BA Today Show – June 28, 2012

Sam walked up the stairs of his apartment and unlocked his door. As he turned around to shut the door and lock it he soon realized what he did. He quickly looked over at the clock he had hung on the wall. It wasn’t late enough or dark enough that the streets would be clear. He quickly moved to his bedroom and peaked out through the holes in the tarps that were still hung up to cover the windows. He looked down the street and noticed two guys get out of a car and cross the street. After they crossed the street both of them pulled out smaller hand guns. Sam cussed to himself. After he saw them pull out their guns he quickly ran to the empty bedroom and opened the window. He was about to climb out when he realized that he probably wouldn’t be able to return. The cops would continue to surveillance his place and he might not be able to sneak back inside again. Sam heard a banging on the outside door on the ground level. He quickly but quietly walked back to make sure he had locked his inside door. He heard one of the men yell that they were the police and they had a few questions for him. There was a small opening in the ceiling where a piece of the ceiling could be moved to gain access to the attic. It was right below his upstairs door. Sam pulled over a chair to slide the ceiling piece so that there was an opening. Sam had kept everything of value and importance up here. If a person hadn’t lived here before it was very rare that anyone would notice the small opening. Sam quickly went to his bedroom and grabbed a book bag. He went into his office and tossed in his laptop. He moved back to the kitchen area and placed the chair back next to the table. He heard the men at the bottom of the steps attempting to break the door down. Sam took a running start and leaped off the wall and up towards the ceiling. He grabbed the ledges opening and steadied himself before pulling himself up. He managed to close the ceiling piece back in place before the two cops broke down his inside door. There was nothing left but for Sam to be quiet and listen.
Sam heard the two men go through his place and clear each room. One of the cops saw that the back window was opened and he said over the radio that the place was clear and nobody was here. Once they didn’t see anyone running down the alleyways the two cops considered this a failed effort. Sam overheard the two of them saying things like: “this place was trashed, do you think there are people after him? Do you think he’ll come back?” Sam himself wondered how they knew to look for him or anyone at this area. It grew quiet for a while and it sounded like the two men had left but Sam knew that they hadn’t and was afraid they might have found his location. He nerves were calmed as one of them said something about the papers he used to have on the walls which were now thrown all over the room. The other officer then stated he was going to check out the bathroom. Sam knew this was his opening. In the attic Sam kept a safe with important documents, a black bag full of cash, a container that held a few small guns, and other random things that were significance to him and that were significant to pulling off his cons. Sam had already pulled out one of his guns and was loading it up as he heard the man approach the bathroom. He grabbed a ski mask and put it on his head. He also grabbed another one and placed it in his front pocket. Sam was still wearing his suit from the funeral and left the jacket in the attic. Once the cop was in the bathroom Sam opened the ceiling piece and quietly fell from the attic to the floor. He knew he wasn’t in the best location being in between both men but Sam decided he was going to go after the cop that entered his bathroom and at worst the bathroom was across from the empty room and Sam could make a run for it. Sam quietly followed in the direction towards his bathroom. Sam was lucky enough that the cop had left the bathroom door open. The cop was about to lift up the back piece of the toilet when Sam cocked his gun.

“Don’t move.” Sam said calmly. The cop stopped and had placed his hands in the air. “Put your hands on your head” the cop followed orders.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” The cop said. Sam quickly came over and took the gun from the cop’s holster.

“You’re the one who broke into my place. I have the right to protect myself.” Sam said. “Now turn around” the cop followed orders. He threw his other ski mask on the floor. “Reach down and grab that mask. Slowly.” Sam was a step inside the bathroom door. The cop grabbed the mask. “Now I need you to put that on backwards” The cop slowly followed these instructions. “Turn around and face the wall with your hands up.” Sam paused as he followed his instructions. “Now I need you to reach for your handcuffs and put them on behind your back where I can see them.” The cop slowly followed these instructions.

“You find anything?” The cop yelled from the other room.

“Don’t answer.” Sam said and came closer to the man and made sure the handcuffs were tight and locked in. “Follow my lead and you won’t get killed. Don’t speak.” Sam led the man out of the bathroom and down the hallway. Before he could enter the room where the cop was the cop entered through the door and to the hallway. He quickly raised his gun. Sam made sure to stand behind his hostage.

“Put the gun down and let the man go. We are police officers.” The second cop pulled out his badge and showed it to Sam.

“Unload your gun and put it on the floor or else your partner is going to get a bullet in the head.” The second cop listened and followed orders. “Now slowly walk back to the room you were just in but continue to face me. “ The second cop followed orders as well. Sam grabbed the second pair of handcuffs his hostage cop was holding on his belt. He tossed it to the other cop and instructed him to handcuff himself in the front where he could see it. Then he told the second cop to get on his knees and Sam walked the hostage cop over next to that cop and told him to get on his knees as well. After both cops were handcuffed and on their knees Sam proceeded to bash the back of their heads once so that they’d pass out. He grabbed a pair of handcuffs the unmasked officer had and handcuffed the handcuffs together. Sam was fortunate enough that nobody was radioing these two officers. He needed some time to think.
Sam stood there for a moment trying to figure out the best plan of attack. He had some drugs to keep them sedated but he didn’t have the proper equipment to hook them up to. He didn’t want to risk either of them catching any subtle clues about him when they woke up so Sam decided he needed to make his getaway quick. He grabbed the wallets, radios, and keys from the two officers. Sam threw the wallet and keys in his book bag that he still had on his back and turned off one of the radios and tossed that inside it as well. Sam had stored an emergency getaway military bag in his attic in case he needed to leave in a hurry. It had the very minimum of stuff he needed. Two outfits worth of the most basic clothes, a few thousand dollars of money, and a gun. He went to his trash bag first that was in his kitchen and went back to the room with all of his papers. He quickly tossed everything he had in the garbage bag. He then walked it back to his back room and left it there. He grabbed the chair from his kitchen and hopped up to his attic. He grabbed all the documents from his safe, put the guns in a protective suitcase, and tied up his black bag full of money and tossed everything down on the floor. There were a few costume items laying up there as well. Sam grabbed a wig and a dress and tossed it onto the floor as well. He placed the documents, the money, the wig, and the dress in the large military bag. He made sure that the protective suitcase was locked and placed these items in the back room as well. Sam went back to the office room to make sure that the two men were still unconscious. They still were. He did a quick look around to see if there was anything he’d regret to leave and didn’t notice anything. He still had his wallet and keys in his pockets. It had gotten dark by now. Sam made sure to place the chair back next to his table as to not give away the location of his attic. He grabbed his items in the back room and headed outside on the roof. He calmly walked down the alleyway to his car and tossed everything in his passenger side. He took a quick glance back down the alley to his apartment for any signs of stirring. The lights were still off and he didn’t hear any screaming so he decided he was still in the clear. He started up his car and drove off.
The next day Sam woke up in an upper class hotel feeling like he only had gotten a couple hours of sleep. His mind was racing on what he should do next. He knew he needed to warn Charlie, Lauren, and his brother but he had destroyed his phone and threw it in a restaurants dumpster. He was afraid to call any of them on just any phone line. The night before he had parked his car across the street and checked into the hotel under a fake name. He paid with cash for two days. Sam sat at the end of his bed with a thousand thoughts running threw his mind. He knew he could just take off and disappear for a while but he wasn’t sure how that’d affect anyone he knew. He wasn’t even sure what the cops knew about him or why they were there. Sam saw a notepad and a pen at the desk in his room. He walked over and sat down at the desk. He had grown accustomed to writing everything he thought down and using that as a way to organize his thoughts. His first thing he had to do was contact Charlie. If he contacted Charlie he knew that was the same as indirectly contacting Lauren and his brother. Charlie was smart enough and calm enough to do this favor for him. The second thing he needed to do was figure out what these cops were looking into at his place. Was it something as simple as just being caught for house squatting or had he been tipped off by somebody about one of his cons. He underlined a name. Serrasi. This was the cop that he had helped before in exchange for clearing Nate’s record and he also managed to gain Amie’s medical files for him. With Sam’s help Mr. Serrasi had gained a promotion for cracking a big case. The two of them were probably even but Sam knew Mr. Serrasi might be willing to help him out if he could leverage something for him that could be of use. Sam pulled out the two wallets he took from the cops and glanced over them. The third thing he needed to do was get a background check on these two officers just in case they happened to be a dirty cop. Sam went down to lobby area and looked up the numbers he had saved on his phone through the internet. He wrote down his number and called him once he got back to his room. Sam also stopped by the small gift shop in the lobby area and bought shaving cream, a razor, and some girly sandals. He called the guy as soon as he got back and gave him the names and the addresses of the two cops and told him to rush anything he could find about them. The next part was the part he hated the most. Sam shaved all of his facial hair off. He also had to shave his chest and his armpits. He knew where he could find Sam but he also knew that it was going to be a very public place and it was going to be on the college campus. If they cops knew to look for him above the bookstore it would be of no surprise to find them hanging out on campus.

Charlie was sitting at an empty picnic table outside of the student center reviewing some notes. A girl came over wearing a green sundress and sat down at Charlie table. Charlie did nothing but glance at the person and then went back to his notes until he felt like someone was staring at him and looked back at the woman. Except that it wasn’t a woman. It was Sam wearing a blonde wig and a dress staring at Charlie until he looked back at him.

“Sam? Is that you?” Charlie questioned

“Don’t laugh. I wouldn’t be dressed like this if it wasn’t serious.” Sam said quietly. Charlie couldn’t help but snicker a little bit.

“What on earth are you doing this time?” Charlie asked with a smile.

“Just listen. Two cops broke into my place last night after I got back. I tied them up and left them there. You absolutely cannot be seen going over there. I don’t know why they were there or how they found out about me. All I can tell you is you need to stay away from there and if anyone asks about me you’ve never heard of me. Remember their names or take their cards. I’ll find a way to get a hold of you and then you can tell me about them. I also need you to tell Lauren that I’ve disconnected my phone and all the same stuff I just told you. That is the easy part. Now the hard part is I need you to contact Nate for me too. I’m not sure what they know and if it’s really bad they’ll know my real name and they’ll know that recently my brother had his record clean and has moved from a shitty apartment to living on a small boat.”

“You moved your brother onto a boat? I thought he just went back to his apartment once he paid off his rent and bills?”

“I have a friend who lives on his boat and he knew an older guy who was retired and elderly and he moved into a retirement home and sold me his boat real cheap. I moved him and Lilly in there as soon as I could to get them out of Lauren’s hair. I’ll write down the location for you to find him. I just don’t know what to tell him. He doesn’t know what I’ve been doing. He’s completely ignorant to the actual truth.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll come up with something for him.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah it’ll be good. I promise. But what are you going to do then? How are you going to figure out what they know? You going to spy on the police station?” Charlie asked.

“That’s not out of the question. I do have their ID cards but it’d be very risky using them.”

“Who says you have to use it? What if you just flaunt it?”

“What are you talking about?” Sam said with a puzzled look.

“These ID cards open doors but they also have a picture on them. What if you just replace the photo or make your own ID card and flaunt it. Play the part and ask around at the water cooler. Maybe somebody tells you something that your private investigator can’t?”

“It’s risky pretending to be someone inside of a police department.”

“I’m sure not all of the cops drink the coffee that is brewed inside their office. Just find the closest coffee shop nearby or small town diner. I’m sure if you scout one out for a while you’ll find the right officer or two to talk to.”

“Have you been reading some of the books I’ve been letting you borrow? Because you’re getting smarter” Sam said with a grin. Charlie smiled.

“Your books are more interesting than the actual books I’m supposed to be reading. That’s why I take extensive notes in class to cover up my lack of studying.”

“Well that’s all you really have to do. After a while you pick up on teachers’ tendencies and they basically hint on everything that’ll be on the test. That’s how I passed all my exams.”

“Somehow I think your skill for reading people is way more advanced than mine.”

“All you have to do is really look at something to figure it out. I have to go.” Sam said and walked away.

That night Sam had a message waiting for him on the answering machine in his room. It was his private investigator reporting that the two cops that had broken into his place were in fact clean. They also were new officers in their careers. Right away that relaxed Sam. New officers meant that his case could not be a very high priority. He also knew that as new officers they were most definitely embarrassed by the whole ordeal and probably were getting teased about it pretty bad among their other officers. Sam went to bed early that night knowing that tomorrow he had to get up early the next morning to scout out potential officers at a nearby coffee shop. His private investigator let him know which office the two guys were working out of.

“Ouch” Charlie said as he entered through the back window falling to the floor of Sam’s apartment. “Sam you here? You haven’t been answering my text or phone calls lately.” Charlie said getting to his feet. “My sister is pretty ticked off you skipped out on your date.” Charlie soon drew quiet as he walked through the empty bedroom and noticed a chaotic looking apartment. The dishes weren’t done and some plates were even smashed against the wall. Charlie stepped over the broken shards of glass and headed back towards Sam’s other rooms. He peaked in his bedroom and noticed his mattress was standing up against the wall and all the papers he had tapped to his wall were now on the floor. He looked into his office area. His printer was broken and smashed apart against one of the walls. His laptop was nowhere to be seen. All the books he had collected were scattered acrossed the room and his coffee table had been broken into two pieces. Only his small couch remained untouched. Charlie assumed this was probably where Sam fell asleep after he let all his rage out or in a worse situation this was where Sam was sleeping when somebody broke into his apartment and came after him. Charlie went back to his bedroom to re-examine the chaos. There was a tie and dress shoes sitting next to Sam’s dresser that he had never noticed before. Charlie opened up his cell phone and tried to call Sam again but it went straight to voicemail.

Charlie decided he was going to go down to the garage and hoped that the guys there knew something. They were probably the next closest things that Sam had to friends other than the few older ladies he was having affairs with. After he went down there he realized they weren’t much help. All they could tell Charlie was that Marcus would never do any jobs around this time of year. He told them he went on his vacations and it was usually with his family or with one of the ladies he was currently having sex with. One of the guys gave him a number to one of the ladies. Charlie decided he was going to call her and see if she knew anything.

“Hi, I’m Charlie. I’m one of Marcus’ friends. I was wondering if he was with you or if you knew where he was?”

“I’m sorry who is this and who are you looking for?” a younger lady sounded on the phone.

“My name is Charlie. I’m one of his friends from school. I’m sorry maybe I have the wrong number.”

“Do you mean Sam?”

“Uh… yes I do. He didn’t tell you his name was Marcus?”

“No I know who he is. He’s told me a lot of things.”

“Are you, are you Sam’s new girlfriend?”

“Oh God no. I’ve known Sam for a while now.”

“And how do you know each other? I was told you’re one of his new flames but I guess it’s not a real reliable source.”

“I’m Sam’s former counselor.”

“Former? I didn’t know he had a counselor.”

“Well he hasn’t had any sessions with me for a while now. It’s been at least two years.”

“What was he seeing you for?”

“You know I can’t discuss that. It’s all confidential.”

“Ok yeah. Well I’m trying to find him and can’t reach him. He’s not answering his phone and he’s not at his place and it’s completely trashed. Do you have any idea where he might be?”

“He trashed his place? Hold on a second let me look at something.” Charlie could hear the lady flipping through some paperwork. “Oh no.”

“What? What is it?”

“Do you know where Sam’s hometown is?”

“Yeah.”

“Try looking for him there. If he’s not at the cemetery he’s at a bar nearby.”

“There was a death in the family or something?”

“Not in the family but someone closed to him.”

“Who?”

“I really have already said too much. If you find him though tell him I’d like to start up our session again. He’s a really smart guy and I’d hate to see him waste all his potential.”

“Alright I will let him know when I see him.” Charlie hung up the phone and headed back inside the garage. “Do you think I could borrow one of your cars for a few hours?” The guy looked a little leery about it. “I’ll give you my sister’s number.” The guy smiled and tossed Charlie a set of keys.

Charlie used a navigator on his phone to find his way to Sam’s hometown. The cemetery was not something that could be looked up. He stopped by a gas station and was directed towards the location. As Charlie drove by slowly he saw Sam standing in a suit. He noticed that Sam’s beard had grown back as he walked up towards him. Sam didn’t move as Charlie approached. He was in a phase where he was locked onto something and it was staring at a grave. Charlie just stood there for a few minutes waiting for something to happen. He was sure eventually Sam would realize he was there and say something. Charlie knew it was someone important because Sam never dressed up for anything but he didn’t want to say some insensitive.

“You doing okay Sam?” Charlie asked. Sam didn’t answer. Charlie looked around to take in his surroundings and gave Sam a few minutes to reply but he didn’t. He looked at the grave Sam was staring at. “Who is Amie Fahl?” Again Sam didn’t answer. He took a deep breath. Charlie could tell he was fighting back tears. Sam reached out holding a folder for Charlie to grab. Charlie grabbed it and opened the folder reading through the files. The first pieces he went through looked like medical files. Amie Fahl would have been 26 years old, brown hair, brown eyes, and had no major surgeries before in her life. He skipped through a few MRI photos that weren’t in great quality until he got to a police report with photos of her. She had bruises to her face, arms, and all over her body. There were a few photos of a wrecked car. Sam closed the folder. It was obvious she didn’t survive. Charlie didn’t know what to say to him. He just placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder. The two of them stood like that for what seemed like forever before Sam turned and started to walk away on the road. Charlie followed Sam about three paces behind him. Sam whipped away a tear from his face and didn’t’ say anything. The two of them probably were halfway between Amie’s grave and the road where their cars were parked when Sam stopped. Charlie almost ran into him. Sam turned around and looked at Charlie.

“Why are you following me?” Charlie seemed surprised by the question and wasn’t sure what to say.

“I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

“But I want to be. Leave me alone.” Sam said calmly and then walked away. Charlie continued to follow him.

“Just tell me what happened. Tell me who she is and I’ll leave you alone.”

“You read the file. Now leave me alone.” Charlie ran ahead and cut Sam off from his path.

“Who is she though? Was she your girlfriend?” Sam pushed Charlie to the side but Charlie cut him off again and stopped him. When Charlie did this Sam punched him, out of natural instincts, in the face causing Charlie to fall back on the ground. Sam stopped and paced a little.

“I’m sorry for punching you. But you have no right for being here! Why are you even here?” Sam said upset.

“I went by your place. My sister was calling me freaking out because you stood her up and I snuck into your place to see if you were there. I saw your place was trashed and didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t sure if you were robbed or raided or if you just through an anger fit or something.” Charlie felt the area around his eye where he had been punched. “I went down to the garage and they gave me a chick’s number to call so I called her. She told me you’d be here or you’d be at a nearby bar.”

“Who was the lady?”

“She didn’t give me a name.”

“How’d she know I was here then?” Charlie sighed as he got himself to his feet.

“She said she was your old counselor you used to talk to.” Sam punched Charlie in the face again and then backed away shaking his hand. Charlie stumbled backwards but didn’t fall this time.

“What the hell man! I’m just telling you the truth. Something you’ve failed to do to me for almost a year now. Why didn’t you ever tell me about her? I’m your friend. I deserve to know!” Charlie said angrily

“You deserve to know? You deserve to know? You’re just a kid! I don’t have to tell you anything! This is my life! It’s none of your business if I don’t make your business!”

“Fine. Whatever. So you had a girlfriend that died a few years ago. I’m sorry that happened to you man but you have to move on. You can’t just stay angry about it and hide from everyone.” Sam went to punch Charlie in the face again but Charlie avoided it and then tackled Sam to the ground. “Stop! Just stop!” Charlie screamed and backed away from Sam. Sam just laid there on the ground. He had tears running down his cheeks.

“She wasn’t my girlfriend Charlie.” Sam took a deep breath. “She was my fiancée. I was in love with her. And she didn’t deserve to die.” Charlie walked over and offered a hand to pull Sam up. Sam grabbed his hand and Charlie pulled him to his feet.

“I’m sorry. For anything that might have upset you. If you don’t want to talk about it now you don’t have to. But I still want to know. And I think talking about it will help you.” Charlie said.

“Are you trying to be my shrink now?” Sam said sarcastically.

“Well I’m sure I’m not as good looking as the lady I called. She had a sexy voice.” Charlie said causing Sam to smile.

“Let’s get out of here. You hungry? Let’s go grab a bite.” Sam said.

“Sounds good.” Charlie said. The two of them walked to a restaurant and sat outside by themselves. It was Charlie who initiated the conversation after they ordered. “How’d you meet Amie?” Sam paused and looked at the table and cracked a smile. Charlie could tell he was visualizing it. Then he looked up.

“She went to my high school. She was a year above me. I had never seen her before until I got to high school. She was so pretty back then. Girls at that age are so self-conscious about how they look that they do whatever they can to look pretty but she was already gorgeous. She had this brown hair that went down to her shoulder blades. You know there’s always that one girl it seems in every class or every high school that just seems untouchable; a good athlete but also captain of the cheerleading squad. All the older guys want to hook up with her thinking that she’s just naive enough to fall for their lines but she wasn’t.”

“And you were the one who got her didn’t you?”

“Not at all. By the time I was a sophomore and she was a junior we had some mutual friends. Some of my friends at the time tried to date her and get her to notice them. I think she dated one of my friends, and he was a good guy, but it didn’t last longer than maybe two months. I have no idea how long a normal relationship lasts in high school anymore. Maybe that’s impressive at that age. I saw her around at sporting events and dances but we were in separate crowds.”

“You never even talked to her in high school?”

“The most that was ever said was your typical meet and greet banter of hi, hello, how are you doing, how was so and so’s test. That was it.”

“That’s weird. So why didn’t you talk to her other than that?”

