I absolutely cannot fail.
Faliure is not an option.
If I fail this test, they'll hold me back a grade. Then all my friends will move on without me, and I'll stay behind.
I'll take this same test at the end of the year with kids younger than me, and feel the same pressure I'm feeling now.
If I fail then, I'll have to retake the test with kids even younger than the kids from the year before.
...
"Do you think the sun gets lonely up there?"
"Of course not! Think of all the stars who are there to keep it company! It's probably like a never ending party up in the sky!"
"Stars? How could the stars be with the sun? They only come out at night, to welcome the moon."
"Is that what you think, silly? The stars are always out there, shining. You just can't see them, is all."
"Really?"
"Really...
Blinking bulbs and flashing signs
Bright neon colors under flourescent lights
Automatic and instant are slow to us now
With WiFi faster than the speed of sound
Homunculus creations, not skin or chalk
artificial and nylon , motors to walk
Plastics and metals and elements above
Like colonies on Mars without people to love....
[ Part 2 of Unsent Messages, since this old prompt fits so well ]
"Hey, [ REDACTED ]!" They huff, pointing to their hair, "Mind explaining this?"
I bat my eyelashes innocently and hum, "Explain what?"
Their hair, which usually rests in a beautiful, fluffy, face-framing style is now messily tied up into several braids. The braids are sloppy and casual, lovingly held together by random, differe...
Our relationship is a complicated one.
I can't always tell where you stand.
Is this love? Is this loathing?
When I think about you, my heart gives a flutter. Butterflies flit about, tickling my insides and then fizzling out. I feel strangely empty when the butterflies go, and I wonder if it would be better if you disappeared with them.
My heart heart aches when you're near me, my cheeks burn ...
"I can't believe you'd do something so reckless!" I exclaim, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Do you understand how much trouble you could've gotten yourself into? Especially since the people you decided to "prank" happen to be the children of the Earl Grey and his late wife?"
I wave my arms in exasperation, "What, are you going to decide to prank the Countess next? At this rate, I wouldn't be s...
"...huh?" I turn when I hear a familiar noise, one that causes my friend's phone screen to light up with new nonifications.
"Oh, they got a new text," I hum, absentmindedly playing with their hair. It's so soft and fluffy that I always joke about them becoming a hair model. Which, in my defense - they totally could.
The two of us are sprawled out onto their couch together, with their head resti...
We live in a land where the footprints of ghosts linger.
Here is where the creeping of frost's blue lace is audible, and the sighs of a lovestruck girl are not. A place that has forgotten what the sun's rays feel like, a glow upon soft skin.
It has been centuries since something last truly lived here.
When the people could still be called people, there were no vengeful spirits or haunting wrai...
Today is my birthday.
I'm turning fifteen in 10 minutes, at 11:59. Right before midnight.
What is supposed to be a joyous occasion is something has brought me nothing but grief.
The clock ticks. It's 11:50. 9 more minutes.
I remember the screaming. I couldn't forget it if I tried. And I've *tried*.
I still remember how howls of pain tore through the lips of the people around me as they c...
