IT’S JP • by Raymond Sloan
“But Da, I don’t wanna this week.” “Ye have to. It’s Sunday.” “I don’t feel well.” “Don’t be daft. Yer goin, John Paul. Ye need to be there.’’ “It’s J… P,” I snapped back. John Paul is for the Pope… Continue Reading
teenagers
THE LAST SATURDAY OF THE SUMMER • by AJ Skelly
“Come on, Teagan Jane. Let’s go.” Jarrett pulled me to my feet. “Where are we going?” It was the last Saturday night of the summer. Senior year started next week. “Let’s just go. I can’t be still anymore.” I let… Continue Reading
SEPTEMBER • by Ilse Eskelsen
“Guinevere!” my mother said. My waking eyes saw everything as slow, disparate images on a just-light background; she was a flash of red athletic wear and a sudden weight on the end of my bed, a frenzied face and a… Continue Reading
ANOTHER PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAE • by Adele Evershed
As Sian enters the café, she hears ABBA’s “Take A Chance On Me” playing softly. She pats her plastic purse, a superstitious tic to reassure herself she deserves to be there. It’s only since moving to the Valleys with her… Continue Reading
ESCAPE • by Wayne Scheer
The hum of the television, the chatter on cellphones, the unrelenting bass beat of the music made Alex uneasy. His eyesight was going, his hips ached, but his hearing remained fine. One of the little jokes God plays on old… Continue Reading
MOVING UP • by Justin Follin Smith
Before I became a giraffe I was a twelve-year-old girl. I had long brown hair, brown eyes, and a burgeoning mustache I shaved weekly with a disposable razor I stole from my dad. I was the type of girl my… Continue Reading
AN OCEAN OF MEMORY • by Marie G Coleman
— trigger warning for statutory rape, ephebophilia, sexual predator — Facts may appear solid. Jane knew they mattered, especially since she made her living as a lawyer. History happened, just as stone transmuted into sand, and memories drifted like the… Continue Reading
I’LL BE DEAD IN 307 YEARS • by Kathleen McGuire
My sister Bailey’s breathing is steady at night. I wait for it to change from shallow to the deep breaths of full R.E.M. She sleeps on her side. Her shoulder forms the smoky mountains sloping gently under the sheet. The… Continue Reading
SCHEVENINGEN BEACH • by Maureen Buchanan Jones
She always thought of brown sugar when her feet sank just an inch or so into warm, slightly damp sand. This sand, this beach was no different. He had asked her to go for a walk and her parents had… Continue Reading
PERSEPHONE • by Matthew Schneider
The plot against old Jacobson was our first deliberate undertaking since school had been let out. We were wild, but not nearly as bad or tough as we considered ourselves. We relished anything fun, dangerous, and slightly illegal. Sean’s grudge… Continue Reading