short story

Plan B: Chapter III

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Chapter III Movie Club

Lizzie stood outside the library door Friday night wondering how this could possibly be her life now. Instead of a hip New York club she was waiting for someone to open the library, the li-bra-ry door of all places.  On a Friday night.  “Someone sure hates me,” she said and glanced upward.  As soon as she did though, the thought occurred to her if she was still back in New York she would probably be working and still wouldn’t be at a hip New York club unless she was waitressing there. “Fine,” she mumbled to no one in particular.  “I get it, I get it.”

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Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter V

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CHAPTER V: VH1 Behind the Music

“Is your homework done?” Amanda asked her daughter Millie even though she knew the answer.

“I am just getting to it,” Millie replied rolling off the futon.

“I bet,” her mother said and picked up the remote.  “Let’s get rid of the distractions, shall we?” she aimed it at the television but stopped before turning it off.

“Whatever happened to Jimmy B.?” the unseen announcer in the television show asked.  “This is VH1 and you are watching Behind the Music, stay tuned.”

Amanda sat down on the futon.

“Mom?” Millie asked.  “What are you doing?”

“I loved Jimmy B.!” she said.  “You know, he was my very first concert.” She looked at her daughter.  “I was probably about your age.”

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Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter IV

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CHAPTER IV: Descent

Jimmy B sighed and closed his eyes. He hated playing this particular venue.  Two years ago he played at this arena and his whole life changed.  That was his first big concert with 20,000 screaming fans.  Nothing could have prepared him for the whirlwind that night thrust him into. 

For starters, his mom and his manager Pete drew definite lines after that concert.  Neither one was willing to give an inch on Jimmy’s future.  Pete was concerned with the bottom hard line: money and profit.  Namely his.  Jimmy’s mom was more motivated toward making sure her son was healthy and happy.  The two lines never crossed and Jimmy was stuck in the middle.  He often felt like a rope in a tug of war. 

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Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter III

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CHAPTER III: The Rise

Jimmy B’s knee bounced nervously.  He swallowed and swallowed again.  His mouth felt dry.  How was he going to sing with a dry mouth?

His new manager was looking over some forms and sat next to him on the couch.  “Son, you need to stop that thing from shaking.  I’m trying to read our agreement here.  I need to focus.”

Jimmy put his hand on his knee to get it to stop moving but it didn’t work.

“Jimmy,” his mother said, “why don’t you get yourself some water?”

He nodded and stood up.

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Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter II

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CHAPTER II: Discovered

Jimmy swept the floor dutifully.  He worked as a janitor for one of the small music studios that had opened during the disco fad and performed his duties with exactness and precision.  In this instance, his methodical and precise ways helped him excel.  Unlike when he went to school.  He managed to graduate a year after the rest of his class  but it was a struggle. The only way he made it was with his mom’s help.  That first year of junior high was particularly rough.  At least until his mom and him developed a coping system.  Every day he came home and discussed some new social situation he was unfamiliar with and together they developed a plan.  Armed with a memorized script of what to say if the situation arose again, he would go to school the following day.  Of course, what was rehearsed the night before rarely occurred two days in a row but after several months, he had enough scripts and practiced scenarios he was able to navigate school. 

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Songbird: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy B. Chapter I

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CHAPTER I: School

James Bernard Peternelli sat in the chair quietly.  Just as his mother instructed him to do.  Of course, everything James Bernard did was donequietly.  That is why he was sitting outside the junior high school’s principal’s office.  He could hear his mother’s raised voice as she spoke with the principal and guidance counselor.  Did he understand the meeting concerned his fate at the school?  The school officials didn’t think so but his mother certainly did.  That was why the two of them were at the school.  His mother was determined to prove he had every right to be taught in the public school.

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The Christmas Dinner: Chapter V

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Chapter V

The bedroom was illuminated by the soft glow of a lamp next to the bed. The curtains were closed which made the room dark even though it was midday. Stewart Junior sat by his mother’s bedside. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there or what the current time was but he continued to sit. Ever since his mother’s nurse, Tad Perkins, had informed the four siblings that it wouldn’t be long now. But how long ago was that he couldn’t tell. As a middle-aged man, Stewart’s aching back would argue with Nurse Perkins assessment of ‘long’ but he refused to move. There was no way he was not going to be by his mother’s side when she finally passed.

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The Christmas Dinner: Chapter IV

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Chapter IV

Sarah squeezed Amy’s hand again and the bedroom faded away. The two friends sat at the kitchen table but there was no Christmas dinner. The kitchen was in perfect order not often, if ever, seen. At least, Amy could never remember it looking so pristine. It was also quiet. The sounds of the children playing and watching tv in the other room had faded away. Only the two women were there and neither of them spoke. Sarah waited for her friend to say something.

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