CLASS FLASH FICTION
Inhale
Go.
This story, it should last about as long as you can hold your breath, and
then a little bit longer. So listen as fast as you can.
This kid, he's stuck out on this lake. He's swimming and the waves come up
and it's too hard to swim back, so he figures what the hell, I'll just go the
rest of the way across. Only he doesn't know, the way you see distance is
distorted over water. He's got a mile to go. He's gone about 500 yards. What
looks like a five minute long swim is going to equate to about an hour and a
half.
So he swims. And keeps swimming. And swims some more. He's not going
anywhere. Hes standing still. He's going backward. He looks back, he sees a
police car on the bank. Shit. He looks away, but he can't stand it and he looks
back again--wham. Smacked in the eyes with two more. So now he just swims. And
swims. But he hears sirens and he sees a fire truck. An ambulance. He hears
motorboats. His friend, he called 911.
This kid, he knows how much trouble he's in so he panicks. He loses it. He
swims so fast, his arms are spinning, his legs, they're kicking and he's
exhausted. He's out of breath now. He's really tired, so he closes his eyes
which he'll open in another moment after a moment and then he's under. He takes
a breath, a nice, full breath of oxygen and hydrogen and he chokes, thrashes
and writhes. He was tired, but oh, is he awake now. He doesn't know which way
is up. He goes one direction and slam!--mud. The bottom of the lake. Hes seeing
explosions of color now and he doesn't know if he can even move but if you want
it bad enough, you'll go through anything to get that next breath. He kicks off
the mud and shoots up and just before he passes out he feels it like a slap in
the face, that cold air.
And now he just lets the waves wash him to the other shore and and drop him
off there. He decides to sleep. The medics and the police, they'll find him
sleeping later and he'll freak out at how pissed off everyone must be and
everyone will just cry and tell him how happy they are he's alive, but for now
he just lies there on the sand and feeds the mosquitoes.
Stop.
Now, take a nice, long deep breath. Just relax.
Because this kid, he still has not.
—Isaac
Untitled
He never knew that his actions would cause someone else any pain. She stood
there, at least five feet four inches tall, and she looked him in the eye. His
eyes showed fury. "What have you proved?"
"I've proved that I can raise a child. That I can be successful
through the acomplishments of my child."
He lived his life for him. "I understand. This has always been about
you." He never knew she cared so much.
Untitled
Caroline looked out the window forgetting what she knew for the moment
only. She had lost a father and a brother yesterday... and as of now, the
future has no promise. She stares blankly out the window as her mother enters
the room, "Caroline. Tell me how you feel."
"Daddy kept his promise," said Caroline, "He let me see the
gun."
Reasons Like Seasons
She's standing in a
kitchen. Knife at hand. She looks down at what is left of her marriage. Slowly,
without thinking about it too much, she returns to what she was doing before
the argument. She straightens up the house and cleans up the blood. Outside, a
police car pulls up, sirens blaring. She looks at the officer, and says
"Evening." Where's the reason for the death? Nobody's sure. A season
is always changing, and without reason, she let him go.
—Ashley
Untitled
The wind howls
eerily as she stands in the park. The night is young and so is she. She has her
whole life ahead of her yet she is yearning for the silken white of that
special dress. To feel the coldness of a ring on her special finger. There is
nothing she can't do and yet she is worried that her time will never come. The
time that she has waited for, for so long in her life, she wonders who will
listen when she cries. She is stading alone. There is no one with her, nor has
there ever been. She wishes that she could take back her mistakes and befriend
those in need. She is selfish and needs to feel wanted. To look down at her
hand and see that mysterious ring staring back at her. She wants to start a new
life, with him. Who? Anyone she so chooses.
Untitled
You can't expect
to hear my voice if you can't see my face. If I scream at you and try to tell you
how I feel, you won't hear me. I don't know why I'm mad at you and I have no
idea why you're standing in front of my face. I'm lost in this world and I have
no where to go. I am obsessed with standing in this spot, motionless and
fearless. No one will care if I am gone, no one will miss me if I left but the
problem with all of that is, I have no where to go. So if you hear a scream
from the dark, or a whimper outside your window, wonder where I am because I
could be anywhere you want me. I could be a dream or reality, how do you feel
about that?
