Dropkickwombat

You are what you eat

“Come on, let’s go” you mutter into the phone as your friend sighs loudly in response, clearly emphasizing the importance of finishing his report before going out to the movies with you. Slumping back into your seat defeated and bored, you turn your car off and relax in the quiet confines of your car while the loud night life of the city rumbles outside. Non...

Joining them

The distant feminine screech and sultry moan echoing along the abandoned carpark forces your eyes to snap open and your body to bolt up. Peering into the darkness, your eyes narrow as a faint silhouette slowly appears and grows larger as it approaches your hiding spot. “Shit… we need to leave” you whisper to your friend Mark as he nods in agreement and slowly exits the abandoned car with his backpack on his shoulders. Looking at the map on your dying phone one last time, you si...

Virtual punishment

“It’s going to be another easy game” Sam chuckles as he walks through the sliding doors to be blasted by the familiar torrent of sounds and lights. Squinting through the blinding lights, his friend, Alex follows closely behind to redeem some tokens for their upcoming few games. Grinning to himself, Alex looks forward to the games after secretly practicing at home in an attempt to break his losing streak against Sam.

“It’s a bit empty in here…” Alex mutter...

Try for size

“It’s fucking awkward here…” Jason whispers into his phone as his eyes dart around the store, hesitantly scanning the aisles for the correct item. Face flushing red with embarrassment, he quickly looks away as a sales assistant makes eye contact with him from the counter. “Couldn’t you just buy it online?” he hisses at the phone as his sister Meghan rolls he...

Changing classes

Taking off your muddy helmet and ruffling your matted hair, the cheery tavern music and aroma flows through your aching body. Your heavy sword thumps to the ground, turning a few heads as fellow patrons notice dried blood and grime spattered across your face and armor. With a sigh, you take a seat on a creaky wooden stool as your partner waves over the waitress.

“Good evening adventurers, what can I ge---” the waitress...

Questionable suggestions

“Just because I have the ability, you can’t abuse it” Jason mutters under his breath as his workmate grabs his sleeve and pulls him into an empty conference room. Silently locking the door, Brendan turns around to face Jason with a toothy smile as he slumps onto a leather chair.

“I won the bet fair and square” Brendan grins, waving a sheet of paper covered...

Competitive Nature

“You didn’t even last two minutes yesterday” Dylan chuckles as he replays a video on his phone and places it on the kitchen table. Pulling out a box, he places it on the living room floor as his roommate strolls in with his phone in his hand, still scrolling through images.

“Fuck off” Ben chuckles, playfully punching Dylan across his shoulder as he pulls o...

New job

“This way please” says a well-groomed man in a suit, gesturing to a small store hidden behind a boutique fashion store. With a smile, Jerome follows the man’s directions and enters the small establishment as a young couple happily walks out. Ignoring the stains on the girl’s skirt, Jerome notices the staff cleaning a table and mopping the floor before giving him and the ma...

Scientific trials

“What the fuck is that?!” a woman shrieks as she bolts up from her beach chair, pointing at a grey mist rolling towards them. Looking up from your phone, you and the others notice the small, odd haze floating barely above the waves getting closer by the second. People begin to dart away while others take photos of the phenomenon, ignoring that the cloud has already passed over the swimmers and reached the shoreline.

“Oh shit…” you mutter, starting to run with...

Taking turns

“When is it my turn…” Billy whines, shaking his brother’s arm as he pushes him away in annoyance. After receiving the Switch for Christmas, the two siblings always fought over the console, typically ending up in his older brother’s hands unless their mother intervened.

“I’m not finished yet” Alex mumbles in response, still transfixed to his game as B...

Gym membership

“Hurry up Steven!” Ashley chuckles, eagerly opening a glass door open as Steven begrudgingly trails behind and readjusts the duffle bag strap on his shoulder. Squinting in the morning glare, he barely makes out the logo of a dumbbell nailed to the brick wall as he walks into the reception area. “Don’t blow it for us…” Ashely hisses into Steven’s ear before c...

Boba date

“Are you sure this is the way?” Luke asks for the fifth time as he wipes the sweat off his brow, feeling the summer heat beating down on the back of his neck. Shifting his heavy backpack, Luke begins to slightly regret his decision of coming into Japan for a holiday during summer with his friend Jason. Although the first week had been fun, the constant heat and sweat slowly go...

Court order

Squinting under the afternoon glare, the loud clacks of Lin’s heels echo around the carpark as a small group of lawyers and bodyguards closely follow behind. The low murmur of onlookers quickly erupts into shouts and questions as reporters and their camera crew dash towards Lin for the latest news. Quickly surrounding Lin’s small entourage, they bombard Lin with questions as she smiles...

Cursed Party

“I promise nothing will happen!” you grumble in frustration as Gabriel looks at you doubtfully with his eyebrow raised. Pacing around Gabriel’s apartment, you hear his phone vibrating with notifications as friends continue to message him with updates and images. “It’s your birthday… I don’t wanna miss it” you whine, stopping in front of Gabriel to get his attention as he replies to the messages.

“Dude… it’s the time of the month” Gabrie...

Blessing in disguise

“Walk this way please!” a nun cheerfully calls as she opens the massive oak door to faintly lit catholic church. The faint murmuring between tourists begin to bounce around the limestone walls as the group excitedly enter the hallway. Following along, you pull out your phone to take some photos of the grand interior as a notification pops up on your screen depicting your paren...

