What Inspired The Making Of 'Our Friends' Film?

I worked for a restaurant, and our boss loved making empty promises about giving us restaurant shares. The boss said we would start with zero shares, but we could earn 0.01% for every two hours of overtime, covering someone else’s work or saving the restaurant 1,000 bucks. I suggested she write this down in an official document and have someone track it properly. She just smiled and told everyone to work harder. She never actually put it in writing. The experienced staff did not believe her, but one prep cook took it seriously. At the end of the year, he went to the boss to claim his shares. The boss said, “Sorry, the head chef told me there’s no official document, so it doesn’t count. You can’t claim any shares.” The prep cook worked hard all year and got nothing for it, so he took his anger out on me. The day before I was going home for the New Year, he killed me with a knife. “If you hadn’t said it doesn’t count without an official document, this whole restaurant would’ve been mine!” I lay in a pool of blood. When I opened my eyes, I was back to the day the boss first made those empty promises.

Jake, the guy I used to work with. The guy that I had unspoken tension and chemistry with from the first day we met. I say unspoken because nothing was ever said or done about it at the time. Why? because we were both in relationships. The last time I saw him was over a year ago, and a lot has changed since then, well some things. I was single, he was still taken, and that should be enough to keep me at bay, right? Wrong! One night we meet at the club and everything changes. I become the kind of woman I never thought I was, the kind to go after another woman's man. And he becomes something he never thought he was either, a cheater. It was only supposed to be a one-time thing, but it was like the moment we had a taste, we keep coming back for more. Temptation is a hard thing to fight, and I guess in this case, it is a fight that we both lost.

The classified project I was working on wrapped up ahead of schedule, so I made sure to get back on my daughter's birthday. When I walked in, a girl I had never seen before was wearing my daughter's princess dress, a crown perched on her head. She sat in front of a cake as tall as she was, eyes closed, making a wish. I frowned and stepped closer. "Who are you? Why are you wearing my daughter's dress? Where's Heidi?" Before she could answer, two housemaids rushed out and started yelling at me. "Where the hell did you come from? How dare you talk to our boss's daughter like that? If you know what's good for you, get out! When the boss gets back, you won't like what happens." I stood there, confused. Boss? The boss's daughter? In this house, wasn't it just me and my daughter, Heidi Foster? I barely had time to speak before they shoved me toward the front door. In the middle of the pushing, something caught my eye. Off to the side, chained to a pillar, was Heidi. The girl I used to hold like she was the most precious thing in the world was now sprawled on the ground, digging through a dog bowl for food. A thick iron chain was locked around her neck, and her body was covered in bruises. My vision tightened. "Heidi, what happened to you?" The moment our eyes met, her hollow gaze filled with tears. She shrank back, then let out a soft bark at me, like a frightened dog. The maids looked at her with open disgust. One of them sneered, "Our boss said that that little thing was born to live like a dog. You have to keep her chained up if you want her to behave."

The tree I fell from was rotten. It's leaves were rotten, it's bark was rotten, and it's roots were rotten. Unfortunately, I am an apple that didn't fall far from that rotten tree. I was groomed in the shadow of that rotten tree and sprayed with poison to ensure I would be nothing but it's germinated seed. My earliest memories are dark and painful. My most vibrant memories are coated in crimson red and shame. The small pieces of my soul that I kept hidden and protected are the only parts of myself I can tolerate. The rest of who I am... The despicable trash that haunts my dreams... I hate. Death is the only answer to my life. Not love. I don't deserve love. A tainted apple is never put amongst the ripe juices apples. It is thrown away, discarded... As I should be.

Alice Meyers is undeniably powerful! Since she was young, she has been aware of her extraordinary ability known as ESP. When her emotions run high, she can make things happen with an intensity that often surprises her. This captivating story centers on time travel and the intricate dynamics of friendship and love between Alice and her childhood friend, Johnson Taylor. Unfortunately, Johnson seems to attract danger and tragedy at every turn, leading Alice to question whether she can save him in time. As their journey unfolds, readers will ponder whether they can achieve a happy ending together or if Johnson will become a sacrifice for the greater peace of humanity. Join Alice as she travels from the United States to the Philippines, moving through modern times and back to the harrowing days of World War II, and be swept away by a myriad of emotions along the way.

Parents like to say every child is a part of them. In our house, I was but a splinter under the skin. Mom and Dad were a blended couple. They could not bring themselves to truly punish my stepbrother and stepsister, so they had me and turned me into their cautionary example. When my brother came last in his class, Dad locked me in a dog crate under the blazing sun to teach him what happened to people who refused to study. When my sister started dating too young, Mom drugged me and dumped me in a homeless encampment to show her what could happen if she was not careful. Then one day, Dad found a takeout receipt in the trash. He forced poisoned food into my mouth and made me swallow. "Today, I am going to teach you all a real lesson. This is what happens when you eat whatever you want behind our backs." Even as I coughed blood and writhed on the floor, Dad threw me into the punishment room. My brother and sister rushed to confess and begged Mom to let me out. But Mom only said coldly, "You two will learn this lesson properly today. When you have learned it, I will let him out." I sat on the floor as blood soaked through my shirt. As my consciousness faded, I finally understood. Dad, your last cautionary lesson had to be taught with my life.