Latest published kickoffs

Our pearl-white Jeep Rubicon rental had struggled to conquer its steep and winding task, but here we were, alive, oh so alive. The wheels loudly munched the frozen gravel driveway as we approached the front of the countryside cabin where the spongy porch lighting sympathetically revealed the massive Ponderosa logs encasing the exterior. It was close to 9

p.m. The eerily dark evening concealed the surrounding mountainous terrain of the Cherokee National Forrest.

Until today, all of our interactions occurred via the dating site eharmony and the social media platform Facebook as well as Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, and, of course, text messaging. We started our E romance about a year ago, Kathy is from Tampa, F...

Letting go has been like navigating an obstacle course of emotions, and trust me, it's been a wild ride. Picture this: I cried so much that my tears and laughter had a dance party. I'm not entirely sure if that makes any logical sense, but hey, feelings aren't always known for their stellar reasoning.

I cared, and when I say cared, I mean I had a PhD in

caring. Turns out, caring too much is like signing up for a rollercoaster with no safety harness—it led me down a dark and twisty path. Lesson learned: caring is cool, but caring about the wrong person? Ouch. It's like giving your heart a crash course in extreme sports.

Ever cared for someone who couldn't care less about you? Talk about a one-sided love ...

I suspect my childhood friend is a mind reader. He always knows what to say to me or what I'm thinking before I even think it. Like out in the hallway a few minutes ago. I was reading a poster for theater auditions when-

"You should stick with the yearbook." Collin had magically appeared beside me from the throng of students. He rested his arm on my

shoulder. I shoved him off.

"It's senior year. Let me do something fun. Something exciting!" I protested with glee.

Jasmine Kim, a notorious gossiper chuckled from beside me. I didn't like her. She chewed too loud and was flat-out mean. Her rudeness was often mistaken as sarcasm by everyone so she was a bit of a social butterfly. We bumped into each other f...

I felt my stomach drop. The large mastiff-turned-zombie charged the iron screen door. There was a slight crack from the frame as the dog slammed into it a second time. I hurriedly locked the front door, grateful for the screened one. My fingers trembled as I tugged the curtains close.

My breath was the only one I could hear. I turned to look at the man I

had ushered inside. He was a wild man, much older. I saw my father in his face and paused. The man stood his ground, a rifle pointed at the front door. The bite marks of the dog were visible on the handguard.

My mind had me frozen, imagining this man turned to pieces in my front yard had I not let him in. Then I realized the silence extended to this space...

As I sat in the cold bus seat, my brother, as usual, ignored me. I couldn't help but wonder why we looked so different. Maybe I was adopted. Knowing you have someone to turn to when things go wrong is a strangely comforting thought. I often think about love and what it must feel like, but I can never quite put my finger on it. When she smiles, it's like my

whole body smiles with her. She's just a friend, but there could be something more there. Most of my conversations with my parents revolve around why algebra was invented; it's the only chance I get to talk with them aside from discussing school grades. I know what I must do to secure my future - eliminate any competition. Fewer distractions mean more chances...

I can't help but wonder how actors feel when they have to fake their lives just to please their fans. You know, pretending to be in love with the protagonist of their series; it all seems so fake. It's funny because all I ever wanted was to confess my feelings for the protagonist, but instead, I feel lost and confused. I'm the side character, or the backup,

always waiting in the wings. Sometimes when I'm stressed, I stare at random things, like these leather bus seats. The smooth greyish-brown texture, almost like an elephant's skin mixed with oil, reminds me of how I feel when I finish repairing my parents' car. When I started school, a girl asked me to sit beside her. She was so direct, with soft skin and big...

Starting a new school year is always exciting, but this year feels like a whole new world just waiting to be explored, like a video game with levels to conquer, each offering the chance to showcase courage, strength, and kindness. I'm determined to make the most of this opportunity; my story is pretty sweet, and girls fall for me. Watching their crushes

crumble and acting innocent makes it all the sweeter. I live by taking what I want and leaving the rest behind, but no one knows. I might have had a momentary crush but quickly shrugged it off; romance is for fools. My focus is solely on myself, and today, I want to keep track of everything; each girl I play with, where it all began, how I became so perfect, and...

Every story has a beginning, whether in a park or on the road. However, in my case, my story is complex and hard to understand. I never imagined that my experiences with someone named Aras would affect me so profoundly. Whenever I thought of Aras, I felt nothing but hatred. I couldn't shake off the anger, and it caused me to feel weak and powerless. It was

like a feather being crushed by passersby on a hot day, but my pain was even more severe. Everything started on the first day of high school orientation, which was a fresh start for me after struggling with my past. I was excited about making new friends and put all my effort into achieving this goal. However, I met someone who hurt me so profoundly that it s...

