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“Hypnos” by Team WonderBra

Posted on September 24, 2012 by writer

Congratulations to Team WonderBra for winning the 2012 Readers’ Choice Award!

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Character: Police station clerk
Action: Tightening a knot
Setting: A meeting for a subversive group
Prop: Decorative songbirds made from vinyl records

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Hypnos

by Team WonderBra

I can’t stop kicking the leg of my chair under my seat.  The clock says 2, and it’s the first moment today I’ve noticed the time at all. I can’t remember how many hours it’s been since I sat down in this chair. Hell, maybe it’s been minutes.  Maybe the junkie sitting across from me has been here for days, drifting in an out of a fitful sleep as he pulls at his tattered Batman t-shirt. Maybe he knows the secret of rewinding time back to yesterday, and if I shake him hard enough and plead with him enough and tell him what a terrible and unfair thing has happened, his glassy eyes will soften and he will look at me with understanding and oblige me. But he only stares at me, letting me know he hasn’t slept for days and wants things to be normal too.  I keep kicking back and forth into the chair leg, wanting it to punish me back.

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“Life in Knots” by The Novelettes

Posted on September 24, 2012 by writer

Congratulations to The Novelettes for winning in the 2012 Team category!

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Character: Police station clerk
Action: Tightening a knot
Setting: A meeting for a subversive group
Prop: Decorative songbirds made from vinyl records

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Life in Knots

by The Novelettes

I know I just said goodbye to you as you headed out the door, off to another one of your science classes I think, but I have always hated saying goodbye and prefer hellos instead.

So hello, I am your Dad.  Remember me?  You and I have been best friends for a long time, just you and me against the world and all that good stuff.  I couldn’t ask for a better friend.  Who else would have taught me how to play with Playdough and color in coloring books?  Who else but you would indulge me whenever I get inspired by one of my kooky projects?  We have always taken care of each other.  

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Filed under: 2012 Submissions, 2012 Winners | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

“When Your First Bust Is a Santa Claus” by Courtney Sherwood

Posted on September 24, 2012 by writer

Congratulations to Courtney Sherwood for winning in the 2012 Individual category!

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Character: Police station clerk
Action: Tightening a knot
Setting: A meeting for a subversive group
Prop: Decorative songbirds made from vinyl records

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When Your First Bust Is a Santa Claus

by Courtney Sherwood

When your first bust is a Santa Claus, it can be hard to believe in what you’re doing.

I remember the little boy’s dusky tear-streaked face, his bold older sister as she crossed her arms and furrowed her brow in defiance. “It’ll be OK,” she asserted, as though she knew anything. Ages four and eight, the file said. How much harm could a little magic cause? I wondered, then stifled the thought.

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