Robyn Barlow

“Paper Cups” by Robyn Barlow

Down the hall and around the corner from Marcie’s room, a black cat sleeps curled up on the heating vent. The sun is just beginning to rise outside, and as the first bird cheeps the cat’s bright eyes open wide. He sits up and yawns, blinking slowly, then shakes himself awake and stretches out. He runs down the hall and around the corner. Marcie’s door is open ajar, just wide enough for him to slip inside and hop onto her bed. He begins to purr, stepping carefully along her side and sitting politely next to her head. He waits, and a bystande...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Headlights” by Robyn Barlow

The silence was unbearable in that car, but somehow, Aiden preferred it that way. Then Jordy turned on the radio. Of course he did, Aiden thought to himself bitterly. Can’t stand to be alone with his thoughts. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand to be alone with Aiden right now? But that didn’t sound right. Aiden scowled to himself and leaned further out the window.  They’d had another one of their stupid arguments, which was really just a disguise for something bigger. A shitty disguise, Aiden thought. It was like in dumb comedies, when so...

1 like 0 comments 0

Read story

“Friendship Bracelets” by Robyn Barlow

Aiden had been in the passenger seat of his mother’s car since seven o’clock that morning, staring out the window. He usually loved the snow -- something about the beautiful cleanliness of it could brighten his mood in an instant. As a child, he would wake up early every morning in December, glance out of classroom windows, even skip TV time after dinner, all just to make sure he watched the first snow of the season. And once it happened -- and, more often than not, he was there to see it -- he would do his homework at the desk next to the b...

3 likes 6 comments 6

Read story

“The Padlock” by Robyn Barlow

Submitted to Contest #76

Tristan was sitting at his desk when he heard Jordy pull into the driveway. He had been doing his homework, and still had more to do (much thanks to his history teacher, who seemed to never stop assigning work), but stopped at the sound of Jordy’s old Volkswagen. It was only half an hour past their flimsy curfew, and Mom wasn’t even supposed to be home yet. But she was -- she’d been let off her day job early -- and Tristan knew that there would be no chance of focusing once she and Jordy started screaming at each other.  He stared thro...

4 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“Honeycrisp” by Robyn Barlow

Submitted to Contest #63

“I thought you said this would be fun,” Aiden mumbled as he walked between the endless rows of apple trees. Jordy tailed behind him slowly. His gaze was fixed on the branches above, searching in vain for any glimmer of a shining red apple, but at Aiden’s remark, he looked down and smirked. “I never said that. Tristan did,” he said. “Why? Aren’t you having fun?” Aiden glanced over his shoulder at the other boy. “Sure. We’ve been walking through this stinking orchard for two hours, and have only seen, like, three apples -- and one was moldin...

16 likes 3 comments 3

Read story

“If I Jumped” by Robyn Barlow

Submitted to Contest #52

On November 22, 2010, just a few minutes past 3 AM, Aiden found himself standing outside of Dr. DeWolfe’s house for the fifteenth time that month. He’d paid Dr. DeWolfe a silent visit every night since it had happened, hoping to see one of the lights on as a signal for Aiden to go inside. That’s what DeWolfe had told Aiden he would do, anyway. Every night, though, the lights were off, the door was locked, the windows were shut, and the air was silent, indicating DeWolfe was asleep. Maybe he died, too, Aiden wondered. But he knew th...

16 likes 6 comments 6

Read story