⁠— wanderlust.

There was a long list of places that Kent new to avoid at specified times. He was better versed in certain people’s work schedules than they were because he didn’t want to run the risk of bumping into an awkward situation or stumble into a conversation he didn’t have the guts to own up to. Hell, he still couldn’t walk into Splittin’ Hairs after that time he cleaned out drug store of all the Aquanet so that he could make homemade flame-throwers and it nearly sent Lorraine into cardiac arrest. Bootleggers’ though– he was’t about to let one of his favorite places become tarnished and in the wide scope of failed relationships, Dani was one of the few that hadn’t left him bitter and petty over its ending. 

He’d been eyeing up the menu as if he didn’t realize have it memorized. He recognized her voice before he even turned to see who was taking his order, as if that greeting wasn’t enough of a clue. In all honestly, he didn’t know the sections of the place, but he also didn’t want to put forth the effort of moving. “Yeah, but you’re the only one who remembers I like ranch instead of blue cheese, so I figured this was safer,” he explained, trying to smooth it over. 

Her lip twitched at his response and Dani remembered why she found him cute in the first place, but fought her smile because she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he almost got away with that one. “ And you can’t just tell them? A little extra air leavin’ your lungs to say that aint gonna kill you.” She sighed. As much as she wanted to be mad at him and justify being cold, Kent wasn’t a bad person. He was an airhead, sure, but not bad. At the time she wanted him to be the one because he was a nice person compared to other guys she’d dated, but maturity made her realize they weren’t compatible long term and that youth and immaturity had a huge part to play in their rise and downfall. Still, he was damn adorable, which was irritating.

Pulling out her pen and pad, she knew she wasn’t getting paid to chit-chat and that the manager would by keeping an eye on all the staff, seeing or was pushing the line of pleasant but brief conversation with patrons and those who weren’t doing their job. “What do you want, Kent? For lunch, I mean. I could question why you’re here at all when there are other places you could eat, but I feel like that’s obvious.” She sighed. In spite of her sudden need to be annoyingly healthy and throw shade at the food, Dani grew up on chicken wings and burgers and knew the call of them was stronger than most things. It was obvious that he wasn’t there to see her.

                     “ you can do all those tricks with the vape , though – the smoke rings , like the ones gandalf does ?? “ he was now more interested in the sheer concept of smoking than actually puffing on the cigarette himself . everyone around him always hated it – his parents , his high school girlfriend , clients ( if they caught him ) – yet it hadn’t really crossed his mind to stop . we all gotta die someday , at least that’s the excuse he’d give if anyone brought him up on it , but he was sure his precarious line of work or the health implications that came with being so damn tall would finish him off way before the carcinogens would .  “ you can’t tell me you don’t have a vice , hm ?? c’mon , everybody has one . don’t tell me – you shop too much , you can’t turn down that last slice of cake … it’s gotta be something !! “ 

                    maybe he was too dumb to think of the consequences . it was no secret around town that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box , that he was one spanner short of the kit . biology ( or any of the sciences for that matter ) hadn’t been his strong suit as well as maths , english , and well .. anything even halfway academic . sure , he knew it wasn’t necessarily ‘ good ‘ to keep puffing away , but it seemed ignorance was bliss after all . “ i don’t wanna use those patches either , and chewing gum is gross . i know some people munch on carrot sticks instead but that’s not for me either – could you really imagine me eating veggies like that ?? “

The mention of Gandalf made her laugh. It was a secret of hers, but she loved Lord of the Rings. She loved all fantasy movies that she could get lost in for a few hours, but he mentioned her favorite and suddenly Dani wished she was locked away somewhere quiet watching it instead of on her sore feet serving greasy food to men who had no idea what personal space was.  “ Are the other tricks than rings? Can you actually make a little boat if you try hard enough and sail it off?”  Dani joked, feeling tension roll off her shoulders at the casual joking. “ Oh I do, but it’s not shopping.” She smiled, knowing she would love to be able to afford a bad shopping habit but keeping that to herself. “ Take other guess.”

In spite of the habit, he was easy to talk to, though Dani hadn’t really judged him off the habit alone. Just because she didn’t like it didn’t meant that she would assume everyone who smoked had an attitude like her mother’s. “Mmm, I’ve never tried those gums but they probably taste horrible, huh? Maybe one of those water things? It’s like an electronic cigarette but it’s water in there or somethin’.” She wasn’t fully sure how it worked, but maybe he was open to options. Looking him up and down, she laughed.” You don’t strike me as a carrot stick kind of guy. Celery, maybe. Or maybe you can chew on toothpicks like an old school cowboy. Give you that kind of mysterious look that girls love.”

