Fiction – Page 8 – The McNeese Review

Pierced

Pierced Margo Williams __________ Tish missed Caitlin. Mostly she missed who she was when she used to play with Caitlin. Laughing, running, swimming and sharing secrets. Two years had quickly passed, and Tish lost all that stringiness, looking more and more like her mother, soft curves, wavy auburn hair, sad…

Prey Drive

Prey Drive Oliver Brooks __________ I am all mouth. If my teeth were any bigger, they would crowd and fall from my face. They have held up well—I ate rocks when I was young. Gravel. Little greenish, purplish pebbles like kibble or fruity cereal. I was taken to the doctor…

The Teeth

The Teeth Stephanie Hayes __________ Brianna left the baby shower clenching her jaw. She couldn’t believe all those stupid bitches couldn’t figure out the goddamn yarn game. How hard was it? You look at the pregnant lady, try to figure out how disgustingly fat she had gotten because she let…

Patrona

Patrona William Hawkins __________ There are small villages in the Italian countryside where the fairy is a saint — a young woman in a roughspun habit who sneaks into the bedrooms of all the baptized boys and girls with a loose tooth in their mouths. Those visited say the saint…

Tooth Appointment

Tooth Appointment Ben Larned __________ You don’t remember your last visit to the dentist. It’s been two years, maybe three. All the way here your gums itch. The waiting room has a sickly hue, a chemical smell that reminds you of metal scraping and drills whirring. If it weren’t for…

Snappers/The Man on the Mattress

Snappers/The Man on the Mattress Robb T. White __________ “You’re probably wondering what’s going on, right?” Asking yourself, ‘What happened’? ‘Where the hell am I?’ Can’t say I blame you,” he said, watching his eyes focus as he tried to turn his head one way and then the other. They…

The Dentist, The Bootlegger

The Dentist, The Bootlegger Meghan Louise Wagner __________ The drops went the same each month. I kept my hair under my cap and let Julian do the talking. After the boss counted the crates, he’d crack into a random bottle to sample. He’d take a couple glugs, swish, then nod…

The Death of Harold Cassidy

The Death of Harold Cassidy Colton Huelle __________ In the days following Harold Cassidy’s death, Joy’s Facebook feed was clogged with lengthy tributes to the late novelist and links to even lengthier blog posts about his contribution to American literature. Writers and critics of all stripes crawled out of the…

Balloons

Balloons Joan Bauer __________ When Sarah dropped Lily off around noon, she said she was just going to a half-hour tennis lesson. I invited her to come back here for coffee afterward, and she said she would like that. But she never came back. Outside, our two girls were…

Silhouette of a Girlhood

Silhouette of a Girlhood Meghana Mysore __________ Lakshmi winced when she heard a thudding from upstairs. The kettle was on for chai, and its whistle grew from a tame whisper to a high-pitched scream. She turned off the kettle and ran upstairs to the bathroom where Mamatha took her showers.…