—Lindsay
Attitudes
The athelete was standing
at the carwash waiting for a ride. Finally his friend pulled up. "Jump
in," his friend said. "You want a beer" his friend asked.
"Sure said the athelte, "its no big deal."
—Bryant
The Chase
They chased her. They chased in hot pursuit of that innocent flesh. They wanted
to get to her and eat at her again. Attacking at every chance they go for the
bared skin. They've got her. She cant get away form their little mouths. She
fights back but they are to small and to many, she loses. When they have taken
what they want they leave her. She walks on bumpy and itchy, swearing at the
mosquitoes.
Fun House
Warning, the signs in her head told her to stop. "I cant," she
kept telling herself, "I just cant quit." She followed the little man
in the yellow hat through the twisting corridors and around the oddly placed
tables. She knew not what was left to follow for, so she followed intently
trying to pick up an idea of what he was really up to. "I have him, I know
I do, I know he did it," she reassured herself over and over as she
followed the yellow hatted man. Suddenly he disappeared. Then he was back, it
was just an unusual turn in the goofy little house. She knew no longer why she
followed him, just that she needed to do it and would do it until the need was
not needed anymore.
He disappeared once more and then was back in the instance he was gone. Now
there was ten men in yellow hats all of which were variations of the same man.
One was tall and so thin he looked as if he was stretched more than any human
body should limit, another was so short and round that he looked like a beach
ball with baby arms and legs projecting out of its sides. Then he was gone
again, all ten of him were gone actually. "I've got to get him," she
said as she turned to look at herself in a mirror. She took one last turn and
was outside in the fresh warm air of the little town. "Wow mommy you took
along time in there," said the red haired little boy. "Well if your
dad would have waited for me instead of making me search for him I wouldn't
have got lost so many times!"
Getting Out
"Away," she screamed, "I just need to get away."
"I can’t take this tired little town with it's tired little people,
everything is so black and white here there is no grey space; people are so
narrow minded that they cant let the little ignorances slide, but they cant
stop the reacuring problems."
"There is no point to my being here in this little place with all
these people who cant see past the scars i carry and the burdens that I daily
try to bury," she sighed, "they'll never truly understand me because
they'll never give me that chance to show that I am a decent human being."
"I just need to get out and see the world around me," she said,
"see that there are other people who go through this pain to and still
stand tall, I need to be free of these chains that bind me."
"I hope that you will forgive me when I leave, for I may never come
back," she said ever so calmly, "I'll think of you always but for now
I'm getting out."
—Dezirae
Rose
The smell of roses. I always did like that smell, somehow it reminded me of
home. We had some in our yard one year, but they just didn't last. That sweet
scent.... as I stand there I'm not old anymore, I don 't have the same worries
I do now. I'm just a child. I'm not aware of my surroundings, but my insecurity
vanishes as I see my parents in front of me. I don't know my phone number, my
address, or even what state I live in. I'm blissfuly unaware of the problems
that tommorrow holds, I don't have any hopes or dreams and yet I'm so happy
without them. I don't know it yet, but I will soon be longing for these days
more than anything else; The carefree days sitting out on the lawn, listening to
the birds sing their sweet songs. Those times swimming in the river with
friends, the feeling of that cool water on a hot summer day. I want to hold on
to these memories, I tell myself that I'm not going to let go and that I will
just stay here in this garden, living in my past because it is so much better
then my present. Just then, however, I remember my future. Where there was
nothing but gloom before,
—Jason
Shuffle
He twists and turns. He scrambles and sorts. He mixes, he mangles. But he
still doesn't get it. He tries lining up the green with the blue, but that
doesn't work, so he goes after matching the red with the orange. The white with
the yellow. He matches green with orange, and bam!--now he's getting somewhere.
But the orange-blue-yellow won't cooperate now. He lines that up and and the
green-orange-white goes out of place. These colors like his life. Once you've
got one thing in order, another thing pops out. Such is life. C'est la vie.
So now he changes tack. He puts the orange-green and the green-white where
they need to be. Now he matches the red-green and the green-yellow. And now, by
stroke of genius, those green-something-whatevers, he gets those right too.
