bangs, his tall stature, and his smooth voice, or at least I imagined a smooth voice. 

    I walk over to the fiction section to the left of the front desk, eyeing the books. All of a sudden, last period of the day, thirty students shuffle noisily through the front door, talking and laughing loudly. Last through the portal to the real world (which is what I call the door) comes that same teacher. He kind of awkwardly shuffles through his messy folder and pulls out a stack of papers.

    "Okay guys, I'm going to pass out your assignment, follow the directions exactly, I will not answer questions so if you have one, ask the person next to you. But remember, this is a library, and we don't want to heart the book ears," he says. This last statement really catches my attention. 

    On my way back to my desk I glance at the computer lab schedule, and what do you know? there's a name in the seventh period slot. Mr. Cain. So that's his name! I had to get to know him so looking at his hands already tells me he's single, or at least not married, which is good for me. He starts humming a song I don't know. In an effort to make it look like I'm not staring I sit down at my computer and open to Facebook, plug in my headphones, and turn on some music, it's not like I have anything better to do. 

     Oblivious to me, he walks over to the front desk while I'm mouthing the words to my favorite song. Out of the corner of my eye I see him leaning on the chest high table, elbow on the wood and face resting on hand. He clears his throat and I look up, startled. As my face turns bright red I pull out my ear-buds.

     He says, "Hi, I'm Luke," and he extends the hand he was leaning on.

     I shake it and say awkwardly, "I'm Jane."

     "Well it's nice to finally meet you, this morning you seemed..."

     "Out of it? Yeah, crazy morning," I really didn't want him to know I was day dreaming about him. 

     He laughs, "yeah, out of it. I'm the choir teacher, by the way." 

     "Oh, I guessed that; I saw these kids in the back to school concert."

     "Yes, well we will get better, I promise," he smiled to reveal his beautiful slightly crooked teeth.
     "Oh, they really weren't that bad," again I smiled, not knowing what else to say. You see, I get awkward around boys that I'm not related to, especially cute ones.
     He laughed, "You don't have so kind. They were horrific," he said that just loud enough that the students in the row of computers closest to the desk overheard.
     One of them remarked, "Hey! we really weren't that bad!"
     Mr. Cain replied, "You weren't bad for the first concert of the year, but you WILL get better." 

Pirates 2: The Confrontation

    It was hard to believe that it was only six short months ago that Adam and Jenny left England and arrived in America. They had gotten a small cabin in the woods just outside New York City. On their way there they had spent three months together in a small room. Love was bound to happen, and it did, only Jenny didn't feel the same way. She just wanted to be friends and focus on the next couple years. Adam's feelings, however, did not go away. He has been in love with her for the past five months, and that wasn't going to go away any time soon. Adam hoped and hoped Jenny would come to see how much he cared for her, and eventually care for him the same way; for now Adam was forced to hide his feelings, and treat her like a sister, as that's what everyone thought they were.

    They both knew that it was only a matter of time before Captain Rogers and The Scavengers found them. Adam had been formulating a plan in case they did find them. He had created a "go bag" that they could grab along with some clothes in the event they had been found.

    Today was especially worrisome because a boat was arriving from England in the morning, and Adam knew there might be a pirate ship not far behind. The go bag was ready by the door just in case. 

    Jenny had gotten a job at a local seamstress shop. She was learning to make dresses, and consequently, there were many crudely sown dresses laying around the cabin. Many of them were missing arm holes or having holes where they should not be. Adam was worried she would never be good. 

    He walked into town that morning after breakfast, headed to his job. He conveniently got a job working at the harbor, this way he would know when another group of people would arrive from England. He also heard all of the gossip from boat captains. Adam learned there was an unidentified pirate looking ship headed here, the reason way the long time residence of America hated the British, and how to properly load and unload boxes from a ship. He just arrived at the docks when he overheard some crew from a docked shop talking about the British ship arriving that day. They were saying someone said they saw it being attacked by pirates the day before; when they saw it they raced back here to warn everyone. Seeing as how they were an unarmed shipping vessel, they would have been of no help. The ship, badly damaged. was easily seen now, headed to the third row of docks.The sails had cuts and holes in it, the deck was destroyed and blood was splattered on the wood. Because of the damaged sails, the crew, and probably some passengers were rowing the large ship with oars below deck. No one was standing on the top deck, waving and staring bright eyed at their new home; in fact, the only man anyone could see was the captain, who was steering the massive broken vessel. 

    The people at the dock stood in awe, mouths open, at the mutilated ship. Adam, however, was more interested in the what, if anything, came after. He was staring past, trying to make out the distant figure through the fog, trying to discern whether or not his eyes were playing tricks on him. In minutes the figure became a ship. Adam recognized the ship to be the unmistakable pirate ship that he used to pillage on. He ran of the dock, toward his home. He ran through town knocking into people, pushing, shoving, and shouting. He jumped over barrels, wagons, and any other obstacle that was in his way. Throughout the town, people yelled at him as he pushed through.

    Once he reached the cabin, he grabbed the go bag, some more food, and ran to his bedroom for clothes. Jenny ran in the door, having heard Adam digging through his closet, she ran into his room, at the door she exclaimed, "Adam!" out of breath she stammered, "did you see?"

    "Yes, now go grab some clothes. 

    She ran to her room and flung open her closet doors. She started grabbing and cramming clothes into a small bag that she grabbed off the top shelf of the closet. Adam ran into her room, and nagged, "We need to go, NOW!" 

    She finished shoving clothes into the bag and quickly walked into the kitchen, confused and out of breath. "Did you know this was going to happen?" she asked him, as he put his jacket in a suitcase.

    "I suspected it might, why?"

    "You were all ready for it. You knew exactly what to do. And the means you anticipated this."

    "And?..." Adam was confused about the significance of this conversation, "you can't tell me you didn't at least wonder if they would ever find us."

    "I preferred not to think about it."

    Adam stuffed Jenny's coat into the suitcase as well and handed the lighter one to her, "Well luckily I did. So let's go. We have a long journey ahead of us." 

    They walked as calmly as they could out the front door. This was the last time they would ever see their home again.

*****

    The town was in chaos. People were running ans screaming; the items people carried scattered the ground. Groceries, clothes, and papers lay waiting to be trampled on. 

    The pandemonium seamed to be emanating from the docks. They both knew why. one of there friends came running by, she stopped and said in horror, "There's pirates, MURDERING people on the dock!" 

    "What?" Jenny was surprised; she thought that they would just come looking for Adam; their friend ran r away with a face of horror.