‘Kid you’re stupid, you must be.’ Karl didn’t answer his father. ‘Three days in a row. What have I told you about cycling on glass?’ Again Karl didn’t answer his father; he was worried that he’d tell him what really happened, how it hadn’t been his fault. Instead he quietly handed him the glue….
Moving On
He went through what had happened. He had been polite. He had tried to make her comfortable and he had said goodbye and walked away when she told him that she didn’t want to talk about it. To the casual observer nothing happened. It was just two people on the street talking; no one would…
John’s Classroom
Every kid wants to be thought about as being the best and John was no different. When he tripped up the cleverest boy in the school in the playground. He justified it by telling himself that he should be the cleverest boy in the school. When he hid all the footballs on sports day he…
Jenny’s Diary
Clearing Jenny’s room had been difficult on Margaret. Despite knowing that it was time to move on, she still found it difficult to let go of the fact that she wouldn’t see Jenny again. It had been eight months since her passing and she spent most of the day clearing Jenny’s clothes from the room…
Going Home
Jill stood on the platform waiting for the train to arrive. She hadn’t been back in Boston for over a year, not since she fell out with her father. She thought about the falling out. How she hadn’t listened to him when he told her that Sam wasn’t the right guy for her. She had…
Mother’s Visit
Melissa was in no mood to collect her mother from the station and she was in no mood to listen to her giving out to her either. She knew that they would spend the weekend having the same argument about the same things. When was she going to give up writing the column, when was she…
Letters in the Woods
Samuel looked at the letters carved into the tree, ‘SW loves OP.’ He could still remember when he and Olive had done it. He had bought the pen knife in Turner’s along with a fishing rod when he was twelve. The rod didn’t get much use but he still had the pen knife somewhere at…
The Stranger and the Dress
Sarah held her mother’s hand. They were in the middle of the Mall and the noise of the other people made it difficult for her to listen to what her mother was saying to the stranger. She picked up the word ‘forget’ but apart from that she didn’t really know what her mother was saying…
A New Roommate
There were five people interested in renting the room but Mitch wanted to make sure that he had made the right decision before calling Kathy to let her know that she could move in. He looked at the names on the list again and went through his notes. First there was Charlene, she was a…
Language is Serious
When it comes to writing I have noticed, with the passing of time, the importance of words. How one word can guide a reader in a different direction, while another word will also take the reader to a different understanding of a story. I have learnt this lesson through experience and my obsession with language….
Being There For the Girls
The most enjoyable part of Max’s day was going home. He liked to be able to tidy his desk, put the caps back on his pens. Put the pens in his drawer and power off his PC. It was the same ritual five days a week. After he had powered off the PC he would…
Different Paths
There wasn’t much on the TV to keep Karl’s mind from wandering. It didn’t help that he couldn’t stay on any one channel for longer than ten seconds. He had scanned all the news channels, all fourteen of them but it was all the same type of news, depressing. Most channels were showing images from…
Deleting Numbers
As far as Mark was concerned Bree wasn’t his friend anymore. He had needed someone to talk to when he split with Simon and though he had wanted Bree to be there for him, she wasn’t. It didn’t help that Bree had never approved of Mark’s relationship with Simon. From the very beginning she had…
Monica’s Marbles
Monica liked playing with marbles. Not in the normal sense but she liked to use her slingshot and fire marbles at different objects. Usually a person’s window who she felt may have slighted her. When she was sixteen she was given a zero grade for one of her examinations, ironically called The Art of Comedy….
Anthony’s Mother
Before she died Anthony’s mother used to wake him every morning, make his breakfast, pack his lunch and bring him to school. When he came home from school she had his dinner ready and after he had finished his dinner she would help him with his homework before the two of them would sit looking…
