Jay Dotson

“Fuller Than My Chest” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #256

We were all giddy to see the look on Callum’s face.  The archetypal “Big Man on Campus.” Captain of the football team, president of the Gamma Delta Tau, and so connected that he could strangle a professor in the middle of an exam and still walk the stage as valedictorian. Guys like him float through this world, knowing that consequences are only for the “little people,” like me. But he won’t float much longer. The plan was mine. Garrett, Holly, Nick, and Natasha were eager to play their parts. To the average student, the name “Callum Ho...

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“Now I Scream” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #255

The black screen fades to a wide shot of a suburban house. It holds still for ten seconds before zooming in. As it does so, the sounds of frantic breathing grow louder and louder, but their source is not visible. Professor Valen Vale leans back behind the connected desk of the third row of seats in Lecture Hall 308, his impressively toned and lightly tattooed arms crossed in front of his chest. His cheeks and forehead, seemingly chiseled from Greek marble, are relaxed but disconcertingly firm. To the average man, it would be difficult to tel...

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“Escape” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #252

The library was always my favorite escape. Having spent the 3 hours of the day intermittently staring at my ceiling or scrolling through TikTok, it was clear a change of surroundings couldn’t make the morning any worse. Once I was done with bathroom hygiene and got casually (re: lazily) dressed, I headed out of the house and got on my bike. I considered leaving a note for my parents, but I figured a text would suffice. I made a mental note to send one when I got to the library. If it wasn’t too much trouble. By bike, the Valen Crawford Publi...

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“A Long Ride” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #249

Philadelphia’s downtown area always came alive the most in the summertime. On top of the daily business of the city’s regular denizens, tourists flooded in from every part of the country into Center City, desperate to get pictures in the Museum of Art or of Independence Hall. Thankfully, that was mostly during the day, and when the night came around, the city was a lot quieter. At least, if you ignored the gunshots. There was something about the dark that always made people feel like they could get away with anything. My father certainly tho...

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“Persuasion” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #248

The red is too informal, Jason Ellis thought as he hastily loosened and tossed the fifth tie he had tried on in the past thirteen minutes. Next up was the black-and-white striped tie, an 18th birthday present from his uncle. She’ll think I’m dull, he silently scowled to himself. Another reject to the pile. His heart rate skyrocketed to a zenith unseen since that one day in Jason’s 9th-grade class that his parents threatened him never to speak of again. At this rate, he may as well just give up and deploy the “nuclear option.” Yet, as soon as...

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“Circe's Comet Cometh” by Jay Dotson

Submitted to Contest #245

It was 7:00 at night.  A Friday. A long-awaited end to another work week, promising a brief respite before the cycle starts anew.  Oh, and the night of Circe’s Comet. Jared Dawson was leaning against a tree, the moonlight contrasting against his black-and-grey letterman’s jacket. His eyelids were getting annoyingly heavy, barely staying open as he checked his smartwatch.  About ten yards ahead of him, the bonfire was blazing as a couple of dozen UPenn students danced to Paramoure with White Claws in their hands. Twenty-one-yea...

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“Mad of the Moon” by Jay Dotson

It was near the mid-point of the lunar cycle. Eric’s favorite, but he kept that fact to himself. His parents had always warned him about it. Endless lectures on safety and self-control, his mother terrified that a single misstep would expose them to the outside world, and his father’s stern expression as he delivered the lectures. It just made Eric all the more curious about what effect the full moon would trigger. Twenty years old and enjoying a spring break away from Princeton, an outsider would say that Eric Branch had made it in life. ...

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