It was mid-afternoon when Chad pulled into the lot of the small market. An elderly man in bib overalls sat just outside the door, arms folded over his chest. His eyes held only mild curiosity as Chad approached. "We ain't got any gas, if that's what you're after," the man said. "I filled up in the last town, so I'm good." Chad offered his most disarming smile. "I'm actually wondering if you can tell me anything about the...

There are just a few weeks left before the first April Fool’s Day of my college career, and I’m scared as hell. It’s not a milestone I ever expected to take much notice of, but here at Caverley University, pranks are practically a religion, and April Fool’s Day is bigger than Christmas. Seriously, Caverley is known for two things: epic pranks and a top-notch film department, the latter of which is what prompted my arguabl...

“Hey.” I hear Iris’s voice behind me and sidestep out of her way, preparing to discreetly watch her pass by. Watching Iris is one of my little pleasures in life, and with college being a lot more all-night cram sessions and a lot fewer debauched parties than I was led to believe, I’ll take what I can get. “Hey,” she repeats. I move all the way over, so my shoulder is up against the wall of the corridor. “Hey, Kevin!” It s...

On the Sunday before Labor Day, I stood at my living room window and stared out at the line of cars parked in front of Myles's house. I'd wanted to avoid being one of the first guests at the party, forced to make small talk with Dana while she waited for others to arrive. But it looked like I couldn't put off going any longer. Though Myles had insisted I didn't need to bring anything, I knew better than to show up emptyha...

On my hands and knees, I searched the floor of my boyfriend's bedroom closet for a pair of shoes I needed. Griffin and I had been dating almost a year and had recently discussed me moving in with him. Since a lot of my stuff had already migrated over to his place, the idea was a sensible one. Tucked away at the back of the closet was Griffin's suitcase. I wouldn't have paid it any mind, but a scrap of fabric caught betwee...

Warren and I ate dinner in strained silence, for I'd given up on trying to make conversation. My husband was far more interested in refilling his glass of Cabernet than he was in talking to me. His expression was dour, and as I regarded him, I wondered how a man could appear to age so much in just a few weeks. It had been this way since his company had decided to lay off a significant number of employees. Warren had nothi...

The proposition It was nighttime, after dinner. She had gone to the hotel bar before going upstairs to relax. A guy at the end of the bar kept glancing at her. He looked to be about her age, had short, sandy-colored hair, and was nice looking. An almost empty glass of scotch sat on the bar in front of him. She wondered if she’d seen him at the conference, but didn’t think so. Then she got up and brought her wine with her,...

Jordan was a half mile up the gravel road before he realized that something was wrong. He had felt it as soon as he got off the ferry, because what was supposed to be an island with shops and hotels and a historic fort just looked like a gravel parking lot. But Jordan was a college student on vacation, and the area was unfamiliar to him. The entire idea of ferries and islands was unfamiliar to him. So when he walked off t...

It was the middle of May 2018, and it was approaching a year since Ashleigh first started working at my store. Colleges were out for the year, and I had just graduated and was waiting to start graduate school in the Fall. She had left the previous August to go back to school in Illinois and had only spoken with her a few times since (more stories on Ashleigh to come later). Of course, if you have read some of my previous...

Three weeks had passed since Ashleigh left to go back to school in Illinois, and I was sitting in a meeting for what was essentially a “customer first” group (follow the Supervisor and Cashier stories for more on Ashleigh). This group’s purpose was to think of ideas to help improve the customer experience at the store. In reality, that is not what happened at all as it was more of a smokescreen for corporate directives th...

The tapping was incessant. Irritating. Ken glanced up from the football game to watch her. Sarah's pink fingernails drummed against the desk. From index to pinky, over and over, as if the typing motion would will her thesis into existence. It had been weeks. The same thing, same routine. Ken woke at 5 am to work out, shower, then head downtown to his job. Sarah usually roused around 6:30 am. She led him in yoga. She'd bee...