Invisible

 

“We’re late!” Jeremy snatched his coat from the closet. “Mum!”

“I know! Stop…stop yelling. We’ll be right there.”

“Mum, seriously! Coach will bench me!”

The clicking of cleats on tile echoed down the hallway. Jeremy’s face tightened with each step. He swung into the kitchen, “If I have to sit this game out I’ll…”

His mother sat on the floor stroking his little brother’s hair as he reached out again and again, touching the edge of the countertop. She didn’t look up. “We’ll be right there.”

“No, it’s good.” Jeremy crouched down. “We’ll go when you’re ready, okay buddy?”

 

 

February 11 Prompt: Compassion (Write a story that demonstrates compassion)
Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch

Cheerleader Spirit

 

Mary looked graceful in the water—like a mermaid. The girls on the dock squinted their eyes in envy.

“Show off.”

“Bitch.”

“I totally hate her.”

“Good thing she can’t hear you. You’d be eating lunch at the loser table on Monday.”

“Whatever.”

Mary looked up toward her friends but found sand and seaweed. The sunlight seemed to be on every side of her. Twisting, flailing, searching for the surface, she screamed for help, taking lake water into her lungs.

“She always has to be the best at everything.”

“Screw this. I’m outta here.”

Without a glance back, they left.

 

 

January 28 Prompt: Disorientation (In 99 words – no more, no less – write a story about disorientation)

Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch