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Chiara Marino, Excerpt #1: Living With Demons

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Excerpt #1: Living With Demons The morning sun cascaded through the windows of the suburban home as Chiara Marino studied herself in the mirror. Her dark, curly hair was impossibly frizzy, her hazel eyes were too small, and her smile showed too much of her teeth. She looked like a boring, plain mouse. No,  she stopped herself.  Today is going to be great. She finished by pulling her hair into her signature style of a messy twist held in place with a pen. Simple and practical. “It’s okay to admit defeat sometimes,” her older brother’s voice sounded from behind her. “Especially when something is a lost cause.” He was standing in her doorway with his arms folded casually and his dark hair smoothed back with gel. His appearance was tall and dominating, muscular from years of athletics. She fixed him with a scowl. “What do you want, Adrian?” She nearly jumped when she saw a dark billowing cloud of smoke appear on his shoulder. As she tried not to watch, the cloud shifte
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Excerpt from the Short Story - Zahid's Library Card

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Excerpt from Zahid's Library Card Then Zahid realized he was wasting precious time and returned his focus to his homework. “What on earth is a dangling modifier?” he asked himself. These were not words in his Conversational English Dictionary. “Hey, you’re the new kid, right?” the boy with the cross asked. Zahid turned in his seat and nodded, glad for the friendly interaction. He held up his paper. “Forgot to do my homework already,” he explained. “The language still confuses me.” “Here, let me help you,” the boy offered. He started spelling out the words Zahid needed to write down. Zahid was beyond grateful for the help. The words were utterly unfamiliar to him. He knew that he shouldn’t have been cutting corners and letting the boy just give him the answers, but he told himself it was only this once. And it was under extreme circumstances. When they got off the bus, he fervently thanked the boy before they parted ways. He walked into his homeroom feelin
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Excerpt from the Short Story - Peter's Bad Day

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Excerpt from Peter's Bad Day “I am never going to forget this,” Peter told Rob as Chiara joined Sensei Charlie at the sink. Rob had been teasing Chiara and driving Peter crazy all afternoon. “Oh?” Rob feigned innocence while he bounced Suzy slightly against his shoulder. “Like I never forgot that time you made Charlie think I had the runs?” “Wait, what?” Peter had to think a moment, to remember the incident. “That was, like, eighth grade.” Sensei Rob grinned. “I told you I’d get back at you when you least expected it.” “Seriously?” Rob laughed. “Alright, I’ll stop,” he promised. Suzy squirmed on Rob’s lap until she was facing Peter. He took a few moments to make funny faces at her, winning a few smiles and giggles. “All joking aside,” Rob said, “Chiara seems very kind-hearted and positive. And you’ve come a long way to let someone get this close.” “I know,” Peter said dismally, feeling a weight in his stomach as he thought of all that the asuras co
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Excerpt from the Short Story - Mac's Character Arc

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Excerpt from Mac's Character Arc Sixth Grade Her parents had told her this school was the best in town as far as academics were concerned. Plus there was the awesome scholarship program. She was getting a great opportunity for nearly-free. So when they had gotten the call – mid-semester – that a spot was open, her dad had joked, “We can’t afford not to send you there!” “What if they try to convert me?” Mac had asked. Her dad had laughed. “You are too strong of faith and stubborn of mind for that,” he had told her. “Then what if I convert all of them?” she had asked. He wagged his finger. “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.” She smiled at the memory, but she couldn’t help but think that a Jew going to a Catholic school sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. But really, why am I anxious? she thought. I don’t care what everyone thinks of me. I know my mom and dad love me. And I have G-d. What else do I need? Still, she clutched her sweater,
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Excerpt from the Short Story - An Enlightening Evening

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Excerpt from An Enlightening Evening “I owe you my life,” he said when they sat down next to each other by the fire. She dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. “I haven’t even paid you back for all the times you saved me,” she told him. He raised his eyebrows. “So now it’s okay that I want to protect you?” She winced, as if his statement had been a slap in her face. He immediately regretted it. He didn’t mean to cause her pain. Why do I keep saying the wrong thing? “I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly. “About that, I have a confession to make. Please don’t hate me. See, I know your weakness.” His heart tightened. “What weakness?” “That you worry about making sure everyone is safe.” He relaxed slightly. “You’re a world-on-your-shoulders kind of guy. It’s also your strength and one of my favorite things about you,” she assured him. “But I used it against you to force my way in and get you to train me.” “What?” He wondered where she even got the idea. “N
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Excerpt from the Short Story - Zeke's Fight

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Excerpt from Zeke's Fight Zeke tried to alleviate his restlessness by balancing on the back legs of the butt-cramping-hard library chair. Seriously, he thought, if they wanted people to actually come to the library, they should get better chairs. He loosed a rumbling sigh and righted his chair. He was mere hours into the first day of his in-school suspension and already, he was going crazy with boredom. He had arranged his books like a drum set and pounded rhythms with a pencil and a highlighter. He had dozed off. He had counted along with second hand of the clock. He had even tried studying. That was how desperately bored he was. Now he slumped with his cheek pressed firmly against the wooden table and contemplated what had landed him in such a torturous state. Not what, he thought. But who. Tristan. He had punched Tristan right in the nose. Well, first, he had said he was going to kill Tristan. And before that, he had grabbed him by the collar. And be
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