Squirrel and Tanabe
Just as Tanabe turned a sharp curve, a squirrel ran out of the shrubbery, froze in the middle of the road, and stared straight at him.
Student Work: Fiction
Mr. Adventure
James calculated that the farthest he wanted to go was four hours by car. Eight hours of driving roundtrip. After his parents left for their fall conferences, he could hit the road.
The Birth of Venus
Venus was born of sea-foam. Ella, on the other hand, was born on Dr. Thomas Loeb’s operating table.
If I Was a White Oak and You Were a Deer
Lane looked up from his book in the direction of Molly. He squinted his eyes with confusion and a slight irritation at her laughter.
Muse
My face and my head pulse, and so does the radio. I’m losing track of time, but I can tell that we’re close to the beach when the police officer stops us—the ceaseless strip of road has gone satisfyingly gritty with sand.
Misery Swamp
Phone said 2:45pm. This means school is out, scream and shout. In case future daughter/granddaughter is reading this, a few things to note: all students wear tiny gray uniform skirt, boxers poke underneath.
The Return
“How am I supposed to connect to you, or anyone, if I don’t even know who I am!” I shouted as she slammed the door behind me. I left my girlfriend’s apartment in Spanish Harlem that rainy September night feeling strangely liberated.
The Curious Account of How I Became a Ghost
Sitting on an airplane, suspended somewhere over the gulf of Mexico, I stared numbly at the shapes and shadows flitting over the eight-inch screen in front of me —one I had thoroughly disinfected with a Wet One®. I wondered, was …
Perfect Earlobes
She puts on long, droopy earrings and stares back at me in the mirror. Try these, she says, and hands me a pair of danglies. You have perfect ears, she says. Look, she says. Perfect. Look at your earlobe.
Aposymbiosis
I had only ever thought about it as my shadow. I was in middle school when I first noticed it.
Parables of Law and War
The outpost had existed for centuries, stocked with soldiers for reasons lost to time.
Zlata’s Orb
There was once a young woman named Zlata hailing from a far away land. A land that was neither real nor unreal. This land of origin was a blissful safe haven, and was all that she knew—she knew nothing of …
Lonely Plus One
I hate drinking games. Why do you need words to consume alcohol? Why do you need alcohol to consume words?
House
I already miss home. As expected, moving was a mistake. This house is big and empty. I don’t like big houses; my mother knows that. They make me feel small.
Hearing Sadness
My therapist, a woman in her mid-forties with short hair and small spectacles, clears her throat and finds eye contact with uncomfortable politeness. I admit that I enjoy watching how therapists bend over backward to maintain composure, “Jess, I think you might be Bipolar.”