Field Notes Itto & Mekiya Outini __________ “I don’t think you is who you says you is,” is the first thing Everett says to me, his eyes like shards from broken bottles scattered under streetlamps, only there are no streetlamps here, just a sickly half-moon rising from a knot of…
Read MoreSkin Contact Zachary Bos __________ The deep ravine slashes through the Pennsylvania woods like a wet, stony wound. Halting her hike along the narrow streambed, Valeria Calderón tugs her bandana back into position. She squints to see where to step among the tumbled rocks and clumps of sedge and catbrier.…
Read MoreRosemount Manor Sacha Bissonnette __________ It was the first weekend of July when Sam, Josie, and Buddy met under the maple tree next to the battered shed in Sam’s backyard. They went over the juice-stained checklist Josie pulled out of her bag. Flashlights? Check. Snacks? Check. Three Walkie-Talkies? Check. They…
Read MoreThe Box on West 129th Street Stephen Kramer Avitabile __________ No one ever moved that dusty old box on West 129th Street. Everyone ignored it, hopingsomeone else would make it their problem. But there it sat, collecting dust, blocking everyone’sway as they traveled up and down the sidewalk, unable to…
Read More“Boo”din: The Ticking Clock, Oct ’25 Editor: Vallie Lynn Watson Managing Editor: Taryn White Guest Editor: Abbie Skinner Associate Editor: Leah Joseph Assistant Editors: Robbie Hess and Jade Turner Intern: Margaret Brantley Laura Jacob, “The Ticking Clock” Letter from the Editor by Vallie Lynn Watson Letter from the Guest Editor…
Read MoreThe Second Law of Thermodynamics Shweta Ravi __________ Like the man in the video game, you wonder if you’re being busy, intelligent or foolish. OnSundays, you rinse Mahira’s white school sneakers in vinegar and sunlight before inclining them on the porch like poodles waiting to be tethered. On Mondays you…
Read MoreLinda McMullen __________ Banner Days Prom night, aged 17: the surreptitious banner, half-crouching behind a fake fig tree, read “Enchanted Garden”. I was The Lady in Red. You blushed, and asked me to dance – and I cocked my head to the side, scrambling to recollect. Were you the scullion…
Read MoreMy Med School OSCE Christine Benton Criswell __________ I knew I was in for it when Allen came out of the exam room. He looked pained. “It was awful,” he said. “All I can say is … good luck.” We were participating in our medical school OSCE—the Objective Structured ClinicalExam.…
Read MoreWalrus Sarp Sozdinler __________ Where the name came from, I have no clue. I don’t believe anyone knows, not really. God knows the first time I heard it, my spine tingled in alarm. I don’t like the looks of them, those walruses. Someone told us back then that the name sounds even worse…
Read MoreCircle of Fifths Richard Bader __________ Ronald quit the chorus. He didn’t consider this the end of his singing career — there were lots of other places he could sing, that could make use of his talents, talents that he perhaps thought were greater than they actually were — but…
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