Puzzle Pieces “I hadn’t been to work in four weeks, but I still dressed the part because if my roommates knew I’d been fired, they would’ve kicked me out the day of. It’s not like I don’t make enough money outside of work, they’d just rather have a roomate with more ‘stable’ income. They might not’ve kicked me out, but they’d give me a hard time about it and I’d rather just avoid it all together. We tolerate each other like that. So I left every morning and went to the campus down the street ...

Because He Had To I missed the cool, outside breeze as I crossed into the stale and musty air of the thrift store, my skin and the pigment of my shirt dimming under the flickering florescent lights. Neon shoulder-padded power suits hung above the rigid metal racks around the perimeter of the store, reminding the clothes on my back that one day soon, it would be their turn. I felt them shudder at the sight – at bedazzled blouses and hyper-bright neon track jackets fastened by tacks to the wall...

A Stranger’s Smile “I never thought of myself as shy.” My classmates stared at me, most likely searching my face for hints of nervousness or a tell that I was lying. Professor Teegan encouraged that sort of thing. “Not shy. Shy isn’t what I meant. Not quite how I would put it. It’s just – you don’t behave as boldly as the characters you’ve auditioned for – and I know it’s in there. That’s a big part of why you haven’t been getting parts.” That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, standing in fron...

Puzzle Pieces “I hadn’t been to work in four weeks, but I still dressed the part because if my roommates knew I’d been fired, they would’ve kicked me out the day of. We tolerate each other like that. So I left every morning and went to the campus down the street to use their free WIFI and knit. That’s where I met Brian. He was on his laptop, probably doing more than loitering, sitting a few tables over from me. We had been making eye contact and I could tell he wasn’t the type to make the fir...

Puzzle Pieces “I hadn’t been to work in 4 weeks, but I still dressed the part because if my roommates knew I’d been fired, they would’ve kicked out the day of. We tolerate each other like that. So I left every morning and went to the campus down the street to use their free WIFI and knit. That’s where I met Brian. He was on his laptop, probably doing more than loitering, sitting a few tables over from me. We made enough eye contact for me to know that it wasn’t a coincidence, and I could tell...

“I’m right outside.” I looked up at the marquee, confirming this to myself. “You’re at the bar, right?” She assured me she was where we had agreed to meet, along with the rest of our friends, so I hung up my phone and headed in. The smell of mixing sweat met me at the door of the dark, shimmering room. People dancing collectively and uncomfortably close slithered past my arms as I used them to cut through the crowd like machetes in a foreign wilderness. The bass, blaring inches from my face, ...

“Where’d you just come from?” Britney failed to sneak back into the house undetected. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching us?” She rolled her eyes and plopped onto our couch without answering me. “Now why would I wanna watch you Southside Children? Go outside or something!” She snatch up our phone and remote, as she spoke to me, not looking in my direction. “I know what you were doing. You were with that boy!” She stopped dialing his number and whipped her head to face my mischievous grin, he...

Because He Had To I missed the cool, outside breeze as I crossed into the stale and musty air of the thrift store, my skin and the pigment of my shirt dimming under the flickering florescent lights. Neon shoulder-padded power suits hung above the rigid metal racks around the perimeter of the store, reminding the clothes on my back that one day soon, it would be their turn. I felt them shudder at the sight – at bedazzled blouses and hyper-bright neon track jackets fastened by tacks to the wall...

“I never thought of myself as shy.” My classmates stared at me, most likely searching my face for hints of nervousness or a tell that I was lying. Professor Teegan encouraged that sort of thing. “Not shy. Shy isn’t what I meant. Not quite how I would put it. It’s just – you don’t behave as boldly as the characters you’ve auditioned for – and I know it’s in there. That’s a big part of why you haven’t been getting parts.” That’s exactly what I wanted to hear standing in front of a class of near...

"Well, I never thought I was shy." 18 eyes scanned my face for microexpressions, some hint that I was lying or nervous. "Not shy. No. Shy isn't what I meant. That's not how I would put it. You just don't behave as boldly as the characters you've auditioned for - and I know it's in there. I think that's a big part of the reason you haven't been getting any parts." Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to hear standing in front of a class of near strangers, in front of a group of 9 students not ...