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Summer 2020
“So my parents have decided to move to their house in Rhode Island for the time being, since Covid and Evelyn Maeve graduated from high school,” Levi Cranston said to his friend and old neighbor, Rhody Bacaluso-Leyman, on the phone. “Oh nice. So you guys still have that house as well?” Rhody asked. “Yeah, my parents have had that house for years. They own like 2-3 other houses as well. Two in Valpo, one in Chicago, the one in Rhode Island, and one in Connecticut.” “My parents only have the other house in Chicago that they go back and forth to. Now, since Jayne and I don’t live with them anymore, about 75 percent of their time is spent in Chicago. They stay not too far away from a couple of my friends who live in the Gold Coast, but technically they’re in Lincoln Park.” “Fair enough. I’ve actually been thinking about the house in Rhode Island recently,” Levi remarked. “Many fun times were had there,” Rhody replied. “Especially that one year when you brought me with you. Jack, Asad, and David had plans with their families, so it was just the two of us. And we were sick with the cold during the whole trip.” “Best and worst trip ever honestly. It sucked since we were both so sick, but we got out of some family stuff, which I appreciated. I remember one day when everyone else was out doing things, you and I watched cartoons for the whole day.” “And we had so much tea that day. We had a tea party.” “Yes, it was indeed a tea party. And everyone came home to see us passed out on in the common area.” “Did Mackenzie ever join you?” “Mom wouldn’t let me take her.”
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January 2020
Rhody Leyman just came home to his apartment in Brooklyn, New York after having minor surgery to put tubes in his ears after a few ear infections over the past eight months. He could have worked today, but he thought it would be best to rest up for the day. His friends, Graham Maggliardi and Allen Harris, stopped by to check on him. Rhody spent the day on the couch wrapped in his fleece throw blanket with his orange tabby cat, Topaz. He had a cotton ball stuffed in each ear. “Hey Rhody, how you feeling?” Graham asked. “Not as bad as I thought I would. I was pretty nervous about this one since I knew I’d be awake during it,” Rhody replied. “My ears are pretty sore, and I’m exhausted, but otherwise I’m doing alright.” “That’s good. How many times have you had tubes put in?” “This will be my fourth time. I’ve always had issues with my ears and fluid buildup. And we all thought that was resolved when I had my tonsils removed.” “When did you get your tonsils removed?” Allen asked. “I was like sixteen, I think. And this is the first time since then. They checked my throat and my nose, and my tonsils and adenoids haven’t grown back. And everything else came back clear,” Rhody replied. “No other problems?” “No. And the ear infections I’ve had recently weren’t awful, like I could still work and live a normal life. My ears were just sore.” “In case you were wondering, we got you a smoothie while we were out. Wanna hang out here, and we could get pizza for dinner?” “I’m totally cool with that.” August 2019
“Rhody, how are you feeling?” Rhody Bacaluso-Leyman’s best friend and current roommate, Zach Niornski, asked. They have been best friends since grade school, even when Zach’s family moved to Lincolnwood, Illinois in high school and bought a second home in Plymouth, Indiana. “Not much better than this morning,” Rhody replied. He had been sick with the cold for four days and took today off from work. “I slept most of the day, but I still feel like shit.” “The trip to LA was so worth it, though.” “Yes, I had a great time. I wish Allen and Jerome could also join, but they had other things going on.” “I want to go back for another week,” Zach stated. “I think the bus tour was my most favorite thing that we did,” Rhody remarked. “I thought going to the game would have been your most favorite part of the trip.” “That as well.” “What do you want to do for dinner?” “Believe it or not, I am in the mood for fried chicken.” Summer 2019
