Natalie Strawbridge

Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020

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“you don't have it in you” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 06/25/2020

“Just say it,” you silently remind yourself. You know you’ll regret it if you don’t. “Can I get a blueberry scone, too?” you ask. So simple. A scone to go with your large oat milk latte. The sort of thing anyone can do, even you. The world does not explode when you ask for a scone. Your heart is still beating faster than it should, but the barista tells you the total and you pay with a ca...

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“Legacies” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 06/13/2020

The demolition is scheduled on a Thursday, during finals, at the exact same time that the only ice cream shop in town is offering free cones. This is deliberate, of course; they’re hoping to get it over and done with quietly, without any fanfare.But we will not let them take today away from us.I help my best friend get ready in his room an hour before it is scheduled to happen. He tries to convince me it is not too hot for a suit, and I remind him that if he faints, he’ll make a scene, and not the kind ...

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“honey, this will hurt for a while” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 06/05/2020

Oh honey, this one’s going to hurt for a while. I wish I could tell you it’s not going to, but it is. No, I’m not writing from the future; I just know that this is going to hurt for longer than you’re ready for it to, and I'm giving you a moment to wallow.I know it’s going to hurt because lesser things have hurt you for a long time. Sure, bigger things have hurt too. And you got past them, so you’ll get past this too. Getting past it won’t be painless.It’s going to hurt every time you see her or hear he...

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“Dead Fish Walking” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 05/29/2020

Gregory never expected his goldfish to come back from the dead.It had been a perfectly normal Wednesday, except that when Gregory went to feed his fish that morning, he was belly up, bobbing near the top of his tank, and obviously not hungry.The fish was named Bubba, and Gregory had acquired him in the way that most children become the owner of a goldfish: by winning a game at the school fair. Unlike all those other, weaker goldfish, Bubba lived to the age of 3, much to Gregory’s delight and his parents’ chagrin.

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“all the time in the world” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 05/22/2020

“Tell us something you’ve never told anyone else.”In any other context, this would feel like a trap. But here, laying on the floor of the cabin Ella has called home for a week, the trouble is not the question itself, but that she can’t think of a single thing she hasn’t told at least one person here.It is the last night of camp, and here in the cabin they are stretching the time as much as possible, refusing to sleep away their last hours together. Lights out was at 10 PM, so they sit in the dark, clust...

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“Millie's First Walk” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 05/14/2020

Her feet slammed into the pavement as she ran down the hill from her house. Her head bobbed from side to side, desperately searching for a glimpse of brown fur as she called the same name, over and over.Evelyn hated running. Despised it. Whenever she had to run a mile in gym class, she faked cramps. The irony was not lost on her now as her side cramped painfully.Her father was the runner in the family. Every day that she could remember, he was up at dawn to run, and so...

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“the debut album” by Natalie Strawbridge

Submitted on 05/09/2020

I slip my phone into my pocket, vowing not to check it again until I get home. The bus is late, and I fiddle with a loose thread hanging from my shirt. I will not look at my phone. The thread snaps off. I take the hair tie from my wrist and twist it into various shapes. I will not look at my phone.After weeks of deliberation, I have sent a text to my former best friend. That makes it sound as though something awful happened. Something to make me hate her, or vice versa. Former. Prior. Ex. As if she stole my husband, or r...

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Author bio

I am the proud owner of six dogs, two cats, and countless unfinished stories.