Martin Luther King and Henry DavidThoreau Essay

However with different motives; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau were both admirable men that strived for a better government. As respected spokesmen they served as rebels against what they thought to be bad one’s stopping at nothing. Not even jail. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. were both brilliant men. Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Obedience† and Dr. King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† are perfect examples of their intellect. Looking at these documents and observing the tactics they use while attempting to move their audience toward their ultimate goal, one can see the finesse that both men possessed. Thoreau and Dr. King lived during two different centuries. So being that they were vocalist and activist on the current issues it’s almost certain that they would have a different motive. Even though their motive was ‘poles apart’, differing in many ways, both Thoreau and Dr. King wrote with the aspiration of obtaining a new form of government presumably resembling the republican one we exercise today. Although awfully controversial, to do so both men felt nonverbal actions such as breaking the laws was the only effective way. In spite of the fact that it’s relatively ironic, they viewed going to jail in order to make a mockery of an immoral or impractical laws put in place by the government was â€Å"the very highest respect for law (King para. 5).†Henry David Thoreau motive for rebelling against the government was to make it more of a democratic one. He had no respect for the way it was being ran. His proclaimed problem basically summed up to be that he felt the government was being ran like a monarchy, or in other words by a selective few and not an entire society as it should. It simply wasn’t up to par according to his standards; for he stated this â€Å"I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government (para. 4).†Unlike Henry David Thoreau, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an African American during the times of segregation. This alone is a critical manipulating variable in the equation of why the two’s motive wasn’t the same. Dr. King was all about helping America move towards a desegregated future. He had zeal towards annihilating all unjust laws which he stated to be â€Å"a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating†¦ (para. 4),† but for the most part he had an overall respect for the government. In conclusion, it’s safe to say that other than race and motive Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. were pretty similar. They both were men of their own opinion that could be classified as moralized radicals. As spokesmen of their time they were both good at what they did. Through the form of speeches, protest, letters, and etcetera they both exemplified â€Å"Civil Disobedience (Thoreau). â€Å"Thoreau, Henry D. Civil Disobedience. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1849. 263-287. King Jr., Dr. Martin L. â€Å"Letter from Birmingham City Jail.† 16 Apr.-May 1963. Birmingham: Charles Moore, 1963. 1.

Consequences of Indecision’s Essay

Consequences of Indecision’s The characters are affected by their mistakes in Feed by M.T. Anderson because these characters are all caught up in their indecision to choose what they want to do with their lives. Violet’s father is all caught up in protecting his daughter, Violet the main character, from the negative affects of the feed and how people take advantage of it in a poor manner. He didn’t want that to happen to Violet. The Feed is a device that people in the novel use in their everyday lives. The Feed is a computer chip that gets installed into the brain allowing internet access where ever they are, exposing people to unlimited knowledge. This chip also allows them to have the internet as a part of them so it becomes a part of the brain thus making them all in some since, part robot. He never wanted to get Violet the Feed because he thought it would be terrible for her. He then realized that she needed it in order to have a productive future and live a decent life. The outcome of his delayed decision of installing the Feed caused negative affects on Violet. Violet has similar to her father’s thinking when it comes to the Feed. She can’t decide if she does or doesn’t want to be a part of society. She claims that she loves the Feed because of the knowledge that it has to offer. Violet wants the feed because she also yearns to be accepted into society. She then turns around and says that the Feed is a horrible thing because it separates people from the real world causing them to become unaware of what’s really happening in the world. She also malfunctions in result of being hacked. This is the major issue that Violet and her father come across. Since these characters can’t choose what they actually want with society and the Feed only ends up leading them to their destruction. Violets father’s distraction with his thoughts is caused by his indecision on society with how people act. Many people would think that Violets father was doing the right thing by limiting his daughter to the technology, and they are wrong. If he was so against society then he should have left with Violets mother or just leave in general to get away. If they moved away and he never got her the Feed and she would have never gone to the moon. Apparently those thoughts never occurred to him. So he is living in a society that he strongly dislikes and refuses to become fully part of. His  problem with picking what he wants influenced him to get the Feed installed into her daughter’s brain late, because he realized that she would need it in order to live there and have a successful life. He realized this after he went to a job interview and he still didn’t have the Feed so he couldn’t get the job. This hesitation that he had was because he wanted his daughter to have real knowledge that you actually had in your head from memory and education. Not lazy artificial knowledge that she didn’t need to think to know something. He was being stubborn and thought he was doing something good for her. Many people would say that he just wanted to protect her. Well if he really wanted to protect her then why didn’t he just take her and leave that place? At the same time he wants to be around this great technology with its unlimited opportunities. Since he couldn’t choose a side that he wanted to be on he ran into issues because he cou ldn’t choose one or the other. Sadly Violet acts similar to her father. when it comes to Violet , it’s obvious that she is different from everyone else. She knows more then other people do because she had time to think and learn before she got the Feed, along with homeschooling. She has a larger vocabulary then the people that she lives around. Violet also doesn’t have as wide of a vocabulary as her father. She isn’t as intelligent as her father either. She is lonely to the point that she makes announcements into a trash can just to hear the echo of her own voice. She has no real close friends because of homeschooling, making her less exposed to other people in the world. Violet has similar indecision’s as her father, being against the society and with it at the same time just doesn’t work. it has to be one or the other. If not then they will have plenty of issues, because when they go against the way how things function and try to change it only caused them problems that they have to pay for all on there own. Violets i ndividuality and intelligence made her get into problems because she wanted to see if she could trick the Feed to prove that technology can’t over power humans. As Violet goes to the mall to create another profile on her Feed it only backfires. She called this her project. Her project was to create an account that the Feed could not give options to for items that she may like. She tried creating this account by looking at random and odd things at the mall  that had nothing to do with each other, pretending to like them so that the Feed would think she takes an interest in them. This makes the Feed think that she would consider purchasing these items. Violets project backfired because she never bought anything that she made the Feed think she liked. The Feed was offering her these items, expecting her to buy some of them. When she never did apply to purchasing anything, Violet got hacked everything started to malfunction and her father couldn’t pay for the care and FeedTech had no interest in helping her because she wasn’t a good investment to society. No one from FeedTech or the inverters of FeedTech wanted to sponsor for her health needs because of her poor shopping records. These records stated, that she had looked up information on items and she didn’t purchase any of them. Violets project was a horrible idea because her father couldn’t afford to pay for all the tests that she needed. The warranty had also expired years ago. There is nothing that they can do for her now but wait as her father regrets not getting Violets Feed late. When Violet got hacked, it somehow damaged her Feed and no one was sure why. While she was in the hospital she was told by the doctors that her Feed should stabilize over time, it never did. Her Feed only progressed to worsen as time went on. Even when she was working on her project in the mall Violet didn’t consider how her actions would affect her . She knew that attempting to mess with the Feed wasn’t supposed to be done and that didn’t stop her . She went and did it anyway, her indecision to go against the Feed failed because she only got worse in the end. Her body slowly stopped working over time. In the beginning she was losing all feeling in her foot. Similar to having a foot fall asleep. Of course this turned into her whole limbs losing feeling. This resulted in her losing all feeling in both of her legs causing her to fall down the stairs when she was home alone. FeedTech didn’t want to help her because she made a record that stated how she doesnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t buy anything that she takes interest in. All because she couldn’t make up her mind on what she wanted to do. She attempted to trick the Feed. Then she changed her mind when she was weak and tried getting help from FeedTech after she attempted to mess up the whole system. Since these characters can’t choose what they actually want with society. The Feed only ends up leading them to destruction. Violet and her father made so many mistakes that it came to the point where they couldn’t save her. They refused to cooperate with FeedTech so FeedTech wouldn’t pay for her repairs. When it came to her malfunctioning. They also refused to cover the cost because she messed up her Feed during her project at the mall when she was trying to trick the Feed so that it couldn’t predict or tell her what she would like. Since Violets father was so caught up in protecting his daughter he was protecting her to the point where his choices killed his daughter, destroying everything he has ever worked for because Violet is his life. Violet is all he has left because Violets mother ran away to Africa to escape the society that they claim to hate. When it turned out that them staying is a place that they dislike was all a mistake on it’s own. If they where going to stay they should have accepted the way things are. Violet and her father should have just given into the way of the Feed if they wanted to stay.

High school Essay

Education Does the perfect high school exist? Is there a school out there in which the students are all nice and responsible, every teacher enforces learning on the classroom, and the school system always makes wise decisions? No, probably not. At least, not any school I have ever heard of. There are multiple problems affecting high schools today, usually being either issues personally affecting an individual student, or issues affecting the whole school. Some examples of these problems may be: bullying, dropping out, not studying or doing homework, getting pregnant, not being taught to a full extent, financial issues, and etcetera. Like most problems, there is always a solution that we could benefit from. One of the most major issues hurting high schools today has to do with students being lazy. Teens go to school for the majority of their day, which is typically seven hours. Once they finally get home, it is safe to assume that the last thing on students’ minds is homework. They think â€Å"I have been at school allllll day! This is my time to relax; I do not want to do school work anymore! † So instead, they choose to sit down and watch Jersey Shore or log onto their Facebook accounts. In â€Å"The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut† by Todd Gitlin, he talks about comedy writer Larry Gelbart referring to media as â€Å"weapons of mass distraction. † If you think about it, this is pretty accurate. Televisions, the internet, etc are nothing but examples of distraction. Most teenagers are not responsible enough to think â€Å"I cannot watch TV right now, I have to study,† so they usually spend the rest of their night watching TV, causing a failing grade on the next day’s test. Teens in high school are not fully matured. Obviously, if they were mature, they would realize the importance of their grades as opposed the importance of who got in a fight on Jersey Shore. Due to this fact, I think we should â€Å"Let Teenagers Try Adulthood. † In this passage, Leon Botstein supports his idea to give teens a chance at adult life. As I have mentioned, teenagers are not mature enough to make decisions that will be good for their future. So why not let them graduate at the age of sixteen in order for them to understand the significance of being a responsible, mature person? Letting them graduate earlier could more than likely help students realize that it is time to grow up and take action for their lives. And maybe then, less time will be spent watching television, and more time will be spent on productive things†¦ mainly because they would not have a choice! Another major problem in high schools is the extremely high rate of students dropping out of school early. Teens drop out of school for multiple different reasons. Some leave school to escape bullying. There is always that one kid who is bullied so much, he just cannot stand it any longer. This is usually the kid in the back of the classroom, trying to stay hidden from everyone else, not doing assignments or paying attention. Scurrilous peers tend to make students want to stay at home forever, and never come back to school. Dropping out of school may be the victim’s way of getting away. Some students drop school simply because of boredom. They get tired of doing the same thing, every day. They feel as though they are not getting anything from it. In David S. Broder’s â€Å"A Model for High Schools,† he states that â€Å"Too many students are dropping out of high school, bored or dissatisfied with what it offers. † Throughout my three years of high school, I have seen numerous issues arise. Due to these many issues, personally, I do not like high school a bit. The problem most chronic would definitely have to be teen pregnancy. I remember during my freshman year, there were about twenty different young girls roaming the halls with a baby bump. During my sophomore year, there were twelve. The majority of the young women in high school that are getting pregnant end up dropping out and totally ignoring their education in order to raise their child. Those who do not drop out still have to miss tons of days due to their pregnancy and child birth†¦ which means, these students will get very far behind in their work, and will have to catch up on their own. Now, I am not saying that these girls should not raise their children, or that they do not have a reason to be absent frequently, I am simply saying this: Do not get pregnant in the first place! Education should always come first. Once they miss that month of school, it is going to be extremely difficult for them to catch up on their work. Because of this, most students will just give up and drop out. No one wants to be stupid, have a child at 16, and have to work at McDonald’s just to buy diapers and a box of Cheerios! Although there are still many issues arising in high schools all throughout America, these are more than likely the worst. Laziness and irresponsibility, dropping out, and getting pregnant can all cause students to end up with no education whatsoever, and lead them to a life of serving customers at the local Wal-Mart.

