Andlat's Story Spot

He surveyed the dorm room, appraising it and approving of what he saw. Everything looked perfect. Well, almost everything, he thought as his gaze shifted over to the untouched other side of the room. He had gotten everything unpacked and set up, even made his bed, and his roommate still wasn't here? “I guess it's not that late.” He murmured, even as he began to imagine a whole semester of having a dorm to himself. Hanging out in his boxers, having friends – or even a girl – over. He smiled at the thought. “Um, excuse me?” He turned toward the door, his smile growing as he realized that cute little voice had a cute little face to go with it. A little boy stood at the open door, wearing jeans and even a Woodcreek University hoodie. Adorable. “Hey there! Are you lost, little guy?” “No, I'm-” “Oh, Mommy and Daddy are lost, huh?” He chuckled and crossed the room, kneeling down. “Don't worry. We'll find them. Do you know your big brother's name?” “Quit. I'...

To Caitlyn, a few hours of clothes shopping sounded like heaven, especially so today. It had all started at breakfast, when her older brother Jackson had been doing his usual routine of begging and pleading to get out of back to school shopping. “C’mon, mom, you know what size I am. Why do I need to come with?” Jackson whined. His mom sighed. “Because, Jackson, you’ll complain about everything I buy.” “But it’ll be boring!” “It’s only a couple hours.” “You know, mom, maybe he should just stay home.” Caitlyn said. Both her brother and her mom turned to stare at her. “Well, think about how much longer it’ll take with him whining and dragging his feet. I want to go to at least three different stores, so” she shrugged and trailed off, nibbling on her toast as she waited for her mom to see her side of things. “Hmm. I guess, as long as you stay out of trouble.” “I promise.” Jackson said at once, staring at his sister in disbelief. He brushed a bit of auburn hair out of his face. “Th...

“Uh-oh.” Johnny said. “I think.. Yeah, Brayden's coming right toward us.” Franklin, never Frankie, looked up. “You sure?” Judging by his face, Brayden had gotten the invitation. He was surprised; he hadn't expected Brayden to be so bold as to approach him so publicly. “Oh, yeah. He's coming for us.” He patted Johnny's shoulder. “Go ahead and save yourself. He wants to talk to me and it's tough to pants me when I'm sitting down, right?” Johnny looked at his best friend, bewildered by how calm he was with Brayden coming toward him, but his survival instinct took over and he fled. Hopefully Franklin wouldn't die. “You.” Brayden said gravely. “Hi, Brayden.” Franklin said. “Why the heck-” he growled, seeming to struggle with words. “A… playdate?” Franklin winced. No wonder he was mad! “Did my mom really call it that? I just…” “Just what?” Brayden eyed Franklin with suspicion. This dork wore bow ties. He would rather die than have a playdate with him. “I tol...

After Jayden and Mike were caught red-handed, their moms decided it would be best to keep them apart. Best friends did not do things like shoplift! Mike begged and pleaded with Mom, but she remained firm. The worst part was, the ban on Jayden was not even his punishment. His punishment was far worse. "For the next two months, ballet is your life." Mom said. Mike thought it was strange, even after Mom explained that the best way to keep him out of trouble was to keep him busy. But ballet? Strange or not, Mike soon learned his new routine: every morning, he went to a private ballet lesson where he had to wear tights, slippers, and something called a leotard as he was drilled for hours. Then, Mom picked him up and he spent the drive home and the rest of the day watching ballet videos. Much to his dismay early on, it was literally the rest of the day. He had to sit on the couch in the living room, still in his leotard and tights, watching ballet video after ballet video, his head...

Zach lay on his bed, listening to what had to be the fourth run-through straight of his favorite band's latest album. Ever since he had gotten his new headphones, he had listened to Flight of Dogs nonstop every waking minute of the day. Hearing a strange beep, Zach looked at his phone and saw a notification. “Hypnotic track restarting?” He tapped the app and his eyes widened, his hands flying up to his headphones as he heard the track without music over it for the first time. “You love Emily. Emily is your best friend.” It was his little sister Emily's voice, talking calmly. “You love being Emily's princess. Being Emily's pretty princess is the best.” It seemed to go on and on, sounding strangely familiar. “You love wearing your princess dress. You love feeling like a princess.” Had that been playing the whole time he was listening to Flight of Dogs? “You love being Emily's pretty pretty princess.” All week? Impossible. “You will always be Emily's pretty princ...

Caleb rolled his eyes as the girls across the table giggled once again. They had only just gotten to Abigail's house and they were already getting on his nerves. Why did Mom think it was okay to make him play with his obnoxious little sister and her annoying little friend? "They're two years younger than you." Mom had told him, clearly not understanding the difference between nine and seven. All they did was giggle and talk about princesses. What seven year old still played princess? "After lunch, we should play something." Well, duh, Caleb thought. That's why we're here, Marie. Actually it seemed most of the time like they were there for their moms to hang out. "What do you want to play?" "It should be something all three of us play." Marie said. "So no princesses." Caleb said. "Caleb, watch your tone." Mom said from nearby before returning to telling Abigail's mom some story. "Princesses are fun!...