Sean King

Sunny Anomaly

Kara S

Rietje Becker

KW Taylor

Arushi Maheshwari

Sam Becker

It was over. It was finally all over. Completely and utterly finished, no chance of returning.

Now that Natasha’s ex was in prison, there was absolutely zero chance they’d ever get back together, even if she wanted to. This meant she could finally let him go and move on with her life, maybe even be happy for the first time in so many years.

That was what Natasha thought, until she was arrested too. "I did nothing! I didn't even have a trial! I KNOW MY RIGHTS!" Her voice only echoed emptily and the guards who shoved her in walked away. Her ex stared at her with eerie empty eyes. Something was wrong about this place.

As she considered her escape from the cell, her ex closed his eyes. When he opened them up they were entirely black. He cackled as his body slumped and collapsed. When he arose his clothes fell down, revealing a freakish body, wrinkled and charred. “Don’t scream” he whispered.

Natasha willed herself not to scream, but it was a struggle. Her ex’s body was blakened and burned, and his eyes were black shiny orbs. His face, though...that was the face she remembered, the face she kissed and fell in love with. She felt tears slip from her eyes. His soul was

She burst into tears. 6 months later, she died of a broken heart.

Codependent Incarceration

Tj1AIbmaU3TP9tM2LITUGInvwt32

zeej qooj

Dawn Rasmussen

Suddenly a flash of light appeared, accompanied by a loud clicking sound. The girl stopped screaming.

Throwing a quick look of satisfaction at the clicking sound the flash of light slumped backwards, settling onto a huge, plush beanbag.
"I knew that'd do it, I can't stand screaming sounds... they're almost as bad as clicking" it said, slowly raising the air horn.

I tried to cover my ears, but found that I couldn’t move my arms. Before I could mentally prepare myself, the light-being blasted the air horn. It was louder than I could have imagined, seemingly rattling my brain and blurring my vision as it rang out for what seemed like ages.

When my eyes cleared, the entire world was altered. Everything, including the stars, was scrambled to look like one of Picasso's paintings, ignoring the rules of physics. I shifted over to my mirror to get check my own appearance, but even it was refracted with abstract angles.

If this was my life now, I could make this work for me. Chicks like artsy guys, right?

2SyCcRiUJ7OemDH7EAjmzJe6DCf2

Jason Omega

My parents got a call from the principal. The principal told them that I had punched a kid in the face today. When a got home, my parents were furious.

But I didn’t punch anybody!” I protested. “The principal just hates me!” My parents were not convinced and sent me to my room. I stuck headphones in and cranked my music loud. It wasn’t fair. Why didn’t they believe me? Of course, I DID punch someone, but it was super justified.

If you were in my shoes, you would have done the exact same thing. The guy kept saying, "Damn Daniel with the white Vans" and although I do like white sneakers, my name is NOT Daniel. So yeah. I hit him alright. I don't even feel bad. It's not like I kicked him or whatever.

Besides, he had it coming. I wasn’t even wearing Vans, I was wearing Converse. I admit, it’s a personal pet peeve when people mix them up. You might say “well, that doesn’t seem like a good reason to hit someone,” but you have to understand...

you can’t spell “Converse” without “Con”. That’s what I am, an ex-con, and reformed con man. I’m trying to keep my nose clean, but it’s hard when people insult my kicks.

And with a brief jazz-hand gesture, he performed a 540­° pirouette on his right heel, allowed a slim gloss cane to slide down from his sleeve into his grip and chicken-walked away, his gum rubber soles silent on the tired sidewalk, accompanied only by the jarred click of his cane

Vans

Kathryn Dunn

"I believe that your poor-" "Nachos!" "...cousin has caught a-" "Mozzarella, you ignorant fools!" "-very rare disease-" "Kimchi! Creme Brulee!" "-a very severe case-" "Onigiri! Roti! Pad Thai!" "-of constantly spouting international foods. Uncurable, I believe, unfortunately."

“She’s hopeless,” the doctor said, scribbling idly in his journal. My ornery cousin, once again irate, jumped out of her chair. “You, Dr. Fettuccini, are a first rate Tikka Masala,” she exclaimed. “You should be disbarred for gross Chicken Parm negligence! I will see myself out.”