Joint Functions Commander's Planning Guidance Coursework

Joint Functions Commander's Planning Guidance - Coursework Example CFLCC units will be prepared for transition to Phase II (Seize the Initiative) operations should sequential FDOs fail to prevent an attack by Ahurastan (AH) into Azerbaijan (AZ). The CFLCC command staff’s problem frame has identified two areas of concern. The first is that the commander has identified the mobility corridor vicinity of GANJA (KIROVABAD) as decisive terrain in CFLCC’s movement from TBILISI to the KURA River basin. This mobility corridor is canalized by urban terrain in the north and mountainous terrain in the south. The CFLCC command believes that failure to control this mobility corridor will significantly impede the success of IAW EUCOM CONPLAN 4567-15. e. The second area of concern is that AH may attack before JTF-CASPIAN has fully deployed. The CFLCC command has analyzed this ECOA, and their worst case assessment is that the ADF brigades deployed along the AZ border may only be able to delay AH ground forces 24-48 hours. Because of the accelerated tim eline, there will be limited JTF-CASPIAN forces available to support this contingency mission. OPERATION’S PURPOSE: Prevent Ahurastan forces from controlling the mobility corridor from the vicinity of GANJA (KIROVABAD) to BAKU utilizing a THREE PHASE OPLAN,. AH Capstone mission is the isolation of BAKU IOT leading to a political settlement that will recognize AH’s oil claims in the region. Phase I –DETER- Pre-conflict preparation and transition to war: M-day to D-day. Provide aggressive reconnaissance and presence within the GANJA (KIROVABAD) to BAKU Area of Operations (AO). Coalesce and integrate combined battle plan and order of engagement with all allied forces AZ. Commence pre-emptive Phase II (Seize) deployment of forces into staging areas. Phase II-SEIZE- Initial transition to war. D-day to OPLAN Day 4. Commence interdiction attacks with long-range fires and attack aviation forward of PL BLACK to disrupt lead tactical

Analysis of Problems Facing PETRONAS Corporation Research Paper

Analysis of Problems Facing PETRONAS Corporation - Research Paper Example This essay aims at identifying and analyzing the challenges faced by organizations in the public sector. The specific challenge that will be discussed is the poor management of the Malaysian state-owned multinational corporation, PETRONAS. The current state of the organizations are also analyzed by the researcher in the essay after reviewing various resources on the organization selected. Recommendations are also provided by the researcher on the topic of how the organization can improve its performance and be effective in modern world. The public sector organization selected and analyzed in the essay is the Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) Corporation. In conclusion, the researcher sums up the study and states that government-owned organizations receive high consideration and support from the government to effectively operate and achieve their goals. Similarly, PETRONAS Corporation is a Malaysian government-owned corporation that receives support from the government and enables the corporation effectively to exploit oil and gas fields in Malaysia and in other countries. Although PETRONAS is a government-owned company, it is a profit-based entity owned by the Malaysian government rather than a public utility organization. Currently, the corporation is among the top five best companies producing Liquefied Natural Gas in the world. It is stated by the researcher of the essay that the success attained by the corporation is dependent on the support of the Malaysian government.

Discussion Board Question for criminal justice Assignment - 3

Discussion Board Question for criminal justice - Assignment Example . (Saferstein, 2011). The assessment of bloodstain pattern also limits the need to collect a lot of redundant blood sample for DNA testing, emphasizing importance of blood patter observation. (Ramsland, n.d). Shape of blood stain can help predict the tool used. For example, it may be deduced that it was a blunt instrument used just by shape and distribution of blood patterns.(Dave, 2014).Features of the pattern can hint to the kind of object that formed it and the least number of blows delivered by the object. For instance, the characteristic spurts present in an arterial spray spatter are created by the ongoing pumping of blood from an arterial injury. ( Saferstein, 2011) Surface texture can significantly affect the outline of bloodstain. The texture of the surface is related with the disruption of a blood drop on contact with the surface. .( Saferstein 2011).Smooth surface for instance glass, will provide a stain with clean edges and shapes of proper geometric ratio.  A rough surface on the other hand, say concrete, will break the surface tension irregularly and hence produce a star burst. .( Saferstein, 2011) Nevertheless, circular blood drops imply that the murder was moving way at a slow speed, but spiny edges imply the murderer might have took off running.( Dave,2014) Various types of bloodstains show how the blood was projected from the body and information like type of injury, order in which the wounds were received, and how far the blood drops fell before hitting the surface where they were found could be obtained. (Ramsland,n.d ) Flow pattern of the blood stains can also give information. For instance, if the pattern suggests the flow was interrupted, it may be helpful in assessing the sequence and time past between the flow and its interruption. . ( Saferstein ,2011) Moreover, because the direction of flows is caused by

Assignment #4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

#4 - Assignment Example This depends on the manner of the devices orientation. Another reason is because it enables its users to customize the home screens they use with shortcuts for applications and widgets that allow the users display live content like weather contents and emails, on the home screen directly. 5. The changes made to /etc/network/interfaces fail to take effect because some of the components could be missing like the ID, the scheme such as HTTP, and an incomplete host name. Only the path is provided, and is not complete either. 6. A grep c, or grep command file name does allow someone to search multiple files or a single file for lines which contain a pattern. In a case where matches were fund, 0 is the exit status and 2 in a case where errors occurred. 9. (9a) DMZ global is a managed network service which enables secure connectivity between its client’s networks and their clients and business partners. A single pipe infrastructure is implemented between it and its client’s network .this terminates all client’s 3rd parties connections on the secure business exchange of DMZ Global and network infrastructure, doing away with the client’s necessity to maintain a complex onsite security environment. 15. The cron job, 30 22 5 * * prod /home/prod/transfermonfunds, means that, the URL, prod /home/prod/transfermonfunds will be requested by the server in every 30th minute of every 22nd day of the 5th day each

The Classification of People or Individual on the Face of Law Essay

The Classification of People or Individual on the Face of Law - Essay Example Congress has been given big latitude to regulate commerce with any foreign nations and among other of its several states. Constitution, in this case, confers power and legal justification for the federal governments to control the commerce of the state. Commerce regulation involves a wide range of control that includes the exchange of goods and services. However, the definitions of commerce have been a very controversial one. The very constitutions that have given latitude to the Congress to regulate commerce do not explicitly define the commerce that it intends the Congress to be regulated. In its inadequacies, the constitution does not clearly describe the social intercourses between citizens of different states. Consequently, the constitution leaves a huge gap in identifying the commerce and the dividing line between the state power and those of the federal government. Wherefore, with this wide gap of the inadequacy and incompleteness of the clause, there is a legal problem in its application. In particular are the cyberspace and the federal power in regulating it while excising the commerce clause. Considering the case of American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan vs. the federal government, the association complained against the application of the commercial clause because they termed it criminalizing online communication and termed it as violation of the freedom of speech and a violation of the commerce clause that is provided in the constitution of United States of America.

Evaluating Adtopia (Advertising and Utopia) Essay

Evaluating Adtopia (Advertising and Utopia) - Essay Example Hummer: A High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) with supreme off road ability, and a major league attention getter. You can go from being an outcast to a winner with this non-environmental friendly vehicle. This ad attempts to describe a driver's utopia, an advertising promise. When in reality, the Hummer as many other vehicles, pollute the environment, destroy the landscape and may be responsible for injury or death. Could the Hummer in many ways be a secret war on humanity This ad gives the idea that the Hummer is the ultimate off road warrior. However, it drives poorly on the street, and there is no room for such a big vehicle with low power at such a high price. It needs are roads with dirt or mud, preferably with rain or snow. If you live on a farm, a ranch or in the desert, it is one unstoppable and indestructible vehicle but if you live in the city where most of us live, the Hummer is only useful for getting you around the city. The utopia in this ad does identify with the fantasy, idealization and an image of impossible perfection. However, it is evidence that the Hummer is another utopia that has gone sour. Budweiser: Because Budweiser, the nation's most widely consumer alcohol beverage has lost ground recently to liquor and wine, the brewing company seeks a more stylish image for its beer. These ads display new and unusual packing, and are placed in bars and restaurant to create a sense of utopia which Sam Adam as managed to successfully convey. As you mentioned, everyone in the ad is having a great time in such happy togetherness. Negatives of alcoholism, fighting, hangovers and discrimination are absent. The ads do exclude the unattractive, elderly and obese and only contain those who are attractive. But hoping to make its existing products seem more distinctive and without changing the content of the ads, Budweiser new ads are chic and the colorful aluminum bottles give the product a funky post-modern look. The ads give the product a hip, retro-chic appearance. How impressive Though alcohol is harmful to health, through advertising, the brewer has achieved utopia with its more sophisticated, upscale image. Red Lobster: Great service, good seafood where a family can share a plate of crab legs and discuss the topic of the day. Girlfriends can meet to gossip while dipping lobster tails in butter and keeping track of who is doing what. Without the use of people in their commercials, Red Lobster's ads make this connection possible. You are absolutely correct in your observation: endless quantity, no consequences for eating, no people in the commercial, and the relationship with food is significant. But these ads show an extraordinary sense of utopia. In my experience at Red Lobster, the food was delicious and this ad was excellent in delivering my experience. The commercial revealed clues as to where quality and quantity reside. It was a remembered utopian experience. Walt Disney: Welcome to happiest place on earth: Walt Disney World. The television commercials all advertise the utopia that Walt Disney has managed to build. Such ads boast the perfect week, fun for the whole family, not just the kids. These ads typically show a family of four-mother, father, and children-laughing, smiling, and enjoying their time at Walt

Big Data Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Big Data - Coursework Example Managers should take the advantage of big data to improve services in their organizations. Big data can be used in all management functions from administration, marketing and finance. It acts as an information store in which data is stored over a long period and can be easily retrieved if need be (Baesens, 2014). Big data has five factors that determine is availability and usefulness, the five factors are volume, velocity, variety, variability and flexibility. Big data uses all these aspects for it to be reliable and easily accessible by businesses and individuals. For volume, big data is in very large volumes mostly in terabytes. Increase in data volume is due to many factors including data that is from the daily transactions stored for a long period of time and over the years. Unstructured data from internet platforms like the social media and virtual interaction sites and increased use of sensor machines in most organizations and the machine-to-machine information sharing data that collected over the years. The determination of relevance of the large data volumes, which sometimes may be irrelevant, is an emerging issue with the increasing storage costs. Businesses use some analytics to create usefulness from relevant data and discard the irrelevant data to reduce storage costs (Chamber, D hiraj & Minelli, 2012). Variety means that big data come in various forms and styles. The variations come by because of the different sources that the big data comes from. This ranges from information originating from the side of business applications, information and data from traditional databases, unstructured data from informal communications like text messages. With such a large variety of source s of data and streaming in on daily basis, management and governance of big data is a technical issue that many organizations are finding it hard to stabilize. Most of the big data is not necessarily useful to the

The Concept of Using Project Management Research Paper

The Concept of Using Project Management - Research Paper Example As far as HLR Inc. is concerned, the project that it is planning to launch is named Standard Customer Relationship Management Processes. The major objectives of this project are to do a thorough re-engineering of all business processes by radically changing the way they are done and by unlearning how they were done in the first place. The second objective is to have the implementation of a large system, which will translate manual processes into faster, reliable and accurate computerized processes. Stakeholders are all those people who are concerned about the activities of the organization and have vested interests in whatever is going on within the organization and regarding the organization. The major stakeholder for this project will be many. Let us discuss each one. The first stakeholders will be customers. The departments that have been integrated to make this project successful are Sales, Product Fulfillment, Customer Service, Billing and Marketing. All these departments, direc tly or indirectly, are interacting with the customer and the successful completion of this project would mean better serving the customers as the system implementation would help in getting the data more integrated into place and opportunities to keep the customer satisfied will be better grasped. The integration of all the different information systems of each department into one single information system would quicken the process of saving or updating customer-related data, whether it is editing the customer's postal address or taking the order quickly. The second stakeholders would be all the departments themselves who are involved in the project.

