General Interest Newsletter: April 7th, 2023

Best Friends AND… by Tris Lawrence

Someday Eve should write all the evidence down and see if she can figure out who is and isn’t Talented on the STEM-athlon team. She suspects most of them are. It’s a welcoming place for people who are a little different than the supposed norm.

“We’ll be there in five.” Eve pushes the door closed. “I have a spare T-shirt in my bag,” she says. “I brought it just in case I got something on me during my lab. You can wear it.”

“I have a spare too,” Sandy replies. “Sometimes I get dirty lying down on the gym floor to launch the plane. I’d figured I’d save it for tomorrow, but now is good. I feel gross; it’s been a long day.”

Eve is disappointed; she wanted to share hers with Sandy. Maybe she wants to save the day, or maybe she just wants to see her best friend wearing her clothes.

Awkward and Oblivious by R. L. Houck

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Dr. Anna leaned forward and booped Mako on the nose, making the puppy’s tail wildly wag. Then Dr. Anna turned and took a step toward the door that led to the back of the clinic.

Say something. Ask her, you idiot! “Oh, uh! I was wondering—?”

Dr. Anna paused and turned back. “Yes?”

Alex clutched Mako to her chest, running her fingers through the beagle puppy’s soft coat for reassurance. “Um. I just—I’m so grateful for all you did for Mako when she was sick. Would you like to go out for coffee sometime? As a thank you?”

To Fill My Cup by Violet J. Hayes

“Here, Grandma, let me get you a stool.” Talia hurried to bring one from the other side of the island and helped her settle down into it. “Do you want a fresh cup of coffee?”

“No, dear, I’m fine.” One by one, her grandmother picked up each sweet potato. Her fingers were stiff with arthritis, the knuckles swollen. Talia wondered if she could get her plain gold wedding band off even if she wanted to. She turned each potato in her hands, murmuring as she did so. Talia knew she was doing math to calculate the number of servings, but it gave the impression of a sorcerer muttering an incantation.

I think my grandma might be a witch, she texted Rachael, and was surprised when her phone rang a moment later. “Hey, Rach.”

“Hey.”

It only took that single word for Talia to know something was off. “What’s wrong?”

Princess Antonia del Montari, aka The Accidental Barista by A. L. Heard

“Excuse me?” someone asks from her right.

Toni startles slightly. She frowns in dismay as the coffee sloshes over the edge of one of the mugs.

Once everything’s balanced again, Toni looks over to the nearest table.

Black leather jacket, knee-high boots over dark skinny jeans, a too-loose T-shirt for a band Toni’s never heard of, and a myriad of piercings all conspire to make Toni’s heart pound in her chest and her mouth go dry. It’s only worse when she meets the woman’s eye and gets lost in caramel. She stands there, marveling at the beautiful woman so long that even Toni’s aware it’s become awkward.

Count the Number of Seeds by Lyn Weaver

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Kel was bent over the stage, attacking various stains with the concentrated effort of a man taking out his frustrations on something that couldn’t fight back. His golden hair was up in a messy ponytail, and he’d taken off his outer vestments, presumably to keep them clean.

Sevan wanted to tug that tail. To materialize beside Kel instead of meters away. To sink his teeth into the nape peeking out of Kel’s untidy dress shirt.

He carefully set that train of thought aside and tossed one of the apples up. It made a satisfying thunk when he caught it. “Good evening.” 

“Hello, neighbour,” Kel said. He glanced up briefly, then went back to scrubbing. “You’re later than usual. I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

In Good Company by Nicola Kapron

Haruki no longer remembered what had been going through his head the first time he’d killed. All he recalled was the sight of those he’d once loved with all the helpless force of a scared, scarred child covered in red and utterly still. He hadn’t felt grief or triumph when he realized they weren’t struggling anymore. He’d just felt—

Empty.

Better to be hollow than to despair.

Warmer Lights by Era J. M. Couts

In the beginning, it feels like a game.

A playful game, where there’s laughter and giggling and energy to no end. A game where every move is fun, every day is fun, every breathing second is fun.

