Glorilux

The following story takes place three years after the events of A Funny Thing Happened in Spanish Class. ~ ~ ~ It started with nausea. An irritating, persistent fizzling feeling in the back of Michael Applebaum’s throat that he could not, try as he might, get rid of. Numbness followed, which itself was followed by lightheadedness. Then Mr. A collapsed on the floor, completely unresponsive. Thirty-six hours later, the rest of the Applebaum family sat in the waiting room, nervously trying to keep themselves occupied. Mother Irene clutched her youngest son, Emanuel, as he wept softly into her breast; her eyes were glassy with worried tears. Eldest and second eldest sons Isaac and Elijah sat reading a five-month old National Geographic with frayed edges and last month’s issue of Men’s Health, respectively, while middle son Malachi watched the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones on his phone. Daughter Beckie also sat comforting Emanuel, herself fighting back tears. Truth be told

Savannah Carmichael stood five feet and four inches tall, and had dirty blonde hair that ran down her back in a long ponytail that swayed from side to side as she walked. She wore a pink crop-top and jean shorts, and Arno van Keef could hardly take his eyes off her. He had worked for the last 36 hours on the plan to insert himself into the gorgeous Savannah’s life, and today was the day he activated it. Spanish class was letting out, and Arno would move quickly through the hallway to cross paths with Savannah as they entered science class. Arno knew they were doing a group assignment that day, so he would arrange for he and Savannah to be project partners. Once the forced introduction was complete, Arno would rely on his smooth talking abilities to win Savannah’s affection and make her his romantic partner. Arno himself had messy golden blond hair and stood 5’10 (though he prayed the old growth plates would give him one or two more inches before he hit 18). He wore jeans that were

Timmy and Cindy Prinsloo were in their family's dining room, playing with their toy train set. Outside it was a dark, rather overcast, windy night. Timmy felt safe inside the strong confines of the Prinsloo home. Just then, something slammed against the window. Both kids jumped. “What the heck was that?” demanded Cindy, jumping to her feet to investigate. “Cindy, wait!” said Timmy, scared, “what if it's a serial killer or somethi-” “Calm down, ya worry wort,” said Cindy. “It's just Arno.” Indeed, Arno van Keef from next door was tapping on the window, looking a bit disheveled. “Arno, what are you doing?” asked Cindy in a jaded voice. “I got a new car and I wanna show it off to somebody!” said Arno. “Why don't you show your girlfriend, Beckie?” asked Cindy. “She and her family are on vacation,” said Arno. “Come on!” he urged. “Why'd you choose us?” asked Timmy. “You kids are always going on crazy adventures,” said Arno, “so I figured you'd be the most