• Kaelyn Aispuro – In Favor of Retribution

    I was content for a while, but Simon kept talking to me at Matilde’s, the restaurant we work at, and I second-guessed. It’s Margot and Blaise, for crying out loud, not Margot and Simon, I chide myself on the daily. I cut potatoes last night and was immediately reminded of Simon animatedly describing his favorite…

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  • Cassandra Fullenkamp – Weight That Stays

    The fork slipped against the plate with a sharp, clean sound. Mara paused, then forced her hand to steady. No one looked up. Conversations kept going about weekend plans, different professors, etc. It always felt so loud in the dining hall. “You okay?” someone asked across from her. She nodded before she could think about…

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  • B.E. Summit – The End of Time

    For as long as Sh’khk and Zkuul could remember, they had lived in fear of the Serpent God. Now, the Serpent God was dying. Ebony Kalytrox, the black-scaled god of rock and time lay in a bleeding heap atop the mound, heaving, life slowly leaving his eyes. His hisses of pain echoed throughout the blackened…

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  • Levi van Dartel – Spandex

    Levi van Dartel – Spandex

    Or, How I Learned to Love Dancing Right as Larry rudely interrupted, Todo was in his spandex, moving his hands away from his face in explosive motions while The Smiths were strumming their guitars and singing about a man with a big nose who knows. Larry was his housemate. A relatively harmless guy but one…

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  • Ed Johnston – Knight’s Code

    Julius stood beneath the flowering tree, staring at the two graves in front of him. His mother loved spring. His father hated it because the pollen made him sneeze every five seconds. Somehow, he still sat out here with her every year anyway. Now, both of them were buried beneath the same tree. Julius adjusted…

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  • Elliot Diaz – Aerolite

    Elliot Diaz – Aerolite

    I woke up out of a dream into what seemed like another. Cool air cycled through the vents of my stone-cut home. I sat up in my hand-woven cot that lay on the mountain floor and lit a well-worn candle made from beetle wax. I uttered my morning prayer to the two blue suns who…

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  • Ryon Grant – How to Eat Crow

    There’s no right way to eat crowNo matter how it is preparedIt tastes quite the sameHardly edible, but readily eatenA mainstay for someSticking their foot in at timesThere’s certainly no right wayOr wrong way to eat crowJust don’t eat it oftenIt’s less appetizing that way. “They’re hitting us from the left!” Dale screamed as dozens…

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  • Emilee Alvord – Haunted

    I finally understood what it meant to be dead. Time unraveled quicker than my understanding. Winters came and melted into mud, then returned again, and I felt each one only by the way the cabin changed. Fresh pine stacked by the porch. Wet boots by the door. Garland in December. Dust in summer. I could…

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  • Paula Mallonee – Season of the Swallows

    Norah laid out her Celtic dance outfit on the bed. She was so excited that the day of the Celtic Highland festival had finally arrived. She’d been practicing for this day for years and was now confident that she was ready to perform.  Her costume had been specially made by a Scottish lady who lived…

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  • Isabel Ross – The Bus Stop

    Stella was convinced. She was convinced she would be dying alone, likely surrounded by cats and collectible tea cups. She was convinced of many things, her mind always willing to quickly believe whatever whims might enter it – perhaps she had meningitis or her friends were upset with her or she would fail out of her…

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