title: Keeping Warm: Essays and Stories
author: First Last
description: Following the Reflections of a StorytellerEssays and Stories by Max Schott
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  #  Chapter 1
  
  
  As I got off the bus and walked the last few blocks to my apartment, I
  breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally Friday, and the weight of the week
  seemed to be carried off by the Bay Area’s temperate autumn breeze. Look, I
  liked my job. I’m good at it. I’ve always enjoyed problem-solving and had a
  knack for locating the weaknesses in a given system, and as a network security
  specialist for Flamel Solutions, I got to put my talents to good use. Still, a
  guy can only take so many inane office parties, and after nearly twenty
  minutes of feigning polite interest, I was looking forward to a weekend away
  from it all.
  
  
  The trees along the sidewalk shivered in a gust of wind and shed their fiery-
  toned leaves over me as I passed. I smiled as I brushed a few out of my hair.
  It never got very cold here, but I was glad that the heat of summer had
  passed. If the weather held up, I thought I might head over to one o