Young Adult
Becoming a Marine Biologist
Artificial light glimmers on scales as fish dart in the large aquarium tanks all around me. I wave to the few coworkers still here as they get ready to leave. Bags are packed, areas cleaned up as they head to the door mostly en masse. Heading through doors with a sign that reads employees only, I dress in with a wetsuit and grab my cart with supplies. Double checking that all the tests I would need to run are there, I push my cart back through the doors I'd entered. The keyring jangles as I pick them up to lock up the entrance to the aquarium. I grab a cup and climb up the back of one of the tanks to grab some water. Each cup on my cart is labeled for each tank, so I know what water I'm testing for later. I make my circuit, winding through each exhibit. I smile to myself as I watch the different interactions each species has. Some are loners, but my favorites are the schooling fish. The way the light shimmers and shines as a group flits about their home has always enchanted me. Guess that's why I enjoy working in an aquarium.
Michelle WeirPublished 2 years ago in FictionTrapped Inside
This trip was just a distraction. I'm aware of that. My parents would have never taken me to this place if they didn't feel like I had to just get out of the house at that very second. The day was hectic. Hell. Life's been hectic. Mom found out. Next was dad. I knew dad would find out eventually, even if mom tried her very hardest to keep it from him. Dad always finds out.
Drowning my Sorrows
I couldn’t believe she was gone. After all I’d done for her, all the money and love I’d given her, all the indiscretions I’d forgiven because of her ‘compulsive personality disorder,’ she left me to go live in a homeless shelter so she could drink and do drugs with her new homeless boyfriend.
Alex H MittelmanPublished 2 years ago in FictionLo Squalo
I put out my cigarette and started walking toward the Boston aquarium. It was beginning to sprinkle as I rushed inside lightly. He was there waiting for me, one hand in his pocket, the other playing away at his cell phone. We were there as a gift from his mother, but he didn't seem amused. He'd much rather be doing something else.
The Box
I slide my key into the lock of my front door. It's been a long day at work. Another unsolved murder in this big city, another column for me to write. I lock the door behind me and head to the kitchen. I pull my notes from my bag, setting them out before I grab a tv dinner to heat up in the microwave. A strange droning noise interrupts me. I stand still and listen. It's right outside my door. I tiptoe back and peek through my peephole as the sound fades away. No one is there so I open the door, picking up the cardboard box that had been left behind. Surprisingly light despite its size, I carry it to my table. I know I didn't order anything and I stayed late at work tonight. I open the box to find a strange photograph of a brunette woman walking down a street. I don't recognize her. It's when I flip over the photo that I grab my phone and dial my contact at the police department.
Michelle WeirPublished 2 years ago in FictionThe Shark Tank Cleaner
I didn’t like my job, but it paid well. Every day, I had to clean the waste from the tanks, but the shark tanks were the worst. They made the most waste, and it smelled like rotten meat. At least I had Shelia to help me.
Alex H MittelmanPublished 2 years ago in FictionOff the Path
The dirt mingled with the dust, puffing into the air as the door swung open. “What is this place?” Mac asked, glancing through a hole in the ceiling. Beyond was a blue sky and skeletal tree branches. The floor just under it was soft and littered with leaves. If the room had been a little brighter she suspected she would have been able to see the mold she was sure was growing there.
Katrina ThornleyPublished 2 years ago in FictionAmara.
Gwendolyn walked down the scanty sidewalk, a depleting cup of warm coffee in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. It was like any other evening- the air was cool and the breeze scattered dead leaves onto the street. She tossed her cup into a trash bin nearby and took a long drag, watching a group of high school kids as they walked past. Their laughter rang into the air, the sound sickly sweet and it gave her a headache. There was a time she envied their innocence. Born to a mother that endured an abusive relationship until her death, Gwendolyn was stripped of her childhood from an early age. Thinking back, how she had wished to live a normal life, go to school, get a job. Now, as she watched the neighbourhood children grow into young adults, she wondered if she would have been happy either way. Life was okay for some, shitty for most. If she'd had the opportunity to make her own choices, would her life have turned out a bit different?
Parti PrisPublished 2 years ago in FictionThe Teller
“In twelve days, you’ll find everything you’re looking for, Ms. Harmsworth. You’ll be able to pay everything back in no time at all,” I told her. The future I saw for her was bleak, unable to pay back the loan the bank was going to give her, so they would foreclose on her house and sell off her assets. It didn’t matter to me, the bank was paying me to ignore the negative visions and use my reputation as the world’s greatest psychic to convince people to take a loan.
Alex H MittelmanPublished 2 years ago in FictionOne night...
One minute I’m one of many in a crowd of people. Swaying back and forth in the calming rhythm of breath. My eyes felt heavy, apathetic to whatever my brain had slowly drowned out. A man was speaking into a microphone which helped propel his loud booming voice even further into the room. I very might fall asleep standing where I stood, tucked in from the warmth of the crowd, and the heavy murmur from the crowd followed by the booming mumbles from the speakers could quiet any racing minds.
Rambler's SocietyPublished 2 years ago in FictionUnknown Assailant
Chapter 1 Questions Birds floated lazily on the breeze while bees hummed as they gathered nectar. The smell of honeysuckle flowers, wild roses, and hydrangea floated in the open window next to my desk and filled my mind with images of an open field of tall grass that waved and flitted with the fingers of the wind .
Natalie KniffinPublished 2 years ago in FictionThe Chocolate Box
I wish something interesting would happen. It was raining today, and I was stuck inside this office with nothing to do but stare out my small window. I felt trapped in my small room.
Alex H MittelmanPublished 2 years ago in Fiction