The Taming Of The Shrew Essay Example for Free

The Taming Of The Shrew Essay In Petruchios attempt to woo Katherina he uses alot of flattery, and appears to have a laid-back attitude towards the verbal dispute that arises in the first meeting. He is made to feel unwelcome from the moment Katherina is present, but he is confident that he will change her view towards him and accept him as her husband-to-be. The word movable is used as an insult by Katherina, but Petruchio deliberately misunderstands what she is trying to say and makes a witty pun from this. Towards the end of this act Petruchio begins to grow tired of Katherinas lack of co-operation towards the matter of marriage. In a last desperate act before Baptista , Tranio and Gremio return, he loses his charming image and appears as very forward and aggressive towards Katherina. This emphasizes his short temper and antagonistic nature. After an eventful and chaotic wedding, Katherina is deeply hurt inside, but her anger shows on the outside. This is worsened when Petruchio wants to lave for hom and doesnt attend his own wedding feast. This shows Petruchios leadership in the relationship at such an early stage. Katherina is understandably furious isnt ready to deal with Petruchios strange behaviour and tells him he can leave but she will not be going with him. This is an attempt by Katherina to gain some leadership in the relationship because she is only used to getting her own way and doesnt like how she is being treated.

Relationship Between Motivation And Employee Performance

Relationship Between Motivation And Employee Performance Motivation is the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction. and management is corned with the effect be and efficient deployment of resources. Human resource is one of the most important in any organization and company and the role of manager is to be a leader and achieve organization objective by developing a partnership with people. Motivation in work is one of the very variables determining employees performance. we can say that motivation it is hard to give any type of permanent definition about motivation but it is a kind of direction in which employees are ambitious and they can take action and make an effort. Motivation is an power that causes people to behave in a positive way motivation collective with ability result in performance. Motivation is the internal power or a type of energy and it pushes toward the performance of the employees. If desire and ambition are absent, motivation absent too because motivation are much do with desire and ambition. M otivation strengthens always give the way, courage energy and persistence to follow the organization goal. A motivate employee take action and does whatever and whenever it need to achieve their goals EXECUTIVE SUMMRY Motivating staff is a fundamentally important dimension of successful management and a vital aspect of a leaders role. Significant organizational outcomes can be obtained by having staff that are motivated. These include: Increased productivity in the workplace Reduced absenteeism and turnover Increased innovation and creativity Increased employee and customer satisfaction An enhanced company profile Higher quality products or services Improved financial performance Employees want interesting work where they are given responsibility, autonomy, challenges and the opportunity to learn. Good working conditions, job security, and pay are important, appreciation should be shown and regular feedback should be given on an employees performance. Managers holding this view of work and their employees would most likely demonstrate trust in their employees, use explanations and joint problem-solving methods, give staff room to interpret and implement organisational objectives for themselves, act as a facilitator, provide opportunities for growth and job enrichment, allow staff to use their creative abilities and remove restrictions to doing a good job. The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through others. A committed and motivated workforce is critical to maximising an organisations full potential. Highly motivated employees frequently seek to work beyond the bounds of their specific work roles and functions in order to not only impro ve themselves, but also to achieve the objectives of the organisation. Motivated employees can be considered vital to organisational survival in our rapidly changing workplaces and work world they help organisations survive because they are more productive At the end we can say that the performance of an organization is dependent on its employees. After all, your employees are the engine of your organization. MOTIVATION THEORIES FOR EMPLOYEES First it is important to understand that what motivate employees and how they were motivated. According to Maslow a employees have five level of need and they are physiological, safety, social, ego, and self actualizing and he argued that lower level need had to be satisfied before the next higher level need would motivate employees. It is important for the organization that they value there employees try to understand there problem and always offer some opportunities for growth and development in short make them part of the organization. To motivate employees are a great important in a organization and it can be done by:- keep to be at work Take pride in there work Work attitude Does not display in their work Customer orientation Display a high level of commitment ROLE OF MOTIVATION IN EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE Motivated employees are the need of any organization for our changing work place. Motivated employees are more productive so they always help organization to survive in every field. For a effective managers it must to understand what type of motivates employees within the context the perform in role. Motivating employees is most complex for example research suggested that as employees income increase money become less of a motivate also as employees get older exciting work become more of a motivator. PURPOSE OF MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES:- There are some factors which play a important role to motivate employees. Such as employment Security Sympathetic help with individual problem Personal loyalty to employees interesting work Give good working situation Good quality Wages Promotions and growth in the organization. Most of the organization believes to motivate their employees because it influence the employees performance by following way:- 1. Higher Productivity Levels 2. Lower Labour Turnover 3. Lower Absenteeism 4. Improve Quality with lees waster 5. Greater Willingness to accept rather than resist change 6. Greater Willingness to contribute idea and take on responsibility 7. Employees Loyalty 8. Employees Turnover MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE:- It is seen that a employees performance has an impact on the organizations objective. And it is thus imperative that every employees performance should be managed. This process of performance management includes group assessments and peer reviews. In recent time performance management system have become more essential because managers are under constant pressure to get better progress and performance of their organization by motivate their employee. Despite the motivation performs it is necessary to briefly highlight the barriers that might affect the performance of employee. These barriers may be the result understand competencies, inappropriate performance goals, or lack of feedback about performance. There are some factor which is affective overall employees performance .1.INTERNAL FACTOR:- Those factor which is control and influence by any organization are called internal factor like job description and selection. 2.EXTERNAL FACTOR:-In external factors a organization has little control or no control such as demand for job or grading systems. Corporate Examples of motivation and employees performance:- Geo television use the following tools to motivate its employees and this tools affected the employees performance and it is seen that employees performance become better after this. These tools are such as. Performance base incentives Geo television gives incentives to its employees on its performance. Annual evaluation of the employee performance discussed with the employee. There is and idea box in the reception room available to employees and even visitors. All ideas are implemented and the generator of the idea is rewarded with a prize. The CEO of the company is heading this company himself Annual employees function Success story of the month in each department is mentioned for employees who have gone that extra mile in achieving their objectives. Their stories are discussed; the committee reviews them and selects the best one. The winner of the best success story is rewarded with a dinner for the two prizes. All the employees work in a Comfortable environment because they are free to do their work ,environment is very friendly TOYOTA Motivational Policy of Toyota Company based on Maslows need Hierarchy Herzbergs job Enrichment Theory. Toyota company always try to motivate their employees because they believe that employees are a vital part of the company. A business not be success without the employees good performance .Firstly Toyota always try to understand employees motivation, it is seen that the individual performance has an impact on any organization so it is important that every employees performance should be managed According to Maslows theory: Job Security Good Pay Safe working conditions Satisfy lower level needs Culture of continuous improvement Support growth toward self Actualization The Toyota Company achieve the following approaches on the basis of Herzbergs job Enrichment Theory and by motivate their employees Visual Management HR Policies Addresses Hygiene Factor Continuous Improvement Job Rotation Build Feedback in support motivator Toyota aims to increase its employees motivation and optimize the value of its human resources. The recognize some seminar to motivate their employees Company always try to give their employees a good training Give the year awards Give a new model of Toyota car Toyota always take the attention of employees every day and end of the year they give some gift and his types of motivation always increase the employees work performance Toyota company say that every employee who work under Toyota they are the family part of Toyota Toyota company also arrange health and security for employees.

Introduction to Meta Tags

Introduction to Meta Tags Meta tags are small bits of text that will describe the page content; the tags do not appear on the web page itself, but only in the page code. They help search engines to determine what a web page is about, which further helps with search engine optimisation. The tags are only visible to search engines and not to the user/client. There are 4 types of Meta tags: Meta Keywords Attribute These keywords are relevant to the information on the page. The pros to this are that they allow to direct traffic that are searching for specific things, towards particular pages. The cons of this is that one, they dont work anymore, and two, it allowed people to put random tags unrelated to their page into the HTML and essential Pirate traffic for other pages. Title Tag This is the title of the page that will appear on the search engine. It is one of the most important tags as this has the most impact on search rankings, and are visible to the users of the search engine. This will be the first thing users will see for themselves that will tell them what the page is about. Pros of this is it tells users what the page is about immediately, however the cons can be that if the wrong title is used or not specific enough, it can effect search engines results massively but showing the titles of the wrong web pages on search engines when the user is searching for a different unrelated web page. Meta Description Attribute This gives a description of the page. It gives a brief description of the page below the title tag in the search engine results. The advantages are it can entice users to click on the webpage after reading the description and being interested. The disadvantages are that this does not affect the search results ranking of the page. Meta Robots Attribute This is an indication to the search engine bots what should happen to the page when opened. These can give two commands: Index/NoIndex: This tells the search engine whether the page should be shown in the search results or not. Follow/NoFollow This tells the search engine whether the links to the page should be followed or not, depending whether or not it is safe. Newsgroup and forums Advantages of newsgroups and forums are that it allows people to express their own opinions freely with other people. It lets people with similar opinions to conjugate and this means information about an organisation can spread fast, whether it is a good or bad point and regardless of whether its true or not. This is a disadvantage of forums as it allows false information to travel fast and rumours spread quickly however forums and newsgroups are commonly monitored by the company or by the site owners to make sure false information is kept to a minimum. Banners and Popups The advantages of banners and popups are they allow for intrusive advertisement, which means it is hard for people to miss the advertising and can sometimes mean people visit an organisations webpage may enjoy the content of the webpage. The disadvantage of this type of promotion is that it can irritate people because it is intrusive so may annoy more customers and cause more trouble than its worth if it is done on mass. Spam The advantages of spam are similar to banners and popups as it is also intrusive, it means people will find it hard to avoid it and because spam is sent via email, it means promoters can send it to hundreds of thousands of emails every minute, every day to maximise the chances of someone clicking on the link to a webpage. The disadvantages of this is that most email providers will filter out spam into separate inbox folders or just delete it all together so only a small percentage of spam sent reaches the target. Site Name The advantages of a site name are that, if named correctly, they can intrigue people to visit a site even if it is not what the client originally wanted, they will allow for subtle advertising that a customer may not even realise which makes it less intrusive to the customer. The disadvantages of a site name are that, if they are not named correctly, they can damage promotion, as the customer may not think that the site is not what they are looking for or will not intrigue people to visit at all. An example of this can be a website which sells both beds and headboards but if the site name only advertises beds and not headboards, a customer may think this site does not sell headboards and move onto another site. Direct Marketing The advantages of direct marketing are customers can get information about the product being offered easily and can place orders for delivery their house or place of work. It also allows customers to ask questions directly to the organisation/company via telephone. Online direct marketing can allow social media sites to increase the amount of exposure people have to direct marketing. The disadvantages of direct marketing are that organisations/companies can send unwanted junk mail to people with no interest in the products. Unwanted calls to people can mean a company will sometimes be trying to convince people to buy products they do want and annoy the customer. Bibliography http://www.wordstream.com/meta-tags

