My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie Her blue pen fell out of her backpack with a clatter, and before she could stoop down to pick it up, someone else had retrieved it. Nikki looked up to see Amanda smiling down at her, holding out the slightly chewed writing utensil. It amazed her that this gorgeous goliath of a girl could be so eye-catching in any outfit. Today, Amanda was in torn up denim jeans, a baggy T-shirt, and a leather jacket with a the local baseball team's logo on it. Her hair, free from its usual ponytail when she played soccer, was draped across her left shoulder. "Thanks," Nikki murmured, taking the pen from Amanda and smiling nervously. Amanda smiled back and began walking with her to the parking lot. It had been a couple of days since Nikki had coordinated the silly string and whipped cream prank against Connor, and although he had sworn ultimate vengeance against her, the worst he had done was scowl and send her the bird from across the quad at lunch and break times....

"You got the goods?" asked the masked man. "Yeah, I've got the goods. You got the money?" "Yep," growled the masked man. "But I want to see it first." It was in bags, in suitcases, in boxes, and in crates. Bundles upon bundles of green printed bills, with scowling Jacksons and smarmy Franklins and gruff Grants. The masked man wanted to count the money gleefully, but he knew that would take too much time. He set down his own bag and sighed.

It has been a roller coaster of a week. The beginning was not so great, with news that my student loan deferment had been removed and a trip to the clinic for a tetanus shot after stepping on broken glass. The middle was uneventful, which is better than bad, in any case. Today, for the most part, was all right. I have been working toward a specific second job and they seem to like me, though I'm not sure how many more times I will be asked to come in before anything happens. Fingers crossed that I'll manage to snag something. Tonight was a doozy. I have opinions about it that I will mostly keep to myself, for the sake of maintaining privacy. Let's just say I realized some things: That one, I don't really have a friend I would really consider extremely close to me, save for my fiancée and my sister. Don't get me wrong, I have friends I adore and talk to and love being around, but I have never really had a best friend who isn't A. related to me or B. engaged to ...

Alternative Transportation by Belinda Roddie Why drive a car when you can ride a goat?

"It's no use. We'll have to close down the production." "No," I retorted, "we won't." It had been two weeks since we had begun rehearsal, and now we were in trouble with the city government. Allegedly, the space we were performing in was meant to be condemned, but I could see through this ruse. The mayor of the town, who I had refused to marry, was doing this to spite me, to foil me. I wasn't going to let anyone get in my way.

Why Aren't You Here? by Belinda Roddie Why aren't you here? It's lonely without you. I live in my tiny office now. There, although I have a lovely city view, I feel like I'm lost in a dark nowhere. It's been six months since I last saw your face, and two months since I visited your grave. Occasionally, I walk to the place where we first met. I have our pictures saved and printed in scrapbooks I keep beside the couch that now serves as my bed. I hear the phone ring. I know my mother has cried as much as I have. Why are you not here? I don't care how death works. I want you to return to me so I can marry you.

Again, no OneWord update on the site. Got a bit of an every other day pattern going on this week. Oh, well!