Only 17 minutes until the alarm clock would ring and Alex was worried about AA batteries addiction. It was one of the many annoyances Amanda had learned to live with. That and the fact that it was a little too late to go back in time and exchange this bad boyfriend for another. At least from her dad’s perspective.

It was just a day in the life of the bleakity bleak. The autobiography of a basket case. Amanda sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, watching Alex as he fumbled with a round tuit; trying his best to shove a bolt through a non- existent hole.

She wrinkled her nose. Soon there would be blood. Oh yes. He would bleed. He should be in anger management. She could see the headlines, “Alex Blows a Gasket: stubborn bolt wouldn’t bore a hole.”

Probably a good thing he reminded her of Axl Rose, at least, he played the bad guy part well. Then again, maybe it was the boogeyman. She could never keep the two separate.

The alarm clock rang and Amanda stood up. “The aliens are here for the book club.”