Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
One Minute to Noon. Top Story - May 2024.
“OK, guys!” I screech over the macaw-like chatter in my sophomore English class. My students are sharing mementos they accumulated during summer vacation. The assignment is to interview each other and write an expository essay about another student’s treasure: Misty’s coquina shells and sand dollars from Florida, Ruth’s two Navajo pottery mugs from New Mexico, Roxy’s perfume from Paris, Kevin’s chocolate from Hershey Pennsylvania, a picador’s sword from a bullfight in San Fermin Spain, where one of my favorite students, Manny Pérez, ran with the bulls at festival.
By Lacy Loar-Gruenler2 years ago in Fiction
Vocal Bonus Leaderboard: 05/01/2024
Welcome to the weekly update of the Leaderboard! We're thrilled to showcase Vocal's most discussed stories, popular picks, and rising stars. Let's dive into this past week's standout contributors and their remarkable achievements.
By Vocal Team2 years ago in Resources
Miniature Mind Musings #8:. Top Story - May 2024.
Recently, I spoke with a family member who I struggled to catch up with for a longer timespan than I would’ve liked and what struck me was how societal templates filled in on successive days routinely suck our time into a vacuum of seemingly infernal deficiency.
By The Dani Writer2 years ago in Longevity
One of the Crazy Things Rich People Do That's Scary To Think About. Top Story - May 2024.
They impress us, and sometimes they scare us, but the ultra-rich are always interesting. Some of their famous activities include buying yachts too big to move through channels, buying ridiculously priced cars that could feed the homeless of New York for weeks, and their expensive tastes in sex workers.
By Jason Morton2 years ago in FYI
We'z Walking on a Path Ruled By Numbers. Top Story - May 2024.
This road has felt endless, yet limited; every step tracked. Inching away along this path, I feel trapped. Confined. Left to this narrow passage that may one day amount to something greater. Time is not a concept. Only distance. From start to finish, I laugh and cry and attempt to convince myself that this is worth it. I cannot stray. I must keep going. Every step etched, is a step taken, is measured as more than before. I cannot even recall how I got here. Maybe I don’t even really exist. Just another tick marking off a perceived presence. Of what though? I am just another line drawn. Nothing more, nothing less.
By Oneg In The Arctic2 years ago in Fiction
The Golden Valley. Top Story - May 2024.
The difference between light and dark could be as quick and simple as a flip of a switch, the drawing of a curtain, the opening of one’s eyes. It could be more gradual like the slow adjustment of the diaphragm on a microscope, the turn of a planet on its axis, the growing light as you approach the end of a tunnel. A flicker in the dark, a steady glow in the distance, a flash in the night sky.
By Alyssa Musso2 years ago in Fiction
Final Call. Top Story - April 2024.
She flings her arms around my neck and squeezes me like she’s never going to let me go. My head spins as her lips brush against my cheek. She must be able to feel my heart thumping in my chest. I shuffle backwards and ram my hands into my coat pockets, watching her reach down and heave the rucksack across her shoulders.
By Caroline Craven2 years ago in Fiction
On Winning and Losing. Top Story - April 2024.
Recently, the pleasant surprise of placement on the Vocal Bonus Leaderboard sent me down a rabbit hole. Now, rabbit holes are a pretty common place for me to spend time, but I don't always feel the call to write about them. To be honest, the thought of sharing some of them mortifies me.
By Dana Crandell2 years ago in Writers
The Abominable No-Meatman. Top Story - April 2024.
So, I had an idea. I was wondering if Pennywise the dancing clown went vegan because he wanted to befriend humanity, what would he eat? Would there be food options for him, or would he have to starve just to be put in a better light with us humans. So I’ve created a special restaurant and menu just for him. This way, if Pennywise were to become vegan, he wouldn’t have to get creative with his dietary choices, I’ve done it for him. I’ve taken the work out of going vegan on his behalf! Here is a special restaurant and menu I made just for our friend, Pennywise!
By Alex H Mittelman 2 years ago in Fiction
The Longest Minute. Top Story - April 2024. Content Warning.
A minute. Sixty seconds to say goodbye. That’s all the time that I had left with him as the needle slid into his leg. I stared into his drooping eyes, looked at the blood-tainted saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. They said that this was the best thing that we could do for him, a last kind act for a best friend…but if that were the case, then why did my heart feel so heavy?
By Stephanie Hoogstad2 years ago in Fiction
Tortured Soul. Top Story - April 2024.
The soul careened blindly through a void where it scraped against the walls of a narrow tunnel, amassing a cumulative friction that created all the heat the devil would ever need to torment it. There was no light at the end, not even a fire. From the bottom a cold wind blew, and the clash of extremities spawned vapors of terror in the deadened and numbed appendage that was this strange, delirious, drunken consciousness.
By C. Rommial Butler2 years ago in Fiction