Rhody Leyman and his friend, Graham Maggliardi, Kevin’s older brother, spent an evening on the rooftop of Graham’s Brooklyn, New York apartment building. They brought their lawn chairs and a few beers out and decided to contemplate life for an hour or two. It was just the two of them for the time being, so that was nice. “My heart has been beating very fast recently,” Rhody remarked after a few minutes of silence between the two of them. “You alright?” Graham asked. “I think it’s my anxiety and all. I’ve dealt with this most of my life, and of course my shrink knows about it. There’s one thing I’m not sure you all know about.” “What is it?” “I actually have two last names. I usually just go by Rhody Leyman, but my real name is Matthew Bacaluso-Leyman. Those are my dad’s last names as well,” Rhody remarked. “I like it,” Graham replied. “How are you feeling right now?” “I’m alright now. It happens every few hours. This afternoon, my heart was pounding so hard that I almost threw up because of it. I’m gonna tell my shrink about this when I speak with them again.” “You gonna play rugby tomorrow with everyone? Boyfriend Ayaan wanted me to ask you.” “I hope I’m up for it. Depending on how I feel, of course.” “Yeah, just let me know. I’ll hang out with you if you don’t.” “You got a deal.” Fall 2011
Rhody Leyman was hanging out in his college dorm room after a bad day of classes. His roommate came in later that evening, since he was just done with class for the day. “Rhody, you okay?” His roommate asked him, when he noticed Rhody was wrapped in a fleece throw blanket on his bed. “Not really,” Rhody replied. “No? Something wrong?” “I had an anxiety attack today, and I had to go to the nurse’s office because of it.” “Oh shit,” his roommate remarked. “Yeah, my vitals are normal now. But I almost ended up going to urgent care,” Rhody stated. “How come?” “My anxiety went through the roof today. I still don’t know what happened exactly or what caused it.” “Are you gonna get it checked out?” “I’ve had anxiety since I can remember.” Thanksgiving 2015
Kevin Maggliardi and his three older siblings were at their parents’ house in Cranston, Rhode Island for Thanksgiving. At the time, Sheridan, 29, was living in Boston. Graham, 26, was living in New York. Addison, 24, was living in Chicago. And Kevin was still a student and living in Boston. Although Sheridan and Kevin lived close to each other and are very close, they otherwise keep their lives pretty separate. Sheridan was living with a couple of his friends in Cambridge. Kevin was living in the Allston neighborhood with his friends, Jing Hao, Mike Wong, and David Rogers. Graham and Addison were helping their parents make their traditional Italian food for Thanksgiving. Sheridan came home after getting coffee with a friend. He was walking toward the kitchen, and then Kevin quickly ran through the walkway leading to it, quickly scaring Sheridan. “OH MY GOD!!!!” Sheridan shouted. “BOO YA!” Kevin screamed. “What the hell, man. My heart nearly exploded.” “Charlie got scared. Ya dingus.” “Don’t ever f*cking do that again,” Sheridan said, trying to catch his breath. “You alright?” Kevin asked. “No, of course not. I’m gonna like die over here.” “No, it’s not that bad.” “Still, don’t do that.” “Noted.” Like around June 2018
Levi Cranston (The Magic Video Game) and his girlfriend, Mackenzie Burbanks, were out and about on the mean streets of Boston. Jack Andrews and Asad Prejesh were in their apartment playing video games for the evening. Their new friends, Jing Hao and Kevin Maggliardi, invited them all to play video games, but everyone else declined. Especially since Levi and Mackenzie had a date, and Jack and Asad just simply did not feel like playing tennis. It was around 6 pm, and Jing and Kevin walked over to the nearby tennis courts, where they all practice. They were planning to stay for at least three to four hours. “Should we run around the track first?” Jing asked. “We always do, so I think that answers your question,” Kevin replied. “Okay, so let’s do it.” “We need to leave around 9:30, because Levi wanted to chat around that time.” “I think we’ll be done by then,” Jing said. “Usually, we are,” Kevin remarked. “When is Sheridan coming to the States?” “Next week. He is stopping in Dublin first.” “To do what?” “To party there, I think.” Sheridan is Kevin’s oldest brother, who is 32 years old and lives in London to pursue his doctorate degree in biomedical engineering. He has another brother, Graham, who is 29, and lives in New York City for work, as he works in IT. His only sister, Addison, is going to be 27 years old in a couple weeks, and she lives in Chicago for graduate school. Kevin just turned 25 years old, and Jack, Asad, and Levi view him as their little brother. Kevin is