Abortion is Bad :: essays research papers

Do you consider something with a beating heart a living creature? A babies heart forms and starts beating in the fifth week of pregnancy, therefor, that would make abortion murder. The baby that is growing inside of you is depending on you, so when you make the choice to end that life, you are making the choice to murder another person. Someone that believes in the pro-choice theory would say that the decision is up to the woman, but the person with the pro-life theory would say that it is murder no matter what the situation. Would you consider it murder to kill a baby the day after it is born? Then why would it not be murder to kill it before it is born? â€Å"If it is impossible to abort a baby in the ninth month, then what makes it ok to do in the fifth or sixth month.† (Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan). Many abortions are perormed each year in the United States. 75% of all abortions in the U.S. are performed on women over 20 years of age, but the lawmakers try to concentrate on the 186,000 teens that have an abortion each year. In 1990, there were nearly 400 abortion bills were introduced to 41 legislatures. So far, as many as 20 states have passed laws that requires a teenager to have a parents consent before having an abortion. This may help reduce the number of abortions each year, the people that passed these bills feel that maybe the parents will feel differently about the situation and be able to talk their child out of it. 20% of teens that are sexually active do not use any form of birth control, these are the teens that end up getting pregnant and getting an abortion. If these girls would use some kind of contraceptive it could stop a lot of the abortions performed each year. If you think about it, it is so much easier to take a pill then it is to be pregnant and have to de cide on the life of another person. When you feel that you are responsible enough to participate in sexual activity, you should also feel that you a resonsible enough to deal with the consequences that follow. Abortions are considered â€Å"the easy was out.† I feel that abortions are just selfish. There is no easy way out. I could not imagine living with the guilt of taking anothers life, especially the life of something that I created, and that is dependant of me.

The Chinese Revolution Essay -- essays research papers

As many other countries around the world China has its long history of a struggle for equality and prosperity against tyrants and dictatorships. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 seemed to have put an end to that struggle for a better life. â€Å"The Chinese people have stood up!† declared Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of China’s Communist Party (CPP) – a leading political force in the country for the time. The people were defined as a coalition of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the petite bourgeoisie and the national-capitalists. The four classes were to be led buy the CPP, as the leader of the working class. For the first time in decades a new Chinese government was met with peace and hope, instead of massive violent opposition, within its territory. The government and its political force, the CPP, were expected to fulfill century long dream of the Chinese people for â€Å"reason, liberty, progress and democracy.† The government promised to bring about a string of swift political and economical reforms that would dramatically improve life of every Chinese citizen within the life span of one generation. A promise of a vast land reform that would give long-awaited land to millions of peasant families won their support for the new government. At that time the party’s members of peasant origin accounted for nearly 90 percent. The Chinese intellectuals supported the communists for their promise to establish a variety of democratic institutions that ...

A Virtual Team at T. A. Stearns

Tom Andrews, Cy Crane, Marge Dector and Megan Harris are all part of a team because they cooperatively work towards the success of their small organization through the realization of their common goals and interests.Although their immediate common denominator is being part of a group that T.A. Stearns relies on for innovative programming, each member’s desire to have lenient working hours and flexible working space also gels them together to work cohesively. In fact, they have already stepped beyond working relations into the grounds of true friendship because they have learned to cover up for each other’s misgivings to be able to achieve their aims and goals.2. Has anyone in this case acted unethically?All of them, without any exception, violated their company’s trust.   This was done by concealing their new work innovation that gave them additional hours for personal time.Although it can be said that they have saved the company money by not asking for their r eward for another brilliant time-saving invention, what they have done is like stealing. The company could have saved more money by lessening their working hours but they let the company pay them unknowingly.3. What, if any, characteristics of groupthink are manifested in the work team?One of the indicators that the virtual team was already suffering from groupthink is their high moral stance. The members believed that they could cover up their â€Å"time cheating strategy† and collectively assumed that it was okay to keep their innovation a secret so that they can have more time to themselves.They even worked together to plan out how they can deceive their company by coordinating on their reports and schedules.   The team had begun to think that they were smarter than their bosses.Another indicator of group think was their arrogance regarding their working style.   The group had taken pride in their ability to have flexible time and working space compared to most people but this should not have given them the reason to scoff at those who have chosen to work differently.The most obvious indicator of group think is their move to keep information even from their leader.4. Has Dave been an effective team leader?Yes he has for he was very observant of his team.   He knew the members fairly enough to judge that there was something amiss and that he needed to get to the bottom of it right away. He was also a good leader because he immediately discussed his concerns with Cy.5. What should Dave do now?Dave would have to reveal the virtual team’s new discovery to upper management before the executives hear it through the grapevine. If I were in his shoes, I would reveal the innovation by presenting it as something the virtual team had experimented on for some time to ensure its effectiveness.   This way, Dave not only saves his virtual team but also gets a probable pat in the back from management for doing a good job.

