"We all went out for a drink that night. My fears of the team divide were briefly hammered away by alcohol and late-night karaoke. I took a cab home and dropped the others off on the way, just to show how generous I was with my new found wealth."
This morning, Mark has been teaching me how to use positive reinforcement on the people I manage. There are four of them: Ricky, Stella, Imogen and the new guy, Dominic. Mark is the head of the company. "When I have...
Wednesday, 11 January, 2012
More New voices
Three men in hard hats sit on the vast table, steel toe-capped boots resting on the seats of the chairs in front of them. Their eyes shine out of the grey grime which covers them head to toe. Though they... More...
On a graceful bay on Lake Garda stands a honey-coloured hotel. Against a backdrop of pines, creamy crenulations line its corner towers, and a light breeze from off the water sends the fragrance of sage and lavender drifting across the... More...
Sunlight floods the studio and reflects off the mirror, casting glass-splintered patterns on the wood floor. I shield my eyes and look at the class. Another group of thirty-something women. Some are chubby, some are lithe. They're always inflexible. Beyond... More...
Jenny stands naked in front of us. We are all holding candles, all in anticipation. Her hair is tied up in a loose bundle, held in place with a chopstick. We clap her encouragingly. We are all naked too -... More...
The alarm beeps and beeps in the darkness, the single-note buzz persisting around the walls like an angry digital bee. Paul raises his head slightly from the pillow, feeling insulted. He, lying awake with his eyelids lightly closed in the... More...
This is how it starts: the first grave is always the easiest to find, the limestone scoured to a stripped cleanliness. White. From afar, the graves look like Jewish stone offerings amidst the moss of the hill and ropes of... More...
On the day Charles Bukowski died, Marla was working the register. Jackson, furious in his grief, rapidly piled the front table with all the Bukowski the store had in stock. Then he made a sign in big black letters that... More...
The building of the Szechenyi baths was a florid shade of effeminate peach, nestled within a shady patch of City Park. From nearby its white cupolas could be seen amongst the trees, and a very noticeable smell of sulphur distinguishable... More...
It's eight o'clock in the evening. I'm in bed. Dusk pokes round the edge of the curtains. Earlier today, we spoke on the phone. You were busy at work. You couldn't get away. 'Not even for half an hour?' I... More...
Different looking chap today. Carrot-top.'You got a name?' I ask, as he's walking down the drive. 'Gary,' he says, and he looks down at his white coat, 'should say it on me badge.' He's holding the crate. Mottled pink and white... More...
The fresh mound of dark black dirt was visible from Ricky Jensen's second-story window. He was standing at the windowsill, clipping on a beige tie while holding the collar away from his neck with a hooked finger. Church! Ha! Ricky... More...
It was there when she opened the door, lying on the carpet in the middle of her son's bedroom. At first, Clair thought it was a sausage; a plastic one from the breakfast set Benjamin used to play with. He... More...
Cigarette butts, razor blades, belt buckles, boot spurs, bamboo sticks, red bricks and cut glass. These were among the instruments of torture his father had bestowed upon him since he was a child. He heard the bones in his arm... More...
It is difficult to imagine what went into preparing for today; all the hours of thought and the list-making; the purchases, the cleaning and the people; doctors and nurses and well-wishers constantly calling and writing, wanting to share in the excitement of the parents-to-be... More...
When Jackie noticed Mark was spending an unusual amount of time locked in the downstairs loo before coming to bed, she intuited it was more than a desire to have a quiet evacuation. He had always been a fastidious... More...
If there's anything I hate more than life insurance salesmen it's the way they're such complete hypocrites. When this guy comes to my door I think to myself 'You know what, Paul, the sad thing is this guy doesn't even... More...
-1- Like so many men who live in this neighbourhood of deserted factories and crowded taverns, George Fenner is finding it difficult to idle away the dwindling hours of October daylight. On the steps of his front porch he... More...
Nat and her fiancé were very much together, although they hadn't set a date; it was hard, on their combined income, to do themselves justice. James had pulled his thumb out and started a law conversion course, and in the... More...
It wasn't until a few years after everyone had stopped thinking about his turning fifty that my teacher actually celebrated his birthday. That is to say, he stopped mourning its passing and gathered people together in recognition of this change... More...
There are children across the street now. That's another thing that's changed. There are three of them, two boys and a girl. They were out this morning, early, tearing across the lawn as if nothing in the world could be... More...
When Elisa found herself waiting for a self-declared anarchist called Mike in a fashionable restaurant downtown, she unexpectedly found herself thinking about politics. She had abstained from voting in all elections except her first, and even after the devastation of... More...
Night time at the checkpoint, ink spilt through water and clouds scudding the sky above while, to the east, the twin lasers from the festival tunnel into space. "Maybe I can get a stamp for my passport here," the... More...
On the second Thursday of the month, the community centre holds its Good Grief support group for fathers. The coffee tastes like cavity fillings and the pastries are leftovers from the bridge club. Nobody talks much, so the counsellor... More...
Elaine jointed the beef and made piles of chuck and blade, silver-side, brisket and tenderloin. It felt good to put things in order. At seven years old, she couldn't remember the months of the year correctly, but she could name the seventeen main cuts of beef and could search through the intestines and viscera of a cow and name each organ - and even put a price to them. More...