“I told you. She felt like she was one of those untouchable girls. So by the time I was a sophomore and all my friends were talking about her I just did the math. With all these guys wanting to catch her eye and have her attention the odds was against me. I just agreed to not go after it and go after all the other pretty girls I knew I had a chance with.”

“Oh yeah and how’d that go?”

“Oh it went pretty well actually.” Sam said with a smile. “I was kind of a heartbreaker for a while. Probably up until mid junior year.”

“What happened then?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I just got bored. The older girls were gone or I’d already hooked up with and the younger girls just weren’t enough for me. I guess I just started to grow up a little bit.”

“And what about Amie?”

“I think she was dating some guy her senior year and even freshman year of college. College is where I really met her and got to know her. By junior year school had gotten boring for me. My classes weren’t hard they just took up time. Girl’s kind of became an annoyance and sports I had given up on after I torn something in my knee my freshman year. So in my spare time I just started reading books and articles and eventually started writing my own ideas down. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones that you let fester for a while until finally they polish themselves in your mind and pop up and you can use them. But sometimes we forget about the littlest idea. That’s why I write everything down on my walls. You’ve seen my one room.” Charlie nodded his head. “Anyways it was my freshman year in college. I was interested in writing for the school’s paper and seeing if it was something I might be interested in and low and behold Amie was one of the editors for it. I remember realizing it when they had an event in their building. There was probably twenty or so freshman in there and Amie was there with the guy that was ahead of the paper and she was giving us this speech about how this was serious stuff and how everyone that worked for the paper was either an english major or a journalist major, or even a sports writer. And she’s standing up there giving us this speech and she goes:“’We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.’ Thomas Edison said that.”
And by now I had already developed my outspokenness and without two seconds going by after she said that I said. “No he didn’t.” And the place gets real quiet and they all turn and look at me. I of course am stunned because I didn’t really realize the magnitude of what I just said. I was just used to mouthing back to teachers when they were wrong about things. So I looked around at the people and then I look back at her and I tell her “Artistole said that. Edison said ‘The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do.” And she just gives me that puzzled look that tells me you might be right but I don’t want people to know that I’m wrong. So she says “perhaps” and hands out these papers and tells us to fill them out and turn them in by the end of the week and tells us we can go. Everyone just grabs one and leaves after this thirty or so minute meeting. I at the time wanted to be a teacher and only liked writing as a hobby so I’m glancing through this small packet of papers to see if it’s worth filling out and I’m walking towards the door about to walk out of it and Amie puts her hand on my shoulder. I turned around and look at her and she asks me if I’ve ever written before. I told her I like to write but I’ve never done it for a newspaper before. I was just curious about how running a newspaper was. She goes on to tell me all her credentials about how she dominated her freshman year and was promoted and how she worked on her high school paper while also being an athlete and a cheerleader and the whole time I’m just smiling in the back of my head.”

“She didn’t realize you guys went to school together?”

“I guess not. So after she’s done naming off all the things she’s done and her credentials about why she is where she is. I just smile at her and say if you want to be quoting Thomas Edison you should be reading The Wizard of Menlo Park and not be worried about me taking your job and I left.” Charlie and Sam both laughed at that.

“You had to go and make her feel stupid didn’t you?”

“It did feel pretty good.”

“So what happened next?” Charlie asked. The waitress had come and placed their food on the tables.
A few weeks went by and I’m in one of those big lecture halls for some general education class and I’m sitting in the back somewhere taking notes and she comes in and sits right next to me and places the Edison book on my notebook and says she read it. I’m in class so I just said “okay” and I ignore her. So she goes ahead and asks me why I haven’t come by the printing building or submitted any articles or stopped by any of the writing labs where her work study job is. I’m feeling really good about myself that this beautiful chick is all worried about me so I have a little fun with it. I ask her if she’s stalking me and she gets all defensive. I tell her I don’t need to write in the paper to feel good about my work. I write for myself. She of course tells me I’m dumb. She says how will you know if you’re any good if nobody reads your material? I tell her she’s too ambitious and she must be over compensating for something. She of course is offended and gets up to leave but then she sits back down and challenges me to write a paper about some guy I hadn’t heard of before. She tells me if I can turn it in to the writing lab in three days there will be a reward there waiting. I tell her I’m not interested and she leaves.

“Really? That doesn’t sound like you at all. Someone challenged you and you didn’t rub it back in their face?”

“I wrote the paper. And I turned it into her three days later when she was working in the writing lab.”

“She liked it didn’t she?”

“Oh she loved it. She loved that I wrote her English paper that was due in two weeks in two days all to prove myself.”

“What?”

“She tricked me.”

“No way!”

“Yeah she tricked me and actually started my career of writing for other kids. I saw her a month later and she had to rub it in my face that she got an A with my paper. I was so mad. I ended up sitting in on one of her classes and got the roster of the kids in her class. Through some parties and other kids I knew I ended up writing some papers for the kids in her class. They of course had to change bits and pieces to make it fit their tone of voice. I did them pretty cheap too.”

“Why?”

“I couldn’t stand that she pulled a fast one on me. So I made sure that she wasn’t going to get the best grade in the class anymore. So when the end of the semester came around and I found out I got a 99% on a paper I wrote for the class she was in I went and found her in the girls dorms. I asked her how she did on her class final paper. She told me she got a 91% on it and asked why it mattered. I of course smiled and told her I got a 99% on it. When she didn’t believe me I went on to explain what my paper was about and what the grading criteria were.

“How’d she take it?

“She wasn’t even mad. It was like she was impressed. She told me she had an actual project for the paper for me. Now that she knew I had the skills to write she wanted to see if I could get an interview that none of her editors could. It was about the dorms and basically trying to find dirt that it was the maintenance people’s fault for something. It was that moment when I realized I was falling in love with her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t want to do the interview. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to help the newspaper but I realized if I didn’t I had no other reason to continue communicating with her. The funny thing is I got the interview that they couldn’t. Instead of getting dirt on the maintenance people I wrote an article defending them and saying all the things they do that go unnoticed and unappreciated and blamed the administration for not providing them with enough people or enough funding. The other interesting thing about that was that article and that interview are what led me to meeting Andy. He hired me to work for him that second semester and soon after he started opening my eyes to other things.”

“That’s amazing. And what happened with you and Amie?”

“How about you do some talking so I can do some eating” Sam said.

“Sorry. Yeah go ahead and eat.” After the two of them finished eating they got into Sam’s car and they took a drive over to Sam’s old house. Sam knew it was safe now since his brother have previously told him his Dad had moved away. There was a park bench across the street that the two of them sat on.

“So did you ask her out after your article got published?

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I was dating some crazy chick at the time. As interested as I was in Amie I was invested in this other girl.”

“Invested? Girl’s aren’t stocks.”

“It’s a long complicated story, which happens to be the story I told your sister. It wouldn’t be all that interesting to you. Basically hot crazy girl but I stayed with her because the sex was good until she eventually broke it off with me for being an ass. That’s the summary of it.”

“What about after you guys broke up then?”

“She was with some dude for about another month after I broke up with my girl. She had a more mature relationship with him though than I did with her so I had to give her time to get over him. We were friends by this time. We’d meet in the library and work on homework, or the newspaper, or she’d pick my brain about stuff. It wasn’t until that summer that we finally got together.”

“What happened then?”

“A lot happened then man. All type of stuff that happens in a real relationship. We would get in fights and then someone would apologize. Go on small trips away from here and school, spend holidays at each other families and got to know them pretty well. She was even there for me when I got kicked out of school.”

“So how long were you guys together then?”

“34 months, 1 week.” Sam said without having to think about it. “She was fortunate enough to graduate college in her lifetime. She was proud of it so I was happy for her. After she had finished school, and I was living with Andy at the time, I saved up enough to buy a ring. I took her out on a boat ride and in the sunset I proposed to her and she accepted.”

“That sounds amazing man.”

“It was. How’d you get here?”

“I drove a car that one of the guys let me borrow at the garage.”

“Ok we need to go drop that off then.”

“Right now?” Charlie questioned

“Yes right now.”

“But I want to hear more about her.”

“No. I want to think about the good times.” Sam said heading towards his car. Charlie realized that the story must be coming to an abrupt end and decided not to push it. Sam drove Charlie back to the other car and the two of them drove back to the garage. Sam drove back to his usual back alley parking lot spot and the two of them parted ways. It was evening by now and the sun was almost down. Sam was in a phase that he entered his apartment through the front door instead of the back window. Sam also didn’t realize that there was an undercover cop car parked up the street that happened to be surveilling the bookstore.

Today’s Show:

Cubs sign Soler, will he feast or falter in the Cubs farm system? Discussing current and past prospects of the Cubs organization.

Who wins this Sunday at WWE’s “No Way Out” pay-per-view and who’s my favorite to win the briefcase at next month’s “Money in the Bank.”

Game 1 of the NBA Finals – Heat vs. Thunder game overview

Russell Westbrook and what NBA Hall of Famer and “NBA’s 50 Greatest” his game reminds me of. (Never been compared to)

Twitter: @BrianHeartbreak
Website: Rainbowchair.wordpress.com

(I do not own the rights to the following songs)

Kevin MacLeod – Cut & Run
Glory Nugget – Iron Bacon
Kayne West & Lupe Fiasco – Touch the Sky
Kevin MacLeod – Organic Grunge
Kevin MacLeod – Zap Beat
Kevin MacLeod – Cut & Dry

References:
Espn.com

http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=thomais01

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomais01.html

Here’s the link to the first episode… BA Today Show – June 11, 2012

Sam was sitting at the bar of an upper scale restaurant having lunch. A man on the other end of the bar kept glancing over at Sam and it was making him uncomfortable. Sam didn’t recognize the man’s face. He was a bit overweight with black hair on the side and a bald spot on top. He was an older gentleman probably in his 40’s and possibly even his 50’s wearing a black suit and a white dress shirt. Sam happened to be doing some research for his newspaper writer and was playing the part. He was dressed up in a fitted suit and a blue dress shirt with a white collar. Sam knew his clothes weren’t making him stand out in this place. Sam took a few more bites and took a big drink from his water class and asked for the bill. The man who had been staring at Sam came over and sat down in the barstool next to him.

“You’re Marcus right? Do you remember me?”

“No.” Keep it short and unrevealing Sam thought. Sam started to worry about this guy blowing his cover or being a guy he did some shady business with.

“Yeah you’re him. You used to eat at that diner up on 23rd street right? I used to go there all the time.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about sir.” The bartender had returned with Sam’s bill. He quickly pulled out some cash out from his pocket and told the bartender to keep the change. He didn’t want to risk the man actually seeing his wallet or any type of identification from it. The fact was Sam had been taken off guard by the man.

“Oh come on. You have to remember me.” Sam got off his bar stool and started walking towards the door. “My name is James Galloway. You loaned me some money. It changed my life.” Sam stopped near the entrance of the building. The name James Galloway did register in Sam’s mind.

“That name does sound familiar. Where do I know you from?”

“From that diner. I was going through a divorce at the time and was at the diner with a ton of legal papers and trying to figure out how I was going to afford everything and keep myself from living off the streets.”

“Ok. Keep going.” Sam still wasn’t sure where the story was going.

“You must have overheard me because you mentioned that my lawyer was overcharging me and gave me a card of another lawyer to call. You said you wouldn’t leave until I called the guy so I did.”

“Connors?”

“Yeah his last name was Connors. Anyways I called the guy. He sets up a meeting with me and explains how divorced are tough and he won’t expect any payment until all the papers are signed and I have a place to live. So I thank you for your help and…” Sam cut off the man

“And I bought your dinner. We talked about the financial problems you had been going through and I ended up writing you a check for three grand.”

“Now you remember me?”

“What’s your name again?”

“James Galloway.”

“James Galloway. Yeah I remember you now. You must be doing pretty good now eating in a place like this wearing a suit.”

“I’m doing great actually. I ended up getting a promotion not long thereafter and a bonus. A friend of mine came to me with a business adventure about a year ago and now I’m a partial owner of Magglio’s downtown.”

“Magglio’s? I think I’ve heard about it. It’s like an Italian cuisine place with like piano music and stuff right?”

“That’s the one! Listen I owe you a meal and probably a drink or two at the least. How about you stop by the place tonight and we talk.”

“Tonight’s not the best night for me actually.”

“Oh that’s too bad.”

“How about I take one of your cards or something and I’ll call you tomorrow and see if we can do it then.”

“That sounds great.” James reached into his back pocket and pulled out a business card and handed it to Sam. “Listen I have to run but I’m very glad I ran into you here. I can’t thank you enough for what you did. I’m clearing my entire night for tomorrow. I’ll see you then.” James reached out his hand and Sam shook it.

“Tomorrow night. I’ll see you then.” James walked back to his spot at the bar to pay his bill as Sam walked outside and started walking down the road looking at the business card. He pulled out his cell phone and called his private investigator. It rang twice before he picked up.

“Hey, it’s me. I need you to do me a big favor. I need you to look up the background on James Galloway. He’s a partial owner of the restaurant downtown called Magglio’s and if I remember right he does some work at a bank. I need you to fast track this though. I need it by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks.” Sam hung up the phone.
Charlie was in the computer labs on campus writing a paper. It was a midterm paper that was due by the end of the week but he was desperately trying to finish it because it was the Friday before spring break. He knew he wasn’t going to have enough focus to do it during spring break week and didn’t want the worry of getting it done. Sam somehow knew that Charlie was in here working on a paper and decided to show up while he was working on it.
Sam walked into the computer labs and sat down on the computer next to Charlie. He logged in first before saying anything.

“Hey I need to talk to you.” Sam said.

“I’m a little busy trying to get this paper done.”

“Oh yeah? What’s it for?”

“Psychology class. It’s boring. Now leave me alone.”

“Who’s the teacher?”

“Weber. Now shut up.”

“I think I have a few papers you could copy off of if you wanted.”

“And get in trouble for plagiarizing a plagiarizer? No thanks.”

“Well hurry up. I need to talk to you about something.”

“You’re a grown man. It’s okay to take my sister on a date. You don’t need my permission.”

“What? I was talking about a food place. Where’d you get that from?”

“My sister said you guys connected. Whatever that means.”

“Oh I’d definitely connect with her.” Sam said in a sexual innuendo voice.

“Shut up.”

“No seriously though. What did she say?”

“She said you guys just hung out and talked on Valentine’s Day. She felt like you guys connected a little bit. She said she got you to open up a little.”

“I told her one story about a girl I dated. If that constitutes as connecting well I’ll be damned.”

“And since then?”

“Oh we bumped uglies for sure.”

“Fuck you dude.”

“No seriously it’s nothing.”

“You still talking to her?”

“She’ll email me every now and then and comment on the articles I get published in the paper.”

“What paper? You’re writing articles?”

“Yeah. I told you that.”

“No you didn’t. Only thing you told me you wrote was like a journal and then outlines for master schemes you wished you could pull off.”

“Am I sensing a little bit of jealousy?” Sam asked. Charlie stopped looking at the article on the desk and looked over at Sam.

“You’ve met my sister once and I feel like she already knows you better than I do. Which means either you like her or we aren’t very good friends. We might not even be friends at all like I thought we were. “
Sam was looking through his emails as the two of them were conversing. He just received one from the newspaper guy. He told him he had a new project that he wanted Sam to focus on and forget about the other one. According to the email the writer had been tipped off about a man in the area, a man who was being investigated for a variety of criminal actions. A man that although had committed serious crimes also seemed to commit certain crimes that allowed the investigators evidence to catch other criminals. The writer wrote that he was “The vigilante version of a modern day Robin Hood.” Somehow cops could figure out his presents by the intelligence of his robberies but could never seem to recognize a face, lift a finger print, or find any form of evidence. This was to be his new research project. Somehow Sam was supposed to research Marcus. The idea sent chills down Sam’s back. Charlie stared at Sam as Sam’s face turned blank. He waited for Sam to say something but he didn’t.

“What’s wrong Sam?”

“I think I’m being investigated.” Sam said quietly looking around the room. It was empty other than the student aid sitting at the desk by the door entrance.

“For what?”

“I don’t know. I might need to lay low for a while though. I need you to do me a favor.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to go to a restaurant tonight and scope it out for me.”

“I’m not helping you rob a restaurant.”

“I’m not worried about the restaurant. There’s a man that will probably be there. I’ll get you a description later. I need you to observe him and see if there is anything weird about him or about the place.”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because he randomly ran into me today and now I’m getting an email about ‘The Modern Day Robin Hood.’ You don’t find that suspicious?”

“Could just be a coincidence. I think you’re just being paranoid.”

“I’d rather be paranoid and careful than easy going and in jail. Can you do this for me?”

“Sure I guess. I just need to finish this paper first. You going to spot me some money.”

“Here’s a hundred bucks. Knock yourself out.”

“This place that expensive?”

“No. But you’re my friend. I want you to enjoy yourself.” Charlie smiled hearing this. “And trust me. I only give your sister money if it’s for sex.”

“Dude! Over the line.” Sam smiled and got out of his seat.

“Meet me at my place after everything is all said and done. Make sure you’re not being followed either. It’s starting to get real serious.”

Sam stayed up reading a book and waiting for Charlie to get back. He had given him the description of James and also asked that Charlie take notes on the layout of the building. Charlie finally sent Sam a text and Sam propped the back window open. Charlie crawled through the window within the next half hour and then they sat down to discuss it.

“This James guy was only there for a few minutes in the two hours I spent there. There was only so much I could do without having a date and not being old enough to order drinks. It’s not like it’s a sports bar where you can just watch sports all day.” Charlie handed Sam a napkin. “I drew the floor plan on this.”

“What did James do while he was there?”

“He talked to a manager there and had a drink while he listened to the guy who was playing piano. After that he left. I’m not a trained spy but the guy seemed normal. It looked like he was just stopping by to see the artist playing and happened to talk to his staff while he was there.”

“Yeah it sounds like nothing. He might have just lucked out with this restaurant. I just can’t help but think he did something shady to turn around his fortunes.”

“You just don’t trust anyone do you?”

“Nope and somehow somebody has said something to somebody that has put me on a news reporter’s radar.“ Sam’s cell phone rang. It was going on 11:30 at night. He quickly looked at Charlie for a reaction. Charlie looked as surprised as Sam was feeling about this phone call. Sam wasn’t expecting any phone calls and with the email he read today he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer it.

“Just answer it. It doesn’t have to be something bad.” Sam clicked the answer button on his cell phone.

“Hello.” Sam said dryly.

“Hey. Sorry about calling so late. This is Sam right?” the voice sounded like a young male and he could hear a kid talking in the background.

“Who is this?” Sam asked dryly again not knowing who it was.

“It’s Nate. Your brother.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Uh. How are you? How’s your daughter?”

“Lilly is good. She’s four now. She’s been growing a lot lately and given me a handful to deal with. What about you?” Sam noticed he didn’t answer how he was. He went ahead and talked about his daughter instead. He also noticed that Charlie was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation and Sam walked into the other room.

“I’m doing alright. I’m keeping busy.”

“Well that sounds good. Any new ladies in your life?” Nate asked.

“Nate I haven’t spoken to you in how many years now and you want to talk about chicks?”

“Well I heard about Amie and I wanted to call…”

“What do you want Nate? You wouldn’t call me unless you had to.” Sam said cutting Nate off. Nate sighed.

“I think I need your help.”

“With what?”

“I’m getting evicted. Lilly had some bad ear infections and I don’t have health insurance and neither does her mom. I got behind on some bills and I couldn’t catch back up.”

“So what do you need? You need some money?”

“No. I’ll pay that off pretty soon. I need a place to stay.”

“What about Lilly’s mom? Or Dad? They should let you stay with them for at least a little while. I’m at least an hour away from there and that’s speeding.”

“Lilly’s mom is already living back with her parents. She can’t find work these days. And Dad moved. You didn’t know that?”

“Nate how in the world would I know that Dad moved? That man hates me.”

“I’m sorry you’re right. He doesn’t hate you though. But you think I could crash with you?”

“Yeah I guess. I can find you a place of your own. You’ll have to give me a few days though.”

“Uh. I’m kind of starring at the eviction sign on my apartment door right now.”

“You need a place tonight then?”

“Yes.” Sam walked back into the other room and covered his cell phone and looked at Charlie.

“I need a favor.”

“Another one?” Charlie asked.

“My brother needs a place to crash. He has a four year old daughter though.”

“I can’t get them into my place in the dorms. Especially if he has a little girl, there’s no way.”

“That’s what I figured. You’ve been to Lauren’s apartment before right?”

“No. No. There’s no way she’ll go for that. With everything she knows about you.”

“Charlie. It’s for my brother though.”

“There’s no way I can convince her of that. They’ll either have to stay here or you’ll have to call her.” Sam removed his hand over his cell phone.

“Nate, I think I have a friend who lives closer to you guys that you might be able to stay with for a few days. I need to call her though and find out if it’s ok. Can you get all the important stuff out of your apartment and loaded into your car? I’ll call you back.” Sam heard Nate agree and then hung up the phone. He then looked back at Charlie.

“Shit. This is going to cost me something big, probably something personal with Lauren too.”

“Yeah she’ll want something to hold over your head I bet. Force you into doing something you don’t want to do.” Charlie said.

“Like sex?” Sam said

“Dude! Not cool.”

