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Weekly Contest #370
The landscaping of 925 Maple Street was immaculate, as per the homeowner’s association’s specifications. The grass was cut to exactly two and a half inches with six inches of mulch separating the sprinkler line from the azaleas lining the entryway. A moderately sized maple graced the corner lot; the street’s namesake. There was nothing out of place except for the woman waiting in the parked car across the street. Jennifer Williams dropped her sheer curtains and assumed a casual pose in the sitting room of 925 Maple. As the President of the H...
Weekly Contest #369
I hear the Wurlitzer before I see it. The tinny treble carries across the parking lot. Seconds later, Ella’s tugging my hand. “Auntie Liz! Auntie Liz! Can we ride the carousel?” She opens her green eyes wide, trying to influence me in the way only children can. It’s a superpower Ella uses far too often, and it's kryptonite on the receiving end. I hope she never grows out of it. “Why don’t you go play on the swings? That play structure looks like a castle, see? Oh, and there’s a creek just over the bike path. We can throw rocks and splash aro...
Weekly Contest #366
Soleil closed her eyes against the glare of overhead LEDs and tried to relax. A man in white coveralls prodded at her face with the arcane instruments of progress. Trust him, she urged herself. CacheCov is an innovative company. They’re saving humanity. “This won’t hurt a bit,” he said. This was the first lie. Forty minutes later, the technician elevated the exam chair and presented her with a mirror. Soleil held her fingers to her face. Her cheeks were tender and her throat burned like she’d swallowed rocket fuel. “Subdermal implants,” the ...
Weekly Contest #365
Matilda barely noticed the desert rolling past the car window. She propped her sandaled feet on the glovebox, balancing a sheaf of papers on her lap. Air conditioning riffled the corners. “You’re taking me off a project days away from press and you're not going to give me any hints on my new assignment?” she asked her agent. Penny stomped the accelerator down the I-10 Eastbound. “I can’t give you any hints until you’ve signed the NDA.” “That’s a hint in itself,” Matilda sang, scrawling her signature at every document flag. “This project is b...
Weekly Contest #364
Tessa gaped at her hands, slathered in thick, red pulp. A clot plopped on the floor somewhere near her shoes. It was impossible to tell in the dim light of the bare bulb. “I did it,” she breathed in wonder. “I did it.” She choked, acid building on her tongue.***Earlier that morning, Tessa sharpened the knives in the kitchen of Krelix House—her favorite chore. Knives offered something real: real weight, real consequences. Only the sharpest could cut through the endless variants of imitation soy foods served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Vi...
Weekly Contest #362
“I’d really like some pie,” Kelly said to an empty room. It didn’t matter that it was 2:00a.m., or that there was nothing open. It didn’t even matter that she had never made pie before. Kelly was a self-starter, and she was going to do it herself. This was not some hormonal hallucination. It was not an avoidant coping mechanism, given the state of things. No, she simply wanted pie in the middle of the night. Who would blame a girl—or, more accurately, a grown woman? She started with the crust. The image was clear in her mind: flawless, chise...
Weekly Contest #361
Finlay stood with her toes curled over the edge of the dock. The water was murky; a bottomless pit ready to swallow her. “Jump, Finnie!” Dad called below. He treaded effortlessly. “She won’t do it,” Joshua observed at the top of his voice. Finlay balled her fists, ashamed as her brother announced her cowardice to the entire swimming area. “Josh already has his shoes on and his sand toys cleaned up. Jump now, or we won’t have time to get ice cream.” Her mom shook the sand from beach towels, collapsed lounge chairs and folded the umbrella. “Yo...
Weekly Contest #360
The walls of the workshop were lined with clocks: antiques, art pieces, vintage, modern, and run-of-the-mill. Tyler was a detail-oriented man, committed to the craft of clock repair. He’d configured his inventory to tick in unison. The synchronized pendulums and second hands were music to Tyler’s ears but probably unnerved customers. The shop was consistently empty. Business was slow. So was one of the clocks. It was a half-tick behind. He could hear the offending timepiece: the cottage clock an elderly gentleman dropped off over three weeks...
Weekly Contest #359
The train was packed at rush hour. Trixie stood, sandwiched between a bulging duffel bag smelling of used socks and a slim laptop backpack. The track descended underground, sending her off balance. A strap hung above her, but she refused to remove her hands from her deep pockets. Her yellow cardigan was knitted especially for her purpose. A crowded train offered plenty of opportunities; she just needed to look carefully and read body language. Who wore the tell-tale signs of distraction: shoulders slumped over a phone, foreheads pressed to t...
Weekly Contest #358
I crave the sun, but there’s so much between us. The soil, the terracotta vessel I call my home, the wooden shelves meant to imitate trees, and finally, thick panes of glass encasing this room. The other botanicals assure me I’m in good hands. “Don’t worry, Rapaceum. Rhea tends to us daily,” they say, blinking and waving from petals, leaves, and branches. “She’ll make sure you get what you need.” I’m still waiting for my turn. Rhea gives plenty of attention to the beautiful ones; flowers and herbs in window boxes and hanging planters in clea...
Weekly Contest #357
June 12Lindomar Hollow is the perfect place to settle down. Each bedroom in our rental cottage has a little desk with a view of the ocean. I bought a computer with the loot from our last heist and ordered a jigsaw puzzle that arrived yesterday. Retirement suits me. If only I could say the same for Imogen. This morning, I woke to a scream of agony. I should be used to it; I’ve spent years falling asleep to the wails of victims or Imogen’s tyrannical laughter. I leapt from my bed and raced down the stairs while tugging a dressing gown over my ...
Weekly Contest #356
“It’s easier to breathe in the woods,” Iris said. Fireflies ambled lazily as the breeze wove between the trees, whisking tall grass against her Converse high-tops. Harry trailed after her. He wiped his forehead, skewing his hair skyward. “When you suggested going for a walk, a hike was not what I had in mind.” “C’mon Harrison, I doubt you’d rather be crushing Capri Suns and eating superstore pizza at the party,” Iris called to her longtime partner-in-crime. She swung her ponytail over her shoulder. “We needed the space.” His fingers itched t...
Weekly Contest #355
Cass checked her phone. Isabella’s never late. In their twenty-year friendship, Isabella had been late maybe one time: after a fender bender she “did not cause”—a point she continued to insist upon. Between her friend’s reckless driving and sheer force of will, something was wrong if she missed an appointment. And while this was a simple mani-pedi, in two days all attention was going to be on one of Isabella’s fingers. The one on her left hand, directly connected to her heart. “It’ll just be another minute or so,” Cass said. The recepti...
Weekly Contest #354
Before the sunrise filtered through the low hanging cloud of smog, Posie started her car. This was Los Angeles. She could either commute early, tolerate the traffic, or not go to work at all. If she were a librarian with more senior standing, her commute would be less arduous. She’d only need to take one highway to get to the Central Library from her studio in Silverlake. Though the 101 was less than glamorous, Posie fantasized about pushing a book cart beneath the main branch’s ornate tiled dome, or taking her tea breaks beside the fountain...
Britta could not hear herself think, but for the love of all things holy, it’s the one thing she needed to do. It was 5:00 p.m.: quitting time anywhere else in the world, but in Britta’s house, things were just heating up. Dinner simmered on the stove, a long-winded co-worker yammered in her earbuds, and her irascible children clamored for a snack. Outside the house, construction vehicles beeped and clanged a few lots down, adding a new building to their condominium complex. A woman with a neon sun visor rummaged elbow-deep in Britta’s ga...
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