Short Stories

The Gift

Owen O'Brien

I still to this day remember the stories gifted to me by my grandfather. I remember visiting my grandparents house when I was young. My sisters spent most of the day with my grandmother, not having a clue about the gifts my grandfather had for me. I sprinted off through the house on my way to the rickety, old library where my grandfather usually spent his days basking in the knowledge and creativity of men before him. I peered through the library door; but by the time I realized that my grandfather was not in his armchair, I heard a voice behind me. “The boy glares through the open door into the old man’s office.”

“Grandpa!” I yelled out of excitement.

“I had a feeling that I was going to have a wonderful day today, and now my favorite grandson visits. God sure has blessed this day.”

“Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa, do you have any stories?” I blurted out that day as we walked over to the old, red chair.

“By god, I think I do,” said my grandfather. I sat down on the old sofa. My grandfather took his seat and began teaching his lesson. “A few years back, I tutored a young man in the prime years of high school. A boy with a mesmerizing gift of intelligence. The young man was known as Robert, but everyone called him Bobby. He had a talent for testing and schoolwork like no other. Robert could do heavy mathematics all in his head and write an entire essay in one day. He was a boy genius! As bright as the lad was, I found it odd that his mother came to me for help with his education. Robert was flunking in his classes. It was obvious that he was insanely smart, but he was still failing. The boy genius is flunking out of classes that should be considered easy for a man of his wit? How can this be? Robert was not working on his assignments outside of class. He was failing, not because of a lack of intelligence but because he was not showing his teachers how much he knew. Without showing his teachers what he knew by doing his homework, Robert brought his grade down in the class and earned failing grades by the end of the semester. Robert did not want to fail, but I watched him struggle to complete work. He could not concentrate on his schoolwork. I sat and watched him stare off into space while his eyes were locked on his paper, occasionally writing down an answer. The poor boy was giving it his all, but his attention was outside of his control. Robert’s passion for learning was what allowed him to pass through high school with straight A’s.”

My grandfather took a sip of his tea and handed me a piece of butterscotch to tie me over. The old man continued his lesson.

“Robert was angry and disappointed in himself for the bad grades, so disappointed that he often gave up with little to no attempt at all. Throughout his studies, he often unconsciously gave up on his assignments and never realized his problem. One day I thought to explain ADHD to Robert; and to his surprise, it hit close to home. Robert was quick and motivated to learn about the disorder. To this day, I am still guessing at whether he truly had the condition or that he just needed to be organized. After that, Robert learned how to stay organized. I helped him. Fast as a fox, his grades rose, and his mind was left with peace. I want to say I saw the young man and his mother just a while ago at the grocery mart. Robert is now fresh out of college and in the engineering job of his choice. Given time, he will surely be head of his department someday.” My grandfather looked me in the eye and set down his tea. “Marcus, life can be tough. Finding what puts your mind to rest can be key to happiness. A good life is full of battles, some won, some lost. When you are losing a battle, sometimes you have to look at it from another perspective. Robert was losing a battle. He felt he could not win because he did not have the strength, when in truth he just needed to use a different strategy. You must never be afraid to double back because another angle may be all you need.”

I remember all of my grandfather’s lessons, but that one stuck in my head. One year when I was a little older, I visited my grandparents; I dashed up to his library. And as usual, my grandfather had a story for me. To my surprise, he was already waiting with one in mind. My eyes wandered around the familiar room. A warm, sunny day in the middle of summer, the lampshades danced in the wind from the old ceiling fan which had a slight rocking motion caused by years of age. This old library, plagued with the dust covering old trinkets from way back when. Throughout my life, even to this day, the library has still not changed. I looked over to my grandfather. “Grandpa, story time!” I shouted.

“I have just the one,” he replied. “When I was in college, I met a young man one year my senior. His name was Martin. He was as lazy as they get. While I was seeking higher education in the field of psychology, so too was he. Martin was a student who acted most unusually. Like me, he was a little old for college; but that didn’t seem to matter to him. He had an exceptional skill in writing and acting. He was truly an entertainer by heart. Martin was by far the most talented in his class. I went to his shows when I didn’t have classes myself. His gift for the arts was nothing short of impressive. Everyone knew that he would make it big in the industry, and that is exactly what happened. Martin spent 10 years in films but never once had a role to match his talent. As talented as he was, he never put in the effort of writing his own films or memorizing parts for auditions. Martin was lazy and unmotivated to act in films or television he had not written himself. He did write himself, but he never published any of his work! He had been writing scripts since before the war. He chose not to publish his work because of the fear of hard work. It was never that he did not want to publish his art, just fear of hard work. It wasn’t until his girlfriend, now wife, found his old notebooks. He had notebooks stacked 2 feet in his closet. Some of them dated back to high school; some of them were fresh. After the realization of his work, he started editing his writings and was more motivated than ever.”

