Five Minute Observations

Tag: books

  • Her First International Flight

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    “Caleb.” Her whisper carried through their empty house. “Caleb? Can you hear me?” The house was dark, with creepy shadows dancing on the walls from the yellowish streetlight outside. Caleb and Kassie gathered the last of their things, doing their best to finish moving before it got dark. Kassie hated this house, hated it when…

  • Carter Calls Bianchi

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    (Continuation of Bullets and Frozen Bananas) Heather Bianchi looked down from the 18th floor of 610 Newport Center, expecting a call from Alex Carter. Alex took his orders from Heather and Heather only. Sighing, Heather looked out to the Newport Harbor and the massive yachts. She knew her boss, Marco Rossi, wasn’t a patient man.…

  • Bullets and Frozen Bananas

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    Have you ever smelled gunpowder, like the Fourth of July smell, hanging in the air, smoke still floating like a whispy ghost? Yeah, me neither. But all that changed literally five minutes ago. The wrong side of town, you might ask. Or maybe some criminal types were loitering outside a liquor store? Perhaps it was…

  • Don’t You Forget About Me!

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    TIME OUT! Social media is the place we go when we want to see what’s up, what’s new, and what’s next in the lives of our friends and family. It’s where we find out what Aunt Brenda ate for dinner last Tuesday. Instagram photos show you unique places with amazing people, many of whom you…

  • The New Kid

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    Joe Class III
    in

    Hermes. I know. I laughed when I first heard his name, too. I couldn’t help it, but there it was, my laughter out in front of the classroom. He was a scrawny guy with curly, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. From the back, it was easy to mistake him for a girl. My friends…

  • Amber’s Observation (Sisters – Part III)

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    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “And how do you know that?” Amber asked. “Do you have a picture?” “No. But Bud’s not a cowboy, farmer, or rancher,” she said, putting a finger down for each one of the things Amy liked that Jamie didn’t. “He didn’t wear cowboy boots.” Another finger down. “Bud didn’t own a massive rodeo belt buckle.”…

  • Sisters

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    She wasn’t expecting to walk more than a quarter-mile uphill from where she parked her car on the gravel road next to a Volkswagen and beat-up Chevy truck. Jamie was too far from the city to get a signal on her cell phone. Lucky for her, the gravel road was the only one out this…

  • Cauble’s Interview

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    Joe Class III
    in

    “No, I don’t know her name, and honestly, I could care less to know who she is. Wait. Did you hear that?” Cauble’s ears perk up, losing all attention to me. Then, without hesitation, her eyes zero in on me, Gregory Tremaine, interviewer of all pets. How did I get this gig? You may be…

  • Melton’s Plan Takes Shape

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    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Three years ago. That’s when Mark Unger introduced himself to Zander Melton, believing him to be the right man to help him put his get-rich-quick scheme. If anyone had a reputation for being a strategic player, it was Zander Melton. As a financial advisor, Unger dealt with influential people. The majority of them were honest,…

  • Considering Retirement

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    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Kathy!” Janice’s shrill voice echoed through the diner from the kitchen. The Presbyterian church let out a few minutes before 11:30 a.m., hunger setting in. Church people knew Janice’s breakfast foods would be hot and ready to go in minutes. Janice knew well that a few of these ‘holy rollers,’ as she called them, would…

  • Protective Custody

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    Joe Class III
    in ,

    A black Cadillac Escalade drove up to Floyd’s small farmhouse with a wraparound covered porch. The distance from the highway to the house was far enough away that you could see in every direction from the second floor. Floyd didn’t have much to do these days, so he sat in a rocker by the front…

  • Customer Service

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    Joe Class III
    in

    Chewing the inside of her lip wasn’t helping. Not with the couple in front of her screaming at each other about their financial position. “YOU! THAT’S THE REASON WE ARE IN THAT STUPID HOUSE!” she screamed. “And now?! Now, you want to move us over halfway across the country. Are you crazy, I’m just now…

  • Invest In People

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    Joe Class III
    in

    Working in customer service, retail, and sales gives you a unique perspective, seeing how working-class people interact with the general public and the public interacts with the staff. The hard part is figuring out what will motivate your staff to stick it out and stay with you and not simply go to work, get their…

  • Mrs. Franklin’s Fourth Graders

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    Joe Class III
    in

    “Do you dream in color? Or black and white?” Kenny asked Steve, looking from the edge of the Breckenmeyer Bridge. Both boys threw rocks and anything else they could find into the river below. The bridge spanned roughly a quarter mile and allowed one car at a time. But that was long before either boy…

  • The Mississippi River Wave

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    Joe Class III
    in

    A wave, the biggest one I’ve ever seen, coming straight towards me – from the Mississippi River? Over the top of the river wall, at least a third of the distance of the wall. So, what? Fifteen feet? At the low end? I don’t know. I was never all that great at judging distance, especially…

  • The Old Friend

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    Joe Class III
    in

    “Well, well, well. I wondered if I would ever see you again, Zack.” I recognized the voice. Not the hair, makeup, and clothes. I closed my eyes, wondering if it might help me remember the perfume she wore. It didn’t. I must’ve looked like a deer caught in headlights standing at the valet station because…