She leaned on me and cried, speech broken like her heart. I was her rock, but she needed softness, too.
Sympathy was all I could offer. Struggles for empathy rendered me near indifferent.
I embraced her, yet my heart felt nothing, still fearing heartbreak. Just a shoulder to cry on.
Jason realizes the faults in his stories after he submits them. His discouragement with his work upon further reflection caused him to pursue a career in computer science, with writing on the side.
The pool is small in diameter, but its water is solid black. Its emptiness echoes through me.
In my dreams I’m always a child, accidentally crashing my bike into the black water pond.
Now I stand at its edge as a fully grown man, and I’m ready to dive in.
Eric White is a student at Full Sail University, where he is pursuing a degree in creative writing. He loves all forms of storytelling, and one day plans to utilize his skills writing within the entertainment industry.
The door slammed. The baby screamed.
Karen could hear him crashing up the wooden stairs. The baby wailed from another room. “Please be quiet,” Karen whispered.
The door handle turned. She backed into the corner, her eyes never leaving the door. It swung open. She finally exhaled. It wasn’t him.
Jo Jenner is an accountant who has recently started writing short stories and is the process of editing her first novel. She lives on the south coast of England.
“Morning, class. Today, it will be your first course in evolutionary biology. You’ll learn about natural selection and the purpose behind it. As an example, we’ll focus on the importance behind choosing intelligence over stupidity to favor humanity’s survival. Any questions?”
“Professor?”
“Yes?”
“Why are there trapdoors under our desks?”
George S. Karagiannis was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, and is currently a PhD student at the University of Toronto in Canada. He enjoys writing science-fiction (in a non-professional capacity, so far) in the subgenres of hard science fiction, bizarro, and apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic settings.
There I stood at the perfect venue, wearing a perfect dress, waiting for a perfect ring. It should have been the perfect day.
But as I stood at the altar, I realized it was all wrong, because the perfect guy was sitting in the pews, a guest at today’s event.
Kelsey Binder is a high school student from southern Louisiana.
“The world’s your oyster!” they said.
I want to say they lied, pin the blame on anyone but myself, but I can’t.
I could’ve made something of my life. Instead I chose the unthinkable.
He’s been in prison for nine years because of what I did. Six more to go.
Gabrielle Soong is a 17-year-old high schooler and aspiring writer. Besides writing, her favorite things are music, reading, and soccer. She has big plans to travel the world and write novels.
The unopened letter stared me down. He’d promised to write, but this was the first letter in weeks.
I anticipated what it said: his time abroad changed him.
Finding courage, I began reading. Everything became clear with that last line:
“Distance can’t separate us. I return next week. Marry me.”
Jennifer Carnesi is an eleventh-grade student in southern Louisiana. Besides writing she enjoys drawing, dance and spending time with friends.
Marveling at this adventure, this unknown, she simply must write her travels down.
Vanished journal. Panic. She retraces back to the restaurant.
“Ma’am, this yours?”
Turning around, she gets lost in his eyes. “Yes… Yes, it is.”
Dancing under the string-light stars. It’s the most beautiful place in Paris, France.
Maddi Chiota is a junior at Northlake Christian School attending a Creative Writing class. She is an athlete, artist, and writer. She also adores cats.
“We leave in five minutes,” he said.
Grey hairs muzzled out of his nostrils like worn felt. He smelled like ammonia. A holstered Leatherman dangled from his belt.
He was my last chance.
I glanced past him, at the smoke rising from the snowy yard.
“I can’t go,” I said.
Sean Higgins lives in an old farmhouse in Ypsilanti, Michigan with his wife and three insane cats. He works as an editor for a Research Firm. His work has been published in Bartleby Snopes.
Andy knew how to train a tortoise to move fast. Really fast. It was an eclectic, yet very rarely used skill.
However, when Trevor, a forty-one-year-old tortoise, won the New Haven Marathon in world-record time, news spread quickly throughout the four-legged community. Suddenly, tortoises everywhere began sprinting at lightning speeds.