Diana practically blended in with some of the students she was teaching– some were taller than her (what was in the water in Frostford??), and maybe that’s why some of them didn’t seem to take her seriously, and thought she was just going to let things slide. Defacing school property wasn’t one of them– she was already having a hard enough time trying to get her principal to take her seriously and give her the funding she’d been asking for since last year, and she wasn’t going to give him any reason to decide that no, he couldn’t get it for her. So she’d called the culprit’s guardians, completely missing the fact that Cody was the younger sibling of someone she used to be very closely acquainted with. She didn’t realize it even when her classroom door opened and she found herself face to face with Danielle Guthrie. “–Dani?” She raised her eyebrows in confusion. She looked past the young woman, expecting someone else to walk in– but she just saw a red-faced Cody sitting there, looking especially remorseful. “Well…….Yes, unless you were just grabbin’ on the wrong kid.” 

For a moment Danielle stood frozen in the doorway, staring at Diana with a blank expression. It wasn’t like she had anything she could have said in that moment that would have erased the past. Dani hadn’t really thought of the moment much in recent years, blaming her actions as childishness and stress from her mother and having to grow up too fast -- anything but what it really was. But now, looking Diana in the face, she felt the remorse she’d buried years ago rise. “ Y-yeah.” She responded to her name. Pausing, she looked to Cody, who looked up then hung his head again. “ What? Oh no! That one’s mine...Well not mine mine since I didn’t have a kid at fourteen--” she paused to laugh, thinking on it again and clearing her throat. “ So you... So you’re his teacher. That’s... Small world.” She nervously chuckled, figuring she should have known that, but how was she supposed to know who every one of her brothers’ teachers were?” Can we uh, can we go inside?” Dani asked in spite of already clearing the threshold. She didn’t need Cody seeing any more of this awkward interaction and having questions she couldn’t and didn’t want to answer.With one stern look that told him without words to sit there and behave till she got back, Dani entered the classroom and sat down, a strange feeling of nostalgia washing over her as she looked around the room from the position of the desk, then finally focused on Diana.  “Listen I know -- I just wanna say that he’s a good kid. What he did was wrong and stupid but he’s not a troublemaker. He’s just....troubled.”

“You think money grows on trees?! I have to pay for this shit every time you get a little bored, Cody!” She scolded loudly, his face (and ear) red as he apologized. “ You should be sorry, now I have to go talk to your teacher and hear a whole speech about our family not being good enough. I did my time in school and never wanted to be back here, now look. You sit your little ass there while you can still sit and I’m going to talk to your teacher. “ She hissed, silently hoping the scolding was heard by whomever was behind the door and would make her look serious about punishment (and hopefully get her off the hook) What she got was a much younger than expected face staring back at her when she opened the door, Dani’s breath sticking in her throat as her eyes met the familiar face. “D-Di-Diana? Am I... Am I in the right place?”

Taking advantage of the isolated spot between the shelves to dance to the music coming through the one working earbud she had for a moment, Dani stacked the travel books and Greek myths in her arms as much as her small frame could manage and then stumbled off to find at able and chair. A few students lingers in study-groups at the others, but one only hand one lone soul sitting. Dropping the books down as gently as possible given the fact that they were heavy and hurting her arms, Dani tried to smile at the person apologetically for making a  startling noise. “ Mind if I have this seat?”

Josephine was once again tired from a day teaching kindergartens, though it was a job that she loved, even more than modeling. Teaching gave her a confidence that modeling seemingly paradoxically did not. Modeling had a lot of pressure and she rarely knew her schedule beforehand; although it was usually part-time, it was a challenge to balance the two jobs. In a heartbeat, if she had to, she’d choose teaching. 

She had spent the evening walking across town before settling in the bar with a tequila in her hand, before downing the shot and pulling a slight face, when she felt somehow grab her behind and turned her head to look at who was there. Smiling when her eyes fell upon Dani, she got up from her bar stool and reached her arms around the girl to embrace her. “Hey! What are you up to?” she grinned. “Can I buy you a drink?”