“Shut up. It’s ringing.” Sam walked into the other room again. Lauren answered on what Sam believed was her last ring before it went to her voicemail. Lauren had been asleep and wasn’t very happy about being awoken. Sam gave it his best chance at being nice and sound sweet and sincere, but once Lauren demanded a date his tone changed. He argued with her and tried negotiating something else but Lauren declined and said it wasn’t negotiable. After Sam hung up the phone he had a weird look on his face. He walked back into the other room where Charlie was laying down on Sam’s couch.

“Did she agree to it?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah. I need to call Nate back.” Sam said slowly.

“What’s wrong? That’s great news right? I can’t believe she went for it. What’d you have to tell her?”

“You do not want to know.”

“Of course I want to know. Tell me!”

“I have to go on a date with her this weekend. A full movie, dinner, club, and coffee night cap date.”

“What! That doesn’t sound like my sister at all.”

“That’s what I was thinking. And she did it so… so… quickly. Like it wasn’t a huge pain in the ass to let my brother and his daughter stay over for at least the next few days. And only for a date? I would have assumed she’d want some money or at least grocery money. Or force me into telling her about my family or something and why I needed the favor.”

“Maybe in her mind she doesn’t need you for that. Maybe she knows that she’ll learn more about you by having your brother there then by actually listening to your bullshit?”

“Is it me or have you gotten smarter?” Sam asked.

“I hang around you enough I start to look at things differently now.”

“Is she that smart to wake up from a dead sleep and figure that out though?” Sam asked but to no one in particular.

“Yeah.” Sam and Charlie both said in unison.

“I guess it might be a good thing for me that I haven’t talked to my brother for at least two years. She’ll be expecting more recent stuff and he won’t be able to give it to her.”

“You think that’s a good thing though?” Charlie asked.

“What? Obviously it is.” Sam said annoyed. Charlie sat up from the couch and looked at Sam.

“No what I’m saying is this, you’ve changed over the years. Whether you want to believe it or not that’s another conversation in itself but listen… Your brother knows probably the best version of yourself. He knows you in high school and he knows you while you were in college correct?” Sam nodded his head. “So he knows you as the straight arrow. The guy who sent him gifts even when he didn’t want to talk to you. He knows nothing about all the shady stuff you’ve done.”

“Watch it.”

“But it’s true. And my sister is great with secrets so I know she won’t tell your brother any of the stuff you might have happened to tell her.”

“Or that you have told her asshole.”

“Whatever. What I’m saying is that if you’re not interested in my sister this is going to be really bad. She’s going to hear all this great stuff about you and” Sam cut Charlie off.

“And she’s going to draw her own conclusions that secretly I’m this great dude who’s just pretending to be an ass.”

“I will have to agree with her on that.” Charlie said a little glim.

“You can leave now.”

“What? Because I know you’re a nice guy? Fine it’s getting late anyways.” Charlie headed for the door and Sam threw a book at him that hit his arm. Charlie stopped and looked at Sam and mouthed the words “are you kidding me?” and then left. Once Sam heard Charlie leaving through the back window he called his brother and gave him the directions to Laurens place and told him what to do. Sam knew this was a bad idea for him and wasn’t even sure why he helped his little brother.

Sam was sitting on a counter top at an old diner eating a sandwich when Charlie came in and sat down next to and put his book bag on the table.

“I met a girl this week.”

“You meet a girl every week. You’re in college.”

“I asked this one out on a date though.”

“Bad idea.”

“Why’s asking her out a bad idea?”

“Okay. Let me rephrase and ask a question. When were you planning on taking her out?”

“Tomorrow after both our later classes are over.”

“You do realize that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day right?”

“No! I thought that was next week! Oh man.”

“Either way you’re an idiot. You don’t ask a girl out on Valentine’s Day and you don’t want to ask any girl out on a date any time before Valentine’s Day. It basically leaves you stuck with having to buy her at least some flowers, but you won’t want to seem ordinary so you’ll get something else too, which she’ll interpret as you being really interested in her instead of just feeling the pressure of the stupid day itself.”

“Not a Valentine’s Day kind of guy?”

“Who is? Guys are prone to hiding their emotions because our society has forced us to closet them, to show no weaknesses around other men and women. And now there’s a day where we are supposed to open up and show our emotions through chocolates and flowers? Who chose these items as the items of love? Hallmark? What you should do is give her an apple and plant flowers with her. You’ll be making her healthier and planted flowers will last longer instead of killing off dozens and dozens of flowers just to look at and appreciate them for one night. What’s that one quote? Enjoy the journey and not the end result. The same thing should be applied towards flowers.”

“Okay then. A simple no would have done it. Any real ideas of what I should do?”

“Reschedule. Say you have to go home.”

“Without rescheduling. She will just figure out that I didn’t want to take her out on Valentine’s Day and think I’m a
jerk.”

“That’s not far from the truth.”

“Yet you want me to lie to her to get out of it?”

“Are you a fan of symmetry?”

“Why?”

“You lie to her and she figures out the truth. She might think you’re a jerk but at least it’s honest. You actually take her out on a date that should have some form of significance that you didn’t plan on having you’re starting a relationship out deceiving and lieing. Get my drift?”

“So I’m kind of screwed then aren’t I?”

“No. I’ll figure out what you should do. I just need some time to put it all together. Let it process in my head. I’ll meet you tonight outside of your dorm. I’ll call you when I get there. Just make sure you have a nice dress shirt.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Pay for my sandwich at least. I just gave you a free session of therapy and I’m also providing the solution.”

“We’re not friends? Isn’t that what friends do? Discuss their problems and help solve them?”

“Maybe. Yes. And no you talk about your problems and I always solve them. Now pay for my sandwich or I’ll sabotage your date.” Charlie pulled out his wallet and left a five on the table and the two of them left the diner.
Later in the day it had turned dark outside and Sam was sitting on a bench about fifteen yards away from the dorm close to the small parking lot. He was listening to his voicemails before calling Charlie. A girl with dirty blonde hair, jeans, and what appeared to be some form of casual designer top came walking in Sam’s direction. He caught a glimpse of her face in the parking lot lights. She was carrying a teal dress shirt. As she walked passed Sam she gave a smile.

“Hey I know you from somewhere.”

“Yeah? And where might that be?” Sam paused and tried to figure it out.

“You’re Charlie’s older sister aren’t you?”

“What gave me away?”

“A lot of things gave you away. You just happen to catch me off guard.”

“Oh yeah like what?”

“The teal shirt was the biggest thing.”

“A male’s dress shirt gave me away. It’s Charlie’s. He wanted me to…” Sam cut her off.

“It’s more impressive if I do the explaining. The shirt gave you away because it’s teal. Charlie has aqua colored eyes and a teal shirt would match well with them. Now as a nineteen year old with low level knowledge of fashion he wouldn’t specifically ask for this shirt. No. But his sister who also has the same color eyes which probably runs in the family would know what would go best for him. The top you’re wearing now shows you also know or care about some level of fashion. It also shows you have a job because not a lot of girls around here are wearing nice clothes unless it’s on the weekends and they’re going clubbing or partying. They also wouldn’t wear it because they’d probably ruin it in the washers and my guess is you take that to the cleaners. Your shoes, which are quick dull, shows you just threw them on because you weren’t really trying to impress anyone. To me that shows you’re older and not the type of person to be on a college campus at this time of the day. Except for the fact I told Charlie to get a nice dress shirt which then turns us back to the dress shirt gave you away.”

“And what if this shirt was dark blue and I really was dressed like a college students and instead appeared to be delivering it to my boyfriend? Would you have picked me out then?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“I’ve seen your picture before.”

“You’re Marcus aren’t you? Or should I say Sam?”

“You ask a lot of questions sister.”

“Some people find that annoying.”

“Not me. It show’s curiosity. I just don’t answer things without getting information in return. Give me some information first because obviously you have more on me than I do of you.”

“My name is Lauren. I’m 25. I work in the Human Resources department for a fashion company. It gives me some perks when it comes to clothes shopping. I love my brother and I worry about him. I’m real curious as to why or how you have taking a liking to him as you don’t even go to school here but are always found on campus.” Charlie paused as he tried to remember what was on the background check he had run on Charlie’s family many months ago. He wasn’t sure if Lauren was clever enough to lie to him or if she was actually telling the truth.

“Can I trust you Lauren?”

“I don’t see why not. Charlie seems to trust you.”

“You can call me Sam then.” The two of them walked together to the front door. Sam pretended to have a phone call by turning up the volume button which set off his ringer and he stepped back outside. He lifted his phone to his ear and watched Lauren turn in her driver’s license to the lady in the front and the lady escorted her to the right wing in the dorms. Sam quickly but quietly rushed inside and used the scanner behind the counter to copy both sides of Lauren’s driver’s license and then placed the ID back on the counter. The lady at the front counter had returned as Sam was folding the papers into his pocket. Sam smiled at the lady and gave her his ID of Marcus Moreno and told her that he knew where he was going.
Charlie was trying on the dress shirt and looking into his door mirror as Lauren sat on his bed giving him a pep talk about going on dates. Sam couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Lauren gave Sam a dirty look.

“And what is so funny?”

“Your dating advice.”

“You don’t think he should act like a gentleman and compliment her?”

“I think he should just be himself. If that’s a sloppy inappropriate jerk then I’d suggest him doing that.”

“You don’t want him to leave a good impression on his first date? You think insulting her will just make it more
interesting for you. But not necessarily help him. Charlie don’t listen to what he says. He’s not worried about you. He just wants a good story for himself.” Sam couldn’t help but smile because she was partly right.

“The problem with dating is that people always try and put all their best qualities first and try to appear as if they have no flaws. It isn’t until you’ve spent hundreds of dollars and had a fight or two until you finally see what a person is like. People are so afraid of being themselves they act like the best version of themselves and pretend to themselves that is who they are. It’s not until they finally get comfortable enough with the person or themselves that they no longer feel like they need to maintain this front. This idea of what that person will want. It’s not until then when the walls finally come down when you see how the person really is. Now if you can avoid all this and simply just accept that you’re comfortable with who you are now and just act like your normal self on the first date you’ll realize sooner if that person finds you a good match or not and save yourself hundreds on dating expenses and bad movies. The girl will also become more comfortable with you faster as well and you’ll see her true colors as well.” Lauren gave Sam another look that let Sam know he was right but she wasn’t happy that he was right. Charlie saw Lauren’s look and then looked at Sam.

“So what is the plan then?”

“Take her to the mall. So many older couples will be there buying their spouses expensive jewelry that they couldn’t pick out themselves because they don’t really know them.” Charlie cut him off.

“Do I really need the full explanation?”

“I guess not. Just take her to the mall. It’s the best night to people watch. Be clever and make fun of awkward couples. Make a game out of it. How long have they been together? Will she like the gift? Will they be together much longer?”

“Kind of like we do on the docks sometimes?”

“Exactly. It’s simple fun. Inexpensive. She’ll enjoy your humor and you’ll see if she has any. You don’t need to over dress. This shirt and some jeans are fine. When you guys get hungry take her to the diner you met me at earlier. I’ll have them make something that’s not on the menu that you’ll enjoy.”

“I don’t have a car though.”

“Your sister does.” Sam said looking at her. “And the loving older sister really wants to help out on your unplanned first date on Valentines that she’d do anything to help out.” Lauren opened her purse and gave him her keys.

“So you want my brother to go to the mall with no activity other than making fun of couples and being rude? What if none are there? What do they do then?”

“Oh they’ll be there. It never fails. Plus in this mall they have restaurants too. Even if they’re not couples you’ll see awkward depressed people who are single that you can make fun of.”

“And you know this how?”

“I’ve done it before. We had a blast. We both thought the idea of Valentine’s Day was stupid and didn’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves. Also ended up getting some anyways that night.” Charlie nodded his head and smiled. Lauren saw this.

“That’s wrong. Do not sleep with this girl on your first date Charlie. Be better than that.”

“Just be yourself. If that leads to anything so be it.” Sam said. Lauren shook her head.

“So what am I supposed to do then when Charlie has my car?”

“Grab a bus.”

“Sam! Give her a ride home. Don’t make her ride the bus.”

“No. She doesn’t think my plan will work.”

“I don’t.”

“Then how about we do the same thing and we monitor their date? You can see how well it is going to go.”

“Fine!” Lauren said.

“No! I don’t want either of you two watching me on this date. It’ll be like the good and bad angels on my shoulders.”

“He’s right. That’d be so awkward. Not for me but maybe for you two.” Sam looked at his phone. “It’s getting late sir. Go get the car and pick her up.” Charlie sprayed on some cologne and kissed his sister on the cheek and left the room.

“So what are we going to do then?” Lauren said.

“Oh we will still follow them. Just very discretely.”

“You just said you wouldn’t.”

“No I implied that. I never said I wasn’t. I’m definitely going.”

“And what about me?”

“Well you can both come with and help be my decoy or you can take the bus home.” Lauren rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse and stood up off the bed.

“Can we at least go grab some fast food? I’m starving.”

“You’re paying for mine too then.” Lauren paused in the doorway.

“Did you just con me into a date? One where I buy dinner?”

“And why would you say that?”

“My brother doesn’t need a nice dress shirt for this type of date. He could just wear one of his nice polo’s and be fine. You wanted him to wear a dress shirt because you knew he didn’t have one.”

“You think I have his wardrobe memorized?”

“Yes. And if you weren’t conning me you would have simply said no when I asked. Instead you asked why I would think that.”

“How would I know that you would deliver the shirt though?”

“I don’t know. You guessed that I might since he doesn’t have a car and I live close to my parent’s house.”

“I sound convoluted. How much has Charlie told you about me? It sounds like you think I’m this genius mastermind.”

“Well? Did you or didn’t you?”

“I left the option open. I wasn’t sure how smart or annoying you might be.” Lauren rolled her eyes and walked out the door. Sam smiled and shut the door behind him.

Lauren and Sam decided to grab a bite to eat at one of the restaurants in the mall. They chose one by the door as to see Charlie walking in with his date. Lauren bought the food and Sam bought them drinks. They were finishing their meal when Charlie walked in with his date. The two of them tailed the couple down the hallway as they strolled into a store. Most of the stores were closed by this time of the day but there were many stores that were still open and that stayed open for holidays and special events. Lauren and Sam sat down on a bench while they waited for the two to leave the store.

“My brother told me you threw him a birthday party and that’s why he couldn’t come home.”

“Yes.”

“But you don’t consider him a friend?”

“Does he tell you everything? I mean seriously?”

“You answer my questions I answer yours.”

“He’s… the closest person on the spectrum of almost a friend.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well I guess you’d have to define what a friend is. To me a friend is someone who cares about your well-being and is a part of your weekly life. He knows how to motivate you no matter what, whether you’re up or you’re down.”

“And Charlie doesn’t?” Sam gave Lauren a serious look.

“He didn’t even know my real name for the longest time.”

“So you’re a box full of secrets. He at least tries to be there for you. That has to count for something right?”

“Yes, but what does a teenager know about my life and how I live it? I don’t need him to be there for me and I don’t want him to worry about me. He’s got his own life to worry about.”

“So because you don’t want him to get inside your head and actually get to know you to the point where you might rely on him you’d rather tell him he’s not your friend and push him away?”

“I thought this was a question for question type of thing?”

“Just answer.”

“You’re pushy.”

“You’re avoiding.”

“When did you lose your virginity?”

“That is none of your business.”

“Oh come on. I thought we were getting personal here? You want to get in my head so you ask questions about how my mind works. I want to get in your pants so it’s only fitting I get the sexual history.”

“You’re an ass.”

“Yet you’re into me. You want to know about me because somehow I’ve already established a little place in your mind where you have this image of me and you want to find out more. You’re curious and it’s bugging you that I don’t simply just tell you everything about myself because that’s what everyone does. They’re selfish creatures that think about themselves and they want everyone to know how special their flower is. But since I don’t want to talk about me you’re curious to see what kind of flower I am. Or if I’m even a flower at all.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Tell yourself that while I find a nice and cozy place next to your brain.”

“I just care about my brother. I want to know he’s in good hands and not being taken advantage of.”

“So what’s the conclusion boss?” Lauren crossed her legs and sat back on the bench and stayed quiet for a few moments. Sam went over and bought a pop from the vending machine and then sat down again.

“I was seventeen.” Lauren said shyly.

“Football player?”

“No. Why?”

“Just be ironic since Charlie played football.”

“Ewe. That’s sick.”

“Just seeing how close you were.” Lauren punched Sam on the upper arm.

“So why don’t you trust Charlie enough to be your friend?”

“I am Charlie’s friend. We talk about stuff. I know what’s going on in his life. I help when he needs it. He’s just not a friend of mine.”

“Why not?”

“Our relationship is one sided and I don’t have a problem with that. I enjoy that. But we deal with his issues and his drama. I never go to him for input or advice.”

“Because you don’t think he would be able to help?”

“I know he can’t. It’d just be a burden to him knowing that there are bigger issues going on out there that he can’t solve.”

“It sounds like you care about him though.” Sam looked at Lauren in the face.

“Oh don’t do that now.”

“Do what?”

“You’re doing that Valentine’s Day thing. You’re falling for me. You think because we have your brother in common all the sudden you’ll believe we have a lot in common. And because I’m obviously good looking and smart you think that my sarcasm and rudeness is all simply a cover and a wall and inside I’m a big softie. Well it’s not. Stop romanticizing it.” Sam caught a look of Charlie walking down the hall and quickly got up to avoid finishing the rest of that conversation. Lauren quickly hurried to catch up with him.

“You’re a jerk. I’m not romanticizing anything.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Even if I was, why do you directly go towards rejection? Are you incapable of having a meaningful relationship? What did you do to jump directly towards rejection?” Sam stopped walking and looked at Lauren.

“You’re fat. Only way to explain it.” Sam continued walking and cut into a store as Charlie and his date sat on a bench. Lauren was not fat and was actually a very pretty girl.

“No I’m not. You think walking away is going to stop me from asking? Do you deflect because you know the answer? Or because you don’t know it?” Sam paused and looked at her but said nothing. “You’re my only ride. You think I’m going to leave your side? I want to know.”

“I have every relationship I want right now.”

“And female relationships? How does that work? I’ve never even heard about your home.” Sam pulled out his cell phone and opened up a contact name, Mrs. Jones, and handed it to Lauren.

“Call that number. Tell her you’re my secretary and wanted to know the next available date to set up an appointment.”

“Who is this? Your therapist?”

“Nope. That’s a woman who is having an affair on her husband.”

“With you?”

“Well obviously.”

“Why would you do that?”

“She’s hot. We have sex and talk about our days. It’s fun.”

“I mean how could you do that to her husband?”

“If he was paying attention she wouldn’t need me. But that’s not the real answer you want to know is it? I do it because it’s all the relationship I need from a woman.” Lauren looked puzzled.

“You’re lieing. I’m going to call it.”

“Wouldn’t have given you the phone if I knew you would believe me.” A woman answered the phone and sounded excited. Lauren didn’t know what to do so she asked what her Friday looked like to schedule an appointment and then hung up after the lady gave her an answer. Lauren stood there next to Sam as he browsed through some shirts by the front entrance. She handed him back his phone and didn’t say a word. After he had finished he walked out the entrance back into the mall’s hallways. He spotted Charlie still on the bench laughing with his date and crossed sides to be on the backside of Charlie’s. Lauren copied him and followed. They sat down on another bench.

“So I’m assuming you’re going to interfere soon?”

“Not at all. I just need to know when they’re leaving so I can order their food and have it done by the time they get there.”

“What’s the food?”

“It’s like this pasta with crab meat and some veggies with a side of garlic bread.”

“Sounds good. Did you poison it?”

“Why does everything have to be so negative with you?”

“You’re sleeping with a married man’s wife.”

“Why does that have to be a bad thing? She gets her needs met that her husband isn’t giving her. It’s a win win.”

“Just because it makes you happy doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.”

“That’s just a difference of philosophies. Does the outcome justify the means? I chose to follow what I believe is right and not what society always tells me is right and wrong. Think for yourself and don’t let others do it for you.” Charlie stood up with his date and started walking towards and exit. Sam called a number on his phone and told a man named Bobby to start cooking the meal. “It’s time to take you back” Sam said standing up and heading for the exit. Lauren followed.Lauren and Sam drove back to campus in silence. Sam drove back to Charlie’s dorm room.

“There’s a bench. You can wait there.”

“What? You’re going to leave me here in the middle of the night waiting for my brother to show up?”

“There’s campus security. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not waiting here. Take me to your place while we wait.”

“You’re not going to my place.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve talked to me all night judging me for every move I make and every action I’ve told you. You’re the psych
major; you tell me why I don’t want you to come to my place.”

“Because you think I’m right. And you’re tired of hearing it.”

“No. You want to believe that you’ve changed me in some way, in any way, but it’s not true. You can have your opinion of me and that’s fine. It doesn’t matter. But you’re not coming to my place because I don’t trust you and I don’t even like you. I’ve put up with you all night and now I’m tired and want some peace and quiet.”

“I’m not getting out of this car.”

“So now you’re going to be childish and stubborn?”

“I don’t know this area. I’m not going to sit around waiting to get raped.”

“There’s a library up there. It never closes.” Lauren didn’t move and just stared at Sam. “What? Why are you looking at me?”

“Tell me something about you. Tell me a story nobody knows.”

“Like what?”

“Something personal, something that’s not a con and it’s not a lie. You seem to read people well why don’t you date anymore? Why do you only want the physical relationship? Something must have happened.” Sam took a deep breath.

“Nothing happened. I just get bored with people.”

“But you’ve had a girlfriend before right?”

“Of course I have. I’m not as withdrawn as you think I am.”

“So tell me about one of them then.” Sam paused to think about it.

