One can endure only so much ridicule and mockery with false humor before submitting oneself to a momentary breakdown. Simon had tried to be a good sport. He did not wish to cause disruption in the community. Dissent caused disruption, and objection to popular consensus, such as whether Simon Skinner was really a sissy, was a form of dissent. ( Read more... )

The official story undoubtedly would be that Connor McKee had collapsed from drunkenness into a pile of dry leaves with a lit cigarette. This was quite plausible, as everyone knew Connor McKee was a chain-smoking drunk who tended the grounds of the castle. Of course, Connor McKee hadn’t died at the hands of his vices. He had died at the hands of ( Read more... )

Simon wakes up, jumps of out of bed and faces the window, crossing his arms behind his back as he stretches. It crosses his mind that he is the only person bearing the surname of Skinner in Sandford. This gives him prominence, and with prominence comes power: a pleasant side effect of being the last of the line. He likes this morning revelation ( Read more... )

( Violence. )

You’ve been asked to give a live demonstration to a large audience, showing your skill and giving instruction on something that you do better than most people. The spotlight is on you. Now do it.

“You were outstanding.”

“No.”

“You really were!”

“No!“Don’t be so modest, Sissy. You were better than the lead ( Read more... )

( Did you hear Irene Butterman died? )

The object of art is to crystallize emotion into thought and then give it form. Delsarte

22 May, 1968 ( Read more... )

20 March, 1987

( Just desserts being a cushy job at the shop after a reduced sentence. )

14 February, 1984

( Simon sits on the armrest of his couch, taking deep drags from cigarette du jour #37 while watching Jeremy pry his books from the bookshelf. )

Things do not get better by being left alone. Unless they are adjusted, they explode with a shattering detonation. Winston Churchill

~*~

April, 1987

Mr. Edward Skinner went to see the family shrink on the afternoon prior to his subsequent death. ( Read more... )