My grandfather set down the bookmark that he was fidgeting with. He picked up an old book and would rub his hands across the leather cover as he continued his lesson. “Within the year, he was publishing his first short film and starring in the movie. He discovered that the end result and the effort put into his own work brought great happiness to his life. He felt at peace with himself. He started taking more passion into acting as well. Starring in more than just his own work, he spent the next 25 years of his life in the spotlight. Marcus, never be afraid to do what you love. Never be afraid to revisit old hobbies and try something new. Sometimes something new is just what you need to feel at peace.”. My grandfather always gave me the gift of a good story and a life lesson, even before I was old enough to understand. For that, I feel his gift could be what I need to find my own peace of mind. Like Robert or Martin, finding my inner peace will be a journey. Reminded of the struggles of men who came before me, I feel empowered to follow my own destiny. Who knows, I might be a storyteller just like my grandfather before me.

Death by the Lake

Breana Gayfield

It was homecoming game night for the football team. All the football players were talking about whether or not they were going to win the big game in the hallways before class starts.

Troy walked up and asked as the bell rang for the first period, “What's going on?”

Troy is a large seventeen year old football player for the varsity team. Troy looks to his right to see two of his best friends, Bryan and Aaron. Bryan is a fifteen year old male who is practically scared of everything. Aaron is a sixteen year old that is extremely tall and skinny with a small amount of muscle mass. Troy started turning around to see his ex Macy. Troy, and Macy had been dating for about six months when they broke up. Macy broke up with Troy because he was always drinking and going out partying with the boys too much, never making time for their relationship. Nothing is awkward between them now and they are still pretty good friends. She is sixteen, and she cheerleads for the varsity team.

Aaron, Macy, Troy, and Bryan sat in their last period and began talking about the big game that was taking place after school.

“I’m excited to cheer at the game tonight,” Macy said.

“Really,” chimed Troy, “I’m super nervous!”

“Don’t be,” said Bryan, “You’ll do great, and we’ll be there to cheer you on!”

The teacher looked over at them to make them quiet, and they began working on their assignments. After class was over, Macy went to practice for the game with the other cheerleaders. Troy went to the football field to practice before heading to the locker room for the play run down. Bryan and Aaron went to go get some drinks and snacks, then got some good up front seats for the game. In the locker room, the coach hyped up the team and went over the game plan. Everyone gathered around to get ready to run out onto the field. They ran through the tunnel onto the field bursting through the homecoming banner and the crowd roared as loud as they could.

As the game started everybody was screaming and cheering on their school team. Troy got a hold of the ball and started weaving through all the football players who thought they could tackle him. Troy got the final touchdown!

Everybody stood up and screamed, “YES, LETS GO!” As the football players are moving off the field, Aaron, Macy, and Bryan ran up to Troy, congratulating him for the big win. One of Troy's football buddies yelled across the field, “BIG PARTY TONIGHT FOR THE BIG WIN!”

Macy came by to pick up Troy, Aaron, and Bryan. It was Halloween night, so they had to dress up for the party. Macy was the devil, Troy came in a regular t-shirt and khaki pants, Aaron was dressed up as Michael Jackson, and Bryan was dressed up as an alien. They all roll up to the party, and it starts getting windy and slightly chilly when they start heading inside. The music was loud, there was beer and hard liquor all over the floor and counters. All that could be seen throughout the house was people dancing, making out, talking and drinking with all their friends.

The party got boring, so the four teens left to go to their hangout spot, Hollow Lake. Hollow Lake is very rarely visited by anyone because many who go in there, end up missing and are never found. The lake water was covered in a heavy set fog with dark trees surrounding it. No light came through; it was always dark and eerie. There is wind stirring the top of the water around like when the tree leaves fall. The water was dark, giving a cold shiver down Bryan’s back, giving him goosebumps.

The whole group had been drinking except Bryan. Bryan, Troy, Aaron, and Macy were all in a small circle talking about the game and the party.

