1. Twenty-five stars were neatly placed on the piece of paper.
There was
room for five more stars but they would be difficult ones to earn. It had
taken years to earn the first twenty-five, and they were considered the
"easy" ones.
2. Balloons are pretty and come in different colors, different shapes,
different sizes, and they can even adjust sizes as needed. But don't
make them too big or they might just pop, and then bye-bye balloon.
It'll be gone and lost for the rest of mankind. They can serve a variety
of purposes, from decorating to water balloon wars. You just have to
use your head to think a little bit about what to do with them.
3. There was something in the sky. What exactly was up there wasn't
immediately clear. But there was definitely something in the sky and it
was getting bigger and bigger.
4. There was a time when this wouldn't have bothered her. The fact that it
did actually bother her bothered her even more. What had changed in
her life that such a small thing could annoy her so much for the entire
day? She knew it was ridiculous that she even took notice of it, yet she
was still obsessing over it as she tried to fall asleep.
5. Hopes and dreams were dashed that day. It should have been
expected, but it still came as a shock. The warning signs had been
ignored in favor of the possibility, however remote, that it could
actually happen. That possibility had grown from hope to an
undeniable belief it must be destiny. That was until it wasn't and the
hopes and dreams came crashing down.
6. She sat in the darkened room waiting. It was now a standoff. He had
the power to put her in the room, but not the power to make her
repent. It wasn't fair and no matter how long she had to endure the
darkness, she wouldn't change her attitude. At three years old, Sandy's
stubborn personality had already bloomed into full view.
7. The kids were loud. They were way too loud for Jerry, especially since
this was a four-hour flight. The parents didn't seem to be able, or
simply didn't want, to control them. They were yelling and fighting
among themselves and it was impossible for any of the passengers to
concentrate or rest. He thought about politely tapping on the parents'
shoulders and asking them to try and get their kids under a bit more
control, but before he did he came up with a better idea. Sure, it was a
bit sinister, and he'd probably end p in a lot of trouble, but he really
didn't care at that point.
8. There were two things that were important to Tracey. The first was her
dog. Anyone that had ever met Tracey knew how much she loved her
dog. Most would say that she treated it as her child. The dog went
everywhere with her and it had been her best friend for the past five
years. The second thing that was important to Tracey, however, would
be a lot more surprising to most people.
9. Her hand was balled into a fist with her keys protruding out from
between her fingers. This was the weapon her father had shown her
how to make when she walked alone to her car after work. She wished
that she had something a little more potent than keys between her
fingers. It would have been nice to have some mace or pepper spray.
He had been meaning to buy some but had never gotten around to it.
As the mother bear took another step forward with her cubs in tow, she
knew her fist with keys wasn't going to be an adequate defense for this
situation.
10. There was nothing else to do. The deed had already been done
and there was no going back. It now had been become a question of
how they were going to be able to get out of this situation and escape.