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter One

Hell on Earth Stephenie Meyer Gabe stared across the dance floor and frowned. He wasn't sure why he'd asked Celeste to the prom, and it was another mystery why she'd said yes. Even more mysterious now, watching her grip Heath McKenzie around the neck so tightly that Heath was probably having trouble breathing. Their bodies flattened into an indivisible mass as they swayed against the beat, ignoring the rhythm of the song thudding through the room. Heath's hands roamed over Celeste's glistening white dress in an intimate way. â€Å"Tough luck, Gabe.† Gabe looked away from the spectacle his date was making to his approaching friend. â€Å"Hey, Bry. Having a nice night?† â€Å"Better than you, man, better than you,† Bryan answered, grinning. He lifted his cup of bilious green punch as if for a toast. Gabe touched his bottled water to Bryan's cup and sighed. â€Å"I had no idea Celeste had a thing for Heath. What is he, her ex or something?† Bryan took a gulp of the sinister-looking drink, made a face, and shook his head. â€Å"Not that I know of. I've never seen them even speak to each other before tonight.† Both of them stared at Celeste, who had apparently lost something she needed deep inside Heath's mouth. â€Å"Huh,† Gabe said. â€Å"It's probably just the punch,† Bryan said in an attempt to be encouraging. â€Å"I don't know how many people spiked it, but ouch. She might not even know that's not you out there.† Bryan took another swig and made another face. â€Å"Why are you drinking that?† Gabe wondered aloud. Bryan shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe the music will start to sound a little less pathetic after I force a glass of this down.† Gabe nodded. â€Å"My ears may never forgive me. I should have brought my iPod.† â€Å"I wonder where Clara is. Is there some kind of girl-law that demands they spend a certain percentage of every event in the bathroom together?† â€Å"Yes. Stiff penalties for girls who don't meet the quota.† Bryan laughed once, but then his smile faded and he fiddled with his bow tie for a moment. â€Å"About Clara†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he began. â€Å"You don't have to say anything,† Gabe assured him. â€Å"She's an amazing girl. And you two are perfect for each other. I would've had to be blind not to see that.† â€Å"You really don't mind?† â€Å"I told you to ask her to the prom, didn't I?† â€Å"Yeah, you did. Sir Galahad makes another match. Seriously, man, do you ever think about yourself?† â€Å"Sure, every hour on the hour. And hey, speaking of Clara†¦ she better have a great time tonight or I'm going to break your nose.† Gabe grinned a wide grin. â€Å"She and I are still good friends-don't think I won't call her to check.† Bryan rolled his eyes, but suddenly found it a little difficult to swallow. If Gabe Christensen wanted to break his nose, he wouldn't have much of a problem doing it-Gabe didn't mind getting his knuckles bruised or his permanent record blemished if it meant righting something that was wrong in his eyes. â€Å"I'll take care of Clara,† Bryan said, wishing that the words didn't sound so much like a vow. There was something about Gabe and his piercing blue eyes that made you feel that way-like doing the best you could at any given task. It got irritating sometimes. With a grimace, Bryan dumped the rest of his punch into the dead moss at the base of a fake ficus tree. â€Å"If she ever leaves the bathroom.† â€Å"Good man,† Gabe said approvingly, but his smile twisted down on one side. Celeste and Heath had disappeared into the crowd. Gabe wasn't sure what the protocol was when you got dumped at the prom. How was he supposed to make sure she got home safe? Was that Heath's job now? Gabe wondered again why he'd asked Celeste to this dance. She was a very pretty girl-pageant pretty. Perfect blond hair-so full it was fluffy-wide-spaced brown eyes, and curvy lips always painted a flattering shade of pink. Her lips weren't the only things that were curvy. She'd all but shut his brain down with the thin, clingy dress she'd worn tonight. Her looks weren't the reason he'd noticed her, though. That reason was something else entirely. It was stupid and embarrassing, really. Gabe would never, ever tell anyone else about this, but every now and then, he got this weird sense that someone needed help. Needed him. He'd gotten that inexplicable pull from Celeste, as if the shapely blonde was hiding a damsel in distress somewhere behind her flawless makeup. Very stupid. And obviously wrong. Celeste didn't seem interested in any help from Gabe right now. He scanned the dance floor again but couldn't pick her golden hair out of the crowd. He sighed. â€Å"Hey, Bry, did you miss me?† Clara, her dark curly hair full of glitter, bounced free from a herd of females and joined them against the wall. The rest of the herd dispersed. â€Å"Hey, Gabe. Where's Celeste?† Bryan put his arm around her shoulders. â€Å"I thought you left. Guess I'll have to cancel the hot plans I just made with-â€Å" Clara's elbow caught Bryan in the solar plexus. â€Å"Mrs. Finkle,† Bryan continued, gasping the words and nodding toward the vice principal glaring from the corner of the room farthest away from the speakers. â€Å"We were going to sort failure notices by candlelight.† â€Å"Well, I wouldn't want you to miss that! I think I saw Coach Lauder by the cookies. Maybe I could talk him into some extra-credit pull-ups.† â€Å"Or maybe we could just dance,† Bryan suggested. â€Å"Sure, I can settle for that.† Laughing, they pressed their way toward the dance floor, Bryan's hands winding around Clara's waist. Gabe was glad Clara hadn't waited for an answer to her question. It was a little embarrassing that he didn't have one. â€Å"Hey, Gabe, where's Celeste?† Gabe grimaced and turned to the sound of Logan's voice. Logan was also solo for the moment. Perhaps it was his date's turn to exhibit girl-herding behavior. â€Å"I couldn't say,† Gabe admitted. â€Å"Have you seen her?† Logan pursed his full lips for a minute, as if debating whether or not to say something. He ran a hand nervously across his springy black hair. â€Å"Well, I thought I did. I'm not exactly sure, though†¦ She's wearing a white dress, right?† â€Å"Yeah-where is she?† â€Å"I think I saw her in the lobby. Can't be positive. Her face was sort of hard to see†¦ David Alvarado's face was all over it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"David Alvarado?† Gabe repeated in surprise. â€Å"Not Heath McKenzie?† â€Å"Heath? Naw. It was definitely David.† Heath was a linebacker, blond and fair. David barely cleared five feet; his coloring was olive and his hair was black. No way to confuse the two. Logan shook his head sadly. â€Å"Sorry, Gabe. That sucks.† â€Å"Don't worry about it.† â€Å"At least you're not in the stag boat alone,† Logan said forlornly. â€Å"Really? What happened to your date?† Logan shrugged. â€Å"She's around here somewhere, glowering at everyone. She doesn't want to dance, she doesn't want to talk, she doesn't want punch, she doesn't want to take pictures, and she doesn't want my company.† He ticked each negative off on his fingers. â€Å"I don't know why she asked me in the first place. Probably just wanted to show off her dress-it is hot, I'll give her that. But she doesn't seem to care about showing anything now†¦ Wish I'd asked someone else.† Logan's eyes lingered wistfully on a group of girls fast dancing in a male-free circle. Gabe thought he saw Logan focus on one girl in particular. â€Å"Why didn't you ask Libby?† Logan sighed. â€Å"I don't know. I think†¦ I think she would have liked it if I'd asked her, though. Oh well.† â€Å"Who's your date?† â€Å"That new girl, Sheba. She's a little intense but really gorgeous, kinda exotic. I was too shocked to say anything but yes when she asked me to go with her. I thought that she, well, that she might be†¦ fun†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Logan finished lamely. What he'd really thought when Sheba had all but commanded him to take her to prom didn't seem entirely appropriate to be spoken aloud, especially to Gabe; lots of things seemed inappropriate around Gabe. It was just the opposite with Sheba. When he'd gotten a look at her mind-blowing red leather dress, his head had been full of ideas that somehow didn't feel in the least bit inappropriate while her deep, dark eyes had been focused on him. â€Å"I don't think I've met her,† Gabe said, interrupting Logan's brief fantasy. â€Å"You'd remember if you had.† Although Sheba had forgotten Logan quickly enough once they were in the door, hadn't she? â€Å"Hey, do you think maybe Libby came alone? I didn't hear about anyone asking her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Er, she came with Dylan.† â€Å"Oh,† Logan said, crestfallen. Then he half-smiled. â€Å"Night's bad enough without getting tortured on top of everything else-weren't they supposed to have a band? This DJ†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know. It's as if we're being punished for our sins,† Gabe said with a laugh. â€Å"Sins? Like you have any, Galahad the Pure.† Prom Nights from Hell Chapter One Kiss and Tell Michele Jaffe Chapter One â€Å"Sorry this wasn't more of a storybook ending,† the man with his hands around her throat said, smiling, holding her eyes with his own as he choked her. â€Å"If you're going to kill me, can't you just get on with it? This is kind of uncomfortable.† â€Å"What, my hands? Or the feeling that you're a failure-â€Å" â€Å"I'm not a failure.† † – again.† She spit in his face. â€Å"Still got some fire. I really admire that about you. I think you and I could have gotten along nicely. Unfortunately, there just isn't time.† She gave one last fight, clawing at his hands around her throat, his forearms, anything, but he didn't even flinch. Her fists fell hopelessly to her sides. He leaned in so close to her face that she could feel him exhale. â€Å"Any last words?† â€Å"Three: Listerine breath strips. You really need them.† He laughed and tightened the hands around her neck until they overlapped. â€Å"Good-bye.† For a second, his eyes burned into hers. Then she heard a sharp crack and felt herself fall to the floor as everything went black. Prom Nights from Hell Chapter One The Corsage Lauren Myracle Readers, beware! The following story was inspired by â€Å"The Monkey's Paw,† first published in 1902 by W. W. Jacobs, which scared the dickens out of me when I was a teenager. Be careful what you wish for, indeed! – LAUREN MYRACLE Outside, the wind whipped around Madame Zanzibar's house, making a loose rain-pipe thump against the siding. The sky was dark, though it was only four o'clock. But within the garishly decorated waiting room, three table lamps shone brightly, each draped with a jewel-toned scarf. Ruby hues lit Yun Sun's round face, while bluish-purple hues gave Will the mottled look of someone freshly dead. â€Å"You look like you've risen from the grave,† I told him. â€Å"Frankie,† Yun Sun scolded. She did a head jerk toward Madame Z's closed office, worried, I suppose, that she might hear and be offended. A red plastic monkey hung from the office doorknob, indicating that Madame Z was with a client. We were up next. Will made his eyes go vacant. â€Å"I am a pod person,† he moaned. He stretched his arms out toward us. â€Å"Please to give me all your hearts and livers.† â€Å"Oh no! The pod person has taken over our beloved Will!† I clutched Yun Sun's arm. â€Å"Quick, give him your hearts and livers, so he'll leave mine alone!† Yun Sun shook free. â€Å"Not amused,† she said in a tone both singsongy and threatening. â€Å"And if you're not nice to me, I will leave.† â€Å"Stop being such a pooter,† I said. â€Å"I will take my thunder thighs and I will march right out of here. Just watch.† Yun Sun was on a my-legs-are-too-fat kick, just because her superslinky prom dress needed a little letting out. At least she had a prom dress. And a for-sure chance to wear it. â€Å"Bleh,† I said. Her grouchiness was endangering our plan, which was the whole reason we were here. The night of the prom was getting dangerously close, and I was not going to be the sad shell of a girl who sat home alone while everyone else went crazy with glitter dust and danced ironically in spectacular three-inch heels. I refused, especially since I knew in my heart of hearts that Will wanted to ask me. He just needed a little encouragement. I lowered my voice, all the while smiling at Will like la la la, just girl talk, nothing important! â€Å"It was both of our idea to do this, Yun Sun. Remember?† â€Å"No, Frankie, it was your idea,† she said. And she did not keep her voice down. â€Å"I've already got my date, even though he's going to be squished to death by my thighs. You're the one hoping for a last-minute miracle.† â€Å"Yun Sun!† I glanced at Will, who turned red. Bad Yun Sun, throwing it out in the open like that. Bad, bad, naughty girl! â€Å"Ow!† she yelped. Because I'd whacked her. â€Å"I am very mad at you,† I said. â€Å"Enough with the coyness. You do want him to ask you, don't you?† â€Å"Ow!† â€Å"Um, you guys?† Will said. He was doing that adorable thing he did when he was nervous, when his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Although, huh. That was kind of an icky image. It made me think of bobbing for apples, which was only one step away from bobbing for Adam's apples. But. Will was indeed possessed of an Adam's apple, and when it moved up and down in his throat, it was indeed adorable. It made him look so vulnerable. â€Å"She hit me,† Yun Sun tattled. â€Å"She deserved it,† I countered. But I didn't want it to go further, this line of conversation that was already too revealing. So I patted Yun Sun's totally unfat leg and said, â€Å"However, I forgive you. Now shut up.