Meet Ariel. She has lived most of her modest and comfortable life in an Atlanta suburb. Her parents owned a successful accounting firm, and Ariel had been trained on numbers since she was old enough to count. She had a natural ability, and was set to take on the family business once she finished her education. She had never been particularly rebellious and didn't really have any great dreams beyond what she saw as a set future within the family business, and always remaining close with her lifelong best friend, Florence. Then one night she and Florence went to see a concert someone had recommended. There she met Eric, a bassist for Fast Kitty. Fast Kitty was a rock band with a wild reputation, and a growing following. Against her better judgment, Ariel kept in touch with Eric. He was so different from her - wild, undisciplined, hedonistic in every way. It was like they were from two different worlds but she was so fascinated by him and his lifestyle that she found herself dating him before long. Florence found that Ariel wasn't returning her calls, and was never available. All she wanted was Eric, all she thought about was Eric. She began to flake on her classes, causing her grades to plummet. She was constantly fighting with her parents about her lack of focus, and her insistence on going to bad parts of town, staying out all night, and being with Eric. He exposed her to the darker sides of life that she had only seen in the movies, and she came dangerously close to becoming accustomed to them. Then one day, she found Eric in the arms of a washed-up groupie, and it was as though someone lifted a shroud from her eyes. She saw that she'd be insane to give up the lovely life she had just to be part of some man's twisted world that only looked good from the outside. Beat it, Eric. The end.
As Courtney was handed the rule pamphlet, she swore she saw the Da Vinci code. Symbols swirled around, English words became foreign and strange. She somehow now knows how to set up a VCR after reading them, but still does not quite understand how to win atMahjong.
Last week she ordered each of them one of those gadgets that shatters your car window in case of a full water immersion. She also ordered a wind up radio. You know, in case the power grid goes down. She changed the air filters in the house last month, and commented that Olive Garden is a heck of a deal if you get a family sized pan with a five dollar take-home add-on. She’s been cracking open a Bud heavy after yoga class lately, and finally decided to try out a MyPillow.
But here she sits, six years after her appointment with WIDK reporting on milk prices, beauty pageants, the occasional car theft, Alderman election scandals, and downtown green space clean up efforts. This stupid little town doesn’t deserve her. She’s meant for greatness, and she despises their perky greetings on the streets....
