autofictional
panty patrol: a seasonal tale
Amanda had been dating a police officer, Kevin, for about six weeks when they decided there was nothing more important in their lives than ensuring that I meet Mike. “You have so much in common,” Amanda said. “Let me guess,” I groaned. “He has two eyes, I have two eyes. He’s single, I’m single.” “He’s…
Read Moremarooned
In the 1980s, the Red Cross ran a water safety program which aimed to make Canadians safer in, on, and around the water. Certified instructors led countless children through a program of swimming lessons which consisted of eight levels, each marked by a coloured badge. Lessons started at the yellow level and progressed to orange,…
Read Moremost unlikely
Like any other decent high school, mine had a well-established social hierarchy. The members of TOTS (Top of the Stairs) had long ruled the school. Mostly twelfth graders, with a smattering of popular tenth and eleventh grade students, TOTS were as cool as cool could get in a 1980s rural high school. Each year a…
Read Moredomestic foul
When you live in a small town, everyone knows everyone’s business. I spent half my senior year grounded thanks to gossipy townsfolk, all too happy to tell my parents they’d seen my car at Brad Keddy’s house when I was supposed to be at the library. And when my parents learned that Melanie Schofield threw a party when…
Read Morejust a milkshake
My siblings and I were raised in a small, rural village. Poor kids were poor, middle class kids were rich. Lewis was one of the poor kids. Lewis lived in a run down house with his mother, and wore a uniform that consisted of a stained t-shirt, threadbare corduroy pants and a pair of tattered sneakers. Lewis had no advantages –…
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