Yarns for Science

Yarns for Science “Be creative,” Mom said. “But not too creative,” Dad said. “80 skeins of yarn, please,” Travis said. “That’ll be $220,” the shopkeeper said. “Plus tax.” “I hope coins are okay,” Shane said. *         *         * “We received a complaint,” the cop said. “About this.” He pointed to the yarn contraption. “It’s a…

Maid My Skin Crawl

Maid My Skin Crawl “You killed her!” Janice said. We stood regarding the prone figure on the floor. “I’m sorry!” I protested. “I came out of the bathroom and saw a doll with glowing eyes.” Matt picked up the doll. “Well, they’re not glowing anymore. What did you do?” “Exorcism . . . I panicked.”…

Brand Association

Brand Association   It’s Friday night and I’ve got a couple of irons in the fire. Three, in fact. There’s Double H. He’s with the Hanson and Hudson Ranch, just over the hill. He’s seen his share of bulls and heifers. He’s from the wild west if you believe him, but his memory might be…

Sugar Sand

Sugar Sand “It hurts.” “I’m sure, sweetie. You’re doing so good.” The ambulance corners hard. “Ow!” “Almost there. Where were you going? When the car hit you?” “Store. Getting candy.” “Candy, nice. Deep breath for me now.” “Hurts.” “I know, honey. Hey, you ever hear of sugar sand?” “No.” “There are beaches in Hawaii full…

Tell Me a Story

Tell Me a Story “Hmm. Okay, let’s see. The window. It just looks like a window, but every Halloween at midnight, it becomes a portal to the terrible world of Ba-Kyard. In the castle of Shed lives evil King Mower. Every week, King Mower comes out and runs around the kingdom, roaring and cutting off…

Kharkiv Classroom

This is story is based on the Muse on Monday prompt from September 4: Write a story about the first day of school. Make it unique. Kharkiv Classroom This is not how I imagined my first day of school. Most of the things we learned in the Education University don’t seem to apply here underground….

The 4:00pm Rebels

The 4:00pm Rebels Classes at the Yusupov Memorial Assassin School were done for the day, even Professor Princip’s after-school pistol tutoring. Leon crept towards the back hedge with all the paranoia of youth’s first rebellion. He clutched the contraband tightly. The others were already in the hidden grove. “You got it?” Charles asked. Leon held…

To Be Struck by Lightning

To Be Struck by Lightning Mikki had never been struck by lightning, which was a shame. She’d heard it gave you such a nice energy boost. She craved that now. She was 48,564 meters from home and her reserves stood at 6%. She chewed two 9-volt batteries with her tungsten teeth, sucking out every possible…

First Day in the Trenches

First Day in the Trenches The first day of school was over. A group of shell-shocked first-years sat huddled together in the back of the restaurant. “I knew high school was hard, but . . .” “The twelfth-graders were huge! I honestly feared for my life during first period.” “One of them called me Fartin,”…

Everything’s a Critic

Everything’s a Critic I pick up the guitar. Eight apprehensive eyes appear, watching like I’m a toddler with a chainsaw. I’ll try Bad Moon Rising. D, first. No, that’s wrong. The eyes widen. I start again. A moan of protest begins. “I see the bad moon a-rising,” I sing, trying desperately to match my voice…