My Cardboard Balcony

"You don't have to be so goddamn selective," frowned Harold as Teresa continued to peruse the shelf. "Just pick a book and be done with it." "And that is why you haven't gone anywhere in life," Teresa sassed back. "A book isn't like a candy bar or a tee shirt. I can't just pick up any old book. I have to find one I like." "Make sure it has tits in it!" replied Harold. "Then everyone's happy!"

by Belinda Roddie I was waiting for you. We were all waiting for you. You never came. You left a text message on Roger's cellphone, but his battery had died, and even though you had my number and Jessie's number and pretty much everyone else's number, you never called. We had a birthday pie made for you because you didn't like cake. We counted all twenty-three candles for you. They were dinosaur-shaped candles. I knew if we lighted them, the T-rex's waxy head would melt into a blob of what it once was. Still, it was the thought that counted. Roger only got to read the text message after we emptied a bottle of bourbon together and left for our respective apartments. He told me you didn't explain why you couldn't come, only that you couldn't come, and you couldn't change plans. I knew, somehow, that it was because of her. I knew that it was because she had pulled you away somewhere, where the neon was acid pink instead of radiant, and she shoved ...

After the shooting, the principal insisted that the school be subjected to heightened security. We were becoming used to security guards, metal detectors, and constant stops-and-frisks as we went to class. It was unnerving, and it was also embarrassing. I had never felt so vulnerable after one guard asked me to take off my jacket for him. "I'm not a killer," I protested, but he insisted. In the eyes of a defensive officer, no one is ever innocent.

Watched a high school production of  Beauty and the Beast tonight. It was cute. I thought the show was fun, and it was the first time I ever got to saw it live. And for some reason I want to play Belle...? Keep in mind, I never wear dresses. Yet somehow, I think I can forgive a dress on me for the sake of this role. It's weird because I haven't officially been in a show since 2007. Yes, I've done little film performances, especially in my girlfriend's videos. But I don't do a whole lot of acting. And I have kind of mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I really do love acting and wouldn't mind performing in some of my own projects. On the other, I don't want to be in a company play because I have to audition. I hate auditioning because I think, in many respects, I don't show my real, natural attitude in front of a group of critical onlookers. Who knows. Maybe one day, I'll be onstage again. Hell, I've never been in a musical - that could ...

"Caramel Kisses" is an unfinished novel I began to write back in 2009 and stopped working on in 2010. The two main characters - Adriana Maguire Reynard and Emma Burking - would ultimately be revised for my later completed novella, "The Liffey Is Half-Asleep," in 2011. Several elements of "Liffey" can be found in their original forms in "Caramel Kisses," such as the characters' names, the haiku scene, and Adriana's penchant for writing. Because of its influence on my later writing, I figured that this story, though incomplete, was worth sharing. Caramel Kisses: Chapter Eighteen by Belinda Roddie “Emma?” “Hmmm?” “What do you really want the most out of life?” She smirked. “That’s a stupid question.” “Why?” “Because you should already know.” “Then I’ll say I want to be sure.” I smelled the hot chocolate that Emma had been heating in the microwave. I heard the whirring of the tired appliance as it quieted down, whining an...

"I've avoided that man like the plague," griped Sarah as she sat down on the couch with her tall mug of chamomile tea. "He was the embodiment of everything bad for me. I gained too much weight around him. Then I lost too much weight. Then I started smoking, then switched to hard liquor. Another year with him, and maybe I would have been on the street with cocaine dust in my left nostril." "Was he really that influential?" "No," said Sarah, shaking her head for emphasis. "He just bullied me into a lot of things. Influential isn't the right word - abusive is."

The Tree Stopped Growing by Belinda Roddie The tree stopped growing in the middle of the square, and it stayed as a short, stout sprig of what it could have been. Still, the town loved its presence. They called it the Dwarf, and big trees did not receive such fair attention. One day, a child took a piece of its bark, and it was rough and thin within her hand. She dug a hole and buried it, a spark of hope lighting her eyes. She thought a small tree would grow just like the Dwarf, and yet no twig sprouted from the dirt. Her family all pitched in to find a little tree just so their little girl could have her own short, stout tree, which she simply couldn't live without.