1. Time is a Liar

Tom decided to gather together five people to make a point. Each of the three he was able to convince by offering money equal to a community college course overload teaching hour was provided with a phone or walkie-talkie and a camera. Tom let Sylvia sit in his office, as her ankles had been aching. "OK I'll call in a minute." "Okay Tom, I'll be here. Bye!" She ran her fingernails through her hair as the heavy metal door shut. It had been connected to the same AirSpring hinge device since 1978 and now whooshed like it was supposed to at first, paused just before contact, recoiled for the kill, then slammed hard. Syl was still shaking out her bangs absentmindedly as she peeked into Tom's desk drawer for a moment, realized what she was doing, and closed that, too. Then she planted her elbow like a compass pin on his calendar blotter, propping up her chin, and let her eyeballs roll this way and that. It was November 27.