It was the usual that seeing a familiar face in public put a person at ease, but for Dani it was more along the lines of seeing a face that wasn’t sneering or looking down their nose at her as if Dani had stolen their husbands. Returning a tight hug, Dani sighed. ” I’m off work for once and I figured I’d spend the night out taking advantage of the freedom before Midnight comes and I turn back into a pumpkin. That’s right, I’m the pumpkin, not even Cinderella. I know what I said.” Dani laughed.

 As if she could tell exactly what Dani needed, Josephine’s offer was met with a groan of relief. “ Ugh, yes, how did you know? Are you in my mind of somethin’? I’d never turn down a free anything, but especially not a drink. I’ll have what you’re havin’.” She chuckled, moving to the empty stool beside the teacher. “ There’s a strange kinda sobriety I’m feelin’ that I need to get rid of.”

“It was humiliating.” Zoe doesn’t think she’s putting enough of an emphasis on the word, so she buries her face in her hands for full effect, accompanies it with a groan, it’s all she can do in her dramatics. “I got so nervous when he leaned in to kiss me that I started singing the Duck Tales song.” Her fingers pull apart and she peeks through them, looking for a reaction. “And the worst part,” she said, this time a little too loudly. “He didn’t even know what Duck Tales was.”

Being a bartender was the usual cheaper-than-therapy go-to for people, a waitress usually getting the nurse or mother expectations from people rather than hearing out their problems through drunken speech, but Danielle was friendly and talked a lot and didn’t mind pleasant conversation, especially when things were slow enough. Usually people talked about the weather or their kids, but the raven-haired woman was seemingly having a bad day, and when Danielle heard why, she could understand. Still, in spite being sympathetic, she couldn’t hold in the snort and the laugh when the punchline hit. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry it’s just... Why Duck Tales of all things?” Dani chuckled, taking a quick moment to compose herself before patting the girl’s shoulder quickly in a ‘there,there’ kind of gesture of comfort. “ I mean at least it was adorable. I’m sure it was charming in it’s own way. It could have been way worse. One time a guy leaned in to kiss me and I sneezed right in his face.”

“ i’m glad i’m not one of those guys then . i don’t understand why it’s so difficult for them to enjoy themselves … just quietly , “  he was glad to find some sort of salvation out here . honestly he’d more or less forgotten about the food , the pang in his stomach having calmed down now , more curious about his newfound company than anything else . and he’d already lit the cigarette , not wanting to stub it out too early and dip back in for his food – cartons of those things were expensive , and he wasn’t exactly rolling in money with the scattering of plumbing jobs on the calendar .

                   he plucked the cigarette from his lips , twirling it between his fingers , pondering the question for a moment . shoulders then shrugged , balancing it between both sets of teeth but not taking a further inhalation , not quite yet . “ y’know what ?? that’s a good question ,  i started in high school and never really stopped . plus , it gives me something to do with my hands .. “ fletcher had never been the most confident of people . unlike the other boys in high school he didn’t pick up smoking to fit in , to look like a ‘ bad boy ‘ , but more to calm himself down between lessons or when he snuck off to hide behind the bleachers . “ maybe i’ll stop one day , get one of those vaping things – but that’s even less cool , right ?? “ 

Danielle always hated the catch-all excuse of ‘boys will be boys’ and tried her best to never use it, but in the moment it seemed to be all that came to mind. “Most men are just like that. It’s primal -- taps into their caveman instincts.” The waitress shrugged. It was the same thing with different words, but Danielle could only hope it made her sound smarter while using the tired excuse. She read a lot in her spare time -- what little of it she could get -- and always tried to use what she learned in conversation in hopes that it made her look more educated than she was. For all the trouble her mother cause and the unjust reputation she passed down, no one looked down on Dani more than she looked down on herself. She hated that she had no choice other than to fall into the role of small-town waitress, never seeing the world or going to college or really stepping foot out of the State, barely having left Frostford. She figured she could at least sound worldly.

Shaking her head, she popped back into the conversation from being lost in thought and noticed that Fletcher had now seemed to be the one lost in his own inner monologue. She couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking as he looked down at the stick, pensive. “Hey, I’m not judgin’ ; we all got out vices.” She made sure to clarify, not wanting to seem high and mighty.”I just wondered what the appeal was since I never smoked one. Seemed like more trouble than it was worth to me, but I got my bad habits too, you know?” Though her addiction to coffee could be seen as a necessary evil, it still wasn’t the most healthy habit. “  I mean , maybe? Are they really that much better? Seems like one of those things people use to look like their better than everybody else to me. Still smoke gettin’ in your lungs...”