† What Yun Sun failed to get-or more likely, what she totally got and yet failed to appreciate-was that not all things needed to be said aloud. Yes, I wanted Will to ask me to prom, and I wanted him to do it soon, because â€Å"Springtime Is for Lovers† was only two weeks away. And fine, the name of the dance was dorky, but springtime was for lovers. It was an indisputable truth. Just as it was an indisputable truth that Will was my forever boy, if only he could get past his enduring bashfulness and make a frickin' move. Enough chummy shoulder slugs and giggling, snorting tickle wars! Enough clutching each other and shrieking, blaming it on our Netflix copies of The Body Snatchers or They Come from the Hills! Couldn't Will see that I was his for the taking? He'd almost popped the question last weekend, I was ninety-nine-point-five percent sure. We'd been watching Pretty Woman, an overblown romance which never failed to amuse. Yun Sun had disappeared into the kitchen for snacks, leaving the two of us alone. â€Å"Um, Frankie?† Will had said. His foot tap-tap-tapped against the floor, and his fingers flexed on his jeans. â€Å"Can I ask you something?† Any fool would have known what was coming, because if he'd just wanted me to turn up the volume, he'd simply have said, â€Å"Hey, Franks, turn up the volume.† Casual. Straightforward. No need for any preparatory remarks. But since there were preparatory remarks†¦ well, what could he possibly have wanted to ask me besides â€Å"Will you go to prom?† Eternal delight was right there, only seconds away. And then I'd blown it. His palpable nervousness triggered a spaz-out of my own, and instead of letting the moment play out, I'd skittishly changed the subject. BECAUSE I WAS A FREAK. â€Å"Now see, that's the way it's done!† I said, pointing at the TV. Richard Gere was galloping on his white steed, which was really a limo, to Julia Roberts's castle, which was really a crappy third-story apartment. As we watched, Richard Gere climbed out of the sun roof and scaled the fire escape, all to win the affections of his beloved. â€Å"None of this namby-pamby ‘I think you're kinda cute' baloney,† I went on. I was blathering, and I knew it. â€Å"We're talking action, baby. We're talking grand gesture of love.† Will gulped. And said, â€Å"Oh.† And blinked at Richard Gere in a startled-teddy-bear way, thinking, I'm sure, that he could never, ever compare. I stared at the TV, knowing I'd sabotaged my prom night happiness through my own stupidity. I didn't care about â€Å"grand gestures of love†; I just cared about Will. But brilliant me, I'd gone and scared him off. Because in actual real reality, I was an even bigger wimp than he was. But no more-which was why we were here at Madame Zanzibar's. She would tell us our futures, and unless she was a total hack, she would state the obvious as an impartial observer: Will and I were meant for each other. Hearing it spoken so plainly would give Will the guts to try again. He'd ask me to prom, and this time I'd let him, even if it killed me. The plastic monkey twitched on the office doorknob. â€Å"Look, it's moving,† I whispered. â€Å"Oooo,† Will said. A black man with snow-white hair shuffled out of the office. He had no teeth, which made the lower half of his face look puckered, like a prune. â€Å"Children,† he said, tipping his hat. Will stood up and opened the front door, because that's the kind of guy he was. A gust of wind nearly toppled the old man, and Will steadied him. â€Å"Whoa,† Will said. â€Å"Thank you, son,† the old man replied. His words came out mushy, because of the no-teeth thing. â€Å"Reckon I best skedaddle before the storm blows in.† â€Å"I think it already has,† Will said. Past the driveway, tree branches thrashed and creaked. â€Å"This weensy old wind?† the old man said. â€Å"Aw, now, this is just a baby waking up and wanting to be fed. It'll be worse before the night is over, mark my words.† He peered at us. â€Å"In fact, shouldn't you children be home, safe and sound?† It was hard to take offense when a toothless old-timer called you â€Å"children.† But come on, this was the second time in twenty seconds. â€Å"We're juniors in high school,† I said. â€Å"We can take care of ourselves.† His laugh made me think of dead leaves. â€Å"All right, then,† he said. â€Å"I'm sure you know best.† He small-stepped onto the porch, and Will gave a half wave and shut the door. â€Å"Crazy coot,† came a voice from behind us. We turned to see Madame Zanzibar in the office doorway. She wore hot pink Juicy Couture sweatpants with a matching hot pink top, unzipped to her clavicle. Her breasts were round and firm and amazingly perky, given that she didn't seem to be wearing a bra. Her lipstick was bright orange, to match her nails, and so was the end of the cigarette she held between two fingers. â€Å"So, are we coming in or are we staying out here?† she asked the three of us. â€Å"Unveiling life's mysteries or leaving well enough alone?† I rose from my chair and pulled Yun Sun with me. Will followed. Madame Z ushered us into her office, and the three of us scrunched together in an overstuffed armchair. Will realized it was never going to work and lowered himself to the floor. I wiggled to make Yun Sun give me more room. â€Å"See? They're sausages,† she said, referring to her thighs. â€Å"Scooch,† I commanded. â€Å"Now,† Madame Z said, crossing in front of us and sitting behind a table. She puffed on her cigarette. â€Å"What's your business?† I bit my lip. How to put it? â€Å"Well, you're a psychic, right?† Madame Z exhaled a cloud of smoke. â€Å"Gee, Sherlock, the ad in the Yellow Pages tip you off?† I blushed, while at the same time bristling. My question had been a conversation opener. Did she have a problem with conversation openers? Anyway, if she really was a psychic, shouldn't she already know why I was here? â€Å"Uh†¦ okay. Sure, whatever. So I guess I was wondering†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yeah? Out with it.† I gathered my courage. â€Å"Well†¦ I was wondering if a certain special person was going to ask me a certain special question.† I purposefully didn't look at Will, but I heard his spurt of surprise. He hadn't seen this coming. Madame Z pressed two fingers to her forehead and let her eyes go blank. â€Å"Ahem,† she said. â€Å"Hmm, hmm. What I'm getting here is muzzy. There is passion, yes†- Yun Sun giggled; Will swallowed audibly-â€Å"but there are also†¦ how do I say? Complicating factors.† Prom Nights from Hell Chapter One Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper Kim Harrison Chapter One If British general, a damsel in a dress, and a pirate walk into a gym, I thought as I gazed over the bodies moving in a mind-numbing chaos of pent-up, inexperienced, teenage lust. Leave it to Covington High to turn prom into a joke. Not to mention my seventeenth birthday. What was I doing here? Prom was supposed to be real dresses with a live band, not rented costumes with canned music and streamers. And my birthday was supposed to be†¦ anything but this. â€Å"You sure you don't want to dance?† Josh yelled in my ear, sending his sugary breath over me. I tried not to grimace, keeping my gaze fixed on the clock beside the gym's Scoreboard and wondering if an hour was long enough to stay and not get the third degree from my dad. The music was dull-the same rhythmic thump over, and over, and over. Nothing new in the last forty minutes. And the bass was way too loud. â€Å"Yep,† I said, edging away in time with the music when his hand tried to creep to my waist. â€Å"Still don't want to dance.† â€Å"Something to drink?† he tried again, and I cocked my hip, crossing my arms to hide my cleavage. I was still waiting for the boob fairy to show up, but the dress's corset shoved everything up and together to make it look like I had more than I did, making me self-conscious. â€Å"No, thanks,† I said with a sigh. He probably didn't hear me, but he got the gist, seeing as he looked away, watching everyone move. Long ballroom gowns and skimpy barmaid costumes mixed with swashbuckling pirates and sailors. That was the theme of the prom. Pirates. God! I had worked for two months on the prom committee at my old school. It was going to have been freaking fantastic, with a moonlit barge and a real band, but no-o-o-o. Mom had said Dad needed to spend time with me. That he was going through a midlife crisis and had to reconnect with something from his past that didn't involve arguing. I think she just got scared when she caught me sneaking out for a late cappuccino and shipped me back to Dad and Dullsville USA knowing I listened to him more than her. Okay, so it had been after midnight. And I might have been after more than caffeine. And yeah, I'd already been grounded from staying out too late the previous weekend, but that's why I had to sneak out. Running the stiff lace of my colonial dress between my fingers, I wondered if any of these people had a clue what a real party looked like. Maybe they didn't care. Josh was standing a little in front of me, bobbing his head in time with the music and clearly wanting to dance. Nearby at the food table was the guy who had skulked in after us. He was looking my way, and I gave him a stare, wondering if he was after me or Josh. Seeing my attention on him, the guy turned away. My gaze fell back on Josh, who had begun to almost dance halfway between me and the moving people. Actually, I mused as he shifted and bobbed his head to the music, his costume made his thin, awkward height work for him-a traditional British general's red and white, complete with fake sword and epaulets. His father's idea, probably, since he was the VIP of VIPs at the research facility that had kept everyone employed when the military base moved to Arizona, but it did go with the overdone lace-and-corset thing I had on. â€Å"Come on. Everyone else is dancing,† he coaxed when he saw me look at him, and I shook my head, almost feeling sorry for him. He reminded me of the guys in the photography club pretending the darkroom door had locked to try to get a little action. It just wasn't fair. I had spent three years learning how to fit in with the cool chicks, and now I was right back with the nice but unpopular guys, mowing down cupcakes in the gym. And on my birthday, too. â€Å"No,† I said flatly. Translation: Sorry, I'm not interested. You may as well give up. Even thick-headed, awkward, broken-glasses Josh got that one, and he stopped his almost-dancing to fix his blue eyes on me. â€Å"Jesus, you're a bitch, you know that? I only asked you out because my dad made me. If you want to dance, I'll be over there.† My breath caught, and I gaped at him as if he had punched me in the gut. He cockily raised his eyebrows and walked away with his hands in his pockets and his chin raised. Two girls parted so he could walk between them, and they hunched into each other in his wake, gossiping as they glanced at me. Oh my God. I'm a pity date. Blinking fast, I held my breath as I fought to keep the room from going blurry. Crap, not only was I the new girl, but I was a freaking pity date! My dad had made nice to his boss, and he made his son ask me out. â€Å"Son of a dead puppy,† I whispered, wondering if everyone was looking at me or if it was just my imagination. I tucked my short blond hair behind my ear and backed to the wall. Leaning against it with my arms crossed, I tried to pretend Josh had gone to get some pop. Inside, I was dying. I had been dumped. No, I had been dumped by a geek. â€Å"Way to go, Madison,† I said sourly, just imagining the gossip on Monday. I spotted Josh at the food table, pretending to ignore me without being obvious about it. The guy in the sailor outfit who had followed us in was talking to him. I still didn't think he was one of Josh's friends, even though he was jostling his elbow and pointing at the girls dancing in dresses cut too low for the gyrating they were doing. That I didn't recognize him wasn't surprising since I'd been avoiding everyone for the simple reason I wasn't happy being here and I didn't mind anyone knowing it. I wasn't a jock or a nerd-though I had belonged to the photography club back home. Despite my efforts, I apparently didn't fit with the Barbie dolls. And I wasn't a goth, brain, druggie, or one of the kids who wanted to play scientist like their mommies or daddies at the research facility. I didn't fit anywhere. Correction, I thought as Josh and the sailor laughed. I fit with the bitches. The guy followed Josh's attention to another group of girls, who were now giggling at something Josh had said. His brown hair was frizzed out under his sailor's cap, and his crisp white outfit made him look like all the other guys who'd chosen sailor over pirate. He was tall, and there was a smooth grace to his movements that said he'd quit growing. He looked older than me, but he couldn't be too much older. It was the prom. And I don't have to be here, I thought suddenly, shoving myself away from the wall with my elbows. Josh was my ride home, but my dad would pick me up if I called. My motion to weave through the crowd to the double doors slowed in worry. He'd ask why Josh wasn't bringing me home. It would all come out. The lecture to be nice and fit in I could deal with, but the embarrassment†¦ Josh was watching me when I glanced up. The guy with him was trying to get his attention, but Josh's eyes were on mine. Mocking me. That did it. No way was I going to call my dad. And I wasn't getting into a car with Josh, either. I'd walk it. All five miles. In heels. And a long cotton dress. On a damp April night. With my boobs scrunched together. What was the worst that could happen? A runaway cow incident? Crap, I really missed my car. â€Å"Way to go, girl,† I muttered, gathering my resolution along with my dress, head down as my shoulders bumped into dancers on my way to the door. I was so out of here. People were talking, but I didn't care. I didn't need friends. Friends were overrated. The music melted into something fast, and I brought my attention up when the crowd seemed to shift, awkwardly changing rhythm. I jerked to a stop when I realized I was a step away from running into someone. â€Å"Sorry!