Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

“Rejection” by Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

Rejection. It is not a feeling that can necessarily be described in a definition. It is a punch to your gut, a yearning to retreat, an awkward laugh that attempts to mask the overwhelming shame that you do not want to express.   As a high school girl, I am no stranger to rejection. For some reason, boys have never wanted to court me. They have had no desire to ask me to a dance, take me on dates, nor meet my parents. They have not wanted to get to know me on a deeper level. It can lead to me questioning what is wrong with me. Why a...

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“Desperation in a Small Town” by Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

It was a gloomy night, as most nights are in Millstone, West Virginia. The air wreaked with whiskey and desperation as coal miners were told it was last call at The Alibi, the only bar in town. Every night as I man the cashier at the local gas station, Louis Arnold comes in with enough liquor in his system to sedate a horse. He stumbles down the aisles, muttering about how he could've been the next Tom Brady, if only God hadn’t forsaken him and made him break his leg during playoffs his senior year. He still had the body of a high school qu...

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“Never Wake Up” by Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #86

I awoke this morning in a precarious situation. I was in the hospital and the second I opened my eyes, doctors swarmed me. I was besieged by white coats asking me intimate questions, I’m assuming to see if I was in a state of amnesia. My first conversation went something along the lines of: “Hello. I am Dr. George Newman. What is your name,” he said it cautiously, like I was an imbecile, but I tried not to take offense. “I am Marybeth Goldstein, but I go by Beth.” “That you are! And how old are you Beth?” “I am twenty three years old. Bo...

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“Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Goodnight” by Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #83

My mind wasn't made the right way. It's a constant battle between reality and the thoughts inside of my head. They twist my reality like it's some contortionist at the circus. I've sort of convinced myself that the only way I can achieve happiness is by going to Fiji. It happened when I was 13 and I watched the Truman Show. Just like how Truman thought that the girl of his dreams was in Fiji and that he had to go there to find her, I think that I have to go to Fiji to find out the truth. I don't know what I’m searching for but I know it’ll ...

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“The Words Left Unsaid” by Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #76

Content warning: suicide, rape "I was staring into the mirror. Looking at my long blonde hair. Looking at my hazel eyes. I looked like an innocent doe. My eyes looked so round and wondering. Then I looked down. I saw the cuts on my forearm. I looked back up into the mirror, and I saw my seemingly innocent eyes, and I began to yell, 'It wasn't your fault! You didn't deserve it!' Then I heard my mom banging on the locked door. She was yelling too, but I can't remember what she said. The next thing I do remember was my hand gushing blood, and g...

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“Perfect” by Julia Julia.lawson0401@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #39

"Wow!" She gasped. She had never seen so many stars so clearly. She wanted to take a picture, but decided it was best to just remember the moment for what it was. Her phone also died on their drive to the outer banks, so she couldn't have,even if she wanted to.As she was absorbing every detail of that moment, her mind drifted. She began to think about all of her most vivid memories. She thought about the first time she met her best friend, Miles, and how they both looked so absurd in their catholic school uniforms. It was their first day of ...

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