. I get to decide what you take off!" she offered mischievously. That seemed to ignite the group as everyone began to whoop and holler. "Alright . . .... let's see who goes first . . . or should we just keep the same order?" he asked as the others had circled around him somewhat anxious to start. "Let me go get a deck of cards and we will go in the order that is dealt," said Brad as he ran into the garage, with a big boner poking out the front of his thin shorts into a cabinet with games and came. "Thaaanks, Mummy and Daddy..."They smiled happily and passed me a smaller present in blue wrappingpaper. "Open this one, we're sure you'll love it, only the very best forour birthday princess." My new father kissed my forehead lightly and Isaw love in his eyes, but not for me but for the daughter that I wasbeing forced to pretend to be. I took the box and opened it gingerly,only to see a stack of bangle bracelets, every color of the rainbow. AsMummy said "See, every color! Now you'll be able. You can notcharge anyone for it. I hope you enjoy! "How the Big City Changed Me" by Chiara My friend Paul and I had planned on moving out together andbeing a couple of crazy guys without supervision since at leastback when we were 13 years old. Oh, I'm Kelly by the way. Wewere going to have a cool house and a couple of Porsches andlots of babes hanging around us. I had worked as a dishwasher atChinese restaurant and Paul worked there as a bus boy to. And got ... the three men's sworn pledge that they would serve the interests of His Lordship, herself, and the estate in general in perpetuity, in exchange for our silence about the crimes they had committed.Aldo and Horace agreed instantly. As I said, I think they knew they were in over their heads, and eagerly reached toward the minor miracle that would literally save their lives. Geoffrey wanted to resist. I won't say he tried, rather that he wished he could have tried. But he was a broken.