So this guy, now he has his greens in order. At least he's got something
going for him. He's feeling pretty good by now so he decides to attack the
red-yellow. He's got that in place, but damn it, the red-white-blue isn't what
it needs to be. He puts that back in place and the red-yellow, well, forget
about it. You can't have it all. Even in life. Catch one thing, miss another.
Grab something, drop something else. You can only have your cup so full.
But this guy, he can't figure it out. He's got to get it right. No, he has
to have it perfect. So he finally says screw it. He taps the Internet and surfs
a few pages. He copies down some notes and prints off a couple of diagrams. And
he goes back to it. He ignores the hues and just looks at the arrows. He mixes
and mangles. He turns, he twists. He scrambles. He shuffles. And voila!--he's
done!
People find out about these notes, these pages, and they say he's a cheater.
But you know what?--he really doesn't give a rat's ass. You're not gonna figure
it out, you're not going to get it perfect on your own. Everyone needs help.
Period. And who the hell cares? It mocked him, it spit on him, it laughed in
his face but he won, that damn Rubik's Cube, it's solved.
—Isaac
Woman
The Box
First One
"First one," replies boy.
They kiss and leave for home.
—Katie
Can't
think of a title (I don't like it)
A young couple walks
through an apple orchard hand in hand. Nearing a pond, they hear an owl hoot
gently in the distance. The sun paints the sky soft hues of pink and gold. They
are away from it all - the pollution, the hatred, the atrocious industrial
surroundings.
They talk about life's joys and lifes woes. Laying out a large, fleece blanket,
they sit facing the west as the sun nears the horizon. Her hair wisps about in
the lolling breeze as she lays her head on his chest. He caresses her lovingly
as a chorus of crickets encore the sun.
Together they lie, as the stars emerge. He kisses the top of her head, as she
sleeps at the end of the granny smith row. Their love is true, all is well.
—Monica
Three Kids
It was 9:00 a.m. in the morning and the mother had many things to do. She
had three kids, a huge buisness meeting and an out of town husband flying into
the airport in two hours. She got ready and stood at the top of the stairs
savering the last bit of silence then she went into the kitchen and everything
hit her like a bomb hitting Hiroshima. "I want to go to thebathroom
mommy," said the child named nine. " I'm thirsty," said the
child named ten. " I want to go to the fair," said the child named
eleven. She just rubbed her head the sighed, she could feel the headache
growing inside.Then all of a sudden the phone rang and she went to answer it.
The phone call was from her husband named number seven. He said, " My
flight is running a few hours late, so my flight won't be there until 3:00
p.m." She hung up the phone and looked at her calender. "Oh
crap," said the mother, "That's the same time as my important
business meeting." The headache was pretty large now. The mother sat down
and tried to think of a plane, but while she was thinking number nine went to
the bathroom........ in his chair, number ten spilt the milk jug all over the
counter and number eleven was heading out the door and to the fair. Her head
was now the actual bomb and she felt like she was going to explode. She went
over the the medicine cabinet and took five advil. The mother then said
"Ok.........
Untitled
"I don't
know if i can do this," said the boy. "Of course you can," the
girl said "We will do it together," said the girl. They both stood
there in the pouring golf sized hail. The two most popular kids in town were
standing, making out in the hail. Then all of sudden at exactly 1:02 in the
morning they stopped. "Are you ready," the girl asked. " I
guess," the boy said. " I love you," they both said at the same
time. Then two shot were fired and the hail kept on falling.
Bound By Blood
Two men sit across each other in a dark room. One of them, the one on the right
sits back, slouched in his chair. The one on the left is upright in his chair,
his dark eyes glued on the middle of the table. The two men catch eyes. The one
on the right grins the one on the left slumps over the table. "So.. how is
your son?" the man on the right asks. "Good.. and your
daughter?" "She's wonderful.." "..and your wife?"
"Oh, she's great, yours?" "Um hmm.. yep, yep, fantastic.." "Well,
brother, here's to good times and good fortune." Suddenly the man on left
dives over the table grabbing the pistol that lay there. He spins around and
fires four shots into the other man's chest.