“I dated this one girl once when I was a freshman. It didn’t last very long. She was older than me but still in the same grade. It turned out she had been raped. I guess I have a trusting face because she didn’t hide it from me. I only knew her for about a month before she told me. Told me she had gone to counseling and even thought she had gotten pregnant from it but she didn’t. She was insecure about her body, all kinds of mental issues going on, couldn’t trust men, and yet somehow she took a shining to me.”

“What’d you do?”

“I was nice to her. She was pretty but in the way that she didn’t know it. Because of what had happened to her she was a loner type. She didn’t really have any friends and would eat dinner by herself. I had a couple classes with her and she never talked to anyone in the classes. So one day I started sitting with her for lunch and we started a friendship.”

“Well that was nice of you.”

“Just let me finish the story. I thought she was interesting. She would read a lot and I never saw her at any parties. A couple times I found myself in the girls’ dorm on a Friday or Saturday night and I’d see her doing her laundry then. She was weird but at least it was different. I just wanted to know why she was like that and then one day I stopped by her room to return one of her books and she started kissing me. She threw me on her bed and started taking off her clothes. I didn’t know what to do. I thought we were just friends and she was just a puzzle I hadn’t figured out yet. I didn’t really want to say no and have her feel even more insecure but I knew having sex was going to complicate the puzzle even more.”

“So you had sex with her?”

“Yeah. It was the lesser of two evils.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well after that she kept calling me and texting me and would complement everything I did. She loved the shirt I wore, or the way I mixed up my food, or how I would roll my eyes when someone would say something stupid. It all just became too much. She would call me on the phone and want to talk on the phone for hours. She became obsessed with me.”

“So what’d you do?”

“I started ignoring her calls. I started acting more like myself. I would get sarcastic and say mean things about the world. She didn’t understand it. I started detaching myself from her but I couldn’t break up with her.”

“Why not?”

“You wouldn’t believe my reasoning.”

“Just tell me. It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

“I dated her to get in her head. Once I realized what she was going through I tried to fix it. I knew if she could trust men again she could start trusting more people and fit better in with everyone else. I had her become interested in me to then force her to become disinterested in me like it was her choice. If I broke up with her she’d fall back into her insecurities and loneliness but when we dated she started socializing more and feeling more comfortable in her shoes. I didn’t want her to lose that.”

“So you continued dating her for her benefit, even though you didn’t really like her?”

“Basically. It was just a project to me. Once she started becoming more normal I lost interest in her. She wasn’t unique anymore. Once she started believing in the idea that she could trust men she had hope for any relationships. So then I started acting like an ass so she’d break up with me and she did. She told me I had changed and she didn’t think it was going to work with us anymore.”

“I bet you were happy.”

“Yeah initially I was but the thing is that people never really realize the things you do for them. They might look back on something in twenty years and think well that person is the whole reason for something but by then you’re nowhere around. There’s no gratification from the person.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. it’s okay. She’s actually married now and has a little girl. She’s happy. That’s all I can ask for.”

“So is Charlie another people project of yours?”

“No. I stopped worrying about trying to fix people. It gets frustrating. People will only change if they want to change.” Lauren leaned over and kissed Sam on the cheek.

“Goodnight Sam. I’m going to the library now.” Lauren said and then got out of the car and walked deeper into campus.

It was Thursday on the first week back of the second semester. Over the break with the campus being very quiet Sam had decided that he was going to make a donation to the school. The school’s budget for their newspaper program, which was being run mostly by the students, was being cut significantly and Sam didn’t like this. He remembered spending time in the building where they allowed the students to run the school’s newspaper. It was crowded and had outdated computers and equipment that the school gave them when they upgraded their own equipment. Sam had made a donation of $25,000 and wrote a letter to the Dean demanding that the money go towards the student’s newspaper. He wanted the students to have new equipment and even add onto the building two new rooms where students could have a conference room as well as a key office for whoever was running the paper. Of course with such a request the Dean, Jerome Pead, had attempted to reach out to Sam and had only managed to reach Sam through mail. Sam ended up calling into Dean Pead’s office and scheduled a meeting with him for Thursday.

Sam wasn’t sure how much Dean Pead knew of him and attempted to get some ammo against the Dean in case this meeting went bad but Sam couldn’t find anything. He was a married man with two kids in high school. He used to teach and had experience in the business field. Other than deciding his first budget cut would be the student’s newspaper Sam liked the guy but he knew better than to trust someone he never met. Sam made sure to clean up his act a little bit to leave a good impression. He trimmed up his hair a little bit and showed up to the meeting clean shaven and wearing a suit. Sam walked up to the lady at the front desk and told him Dean Pead’s eleven o’clock meeting was here. She smiled and dialed back to the Dean’s office. He soon walked out with a smile on his face and offered his hand. He was a white male with a tan. He had a full set of hair but was showing signs of his hair graying. Sam smiled back and shook his hand. They exchanged in the normal casualty conversations when one person meets another during their walk in the hallway. Sam took a seat in one of the seats opposite of Dean Pead’s desk as Dean Pead sat down behind his desk.

“I want to thank you for your donation and I want to also thank you for making time to come in and meet with me.”

“No problem. It’s hard to turn down an invite from the Dean of the school.”

“Just out of curiosity, why did you decide that you wanted to help aid our student newspaper?”

“I knew someone who used to work on that paper and dedicated a lot of time to it. When I found out that the school was planning on cutting budgets I knew I needed to do something.”

“That’s great. Usually we get donations for our athletics programs or some scholar does well and makes a donation to our library. I never really understand why teams think they need so many different types of jerseys. I guess they do wear out after time and they don’t understand all the other financial obligations we had to pay for.”

“A lot of people would rather remain ignorant to the facts and think they’re doing a good thing than to put themselves in a person of your shoes.”

“Very well put. You know you’re younger than I thought you’d be, a lot younger actually. How did you come across such a large amount of money? Most people in your shoes would buy a car for $25,000 and not be worried about a school’s newspaper.”

“A car is a horrible investment. It only goes down in value once you drive it off the lot. A good school program can change a kid’s life.” Sam said. He had the feeling like he was being set up for something and didn’t want to answer how he came across the money for the donation. He was already starting to second guess how much he donated and realized he should have sent less and not become a spec on the radar now.

“Did you not want to disclose how you came across the money? Most kids your age would be more than willing to brag about the amount of wealth they’ve come a crossed.” Dean Mead said. After the Dean had used the word “kid” Sam turned from liking the guy to finding him a subject of interest.

“First off Jerome,” Sam knew saying his first name would gain his attention by being less courteous. “I’m not a kid and don’t appreciate you trying to stir up any trouble or allegations. If you want to know how I got the money to solve your curiosity I’ll tell you. I had a well-off uncle who passed away and left me a significant amount of money. A part of his will he wanted us to reinvest in the community and the world in things we believed in or things we believed would benefit others. Now if you want I can take the check back I sent you and rip it up and go elsewhere if that makes you feel better.”

“I apologize Mr. Thomas. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I do have to be honest with you and admit that it’s not the first time I’ve heard your name around here on campus and I was a little skeptical.”

“I understand. Not everyone is going to be a fan of you. What did you hear about me? Just out of curiosity.”

“We had a professor who had to be let go. He had mentioned your name. We of course had to investigate but the only records of you that I ever found was that you used to go to school here before you were expelled for plagiarizing. There’s no reason the two of you would have any ties other than that incident.” Sam was smiling on the inside while pretending to act worried on the outside as he listened to the Dean’s story.

“Well that’s unfortunate that a professor would have to drag my name through the mud to try and cover up his own misfortunes.”

“Indeed. But it did make me a little suspicious and that’s why I called you in here today. Would you mind telling me the story of how you got expelled? You don’t have to if you don’t want to but since it didn’t happen on my watch I might be able to help you out and get the expulsion off your record.” Sam knew what he was offering. In a sense he was offering Sam a clean record in exchange for $25,000. He knew it wasn’t right but then again money gets exchanged under the table all the time.

“No thanks. What you can help me out with though is giving me access to the implementation of upgrading Nears Hall and the equipment for the paper. I also would like some sort of access card to the facility to check up on the process and to check up on the students.”

“That doesn’t seem unreasonable. I will of course have to go through some channels and administrative stuff before we can get everything approved but then we can get together and go over what we plan on doing and see if we can get it all done with your donations and possible some of our own or with help of another donor.”

“Sounds great.”

“What’s the best way to contact you? I tried a phone number but it didn’t seem to work. I’m assuming you got the letter I wrote you.”

“Yeah. Email is probably the quickest.” Sam grabbed one of the dean’s cards and wrote an email address on the back of it. “Use this email and you can get ahold of me.”

“You don’t use a cell phone?” Dean Pead asked.

“I’m a writer. I’m on my laptop more than I have my cell phone on me. You’ve looked at my file up and down I’m sure so you should know that.” Sam was getting annoyed but Dean Pead and his body language of superiority. “But then again you’ve failed to put two and two together. A guy who gets a 3.5 GPA while he attended this university and also submitted articles to the school paper doesn’t need to plagiarize anything. But your administration who dismissed me failed to make that connection as well so I guess I shouldn’t put you on a pedestal. But I don’t really care if I have that red mark on my file. I don’t plan on going back to college because frankly it was a waste of time for the education I actually received. It turns out I’m writing for someone in the papers anyways. What I do want out of this exchange of money is for the right to make all the decision. I will listen to others but when it comes down to it, it’s my decision before we act. You got it?” The Dean’s attitude seemed to change as if he was now worried. “It’s this way or I take my money to another university.”

“You don’t really want to do that do you?”

“It doesn’t mean that I won’t.”

“Okay. Fine.” Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper.

“I need you to read this and sign it and then I’ll be out of here.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a contract stating what we just discussed and if your side decides to break our deal you will be taken for everything you’re worth.” Dean Pead sat back in his chair and read over the one page contract. He then reached for a pen and signed both the sheets. It was the same contract on both sheets and he kept one while giving the other one back to Sam. Sam folded it up and put it back in his pocket.

“Have a good day Dean Pead.” Sam said while getting out of his chair and walking out the door. Sam was happy with how things went down. Not only was he gaining access to the facility when it would finally be built but he had all the rights to design the renovations. This might not appear as much to an outsider but Sam had been looking for a good fallout location in case anything was to happen. It would also allow him a bigger and more secure network to use for any cons he might do in the future and there were plenty of ideas running through his head as he walked out of the office.

Redchair Originals

Sam was walking down the isle of a Wal-Mart store in a determined pace. He was dressed in khaki pants and a white collared polo shirt. Sam was also wearing a pair of big rimmed fake glasses and had shaved his beard to just a mustache. Sam was also wearing a blonde wig to hide his brown hair. It was around seven o’clock at night. Sam maintained a direct path. He had scouted the store for about a month and his plan was finally in affect. He walked straight back through the closed swinging doors to the back of the store where products were being stored. There was also a room for the workers to have their lunch and dinner breaks. In between the lunch room and all the shelves of product was a big black room. It appeared to have no door but as Sam had found out this was actually the security room and knew there was always a man inside of this box keeping surveillance.

The reason for his outfit was simple. The store was putting on a promotion for part of the store. They were told to dress in khaki pants and a white polo tee shirt. The promotion that was going on was for a new type of camera and the workers were going to be in the store from Friday to Sunday in a variety of hours. They were using volunteers and hired help to show off pictures of this new camera. The majority of the staff at Wal-Mart understood to just leave these workers alone and let them do their promotion. Sam had done his homework. These cameras were fully wireless and easily uploaded to the internet. They only needed two batteries that would last for months because there was a form of solar power to the camera that relied on heat. As long as the temperature of the camera stayed above forty degree it could power itself. The camera also came with the accessories to adjust for different types of zoom lenses. The camera also had double the amount of pixels as the best quality on the market for digital cameras. In essence it was the new game console on the market. Pre-teens, teenagers, adults, film students, and even professional photographers wanted this camera and all for different reasons. The camera somehow fit the mold and the company knew it. They were doing an initial release of the camera and only releasing a limited amount of the cameras. They wrote in the tech magazines that it was a trial base to see if there were any flaws and to see how they sold in the markets. Any business student knew it was just a way to control supply and demand and be able to put a hefty price tag on the product. Luckily for Sam this was the perfect type of score he could handle. All he had to do was take out one problem.

Sam knocked on the door of this big black studio looking office. It must have been sound proof Sam decided because the man inside did not answer. Sam had also researched the security staff. The man on shift tonight was a man named William Branton. He was in his mid-thirties, an average looking man with short trimmed blonde hair and a clean shaven face. On paper he appeared to take his work serious and be the worst guy to try and con, but if you looked deeper he had a pregnant wife who was expecting to deliver at any moment.  Sam continued to bang on the door a little harder while continuing to look around for any workers getting suspicious. William finally answered the door and looked at Sam.

“Are you William?” Sam said trying to make his voice a little deeper.

“Yes. What do you want?”

“Oh my God dude. I’m supposed to tell you that your wife’s water broke. She’s in the hospital about to have your kid.”

“What! Why didn’t she call me? I can’t believe this. Our first kid and she didn’t call me.”

“Well I bet that big black box is horrible for cell phone reception. Or maybe she just panicked since it’s your first kid and didn’t realize no one contacted you.”

“Yeah I bet that’s what happened. How’d you find out?”

“I was up at the customer service desk and they received a call. I told them I could run back and relay the message. I’m on my way out anyways.”

“I wonder why they didn’t just radio me.” Sam had thought of this as a possibility as well and quickly changed the subject.

“Well aren’t you going to go man? It’s your first kid!” Sam said sounding excited.

“I can’t leave my post for another three hours when Dave comes in though. What do I do?”

“I’ll call Dave and have him come in. I just spoke to him about something for tomorrow so I know he’s not busy. I’ll cover for you while he’s on his way.”

“You sure you know what you’re doing? Are you really qualified?” William asked.  Sam was hoping that he’d be too emotional to think about this.

“Of course man. I do security over at the mall. I’m sure it’s not anything I can’t handle. It’s not like anyone really steals from Wal-Mart anyways.”

“Yeah I know what you mean. It’s a pretty boring job.” William paused “Well thanks. I hope nothing happens before I get there.” He said picking up his jacket from his chair and strolling out through the back door.

Sam waited for the door to close before he walked into the security box and shut the door. He adjusted one of the cameras away from the back door and then called someone on his cell phone. “It’s clear.” Is all he said. A white van backed its way up into one of the loading spaces right next to the door where William had just left. Sam walked back out of the box and propped open the door. The cameras were on a lower crate in the back still. They were on the main floor as they were to be released on the coming Tuesday. It was a Sunday evening. Two men came inside the door dressed up in delivery uniforms looking like a UPS worker with their own facial disguises. One of them wheeled over a trolley that lifted the crate full of cameras and quickly backed it to the loading dock area right next to the door. The crate was too big to fit through the door and therefore all the camera’s had to be moved by hand. The cameras were in small boxes already and the two men had brought in moving boxes that could fit forty or so of the cameras in each box. There were 1,000 cameras in total. The boxes were small enough that the men could grab several at a time. While the two men loaded the cameras into boxes and then the boxes into the back of the van Sam made sure to keep the surveillance cameras pointed away from the loading dock area and monitored to make sure there wasn’t any staff around. The only parts he had to fix were the trolley moving the crate and the van leaving the back parking lot area. Both of these things had to be done after everything was all said and done. It was just a matter of deleting the exact files from the security server. It was no problem for Sam.

After the guys were done loading up the truck they shut the back door and left. Sam quickly hacked into the server and found the files he needed to delete and deleted them. Afterwards he shut the security room up and walked to the front of the store and left. He thought about telling one of the managers to call in Dave but he knew William would be back soon enough after he went to the hospital and realized that his wife hadn’t actually gone into labor yet and was still at their house. The next step for Sam was to add the product to all the accounts he had already set up on different merchandise websites like eBay and Amazon. The product was about to be sold for $400 in stores. Sam decided to sell them online for $350. After all the cameras were to be sold and Sam had paid off the truck he rented and the two guys who had helped him he was going to earn himself around $340,000. He wondered if the two guys ever wondered if they should have asked for more than four grand apiece. Sam had paid for the truck and of course each website earns a small wage of the purchase and shipping of the cameras was also a fee Sam had to deal with. In the long run Sam had devised the plan, done the research, made sure they got out clean, and handled all the purchases. He felt it was more than fair for two of his colleagues to be paid four grand a piece to simply load and unload boxes of cameras. All and all everyone seemed happy with their heist. The two guys made their money before any camera was ever sold and made sure to tell their buddy Marcus to keep them in mind for his next con.

Sam waited until Wednesday before releasing all the cameras for sale. He sold two hundred in the first day and almost half of them in the first week. By the end of the month he barely had any left and decided he was going to keep one for himself and maybe a few more he’d send out to his brother, Charlie, and a few of his colleagues as a Christmas present. He knew Charlie would be back from Christmas break in a few weeks and he wouldn’t think a thing about it being stolen.

Redchair Originals

It was almost Charlie’s 19th birthday and Sam decided he was going to take him out before the drama of finals week started. Sam had already helped Charlie with one of his group project presentations that he knew he didn’t need to do anything for Charlie’s birthday, but he felt like doing something anyways. Sam had a friend who drove small private yachts around. He made a deal with Sam to rent one of his yachts out for the night without it driving anywhere. Sam made sure to clear Charlie’s schedule and invite some of his friends from back home and from college. Sam also invited a few guys he worked with and borderline trusted. He invited the bouncer from the strip club and the guys from the garage that Charlie had seen. But before all the madness begun Sam took Charlie out for lunch to discuss the night’s festivities and plans. Charlie had to agree that any of his friends who drove would give up their keys and be sleeping on the yacht or would be taking a taxi home. He also had a limit on the amount of people who could come so friends of friends were not allowed. He also stated that if any of his friends got out of hand he would turn them into the cops himself for underage drinking and sneaking onto the yacht. He also stated that most importantly he had to be called Marcus for the night because if he called him Sam around people he worked with he would probably have to kill Charlie. After lunch the two stopped by a palm reader they had seen outside the shop. Charlie sat down and listened to the lady who read his palms.

“Both your parents are alive. They are still together. One is an accountant and the other is an artist.”

“Oh c’mon you have to have better details then that.” Sam said.

“You have two older siblings. One brother and one sister: Lauren and Patrick.”

“Wow that’s amazing. How’d you know their names?” Charlie asked.

“You are an athlete. Football?”

“Yeah I played in high school.”

“Honor roll student as well.”

“You can get all this from my palm?” Charlie asked. Sam put his hand out towards the lady. She reached into her bag she had next to the table and gave Sam a folder with papers inside.

“It helps when she’s looked at your background profile. Even though a lot of this stuff you could probably get online now-a-days. I’m more worried about any arrests, fights, or anything interesting.”

“You ran a background check on me Sam?”

“It was a birthday present. It just wasn’t for you. It was for me. You’re having all the fun today why can’t I have some too?”

“Can my present be that you just have a conversation with me instead of having my family investigated on? Some things I’m sure I’d rather not find out.”

“So if one of your parents was having an affair… you wouldn’t want to know?”

“I know what you’re doing Sam. I’m not answering that.”

“Good. Because your mom’s kind of hot and I kind of want to hit that.”

“Gross man. Some things you just can’t talk about.” Charlie said walking away.

“Why not? There should never be any secrets between us! I’ve thought about her in the shower before!”

Charlie and Sam got in the El Camino and drove off. Charlie went back to the dorm to meet up with his friends and get ready. Sam went to get things situated at the party.

Charlie showed up to the docks with four of his friends from home and two of his college buddies. Sam had hinted that it was a smaller yacht and it would probably be a few buddies listening to music and drinking some beer. When Charlie and his friends showed up at eight the party had already begun and they could hear the music as they approached the yacht. There had to already be twenty people on the boat and none of them Charlie noticed right away until the guy from the garage yelled something at Charlie about his sister. Charlie just smiled and let it go. He was already in a good mood and knew tonight was going to be one remember. They entered the yacht and Charlie went looking for Sam. He walked inside and saw Sam sitting at a dinner booth playing poker with three other guys. All four of them were smoking cigars and had a beer and a stack of chips by their arms. When Sam noticed Charlie had arrived he folded his hand and had Brett, the one friend of Charlie’s that Sam had met before, take over his place playing cards. He tossed him a beer as well after he got out of his seat.

“I’m glad you finally showed up buddy. I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up.”

“Yeah we went out to dinner and kind of lost track of time.”

“Well I hope you didn’t have dessert I got something special for you guys.” Sam said walking towards the kitchen area. He opened up the freezer and there were three big cartons of ice cream. “Now these aren’t regular ice cream. They are alcoholic ice cream. I wasn’t going to bust them out until your friends got here. It’s an easy way to get a light buzz without getting out of control.” Sam handed Charlie a carton and then picked up the other two. “Follow me.” Sam walked outside to the deck and up the stairs. There was a small deck with a hot tub up there. Three girls were sitting up there in their bikinis with only their legs in the water. “Ladies the birthday boy I promised you is here. I got some special ice cream for you too that I said I’d get.” Sam handed one of the girls a carton and pulled out several plastic spoons from his pocket and put them on top of the ice cream.” Most of Charlie’s friend looked a little out of place and were following Charlie as Charlie followed Sam and Sam had noticed. “Boys! It’s hot tub time. These ladies are waiting to be charmed. They want to talk to educated college boys. Get in your boxers and hop in.” Sam went over and whispered to one of the girls. Charlie and the three friends that had followed him got undressed to only their boxers and got in. There was a keg up there that Sam went over and tapped and then motioned to all those in the hot tub before yelling “Party on!” and walking down the stairs.

