Orla inserted her scuffed bronze-colored key into the lock, turned it, and opened the door. With its peeling light blue paint, it fortunately did nothing to betray the apartment's relative opulence.
It hadn't been like this when her and her grandmother, Kahri, first moved in. No, at that time, the place had been the dictionary definition of what the locals might call a "shithole," a term as unfamiliar to them as it was second nature to their new neighbors.

The Banberries

A musical journey

by SUZIE DALKIN

Sam Simpson was a bit of a nonentity. Nowhere near top of the class or the bottom. Not the life and soul of the party – not that he ever got invited. Not a sportsman and not tall, short, fat or ginger, he was just inconspicuous, and terribly shy. And, while his classmates at his all-boys school were growing up and out, he seemed to be lagging behind. Inconspicuously.

Heart Won and Lost
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I was born in 1922 on a farm in Kansas. I wish I could tell stories of the time when our farm was green, productive and profitable but those were just things I heard. The first big drought came in 1930, and after that the dust storms destroyed all that we had. The end finally came in April 1935, on the day they called “Black Sunday” when the dark dust from the west blocked out the sun.

As soon as I saw Bill walk towards school in a dress I knew that I had been handed a golden opportunity. No, I had no interest in Bill himself but his actions opened up so many possibilities.

Jimmy is in love with a boy named Alex. His twin, Rachel, is in love with a girl named Alexa.
Two bedrooms, one wall apart. But the person that they're really crushing on is...?

I was ostracized for most of my junior year in high school.

It was all my sister’s fault. Well, perhaps not all of it but if she hadn’t forced me to save her bacon, twice, all this would never have happened, so I blame her, and only her for what happened.