1.

The clowns had taken over. And yes, they were literally clowns.
Over 100 had appeared out of a small VW bug that had been
driven up to the bank. Now they were all inside and had taken
it over.

2.

3.

They needed to find a place to eat. The kids were beginning to

get grumpy in the back seat and if they didn't find them food
soon, it was just a matter of time before they were faced with
a complete meltdown. Even knowing this, the solution wasn't
easy. Everyone in the car had a different opinion on where the
best place to eat would be with nobody agreeing with the
suggestions of the others. It seemed to be an impossible no-win
situation where not everyone would be happy no matter where
they decided to eat which in itself would lead to a meltdown.
Yet a decision needed to be made and it needed to be made
quickly.

4.

5.

"Explain to me again why I shouldn't cheat?" he asked. "All the

others do and nobody ever gets punished for doing so. I should
go about being happy losing to cheaters because I know that I
don't? That's what you're telling me?"

6.

7.

Sometimes it's the first moment of the day that catches you off
guard. That's what Wendy was thinking. She opened her window to
see fire engines screeching down the street. While this wasn't
something completely unheard of, it also wasn't normal. It was
a sure sign of what was going to happen that day. She could
feel it in her bones and it wasn't the way she wanted the day
to begin.
 8.

9.

I'm going to hire professional help tomorrow. I can't handle

this anymore. She fell over the coffee table and now there is
blood in her catheter. This is much more than I ever signed up
to do.

10.

11.

It had been a rough day. Things hadn't gone as planned and that
meant Hannah got yelled at by her boss. It didn't even matter
that it wasn't her fault. When things went wrong at work,
Hannah got the blame no matter the actual circumstances. It
wasn't fair, but there was little she could do without risking
her job, and she wasn't in a position to do that with the plans
she had.

12.

13.

The red line moved across the page. With each millimeter it
advanced forward, something changed in the room. The actual
change taking place was difficult to perceive, but the change
was real. The red line continued relentlessly across the page
and the room would never be the same.

14.

15.

It was supposed to be a dream vacation. They had planned it

over a year in advance so that it would be perfect in every
way. It had been what they had been looking forward to through
all the turmoil and negativity around them. It had been the
light at the end of both their tunnels. Now that the dream
vacation was only a week away, the virus had stopped all air
travel.
 16.

17.

They told her that this was her once chance to show the world
what she was made of. She believed them at the time. It was the
big stage and she knew the world would be there to see. The
only one who had disagreed with this sentiment was her brother.
He had told her that you don't show the world what you're made
of when they are all watching, you show that in your actions
when nobody was looking. It was looking more and more like her
brother was correct.

18.

19.

It was the first day of the rest of her life. This wasn't the
day she was actually born, but she knew that nothing would be
the same from this day forward. Although this was a bit scary
to her, it was also extremely freeing. Her past was no longer a
burden or something that she needed to be concerned about and
defend. She threw off the covers keeping her warm in bed,
placed her feet over the side of the bed, slipped on her
slipper, and took the first step of the first day of her new
life.

20.