I seethed with repressed anger, waiting with my parents at the gate for Lufthansa flight FL401 to board. Scowling, thinking, I hate you, Mom, for agreeing to this. I hate you, Dad, for telling Mom, “It will be a good experience for her.” I hate you, Uncle Jack and Aunt Betty, for offering to host me for the summer. Thanks for f@#king my summer! I hate you all. Uncle Jack was Dad’s brother. A career U.S. Air Force officer,...

The first bus into town filled up after three stops. The one nearest our house was the second, and it usually meant that the queue was large and messily scattered across the footpath. People chatted in groups, dotted incrementally in random patterns. They stood together in twos, not all of them couples, not all of them of mixed sex. Some, like me, preferred their own company and suffered the sympathetic nods of recognitio...

At eighteen years young, I’ve learned something difficult to accept: if you love someone, at some point, you will feel pain. And I don’t mean a temporary pain like stubbing your toe; I’m talking about a pain that breaks you. “For Heaven’s sake, child, if you’re going to break, break with your beauty intact. You’re a mess, and we have somewhere to be.” That voice belonged to Mother. Mere hours ago, she poked her nose in my...

You picked me up when I fell off my bike. You held me for no reason except for love. You put bandages on my wounds. Where is my Grandpappy? You were my father even though I no longer had one. You helped me with my studies. You bounced me on your knee when I was so young. You played games with me even though I know you did not want to. Where is my Grandpappy? You smiled when I frowned, making me feel better. You said I was...

Jensen I sat in my black Chevy Impala even though it was the newest model since my grandfather kept his old one in storage. Tapping the steering wheel and glancing at the clock on the dash reminded me of how late I was. My twin brother, uncle, cousin, and I followed each other from Fort Benning, but I made a detour to buy Jace’s birthday present and to have my friend’s mom wrap it for me. The wrapped autographed novel sat...

Mitzy was poking her peas around the plate one night at dinner. Her parents exchanged a look, silently asking the other which one of them would ask their daughter what was going on first, like an invisible game of rock paper scissors, before one of her fathers cleared his throat. “You got a grievance with the peas? You are moving them around your plate with an air of disinterest and I thought they were your most favorite...

LAST Friday night, I put my PRIDE aside, And embarked on a 7-day GLUTEN-free diet, For improvement of lifestyle, I hoped and sheepishly AGREED, I went to the mirror and shaved my beard to change my SLOTHFUL look, Now full of confidence and optimism, I ENVISAGED my new outlook on life, But Se7en hours later, I succumbed to pressure, and in my rage and WRATH, I locked the door and ended the night with a beer watching Johnny...

It was just another New Year’s Eve for Melody. Her thirteenth one to be exact and completely unremarkable. Her mother stuffed her into a dress two sizes too small, accompanied by the furrowed brows of disapproval and invasive pokes and prods over her tummy. “Have you been stealing chocolate from the candy jar again?” The accusation stung quick and sharp. Trying not to furrow her brows in anger in response, Melody sucked i...

Back when I was in high school, there was a boy who was two years younger than me. He liked to tell on everyone. I never understood his motivation. Maybe he thought telling on people was funny, or made him powerful, or maybe he just thought being a male version of Candace (a character from Phineas and Ferb animation) was exciting! He never gained anything because no one took him seriously. That is, if we assume gaining so...

In the beginning was Chaos. And Chaos detested organisation and structure. He was roguish and full of mischief. Whenever order and logic looked likely to prevail, he would chuckle, wave his divine hand and delight in thwarting such impudence. Exasperated, the other gods sighed. How would the mortals below ever be able to prove themselves with such troublesome interference? It was always the same; the wheel turned, and man...

Newly polished toenails safely propped on the crowded coffee table, Darlene Barnes let out a long plume of cigarette smoke and waited for her friend to come back from the kitchen. Waiting in silence, however, had never been her 'thing'. The thirty-something bottled-blonde looked around at the empty doorway to the kitchen. "You know it's hard for me to believe you're this messed-up. You've always been so self-confident. No...

"What? You don't like chocolate anymore?" he asked them. "No, Saba," Tommy was pulling away. "I still like chocolate. It's just that I don't want to go here." The older man looked inside at the tables and chairs, the shelves of light and dark chocolates, the cloudy displays of ice creams and sherbets, and the nice looking young girl holding the menus standing in the open doorway smiling at them. It looked like nothing had...

“You’re planning on doing WHAT?” Isabella exclaimed, her voice emerging higher and louder than she expected, but her startled outburst had little or no effect on her group of friends. The men of the party, Luke and Marius, who were normally so protective of their female companions, just grinned at Aelia and Zenobia, who looked pleased with themselves and quietly excited. “But one of you might get hurt!” Isabella continued...

      “Hey Andrew,” Jeremy began. “You know, when you said you had exams to study for, I thought you meant you were going to study for them after our little outing.” Andrew rolled his eyes. Sarvanez knew that they were friends, or at least, they knew each other already. It was she and Esperanza who were new to the group. “One of the people here,” said Andrew, as he opened the door to the apartment building, “could give us...

Sarvanez shifted in her chair. The corset pinched into her waist and it was every bit as uncomfortable as it looked. How do the women here wear these every single day? She thought to herself, feeling irritated. Still, in being a good visitor, she had agreed to wear one, along with a dress of hundreds-or what felt like hundreds- of layers of petticoats underneath beautiful yellow taffeta. She was still surprised she had be...