Biggest Fake in the Universe

Mo is a nerd in middle school. When hanging out with friends, he spies a girl he likes. She is a great skateboarder. He comes up with a plan to learn how to skate in order to get close to the girl. One day, when everybody is skating down some parking garage, he lands a gnarly grind. It is caught on video. All of a sudden, he becomes a celebrity.

Unfortunately, some TV show arranges to do a story on him. They have a huge skate ramp constructed. And Mo is not ready to drop in from it. He is not able to cancel the episode. He climbs up the ramp. But he is able to drop in. He is afraid he is going to die. He has to climb back down and explain to skate girl that he is a fraud.

He talks the TV show into filming his excellent baking skills. He makes a pizza. While it is cooking, he allows his sister to show off her new juggling skills. The skate girl ends up going on the huge ramp, dropping in, and catching some air. She might be Mo's new girlfriend.

Under the Blood-Red Sun

 

Tomi lives in Pearl Harbor with his family. He was born here. But his parents and grandfather are from Japan. Pearl Harbor is bombed. Grandpa waves a Japanese flag until they restrain him. Tomi's dad is shot in the leg and jailed. Dad's ship is sunk Tomi swim around the barbed wire surrounding the prison to see his dad.

Dad's young deck hand was killed. The military comes and makes Tomi and his grandfather kill their pigeons. They are suspected in use sending message to the enemy. Tomi's mom is temporarily laid off. Grandpa must sell eggs to make money. But they eventually come and lock up grandpa too.

Tomi is in charge of the family Katana, which is hid deep in the woods. The landlord's son Keet discovers the sword and threatens to tell his father. Kerosene is rationed. Tomi's family shares. School eventually reopens. And Tomi's mom goes back to work for a sympathetic wife of the landlord.

A Night at the Tropicana

Natalie is a doctor. The hospital needs some funding. She puts together a Night at the Tropicana. It is a fundraiser event. They have some fun gambling. There is an auction at the end she hopes bring in money from the patrons. She thinks back when she turned 18 and visited Havana, Cuba with her family.

Natalie's grandparents migrated to the USA. Her parents did not grow up in Cuba. They family took a trip there when Natalie graduated from high school. There went to Havana when the Tropicana, originally named something else, opened.

At the hotel, there was some big festival or such. She met a man that was in her field. They danced the night away. He gave her his address so she could write when she returned home to Florida. Natalie's mom found the paper with the address and threw it away so Natalie could be focused on her studies to become a doctor.

Back in the present, where Natalie is divorced with an adult child, she is at the fundraiser she arranged. Her friend brings her brother to meet Natalie. Lo and behold, it is the guy she met in Cuba so long ago. He never married. He could never find anyone like Natalie. Just like back then, they decide to dance together.

I Choose Darkness

Jenny tells us about how she is meh about all holidays except for Halloween. Seems strange. She find the basis in the holiday from her youth. She lived out in the sticks. Houses were very far apart. She and her sister did not do the traditional walking around the neighborhood in costume.

Instead, Jenny and her sister would walk around their house. It would take a while as Jenny's sister was much younger and would be walking slow, or tripping on her costume. Each time around, they would knock on their own door, and their mom would give them caramels.

There were other memories at school where they had some type of halloween bazaar. This even brought back memories of my own school's similar event.

Please Like Me

This is another tiny e-book by Mindy Kaling. She recounts her 4th grade birthday party. She was worried her classmates would find her house weird, with all the Indian stuff in there. Then her mom went and bought burgers with Swiss cheese. She tried to inform her mom that burgers must have orange cheese to no avail.

Mindy moved to LA. She found she did not have any friends. Once she went to a party and found some women in the back smoking a joint and having fun. She tried to befriend these people. They were aspiring actresses. They did not eat burgers. And they only had safe talk. Eventually, she ghosted them.

Mindy tells of her best friend BJ, who hosted her 40th birthday party. Mindy, in turn, was asked to bring cakes to BJ's birthday party. And she was asked by BJ to give a speech at the party. While she is giving the speech, Wade Boggs steals the mic and never gives it back.

Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake

This was a tiny e-book by Mindy Kaling. This was back when she was very pregnant with child. The weather was terribly hot. Her friend BJ was taking her out to get food. They parked and were approached by a homeless guy. The homeless dude said he recognized her from the office.

Mindy and friend were disappointed to find their restaurant closed down. They went back to his car, only to find the homeless guy inside. He had taken a laptop out of the friend's bag and was doing something. Mindy goes to the driver's side and pins the door shut. Her friend jumps in the passenger side and screams at the dude.

Mindy's friend checks that nothing is missing from the car. Then they let the thief go. Apparently Mindy's friend has a keyless FOB that allows anybody to open the car door when the FOB is near. Mindy and friend contemplated calling the police. But they thought it would do no good.

Bad Date

Fay is a former movie star. Her career has gone down hill. She hosts a podcast with her assistant and friend Poppy. Fay moved to Hollywood when she fell in love with a man. That produced a son, Wolf, who is now a teenager. Fay and her husband divorced. Fay moved back to London.

Fay has been secretly dating different men. However, they all seem to die mysterious deaths. All evidence points to her son Wolf, who is overprotective and wants Fay to get back with his dad. Fay goes out on a date with Ollie. We find out that he is a stalker. Fay and Poppy know about this.

Fay steals Ollie's house key on the first day. Poppy goes and plants incriminating evidence in his house. Fay finally invites Ollie over to her house. He is early. He is let in by Wolf, who tries to kill him. Fay comes home and tells Wolf to accompany her in the panic room.

Fay calls the police. She and Poppy have set Ollie up. Fay instructs Wolf to tell the cops he has never seen Ollie before. Ollie is going to say he is Fay's boyfriend. But Fay has been careful. There is no proof. And Ollie certainly looks nothing like the caliber of men Fay can attract.