Prompt: 094. favorite sweatshirt

1. It was weird to think that his favorite sweatshirt had come from a used clothing store. Sometimes he wondered about the previous owner.

A. It was weird to think that his favorite sweatshirt had come from a used clothing store. Sometimes he wondered about the previous owner. If they had been awkward like he was, always trying to hide himself away within the sweatshirt.

He liked to pull the hood up and hide in his music. Headphones and sunglasses were an essential part of his wardrobe. They let him walk amongst the crowds of people without cringing into his skin.

2. They watched as her brother approached the casket and laid her favorite sweatshirt inside with her body. He was teary-eyed as he closed the casket lid.

A. They watched as her brother approached the casket and laid her favorite sweatshirt inside with her body. He was teary-eyed as he closed the casket lid. She’d been the last living member of his family.

“What are we supposed to say?” Adam whispered desperately. “He’s coming over here.”

“I don’t know. Wait until he says something, then express our regret?”

3. The young girl insisted on wearing her favorite sweatshirt to the performance, even after her mother pointed out that it was inappropriate for the occasion.

A. The young girl insisted on wearing her favorite sweatshirt to the performance, even after her mother pointed out that it was inappropriate for the occasion. Her father gave her an indulgent smile and hushed her mother. “Let the girl wear what she wants.”

His power and influence was such that she was seen as endearing rather than obnoxious. Her mother seethed. She enjoyed herself immensely.

It was the kind of thing she would think back on in the future. Those times when she had been cruel to her mother for no other reason than to prove she was Papa’s favorite.

She should have curried her mother’s favor as well. But she was short-sighted and there was nowhere else for her to turn once her Papa died.

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Prompt: 093. visiting a farm

1. It was supposed to be a fun day for the preschoolers. They’d visit a farm, pet some baby animals, and return home with new coloring books and butter they’d churned themselves.

A. It was supposed to be a fun day for the preschoolers. They’d visit a farm, pet some baby animals, and return home with new coloring books and butter they’d churned themselves. Unfortunately, on the way to the farm there was a massive accident on the freeway.

There was no room for the bus to turn around, so the children and adult chaperons spent four hours waiting for the traffic to clear up.

Instead of cute farm photos and young children learning a love of nature and animals, there was hours of whining complaints and several potty training setbacks.

2. Fired up by her desire to provide healthier food for her family, she arranged a visit to a local farm. She wanted to see where her food came from.

A. Fired up by her desire to provide healthier food for her family, she arranged a visit to a local farm. She wanted to see where her food came from.

In retrospect, she wished that she had done a bit of research before driving out to the farm. She’d had no idea how a modern organic farm worked. It was not the Willy Wonka-ish factory tour she’d somehow been expecting.

It didn’t help that the farmer’s handsome single son flirted with her to the point of offering up her number. They went on a couple of dates, but she quickly decided they had nothing in common.

3. They were a group of tourists visiting a farm—his farm—and they had to be some of the most obnoxious people he’d ever had the misfortune to meet.

A. They were a group of tourists visiting a farm—his farm—and they had to be some of the most obnoxious people he’d ever had the misfortune to meet. If he could have told them to leave and never come back, he would have, but he needed the money. It was why he’d agreed to the tour idea in the first place. And since he’d agreed, he made himself play along.

He smiled until his cheeks ached and calculated the number of hours until they would be gone in his head. He put up a calendar just so he could cross out the days.

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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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