Free Time Trials by Terry Lee Page B

alter-ego’s ass to the curb. Over the years Snow had morphed into a sarcastic bitch with a twist of occasional reason. Regina had actually thought about doing away with Snow, then heard the intrusive, sardonic laugh in her head, both realizing the impossibility. Too much Mother Patricia had infiltrated them, and that had to change…somehow.
    She got a part-time job working for The Houstonian, Sam’s college newspaper, and routinely applied for a position at KSAM, Huntsville’s local AM radio station…the very same station where Dan Rather had gotten his start back in the ‘50s. Her initiation into broadcasting was a rude awakening to find that KSAM was run by the “good old boys club,” and seemed to have little interest in a female voice.
    Her dating/boyfriend status hadn’t faired too well during college. She dated a football player for a while, until she figured all he wanted was to see what was beneath the sequined costume she wore during halftime performances. Later, she actually found out it had been a bet among some of the athletes. Assholes. Then there was her economics instructor her junior year. They started out having coffee a couple of times after class, which ended up being somewhat of an affair that went absolutely nowhere. Positive role models. That was the damn problem. She’d had none as a child, male or female. No wonder she was so screwed up in the social skills category.
    She and Allison continued being roommates even after the BAGs freshman year in the dorm. They didn’t seem to get in each other’s way, and well, she hated to admit it, but Allison was as close to a best friend as she’d ever had. Of course, Allison didn’t have a clue about this, but none the less…best friends, as far as Regina was concerned.
     
     
     
                 
     
                 
                 
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
    Janie – 1972
     
    Janie. Janie. Janie. People laughed a lot around her. Not at her, mind you, but with her. As far as the dynamics of the BAGs, Janie would most certainly be the mascot. She drank too much too often, would stand in the garbage can after curfew holding nightly roll call, and entertained the BAGs with impersonations. Her favorite was Shirley Temple from “On the Good Ship Lollipop.” A close second was an eerie portrayal of the dreaded dorm mother, Mrs. White. Janie always proceeded with “She has to be Miss, because Mrs. would imply at some point there was a Mr.,” and then followed with the finger-down-the-throat gagging motion, which always had everyone howling.  
    Being known as the female version of George Carlin around the dormitory’s ground floor filled Janie’s need to entertain. Her plan, methodical…as long as she could make people laugh, she felt like she fit in. And that’s how she pulled it off. She had her own stand-up routine about her balloon body shape, and even created a theme song for the BAGs and called it “The Ground Floor Whore Corp” to the tune of Sam Houston’s fight song. Janie couldn’t find a degree plan that catered to comedy routines, so she fell back on what she knew best…drama. What could she do with a drama degree? Hell if she knew, but since she’d perfected the skill of being a lifelong over-reactor, why not? Add comedy to the mix and who knew? She could be the next Joan Rivers.
    For real?
    “Oh shut up,” she’d bounce back to her tacky other self.
    College life suited Janie. She dodged daily phone calls from June, deciding she’d talk to her mother every other day. God, the woman needed a life. Except for the occasional emergency call due to lack of cash flow for late night pizza delivery, Janie rarely called home. Besides, all out-going, non-campus calls had to be made collect. What a plus.
    Mother/daughter lunches were restricted to once a month. Her terms, not her mother’s. June would make the hour drive on either a Tuesday or Thursday, which were doable lunch days