Categotry Archives: Fiction
Suzie’s House 325 : Supposed to be Writing
Ben had just got his three words for the day when Lisa shoved her notebook aside and sighed. He tried not to get irritated with her, but it was like this all morning. It was like she didn’t really want to be writing. “Didn’t you just say you were going to outline?” Ben said. He could have said a lot worse. “All my ideas went away.” All right, so maybe Been could sympathize with that. His ideas turned into nothing […]
Suzie’s House 324 : Inspiration
“I thought Summer Vacation was supposed to be an easygoing time of the year.” Lisa shoved her laptop away, skidding it across Ben’s dining room table. “I’m working harder now than I did when we had school.” “Summer’s never been easygoing for me.” Ben kept on typing. At this rate he’d win the word war hands down, but Lisa told herself she didn’t care. Then he stopped typing. “Last summer Drew abandoned us.”
Left Behind
The others say that we must fight or lose our way of life. He’s not so sure. He hesitates. Stops to think. Gets lost in the tangles of justice and practicality between loneliness and meaning. When his head clears, the others have already gone. But not far enough to keep him safe. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the G-man, a host with […]
Suzie’s House 323 : Brother Blunder
It was such a simple mistake. Emma forgot she wasn’t allowed to sing. Not anywhere that her brother might hear, at any rate. She came home from the practice room rental audition feeling like someone special. She imagined herself a diva. Fans would scream and beg for autographs as soon as they saw her. Body guards would surround her and an agent would do everything he could to make her happy just so she would keep on singing.
On His Own
“I’m starving, Mom.” He looks it too. No longer an ounce of fat on him. He’s supposed to be supporting himself, but she lets him use the laundry, and invites him over for dinner. He eats piles of food, but still, he’s whip-cord thin. She prays he’ll find steady work, but all he wants is to visit. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by […]
Suzie’s House 322: Losing a Wad
Elton wasn’t quite sure what to make of the girl. When the kids first turned up in his office he had assumed she was a hangers-on. When everyone else picked up their instruments and she just stood there, he was sure of it. But they said she was the singer. And then Bruce handed her a mask.
Modern Mongolia
It’s in the air. Not a crackling, but the tinny song of Sim’s over the cell phones of shepherds. No lights, but a satellite dish. Do they even know what an Xbox is? In twenty years will they be like China? Will they have six lanes of highway and an airport you can drive under? Will they be recognizable? “My country is devolving quickly,” says the guide, and I can’t decide if he means it that way or not. The […]
Suzie’s House 321 : Like Axel Rose, or Something
If she’d known it was going to happen, Emma would have worn a mask. So obvious; she didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before. Of course the teacher would recognize her if she showed up and the mystery singer for Malaprop didn’t.
Big Feet
Tourist: What are they for? I mean, there’s the statue for learning, and that bunch for long life. What’s the spiritual meaning for building only feet? Tour guide: It’s a beginning. Tourist: Oh. I see. Tour guide: No, I mean it’s just the first part made. When the rest of the parts are done, they’re going to put it together in the mountains. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. […]
Suzie’s House 320: The Cost of Quiet
When did he become so irrational? Rey nearly talked himself out of his promise to the members of the band called Malaprop. He had enough of sullen teenagers in a normal work day. He didn’t even like taking students during the summer. So why must he associate with them now?
Metamorphosis
. She: Why must we spend so much time as caterpillars and so little as butterflies? Is the slow decimation of leaves and the ungainly wriggling – barely a step above slug – really worthy of the eight minutes in flight? He: Um… Well, if it means you’re coming back to my place now, then yeah. It’s worth it. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is […]
Suzie’s House 319 : Middle School Graduation
“This is all a… a pretense,” Ben leaned over to Lisa and whispered. They weren’t supposed to be sitting next to each other because there were half a dozen people with last names between Hammaker and Johansen, but no one seemed to care. It wasn’t like assigned seating or anything. Maybe that was why Lisa kind of felt like Ben was right. “Shhh,” she said anyway. “At least pretend you’re listening.”
When the House is Older than Grandma
Sometimes it sounds as if the house is breathing. A soft, quiet sound. Might be from the leaky faucet or the old furnace. Might be the scrapings in a distant gravel pit warped by old walls. Might be wild-running imagination. Nothing but to shrug and say, “Old houses make strange sounds” and let it go. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the G-man, […]
Suzie’s House 318 : Shut Up, Stephanie
No doubt she wouldn’t have said it if she’d know Bruce was standing right behind her. Then again, she knew his locker was next to hers. How could she not notice him? It wasn’t like Bruce tried to hide. He hated being ignored. “I can’t believe the got first place? I mean, all they did was play a song. Could you even tell if they have any talent? It’s not like my baton twirling.” “Shut up, Stephanie,” the girl’s friend […]
The Golden Intersection
“Isn’t this a great neighborhood? Everything is easier here. Even this intersection. You’d think it would be a lot harder to turn left on to such a busy street. I tell you, this intersection is golden.” (ten minutes later) “Well. Sometimes it’s golden. Sometimes it just looks like it.” The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the G-man, a host with the most.
