One summer, five kids: a fragile dreamer, a moody pessimist, an aggressive feminist, a closet homosexual, and a modern-day aristocrat. © crewneck sept. 24, 2014 - adventure #120 nov. 30, 2014 - teen fiction #334

RUDOLPH NORTH'S UNOFFICIAL AND INCOMPLETE CHRISTMAS BUCKET LIST: ITEM 1: Buy jammies for his dog, Coco ITEM 2: Try online dating ITEM 3: Bake homemade cookies using the recipe he found online ITEM 4: Talk to that new, cute girl down the hallway ITEM 5: Forgive, forget, and love again © crewneck dec. 18, 2014 - #129 short story

Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

"What's your name, again? Rowell Forest Hill something, right? But wait, I don't really care. Not really. Just try not to keep on forgetting that I have wrists and can twist them to turn a door knob. Just, stop." Robert Hills is a gentleman and everyone in town knows that. Everyone. But when he decides to show off his gentle-manly behavior to the new girl in his workplace, his habits are put to trial in ways that leaves everyone in the town astounded (especially the old women who are used to Lovely Robert holding their hand while crossing the road). Andsobut, Robert decides to show this overly-witty girl that his so-called gentlemanly habits are far better than her nasty customs (i.e. nail-biting, thumb-finger-sucking, swearing-every-minute-of-every-day, etc.). And he does show her. But it's not like the girl isn't a Major at streaming buckets of malevolent terms from her mouth every time he even attempts to hold a door open for her. A story of one gentleman, one infuriatingly sarcastic girl, and his puny attempts to show her that not all gentlemen are jerks in disguise.

A dialogue short story about the things we wake up to that remind us there are still things in this life worth waking up for. ante meridiem - [adv. & adj.] "before noon;" Abbr: A.M. Or a.m. [credit to owner of image (not me)]