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Snatched Groomsman

A missing flower girl is a bonafide wedding emergency “Great to see you, Timmy. Oh, sorry. It's Tim now?” “Yeah, Tim.” Tim agreed, still returning his cousin James's fist bump. “Excited?” “Can't be more excited than you!” Tim replied, chuckling. James was the groom after all and he was just a groomsman. “Excited, nervous, freaking out, all of the above.” James said with a chuckle. He had always been Big Cousin James, but had never really held his twelve years over Tim. “Suits are in the other room, uh Kevin!” He waved another cousin over. Kevin was barely even two years older than Tim, but he was a senior while Tim was a mere freshman thanks to skipping a grade. “Can you show Tim” he emphasized Tim as if still getting used to it.  I changed it to Tim like a year ago!  “Where the suits are? Figured you'd be heading there yourself.” He eyed Kevin's casual clothes pointedly. “Yeah, yeah. Let's get ready, dude.” Kevin patted Tim's back in greeting and then ...

Petey's Pull-ups

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"Go away!" Peter yelled, glaring at his obnoxious little brother Dylan. "But you said I could play!" "I said you could play when I'm done." Peter said, holding the controller over his brother's head with a smirk. "Please? Just ten minutes!” Dylan whined. “This isn't fair!" "I don't care." Peter said, turning away as his brother tried to jump to grab the controller. Despite being thirteen to Dylan's nine, he was only a little taller than the younger boy, so holding the controller up over his head was not a sure thing. Dylan huffed. "You're a jerk!" Peter shrugged it off and sat back down on the couch, so absorbed by the game that he did not notice the strange smile that crossed his brother's face. "Maybe you're fussy because you had an accident in your Pull-ups." Peter did not respond. "I said, you had an accident in your Pull-ups, didn't you, Petey?" "Don't call...

Gabey New Year

“Go on. Ask him!” Jamie whined, tugging on his brother's hoodie sleeve. “We've still got time.” Kevin said with a chuckle. “Time for what?” “Granny said I gotta get ready soon.” Jamie mumbled into Kevin's sleeve. “Ask!” “Ask me what?” Gabe asked again. “Well,” Kevin smiled sheepishly. “Jamie wants to know if you'd be willing to be Baby New Year.” “What? No way.” Jamie detached himself from Kevin and looked up at Gabe with all the pleading energy a five year old could muster. “Please? Pretty please?” “I had to do it until you came along, Jamie.” Gabe said, which was mostly true. Kevin, being two years younger than him, had done it once, but had somehow managed to miss every New Year's Eve where it would have been his turn, leaving it to Gabe to fill in. “Why don't you want to?” “Cuz it's for babies!” “What?” “Well, it is in the name.” Kevin chuckled. Jamie nodded. “But if you don't want to do it since it's for babies, why me?” “Cuz you...

Blue Skies for Christmas

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A collection of three Christmas stories I wrote and posted on Bluesky this year. A White Christmas Jake had always loved Christmas, but it felt a little silly for his mom to continue to insist the stockings were from Santa when he was a college freshman and his brother was a sophomore in high school. All the same, he smiled appreciatively as she handed him his red knit stocking. “And one for our guest. Santa never misses a beat.” His mom said, handing a stocking to Jake’s roommate Randy. “Oh, wow! Thanks!” He said with a chuckle. “Dig in, boys.” Jake did not need to be told twice, his hand plunging into the stocking. Oh, great. She put boxers right on top, he thought. He pulled them out and his face turned red. Boxers, they were not. It was a pair of white briefs! He quickly stowed them out of Randy’s sight and dug in. Ugh, another one. And another. Another! Another? Jake’s face grew more and more red as he pulled a dozen pairs of white briefs out of his stocking. Was there anything e...

Clara and His Nutcracker

“Wanna go another round?” Logan asked. “You're awesome as Ozai!” “Absolutely!” Jayce said, grinning. “I could play Capricorn all night long!” Logan got the game started, but Jayce could not focus on the loading screen of Lucia winking and blowing a bubble with her gum. Something was bothering him. Logan had always said friends could never, ever sleep over at his house and Jayce could not understand why. His parents seemed normal. They let them have pizza for dinner. Even Logan's little sister Kaylee wasn't that obnoxious as far as little sisters went. His little brother had to be at least ten times worse. “Shoot, this lobby's not active.” Logan leaned forward to reset and Jayce looked at the boy in his Capricorn onesie, a few dark blonde curls slipping out of the dark blue hood, his plump, pink lips tightened in focus… “I'm ready for my bedtime story!” Kaylee yelled through the closed door. Jayce watched as Logan's face paled. He turned to look at Jayce, wor...

Elf on the Shelf

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“Ugh, forgot we're out of Choco Chunks.” Archie muttered, throwing the empty cereal box away. As if it wasn't bad enough that it had not snowed enough for school to be cancelled, now he did not even have his favorite cereal. “Frosty Sugar Balls or whatever it's called is just as bad for your teeth.” “Thanks, mom.” Archie said, flashing her a grin with a few spaces. He had just lost one of them a few days ago, so the hole still felt new! She smiled and was about to say something when the whole house seemed to shake. “Peppermint's here! Peppermint's here.” “Oh, Casper's up.” Mom said. “Maybe I should have proofread your-” Archie was already gone, eager to see what his stepbrother thought. “Archie!’ Casper exclaimed.”Look! He's up on the mantel thingy!” “I see that.” Archie said, not even sure if he could match Casper's enthusiasm. It seemed improper in a way for a boy his age to be nearly bouncing up and down. “I waited until you were here to read the ...

Callum Sees Spots

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“And this is another hose.” Firefighter Mike said. How can you make a tour of a firehouse boring? Callum thought. Firefighter Mike was a big bear of a man with a booming, friendly laugh, but this had to be the most boring tour ever. Why were they even touring the firehouse? That was the sort of thing preschoolers did, not middle schoolers! “Guess I'll just make my own fun then.” He muttered as the class passed a hallway. He quickly darted down it, relishing the opportunity to rebel even slightly. Anything was better than being bored to tears. They didn’t even get to turn on the fire truck's sirens! “Now, what to do?” He saw a sign that mentioned the cafeteria. A snack was always in order! Mom and Dad were always so strict about when he could or could not eat, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right? Opening the door he thought led to the cafeteria, Callum came face to face with, not a snack, but a dog! "Ruff!” The dog barked. Callum held his hands up. “...