originally from Cranston, Rhode Island, pretty close to Levi’s motherland. Levi and Kevin met at their tennis coaching job. Levi works in IT for one company in Boston, and Kevin works in IT for another company in the same building, so they very often commute to work together. Levi, Mackenzie, Jack, and Asad share an apartment in the Allston neighborhood, while Jing and Kevin have a place in Cambridge. It is either a fifteen minute commute by bus, or a thirty minute commute by foot. Jing is from Garden City, a suburb of New York City. He is 25 years old, and has a younger sister, Amanda, who is 23 years old. He and Kevin met when they went to college in Boston. Jing also works in IT, and he is looking to go into grad school pretty soon. “This weather is pretty nice,” Jing remarked after a couple laps around the track. “Yes, it is,” Kevin responded. “What time is it?” “Time for you to get a watch.” “I have never heard that one before!” “No?” Jing asked, taking things a bit literally. “Nope,” Kevin rolled his eyes and smiled. “Time for tennis?” “Time for tennis. We have a few hours.” “We agreed 9:30, right?” “Yup.” Tennis practice was a complete blur. By the time they got on the tennis courts, it was already 7 o’clock in the evening. They had a couple hours before they’d have their phone chat with Levi, Jack, Mackenzie, and Asad later tonight. A couple hours later, Jing and Kevin were really tired, sore, and sweaty. They headed back to their apartment in Cambridge, where they would get ready for the night. It was Thursday evening, so one more day before the weekend. That’s why they all needed to chat. When they got into the apartment, Jing beat Kevin to the shower, kinda pissing Kevin off. Oh well. Kevin used this time to lie on his bed to stretch his back out a little, and to throw a tennis ball against the ceiling. He decided that now was a good time to call Levi, and so he did. “Hey Kevin, I have you on speaker,” Levi answered on his end. He and everyone else must have been out in the common area. “Hey, how’s it going?” Kevin asked. “Well, Mackenzie and I are back from our little date. We ventured out on the harbor walk and the North End.” “Very nice. We’re all gonna check out the harbor walk again this weekend, right?” “I wouldn’t mind doing that. We could also go out to Cambridge, whatever works for you,” Levi said. “Well, I’m totally open. Jing is taking his sweet little time in the shower,” Kevin replied. “I figured as much.” “What is everyone else doing?” “Well, Mackenzie is in our room. I think she’s on a phone chat with her family. Jack and Asad are in the kitchen heating up some leftovers from the night before.” “That’s great.” Jack and Asad had some Indian food from last night that they decided to heat up now, after spending at least two hours playing video games. They were being summoned into the living room to come up with some plans to hang out that weekend with Jing and Kevin. “Hi Kevin,” Jack responded once he and Asad walked into the common area. “Hey guys,” Kevin responded back. “How was tennis?” “It was pretty great. I beat Jing on all matches, so that was nice.” “I wish we were there to witness it,” Jack said. “I know! You missed out on a great evening,” Kevin exclaimed. “Well, we were playing tennis on TV.” “Not as fun.” “Next time, we’ll play all of you.” “Sounds like a plan. Well, Jing came in, and I’m going to shower. I’m disgusting.” “Okay, you do you.” January 6, 2019
Jack Andrews, Levi Cranston (The Magic Video Game), Asad Prejesh, Jing Hao, Kevin Maggliardi, and Mike Wong all ventured out to downtown Boston to hang out for a few hours. Levi’s girlfriend, Mackenzie Burbanks, was having a girls’ day in with a couple of her friends to watch movies. The six boys were at their favorite coffee shop during the middle of the day. They all went out for pizza, and now they felt like getting themselves a cup of coffee. It was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and all six boys were sitting inside the coffee shop talking about nothing other than tennis. Jack looked over at Kevin and realized that he wasn’t nearly as talkative as he normally is. Kevin had dark spots under his eyes, which Jack noticed earlier today, but now he didn’t look well at all. His nose was very red now. “You alright, Kevin?” Jack questioned. “Yeah, I’ve got a really bad cold. I thought I could do more than what I really could do,” Kevin replied. “Yeah, take it easy.” “I think I’m gonna head back to Cambridge