† I shouted over the music, then froze, staring. Holy crap, Mr. Sexy Pirate Captain. Where had he been the last three weeks, and were there more where he came from? I'd never seen him before. Not in the entire time I'd been stuck in this town. I would have remembered. Maybe exerted myself a little more. Flushing, I dropped my skirt to move my hand to cover my cleavage. God, I felt like a British tart with everything shoved up like that. The guy was dressed in a clingy black pirate costume, a pendant of gray stone lying on his chest. I could see it where the collar parted. A Zorro-style mask hid his upper face. The wide silk tails of it trailed down his back to mix with his luscious wavy black hair. He stood taller than me by about five inches, and as I ran my gaze over his tight figure, I wondered where he'd been keeping himself. Certainly not the band room or Mrs. Fairel's U.S. Government class, I thought as the spinning lights played over him. â€Å"My apologies,† he said, taking my hand, and my breath caught, not because he was touching me, but because his accent wasn't Midwestern. Sort of a slow, soft exhalation laced with a crisp preciseness that told of taste and sophistication. I could almost hear the clink of crystal and soft laughter in it, the comforting sounds that more often than not had lulled me to sleep as the waves pushed on the beach. â€Å"You aren't from around here,† I blurted as I leaned to hear him better. A smile grew, his dusky skin and dark hair almost a balm, so familiar amid the pale faces and light hair of the Midwestern prison I was in. â€Å"I'm here temporarily,† he said. â€Å"An exchange student, in a manner of speaking. Same as you.† He glanced disdainfully at the people moving around us with little rhythm and even less originality. â€Å"There are too many cows here, don't you think?† I laughed, praying I didn't sound like a brainless flake. â€Å"Yes!† I almost shouted, pulling him down to talk into his ear over the noise. â€Å"But I'm not an exchange student. I moved here from Florida. My mom lives out there on the inner coastal, but now I'm stuck here with my dad. I agree. You're right, it's awful. At least you get to go home.† And where is home, Mr. Sexy Pirate? A hint of low tide and canal water drifted to me, rising from him like a memory. And though some might find it unpleasant, tears pricked at my eyes. I missed my old school. I missed my car. I missed my friends. Why had Mom gone so ballistic? â€Å"Home, yes,† he said, and an intoxicating smile showed a hint of tongue when he licked his lips and straightened. â€Å"We should leave the floor. We're in the way of their†¦ dancing.† My heart pounded harder. I didn't want to move. He might go away, or worse, someone might slip their arm into his, claiming him. â€Å"Do you want to dance?† I said, nervous. â€Å"It's not what I'm used to, but it has a good beat.† His smile widened, and relief sent my pulse faster. Oh God. I think he likes me. Letting go of my hand, he nodded, and then dropped back a step and started to move. For a moment, I forgot to follow and just watched him. He wasn't flamboyant. No, he went the other way-his slow movements making far more of an impact than if he had cleared the floor by spinning me around it. Seeing me watching, he smiled from behind his mysterious mask and blue-gray eyes as he held out a hand for me to join him. I took a breath, my fingers slipping into his warm ones, and let him pull me into motion. The music was the framework he moved within, and I lost myself trying to match the pattern of it. Almost swaying, we shifted at every second beat. I let myself relax and just dance, finding it easier if I didn't think about it. I could feel every shift of my hips and roll of my shoulders-and a thrill of something began to grow inside me. While everyone around us continued with sharp, fast motions, we danced slow, the space between us narrowing, our gazes fixing more and more on each other as I became increasingly sure of myself. I let him guide me as the music pulsed and my heart pounded with it. â€Å"Most everyone here calls me Seth,† he said, almost ruining the moment, but then his hand curved lightly about my waist, and I leaned into him. Oh yeah. This was better. â€Å"Madison,† I said, liking how I felt, dancing slower than everyone else. But the music was fast, thumping to make my blood race. The two extremes made it seem all the more daring. â€Å"I haven't seen you around. Are you a senior?† Seth's fingers tightened on the light cotton of my dress, or perhaps he was just drawing me closer. â€Å"I'm top of my class,† he said, leaning so he wouldn't have to shout. The colored lights played upon him, and I felt airy. Josh could suck an egg for all I cared. This was what my prom should be. â€Å"That would explain it,† I said, tilting my head to see his eyes and try to place him. â€Å"I'm a junior.† He smiled with his lips closed, and I felt small and protected. My own smile grew. I could feel people starting to watch us, their dancing slowing as they turned. I hoped Josh was getting a good look. Call me a bitch, would he? I lifted my chin, daring to reach out and pull Seth near, our bodies touching, then moving apart. My heart hammered at what I was doing, but I wanted to hurt Josh. I wanted the gossip tomorrow to be what an idiot he had been to walk away from me. I wanted†¦ something. Seth's hands slid smoothly at my waist, neither imprisoning nor demanding, freeing me to dance as I wanted, and I let myself go, motions turning more sultry than these backwoods bumpkins had seen anywhere but on their TV. My lips twitched when I saw Josh and that sailor kid he'd been talking with all this time. Josh's face was white with anger, and I simpered back. â€Å"You want him to know you aren't with him?† Seth said wistfully, and my gaze jerked to his. â€Å"He hurt you,† Seth said, and his dark hand left tingles where it touched my chin. â€Å"You should show him what he lost.† The moment balanced, and though I knew it was spiteful, I found myself nodding. Seth eased to a halt, pulling me into him with a smooth, unbroken gesture. He was going to kiss me. I knew it. It was in every motion he made. My pulse hammered, and I tilted my head up to meet his lips with my own, feeling my knees lock. Around us, people slowed to watch, some laughing, some envious. My eyes closed, and I shifted my weight so that we were still dancing as we kissed. It was everything I wanted. Heat washed into me where we touched, spilling down through me like layers, each flaring up as his touch grew closer. Never had I been kissed like this, and I couldn't breathe, afraid I'd ruin it. My hands were at his waist, and they held him tighter as he cupped my jaw, holding me as if I might break. He tasted like wood smoke. I wanted more-but boy, did I know better. A low sound lifted from him, softer than distant thunder. His hands tightened, and adrenaline spiked through me. The kiss had shifted. Alarmed, I jerked back, breathless but feeling bright-eyed and exhilarated. Seth's moody eyes were fixed on mine with a light amusement that I had pulled away. â€Å"It's only a game,† he said. â€Å"He's wiser, now. So are you. He's not worth pain.† I blinked as the lights spun madly and the music continued, loud and untouched by our kiss. Everything was different, but only I had changed. I tore my gaze from Seth, my hand still on his waist for balance. There were spots of color on Josh's cheeks, and he looked angry. I raised my eyebrows at him. â€Å"Let's go,† I said, linking my arm with Seth's. I didn't think anyone would show up to challenge my position. Not after that kiss. Confident, I stepped forward with Seth beside me. A path opened, and I felt like a queen. Though the music thumped and blared, everyone watched us make our way unimpeded to the double doors with their brown-paper wrappings decorated to look like the oak doors of a castle. Plebeians, I thought when Seth pushed open the door and the cooler air of the hallway hit me. The door closed behind us, and the music dulled. I slowed to a stop, low heels scuffing on the tile. There was a paper-cloth-covered table against the wall with a tired-looking woman checking tickets. Farther down the hall three kids loitered at the main door. The memory of our kiss rose back through me, making me suddenly nervous. This guy was gorgeous. Why was he with me? â€Å"Thank you,† I mumbled, glancing up and away, then warmed as I wondered if he might think I was talking about the kiss. â€Å"I mean, for getting me out of there with my pride intact,† I added, flushing deeper. â€Å"I saw what he did.† Seth rocked us into motion down the hallway away from everyone and to the parking lot. â€Å"It was either that or you dumping punch on his clothes. And you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated until I looked at him. â€Å"You want your revenge more subtle than that.† A sloppy grin came over me, but I couldn't help it. â€Å"You think?† He inclined his head, acting far older than he should. â€Å"Do you have a ride home?† I jerked to a stop, and he continued a step before turning, his blue-gray eyes wide in alarm. It was cool out here, and I told myself that was why I had a sudden chill. â€Å"I'm†¦ sorry,† he said, blinking and holding himself still. â€Å"I didn't mean†¦ I'll stay with you while you arrange for someone to come. You don't know me from Adam.† â€Å"No, it's not that,† I rushed, embarrassed for my sudden mistrust. I glanced back at the woman by the gym door who was watching us with an idle interest. â€Å"I should call my dad, is all. Let him know what's going on.† Seth smiled, his white teeth showing strongly. â€Å"Of course.† I fumbled for the purse that this dress had come with. He moved away a few feet as I dug out my phone and fidgeted, trying to remember the house's number. There was no answer, and we both turned at the noise of the gym door opening. Josh came out, and my jaw tightened. The answering machine picked up, and in a rush, I blurted, â€Å"Hi, Dad. It's Madison.† Duh. â€Å"I'm getting a ride home with Seth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I looked at him in question for a last name. â€Å"Adamson,† he said softly, his eyes behind his mask fixed on Josh. Damn, he had beautiful eyes. And long, luscious eyelashes. â€Å"Seth Adamson,† I said. â€Å"Josh turned out to be a jerk. I'll be home in a few minutes, okay?† But since no one was really there, there wasn't much my dad could say. I waited as if listening for a moment, then added, â€Å"I'm fi-i-i-ine. He was a jerk, is all. I'll see you in a minute.† Satisfied, I closed the phone and tucked it away, linking my arm through Seth's and turning us to the back doors as Josh caught up, his dress shoes clacking on the tile. â€Å"Madison†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was annoyed, and my satisfaction grew. â€Å"Hi, Josh!† I said brightly, my tension rising as he fell into step on my other side. I didn't look at him, and I felt myself go hot. â€Å"I got a ride home. Thanks.† For nothing, I added in my thoughts, still mad at him. Or my dad, maybe, for setting this up. â€Å"Madison, wait.† He caught my elbow, and I spun to a halt. Josh froze, pulling back and letting go. â€Å"You're a jerk,† I said, eyeing his costume and thinking it looked lame now. â€Å"And I'm no one's pity date. You can just†¦ flip off,† I adlibbed, not wanting Seth to think I swore like a sailor. Reaching, Josh grabbed my wrist and yanked me away. â€Å"Listen to me,† he said, and the fear in his eyes stopped my protest. â€Å"I've never seen this guy before. Don't be stupid. Let me take you home. You can tell your friends whatever you want. I'll go along with it.† I tried to take an insulted breath, but the corset wouldn't let me, so I lifted my chin instead. He knew I didn't have any friends. â€Å"I called my dad. I'll be fine,† I said, glancing over his shoulder to the tall kid in that sailor outfit who had followed Josh out. Still Josh wouldn't let go. Ticked, I twisted my arm, and when I reached to grab his wrist in a self-defense hold, he let go as if knowing it. Eyes wide, he backed up a step. â€Å"I'm going to follow you home then,† he said, eyes flicking to Seth. â€Å"Whatever,† I said as I tossed my hair, secretly glad and wondering if maybe Josh wasn't so bad after all. â€Å"Seth, are you in the back lot?† Seth came forward, a softly moving figure of grace and refinement next to Josh's commonality. â€Å"This way, Madison.