Sam made sure to go over to two of Charlie other friends who were hanging out on the downstairs deck drinking a beer and introduced himself as Marcus and introduced them to a few of his friends on the yacht. Charlie noticed all this from the upper deck but after a few drinks he felt relaxed and started flirting with the three beautiful girls that were in the hot tub. Charlie didn’t see Sam for the rest of the night. After relaxing in the hot tub for a while one of the girls had convinced Charlie to dance with her on the lower deck where the music was louder. They danced for a while and ended up flirting a little bit more on the couches that were on the deck. That led to some kissing and before Charlie knew it he was in a bedroom with this girl getting a private lap dance with only the faintest sound of music. Charlie was in that stage between tipsy and drunk but felt surprisingly clear headed and euphoric. He had enough sense to make sure the girl he was with wasn’t too drunk. He assumed that they might end up having sex but after the lap dance he received a blowjob and then the girl said they should get naked in the hot tub and ended up dragging Charlie out of the room and towards the hot tub. He had to pull up his pants as they left the bedroom. The girl let go of Charlie’s hand after they were down the hallway and Charlie thought he heard someone stumbling at the back end of the boat. Charlie went down to make sure it wasn’t one of his friends stumbling around. Instead he found Sam sitting back there laying on one of the tanning chairs watching the ocean and drinking a bottle of something.

“What are you doing back here man? The party is all up front. Some girls are about to get naked in the hot tub.”

Sam laughed awkwardly. “Well sounds like some ladies can’t handle their booze very well.” Charlie laughed. “How you feeling bud? You enjoying your party?”

“I’m feeling great man. I’ve been talking with one of those girls all night.”

“Oh yeah? Which one?”

“I think her name is Vanessa.” Charlie laughed. “That’s kind of messed up. The girl just gave me a BJ and I’m not even sure what her name is.”

“Well one of them is Vanessa. She a brunette? She has a nice rack but she has a perfect booty?”

“That’s the one!” Charlie said and chuckled. “Man this night is amazing.”

“You’re telling me. I paid the blonde to mess around with you. I’m getting my money back now.”

“Wait! You actually paid a chick to mess around with me?”

“Well it’s your birthday. Everyone should get birthday sex or at least a blow job in your case. Those are just as nice. I wasn’t sure how you’d react tonight. I thought you might feel awkward, freak out, and leave before midnight. That’s why I’m glad some of your friends came down here.”

“So that girl didn’t mess around with me just because you paid her did she?”

“Hell no bro! I paid the blonde. You’re a good looking dude. That was all you. Now go back and get seconds from her! Have sex with her in the hot tub for all I care. Just make sure nobody records you.”

“I’m not that drunk. I don’t think I could have sex with people watching me.”

“You’d be surprised what you can do when ladies put pressure on you.” Charlie got up from his seat.

“Aren’t you coming back to the party?”

“Nah I’m doing alright right here.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Sometimes I just look passed it all. I have my mind on other things.” Charlie sat back down.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Just what I’m doing with my life I guess. I have fun. I do things for people that those people are too stupid to even realize I did for them. I have a buffet of friends who would drop everything to help out Marcus but they don’t even know who Sam is.”

“But you don’t trust them? You think they’ll not be friends with you if you tell them your name is really Sam?”

“I know they won’t. I put on a mask, well metaphorically, and I play a character. I pretend to be who that person needs to be. Tonight I’m the party thrower who makes sure everyone is having a good time. It’s all an act. Anything that is slightly out of character I can just blame it on the alcohol. This is just how people like to have fun and how they like to party but this isn’t the party I’d want to have with all my good friends.”

“What would you do?”

“Not this.” Sam took a drink from a liquor bottle. He wasn’t slurring any of his words so Charlie knew he wasn’t drunk.

“Can I ask you something Sam?”

“It’s your birthday. Do what you want.”

“I’ve known you for almost a complete semester. Sure we don’t hang out on a regular basis or anything but anytime I need help you come through. You ran a background check on my entire family just to gain information about me. You threw this party for me and spent God knows how much money on it but yet I barely know anything about you.”

“What’s your point?”

“Can we finally have a serious conversation where I get some real answers? Not just sarcastic answers or riddles that I have to decipher but a straight answer?”

“I can’t promise anything but I’ll try and be straight with you I guess. But just for tonight since it’s your birthday.” Charlie had a million questions he had thought to ask Sam over time but at the moment his mind was drawing a blank. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe he was just in a little bit of shock at how Sam was acting.

“How long have you lived above the bookstore?”

“Too long.” Charlie gave Sam a weird look. “I’m serious though. I’m not sure how long I’ve been up there. I don’t really keep calendars and I work through the night. After a while all the days just blur together.”

“How did you end up there?”

“I had a friend, a great friend. He kind of set me up with the place. He was a real con man. I learned a lot from him.”

“And after you got kicked out of school you couldn’t go back home?”

“I went back home for a little bit. It just wasn’t home anymore. My dad took the news of me being kicked out of school really bad and he completely overreacted. He wanted me to petition the school, or apply to other schools, or at least let him help me get a job in the area but I knew that wasn’t right for me. We finally got into it and he gave me an ultimatum. He said if I didn’t end up back at school or take the job he had gotten me I was kicked out of the house. So I left.”

“And what does he say about you now?”

“He doesn’t. I haven’t spoken to him since.”

“What about your mom?”

“My mom had left a long time ago. You know that California dream. She wanted to be an actress and couldn’t chase her dream and try and raise a family. She’d leave for long periods of time until eventually she just never came back. For all I know she’s dead or making porn videos by now.”

“And your dad never tried to reach out to you?”

“He cut off my cell phone. My friend, who got me the place, also got me a new cell phone with a new number. Even if he wanted to reach out to me he wouldn’t know how to.”

“And you never tried to contact him?”

“Would you want to contact someone who gave up on you and through you out to the wild? I don’t think so.”

“What about siblings? Brothers? Sisters?”

“I have a younger brother. He’s 22 by now.”

“And you don’t talk with him either?”

“I kept in touch with him a lot through emails. I even got to see him a few times when I knew our dad wasn’t around but we had a falling out. He was so smart. Smarter than me.”

“That’s hard to believe. You’re the smartest guy I know.”

“We had different kind of smarts but he was really smart.”

“What happened?”

“When he was in high school he was one of those guys you hear about. All the ladies loved him. He was always on some homecoming court but never really won. Good athlete and always on honor roll but he made that one big mistake. He got a girl pregnant when he was 17. He of course was chasing older girls trying to be like his brother at the time but one night at a party he slept with some 19 year old chick and she wasn’t on her birth control.”

“So he dropped out and you lost contact with him?”

“No…. I confronted him, like I always do with everything, and I told him he should get an abortion. It had only been two weeks since it happened and I told him it’d ruin his life and everything that he had going for him.”

“And he didn’t take that well I’m guessing.”

“He dropped out of school his senior year. Can you believe that? He didn’t even finish high school. He’s working some factory job somewhere. He’s not with the girl anymore and he barely gets to see his kid. He’s got a four year old daughter that he loves but will never really get to give her the best things in life that I know he’s capable of. He’s never going to find someone that makes him happy because he spends his whole life working and scheduling his life around the mom’s schedule so he can see his daughter as much as he can. That bitch named one of her friends as the godfather if anything happens to him. Nate doesn’t even know the guy. Well I know the guy. He’s a loser! He works at McDonalds and smokes weed all the time and he’s content with doing that his whole life. That pisses me off.”

“Sounds like you’ve stayed in contact a little though.”

“I’ve gone back to the area a few times. That person that did the background check on you I have him constantly check up on my brother and send me the updates. But he’s not really in my life anymore.”

“I’m sorry Sam.” Charlie was starting to realize that Sam was more alone and separated from society than he realized. He knew he did some work on the internet along with a few cons here and there for a bigger paycheck but he had no idea that he was so distant from any human connection. It was quiet for a few minutes. Sam felt like he was obliged to tell him a few things that couldn’t be found in a background check.

“My older brother, Patrick, the one I’m sure you had gotten checked out. He’s gay.” Sam looked over at Charlie interested by this bit of news.

“How’d you find out?”

“My sister and brother went to colleges in the same area. My sister was friends with some gay guy I guess and they went out to a gay bar for his birthday. When they were there I guess she saw my brother talking with some guys.”

“Interesting”

“Yeah I thought you might enjoy that. Well my sister and brother got into it a little bit. My parents ended up finding out and after my brother finished school and graduated that year he took off to the east coast somewhere and barely even stays in contact with my family now. I was never really closed to my brother growing up because there was such a difference in age but now I wish I could get to know more about him and I don’t even have that opportunity now.”

“What’s the story with your sister?”

“I think she regrets ever telling our parents.”

“No I mean how are you with your sister? It seems like you have a good relationship with her.”

“Yeah we are real close. She’s always been there for me when I need help with girls, or rides, or even buying my clothes and stuff.”

“How much older is she than you?”

“Six years. But she’s always managed to see my games, come to graduations, and she’ll always send me something for my birthday.”

“Well that sounds pretty great man.”

“Yeah she’s a great sister.” Charlie looked over and saw Sam had pulled out a necklace from under his shirt with two rings on it. He was playing with them in his fingers. “Whose rings are those?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Well obviously it does or else you wouldn’t have them.”

“They’re reminders.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Oh c’mon! I thought we were actually talking.” Sam took a drink from his bottle and looked at Charlie.

“Trust me. I want to be able to tell you. I just can’t. I’m not ready to talk about it yet. There’s a reason why some things are left buried down deep in our souls. It’s because we can’t grasp the reality of it.” Charlie didn’t know what to say and the two of them sat there for a while without saying a word until Sam finally got up and walked away. Charlie stayed there and thought about his life and all the things that were important to him. People he didn’t spend enough time with or hadn’t appreciated. The relationships he had with people and who he wanted to become. When he finally found he was at ease with himself and ready to go to sleep he wandered back inside the yacht and found a quiet room to fall asleep in. Enjoy the moments you can with the people you love because you never know when they’ll be gone or when your path will change. The real gift that Sam had given Charlie was clarity.

(captures both characters I can be, but in humor)

On May 22nd, 2012 I am about to embark on a mission no man has ever done before (just kidding). I am going to survive one full week living the life of a hobo. I am only allowed a few items like my harmonica, a pocket knife, and maybe a water bottle. No money, no housing, but it will be recorded and edited by one of our fellow chairmen. It’s not going to be easy and honestly it’ll be pretty hard. I’ll definitely be losing some weight and some sleep. Am I crazy? Insane? Well maybe but I’ve been called those before and it never stopped me then. I guess it’s time for me to answer the only major question. Why?

I’m 23, college education with a plethora of related experience and volunteer hours, and well on my way to some boring office job somewhere in the world. I have a lifetime to live. But if I’ve learned anything from watching “The Buried Life” it’s that you shouldn’t wait until you’re old to start crossing things off your bucket list. You shouldn’t wait until you’re retired to continue exploring and having adventures. Ironically one of the things on my list is to live the life of a hobo. But again you ask why? Most people want to see Paris, go rock climbing, see Everest, or go skydiving (this one I’ll do) but living like a hobo? I’m pretty sure it’s not on any of your lists either.

Let me tell you a personal story. I had an uncle who I’m sure has since passed away. The only stories I ever heard about him was that he would visit once in a blue moon without anyone knowing he was coming. My aunt was a little girl at the time but she told me he was a hobo. He traveled all around exploring the world as he could. The one story that she remembers best is that one summer he came to visit my aunt and my dad and he had this big radio. One of those wireless ones that runs on batteries I’m assuming, and she told me about how my dad loved it and played with its nobs because it was something he’d never seen. Now I always wondered how he got that radio. Did he steal it? Did he want it that bad that he worked a job to earn it? I never knew because before long he left and had disappeared again.

I always thought there was something exhilarating about not having to be somewhere and not having to do anything but somehow being able to get by. The mentality that you only have to worry about the simplest of things like eating but also being able to enjoy the simplest things like a beautiful day. The types of things we all take for granted daily because we all have houses, cars, and jobs. And not only with this be challenging for the obvious reasons, the fact that I won’t have my phone, or laptop, or television to entertain me for hours and hours will also be a struggle (as shallow as that is).

So what have I done to prepare for this? Well not much. I don’t want to plan it. If I plan it I can easily make it easy and enjoyable to where it’ll basically be camping. The limited amount of research I have managed to do is that a person can go between 3-5 weeks without eating before dieing. No problem since it’ll only be a week. But I really hope I don’t go a week without eating! A person can only go 3-4 days without water though. As long as I don’t get dropped off in a dessert I can find a way to get water I believe. Now that I have my week picked out I don’t plan to watch any weather reports because I don’t want to know.

Still need further explanation? I’m a person who likes to push people for answers and explanations. Nosy? Not really just curious as to how people think. I like people that are able to push others out of their comfort zone. My comfort zone is so huge that I tend to do insane things to push even myself out of the comfort zone. To prove to myself I can indeed accomplish something that I’m unsure of and to prove to myself that I can still do outrageous things. I guess it’s fitting to call it an ego trip. Get it?

So here’s the bottom line. Bluechair will be following me for the course of the week. It might be camping out in the vicinity as myself or it’ll be through walkie talkie communication. This has a lot of variables depending on how far away I get dropped off at. He will shoot and edit the course of these events in two video parts. It will probably be uploaded on my YouTube channel and his Facebook page. If you are interested in this project feel free to leave a comment or your information if you want to watch.

“Where ever he laid his hat was his home” – Temptations

When I get time to write I usually pop out the posts in bunches. The baseball season is rearing towards the end of the season and practices are extremely light and easy as it’s crucial to not get anyone injured as everyone is feeling the aches and pains by now. Regardless I’m here to talk about the NFL and in particular the St. Louis Rams.

The NFL draft started off with a bang this year. I believe it was ten trades in the first round. The TV ratings were also up from a 4.3 to a 4.8 (read somewhere, but don’t source me on this.) Many of the casual fans may not understand why this is but it’s because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that took place this off season in creating a rookie wage. Therefore there no longer are guys like JaMarcus Russell that are drafted with a top ten pick that get paid ridiculous amounts of money without having to prove their worth. Once they’ve signed these contracts teams have to pay this money and with salary caps in the NFL teams are basically destined to prosper or fail for the next five years with these players drafted. Now that they have a rookie scale teams are a lot happier and a lot more easy going about trading up to get talent. My team, the St. Louis Rams, is a team that definitely took advantage of this.

The St. Louis Rams are Indianapolis Colts both together were the worst teams in the NFL last season. They tied for the worst records and therefore it was a coin flip who got the first pick (It’s not really a coin flip, but the means does not matter). The rams ended up getting the second pick. The colts went ahead and made everyone aware that they were going to take Andrew Luck. One of the highest rated players coming out of college for a long time. I think since John Elway and Peyton Manning. Andrew Luck is considered pro ready after his play at Stanford. Robert Griffin III won the Heisman and became the next elite quarterback to come out of this years draft. His college play and his combine workouts made him another player coaches with quarterback concerns were drooling over. The Rams sat back and waited for the best offer. The Rams have a young quarterback in Sam Bradford that they are happy with (so am I) and know they just need to get him some weapons and support. The Redskins stepped up and the Rams made the trade and gain the 6th pick in this years draft, 39th pick in this years draft, and first round picks for 2013 and 2014. Thus setting them up to have two first round picks in the next two seasons. The Rams went ahead and used the 39th pick but not before they re traded the 6th pick for the 14th pick and the 45th pick.That 45th pick they traded for they went ahead and traded that for the 50th pick and the 150th pick. If I haven’t lost you yet these are all good moves. The Rams moved back only several of spots, appeared to still get their man, and gained more draft picks.

When all was said and done. The Rams were believed to get Oklahoma State’s wide receiver Justin Blackman but a team traded up and took him with the 5th pick. With their first pick (14th overall) they took LSU’s Michael Brockers. A defensive tackle that only played one full season at LSU. At first I wasn’t sure of this pick. I wanted them to take Claiborne at 6 (which they traded away) or maybe a linebacker here at 14. After I settled down though this was a nice pick. With development Brockers will be a great DT. He already stops the run well and needs to develop his pass rushing ability. With the other lineman the Rams already have they should be set for the next several years if they all continue to improve. A team needs to be built from their line and then out.With the first pick in the second round I wanted them to take a wide receiver. There were plenty of options here and if not I wanted them to take a wide receiver with their second pick of the round and take the linebacker/defensive end Courtney Upshaw from Alabama. From what I heard about him he’s better being a linebacker in a 3-4 style defense. The Rams run a 4-3 defense. He wouldn’t be a good fit then. The Rams picked Brian Quick from Appalachian State. Who? This pick was a reach. They could have taken him probably with their third second round pick or even the first pick in the third round for them. He’s 6-4 220 pounded who runs a 4.55 40 yard dash. He’s a fairly raw talent playing only his senior year in high school and playing at a D2 university. The Rams watched his workouts and fell in love with him. They considered him 1b to Justin Blackman. I’m assuming they took this pick as a steal but I took it as a stretch.

The next pick was 39th overall Janoris Jenkins. Character issues are what dropped this talent out of the first round. As long as he doesn’t end up like Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones this pick is great! Without the character concerns Jenkins is probably a top 15 talent and being argued over who is a better corner back with Morris Claiborne. The Rams knew what they were doing when they traded away the chance at Claiborne. After they traded the 45th pick to the Bears they took Isiah Pead from Cincinnati. A running back that is only a part time back. The Rams need running back depth so this was an acceptable pick but not a home-run pick for being in the second round. Third round pick I’m happy with. The Rams drafted Trumaine Johnson, a corner back out of Montana. If things don’t work out with Jenkins and the Rams have another season full of injuries with their defensive backs they should be able to trust the talent of Trumaine Johnson. He is a second round talent and adds depth to the team. I trust that new coach Jeff Fisher can develop the talent he has picked in the first three rounds. The Rams finally have a coach that has been around the league and has been successful. He has gotten teams to win more games than other teams and he’s done it with less talent. See Vince Young.

By the 4th round it’s really hit or miss on picks and players after this point. Wide receiver Givens was taken in the 4th round. He’s a speed burner that needs to develop. The only problem is that is what most of the other Rams receivers have been and they all have failed or moved on to other teams and succeeded there. The Rams followed with offensive lineman Rokevious Watkins (can never go wrong drafting lineman, could always use more), kicker Greg Zeurlein (cut Brown and saved more than 3 million in cash? I’ll take it), outside linebacker Aaron Brown (best talent pick and happen to be in a spot we need, character issues again. If Rams suck on the field at least they’ll party and win bar fights), and running back Daryl Richardson (he probably won’t even make the team and for a 7th round pick, no sense stressing about this pick).

Overall I think the Rams did a great job in the draft. They had holes in positions and they filled them through the draft. Building teams through the draft is the right way to run an organization. Look at the Packers, Patriots, and even the Giants. They got players that can help their defense right away in Jenkins, Brockers, and possibly Johnson. They added weapons, although specialized, on the offense that hopefully will work out in fisher schemes in Quick, Givens, and Pead as well as adding depth on the line with Watkins. Special teams which normally is horrible for the Rams should even improve with Brown, Richardson (if he makes the team), Pead, and Jenkins. Although I think they reached on some picks I do have trust in Fisher and hope that he can built the Rams back into contenders; and although not replicate the greatest show on turf but make us compare the two different teams.

-I’m getting the momentum going for 200 posts!

REDCHAIR; Sports Editor

West (Predicted December 2011)/ Actual

1) Thunder – Spurs 50-16

2) Mavericks  – Thunder 47-19

3) Spurs  – Lakers 41-25

4) Clippers  – Grizzlies 41-25

5) Lakers  – Clippers 40-26

6) Grizzlies  – Nuggets 38-28

7) Blazers  – Mavericks 36-30

8) Warriors  – Jazz 36-30

(Finals: Heat & Thunder. Heat win in 6)

Although I wasn’t as successful as with the western conference I still think I did pretty well. The Clippers were the ones who splashed in the offseason with Paul and Billups but no one was sure how well they’d do. I had them at #4 and they’re really only two games away from being that. If Billups didn’t get hurt they could have possibly been a #3 which would have helped them this year in my opinion. Jazz barely squeaked in. They have young talent but they’re not ready.

First Round:

1 Spurs vs. 8 Jazz – As I just stated the Jazz have young talent and the Spurs have older talent with some younger parts off the bench. Spurs somehow managed to tie for the best record in the NBA. Personally the Spurs bore me. I will not watch this series and unless the Jazz get lucky or Manu breaks something again the Spurs will advance.

2. Thunder vs. 7 Mavericks – The Thunder have a very similar roster as last season where the Mavericks seem a lot different. Mavericks lost two key guys like Chandler and J.J. Barea that helped a lot last season. The Mavericks got by because of Dirk’s big time shots. Age has really gotten to this team. Dropping from one of the top seeds all the way to #7 has showed this. They need to learn from the Spurs coach how to maintain. Thunder are just too good with Durant and Westbrook. These guys won’t be stopped in this series. Thunder also will feel like they have something to prove since the Mavericks are who beat them last year.

3. Lakers vs. 6 Nuggets – Somehow the Nuggets win games without having any big elite players. They are just a good solid team. That’s about all I can say about them. I like Afflalo but Lakers adding Sessions and Kobe keeping himself healthy and rested for the playoffs is all the Lakers need with the duo of bigs they have. Lakers will advance and Kobe will hit big shots anytime he needs to.

