https://medium.com/fiction-attic-press/on-being-a-crappy-girlfriend-eb5043262896
Pearl
On Monday, Pearl brushed her teeth with salmon-flavored toothpaste and got dressed for school. When she climbed on the bus—moldy windows and torn seats—her best friend Poppy, who everyone called Seed, smiled and said, “Mmmmmm, salmon.” “What did you use?” Pearl asked. “Chicken, like always.” Seed sighed. “Mom won’t let me try salmon until all…
Gerbils: A Love Story
Gerbils: A Love Story Rodent dreams. Little ears and walrus whiskers. I can’t stop watching videos of capybaras soaking in Japanese hot springs. They’re like giant gerbils, and they seem so peaceful and wise. But I notice that the tourists petting them avoid the belly, even when they flip over and stretch seductively. Anyone…
X-Ray
X-Ray The story of that night could be summed up in two lines: “Life had flipped. This was the X-ray.” The Daisy she had been up until that moment disappeared. Someone new took her place, someone fearful and disappointed in the world, and over the years that fear and disappointment had grown. She looked…
Summer School
Summer School “WHAT?!” Lil Jon “Let me get a Monster,” Matt said, his sunglasses reflecting twin pine trees. “No. Ick. We’ll go to Starbucks.” His mother, Daisy, glanced at him as she turned onto Fremont. “You look like a rock star in those.” “I am a rock star.” As they stood…