Jethro Pili

“Seashells For Your Sweetheart” by Jethro Pili

It was a Sunday and Will Stanford’s day was already packed and planned. He was a very disciplined planner and stuck to routine. With how strictly he stuck to routine, he would have made a very fine soldier. He woke up at 9AM to freshen up. After making sure that he was fresh, clean, and ready for the day, he ordered pancakes from IHOP and had Uber Eats deliver it to his dorm at Dunster House. While eating, he studiously did his homework and studied for an upcoming quiz in his Microeconomics class. At around 11:00, he stopped what he was doin...

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“The Scarlet Thread” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #134

Today was the day I feared the most. For three months, I had been living in a good friend’s rundown apartment here in Undercity, hiding like a scared, pathetic little child. I was a hunted fugitive up there in Overworld. Each year, two citizens are randomly chosen from the government database. Our number would be called, so-to-speak, and we would report very early in the morning at the Capitol on Scarlet Thread Day. By the luck of the draw, one of us would be executed in front of the Capitol before thousands of eagerly watching citizens. Tho...

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“ESM: Emergency Sister Meeting” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #131

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Anne McBride’s fingers flew all over the keyboard, typing as fast as she could, à la Clark Kent, the Daily Planet’s fastest typist. Currently, there was a party at Chloe Higgins’s palatial house and she was invited, along with her younger sister Katherine, but she declined. She had more important things to do. She was focused on homework—always have, always will. Their youngest sister Mary was at the Silver Spatula, eating burgers and fries, drinking shakes, and studying with her study g...

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“Sleeping In A Snow Globe” by Jethro Pili

The red van pulled up the property’s gravel driveway and Camille killed the engine. They all surveyed their surroundings, except for John, who was asleep for the duration of the trip.“Well, here we are,” Camille said with a smile.“Why does it look so dry?” Tim asked, taking notice of the dark green pine needles and the snowless ground. “Where’s the snow? How are we going to ski or snowboard?”“Don’t worry,” Hazel said, turning in her seat to look back at Tim. “It’ll probably snow tonight or tomorrow. And if it doesn’t, they’d probably make so...

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“Chai Tea For Two?” by Jethro Pili

The smell of cloves, cardamom, star anise, allspice, peppercorn, nutmeg, ginger, full-bodied black tea, and cinnamon filled Aparna McMichael’s tiny kitchen in her Modesto mobile home. The gentle bubbling of the tea in the saucepan sounded therapeutic and soothing. Her daughter Patricia was coming over for a visit. Aparna McMichael had married into a large Irish Catholic family and converted from her family’s strictly traditional Hinduism. She also bucked the tradition of eating after her husband Michael. She never really understood that part...

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“Whoso Pulleth This Sword” by Jethro Pili

Submitted to Contest #122

NOTE: My main character describes a short scene involving suicide and gore on his phone.I was in my room on a late Friday morning (it was a Flex Day at Brennan’s Glenn High School, which meant school budget meetings and planning for the next school year—teachers get stuck in boring meetings all day and students get to stay home, except for the football team and cheer squad). I was listening to my music when the doorbell rang. I hit pause and removed my earphones to make sure it was the doorbell and not part of the music. After making sure th...

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“Rainy Day Reminiscences” by Jethro Pili

I had just finished cleaning the house from top to bottom and I had some time to sit down and relax for a little bit while Peter was out buying the turkey. It will be Thanksgiving in two days and we were hosting this year so turkey duty fell to us. A crisp crack of thunder rippled overhead and the rain started to pour, tapping rhythmically against the windowpane. I smiled and picked up a couple of photo albums from the coffee table and flipped through it while I sat in my favorite armchair by the window, mug of hot cider in my left hand. The...