Troy got up and said, “Let's go swimming, let's enjoy ourselves.”

Macy replies, “Okay, let’s go.”

So they all get undressed and start walking towards the water. As they are making their way towards the water Troy is stumbling onto Aaron, and laughing so hard he falls. Macy is talking about the creepy trees, and Bryan is freaking out saying something could be watching them. They all swam for several hours, leaving their bodies tired, and heavy. The moon had conquered the trees leaving a little light on the lake's water. Bryan gets out of the water to go to the bathroom while everybody else is swimming. He walked over to a large bush that was off to the side. As Bryan is standing there he sees a piece of white clothing through the leaves. He zips up his light blue swim trunks and slowly examines what could be underneath the bushes, leaves, and sticks. He lifts up the brush to see a dead body.

He screams, “There’s a dead body!” Bryan starts panicking, running around, wondering what he should do.

All of his friends look at him like he is crazy, asking, “What are you freaking out about now?”

He whispered frantically, “Did you not just hear me? There is a dead body in the bush I just decided to go to the bathroom in.”

Macy gets out of the water, thinking, “Why does he always have to be so dramatic and scared all the time?”

She starts moving the bushes when she also sees the dead body and tells the whole group to get over to the bush quickly. The boys get out of the water wondering what in the world could be going on. Everybody sees this lifeless body lying underneath a bush. They dare not to touch it.

Aaron asks, “Is it a woman or a man?” Macy lifts the bush again, seeing that the body was a female.

She replies, “Female.”

Bryan is still freaking out after about five minutes of the whole situation taking place and starts dragging out his phone shakily. He was getting ready to call the police when Troy jumped in front of him grabbing his phone and throwing it into the lake.

“You can not call the police. They would think it is us because we are the only people that come down here our fingerprints are everywhere.” Troy whispers angrily.

As they try to decide what to do, they hear the bushes behind the trees rustling. They all turn around quickly, kind of spooked from the dead body, their eyes scanning the trees.

Macy asked, “Troy could you go and see if there is somebody over there or if it was just an animal passing through.”

Troy walks over there humbly, stepping over the bushes and through the trees. He starts looking around when he face plants into the ground. He starts to get up but when he looks up he sees a black figure of a human standing in front of him. Before Troy could get up and start running this person starts stabbing him once in the back and then right through the skull.

Macy calls out, unable to see what is going on, “Troy, are you okay?”

No answer. Macy called out again, slowly walking towards where they last saw Troy. Macy saw a black figure through the bushes, and the trees. The shadow was tall, and lanky. Macy knew there was no way that could be Troy, so she turned around and ran towards Aaron, and Bryan.

“Guys we need to go, right now!” Macy whispers frantically. The friends had a feeling that Troy did not make it out alive, `but decided to leave the situation be, and not talk about it with anyone.

Macy turned the TV on to the news. “Troy Builder was found dead around Hollow Lake.” He had been missing for about a week, but the fact that he was killed on their watch was what made Macy get up quickly and drive to Aaron and Bryans house to pick them up. She talked to them about what she had heard on the news, and she asked the boys if it was a good idea to go back and try to find the killer. She wanted to stop the random killings that were happening at their hangout spot for Troy to give his death justice.

Aaron said, “There is a little house by the lake on the other side we could use that until we figure everything out because I do not think it is safe to just be standing out there talking about this person when he/she could be right around the corner.”

So they all meet up at the lake with their sleeping bags and clothing with some food. They all travel around the lake to the small cottage. They walk in and it looks well taken care of and there was electricity and water. All three of them get ready to lay down for the night when they hear somebody walking around the cottage on the outside. They all huddle together into a small corner scared but ready. Macy and Aaron are in front of Bryan trying to keep him from making too much noise and startle whoever is outside. Aaron, the bravest out of the friend group, goes for the knife he had brought with him to protect the group.

Bryan whispers frantically, “Why did you bring a knife? Are you going to kill the person responsible? You're gonna go to jail, Aaron!” Macy uttered, “Bryan could you stop being careful for more than a second?” Macy and Aaron laugh knowing what Macy said was correct. Bryan is always too careful and scared all the time no matter the situation.

