My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie Yet again she noticed the creature had escaped, a trail of destruction pointing her in the direction he ran off to. Pots and pans had been yanked from opened drawers and scattered in a metallic mess on the floor. Both sugar and cinnamon had been spilled from now cracked porcelain jars and now lay in scattered white and brown smudges on the linoleum. A box of crackers had been opened, its contents partially eaten, the crumbs spread out in a circle as if meant to summon some sort of demon. Nexis wondered to herself why she even tried to keep the strange beast with her. She had given him a spacious golden cage, with a high enough ceiling to stand in and all the proper furniture. She had fed it three times a day - meat and cheese and ale, with some dessert if it didn't cause trouble - and even sometimes sang it to sleep. And now it had fled for the fifth time, the padlock undone from its prison, disappearing into the forest beyond the cottage. Nexis fetched the b...

Those who were prosecuted and consequently imprisoned by the government didn't expect to see sunlight ever again. Nor did they anticipate feeling the cool air or spray of the sea from their tiny, cramped cells. It wasn't until I freed them - the bars bursting forward like broken ribs, the walls caving in like a monster's rotting stomach - that they actually realized there was hope for them to live again. I led them out into the open air. I led them to freedom.

Just one week to go before my student teaching is over. It's hot as balls in my county, and I don't like it. My mentors and students are awesome, and they surprised me with festivities and good wishes yesterday. I am quite happy. Welp, that's enough introspection for one day. Have a great night and a great weekend, everyone!

Signed in Blood by Belinda Roddie The pact was sealed. I was twenty. I was naive.

I didn't expect the situation to snowball so quickly, but once the fists started flying, I knew that shit was going down. So I managed to hoist myself up on one of the tables in the cafeteria and just whistle, real loudly. Like, I don't even know what came over me. Just this high-pitched, shrill siren's call for attention that would've made my dog deaf even though he was ten miles away from my school. Everyone shut up. Everyone stopped hitting each other. One girl started whimpering like I'd hurt her ears. But they were all looking at me.

We Boarded The Ship by Belinda Roddie We boarded the ship around two o'clock and waved goodbye to friends and family as they stood crying on the swaying dock as we broke from the shore and out to sea. I entered my cabin and opened up my journal to start taking daily notes, but my crew would soon greatly interrupt my quietude with songs and cheers and shouts from their quarters. The stomping of their feet began before the sun went down. I thought to scold them, but was then swayed by the beat of the music from instruments they brought with them. I knew I could not lose this chance to be their joyful captain in their dance.

I sat just beside the magnolia tree, with a glint in my eyes and a girl on my knee, and the sky was so blue, the astonishing hue cast my clothes in a color that caused reverie.I ate a sandwich of lettuce and cheese, and the girl on my knee asked for a bite, pretty please!