My Dog Ate My Homework

By Lucy Terhar, TIWP student “My dog ate my homework,” I lied to my teacher. “You can do better than that,” she replied. I looked at my teacher and said “Fine, here’s what really happened:” It was all finished so I left it on my bed and went out to play outside. When I realized […]

Yellow Girl

By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student The old man across from me examined the hole in his sock. The slight rocking of the train kept lulling me to sleep. But then another waft of the barf-inducing stench of his feet would hit me. Knowing that sleep would be useless, I stared out the window. The thing […]

Solitaire

By Ashley Larson, TIWP Student life is solitaire. ace. i wish i was your ace. diamond. i have to look beautiful. and heart. my heart… you never truly realized i was ever here, did you? i mean, i am just a solitary human being, why should you have noticed me? i watched you grow and […]

Roadside Spirits

By Lily Abells, TIWP Student The battered old truck grumbled to a halt in the empty parking lot. Emily sighed and cut the engine. She rubbed her face and pushed at the door. Its old, rusted hinges stuck, and when she slammed her shoulder into it, she almost toppled out. She shut and locked it […]

The Jump

By Lily Abells, TIWP Student “You’re such a big baby,” Joe sneered at her from the middle of the pool. “I am not,” Louisa crossed her arms and looked away. “I just don’t feel like swimming in the same pool as someone gross like you. Her cousin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. That’s a lame excuse. […]

She Was

By Lizzie Odell, TIWP student She was completely whole and yet never fully complete. She was beautiful in an untouchable way, like the man in the moon when a piece of his face is always hidden. I never went looking for her that day that she appeared in my life, as though she was meant […]

Questions Of Her Mirror

By Sophie Bubrick, TIWP student Imagine, imagine waking up each morning to the faceless future of yourself—for all your mirrors have been stripped from their walls in your house. Could you handle having to create your ideal appearance based off of memory—or would you still feel that habitual need to ask your mirror questions from […]

We Were Made For These Times

By Sophie Bubrick, TIWP student Open your eyes now. Don’t be afraid. The harsh, unforgiving world welcomes you into its unpredictable arms. A baby girl’s soft, button nose pokes out of her white blanket. Her dark, emerald eyes absorb the life emanating from all around her. She will grow up as elegantly as her mother […]

Daisy Buchanan’s Diary

By Loryn Nieto, TIWP student He had me wrapped around his finger like the golden ring he twisted around mine. “The sapphires, they remind me of your eyes,” he would tell me. And I would smile at the floreal stones and look into his own dangerous eyes and see a very unpleasant place. His mind […]

The Storm

By Lizzie Odell, TIWP Student It is dark today. As the storm rages outside and the thunder sounds, a little girl stands by the window and watches in silent astonishment as the wind bends the trees towards the ground. She sits quietly as the lightning splits the sky and reflects off her bright blue eyes. […]