They sat there for about two hours terrified of what could come through the windows or the door so they sat there and waited. After about another hour the rustling comes back but this time the door is being tapped on. Aaron makes the other two get into the small closet to keep them safe. As Aaron is hiding in the corner behind the door; it starts to open. As the killer starts to walk through the door into the little cabin passing through the door, Aaron sees his face slightly. He is extremely pale, with big blue eyes, and his body figure is smaller than what Aaron thought he would be. The killer was wearing a small black hoodie with black sweatpants. Aaron slightly moves and the killer quickly turns around. The lights were turned off so the killer couldn’t really see who was in the cabin. Looking around in the dark Aaron see’s a dark figure; Aaron jumps on the killer's back. The killer started huffing and puffing trying to get Aaron to release him.

Aaron falls to the ground asking, “Why are you killing people? Why is there a need to kill the innocent?”

The killer replies, “It makes me feel good, it lets me release the anger and pain I am feeling all the time.” His voice is hoarse and deep causing Aaron to be a bit intimidated by him. Aaron could see the killer’s pain as he scrambled to his feet with his knife hidden perfectly in his back pocket.

“Nobody understands the pain one person feels on a daily basis. Nobody understands what happens in one day, what happens in one house,” the killer uttered. “I’ve had several victims, but for some reason I need more,” the big blue eyed murderer said. “Aaron, you, and Troy hurt me the most. When you guys bullied me in fifth grade, pushing me into the red and black metal locker. Both of you called me horrible names. Macy even called me names, and pushed me around like a rag-doll,” he said. “You all deserve to die, for what you guys did to me!” the killer yelled.

The killer starts walking towards Aaron saying harshly, “You and your friends are next!” That's when Aaron realized this kid goes to his school. His name is Michael Brenner. As Michael was walking towards him, Aaron got ready to either be killed or kill him, but Aaron realized that this kid had left his neck open giving Aaron the perfect opportunity to stab him. Aaron lunges forward quickly grabbing the knife out of his pocket. Aaron’s knife quickly goes into Michael’s pale white skin causing him to grunt. Michael struggles to breathe, choking on air and his own blood falls to the ground.

Michael struggled to say, “Th..ank...you” as he slowly stopped breathing.

Aaron called to the other two, breathing heavily and said, “You guys are safe to come out.” Aaron was thinking to himself , “Why did I do that? Why did I just kill someone even if it was out of self defense?” Aaron felt helpless, but he did not let his friends see what pain he was feeling on the inside. Bryan came out and screamed slightly but felt relief after he realized the killer was dead. Macy and Bryan recognized that the lifeless body on the ground was Michael.The group of now three wonders why Michael would do such a thing to so many people. How long has he been doing this to people?

The group of friends sat there for a moment wondering what they were going to do next when Aaron said, “I think it is time we call the police and explain everything that has happened the past couple days. Aaron calls the police, and as they get there, Aaron goes up to them and explains everything that has happened.

“This is where my friends and I go to hangout because nobody comes down here to bother us. But, the other day we found a dead body in a bush. We heard rustling in the bushes later that night and had Troy the football player who got killed and was found dead go into the woods to see what was going on. But, he never came out and we got scared so we left. We all decided to try and catch the killer tonight, and we did. His name is Michael Brenner. He told me that my friends and I were next so before anything else was to happen to the innocent, I went into action.” Aaron said intensely.

The police sat there for a second reeling in all the information they had just got and decided to let Aaron go for being so brave and controlling in a situation like this. The police saw Michael's lifeless body on the hardwood floor of the cabin.

The police told the teenagers to go home, but they all said, “We all sneaked out, so we could get justice for our friend that was murdered.” The police officer said, “We will escort you home, but there is no more sneaking out, no more getting justice for others, always call the cops no matter the situation.”

They all replied with, “Okay.”

While Aaron, Macy, and Bryan gathered in the officers car, Michael was put in a black body bag and taken to get his body examined. They all still wondered why he would do such a thing. “At least we got justice for Troy.” Macy said while sitting in the car waiting for the police officer to arrive to take them all home.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Tyler DeBella