Ring of control

Hearing the lock click open, John looks up from his phone as he lounges lazily on a rather small and dusty sofa. The afternoon sun peeking through the dirty windows does little to illuminate the figure stepping through the door and into an untidy living room. With a sigh, John rolls his eyes in annoyance as sees a small wooden box held tightly in his roommate’s hand. “So… what did you find this time?” John mutters, looking back at his phone as he recalls all the instances Ale...

Spreading desires

“Hmmm alright…” you mutter to yourself as you close the blinds to your bedroom and awkwardly sit in the middle of a roughly drawn pentagram on the floor. Glancing at the door, you make sure it’s locked before lighting up the last candle and placing it on the edge of the diagram, feeling a small breeze swirl within your closed room. Suddenly, the flames turn purple and a strong smell of burnt rubber begin to rise from the candles, forming a dark haze in front of you.

“...

Gym teacher

“Dad… what are we doing here?” Nick whines in the car as his father pulls up to the entrance of a high school. Promised a day at his favorite toy store, Nick happily jumped into the car but his excitement quickly died down when his father made a detour to the closest school. Although slightly suspicious, Nick thinks nothing of it since his father has been going out at night ...

Second date

“Are you sure that’s her?” you whisper to Mark as he shakes a photograph of an Asian chick in front of you. Touching the image, your body starts to tingle but you suppress the sensations as you try to focus on the conversation. A month ago, you were struck unconscious by an invisible force and found yourself waking up in bed a day later with a small glowing stone embedded in...

Short on funds

Slamming the bedroom door closed and crumbling onto the floor, you gasp for breath as your head continues to throb. “What the fuck are these voices…” you groan, hearing sinister screeches at the back of your head despite taking painkillers and a mouthful of water. You are certain that you haven’t been poisoned since you haven’t eaten anything in the past hour, so you try...

Clubbing

Shuffling through the crowd, Caleb’s becomes momentarily blinded as a bright light flash over his eyes while the heavy bass continues to pound into his ears. The dark room does little to help orientate him as the warm buzz of alcohol spreads throughout his body, making his thoughts slower. Peering into the darkness, Caleb catches sight of one of his friends on the other side of the room,...

Whispering suggestions

“Scream and I’ll fucking stab you” the woman hisses in Brian’s ear as she leans closer towards him with a glowing blade an inch away from his abdomen. Sweat begin to run down Brian’s forehead as he tries to remain still but also attract his friend’s attention from across the carpark. “If you looked creepier, I would’ve killed you on the spot” the woman s...

April Fools

“There’s a package for you!” your roommate shouts from the front door as you groggily step out of bed. Patting your hair down, you shuffle across the cold floor to the open door to see a small package in Alex’s hands. “Looks like it’s… uh… from your grandma” he mummers, squinting his eyes at the small writing. Giving him a nod of appreciation, you trundle back to your room while Alex’s girlfriend cheerily waves at you from the small living room.

Bac...

Experienced actor

Hearing a faint ping from your computer, you look up to see a notification on the corner of your screen blinking red. With a sigh, you click it open only to roll your eyes in annoyance as your screen fills with profanities and threats from your recent ex-girlfriend. Despite a rather harsh break-up, you hoped that she would understand and move on, but she continued to spam you online for th...

Exam

With beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads, two boys silently inch closer towards an open window. Squinting his eyes to block out the blinding afternoon sun’s reflection, Nick peers into a rather large hall with air conditioners on full blast. Careful not to attract attention, Ben peeks through an adjacent window and grins with glee. “Sue’s here” Ben whispers excitedly as he quickly ducks back behind a wall. Burning with eagerness and need for vengeance, the two creep i...

Train ride

Feeling the cool midnight breeze along your back, you and Jack casually walk towards the nearest train station after watching a movie at another friend’s place. “Jeez… it’s so cold” you mutter, zipping your jacket closer to your neck as you check your phone for the next train. Walking past a dark alley, you see a silhouette of a woman stumbling towards you as you quicken...

New life

With a sigh, Matthew leans back in his creaky chair as the waft of his morning coffee reaches his nose. A messy stack of papers covers his already limited desk space as he awkwardly tries to finish his breakfast. The rhythmic clacking of train tracks and shuffle of Sunday shoppers echo through his open window as he opens up his laptop in his cramped Japanese apartment.

Life was compl...

New Career

“Woah… this looks authentic!” Louis mumbles to himself holding up an Ichimatsu Doll in his hand, inspecting the material and intricate design. Spending the afternoon at an antique store to fill his newly bought shelf proves to be time-consuming, since an hour has elapsed and he has explored less than half of the store. Spotting a traditional Japanese umbrella hanging on the wall, Louis eagerly walks towards it to have a better look.

“Need… help?” an elderly...

Bluff

“Stop fucking with me” you laugh, punching Matt’s shoulder as he pulls you into a high-end hotel lobby full of eager tourists and impatient businessmen. Calling his bluff, you decide to follow him to the reception desk and play along as he books a premium penthouse suite for the night without batting an eye. “What the fuck…” you whisper to Matt as the receptio...

Busted

“Fuck…” Stan groggily mutters to himself as he tilts his head up towards the dim light above him. Grunting, he tries to stand up only to find himself tied to a metal chair as snickering echoes around him. Peering into the darkness, Stan tries to stay calm, reminding himself of all the past troubles he has been through as the prefecture's best private investigator.

“<...