I stare at Axel until tears blur my vision. I fall to the ground. I must look like a mess. Such a mess. An embarrassing pile of awfulness.

I feel Axel and Ian’s eyes staring at me, waiting for me to do something other than cry like a little kid. I don’t know what to do, though. Fucking Ian. This is all his fault.

“I-I’m just gonna walk home now…” Axel mumbles as he hurries off.

Ian stays. ...

Mrs. Abi steps into the classroom, followed by a tall and slender boy. His bright green eyes bore into my mind. He smiles and waves. I feel an overwhelming sense of calm wash over me.

What is this?

There’s nothing special about him. Raven-black hair, arsenic-green eyes, freckles sprinkled across his face. Although he /is/ dressed as if it is winter. It’s breezy outside but not too cold.

If t...

The blonde nurse whose name I did not bother to learn leads me to the psychiatric ward. She tells me I will only be here for a short week, but I barely listen. All I think about are the cigarettes I bought from Paul in the alley yesterday. Nurse Blondy made sure to take those away from me with a smile.

“And this is where you'll be staying!” says the nurse as she opens the doors to a faded and pl...

(I am sorry if this does not line up exactly with the correct traditions)

“Ida! Ida!” sang my twin brother as he bounded down the stairs. “Look!”

“At what? Your dumb face?”

He frowns at me before holding out the calendar we keep on our refrigerator. The 15th of August is circled in pink marker.

“You see this? Today is that day, ding-dong. Tell me happy birthday.”

“No.”

He frowns aga...

Margaret stares at me. I can tell she is judging my outfit, but she says nothing. Her dress is so much more… -bedazzled- than my sweater and leggings.

“Double dates are crap!” she yells. I know she would’ve said something else, had Tobias and Amelia not been in the room. My niece and son are playing a drawing game on the iPad they share.

“You agreed to it, Maggie,” I say. “No going back now; ...

Linger scanned the shelves of the trinket shop. Her dark-red skirt swooshed back and forth as she looked at an intricate china pot, then flew over to a musty hat. Her grey and lime boots made quite a racket against the tile floor. Her tangled, fiery-red hair got caught up on hooks occasionally. The clerk eyed her every move.

Silver nearly fell asleep in an off-limits antique chair. He was just b...

Clara looked around. It was a puzzle. The game was a puzzle. It was in the middle of a clearing that was in the middle of a forest. A voice came overhead.

“You must find the missing pieces. They are hidden. You have one hour to complete the puzzle. Good luck!”

Clara ran off. She hated puzzles. But if she wanted to live, she needed to complete it.

A soft “ding” sounded from the left. Clara l...

Briar looked around frantically. She was just in the market in Ashenhelm, but now she was gazing up at a large building. It was so large it almost hurt her eyes to look at it.

A boy came running from the building. He looked to be in a hurry, though he stopped to look at Briar. He didn't seem to notice her pointed ears and her missing pinky fingers.

“Why, hello, Miss! I'm Henry Baker, at your ...

Paola looked around the dark room. There was a single dim lightbulb dangling in the middle. Her hands and feet her tied with rope. Tape was over her mouth. Her Halloween costume was all torn up; the witch’s hat didn't stand up and had a large tear in the side and her poofy dress needed mending.

There was a patch of plaster on the wall. It looked like there had once been a window, but it was no l...

Silence was a priceless gift

And it has a lovely sound

Silence was a priceless gift

With no sound to be found

A gift as priceless as Silence

Costs no more than a closed mouth

A gift as priceless as Silence

Is something you cannot go without...