S. F. Brooke

“The Timewalker's Decision” by S. F. Brooke

The first time I met my husband again, I was wearing Christmas pajamas and a bright neon yellow t-shirt in the drive-through of a local coffee shop. I was thoroughly exhausted after working and spending the night at the ER and needed plenty of caffeine.  Only…this wasn’t the first time that I’d met him. Or the second, or even the third.  You see, I have to go back to start this story at...

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“Angels Wear Plaid ” by S. F. Brooke

Angels Wear Plaid Six hours. Six hours into the road trip I was fine. Six and a half hours, I was not. Driving slow had never been my strong suit, especially after I got the chance to drive across the country to start my new semester at college. Looking back, I liked the power of driving fast; that was ultimately my downfall. Packing my bags in my red Ho...

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“The Confidence of a Cat ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #101

Catrina Valeriz — Cat to friends and family — was not a very popular girl. At five foot ten she was a bit of an outcast height wise and to be honest she didn’t have much of a figure. She found that out soon enough when the girls at her middle school made fun of her skinny legs and her freckled face. It didn’t help that she had glasses either. Shooting up like a weed in fifth grade was mo...

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“A Friend...Made to Order?” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #82

The factory was bustling with activity every single day, every single minute, every single second of the year. The workers had plain faces, brought down with long hours and minimal pay, as they pieced together the perfect orders. Years spent in neon yellow vests working away to created F.R.I.E.N.D.s for other people. The robots, droids, freaks, whatever one wanted to call them were made bit by bit per order across the globe. Thousands of F.R.I.E.N.D.S were made in a day and sent in coffin-shaped boxes to their home address awa...

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“I'm Always Almost There” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #76

I have trouble with speaking. It’s not with a stutter, although I do trip over my words a lot. It’s more of a conscious anxiety. It’s not easy to explain because I know my mouth works after a good head slap or two but it’s like the words get stuck from my brain to my tongue. It’s not a conscious decision, the words just shoot out of my head like the way my blood pressure and pulse skyrocket when I try to speak. I’m not a “quiet” person, I just get quieter. I know I could ask for that ketchup from the waite...

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“Gingerbread Soldiers of Godzilla ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #71

“Mom….how are you going to do this?” Sixteen-year-old Katie asked. She looked at her mother in the middle of their huge kitchen, the granite countertops covered in bags of flour, cartons of eggs, jugs of milk, bags of flour, and three mixers.  Katie’s mother, Maranda, looked at the mess and put her hands on her hips. “Honestly, sweetie, I have no idea.” She chuckled, “Your father dared me and now…” She waved a h...

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“My Alien ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #67

Zooculoo hissed as his friend shoved down the baseball hat further onto his head. “Watch it!” He snapped, as his friend shushed him.  Tarren looked around the corner of the grocery store. “Okay, we’re clear,” He whispered, before grabbing Zooculoo by the shirt and pulling him forward.  “Why are we here so late?” Zooculoo asked, his iridescent eyes blinking his third eyelid, the same one that he came to find out many birds and reptiles on Earth shared.  Tarren huffed and turned around towards his friend...

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“2020” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #62

There were three options after the war. One: go back to your family, if you had any left. Two: reenlist. Then there was this...option number three. Something the scientists called Cryo Stasis. Camden Gillis stood looking at the pamphlet, the sign-up sheet with barely five names on it. It was a week after the war, the newspaper was calling it The Great War.  Gillis stood still in his fatigues, having just gotten ...

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“Twinkle Twinkle Shines My Legacy ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #61

Breana laughed as her six-year-old daughter unwrapped another Christmas gift and instantly wanted to open it. The sparkly and crinkly wrapping paper was thrown into the humongous pile of tissue paper and gift wrap as Breana’s husband, Derrick, opened his pocket knife and broke the toy free from is plastic prison.  “Here you go, Hollee. Do you like it?” Derrick asked the little girl, whose face lit up as...

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“Green Grass Memorial ” by S. F. Brooke

Hello, dear readers. For once this is not a work of fiction, but a story coming from the author herself. I hope that something within this story touches you as the reader and you might be able to get a feeling of something from this slice of life you’re about to read.  The very first time I smelled fresh-cut grass I was around six or seven. Possibly older, possibly younger. It’s a...

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“Seven Postcards Away ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #59

The same amount of time that the steam from a cup of tea takes to dissipate is how long it took for my entire life to change. I got accepted into college and in less than forty-eight hours I was seven postcards away from my old life. Smack dab in the middle of San Fran-freaking-sico. My life was like a popped bubble, endlessly floating in a vast sea of nothingness as humanity passed onto the next ...

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“"Oh..."” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #56

Jessie walked into the restaurant, anxious but excited to meet her blind date. Her friend, Peggy, had set it up. Telling her that the man was handsome and charming who had a good job and had been single so quiet a bit of time. Looking at her text messages she went back to check the information, “He’s wearing a dark blue shirt, hmm... okay.”   Checking out the fancy restaurant, she made her way to the cocktail ba...

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“Divided By One ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #54

Twin One The groom, Ryan, had been waiting for this day for a long time. Since the day that he had met her, he knew that she was the one. Now, they were finally here. Their wedding day. The music started and the procession began. He frowned slightly, there was one face that he didn't see, sighing he put a smile back on his face. Ryan watched as the groomsmen and the braids maids finished their walks down the aisle. The world shifted beneath his feet as he ...

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“Red Hawk and White Bear ” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #51

“Mom! Keo is poking me!” called one boy’s voice, high pitched at the end into a whine.  “No! Koa is poking me!” another boy’s shrill call came.  A series of skin against skin slaps came from the back of the car. The twin seven-year-old boys yelled at each other from their booster seats.  Mona, AKA Mom, thumped her head repeatedly against the steering wheel of her parked car. “You can’t r...

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“The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far...” by S. F. Brooke

Submitted to Contest #50

“Babe, when I was thinking about our third anniversary I was thinking something like a fancy dinner,” Darryl complained, after getting hit in the face with a branch for the third time. “Not getting kidnapped.” His wife’s laugh made him smile and he reached up to pull the black blindfold up but his hand was gently slapped away.  “No, Darry not yet! We’re nearly there,” Eden told him, pulling his hand some...

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