My Cardboard Balcony

"I'm sorry, Ms. Havenaugh," Mayor Richards murmured. "Given the scope of the budget required to revive the theater, I'm afraid we just don't have the revenue to accommodate your needs." "So maybe you should dump the huge galas and extra benefits for your little throne, Mrs. Mayor," Chelsea replied, hands on her hips. "Have you ever considered that?" The look on the mayor's face at the thought of reducing her one percent extravaganzas was priceless.

by Belinda Roddie I poured the soup on the iron so that it would sizzle and burn into a thin, bologna-like skin for my soup sandwich. It didn't work. Anyone want to have this burnt soup? This week's prompt was provided by Daniel Bulone.

Farley had been stupid enough to let slip that Johnson had slept with his wife's brother, so Johnson's wife found a piece of loose plywood from the half-constructed deck in order to exact her physical revenge upon her husband, not knowing that in fact, Rachel had heard the news and sprung into her Jeep to drive over and save her best friend - Johnson, not his wife or his wife's brother - and Farley, of course, was senselessly banging his head against the table while his sister offered herself another glass of wine.

Things I've accomplished in 2013: - Finished an entire year's worth of AmeriCorps service - Passed both the CBEST and the CSET on the first try - Paid off an entire student loan (out of many), bringing my debt down to about twelve thousand dollars - Successfully completed a temporary job with high accolades - Moved into my own apartment with my sister and my girlfriend - Started a new job at a bookstore - Continued to contribute to this blog regularly with few delays and no missed dates - Kept in touch with close friends, present and past - Maintained close relationships with my family while gaining financial independence Things I need to accomplish now in 2014: - Apply for single subject teaching credential programs - Find more opportunities to further supplement my income - Be more productive in terms of publication opportunities - Complete (or at least continue) my third novel - Begin collaborating on projects for a freelance production group with my sister...

"Caramel Kisses" is an unfinished novel I began to write back in 2009 and stopped working on in 2010. The two main characters - Adriana Maguire Reynard and Emma Burking - would ultimately be revised for my later completed novella, "The Liffey Is Half-Asleep," in 2011. Several elements of "Liffey" can be found in their original forms in "Caramel Kisses," such as the characters' names, the haiku scene, and Adriana's penchant for writing. This chapter, in particular, also originally had the Amaretto dialogue that was later used in my one-act play, "Enjoy." Because of its influence on my later writing, I figured that this story, though incomplete, was worth sharing. Caramel Kisses: Chapter Seven by Belinda Roddie I had been with women before, but I hadn’t really loved them. Emma had opened up a new doorway in me, entering a dusty attic where she only had to remove the cobwebs and she could make it good as new. But she was not t...

"I didn't know we hired a sniper." "Yep. Codename's 'Patch,' but last name is Holmes. Boss tried calling her 'Homie' and nearly got a bullet between his teeth." "Yikes. She got a temper?" "No more of a temper than the insurgents." He passed me a knob of tobacco and watched me pop it into my mouth. "Best not to put down her strengths." "Right," I mumbled in between chews, "as long as she can shoot."

The Adolescent New Year by Belinda Roddie The adolescent New Year got into the remaining crate of beer that his dad had left behind after fading into the ether of yesteryear. Knowing that his time was fleeting, he drank underage, belched loudly at the thought of his long, long ancestry, and debated whether or not he wanted to punch February in the face while the other startled months watched, waiting for their turn to shine again. At least they got to keep living each year and simply have a break - no, the New Year had to age quickly and die just as fast, the shrapnel of a wasting planet's past.