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Altimexis

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  1. Altimexis
    Space was at a premium, so the bathroom couldn’t be expanded much beyond the footprint of the original half-bath that had occupied the spot next to the stairs off the garage. In spite of that, the Gonzales family managed to fit a two-headed shower stall into a space slightly larger than that of a standard bathtub and to fit a vanity with a double sink into a spot only slightly larger than the original sink. The toilet was hung on the wall, saving nearly the foot of space usually needed for the t
  2. Altimexis
    “Why’d those two run off like that?” Steve asked as he approached with a plate full of food. “What’s up with that?” “It’s a bit complicated,” I replied. “The short version is that it was a classic case of two best friends afraid to say how they felt about each other. When I told them about what happened to me, Darren made a comment about thinking things like that only happened in the stories he’d read on the internet, and then he had a full-blown panic attack and ran off.” “Ah, well if
  3. Altimexis
    Bellevue was definitely a military town in which just about everyone was either stationed at or worked on the adjacent Offutt Air Force Base. Even though the town was contiguous with the City of Omaha, it had an entirely different feel than the surrounding communities. The houses were decidedly modest, and even the larger ones were split levels or raised ranches. We entered an area that I later learned was College Heights at the north end of Bellevue, where all the homes were split-levels,
  4. Altimexis
    The summer passed far too quickly, and before long, Steve was back in school, as I should’ve been. I’d managed to save more than five thousand dollars over the course of the summer, but that was hardly enough to live on. Papi offered to keep me on as he had more than enough work to keep us busy through at least the end of the year. Actually, he begged me to stay on, as he really needed my help and could only rely on Steve’s help on the weekends, when there was also church. That my situation was
  5. Altimexis
    “Don’t be so glum, Simon,” Steve admonished me. We were crammed together in the bench seat of Papi’s pickup truck, which wasn’t easy given that it had a floor-mounted stick shift. As the skinnier of the two, I was in the middle, and, dressed in only painter’s overalls and flip-flops, my bare shoulders rubbed against both Papi’s muscular arm and Steve’s bare torso. Steve had his left arm around my shoulders, which probably wasn’t lost on Papi. Although doing so made it easier for Steve’s broad sh
  6. Altimexis
    The Hilltop Residential Facility wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Under the jurisdiction of the Jackson County Family Court, it was located in a distant suburb of Kansas City in an area that was still largely rural. A number of suburban developments had sprung up around the area’s numerous lakes and golf courses, giving homeowners their own little slice of paradise within commuting distance of the city. The juvenile-justice facility was quite obviously built long before the suburbs, when it w
  7. Altimexis
    The good news was that I hadn’t been sent back to Indiana. The bad news was that I wasn’t free. I’d wanted to visit Hannibal because it was the boyhood home of Mark Twain. I’d wanted to see the sites that formed the basis of his wonderful books. It was on my way, so why not stop? Of course, I needed a place to stay, and there was a lovely park, Riverview Park, right on the west bank of the Mississippi. There weren’t any campsites, but I didn’t need a campsite. There were public restrooms, and th
  8. Altimexis
    Come the morning, we got up early and had a light breakfast, which was all we could stomach, and got ready to go to church. I was surprised when we piled into Larry’s SUV and headed south, well outside of the city. Everything we’d gone to so far had been within walking distance, and there were several churches and even a synagogue located right downtown, so I was surprised to see us traveling so far to go to church. Then we pulled up in front of a Unitarian Church, and it made a bit more sense.
  9. Altimexis
    “That was so fucking cool,” I exclaimed as Greg and I exited the Lincoln Library as they literally locked the doors behind us. They’d actually started shutting things down at 4:30, which I thought was cheap of them, but I guess the idea was to move people toward the exits so they could close up at 5:00. Even so, we’d had a fantastic time together. There was so much cool stuff, the interactive exhibits were unlike anything I’d ever seen before and the live performances were really sick. You could
  10. Altimexis
    “What did you think?” Larry asked as the credits rolled. We’d watched Ben Hur on their big-screen TV. It was a real old movie about the final days of Jesus’ life and his resurrection, but to me it seemed contrived. I’d read extensively about the Roman Empire in the days of the occupation of the Holy Land, and what was depicted in the movie was nothing like I’d imagined real life to be like in that era. It was a case of religion-based historical revisionism, but I couldn’t tell Larry that. He was
  11. Altimexis
    I’d figured it would take maybe a week before the school reported my absence to the police and then maybe another week before someone actually went to the house to investigate, and then all hell would break loose. It didn’t occur to me until much later that the school district probably didn’t even have a valid address on file. Dad always picked the mail up at the post office, and I’d even gone in with him and watched him open our mailbox with a key. Knowing the cheapskate my old man was, he woul
  12. Altimexis
    As bad as things were with Dad, I had a roof over my head, clothes in my closet and food on the table. He was a horrible father; nevertheless, he provided for me. There was certainty in my life, and I knew, more or less, what to expect every day. There were so many things I took for granted and, fucked up as it might have been, I could count on school, community and a sense of place. That all changed when I put a bullet in his chest. I’d grown up near North Vernon, a small town in Southern
  13. Altimexis
    Young Adam, aka Simon, aka J.J. grew up in Southern Indiana, the victim of sexual abuse for as long as he could remember. The one thing he had going for himself was his intelligence, which allowed him to master advanced college-level material online. On his 13th birthday, however, his father left him no choice but to fight back the only way he could. Forced to run away, he began an amazing journey that would lead him to the highest corporate echelons, and more importantly, to love.
  14. Altimexis
    “Hey kid,” a burly, overweight man called out to me, “could you be a bit more attentive and refill my water now and then?” Truthfully, I’d been more than attentive. I’d already refilled his water, twice, and was headed back to his table with a pitcher to refill it a third time. He’d only just ordered, too. I couldn’t help but wonder if the guy was diabetic, or maybe on drugs or something. His date for the evening had barely touched her water. “I’m sorry, sir,” I replied as I refilled h
  15. Altimexis
    Jake looked up from the card he held in his hand. He couldn’t believe what he thought his best friend had said. “Jake, please man, talk to me,” Larry said as he looked back at Jake, his best friend since — forever. A solitary tear escaped his left eye and slowly slid down his cheek. “Could you please repeat what you just said?” Jake asked, still not believing what he’d heard. “I said that maybe the card isn’t from a girl at all,” Larry responded. “But… but… if it wasn’t from
  16. Altimexis
    High school. Grrr! It was bad enough that I was starting high school, but I was starting high school in a new school district – a school district where I didn’t know anybody. After years of working the PM shift at Saint Vincent’s Hospital, Mom got a big promotion and was now the nursing supervisor for the Urology Department. That meant working days instead of evenings, and she was in charge of hiring and firing the other nurses who worked in the Urology Suite. It also meant spending a lot of her
  17. Altimexis
    I never set out to become a billionaire. In fact, I came from the humblest of beginnings imaginable. Even now, it’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea that my boyfriend and I were once among the richest people in the world. It’s humbling to think that we were viewed by many in the same light as Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Barlow, people I used to view with disdain. Hell, even now, Jeff Barlow is one of my closest friends. Jeff-fucking-Barlow, the executive director and foun
  18. Altimexis
    Alesia, who are you? I am a personal digital assistant developed by the consumer-electronics division of Applazon, in Cupertino, California. Ask me a question and I’ll give you a prompt answer. Make a request and I’ll do my best to carry it out. Your wish is my command. Alesia, what is Applazon? Applazon is the largest corporation in the world, with assets in excess of two trillion dollars. Founded as an online bookstore in Seattle by entrepreneur Jeff Barlow in the mid-1990s. It
  19. Altimexis
    ‘October 31, 2013,’ I read at the top of the newspaper as I pulled it out of the plastic wrap and opened it up. Yeah, my mom still subscribed to the print edition, and I actually read it every morning before going to school. Most of my friends wouldn’t have known what a newspaper was if it hit them in the face. Mom’s been calling me precocious ever since I can remember and, when I looked up the meaning of the word when I was seven, I had to agree. Pouring a cup of coffee - I’ve been drinkin
  20. Altimexis

