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Xanadu Prose

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Sonja Sample

Photo by Sonja Sample

Distractions

Eli Dalton

Every day 1, AP Physics 2, double period. Someone has to make popcorn. In chronological order, they apply a force to push themselves out of their desk and stand up. Then they walk with an average velocity calculated by dividing how far they went in x amount of time. Once they reach the microwave, they grab the popcorn, and apply a pulling force to the microwave door which turns into torque, the rotational force, when the hinges allow the door to rotate opening the area to put the bag of popcorn. They wait approximately two minutes and after all the popping, a ding notifying them that the popcorn is ready. Now the potent scent of fresh movie theater popcorn is diffused throughout the room coming from an area of high concentration to low where it reaches me in the back. I am far from the location of the popcorn's creation. And at this point I am distracted and there is no possible way I can fully learn thermodynamics while thinking about freshly popped popcorn. 

Haiku & Thoughts
Romel Farquharson

 

Increase my tempo.

Endless flow of thrill and fear

At last satisfied.

 

Imagine feeling empty every second of the day, and no matter how good of a citizen you try to be you never feel excited or have your heart race. That is until your first mess up, when you finally realize this is the feeling you've been missing. It was never good and you knew that. But why must you follow the rules all the time, especially when you only wish to feel something once in a while. This is why you committed a crime. Well, at least that's what others call it. But in reality it's an action of relief, a moment of freedom. You're sorry and you didn’t want to, but at the same time you will do it again. Only to feel something, anything, once more.

Regeneration
Emma Lucana

 

I’m sitting at a lab table when I get the notification: “Congratulations!” But I’m not so sure. I read the acceptance letter multiple times— my teacher rambles about the regeneration of cells in the background. With the entire final months of high school filled with uncertainty, I know I expected too much when I thought this letter would fulfill me. How much longer will I exist as this version of myself? My anatomy teacher says that cells are completely replaced every 7 years. In 7 years I will be a different person. In 7 years, I will be entirely new.

Angelina Lorente

Photo by Angelina Lorente

Mondry Xanadu

Handmade Mug
Alexandra Lynde 

 

It was the beginning of November–cool air, leaves falling, pumpkins everywhere. She went

through the cabinet–she saw it. She could feel the warmth through its small bumps and creases. She saw him in it. She remembers the moment they met and when he got shot on the battlefield. She was the nurse who saved him. Soon they would be young and in love with two kids. After the cancer everything changed. He slowly started to wither away. She takes it and sips hot tea, the one that was his favorite. She can still see his face in every sip she takes.

Egress
Ava Hedstrom

The little red dot scurries around the edged ticker, daring to count along as the clock inches towards 2:10pm. The bug with its spotted black back mirrors her twin red hand as she skips on each dash, each minute, each second until the end. However, the end seems so far away. So, almost in a trance, she times the silent tick racing against it. She wasn’t always like this. She found her way in from the window, who is welcoming the spring to drift in between the rowed desks. Why be in here when the world is new and green? Spring whispers. The ladybug continues, while spring tickles my ears, and plays with my hair. And yet, I press my back against my chair letting the metal cool my skin. The full seats are hollow, waiting for the bell to dismiss them. And it does. At the same time, a small gust says hello and the little ladybug joins the waving trees. And just like that it's all over, and we’re gone.

Felix Contreras Reyes

Felix Contreras Reyes

Sleeper Agent

Tyler Smith

They said “You will never find a job by being lazy.” Oh, how wrong they were. I’m a professional sleeper. I sleep and get paid more than most people do. Not the most interesting work but definitely a conversation starter. I test beds and sleep conditions while in said bed. I used to be a farmer until work got hard. Then I hit the hay and honestly, I don’t want to go back. Why work the fields when all I do is hit the sack? Why fly a plane when all I do is crash? Why drive a bus when all I do is just roll in? My wife used to yell at me for being so lazy. I really wish I listened. I really wish for once in my life, I didn’t sleep on it. Now she's rolling out and catching drinks while I’m catching Zs. 

              Keep Reading, Please.

Faults
Emily Simorowski

 

He broke up with me yesterday. He said that I’m the problem. What am I supposed to do now? I’m in class now, hearing the teacher talk about earthquakes: tectonic plates, seismic waves, faults. “We are unable to stop them,” she says, “but it’s natural for Earth to change and earthquakes will come and go as they please.” I stop listening, continuing my thoughts on the breakup. The aftershock is hitting me. It feels like my world is crumbling down and I’m shaken up. I don’t want him to leave. I don’t want to change. Is it really my fault?

​

Girl Math

Dayaneliz Veliz

 

Cash is free money.

A refund is free money.

Spend more— free shipping.


If you buy a purse that is $300 and use it 20 times, that is $15 a wear. If you wear and use the purse 200 times, that is .66$ a wear, which is basically worth it. If I pre-load my Starbucks account with $25 and I go to Starbucks the following week, my order was free. Concert tickets, a trip, or any event that is bought months in advance will become free. Anything bought with a gift card— free. If you buy something and return it, you’re making money. If you offer to pay for something and everyone pays you their cut back, you’re making money. You didn't spend money yesterday on breakfast, now your budget doubled today. If you don't look at your bank account you can’t see the money leaving and seeing is believing so you aren't actually losing money. Girl math.

Astrophysicists
Kaitlin Guttler

 

She hadn’t felt his touch since they fell apart. Always an awkward encounter, sitting next to him at a lab desk. Inches from each other, yet so far apart. Close enough to feel the radiation of his burning eyes on her right cheekbone. Her teacher asked a classmate, “What is conduction?” A flip must have been switched in his brain; a reminder. He shuffled his leg closer to hers; they both knew what conduction was. She could feel the heat of his thigh grazing her kneecap— she was consumed by his haunting warmth. 

Newton's Laws
Kevin Brown

 

Her boyfriend said nothing could change him. Newton’s first law of motion states a body in motion stays in motion, said their physics teacher. He had the belief that nothing could change him. He pushed her away. I'm okay. Their physics teacher taught them Newton's Third Law of Motion, when two objects interact, they apply equal force in opposite directions. The more he pushed, the more she loved. I love you, she said, tightly hugging him on her warm body. He forgot one part of Newton’s first: unless external force acts upon it. Love brought back to equilibrium.

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