Tag: Fiction
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Commotion Outside Vrbinski, Neil, and Kurt
A commotion outside the door of Vrbinski, Neil, and Kurt brought all the work inside the law firm office to a complete stop. No typing. No talking. Even Ms. Amy Kurt, starting to make her usual vanilla latte, stopped dead in the tracks from tamping her espresso. Voices on the other side of the heavy…
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The Sanderson Law Firm
“No, that’s normal.” Glancing through the folder on her desk and quickly scanning her computer, she trusted the file. “Especially in these cases.” A porcelain mug filled to the rim with cold coffee sat next to the computer, the closest thing she had to drink. “Mhmm,” she said into the phone, gulping down the cold…
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Jerry’s Used Car Lot
“All you need is a few more dollars, and I will put you in that car myself.” His smile showed off his dingy, yellowing teeth. Jerry Brooks chewed on the end of his cheap cigar, the ones he bought from Plaid Pantry a few doors down from the dealership. He looked like you would imagine…
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Senior Skip Day
High school is where teenagers get to learn what life is like. You’ve got all the makings of a John Hughes movie. Every cliché. All the stereotypes. Kids who enjoy smoking marijuana. Bookworms, nerds, and geeks who love playing Dungeons and Dragons, video games, and reading about fantasy worlds, the likes of which J.R.R. Tolkien…
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Rose Festival 1990-Something
On top of his Stussy bucket hat sat a stuffed black and white stuffed cow, which wasn’t an unusual sight. Not in Portland during the Rose Festival. Wearing jean shorts, white Reeboks, and a Camel t-shirt, his short almond-colored hair was barely noticeable under the hat. And, unless you got real close, you wouldn’t notice…
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“ALL ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC IS SATANIC!”
“ALL ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC IS SATANIC!” Me and my friends laughed at him. Well, they did. I was a bit too scared to laugh, as my Dad was a local Southern Baptist church pastor. But in Dublin, California, we didn’t call it Southern Baptist. We moved from Arkansas in the spring of 1980. My…
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After Hours at McMinimin’s
Officer Keyes sat in his patrol car, the door slightly ajar, his left foot dangling, trying to put together pieces of what exactly happened to Kyle Patterson. The EMTs were saying heart attack. The young men who caused all the excitement bailed before Beaverton Police arrived on the scene, and Patterson had a coronary event.…
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McMinimin’s New Bartender
Nolan came into McMinimin’s, looking for his favorite bartender, Caitlin, a good old-fashioned Irish girl with ginger hair, a pale complexion accented with freckles, and a few piercings in her left ear. A stranger stood behind the bar, a big man, balding, with a slight hint of a mustache that looked like he’d be attempting…
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“Bee Stings.”
Glen’s tongue, thick and heavy from the excessive amounts of Hamm’s he consumed, made it hard to understand any word he spoke with an ‘s’ in it. The foreman of a hot asphalt roofing crew for Loren Smallen, Glen was happiest off the roof, smoke burning between the fingers of his right hand and a…
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Tony – The Tow Truck Driver
“Tony, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, you can’t come in here dressed like that,” Margie said, a cigarette hanging from her lipstick-painted red lips. In her right hand, she held a carafe of burned black coffee. In the other, a breakfast plate: three pancakes, two pieces of thick linked…
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You’re Offended by That?
“You’re offended by that?” Shelby screamed at Angela. The two best friends were having coffee at the local Starbucks. It wasn’t unusual for the friends to talk about subjects varying from abortion to religion. Even political ideologies were a part of their dialogues. For some reason, all rational thought left Shelby. There was no reason…
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Reporter vs. Storyteller
When I tell someone I’m a storyteller, they automatically reply, “Oh. You’re a reporter.” “Uh, no. I tell stories.” “How is that different?” A reporter relays the facts relevant to the current situation, focusing on having every fact relevant and accurate to the event while maintaining objectivity through words, video, or an online report. A…
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Andy’s Close Call
High school. Acid-washed jeans. Polo shirts, more specifically, Ralph Loren. Bright, loud colors. Mini-skirts. Teased-out hair, if long enough, coated with enough Aquanet to freeze it permanently in place. Jelly shoes, no socks. The Don Johnson Miami Vice look. And more than enough drama to write four seasons of Saved By the Bell or 90210.…
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Amber’s Observation (Sisters – Part III)
“And how do you know that?” Amber asked. “Do you have a picture?” “No. But Bud’s not a cowboy, farmer, or rancher,” she said, putting a finger down for each one of the things Amy liked that Jamie didn’t. “He didn’t wear cowboy boots.” Another finger down. “Bud didn’t own a massive rodeo belt buckle.”…
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What’s His Name? (Sisters – Part II)
“I’m so happy for you, Amy! When do we get to meet him?” “I don’t know. Bud travels for work, so he’s not around much.” Amy continued to play with the grass, imagining it was Bud’s hair. “But he’s coming home for a few days, so maybe we can get together then?” “I’m a maybe,…
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Sisters
She wasn’t expecting to walk more than a quarter-mile uphill from where she parked her car on the gravel road next to a Volkswagen and beat-up Chevy truck. Jamie was too far from the city to get a signal on her cell phone. Lucky for her, the gravel road was the only one out this…
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Paying Attention
“Squirrel!” Her shout took me aback for a split second because, like most of the things she does, this was uncharacteristically within her character. Her glasses teetered on the edge of her nose, face reddened from the abrupt scream. She followed up her exclamation with a few puppy-like barks. “Holy crab apples, Jules!” I screamed.…
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Not By Accident
Today, it is unpopular to follow Jesus. I don’t know that’s it ever been a popular idea or opinion to tell other people that you love Jesus, that you believe he came, died, and rose again, all for your benefit because – and this is the kicker – because guess what? He loves you. Why…