Georgia lies in bed, eyes closed, curled into a ball, listening to the soft tick-tick-tick from the clock in the living room as it counts down the minutes until morning. The minutes tick into hours ... [+]
Georgia lies in bed, eyes closed, curled into a ball, listening to the soft tick-tick-tick from the clock in the living room as it counts down the minutes until morning. The minutes tick into hours ... [+]
Me and Petey didn't mean to break the world. Honest. We were just bored and looking to have a bit of fun. And you know, high school dropouts like us don't know anything about physics. Hell, we ... [+]
I am on a roller coaster which is click clacking up a steep incline. Lily, my eight-year-old granddaughter, is sitting next to me. "This is boring," she laments, gazing languidly over the side of ... [+]
I was just a kid when Dad bought the Four Pines Motel. He called it a "diamond in the rough," but I couldn't see much promise in the shabby building with the mint green paint peeling off the siding ... [+]
My uncle Gerry Karlsson was a storyteller—a great one. My cousins and I loved his stories and even loved the fact that they changed a bit—sometimes a lot—with each retelling. We'd all listen ... [+]
My hands shake, indenting the lip of the ceramic cup I'm molding. I swivel and look at the other android artisans on the factory floor, robotic hands ablur ensuring each cup is perfect—and they ... [+]
We are nine when I discover I am the evil twin. We've just blown out the candles on our birthday cake. Our dad sets down the kitchen knife and heads around the corner to help mom grab bowls and ... [+]
Everyone loved Auntie Joe's cat T. She got him when he was just eight weeks old—a curious, friendly, fearless gray tiger. He was hilariously clumsy, too. When leaping onto a table, he'd usually ... [+]
Paul waits for Blake Biegler in the dusty field behind the school. Biegler is ten minutes late. He pokes his fingers through the chainlink, staring beyond the suicide barriers toward Golden Lakes. The ... [+]
When my kids were little, back in the late 1980s, we bought our new house and took on a bigger mortgage. I was a stay-at-home mom. After moving in, my husband John got permanently laid off from his ... [+]
"For even saintly folk will act like sinners / unless they have their customary dinners." Bertolt Brecht, The Threepenny Opera We decide to celebrate the Fourth of July at Parker's Dam ... [+]
The house was dark. The air was cool. The air conditioner hummed in a soft timbre. The only source of light was the blue moon, illuminating through the window and onto my face. I couldn't help but ... [+]
Erin Beckett wasn't scared of most things. She loved roller coasters, and she was the designated bug killer at home—even with three older brothers. When the offense of the other team came speeding ... [+]
The last apparition of Halley's Comet was in 1986, approaching Earth as close as 0.4 astronomical units. Halley takes a long journey to visit us. The comet follows an elliptical orbit that reaches ... [+]
Not long ago, I spent a week reviewing the city's finest steak-houses, one medium-rare, truffle-crusted-wagyu after another. The week before was seafood week. More lobster bibs, crustacean claws ... [+]
Melanie waved at the reporter when he stepped into the coffee shop. Sipping her jasmine tea, she took in his lean frame. He looked so much younger, unmasked. "Thank you again for speaking ... [+]
Hattie didn't mind the children. They were about the only people on earth she didn't mind. She heard the parents telling them to leave her alone, but her seemingly bottomless tin of cookies, which ... [+]
A door slam later, Hannah stood in the rain, her back to Isabel's house. The rain felt heavier than it was, large plump droplets bouncing off the ground. They cooled her hot cheeks and dappled ... [+]