soon.” “Yeah, you probably should,” Jack said. “I’m like really tired all of a sudden,” Kevin responded. “Alright. Let us know when you get back.” “I will. I just started getting a pounding headache. Didn’t hit me in the chest like it usually does.” “Well, that’s good.” “Yeah, I think I’m gonna head out now. I really don’t feel well at all.” Kevin picked up his backpack off the floor and said goodbye to everyone. He headed toward the door toward the common, where he was going to pick up the red line to take him back to his apartment in Cambridge. Once he got back home, he was very likely going to fall asleep as soon as he could. The other five boys were going to stay out until about 5 or 6 in the evening, and then they were all going to get ready for the week ahead of them. “Kevin’s been really sick for the past couple days,” Jing said. “He sounded really stuffed up when we all met,” Jack replied. “Yeah, he has a bad cold. He told me that he might take tomorrow off from work to recover.” “Yeah, hopefully he will consider that.” “The only other time I saw him really sick was when he had the flu in college. Then, he got me sick with it,” Jing remarked. “That’s nice of him to give you the flu!” Jack chuckled. “I mean, I’ve seen him when he’s had a cold, but it didn’t hit him as hard as this one has. Or I might be wrong.” “Colds suck.” “The flu sucks worse.” “Yes, it does.” Jack was at their table with Mike and Jing. Kevin had made it home, and by the time he took off his shoes and lay on his bed, he was passed out. Chances were pretty good that once Jing came home, Kevin would still be sleeping. Their two other roommates went to New York City for the weekend, and they were likely not coming back until at least 9 pm tonight. Levi and Asad were at the counter looking at what desserts to get. Asad wasn’t sure what he was going to get, but Levi wanted to get something for Mackenzie. “I’m thinking about getting Mackenzie the fruit tart. What do you think?” Levi asked Asad. “She like strawberries, doesn’t she?” Asad responded. “Yes, that’s her favorite fruit.” “Are you getting sick, too? You sound really stuffed up.” “I think so. I hope Kevin didn’t give me his cooties,” Levi said. “He probably did,” Asad remarked. “I took a sick day on Friday because I was really not feeling well. I feel better now, but I hate my nose right now.” “Understandable.” “Get Mackenzie the fruit tart!” Mike greeted Asad and Levi. “That’s what I’m thinking about getting her!” Levi exclaimed. “What do you guys want to do after this?” “Cambridge?” “Okay!” August 2019
“Rhody, how are you feeling?” Rhody Bacaluso-Leyman’s best friend and current roommate, Zach Niornski, asked. They have been best friends since grade school, even when Zach’s family moved to Lincolnwood, Illinois in high school and bought a second home in Plymouth, Indiana. “Not much better than this morning,” Rhody replied. He had been sick with the cold for four days and took today off from work. “I slept most of the day, but I still feel like shit.” “The trip to LA was so worth it, though.” “Yes, I had a great time. I wish Allen and Jerome could also join, but they had other things going on.” “I want to go back for another week,” Zach stated. “I think the bus tour was my most favorite thing that we did,” Rhody remarked. “I thought going to the game would have been your most favorite part of the trip.” “That as well.” “What do you want to do for dinner?” “Believe it or not, I am in the mood for fried chicken.” Summer 2018
Rhody Leyman, Graham Maggliardi (Kevin’s older brother), and a few mutual friends went to a movie theatre in New York City on a nice summer evening. It was a later showing, and somehow they all had the whole room to themselves. Before going to see the movie, they all ate dinner. About thirty minutes into the movie, during when there was silence for a few seconds, one of Rhody’s and Graham’s friends let out a loud fart. Everyone died of laughter for several minutes. This kept happening for the rest of the movie, and Rhody especially fell out of his chair and laughed so hard he almost threw up. Because of this, they didn’t really get a chance to see the movie. And since then, they have associated this movie with their friend farting. |
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About my BlogMy blog contains anything and everything one should know about my books. Aaaaand a lot more as well. |
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