You’ve just met someone, and it’s exciting and pure and intense.

Dead Man’s Bells by Nicola Kapron

The vines were alive. They writhed like snakes as he ran a hand over them. As one, they untangled themselves from the shrouded shape of the spear. A few even dropped off entirely and nudged at his ankles. Underneath, the weapon gleamed with the soft, wet shimmer of fresh growth.

Around it, he could make out the silhouette of something that was almost human. Luminous green eyes. Roots wrapped tightly into the shape of arms, legs, musculature. Foxglove flowers blooming in the hollow of a throat.

A forest demon persisting long after it had been cut down and sanded into a useful shape.

Beautiful, Liam thought. This feeling might be awe. If he didn’t need to keep moving forward, toward it, he would have fallen to his knees.

For a moment, the ringing paused, and the vines slowed in their movements. “I am not dead,” said the voice that wasn’t his own. “You did not kill me. Even like this, you cannot tame me. Raise me, and I will live again.”

A Mutual Interest by Alec J. Marsh

Tirsa stopped arguing with Jeromy after they reached the outskirts of the city, and by the time they’d made it to open countryside she had fallen asleep, snuggled against the window of the jeep under his coat. He didn’t mind her arguing, not exactly, but she was arguing against her own best interests. She deserved a weekend off.

The traffic grew thicker as they neared the army checkpoint into Kestilav Province, and Jeromy pulled to a stop. Tirsa didn’t stir, and her breathing whistled a little bit. Jeromy’s heart squeezed with fondness.

Bubble, Bubble by Sage Mooreland

“Punk, if you don’t get your rear end down here, we’re not going to be able to go!” Charlotte called up the stairs. “I thought you wanted to do three blocks tonight?”

There was a muffled thump, some child-friendly cursing, and then running feet. “Mama, gimme a minute! Dad’s fixing my costume!”

The Fairy Garden by Rhosyn Goodfellow

“It’s best to avoid fairies, but once they notice you, you’d best make friends right quick.”

Nana Iris warned Lily about the dangers of consorting with fairies, but with Nana Iris gone, there’s no one but Lily to make amends when Lily’s soon-to-be step-father disturbs Nana Iris’s fairy garden. If Lily’s lucky, maybe she’ll make a new friend; she could really use one right now.

Away With the Fairies by Annabeth Lynch

“Why do the lightning bugs only fly up?” I asked Linda.

“Not all of them do. But this kind produces light as they fly. They’re sending signals to the others,” she said, coming to look at the ones I grabbed. “They’re telling each other things with the lights.”

“Like what?”

“Like what kind they are, or if they’re boys or girls, or whether they want to have babies. They talk by flashing. That’s why they blink.”

“What about that one?” I pointed at a fast-moving one. “That one isn’t blinking at all.” Linda looked at the one I pointed at. She watched it for a long time, waiting for its light to blink off.

It didn’t.

The Solarpunks (are Forced to) Attend the Workshop to End All Hate and Misunderstanding Ever with Infinite Love and Endless Laughter by J. D. Harlock

This story is currently an exclusive for our backers on Patreon!

“Do you all know why you’re here?” Mx. Majzoub asked the attendees, with one eye on Dokgo and the other on Sami. “Anyone?” Dokgo raised his hand, but Ms. Majzoub kept looking around the room. “Anyone else?” Dokgo jerked his arm back and forth. “Anyone?! Please…” Dokgo stood up to speak anyway. “Okay, fine. Dokgo.”

“Mx. Majzoub,” Dokgo pushed back his spectacles with a smirk on his face. “Does it have to do with ending all hate and misunderstanding ever with infinite love and endless laughter?”

The students groaned loudly as Mx. Majzoub nodded and smiled as hard as she could. Dokgo, who seemed to enjoy this, then raised his arm again.

“Now, class.” Mx. Majzoub readily ignored him with one eye on one of the drawers on her desk. “For this exercise, I want you to pair up. One of you needs to present their fist, and the other needs to open it with whatever method they can think of. Hint, hint, it may involve some love and laughter.”