Anthony dropped the tube and slumped in his chair. He reached over, inching for
his knife. So many thoughts run rapidly through his head. "Is this
right?" "What will this solve?" "It will release
you.." He grasps the knife in his hand and swings down at his forearm,
slicing it open and causing blood to stream out. Holding his arm so it is not
to drip into the pile of white powder towards the edge of the table, he reaches
for a large feather. He dips it cautiously into his arm, bringing it afterwards
to a large slab of paper. Carefully he writes. He becomes dizzy and soon after
passes out. On the table the words "You think you're smart, you're not..
Let's see if you got the gall, come take it all..."
Jackson steps onto the street. He merrily looks both ways and crosses. This is
a good day for Jackson. It not only is his birthday, but he has just left work
and had been given a great raise. He's on top of the world. He strolls down the
street thinking to himself. He thinks about his beautiful wife, about his
beautiful daughter, about his fantastic home. He laughs. "I am on top of
the world.. life can't get any better than this..." He turns the corner
and bumps shoulders with an old high school friend of his. He is estatic!
"It's been, what, 10 years? How the hell are you old friend?"
"I'm okay, I'm alright.. how are you these days?" "Wonderful..
it's my birthday today.. I have a wonderful family.. a wonderful home.. and...
not to mention.. a pocketful of bonus cash! Life is good.." "Oh, you
got a bonus, huh?" "Yessir!" "How much?" Jackson opens
up an envelope and shows his old friend a large sum of money. Without
hesitation, the old friend takes a blade from his belt and swipes Jackson
across the throat and steals his money. Jackson graps his throat in terror as
his old friend sprints away. As blood pours down Jackson's chest he faintly sees
his wife and child driving up in a blue minivan.
Untitled
I sit in a dark corner of the alley. My face cold, my eyes heavy. I wonder
why this has happened to me. A week ago I was laying in my own bed, with my own
husband. Here I am now, lost and destitute with no love, no life. I shiver in
that sullen corner with nothing but my thoughts and the tattered clothing I
posess. I am consumed in the night sky, lightless and weary. It overcomes my
body and I am left alone to replay my mistakes. I hear the beating of my heart
and the quiet steps of someone nearby. I don't turn to face them, instead I
hide my embarassed face near my chin and hope for a better day. I slowly sink
off to sleep, more of a daze than rest and begin to realize, this is better than
I had expected.
Frozen in Time
There she stood standing in the well. Wondering if anyone would hear her
scream. She was drenched and freezing. She would be dead in a matter of hours
if no one found her. She saw the light but couldn't get out for there was 2
inches of ice around the sides. There was one little nilon rope hanging down
the well. She tryed and tryed but no matter what happend she coudnt' get out;
she was too wet and cold. She wound up warrying herself out to the brink of death.
She was remembering all the good times when she heard some voices, but by this
time she had lost all hope. Then she saw the most beautiful thing in her life.
It was the face of her brother and the man from the nearest farm house 15 miles
away.
Nightmare
She woke to a crackel not knowing where it was comen from. She looked out
the window and sees the most horrific thing she could have ever imagine seeing.
Her barn up in full flames and her animals trapped in side. She goes to her
parents rooms and trys to wake them but they dont' wake till they heard
"the barn is on fire". They wake with a fright and her mother barrels
down stairs and opens the door and falls to pieces. Her step-father calls 911
knowing nothing could be done it was all to late. It seemed like forever but
they fire department finally got there. They got there and put the fire out but
the only thing left standing was the sylo. She would live her life blaming
herself for not waking up in time to save her mom's pride and joy. Her seven
beautiful horses.
Geo Tipping
We were driven along on a horrible dirt road on our way to the movie. Next
thing I know i'm upside down in a little green geo that is supose to be right
side up. I released the seatbeld and see if the people in the back are okay.
They are fine just shooken up, but I saw the drive was missing along with her
window. We have to kick the doors to open them cuz they are sunk in snow. We
finally get out and frantically search for our missing friend. Thankfully she
was alright nothing happend. She was just too fast at getting out of the car.
She was histerically but alive and well. The others burst out laughing cuz it
was histerical and kind of a rush.
—Bobbie
Untitled
She looked out the window and then at him.She didnt want to move from the comfort that his bed brought her and she knew when morning broke she would be back to where she could put her innocent face on and say "It's just for fun."
Untitled
I'm hungry, I always am. I smell, I always do. I'm pittful, I know. I'm
not alone. I'm always alone.
