The sun was blazing and the asphalt pavement was burning a hole through the soles of Terry’s sneakers as he walked alongside of the highway. Usually it did not take so long to get picked up but today it was taking forever.

It has been a lifelong dream to hitchhike his way across the country on Route 66. And until today it had been going really well. Beginning in Chicago he managed to get ride aft...

“A-TENNNNN-HUT!”

“EVERYBODY! Fall in and flop to attention for General Stirrup!”

The General began, “You’ve been thrown into the dryer today for a top secret mission. Lieutenant Argyle was last seen three days ago, in this very drum. The last words that we heard from him, before he slid over the edge were, ‘I know where all the missing socks go!’ Now, I don’t need to tell all of you what it wou...

Danny entered his third grade classroom and paraded up and down the rows of desks handing out invitations to his birthday party on Saturday. A confident grin stretched across his face while he greeted each kid. They were given black envelopes with their names written in blood red ink. The invitation promised a “Party like no other!” As he made his way around the room he heard lots of giggles at hi...

“…. And without any further ado,” Principal Whitmoore continued, “It gives me immense pleasure to introduce our 2022 Lincoln High School valedictorian, Candice Flemming. Let’s all give her a big round of applause! Get on up here Candy!”

The gymnasium erupts with applause as I get up to give my speech. Mr. Whitmoore stands on the stage gazing down at me with a smile that makes my stomach churn. It...

HONEY, WE JUST GOT A CALL FROM JIMMY’S SCHOOL. THEY WANT US

TO COME IN SOMEDAY THIS WEEK, PREFERABLY DURING THE DAY, WHILE

JIMMY IS THERE.

WELL, OK. HOW ABOUT WEDNESDAY, DURING MY LUNCH HOUR?

SOUNDS PERFECT. SEE YOU WHEN YOU GET HOME TONIGHT, HONEY.

👍🏻

On Wednesday Jim and Chloe pulled into the school parking lot at the same time and parked right next to each other. After getting out of the...

Sean bent forward, gasping for breath, his hands upon his knees. He had been in a dead sprint for what seemed like a mile, but they were safe. They had escaped the clutches of Moarte, the hidden City of Death.

“We made it! Can you believe it, Mike?” There was no response. Sean turned and looked all around but Mike wasn’t there. “Mike! Mike! Where are you?” The huge gate was slowly closing behind ...

“Chink, chink, scrape, chink, chink,….THUNK! CHUNK! Chink, chink.”

A hunk of stone was cracked away from his mass, and it rocked him into consciousness. The sounds and the thumps that were echoing around him, jostled him this way and that way. Yet he was immovable. He stood trapped, hemmed in by the dark and weighty bulk that encased him.

“CRASH!”

The noise was jarring, and the ground shook, ...

“Those lights are so hot, maybe she’ll slip in a pool of her own sweat and break an ankle. Then I’ll get my chance. I’ve been dancing twice as long as she has, I deserve to be out there, not her. How did Gwen get the lead role in Swan Lake instead of me?” Tanya leered out at the cast from offstage. “Understudy! UNDERSTUDY!! They thought making me Gwen’s understudy would make me happy? I stand here...

“Where’s my pen? Do you have it? Johnny, Carol, Susan, please don’t let me go without finding my pen?” That’s all George has said for the last three weeks. He’s repeated it over and over again, day after day, and now week after week. The children moved him into hospice care four weeks ago after doctors told them that the cancer was out of control and there was nothing left that they could do ...

“Will the defendant please rise?” Jake stood, manically rubbing his hands, his wrists cuffed together. He smiled awkwardly and waved to them as the jury filed into the courtroom. “Helloooooo! Welcommmmmme back! Where you go?” He shouted, bobbing his head up and down, then humming the theme to Spiderman. They didn’t look at him. “Have you reached a verdict?” The judge asked. “Yes, your honor,...