Conrad didn't know how much more he could handle.

"My god, what is he wearing? I know he's dumb, but is he also blind?"

"He looks like my grandma dressed him, rolled him around in her grave and then spat him back out."

"Ugh, he's dressed so bad I can smell it."

"Here, hand me your chocolate milk, I'll make this better."

Lou sat, oblivious, with headphones in. They weren't friends, but this was just wrong.

Conrad's anger outweighed his fear. He rose from his seat and stood between Lou's back and the bully with the milk.

"No," said Conrad.

What to do with this substantial check, in 500 words or less?

Substantial to one is survival to another.

$1000 is a lot of food, even with eggs at $5/dozen. But it won’t cover a month’s rent.

$5,000 would cover the rent, but not the credit card debt.

$10,000 pays the credit, but not the student loans.

$25,000? A deep breath of relief I haven’t taken in years.

A moment of swimming, not sinking.

How long will it last? Will I get another? What if I mess this up?

And now I’m spiraling again.

But there’s a minute, when I first open that check where it doesn’t matter if it’s a dollar or a thousand. That check says, “Someone read your words and they see you as a writer.”

The value of this check is in its validation.

I’ll spend it on my self-esteem,

Invest it in my imagination,

And deposit whatever’s left in my dreams.

Here we go again.

Everything about the babe

is new but the eyes.

The eyes show the truth.

A thousand lives lived. And a

thousand more to go.

The wheels on the bus

go round and we learn that what

goes up must come down.

We wear out the soles

of our shoes, and stretch our souls

towards each other.

If we are lucky,

we learn something, before it’s

time to go again.