    Homecoming

    Altimexis posted a story in Fiction

    Sam couldn't explain why he spent so much time on his long journey, reliving life through dream novels as a teenage boy on Earth, a planet humans had long ago abandoned. Not that anyone even knew where it was anymore. Now, humans were, methodically searching the galaxy for planets suitable for terraforming, spending hundreds of years building interconnecting black strings and then sending colony ships of embryos in stasis. Sam was the only adult crew member on his ship, one of an armada that comes under attack. As the sole survivor, he must figure out what to do when faced with almost certain oblivion.
  21. Altimexis
    I could only imagine what Pete was going through as he approached the podium. Not that he hadn’t performed in front of a large audience before - we all had; this was a school for the performing arts, after all - but today was different. Today he was addressing his peers, his friends, his family and all who had made this day possible. He might not have had to deal with all the shit I’ve faced in the last few years, but he’s dealt with far more than most seventeen-year-olds. Although still a minor
  22. Altimexis
    “It’s gonna be sooo much fun living here for the summer,” Brian said with a huge grin as we pulled up in front of my granddads’ house on North Illinois Street. “I still can’t believe we’re done with high school,” I chimed in as I brought the car to a stop and shut off the motor. “Can you believe we’ve been together nearly four years?” I added. “It’ll be four years in September, Frankie,” Brian corrected me. “It’s still only June. Let’s not push it, Babe.” “It’s close enough, don’c
  23. Altimexis
    I looked across the table at the young man sitting across from me and felt horrible. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, in which case he was legal but, nevertheless, I felt tremendous remorse for the way I’d used him. Not that I misled anyone. I was always very upfront about what it was I wanted. Some unscrupulous types would lure young boys into riding with them and do with them as they pleased. That was rape, pure and simple. I didn’t do that. I might be a monster, but I was not
  24. Altimexis
    Like so many others before me, I chose teaching because I thought I could make a difference. There had been a number of teachers in my life - both men and women - who had literally made me what I am today. I couldn’t imagine what my life might have been like had it not been for their influence. I wanted to play that role for the kids of today. I wanted to change lives. Of course I also had a number of teachers along the way that could have cared less. So uninspired were they that it had bee
  25. Altimexis
    The sound of my alarm clock was a very rude awakening to the fact that summer was over. The first day of school was always an exciting time for me as I was a pretty good student, but it also signaled the end of carefree days and the escape from the constant teasing and taunting that went along with school. Ever since I could remember, I got teased for being different, but I wasn’t the only one. Almost all the other kids had parents who worked for a living. Me, well, my parents were young and sti
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