The Secrets Behind The Masks We Wear

However there was a darkness hidden beneath all of the smiles and masks that near everyone wore. Secrets that no one thought to explore because what's the point? Their parents are rich and they put on the perfect mask to hide their darker intentions. In reality they got their thrills by tearing down others and

watching them suffer in a sick and twisted way. If you dared to look into the past and uncover the secrets that they had so feebly hidden you would be surprised. Nothing happens without a reason and here? It was usually fueled by someone's bad intentions. What kind of things could a teenager possibly do that could cause so much damage? Well as we would later find o...

Chapter 1
The searing pain in her left arm was too much to handle. She dropped to her knees to the soft carpeted floor, her long red har falling in her face while clutching her left arm to her chest as tears ran down her face. Soon it was not just her left arm her whole body felt like it was on fire she felt as if she was burning alive. But just as soon as

the pain started it stopped sending a chill up her spine. She looked down to her arm to see a black tattoo-like image of the number 10 appear on her arm. It looked eerily similar to the number 4 on her other arm.

As soon as she regained her lost strength she got up from her knees still clutching her left arm to her chest and slowly walked down the hallwa...

They never let me speak in a place like this. Where the darkness of the world is hidden by white beams of light radiating off of the skin of those around me.
In a place where the sun is below and warms the air beneath our feet, and the air is full of fine dust and radiation. This place where the word "demon" is a sin.
"Zoni," my guardian calls. Her sharp

words pull my eyes towards her.
"Yes?"
"You've been summoned."
Upon the day of my eighteenth birthday, I am to be "fixed" so that I may never spread the genes of a demon in Utopia, if I make it that far. Today, my life is to be challenged, put up for a vote like a fattened cattle.
I nod and watch the soft swish of my guardian's feathered wings.
I follo...

BACKTALK pt. 1

*this chapter is about Deku being on a male version of a women’s cycle called heat. It may contain cuss words, violence, and may be a little cringe (sorry). Everything in this chapter is also made up (except maybe a few things but for the most part yeah). Anyway this is my first story I'm actually publishing it so,

enjoy😊












THE BEGINNING



Everyone knew that women had to go through the process of hell every month. Cramp after cramp, pad after pad, it would never end (that is until a week went by). Men never understood these cycles and often said that women were dramatic. Well, all that changed when one guy had gone through the process of a cycle called heat. I...

Some call me crazy. And honestly? I don’t blame them.
Some call be cranky, a bad-tempered bat with a barrel-load of spite kept inside the boundaries of my heart. That is, if they thought I had one. Some would argue that I’m more aloof rather than mean—when they kiss my cheeks with warmth from their lips, they freeze from the unbearable

cold.
Others, they call be spiteful. A slut. A player who moves on from boy to boy.
But that’s not who I am. At least, not entirely.
I’m Maddie Johnson. Contrary to popular beliefs, I do have a heart, with which I will spin the golden straw for this story. What I am about to tell you will be unlike any other story you’ve known.
...

The tears of a child, the pain of a mother! A heart full of memories of a dead father! Here's so much sorrow, in every eye. Nothing but hurt left here, Nothing but bullets, pain, misery and shattered dreams …. Yet for the children of world only one equation counts: their shared humanity.

We will gather together as brothers, We will gather together as

brothers. and we will live in solidarity with others in this world, we are the thirsty souls of a world without divisions. If we merge mercy with might and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children's birth right. Let's step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid and don't trust any immortalist. The dove will find a resting place!...

When day comes we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never ending shade? The loss we carry, a ocean we must wade. We braved the belly of the beast. I have seen you in millions of places. I met you in a million forms. We met among the ruins, the ashes and the bones, we lost them all, but we found each other, I saw your lion heart, and it pulled me.

I saw the creation and the destruction in your eyes. I see you here in the mud, on the rock, in the rays of the rising sun. We are Dead and alive, we saw a thousand Christs go by As they went up to Calvary but The dove it found no resting place. You were where our solar system was formed, you whispered something to me for eternal love and then you fell from...

Loneliness, Emotional pain, walks with us through the day,
and sleeps with us through the night,
Tears that is not visible to the naked eye,
silent screams that no one can hear,
feeling of relentless distress,
Trapped with nowhere to turn,
life is changing beyond our control,
someone else is pulling the strings,
causing this deep ache in the bottom

of our soul.
but remember, for every soul there is a soul that touches yours –
Be it the slightest contact –
always there is a gleam of faith in the darkening sky;
always there is a glimpse of brigther skies
To brave the thickening ills of life;
To make this life worthwhile....