afraid I can't follow the prompt
it's entirely outside my area of expertise
guess I could make it all up
but that's not my thing today

thought I would be writing truth
and deep strongly held beliefs
but the prompt about news reporters
and grabbing for glory

doesn't sound like my kind of story
glad for the time limit
as it ticks away I think
at least I will not be verbose

and yet there is something
I really wanted to say about
praying for peace and going to war
and fighting terror with terror

that niggles at my gut...

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It wasn't one of those baby swings, with a back and leg holes, safe and sturdy; it was a real swing and he had no idea how to make it move.

"Move your legs," said Daddy. "Forward and back, just like that, forward and back."

It felt like the swing was starting to move. Not much rhythm, yet. The light grey sky didn't do much to encourage, and he looked back, hoping for a push like usual.

A few minutes later and he was soaring, smile as wide as the arc the swing made from apex to apex - velcro-laced...

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"Do you know how much you're paying to be there?"

Of course she knew, looking at her shoes. They were pretty shoes - very nice ones. She was glad she'd worn them. Something good to look at, a pattern to lose herself in as she tried to drown out the sound of her parents raging at her.

About university, this time, but really it could be anything. Insert subject here, and they would rant.

Lots of spirals on these shoes. Lots of colours, too -

Oh. They were looking at her. Expecting a response.

"Yes."

It seemed to be the...

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She'd have preferred The Electric Chair to be the name of the band. But she was out voted by the drummer and the bassist who wanted The Hanged Man.

What, did they want to give the impression that they were unable to spell? She had asked on numerous occasions. But none have them had understood what she was saying.

Well, the guitarist had, but Jeff had wanted the band to be called The Rainbow Rogues so he didn't really count.

They had been a band for about six months and had yet to unanimously agree on anything.

They hadn't been...

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"This is a little weak on the nose, and blunt in taste. To put it mildly, I wouldn't serve this wine to my guests, nor likely drink it for pleasure." Those were the only words I have ever received, in written communique, as it were, from the famous wine critic Perry Daniels. It was also my first review as a vintner. Unfortunately, besides being in the show, it was also published in the Post. A shame. And great annoyance.

Because of this man, my start in vintering is in somewhat of a decay. I am looking in to brewmaster jobs...

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"I've got a loaded weapon and I'm not afraid to use it!" she shouted, holding the cat in her arms like an AK-47 as the snow swirled around her on the open playing field.
"You touch my snowman again and I will set the cat on you!"she snarled, walking menacingly towards the group of chav-scum teenagers who were busy kicking over her children's carefully constructed snowmen.
"Oh yeah, as if we're scared!" one of them challenged her. She just smiled, peeled back her black balaclava and revealed her badly scarred face. "He did this last month." she said simply, and...

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It seemed so simple. Walk in, say hi, grab a cappucino and go. I didn't realize just how complicated it would actually be. it started like any other run to Starbucks. I walked in the door and was greeted by the wired girl sitting by the door, in the exact same spot where i had seen her last. She told me that this was her 34th latte that morning. As usual, i edged away, as she continued to chatter. I walked up to the till and was also greeted by Allie, the clerk i saw every time i came by....

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I held it at arms length. I wondered who had stuck that dead rat in my desk anyhow. i carried it out to the garbage bin and flipped up the lid. Ugh. The stench was overpowering. I dropped the little carcas in and slammed down the lid. After thoroughly sanitizing my hands, i opened my spiral notebook and jotted down a list of suspects. Number one: Brayden Leston. He was known for all sorts of less than hilarious pranks, like the time he dropped an entire 2 liter bottle of Pepsi into Mr. Zapinski's Mentos drawer. The resulting explosion caused...

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When I was twelve I went to sea, aboard a small ship. They hired me to clean and sweep and feed the men, in exchange they said they would take me across the ocean to the new world.
A week or two after shipping out, a storm rose on the horizon. The wind she blew and rain she fell and waves crashed into the sides.
The captain went first, and then his crew, leaving just me and another, a drunk.
The sails were torn, and the bow was pierced, the hull became full of water. Neither of us knew how...

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He exited the train at Buenos Aires with only his wallet, his passport, and a set of old dice he had taken from a board game. Now that he was here he was realizing just how crazy this all was. That was why he was here, back home his girlfriend had broken up with him for being too indecisive, and he new he needed to change. He had spun the globe and when his fingers stopped the spinning sphere near Buenos Aires, he bought a ticket. He was boring, he knew that. Now was a time for change. He was...

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