By Sara Hinojosa The female looked at herself in the glass, her green eyes stared blankly back at her the reflection. Tonight was the night. It had been a long time since she’d been on a date and the last one ended like it always did. Nothing ever lasted long. They’d always lose their head over one thing or another, but she was persistent. Pulling herself together, she drew a deep breath, took one last glance at herself and made her way out. The male sat on the far side of the crowded space, plants towered around him on every side and the others around him seemed to crawl around…

By Laura Ditto I never dreamed of this fate in my youth, though I feel I could have expected it. I was never like the other children. Born unto royalty, but never treated as if that meant something. “That thing,” my family called me, and I grew used to it—along with disdainful looks, lonely days, and familial neglect. I can remember the aging hours that would pass in lonely silence as I puttered about my rooms, separated from most of the hustle and bustle of the castle. It was nice, yes, the tapestries on the walls, comfortable bed, and divine meals. But that did not help what was done. Late…

By Brennon Land I’ve always been a good worker. It’s a strange trait—like I’ve got to prove that I deserve every bite I get to eat. Should probably talk to a therapist or something about whatever childhood trauma led to that mentality, but I stay too busy to ever schedule an appointment. Besides, there’s nothing more American than working until you drop, and I haven’t dropped yet. Even those times I feel like I’ve come close, there’s this deep reserve of pride and spite that always seems to keep me on my feet. I don’t really even know who I am if I’m not working. That’s why I had to…

By Maya Mossanen To whom it may concern, My name is Jake Mosley, and I think I am a great fit for your school because….because….well.Maybe I’ll start by telling you a little about myself. I’m from Jefferson Ohio, birthplace of the great State senator Benjamin Franklin wade. Not to be confused with Benjamin Franklin the founding father… I don’t think anyone that important has come out of Jefferson Ohio and I don’tthink that’s changing anytime soon. You can’t add that, you are supposed to convince them that you are the next great thing to come out of Jefferson Ohio, but counselor Addams also said I can’t lie in a college…

By Zoe May Mark and Jen have been driving on I-70 for the past four hours. The roads have not seen rain in almost a month, so they were able to cover a lot of ground with the posted 80 mile per hour speed limit. The summer is supposed to mean green grass and relief from the dry winter, but this summer meant brown and brittle grass as a stark reminder of the man-made drought. Life goes on, or doesn’t in the case of the grass. Their 2010 Toyota Forerunner is the only car on this stretch of road for the last 20 miles. A strange sight for the usually…

by Orion Waters   This is bullshit. I joined this galactic shit show of an army to be the damn hero! Because I’m just that good; I was supposed to be in the officers training course, I was supposed to be climbing the ranks, I was supposed to have made the rank of master chief blowing people up from orbit, I was supposed to be in the Navy, not in these filth ridden trenches with a gunshot wound surrounded by idiots. “Will one of you fuckin Dykes get over here and give me some god damn first aid!” The trenches are in a chaotic mess. Soldiers, scrambling to get to…

by Caleb Rauch   ○ Top 10 Anime Betrayals ○ 15 Shocking Pictures of Kylie Jenner You Won’t Believe ○ 37 Things Conservatives Would Rather Do Than Watch Obama’s State Of The Union Speech ○ 15 Pictures of Hedgehogs With Things That Look Like Hedgehogs ○ 43 Celebrities That Are Only Famous to Other Celebrities Former Mother-In-Laws ○ 21 Foods That Forgot How to Food ○ 5 Reasons Why The Universe Doesn’t Exist (And There’s Nothing You Can Do About It) ○ 44 Salads that Will Make You SCREAM ○ 50 Ways to Murder, Skin, and Otherwise Mutilate a Cat ○ 13 Wedding Gowns That Influenced the 2016 Presidential Election…

by Orion Waters   Galactic Network News “Welcome viewers to GNNT! I’m your host Jeffrey Kyte and here’s my co-host Sydney Lee. It’s 7 o’clock galactic standard time and the date is 11/21/91. Please standby for your local weather report.” Weather APP: The weather is cloudy with a chance of rain. Back to the GNNT. “Welcome back. Here’s a news update on the peaceful protesting on the planet of Mefisto 7. The protests turned violent today and some are calling the protestors victims of police brutality. My co-host Lee is at the scene with more details. Lee?” “Thanks, Kyte. Behind me, you can see the aftermath of the fight between…

by Gabby Pierce   I woke up last night to my wife telling me there was an intruder in the house. She told me to grab the baseball bat from under the bed. I rolled over and told her I hadn’t heard anything and it was just the dog. “Honey, please just check.” “Fine.” I sighed, rolled out of bed, and grabbed the bat. I strolled out of the bedroom, half awake, stumbling as if I was drunk. I checked the bathroom, the kitchen, and even dragged myself downstairs to check the bathroom down there, as well as our family room. Nothing. No one. I went and crawled back into…

By Sarah Cooley —–        Plyll had been in deep cover with the K’alopeon Observation and Infiltration Corps. for an entire planet-cycle, and they were hopelessly bored.  They had originally volunteered for an assignment to the newly discovered planet XB-24357–the natives called it earth–because it had sounded like an exciting opportunity to finally get off their cramped, research-class vessel, and their only other assignment option had been a much colder planet with less moisture in the atmosphere.  An all around bad time. But now, here they were stuck in a frustrating routine of putting on physical-enhancements, attending an academic institution, going through the motions of being a human…