I had trouble at first holding the pages of the trade paperback open with my little hands, but after a few minutes of trial and error, I managed to get the hang of it, and started reading.

“Would this be a good time to talk about it?” I asked Sheena as I set up in the bed. She was already sitting at her desk; the room was dark save for the green lamp-glow from her desk that illuminated her face. I watched her look up from her papers, black hair glowing softly in the lamplight as she shot me a look that was nothing short of a silent lecture.

“You ought be sleeping,” She told me. “You’ve got another hour before you need to ready yourself.”

“I’m not tired,” I shrugged, and then I thought better of it and laid back down, pulling the covers up to my neck.

Barrettes
Copyright 2022 by Heather Rose Brown

This is a drabble (100 word story) about a boy who decides to trust some new friends, and experiments with something he'd never had the nerve to try at home. It's a continuation of my Pigtails drabble, but told from Lenny's point of view.

“We’ll be rid of that chair,” Sheena said as I limped out of the shower. “You seemed to have an awful time with it.”

“It was…hard…to push,” I sighed. “I’m kind of weak I guess.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” She smiled and patted me on the head. “your mind is where the worth is to be found.”

I limped across the floor and sat down on one of the benches, letting a small moan of relief escape my lips as the pressure was alleviated from my ankle. Off in the distance, I heard the broken showerhead sputter again.