Clues Blues Hunter Cooley __________ “We got ourselves in a rough spot, Ms. Dutchess. Give it to me straight.” Spade barked. “I told you. That’s all I know, Mr. Spade.” “Tuesday. Run me through it.” “I was in bed, sir.” “Out by 2 p.m.? Must have had something on your…
Read MoreThe Empty Veranda Swetha Amit __________ I don’t remember it the way most people do. It comes back in fragments—the heat on my skin, a flash of white paws just out of reach. The rest has been filled in by Ma, who recalls that day as if it never loosened…
Read MoreOutlook Good! Mikki Aronoff and Katherine Silver-Hajo __________ Math exam looming, me procrastinating, I tune in to the probability of a passing grade like a luminous radio dial, unfazed by the static of Long John Silver’s tatty parrot, shoulder-bound but hankering for a branch, squawking salty bilge—Pieces of nine! Pieces…
Read MoreSolomon and the Cheese Arm Eli S. Evans __________ An adaptation of a story from Le Petit Nicolas series, by René Gosciny, with input from Eli Evans’s son __________ We didn’t have school this morning, but that wasn’t any fun because instead we had to we had to go to…
Read MoreThe Museum of People Lanay Griessner __________ Yes, I know exactly why you called me here today. But before I explain why I threw the surveillance camera out the staff kitchen window on the third floor; I’d like to remind you that I have an exemplary record. I was Tour…
Read MoreA Capital Idea Abbie Doll __________ We hopped on the bus with a tremendous buzz in the air—this collective hum hovering there—accompanied by that marvelous jailbreak feeling only a field trip can bring. The chaperones stood at the front clutching their clipboards as they stumbled through rollcall, attempting to chisel…
Read MoreField Notes Itto & Mekiya Outini __________ “I don’t think you is who you says you is,” is the first thing Everett says to me, his eyes like shards from broken bottles scattered under streetlamps, only there are no streetlamps here, just a sickly half-moon rising from a knot of…
Read MoreSkin Contact Zachary Bos __________ The deep ravine slashes through the Pennsylvania woods like a wet, stony wound. Halting her hike along the narrow streambed, Valeria Calderón tugs her bandana back into position. She squints to see where to step among the tumbled rocks and clumps of sedge and catbrier.…
Read MoreRosemount Manor Sacha Bissonnette __________ It was the first weekend of July when Sam, Josie, and Buddy met under the maple tree next to the battered shed in Sam’s backyard. They went over the juice-stained checklist Josie pulled out of her bag. Flashlights? Check. Snacks? Check. Three Walkie-Talkies? Check. They…
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