Ashley Reading

Ashley looked up from her book.  She had read that in the 1950's there was a big call for kitchen grease.  That was because all those smart guys up in the office were able to come up with an invention that turned grease into ammunition.

Ashley began to wrinkle her brow as she thought about it.  Surely there was a drawback to the use of grease in ammunition.  What was the key?

"It's amazing nothing melted;"  she muttered before she pushed the book away.  "Imagine the weapons just turning into grease because of the heat;"  she muttered.

However she could only imagine.  There was nothing in her mind to give her any real history on the subject and so she pushed education further away and she began to daydream to cool off the neurons inside of her head.

Suddenly Ashley's friend Janet popped her head around a corner of booths.

"Hey Ashley;"  cheered Janet as she smiled.  "What are you doing?"  she asked.

"Reading;"  told Ashley as she shrugged.  "Why?"  she asked.

"What are you reading?  You look ready to fall asleep!"  gasped Janet as she smiled.

"Just some old book on war advertisements;"  told Ashley as she shrugged.

"Lame;"  told Janet as she shrugged.  "Want to come out to the movies after school?"  she asked.

"No I have to go home and study;"  told Ashley as she shrugged.

"Okay;"  told Janet as she also shrugged.  "I'm going to leave then;" she added before she left.

Ashley shrugged.  She didn't care if Janet wanted to skip school she wasn't going to follow.  Ashley began to peer at a couple more pages of advertisement but she couldn't be bothered ogling at any more.  She shrugged and began to sleep, and when she woke it was afternoon.


Ashley picked up her bag and left, and she walked right home.  On the way home however AShley met Denver who glared at her as he smoked two cigarettes to show off his rebel skill.  Ashley knew that he was in senior year, however she didn't know anything more -  but smoking was definitely illegal for someone who was still at school.

"I'm telling the principal;"  told Ashley as she scoffed.

Denver glared at Ashley and narrowed his eyes.

"Piss off;"  he muttered in a quiet tone.

Ashley shrugged and walked down the pavement with her heartbeat inside of her head.  She didn't know why she had wanted to tell Denver that she was going to tell the school principal of his smoking habits -  maybe she just wanted his attention, maybe she wanted to draw in on the detail that he was doing something wrong;  whatever the case she had blurted the words out and she couldn't sew them back inside of her mind.

Ashley rubbed her brow and continued to walk home.  She fell desperately thirsty as she walked, however she didn't want to pay for any water so she skipped down a leafy lane that led her to the middle of a park.  In the middle of the park was a water spring, and Ashley took a sip of the water before she backed off. The water was natural and tasted a little off like there was mold in its liquid; however she could only blame herself for wanting to go cheap.

"Well I'd better get home;"  muttered Ashley before she wrapped her arms around her belly and walked.


Ashley walked further and further down every tree-lined street.  There was chill in the air, there were sometimes cooking scents -   Ashley could smell the scents and make her belly grumble, it made her realized that she wanted food bad.  So Ashley quickened her steps and within twenty minutes she was at home.


At home Ashley met her sister Sky who glared at her from the couch as she sat there with a packet of chips.  Ashley felt her belly grumble and she immediately moved to the kitchen to find something to eat. When there Ashley managed to find an old magazine with a military person on its cover, it had been set on the bench top as though recently discarded, however Ashley found it odd that it was there.

"What's this?"  asked Ashley as she picked up the magazine and fumbled through its pages.  "Some sort of enlisting?"  she asked.

Sky cleared her throat and walked into the kitchen.

"Greg has decided to enlist;"  she told Ashley as she passed to grab some soda.

Ashley felt her blood chill.  She knew her brother Greg was a dare-devil was the military was serious business, what was he doing trying to throw his life into the big ring in order to be a combatant?

"That's silly!"  gasped Ashley as she pushed the magazine away.  "Has he told father or mother?"  she asked.

"He figured they would see the magazine;"  told Sky as she sipped the soda from a can.  "He left with his friends, he's really going to do it;"  she added.

"I see;"  told Ashley as she looked to the sky and wondered what Greg would be good at doing.  "Why did he do it?"  she asked.

"I don't know;"  told Sky as she shrugged.  "For fun I guess;"  she muttered before she walked away.

Ashley shook her head and moved to the fridge.  In the frige Ashley saw sausages and bacan and she realled the artice she had read that morning about grease being used to make guns, bullets, and even war ships.  Ashley shrugged.

"Better make some grease;"  she told as she turned on the hot plate.  "Greg might need some ammunition during his trek into war;"  she added as she began to cook.