It’d be easy to kill him. You just wipe him away, and there he goes. Erase him, and call him something else. Give him a new voice. I’ve thought about doing that. Who am I, anyway? Writing, writing, writing, as though I’m good at it. Like I have a place in the world. I’ll tell […]
The Neglected Lemon Squares of Bella Sand Public School: A Burst
“Susurrus. A soft murmuring sound.” “He’s not going to get that one,” whispers Alan. “Just watch. He’s going to go with one too many s’s.” “Susurrus,” repeats Ms. Shannon. Francois Pat steps to the microphone and adjusts his cardigan. “Susurrus.” And he begins to spell. “Damn,” says Alan during the break, over coffee in the […]
Burst – The Delicate, Throwaway Confection Hidden in Mr. Tillit’s Grand Plan
The Delicate, Throwaway Confection Hidden in Mr. Tillit’s Grand Plan “Trevor, I just caught a blip on the screen by the ring trail. Do you want to see it?” “No. Shouldn’t you be asleep?” “Everyone on the night watch is sick. I’m up for this shift. Come look at this.” Trevor closed the screen […]
Burst – Soldier Child
Soldier Child “And introducing Melvin Sandobal, former child soldier and now stand-up comedian!” Melvin walks to the microphone and puts his beer on the floor, label out. “Hey Americans! How are you? I am Melvin Sandobal, I was a child soldier in Lubulibya. No no, I’m not kidding, I really was… Let me tell you, […]
Adam’s Dreams of Due-Dates: The End
Part IX: I Am an Orange Orange the ghost rose until he was with the clouds. A voice rang at him from a deck chair made of vapour. “Been waiting for you.” “Who are you?” “Grapefruit. Your father.” “But I’m an orange! Not a grapefruit!” “That’s not true. You are a grapefruit, always were. A […]
Adam’s Dreams of Due-Dates Part VIII
Part VIII: Fahrenheit Adam stood before a class of three hundred, his first teaching assignment for a class this big. “I first discovered the science of atmospheric anomaly via anthropogenic means in a laboratory,” he explained. “I have been studying it twelve years now, and am as convinced as anyone could be that it […]
Adam’s Dreams of Due-Dates Part VI
Part VI: Scars are Words Too “It’s after hours, what do you want?” “I was invited! Open the door please.” “Invited by who?” “Arlene, room 312, she shares with Maddy.” “And what do you want with Arlene?” “I don’t know, she invited me!” The door buzzed. Adam went up marble steps to a […]
Adam’s Dreams of Due-Dates Part IV & V
Part IV: Fancy Footwork Andrew poured some solvent from a 4-L jug into a graduated cylinder, then spilled it into the fumehood so that he could watch it evaporate. The initial spill was about 4 inches in diameter, but within five seconds it was half that size, and within ten seconds, it was a […]
Adam’s Dreams of Due-Dates (Part III)
Part III: Senses Working Part-Time Two weeks later, Terry the janitor found the orange behind the benches in the gym. He picked it up and thought about eating it, but it had a certain smell… He tossed it into a garbage can instead. “What is this place?” muttered Orange. “It’s rough in here.” “That’s […]
Adam’s Dreams of Due-Dates PII
Part II: Adam’s Apple Trick Jeremiah Ritten got the call at the body shop and immediately jumped on his bike. He kept his mouth open the whole way, but nary a bug sailed into him; four times out of seven, he could make it home free from bugs, and it seemed to him that […]