Untitled
The colors of my skirt are wonderfully radiant as we gaze up at the cotton
candy stuck in the sky.I feel the butterfly that im looking at and I
realize he might be alone here outside. As we exchange comfortable smirks.
I bite my lip and roll my eyes up as a huge grin expands like a rubberband
ready to break. I couldn't stop if I tried.
Untitled
I watch myself jam the key into the lock as
I'm rushing inside. My heart still beats way too fast. It's been over a year
and a half but the thought of you still scares me. "There are cops outside
watching for him," I tell myself. I begin to breathe more easily.
You never were an honest man. I knew I
could never trust you, yet I did. You were like my father. Hateful, afraid,
cunning as hell. A real bull dog actually. Drooling at everything, even if it
wasn't appetizing.
Ms. Smith down the hall still watches me.
Watches to see who I bring home. To see if I brought home more groceries that
usual. I'm sure she'll remind me about you next time I bring a guy home. I
haven't yet. A year and a half and you still keep me single.
Untitled
Lightning bolts from her smile blind my
husband as he stares plainly at the stage. Motivational speaker my ass.
"Get better sex." I thought thats what the seminar was about. They
should have advertised "Get better wet dreams by watching your own
personal hooker speak to you and your less than adequate wife for two and a
half hours." Her perfect skin and electric hazel eyes mezmorize all the
men in the auditorium. I look around and I'm not the only woman looking
uncomfortable. I stand up to leave, I don't need to be put through this, a nice
drink will do the trick. Ms. Beautiful calls me up on stage. Damnit. I look
back at you not surprised to see you hiding your face. Don't worry sweetie. You
won't be the only one comparing me to her.
He hobbles back from the buffet. Grunting,
face turning red. He sits down and rests from the minute and a half he was
walking to get food that he feels he payed way too much for. He looks at my
face unsatisfied with the amout of food I took. "I hope your going back
for seconds..." He doesn't finish his thought because I know what he ment.
This man was superman. This man was mister universe. This man was the man that
my brothers friends were jealous of. What kind of thing could turn someone so
cold by just by taking away physical ability? It's a load of crap, isn't it?
Daddy's Girl
She wanted him to say something, you could tell by they way her eyes plead. She
stood there in his room and begged him to say something without words. He
stared at the TV. Any other person at that moment could recognize the trauma
she was experiencing, but for some reason he couldn't. He was too occupied with
other things. She would cry herself to sleep that night, in a room not eight
feet from his. She had solved her previous problem, but the ongoing struggle
for attention tugged at her heart. Perhaps someday he would realize that a few
words could have changed the outcome.
Circumstance
Catherine couldn't think of anything else for the week that followed the party.
She had never talked to him before, but had seen him so many times. She
couldn't understand why he was attracted to her, being the plain Jane that she
was. All she knew was that she would die if she had to see him again. How
embarrassing she thought. Catherine's friend had begged her to give him a
chance. He really did like her, he was a great guy. Catherine couldn't bring
herself to do it, anyways it is all probably a big joke. She left the party
alone. The next day all she could focus on was how she would die of
embarrassment if she saw him again. Two weeks later her friend called her.
"There was an accident", she let off between gulps of air. "He
died", she said. "Who?", I asked. The story unraveled from there.
Ironic
"People these days just don't know how to control their kids", Agatha
told her husband. They had been married for twenty years now and both worked
white-collar jobs, lived comfortably, and had one fifteen year old kid named
Michael. They lived by the book, church every sunday, they even watched Wheel
of Fortune as a family. " Their kids are running rampant on the streets
with their sex, drugs, and alcohol. Ms. White's oldest girl just found out she
is pregnant and she is only 14. I'll tell you what, I bet it's because of the
divorce. People just don't understand how that affects the kids. One little
factor goes out of control and the next thing the kids are off getting
pregnant." Agatha's husband nodded as he turned the page of the paper.
" Don't even get me started on that little Christian Turner boy. His
parents are off at the bar night after night till god knows when and look what
it's done to him. From what I hear, he skips school to go get high and hangs
around with those mexicans. I'm so glad that our Michael wouldn't dare do a
thing like that." At that very moment, Michael was in his room sticking a
needle in his arm.