Our family teaches their children to read exclusively with restaurant delivery menus. No story books, no Sesame Street, just Joe’s Pizza and Golden Dragon. It causes some bloomin’ onion problems for us.

The kids often anthropomorphize food, leading to embarrassing scenes at dinner parties, wherein the kids enact complex storylines with broccoli florets battling each other from behind mounds of mashed potatoes fashioned into trenches.

The parents didn't find this TOO too troubling. It wasn't until they got a call from Mrs. Doyle, the principal of their school. Apparently, using a chicken nugget as ammo for a catapult of carrots was grounds for serious disciplinary action. Suspension even!

The parent freaked out after they got a call from the principal.

If the authorities get involved this time, and there was no doubt that they would, it was inevitable that this would be the beginning of the end for them all.

It would be a lie to say that there weren't times they had wished it all to be over--but not like this. No, they wanted it to be ended on their own terms. The authorities needed to be distracted for as long as possible.

And so yeah. That's why we opened this here donut shop.

Foodie Syndrome

E6KvBQXWG7W8gif3j4hdsY29Oeh1

"So let me get this straight. You were walking home at 1300 AM when you saw these seven short men vandalizing your property by tap-dancing on your basketball court with ice skates?" My brothers and I quickly donned smiles as innocent as they come onto our faces when the policeman

rolled his eyes. “You’re not claiming these men were...what, dwarves? Elves? Fairies?” the cop demanded. My brothers and I all suppressed gales of laughter. I felt little tears start at the corners of my eyes. “Of course not, sir,” I managed through barely-contained giggles. “No,

they were probably workers from the local amusement park, Elven Empire.” “Well that doesn’t make things any better from my perspective,” the cop said incredulously. At that point, my brothers and I completely lost it and made a run for it. “Come back!” the police officer shouted.

My brothers and I sprinted faster than ever, leaving him behind. After a few quick turns and ducking behind a dumpster, we lost him. We walked back to the house. Waiting on our doorstop was the police officer (in retrospect, giving him our address was a mistake). He handed us

each a summons to appear in court the following afternoon. “That’s for disturbing the peace and making a false police report. You’re lucky I’m not taking you to jail tonight!”

Fraternal Pranks

Diana Fox

John Rodgers

Benjamin Chandler

The vacation rental was small, just a one-bedroom cottage in a semi-shabby urban neighborhood, but it was renovated and even had a new roof. “All metal,” the owner told them upon check-in. “Energy efficient. Plus it makes the rain sound cool.” Which it did, but it also kept Becca

awake on a particularly stressful night. What is it with people's obsessions with standing seam roofs? It was all Becca could think about to take her mind off the fight she'd just had with her best friend. You think you know someone! She was almost asleep when the door bust open.

Her best friend stumbled in. Her hair was a mess and her clothes in shambles. She looked like she tried to fight a tornado. Becca jumped up out of bed and rushed over to her. “What the hell happened?” she asked.

It’s literally raining cats and dogs out there. First I got knocked over by a calico cat! I got hit by a pack falling schnauzers who barked at a calico in German. Then more cats. A siamese literally cussed me out in Chinese.

“Wait, wouldn’t a Siamese cat speak Thai?”I said. “Whoever arranged this talking feline canine storm needs a fact-checker, and I am just the person for the job!” I pulled out red and blue pencils, ready to correct.

I was about to start marking things up when one of the cats raised its paw and said to me, in a convincing British accent, “good sir, be a dear and make me some milk.” What I didn’t realize is that this was all part of a complex mind manipulation plot called ‘scheme milk.’

"M-make you milk?" I stammered. I shyly covered my chest. "I'm not sure my milk-making parts are functioning right now." The cat rolled its eyes, then frowned. "Sir, I said, 'Make me some milk.' " I nodded, hypnotized. "Of course, cat," I agreed despite my best efforts to not.

Right then, my sister burst into the room and slapped me in the face. "What- achoo- in the world -achoo- are you doing!" she screeched, kicking the cat to the side while sneezing. "First, have- achoo- some decency! Also, -achoo- I told you I'm -achoo- allergic! A-CHOO!" Blood dri

I started to get red splotches all over my face. "I told you I am allergic," I said. "Sorry," said my sister.

Cats and Dogs Raining Together

qyF24Mln8IZX7WVeNenOzOEaU1q2

The girl looked up at the creature. It was an alien!

