This story is purely fictional. I don't know Hanson, nor any of their associates. However, all of the original characters belong to me, and I ask that you not use anything from this story without my permission.

Catalyst was written for The Spark Inside's 2007 summer session. The challenge was for three writers to write about the same theme and we were each given the same things to include in our stories. My theme was "a series of serendipitous meetings." The things I had to include were lying on the grass, Pop Rocks, and the phrase "All I kept thinking is 'Why is the plumber taking a shower?'"

I originally intended for this story to be between three and five parts, but once I started writing, things changed significantly. The story just kept growing and growing. I decided to try a different angle with the theme, and I think in the end I wound up including some of the other themes mentioned at The Spark Inside. I tried really hard with the writing style of this story by using more descriptions and less dialogue. I hope everyone else enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.