Fiction Tag

Record 13: Corona del Mar, Monday July 5th, 2010. Day. The waiter at Ruby’s was chewing gum. It didn’t matter that his outfit was cleanly pressed and perfect fitting. He was chewing gum, and Arendt wasn’t having it. “Just who in the hell. Am I right?” He asked. Or stated. Or maybe both? “You’re always right, Arendt.” I said, wiping sweaty bangs from my forehead, an affectation I’d developed in the 90-degree heat (with 40% humidity). “Rosie, do not placate me.” “I’m not sure you know what that word means.”Read More

Record 12: Pomona, Friday, July 5th, 2013. Day. Kenny Yamaha and I had been standing outside the Fox Theater for two hours, waiting to be let in. Kenny thought the doors opened at 7, but that was fucking wrong. I told him this a few times and he just drank his coffee, like ‘whatever man, fucking chill about it.’ So I fucking chilled about it and didn’t bring it up. Even though it’s now 8, and dark, and we’re in Pomona. Pomona fucking California. Have you ever been to PomonaRead More

Record 11: Huntington Beach, Thursday, July 5th, 2012. Day. There is a merman that lives in Huntington Beach. This man is a certified swim instructor. He teaches young children and, occasionally, old men and women the backstroke. He teaches them how to tread water. He provides them with the necessary flotation devices, should they be required (note: flotation devices are not always required. This depends, of course, upon the trainee’s swimming proficiency). This man spends his free time at the beach, donning a golden spandex merman tail. He wears thisRead More

Record 10: Eagle Rock, California, Thursday, July 5th, 2010. Day. The first time I came home, the lights were still on. The living room was desolate and cold, and that’s how I remembered it during the days when my father smoked and told me that sometimes cigarettes aren’t bad for you. “Do you have friends at school?” He’d ask me. I did, and I loved them since we kissed all the time on the monkey bars and on the swings that would break if you swung too high. I stillRead More

Record 9: Glendale, California, Friday July 5th, 2013. Day. For weeks Dax had planned his 4th of July celebration. It was to take place in his new home’s back yard, at approximately 2:00 p.m. He was expecting over 20 guests, mainly colleagues from the printing company he had begun working at a month prior, and whom he had gotten to know over beers and marijuana smoke 2 – 3 times a week. He had been accepted by the clique of nerds almost immediately, it seemed. There was no inquisition asRead More

Record 8: North Hollywood, California, Saturday, July 5th, 2014. Day. Hey man, I’m gonna write you this letter real quick because I have to get back to the warehouse in a few minutes because my dad needs help restocking a buncha breakaway glass. We have to be really careful when we put it up, you know, because it breaks easily and I’ve broken so many of the props before and got grounded for it. That was shitty. My dad made me stay in my room too. He only let meRead More

Record 7: Palo Alto, CA, Thursday, July 5th, 2012. Day. I’m sitting alone in my apartment, on the Ikea futon. I’m staring into my laptop, typing 1s and 0s like the rest of my 20-something dude friends. This calms me. I lose focus and realize it’s been weeks since Hadley: the girl that no one but me will ever love. She used to sleep next to me with her hands on my waist, her ribcage pressed flat against my back. In the mornings we’d stay in bed and smoke cigarettesRead More

  Record 6: Silver Lake, California, Tuesday, July 5th, 2011. Day. You start the day at Casbah with a shot of espresso, half a cigarette, and an Adderall. Today, you’re 26, you remember. You’re on the wrong side of 20, and your Facebook friends don’t care what you did last night. Not anymore. The barista is your friend. Her name is Ashby. She knows it’s your birthday. Or maybe she doesn’t. Maybe she’s a bad friend. “You want something else?” She asks you, and you realize you’re standing at theRead More

  Record 5: Venice, California, Sunday July 5th, 2009. Day. So like Reed and I got to the Whaler a few hours (yeah, fucking hours) before his mom even called us. She texted me earlier, which seems weird, but she always texts me when Reed doesn’t answer his phone or leaves it on silent. Her text said: TELL MY SON TO TEXT ME K? So I told Reed to text her a few hours later when he woke up. It was around 1:35 in the afternoon. I remember because IRead More

2014 is the year to start thinking outside the box for your summer vacation. Consider some of these intriguing fictional destinations for a most memorable trip.   The Shire With beautiful scenery and legendary charm, the Shire is the perfect destination for those who enjoy a Bed and Breakfast type vibe. Or, I should say Bed and Second Breakfast. You can kick back with a pint and a pipe. Everyone is very friendly and knows how to party. Though, you may find accommodations a little, um, cramped.   King’s LandingRead More

  Record 4: Pasadena, Thursday, July 5th, 2014. Day. I’m at the Pie ‘n Burger again. I’m drinking coffee at the bar. I’m thinking about Shia LaBeouf. I’m thinking about how I really used to love Even Stevens when I was a kid. I was a kid before I was an unemployed 27-year-old vagabond-dude who still wears jeans that aren’t too-tight. Then I wonder what it’d be like to wear a brown paper bag on my head with a cool statement penned in Sharpie. I could be like new-Shia, circaRead More

  Record 3: Scottsdale, Friday, July 5th, 2013. Day. I’m sitting on the leather in my family’s center room, which is made for living, as some say. My father, who wears his mustache thin and wire-like, is staring out of our smudged window, contemplating something that is now, I’m afraid, causing him to shake his head to and fro in a ‘this-will-just-not-do’ manner that makes me anxious. I ask him a question with words about his unusual new physicality. He rambles and putters with letters and such, and I think,Read More

Continued from 5/19   Record 2: Koreatown, Los Angeles, Thursday, July 5th, 2010. Night. No one wants to get into a fight sober. No one. This leaves me with two options: 1. ask Hea Woo for a Jameson double and assume she’ll put it on my tab, which I’m hoping she’s lost track of, or 2. fight sober. I signal for Hea Woo. Catch her periphery. She cranes her neck just far enough left so as not to leave the eye line of her dead faced man of the hour,Read More

Hello, everyone. I’d like to take this time to formally introduce myself to you – yes, you – on the other side of my laptop. My name is Will, and for the sake of my attention span and your sanity, I will conclude any further introductory pretension here. There will be no need for punctilious handshakery or bro-huggery. Our time together will be brief, albeit rewarding, should you find yourself as keen on grammatically particular text and Facebook messages as I am. If you’re not, I implore you not toRead More