Though it was a thick, muggy day in August when Makenzie ventured outside, she could feel Autumn in her bones. Everything was beginning to feel tense in her life. She slowly crossed the street after glancing at a group of nearby teenagers with suspicion.

"Fellow Blockians, this is our hour of battle. We must not falter! To victory! Battalions 8 and 9, prepare for ambush!" The legoes crouched to camouflage themselves in between the multi-colored folds of the blanket. "Target in sight! Harden your armors! Brace for impact!"

"Beautiful, aren't they?" The boy could hear the medusa hiss right next to his ear from behind him as he stared. On the wall opposite to the one he was chained to, he could see rows upon rows of petrified children, all with faces that might have made them celebrities one day.

The night, like most nights on the Newfoundland coast this time of year, was appropriately dark and stormy. Eileen sat at the bar, silently making her way through beer number four - or was it five - as the clock's needles neared twelve.

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.

"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."

A siren sounded in the distance. Wendy ignored it, deeply involved in reading an article on her phone, but Alex’s entire body went on high alert. The siren grew louder, and he rose slowly, normally, trying not to appear as tense as he was. “Can I get you anything while I’m up?”

The house Harold haunted had been on the market for a year. It just wasn’t the same without people living in it. To emerge from a linen closet and shout, “Boo!” at realtors and people touring the home just made them less likely to buy it, only prolonging Harold’s solitude.

First things first. If you are reading this without fear of being caught, we won. I don't have much time, as I can hear the troops closing in on my position through the echo of the tunnels. We are here today because of a single man's bravery to stand up for what is right.

I am a third grade teacher, a Math teacher to be precise. I love my job,I love my students, but sometimes I wish for a little change, something that makes me enjoy life a bit more

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