A rock came crashing through the living room window as she lathered peanut butter on toast, again, in the kitchen. “Murderer!” someone yelled outside followed by the squealing of tires as a car sped away. After a few minutes of silence, she felt brave enough to approach the window. Glass was scattered across the sofa underneath the window and ( Read more... )

The system is rigged ( Read more... )

“It’s so weird being back here without him,” Sara murmured to herself as she surveyed the living room and stuffed her father’s spare keys into her pocket. She let out a sigh and stepped further into the room. To her right was the hallway that led to her parents’ bedroom-well, what used to be her parents’ bedroom, at least, the bathroom, and her ( Read more... )

Some days it was fine. Nice, even. He wasn’t the most romantic guy, sure, but it was clear that he loved me, that he respected me. He bought me flowers. He remembered our anniversary. He asked me about my day and actually listened until the end ( Read more... )

A Teacher’s Ode to Saturday ( Read more... )

The alarm screams and I am immediately in denial: It can’t possibly be time to get up yet, can it? But it is, so I throw my feet over the side of the bed and propel myself toward the bathroom.

After quietly creeping into her room, I rub my daughter’s back and whisper to her that it’s time to get up as I grab the clothes we set out the night ( Read more... )

I knew what I was getting myself into, but I chose to do it anyway. The countless hours I spent scouring the internet for creative ideas and the numerous hours I spent grading and finalizing IEPs on weekends and holiday breaks were worth it to be a good teacher. After all, I’d seen Freedom Writers, which had taught me that that was what it took ( Read more... )

I haven't really written anything creative since I was eliminated in the last LJ Idol in March 2020, so...

Sign up here for a special mini season of LJ Idol with me!

It’s so much easier being someone other than yourself, she thought, as she logged out of the profile of a twenty-something blonde with beachy waves and a bright smile. Her own mousy brown hair was twisted into a messy bun and she weighed at least 50 more pounds than the girl in the profile picture ( Read more... )

Amy sighed as she scrolled through the job postings on Craigslist. She had lost her job six months ago and last month, when she didn’t have enough money left to pay rent, she chose to spend it on food and toilet paper instead. This coming month, though, she didn’t have enough money for those things either. With the exception of a couple ( Read more... )