Prompt: 092. cinnamon toast

1. Raised with cooks and housekeepers, she’d never learned to cook anything. For him she learned to make cinnamon toast.

A. Raised with cooks and housekeepers, she’d never learned to cook anything. For him she learned to make cinnamon toast.

She was ridiculously pleased with herself, to the point that she was embarrassed by her own sense of pride. There was just something about looking down at the tray she carried and seeing the plate with four slices of cinnamon toast and the cup of coffee that made her feel as though she was providing for someone she loved.

She couldn’t make anything elaborate—yet—but she was sure that someday she would be making complete meals. Being a chef wasn’t her dream career, but she wanted to be able to make delicious food for herself and her loved ones.

2. Mom always buys generic Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal no matter how often you ask for name brand.

A. Mom always buys generic Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal no matter how often you ask for name brand.

Just to have the box in the house would be a point of pride. And with the careful use of a Sharpie to warp the expiration date, it would be easy to refill the box. No one would have to know.

But Mom never buys the good stuff. She always says there isn’t enough money. Not even for one box, one time.

3. Toast slathered with Country Crock and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Scarfed down after midnight when everyone else was asleep.

A. It felt like a dirty secret when she climbed out of bed late at night after everyone was asleep. Yet she would do it anyway, unable to resist that siren call.

She would creep downstairs to the kitchen where she would make toast slathered with Country Crock and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Standing over the sink, she would scarf down the toast, crumbs and sugar crystals flaking from her mouth and bouncing off the back of her hand.

Her eyes would close in silent bliss as she chewed and swallowed bite after bite, slice after slice. The crunch of her teeth through toast would be the only sound in the kitchen. She would be drifting through a sleepy haze of cinnamon and sugar as she stood flat-footed and loose-kneed.

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Prompt: 091. April 1st

1. Born on April 1st, it was as though his entire life was one big joke.

A. Born on April 1st, it was as though his entire life was one big joke. At least, that’s how his family seemed to take it.

When he was five years old he realized that he was actually a boy. It was something he kept quiet for the next thirteen years. Dressing in girls clothes, he would swallow down his desire for action figures, dungarees, and a male name. From a very young age, he knew better than to say what he truly wanted.

His family was not the sort that would approve.

2. He made it all the way to school before remembering that it was April 1st. By then his hand was already glued to the lock on his locker.

A. He made it all the way to school before remembering that it was April 1st. By then his hand was already glued to the lock on his locker.

Standing in the hallway with the other kids streaming around him, nobody knowing his plight, he closed his eyes and thumped his head a couple of times against the front of the locker. He should have known his bullies weren’t going to give him a day off, especially not April Fools Day.

I’m the fool for thinking I could have a good day for once, he thought. He should have known that things were going too well for him. Nothing good ever lasted.

3. There was an odd delight in teaching the young child about April Fools Day pranks, harmless little things that made him laugh.

A. There was an odd delight in teaching the young child about April Fools Day pranks, harmless little things that made him laugh gleefully and clap his hands. He was barely old enough to begin understanding the idea of jokes, but he already loved them.

Standing on her thighs, dressed in his cartoon print pajamas, he was the most adorable thing she’d ever seen. “You’re amazing,” she said, smiling into his face.

“I know,” he said.

“You’re a little cheeky though,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He grinned and slapped his own butt. “I’ve got two pairs!”

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Prompt: 090. my girlfriend was a centerfold

1. There was a sense of horror when he opened the magazine and saw that familiar face staring back at him. He hadn’t believed the guys when they’d told him, but here was the evidence.

A. There was a sense of horror when he opened the magazine and saw that familiar face staring back at him. He hadn’t believed the guys when they’d told him, but here was the evidence.

My girlfriend was a centerfold, he thought, and a hysterical laugh escaped his lips.

He had no idea what he was going to say the next time he saw her. He didn’t even know how he was supposed to feel. The shock was all-consuming.

2. Beautiful and sexy, everything she’d ever wanted, until things started going wrong. Then it was all accusations and pain as she couldn’t get over the fact that her girlfriend had starred in a series of pornographic movies.

A. Beautiful and sexy, everything she’d ever wanted, until things started going wrong. Then it was all accusations and pain as she couldn’t get over the fact that her girlfriend had starred in a series of pornographic movies.

She never should have watched them. That was her biggest mistake. Because once she’d seen her girlfriend doing all those things, the images would not leave her mind. Those movies filled the invisible space between them, overwhelming the love they’d shared.

3. “My girlfriend was a centerfold, you know, back when that was a thing,” the old man said with a tone of pride. “She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw.”

A. “My girlfriend was a centerfold, you know, back when that was a thing,” the old man said with a tone of pride. “She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw.”

“Wow, Grandpa, now how am I supposed to look at Grandma?” the teen asked.

Grandpa smirked. “Who ever said I meant your grandmother?”

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Prompt: 089. brown paper wrapped package

1. There was a brown paper wrapped package waiting on the front porch when they came home. There was no return address and their address was written in somehow greasy looking marker.

A. There was a brown paper wrapped package waiting on the front porch when they came home. There was no return address and their address was written in somehow greasy looking marker.

Sasha circled the package curiously and finally braced her booted feet wide so she could lean close to the label. “Who could have left this here? It doesn’t have any postage marks.”

“Sasha, honey, get away from there,” Natalia ordered. When Sasha didn’t move fast enough, she dashed forward to grab her daughter by the arm and pulled her away.

“Mom! What’s wrong with you?”

“Quiet. We need to get away from here and call the police.”

“What? Why?” Sasha asked.

“I think it’s a bomb.”

2. The toys arrived in a discreet brown paper wrapped package.

A. The toys arrived in a discreet brown paper wrapped package that he opened in the bathroom. He could hear his wife moving around in the living room and hoped that she would like the surprises he’d gotten for them both.

Reaching under the counter, he got out the large bottle of sex toy cleaner. By the time she came to bed he would have everything clean and ready to go.

It sent a warm thrill through him to imagine the look on her face when she walked into the bedroom. He’d seen her window shopping their favorite sex toy site and hadn’t missed the way her eyes had lingered, coveted, and regretfully moved away.

He’d do nearly anything to make her happy. Even this.

3. She tied the brown paper wrapped package with string and set it with the others waiting to be mailed.

A. She tied the brown paper wrapped package with string and set it with the others waiting to be mailed. She had three more orders to fill before she could leave for the day. If she was lucky, she’d make it home in time to take a shower before going to the movie.

Her lips curved in a smile and her thoughts drifted to her evening plans. Even as her hands continued to write out calligraphy address labels and wrap packages, she let herself fantasize a bit about her night to come.

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