Stable by Belinda Roddie Can a horse ever be stable in a stable? Or can it be hoarse in a hearse? Can a pig manage a stye in a sty, or will it just have a bothersome growth on its eye? Can a bird grow a beard and then get bored of it? It's be something for the board to behold. A gilded goal could be to hunt for gold. Or is this getting old?

Tape by Belinda Roddie "What's that?" Ely chuckled. "That?" they asked, pointing on the stereo. "That has a cassette player. You know, for tapes. I'm guessing you're not used to seeing that." "I know what tapes are," grumbled Timmy, shaking his head and making his red curls bounce. "I mean, what music's on them?" "Would you like me to play something?"

Inhale by Belinda Roddie We remembered to breathe. We remembered to inhale through our noses and out through our mouths. We remembered to relax our shoulders and rub out the tension in our necks. We remembered to close our eyes and adjust to the red and gray silhouettes behind those fleshy curtains. We remembered to be quiet. We remembered to be calm. But we did not remember to relax.

Defy by Belinda Roddie Go on. Hit me. Do your worst. I defy your threats. I defy your words. I defy whatever you think is intimidating about that stare. You do not scare me. You merely annoy me. You won't leave anything but soft bruises in your wake. I have gotten plenty of scars from worse. I will not remember you. I will not remember you. I will not remember you. I will never remember you.

Near by Belinda Roddie Hey, where are you? Are you outside the gymnasium? Or are you near the swimming pool? Will I find you by the fountain where the four pillars of Islam rise? Or will we, instead, convene at one of the many panther statues? You see, everything on that campus is tinged, unsurprisingly, rose. But you can hear the rumblings of mob conspiracy theorists nearby. And they have worse teeth than the goddamn panthers do.

Reflexes by Belinda Roddie Over and over and over again, I tried not to flinch when he kissed me. But reflexes couldn't be ignored, nor could that twisting gut feeling like someone was tying my intestines into a butterfly shape that you'd normally find with shoelaces. I didn't push him. I didn't hit him. But when his tongue entered my mouth, I wanted to gag. Even that, however, would have been better than what I actually did. I bit down. Hard. 

Automatic by Belinda Roddie Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system: YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE is not available. Please leave a message after the beep. Only there's no beep. There's no dial tone. There's not even static. This is when you wait. Forever. And you can't seem to put down the phone. It's not that YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE isn't here. It's just not available to take your message. Nor is it interested in hearing your screams.

Blast by Belinda Roddie "Did you have fun at Louis's party?" "Oh, yeah," snorted Georgia, her tone sticky with sarcasm. "I had an absolute blast." "Hey, don't be mean," complained Tom. "Louis had some fun games. And the cake was good." "But no booze?" retorted Olivia. "No music? No dancing? It was so...tame. And I know Louis is tame by  nature, but still..."