Categotry Archives: Fiction
Suzie’s House 378 : Termites or Dry Rot?
Suzie jabbed the window’s apron with a screwdriver. She wasn’t sure how far it sank in, but it certainly didn’t bounce back the way it would if she jabbed a new piece of wood. So for sure there was rot. The question was how intense did she have to get about repairs. Maybe it was time to find a carpenter.
Empty Studio
“Take care of it.” Uncle John handed Bruce the key. “I’ve got something to do.” Bruce didn’t try to argue. He already knew his uncle only put up with him because he’d do whatever he was told. Today it was taking a keyboard back from someone who owed him money. But which one? The room was full of them. “Hey! What’s this kid doing here?” Some guy shouted from the door. “I’m taking care of it,” Bruce said. He might […]
Suzie’s House 377 : Emma Gets Scooped Up
“Hey, Emma. Whatcha doing?” Arrogant as ever, Bruce came up behind her and threw an arm across her shoulders as if he had a right to do so. Emma shrugged him off. “Leave me alone.” “Oh. Isn’t that the house where you like to sing?” For someone so crude, Bruce caught on quick. “Y-yes. Yes, it was.”
A Simple Mistake
“Please. Can’t I have another one? Please, please, please.” Alicia skipped along backwards through the empty fairgrounds so she could face Liam. “There is a season for all things. The time of celebration and the ease and tranquility of Summer is behind us. We are now facing the Day of the Dead and the brutal fall of that bitter, cold substance called snow. It is best to put our dreams behind us,” said Liam. “But I missed out! I dropped […]
Suzie’s House 376 : Emma’s Retreat
He was back, and no matter what her parents said, Emma knew her brother had no intention of moving out again. She heard the door to his room open, and rushed to her own. She barely made it before he tried to turn the knob.
pousse-café
“Bartender, give me your best drink.” Dicky found a stool in the empty bar. “You seem to have had enough to drink already.” “I’m not leaving here until I get your best.” “I’ll make you a pousse-café, but for each layer you have to tell me something about yourself.” So Dicky told him about his day; about his headache in the morning and first can of beer, about tripping over his chair at work, about out-drinking everyone from the office, […]
Suzie’s House 375 : Co-operative Songwriting
Tracy could actually hear him swallowing when he handed her the ragged scrap of paper. It was just a song. How bad could it be? She looked through quickly, then looked again. She barely felt the pressure of Gene’s bed on her back side as her knees gave. She recognized these words right off. They were her words.
The Old Ways
Lilith walked the salt fields, testing each step with her cane. The young ones thought she did it because it was an old tradition. Tradition? What rot. When she first came to this planet with the colonizing expedition from Earth the land had been far less stable. Too many of her fellow colonists had died when the salt flats gave under them unexpectedly. They’d done a lot to stabilize the land, just as they’d done to make the atmosphere breathable. […]
Suzie’s House 374 : Gene Writes a Song
Gene felt like a total idiot sitting there in the back yard with a pencil in his hand and a notebook on his lap. Maybe he should at least get his guitar. But he’d already tried this a dozen times with his guitar and his room was so stuffy. At least it was breezy out here.
Through The Glass Darkly
“These old houses are such a pain,” said Jane. “Just look at how warped this mirror is. I’ve been trying to do my makeup for an hour now. Not only does my reflection look strange, it jumps and moves when I’m hardly even breathing. And it’s so dark! What kind of silver did they use on it? Really, Marge, you should replace it immediately.” “Um…. Jane? Are you talking about that?” Marge pointed. “Yes, of course. The mirror.” “That’s not […]
Suzie’s House 373 : On the Side of Truth and Justice
“So this is where you’ve been hiding.” Tracy grabbed Lisa’s arm and spun her around right before she and Ben went into the public library. Lisa wasn’t really avoiding Tracy, though she kind of suspected what her cousin wanted to say. She was here because this was where she and Ben were spending most of their summer vacation. Yeah, geek city. It had to do with researching the books they were writings, but you couldn’t get something like that through […]
Roasted
Liam, Alicia, and Sally sat around the campfire, each with a marshmallow on a stick. “Do you see faces in the flames? I see faces,” Alicia said. “I just see fire.” Sally gave her marshmallow a practiced turn. “I see the burning of the soul on a bitter and parched plain while the darkness of a yawning separation strangles a man’s words before they can be born. I see generation after generation of men struggling through a short life, never […]
Suzie’s House 372 : Not Even With Bribery
The old guy was blushing. After all the serious stuff they’d been talking about, Tracy thought Drew blushing was kind of cute. Or maybe just fun. “So this is all just a timing thing.” Drew sat up in that plastic lounge type chair like he though he was going to go somewhere, and covered his face with on hand. He sighed like he was really fed up with everything in the whole world. “Timing?” Gene didn’t sound so sure.
Squish
“Nature! I love it.” Alicia ran into the grass in the side yard with her arms spread wide and a huge grin. She did a pirouette. “You can have it,” her friend Sally grumbled. She was tired of hearing her city-girl friend go on about every little thing. “You’re just spoiled because you can be out in the Great Outdoors every day.” “I wouldn’t step there if I were you. Or at least go back and put your shoes on.” […]
Suzie’s House 371 : I am Not a Victim
“I don’t even know how I feel,” Gene growled. “But it isn’t good.” “So now you think there’s something wrong with me, right? I’m dirty, or pathetic, or something.” Tracy glared. She sat in one of the upright lawn chairs with her arms crossed. Gene stood over her, looking young and mature by turns. Drew lay in the lounger. He sat up and set his feet in the grass with every intention of slipping out of the backyard with as […]
