Merrisa had loved the summer weekends when she was sent down to Grandma’s. In that pretty cottage on the edge of a postcard village, she felt more seen, more heard, than at any time in the showpiece London house her parents called home. Not that they were home much, hence the constant need for Merrisa …
He was easy enough to ignore on the train, sitting near enough to keep an eye on me, but not encroaching. If I'd had a good book, I daresay I could have blocked thought of him entirely. Unfortunately, all I had was the 'improving stories' Aunt Diddy had pressed into my hand that morning, and …
Rowena stood on the castle wall, on the little tower section where the west wall met the left side of the gate-wall and waited. He had to wave. If he didn’t turn, didn’t see her, didn’t acknowledge her silent farewell with one of his own, then it was over. He didn’t care, and she would …
It wasn’t so much a book as a tome. Sitting smugly on a carved wooden stand that, even with a pedestal thicker around than Gregor’s thigh, seemed to stagger under the weight of the paper, ink, and ornamented leather surmounting it. Jin looked it over, arms crossed, attitude unimpressed. “That’s what he sent us to …
"This way. Remember, you have to be really quiet." Luke nodded and pinched his lips tight together. It wasn't often his cousin Doren even spoke to him, let alone showed him a secret way out of the family wing of the palace. Doren was thirteen to Luke's ten, and had other, older, friends and interests. …
“Well, since I’ve been so … inconvenienced … I think I should be entitled to a little … compensation.” The customer’s oily smirk made Jessia want to heave. She gave him her most patently fake, pinch-lipped smile. “Certainly, sir, would you prefer a sample pack of our top-selling perfume, or a five-dollar gift certificate?” He …
"So I've decided to promote Rupert instead of Johanna." Aaron wound up with a plastic smile. Lee didn't smile back. They sat, stone-faced, as the silence stretched and Aaron began to squirm. Then they said. "You decided. Perhaps you'd like to begin with explaining how that is your decision to make." Aaron spluttered, but Lee …
“He said he didn’t know how to skate.” Becky glared into her chai latte as her friends stared. “He’s from, where, Norway?” “Denmark.” Justine shrugged. “Same difference. I can’t believe he came out with such an obvious lie, and I even more can’t believe you fell for it.” That was unfair, and Becky retorted. “You’re …
Shanthi looked across the table at the two people interviewing her. Both a good ten years younger than her, probably closer to fifteen, both looking confused by her answer. The one who'd introduced themselves as Yan, with they/them pronouns, asked. "Why, if you're coming in as a strategist, would you be spending time on the …
Jass had no idea how Ben knew this place, how he’d become friends with people living in a strange, beautiful valley in the middle of nowhere, with a set of hot springs in a tucked-away spot at the narrowest end of the valley. She might not know, but she wasn’t about to complain. After two …
The DNA of Stories 