August 2020

Kevin Maggliardi and his friends were playing soccer in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His girlfriend, Shanti Lee, could’ve joined them but she chose to hang out with her girlfriends on the sideline.

For about 2 hours, Kevin and his friends, Jing Hao, Mike Wong, Levi Cranston, Jack Andrews, and Asad Prejesh, played intense soccer. When they finished playing and decided to all take a breather, Kevin ran toward Shanti and lay next to her while trying to catch his breath. Kevin was breathing very hard, and he grabbed Shanti’s hand and put it over his left nipple.

“Oh my god, your heart’s pumping!” Shanti exclaimed.
“I was playing soccer, that’s why,” Kevin replied.

November 2019

Kevin Maggliardi and his girlfriend, Shanti Lee, were spending the day watching goofy cartoons. It was a little too chilly to do much else today. All of their other friends were doing other things.

“I’ve got my doctor’s appointment this weekend,” Kevin said.
“Oh, so you’re going home?” Shanti replied.
“Yeah. It’s just a yearly check-up. They’re also checking on my asthma.”
“That’s good.”
“Doesn’t keep me from being nervous though,” Kevin remarked.
“I’ll never forget that story you told me,” Shanti said.
“Which one?”
“The cute one.”
“Oh yeah. When I was like eight or something? Yeah, that one. I was really nervous, and when they had the stethoscope on my chest, I looked down and could see my heart pounding against the chest piece. And I even had my shirt on.”
“You’re very thin-chested, and it’s so cute.”
“When I’m reading or just relaxing, I can sometimes see my heart beating against my shirt. Kinda creeps me out sometimes,” Kevin said.
“Again, it’s really cute,” Shanti replied.

October 22, 2018

It was Monday afternoon, and Jack Andrews and Levi Cranston just came home from work. It was a couple days after their friend and “baby brother,” Kevin Maggliardi, was held at gunpoint before coming over to their apartment. He actually decided to take a week off work so that he could get back to his senses and recover. He ended up going back to Rhode Island to stay at his parents’ house during this time. Jack decided to call Kevin and see how he was doing.

“Hello?” A female voice answered on Kevin’s phone.
“Um, hello. Is Kevin around?” Jack responded.
“He is, but he’s sleeping. I’m his mom, you can call me Ellen.”
“Oh gosh, sorry I caught you all at a bad time.”
“All good,” Ellen responded.
“How’s Kevin doing? I know he went home yesterday,” Jack questioned.
“Correct. Well, he is doing alright, just taking it easy this week after everything that’s happened. He spent the whole night throwing up.”
“Wow, I’m sorry about that.”
“Yeah, it’s been hard. He’s been sleeping on and off all day since he’s been home. He had flu symptoms today, and I’m taking him to the doctor tomorrow to make sure he wasn’t more injured than he says he was,” Ellen remarked.
“What else happened?” Jack questioned.
“As far as I know, he only has the bruise on his chest, but it’s more of a precaution than anything.”

February 2019

Kevin Maggliardi and his girlfriend, Shanti Lee, spent an evening together watching cartoons in Kevin’s Cambridge, MA apartment. Their friends were out doing other things, so it was just them.

Shanti’s ear was on Kevin’s chest so that she could listen intently to his heart beating. She thought it sounded very deep.

“You have a soothing heartbeat,” she said to him. He drew in a deep breath.
“It’s been through hell and back,” Kevin remarked.
“Your heart?”
“Yup.”
“How so?” Shanti asked.
“When I was held at gunpoint for one, they pressed the revolver into my chest to the point that my heart actually stopped for a split second,” Kevin remarked.
“Oh wow.”
“And then do you remember a couple years ago when I pulled the all-nighter?”
“You’ve pulled several all-nighters.”
“Yes, and then I feel like crap the next day. But this time was fueled with energy drinks, pop, and coffee. All at the same time.”
“Do I remember what you were doing?” Shanti asked.
“I was working on a huge side chemistry project,” Kevin replied.
“That’s right. Now I remember.”
“I was living on energy drinks, pop, and coffee throughout the whole day since I didn’t want to leave the project unfinished. It screwed me over when I finally went to bed around 6 the next morning. My heart was pounding so hard I thought I was going to throw up. I even had to apply an ice pack to my side to slow down my heart rate.”
“Poor heart.”
“Now I know to never drink all three at the same time ever again. That was horrible,” Kevin said.
“No doubt,” Shanti replied.
“When I pull an all-nighter anyway, I always notice an increase in my heart rate.”
“Well yeah because of the increased adrenaline levels.”
“Damn straight.”