the next dance

by bofa xesjum

the street cried out for love but the dance instructor hated life. the dance instructor who hated life headed for the next exit. besides life, the dance instructor hated the car they were driving. it started to rain on the man. death watched from a cloud. and laughed at the man walking in the rain. who had once loved a woman. life waited at the exit as the cloud passed over a woman it was just another rainy day a day in somebody’s life i would hate to think it is all a big joke. the woman looked back down the street. as the cloud passed over the exit and the driver stopped the car , and asked, want to learn to dance?

in the night, part 2

by nick nelson

part 2 of 2

bradley johanson woke up. he looked up at the ceiling and thought, something really good is going to happen to me today. bradley was born in carthage missouri in the early years of the 21st century. he was the only child of judy, a single mother who was herself the only child of a single mother, janelle, who was one of the few survivors of a small community in north dakota described by local media as a “cult”, most of whose other members had died of a mysterious illness which spread through them during a severe winter. bradley was an awkward child who did not make friends and was devoted to his mother and grandmother and wanted to make them proud of him. he did poorly in school. judy tried to help him with his homework but was not very effective at it. when he was not in school or trying to do his homework, bradley watched television - network television, as the small family could not afford cable. he did not care much for the religious shows judy and janelle watched - although he never complained when they were on - and liked the movies occasionally screened, especially the wizard of oz, and star wars and srar trek movies. bradley daydreamed of writing screenplays for such movies and making large amounts of money, but had no clear idea about how to go about doing so. judy and janelle died within three months of each other. bradley left high school without graduating and found work as an uber driver. on an impulse, he moved to a larger city closer to a coast, and continued with uber in his new surroundings. on the day bradley woke up and felt something really good as going to happen to him, he put in an uneventful day of driving, and when the sun went down he made his way to a small burger king a block from his apartment. it was more crowded than usual, but he found a small unoccupied table for two by the window and sat down at it with his bacon cheeseburger and fries and iced tea. ll an ordinary looking white man about his own age, whom bradley thought looked familiar but whom he had never spoken to, appeared. mind if i sit here? it is kind of crowded. no, go ahead. the man sat down with his spicy crispy chicken sandwich and lemonade. neither of them spoke, but looked out the window as they ate and night completed its fall. bradley finished his bacon cheeseburger and tossed half his fries in the trash along with his wrapper and paper cup and and then left and went home to his apartment. it was eight thirty. the day had three and a half hours left. he had forgotten his feeling in the morning that something really good was going to happen to him. bradley watched “smooth jazz for lovers” for two hours on you tube and went to bed and fell asleep immediately. * when the guy he thought looked a little bit like himself was gone, pete took his time finishing his spicy crispy chicken sandwich. then he got up and left, leaving his tray and wrapper and naokins and paper cup on the table. it was a little before nine o’clock. he would have liked to go to a strip club, but decided to save his money and go to a sports bar on the next block instead. he did not see anybody in the sports bar he knew. he took a seat at the bar in front of a big screen showing a baseball game between the los angeles angels and the los angeles dodgers, with ohtani pitching against clayton kershaw. the dodgers knocked ohtani ot of the game and went ahead by six runs in the fifth inning. pete was not a fan of either team, and he had not bet on the game and now it was too late. he suddenly remembered getting up in the morning and feeling something terrible was going to happen to him. he had totally forgotten about it during the day when he was driving around. there was an hour and forty five minutes left in the day. what could happen? the sandwich at burger king had not really filled him up. he was trying to lose weight, but the food at the bar was not half bad as long as you made safe choices. he ordered a cheeseburger.

in the night, part 1

by nick nelson

part 1 of 2

pete fothergill woke up. he got up and looked out the window and thought, something terrible is going to happen to me today. he got dressed and went to work. despite his forebodings, the sun was shining pete was born in paris pennsylvania in one of the last years of the 20th century. he had an older brother and a younger sister. when he was seven years his parents split up and pete and his brother moved with their father to san somewhere in california where his father got a job as a gardener. pete did not like school. he went out for the baseball and soccer teams in high school. he did not make the soccer team. he made the baseball team but did not play much. his brother jeff made the football team, and jeff relentlessly made fun of pete for playing girly sports. too bad the school don’t have a softball team for guys. maybe they have one at the y. jeff loved playing football, but did not much care if the team won or lost, as long as he got some licks in. pete fell in love with a girl named charlotte zebrinsky. charlotte’s parents had lots of money and she was nicknamed “princess grace” by the other students and did not seem aware in any way of pete’s existence. jeff and pete drifted apart after they left school. len, their father, had always had a drinking problem and disappeared. pete married a girl a few years older than himself named vera lee whom he met online, but they broke up after four months. pete got a job as a driver for amazon, and then for a small independent delivery service run by a guy named charlie he liked working for charlie, but would have preferred being a pop star or a pro ballplayer, or winning the lottery. he bought lottery tickets every week. end of part 1

