My Cardboard Balcony

The Lovely Snitch by Belinda Roddie Little Miss Terry is a lovely snitch - some call her an angel, others call her a bitch. So don't do anything remotely wrong, or she'll tattle about it all day and night long. She told on Nancy for breaking a bowl and on Jerry for tossing her doll in a hole. She told on a teacher for smoking a joint and when Gregory cussed, she did not disappoint. She told on a parent for smacking the flank of my mischievous classmate, notorious Hank. She'll tell on everyone in the whole school soon. She'll tell on me and she'll tell on you. Now, I do not like it, nor do I adore it, but all the same, I can't hate her for it.

The hinges of the door had gone from silver to brown to deep, deep gray, as the wooden splinters dripped with sap and rain from the night's storm. A few paces away, where the water did not touch the floor or windows, an old man sat in an easy chair, watching a VHS tape over and over again. It boasted bright colors - blues and whites and yellows - and he smiled as the bride went down the aisle again...and again...and again.