Seven Minutes in Candyland

If I were to to personify (Sweetify?) Brian Wasson's Seven Minutes in Candyland as an actual confection I'd choose those fancy Ferraro Roche foil wrapped goodies that swaddle a hazelnut in rich chocolate goodness. It works well on two levels. There's an elaborate rom com with highly relatable characters and more plot twists than a Shakespeare play. Nestled within it is a sobering high school reality largely forgotten by adults who look back on their teen years through a patina of nostalgia.
Kalvin has a painful secret. His parents, both licensed therapists, are the stars of a hugely successful marital advice podcast built around the slogan: Even in the roughest of seas, you can still right the 'ship! He knows that in reality their own over two decade long relationship is seriously floundering. He's desperate to fix things before they take actions they can't come back from. He's come up with a plan—one that's gonna cost a whole lot of money…
…which is where the candy comes in. With a stash hidden in a supply closet he's set himself up as competition to the student government candy gram monopoly. He's basically putting them out of business and making a very dangerous enemy. But he's still far away from his money goal with the deadline drawing closer.
Then the hugely popular Sterling, his long term crush, asks him for relationship advice. She likes what she hears and starts referring friends with problems to him. Pretty soon his schedule is packed with highly lucrative appointments and a decided conflict of interest. Sterling is one of his steady clients. Her problems center around her very negligent boyfriend who Kalvin secretly years to replace.
My advice: treat yourself to a stash of your favorite candy before diving into this sweet and salty narrative.
On a purrrsonal note, the rain has finally let up for a few days. Tonight is the campus drag show, my first time performing for a huge audience since the stroke. Excitement and terror are battling for the upper hand. Monday I'll be first in my online class to deliver a presentation worth a big part of the final grade. Again with the excitement/terror thing. Could this be why I'm suddenly having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep?
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow performers, the talented crew, and our enthusiastic audience. Hopefully we'll all experience the magic that is drag!
Jules Hathaway aka Gotta Believe We're Magic