haircut

by bofa xesjum

flora decided to cut kenneth a little slack. she had become weary of his folderdol. but decided to give him one more chance. she set a trap for him outside the old hotel. larry was watching from the doorway of the abandoned subway station across the street. it started to rain and larry took the racing form out of his pocket. suddenly he felt hungry, and decided to go down the street and get himself a burger and fries. flora was left alone to wait for kenneth. kenneth, her knight in shining armor from another universe. until he showed his true colors under cover of darkness all he had to do was row his little boat through the deluge. but some people never know when they are well off. or know what hit them. when it finally does. a knight has to polish his armor on a regular basis, or it loses its shine. a curious animal crossed the road. flora did not see it, but larry would have, except for his sudden craving for the burger. but hunger is the basic fact of existence, so what are you going to do? a young man walked up the street toward the old hotel. his tortoise shell glasses had a strange incandescent shine to them. the young man walked steadily through the rain, seemingly unaware of it. some people retain their youthful enthusiasms longer than others. suddenly flora had a harbinger of foreboding. two doors down sam the barber was starting to fall asleep waiting for a customer to show up. sam had had a hard life. sam was descended from a long line of mighty barbarians. who had stormed many a castle in the sky in their glory days. the curious animal wandered down the alley between the hotel and jake’s smoke shop. a man wearing a brown hat approached the hotel, but he was not kenneth. nor was he a mighty barbarian. he walked past sam’s shop, as he was not thinking of getting his hair cut. the rain stopped. but started again three hours later.

eve

by bofa xesjum

the joke was a victory… oliver lived in a sewer. in his previous life he had been an understanding person. now he decided to hit the road. it was really funny. oliver saw evangeline standing on the highway with her thumb out. as the recreational vehicle approached, oliver made a curious sound. permit me to introduce myself, oliver addressed evangeline. you scare me, you slob, evangeline replied. suddenly a yellow cab appeared in the distance. oliver and evangeline watched breathlessly as it zoomed toward them. and then a gorilla appeared in the sky. does that gorilla belong to you? oliver asked evangeline. no, but i have worshipped him from afar from the day i was born, evangeline replied. i guess that is all right then. but the fun was just beginning. later, when it was over, evangeline and the gorilla walked down the strangely quiet road, evangeline had shortened her name to eve. the gorilla’s name was nelson. not a creature stirred in the forest on the left side of the road. at last they came to an abandoned gas station and diner. we have been here before, said nelson everybody has been everywhere before, eve replied brusquely. have it your way. do you think we could find anything to eat or drink in there? not likely, and dawn is approaching. i am going to investigate. you can go on and i will catch you later. good bye. the sun came up very quickly. but a fine mist covered the earth as eve continued on, talking to herself in the way that she had.

gary warner and ted rogers

by nick nelson

gary warner was walking down the street when he was approached by a young woman wielding a red phone. excuse me, the young woman asked gary, can i ask you a few questions? maybe. do you know a man named ted rogers? that is a pretty common name. this ted rogers wears a man bun and was on the wilson high basketball team but did not play much and is a big warriors and steph curry fan. oh yeah, i know that guy. do you know him well? he is not my best friend but i know him. do you mind answering a few questions about him? if they don’t take too long. on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate ted rogers as a person generally, 1 being poor and 10 being excellent? um - a 4. how would you rate him as a possible president of the united states? a 5. as the leader of a platoon stranded in the jungles of mars? there aren’t any jungles on mars. in a jungle on the fourth planet of the andromeda galaxy? a 3. how would you rate him as a deadly assassin, assuming he was properly trained? 3.5. how would you rate ted rogers as a husband and father? i did not know he was married or had any kids. he has been married to the same woman for six years and has two kids. wow, he sounds like a real family man, i will give him a 6 - make it a 7. how would you rate him on looks? he was kind of an ugly bastard, i will give him a 2. how would you rate him on racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia? um - i do not know him well enough to say. i do not recall discussing any of those things with him. thank you vey much, you have been very helpful. you are welcome. gary left the young woman entering some notes on her phone, and continued down the street to the parking garage. suddenly it hit him. somebody somewhere might be asking questions like that - or even worse - about him, gary warner! it made him stop and think. but - what could he do about it?

the little star

by wiggly jones "the little hippie boy"

a little star was wandering through a universe. it came upon a big planet. i wonder if that fellow is friendly, the little star wondered. i will shine my light on it. but the big planet did not appreciate the little star’s light. what do you think you are doing, punk? it growled. get lost the little star went on its way, leaving the big planet in darkness.

the road

by nick nelson

cecily woke up. richard was standing at the window, looking out at the night. what are you doing, richard? cecily asked. thinking. about anything in particular? go back to bed. you have a big day tomorrow, remember? i remember only too well. that is why i have made up my mind. oh? cecily rubbed her eyes. made up your mind to do what? to leave all this behind. what? you mean you are going to kill yourself? go back to bed. no, i mean it. i am going to take to the road, leave all this behind. oh for god’s sake, have you been having those dreams again? did you take your pills? there is something i have to tell you. you forgot to take your pills. there is a woman - her name is yolanda. a real woman.with fire and ice in her veins and she was born for love. she has never been to a parent teacher meeting. she has never played golf or saved the earth. i am going to her. if you took your pills you wouldn’t have these fantasies. i am leaving. i will take the car, and the gas in it, and one suitcase, and one credit card. you can have everything else. including the bills. i guess. you ‘ll manage. the bills for jonathon and ella’s college training. i’ll try to send you something if i can. i will write a note to jeff parkman. go back to bed, richard. if you don’t want to take your pill now, make sure you take one tomorrow. cecily rolled over and put her face in her pillow. richard left the room and went downstairs without turning any lights on. there was a small suitcase in the back of the hall closet and he collected it and a coat and went outside and got in his car and started it. of course there was no yolanda, but everything else he had told cecily was true. he was leaving with just the suitcase and one almost maxed out credit card. and no pills. into the night. into the unknown. wherever fate and the road would take him. it was the year 2020. how far will he get?