Bitter aftertaste

What began as a simple piece of marketing was having disastrous repercussions.

Accidents had undeniably happened, and the Salt case set a dangerous precedent; compensation costs had been astronomical.

What’s more, Willy had received letters from the legal representatives of Gloop, Teavee, and Beauregarde.

“Damn those golden tickets!” he uttered.

Resolutions

He wanted to aim high.

However, his potty mouth and sweet tooth made his resolutions (giving up sweets, and swearing respectively) seem unachievable.

Three weeks in, though, he’d made no slip ups.

Innocently, he accepted a toffee offered to him at the cinema.

Then, the realisation hit him.

“Oh bollocks!”

Cold Turkey II

Tommy entered, and glanced around the room.

The residents showed all the telltale signs; uncomfortable fidgeting, inability to concentrate, and generally, a sickly look.

He’d seen it all before, of course.

“Cold turkey.” he stated.

It wasn’t a question.

“Give over!” moaned Cheryl. “I’m still full from my Christmas Pudding!”

Prequel

Joe was overcome with conflicting emotions: anger, humiliation... confusion.

His fiancé had told him that she was pregnant.

The baby wasn’t his.

Furthermore, she’d fed him some ludicrous tale about how she’d gotten pregnant.

Just as he decided to break off the engagement, the room filled with a dazzling light...

Not quite the front of a Christmas card...

Joe gazed around, intently.

The accommodation was even worse than he had feared.

The whole place stank, was filthy and was freezing cold.

Raucous animal noises exacerbated the situation.

In short, he could hardly envisage a worse place for his pregnant wife to stay.

He put his arm around Mary.

Watch out...

He had entered the target house, without any hitches.

Now he had to do the job, and get out of there.

He worked swiftly and silently, knowing one false move could wake the whole household.

He finished.

With a ‘Ho ho ho’, he grabbed the complimentary mince pie and left. 

Basic maths

In different circumstances, Danny would have taken a maths degree.

However, he had eventually decided on English Literature.

The latest block, 1930s poetry, was particularly tough. Progress was minimal.

Danny took a couple of days off, planning to restart work with double the enthusiasm.

The mathematician inside him said: 2(0)=0