.

The coin hovered in the air, spinning over and over again. It
reached its peak and began to descend. Both boys were
pleading with it to land a certain way but the coin had
already made up its mind on what it was going to do.

Dragons don't exist they said. They are the stuff of legend
and people's imagination. Greg would have agreed with this
assessment without a second thought 24 hours ago. But
now that there was a dragon staring directly into his eyes,
he questioned everything that he had been told.

After hunting for several hours, we finally saw a large seal

sunning itself on a flat rock. I took one of the wooden clubs
while Larry took the longer one. We slowly snuck up behind
the seal until we were close enough to club it over its head.
The seal slumped over and died. This seal would help us
survive. We could eat the meat and fat. The fat could be
burned in a shell for light and the fur could be used to make
a blanket. We declared our first day of hunting a great
success.

.
 .

Benny was tired. Not the normal every day tired from a hard
day o work. The exhausted type of tired where you're
surprised your body can even move. All he wanted to do
was sit in front of the TV, put his feet up on the coffee table,
and drink a beer. The only issue was that he had forgotten
where he lived.

It probably seemed trivial to most people, but it mattered to

Tracey. She wasn't sure why it mattered so much to her, but
she understood deep within her being that it mattered to her.
So for the 365th day in a row, Tracey sat down to eat
pancakes for breakfast.

What were they eating? It didn't taste like anything she had
ever eaten before and although she was famished, she
didn't dare ask. She knew the answer would be one she
didn't want to hear.

.
 The headphones were on. They had been utilized on
purpose. She could hear her mom yelling in the background,
but couldn't make out exactly what the yelling was about.
That was exactly why she had put them on. She knew her
mom would enter her room at any minute, and she could
pretend that she hadn't heard any of the previous yelling.

There was a time and a place for Stephanie to use her

magic. The problem was that she had a difficult time
determining this. She wished she could simply use it when
the desire hit and there wouldn't be any unforeseen
consequences. Unfortunately, that's not how it worked and
the consequences could be devastating if she accidentally
used her magic at the wrong time.

There were only two ways to get out of this mess if they all
worked together. The problem was that neither was all that
appealing. One would likely cause everyone a huge amount
of physical pain while the other would likely end up with
everyone in jail. In Sam's mind, there was only one thing to
do. He threw everyone else under the bus and he secretly
sprinted away leaving the others to take the fall without him.

.
 .

The trail to the left had a "Danger! Do Not Pass" sign telling
people to take the trail to the right. This wasn't the way Zeke
approached his hiking. Rather than a warning, Zeke read
the sign as an invitation to explore an area that would be
adventurous and exciting. As the others in the group all
shited to the right, Zeke slipped past the danger sign to
begin an adventure he would later regret.

The wave roared towards them with speed and violence

they had not anticipated. They both turned to run but by that
time it was too late. The wave crashed into their legs
sweeping both of them off of their feet. They now found
themselves in a washing machine of saltwater, getting
tumbled and not know what was up or down. Both were
scared, not knowing how this was going to end, but it was by
far the best time of the trip thus far.

It wasn't that he hated her. It was simply that he didn't like

her much. It was difficult for him to explain this to her, and
even more difficult for her to truly understand. She was in
love and wanted him to feel the same way. He didn't, and no
matter how he tried to explain to her she refused to listen or
to understand.
 .

The red ball sat proudly at the top of the toybox. It had been
the last to be played with and anticipated it would be the
next as well. The other toys grumbled beneath. At one time
each had held the spot of the red ball, but over time they
had sunk deeper and deeper into the toy box.

The rain was coming. Everyone thought this would be a

good thing. It hadn't rained in months and the earth was dry
as a bone. It wasn't a surprise that everyone thought a good
rain was what was needed, but they never expected how
much rain would actually arrive.

His mother had always taught him not to ever think of

himself as better than others. He'd tried to live by this motto.
He never looked down on those who were less fortunate or
who had less money than him. But the stupidity of the group
of people he was talking to made him change his mind.

.
 .

Debbie had taken George for granted for more than fifteen
years now. He wasn't sure what exactly had made him
choose this time and place to address the issue, but he
decided that now was the time. He looked straight into her
eyes and just as she was about to speak, turned away and
walked out the door.

He sat across from her trying to imagine it was the first time.
It wasn't. Had it been a hundred? It quite possibly could
have been. Two hundred? Probably not. His mind wandered
until he caught himself and again tried to imagine it was the
first time.

She wanted rainbow hair. That's what she told the

hairdresser. It should be deep rainbow colors, too. She
wasn't interested in pastel rainbow hair. She wanted it deep
and vibrant so there was no doubt that she had done this on
purpose.

.
 .

Patrick didn't want to go. The fact that she was insisting they
must go made him want to go even less. He had no desire
to make small talk with strangers he would never again see
just to be polite. But she insisted that Patrick go, and she
would soon find out that this would be the biggest mistake
she could make in their relationship.

The headache wouldn't go away. She's taken medicine but

even that didn't help. The monstrous throbbing in her head
continued. She had this happen to her only once before in
her life and she realized that only one thing could be
happening.

It was just a burger. Why couldn't she understand that? She

knew he'd completely changed his life around her eating
habits, so why couldn't she give him a break this one time?
She wasn't even supposed to have found out. Yes, he had
promised her and yes, he had broken that promise, but still
in his mind, all it had been was just a burger.