The Manual for a Boy’s First Grill, by Derek Andersen
When you awoke this morning, you were a boy. But tonight you’ll retire to your racecar bed a grown-ass man with hair on his chest. Assuming you don’t singe it off first ha ha.
Jenny Watches the Exorcist, by Emma Stough
in her sleepless room with the shades drawn and a bowlful of neon peach rings. Blue TV light is radioactive, but after years of exposure, Jenny’s skin has grown a thick, radio-proof layer. It is gummy to the touch.
The Day When Nothing Happened, by Leigh Raper
August 3 is most well known in the United States as The Day When Nothing Happened. In the United Kingdom and the European Union and parts of Eastern Europe, it is also known as Nothing Day. The Day has never been recognized for unique remembrance in Canada, as it has never been determined to be remarkable.
The Virgin Girls, by E.J. Schwartz
The Virgin girls are not virgins. The Virgin girls are not virgins—not yet. They are here to redo themselves and reassemble their youth.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Reimagined, by Téa Franco
Nothing seemed off until I was fourteen years old, eating handfuls of soil straight from the bag. My mom caught me one day with brown flecks in my braces and called the doctor.
Witness Statement, by Yamilette Vizcaíno Rivera
I’m just glad everyone knows now.
The neighbors know. The children know. The visitors know. It’s not just the chair legs and the light up pineapple sitting with the imprints of things that weren’t supposed to happen anymore.
Issue 21 Preview: One Hundred Forty, by Samantha Rich
When Katya interviewed for the job at the cloning project station, they gave her a tour of the facility.
Proper Action, by Treena Thibodeax
“Attention. This is a lockdown.” Over the loudspeaker, the principal sounds like she’s chewing something she didn’t have time to swallow. “Take proper action.”
Transcript for a Clip Show for a Sitcom that Doesn’t Exist, by Joshua Bohnsack
Flashlights clicking.
“I can’t believe the power went out, right before the big game.”
“Who would have thought?”
“Well, what are we going to do now?”
Nehalennia, by Daniel J. Cecil
My wife and I were sick in November. Historically a healthy pair, we’d unexpectedly fallen victim to the pandemic all over the news, an abstraction that we could now experience as reality from the comfort of our home.
The Case Enhancement Package of Your Dreams, by Jess Richardson
No matter what the disembodied chose at the end of the incarnate line, they regretted it upon return.
At the Darling Slaughterhouse, by Kayleigh Shoen
On my first day, they put me on novellas. A lot of the greats got their start here, the manager said. After a few months’ experience, you’ll work your way down.
Something’s Missing Issue: A Note to the Reader
Invisible art, missing people, killing your darlings, clip show coherence. From the mundane to the life-changing: something’s missing. Something, whether fingers, parents, scent, love, or words—somehow, somewhere, they’re gone. Lost. Taken. Dead. Missing.