Jake was just about finished installing the new hot water heater for Mrs. Drake, as the old one had been leaking like a sieve and must have cost a fortune to run. Jake lit the pilot light and waited for the familiar whoosh that came when the burner fired up while Mrs. Drake leaned around the corner and asked if everything was O.K. “No problem Ma’am, all finished,” Jake said, as he wiped his hand with an old rag hanging from his tool belt, “I’ll be upstairs in a minute!” After gathering up all of his tools, Jake headed out to the truck to make out the bill. After all the parts and labor were included the total came to $450.00. “Not to bad,” thought Jake, as he went back into the house and handed the invoice to Mrs. Drake, who looked it over for what seemed to be a very long time. “Is there a problem Mrs. Drake,” asked Jake. “No, there’s no problem, I was just thinking that maybe you would like to add another $550.00 to make it an even thousand.” Jake eyed the woman a little suspiciously and wondered why she would make such an offer.
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Month: November 2009
Terri crammed her way onto into the third car of the Englewood-Howard subway line on her way to the Loop for work, and while it was only 7:00AM, the car was already packed like a can of sardines. After about a month of subway rides, Terri would get fed up and take her car to work, but that usually only lasted a day or two because of the horrible traffic and expensive Loop parking rates. The el was considerably faster and cheaper, if not more convenient than driving a car. On this Wednesday it seemed that it was packed tighter than normal as Terri was pressed between a well dressed business man and a mid forties woman who smelled of Chanel No. 5.
The car rocked back and forth as the train made it’s way from the far north side on it’s way down town, and having made the same trip thousands of times, Terri kind of put her mind in neutral and just swayed with motion of the car. She was gazing out the window at the passing apartment buildings, and hardly noticed Miss Chanel No. 5 starting to breath a little harder and more shallowly, and only when she felt the woman stiffen against her did she realize that something was up.
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She was a cheerleader at the State College and was also doing her student teaching that fall semester at a local high school. The afternoon football game was the last of the season, the last of her college career and traditionally there was a heck of a party put on by the team after the game. This is the story of that party and team spirit. And, oh, what team spirit she had!
Jackie knew better but when the star halfback of the college football team had asked her to go over to his place to listen to some music she just couldn’t resist. As a cheerleader she had watched him play and seen him often in the field house after games and practice, often without a shirt on and she had marveled at his dark skin and chiseled features–he was a handsome man. And, when he had approached her at the end of the season party her alcohol altered inhibitions melted away.
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