“Who are you?” Gabby asked, looking up the muscular, furry creature. It breathed loudly but did not answer. “What have you done with my friends?” Gabby continued, as she resisted the crude, prickly restraints on her wrists.

"Hehehe, don't worry sweetie. Your friends have joined us. See?" Gabby watched in horror as her friends suddenly grew tufts of fur here and there and swelled up to resemble the creature that had brought them there. "Don't be afraid. You won't feel anything and it'll be over soon"

“We are all furbies now!” they chanted in perfect unison. “Join us!” Thinking quickly, Gabby said “won’t you need me to keep you supplied with batteries? You’re going through them quickly.”

The Furbies regarded each other with confusion, then panic. “Oh, no, she’s right!” one cried. “We can’t turn Gabby. Who will replace our batteries?” Another Furby frowned, then smirked. “We can adapt first,” it announced. It stared at Gabby. “Fit us with a solar recharger. Now.”

Once installed the Furbies realized how slow the panels were to charge, forcing them to remain outdoors for hours, vulnerable to vicious predators—predators like Gabby, who was onto their plan, and got sweet revenge when, during a charging, she sold them and retired to Florida.

Furbies

Hi Mr. Monkey, my name is Banana Nana, I am a junior Ape scout and I am so excited to be here in this tree! I will win my climbing patch today!

The Jr. Ape Scout was surprised to see the monkey growl and bare its teeth. He knew that was a sign of aggression, so he quickly scampered up the trunk to the next branch. He could do better recon for his climb there anyway.

He quickly scanned the horizon like his Scout Leader told him, not getting distracted by the carnivorous bananas that claimed many a monkey. Everything seemed normal until he saw the large mass that barreled down the forested slope, making entire trees fall irregularly.

It was the largest monkey he had ever seen: bright red, with a look of rage and determination on its wide face. It opened its mouth and let out a shriek so piercing that the boy had to drop to the ground and cover his ears. The trees continued to topple, and the ragemonkey

He deserved it, he supposed. If he was honest with himself. He could have been nicer to the monkey. Thought more about its needs. Catered more to its desires. All too late now, of course. He woke up hours later, groggy, having soiled himself. A sad fate, but quite deserved.

No Patch for you Today

bbkTNfpg5ihp8Vxtaei4aLh52PA2

Taufik F

I clamped down harder onto my ears as the gale raged through the trees, leaving the ceramic leaves clank together in a never-ending cacophony. Even glass prism fruits badgered me as they scattered eye-burning lights in erratic harmony with the leaves.

I did my best to shut out the chaotic sights and sounds and carefully scanned for landmarks on the horizon. As I slowly trudged through the glass forrest, faceted, reflective plums and berries fell at my feet, shattering open, spilling their juice everywhere. Was I finally lost?

Does it matter? Am I ready for the answer, that I finally lost?

What was it that I lost? I cannot remember...I know it was very important...suddenly I just realize I lost my memories. Did I had to do something? I think is better for me to go where I think everything started...

But since my memory is gone, I don’t know where things started for me. So I went to the hospital maternity ward, where they directed me to the lounge. An old lady smiled at me and asked “expecting?” I shrugged slightly and said “hopeful.”

The old lady’s smile grew almost sad. “You’re looking for birth records, then, aren’t you.” I rummaged in my bag and took out the license that meant nothing to me. “This is all I know about myself. I want to find my parents.” The woman nodded. “That surname is unusual,” she said.

"Broomdrac," said the woman. "That is really a very unusual surname." "Not where I come from," I said.

“Well,” she said, “I like it. We should marry”. It was in that moment that I recognized my hearts desire: a suitor with confidence, and a lot of it. “And that, my child,” I said to the tiny Broomdrac at my feet, “is how I met your mother.”

Marriage of An Amnesiac

Zoe Becker

Jerry glanced down at the photograph in his hand, then back up again at the woman sitting alone at the back of the cafe.

He knew her. She was the girl that Jerry had gone out with in college.

All at once a blinding light coursed through the space. Jerry and the woman froze. And then a creature appeared, seemingly from the air itself.

The creature then blew up the world. THE END.

Arushi Maheshwari
@arushimaheshwari

Lifetime
Lines

Awards
Earned

Member
Since

Awards

Arushi's Stories

Arushi Maheshwari@arushimaheshwari

LifetimeLines