Short Fiction, Poetry and Classic Book Reviews
Miss Harvey was back to her bubbly self—and then some. During the morning lessons, her rhymes were catchy, her activities were extra-fun, and her jokes had never been cornier. She even made the multiplication test enjoyable. At morning tea time she asked Holly to stay back. Holly took a deep breath and waited at her... Continue Reading →
Holly stared in wonder at the weeping adult in front of her. She looked about the room and the windows to see if anyone else was seeing what she was seeing. There was no one. Squeals and laughter called from the playground. A distant tonk of plastic bat on tennis ball had Holly thinking for... Continue Reading →
Miss Harvey picked up the notebook. "You have a gift for writing," she said, though she seemed unimpressed. "Your style is very... uh..." Her voice trailed off. She set the book down, raised her head and drew a deep breath. She turned to face Holly, her lips screwed up to one side. She stared at... Continue Reading →
The next morning's lessons were unusually drab: a spelling test, an hour calculating the area of triangles, and then a science lesson that raised hopes by mentioning sharks and turtles before revealing itself to be a sermon on reducing plastic pollution in oceans. Miss Harvey, who usually coloured her lessons with rhymes, artistic activities and... Continue Reading →
Holly was good at cricket. Playing cricket on the oval at lunchtime was the closest she had come to making friends so far at her new school. When she played, some of the older boys talked with her and joked with her—no one else ever did. But today she didn't play. She just sat on... Continue Reading →
Holly set down her pencil and shook her hand to loosen the cramp. She looked down at the open notebook before her, its every faint-ruled blue line crammed left to right with large cursive handwriting—neat enough to be legible, but messy enough to keep up with the flow of inspiration. Most of her classmates were... Continue Reading →
The light through the bedroom window was bright and warm by the time Victor woke up. One after the other, his legs dribbled over the side of the bed, and he heaved himself up to sit on the edge of the mattress. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, and massaged his eyes... Continue Reading →
A peaceful minute or two passed; Victor stood leaning against the kitchen bench, while Gary looked around the room with his newly-healed eyes, smiling. After testing out his restored vision, he turned to Victor, whose look was full of thought. Gary lowered his eyes. "You're probably wondering what's going on—all the weird stuff in this... Continue Reading →
Gary stood still for a few minutes, making no sound but the occasional sniff. Victor watched and waited. Finally, Gary climbed up on the chair in front of the sink. "Ready?" asked Victor. Gary nodded. "All right," said Victor. "Lean your head over the sink... That's it. Now turn your head to the side... No,... Continue Reading →
