The store had received a number of boxes of rare collectible cards, so Squall spent the morning cross-checking the cards against what he'd actually ordered. It was frustrating how few people online properly understood and used the term "mint condition ( Read more... )

So, everyone had hopefully been notified, and now they were gathered and gathering, and Bob waited as long as he could for them to arrive before he stepped up to the front of the room and set off a burst of golden light to get their attention ( Read more... )

Squall was deep in his usual pastime of playing a game of cards against himself, when Tinu yawned, scratched himself, and looked up from his 3DS. "Oh, you're here."

That got an eyeroll from Squall. "I'm here every day."

"Oh, of coooourse you are," Tinu snorted, with an exaggerated magical handwave to show what he thought of that declaration ( Read more... )

It was Valentine's Day, and love was in the air! Or pollen. Love pollen? Something like that, anyway. It wasn't like the holiday cared any, after all. Not when there was a dance to be had. And this year's dance had just the thing to take everybody's mind off of that pesky pollen!

That's right, dancing. Which, to the uninitiated, might seem a bit ( Read more... )

Jono had threatened to drag Hannibal off to do something for his birthday, and really, there hadn't been many stipulations set down, beyond not deliberately increasing the population of the flamingos on Hannibal's lawn, given how old he was turning today. Jonothon was pretty certain he'd managed that much, and while he'd wanted to do something that ( Read more... )

Today's attempt to teach Rinoa how to play Magic hadn't gone any better than the last however many times. Several hours in, there was furniture broken, cards destroyed, and a lot of bad feeling all around. Half the problem, of course, was that Squall had picked a starter box off the rack and begun winning a lot with it. Having Jono play with ( Read more... )

It was Sunday evening. Maybe in other, better cities people were waking up from the naps they took to sleep off Grandma's pot roast dinner after church. Maybe they were riding bikes under streetlights or swinging on suburban porch swings, counting fireflies ( Read more... )

Showtime. Rita couldn't keep the nervous shiver from her spine, every time that curtain went up. The band was warming up, and the tables were starting to fill.

She held her cigarette holder out (in one elegant gloved hand) for the nearest gentleman to light. Her dress was perfect, and so was her hair. She herself didn't take the stage until last ( Read more... )

The tables and chairs had finally come in, and were here to stay ( Read more... )

Squall stomped into his shop angrily this morning. He'd ordered tables and chairs nearly two months ago -- nothing fancy, just something so that people could sit and play games in the store. Squall had weeks fighting with the supplier, who seemed to keep losing the order. In frustration, he'd cancelled the purchase and ordered them from a ( Read more... )