“You’ve got that right. But it beats goin’ to the Watering Can on my day off and possibly gettin’ roped into workin’ a couple hours because they’re short-staffed,” Colton replied with a laugh. “It’s alright though, they can call me back.” He shrugged, flashing Dani a quick smile, raising his eyebrow in amusement. “I know whatcha mean…. I mean, I ain’t gotta wear a uniform, at least, if I’m over at the bar, they assume I’m working and are throwing orders at me. We should probably start going out to eat and enjoy our days off elsewhere, maybe the next town overLord, seriously? What did you tell her?” He couldn’t believe how rude some people could be, without even meaning to be. “–I could do that. Least I can do, since you’re my favorite waitress here,” he teased.

“God do I know that feelin’.” She sighed, though if offered a shift, Dani knew she would take it for the extra money. Still, there were days where she wanted to be as far away from Bootleggers as possible just to avoid being more sick of it than she already was, and that  she could relate to. “Probably.” She laughed with Colton, thought the luxury or a day off in anywhere else was more like a dream than a reality for her.  She barely took days off even when sick. “ I took her order, of course.” Dani responded with a sly smile, shaking off her pity party being thrown in her mind to bask in her moment of victory. “ I wrote it down like she asked, but since I didn’t work there, nothing I coulda done about it. I wonder if she ever got her salad?” Dani paused to laugh. Even though it was just one of those things people said, Colton had the kind of face that made girls giggle like idiots at the slightest thing, and Dani hated herself for falling into that category as she laughed. “ You’re sweet, but I was just messin’ with you -- you don’t have to.”

She sat there at the bar, whisky ginger ale in hand, sipping. Mila was a little tipsy after work, thinking this was a good idea. A few more and she stumbled out of her seat, realizing she had a little too many. “Woah.” She whispered, regret filling her body. Arms caught her, Mila unable to see them clearly as her eyes fell for a moment. “Thank you.” She said to them. “I’m okay, I swear.” She laughed, looking up at said person with a cheesy grin. “You’re pretty to look at.” She tapped their nose with her index finger. “Can you walk me home? I made a mistake by driving here, I also don’t really wanna walk alone.” She asked them. @frostfordstart

Just fifteen more minutes. Fifteen more minutes and Dani was free, though free to do what was the question. As much as it would have been great to do something fun, she was burnt out as usual from over working on a severe lack of sleep, and knew that she had to be home to help with homework, make sure her brothers ate dinner, and after that there’d be nothing short of a miracle to keep her from passing out for the night. “Just fifteen minutes” she muttered to herself as she walked pass the bar with her tray tucked under her arm. It was only quick reflexes from dodging drunken sport fans to avoid dropping food and luck that she caught the girl from falling off the stool, though Dani herself almost fell as her small frame couldn't fully support the sudden addition of weight. “ Whoa there -- you okay , sweetie?” She chuckled as she attempted to set the woman upright and was meet with a comical boop. “Oh wow, you are... You are drunk as a skunk, aint ya?” She teased, a little flushed at being called pretty but shaking it off as best as she could. “Home...?” Dani paused.” I suppose I could... If you dont’ mind waiting a little, I mean. I’m still on the clock.” Sure she wanted to go straight home and this girl’s home could be out of the way, but Dani wouldn’t be able to live with herself leaving a girl tipsy and on her own. “ You mind giving me a bit till I clock out? Might be a good chance for you to sit still and drink some water...”

“You got that right, but I was lured here by those chicken wings and I’m not leaving until I’ve had my fill,” he said, patting his stomach in good humor. It was no secret Daniel didn’t know a damn thing about spots. He tried, Lord knows he did, but there was no hiding the panicked look in his eyes whenever someone directed a sports-related question his way. Daniel took in her appearance as he watched her slip her shoes back on, noticing for the first time how utterly exhausted she looked.