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“Rebirth & Awakening” by Jethro Pili

(TRIGGER WARNING: Gore) The last thing I remember feeling was the searing heat from the enemy bullets that riddled my body. The GPO, now crumbling and set ablaze by cannons, was surrounded on all sides and we were on the verge of defeat. All was lost. The Irish people, for whom we did all this, were against us. They could not see our sacrifice for them. I can only hope that they will see it someday soon. I felt that our actions were all in vain and that what we were fighting for was all for naught. My comrades and I, however, decided to ma...

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“Blood Ties” by Jethro Pili

Everything was ready for the ritual. The three golden goblets sat on the sheet-covered altar along with the dagger that was to be used for the ceremony. The white handkerchief lay loosely coiled around the base of the middle goblet. Candles and torches surrounded the chapel, casting it in a warm golden glow. Garlands of black and dark red roses hung on the walls and coils of ivy hugged every stone pillar. I paced the room nervously, worried that my bride had changed her mind and decided not to show. If my kind could only sweat, I would have ...

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“The Wood Between the Worlds” by Jethro Pili

Grandpa opened the front door and all four of us—me, Grandpa, Levi, and Ben—stepped inside. I was struck by the coziness of Grandpa’s decorating tastes. The cabin felt comfortable and homey with all wood walls and a stone fireplace. An antler chandelier hung from the ceiling, suspended by miraculously sturdy coils of rope, making it look more rustic. They’re usually suspended by chains. But I liked the rope idea. The walls were decorated with animal heads, and knowing Benjamin, he was already rattling off every name of every specie he could ...

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“Radio Silence” by Jethro Pili

“That’s great to hear, Rye!” Matt Folger said as he paced his room at 3:36 in the morning in his host family’s home in Cameroon. He was on the phone catching up with his longtime neighbor and childhood best friend Ryan Hunter. It was 7:36 PM in Oregon. “What else is new? Do you have any more news? How are my sisters and my cousin Gwen? What about Abigail? Are you checking up on her to make sure she’s not depressed while I’m gone?” “Why should I?” Ryan joked. “Am I your girlfriend’s keeper?” “It’s part of your best friend duties,” Matt said. ...

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“True Friends On A Perfect Day” by Jethro Pili

You wanna do something fun? That was the text that Jade sent me. It was a Saturday morning and Jack and I had just finished our chores around the house. I was just lying in bed, not really in the mood to do anything else. I didn’t want to go out. It had been two months since my ordeal—since I nearly died from drowning and I was scared, traumatized, and depressed. I had locked myself away from the world like Rapunzel in her tower. In addition to almost being killed by the women’s swim team, I had also just recently discovered that Dad wasn’t ...

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“Swim Queens” by Jethro Pili

My alarm clock rang and I rolled over to turn it off. 6:00AM. I hit snooze and went back to sleep. I didn’t want to go to school. Especially not a new school where I didn’t know anybody. I had no friends there. All my friends were back in New York, not in some stupid backwater town called Salem Beach, Maine. When our parents were murdered in cold blood in our apartment, my little brother Jack and I had to move to Maine, where Mom grew up. Our grandfather took us in. Though why he would do it now would forever be a mystery. He never was invol...

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“Operation: Sabotage” by Jethro Pili

October, Year 2044… The former United States of America is once again embroiled in a bitter civil war. The divide between the Democratic and Republican parties had grown far too wide, creating factions instead of parties. The Republicans seceded from the Union and formed the Free and Independent Republic of America, while the Democrats formed the Democratic Union of America. This, in turn, sparked the Second American Civil War, also known as Civil War II, or CWII. Foremost among FIRA’s generals was General Joshua Soteras of Kansas. He and hi...

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“Come Find Me” by Jethro Pili

Serafina’s POV:I could smell the sharp, sulfurous sting of gunpowder in the air and felt the smoke from hundreds of rifles and cannons stab my eyes. There was also the metallic stench of blood somewhere in the mix. It was so unbearably overpowering that I had to close my eyes and cover my nose with the sleeve of my gown. When I opened them again, I watched in horror as the California 100—of whom my Charles was one—charged bravely into the fray, giving the Confederates Hell. But there were casualties on both sides—heavy casualties. I feared f...

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