“ATTENTION”, Ms Johnson attempts to corral her class as the clock ticks towards 2:23 on friday. The last thing on everyone’s mind was a weekend project, but she had other plans. “Attention class” she says one more time, while smacking the white board with her eraser. The class quiets and turns their attention to the front of the room, and the angry teacher that is about to ruin their weekend plans. “This weekend I will need…” the teacher says as she picks up her dry erase marker and begins to write on the board, causing a groan from the students, including me. I had planned to continue working on my second comic strip that I recently started. “... a minimum of 1,000 words, describing what makes a character interesting, it can be a fictional story or a non-fictional narrative, due monday morning. Have a good weekend class”. The final bell of the week rings as we begin packing our school things and talking about plans. I discard my notebook and pencil into my backpack, zipping it shut and slinging the strap over my shoulder. As I leave the classroom I hear, “ Jackson, come here for just a second. Make sure you actually do this essay, your grade depends on it”. “Don’t worry Ms Johnson, I’ll get it done.” I say, knowing full well that I plan on blowing it off until at least sunday night. “Perfect, if you don’t, you could fail the class this year Jackson”. I assure her that will not happen as I leave for the weekend, already preparing to spend the weekend working on my comics. As I begin my 15 minute journey home, my phone buzzes with a text from my mom, saying “YOU HAVE A D IN ENGLISH?? COME STRAIGHT HOME NOW”. My heart dropped through the sidewalk pavement. That text means one thing and one thing only, my weekend is ruined. My report card must have came in the mail earlier than expected.

I’m reaching for the front door knob as it swings open, and is replaced by the figure of my mom, trembling with anger, one hand still holding the door, the other clenching my report card. “ A D? I absolutely cannot believe you. You’re grounded to your room for the weekend.” I don’t even waste the energy to try and argue with her so I slug up the stairs to my room and close the door, sinking into my chair beside my desk. I look at the paper and pencils thrown across the desk, thinking that being grounded might not be too bad if I am able to work on my comics. Of course, at that instant my mom barges through the door, “fat chance bud, there’s no point in being grounded if you sit in here drawing those all weekend”, and with that she scoops up the paper and pencils that were scattered all over the desk. With nothing else to do, I unzip my backpack and pull out my computer, pulling up google docs. Might as well work on my school work since there’s nothing else for me to do. I write down the prompt, leaning back against the back of my chair, testing how far back it can reach without tipping it over. “How in the world am I supposed to write a story about this?” Confused and out of thought, I retire to my bed, tossing a baseball into the air and watching it fall back into my hands. As sleep begins to take over my body, the baseball misses my hand and rolls onto the floor. Causing me to drift asleep.

I put my phone back into my pocket, and begin the dreadful journey towards my enraged mother and a terrible weekend. A shadow comes across the ground to the left, catching my eye. As soon as I turn my head to look, a loud whoosh sounds directly behind me. Causing me to spin abruptly. Then, a man begins to scream what sounded like an old war call from behind the dumpster in between two small apartments on the other side of the street. I walk across the street to investigate the noise, when it begins to get louder and louder, when out of nowhere an old time pirate appears, running directly at me with his sword drawn. He’s too close to me and moving too fast for me to have any power to stop him, so my last ditch effort was to brace for impact. But, at the moment he should hit me, he runs directly through my body as if he was a ghost. I turn towards the large part of the street to see Danny Laruso from the Karate Kid movie moving towards the pirate, and they begin fighting in the middle of the street. Just then I realize that the street is packed with oddities that make no sense. Spiderman is weaving in and out on the rooftops, there are animals shapeshifting into people, and so much commotion throughout the street that I can’t comprehend it all. But the whole time it seems as if no one can see me. There are bank robbers that run right past me, with the cops close on their tails. A knight in shining armor riding atop an elephant should have crushed me, but I slide right through the elephants ongoing foot. A motor begins to rev right as a step onto the black pavement of the street, and the screeching of tires on asphalt jolts me awake. It was all a dream. But that dream gave me the best idea I’ve ever had. I bolt out of bed and come to rest upon my desk chair, lifting the lid on my computer. I begin on my story, not stopping until I’ve written every last word of the story.

As Monday afternoon approaches quickly, I feel better than I ever have when walking into english class. As soon as I enter the room, I place my three page story on the corner of Ms Johnson’s desk, exclaiming, “I told you I’d finish it.” “Well this is a first, Jackson”, Ms Johnson says, picking up my paper. “Go sit down while I read this.” Ms Johnson can’t contain her smile while she’s reading my paper. “Jackson, please come read your final sentence to the class, because quite frankly I could not have summed up this prompt any better myself.” I rise from my desk in the center of the room, teacher’s choice, and approach the desk, carefully clasping the papers from Ms Johnson. Looking down at my paper, I read aloud the final sentence of my story, “An interesting character is one that leaves surprises hidden in plain sight, you just have to look in the right places for them.”