J.M. Patrick

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Oct, 2020

Stories (1)

1 Story

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“We Cared Only Briefly” by J.M. Patrick

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. There was smoke first, or the smell of it, sharp and determined through the vents of the classrooms, and then whispers, hopes that classes would be cancelled, that the front hallways were burning. We were in no danger, they assured us, the fire wasn’t close. Just focus, just pay attention to the equation. We couldn’t see much from the windows, only the reflected lights of firetrucks, red, yellow, red, yellow, and then they closed the drapes. By the time we were dismissed we could see th...

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Author bio

J. M. Patrick lives in Connecticut with her husband a dog named Typo. Her work has appeared in Smokelong Quarterly, Edifice Wrecked, Amarillo Bay, and Long Story Short, among others.