4. Grizzlies vs. 5 Clippers – This could be a fun series to watch. I like the guys on both teams. I think “Lob City” is going to be in trouble when they have to slow down and run sets. I think Paul can carry the team at times but Billups needed to be there for big shot for them to go deeper. I like the Grizzlies and I think they showed a lot of people how good they were last year without their best player in Rudy Gay. I think the Grizzlies advance in a lot of close games.

Second Round:

1 Spurs vs. 4 Grizzlies – Upset alert! Rankings wise this is really the only upset I have for your guys. The Spurs are good and have depth but in the playoffs the key players play more minutes and I feel like the Spurs will wear down. I also think this is the year that Mark Gasol shows he’s now the better Gasol brother in the NBA. He will be huge. I think Randolph will be back in shape after his injury enough to contribute. Gay will have a great series and Conley and Mayo will continue to do their thing and win games.

2 Thunder vs. 3 Lakers – This shit just got personal. Metta World Peace will be back after his suspension and hopefully Harden will be back to playing 100% after suffering a concussion. You have the top two scorers in the league going at it. Ibaka and Perkins are going to have to have a good defensive series against Gasol and Bynum. Before the Lakers traded for Sessions I figured the point guard position would be the downfall for the Lakers. He is a great improvement over what they had. I think the Thunder are determined to be in the finals or the season will be a bust. The depth of the Thunder and youth will outlast the Lakers. Expect a game or two where Kobe & Durant get the chance for a last second shot.

Western Finals:

2 Thunder vs. 4 Grizzlies – The funny thing is this was probably one of the hardest series for the Thunder last year. I think they competed with the Mavericks better but not being able to close games and Dirk hitting big shots is why they lose. The Thunder and Grizzlies match-up really well against one another. Now the Grizzlies have Rudy Gay this series and could be a huge upset here. I’m not going to say that though. I believe last season the biggest flaws of the Thunder was their half court offense and their maturity to close at the end of games. I think they have fixed these problems and with the addition of signing Fisher brings great experience and also allows Westbrook to play some SG for the entire playoffs. I would love to see when Thunder go small with Fisher, Westbrook, Harden, Durant, and Ibaka/Collison. I think this series will go 6 or 7 but the Thunder will come out victorious to face the Heat in the finals.

Redchair Original

Sam was sitting on a couch chair reading an economics book and drinking coffee. He was sitting in a city coffee shop and was more or less lurking around in the area. He was only reading his economics book when the traffic in the store was not busy. Otherwise the book was nothing more than a front to listen in on others conversations. Sam had grown bored. The writer he was working for was doing a piece on the change in economy and he wasn’t interested in the topic. He had contacted Charlie about once a week but Charlie was up to nothing that any other college freshman wasn’t doing. He was staying up too late, going to parties on the weekend, and going the school’s sporting events. It was not worthy enough of being trivial. Sam was looking for the smallest piece of information to spark an interest in anything but wasn’t receiving it. He had been sitting in this coffee shop for about three hours when a couple sat in a table next to him and started talking. The man had a clean cut corporate type haircut. He had dark brown hair and was cleanly shaven. The woman had long black that was a little messy. He was wearing khakis and polo and Sam assumed he was on his lunch break. The girl was wearing jeans and hoody and looked as if she hadn’t been awake very long. The conversation was mostly one-sided as the man did most of the talking. He was going on and on about graduate school and also having to work full time at some store and what he hoped would happen after his finished. What interested Sam was the female did not even politely acknowledge what the man was saying. Normally most people nod their heads or say something to acknowledge they were paying attention. Sam felt he was paying more attention than the female was. He peered over to the lady and noticed what originally looked like a small bruise on her neck but as he looked closer it was actually a hickey. The girl had long enough hair to hide it but had pulled her hair back to make it noticeable. Sam was finally interested. He got up and stood next to the table and interrupted the man speaking.

“I’m sorry but how long have you two been together?” Sam said looking at the guy.

“Almost two years.” He said.

“Interesting, and how long have you been cheating on him?” Sam said looking at the female. Her eyes got big her mouth opened as if she was going to say something but didn’t know what to say.

“What! Who the hell are you?” the man said.

“It doesn’t matter. How long?” Sam said still looking at the girl.

“How dare you imply such a thing to my girlfriend!” The man said. Sam turned and looked to the guy.

“Okay. When was the last time you guys had sex then?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It’s been awhile then.” Sam looked back at the girl. “She has a hickey. She’s generally bored with you and tired of hearing about you rant about your dull life bouncing back and forth between school and work. The mythical spark, as they say, is gone. But you’re a stable guy and she’s insecure. She wants to stay with you because you’re safe but she isn’t happy. She’s actually really bored with you or else she’d at least acknowledge you in conversation when you talk.”

“It’s just a bruise.” The girl managed to say.

“Oh no it’s not. I’ve seen my fair share amount of hickeys and that is one.” Sam looked back at the guy. He was shocked and speechless keeping his eyes away from both of them. He looked back at the girl and she was the same way but she was staring straight at him. “Well I’d say this two year relationship was almost over anyways.” Sam pulled out a pen from his pocket and wrote a number down on a napkin. “If you want some rebound sex you can give me a call. I know you’ll want more but you’re cute enough to spill some fluid onto your sheets. Nothing else though.” He winked at her and then turned around grabbed his book and walked out with a smile on his face. The couple watched him leave in silence. Sam had an idea pop into his head.

Sam couldn’t help but put together the hickey he saw on the ladies neck with the bruises and cuts on the fingers of the blue collar workers. He could never really understand how his mind went from one thing to another thing but he had accepted that it was different than most people thought. He remembered hearing a situation that had taken place in one of the big factories in town. He decided he was going to check it out because the bosses seemed to be a bit suspicious and figured that meant they could be taken advantage of. The factory ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week and was only stopped at night time to be cleaned. Sam knew that was his opening. He stood outside the door in glasses, blue jeans and a white tee-shirt while smoking a cigarette. He waited for someone to open the locked door with their key card. He grabbed onto the door before it was about to close. Sam had done his research. Walk up the stairs, down the hallway, and to the left there was a room full of workers shirts, jackets, helmets, and protective eyewear. Sam put on a uniform and blended in with the others. A few people were in the cafeteria room waiting for the main room to be cleaned. The rest of the staff was in the factory cleaning the equipment. Sam walked down another hallway towards where the offices were until he found the office he wanted. Alex Joseph, he was an important man from the looks of his office and from the information he had gathered from the previous week when he was putting this plan together. Sam pulled out a tiny pick lock kit from his pocket and went away at the door. He wasn’t an expert but he had enough skill to pick away above average locks and this was a very basis lock. This was just another skill that Andy had taught him. Sam got inside and closed the door quietly. There weren’t any cameras in the building because the only thing this factory made was food. Sam had been tipped off that there were two ledgers in his desk with the finances of the operations. A factory worker at the building had overheard Mr. Joseph talking about cutting the salaries of the workers to increase profits and became suspicious. He was too nervous to snoop around the office with the chance of getting caught and fired. Sam on the other hand had nothing to lose and was curious as to what he might find. Sam picked the locks of Mr. Joseph’s desk and started looking through the drawers. He looked at the pictures on his desk. He was a married man but with no children. Even if he was Sam didn’t care. A bad man was a bad man and for all he knew the kids were just a great smoke screen. Sam found the ledgers but it wasn’t what he was expecting. Mr. Joseph wasn’t skimming money off the factory but instead was running an underground gambling system. He looked as if he was the guy calculating the bets and had all the contact information of his clients. The light bulb went off in Sam’s head. If they were running an underground gambling business on the facility site the best time to do it would be now. The factory only closed down for three hours from 12 PM to 3 AM. This would be the perfect time to meet clients by hiding out in the public eye. Sam tucked in the ledgers underneath his shirt and grabbed the trash bag from his office and placed in a new one. You can figure out a lot about a person by their trash. Sam looked out the office to make sure no one was around and opened the office door and then quickly walked down the hallway. As he turned right to head down another hallway he was passed by a man in a suit. He gave him a nod and continued walking. Sam walked back down to the area where the laundry was being thrown and threw back a jacket and protective helmet. He kept on the shirt uniform and placed the ear plugs in his pocket. He walked down the hallway and down the stairs until he was outside. He quickly hurried down the street to where his car was parked and took off back to the bookstore.

It was around 2 AM in the morning and Sam sat in his chair with the two ledgers open on his coffee table just looking at them. He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do. He could mail it to the police station and assume they’d figure it out. He could call one of the guys in the book and blackmail them into buying the ledgers back. He could also cut out the guys and simply take over the clients he had access to. That was the first thing that came to mind but the more he looked at the ledgers he didn’t have this quantity of money and knew Mr. Joseph must be using the companies liquid money to help finance the gambling enterprise they were running. Sam wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do with Mr. Joseph’s ledger but the idea of this double business gave him a great idea to write about for the economics topic his journalist had requested. By the time the sun came up Sam had written a great piece that he had emailed to the journalist. He then decided he was going to sleep the afternoon away and figure out what to do about the ledgers.

That evening Charlie came back from eating dinner with a few friends to find Sam in his dorm room closet.

“What are you doing? How did you even get in here?” Charlie said calmly. The outrageous tactics of Sam had started to become normal for Charlie.

“I made a copy of your key.”

“I thought they marked them so they couldn’t be copied.”

“Oh they talk a lot of stuff trying to scare you off from trying. Also I made it in a shop.”

“And what are you looking for in my closet?”

“Playboys.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Yes. You remember when I let you borrow one of my books?” Charlie nodded his head. “Well I had the wrong cover on it and gave you the wrong book. The book I gave you had some papers clipped in the back of it that I need. Did you even read the book?”

“I got about ten pages in and had no idea what I was reading.”

“Yeah that book is above your 8^th grade reading level.”

“Very funny. It’s not in my closet though.” Sam stopped looking around.

“Well I already went through your dresser and drawers. Where is it?”

“It’s keeping my window propped open in my bathroom.”

“You steamed up my book?”

“No. It’s fine.” Charlie went to the bathroom and grabbed the book and gave it to Sam. Sam opened up the book and went to the last few pages of the book. He glanced through the pages and shut the book.

“Just what I was looking for” Sam said and got up and opened the door saying bye as he shut the door.

Sam sat down on the opposite side of a crowded desk. A police officer dressed up in a brown suit with a blue dress shirt and black tie sat behind the desk and stopped to looked at him. He was in his late 40’s and was clearly balding. He was wearing glasses to read the files on his desk and took them off to look at Sam.

“I hear you’re the guy who is investigating some illegal gambling.”

“And who told you that?”

“The lady at the front door, I assumed she wouldn’t be the one who would lie to me.”

“What are you doing here then?”

“I think I can help you. But I need you to help me as well.”

“So this is more of a trade?”

“Maybe” Sam ripped out the last few pages in the book he had picked up from Charlie. “If you can make these disappear I can give you a smoking gun.” The investigator looked through the few papers that Sam had given him.

“You want me to erase a DWI charge, a battery assault, and what a few speeding tickets?”

“Yes I do.”

“And I assume your name is Nathanial Thomas?”

“Nope. My name’s Marcus.”

“And why do you want to clear these for someone else?”

“He’s a friend of the families. These records might keep him from getting a better job when they do a background check.”

“Ok say I agree to these terms. What is this smoking gun we are talking about?”

“I have the ledger of all the bets that are being taken with the money totals. I also have the contact sheets of these people and probably the ones you are looking for.”

“And how did you acquire this information?”

“Oh the means does not matter. Everything you need is here.”

“But if you acquired it illegally I can’t use it in court.”

“Not if I mail it into you. The means of acquiring it doesn’t matter.”

“Are you a law student?”

“All you have to do is watch TV now-a-days and you can pick up a lot.”

“My kids watch South Park and Family Guy. They’re not learning anything from television.”

 “Well I guess I enjoy a bit of smarter television. How about I let you take a look at this ledger. You give me a large envelope and I write down your name and address to mail this to. In return you delete these records right now.” The investigator paused and sat at his desk thinking about his decision.

“Let me take a look at it. If I can use it I will help you out.” Sam pulled out the ledgers from his book bag sitting on the side of his chair. The cop opened it up and started flipping through the pages.

“This is good. And how did you go about getting this?”

“You’re trying to get evidence to find me guilty when I’m helping you?”

“You’re right. I don’t want to know. I can use this though.”

“Well grab me an envelope and it’s yours. I just need you to delete these records first and let me see it happen.”

The cop walked away into another room and grabbed an envelope and put a stamp on it. He wrote down the address on a separate sheet of paper and gave it to Sam. Sam wrote it on the envelope and placed the two ledgers inside of it and used the tape on the desk to close it up. The officer was already typing on his keyboard and clicking things on his mouse. When he had gotten to the right point he moved the monitor to where Sam could see it. He deleted all the records of the trouble Nate Thomas had gotten into it and then accepted the changes. Nate was Sam’s younger brother.

“Are you happy now?” The officer said.

“Ecstatic.” Sam said sarcastically. “But I need one more favor.”

“That wasn’t the deal.”

“It’s not anything illegal. I need you to get the medical report of Amie Fahl.”

“That’s confidential stuff. I can’t receive those records.”

“She’s dead. It won’t ruin any confidential laws with her.”

“Why do you want it?”

“She has a kid who’s sick. I can’t gain access to her family history. Her parents are also dead and she never married.” The cop signed.

“I’ll see what I can do. I give you no promises though.”

“That’s all I can ask for.”

“How do I contact you?”

“Here’s a P.O. Box you can mail it to.” Sam said writing down an address on a piece of paper and handing it to the investigator. “I don’t want you anywhere near my house.”

REDCHAIR; Sports Editor

As maybe a few of the viewer’s know I am volunteering as an assistant coach getting some experience in that field while also consulting on some projects for the school. Needless to say this season has been anything but easy. If the guy who came up with Murphy’s Laws was around he’d probably be laughing at us. To remember all the things that have gone wrong would be shocking as well as disturbing, but enough on that let’s get to the storyline.

I feel that small towns are hit and miss. They can either be really cool or really crappy. I have to lean towards the crappy side for the town I am coaching in. It’s so small that one of our recruiting tools is that the town is so small there won’t be any problems focusing on baseball. Somehow we have managed to prove this wrong this season. Our team is full of freshman at the community college. We have three sophomores and even those sophomores are pretty immature. It’s very hard to deal with so much maturity all together at once.

We had to suspend two of our players for being seen driving around in a car with guys who were smoking weed. We were also tipped off that certain players on our team, whom of age, were buying booze and drinking it. Even though our team is not packed with endless amounts of talents the two players we had to suspend did have talent that was missed. Another two players are indefinitely suspended for the rest of the season after they are being faced with rape and underage drinking. I kid you not; I’m not making this stuff up. The worst part was one was arguably our best hitter while the other was only going to ride pine this season. Regardless I feel really bad for their situations as I believe that this girl was not raped but merely taking advantage of a bad situation.  Our players were just not smart enough to think about the situation and get away from it.

Cliques have formed. Any time you are on a team you might not like everyone but you need to be able to get along with them and be able to hang out with them. This definitely does not happen. Two of our players have become such loners because they are not accepted or do not want to be accepted and find ways of keeping it that way. Others have their core group of friends and tend to bring down the others. It really sounds like high school and middle school all over again doesn’t it? But as the head coach has told me that I shouldn’t get invested in them as people and should distance myself from them. I believe his understanding is that I won’t be able to objectify playing time and instead will play the players I like best. Usually this would be true but I’ve never had an issue with this. I’ll yell at anyone. Two of my favorite people on the team are definitely not the best players and aren’t even the best for their positions.

We went on a trip for spring break as most teams usually do to get a bunch of games somewhere else where it is warm and the weather isn’t a factor. Well before we got to our spring break trip one of our top players was ejected from a game causing our head coach to be suspended for two games. That top player also injured one of his fingers in a non-baseball related incident and is still swollen and injured. I was indifferent to the situation. I don’t want our players behaving recklessly and not being able to control their emotions but I was kind of excited to be able to discuss with my other fellow assistant coach about moves in the games. In our two games we went 1-1. The team played well and the players felt a lot more relaxed at the plate and in the dugout with us there.

It seemed as soon as the head coach returned the pressure was back on and the players couldn’t handle it like before. Our record is now around 2-18. Tempers have flared, the cliques have gotten stronger, and teammates are starting to turn on each other and pointing fingers. Over the trip I hung out with some of the players and got to know them a lot more, even though advised not to, and I learned a lot about some players. One of the major things I learned was that our head coach does not know how to motivate these players. They are so scared that if they make a mistake they will be pulled out of the game and benched for the next game. Anyone who has played baseball knows that to be successful there is a strange combination of being focused yet calm and loose. If you think too much you are going to fail. If you don’t think enough you are going to fail. There has to be a right combination to be successful.

There was also a lot to learn by riding on the bus with these kids for about three days’ worth. Shoot me now. It is most certainly a fact that this team is immature and does not have their minds in the right place. They were more worried about going to the beach and what was going on at night instead of the games. They also are so loud and obnoxious and do not thing about the common courtesy of others. Many people became grumpy when they were trying to sleep and others were being loud. I became the most frustrated when 10 minutes after a post-game talk the players already had the game out of their mind and were back to behaving immature. I just cannot understand it. I am only about 3-4 years away from this age group and I’m completely different.

I remember when I was playing in a city league playing left handed after I had injured my right shoulder and was rehabbing I almost had to walk home after a game because I was so frustrated with myself for not being able to throw out a guy who was going to third base from left field. I remember having a girl at that game tell me that I needed to put less pressure on myself. Just being out there was great and even being able to make that throw with my opposite throwing arm was amazing. To realistically think I was going to be able to make that play perfectly was a bit unreal but all the more impressive for making it appear as if it might be. She was right. The point was I was so into the game and always wanted to win and compete and give it my all I sometimes needed a complete 24 hours to get over it and move on. These guys don’t even need 24 minutes and they’re over it. I cannot fathom that.

They tell a quarterback in football to forget about the interception he threw and keep throwing. These do the same thing in baseball. A pitcher makes a mistake pitch he still needs to keep throwing that pitch or that spot. A hitter strikes out he needs to have the maturity to not let his emotions take over and needs to let go of that at bat and get ready for the next one. I’ve seen more thrown helmets and tossed gloves this season than I think I’ve ever seen in my sports career. I was brought up that if you couldn’t control yourself and had to throw fits you were out of control and weren’t going to be in the game anymore. I think we’d run out of players if we did that now.

Our last game of the trip was the worst. We faced a team we had beaten before but our team was just physically not there and mentally might have checked out after we were down. I and the other assistant coach probably got the least amount of sleep the whole weekend. We had to do room checks to make sure they were in their rooms and then check on it later to make sure they hadn’t left and then get up early in the morning like the rest of them. To say I was 100% focus would be a lie. Four or Five hours of sleep followed by six hours of focus were tough but we still managed. To see a player fall asleep sitting on a bucket upset me. To hear players talking about racial issues outside of the dugout next to the bullpen and having to yell at them to get their heads in the game was frustrating. When we were about to get ten-run ruled and players were arguing where that rule originated from was more than I could handle. To top it all off after the head coach gave a good 30 minute speech that I myself was actually into about having to have heart and will to compete and get better by the time I was on the bus on the way back to the hotel the players were already complaining about driving back to the Midwest to perform a hit-a-thon, which is part of our fundraising for trips like this. I was about to blow up so I had to put my headphones on and let the music get me away from it all. This season that was supposed to teach me a lot of behind the scenes stuff has turned into a season of babysitting and hell.

Redchair Original

Sam had attended the state university in California that Charlie was currently attending. He had actually done quite well in his studies. He had gotten as far as finishing his associates degree before getting kicked out of school for what was labeled as plagiarizing and delusions of granger. The simple fact was he was writing papers for stupid lazy kids and he got caught. The ironic part of it all was that Sam was caught plagiarizing a work he himself had written for someone else. But with Sam, already making enemies with his personality and discontent with the educational system, the school board already had enough to kick him out of school and did not look back. Sam already disappointed with the money he had spent on a college education took it as a blessing in disguise. Nobody wanted him there and he didn’t want to be there. The people that Sam did seem to make a great connection with were the security guards, the maintenance workers, the cafeteria workers, and the nurses. They were all the people, in his mind, that went unappreciated for what they did. Sam had friends but not good enough friends that wouldn’t forget about him by senior year and he knew it.

After a brief stint back home a maintenance worker, Andy, had cleared up space in his garage that Sam lived in for a while. Sam helped Andy with projects on a regular basis and helped on the side projects that they did away from the school. Sam, being better with money, did Andy’s taxes and also budgeted his monthly expenses. He learned a lot from Andy over the time they spent together. They would often finish their days sitting in Andy’s backyard drinking a beer, listening to the wind, and talking about life stories. Sam had grown close to Andy and had lived with him for around eight months when Andy had gotten sick. Andy started forgetting things, getting headaches, and his vision had gotten worse. When he finally found his way to a hospital they found a tumor in his brain. It was inoperable. They had only given him a few months to live. Andy sold his house and decided he was going to go live with his brother and do some traveling. Andy didn’t leave a will. Instead he split up the money he had from selling his house between his brother and Sam. He did all of this before his death to avoid any estate taxes. That was just how Andy was. He always knew how to do things without involving “the Man.” It was something Sam had learned from him. Andy would send envelopes of cash to Sam weekly that he knew was enough to pay for any housing and food that Sam might need for the entire month. But the last thing that Andy did for Sam was find him the living space above the bookstore on campus. Andy had worked his way up to the head guy on campus maintenance and had keys to everything. He managed to slip by that the space above the bookstore was nothing but a dusty attic and when a new president of the campus came on that was what he knew it as and wrote it off as nothing. Andy had passed away by the time Sam had figured out and solved the problem of utility expenses with the lady having an affair with a graduate student.

