"Suburban Rituals" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

17-year-old Thomas Brooks was well aware that the country club dance was one of the tribal customs that the upper classes had to endure in order to advance to the next level, but he hated it all and in the middle of the present gala, he grabbed his coat and left. 

Thomas drove aimlessly and tried to understand his restlessness and anger. His family was very wealthy, and he had never wanted for anything. He should be happy, but he wasn't. Without a particular destination in mind, Thomas headed for the beach.

Somewhere near the waterfront, he spotted a girl in front of a mini mart and picked her up. At the same mini mart, he paid an old man to buy him a bottle of wine. Once that was accomplished, he took the girl and the wine to a secluded place on the beach. 

The girl's name was Donna, and she was from Nebraska or some state in the mid-west. The details became a little fuzzy after Thomas consumed some of the fortified wine. After sharing the bottle with Donna, Thomas gradually fell asleep and in the morning the girl and his wallet were gone.

Thomas knew that he didn't have the courage to sustain a long-term rebellion, so he pulled himself up from the sand and tried to figure out what he was going to tell his father.

"Bruno's Pizza" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Every Friday night, the order came into Bruno's Pizza for a large pepperoni pizza to be delivered to the old Hazelwood mansion. The assignment always fell to new drivers like Robert because the ancient house was notoriously hard to find- even with the aid of GPS.

All the other drivers laughed at Robert as he put the pizza in his car, and headed out of the parking lot. The GPS signal took him to the outskirts of town and then into the dense forest beyond. About ten miles out of town, Robert's cell phone died and he had to figure out which way to go. 

A faded sign pointed the way to the Hazelwood place, but the road soon became impassable with fallen trees. Determined to deliver the pizza, Robert got out of his car and walked down a lonely dark road. Somewhere in the distance, Robert could see a light and he hurried to it.

Robert finally arrived at the mansion around midnight and knocked on a huge oak door. A stunningly beautiful young woman answered. "I'm really sorry it took so long" Robert apologized. The woman smiled. "No need to apologize, you're right on time." Robert looked at his watch and sure enough it had only been twenty minutes since he had left Bruno's, but he was positive that hours had passed.

The young lady whose name was Julia gave him a fifty-dollar tip and her phone number. The other guys were never going to believe this.