The Boys | Eric Oman Callahan

"The Boys could be found on the Rock whenever there was sun. Their brown and pink tones dappling the grey jut, an image of the languid summer they all wished could last forever..."

Pink Carnation | Rebecca Suzuki

"A mimosa represented chastity because the leaves of the mimosa close at night, or when touched. White carnation meant pure love and good luck, and a pink one, a mother’s undying love..."

In the Beforetimes | Carrie Nassif

"work is a place where some adolescents and most adults spent a good deal of their waking time doing specified tasks or acting in prescribed roles in order to earn money..."

Walnut Creek Gas & Co. | Yuna Kang

"Malicious, bleary-eyed scammers, payola and crime and all that. It wasn’t a life I knew, was acquainted with at all. But I liked to dream about it anyway..."

Ten-Course Chicken (Adobo) Dinner | Elica Sue

"I was told growing up 'you’re a quarter' of each thing, like a dollar bill, but with the weight of making sure you can keep all the pieces together, to be able to buy what you need at the dollar store."

The Fearsucker | Johan Smits

"Something wraps your ankle in a tight grip. A sharp end presses into your lower back and threatens to pierce your skin. A claw? A sting? A beak?"