Sam knew he couldn’t live off of the money Andy had left him and didn’t do what most kids in their early twenties would have done. He invested money in his future. And by investing I mean he found a way to obtain the proper documents for creating another identity. Driver’s license, social security, and birth certificate were what he found a way to obtain. The means were not exactly legal and would easily be deemed fake in a federal investigation but Sam needed a cover in case he worked his way into a bad situation. He had met a few people in the area through Andy and decided to put into moment a view scams he had in mind. His new name, Marcus Moreno, was what he went by with people he didn’t know or didn’t trust. It was a new character to play and a way to protect himself. He also had bought himself a used Chevy El Camino and fixed it up at a shady body shop Andy had showed him. Marcus had a few scams that would pay off from time to time. His current scam was at a strip club. He had visited there often in the past to make a new friend of the bouncer. After he had befriended him the plan was easy to execute. The bouncer would send him a text anytime there was a bachelor party being thrown in the strip club, both of them knowing that bachelor parties get out of hand easily at a strip club. Marcus would approach the bouncer at the door and slip him a twenty to get in, which the bouncer would slip back to him once he left. Each conversation would go like this.

“Hey buddy, how the ladies looking tonight?”

“Oh I’d mark them a ten. Now enjoy your night pal.”

Marcus would park down the road. Monitor the radio until he knew what cops were where and then would walk to the front of the entrance, no matter if there was a line or not, and approach his colleague. He would ask the same question every time. The response usually changed. When the bouncer said “Oh I’d mark them,” and then give a number. That number stood for how big the bachelor party was. That way Marcus would easily identify who they were. If he ended the sentence with a “pal” that meant the owner or manager wasn’t around or was busy. From there on out it was only a matter of waiting on the bachelor to do something he didn’t want his wife to see and for him to get in a good location for a good video. If it was a private party he would gain access from the bouncer, or if it was a crowded area he would buy the party a round of drinks to get closer. On the rare occasions the bachelor behaved himself he would pay the stripper a view hundred to get a little grabby with him. Marcus kept a few small hidden cameras on him to make sure he would always get a good shot. Once he had gotten the recordings he would enjoy the company of a stripper for an hour or so and then he would leave. The bouncer would get the name of the bachelor and text it to Marcus’ phone. Marcus would run a background check on him to access his email and phone. He would contact the guy and blackmail him into paying him. Normally he would state that he was actually doing the guy a favor. The mother of the bride, or the overprotective sister, the older brother, the father, or the best friend had paid him to film this video and show the bride but he knew boys will be boys and wanted to offer him a chance to buy it off him instead of his opposition. He would then create a reasonable figure that he believed the crazy future relative would pay and gave him a chance to top it. If they didn’t believe him he’d send them an email with the footage or frozen still shots if that was more convincing. A large majority of the time they’d oblige and would pay by the next day through a garage shop he often attended. Marcus would pay the bouncer $300-$500 depending on how rich the person looked. He played it off as if he was only asking for $1,000 on each transaction but really he was asking for $2,000-$3,000. More often it was closer to the lower end because he knew it was hard to come up with that type of money without a fiancée becoming suspicious and he didn’t want to get caught either. Therefore he made on average around $1,500 on each bachelor he scammed. He’d often tip his friend at the garage for providing a fake bill for the guy to provide his wife for proof of the expenses.

Marcus new that every scam he worked was more seasonal work instead of consistent. He also believed it needed to be that way or else it’d be a lot easier to get caught. He sometimes moonlighted as a follow car for another guy who stole cars. It was nothing illegal he was doing but simply listening to the radio for police reports and not reporting stolen cars. On the rare occasions a car would get pulled over he would have to create a distraction through gun shots, setting off alarms, or anything else that presented itself. As exciting as it seemed after a while Marcus had gotten bored of this job and made sure to turn this into seasonal work as well. He worked for a little while as a middle man selling fake art for the price of the masterpiece after it had been stolen. He quickly realized it was only a matter of time before he was the one who got busted. It did pay really well but the risks were too high. He attempted to work a third shift security operation, and a third shift maintenance job but grew bored of this lifestyle after three months. It was only after these two jobs when his website hosting started to take off and his writing had been noticed by a local editor that he finally started to see a more steady life with regular pay. Normally small and middle sized companies would pay to Samuel Thomas to host their site, monitor it for data, create funds through relevant advertising, and provide any information they wanted to add. The editor, who Sam frequently sent opinion pieces to, would respond to Samuel’s email account and would often post his material on their online website. He paid Sam as a freelance writer and an information assistant.

Even while Sam was earning plenty from his computer he still liked the rush of the con and made sure all of his other adventures he was to be contacted as Marcus Moreno. He continued to work through the night and sleep through most of the day. He was always writing ideas on his wall for new cons, new articles, or new ways of making money because he believed nothing could last forever. He was an abrasive loner with a large amount of exploitable friends. The few people who were capable of seeing him as Sam he preferred for them to see him as Marcus and by doing so he could keep them at arm’s length.  At age twenty five he was living as if he was a teenager only having to pay for the food he liked, the gas he spent, and the clothes he wanted while also choosing his own hours to work and making the salary of a thirty year old. In addition to all that he had accrued a comfortable amount of wealth that he could easily quit everything and take a couple years off before he would need to start working again. He was comfortably content with his disconnected relationship with his family and friends but the two rings he wore on his necklace were what kept him up thinking during the day when he usually slept.

BY REDCHAIR; Sports Editor

[The fun part of the season, stated by the head coach, is finally here. Even though the weather has not cooperated and it still around freezing temperatures we finally are starting baseball games. This article is the journal recordings from our trip last weekend for the community college team I am working with.]

5:15 AM and the alarm goes off and the road trip begins. Bus leaves at 6:00 but as a coaches we know that a player or three will forget something so we really expect to leave at 6 15. Road trip there was quiet but mostly because the team was asleep until an hour or so before arrival. The bus ride lasted about four hours. The first game didn’t go well. We had a better team I believe but our maturity level is behind. A lot of weak approaches at the plate and we just couldn’t put the ball in play against their weak defense. I believe we had around 6-8 strikeouts. That is way too many at this level. I felt like I was watching my little league team play. Needless to say we lost, not scoring a run and only managing three hits.

The next game we played didn’t go much better. We played a team that was a good solid overall team. Their players made plays and we didn’t. I think we had four errors. Our approaches at the plate didn’t get much better and our bickering in the dugout has pissed off the coaches. I repeat maturity is a major issue even for our returning players. We got 10-run ruled in five innings. The only bright spot was in our last half inning we managed to string a few good at bats together and collected two hits out of our three total.

A team meeting was had at night about needing to grow up and focusing on the right things. I can tell it was a long day as most of them looked like they were ready to fall asleep. I didn’t want to say anything at this time knowing the point wouldn’t get a crossed. We have two games tomorrow against the same teams. At this point we need to see some improvement or else this weekend is going to be a bust!    

Day two went a lot better. We actually had time for a full night’s sleep in the hotel. I was up till past one tallying pitching stats. I was curious to see the tendency and habits of our pitchers. We had our first game at noon and ate breakfast and checked out of our rooms by ten. Oh the life of a ball player! The weather was a lot nicer and warmer than the previous day. The turf infield helped keep the heat from the sun in the right place. Our pitcher pitched well and deserved to win. We made a couple minor mistakes and it led to an extra run or two and we lost in a final score 5-3. It was a good sign that we scored this game and had more hits in our previous two combined. We had a game in between to eat and relax. I really wish we hadn’t though. The time off it seemed our team became flat and lost the intensity we had in the first. It’s a real challenge trying to figure out the right combo of players. I’ve only noticed one and possibly a second who performed well and should stay in the lineup. It’s difficult being real weak at a certain position and deeper in another. Second game we lost 9-2 I believe. We still need to figure out the balance at the plate of being aggressive once we see our pitch. Too often it seems we either walk or strike out.

My overall thought on this weekend is that the team needs a lot of work on character. But it’s something most people are working on as freshman in college regardless of baseball. To try and figure out whom we want to be as we grow up and mature away from home. Coming from smaller areas it seems like it’s harder for these kids because they are used to being the big man on campus. I thought I came from a small area with a graduating class of 350 and most of these kids graduate with a class of around 100. This weekend should have been a reality check for them. On the bus right home you can really see the delicacy in these kids. Half are asleep and worn out from the weekend. Some are still doughy eyed trying to take everything in. I might be included in this area as being on the coaching side is different. I have to be a mentor and always be the role model. It may seem bizarre but I find it comforting that these kids always want to ask questions and know more. They feel comfortable with you and give you their trust blind fully that you know what’s best for them and you’ll get them fed and home safe. The way that they want to be around you in a sense that if they’re around you nothing will go wrong. Maybe secretly it’s a paternal instinct on my end that I enjoy because I am unaware if I’m suited for the wife and kids role one day. There is just something you can duplicate when it comes to playing sports competitively. You form such strong bonds and connections always being around and doing everything together for better or for worse. I wish I could form better relationships with the players but the head coach has told me to distance myself from that. I think he believes as a young coach I will play players whom I like instead of fielding the best team. I know I do not have this issue as I’ve been a victim of this circumstance. This is definitely an area where I need to define a line though. I need to figure out how much of a friend I can be to these players verses just a coach that they see at practice and on game days.  

Redchair Original

Charlie had just left the cafeteria on campus and was hurrying his way to his next class when he heard someone call his name from behind. Charlie stopped and turned around and noticed Marcus in black dress pants and a white dress shirt sitting on a bench that he had just walked by.

“What brings you to campus today?”

“I thought I’d attend a class today and see one of my favorite teachers.”

“And you dress up like this to attend class?”

“Well let’s just say that I’m a part of a panel in today’s lecture. I’m trying to leave an impression.”

“If you shaved that would have left a good impression.”

“I never said I wanted to leave a good impression.”

“I don’t have time for your mind games today. I’m running late to class.” Charlie said turning around and walking about. Marcus got up and followed.

“You didn’t read your email for class today did you?”

“And you did?”

“Actually I did. English 112 section 2 with Mr. Waymire. Today he has a panel of teachers to come in and speak to his class with the section of students who are on the education path. You are supposed to have some questions to ask. Don’t worry though I plan on doing a lot of the questions.”

“You don’t really think that they’ll just let you into our class as a student and the teachers will allow you to antagonize them? You better be ready to be kicked out once you start mouthing off.”

“Oh Charlie Garner how closed minded you are.” Marcus said stopping.

“You give up already?”

“No. I can’t walk in with you. I don’t want you to get in trouble for what I’m about to do. You still believe in America’s society of proper education. But you won’t soon.” Charlie was at the classroom door and walked in. Marcus counted to ten and then walked in. There were three chairs on one side in the front of the classroom and another solo chair on the other side. Three adults who looked to be the teachers were all talking right outside the classroom doors when Marcus walked in and sat down on the solo chair away from the other three. He glanced at his pretend watch and then slapped his hands on the table next to the wall.

“Quiet down class and let’s get started. Mr. Waymire is running late and he asked me to step in and hold this discussion today. My name is Mr. Aurelius and as soon as our teachers stop smoking their cigarettes outside of the classroom and decide to join us we will get started.”

A kid in the back of class asked if they should turn in their homework for the day but Marcus told them to hold onto it. The three teachers walked in and sat down in the three chairs at the front of the room. Marcus had a smirk on his face. Charlie had a funny feeling about this and didn’t even take out his notebook or books. He had a feeling this was going to end quickly and abruptly.

“Let’s start off with something simple. Tell us your names, where you graduated, and when was the last time you took an SAT or ACT.” Each teacher stated their name, where they currently worked, where they went to school, and kind of laughed and gave an awkward answer as to when the last time they took their SAT was or ACT exams.

“Interesting. And would any of you be willing to take this exam again for us in the next week or so?” All three teachers looked at each other in a disturbed fashion. One of them managed to ask if this was the reason why they were here.

“No. Actually you are just the only ones misfortunate enough to agree to come in on such short notice. You must not be very important teachers or else you wouldn’t have been able to make it.” One of them attempted to cut Marcus off but he just spoke over him.

“This is more of a lecture and not a discussion today kids. They are just here as a visual aid for those who do not listen very well. Allow me to tell you guys a story I read in the Washington Post. A CEO type of person was a part of a school board. He ran a three billion dollar business with over 20,000 employees. In all sense of the word he was a success. For whatever reason he decided he was going to take those standardized tests that all of us have taken to show whether we are college material or not. Some of us do well and go on to Yale. Other’s of us do normal and end up at state schools like this. Those that do very bad can’t get into any college at all and decide to play the minimum wage employment field. The test this guy took had sixty questions. He managed to guess ten of them right. On his reading part of the exam he scored a 63 or 64% on it. I’m assuming all of us did better on both part of our exams or else we wouldn’t be here. Yet this guy had his bachelors, two masters degrees, and was halfway done with his doctorate degree. In case you’re missing the point here. Our educational program is broken. Teacher’s are teaching things that this guy proved were not actually preparing students for the real world and the tests do not really show who is ready for the real world either. Do you really want to be a part of that?” Two of the teachers had packed up their things and left. One of the teachers stayed to listen to what Marcus had to say. He was a young teacher.

“Another article showed that those who graduated in the educational field and went on to teach were also the people who graduated in the lower third of their classes. Therefore not only is our educational system broken but we are also hiring those who by these artificial guidelines are the worst people prepared to teach our kids and our cousins. So if you’re looking for an easy major to pick up that piece of paper and getting hired this is definitely the major for you. If you actually have some ambition and want to make a difference and change something go become a doctor and do research. Educate yourself with something you enjoy and become a philosopher. Don’t settle for this major because five years into if you’re going to realize that what you’re doing is in a broken system and you’re miserable. You’re not making the difference you want.” Marcus stopped and looked over to the teacher who was still here to see if he could say anything. The teacher was about to speak up and talk but Mr. Waymire walked in the classroom and stood in the front of the classroom looking at Marcus.

“Oh Mr. Thomas. What have we done now to be blessed with your presence? Class you’ll have to dismiss anything that he might have taught you. He is not a professor at this school. He is not a professor at any school.”

“Well I guess you’d have to define what a professor is then Waymire because I definitely don’t see you as one either.”

“I don’t have time for your antics. Would you mind and leave my classroom please?”

“You’re not curious as to how I managed to book three high school teachers, looked up your schedule, and emailed your class to bring in questions for these teachers?”

“I am not. I only wished that you would use your talents for other things.”

“You’re a coward. If you don’t have any curiosity or passion to learn you shouldn’t be allowed to teach and mold the minds of men and women.”

“Don’t make me get security. Please leave my classroom.”

“I called your secretary who was supposed to print off those papers in your hands. I told her I had found her credit card and could only deliver it at a certain time causing her to leave the office. When you showed up with none of your printing done you knew it was better to do your all your printing and be late instead of getting to class on time and walking across campus again to print them off knowing you had a class of freshman. I knew I had a ten minute window to get my point across and make you look like an idiot.” Mr. Waymire picked out his cellphone and started dialing a number. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

“Oh and why is that Sam? Did you put a bomb in my phone?”

“Well that’s just a stupid idea. No I wouldn’t do that because I knew your schedule because I was in your office. Your password protection wasn’t very good and while I was looking for your classroom rosters I also found the inappropriate pedophile anonymous links you had saved on your laptop.”

“There’s no links on there.”

“It doesn’t matter if there is or not. As soon as allegations are thrown out there they will have to investigate and they will uncover things you don’t want to be uncovered. So it’s your choice which path you want to go here.” Mr. Waymire hung up his phone.

“So what do you want? You want to blackmail me?”

“Well if I told you my plans what fun would that be? No instead you’re going to cancel class right now. Allow me to leave this classroom and then go about your day wandering what else I found accessible on your laptop.” Marcus/Sam then walked out of the classroom. Mr. Waymire softly said “class dismissed.”

The class quickly got out of their seats to see where this mysterious man had gone but there were no signs of him. Charlie was done with classes for the day and decided he would head over to Marcus, or Sam’s, apartment right now. He was completely lost as to what his real name was now He pulled out his cell phone and texted him saying “I’m coming over now.” Marcus/Sam responded with “you better bring me a Pepsi then.”

Charlie stopped by a campus store to pick up a Pepsi before he walked to the end of campus where the bookstore was. He cut down the alley and made sure that no one was following him. He pushed a dumpster to the side of the wall climbed up on top of it and then jumped up and grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled himself up. He put the twenty ounce of Pepsi in his book bag that was on his back. He walked over to the window and opened it up from the outside. Charlie climbed inside and looked around. Marcus/Sam was sitting on his couch with his laptop on the coffee table typing something. Charlie stopped in the doorway.

“What the hell was that?”

“What was what?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Waymire? I got bored. I needed to entertain myself on my off day.”

“You blackmailed him in front of a room of freshman… all for your entertainment?”

“Well to be fair. He did get me kicked out of school. He had it coming.”

“You were kicked out of school?”

“Another time for that story. You learn anything today?”

“You obviously don’t believe in teachers or our educational system.”

“It’s very closed minded and doesn’t breed creativity either.”

“Okay then?”

“Do you still really want to be a teacher?” He said shutting his laptop.

“I’m not sure. I want to make a difference at something I do and I had a teacher who was a huge role model for me. I still have another year to decide anyways. All I’m taking are the general courses right now.”

“Well I guess it’s your decision. I can always wait and say I told you so later. I need to go though so you better be leaving too.” Charlie turned to leave for the window before he paused to say something.

“So what is your real name then? Sam or Marcus?”

“People who know me in my personal life call me Sam. It’s my real name. Samuel Thomas. But for people I cannot trust or who I do not know it’s Marcus. Got it?”

“No.”

“In here you can call me Sam. Anywhere else with people around you call me Marcus.”

“And why do you do this?”

“Because Robin Hood was too obvious a name that I was lieing.” Charlie looked puzzled. “Haven’t you ever wanted an alter ego to live with?”

“Not really. I’m a normal person. My name is Charlie and I want people to call me Charlie.” Sam pushed Charlie to the window and forced him out of the window.

“Well you’re boring. I don’t want to be normal. I want to be different.”

Redchair Original

Over the weekend not much was said between the two. Marcus was still up as Charlie fell asleep on the first night on the small couch. When Charlie had woken up early in the morning it was due to the wooden door creaking as Marcus had entered through it after coming up the steps. Marcus tossed a white bag of diner food on the table. Charlie has raised his head and looked through the doorway. Marcus had noticed that Charlie was awake and all he said was “I’m going to bed. Don’t eat all this or I’ll kill you. There’s a towel set out if you’re going to shower.” Then Marcus went to his room, shut his door, and collapsed onto his bed. Charlie wasn’t sure what to do with his time. He wasn’t sure if Marcus’ laptop was off limits or not but didn’t want to risk it thinking Marcus was more than strange. He showered, ate a few pancakes, and got himself a glass of water from the sink. Charlie glanced through his book collection noticing a large variety of books from campus textbooks to long fictional stories from what he could assume. The only book he had noticed was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and the dictionary. Marcus didn’t have a television and he didn’t have any magazines so Charlie grabbed his Ipod from his book bag and a book he had to read for class and started reading while listening to music.

Charlie had dozed off until Marcus threw a shoe at Charlie. Marcus was wearing a plain white shirt and some pajama pants. His hair was uncombed and sticking up every which way. The lighting was better now than from the previous night. Charlie had noticed that the two rooms that Marcus had used both had black tarps nailed to the wall around the windows. Only the back room with nothing in it had visible windows. That was also the window he used to escape to the roof the previous night. Several tiny holes were poked in the tarps to let lighting into the rooms. Marcus looked like a guy in his twenties but Charlie didn’t dare ask him. He wasn’t sure if it was his late twenties by the way he spoke or his early twenties based on the way he dressed. He had brown hair and a brown beard. His hair looked scraggly but his beard was neatly trimmed. It seemed like a weird combination of the two. He had a light pale complexion and light blue eyes.

“Get up. I need you to help me with something.”

“Oh yeah? With what?”

“I need to see a man about getting a fridge.”

“It’s light out though. I thought you didn’t use the front door?”

“Only time I can meet with this guy.”

“How are you going to get it up here?”

“You’re a strong kid. If it works you can lift it to me from the alley. The neighbor down the road keeps a ladder next to his garage. We can use that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the ladder yesterday?”

“I wanted to see if you were resourceful and could think on your feet.” Charlie rolled his eyes.

“And you think I can lift a fridge from the ally, get it through that back window all without being noticed?”

“Well I’ll help with it obviously.”

Marcus walked away down the hall to the bathroom and took a shower. The two of them then got dressed and headed outside through the back window. They walked two blocks down the alley to a car that was parked outside a garage. Marcus grabbed keys from his pocket and unlocked the doors. It was a Chevy El Camino that looked to be in perfect shape. As the two sat in the car Charlie quickly noticed it had a few modifications inside the vehicle. A cop scanner was hooked up instead of a radio as well as a secret compartment that was below the driver’s seat. Charlie got a glance at the compartment that had a wallet, a significant stack of used money, and what appeared to be a gun. Charlie calmly looked away and tried to pretend he didn’t see anything and wondering to himself “Who is this guy?”