“You heading home soon?” he asked, although he suspected he knew the answer. He knew about her mother, everyone did, and about the sixty or so siblings she was providing for. He remembered her when she was a little girl, but most of all he remembered how sorry he felt for her and her siblings. He never associated with her back then though– that seven year difference felt a lot larger back then– but he’d made an effort to be kind to her when he ran into her around town ever since his return to Frostford. “You look beat.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “ That’s what they all come for.” Dani chuckled, understanding the allure even if she was off meat and trying to stay that way. It was hard not to sink her teeth into the tangy, greasy foods she was surrounded by, so she wasn’t going to fault him for giving in, even if her recent health kick had her itching to nag everyone else to eat better. “Just  don’t overdo it -- we don’t sell antacids here yet even though I keep sayin’ we need to.” She was only half joking.

Rolling her shoulders, Dani smiled up and Daniel. He was a nice guy, really, even though she didn’t know a lot about him. His mysteriousness added to his attractiveness as did his overall kindness. Dani appreciated that he didn’t seem to look down on her for her mother’s actions, which made anyone a good person in her book. “ Nah -- after the dinner rush. We’re a little short staffed tonight with the crowd and all.” She sighed, wishing she could drop it and go home and sleep. Looking at him with her eyes narrowed, she pretended to be offended. “Wow, you sure no how to sweet talk a lady. I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“Me? Yeah, no, I’m- I’m hunky dory.” Erin, still somewhat bent in half, gave her an enthused thumbs up and then a quick dismissive wave. “No. No, no, no, you keep on sitting, I needed the exercise.” She watched as the teen turned and gave a cheeky bow, couldn’t quite help her laugh. “Fuckin’ brat,” she muttered with begrudging affection.

“Hey now, I can always rope you in for sassin’ an officer,” Erin teased right back with a wink and leaned as well, opposite Dani. “Tsk, nothing so civilian. They stole my dang hat.” She patted her hair and knew the red waves were wild, pushed fingers through them to try and tame. “And how are you doin’ tonight, Dani?”

There was a chuckle and a shake of her head, Dani about to insist when her eyes followed Erin’s and caught the arrogant gesture. “ Little asshole. If that was my brother...oh man...” Dani couldn’t help but to entertain the thought for a moment. “ I try to teach ‘em right from wrong but these kids aint got squat to do out here and they get so bored that even petty crime looks like a good way to pass the time.” She sighed, her eyes back on the redhead as she gestured to the crate again. “C’mon,cop a squat for a sec and catch your breath.” There was a pun hidden in there, but Dani didn’t hit it home with the emphasis due to her giving Erin a serious expression.

Dani was lost in her inner monologue when Erin threatened her playfully, her hands going up in a surrendering gesture jokingly. “Hey, I plead whatever law that gets me out of trouble and exercising my freedom of speech.” She laughed. Though she tried to read and educate herself, there was a lot that Dani didn’t know, though she secretly wished that she’d known the proper term to at least look smart in front of Erin. “ Maybe he just wanted to get the pretty lady-cop’s attention?” She offered with a small smile, her eyes falling to the ground for a moment before turning back to Erin. “ Workin’ as usual. Goin’ a lot better than yours at the moment. Really though, who steals a cop’s hat?”

While it didn't happen often, barely at all, Dani was in the mood for a drink and some time out for fun. With the hopes of batting her lashes and getting someone to buy her a drink so she wouldn’t have to spend the money (at the expense of her dignity), she headed out with the intent of ducking into the first bar she came across when she spotted a familiar face, which wasn’t hard in Frostford. Josephine was cool and fun, and while cheap flirting tactics weren’t useful on her, Dani would rather get a drink with her than humor a drunk guy. Sneaking up, Dani reached out to grab the teacher. “Hey!”

And yet there he was, sitting in her section. Dani could practically hear the wind between his ears, wondering why things never seemed to register to him that they were awkward or inappropriate. Sighing, ‘the cute ones were always dumb’ echoed in her mind as she grabbed her try, pen, and pad, and headed over. “Welcome to Bootleggers, the soup of the day is calm chowder, it’s happy hour, and in case you didn’t know, this is my section and there’s empty spots near the bar where I don’t have to serve my exes.”