Flash Fiction #1
Going into the year the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team was expected to do
really bad. Their best player got injured and should have been out the whole
season. Then something amazing happened. He went to bed one night and the next
day woke up with no pain where he had hurt himself. After the first three games
of the season they were ranked in the top ten in the nation. After a couple of
weeks they were number 1 in the nation and by now were the team to beat. They
got a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and won their first game by about
25 points. It was awesome. The next 4 games were close but the Hoosiers
prevailed in all of them and once again made it to the NCAA National
Championship game in Detroit, Michigan. It was a sellout game and by the first
ten minutes people where already losing their voice from yelling so loud. The
Hoosiers were beating the Duke Blue Devils by 13 at half time and never looked
back. They won the game by 20 and had once again become the NCAA National
Champions.
Flash Fiction #2
The Dallas Cowboys were a dynasty in the 90's. They were always expected to
make the playoffs if not to the Super Bowl. The problem was that one year
Michael Irvin retired. Then shortly after that Troy Aikman retired. Not long
after Troy retired Emmitt Smith broke the all time record for most rushing
yards in a career. After that he was too cocky and wanted so much money and
playing time that the cowboys released him and the Arizona Cardinals signed
him. Well any Cowboy fan was asking the same question, what happens now? Well
for a couple years it wasn't good. Then they got some All Stars on their team
and the next year went undefeated during the regular season. The only obstacle
they had to overcome now was the playoffs. The first few games their defense
really showed why they were the leading defense in the NFL. The Super Bowl was
a different story though. This Championship game was a clash of offensive
powerhouses. At half time the Cowboys were trailing 28-27 but the coach told
them not to worry, and that everything was going to be alright. Of course he
was right. The Cowboys then came out and score 2 consecutives touchdowns to
take the lead and never look back winning the Super Bowl 44-35.
Flash Fiction #3
The Detroit Pistons had won the NBA Championship 2 years in a row and 5 out
of the last 7 but they had never won 3 in a row. They really believed that this
was the year for them to win it all for the third time in a row. With the same
starting five that had won them the first two they were the team to beat they
whole year. Well they made it to the playoff pretty easily. They got the number
one seed and they were pumped. They swept the first series from the Hawks. They
won the next series in 5 games to the Pacers and won the Eastern Conference
Finals in 6 games to the Heat. Now the only wall holding them back was the
Minnesota Timberwolves. The first game was really good but the Pistons won.
They won the next game to, but it was a blowout. Going to the Target Center in
Minneapolis the Pistons just wanted to win 1 out of 3 because they really
wanted to win the NBA championship at home. The first to games in Minneapolis
the Timberwolves won. Mission accomplished for the Pistons. They won game 5 and
now had a 3-2 lead over the Timberwolves. They exploded for 29 points in the
first quarter and never look back. They won the game by 13. The confetti and
balloons drifted from up above. The Piston fans were celebrating. It was the
best day of their lives.
A Polite Murder
It was a pity she had to die. Not that I
cared particularily for her, but still, family is family. I had hoped at
one point to avoid such collateral damage, but when one is pushed to the limit,
the first one to go is the sister right? Right? But I really do regret that it
had to happen right there. I mean, she was getting married, and cleaning
the blood out of the vestments won't be cheap, but I told the priest as I was
leaving that he could bill me. The groom assured me that it was okay, and that
even he had to admit that it was a spectacular shot.
But still, family is family. So I sent
flowers to the grave. My parents said it was only fair.
The Tragedy on the Street Corner
The child was holding a large yellow balloon.
The child was holding fast to the string of his brilliant yellow balloon.
Doom in a Can
The class just sat there, typing their
flash fiction, not knowing what they were in for;
as the last one finished their final character exposition, the ninjas entered
the room.
"Aha!" shreiked the leader.
"Your flash fiction is mine! I now will place them all in the doom
generator and intermingle plot points until your minds are flayed!
Mwahahahahaha!cough!shoot.
A collective gasp went around the room.
"You can't do that! Our stories are
now copy writ according to intellectual property laws visa vis the
internet!"
"I know," said the prancing
ninja. "that's what makes it evil."
The ruins of the computer cluster were
dedicated as a memorial to the class, thus giving a story fraught with sorrow a
buerocratically happy ending.
—Joe