The two drove for about ten minutes through the city without a word being spoken between the two before Marcus pulled the car over in an empty lot where a business had been shut down.

“This guy doesn’t know you so he might ask some questions. Just let me do the talking though. It’ll go easier that way.”

“Why does it matter? We are picking up a fridge right?”

“Right. Give me your phone though.”

“Why?”

“Because if you take photos or text I’ll shoot you. Just don’t talk or touch anything.”

Marcus got back on the road and drove another block before pulling his car into an alley and then pulled his car into a building that looked like a mechanic shop. He got out of the car but motioned to Charlie to stay put.  Marcus met some guy and shook his hand and they started walking towards the back. Charlie didn’t see what the big deal was. It looked like a legitimate mechanic shop. Charlie stayed in the car and casually looked around. There were a few guys working on a few cars and another two guys were sitting on a worn down couch watching some television. Marcus had walked to the back of the building where nobody could see the two. About fifteen minutes went by and then Marcus came back with another guy and a smaller fridge on a trolley. The two of them lifted it and placed it in the back of the El Camino. The other guy came to Charlie’s door side and motioned for him to roll down his window. Charlie did so.

“Your girlfriend is pretty hot buddy. Keep her around.” He said with a smile.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Charlie said in a serious voice.

“Oh. Well who’s that girl in your phone you have a picture with?”

“My sister.”

“Oh shit! You think I could get her number then?” He said and started laughing.

Charlie rolled up his window and the guys in the building started laughing at him. Marcus had gotten in the car and flipped Charlie his phone. Marcus turned the car on and reversed out of the garage.

“You took my phone so you could look through it? You couldn’t have just asked me about it.”

“I wanted to see what you’d do. And why would you just offer someone your phone? You don’t even know me. What if I had left you here without a phone? What would you have done?”

“I don’t know. I knew you wouldn’t have left me here with your car.”

“How do you know this car wasn’t stolen?”

“You have a stack of money, a wallet and a gun under your seat. It’s your car. Nobody would have a secret compartment under their seat.”

“You saw that huh? Well good. If you’re going to be in my circle you need to start thinking about any possible situation and all the options. When you get put in a tough situation you make your own exit.”

“I’m in your circle now?”

“You know where I live. You’re kind of forced in my circle now whether I like it or not.”

Charlie shook his head thinking Marcus was crazy. Marcus smiled thinking he had a new project he could exploit and use to his advantage.

“Let’s go grab some food. We need to talk about stuff.”

“Well you’re driving so unless I jump out of the car I don’t have any option.”

“Or you could demand we go somewhere you want to go.”

“Fine. Let’s go get tacos.”

“No this is more a burger situation but nice try.”

Marcus drove to a diner Charlie had never seen before. When they entered Marcus whispered something to the waitress at the door and then led himself to a booth in the back. Charlie followed behind. Without getting any service two burgers were brought out to them. Again Charlie was getting weird vibes about this new relationship he had formed with Marcus. Marcus had asked more information about Charlie’s roommate and how he planned to fix the situation. Charlie asked Marcus questions but didn’t get any answer out of him that wasn’t extremely vague before he asked a dozen more questions back to Charlie. Charlie decided that he was just going to go back to his room Monday and hope that his roommate had calmed down and they could talk. He said if things got out of hand he would threaten to report him to the RA in his dorm. He expected his roommate would have calmed down and realized that his only choice was to trust that Charlie would keep his secret and they would go about their lives until the semester ended. Marcus remained quiet while Charlie explained what his plan was. They finished eating and left. Marcus had some fun with Charlie getting a fridge lifted to the second floor using a ladder and then disabling the fire alarm to use the back door.

Charlie realized that he needed to submit some homework saved on his laptop. He decided to deal with the issue on Sunday night and hope for the best. When Charlie entered his dorm room his roommate was standing by the cracked window smoking a cigarette.

“There’s no smoking in the dorm.”

“Shut the fuck up man. Who do you even think you are showing up like you did?”

“This is my room too.”

“Not for long. I’m going to make your life miserable for what you cost me. I’m not going to be able to pay my tuition without the cash you cost me.”

“Why don’t you just ask your parents? They’re rich and will pay it.”

“I made them a deal that I would get a job on campus and earn a thousand bucks each semester.”

“And instead you sell drugs?”

“I make way more than a thousand bucks but right now I spent it on weed and booze and clothes and shit. My dad called me on Monday and said he needed a down payment since we have been in school already for a month.”

“Why don’t you tell him you don’t have a job yet then?”

“Because I already told him I had.”

“Oh.”

“So now I need $250 from you right now.”

“Well I don’t have anything but a few bucks. There’s nothing in my bank account either.”

“This isn’t up for negotiation. You call your parents, your brother, your long lost uncle and have him put the money in your account and then withdrawal it from the ATM or I’m going to cut your balls off in your sleep.”

There was two knocks on the door and the door opened. Marcus walked in.

“Are you Stan?” He asked pointing to Charlie’s roommate.

“My name is Frankie.”

“You actually tell people your name… and you deal drugs? Marcus asked puzzled. “You’re right this guy’s not too bright.” He said looking at Charlie. Charlie gave him a stunned look for his remarks. “Anyways. My buddy here told me that he knew a guy named Stan that could help me find what I was looking for. You have a stash of ‘X’ on you?”

“Maybe… You have cash on you?” Marcus pulled out a stack of hundreds.

“Get your stash and let me get what I need. I have a grand right here and I need to get going.” Frankie pulled out a bag from a sports baggie he had in his closet and opened it on his desk. He had small packages of two pills each.

“How much you want?” Frankie asked but Marcus went over and grabbed the bag. Zipped it up and threw it in a book bag and tossed it over his shoulder.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!” Frankie said as he reached for Marcus’ book bag. Marcus pushed him away and raised his shirt showing a gun.

“Do you think I’m going to let some rich kid come into my area and start stealing clients? You’re going to stop selling anything here. And if I even hear you’re selling weed I’m going to come back and slash all the tires on your Mercedes with the license plate that says ‘REALDEAL.’ I’m going to come back to this dorm room and kick your ass and tie you up in the middle of campus. I know the head security guard. His name is Mark. He will let me do it. But don’t get too upset. I’m still going to give you $200 for your troubles. Remember. This is only a warning. I like your ambition Frankie. Now put it towards your studies and leave this business alone. It’ll turn you into an asshole. Stop being an asshole Frank. “ Marcus opened the door and left. Charlie and Frankie stood there in silence stunned.

“What the hell just happened?” Charlie said.

“I don’t know who the hell that is, but it’s your fault idiot. I’m getting out of here.” Frankie started grabbing his clothes and throwing it into a suitcase. He grabbed his laptop and some jewelry he had on his night stand and walked out the door. “I’ll get the rest later.”

Charlie sat on his bed trying to digest what had just happened. He received a text message from “Drug Stealer” telling him to turn in his homework. When Charlie didn’t respond back he received a phone call and Charlie answered.

“Hello?”

“Did he leave yet?”

“Yeah.”

“Did he call the cops or campus security?”

“No.”

“What an idiot.”

“Why did you do that? Are you insane?”

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”

“Oh really? We had a conversation where you showed a gun off to my roommate? I guess I wasn’t paying attention.” Charlie said sarcastically.

“I did no such thing.”

“Are you crazy? Like seriously? Do you suffer from some mental disease?”

“Are you mad at me? You have no reason to be mad right now. You should be happy. That guy is going to be moved out of your dorm by the end of the week. You’re going to have your own room but be paying the price of a double.”

“You don’t think once he drops out they’ll charge me for a single?”

“It’s already been paid for. That kid comes from money and will be so freaked out he won’t think about saving the cash he could be saving because he’s going to be coming up with a lie for the reason he’s not coming back to campus and staying at his parent’s house or for staying at his buddies place and not attending classes. My votes on a mysterious disease. That’s what I’d go with.”

“So you did all this to help me?”

“I did it to help me, which indirectly helped you. Do you know how much cash I can score for this stuff now? I’ll definitely profit off of it.”

“You’re insane.”

“I prefer insane genius.”

“But you must have put your number in my phone before I told you anything about Frankie. You must have done it at the garage. How’d you know to put ‘Drug Stealer’ in my phone? The only way is if you knew in advance what you were going to do.”

“It is pretty clever isn’t it?”

“Do you ever clearly answer anything or do you always answer a question with another question?”

“Does that bother you? I’m kidding. Never answer anything over an open phone line. Turn in your homework Charlie. It’s getting late. I’ll be in touch. Don’t call me.”

]]> http://rainbowchair.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-boy-and-the-bookstore-part-1-get-creative/ Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:49:05 +0000 rainbowchair http://rainbowchair.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-boy-and-the-bookstore-part-1-get-creative/ Redchair Originals

White designer shoes, faded blue jeans, a grey hoody with an Adidas logo on the front came running down the sidewalk with a book bag being dragged from behind. How did I know this? I didn’t. I was told it by the individual who was wearing it in the next five minutes. It was around eight o’clock in the evening. Half of the small town and campus was already closed. This kid turned the corner and came rushing towards the bookstore hoping that it would still be open. He had about a twenty second window to lose the three big guys who were chasing him. He ran to the front door and attempted to open the door but it was clocked. The sign said “closed at 7 PM.” The boy panicked. He looked upstairs to the apartments that looked abandoned. He quickly tried the first door that was locked and then went to the other door. It was locked as well but with some force he managed to open the door and quickly ran up the steps. Here is where I come in.

The boy in the Adidas hoody hurried upstairs and opened the wooded front door. He took a step in and shut the door putting his back against the door. He was then stared at by another man. The man was sitting at a small table eating a bowl of soup with an open book and a lamp on.

“I don’t know you”

“Uh… I’m Charlie.”

“Well Charlie you are in my home and I did not invite you in. So we have an issue. Why are you here?”

“I’m being chased by three guys.”

“Obviously. What’s to stop me from telling them you’re up here? If you can’t tell they are still down there looking around for you. I can hear them.”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“You would do that. Why?”

“Why not? I don’t know you. For all I know you’re a thief who stole some old ladies purse.”

“I am not.”

“Then what’s your story?”

Charlie, the boy in the Adidas hoody, was a freshman in college who was in his first semester. A month had gone by in school and he wasn’t getting along with his roommate very well but he couldn’t get switched. This weekend he told his roommate that he was going home and wouldn’t be back until Monday but he missed the bus back to his house. His roommate was spoiled rich and had all the connections he wanted. What Charlie didn’t know was that his roommate was also selling drugs. This weekend he had put together a deal in his room to make some cash that he desperately needed without having to go to his parents. When Charlie walked into the room it scared off the students from another college and they took off with their money. Charlie being responsible for the broken deal was soon chased out of his room and off campus until he ended up in the apartment above the bookstore.

“How are you living here? It looks deserted from outside.”

“Well if it didn’t, then someone would be coming to collect rent.”

“You don’t pay rent? Why not?”

“Is that really a question? Nobody wants to pay rent.”

“But what about heat, or water, or electricity? How does someone not notice these things?”

“Oh they do. The heat, water, and electricity are all connected with the bookstore. It took a while for someone to realize that the bill was higher than it was supposed to be. Three months and ten days to be exact.”

“And they don’t charge you?”

“Well the lady that figured it out was also having an affair with a grad student.”

“So you black mailed her?”

“I did no such thing! I simply stated I would not mention these things if she overlooked and did not mention other things. She didn’t have a problem with that.”

“And she’s the only one?”

“God I hope so. Or else I’d have to find dirt on someone else to blackmail, but don’t worry I’m already working on it.”

“You’re insane aren’t you?”

“Define insane….”

The man in the bookstore told Charlie his name was Marcus. He would not go into great details but the look of his apartment looked as if he had been there for a while. Dishes put away, laundry bin of dirty clothes, and lots and lots of paper put all over the walls. The apartment had three rooms and a small area that had Marcus’ table and space for the kitchen sink. One room was used as a bedroom; another was used as an office as the other just had a few boxes and some full garbage bags. His bedroom had a mattress on the ground and a clock and a book on a box and a dresser with two drawers missing. His office had a desk with some scratches on but he had a laptop and printer sitting on top of it with a full stack of books on the shelves. In that room he also had a two person couch against the wall with a brown coffee table. There was a hallway with shelves on it that had Marcus’ food and dishes. The kitchen area was a kitchen sink, a small foldout table, and one chair. Marcus did not give a tour of the place but Charlie asked if he could stay the night anyways.

“Do you snore?”

“No.”

“I’ll make you a deal. If you take out the trash and go buy us from pizza from Pizza Hut, and clean the bathroom I’ll give you a week.”

“A week?” Charlie paused to think about it. He wasn’t sure what his roommate would do to him but he hadn’t exactly thought the whole thing through. He could probably stay the weekend and figure it out by then.  Charlie nodded his head in agreement.  Charlie walked to the room where he saw a garbage bag. There were three bags that he picked up and started walking towards the door he had entered.

“Wait. Wait. You can’t go out those doors until it gets darker. I don’t feel like drawing any attention.”

“There’s a backdoor up here?”

“There’s a fire escape and there’s a window to the roof. The fire escape will activate an alarm. Do not use it.”

“How am I supposed to get the pizza up here then?”

“Get creative.”

For a lot of the writers on the Rainbow Chair staff and readers we are all kind of going through the same phase. We went to college and got a degree in something that we believe we will enjoy as a career in the future. We are now in the post-graduation situation where we are sending out our resumes to find the perfect job we believe we’ve earned or the perfect mid-level job with room for growth. I thought I was pretty well prepared coming out of college. I did work in the same field as my major three out of four years. For two of the years I had two jobs at the same time while I was in school. I found time to volunteer in different avenues. I finished two internships and I still managed to graduate with a 3.4 GPA. I’ve been complemented on my resume by a few people I’ve met in my industry as well as complemented on my work ethic. The thing is nobody really cares about anything unless it’s specifically relevant or it’s been for their company. I look at my field and they want a master’s degree with at least three years of experience. How are you supposed to gain any experience if nobody will hire you? They all want you to volunteer so they can mold you to their liking and not yours. They also don’t realize that you can’t work a full time job and not get paid. We can’t live in a cardboard box nor have our parents pay our rent. Therefore we are stuck settling for jobs biding our time to being called up to what we want to do. The thing is the jobs we are biding our time on are the jobs we didn’t need a college degree in or anything but an associate’s degree. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management but somehow I can easily get a job as a substitute teacher, a broadcaster, and a newspaper journalist even though I didn’t go to school for any of these fields.

The college degree, in my eyes, has become more and more of a joke the more I look for work. It’s just a piece of paper saying that we’ve matured enough and developed enough of a work ethic that we could graduate from a school and maintain our finances well enough that we could pay for it. The only probably is I already had a great work ethic and maturity out of high school that I could have put in the four years’ experience doing something in my field that I needed by now. But instead now I have thousands and thousands of dollars in debt to amount for. I think about this situation a lot and who doesn’t when you’re fresh out of college. The ironic part about it was that life in general is kind of like a resume. We have checklists of what we believe we need to do to gain ourselves a successful career. We do the same things in our personal lives. As a guy we have a checklist like this:

Ride a bike, learn to read, win at something, kiss a girl, see a girl’s boobs, do something illegal and get away with it, learn another new skill, win at something else, have sex, having a relationship, make some money, etc.

Friends of mine and me have always talked about gamification and how to apply it to one’s own life. We really already have done this except instead of an instant reward we just put it down on our own “Life Resume.” We believe if we’ve completed certain goals in our lives, that we feel are important to us, we have validated our life based on our “Life Resume.” For some of us reading twenty books in our spare time might be the equivalence of another person’s seeing a tornado in person. But the only real purpose of these “Life Resumes” is to keep score. We are always having to compete and validate who we are around others to show we deserve to fit in, or stand out, or fit in by standing out. There is no CEO boss man who is there to judge us. If you believe in a God you can say he’s your CEO to judge your resume but I really don’t think God would be impressed with how many woman you’ve slept with. I guess we can lie on our “Life Resumes” if we tend to exaggerate on our professional ones.

The only real judge of our lives is ourselves. If you feel as if you haven’t done enough and don’t deserve to be in a certain crowd that is your prerogative. I’m one that knows that all people really need is a chance and an opportunity to make something of themselves. There is more that goes beyond a person than what is on their “Life Resume.” I don’t care if you’ve slept with one girl and not twenty. I don’t care if you’ve made yourself rich or made yourself poor. If you believe you’ve done something with your life and continue to believe that you will continue to do things with your life, which is a person you should be looking for, to have the will to try new things and become a better person. That is the type of people I want to surround myself around in both my personal life and my professional life. And hopefully one day when I’m in charge of hiring personnel I can read in between the lines and look for employees who are like me and have tried their hardest to be a better person and gain a variety of experience.

BY REDCHAIR; Sports Editor

I knew this girl once. We hung out a lot. She was attractive, had blonde hair that went to her shoulders, and was surprisingly witty for a female. I had another friend, Craig, who was my other best friend and was my roommate for all of college. We saved up enough money to rent an apartment near the college we all attended. It was nothing special but we fixed it up as best we could and turned it into our own bachelor pad. The girl, Emily, lived on campus but was around our apartment a lot. Emily had a nice roommate but her roommate’s boyfriend was always in their room. The rooms on campus didn’t have a kitchen where she could cook and she would normally come use our kitchen to cook instead of going to the campus cafeteria. It worked out for all of us. She was a good cook that made us dinner every time she used our kitchen and also did the dishes.

We were all juniors in college. I had known Craig since high school and I met Emily the beginning of our sophomore year in college. Craig was the type of guy who would hit on anything that walked but secretly he had a great heart. He wanted to be a grade school teacher. He didn’t tell anyone but he was a mentor in the Big Brother Big Sister program. He would go there in the evenings after school to mentor his “little” Josh. I worked third shift working security and slept in the mornings while most people were in class. I scheduled my classes in the evenings and afternoons and for those that I couldn’t I would sign up for online classes to work around my schedule. I had actually met Emily when I first started my job. We had a morning class that I fell asleep in quite often and would ask her for her notes when I did. At first she thought I was a loser who couldn’t stay awake until one day after class I explained my situation. There was no attendance policy and after we grew closer and hung out a little I stopped going to classes and every other day after class she would stop by and go over what I missed. She was fascinated how I would get better grades on exams based on her notes and the PowerPoint’s posted online. The rest is history as we grew closer and became great friends.

Emily was like a lot of college girls. She partied through her first semester. Dated a “bad boy” her second semester. Her grade point average wasn’t what she wanted her first year at college and decided to rededicate herself her sophomore year. She worked hard her sophomore year and found a lot of her college friends only were her friends because they partied together. That’s when she met Craig and I and became a part of our little crew of people who worked hard, studied smart, and did what we had to do to get by. Originally she was interested in Craig when she started getting close to me but she quickly gave up as she realized he was emotionally unavailable and had his sights set on the future.

We had grown so close that it was common that Emily would sleep on our futon couch and if either of us were playing video games in our underwear she wouldn’t say anything and we didn’t feel bad about it. Emily was interested in this soccer player, Matt, on our schools team. They talked for a while until a friend of mine had told me that Matt was secretly talking to other girls. I told Emily and she knew that I wouldn’t lie to her and quickly stopped talking to him. Over the last three weeks or so Emily has been acting strange. She has been showing up to our place dressing nicer than I’m used to seeing her. I thought about asking her about it but I assumed it was a girl coping mechanism to look pretty as a way to get over a guy who didn’t chose her.  I’ll be honest I didn’t mind. Emily had a great body and would wear tight pants and tight shirts. I was use to sweat pants and hoodies. It took me a while but I finally caught a few looks of hers and noticed a few hints that she might be interested in leaving the friend zone.

One evening Emily came by to make some raviolis. I was reading a book and she didn’t say much but she came by me and ran her fingers through my hair and said “hey.” I didn’t know what it was but something in my head just clicked. It was like going from a red light to a green light. It was my sign to go for it. I finished my chapter and watched her in the kitchen as she was stirring up some sauce. She was standing next to the stove top. I walked over behind her and put my hand on her butt. She just stood there and didn’t do anything for about five seconds. She then turned her head and looked at me. Then she put her hand on my crotch and we both stood there for about ten second not saying anything with her hand on my crotch and my hand on her behind. I didn’t know what to say but Emily spoke first. “I like you” is all she said. “I like… whatever this is.” I said feeling stupid after the words came out of my mouth. Emily turned around and moved both her hands to my shoulders and then to my face and leaned in to kiss me. I leaned in as well and we started making out. I’m not sure how long this went on for but it stopped when some hot water from the pan jumped out of the pot and onto my hand that was resting on her hips. I quickly pulled away and said “ouch”. She gave me a confused look and then I pointed to the pot. She stepped away from the stove and looked at me again confused. I wasn’t sure what she was looking for me to say. I shook the hand that the water had scorched and then put it up in the air as if to motion for a high-five. Emily gave me a half confused smile. “What? Is this more of a knuckle tap moment? I get to date my best friend. Who else am I going to celebrate with?” I said. Emily burst into a full on smile and gave me a high-five and then a hug. It was awesome.

Photo courtesy of Jan Morales Photography

This item has been on my Etsy wish list from RedChair for quite a while (I hope someone in particular gets a good gift hint by reading this blog post).  This Etsy shop is closed for the month of September, which only helps build anticipation to see what the store owner will have available in October.

The chair was actually in the studio when Danielle came for her pics but we ran out of time to use it..gutted!!   So it was upto fellow Nikon snapper Simon M. Foster, to be the first to park his bum on the aged leather cushion…