Tension builds as the line grows, its tail of bodies winding around the wooden bar. Kaleb eyes the people entering, frenzied in their need to start the day with caffeine. Dreary-eyed, he’s tempted to take a long swig of the… Continue Reading
The advice sounded simple. “Try changing the tone of your inner voice. Make that voice appealing, make it sexy.” After a lifetime of walking past the book in the grocery store checkout I had finally caved and bought it —… Continue Reading
How do you spell weentsie? What are you talking about? I’m making a baby shower invitation and want to write teentsie weentsie. How do you spell it? If you already know how to spell teencie, then why are you asking… Continue Reading
The President of the United States extended his hand to the Canadian ambassador. “Ambassador Mackenzie, so nice to see you.” Mackenzie, a burly bearded man, resembled a lumberjack. His fiery red hair almost matched his maple leaf lapel pin. He… Continue Reading
My fellow employees kept telling me, “Oh, she’s a real dragon.” I thought that meant bad, like a temper, or nasty. I pictured some hag with pointy spectacles and avoided going up to Accounts Payable so as not to get… Continue Reading
Roger ate some bad oysters. The actual eating happened at about five o’clock. His stomach turned on him sometime around seven. The sun was just beginning to set, and Roger was working at his desk when the oysters first attacked.… Continue Reading
Fear is our most base instinct. Fear can be a good thing. In our days in the animal kingdom, fear kept early humans alive. Today fear can be a hell of a motivator; it can also be a hell of… Continue Reading
The temporary face tattoo had seemed like a good idea until Emily realized she’d used permanent ink. Sure, the intricate dark green design she’d drawn across the left side of her face had been perfect for the sci fi convention.… Continue Reading
Ray looked up from his paper. A single bass note, smooth and rich, tingling with vibrato, faded into the corners of the otherwise silent living room. He turned back to the sports page and… there it was again, a single,… Continue Reading
I’m running down the stairwell of my apartment building, holding a lifeless tabby cat in my hands. I didn’t kill it, I swear. At least not intentionally. I like cats just fine, definitely enough to never want to see one… Continue Reading