#mbstart

‘wait, did i tell you the good news?’ mala asked as she grinned widely and bounced where they stood. in this moment they were way too happy to care if they knew the person or not. they just wanted to share their excitement. ‘i finally got an apartment! they evicted me from my last one for falling behind on rent... valid. but now i finally have another one! it’s beautiful and clean! but i totally need a roommate. do you know of anyone needing a roommate? ahhh, i’m so excited to not be basement dwelling anymore!

with the news of the mayor’s strange disappearance, the town’s been a bit on edge. but no doubt alecto came across the mysterious podcast earlier in the morning and ended up telling her dad all about it. since it was her day off from the library and as it was saturday, there were no classes, her dad insisted she help out in the diner while she explained to him what a podcast even was. ( “no dad, it’s not like one of those tide pod things” ). she wondered if anyone else had heard of it. of course most if not all of the town at least was at the fest and witnessed the mayor not showing up. some patrons even today whispered over it during their meals. alecto went to tend to the customer seated at the bar with her notepad and pen in hand. and... there her dad went yelling loudly at the cook for something. “jeez,” she muttered to herself. “sorry, not at you. just,” she waved the pen around by her head. “lots going on. mayor missing, weird podcast. have you heard of it? anyway, sorry—do you need a menu or do you know what you want? and do you want coffee?”

          ‘  hey ,    i’m  polling  for  opinions .    you  know  those  pay  it  forward  chain  things  people  do  in  drive - throughs ?  ’    the  ones  that  probably  annoy  the  hell  out  of  all  the  workers  and  inadvertently  guilt  customers  into  continuing  the  cycle .    sound  familiar ?   ‘  i  broke  one  of  them  in  the  chuckie’s  drive  through  earlier .    to  be  fair ,    the  person  behind  me  had  ordered ,   like ,    fifty  dollars  worth  of  food ,   but  honestly  even  if  they  hadn’t  i  still  would  have  broken  it .    do  you  think  that  counts  against  me  karmically ?     is  it  wrong  to  just  view  it  as  a  gift  from  the  universe  instead  of  an  obligation ?  ’     

          ‘ before  i  sit  down  next  to  you  ----   you’re  not  allergic  to  cats ,    are  you ?  ’    honestly ,    it’s  a  question  of  common  courtesy .    for  more  years  than  not  now ,    sylvia’s  entire  life  has  been  covered  in  cat  hair .    no  matter  how  many  lint  rollers  she  uses  up ,   at  least  a  couple  of  pieces  of  fur  stick  to  her  clothes  like  badges  of  honor .   but  a  bigger  issue  than  that ,    she’s  got  her  catstronaut  backpack  on :    which  means  one  of  her  lucky  kitties  is  in  her  bag  right  now !!

To say Reece had a long day would be an understatement. It was terrible on all accounts from start to finish. Things had been too chaotic and he just wanted to sit down, have a drink, and unwind. At least that’s what he said 2 beers ago. He had moved onto something different, a recommendation from the bartender that he was hoping was good. His plan wasn’t to get drunk, and he wasn’t yet. He was warm, which helped the cool air outside. He was starting to let his guard down and finally relax when someone took the chair next to him. “Is there glitter in this,” he spoke more so to himself, holding up the glass with a concerned face as it shimmered in the light.