Patrick H

“Monkey Business ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #246

Monkey BusinessThe bell rung just after 4th period and that always meant recess. All of the kids that were itching to just run out to the playground, lined up in the hallway per the teacher's instructions to walk in a safe and orderly fashion.I walked with the others all in a line towards the playground which was beyond the dusty softball field. As soon as we were near the basketball hoops, the teachers let us disperse and we all ran to the various places in the playground like the slide, the ladders, the jungle gym and t...

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“Moon Eyes ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #245

Moon Eyes Mark gathered his equipment excitedly into.his leather bag, while his partner,  Andrea, grabbed the laptops, the telescope and other equipment and loaded the van. Both Mark and Andrea were grad students who had apparently stumbled upon something significant during their tracking duties at the observatory.  Unfortunately, when they reported the data to their supervisor, their conclusions were dismissed and they were reassigned to another project.  Mark was ready to let it go, but Andrea was far more headstrong and e...

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“Boys will be Boys ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #241

The birds that had been beating in the trees suddenly launched themselves in the air en masse after a shot was fired."What did you do?!?Breathless, Keith slowed his pace as he caught up to his older brother Tom, who stood stock still.Charlie followed Keith up the hill and the youngest brother, Rick, brought up the rear."Uh...."Tom couldn't seem to get the words out or any words out. He just stood there at the edge of the ravine."What do we….?”, Charlie began catching his breath. He was about to ask again but, when he turned to face Tom, his ...

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“Little Lady” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #240

Trigger warning: this story does deal with substance abuse and death. Little Lady Little Amber sat quietly on the porch swing on a Sunday morning.  The cool,. autumn breeze brushed against her hair in soft caress that was both comforting and painful.  She savored the small moment greedily, while looking at the horizon in the rising sunlight. Amber's biggest wish was to run through the open fields freely and live amongst the other kids her age, playing games of kickball, climbing on jungle gyms, maybe a little softball. But this pla...

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“Coming to a Head” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #239

Authors Note:There's an old legend in Tennessee about a ghost that wanders the endless tracks at night. This is my take on that.x"Ooogh!"I got up from my position and dusted myself off, brushing excess dirt and debris from my pants and my coat and I looked around for a bit and hugged myself and shivered in the cold. It was definitely night. . What happened to me? I wasn't sure, but I knew that something was missing and it was important…I listened intently to e...

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“TAMI” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #236

TAMI The little one bedroom trailer sat on the edge of  a forgotten Hill that was near a landfill in the western part of the county.    The owner, one Doug Mason had purchased the plot of land and the trailer at a rock bottom price several years ago much to the dismay of his family who believed that this trailer idea was a death trap waiting to be sprung by some unwitting soul, like him.<...

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“Bridge ” by Patrick H

Bridge The temperature outside the beat up station wagon dropped a few more degrees as the night lingered on and the snow fell onto the waiting street, hindering visibility and drivability as well. Still, Mark Smith pushed on the gas trying his best to force his way through. The road itself was a two lane road somewhere away from the main road and it had little lighting except for the head...

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“Secret Sister ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #224

Secret SisterThe front door of the little cabin opened allowing a middle aged man to step out on to the creaking floor boards of the front porch as he looked and took in the view the stars above him. He took a sip of coffee from his favorite mug as he continued his early morning stargazing. He shivered slightly as he noted the bare trees in the yard and the flecks of white spots on the driveway left over from the previous week's snowfall.Tom Browning knew that today was the da...

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“A Stop on the Way” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #222

A Stop On The WayThe heat of month of June bore down on Harry Wilson, as he got out of his beat up 76 Ford and walked up the hill on Rosewood Lane to meet his next prospective customer, doing his best to remain positive about it in spite of the sweat pouring down his back.Shaking his head as he paused in his walk, to reposition his briefcase,Harry recalled a conversation that he had with his grandfather one week l before he left for college. He met with him t...

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“Evaluation Day” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #219

As I was reading this one, I realized that I had written about someone who both broke an unwritten rule and followed an unwritten rule and that his fate was determined by.choice of which rule he followed.James Patterson, a middle manager of the Orion's Sword consulting firm, the most sought after consulting firm in the country, got in his little Prius on a wet morning, turned on the radio and started listening to Marketplace, turned on the headlamps and wipers and made his way to the office.He ...

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“Greasy Spoon Sally's ” by Patrick H

Greasy Spoon Sally'sOkay, dude, this is gonna sound weird, right? I'm not really a cook and I don't get paid to do anything here. I'm just the guy who got stuck with this diner.No it wasn't an inheritance from a long lost uncle or anything like that. I don't even know who Sally is!So, how did end up here in this diner?************I was heading back home one cold night after a sales conference when I started ...

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“Message Management ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #210

I had several inspirations for this one. I can't recall all of them.Message managementHarold Sims woke up in his apartment with a headache, most likely caused by spending too many hours on the computer the previous night.The alarm continued to beep at him in the little bedroom incessantly until he finally shut it off and then sat in bed, trying to remember what it was he was so intent on doing when he got up today.

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“Thank you” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #203

Thank you. My alarm went off around 7 pm while is was in my room, working another sketch on my drafting table.  I got up from the little office chair and hit the off button.  My little chair squeaked louder than the alarm but that was to be expected asi had bought it at a local thrift store.  It served it's purpose though. I met my Mom in the little hallway next to my room...

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“Finding Etherealle ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #199

This one is basically a first draft of a chapter for a larger story. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!Finding EtherealleThe falling leaves of autumn decorated the campus of Ministry College as the students began their after mid term activities. Jennifer Hayden, a sophomore of almost 20 with wavy dark hair traveled across the campus to the science building for her morning classestrying not to think of the date she had the previous weekend.  ...

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“Dreams of Escape ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #197

Dreams of Escape Ten year old Kenny sat nervously in the passenger seat of the old, dingy, green 76 nova as his father drove on through the rainy night. He stared out the passenger side window at the gloomy night sky and the streaks of rain sliding down the window. Orange street lights lit the road at various intervals as the car sped onwards towards it's eventual destination. He barely breathed and didn't dare speak.He wondered when or if his nightmare would end and won...

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