† I thought I saw a hint of victory in his eyes as his arm slipped through mine. No wonder. He'd obviously come to the prom by himself, and now Josh would be the one leaving alone. I made sure my heels snapped smartly in a show of confident femininity as we went down the hall to the far set of doors. The dress made me feel elegant, and Seth looked fantastic. Josh and his silent buddy trailed behind like extras in a Hollywood film. Seth held the door open for me, leaving the two guys to handle the swinging door by themselves. The air was chilly, and I wished I'd begged for an extra fifty from my dad to get the matching shawl for this outfit. I wondered if Seth would offer me his coat if I complained. The moon was a hazy smear behind the clouds, and as Seth escorted me down the stairs, I could hear Josh behind me, talking softly to his friend in a low, derisive tone. My jaw clenched, and I followed Seth to a sleek black car parked illegally at the curb. It was a convertible, its top open to the cloudy skies, and I couldn't help but smile even wider. Maybe we could go for a drive before he took me home. Cold or not, I wanted to be seen in this car, sitting next to Seth, the wind in my hair and the music cranked. I bet he had great taste in music. â€Å"Madison†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seth said in invitation, opening the door for me. Feeling awkward and special all at the same time, I eased into the low front seat, my dress sliding on smooth leather. Seth waited while I got the rest of the skirt inside before gently shutting the door. I put on my belt as he crossed behind the car. The black paint glistened in the low glow of the security lights, and I ran my fingers over the smoothness, smug when I saw Josh jogging to his car. Seth startled me when he slid in behind the wheel; I hadn't even heard the door open. He cranked the engine, and I liked the solid rumble of it. The stereo came on with something aggressive. The vocals weren't English, but that only added to it all. Josh's car's lights flashed on, and we pulled forward, Seth driving with one hand. My pulse quickened as I looked at him across the dull light. The cool air felt thick against my skin, and as we picked up speed, the wind worked its way through my hair. â€Å"I live to the south,† I said when we reached the main road, and he turned the proper way. Josh's headlamps swung in behind us, and I settled myself in the seat, wishing Seth had offered me his coat. But he hadn't said a word or looked at me since I'd gotten in the car. Earlier, he'd been all sly confidence. Now it was†¦ anticipation? And though I didn't know why, a slow feeling of alarm took root. As if sensing it, Seth turned, driving the black road without looking. â€Å"Too late,† he said softly, and I felt my face blank. â€Å"Easy. I told them it would be easy when you were young and stupid. Almost not worth the effort. Certainly not any enjoyment.† My mouth went dry. â€Å"Excuse me?† Seth glanced at the road and back at me. The car started to go faster, and I gripped the door handle, pressing away from him. â€Å"Nothing personal, Madison. You're a name on a list. Or should I say, a soul to be culled. An important name, but a name nonetheless. They said it couldn't be done, and now, you'll be my admission to a higher court, you and your little life that will now not happen.† What the hell? â€Å"Josh,† I said, turning to the lights going distant as Seth picked up speed. â€Å"He's following. My dad knows where I am.† Seth smiled, and I shivered at the moonlight glinting on his teeth. Everything else was lost in hazy moon shadow and the shriek of the wind. â€Å"Like that will make a difference?† Oh my God. I was deep in it. My gut tightened. â€Å"Stop the car,† I said forcefully, one hand on the door, the other holding my whipping hair out of my eyes. â€Å"Stop the car and let me out. You can't do this. People know where I am! Stop the car!† â€Å"Stop the car?† he said, smirking. â€Å"I'll stop the car.† Seth shifted his leg, stomping on the brake and turning the wheel. I screamed, grabbing anything. The world spun. My breath left me in a shriek as the odd feeling of too much noise mixed with the cessation of jostling. We had left the road. Gravity pulled from the wrong way. Panic struck when I realized the car was flipping over. Shit. I was in a convertible. I ducked, hands clasped over the back of my neck, praying. A hard thump shook me and everything went black. My breath was crushed from me by the force of the hit. I think I was upside down. Then I was yanked another way. The sky brightened to gray, and I sucked in the air when the car flipped once more as it rolled down the embankment. Again, the sky went black and the top of the car hit the ground. â€Å"No!† I shrieked, helpless, then groaned when the car slammed to a stop, upright. I was flung against the seat belt, agony stabbing through my back as I was thrown forward. It was quiet. Breathing hurt. Oh God, I hurt all over, and I stared at the shattered windshield as I panted. The new edges of the window glinted dully in the moonlight, and I followed the broken line down the dash to find Seth gone. My insides hurt. I didn't see blood, but I think I broke something inside. I was alive? â€Å"Madison!† came distant over my rasping breath. â€Å"Madison!† It was Josh, and I forced my eyes up to the twin balls of light at the top of the embankment. A shadowy figure was sliding down. Josh. I took a breath to call to him, groaning when someone took my head and turned me away. â€Å"Seth?† I whispered. He looked untouched, standing outside the ruined car at my door in his costume of black pirate silk. The moon caught his eyes and pendant, giving them both a gray sheen. â€Å"Still alive,† he said flatly, and tears started to slip from me. I couldn't move, but everything was a massive ache so I didn't think I was paralyzed. Damn it, this was a sucky birthday. Dad was going to kill me. â€Å"I hurt,† I said, my voice small, then thought, What a stupid thing to say. â€Å"I don't have time for this,† Seth said, clearly bothered. My eyes widened, but I didn't move when he pulled from the folds of his costume a short blade. I tried to cry out, but my breath left me when he pulled his arm back as if to strike me. Moonlight glinted on the blade, red with someone else's blood. Fantabulous. He's a psycho. I left the prom with a knife-wielding psycho. Can I pick 'em, or what? â€Å"No!† I shrieked, managing to get my arms up, but the blade was a whisper of ice passing through me, leaving me unhurt. I stared at my middle, not believing I was uncut. My dress wasn't torn and blood wasn't flowing, but I knew that blade had gone through me. It had gone through me and the car both. Not understanding, I gaped up at Seth, now standing with the blade at rest and watching me. â€Å"What†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I tried to say when I realized nothing hurt anymore. But my voice was utterly absent. He arched his eyebrows in a show of scorn. My expression left me when I felt the first brush of utter nothing, both new and familiar, like a memory long lost. The terrifying absence of everything crept through me, stilling each thought it rolled over. Soft and muzzy, a blanket of nothing started at the edges of my world and moved inward, taking first the moon, then the night, then my body, and finally the car. Josh's cries were swallowed up in a low hush of a thrum, leaving only Seth's silver eyes. And then Seth turned and walked away. â€Å"Madison!† I heard faintly, followed by the briefest touch on my cheek. Then even that melted and there was nothing. Prom Nights from Hell Chapter One The Exterminator's Daughter Meg Cabot Mary The music is pounding in time to my heartbeat. I can feel the bass in my chest-badoom, badoom. It's hard to see across the room of writhing bodies, especially with the fog from the dry ice, and the flickering light show coming down from the club's industrial ceiling overhead. But I know he's here. I can feel him. Which is why I'm grateful for the bodies grinding against one another all around me. They're keeping me hidden from his view-and from his senses. Otherwise he'd have smelled me coming by now. They can detect the scent of fear from yards away. Not that I'm scared. Because I'm not. Well. Maybe a little. But I have my Excalibur Vixen crossbow 285 FPS with me, with a twenty-inch-long Easton XX75 (the tip, formerly gold, now replaced with hand-carved ash) already cocked and ready to be released at the merest pressure from my finger. He'll never know what hit him. And, hopefully, neither will she. The important thing is to get a clean shot-which won't be easy in this crowd-and to make it count. I'll probably only get one chance to shoot. Either I'll hit the target†¦ or he'll hit me. â€Å"Always aim for the chest,† Mom used to say. â€Å"It's the largest part of the body, and the spot you're least likely to miss. Of course, you're more likely to kill than wound if you aim for the chest rather than the thigh or arm†¦ but what do you want to wound for, anyway? The point is to take 'em down.† Which is what I'm here to do tonight. Take ‘im down. Lila will hate me, of course, if she figures out what really happened†¦ and that it was me who did it. But what does she expect? She can't think that I'm just going to sit idly by and watch her throw her life away. â€Å"I met this guy,† she'd gushed at lunch today, while we were standing in line for the salad bar. â€Å"Oh my God, Mary, you wouldn't believe how cute he is. His name's Sebastian. He's got the bluest eyes you've ever seen.† The thing about Lila that a lot of people don't get is that beneath that-let's face it-slutty exterior beats the heart of a truly loyal friend. Unlike the rest of the girls at Saint Eligius, Lila's never pulled an attitude with me about the fact that my dad's not a CEO or plastic surgeon. And yeah, okay, I have to tune out about three-fourths of what she says because most of it is stuff that I have no interest in-like how much she paid for her Prada tote at the end-of-season clearance sale at Saks, and what kind of tramp stamp she's thinking about getting next time she's in Cancn. But this caught my attention. â€Å"Lila,† I said. â€Å"What about Ted?† Because Ted's all Lila has talked about for the past year, ever since he finally got up the guts to ask her out. Well, I mean, all she's talked about besides the Prada sales and back tattoos. â€Å"Oh, that's over,† Lila said, reaching for the lettuce tongs. â€Å"Sebastian's taking me clubbing tonight-at Swig. He says he can get us in-he's on the VIP list.† It wasn't the fact that this guy, whoever he was, claimed to be on the VIP list of the newest and most exclusive club in downtown Manhattan that caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise. Don't get me wrong-Lila's beautiful. If anyone is going to be approached by a random stranger who happens to be on the most sought-after VIP list in town, it would be Lila. It was the thing about Ted that got to me. Because Lila adores Ted. They're the quintessentially perfect high school couple. She's gorgeous, he's a star athlete†¦ it's a match made in teen heaven. Which is why what she was telling me did not compute. â€Å"Lila, how can you say it's over between you and Ted?† I demanded. â€Å"You two have been going out forever†-or at least since I arrived at Saint Eligius Prep in September, where Lila was the first (and, to date, pretty much the only) girl in any of my classes to actually speak to me-â€Å"and it's the prom this weekend.† â€Å"I know,† Lila said, with a happy sigh. â€Å"Sebastian's taking me.† â€Å"Seb-â€Å" That's when I knew. I mean, really knew. â€Å"Lila,† I said. â€Å"Look at me.† Lila looked down at me-I'm small. But, as Mom used to say, I'm fast-and I saw it at once. What I should have seen from the beginning, that ever-so-slightly glazed expression-the dull eyes†¦ the soft lips-that I've come to know so well over the years. I couldn't believe it. He'd gotten to my best friend. My only friend. Well. What was I supposed to do? Sit back and let him take her? Not this time. You'd think seeing a girl with a crossbow on the dance floor of Manhattan's hottest new club would maybe generate a comment or two. But it is Manhattan, after all. Besides, everyone is having too good a time to notice me. Even- Oh God. It's him. I can't believe I'm finally seeing him in the flesh†¦ Well, his son, anyway. He's more handsome than I ever imagined. Golden-haired and blue-eyed, with movie star-perfect lips and shoulders a mile wide. He's tall, too-although most guys are tall-compared with me. Still, if he is anything like his father, well, then, I get it. I finally get it. I guess. I still don't- Oh God. He's sensed my gaze. He's turning this way- It's now or never. I raise my bow: Good-bye, Sebastian Drake. Good-bye forever. But just as I have the bright white triangle of his shirt front in my scope, something unbelievable happens: A bright bloom of cherry red appears exactly where I've been aiming. Except I haven't pulled the trigger. And his kind doesn't bleed. â€Å"What's that, Sebastian?† Lila shimmies up to him to ask. â€Å"Dammit! Somebody†-and I see Sebastian raise his stunned cerulean gaze from the scarlet stain on his shirt to Lila's face-â€Å"shot me.† It's true. Someone has shot him. Only it wasn't me. And that's not all that doesn't make sense. He's bleeding. Except that's not possible. Not knowing what else to do, I duck behind a nearby pillar, pressing the Vixen to my chest. I need to regroup, figure out my next move. Because none of this can really be happening. I couldn't have been wrong about him. I did the research. It all makes sense†¦ the fact that he's here in Manhattan†¦ the fact that he went after my best friend, of all people†¦ Lila's dazed expression†¦ everything. Everything except what just happened. And I had just stood there, staring. I had had a perfect shot, and I'd blown it. Or had I? If he's bleeding, then that must mean he's human. Doesn't it? Except if he's human, and he's just been shot in the chest, why is he still standing? Oh God. The worst of it is†¦ he saw me. I'm almost sure I felt that reptilian gaze pass over me. What will he do now? Will he come after me? If he does, it's all my own fault. Mom told me never to do this. She always said a hunter never goes out alone. Why didn't I listen? What was I thinking? That's the problem, of course. I hadn't been thinking at all. I'd let my emotions get the better of me. I couldn't let what happened to Mom happen to Lila. And now I'm going to pay for it. Just like Mom. Crouching in agony, I try not to imagine what Dad's going to do when the New York City police ring our doorbell at four in the morning and ask him to come to the morgue to ID his only daughter's body. My throat will be gouged open, and who knows what other atrocities will be done to my broken body. All because I didn't stay home tonight to work on my paper for Mrs. Gregory's fourth-period U.S. History class (topic: the temperance movement in antebellum Civil War America, two thousand words, double-spaced, due Monday), like I was supposed to. The music changes. I hear Lila squeal, â€Å"Where are you going?† Oh God. He's coming.