• Retail Life Episode 7

    Why don’t people realize when they smell bad? And I’m not just talking about body odor. I mean when they smell like they rolled around on the floor with their wet dog while their cat was peeing on top of them. Gross, I know, and I wish I could say I’ve only had to smell…

  • Life Changes

    Up until a week ago, I was living with my best friends. Our lease was coming to an end and for a month and a half we were trying to find a new house to move into. We searched, we viewed, we applied and we came up with nothing. We did everything right. We had…

  • When the Rains Came Part 6

    “Are you sure you’re okay?” Trey asked Annie for the fifth time as he got his gym bag packed. “Yeah. Just tired, like I told you. I didn’t get any sleep.” Annie was staring out the balcony window to where she’d seen the man disappear. The police hadn’t turned anything up yet. She didn’t have…

  • Reader’s Oasis Books

    Once upon a vacation, I was in Quartzsite, Arizona with some of my family. We were visiting our grandmother at her winter house. There’s not a whole lot to do out there, but we had a good time all the same. There’s a small cafe that was delicious. There’s the Gem World store that sells…

  • When The Rains Came Part 5

      That night, Annie stood on the balcony of Trey’s apartment, unable to sleep. She twirled the bluebonnet stem between her fingers as she watched the sky. It was about to rain. As the first drops fell, Annie retreated back under the awning but stayed outside to watch the storm. Even with the recent disaster…

  • The Beach

    *Write about the beach: your favorite memory of a trip, what you love, what you hate. Would you live on the coast if you could, or is it better just for a visit?* A couple of years ago, my sister and I took a vacation to South Padre Island. It was a thirteen-hour drive and…

  • When the Rains Came Part 4

    A phone was ringing from far away. A shrill persistent cry. Why wasn’t anyone answering? People were trying to sleep here. Annie rolled over, surfacing out of the depths of sleep. And then she realized the ringing wasn’t as far away as she’d thought as her cell phone vibrated off the nightstand. “Ugh,” eyes only…

  • The Adventures of Bob the Beetle

    “It sounded like a bird was falling through the tree,” Codie described when they first came across the beetle that will later be known as Bob.   Two of my friends brought over a tupperware container one day that was the new home to a massive beetle and a scorpion. Both of which they’d found…

  • Retail Life Episode 6

    *This post contains foul language* I’m at work, ringing people up, minding my own business. A lady with three teenage sons comes up to check out. The boys are asking for candy or chips or something and she yells at them, “Just fuckin pick something and get over here!” I laugh she shakes her head…

  • When the Rains Came Part 3

    (part 1 and part 2) “Hey, new kid!” Marcus yelled across the hall as the new student tried to squeeze through the crowd. He looked around, eyes wide as though expecting something bad. “Yeah, you! Come here,” Ethan motioned him over to their group. “Hi,” he said once he’d reached them. “I’m Kevin.” “I’m Marcus,…