      Being startled awake without fail felt like the center of the universe being ripped out from underneath—or at the very least thoughts went straight to a hazy determination that someone was yelling ‘Shark!” in shallow snorkeling waters or in this case most likely snake so in any sense it took a good twenty seconds to gather what her brain was telling her and the reality that she was being told she was more or less on fire…and she was. She felt it. Ooh yes, did she feel it now. Checking her phone to only get a ‘too hot’ warning. “Six inch?” No idea what she was talking about….”RuPaul and The Whole Ench….oh…” And it came flooding back within those seconds to be chopped up into little bits that she’d gladly soon forget. Ew. “What’re you the Sun police? I’ve got SPF 30 on. Kind of 60 too because I have another lotion on that’s way better than the other CVS version….” she added looking down at her skin, yes worried (but not too much, that was for later in life) and yes soon to be in pain with this ill choice.

There was a snort that Dani couldn’t hold in at Tovah’s reaction. She was pretty sure she could see drool on the corner of the girl’s mouth glistening in the sun and while she felt bad for waking her up, Dani didn’t regret saving her from being burn to the point where she wouldn’t be able to move. “ You were dreaming about RuPaul’s six inches? I hope you mean heels...” Dani laughed again, brushing off the harshness of Tovah’s tone. “ Well you need an SPF ‘ I’m too white for this shit’ cause you look like the kind of chicken that Gordon Ramsey would scream about. Only difference is you’re overcooked and still red. Maybe you shouldn’t get caught up day dreamin’ about ‘inches’.”

“–Sorry, Dani” Colt started, giving the younger woman a sheepish smile. “Someone called me and I couldn’t hear a damn thing in there, but out here there’s terrible reception,” he muttered, glancing down at his phone for a second, before turning back to the waitress. “You’re all good. I like my wings a little charred, so I already knew they might take a little longer, I ain’t complainin’. –Why’re you taking your break next to a trashcan, though? Don’tcha wanna sit inside and have a Coke or sum’n?”

Eyes shooting up the long frame of the man, Dani couldn’t help but take a moment to stare dreamily. If there was ever a walking personification of the term around Frostford, it was Colton. “Nah, don’t be sorry -- it’s too loud to hear yourself think in there, let alone take a call.” She waved off his concern as well as her thought to offer him a crate; the last thing he probably wanted before eating was to bunch up on some dirty old thing, though the mental image of his long legs bending to his chin was a funny one. “Oh there’s no sittin’ in there when I got this uniform on. Hell, even when I’m not in it people still ask me to take their orders for them. I even had a woman in a different restaurant tell me that since I’m a waitress I should represent my establishment everywhere and take her order.” Dani laughed, shaking her head at the extremes people went to. “ But if you’re offerin’ to buy one for me and bring it out here,  I’ll take that Coke.”

     it was a vice he wasn’t proud of , but fletcher was absolutely aching for a cigarette , having waited a while for his food to arrive and deciding that five minutes outside wouldn’t delay things further . his fingers tugged at the filter of one of the smokes and hung it between his lips , trying to find somewhere isolate where no one would bother him , knowing that as soon as the right person laid eyes on him he’d be pulled aside for an odd job in a second . his boots scuffed against the ground ( that was probably why the soles were so worn ) but his eyes narrowed as he spied another fair , much smaller and bundled on the concrete beside a girl he recognised from inside . 

“ oh , no . i wasn’t asking , “ he clarified quickly , igniting the ashes at the end of the stick and exhaling a swirl of smoke , ensuring to turn his head the other day as not to subject the female to the secondhand toxins . “ jus’ wanted to come out here for a second . it’s loud in there , huh ?? can barely hear myself think , “ thinking was an oversight . nothing much really happened in that airy head of his .  

Relief washed over her as she found that he wasn’t there to inquire about his food. Dani wouldn’t put it past a dining patron to follow her outside and shake her down for something as simple as a burger. People were impatient by nature when it came to things like this and though she tried to deal with it, breaks were needed o keep the woman from snapping. The last thing she needed was to lose her job. “Loud.... Yeah. That’s an understatement.” She chuckled dryly. ” It’s game night so you came to the wrong place if you wanted some peace and quiet. Just about every man in town over thirty is gonna climb out of his hole to see a bunch of guys throw a ball around in HD. Quiet is the last thing on their minds.”

Dani didn’t care for sports but he didn’t mind people who did. What bothered her was the way it seemed to bring out the animal in men, the cussing, shoving and fighting all things she could do without in the work place. She was small and had been knocked over or shoved by proxy resulting in food being dropped and glasses being broken that would come out of her paycheck.  Sighing, she turned to eye the smoke in his hand, unable to keep her mouth shut. “ You know I never got the deal with those things? Why do people still use ‘em when we know the danger they cause?”