Thanks for the Memories

By Ryn Brierley I place the soda and bag of pretzels on the counter. “That’s twenty seconds, please,” the cashier says. I drop the pack of gum I was just about to add to the pile. “Twenty seconds? It should only be ten for all of this.” “Inflation,” he says. “I don’t make the prices.” I groan. I push in the vial behind my ear, and it clicks out with a soft ping. The small Read more

Contest Runner-up: The Greatest of the Greeks

By Zenia deHaven The Trojans believed that Achilles’ heroics were exaggerated. Many tales of demigods were thrilling. Perseus slaying the gorgon monster Medusa? Incredible! The children frequently requested a retelling of that one. The older ones loved hearing about Perseus defeating the behemoth Minotaur in Daedalus’ dark labyrinth. The stories of demigods were not new to Trojans, but the rumors of Achilles were absurd. There were whispers that he slayed his foes without looking at Read more

The Merry-Go-Round: Queer Romance from the 1980s Onwards

By Theodore Boronkay Queer romance is a compelling example of social progress’ circularity. Instead of an incline, a hill where we become more enlightened with every step, human development is a merry-go-round where we return to a previous era after a full revolution. As Catherine, River McIntryre’s friend in the New Adult novel, Man o’ War points out, “If we could culturally lose the concept of indoor plumbing, who’s to say we won’t return to Read more

Alumni Contest Winner: Grace Land

By Sarah Pascarella Olivia discovered her bag was gone when she got up to refill her coffee. Her crucial mistake had been to place it at her feet adjacent to the café’s busiest path, easy to grab. The seat behind hers was close enough that the thief could have simply reached behind, nonchalant, as though to scratch an itch, and grasped the top handle’s durable fabric strip. Pluck. And it was gone, she made sure Read more

Contest Winner: Misinformed

By Amira Mazzawy “Apollo!” Zeus’ roar could be heard from anyone zooming through the clouds. Considering that Apollo was currently raising the sun over the northeast, he couldn’t miss it. Luckily he could call on one of the muses to take over sunrise for him. Otherwise he’d risk an eclipse, though the humans had seemed more fascinated than frightened over those in the last century. So Apollo snapped his fingers and appeared in the throne Read more